Of Hogwarts and Inheritances
Chapter 11: Sarah: Trust Me
"Are you done?" Toby whined, leaning against the wall beside the Great Hall doors, staring listlessly into space. Ginny hushed him, peeking through the doors and into the hall. She rose her wand, whispering an incantation (probably her bat-bogey hex) before grabbing Toby's hand and sprinting away. Luna followed them at a much more leisurely pace, humming softly to herself and keeping Toby's goblins company as they crashed into each other while trying to run after their young master.
A few seconds later, Ernie Macmillian ran out of the Great Hall, screaming as his bogeys, in monster form, chased him down the halls. Ginny looked smug, her eyes following the Hufflepuff while Toby just spared him a cursory glance.
"Amateur," he teased, and Ginny glared at him.
"Troublemaker," she shot back.
"Blibbering Humdinger," Luna piped up from behind them. They both turned to look at her, faces questioning. She blinked, shrugging. "I thought we were playing a game."
"Unfortunately not," Toby corrected, grinning in amusement at the strange way her brain worked. "Anyways, the carriages are going to leave soon, so we should go and get our stuff," he reminded them, heading off to the entrance to the dungeons. "I'll grab us a booth!" he exclaimed, waving goodbye as he made his way down the Viaduct. Ginny and Luna both lived in towers, so it would probably take awhile for them to get their stuff to the carriage and the train. It was decided beforehand that Toby would take the first set of carriages and grab them a seat; Merlin knows how slow girls can be.
He was just nearing the entrance to the Snake's Den when he saw Sarah waiting patiently outside it. She spotted him coming down the hallway, smiling and waving. Toby quickened his step, not liking that his sister was standing blissfully unarmed in front of the Snake's Den; he made a mental note to have Maelicious guard her for a few weeks.
"Hi Sarah," he greeted.
"Hi Toby," she replied. There was a somewhat nervous smile on her face, as if she was afraid to tell him something. So he figured he might as well ask.
"What's up?" Her face turned a little whiter.
"Well… we're going home." Toby blinked, nodding his head.
"Uh-huh. For the holidays. Didn't you get the memo?" Toby joked, grinning. The entire castle had been decorated with Christmas ornaments and other such paraphernalia. Toby was glad he had narrowly avoided stepping under a mistletoe with Ginny or Luna; that would have been awkward.
But Sarah's face just turned a bit grimmer. "And… and you know that dad and Irene are going to be home… right?"
Toby opened his mouth to reply, "Duh, of course!" but the sound died in his throat as he remembered that being magical wasn't exactly the most commonly known fact in his family. Rather, it was a secret kept sacred by the two siblings of the Williams household, whom had planned to keep said secret out of the ears of their parents until they both died. Toby never really understood why, but he had always trusted Sarah's judgement; she never lead him wrong before. Of course, Toby didn't know that the reason Sarah didn't want their parents to know why Toby had magic was because then she had to explain that he probably got them as a side-effect of her wishing him away to the Goblin King.
Yeah. Like that'd go well.
But now, Sarah had the excuse of an actual entire community of magic users to blame it on. It was no longer a liability to her credibility as a sister; however, that didn't necessarily mean the news would swing all that well with Robert and Irene Williams. It wasn't as if the two were consistently exposed to strange happenings in the house. Toby had an eerily excellent control of his magic; far more advanced than a simple, ickle firstie. But it wasn't as if Irene and Robert would know that; all they would know was that their son was a freak.
"Are they going to hate me?" Toby asked quietly, and Sarah's mouth dropped open in shock.
"No, of course they won't hate you," Sarah replied vehemently, hugging him tightly even as the doubts gnawed at her own heart. "Why would you ever think something like that? No matter what, Toby, your family will always love you. Always." She emphasized that last word by shaking him a bit in her arms, cradling his head against the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Toby gripped her shirt in his tiny fingers, hanging on like she was his last breath.
"'Kay," he mumbled. The eleven-year old pulled away, looking a little more composed. "I gotta go; need to get a compartment." He tottered towards the common room entrance, Sarah watching him, knowing he was probably still a little shaken by the revelation but comforted by the fact that even if Sarah was wrong, even if his parents hated him and were disgusted by him, at least his sister would be there to hold him up. And that was enough.
Toby paused for the slightest moment before he disappeared, turning in her direction and calling her name. "Sarah, are you going to ride on the train?" he asked, knowing the teachers usually didn't, but Sarah was different from them and would do whatever she wanted anyways. He hoped she said yes; he wanted to formally introduce her to Ginny and Luna. They had only met briefly when he was in the hospital wing.
But Sarah shook her head, looking rather pained as she did it. "I… have some last minute things I need to do," she admitted. It wasn't too out of the ordinary; Sarah wasn't the most organized person in the world. But still, the realization that she wouldn't be coming was yet another bruise to his heart, and he felt so acutely the feeling that they were drawing further apart. That she was trying to draw herself farther and farther away.
"Oh… okay. That's cool. Then I'll see you at home?" Toby replied, trying to sound nonchalant. If he was younger, he might've started crying and screaming and begging her to come with him, but Toby wasn't a little kid anymore. He was growing up, growing into maturity, and it was with this new maturity that he simply smiled and waved goodbye at her, not even giving her a chance to respond as he ducked into the Slytherin Common Room. His fellow Slyths ignored him, as usual, which suited Toby just fine as he ducked into his dorm and made a beeline for his bed, collapsing face-first onto it.
