In this part, the Labyrinth / Harry Potter crossover is in full swing, but I tried to explain everything as much as I could. If you still have questions, let me know, and I will try to fix it or e-mail you with answers. I'm trying to make it so people who had never read the Potter books will not get lost.
Also, any spelling and grammar errors, please forgive me, English is not my first language, but if you can e-mail me with corrections, it will be greatly appreciated and the fic will be corrected and re-posted. Anyone wants to volunteer for Beta Reader?
Many thanks to those of you who reviewed Part 7: Melissa Davis (Thanks for your ideas and plot bunnies, they helped a lot!!!), Mara Trinity Scully (Let's see if you find the not so hidden clue in here ::evil grin::), Usagui Tsukino (I know, this has taken me forever!), Sara Beth (Thanks, and I hope you enjoy this one as well), ~*Sliver Wolf*~ (Is finally here, and extra large. ^_^), Caitlyn (Sorry about that, but I hope this makes up for it!), Sadie (Thanks for your support, love when I convert people to labyrinth! hehe...), and last but not least, Kim, The Manipulative Little Monster (You are back!!!! I definetely need to talk to you this week... I'll email you later. ^_^)
As always,
DISCLAIMER: Sarah, Jareth, and everything Labyrinth belong to Jim Henson Productions. Oberon, Titania and Puck belong to William Shakespeare. Anything Potterverse belongs to the magnificent JK Rowling. I only own Jay, Caridwen and any other characters that you do not recognize..
And now, the story.
The Searcher
Part 8
Sarah looked at her husband, perplexed "What do you mean, she is a witch? How can that be possible?"
Jareth sighed, trying to calm his wife down, "All I know is that she was able to see the passage way to the wizarding town in London, and the only ones capable of doing that are witches and wizards."
Sarah inhaled deeply, trying to find a logical explanation for her daughter's behavior after returning from London the day before. "And what is all this nonsense she has been rambling about Hog, Hog…"
Jareth looked at his wife, "Hogwarts?"
Sarah looked at her husband, half closed eyes, "So you know what that is?"
He nodded, "Is the best magic school in the wizarding world."
She looked at her husband, "Magic school? Our daughter gets to go to magic school? Is that all?"
Jareth knew this part was coming, and that this was the one she was going to be opposed the most, "Well, there is a little detail. This is not like a school you are used to go, this is a boarding school."
Sarah stopped her pacing and turned around to face him, "A what? You mean to tell me that we only get to see her during Christmas and summer?"
He looked straight at his wife, mismatched eyes meeting hazel ones, "Basically, yes."
"And you are going to let her do this?", her voice showing faint signs of resignation.
Standing behind his wife, he wrapped his arms around her, and said, "She needs to do this. If she did not wanted to go, she wouldn't. But that is all she has been talking about since I said that she might be a witch. If it makes you feel better, I will talk to Valkor and get all the information we can about the school. After all, he went there when he turned eleven."
Leaning back to her husband, she said "So we have her until this summer, and we won't see her again until the next winter. We need to treasure this moments, she will grow fast, and we won't be there to see it."
They just stood there, watching their children play in the gardens from the balcony, oblivious of the discussion their parents had just moments ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The only sound that could be heard was the sound of metal clashing with metal. Jumping skillfully out of the way of the blade, Caridwen blocked the incoming blow with her own sword. It was her turn to retaliate, when she noticed her brother making a minuscule mistake, giving her a small advantage, which she was going to take at all costs.
Clashing her sword with her brother's, she made a circular movement, throwing the sword off her brother's hands into the air. With a triumphant look, she placed the tip of her sword in his throat. With a smug grin, just like her father's, she announced "I win."
Jay slumped his head, for the first time he had been defeated by his little sister. She was actually as good or slightly better than him, considering that he was bigger and stronger at fifteen than her almost eleven years.
