Chapter 10 – Flitwick Intervenes
Sarah was pleased with her first week of classes at Hogwarts. She and Charity had encouraged some lively discussions with the students, many of whom had never experienced any of the culture outside of the wizarding world.
The only annoyance during the week had been with the fifth year class on Thursday. That session was full after the Headmaster's encouragement of student participation for OWL's, including several who were Muggle-born and able to contribute to the topic discussions. One was an intellectual girl named Hermione Granger who was apparently one of the better students in the school, even though she was in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw. The other was the boy Charity had mentioned in the teacher's lounge; Harry Potter who Sarah found to be a quiet and self-effacing boy. Those two were accompanied by a redheaded boy named Ron who seemed to find the class more entertaining than educational.
After class, she had remained behind to put away some of the materials when she heard some scuffling outside the room. Heading out, she found a blonde-haired boy and two larger dark haired boys facing Hermione, Harry and Ron. There were books and papers scattered around Harry and the blond boy was saying something about Mudbloods in a distinctly sneering tone.
In her coldest tone, Sarah quickly intervened. "Is there a problem here?"
The blonde boy appeared startled at her presence but then relaxed when he saw who it was, his face returning to the sneer it had held before. "Nothing with which you need to be concerned" he answered rudely.
Looking at the colors of his tie, she said quietly "Five points from Slytherin for disrespect to a member of the staff. What is your name young man?"
"Draco Malfoy." He said the name with another sneer as if it should impress her.
She looked at the two larger boys and raised an eyebrow. When they didn't catch on, she repeated the question to each of them, learning they were Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe and noting they also wore Slytherin ties.
"Please be so kind as to give me your definition of a Mudblood, Mr. Malfoy"
His temper rose as he spat out "Someone born to Muggles possessing magic."
"As opposed to someone born to a wizarding family?" At the boy's curt nod, Sarah added "I would imagine that the person's magic would have to be very strong to materialize in an otherwise non-magical family. That alone should encourage forbearance."
"What do you know? You have no magic at all and are only assisting a Muggle class!"
"Ten points from Slytherin for cheek, Mr. Malfoy. I encourage you to review the rules regarding how the Hogwarts staff is to be treated."
To her surprise, the blonde boy began drawing his wand out of his robe as his face convulsed in fury. As he did, the three from her class began drawing their wands, immediately followed by the Goyle and Crabbe doing the same.
Her eyes narrowed as she began dropping into a defensive posture, ready to disarm whoever actually cast a spell. She wasn't surprised to see Broul appear from the shadows, heading towards Draco Malfoy, but was astonished when Tilly appeared before her, glaring at the Malfoy.
"No one is allowed to harm the Lady" she said in her high-pitched voice. "Perhaps the young sirs and miss will keep their hands in sight?"
The sight of a house elf appearing and speaking that way caused all of the children to freeze in shock momentarily and even Broul paused at the edge of the shadows. Sarah took advantage of their surprise saying in her coldest voice "Every wand I see will cost the bearer 50 house points. I strongly encourage each of you to continue to either your next class or your dormitory."
Draco stared first at the house elf and then at Sarah, before spinning on his heels and stalking away without another word. Goyle and Crabbe hurriedly followed.
Sarah raised an eyebrow at the other three. "I'm sorry Miss Williams; we didn't expect them to act that way towards a staff member." Harry bent and gathered his books and papers.
"House feuds have no place in the hallways" Sarah said quietly. "Or is this personal?"
"Malfoy and his cronies have had it in for Harry since his first year" the red-haired boy burst out.
"Ron" Harry warned quietly. "Enough."
Hermione was staring fixedly at Tilly. "I've never seen a house elf appear during an altercation."
Tilly turned her large eyes to the brown-haired girl. "The young sir was speaking rudely to the Lady and had his hand on his wand. That is not permitted." Her squeaky voice was surprisingly firm.