"Young master?" Sqeek spoke up uncertainly from his nightstand table. The goblin liked to sleep there for some reason, amongst his knick-knacks. "Young master, you is gonna miss the no-horsey carries."
Toby didn't reply, which made the goblins nervous, their metal clanking against each other because of their nervous movements. Instead, he rose from the bed and went about gathering his things in a slow, methodical way. And the goblins weren't sure what was worse; the wet stains on his pillow or the impassive look in his eyes.
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Hermione strolled confidently down the hallways, hugging a set of books to her chest, her bag bouncing purposefully against her hip. Harry and Ron were walking beside her, chattering on about some quidditch thing or another; she didn't really care. They were headed to the Great Hall for a late breakfast, given that neither of them planned on going home for the break.
Hermione thought back to the potion bubbling in the abandoned bathroom, pressing her lips together nervously. It was going along quite nicely, as per usual of her spectacular academic abilities, but the girl was just a little unsure about the upcoming "mission", as it were. She did not delight in breaking rules, despite her actions from both last year and this one. Not to mention the trouble they would get into if they got caught! Oh, expulsion, probably. Suspension if she was lucky.
The three of them entered the antechamber, Ron and Harry bustling ahead past her to the doors leading to the Great Hall, the smell of food wafting through their nostrils. Hermione lagged behind, and her eyes drifted over to the back of Harry's tousled, black hair. He was such an unorganized boy, she murmured in her head. Certainly he had nothing on Ron, she mused, smiling lightly, but there was something about Harry that called to the bookworm's heart. He always seemed so… lonely? No, not just lonely. Defeated? Introverted? Hermione was somewhat baffled she couldn't put a finger on it, given her extensive vocabulary. But she supposed that was to be expected. Harry was not a person described so simply; no one was, but he seemed to take the cake.
"Hermione?"
She jolted out of her thoughts, just noticing that she had stopped walking and was currently staring rather dazedly into Harry's bright green eyes. "Oh!" she exclaimed, taking hold on her bearings. "Sorry Harry, I was thinking about something."
"No, really?" Ron butted in, grinning at her. She mock-glared at him, and Harry laughed. The sound brought a smile to her face when she turned her head back to him; he needed to do that more.
"Do what more?" Harry asked, and Hermione blinked in shock as she realized she had spoken her thoughts aloud. Harry continued to stare at her, waiting for her answer. Even Ron was looking at her strangely, probably thinking something stupid like girls were weird.
Hermione opened her mouth to answer his question, when she caught sight of another green-eyed person in the Entrance Antechamber. It was the substitute Muggle Studies professor, the only muggle in the entirety of the Hogwarts Castle; Sarah Williams. Also known as the unrelentingly intelligent woman who splashed the waters of reality onto Hermione's dry eyes.
"Hello professor!" Hermione called out, catching the woman's attention. Harry and Ron both swivelled around to greet her as well, both a bit subdued in the presence of the muggle. Sarah simply nodded and smiled at them, her hands sequestered in the pockets of her denim jeans as she halted in front of them. She looked a bit stressed, but otherwise quite fine.
"Hi guys," she greeted casually. Sarah was a muggle born and raised, having lived her entire life in the muggle world, with all their technology and ideas of change. She was even more so the epitome of this fast-paced world because she had grown up in America, where liberality and informality was practised to a staggering degree. Britain, though never as conservative as their French neighbours, were – to a point – quite unchanging in their ways. (Take the queen, for instance.)
"What are you still doing here?" she asked. "The last carriages left a minute ago."
"We're staying for the hols," Ron informed her dully. Harry looked down at his feet, shuffling them nervously. Hermione watched him, a bit confused as to why he was suddenly so shy around the new professor.
"Oh! Well, I hope you have fun," she replied, her body turning to head off in another direction. She was stopped, though, by Harry's unsure voice breaking the momentary silence.
"Are you… are you staying too?" he asked, and Sarah turned to look at him. Her eyes locked with his, green against green, and she wondered why it seemed so comforting.
"Oh, well actually I just have some last minute things to do, and then I'm leaving," she replied, and he nodded a bit. The motion was jerky, almost unexpected.
"Okay."
Sarah stood awkwardly in the short distance between her and the trio of second years, wondering if someone else was going to say something. After a moment of dead air, she figured it was safe to move on, and quickly said her goodbyes and well wishes before turning and striding to the moving staircase. As she crossed the entirety of the antechamber, Sarah could still feel the acute gaze of Harry's eyes on her back.
It was gone once she turned the corner, but her thoughts remained on the trio of schoolchildren who had promptly escaped into the dining hall after her leave. She was surprised Hermione had even called out to her in the antechamber, given the last time they talked she had stormed out of the office with an increasingly confused look on her face. But the girl had seemed to have calmed down and held no grudge against Sarah for speaking her mind. Either she had decided to ignore Sarah's words altogether, or had reconciled with the truth. Either way, she seemed fairly at peace, and Sarah wasn't going to chuck a bomb right in the middle of it for any reason whatsoever.
That settled, Sarah turned her full focus to her current objective; having a firm talk with Headmaster Dumbledore about the meaning of privacy.
