Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter, Labyrinth or anything else you recognise.

A/N: Here is the next instalment people; it is something of a filler tho. Thank you for all your reviews and encouragement – I really appreciate it. I am going to try and speed up my updates, but I shall not make any promises I can't keep. I'm going to be in hospital on Friday, and so might encounter delays in the future. Nothing is certain yet, however.

Chapter Thirteen

"It's a crystal. Nothing more. But if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams."

9th June, 2005 – Council Chambers, The Castle Beyond The Goblin City

Jareth and Elessar were seated side by side, at the head of the table. Sitting around the table was a strange mix of people. Each of Jareth's allies in the Underground had been contacted, and had duly sent their emissaries.

Represented at this gathering were the Fae, Dwarves, Veela, Fairies, Avariel, Elves, Vampires, Werewolves, Fieries, and a whole host of other beings that Elessar was unable to put a name to, currently. He would have to learn, for the future. But it was not an urgent need. Just now, they had other more pressing matters to see to – such as the reason why they had all been called here in the first place.

"Friends and allies, we have called you here to impart grave news. Three nights ago, we were visited by an avatar of the Fates. She intimated that they will be taking action against the wizards and witches of the Aboveground. Her words implied that our magical brethren will not be targeted, but we are not completely sure of that at this point. Regardless of whether their plans involve us directly, it would be foolish to assume we will not be affected – we most definitely will be."

Ignoring the gasps of shock and the looks exchanged by the people seated at the table, Jareth rose from his chair and made his way over to the window.

"Magic is a strange business. I know I don't need to remind any of you of this fact. I find, as I grow older with each passing season, that there is always more to learn, more that I will probably never uncover. And, in some of my darker moments, I have regarded my magic as a right – my right – with which I have the power to impose my will on others. I know that this is not so. It has never been so, and neither will it ever be. I think I have been extremely lucky to have been allowed to come to this realisation independently, and have not been punished more severely." He turned back to face the occupants of the room, looking at each of them in turn, he could see their agreement in their eyes. Some even acknowledged him with nods. He pressed on.

"Magic is a gift – a privilege – to be used for the betterment of our community of a whole. It is something we should be, and I venture, are grateful for. With it, we have the means to protect our families and our world, and we must never abuse this privilege. I am saddened and angered to say that the wizards some of us associate with Aboveground seem to have forgotten this fact. I am sure that many of you have heard the story of my betrothed, Prince Elessar, so I will not recite the details now. However, there are some important facts I feel I must draw your attention to." Jareth paused again, and glanced at Elessar – perhaps seeking permission, or merely support. He received a warm smile in return and gesture for him to continue.

"Not only did they steal one of our precious children, and twist him into a weapon he was never supposed to be, but when they were finished with their tool, they discarded it. And with it, they discarded the sacred magic which had saved their world. And for what, I ask you? As far as I and my people can discover – for nothing! When Elessar turned his mind to healing, as his people areborn to do, he was reviled. Reviled! I – forgive me. I am still furious over what has been done, it – it does seem to overcome me, at times." Jareth faltered briefly as he attempted to regain control.

A soft touch at his elbow drew his attention, and he felt his anger evaporate at the contact. Elessar gave him a brief hug and a chaste kiss, no doubt a consideration to their company, and returned to his seat. The Goblin King took a deep breath, flashed his love a grateful smile, and organised his thoughts. Letting his eyes pass over the assembled council, he was pleased to see he was not the only one who was outraged at the situation, but he also knew that now was not the time for them to indulge their righteous fury.

That time would come, however. It was now inevitable, even if the wizards were seemingly unaware of it. It mattered not, in any case. Their ignorance would be their doom.

"Now, the reason I have asked you to join us here, is because of the fallout of the action I believe the Fates will be taking. Those Aboveground will be involved in some way, and we must prepare ourselves for possible refugees. Princess Caredessi, I believe you have a preliminary report on the possibility of casualties…"

11th June, 2005 – Arthur Weasley's Office, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department

Arthur Weasley was seriously worried.

The last few weeks had been chock-full of disturbing news, the first of which had been Harry Potter's disappearance. He coloured with shame to think of the way the world had treated their hero and saviour. He was personally more at fault than most, in his opinion, because he had made the boy trust him and open up to him.

