Title: Certain Magic
Author: Watoshimi Kairou
Fandom: Harry Potter, Labyrinth
Characters: Jareth / Sarah Williams, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Toby Williams
Rating: Mature
Status: Complete - Unpublished
Summary: Toby Williams is attending Hogwarts and he's about to bring with him fairy tales even the Wizarding World didn't think existed.
So, if anyone's interested, I'm currently looking for one or two alpha / beta-readers for this story. I'm hoping to find someone to correct my grammar issues and maybe even point out possible plotline inconsistencies or something.
I wasn't actually on planning to look for a beta because I tend to stress over a story if I actually have one; not want to keep them waiting I end up forcing myself into a schedule which just ends up draining the motivation and desire I have for writing the story. Because of this, I decided to keep this super casual. That means, if you're my beta, there's a possibility you will have to wait anywhere from a week to months for the next chapter. As readers of this story, you already know how spontaneous my updates are.
Certain Powers
[11] Shadowland
"It doesn't matter how many cleaning charms I use on her," Pomfrey ranted, obviously at her wit's end. "The smell is not going away. In fact, I swear it's just getting worst! It's even leaking out of my containment charms! Dolores needs to be isolated, Albus; she is stinking up my entire hospital wing."
Sarah nodded in agreement, trying her best not to breathe. Harry, she had noticed, who had almost been completely recovered was not looking rather green. "Maybe you should try things the normal way and give her a bath?" she wondered. Despite its name, Sarah was positive there was a way to get ride of the bog's stench. After all, her goblin companions returned to her smelling perfectly fine despite them whining about how they got bogged by their king.
They stared at her.
Sarah blinked. "Muggle. I mean the Muggle way." She nodded in satisfaction and wondered if wizards took showers. They didn't do everything with magic, did they? That's a bit disturbing.
"We'll place her in quarantine, then," Dumbledore said with an almost tired sigh. He waved his hand, levitating Dolores from her hospital bed and floating her through what appeared to be a solid wall and into an usually sealed room of the hospital wing. He turned around and frowned, casting a couple cleaning and air-freshening charms but they didn't seem to do all that much. "Did you see anything out of the ordinary when she appeared?" he finally asked, turning back to Sarah.
She blinked wide, innocent, green eyes at him. "No, I don't think so. She sort of took me by surprise."
Probably like how her appearance took them all by surprise, Severus thought.
Dumbledore hummed.
"If that's all," Sarah continued. "I would really like to return to my room now." After all, her job here was done and she really didn't want to remain another second in the hospital wing smelling fresh bog, thank you very much.
"Actually," Dumbledore said. "I've been meaning to talk to you, Miss Williams. Now would be the best time, I think, since your brother will be in class for a while yet."
She paused at that. "Really?" she asked, surprised, having believed that the headmaster would be avoiding her for a while yet. She guessed curiosity overrode everything else. "All right, then."
After making sure Harry was not going to die from a lack of fresh air or something equally as pathetic, Dumbledore lead them out of the hospital wing and towards his office. Sarah followed closely, not wanting to get left behind; Deebie had disappeared the same time the other goblins did, chased away by the smell of the bog. The last thing Sarah needed was to get lost without her usual guide inside an enchanted castle that had moving staircases. She wondered briefly at the dark-haired professor trailing behind them. Was he Dumbledore's right-hand man or something? Vice headmaster? Wait, wasn't the lady professor from before that had showed them Diagon Alley his vice headmaster?
They stopped in front of a stone gargoyle and Sarah watched with large eyes as Dumbledore said what must have been a password before it leaped to the side, allowing them entrance. Strangely, it reminded her of the red and blue door guards back in the Labyrinth; annoying little buggers they were until she had stepped through one of the doors they were guarding and feel straight into the oubliette. It was only then did she realize how dangerous they were. Mentally shaking herself from her memories, Sarah blinked and followed the headmaster cautiously but was unable to stop herself from pausing to stare at the gargoyle.
It stared back.
Then winked.
Shuddering even though Sarah was sure she made that last part up, she turned her attention back to the winding staircase and moved to follow Dumbledore again.
"Well then," the aged headmaster cheerfully said as he made himself comfortable behind his desk. The dark-haired professor took what appeared to be his usual position and stood behind Dumbledore, hidden slightly in the shadows and stared down at Sarah with dark eyes.
