The Kids, went pale, as they saw the Cloak Figures move, as they landed down, Thomas was pulling out his sword
While the others, they panicked, they started to fumble with thege wands, if this was really Salem they were doomed, as Thomas stepped Infront of the kids.
The Hoodies figure just passed them, they literally went through them, like they weren't there.
The hooded figures drifted past like ghosts, silent and eerie, their feet not quite touching the ground. The air seemed to chill around them as they passed, and even Thomas felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.
The moment they vanished beyond the treeline, the group stood frozen.
Then—
Alice whimpered. "They—they walked right through us! Like we weren't even there!"
"I—I don't like this," Sybill stammered, clutching her robes. "I really don't like this. We're invisible ghost children! What if we can't leave?! What if we're stuck like this forever?!"
Sirius looked half-panicked, half-bewildered. "Did we die? Did that book kill us? I haven't even kissed anyone yet!"
"Focus, Black!" Lily snapped, though her voice cracked a bit. Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides.
James gave her a shaky grin. "Look on the bright side—we're not being burned at the stake. Yet."
Thomas had stepped protectively in front of the group when the figures appeared, sword still in hand. But now, as the danger passed, he sheathed it, breathing through his nose to steady his Qi.
"They didn't ignore us," he said quietly. "They didn't see us."
Sirius blinked again. "Yeah. That's what I said."
"No," Lily muttered, still processing. "It's like... we're not actually here. Not really. Like... like a ghost watching the past."
Lucius took a breath, a bit more composed now. "A Pensieve then? That's what this is, right? Like a big memory pool?"
Snape frowned. "No. Pensieves are personal. They show memories from someone's mind. This isn't that—this feels bigger. Older. Like… like we've been pulled into a record of the past."
"Not a memory," Thomas added, narrowing his eyes. "A recorded world. Like a spellbook that replays events. Maybe even lets us move through them."
"Wait, wait—" Sirius waved his hands around. "Back up. I've never read any of the stuff you're all talking about. Can someone explain it like I'm not the son of a library?"
Lily huffed. "Fine. Imagine this—someone writes down what happened in a really magical way. So magical that the book doesn't just tell you the story—it recreates it. And we… we're inside that recreation. Watching."
Sirius' eyes lit up. "So we're basically in a magical movie?"
"Sort of," James said, tilting his head. "Except if the movie was, like, alive. And possibly cursed."
Snape muttered, "Definitely cursed."
Alice looked around nervously. "But... if we're just watching... then why are we still ourselves? Why aren't we seeing this through someone else's eyes?"
"That," Thomas said grimly, "is the worrying part."
Lucius rubbed his arms, trying not to shiver. "If this book shows the true history of Salem, then we might be here to witness something that was never supposed to be seen."
They all went quiet again.
Leaves rustled overhead. A crow cawed in the distance. The air still held that strange heaviness, like something was waiting for them.
James scratched the back of his head. "Sooo... do we, uh, follow the spooky ghost guys or what?"
Thomas sighed. "We don't have much of a choice."
He stepped forward, and despite their fear, the others followed.
Sirius muttered to James, "This is either gonna be brilliant... or the stupidest thing we've ever done."
James grinned. "Mate, why not both?"
Alice, who had finally calmed down after nearly hyperventilating, tilted her head and looked around with wide, thoughtful eyes.
"Now that I think about it…" she mumbled, her voice still a little shaky, "doesn't everything just… look like a storybook?"
Everyone paused.
Thomas looked around. He hadn't quite registered it before—his focus had been on danger, strategy, threat—but now that she said it…
The trees swayed too smoothly, like painted brushstrokes caught in a breeze. The sunlight bled through the canopy in perfect golden shafts, like someone had poured it from a bottle. The ground beneath their feet had no blemishes—no footprints, no broken twigs, no signs of wildlife. Everything was too perfect. Almost enchanted.
Lily squinted at a nearby flower, then reached to touch it. Her fingers passed through it.
Her eyes widened. "She's right. This place… it's not real. It's like a painted scene."
Sybill gasped. "We're in a story! We're inside the book!"
James grinned, despite the fear still lingering in his gut. "I always knew I was main character material."