Caridwen was so happy, she started laughing and dancing as soon as her brother admitted defeat, "I did it! I beat you, fair and square. Oh, I can't wait to tell dad about this! ", taking her brother in her arms, making him dance with her. He grabbed her by the waist, and started twirling her in circles.
Caridwen, in the middle of laughter, said "Stop Jay, you are making me dizzy."
Jay was smiling, "Not until you agree on a rematch."
Still laughing, she said "Are you kidding? And spoil my victory? No way!"
She was looking towards the sky, when she saw a dark speck flying towards the castle. She immediately sobered up, her brother noticing the change in mood, stopped, and said "Cari? What's wrong?"
She did not say anything, but kept looking at the sky, and looking at her brother, turned around and started running inside the castle. Jay, not knowing what happened to his sister, followed her, catching up with her in the throne room, where her parents had just finished having an audience just minutes before.
Seeing the somber look on their daughter's face, the Goblin Queen asked, "Cari, sweetheart, are you alright?" Her daughter just looked nervously towards the window, as if expecting something to come through there. To her surprise, an enormous brown owl came through the window, perching on the window's ledge, picking up its leg, a letter attached to it.
Caridwen went to the owl and untied the letter, and with a flick of her wrist made appear a bowl of water, and a plate with left over bacon from breakfast. Hooting happily, the owl set up to eat, while she looked at the envelope, which was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the writing in it a bright emerald green, which said:
Miss Caridwen Blantyre
The Throne Room
The Castle Beyond the Goblin City
Underground
She turned around to open it, and noticed a purple wax seal bearing
a coat of arms: a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large
letter H. She broke the seal, took out the letter, which was made
out of the same yellowish parchment, and started reading the letter:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Leona Hargitay
(Order of Morgan La Fay, First Class, Grand Sorc.,
Chf. Witch,
Magnanimous Mugwump, International Confed. Of Witches)
Dear Miss Blantyre,We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1, 1674. We await your owl by no later than July 31, current year.
Yours sincerely,
Thomas Guilfoyle
Thomas Guilfoyle,
Deputy Headmaster
As she finished reading, her face lit up, and holding the letter close to her, she started screaming "I'm in, I'm in!".
Excitedly, she showed her letter to her parents, which were quiet while her daughter read the letter. As soon as he finished reading the letter, he frowned at the contents, and arching an eyebrow, he murmured "I wonder how they found out my name?".
Looking at his daughter, he said, "Caridwen, do you realize what the letter says? You are going to Hogwarts, in 1674. That is more than 300 years in Earth's past."
Looking at her father, she smiled and said, "I know, that's when Val lives."
Noticing the looks that her parents gave her, she said "I thought you
knew that Val is from the past. He doesn't wear those clothes just
to fit in, those are his regular clothes."
Making parchment, quill and ink appear, she said, "Dad, you are going
to send a reply, right? It will be the same, I will still come home
for summer and Christmas, just that I will not only will be in a different
place, but a different time. You know I need to do this. Please?"
Against his better judgement, he scribbled a reply to the school, saying that she will be attending Hogwarts. He gave the note back to his daughter, who addressed the letter to the Deputy Headmaster, and tied it to the owl, who was waiting for a response letter.
As soon as the owl took off, still very excited, she kissed her parents, and skipping to leave the throne room, said "I'm going to write Val a letter telling him the good news. I'm in, I can't believe it! I'm actually going to Hogwarts!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After they were done with dessert, and all the plates were taken, Valkor was still trying to convince the Goblin King to let his daughter go out to Diagon Alley with him the next day.
"Is not a problem for me, I insist. Besides, I'm looking forward to welcome her into my world, as you so graciously have opened yours to me, Your Majesties. It is the least I could do, and it will also give me a chance to spend some quality time with Caridwen, to share the many things we have in common." A nervous Valkor was looking expectantly at the reaction of the Goblin King and Queen.
As soon as the letter from Caridwen arrived, he had been looking forward to show her the wizarding world, which she would have been part of when she married him, but now she was part of it by her own merit.