For a moment, Sarah was reminded of the time she got in trouble with Toby's school principle because she had ordered her goblins to throw a local high schooler into a lake after finding out he had bullied her brother. She had no idea he was said principle's son, otherwise she would have threw them both into the lake. They obviously weren't able to prove it was her, but Sarah wasn't used to getting in trouble with authority figures. Despite her outward calm, she had been downright nervous during the interrogation.
It was a good thing she had grown up since then.
"Yesterday," Dumbledore began, his tone low and smooth, reflecting the seriousness of his next words. "Arthur Weasley, a father of your brother's friend was bitten by a snake. While Severus here was able to come up with a working anti-venom, it can only do so much. The venom has been stalled but the damage has already been done." He paused and interlocked his fingers together out in front of him. "I am hoping that you will allow Mister Williams to go to the Weasley's house and see if his healing affinity can work on him."
Sarah blinked slowly as if letting the severity of Albus' words register for a moment. Despite her smooth expression, Severus could sense her annoyance. "This is your idea of a talk?" she asked, her voice low. "You're asking me to allow Toby to god knows where so he can use some kind of healing magic he doesn't even have completely control over? Healing magic that you apparently don't even completely understand yet? Without," she bit out, her voice rising in volume with her increasing annoyance and anger, "even having the decency to explain yesterday's situation to me first?!"
Albus smiled. "I understand your hesitance, Miss—"
"The hell you do!" she snapped, glaring at him.
Albus shifted and faltered at her obvious anger.
Sarah felt Deebie's sudden appearance somewhere in her hair and immediately felt small, prickly claws running through her scalp in an attempt to calm her. She exhaled deeply. Of course Sarah knew exactly what had happened yesterday, her goblins had made sure of that. But Dumbledore was taking extremely great care to avoid the subject. He didn't want her to know what happened. But why? Was it because he was afraid she would pull Toby out of Hogwarts? Was he in need of his healing abilities? Sarah breathed out slowly, sudden realization weighing down like a ball of steel in her stomach. Wasn't the wizarding world on the brick of a civil war or something?
Manipulative old bastard, Sarah thought angrily. She wanted to stand up and start yelling but instead, she took another deep, calming breath to compose herself.
"You know," she began with a bright smile. "I'm an author. I actually have this character just like you." Manipulative. Scheming. Telling people only what he thinks they should know in order to further their own interests. What were Dumbledore's interests, she wondered. She knew with magic and potions, the school already had its means of healing wounded students. So, why in the world did a headmaster of a school need Toby's advance healing abilities?
"Oh?" Albus asked, hesitantly.
Sarah's unamused stare did not falter. "yes, and I killed him off in my third installment."
Albus blinked.
Severus felt his lips twitched despite himself.
Sarah crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. Her gaze hardened at the seriousness of her next words. "Toby is going no where except maybe home until you tell me exactly what happened. I want to know what's going on and why you need him."
Albus stared at her for a moment, then his own gaze hardened, abandoning his usual grandfatherly persona. He was now Albus Dumbledore, currently one of the most powerful wizards alive, the defeater of Grindelwald. Sarah shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Severus wondered if perhaps, she finally realized that she had bitten off more than she could chew. He watched as she swallowed and adjusted herself but she stared back steadily, refusing to back down.
She would have been sorted into Gryffindor, Severus thought disgustingly.
"Miss Williams," Dumbledore said in a tone that told Severus his eyes weren't twinkling. "You are not part of this world."
Sarah smiled. All lips and no eyes. "And neither will Toby be if you keep this up."
They stared at her. She was serious.
"All right," Albus finally said with a deep sigh. "You have cornered me."
Severus highly doubted that, he had a feeling that Albus already knew he wouldn't be able to intimidate Ms. Williams into doing what he wants. The best he could do was make it so she thinks she's in control of the situation.
Albus sighed almost dramatically as he leaned back in his chair, looking rather defeated. "As you know, your brother's world is at the brick of war. I have done my best to ensure the students do not get involved but the Wizarding World is a small place; even if one is not directly involved, their parents, their friends, someone they know most likely is."
Sarah frowned. "Are you involved in this... War?"
"No more so than anyone else," Albus answered carefully. "The Dark Lord has been terrorizing the Wizarding World for more than two decades; for a world as small as ours, his presence is more terrifying than you realize." He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. "Fourteen years ago, he attacked Harry Potter but Harry managed to survive." He paused for a moment, allowing Sarah to take everything in before continuing. "And because of this, Harry is a figure, an icon, an inspiration. Followers of the Dark Lord are working to get rid of Harry because of what he represents. It is very likely that he was... attacked yesterday."