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Toby scratched his head, one hand gripping his suitcase as he strolled leisurely down the hall of the train. He probably shouldn't have spent so much time lollygagging in the castle; all the compartments were taken. Ginny and Luna had probably realized he had been late, so he hoped they had secured one else they'd have to share with some strangers. The only way to find out, though, was for him to find them.
"Toby!"
Or for them to find him.
"Hi Ginny!" Toby exclaimed, turning and grinning at his red-haired friend. She was glaring at him, obviously a bit ticked that he had left them to fend for themselves. He chose to keep his mouth shut about it though, because telling her girls could be such damsels-in-distresses seemed dangerous at this point. And every Gryffindor had this… thing… about being called a coward. Or a weakling.
"Oh good," Luna spoke as he meandered into the small compartment, "the nargles didn't get to you." Toby grinned, hefting his suitcase on the overhead rack.
"Nope. Just barely managed to avoid them," he replied, flopping onto the seat. His goblins had followed him in, Skuell avoiding the door slamming into him, but only barely. Sqeek scrambled up the seats, taking refuge in Luna's lap as Maelicious sat under the window. Skuell and Sneek were currently yelling at each other, as per their normal shenanigans. Ginny looked a bit pale, her fingers tightly wrapped around her little black book. Toby was tempted to ask her about it, but the look on her face stopped him. Instead, he went with a safer topic. "So what're you guys doing for the hols?"
"Daddy might take me out to go nargle hunting. Mistletoe is very abundant this time of year," Luna commented offhandedly, staring out the window with her misty-eyed expression. Ginny just shrugged.
"Probably stay home, like usual," she replied. Toby sighed a bit, slumping deeper into his seat. Luna turned to look at him, her head tilting to one side.
"What's wrong?" she asked, and he blinked at her. "You've been very restless. It's quite a change from this morning." Luna continued to stare at him inquiringly, her hands wrapped around Sqeek as he dozed in her lap. It was an odd, yet endearing sight.
"I just… Sarah just reminded me about something," he told her weakly, shifting in his seat. "You don't have to worry about it." But Luna blinked, confused.
"But I am worried. That's what friends do, right?" She turned to Ginny for clarification, and the redhead was surprised that she was being soundlessly asked. Her mouth floundered for a bit, before she settled on nodding jerkily. Luna turned back to Toby. "See? Friends are supposed to worry about each other, and Ginny and I are worried about you. Right, Ginny?" Again, Luna turned to Ginny, who flushed red this time. She nodded again, her lips pressed in a thin line.
Toby pretended not to notice Ginny's hesitance, shrugging. "It's nothing, really. Sarah just reminded me that my parents don't know… they don't know that I'm going to a magical school." The last part was said in a hurry, but it was still clearly heard by Luna and Ginny, who both had looks of shock on their face.
"They don't know you're going to Hogwarts?' Ginny asked incredulously. Toby flushed.
"They do!" he replied. "They just don't know that Hogwarts is a… magical school." There was something oddly embarrassing about what he was saying, as Toby now wished he could sink deeper into his seat when faced with the astonished expressions of his two best friends.
"How on earth did you get into Hogwarts then?" Ginny asked breathlessly, the shock obviously having an effect on her. "You need the permission of your parents to get into Hogwarts." Toby shrugged needlessly, playing with the edge of his shirt. (He had taken his robes off the moment the compartment door was locked.)
"My parents were off on vacation, and Sarah is my legal guardian when they're gone. We rung my parents, asked them for permission, they said yes, and Sarah signed the papers. That's it." Ginny still looked a bit mollified, but Luna was right back to her old self, stroking Sqeek's head as she swayed back and forth from across Toby.
"So why are you worried about them? It's a simple matter of telling them that you're a wizard and Hogwarts is a magical school you've enrolled in," Luna informed him, and Toby straightened up in his seat, his mouth opening but failing to articulate anything.
"Well, they might… I dunno…" he trailed off.
"Toby," Luna cut in, smiling her ever-dreamy smile, "I do believe the wrackspurts have gotten to you. It's so silly to think that your own parents would not accept you as you are." She rummaged in her pocket, producing an extra pair of radishes and holding them out to him. "Here, wave these around your head. The wrackspurts hate radishes; that'll drive them out for sure."
Toby took them, unsure what he was supposed to say to that, and did as Luna told him. He jangled the radishes around his head, wrinkling his nose at the smell. Ginny giggled at him, the smile livening her otherwise pale face. Toby grinned before chucking them at her, listening to her squeal. It was a trilling, happy sound that she scarce made anymore, and Toby was glad to hear it when it did arise. (He just wished it would happen more often.)
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Sarah uttered a terse, "Fizzing Whizbees" as she approached the gargoyles standing guard in front of the headmaster's office. They leapt aside swiftly for her, just barely quick enough to avoid crashing into her as she swept up the stairs at a furious pace. Her green eyes were alight with anger as she burst through the door to Dumbledore's office, not even bothering to knock or wait for his invitation. It was because of this course of action that made the two occupants in the room look up at Sarah's growling face.
"Snape," she hissed in a sort of greeting, and he stiffened, black eyes glittering down at her through his greasy hair. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, eyes twinkling and smiling benignly as his customary grandfather image required.
"Ms. Williams! To what do I owe this most enthusiastic entrance?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. Sarah dared not move from her position at the doorway, gaze locked with Snape. The both of them seemed to not want to look away, pegging it as an unspoken challenge that the one who broke the contact was the one who admitted defeat.
