The_Complete_Chronicles_of_Narnia_(volumes_1-7,_in_order_of_publication)

"You'd better lead the way," said Jill. "I don't know all these passages yet."
"Tu-whoo!" said the Owl. "We're not going through the castle. That would never do. You
must ride on me. We shall fly."
"Oh!" said Jill, and stood with her mouth open, not much liking the idea. "Shan't I be too
heavy for you?"
"Tu-whoo, tu-whoo! Don't you be a fool. I've already carried the other one. Now. But
we'll put out that lamp first."
As soon as the lamp was out, the bit of the night which you saw through the window
looked less dark - no longer black, but grey. The Owl stood on the window-sill with his
back to the room and raised his wings. Jill had to climb on to his short fat body and get
her knees under the wings and grip tight. The feathers felt beautifully warm and soft but
there was nothing to hold on by. "I wonder how Scrubb liked his ride!" thought Jill. And
just as she was thinking this, with a horrid plunge they had left the window-sill, and the
wings were making a flurry round her ears, and the night air, rather cool and damp, was
flying in her face.
It was much lighter than she expected, and though the sky was overcast, one patch of
watery silver showed where the moon was hiding above the clouds. The fields beneath
her looked grey, and the trees black. There was a certain amount of wind - a hushing,
ruffling sort of wind which meant that rain was coming soon.
The Owl wheeled round so that the castle was now ahead of them. Very few of the
windows showed lights. They flew right over it, northwards, crossing the river: the air
grew colder, and Jill thought she could see the white reflection of the Owl in the water
beneath her. But soon they were on the north bank of the river, flying above wooded
country.
The Owl snapped at something which Jill couldn't see.
"Oh, don't, please!" said Jill. "Don't jerk like that. You nearly threw me off."
"I beg your pardon," said the Owl. "I was just nabbing a bat. There's nothing so
sustaining, in a small way, as a nice plump little bat. Shall I catch you one?"
"No, thanks," said Jill with a shudder.
He was flying a little lower now and a large, black looking object was looming up
towards them. Jill had just time to see that it was a tower - a partly ruinous tower, with a
lot of ivy on it, she thought - when she found herself ducking to avoid the archway of a
window, as the Owl squeezed with her through the ivied cobwebby opening, out of the
fresh, grey night into a dark place inside the top of the tower. It was rather fusty inside