"Thank you Tilly, I'm fine." Sarah patted the little shoulder softly and gave the house elf a reassuring smile. With a large smile and bow at Sarah, the house elf snapped her fingers and disappeared.
As Harry stood with his books and papers, Sarah said quietly "If there is an on-going problem, you don't have to deal with it alone. Sometimes just talking to a member of the staff can help identify alternatives." Harry met her eyes and then dropped his, but nodded briefly.
"On your way then" Sarah said briskly. She watched the teens move out of sight and then headed to the teacher's lounge.
Charity looked up and smiled as she entered. "Oh there you are, Sarah. I wondered what had happened to you."
"A minor squabble between three Slytherins and three Gryffindors" Sarah replied. Both Professors McGonagall and Snape looked up, each with a frown.
"I had to take first five points, and then another ten from a youngster named Draco Malfoy. I think he was actually considering drawing his wand on me." Charity gasped and the other professors looked at Sarah in shock.
"I didn't say he did. Only that he put his hand in his pocket and seemed to be drawing it, which caused the other students to reach for theirs. Nothing came of it, but mostly because the house elf assigned to my room made an appearance." If the first comment had caused shock, the second seemed to render her small audience speechless. "She asked the young sirs and misses to please keep their hands in sight."
Headmaster Dumbledore was the first to respond. His normally twinkling eyes were cautious. "I imagine the students were surprised" he said mildly.
"No more than I was, but their astonishment allowed me to threaten to deduct 50 points for every wand I saw, and the situation was quickly defused." She looked at the Headmaster inquisitively. "This hasn't happened before, has it?"
"No my dear, the house elves are usually more reticent." His eyes began twinkling again.
The room became oppressive with power as the Headmaster spoke and then with a large crack, the Goblin King appeared in the lounge, his expression furious. All but Professor Flitwick immediately drew and pointed their wands at the intruder, but Dumbledore sharply commanded "no one take any offensive action".
To Sarah's surprise, the little charms professor dropped to one knee and gasped "Your Majesty!"
The tall Fae's expression changed from furious to an amused smirk. "It is pleasant to see that even diluted goblin blood recognizes its king".
Sarah narrowed her eyes at Jareth. "No one wished for you, Your Majesty. How and why are you here?"
"Sarah Sarah Sarah. You wished for me to talk with you for 30 minutes, but since you left after 17 minutes, we still have 13 remaining." He smiled at the kneeling charms professor. "I am sure Professor Flitwick appreciates me visiting."
In a choked voice, Flitwick immediately responded "Your Majesty is always welcome."
Sarah tried to control her anger and took a deep breath. Looking around the room at the curious teachers still holding their wands, she clipped out "Will your Majesty join me for a walk in the garden?"
Jareth smirked, delighted with her barely controlled anger. "Of course, precious." He offered her his arm, which she ignored.
She remained quiet, until they were out of the school and on to the garden path. "What do you want here, Your Majesty?"
"Jareth."
She glanced at him briefly as she continued stalking towards the garden's center. "Excuse me?"
"I prefer that you call me Jareth, rather than 'Your Majesty'."
"Very well Jareth, why are you here and what do you want?"
"I'm here because you called me, Sarah and then that delightful Professor Flicker.."
"Professor Flitwick."
"Yes, of course. Professor Flitwick just gave me an unrestricted welcome at Hogwarts."
Sarah stopped and glared at him. "If I weren't here, would you care if you had an unrestrained welcome at Hogwarts?"
"You do make the school much more appealing, my dear."
"Jareth, what do you want with me? Am I some type of on-going challenge because I successfully completed the Labyrinth? Do you feel the need to compete with me? Do you need to beat me at a contest? If so, let's play a game of chess, you can trounce me and be done with it."
His voice was silky as he purred "While I admit that competing with you is enjoyable, what I want is much more than that Sarah." He stepped closer, his body brushing hers.
Sarah refused to be intimidated or take a step back, but snapped out "Why?"