He and Molly had noticed early on in the young wizard's life the tell-tale signs that he had been abused by his relatives. His children too, had realised something was very wrong with the boy's home life, but as parents he and his wife had been able to piece it together to get an accurate picture of what had gone on. They had tried as best they could to look after the child, and repair some of the damage done to him, and to a certain extent they had been successful.

But their treatment of him and their part in the betrayal of The-Boy-Who-Lived-Twice, made all of that hard work come crashing down around their ears. Truly, Arthur was surprised that Harry had not tried to gain his revenge on them. He might have been reduced to a squib by the Aurors and the Ministry, but it was not permanent. There were people out there who would have been more than happy to reverse the binding and in return, seduce one of the most powerful wizards to walk the land in centuries, over to some dark design.

And really, thinking about it now, who could have, in their heart of hearts, blamed him if he had made them all pay? Who could really say that they would not have done something similar in his position? Anyone who said they would not have at least been tempted was an absolute liar, or a saint.

Even saints had their limits however, and Harry seemed to be a different breed altogether.

Arthur snorted as he considered that thought – Harry was a different breed. He wasn't even human. Listening to the tale of how the Dumbledore family had kidnapped and then used the child for their manipulations had been enough for Arthur to throw up his dinner. He had been literally sickened as he had learned all the details.

Of how they had stolen him from his crib when he was merely weeks old. How the one who had taken him had cursed his mother. How they had kept him in some kind of stasis and then leeched the magic from him to fuel their own magical cores. And then, when Albus Dumbledore had decided he needed a weapon to fight a war he had started, for all intents and purposes, they had used their stolen magic to warp his body and turn him human.

From what he could discover after he had heard the story, it was a miracle that Harry – or whoever he was – had survived as long as he did. The spells they had placed on him would apparently fight with his own core and make him sickly. His treatment at the hands of the Dursleys would only make it worse.

This wizard was also ashamed to admit that it horrified him even more because it made him think that if Dumbledore was willing to treat one innocent life so callously, who was to say he wouldn't do it again? Or hadn't already? Could he ever even trust a single word the Old Man had told him over the years?

Looking back on it now, it was obvious that he and his family had been played. It was nothing but luck and Harry's sacrifices that had allowed his family to emerge from The Second Uprising unscathed.

He had gone over and over all of this with Molly, but she was been stubborn on the issue. As a mother she could appreciate horror of the crimes done to Harry, and did acknowledge that it was a crime. But she would not budge on the point that if it hadn't been done then Lord Voldemort might not have been defeated. She blatantly refused to consider the fact that if Dumbledore had been more wise and caring in his treatment of the Riddle boy when he was a child, then none of this might ever have happened.

For his part, Arthur believed that if the Old Man had not been so wrapped up in how to draw more power from the elf baby his family had seized – and Aberforth had told him that at that time that problem was his brother's greatest concern – then he would have opened his eyes and seenwhat was happening right in front of them.

Of course, he was not the only one to blame – the entire system was at fault.

To this day, magical children were still left to grow up in muggle-run orphanages, and that was simply not acceptable. Magical children were being left in abusive homes, tortured by their parents for something they could not control, or change. The Ministry seemed blind – and Arthur did not know if it was wilfully, though it seemed so sometimes – to these problems and it appeared they had no plans to do anything about it – why if he…

"If I what? What am I doing in this office, playing around with these toys!?! By sitting here and doing nothing I am just as culpable as everyone else!"

He stood, ready to go out into the world and do – something – anything. But as he made his way to his door, determination in his every step, the Floo in his fireplace flared to life.

"Arthur – it's Bill! He's gone missing! No one has seen him for days! What if that criminal has taken him!?!"

15th June, 2005 – Elessar and Jareth's Private Sitting Room, The Castle Beyond The Goblin City

Elessar frowned as he stared down at his hands.

Jareth's personal healer had just left the room, after a brief examination which had left the young prince rather stunned. The news he had received had been a great shock, and Elessar was not sure if he thought it was a blessing or a curse at present.