"Attacked?" Sarah asked, surprised. Her goblins hadn't mentioned that. But then again, even her goblins didn't know everything; they only know what they are able to observe. "How was he attacked? I thought Hogwarts was supposed to be safe?" Basilisks and escaped criminals aside, she had deemed Hogwarts safe enough for her brother to attend. Just as long as her goblins accompanied him, of course. And now she's learning that the wizard behind all the conflict was targeting someone inside the school. Someone Toby's friends with?
"You must understand," Albus said, attempting to sooth her. "I have no desire to involve students—especially one as young as your brother—however, his healing abilities are an asset; I cannot deny that. I would rather involve a young student than allow people to die, especially if it could have been prevented."
Sarah raised her eyebrows, wondering if he realized that he had practically told her he was more involved in this war than he had led her to believe earlier. "And this... this Arthur Weasley is involved in the war?"
"Of sorts," Dumbledore allowed, wincing. "Unfortunately, he was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time." And that much was true.
Sarah paused. Dumbledore, despite his attempts at manipulating her, seemed to have good intentions. And while she didn't give a damn about his intentions if the safety of Toby was called into question, she could understand where he was coming from; she didn't want anyone to die either. And Toby, being much more kind-hearted and sensitive than she was, would be completely heartbroken if he knew someone died when he could have prevented it. Especially if it was the father of one of his friends.
Not that he told her about any friend of his named Weasley, she thought suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. And Toby told her everything.
"Fine," she finally allowed. "I'll give you my permission. But only if I can go with Toby." She didn't care how many rules Dumbledore had to break in order to ensure that she could stay with her brother. Sarah wasn't about to let Toby heal someone who was most likely more than a little involved in the war by himself.
"That's perfectly fine," Dumbledore agreed, smiling. "I had expected such a condition, anyway."
They fell silent after that, Sarah wondering if Dumbledore was going to further explain his plans for her brother but it was the dark-haired professor that spoke up next. "Ms. Williams, how did you recover from a diffuse axonal injury?"
Albus blinked, confused but did not say anything, believing that the Potions Master had a reason behind his question.
Sarah met Severus' dark gaze warily. "Toby, probably," she said, although her tone lacked any conviction.
Severus raised an eyebrow, gracing her with his usual "You dunderhead." stare that had Sarah squirming in her seat, feeling like she was being scolded by her mother. "I doubt it," he countered. "You were in America during that time, were you not? And your brother in Muggle London?"
Albus' eyebrows shot upwards at this but he remained silent. He may not always agree with Severus' methods of gathering information but even he could deny that one way or another, Severus always got what he wanted to know. And Sarah... Sarah was a mystery he wanted to solve as soon as possible so he could concentrate on more important things like Tobias Williams' powers.
Toby, you little shit! Sarah thought, tensing. Her mouth thinned as she realized she probably wouldn't be able to lie her way through this one. From their expressions, Sarah was pretty sure they suspected that she was the one that had healed herself. And while that simply wasn't true, Sarah would rather they think that then know what really had happened.
"House elves are serving creatures," Kathie had said. And her tone had been so matter-of-fact, Sarah was still cringing at the memory. She didn't need Toby's letters to know that Kathie was a good person. But that same good person was talking about the enslavement of an entire species of creatures—possibly Underground creatures—like it was a given fact. She might as well have said something along the lines of, "Oh, the sky is blue."
"Then it wasn't Toby," Sarah said with a shrug. "But I don't really remember what happened. My memory of the accident is still fuzzy." As far as excuses went, hers was rather weak, but she smiled and looked the professor dead in the eyes anyway, daring him to contradict her.
Severus paused, bringing a finger up to his lips and tracing it. For a moment, Sarah felt herself faltering, fearing that he really was going to call her out on her obvious lie. But he didn't. "Are you a witch, Ms. Williams?" he asked instead.
Albus blinked. Well, he thought distantly. Get straight to the point, why don't you?
Eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise, it took a moment for Sarah to collect herself. "Definitely not," she responded with a roll of her eyes.
"But you know magic," Severus countered. "Even long before Albus had introduced Mister Williams to the Wizarding World."
Sarah stared at him. She had suspected before but know she was fairly positive that this was a man she probably wouldn't be able to lie to, even more so than the aged, experienced headmaster. However, this was the first time she felt that there was probably more to this man than just him being a professor. Like how there was more to Albus Dumbledore than his headmaster duties. But observant or not, she wasn't about to betray her goblins just because these people were curious. Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape may be good manipulators, but so was she.