He wrote to her asking if he could take her to buy her school supplies at Diagon Alley, the London wizarding town. She wrote back, saying that probably it would be better if he asked in person, she was not sure that she could convince them by herself. Which brings him to this point.
Hands on chin, the Goblin king kept looking at his future son in law with narrowed eyes. He did had a point, he knew where everything was, after all, it was his world.
After consulting mentally with his wife, he said "Very well, but you must bring her back by dinner time. More than that, and you will be grounded, young lady.", addressing his daughter, who was sitting next to the young wizard.
Caridwen smiled, she had been holding Valkor's hand while waiting for their response, and releasing it, she stood up and hugged her father and mother, saying, "Thanks, dad. I promise you will not regret this. Thanks mom.", giving her a kiss.
Looking at Valkor, she said "I guess that means we will have to leave early tomorrow."
He nodded, and said "Our first stop will be Gringotts, and if I'm not mistaken, they open at eight thirty, so I guess we should leave around eight o'clock."
A smile creeping in the corner of his mouth at the mention of the bank, Jareth produced a crystal ball, and said "Caridwen, I have a very important gift for you."
Curious, she stepped closer to her father and asked, "What is it, father?"
The crystal started glowing, until the light turned in a sudden burst so bright it was blinding, and then a small golden key was in its place, hanging from a very delicate golden chain.
Looking seriously to his daughter, he said. "You must never, ever loose this key. This is the key to your vault in Gringotts. Even as they will recognize you as the princess, they won't let you in unless you have your key. Is that understood?"
Caridwen nodded in understanding, knowing the trust and the responsibility he deposited in her.
Jareth, still smiling, looked at his daughter, "Now, do you remember the wizarding money system?"
Caridwen nodded and recited just as she learned when she was five "The wizarding money are made of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Seventeen silver Sickles to a golden Galleon, and twenty-nine bronze Knuts to a silver Sickle.", making his father and mother chuckle.
Smiling, she explained the joke to Valkor while they walked out of the dining area, "Is a good thing that we run their banks, the goblins use the same money system inside the city, so is easier for me to remember."
Putting his arms around her he squeezed her lightly, and tickling her he said jokingly "Funny, a real comedian.", making her plea for mercy for him to stop tickling her.
Between gasps trying to recover her breath after laughing so hard, she said, "Good night, Val."
Giving her a handsome smile, he said, "Good night, beautiful. Sleep well. We need to get up early tomorrow. See you at seven for breakfast."
She made a funny face at his last comment, making him laugh, and kissing him on the cheek, she retired to her bedchambers.
She woke up early the next day, excited because it was the first time she would be in a wizarding town. Agnes was already drawing a bath for her when she went inside the bathroom.
The goblin woman looked at her and said, "Lord Valkor brought a dress for you to wear. I will put it on the bed, and stay if you need any help to put it on."
Caridwen nodded, and said "Thanks, Agnes."
Once she got bathed and dressed, she went down to the dining area for breakfast. Valkor was already waiting for her.
He saw her, and said "Let me look at you. You simply look beautiful."
She smiled, turning around so he could see her from all angles. She responded by saying, "Thank you for the dress. I love it."
Finishing breakfast, she asked, "Val, how are we going to get there?"
Smiling, he said "We are going to apparate there. Is similar when you translocate around from place to place, but since you don't know where we are going, leave the work to me."
Taking her purse and putting her letter and key inside it, she grabbed the hand that Valkor was offering her, and they disappeared.
They reappeared in the middle of a cobblestone street, with very elegant buildings from side to side.
Not wanting to miss anything, she kept looking from side to side, when a voice in her ear said "Welcome to Diagon Alley.", making her look at him, smiling.
Amused by her reaction, he said "First stop, Gringotts."