Matters between his lover and he had advanced at a somewhat alarming rate. In a very short space of time, he had found himself forming an attachment so deep that at times, he felt rather overwhelmed. A large part of his mind wanted to throw caution to the wind and just let events take their course. His knowledge of his new situation grew with every passing day, and it seemed as though the truth of his heritage that had been awakened by Jareth's magic was helping him along the way.

His body, now that it had been restored, seemed to know it was an elf and everything that went along with that. Flying, healing, even the language was coming to him far easier than he had anticipated it would. Of course, he was more closely connected to his magic than a human was, and as was the way of his people, his magic was about renewing and regenerating life, so in some respects, it stood to reason that renewing and regenerating his own life would feel perfectly natural.

But the part of him that was still somehow Harry Potter, even after all that had gone before, was reluctant to trust. Harry was scared of giving himself completely to Jareth. Harry was scared to show his vulnerability in front of his parents and siblings. Harry was frightened of succumbing to his elven nature and leaving what part of humanity he still held behind him.

It was not the first time such thoughts crossed his mind, and, as before, he wondered if he would ever lose that piece of him that had been Harry Potter for all those years.

The way his life had turned out, it was easy to see why he could be so jaded and cynical. But identifying the reasons and then systematically trying to unlearn dozens of conditioned responses was a task so enormous, in his eyes, that he almost felt like he shouldn't bother. Added to that though, was the fierce desire to rip away anything of the wizard in him and incinerate it. Obliterate it. He almost felt as though the remains of the human in him were like a cancer, a tumour which needed to be cut away before it could do any more damage.

He realised objectively that this was a staggeringly unhealthy view, but when faced with the task of trying to fix this broken mind of his, it seemed like an easier option. That to, was perfectly reasonable, depending on your point of view, of course. But, from Elessar's perspective, repairing the damage done to him since the day he had been stolen from his crib in the royal nursery seemed like a task too insurmountable to even attempt.

The news from this afternoon's appointment got thrown in with the already jumbled mess in his mind, and, sensing that it represented a pivotal moment for him and his future, Elessar rearranged himself comfortably on the chaise he had been reclining on, and waited – to see what would happen.

Which way would the scales tip?

He was carrying Jareth's heir.

The question was, was he happy or dismayed? Was this a blessing, or a curse?

Elessar had begun to have his suspicions about being pregnant, some days before. Apparently, such was normal for a magical being, because the presence of a child altered one's magic. As such, he was able to detect the new life within him, or at least, suspect its presence, very early on. The same phenomenon made it possible for the healer to diagnose his condition. He was also fairly sure he knew when their child had been conceived.

That particular night, when he and Jareth had joined once again, had been the same night they had discovered Draco and Bill Weasley in bed together, having just completed their bond. The ambient magic in the air when the two of them had stepped into the room had been so strong, that Elessar could practically taste it. It had enflamed him and he'd seen that it had done the same to Jareth. A few heated glances were all it took for the two of them to hastily take their leave and tumble into their bed in a tangle of limbs and questing hands.

Later that night, as he had slept beside his King, Elessar had sensed something about him had changed. He hadn't known what it was at the time, but after researching in the books his family had provided him with to learn about his people, he'd begun to have his suspicions.

Now that the healer had confirmed those suspicions, Elessar felt he could make some accurate assumptions on how this had happened. It really should have only been possible after they were officially mated, but he theorised that the magic he and his lover had been exposed to when they found Bill and Draco, had made the part of his body which enabled him to bear young believe that their bonding had taken place.

He wasn't sure if he was annoyed that it had happened so soon, since he and Jareth had been together for barely three weeks. He was aware that it was not unusual for the world he was born into, but again, the side of him that clung onto his humanity reeled at the extreme fast pace of their relationship.

He was comforted by the fact that, compared to others, theirs would not even be considered a whirlwind romance. Look at Lucius and Sirius, for example. Despite the separation which had lasted years, once they had admitted to the reality of their situation, they had been bonded in a matter of mere hours. The same for Bill and Draco. Even his own sister, Caredessi, had told him that when she and Elalaeryn had met she'd claimed him within minutes.