The question appeared to surprise him. She realized he probably expected her to ask what, not why. Slowly, he responded "Because you fascinate me. Because you challenge me. Because you defy me. Because I find you beautiful and beguiling. Being immortal leads to boredom. When something new and challenging appears, it fascinates and captivates the imagination. You have captivated me, precious thing."
Sarah sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You don't even know me."
"That is my goal, Sarah. To know you, all of you." He smirked as he lifted his hand to her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.
She frowned at the double entendre. "Jareth, I don't like how you go about things. I don't like being bullied or feeling that I can't trust you. And I can't trust you. You will deceive and trick me whenever you can and you will enjoy it."
His amused smile was his only response.
"So why would I want to spend time with someone who I can't trust? Why would I want a friendship or any other relationship with someone who admits to being deceitful, manipulative and devious? I like being able to have faith in my friends; being able to depend on them, to count on them."
"And yet you trust the manipulative Headmaster and the Slytherin Housemaster? At least I will never lie to you, Sarah."
She refused to be distracted, but paused to consider his words. "You won't lie to me?" He shook his head. "But you have no reluctance to deceive or manipulate?" His lips twitched in a smirk, but he didn't answer.
"Jareth…" She looked up at him curiously. "Do you have authority over the house elves?"
He smiled in approval at her realization. "They are distant cousins to goblins, but are as different from those Underground as the Gringotts goblins are."
"The Lady is not to be harmed?" He appeared to be fascinated with one of the flowering bushes and didn't reply.
"And Grep and Broul? Did you send them to me?"
"I thought you enjoyed their company, Sarah?"
"I do. They're sweethearts. Even if they eat or destroy some things, they seem to only go after the inexpensive items. I do care for them." Her face softened with affection for the two little goblins.
"Then I will not recall them if you are pleased with their company." His eyes took a distant quality as if he was listening to something. He nodded briefly. Stepping to a rose bush, he selected a bud and brushed his hand over it. It shimmered briefly and he handed it to her. "I must go, Sarah, I am being summoned." He lifted her unresisting hand and gently caressed her fingers with his lips. He stepped back and with a loud crack, disappeared from her sight.
She looked at the rose he had given her. The individual petals were a deep red, the blossom atop a green stem, but the gift was now made of crystal. She lifted it to look at it more closely and was amazed that she could still smell the soft rose scent.
She sighed and shook her head. He was infuriating, deceitful and manipulative and yet was also sweet, thoughtful and protective. What was she supposed to do with him?
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As the door closed behind Sarah and Jareth, Professor Flitwick gasped as if just recognizing the need to breathe. Slowly, he rose up from where he had knelt in deference to the Fae Goblin King. He drew another trembling breath and looked up at Dumbledore with regret.
"My sincere apologies, Headmaster. I had only heard a whisper of there being a Goblin monarch, but when I saw him, something inside of me immediately recognized him and screamed "sovereign" to me. And any goblin blood in my family is over four generations in the past."
Dumbledore looked at the contrite Charms professor compassionately. "Fully understandable, my boy. Something tells me that if you hadn't been here, he would have found another way to gain access in the 13 minutes he had remaining."
Charity Burbage looked at the Headmaster apprehensively. "Headmaster, who was that man? And what does he want with Sarah? I will not tolerate anyone mistreating her. And how did he apparate into Hogwarts?"
The last comment had been on everyone's mind and the other professors expressed their unease, their voices rising in shock and concern. Dumbledore raised his hands and obtained quiet. "That man is known as Jareth. He is the King of the Goblins, including those that manage Gringotts bank. He is Fae, extremely powerful, and apparently his powers are not bound by the same rules as our own. I do not believe he will harm anyone in Hogwarts that does not first attack him or Miss Williams. Anything else would be for Miss Williams to discuss. I will not presume to interfere in her personal life."
Professor Snape snorted loudly while Minerva McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the elderly wizard.
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