Chapter 7 – Preparing for Muggle Studies

With only a week before the Hogwarts Autumn term began, Sarah went shopping to find some books that Charity might find useful. She went to her favorite used bookstore and browsed happily, having to restrain herself from indulging in her own tastes. Finally, she found a young adult section with what she wanted. She selected three books; one on how inventions worked, from airplanes to computers to compact disks. The second was on science and covered how to filter water to experiments like creating a polymer slime or an electromagnet. The third was one of Toby's favorites and was titled "The Ultimate Book of Knowledge: Everything You Need to Know" and included sections on the human body, plants, animals, the earth, planets and stars as well as society and history.

She was pleased with the selection and prices; she could easily afford these because of her part-time position, and thought Charity would enjoy them. Walking through the store, she discovered some university level text books and wondered if some of the Hogwarts instructors might be interested. The sign on the table indicated they were all on sale for only a few pounds each. Checking her wallet, Sarah decided she had enough for the books on Biology, Biochemistry, Plant Science and Biomedical Science. She thought Madame Pomfrey might be interested in the Biomedical text while Professor Sprout might be curious about the Plant Science text.

As she waited to check out, she noticed Stephen Hawking's "The Universe in a Nutshell" and couldn't resist adding it to her purchases. She laughed as her wallet was emptied, but was pleased with her purchases.

Back at the dormitory, Sarah packed a duffel bag with her books, her suggestions for Charity as well as additional clothing and supplies she planned to leave at Hogwarts to minimize what she brought with her each trip. Finally, she opened her locket and with a deep breath, pressed firmly on the picture. With another belly-button wrenching pull, she eventually found herself sprawled just outside of the Hogwarts gates.

"Ew, I hope that improves over time" she thought as she dusted herself off. "It won't due for the Professor's Assistant to be seen face down on the ground."

As she entered the school, she was stopped by a small creature that was somewhat goblin-like in appearance with a large head and huge expressive eyes fixed atop a torso with spindly arms and legs. She was under three feet tall, and appeared to be wearing a pillow case as a dress with nothing on her feet. In a squeaky voice she asked eagerly "Lady Sarah? Tilly is here to help you and very happy to do so. Tilly is being the house elf assigned to the Lady's room and will be happy to keep it cleaned and tidy for the lovely lady. Tilly will also bring the Lady food and drink; she has only to ask and Tilly will provide."

"Why thank you Tilly" Sarah replied with a smile at the eager little house elf. "You don't have to call me Lady Sarah though. Just Sarah will do fine."

The little face screwed up in distress. "But…you are the Lady. Tilly cannot be disrespectful! But Tilly cannot disobey the Lady either." Sarah watched in shock as the little creature took her fist and hit herself on the side of the head. "Bad Tilly! Bad!" she seemed to chastise herself.

"No Tilly! Stop! You can call me whatever you feel is appropriate" Sarah said quickly, kneeling down by the small figure. "I certainly didn't mean to imply that you were disobeying me. I just wanted to be friendly."

The large eyes fixed on her face and to Sarah's surprise tears began to swim in her large eyes. "The Lady wanted to be friendly to Tilly? The Lady sees Tilly as a friend?" A large smile beamed out at Sarah. "What kindness the Lady shows! Treating Tilly like an equal and a friend!" She suddenly noticed the large duffle bag Sarah carried. "But here Tilly lets the Lady carry such a heavy bag! May Tilly send it to the Lady's room and unpack for her?"

"Thank you Tilly, but I don't know where my room is yet. Would you mind showing me the way, please?"

"Tilly is happy to show the Lady! Come this way!" She snapped her fingers and the duffle bag disappeared, presumably delivered to her new room. Tilly led Sarah up the stairs to the second floor and down a wing with staff chambers. At the third thick oak door she paused. "This is the Lady's room. If the Lady puts her hand on the door and decides on a password, it will be set so that only the Lady and the assigned house elves can enter." She looked at Sarah expectantly.

Sarah laid her hand on the door, noticing there was no visible lock only a door handle. Apparently the locks were supernatural in nature in the magic school. Now, what would be an uncommon word that others wouldn't think of but one that she wouldn't forget? She frowned in concentration. Having just dreamt of the Goblin King the previous night, the Underground and her previous adventure was still in the forefront of her mind and she found herself saying "Oubliette".

The door glowed as the password was set and then at Tilly's encouraging look, Sarah opened the door. She was pleased to discover the room was larger than she had anticipated; more than double her dormitory . A small desk where she could work was just to the left of the door. Several feet beyond that, shelves lined one wall with a fireplace in between flanked by two chairs and a small table.

