Mina smiled as she saw her mother Sarah dance with one of the guests. The fact that he was a vampire did not seem to bother her in the least. Lucius smirked. "She is amusing herself, isn't she?" He commented, pointing in their direction with his wineglass in hand. Mina chuckled. "Yes, she is having a wonderful time. As am I. Thank you again for letting me invite her."

"You're welcome, you're welcome. Now, I want a dance as well." Lucius said smoothly, finishing his wine and setting the glass down before he took her hand in his. Mina smiled shyly and gladly allowed Lucius to twirl her around, to the rhythm of the music.

She was having the time of her life. Lucius kept his word and organized a ball as promised. Sarah was very happy to accept the invite, but she had declined Lucius's offer to give her money to go shopping. Despite the fact that her dress was a bit older, she looked stunning. She was wearing a deep purple dress that reached her ankles and left her shoulders bare. Ignoring her signature color, Mina went with a green dress, covered in little silver embellishments, to portray the Slyhterin colors. Her high heels were green and silver as well and to top it off, she wore the necklace that Lucius gifted her for her birthday. Clint wasn't present, he declined the offer since the crowd would be too big for his comfort. Narcissa wasn't present either, which made both Mina and Lucius rather happy.

Lucius and Mina finished their dance and Lucius picked up another glass of wine. He stood there, wand in hand and ready to tap his glass, so that he could make a toast and make the announcement.

Suddenly all the lamps and candles started to flicker, while a cold wind blew through the room. All the light dimmed to a minimum and the guests looked at each other with panicked faces. Lucius didn't know what to do so he looked at his staff for help. But they were just as shocked as he was. Mina frowned and waved her wand, turning the lights and the candles back on. As she did, they saw that there was a new figure standing in front of the fire place. A figure that hadn't been there before.

The figure threw off his cloak, glitter-like dust falling to the ground as he did. He narrowed his mismatched eyes at the crowd, that murmured about who he was and why he was here. A smirk played around his lips, basking in this awkward glory. Lucius suddenly recognized him.

"Jareth? From the Underground? The Goblin king? In my home!" He panted, very impressed.

"Lucius Malfoy." Jareth answered, tilting his head to take a good and condescending look at his host.

"How are you this fine evening?" He continued and extended a gloved hand, to shake the hand of Lucius.

Lucius eagerly accepted and cupped Jareth's hand in his own as he shook it. "Wonderful to see you, I have been wanting to invite you to one of my soiree's for some time now, but how does one send an owl to the Underground, right?" He asked the other with a nervous chuckle.

"I am not here by invitation, Lucius. I am here to…" Jareth answered, but was interrupted by Sarah, who was slowly walking towards them now.

"Jareth?! How…I…"

"Hello Sarah. Long time, no see."

Lucius seemed angered, impressed and extremely confused by the fact that the plain muggle Sarah knew someone as important as the Goblin King.

"That's it? You leave me for years after all that we have been through and you tell me 'Long time, no see?'" Sarah asked him, raising her voice as his casual words sparked her anger. Lucius got nervous, he did not like that his guests saw this display.

"Miss Harper…I mean…Sarah…" He started to say but changed his mind when Sarah glared at him for not using her first name like she told him to. "May I suggest that we enjoy our evening now and talk later? Once the guests leave?" Lucius continued, keeping his voice as silent as he could. Mina was just fidgeting with her hands, not sure what was going on exactly.

"What are you doing here, Sarah? With him?" Jareth asked her, ignoring both her words, as those of Lucius. Mina was surprised by his arrogance and also very intrigued. "We're not together, if that's what you think. But even if we were, it would be none of your business." Sarah answered him haughtily, also ignoring Lucius's question.

Jareth smirked, as if that fact pleased him. He extended his hand to Sarah and looked at her intently. As if she was hypnotized, she grabbed his and they started to dance. Exactly at that moment, the music had started up again, although the style of the music was very different than what they heard before. When Mina glanced at the musicians, she saw that they were not playing their instruments. The other guests started to talk amongst themselves again, as some joined the pair in a dance, unbothered by the question where the music came from. The crisis seemed averted for now and Lucius sighed in relief. He turned to Mina, to see if she could maybe tell him more.

"Duckling, do you know who he is? Or why your mother knows him?" He quietly asked her, leading her to the buffet, so the other guests wouldn't overhear them.

"No, I have no idea, she never told me about him." Mina answered, still looking at them wide-eyed. "But at the same time, he feels so familiar." She mused and poured herself a big glass of wine before taking a few big gulps.