Being guided by Valkor, who was still holding her hand, she kept looking at all the places around. Everything was new and exciting to her, the cauldrons outside a shop, the hoots coming from an owl store, and the displays on the store windows like newt's eyes in the window of an apothecary, or broomsticks in a quidditch store.
Qudditch, quidditch… Valkor explained the wizarding game to her once. It sounded like something between soccer and basketball on broomsticks. She remembered Valkor saying that she will learn more about quidditch when she learns to ride a broomstick at school.
They stopped in front of a tall white building, it towered the smaller shops in the town. A goblin in a red and gold uniform was standing beside its burnished bronze doors. Walking up the steps, the goblin opened his eyes in recognition, and bowed as they walked inside the bronze doors, saying "Your Highness."
Now they were facing a silver pair of doors, with words engraved in them:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Arching an eyebrow after reading the warning, she looked at Valkor, who opened the door for her, "After you, Milady."
She smiled, and playing along, she made a small curtsy and said "Thank you, noble sir.", going through the doors.
The two goblins who were standing guard bowed to them, and at the same time they said "Your Highness."
The doors led to an enormous marble hall, were hundreds of goblins could be seen working behind a long counter, doing different things, like examining precious stones, weighing golden coins, or scribbling in ledgers. Also, there many doors leading off the hall, were more goblins were showing people in and out of them.
You could tell it was early, the bank had very few customers besides them, but the noise from the goblins working could be heard. They kept walking to the counter, when the noise stopped gradually, being an empty silence as they arrived in front of a free goblin.
Having an eerie feeling, like everybody was watching her, she said "Good morning. I'm here to take some money out of my safe."
The goblin said, "Of course, Your Highness. Do you have your key?"
Taking the key out of her purse, she showed it to the goblin, who looked at it closely, and said "Everything seems to be in order. And you sir?"
Giving a quick wink at Cari, he just said "Since I'm here, anyway".
Producing a small golden key, he gave to the goblin, who examined it, and nodding said "I will take you to the vaults personally."
Looking at another goblin, he said "Crog, please attend the window, I'm going to take them to the vaults."
Turning to them, he said "My name is Korchak and I will be at your service. Please follow me."
They followed him towards one of the doors leading away from the hall. Korchak held the door open for them, entering into a narrow stone passageway, lit by torches. It sloped downwards, and tracks could be seen on the floor.
Korcheck whistled, and a cart came up the tracks towards them. Valkor climbed in first, helping Caridwen get in, sitting down next to him. Korcheck climbed in, and sitting in front of them, the cart took off. It kept gaining speed, going left, right, up and down.
At this point Caridwen was having a ball, exclaiming with glee every time they dropped, and said to Valkor, "This is so much fun! Is just like being in a roller coaster. Wee!" After a few more twists and turns, they stopped at a small door in the passage wall.
Korcheck opened the door, and when they went inside, there were huge mountains of gold, silver and bronze inside the small room. Making a quick calculation, Caridwen took what she thought would be enough into her purse, and turning to Valkor said, "Now let's go to yours."
After another wild ride, they stopped at his vault, and when they went inside his vault was as impressive as hers, even that she had more money in hers, his was not put to shame, as it was very close to hers.
They went into the cart again, and when they got out, Caridwen said "Thank you, Korcheck."
The goblin bowed, and said "It was an honor serving the Goblin Princess. Have a pleasant day, Your Highness."
With that, he opened the door to the marble hall, and they walked out of the bank. Once they were outside, Valkor asked, "Do you have the list of the school materials you'll need?"
Nodding, she took the letter from Hogwarts, and taking out the second piece of parchment, she carefully read aloud the list:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Revised Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Jonathan Schmidlin
Magic – Past and Present by Maximillian Richson
Theory of Magic by Miranda Boosport
Transfiguration for Beginners by Henry Theeaight
Magical Plants by Flora Stemling
The Book of Potions by John Sulpher
Beasts of Magic by Marcella Fox
Protect Yourself Against the Dark Forces by Jaya Onyx
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scalesStudents may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Valkor looked at Caridwen and said, "Well, what do you want to do first?"