A good sized four poster bed with curtains and a large oak wardrobe were on the other wall. Smiling, she realized that the bedding was in cream and light aqua; neutral to all house colors as Charity had described them. Across from the door, double window looked out on a lake and Sarah exclaimed with delight at the view. A doorway near the bed led to a small private bathroom and the young woman was pleased she wouldn't have to leave the room for a common lavatory. Opening the wardrobe, she discovered half was dedicated to hanging garments while the other was filled with drawers for her folded clothing.

As Sarah explored the room, Tilly made short work of unpacking for her. All books were put on the shelves by the fireplace. Notebooks, pens and paper were quickly deposited in the desk while her clothing was efficiently positioned in the wardrobe. Her bathing and hair care items were carefully placed in the bathroom.

"Will the Lady be needing Tilly for anything else? Tilly will be happy to get tea and sandwiches if the Lady is hungry."

"Thank you, but I think I will go see Professor Burbage now Tilly. You've been very helpful and I appreciate you unpacking for me." The house elf beamed in pleasure at the praise. "Tilly is always happy to help the Lady." With a bow and a snap of her fingers, she disappeared.

"What a little sweetheart" Sarah thought. "Although I'll have to be sure not to express displeasure around her. I can't believe she hit herself just because I suggested she call me Sarah." She shook her head and then selected the books and materials to bring with her to see Charity.

As she neared the landing with the stairs, she saw Professor Snape exiting one of the doors in another wing heading in her direction. She paused and smiled politely at him. "Good morning Professor Snape" she said cheerily.

He raised an eyebrow and frowned slightly. "Miss Williams. Are you lost?"

"Not yet, Professor. My quarters are down that wing. I'm on my way to see Charity."

He looked curiously at her stack of books, raising the eyebrow again at the Biochemistry book on top of the stack, but simply nodded at her. "Good day, Miss Williams" he said with what could almost be considered amount to civility as he walked off.

Sarah was pleased to be able to find her way to Charity's office without getting lost, especially as the pile of books in her arms was getting tiring.

"Sarah! I'm so glad to see you back!" Sarah smiled at the older woman's enthusiasm. "What did you think of the lesson plan? Did you find additional topics that you think should be discussed? And what are the books you're carrying?"

"Actually, I thought your lesson plan was quite interesting. I brought some information that I thought we could discuss to see whether you thought it would complement your plans. Plus, I brought some books that could be used during the class or that might give the students more insight into the workings of the Muggle world."

The two women spent the next hour going through the lists Sarah had printed from the internet, having to explain in detail how she found them. Charity had heard of computers, but the internet search engines were a new concept and she avidly absorbed everything Sarah shared about them. She found the books an unexpected gift and blessed Albus silently for suggesting Sarah as her Assistant.

"Why don't we leave these wonderful "How Things Work" books in the classroom, but take the university texts to the staff lounge? I think you will find most of the staff will be curious and will gladly look through them, although Pomona may attempt to commandeer the plant book until she's thoroughly digested it."

"I hope no one will be offended or think I'm trying to push Muggle viewpoints. I just thought they might find them an interesting comparison" Sarah explained.

"Don't worry about it, my dear. Most of the staff is fairly agreeable and have a good amount of curiosity. Even Madame Pince might be interested."

They dropped off the texts in the lounge before heading in to dinner. Once seated, Sarah was a bit embarrassed by Charity's public praise of her critique of the Muggle Studies lesson plan and her suggestions. Dumbledore smiled as the younger woman blushed at Charity's effusive praise.

"No need to blush, my dear" he twinkled at her. "You've demonstrated just why you were hired. Although Charity's class has always been enlightening, I envy the students taking the class this year."

"Wait until you see the books we left in the staff lounge, Albus. There are Muggle university level texts covering their chemistry, medicine and even plants. Sarah was surprised that not only Professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey looked interested, but that Professor Snape even appeared curious.

By the time evening came and she finally bid Charity good night, Sarah was pleasantly tired and looking forward to a few days at Hogwarts before she had to start her own classes. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Sarah slipped on her nightgown just as Grep popped into the room.

"Hello Grep! I see you found me."

"Grep will always find the Lady" the little goblin said with a smile. Sarah prepared a drawer in the wardrobe for him and they chatted while he explored the room. He was happy when he found the desk already filled with supplies and quickly confiscated an eraser. She smiled indulgently at him.

"Are you done exploring? I was hoping to turn out the light soon."

"Sure Lady. Lots to explore tomorrow." He climbed into the drawer she had pulled out and lined with towels and snuggled in to them, half burying himself. The young woman blew him a kiss and turned out the light, snuggling in to her own covers.

