Disclaimer: I own neither Chronicles of Narnia or His Dark Materials.

A/N: This is a Chronicles of Narnia fic crossed over with His Dark Materials in that there are daemons for the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. It's in part a coming of age story for Lucy and her siblings.

It's assumed that you have knowledge of AT LEAST The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, if not the full Chronicles story.

If you don't know HDM, daemons are a representation of the human soul given physical form. They're a little bit like Jiminy Cricket, but people tend to listen to them because of the hurt one, hurt both bond they share. Children's daemons tend to take on a variety of forms at a whim or at need, while adults' daemons are settled into a single form. It is said that you can learn a lot about a man by his daemon.

The title is from a quote:

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

It takes her a moment to get beyond his goat-like legs, but when Lan tugs her hair with his beak, she tilted her head to listen. "He has no daemon."

"What?" Lucy yelped, forgetting she did not need to be so loud.

"What, what?" The strange creature asked, "I wanted to know if you were a beardless dwarf."

"I'm not a dwarf," Lucy replied, "I'm a girl." She tried to ignore the twisting in her gut in favor of a joke, "Actually, I'm tallest in my class."

The stranger mutters to himself for a moment before staring at her intently, "But are you, or are you not, a human?"

"What else would I be?" Lucy asked. "My name is Lucy Pevensie, and this is Parthalán."

"I am Tumnus the Fawn," the stranger said carefully. He bent to pick up a package, eyes still mostly on Lucy.

"Pleased to meet you, Mister Tumnus," Lucy said as Lan jumped from her shoulder. By the time he landed in the snow, his robin form was gone and he began to push packages towards Tumnus with all the glee of a husky puppy.

"What kind of magic is that?" Tumnus asked, drawing back in shock.

Lan sat down and stared at Tumnus in surprise. "I'm a daemon," he said and jumped up to dance and wag his tail.

"A demon," Tumnus said, with an expression of fear.

"No, a daemon," Lucy said corrected him, "Everyone has one back home. He won't hurt you Mister Tumnus, he's not like that."

Tumnus stuttered for a moment, "But why does he change shape?"

"Because I'm a child," Lucy said. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and shivered. Lan turned into a ferret and Lucy picked him up. He wrapped himself around Lucy's neck like a scarf, which did help a little.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tumnus asked hesitantly, and then looked around, "You're cold. My place is not too far from here; would you care to come to tea, Lucy Pevensie? We can then discuss this in comfort."

Lucy hesitated, and Lan wiggled until his mouth was against her ear, "I don't know," he whispered, "he's very nervous."

"He's never met a human before, he doesn't know what a daemon is," Lucy replied as her stomach gurgled. "I'm sure it will be ok."

Lan hesitated, "Ok, but be careful, Lu."

"I will," Lucy said. She smiled at Tumnus, "I would love to join you for tea." She picked up his last package.

"Then let me offer you my arm," Tumnus said, "and we can share my umbrella."

Lucy smiled at him, "I'd like that, Mister Tumnus." She slipped her arm through Tumnus and allowed him to lead her away while Lan flittered around them as a bird.

Tumnus lived in a cave, which Lucy thought was appropriate, given how warm and dry the room was. There was a fireplace with a delightfully warm fire, and Tumnus was quick to light candles. "You have a lovely home," Lucy said as she looked around. Her mother had brought ladies from the VAD home on several occasions and Lucy had heard all of them say that.

"Thank you," Tumnus replied.

Lan perched on Lucy's shoulder for a moment before darting over to one of the bookcases, "'Is Man A Myth?'" He said.

"What?" Lucy asked as she walked over.

"This book," Lan said, changing into a ferret, "it's called 'Is Man A Myth', how odd."

"It's not very good," Tumnus said as he came up behind Lucy. "But there aren't many good books anymore."

"Why not?" Lucy asked, looking up at Tumnus.

"They've been banned," Tumnus replied, "only books approved by the White Witch may be owned." He stared at the bookshelf for a moment before reaching for the book.

Lan squeaked and scrambled out of the way, leaping for Lucy to avoid Tumnus's touch.

"What's wrong?" Tumnus asked.

"You almost touched him," Lucy said, unsteadily. "You're not supposed to touch someone's daemon." She shuddered, because she could remember the one time Edmund had tripped and his hand had brushed Lan as he had tried to catch himself.

"I don't understand," Tumnus said, watching as Lan became a puppy and watched him from Lucy's arms. "What is a daemon?"

Lucy moved to sit down in one of Tumnus's chairs, "My daemon is my soul," she said, remembering the book her mother had given her. "He is me."

"I'm sorry, but isn't the soul inside a person?" Tumnus asked.

"No," Lucy said, her eyes wide, "not for humans. We have daemons, and they are our souls."

"Then why does he change?" Tumnus asked.

Lucy shrugged, "Daemons change forms when we're children, but as we get older, they settle into the form that best defines us. But nobody can say when a daemon will settle, or what form. Sometimes they run in families, like my friend Melinda, her family's run to cats for ages."

"And you do not touch them," Tumnus said.

"Oh no," Lucy shook her head, "no one would dare. It is awful, Edmund did it once; he was falling and touched Lan on accident. It was horrible, I threw up for ages afterwards, and that was an accident." She shuddered, holding Lan closer to her, and the anxious daemon licked her cheek reassuringly.

Then the kettle whistled and Tumnus leapt to make tea, and as he did so, he began to tell her of Narnia. There were cakes and scones, and little sandwiches with the tea, and Tumnus knew many fun stories to pass the time. After their meal, Tumnus rose to fetch a beautifully carved wooden box, "Of course, we fauns were the key musicians in the great dances," he told Lucy as he sat back down. "There isn't another in Narnia who could play the songs we did." He smiled at her and began to play a beautiful, haunting melody unlike anything Lucy had heard in England.

She tried to keep her eyes open, but it wasn't long before her eyes grew heavy, and she slept.