Taking her eyes off her list, she looked at him and said "Let's check the uniforms first."
They walked to a small store that had various robes displayed on the windows, from everyday robes to elegant dressing robes.
They went in, and a young witch welcomed them, "Good morning, and welcome to The Perfect Robe. My name is Mireille (pronounced me-ray), how may I help you today?"
Flashing a charming smile, Valkor answered, "We need school robes for this young lady."
Looking a bit disappointed, the young witch asked "What school does your daughter goes to?"
Smiling inwardly, he decided to continue the flirting, curious of what his young fiancée's reaction will be "Hogwarts, but she is definitely not my daughter."
At his words, the young witch smiled brightly at him, and looking at the girl next to him, she said, "Please come with me for your fitting."
Caridwen noticed that this witch was flirting with HER boyfriend, and he, who should know better, he was flirting back. Narrowing her eyes, she passed by him, trying to come up with a plan for revenge, when she stopped suddenly, nearly avoiding a collision with Mireille.
She stood up on the stool that she was pointed to, and next thing she knew a black robe was slipped over her head, and Mireille was pinning it to the right length. While she was waiting for the witch to finish with her robe, she crossed her arms looking at Valkor through half closed eyes, getting more peeved at his look of amusement when he looked at her direction.
She was about to say something when she heard from below her "You are done, dear."
Taking the robe off, she just glared at him while she waited for the other robes to be ready, and whispered so only he could hear "You are in so much trouble is not even funny."
Giving her an amused look he whispered back, "So that means that my ploy to make you jealous worked?"
Arching an eyebrow, she looked at him and said, "Me, jealous? Ha!", turning away from him, still mad.
She finally paid for the robes, hat, and winter cloak and left, not waiting for nor speaking to him. She will have her revenge and it will be sweet, just when he least expects it. Smiling, she knew what to do, so the first thing of the plan was to convince him that he has been forgiven.
Realizing that the made a slight tactical error, Valkor tried to get back into Caridwen's graces. He stepped up in front of her, and kneeling so he could be to her level, said "I didn't mean anything by what I did. I just wanted to tease you a little. Could you please forgive me?"
Caridwen acted like she was seriously thinking her answer when in reality she was planning her revenge, 'Now, where did Jay put the itching powder last time we used it? I will have to ask him.'
She turned to look at him, and giving him a smile, she said "Are you really sorry?"
Relieved that he was going to be forgiven, he said "Of course I am. I will never do that again. Promise."
Wrapping her arms around one of his, she said "I forgive you.", while internally she added, 'for now.'
Valkor stood up, and placing a hand on her shoulder, he leaned over and asked, "Where you want to go now?"
Looking again at her list, she said, "Let's get the things in the other equipment list, and then go for the books."
Valkor nodded, and they got a pewter cauldron, a collapsible telescope, a very nice set of brass scales, and a unique set of crystal phials. Walking out to the bookstore, Caridwen was checking off the things from her list, when she noticed she missed something, "Oh, Val, I think we'll have to go back. I forgot the wand."
Smiling, he said, "No, we haven't. The best place to get wands is Ollivanders, and that is past the bookstore. So we will get the books first, have lunch, and then we will get your wand.
Seeing the sign for the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts, Caridwen took Valkor's hand and started running towards the entrance. As soon as they stepped in, she could tell that this was no ordinary bookstore. Instead of your regular sections, you had sections like Potions, Curses, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Magical Flora, etc.
Making the line that was forming of students getting schoolbooks, Caridwen was still looking around, when she noticed a girl standing behind her, with long, curly blonde hair and gray eyes.
The girl smiled at her, and said, "Going to Hogwarts?"
When Cari nodded, she said, "Me too. My first year. Hi, my name is Sylvia Moore."