"Oh shut up, Potter," Snape muttered automatically, though even he sounded more dazed than annoyed.
Sirius, meanwhile, bent down and poked at the ground. "So if this is all fake, can I just—" He kicked at a tree. His foot went through it like mist, and he yelped, stumbling backwards. "OKAY! Nope! Don't like that!"
Lucius brushed his hair back, trying to seem composed. "So we're in a projection. A magical illusion. Maybe… maybe a kind of narrative world, like a living diary."
Thomas nodded slowly. "Yeah. And that means whatever we're meant to see… it's already happened. We're just along for the ride."
"But why us?" Lily said, frowning. "Why bring a bunch of eleven-year-olds into some ancient magical book?"
"That," Snape muttered, "is the second most worrying part."
"The first being," Alice said with a nervous laugh, "that we don't know how to get out."
They all looked at each other.
Silence again.
Sirius raised his hand. "So… follow the spooky guys, then?"
Thomas sighed, drawing his sword again—not because he thought it would help, but because it made him feel better.
"Yeah," he said. "Follow the spooky guys."
The group of kids trailed after the spooky figure, partly out of curiosity and partly because—well—they already knew they were in a story.
There wasn't much fear of being caught. Not yet.
As they walked, a faint noise reached their ears.
Lily tilted her head. "Um… what was that sound?"
Thomas froze mid-step. "Don't tell me…"
A voice suddenly echoed all around them, rich and dramatic:
"I move with my companions at that time, toward the nearby town. The autumn leaves fell to the ground as my foot stepped upon them, making soft crunching noises. My eyes rose to the man leading us—his face still hidden by the shadows of his hood."
Thomas's eyes went wide. "You have GOT to be kidding me! This is narration?!"
James just spoke. "Well, at least our questions will be answered right?"
The voice continued without hesitation, as if James had just fed it more fuel.
"The boy named James spoke with misplaced optimism, unaware that such statements often lead to disaster."
James froze. "…I take it back."
Sybill tilted her head. "Wait… is this thing reading our minds or predicting the future?"
"Sybill wondered aloud, her words echoing in the cool autumn air, the tension in the group thickening like soup left out for far too long."
Thomas groaned. "Great. Not only is it narrating us, but it's also got a thing for bad metaphors."
Lily glanced around nervously. "Um… does anyone else feel like we're walking into a horror novel?"
"They were indeed walking into something, though whether it was horror or comedy remained to be seen."
Thomas pointed up at the sky. "Okay, seriously—WHO is doing this?!"
Lucius then spoke, looking at everyone. "Why don't we just not say anything, then it won't have fuel."
Snape nodded his head, his voice calm and precise. "I agree with Malfoy. It seems logical."
For a moment, silence fell over the group. No one spoke. No one even breathed too loud.
"The children, in their infinite eleven-year-old wisdom, decided that silence would solve their problems."
Lily's eye twitched.
"It did not."
Thomas rubbed his face, muttering under his breath, "I hate this narrator."
"Thomas, the so-called leader of the group, expressed his growing frustration, unaware that his every word continued to feed the very thing he wished to stop."
Lucius looked betrayed. "You had to talk, didn't you?"
Thomas threw up his hands. "It's not like I could help it!"
Sirius snorted, unable to resist. "This is the best thing that's ever happened."
"Sirius, of course, found chaos endlessly entertaining—until it eventually bit him in the back."
Sirius blinked. "…Wait, what does that mean?"
The group collectively groaned.
The group went fully quiet as the Narration restarted, but it was back to the man.
"I walked with what we called out self the wandless order, truly, at the time, if I knew what they were doing, I would have stabbed the leader in the head myself".
I said in my head, as I looked to see the one leading us, even under his hood, I could see that charming smile.
The same one that made me go on his side, truly, Nicolette Flamel was one type of man.
The group of kids stopped once they heard the last name, as their brains rebooted.
The group froze mid-step. Every single one of them went still like a herd of deer caught in wandlight.
Lucius's mouth dropped open first. "Did—did he just say Flamel?"
Lily blinked several times, her voice pitching up. "No, no, no, no, no, that can't be right. Nicolette—what kind of name is that?"