She clenched her jaw and broke eye contact, glaring unseeingly at the desk in front of her before sighing. "Well," she began. "I'm a novelist, I write fantasy novels for a living and despite the genre, I actually do a lot of research for my books. Mythology, legends, things like that." She paused, eyelashes fluttering rapidly as if to emphasis her innocence. "Some of my research may have been more... hands-on than others. And I may have encountered a few... things."
Albus' eyebrows shot upwards.
Sarah looked at Severus. "But I'm not a witch. And I most certainly do not have—"
But what no one knew is that the king of goblins had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her certain powers...
"—magic."
She hoped. After all, everything that had happened, from her healing to her appearance into Hogwarts, they were done by her goblins, weren't they?
But her goblins... her goblins were here. With her. They followed her around and called her Lady. Why?
Feeling rather nauseous because she knew she was on the brick of discovering something even though she would rather not think any further on the subject; Sarah wanted nothing more than to leave the suddenly too-bright office. "Can I leave now?" she asked, glancing up at a clock that seemed to show everything but time. "Toby has a long break before his third class and I promised to meet him before then."
Albus smiled, less reluctant now that he had figured out the mystery behind Sarah Williams. "Of course, Miss Williams. I'm glad we've reached a level of understand. I do apologize for keeping you."
Sarah stared at him for a moment, not too impressed with his quick change of attitude once he got what he wanted. He was like a kid throwing a temper tantrum' she should know, she was that kid.
And while Albus remained oblivious to her thoughts, Severus could tell she didn't particularly cared that they had "reached a level of understanding." As she finally nodded and moved up from her seat, he noticed her hair rippling in the oddest way as if something was scurrying through it before disappearing down into her fashion scarf. He blinked and it was gone.
Sarah paused just as she reached the double doors and hesitated. "Right," she said, turning back around to face them. "Since I'm not really hiding my knowledge about magic anymore, I feel like I should tell you something."
They waited.
"I'm actually pretty attune to magic," she admitted, even though she knew she was highly undermining her abilities. "And while I may not know much about the wards of this school, I can feel that there's something wrong with them. There's something... evil in this school." She frowned, then corrected herself. "Well, evil probably isn't the right word. Malicious, sort of," she said, trying again. "Something that's upsetting the natural balance of this castle's environment. I can feel it lurking in the shadows."
For reasons he cannot explain, Severus felt his stomach seize up at her words but next to him, Albus only smiled reassuringly. "Sarah," he said, soothingly. "I can assure you that both you and your brother are quite safe in Hogwarts. Nothing can get in without my knowledge."
Except for her apparently, Albus remembered but did not say out loud.
Sarah raised her eyebrows, managing to look even more unimpressed than before. She thought about her goblins—and could even hear Deebie giggling in amusement—but had a feeling that Albus was thinking about her own appearance. Perhaps he had felt that in the wards but she knew for certain he didn't feel anything when it came to her goblins. "You really shouldn't overestimate yourself," Sarah advised. "It's going to be your downfall." After all, she had played this game before.
"So, the Labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it? Well let's see how you deal with this little slice."
Without waiting for a response, Sarah merely shook her head and left, closing the door quietly behind her. Severus stared at the closed doors, mind whirling as minuscule threads of thoughts began to piece together. Everything was slowly coming together now and Severus wasn't sure he liked the direction it was hinting towards.
Even the shadows work for me," the Dark Lord had said.
Voldemort had never been one to talk in imagery so his words had stood out to Severus when he had first heard them. He didn't know what to think of them but now...
Now...
"I can feel it lurking in the shadows."
Certainly, it could have been a coincidence but Severus didn't believe in coincidences and Sarah Williams was hiding much more than what she had revealed to them. Albus may have believed her but he was more concerned about Tobias Williams' summoning and banishing powers than he was about anything else. It was quite obvious that he had gladly grabbed onto the pathetic explanation Ms. Williams had to offer. Severus, on the other hand, knew a fool when he saw one and Sarah Williams was no such fool.
She said she was a novelist; she spun words for a living. "I can feel it in the air," or "I can feel its presence." There were so many other ways she could have phrased that but she chose "shadows" for a reason."
"Even the shadows work for me."
Severus inhaled slowly. He knew dark magic and shadow magic was the darkest of all. But it was also forgotten magic—lost magic. Was it possible? Certainly he knew that the Dark Lord was much more intelligent than people usually give him credit for but could he have actually mastered the long forgotten magic of death?