Taking her hand, she said "I'm Caridwen Blantyre, nice to meet you. I'm a first year as well."
Looking around, she asked "Are you here with your parents?"
Looking at Valkor, she said "No, I'm here with my…", and fell silent, not knowing what to say.
Going to her rescue, Valkor turned around and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Valkor, Caridwen's guardian."
Shaking his hand, she said "Nice to meet you too. This are my parents, Melinda and George Moore."
Caridwen shook the hands of Sylvia's parents, and she heard Mr. Moore say "I can't believe it. Valkor, is that you?"
Valkor looked back, and smiling said "George! Haven't seen you in ages, how are you? Melinda, lovely as usual."
Looking at the confused glances of the two girls, Mr. Moore explained, "We went to Hogwarts together. Even that our houses were supposed to be mortal enemies, we managed to become friends. Be that a lesson for you both, young ladies. Never judge a book by its cover."
Addressing Valkor once again, he said "I heard that you got engaged. Congratulations. When is the happy event?"
He answered, "Not for a while. I have to wait for her to finish school. You will be part of the first people to know."
It was their turned to be helped, so Valkor said, "We will talk later. It was nice seeing you two again."
They got their books, and seeing that they had a lot of packages, and heavy ones, he took out his wand and said, "Reducto!", making the packages small enough to fit inside Caridwen's purse.
They were having lunch in a nice restaurant, when Valkor asked, is the wand the only thing you need from your list?"
She nodded, saying "I don't think I want an animal for now, so the only thing I need is the wand."
Taking her hand, he looked at her seriously, and said "Caridwen, a wand is something very special, it communicates with your magic. The wand chooses you, not the other way around. I will be honored if you let me buy you your wand as a birthday present."
When she was going to voice her protest, he said "Is the least I could do, and I really want to give you that gift, is something special that you will hopefully have and use for the rest of your life."
She just nodded, and saying "Thank you.", smiled sweetly at him.
They left the restaurant to and kept walking along the cobblestone street. They soon arrived at the wand store, Ollivanders. Brand new painted golden letters over the door could read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. In the window, there was a single wand in a luscious royal purple velvet cushion.
They went in, and the place was empty, not even an employee could be seen. There were narrow boxes from floor to ceiling stacked together inside shelves, and she could sense the feel of untamed magic in that room.
A middle aged man approached them from behind, saying "Good afternoon, I'm James Ollivander. How can I help you?"
A bit startled, they turned towards the man and Valkor said "We are looking for a wand for this young lady."
Looking at Valkor through narrowed eyes, as in concentration, he said "Valkor Riddle, I remember you. Thirteen and a half inches, willow and unicorn's hair, nice for charms. Come with me, young lady. Let's see which of this wands chooses you."
She followed Mr. Ollivander, and he asked "What is your wand arm?"
With a shrug, she figured must be like writing, so she said "The right."
He took her right arm and lifted it straight. Taking a measuring tape, he measured from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to the floor, knee to armpit, and he started looking through the stack of boxes inside the shelves, while the tape kept taking measures around her head by itself.
While he kept looking through the boxes, he said to her "Now, listen carefully, Miss. Inside every magic wand lies a very powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, dragon heartstrings and phoenix tail feathers. No two wands are the same, as any two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are never the same. And of course, you will never get the same results if you use another wizard's or witch's wand."
The measuring tape was measuring around her waist when Mr. Ollivander, coming back with his arms full of boxes said, "That will do, thank you.". The tape suddenly went inanimate, crashing to the floor.
Opening a box, he showed hr a wand, while saying "Oak, unicorn hair, twelve inches, nice and sturdy. Try it."
She took the wand and waived it, but nothing happened. She kept trying wands, with no avail. After fourty-five minutes, she was getting tired and frustrated.
Suddenly, his eyes went wide open, and murmured "I wonder…", going to the back of the store and bringing two boxes with him, which he placed next to him. He went to open a box, which looked old and dusty, but changed his mind at the last minute.