Sirius tilted his head. "Maybe he meant Nicolas Flamel? You know, the one who made that shiny rock thing—"
"The Philosopher's Stone," Snape interrupted automatically, his tone sharp. "And it's not shiny, it's alchemical!"
Thomas rubbed his temples. "Forget that! He said Nicolette! Either we just found out Flamel had a secret twin or—"
James grinned, always the chaos instigator. "—or Flamel was secretly a girl!"
Sybill gasped dramatically, eyes wide. "A forbidden twin, separated at birth! Destined to restore the balance of magic!"
Alice facepalmed. "Sybill, stop reading your own prophecies again."
Meanwhile, the narration continued mercilessly, as if enjoying their confusion.
"We followed Flamel through the dying woods. Even then, his eyes gleamed with the light of discovery… or perhaps madness."
Thomas exhaled slowly, his grip tightening on his sword hilt. "Okay. Either this book is rewriting history… or history was a lot weirder than we thought."
Lily groaned. "Great. First cursed book, now gender-bent historical figures. What's next, Merlin with a pet dragon that quotes Shakespeare?"
Sirius looked way too intrigued. "...That actually sounds awesome."
Sybil then spoke looking at all them. "I think your all forgetting a common answer.... Nicolette could be Nicole Flamel grandfather or Father".
Everyone turned to Sybill, who for once sounded calm and… actually kind of reasonable.
Lily blinked. "Wait—what?"
Sybill adjusted her oversized glasses, a little smug now that she had everyone's attention. "Well, think about it. If this really is Salem, then it's hundreds of years ago, right? So maybe Nicolette isn't Nicolas Flamel himself, but an ancestor. Someone who passed down all that alchemy knowledge."
Lucius's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "That… does make sense. Flamel was supposed to be alive for centuries, but it's possible the legend got muddled. A family line could have carried the name and reputation forward."
James nodded like he totally understood, though it was clear he was bluffing. "Yeah, yeah, that's what I was gonna say."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Sure you were, Potter."
Sirius, meanwhile, tilted his head. "So wait, we're basically walking through some ancient alchemy diary? That's… actually pretty wicked."
Thomas rubbed his chin, eyes scanning the faintly glowing forest around them. "Ancestor or not, that means we're watching someone powerful enough to inspire Nicolas Flamel. Which means we're standing inside one of the most dangerous magical periods in history."
Alice gulped softly. "Wonderful. And we're eleven."
The narration stirred again, almost in response to their realization.
"Nicolette led us onward, his tone calm, his eyes sharp. 'Tonight,' he said, 'we witness the rebirth of true magic. Wandless… and eternal.'"
Thomas stiffened. "Yeah, we're definitely in for trouble."
The group then felt something like the world got flipped, as they saw world clasped into it self as they opened there eyes.
They saw the hooded figures in a bar, as they where all confused.
Sirius blinked and spun around, gripping his wand like it would help. "Okay, so—either we teleported, or this book's got motion sickness built in."
James groaned, holding his head. "Mate, if every page does this, I'm suing whoever wrote it."
Lucius was scanning the bar, his aristocratic nose wrinkling at the smell of smoke and ale. "Ugh. This place looks like Knockturn Alley's less successful cousin."
Snape, meanwhile, was squinting at the hooded figures sitting around a circular table, their hushed conversation just barely audible under the din. "No one else is noticing us again… we're still phantoms in whatever this is."
Thomas frowned, his instincts on edge. "Then this isn't random teleportation—it's shifting scenes. Like we're being dragged through chapters."
Alice nervously glanced at him. "Chapters? You mean we're gonna have to watch the whole story?"
Lily's voice cracked a little as she half-whispered, half-snapped, "We are in a book, we are in a book, we are in a book!" She hugged herself, trying to stay calm. "If I stop saying it, I might forget and actually faint."
Sybill nodded frantically beside her. "That's fine, Lily. You keep chanting reality into existence—I'll be over here predicting my death by paper cuts."
Sirius snorted despite himself. "Relax, Trelawney Jr., no one's dying in a book."
The narration immediately rumbled through the air like a voice from the heavens—
"And in that tavern, before the blood of Salem was spilled, none of them knew that three would not survive the night."
The group froze.
Lily: "...You were saying?"
To be continued
Hope people like this Ch and give me Power stones