"I have something to speak to you about, Headmaster," Sarah replied, moving silkily into the room. She had forgone her witch's robes, as she would soon be returning home and saw no need to put them on. It was obviously a good idea, as her modern muggle clothing was putting the potions professor at a state of unease. He had obviously never seen a woman wear tight clothes before. Then again, one of Sarah's ex-boyfriends had always told her she was "sex on a stick in those boots".
"Then I suppose I shall leave you to your discussion—"
"Oh, no need, Severus," Sarah cut in, deliberately using his first name, watching his eyes widen from the shock of it, "I'd say you have a vested interest in this as well, so it would be pertinent for you to stay." Her eyes glimmered with challenge as she placed her hand on his shoulder, pushing down so he would retake his seat. His shoulder twitched beneath her touch, but he complied with a barely restrained sneer. That done, Sarah turned to the old wizard sitting behind the desk, his fingers interlocked at his chest. He was eerily calm, like always, and Sarah thought she should extend the same courtesy.
"You know, Headmaster, it's been quite enlightening living in a magical society," Sarah commented offhandedly, flicking a strand of brown hair behind her shoulder. Dumbledore smiled and tilted his head innocently.
"Oh?' he replied, and Sarah made a noise of affirmation as she nodded her head.
"Very. I didn't realize there were so many societal and cultural differences until I started living among you." Dumbledore chuckled.
"You mean aside the fact that we are, as you say, stuck in the eighteenth century?" he said. Sarah smiled at him, flashing her little canines.
"Yes, exactly," she replied. "Although honestly, I didn't realize you also had a different system involving secrets." Dumbledore raised a brow, and it was clear he knew where this was going.
"Ms. Williams—"
"I don't think you should finish that sentence, Headmaster," Sarah hissed, her hands coming to rest on his desk as she leaned forward, her green eyes intensely bright from the strain of leashing her fury. "No, I do believe it would be most pertinent for you to listen very closely." The wizard did so, his parted mouth coming to a close, the twinkle in his eyes leaving as he locked gazes with the muggle across his desk. Sarah smiled grimly.
"I am not a witch, Headmaster. I will remain non-magical for the rest of my life, I admit that. But do not ever assume, Headmaster, that I am powerless. Because that will be your last mistake."
Snape stood with a furious swish of his robes. "You would dare threaten the Headmaster?" he exclaimed furiously, his wand already out as he levelled it at her. Sarah stared boredly down at the point of his wand, raising one perfectly plucked eyebrow. He realized what he was doing and flushed red, stuffing his useless weapon back in his robes. Sarah turned back to lock eyes with Dumbledore again, who had not taken his eyes off her in the short confrontation his potions professor started.
"Ms. Williams, I have never made such assumptions," the old wizard said softly.
"Is that right?" Sarah murmured, tilting her head slightly. "Then why is it, Headmaster, that you feel it is within your rights to divulge information that is otherwise unimportant to your potions professor? To the man who has a horribly misguided hatred for my brother—"
"Lies!" Snape exclaimed, shoving Sarah away from the desk. "I treat Mr. Williams the same that I treat every other student in this school—"
"You mean beside your Slytherins? Of which Toby seems to be mysteriously exempt from?" Sarah cut back, her tone harsh and biting. Snape glared angrily at her, his face still red beneath is hair.
"That boy was to be sorted into Gryffindor the first time the Sorting Hat touched his head," Snape snarled. "It was only through your interference that the Sorting Hat changed its mind." Sarah stepped back, her face whitening. She wondered, for a moment, if the two of them knew what memories the Sorting Hat had uncovered in her head, but shook off the idea. It was a private conversation between her and the hat.
"That doesn't matter," Sarah insisted, "What matters is that there is a serious breach of trust here between myself and the Headmaster." She turned to Dumbledore, who had stayed quiet during their argument. His normally twinkling eyes were now a solemn blue.
"I do not know what to say to put your mind at ease, Ms. Williams," he admitted. Sarah crossed her arms, flexing her fingers on her arms.
"Why Snape?" she asked. "Why not Minerva, or Filius, or Hagrid? In fact, why tell anyone at all? I don't understand why this is so relevant for another person to know!" Dumbledore sighed tiredly at her words, resting his forehead on his knarled hands.
"You must understand, Ms. Williams, that you are an abnormality in this world. I am only trying to understand what makes you so," he replied.
"But why Snape?" she asked again, pointing an accusing finger at him. Snape glared at the offending body part, having gathered his wits as he stood rather menacingly in front of her. Dumbledore looked up at Sarah, and his eyes seemed apologetic but determined.
"Because I trust Severus."
Sarah's eyes narrowed. "I think you forget, Headmaster," she hissed, "that I don't." And, having reached her limit, Sarah turned on her heel and exited the room.
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Toby jumped down off the train and onto the platform, lugging his trunk. The thing was damn heavy! But he didn't complain, moving out of the way for Ginny and Luna to get through. Ginny spotted her bright-haired family almost the instant she stepped off the train, bidding goodbye to her two friends and promising to write. Luna spotted her father not long after that, standing uncertainly in a corner, fidgeting with a familiar part of angel-winged specs.
"Well, I do hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Toby. I'll be sure to owl you your gift, yes?" She asked, smiling. Toby grinned, nodding.
"Yeah, okay. I'll owl you something too. If I can find an owl…" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. Luna smiled.