"Tsk, tsk, duckling, not too much wine." Lucius chastised her, making her roll her eyes at him. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?" He asked her as he rose his brow. His voice still sounded delicate as always but the undertone was definitely one of a warning kind. Mina felt her knees get weak and she bit her lip. "No, sir." She said in a raspy voice and kissed his cheek.

Sarah and Jareth kept dancing and dancing, until the first guests started to leave. Soon the other guests followed their example and the manor was empty once more, except for Lucius, Mina, Sarah and Jareth. Lucius led them towards his study, so the staff would not hear their conversation.

"Mina, you are as beautiful as your mother." Jareth commented once Lucius closed the door behind them, smiling at her warmly. Mina eyed him unsure. "I eh…thank you. H-How do you know me?" She asked him in a small voice.

"Yes, Sarah, how do I know Mina?" Jareth asked the young woman, a sardonic smile playing around his lips. Sarah glared at him.

"How dare you." She asked him, her voice a mere whisper as the anger kept her from forming anything coherent.

"I am sure I don't know what you mean…" He said lazily and inspected the bookcase in the corner of Lucius's study.

Sarah shook her head and bit her lip to keep her anger inside. Mina tilted her head. "Mom? Please tell me what's going on?" Sarah looked at Mina and began to cry heavily. Mina was shocked and quickly grabbed her mom into a hug.

The cold demeanour that Jareth had melted when he saw Sarah's tears and a flash of pain and guilt was seen on his face. "Sarah…I.." He started but Sarah did not let him finish.

"No! You don't do this! You left me with her for all those years, after everything we shared and now you just waltz back into her life, into MY life and expect us all to bow to your will?! Fuck you!" She yelled at him a shrill voice and Mina gasped when her mom said the last part. She had known Sarah to be poised and in control of the situation. Jareth seemed as shocked as Mina.

"Why don't we all calm down, perhaps you'd like to move this into the living room, so we can sit down, Sarah?" Lucius asked her, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. Mina was surprised by how gentle and attentive he was being. An ugly thought rose that she could not quite turn away. What if he is only doing this because of Jareth? Because he wants to make a good first impression?

"No, thank you, I'm sorry for…" Sarah answered and bowed her head in shame. "Tsk, tsk, not at all." Lucius tsked and gave her a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

"I won't let you tell her, I won't." Sarah whispered to Jareth. "She has to know, Sarah." He replied, his eyes turning a little compelling as he frowned. Sarah sighed and turned to Mina.

"Mina, would you please sit down? I-I have to tell you something." She finally said and Mina nodded but didn't actually sit down. Lucius grabbed her hand and gently sat her down in his favourite chair, near the fireplace. Again Mina wondered why he was doing this. But what Sarah wanted to tell her had her full attention.

"Mina, I love you and…" Sarah started but soon cried again. "I have not been honest about…Clint is not…" She started sentence after sentence but was not able to finish any of them. Jareth cleared his throat.

"I can tell her with your approval, Sarah."

"Yes, please." Sarah replied and hid her face in the handkerchief. By now Mina was a wreck, all possible scenario's going through her head.

"Is Clint sick?" She asked Jareth in a trembling voice. Jareth gently caressed her cheek as he sat with her, on an armrest of the chair she sat in. "No, sweetling, your brother is just fine. Except that…he is not your full brother. You do not share the same father because…Mina..I am your father."

"You're my…father? But what about Bill?" The girl asked breathlessly. By now Sarah calmed down a little and took a deep breath.

"Bill is Clint's father. I got pregnant when I was 17 and felt forced to stay with him. Jareth appeared one night and…you were conceived." Sarah explained, her cheeks pink with shame. "After that Jareth and I did not see each other again and it seemed wiser to pretend you were fathered by Bill as well. I didn't want to make things more complicated after the divorce, so I didn't tell you then either. I am so sorry for lying to you, Mina."

"Why did you leave us?" Mina asked, frowning at Jareth. She wasn't upset with her mother, she was upset with the fae for impregnating her mother and then just disappearing from their lives. Jareth stood up and started to pace around.

"Your mother wished for my presence. Things between her and that scumbag were bad and she wanted out. I came when I was called but a crisis in the Underground demanded my attention after that. When I wanted to return I found out that I was unable to. Your mother told Bill that you were his and that kept me from visiting either of you. It was magic I had no control over." He explained.