Opening the other box, he presented the wand that was inside to her, saying "Cherry and unicorn hair, thirteen inches, springy. Try this."
She took the wand, and waving her hand in the air, red and gold sparkles started coming out of it.
Looking at Mr. Ollivander, Cari asked, "I take it that is a good sign?"
Smiling, he said "Yes, it is great!"
Taking the other boxes away, he took the dusty one, and returning it to the back of the store, he mumbled, "But I was so sure that this was going to be the one. Curious."
Returning to his customers, he took the box, and wrapping it in brown paper, he said "It will be five Galleons and nine Sickles."
Valkor gave him the money , and when they were coming out of the store, Cari said, "No wonder you wanted to have lunch first. Getting a wand is really time consuming."
Looking at her, he said, "What do you say about sharing some sweets before returning home? My treat."
They stopped at this little pastry shop that had small tables with seats outside. Caridwen saw something called chocolate frogs, and decided to buy some for Jay. Valkor asked if she wanted to share a piece of cake, and she nodded.
Sharing a slice of cake with two glasses of milk, they were watching the people pass by, when Valkor said to Caridwen, "Cari?"
She turned to look at him and said, "Yes?"
Valkor, flashing a smile and pointing to the half eaten piece of cake with his fork, said "Happy Birthday."
Cari smiled at him, and thought that he had behaved so sweetly through the day, that she was almost willing to forgive the little mishap from that morning. Almost.
When they returned, Cari took the packages from her purse and gave them to Valkor, who returned them to their normal size, while saying, "See you at dinner?"
She nodded, and turned to leave. Turning back to him, she said "Thank you for a wonderful day."
Getting into her room, she put the things bought on Diagon Alley on her bed. Agnes, who was waiting for her in her room, said "How was your day?"
Caridwen smiled, and answered, "Diagon Alley is great! We had a lovely time, except that bit where Valkor behaved like an idiot."
Agnes, knowing the princess temper, asked "What happened?"
Frowning with the memories of the incident, said "Valkor tried to make me jealous by flirting with the witch who sold me my robes. He tried to make up for it, and almost succeeded. Almost."
Knowing that she was planning something, she asked "What are you going to do?"
Smiling, she put a mock innocent face, while saying, "Nothing. Do you know where Jay is?"
Getting suspicious, Agnes asked "Why you want to know where your brother is?"
Thinking quickly, she said "I bought something for him, and want to give it to him before dinner."
Still not too convinced of her sincerity, Agnes said, "He should be at the library finishing his homework."
Smiling, she took the chocolate frogs, and ran to the door while saying, "Thank you, Agnes."
Opening the library door, Cari took a look inside. Jay was there, hands over his temples, looking at some papers in front of him.
She said "Hi, Jay. Studying hard?"
He turned to look at his little sister, still garbed in 17th century clothes. Smiling, he said "How was it?"
She proceeded to tell him everything that happened that day, making him frown at the point when they bought the robes.
Caridwen said, "I was thinking itching powder, but the last time we used it, you had it. Please tell me you still have it, please?"
Giving her an evil grin, he said "Only if you promise that I get to help."
Smiling, she hugged her brother, while saying "Thanks, Jay! Any ideas how to distract him?"
He thought about it for a while, coming up with a plan, "We will have to do it before dinner. I will make up any excuse to hold him in the hallways, while you sneak in and put the powder inside the bedsheets. You sneak out, and we watch the fun through a crystal after everybody has retired to sleep."
Nodding, she said, "I'll better be getting ready for dinner, and so should you. Call me through the mirror when you are ready."
The time came to put their plan in motion. When they took a corner, Jay saw Valkor walking towards them, so he held Cari back, saying "He's not in his chambers. Translocate there now."
Nodding her head, she disappeared in the midst of glitter, and Jay went towards Valkor, "Hey Valkor!"
Valkor turned to see prince Jareth, and said "How are the preparations going?"