"I'm sure you will, Toby. Goodbye."
"Bye." Toby waved.
Toby watched his first friend walk off, her hair bobbing slightly as she went to greet her father, who was ecstatic to have her back. He had obviously been lonely from all the time she was gone. But they were together again, which reminded him he had to find his own parents. They were obviously not on the platform, as they never even knew a nine and three quarters existed. That being established, Toby grabbed hold of his trunk and meandered over to the wall, where he slipped through and out into the main, muggle train station.
"Toby!"
Toby whirled around, eyes wide as he spotted his mom and dad down at platform nine. A bright smile overtook his face, and he dragged his trunk over there, dropping it the instant he was in arm's length to pounce into his dad's arms. "Hi dad! Hi mom!" he exclaimed, hugging them both tightly. It might be the last time they ever let him touch them…
"Oh, honey, I missed you so much!" Irene murmured, pressing kisses on his forehead when Robert finally let him go. He pretended to hate it, but was actually savouring every moment. "How was it? Do you like the school?" she asked as Robert took the antique-looking trunk, a bit confused but otherwise not asking. Toby broke out in a bright grin, nodding.
"Yeah! It's really fun, and I made a bunch of new friends!" he exclaimed. Irene and Robert smiled indulgingly, happy for him. He never had a lot of friends at his old school, mostly because of his penchant for pranks. A lot of kids shied away from him, scared that he would prank them next.
"That's wonderful, son," he replied, ruffling Toby's hair. "So where's your sister?" Toby shrugged, pressing himself into his mom's side. She was wearing her usual flowery perfume, and Toby never thought he would be so happy to smell it.
"She said she had some stuff to do," he replied. Irene sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes.
"That girl really needs to learn organization," she tsked, and Robert laughed. Toby grinned, climbing into the car as they neared it in the parking lot. Sarah was always a little disorganized, but his mom always had a habit of over-exaggerating things. Sarah said it drove her nuts for the first few years they lived together, but she got used to it quick. The two of them always had a sort of strained relationship.
"So tell us about your friends, what are they like?" Robert asked after he finished putting the trunk in the back of the car, settling into the driver's seat. They drove off from the train station, Toby chattering a mile a minute about Luna, the endearing oddball, Ginny, the spitfire, and her two brothers Gred and Forge, his fellow pranksters-in-crime. His mother had promptly jumped into a firm lecture about his jokester ways as Toby stifled his laughter, especially when his dad winked at him through the mirror.
"Now Irene, I'm sure that Toby and his two friends have been very considerate about their jokes. It's all harmless fun," he cut in, reaching over and patting his wife's hand. She 'harrumphed' when he did, turning her head to stare outside at the passing streets. Toby smiled thankfully at his dad, knowing that given the chance, his mom would've gone on forever.
"Enough about your friends then, honey, how are the teachers? Are they nice?" Irene asked with her second wind of gusto, and Toby shifted in his seat.
"They're… nice enough," he replied. "Some are nicer than others." Irene and Robert looked at each other in mild surprise. Usually, Toby would be going on and on about his teachers; which ones he liked, and which ones he didn't like. Their boy was much of a chatterbox, and the two often thought that he had stolen it from his older half-sister. Before Toby turned two, Sarah was quite chatty herself, but then it all gradually faded away, and Robert and Irene Williams found themselves looking to their youngest to fill the silence.
"Oh," Irene answered, a little stilted, "that's good." A silence fell over them, something that rarely happened while they were in Toby's presence. It was a little awkward, and Toby could feel that it was a little awkward for his parents. They weren't used to him closing his thoughts off from them. He had always been very open with his mom and dad.
"So… how was your trip?" he asked, sort of grasping at straws. Irene brightened, happy to have something to fill the silence as she went off on praises about the cruise and all the beautiful places she saw. Robert cut in every now and then, agreeing with his wife or adding a detail she forgot to note. Toby listened with one ear, tuning them out every now and then as he looked out the window, wondering if Sarah was finished with her last minute errands.
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Sarah landed on the front step of her door with a jarring thud, glad that Minerva had a steel grip on her arm through the side-along. After her meeting (if one can call it that) with the Headmaster, Sarah had asked the Transfiguration professor if she could apparate her back to her home. Obviously, the witch had agreed.
"Thank you, Minerva. I really appreciate this," Sarah said to the older woman wearing something straight out of an eighteenth century history book. Minerva inclined her head.
"It was no trouble, Ms. Williams. However, I do believe it would be best to link the floo network to your fireplace. No doubt it will be easier for you to travel to and from your home." Sarah smiled at the suggestion, nodding her head. She wasn't sure how her dad and Irene would take that, their fireplace bursting in green flames before someone appeared out of them, but she supposed that topic could be breached after the… ah… confession.
"That would be great," she replied. Minerva folded her hands together as she prepared to disapparate.
"I will speak with the Ministry sometime over the holidays. We should have it up and running before you start your classes. Happy Christmas, Ms. Williams," Minerva bid her. Sarah stepped back to allow the woman space to disappear, nodding her head in thanks.
"Happy Christmas Minerva," she replied as there was an audible 'pop' signifying the Headmistress's leaving. She stared for awhile at the empty air, before shivering slightly from the cold and turning to the door. It was wooden, probably made from pine and polished to perfection. Fairly standard, she supposed; fairly normal.