He seemed genuinely upset over this fact and looked at Sarah with a disapproving look. "Why, Sarah? Why did you tell him that? She was mine!"

Sarah was upset as well, she had no idea what consequences her words had. "I-I couldn't explain to him that we…he would have beaten her out of me." She said and again bowed her head in shame.

"Wait…then how come you were able to visit now?" Mina asked, wondering what had lifted the magical constraint.

Jareth swallowed hard before answering. "He died. In his sleep, last night. And with him no longer around, the magical boundary was lifted. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this. I am sure Clint will be upset."

"We should tell him…oh no, he'll hate me even more…" Sarah thought out loud but Mina took her hand. "Mom, I'll tell him, it will be okay. I'm not mad at you either." Sarah sighed in relief and hugged Mina tightly. "You are such a good girl." She whispered as she nuzzled her daughter's hair.

Until now Lucius kept quiet, giving the family the room to sort this out. Now he felt the need to interject. "Forgive me, perhaps you'd like to find yourself a room to get comfortable? Sarah is already a guest here for the next few days, maybe you'd like to stay as well and get settled in?" He asked the Goblin king with obvious hope in his voice.

"Yes, thank you, Lucius, that would be wonderful." Jareth stated and gave Lucius a small bow of gratitude.

Sarah let go of Mina and wiped away the last tears. "Come on, I will show you to the room." She mumbled and led him out of the study.

"Well, this sure was unexpected. Are you quite alright, duckling?" He asked Mina and chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, it's just so weird…Clint not being my full brother…I hope it won't hurt him too much." Mina mused, but it was like Lucius never heard her.

"Wait till the wizard community hears this! The daughter of the Goblin king! The heir of the Goblin king! That will show them!" He rambled on, laughing like a madman, almost.

"I thought we had to keep it hush-hush?" Mina asked him, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yes, well, that was before I knew this! Now it doesn't matter if they'll know, you're no longer muggleborn, are you? You're royalty!" Lucius asked happily and got up from his seat. "I'll go and alert the staff that we have an extra guest tonight!"

Mina stared at him, not responding to what he just said. She felt her heart break but kept up her fake smile.

"Yes, please do. Wonderful." Lucius missed the venomous tone in her voice.

"HE'S WHAT?!" They heard Jareth shout from the other room, next they heard Sarah trying to calm him down and keep him from making a scene.

Apparently she failed, cause Jareth strode right back into the room, Sarah close behind him. "Jareth, please! You don't understand, just calm down!"

But Jareth didn't calm down, he grabbed Lucius's throat and slammed him into the wall with force. When Lucius tried to reach for his wand, Jareth quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing the man to cry out in pain.

"Dad, stop!" Mina said loudly, trying to pull Jareth's arm away. When the goblin king glared at her, she stopped and stepped back. Never had she seen anyone so angry.

"Sit. Down." Jareth ordered her and both Sarah and Mina sat down, without questioning him. He turned back to Lucius, still trying to squirm away from him. "Are you defiling my daughter?" The king asked him, in a tone that was so eerily calm, Lucius swallowed hard in fear.

"I-I love her and…I-I…"

"ARE YOU…." Jareth repeated, shouting this time, "DEFILING MY DAUGHTER?!"

"Dad?

Jareth looked back at Mina, who stood up and put her hand on his arm. "Dad, please stop? I can explain it. But only if you sit down with me. And let go of Lucius."

Jareth frowned and let Lucius go, adjusting his clothes while clearing his throat awkwardly. "She's like you, Sarah." He said calmly, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"How so?" Sarah asked, a tremble in her voice. "I can't say no to her." Jareth replied. Lucius let out an awkward chuckle. "I said the same thing to Sarah, a while back." He said softly, his voice a bit hoarse from the attack. Jareth was ready to grab him again, but Mina pulled him back.

"Stop it! Sit down!" She said sternly. The goblin king eyed her in surprise and then eyed Sarah. "There's a little bit if you in there as well, I think." Sarah said dryly, winking at Mina.

"You called me 'dad'." Jareth said to Mina, touched by this fact. "You are my dad." Mina reminded him, giving him a weak smile. "And yes, Lucius and I are together. But I love him very much and mom knew from the beginning, so he never did anything behind anyone's back…" She explained, but Jareth interjected, looking at Sarah.

"You knew?! How could you let this happen?!"

"Jareth…it's love. Who are we to forbid it?" Sarah asked. Jareth hummed annoyed. "Fine. I'll allow it."

"Thanks, dad."