"Severus?" Albus questioned, because he knew that look. Severus was onto something and whatever it was, he really, really didn't like it.
He merely shook his head. "It's nothing," he said, his voice a distracted whisper. At least he hoped it was nothing. He really wanted it to be nothing. "I... I need to do some research first."
"Hogwarts!" Jareth cried.
Hoggle poked his head into the room. "What?!" he snapped, trying to shake a baby goblin from chewing his shoe off.
"No, not you," Jareth said, waving him away before turning back to Cahan to rant. "What the hell is Sarah doing at Hogwarts? That magic school. That human magic school! The development of her magic is beginning to accelerate, isn't it?" Forget Rainbow Forest, Appledore Falls was back and running the last time he checked, Sarah had already moved onto the Southern Falls. He gasped in horror at his next thought. "They don't think she has human magic, do they?"
Cahan only stared at him, slightly distracted as he wondered if Jareth had the pitiful—and rather ugly—dwarf answer to everything but his own name. He blinked. "I'm not exactly sure," he answered slowly. "I told my imps to observe a bit more before reporting back to me. But you know how they are: they want to impress me so much, they come with information the second they hear them." Which, of course, meant incomplete information and Cahan ends up being the one that has to deal with the consequences. He gave Jareth a funny look. "Couldn't you have gone and checked it out yourself?"
Jareth immediately snarled at him in response, eyes flashing. "Since Sarah's there right now, I most certainly cannot!" He had tried earlier only to find that the closer he flew to Hogwarts, the more nauseous he became. Thank goodness he knew what it meant before it was too late or he would have found himself stripped of all his magic.
Ah, Cahan thought, feeling rather sorry for himself for bringing the subject up. He had forgotten about the whole banishment thing.
Fortunately, before Jareth could go on another rant about being banished from his beloved Champion's presence, the air in the throne room shimmered, making both faes sit up. As no one in their right minds would even think about appearing in Jareth's throne room without warning (Cahan had learned that particular the hard way), it could only mean it was one of Cahan's elves.
Mahilgo, if Cahan were to guessed.
And then, after a particularly almost-violent shudder of the air, the dark-skinned she-elf appeared in front of them. Cahan felt his lips twitch upwards just the slightest bit as he took in how tightly Mahilgo's hands were clasped in front of her. She was one of his more powerful elves and it amused him to see that Jareth's presence had her so scared, she couldn't appear in the room with her usual silent, unnoticeable approach. Especially since he knew exactly how pathetic Jareth really was.
Still throwing temper tantrums because of his Champion.
"Your Majesty," she greeted, eyes darting up to Jareth and Cahan couldn't hold back a snicker as she visibly swallowed. "K-King of Dreams."
Jareth stared at her for a moment, blinked, and then, deeming her presence unimportant, proceeded to ignore her. Pouting slightly now that he wouldn't get his chance to rant, he swung a leg over the armrest of his chair and made himself comfortable.
"Mahilgo," Cahan greeted distractedly, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he eyed the Goblin King. This was the fae most of the residents of the Underground was afraid of? "Your sudden presence is rather unexpected. Is something wrong?" He sat up suddenly and narrowed his eyes. "Is it my wife?"
"Her Majesty is fine," Mahilgo immediately soothed. She cleared her throat and fell back into her usual calm demeanor although Cahan could see her eyes darting fearfully up to Jareth's still-pouting form every once in a while. "It's an Above Elf, Your Majesty, she is requesting an immediate audience with you."
Immediate audience, Cahan thought. Must be important. But then he remembered and fell back into his chair, drooping with disappointment. He could almost understand Jareth's desire to pout at the moment. Above elves, he mimicked in disgust. I swear, if I get incomplete information again... Instead, he turned back to Mahilgo. "All right," he said, nodding his consent. "Summon her."
She nodded slowly but made no move to summon the imp in question. Instead, her eyes darted up to Jareth once again. She took a deep, shuddering breath and addressed him carefully. "King of Dreams, if I may..." Her usual musical voice sounded squeaky in her fear.
Jareth startled, blinking rapidly in confusion for a moment before finally turning to look at Mahilgo. "What?" he asked. It was rather obvious he hadn't been paying the least bit attention to the conversation. With a nonchalant shrug, he waved his hand in a distracted manner. "Tra-la-la," he finally said which had both Cahan and Mahilgo squinting at him wondering what he meant by that.
It must be some version of approval, Cahan decided before shifting his gaze back to Mahilgo who had not moved. He raised an eyebrow, still waiting.
