Harry Potter: Prince of Shadows

 Perhaps it wasn't just Ian's imagination.

Despite the witch's seething anger, she never raised a hand against Pandero and Ariana. Her fury burned in her eyes, as if flames might leap out any moment, but she held herself back.

"Ian! We're here to rescue you!" Pandero shouted, brandishing a longsword with heroic determination.

Perhaps only Ariana, with her more sensitive nature, noticed that Ian and Mara didn't look like prisoner and captor. A faint blush of embarrassment crept onto her face as she realized they had clearly misjudged the situation.

"Pandero... Ian doesn't look like he was captured..." she whispered cautiously.

"Huh?" Pandero blinked in confusion.

"Impossible! I heard she loves eating children!" the self-proclaimed hero insisted, his grip tightening on the sword.

Clack, clack, clack… The sound of Mara grinding her teeth filled the hall.

"Apologies, Professor. I forgot to tell them about my situation here," Ian quickly interjected, attempting to defuse the tension.

"Get your friends out of my domain!" Mara snapped, redirecting some of her frustration toward Ian. Yet, her demeanor hinted at something more—perhaps even a trace of caution toward Pandero.

"Huh?" Even Pandero, as dense as he could be, heard Ian refer to Mara as "Professor." His confusion was apparent, and his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Was I... wrong?" the boyish "old shadow" mumbled, his heroic bravado crumbling as he awkwardly glanced around, lost without a purpose.

The fearless warrior stood frozen, his sword lowered, his earlier bravado dissipated like mist under the sun.

"Madam Mara, we're terribly sorry! We'll help fix the damage," Ariana bowed repeatedly, her voice dripping with sincere regret.

"With his empty skull and your naïve little mind? I'd be grateful if you could manage to create a chair that doesn't collapse!" Mara snapped, her glare shifting back to Ian.

"Get them out of here! They're not welcome!" she barked, then turned sharply, her dark robes billowing as she stormed deeper into the castle. Though her gown didn't trail the floor, the missing corner was quite conspicuous.

"I don't want to stay here! The monster's back!"

"So scary! So terrifying!"

"He's definitely plotting to kill us again!" The enchanted furniture clattered after Mara, their long legs scampering in fear.

"What a temper!" Pandero grumbled the moment Mara disappeared.

"Pandero, maybe hold back a bit. We did cause quite a mess..." Ariana's voice was soft with guilt.

"She tried to catch me once. This just makes us even," Pandero huffed, clearly holding onto some unresolved history.

Ian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It seemed Pandero and Mara had crossed paths before.

"I don't think Mara's that bad. She's taught me a lot," Ian commented, peering through the grand doorway to survey the aftermath.

The corridor outside was littered with broken suits of armor. Some still twitched feebly, dragging their mangled remains as far from Pandero as possible.

"Maybe we were enemies when I was alive?" Pandero mused uncertainly.

Like Ariana, he had little memory of his life before arriving in this strange realm. The longer souls lingered here, the more their earthly memories faded until nothing remained but echoes of what once was.

"Either way, we've caused quite the disaster," Ariana sighed.

"No big deal. We'll pay her back with a dragon. We found one to the north—dead only a few years. Way more impressive than her tin cans," Pandero declared, though even he knew they'd overstepped.

"I'll find a way to make it up to Professor Mara," Ian said, clapping Pandero's shoulder. Despite the chaos, Ian was touched by their attempt to "rescue" him. True friends, indeed.

Of course, they probably didn't realize that no one could actually imprison Ian here. Sooner or later, he'd be forcefully returned to the real world.

"You're learning magic from Madam Mara?" Ariana asked curiously.

Ian nodded. "She's incredibly knowledgeable. Thanks to her, I've got a head start over other young wizards."

"That's wonderful," Ariana replied, her voice tinged with envy.

"Maybe I can bring you some textbooks next time," Ian offered, remembering her fascination with Hogwarts.

"No point. Magic doesn't work here," Pandero interrupted smugly. "Better to learn swordsmanship from me. Want to cut something? Just swing."

With that, he flourished his ordinary-looking sword, performing a flashy routine.

"I've bested every challenger in this realm. Even that Godric Gryffindor could barely keep up with me!" he boasted.

Ian nearly choked.

"You know Godric Gryffindor?" he asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

While Mara clearly found Pandero troublesome, how could he compare to Gryffindor—the legendary magical swordmaster and founder of Hogwarts?

"Met him a few years back. Decent with a blade, so I remembered him," Pandero said nonchalantly, twirling his sword like it was nothing.

"You… sparred with Gryffindor?" Ian mumbled, trying to process the absurdity.

Pandero continued showing off, trying to convince Ariana to pick up swordsmanship.

"You're both long dead. Isn't magic and swordplay a bit pointless now?" Ian muttered, narrowly dodging one of Pandero's wild swings.

"Maybe," Ariana agreed softly, her smile tinged with melancholy.

"Trust me. It'll come in handy one day," Pandero said confidently.

"You said that when you dragged me up the mountain too…" Ariana sighed.

"Totally different!" Pandero protested, forcing an awkward laugh.

In an attempt to change the subject, he suddenly brightened. "Since you're starting school, we brought you a gift! Something special—not the kind of thing I waste my time on for just anyone."

Reaching into his tattered cloak, he produced a shimmering object—an apple, gleaming like it was forged from pure gold. Even in the dim light of the hall, it radiated brilliance, like a shard of the sun itself.

A divine fruit, crafted by gods or lost to time.

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