'What the hell are you saying, Sarah?' she thought to herself, shaking her head to rid the thoughts. It had no relevance to what she was going to have to do later tonight, so she should stop stalling and dilly-dallying and just open the door to greet her family. That was the first step. Re-establish your position in the family. That way, she had influence and power that she could exert while dealing with the consequences of Toby's coming-out.
"Great, I'm planning damage control before there's even damage to control," Sarah muttered under her breath to the biting cold breeze. "I swear, if I didn't live through the stupid Labyrinth, I'd think I was insane." That said, Sarah unlocked the front door, stepping into the lit foyer, where there were a few Christmas decorations hung up. The TV was on in the living room, and pots and pans were banging around in the kitchen. From both rooms, heads peeked out to see who had come home.
"Sarah!" Toby exclaimed, escaping out of the living room to barrel into her, smiling widely. Sarah smiled, patting his head.
"Hey Toby," she greeted, before looking up to smile at her dad and Irene. "Hi guys." The two of them smiled from their respective rooms, leisurely making their way out into the foyer to greet her with hugs as she tugged off all her outerwear.
"How was your day, sweetie?" her dad asked, grinning at her as she hung up her coat, shrugging.
"It was okay. A little long, but not too bad," Sarah replied, the family of four making their way to the living room. There was tension in the air that Sarah could sense. It wasn't powerful, in fact it would have merely seemed "off" to any other person; but Sarah wasn't exactly just 'any other person'. She looked down to Toby, who was mysteriously clinging to her side, but looking no worse for wear. In fact, he was chattering a mile a minute about what she missed while she was gone.
"And mom's making chicken pot pie for dinner, and dad and me are settin' up the tree in the living room," Toby said as Sarah tuned in. She hummed at his ramblings, to show she was listening (sort of) and stepped into the living room where, in fact, Robert Williams was hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree. The smell of fresh pine invaded her nose, and Sarah smiled. Her dad never liked the fake trees; "it has to be real, or its no deal!" he'd tell her when she was young, and Sarah always remembered her mom rolled her eyes behind his back, and she would giggle—
"And dad and I, Toby. I thought we talked about the language thing," Sarah informed him almost on instinct, grinning. Toby pouted up at her.
"Yeah, but you say that about the sw—mmph!" Toby's mouth was summarily covered as Robert's back was turned, and his older sister gave him a very pointed look. He rolled his eyes as her hand backed away. "I mean, yes Sarah, I'm sorry. I'm just really excited!" He gave a little jolt and balanced back on the balls of his heels, his eyes grinning up at her although his face looked otherwise innocent. Sarah rolled her eyes, a reciprocated gesture, as she ruffled his hair.
There was a little 'ding' that went off in the kitchen, and then Irene's voice filtered into the living room. "Dinner's ready!" she sing-songed, and Toby gave a shout and bounced into the other room. Sarah chuckled when she heard Irene lecturing him about running in the house, turning to her dad when she felt his hand on her shoulder. He was smiling softly down at her, running a hand through her long brown hair.
"You seem different," he told her, and Sarah gave him a weird look. He chuckled, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "Well honey, you've always been different from kids your age, but this kind is more… universal. This different I've seen in other people before, but this differentness has always been different for every person."
"Dad, are you going senile?" Sarah asked, her question answering itself when he started to laugh big, hearty laughs and swept by her into the kitchen. Sarah just sighed, wondered about the Williams' and their apparent crazy genetics, and followed her father. Dinner was waiting, after all. And Sarah could anticipate that with some amount of glee, but it inevitably meant that dinner would end, and the post-dinner talk in the living room would come next. And that was where the evening would take an unpredictable turn.
But she tried not to think on it too much, reaching for a slice of chicken pot pie and snagging a few pieces of toast. Toby was trying to pick out the vegetables in the pie, until Sarah and Irene both turned their withering glares on him and he reluctantly stuffed a green pea in his mouth. Robert stifled a chuckle when they both nodded in satisfaction and then turned back to their own meals, wondering how they managed to do that every time. He felt sorry for his son.
"So how was work, Sarah?" Irene asked offhandedly, spearing a piece of chicken. Sarah froze in her clink-clinking sound of her fork brushing across the plate, feeling Toby stiffen up beside her but resolutely stuff another green pea into his mouth. Neither Robert nor Irene seemed to notice how the tension rose just a little bit, and Sarah forced herself to calm down and act normal. The two of them didn't know… yet. It wasn't like they had superpowers and could read her mind; they were just making idle chitchat. Stop. Freaking. Out.
Taking a slow, silent breath, Sarah lifted her head and smiled amiably. "It was okay. I had a slight disagreement with my boss, but otherwise it was fine." Irene blinked as she took a sip of her water, her eyebrows coming down in disparagement. Sarah squared her shoulders for a lecture, knowing that look and knowing what came from it.
"Really, Sarah, you need to stop antagonizing all your employers. This is why you don't have a steady job," Irene rambled, looking down to scoop up some veggies with her fork. Sarah's hand twitched, but she maintained an otherwise steady grip on her fork. Irene was just worried about her, hence the lecturing; don't let your pride get the better of you, Sarah.
"In my defence," Sarah replied lightly, "my last boss was sexually harassing me, so I say that his black eye was quite justified." Robert and Irene looked up sharply from their plates, and Sarah twitched again when she realized she was trying to keep that a secret.