Nothing.
"Oh, goodness!" Cahan snapped, reaching out to grab an unsuspecting Jareth by one pointed ear. "There's no reason fro you to be so afraid, Mahilgo! I'm telling you, he's quite pathetic! Look!"
Mahilgo looked. But it was obvious by her eyes, which were getting wider and wider by the second, that she didn't believe her king. Which would have annoyed Cahan—because his word was law, thank you very much—except he currently too distracted by his pathetic excuse of a friend to feel anything else.
As if confirming Cahan's thoughts, Jareth childishly swatted Cahan's hand away with his riding crop. "Stop that!" he snapped. With an annoyed huff, he swung his legs back over the armrest to its rightful position, lounging in such a lazy manner, Cahan had to fight back a shudder. "Well?" he demanded, probably still pouting.
This is the King of Dreams, Cahan had to remind himself. The Nightwalker. The one fae that everyone is afraid of. The only one with the ability to go up against the Shadowwalker and live to tell the tale. He squinted, trying to combine two images of two vastly different men together. This was, he was disappointed to admit, the same fae that threw a temper tantrum whenever the subject of him being banished from his Champion's presence was brought up.
"It's an Above Elf," Mahilgo repeated. "She is requesting an immediate audience with My Lord."
Jareth blinked. "Did she really?" he asked. Above Elves were not exactly known for their forcefulness but then again he has never really seen them interact with anyone besides Cahan. "Must be urgent."
Cahan rolled his eyes. "They always seem urgent," he mumbled under his breath.
"King of Dreams," Mahilgo continued, ignoring her own lord for a moment. "If I may..."
It was Jareth's throne room, after all. Although, Cahan had a feeling Mahilgo would still ask him for permission even if they were occupying the his throne room.
"Yes, yes," Jareth agreed, waving his hand again.
Mahilgo bowed, lowering her head in respect as she stepped back. The air in front of her shuddered as she did so and both Cahan and Jareth watched—rather disinterestedly—as an Above Elf appeared with a loud crack. The sound vibrated across the room and Cahan winced, wondering if the Above Elf was just that nervous or if she was just that weak.
Unsurprising, he thought. They weren't true elves, anyway...
She was a small, trembling thing, staring up at Cahan in awe with her large, bulging eyes. "Your Majesty!" she squealed and then promptly burst into overly dramatic tears that had Jareth staring at her in utter confusion.
"Is she..." he trailed off.
"Fine!" Cahan grumbled even as the Above Elf began pulling at her large ears, twisting them in her excitement.
"I is meeting His Majesty!" the Above Elf cried, sobbing in happiness. Her large bat-like ears flopped around as she blew her nose quite loudly into the dirty tea towel she was wearing. "Dippy not worthy," she moaned. "Not worthy!"
Jareth blinked and then snorted in amusement. While he certainly complained about his goblins quite a lot, there was no contest between them and Cahan's Above Elves. By nature, faes were mischievous beings; they delighted in the discomfort of others so he really wasn't sure how Cahan's magic managed to produce such pathetic, butt-kissing, starry-eyed creatures.
"Stop it." Cahan snapped. "That's enough, imp."
Jareth rolled his eyes; Cahan didn't like to call them "elves."
Inhaling sharply, the elf did exactly as Cahan had ordered and stopped. Jareth suspected the poor thing had even stopped breathing just to obey her king.
"Just tell me the news," Cahan continued, his tone tight with annoyance.
"Oh yes, Majesty! Yes! Of course! At once!" The small she-elf quivered. "Majesty be wanting news about the Lady and the Lady's brother. Dippy now bringing news about the Lady!"
Jareth sat up at that. "You're a Hogwart's elf," he realized. He could almost smack himself for not coming to that realization earlier. Cahan's elves had manage to integrate themselves into the very root of the magical world Aboveground; it was the main reason why Jareth had enlisted his help after realizing Little Jareth had human magic. Faes, despite being as powerful as they are, are also ruled by a strict set of laws and limitations.
And the most damning of them all, of course, was that they cannot enter human dwellings without an invitation. Usually, Jareth didn't have this problem as the simple action of dreaming was an invitation on its own. Unfortunately, the sheer number of magical humans that drank dream-blocking potions and erected wards and barriers preventing dream walking—honestly!But Cahan...
Now Cahan...
The human world welcomed his elves with open arms; they invited them into their homes, tempting them with promises of family and love, not knowing that upon doing so, they have also accepted their King. And while it never really mattered before, Jareth and Cahan often joked about the stupidity of the Wizarding World.