Jay smiled and said, "Everything is in place. It was a great idea for you to offer to take her to Diagon Alley on her birthday. That gave us plenty of time to prepare the birthday celebration. You were with her the whole day. You think she suspects anything?"
Smiling, Valkor said, "Not a thing. Speaking of your sister, have you seen her? I was hoping to escort her to dinner."
Seeing Cari reappear behind them, he said a little bit louder, so she could hear, "I think last time I saw Cari, she was going to the library, there was a book she was looking for a book she wanted to read."
Mouthing "Thanks!", she disappeared again into the library. Going through the books, she decided on a romance novel, and slumping into a chair, she opened the book and started reading.
The book was actually good, so she did not noticed when Val came inside, she just heard his voice behind her ear saying "Found anything interesting?"
Jumping a little, she turned to Valkor and said "You scared me, don't do that!"
Smiling, he said, "I was wondering if you would like me to escort you to dinner."
Smiling back, she said "I would love to."
When they arrived to the dining area, everything was dark, and with a nagging feeling, she asked Valkor, "What is going on?"
Then, all the lights went on, with yells of "Surprise!" filling her ears. All her friends from the labyrinth were there, her uncles Hoggle, Ludo and Didymus, Morath, Agnes, some of the fireys, even Willum and his wife were there.
Jareth and Sarah went towards their daughter, and Sarah said "Happy eleventh birthday, sweetheart."
She smiled and said "Thank you. This was truly a surprise."
Jareth said "Don't thank only us, thank Valkor as well. It was his idea to distract you while so we could prepare all this without you becoming suspicious."
She turned to Valkor and said "Thanks.", feeling guilty about the prank that she and her brother did earlier. Now she was wondering if he did that on purpose, knowing how she would react, keeping her mind off the fact that today was her birthday.
The birthday celebration went on, cake was cut and eaten, and it was time for them to retire. After all the guests left the castle, Caridwen kissed her mother and father goodnight.
Turning to Valkor, Caridwen said, "Val, I..", and stopped, looking at the face her brother was giving her.
Valkor asked, "Cari, what?"
She shook her head and said, "Nothing. You'll find out later."
Stretching her arms around his waist, she squeezed him and said, "Good night, Val."
She retired to her room, waiting for the inevitable. Suddenly, she heard Valkor's voice coming from the mirror "Caridwen, I know you are behind this. You better come here at once!"
With a sigh, she translocated to his bedchambers, where she could see him in his pajamas, scratching like crazy. He looked so funny, trying to scratch in different directions at the same time, she could not help but laugh.
Looking at her, he said "You think this is funny?"
Then, realizing why she did it, he smiled sheepishly, "This is for this morning, right? I guess I deserve it."
Caridwen said, "Now that I know you did it as a distraction and you did not meant it, I feel really guilty about this."
Smiling, Valkor said "I guess this makes us even. Come here."
Valkor came to her, and hugged her.
Caridwen, realizing a bit late what his real intentions were, she said "Valkor, you are so dead!", scratching like crazy. She had forgotten about the scratching powder for a moment, and he hugged her with the intention of getting some on her.
After seeing each other scratch for a while, they could not stop laughing at each other.
Caridwen, still scratching said, "I better take a bath before I get to bed. I recommend you change the sheets and do the same. Good night, Val."
When she returned to her bedchambers, Jay was waiting for her on her bed, laughing hysterically "He really got you good this time. He is sneaky, I think I'm starting to like this guy."
Annoyed that her brother saw her prank backfire, she said, "I think that means I will have to go for plan B."
Jay looked at her "Plan B?"
She smiled and answered, "Just add water."
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A/N: I know, I ended it in a cliffie.... I'm evil!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Ok, people, what do you think? Let me know with your reviews. It is your way of letting me know if I'm doing a good job or if this sucks.
As Pepe would say: "Please leave a contribution in the little box." ^_^