"What?" Robert exclaimed, shooting out of his chair. Irene had a hand on her chest, and her face was pale.
"N-now, dad, it's old news—" Sarah tried to reassure him.
"Not to me it isn't!" he interrupted, running a hand through his thinning grey hair. "This… this is more than news. Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was incredulous, his gaze penetrating but still vacant, as if trying to reconcile with the surrealism of his daughter being sexually harassed. She just shrugged helplessly, unsure of what to say that would reassure him.
"It… never came up?" Sarah tried a little fruitlessly, watching him pace the length of the kitchen. Irene stood up, a little wobbly but otherwise fine as she collected her plate and her husband's.
"Shall we discuss this in the living room?" she asked, depositing the two plates on the counter, fully aware of Toby's inquisitive ears. "You can keep eating, dear," Irene told him, and he looked confused at the topic of conversation and reluctant to relinquish his dinner. He gave Sarah a searching look, but went back to his dinner like a good boy. Sarah just left her food on the table, sighing as she followed her dad and Irene into the other room. She hoped Toby wouldn't eavesdrop; sex and all its related topics were things she didn't want to discuss with him until he was at least thirteen.
"It's honestly not a big deal anymore," Sarah said fervently, sitting on an armchair. Robert and Irene occupied the sofa, both looking a smite angry. "I kicked his perverted butt to the curb and quit; that's all there was to it." They still looked unsatisfied, and Sarah sighed as she waited for the lecture.
"That still doesn't explain why you felt you had to keep it from us. We could have helped!" Irene insisted.
"I would've beat his head in with a baseball bat! Damn Brits can stop shoving their damn stuffy noses in my face and scoffing at the all-American sport," he ranted, quieting when his wife placed a placating hand on his arm. Irene opened her mouth to start again, but Sarah sighed frustratingly and held out a hand to stop them. The sexual harassment was old frickin' news! She had something waay more important to address.
"Toby, can you come in here please?" Sarah called into the kitchen, rubbing her fingers against the bride of her nose. "Irene, dad, can we please drop this issue? Toby and I have something a bit more… important to talk to you about." Robert reared up in his seat.
"More important than my baby girl being harassed by some… some… brat?" he exclaimed, and Sarah sent him one of her withering glares. He turned a little red, but sat back down and allowed his wife to pat his back comfortingly. She didn't look like she liked the change of conversation either, but could see the gravity of the subject change. This was important to the both of them, if Toby's face was anything to go by when he entered the living room.
"Yeah?" he asked, and Sarah gave him an apologetic but very pointed look. He shifted, uncomfortable, before walking over and hopping onto her armrest. His stare was on his hands, twisting nervously in his lap. Irene wanted to reach out and stroke his hair to comfort him, but Sarah started speaking before she could, catching her attention.
"So, you know how Toby's going to this super secret boarding school?" Sarah asked, and the two of them nodded.
"Hogwarts, right? A strange name for a school," Irene mused, settling into her husband's shoulder. They seemed a bit more relaxed at the mention of the topic, but Sarah was sure they wouldn't stay that way for long. She took a deep breath, and Toby tensed.
"Well, it's not really an… ordinary school…"
...
...
...
"That went well," Toby commented offhandedly, sitting on his sister's bed as she brushed her hair at her vanity. She paused in her brush strokes, turning to look at him with exasperation.
"Dad fainted," Sarah replied dryly. "And Irene was so white I thought for a minute she stopped breathing." Toby shrugged.
"I meant it went well in that I didn't get thrown into a loony bin," he corrected. "I thought that when they saw my school trunk, they were gonna cart me off to a quack." Sarah rolled her eyes, smiling in amusement.
"They probably thought your books were just really good stage props or something," Sarah mused, setting her brush down and turning to face her little brother. "It's a good thing your magic didn't set off that weird Trace thing. I thought for sure I'd have to deal with some stuffy old… magical police officers or something." Sarah made a face at that, shuddering. Toby chortled with laughter.
"Seriously, what is it with you and police officers? You always have a bone to pick with them," he told her. Sarah shrugged.
"Not just police officers. I have an issue with authority figures in general, I guess. They've always tickled me the wrong way." Then again, it could be that her greatest example of an authority figure was a certain Goblin King in sinfully seductive tights and a penchant for making her heart beat a wee bit faster than normal. Her impression of him wasn't the greatest ten years ago, and it's only gotten marginally better after nine years of frequent social calls.
"Anyways, it's late and time for you to head to bed," Sarah said, shooing him out of her room and ignoring his protests and whines. "We have to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and send your gifts to Luna and Ginny, remember?" His protests stopped there, and he obediently entered his room, bidding her a whispered goodnight. Their parents had decided to retire early, in light of the… ah… informative and exciting day.
Closing the door behind her, Sarah took a deep breath and looked in the direction of the full length mirror hanging on her wall. She was all dolled up for bed in her slinky tank top and pyjama bottoms, complete with fuzzy slippers, but squared her shoulders and grabbed a little blue gift box on her dresser. It was in the shape of a simple little cube with a bright sparkly red bow on the top. She cradled it against her front, touching the mirror gently and whispering, "Labyrinth, I need you," before pushing through, feeling the ripples of the mirror lap against her bare arms. She shivered at the sensation.
"Sarah?"
(She shivered at the sound of his voice, too.)