It seemed as though, in the Underground, when one found one's mate, one didn't waste time faffing around. One stepped forward to claim them and build one's life with them. In some ways, it was reassuring to know that he didn't have to risk his heart looking for the 'right one'. He knew without a doubt, since he had submitted to his Avariel instincts that Jareth was him. That he was the only person he was supposed to kiss, to hold, to love, for the rest of his life. For all eternity, even.

But his damned trust issues kept rising up and standing in the way of him giving himself up to that love completely. Suddenly, a new thought crossed his mind.

Perhaps this child of theirs was the Fates' way of showing him that he was doing the right thing?

"Ah, you begin to see, our winged child. Precious child." The voice, which had so disturbed and frightened the wizards Above, did not worry Elessar. In fact the sound brushed past his ears and spread soothing warmth in his mind, filling him with tranquillity. "Do not fear, our dearest child. We will take care of everything. We always do."

And for the first time in a very long time, Prince Elessar sat back on his chaise with a serene, accepting smile, one hand idly rubbing back and forth, over his still flat abdomen.

All would be well, he could see that now. He smiled softly as he heard the door open and close, but didn't look up. Leaving one of his hands on his stomach he reached out the other to the man he knew had just entered the room. He didn't need to see him to know who it was, or that he was there.

"Jareth." He murmured, and the word was almost a caress. "Come, let me tell you of our blessing."

16th June, 2005 – Harry and Jareth's Bedroom, Still In the Castle

Once he was assured that his lover was in no danger, nor suffering unduly from his condition, Jareth had been overjoyed at the news. It occurred to Elessar that his lover's reported harsh and cruel behaviour of years past was a result of the intense loneliness he had endured, whilst waiting for his mate. A mate whom neither Jareth, nor any of his subjects had held out much of hope ever finding again.

When the book – their last resort – had been sent Above, spirits had been high, to begin with at least. But as the years passed, and no word nor trace of him had been found, people had gradually begun to give up. It was frightening to him that, as with the world of the wizards, he – one man – could have such a profound effect on people's lives. And not just his family, or Jareth. But everyday, people. The goblins, even.

But, something he realised he would have to accept was that, what will be, will be. He could not change who he was, and for the first time in, well, forever, he had no wish to. He liked who he was, and he liked the way his life was going. He had a future here. He could spend his days with a man he loved to distraction, care for his people, and heal his beloved animals. He could also care for their child, whenever he or she decided to pop into the world, and that was something he was incredibly excited about.

He held firm to the belief that the wizards were no longer his concern. He was now completely convinced that whatever plans the Fates had in store for the magical world Above were none of his business. Magic was their gift to bestow as they wished, and only they had a right to take it away. If they wanted him involved, they would make sure he knew about it. Therefore, he would go about his life here, Underground, and leave the Above alone.

He had more than done his duty by them. In fact, he had done a duty that should never have been his. He was glad that he had been able to rid that world of Voldemort, because he had been a blight upon the magic which needed to be removed. Like lancing a boil. But enough was enough. His time in that world was over with, and he owed them nothing.

No matter what punishment or penance the Fates extracted from the wizards, he would keep well out of it. He would not lament for them, but neither would he gloat on their circumstances. Instead, he would listen to his body as the life within it changed and grew, and perhaps he would take a little pleasure in discomfiting Jareth with his hormone induced mood swings.

They would not arrive for a few months yet, but that was no reason not to get some practice in now, right?

21st June, 2005 – The Throne Room, The Castle Beyond The Goblin City

"Prince Elessar, if you would now say your vows?"

"Jareth. I promise to love you, to learn from you and to share with you. I promise I will always be with you, in body and mind. I promise I will always try to listen to you, and I promise never to go to sleep angry with you. I promise to support you, no matter what, and I promise to raise our children to understand that love and understanding are the most important things in the world. I love you for not being perfect, for having flaws and accepting mine. On this day, I pledge my heart to you, and I seek to join your life to mine, if you will have me. I pledge my whole heart, and I swear that no other holds sway over it."

"And now, Your Majesty?"

"Elessar. I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out. I knew I was in love with you when I could not bring myself to sleep, because reality was finally better than my dreams. On this day, I pledge my heart to you, and I seek to join your life to mine, if you will have me. I pledge my whole heart, and I swear that no other holds sway over it."