Abusing Underground creatures; using them for their own needs, to further their greed. And for what?
Unknowingly giving faes the ultimate power over their sad, little human world?
Pathetic.
"Yes, Kingy!" the elf said, responding to Jareth's earlier statement. "Dippy serves Hogwarts! Dippy now reporting Lady now in Hogwarts!"
"Yes, yes," Jareth said, drumming his fingers against his armrest impatiently. "I know that already. What I want to know is why she's in Hogwarts."
Ears flapping, the elf shrunk back into herself before answering. "Elves obey His Majesty," she said, her voice dropping into a low whisper. "Elves keeps eyes on Lady's brother. But Lady's brother already has protection!"
"Squeak told me," Jareth agreed. He sighed happily; Sarah ordering his goblins about. Just like a true queen.
Cahan poked him, snapping him out of his thoughts as the small elf continued, "But Lady's brother got hurt and called for Lady." She waves her hand dramatically into the air. "And Lady appears."
Jareth and Cahan exchanged alarmed glances. "Toby was the one that summoned Sarah?" Jareth asked. "Not my goblins?"
Dippy shook her head. "Oh no! Lady summoned herself! Lady and Lady's brother share powerful ancient link. If Lady's brother calls, link knows! And Lady comes."
"What ancient, powerful link?" Jareth demanded. "I didn't sense anything when I was with him." Actually, that wasn't completely true. There were times when Jareth could sense just the slightest sliver of non-human magic radiating from the boy but he had thought that was just residue magic from his time Underground. Underground magic clings and it didn't help since Jareth had fed him some Underground food during his hours here.
Not that he really wanted to, of course, but Little Jareth was a spoiled babe. He cried all the time; only singing and dancing had shut him up. But then he got hungry and even singing and dancing didn't work. Jareth almost wanted to wish the child away himself and he would have too, if his Sarah wasn't the runner then.
But now... ancient, powerful link...
Non-human magic...
If his magic was related to Sarah's...
Sarah didn't have human magic.
But neither did she have fae magic. At least not in the traditional sense.
"You're the only one who had been in her presence recently," Jareth said, turning towards Cahan. "Sarah doesn't have fae magic."
"Not fae magic as we know it," Cahan agreed, nodding his head. "But her magic is still... developing—growing, more like—it certainly feels familiar. But I cannot place it." He paused, thinking. "Still. She has the ability to breathe life, so I'm not particularly surprised that her brand of magic precedes our own."
"Shadow magic!" the elf interrupted, her voice a high-pitched squeaked. She gasped in horror at her own audacity and then proceeded to smack her head on the ground as self-punishment.
"Stop that!" Cahan ordered, annoyance roughening his usually smooth tone. He exhaled sharply to calm himself. "What do you mean?"
"Recently, Hogwarts is not safe," Dippy said, voice dropping, once again, into a low whisper as if she was afraid of being overheard. "Not to professors, not to students, not to elves! Witches and wizards not know but House Elves can feel it! We has fae magic and we can feel the dark shadows watching." She crawled closer to them, her voice dropping even lower. "But when Lady appears," she continued, raising her thin arms high above her head, "all shadows get chased away!"
"The shadows," Cahan repeated after a moment, requiring time to actually take in this new revelation. "Are you absolutely certain?"
"Oh yes, Majesty," she answered, bobbing her head. "We sense shadows in Hogwarts more and more. We House Elves be afraid something will happen and Hogwarts be closing."
Jareth narrowed his eyes? The Shadowwalker watching Hogwarts?
"I think he has finally chosen a side."
"What?" Jareth asked.
"Part of the Wizarding World has been in conflict for a while now. And if he's watching one of the most illustrious school—the one school that is smack in the middle of this conflict—then I think he has chosen a side to help." He looked at Jareth. "And that can only mean one thing."
Jareth scowled. "He's going to try and wipe them out."
Before Sarah, the human Wizarding World was the Underground's main source of nourishment especially in this modern era. Even if they didn't particularly know of their existence, their knowledge of basic fae magic was enough to keep them going. But the Wizarding World has been dwindling down in numbers in the recent centuries. To destroy them would have destroyed the Underground...
...before Sarah.
But now... Sarah's belief—Sarah's lone belief—was enough to keep them going. Wiping out the Wizarding World would not hinder their comeback. It was, Jareth realize with a slight trickle of fear, even more important now than ever before that the Shadowwalker absolutely does not learn of Sarah's existence. But if they were occupying the same building...