Sarah cracked her eyes open, smiling awkwardly at the Goblin King. "Hi Goblin—" she started, only to realize that said Goblin King was just a little bit underdressed and squeaked, turning around. Her eyes only had a glimpse of the feast that was the Fay's bare skin, but it was enough of a temptation for her to wish to see more. However, Sarah's will was nothing but ironclad, and her eyes remained firmly shut, her back resolutely turned. "I'm sorry! I should have told you I was coming sooner and perhaps knocked. But really, it's quite hard to knock when I don't have a door to knock at and now I'm starting to sound like this is all your fault instead of mine, which it is, my fault that is, so maybe I should stop talking—" she babbled, her voice freezing when she heard Jareth's low, throaty chuckle.
"Good evening to you as well, precious," he purred from behind her, and Sarah's breath hitched when she felt the faintest of touches on the back of her bare neck. Damn it. She should've worn a sweater. "What brings you to my Labyrinth at such a late hour?" His voice was practically dripping with insinuation and made Sarah blush furiously. She was normally not this virginal, not so affected by amorous advances but there was something about the Goblin King… something that set him apart. Sarah figured it was because he was a Fay. Yep. He was a Fay, which made him a human temptation of sin and sex and so forth irresistible to all humans especially regarding the latter rather than the former.
Translation: DO. NOT. FALL. (In lust, that is. Never in love. That would be absurd. Fay don't love. And neither do Sarah Williamses. Fall in love with Fay, that is. Or lust.)
"I, ah, wanted to give you this." Spinning quickly, partly to catch him off guard and partly because if she didn't she'd lose her nerve, Sarah thrust the little package into his hands, trying not to remember the silky smoothness of them against her own. "It's your Christmas present!" she squeaked, determinedly not looking at his face. Jareth observed it carefully, turning the box this way and that.
"Christmas? You mean that human holiday where gifts are exchanged and trees are brought into homes and decorated with curious little baubles?" he asked, his voice clearly fascinated. Jareth had never gotten a chance to inquire about anything verily human, given his interaction with humans often consisted of "You stole my baby!" and "I hate you!"
"Yeah, basically… in not so many words…" Sarah replied, stifling her smile. It was such an alien way of looking at Christmas that it made Sarah smile. Then again, the grin that spread over the Goblin King's face might've done it too. A smile for a smile, or some such thing.
"May I?" he asked, and Sarah was about to tell him he had to wait for Christmas. But the look of glee on his face made her change her mind, and she gestured for him to go ahead. He popped the lid of the gift box off, reaching instead to bring out a silver watch wrapped around a tiny blue cushion. "A watch?" he asked, a little befuddled. Sarah blushed lightly, shrugging.
"Well I know that time sort of passes differently in the Labyrinth," she said, twiddling with her thumbs, "so I thought maybe you'd like something to keep track of the human world too." Something warm spread through Jareth's chest, making him smile and conveniently forget to mention that he could use his magic to summon a human clock. Instead, Jareth strapped the watch to his bare wrist, his leather gloves tossed away somewhere in his room.
"Thank you, Sarah," he said sincerely, making her look up with surprised eyes. "It's beautiful." Sarah blushed, but smiled back at him, and it made his heat pound in his chest. He reached out, grazing his bare fingertips through her hair, leaving sparks on her skin. "It is late, precious, and you should get to bed," he told her. Already, he could see her eyes drooping a little.
"Oh, right," Sarah yawned, rubbing her eyes. She smiled up at Jareth, the expression dazzling and heartfelt and overall just very… Sarah. "I guess I'll see you in a few days Goblin King," she said, turning back to head through the mirror. Sarah was stopped momentarily, however, but a cool hand on her forearm and soft breaths on her neck. It made goosebumps rise on her flesh, but she dared not move, shivering in the feel of his bare hand against her bare skin.
"Please, Sarah," Jareth murmured, his tongue rolling deliciously on her name, like always. "Call me Jareth; I believe we have known each other long enough to be on a more… familiar basis." Sarah tried not to tremble, but it was hard when the Goblin King—Jareth was making her feel things that she never felt before. But she would never admit that; no way, not in this lifetime.
"A-alright, Jareth," Sarah stuttered, flushing red before escaping through the mirror. Jareth's touch still lingered on her skin, like a brand, like scorching fire. She clutched at it, feeling it throb and burn under her cooler hand. The mirror was still active behind her, it always took a few seconds for the connection to sever, and Sarah turned her head over her shoulder to look through it, to the Goblin King staring right back at her.
"M-merry Christmas, Jareth," she whispered to him. There was a smouldering look in his eyes as he replied.
"Merry Christmas, Sarah."
A/N Yeah, I'm bad I know. Three months is a while to wait for one update, buut I will say that I felt it was appropriate for a Christmas chapter to be released near Christmas. Even though I don't really feel like this chapter was very Christmas-y... thoughts?
In other news, I has a Tumblr. :3
musingsofasnowflake,tumblr,com (replace commas with periods)
If you get a chance, drop by and read all the random things happening in my life. I update sporadically and when I feel like it, just so you know. Sort of like how I update fanfiction. Heehee!
And who watched Deathly Hallows? Was it not amazingness? It was surprisingly funny; I didn't expect it to be funny. And as an avid Pumpkineer/HHr fan, SQUEEEE! DANCING SCENE! 8D
Snowflake Flower