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Sarah found herself in a well-known chamber with impossible stairways. Looking down, she realized she was dressed in the white poet's shirt, vest and blue jeans she had worn when she visited the Underground. Her body felt smaller, more awkward, more childish. She knew this was a dream, but found herself repeating the same movements that she had gone through years ago as if it was a script she was bound to perform. Jareth appeared, dressed in the black attire he had worn all those years ago, alternately stalking and retreating from her. Finally they came face to face and she began the heartbreakingly familiar and poignant exchange.

"Give me the child."

"Sarah, beware. I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel."

"Generous! What have you done that's generous?"

"Everything! Everything that you wanted, I have done. You asked that the child be taken, I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside down and I have done it all for you! I am exhausted living up to your expectations of me. Is not that generous?"

Sarah felt herself saying the familiar words while mentally she evaluated his comments more than she had before. He had done everything she had asked. Was he a frightening simply because she expected him to be a villain? "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city, for my will is as strong as yours and my…"

"Stop! Wait! Look Sarah, look what I'm offering you…your dreams." He held out the crystal, but while he was saying the same words, his face was different than he remembered. She could read defeat and heartache on his features. Wait…heartache?

"And kingdom is as great…"

"I ask for so little. Just let me rule you and you can have everything you want."

"…kingdom is as great…Damn! I can never remember that line."

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."

Sarah knew the next line. She knew she only had to say "you have no power over me" and the dream would end with the room falling apart. But it didn't feel right. "This is a dream, and dreams can be changed" she reminded herself.

She opened her mouth and then bit back the words trying to come out and closed her mouth again, looking at him doubtfully. She had always wanted to ask him what he meant. She looked at the clock and froze it mid-strike before it reached the thirteenth chime, then gazed back at him. He stared at her fixedly, incredulity beginning to play across his elegant features.

Sarah folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath. "Are you saying that all of your displays of menace and intimidation were because I subconsciously requested it of you?"

Jareth blinked and regarded her with confused intensity, obviously trying to determine what was happening. Finally he appeared to make a decision as he took a deep breath and began slowly walking towards her saying "You had expectations of the Goblin King and yourself. You expected me to be villainous and the Labyrinth to be daunting. You wanted to be the heroine and conquer all those dangers untold and hardships unnumbered."

"And the 'fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave'? Why would you say that to a young girl barely more than a child?"

"You were too immature to understand it then" he admitted. "Tell me precious thing, what does it suggest to you at this age?"

Sarah felt herself change and realized she was an adult again dressed in the midnight blue silk nightgown she had worn to bed. She glanced at him and frowned. "Why am I dreaming about this now" she murmured to herself.

"This was not your dream, Sarah. This was my dream. You joined it, but more than that, you changed it." He was standing close now, his eyes seemingly devouring her.

Sarah narrowed her eyes, frowning. "How could I change your dream? Explain." She paused and then added "Please."

Jareth's lips twitched in a half smirk, but he responded smoothly when she glared at him. "A Dream Walker is someone able to see the dreams of others. It is a rare talent, but as you may recall from your book, the Goblin King granted the girl certain powers. As dreams are among my talents, I gave you the ability to walk in those dreams. But more than just walking in my dream, you just deliberately changed my dream. It has never altered before. You always speak the words. You always deny me." His face briefly showed tired resignation as he spoke.

He commented reflectively "Tonight, the dream altered. You decided to make it change, did you not?"

"I wanted to ask you what you meant. I've never been able to ask that before. I know that I can control my dreams, so I broke the script to ask you what you really meant without the pressure of the clock striking the hour…"

He shook his head in amused wonder. "A Dream Weaver." He walked around her as if considering her from all angles, smirking when she drummed her fingers against her crossed arms in exasperation. "You will never fail to amaze me Sarah. You have grown beyond a Dream Walker to become a Dream Weaver, one of most uncommon of all talents or powers." He looked at her speculatively.

"Sarah, I would like you to change something in this room; a color, a texture, or perhaps add something that is not currently here. Focus on it intently and force it to appear."

She raised an eyebrow at his tone, but he refused to explain the odd demand. She looked at the stone wall behind him and smiled mischievously. Fine, if he wanted to play games in her dreams, he should remember that she controlled her dreams. She grinned as the image appeared. He turned, following her eyes to the wall. Clearly depicted on the wall was a life sized Goblin King, his hands on his hips, looking extremely irritated, almost petulant. In front of him lounged Sarah in an easy chair with her back to him, iPod headphones covering her ears and a book open on her lap, peacefully oblivious to the annoyed Fae king looming behind her demanding her attention. As he turned back to her, his face mimicking the irritation of her wall Goblin King, she winked and let herself fade away.

Sarah awoke to her travel alarm going off with a silly grin on her face. The memory of her last dream was still strong in her mind and she had to laugh, wondering what the menacing Goblin King would think if he ever saw such a mural in his castle. What she would give for a picture of that!

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