Jareth groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He wouldn't be able to do anything about it, unfortunately, but Cahan...
Cahan had elves at the school. At the very least they could keep an eye on Sarah even if they didn't stand a chance against the Shadowwalker if he chose to attack. Not that he could, Jareth mused. Directly, at least. While the Shadowwalker wasn't a fae, he was similarly limited by a strict set of laws and couldn't just go around killing whoever he wanted to. But that also meant someone from the Wizarding World had invited him, possibly on purpose but most likely by accident.
"Have the shadows noticed the Lady yet?" Jareth asked.
Dippy blinked. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "Lady's presence chases shadows away. Lady comes, shadow go!"
He groaned. "Oh, hell," he said, mind still thinking of Sarah and her safety. If Sarah chasing the Shadowwalker's shadows away was anything like her banishment on him then there was no way the Shadowwalker hadn't noticed.
"That doesn't even make sense!" Cahan said. "She can't just... banish Death." He paused at his own thought for a moment before turning to stare at Jareth in an awe sort of confusion. "She's not actually immune to death, is she?"
Jareth blinked again. "I don't know," he finally answered, returning Cahan's confusion. "Is that actually possible?"
Where there is life, there must also be death.
Severus paused, single eyebrow raising in disbelief as he turned the cover of the thick book over to make sure he didn't pick out some melodramatic novel by mistake.
Shadowland, the title read. And in much smaller calligraphy, The Book on the Shadowrealm, Shadow Magic, and Death Itself. Written by Fin Bheara.
Well, no such luck then. He sighed, rubbing the left side of his temple in order to prepare himself for the oncoming melodramatic prose. Honestly. He was here for facts and theories. Not literature. With a sharp huff, he made himself comfortable, flipped the thick book back open and began reading.
Where there is life, there must also be death.
Our world is governed by a sort of balance our feeble human minds cannot fully comprehend. Humans have a tendency of categorizing everything: where there is light, there must also be darkness, where there is good, there must also be evil, where there is love, there must also be hate, and where their is life, there must also be death.
However, true balance is much more complicated than that and categorization of such forces only simplifies our understanding of our own world. True balance is where light is darkness, where good is evil, where love is hate, and where life is death.
It wasn't an awful start, Severus allowed. But it also wasn't exactly what he was looking for, which was rather disappointing seeing that Shadowland was one of the few texts of shadow magic still in existence. But what could he expect from an author he had never heard of before? With another sigh, he flipped the page which opened up to the first... chapter which, of course, had Severus wondering yet again if he had picked up a badly written novel by mistake.
I. Death as an Entity
My name is Fin Bheara and I have been seeing Death for as long as I can remember.
I was a sickly child and would have died if not for the magical advantages of my father's world and the scientific, technological advantages of my mother's. But Death is not a fan of such advantages, you see; in her eyes—
Severus blinked. Her? From his experiences, death and destruction was almost always associated with males while life and creation with females. But then again, the author was claiming that he had seen Death. Severus supposed that it was reason enough to switch everything up.
—in her eyes life is a cycle: you live, you die, the world moves on. To try and deny any aspect of this cycle is to deny balance and to deny balance is to destroy the very framework that holds our world together. And Death is one of the keepers of such a balance.
My parents' attempts at keeping me alive only served to disrupt this balance, which in turn caught the attention of Death herself. I still remember that as a young boy, when it gets dark, when the shadows would begin to creep along the walls of my room, I could sometimes catch sight of her. Cloaked in the darkest ob black with ashy-white complexion, the only color about her was the bright green of her sunken eyes.
And later on, when I am at my sickest, these eyes will come to me and whisper sweet words into my ears, lulling me to sleep, to rest, and to never wake up. I learn fairly quickly to associate the color green—the color of summer leaves, of lush grass, of life—with her. With Death.
Dear readers, don't let your human view of this world make assumptions about the greater powers that walk our earth with us. Have you ever wondered about the different colors behind the magic we are so proud of? Why healing spells are usually blue in color and protective spells white? Why harming spells red and general spells have no color at all? Tell me, dear readers, what is the only one spell that is associated with the color green?
Sorry for the late update; I was stuck on this chapter like you wouldn't believe. Trying to incorporate hints into this chapter that foreshadows future revelations without trying to make it too obvious is not as easy as it seems. So of course I had to throw in a couple red herrings which only managed to confuse me and that required me combing through my notes. Which isn't exactly as organized as I like.