Peach Flavored Dreams

Chapter VI - Crystal Duels


Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth, or the original idea for this story, I'm just adding to it!! I do own any character you don't recognize, like Professor Jessica Williams, Sarah's step-aunt/adoptedsister, and I also own Professor Arianna Sidhe.


Sarah rubbed her eyes as she lay on her bed looking up at the ceiling. She was expected to duel Professor Sidhe that afternoon to test her magical prowess. It was the test she was facing now, at the end of the summer. All she knew was it was for the Professors to see how she'd come, if she was ready for the new school year, which started in four days. A lot of pressure she was feeling, but she was going to practice with Professor Flitwick this morning, which gave her the opportunity to look for the first time at her school robes mysteriously bought and made in Madame Malkin's. She hadn't touched the clothes bag nor the moneybag since Diagon Alley. She stood up and stretched, yawning loudly. She scratched her stomach as she opened the trunk at the end of her bed and pulled out the red bag. She pulled on the drawstring and looked inside. She glazed by the clothing, uninterested, and then saw the boxes. She reached in, and when she pulled the boxes out they were normal sized. She suppressed a grin and sniffed, closing the bag and put it back in the trunk. She put the boxes onto the bed and looked at them briefly. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. She looked at her gloves and realized that she was so used to them being on that she even forgot she was even wearing them. She smirked and admired the gloves yet again, as she had the night she got them. She loved them; she just wished they weren't from Jareth. She wanted nothing of his, but she had so much. She sighed and turned to the boxes on her bed. There were two really big boxes and two smaller boxes. She grabbed one of the smaller boxes and lifted the lid. As she put the lid on the bed, she saw two pointed black witch's hats inside. She grinned and pulled one out and tried it on. It was exactly as her school list called for. She looked under the second hat and saw a few scarves also of different colors. One was emerald and silver, one was gold and red, one was yellow and black, one was sapphire and gray, and one was a light gray. The last scarf caught her eye and she had to look again. It was beautiful, but she noticed there was an insignia here and there on it, Jareth's amulet sign. She bit her tongue and threw it back in the box, and saw the school ties, all matching the scarves exactly except they were all silk. She put everything back in the box and opened the other box. She couldn't stop herself as she burst out laughing at the contents of the box. The laughter turned hysterical and then she finally calmed down. She should've already realized that the boxes were from Jareth already, but she just never learned. She shook her head laughing as she pulled out the boots that went just under her knee from the box with his emblem on the left and right side of the top. There was no way she would wear these. After all, there was supposed to be a certain type of shoe allowed, specified on the list. If he stuck to the list, it was supposed to be in the box also, but to Sarah's embarrassment, there was only another pair of the three-inch high knee boots. She did have sneakers, anyway, that she could wear.

Damn that Fae. Sarah thought as she put the box by the other opened one. She pulled the larger boxes closer and opened the top box. Her school uniform, just not the same material, as she knew it was supposed to be. A few white and off-white silk blouses, gray satin sweaters, gray silk skirts, and gray breeches designed after Jareth's exactly, to her chagrin. She scoffed at these and tried a skirt and shirt on. It fit perfectly, showing off her curves and blossoming womanly figure. It felt like heaven, the silk against her skin. She moved around experimentally and it wasn't in the way at all, it didn't constrict her movements like normal clothes did. The skirt fell to about her knees, she noticed. She opened the other big box and then shut it immediately. She saw a white poet shirt and wanted no part of the box, or whatever was in it. She put the bigger boxes back into the clothes bag and left the others out for a second, thinking, then put them in the bag after grabbing the gray silk tie. She looked next to the door for her sneakers, but couldn't find them. Aggravated, she turned to the mirror and imagined Jareth laughing at her.

"You better had not stolen my shoes too, you bastard!" She growled. She searched everywhere, but couldn't find her shoes. She grudgingly pulled the box with the shoes out and pulled a pair out. After putting the box back in the bag and pulling the emerald green cloak to lay on her bed, she looked at the black boots again. She reached inside one boot for no reason and realized there was a long pair of gray silk socks inside.

"What's with this Fae and silk?" She mused, pulling the socks on her feet. They reached halfway up her calf, a perfect fit as she expected. She glared at the boots for a few more minutes then growled as she grabbed them. She realized there was a little zipper on one side of the boot, and when she finished zipping it closed, the zipper disappeared. She cried out in shock. When she felt where the zipper was meant to e, though, she realized in relief it was just invisible. She pulled the other boot on and stood, facing the mirror. She walked around the room a few minutes and was already used to the boots. She felt as if the boots were normal sneakers for some strange reason. They were very comfortable to. She could see why the King always strutted. She sat on the bed across from the mirror and laid the cloak on the trunk folded, so nothing would happen to it. She looked in the mirror and called out,

"Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo, I need you." She waited a few minutes and the surface of the mirror rippled like a lake, and she swore she saw Jareth, but the image changed and she just saw her reflection, alone. Disappointed, she stood and turned away from the mirror.

"I only have a few minutes, little missy." She twirled on her heel and saw Hoggle sitting on her bed, nervously wringing his hands in the air. She sat next to him quickly.

"What's wrong, Hoggle?" He looked at the mirror worriedly, and then turned back to her.

"First, I'm not supposed to be here in the first place. Jareth told us we can't see you when you call for us anymore." Sarah squeaked in outrage, but he shook his head to silence her.

"I can't tell you why, but he's right. He has to explain to you later." Sarah looked at him with amazement. He was agreeing with him? Hoggle walked back to the mirror and looked at her wistfully.

"You look very pretty in Labyrinth insignia, missy. I wish Didymus could see you, he'd be proud." Sarah smiled as he walked through the mirror out of her sight. She reached over to her nightstand and picked up the stick of wood she called a wand. She waved it halfheartedly, and wasn't surprised when nothing happened. She waved it at her cloak and muttered under her breath,

"Now you're laying, now start standing, tall and proud, like a cloud." Instead of coming out of her hand like she was used to, her power channeled through the wand and hit the cloak. The cloak floated eerily in the air and looked like it was hanging off of someone's frame. Sarah snapped her fingers and it zoomed over to lay on her shoulders. She tied it loosely around her neck and walked out of the dorm to the sitting room. She walked over to the couch and laid out on it, hanging her boots over the armrest as she looked around the barely empty room. There was only the fireplace, the couch, recliner, and wallpaper. There were no portraits or pictures of any sort. It felt...lonely, empty as it was. Sarah pursed her lips and wished wistfully for a portrait that could occupy and waste her time. She sighed and stood, bending to fix her boots and straighten her skirt. Shakily, she stretched again and pushed the portrait's door open and waved to Sir Cadogan as she left the first floor for the third floor.


Jareth sat before the mirror on the high-backed chair as he watched Sarah look around for her sneakers. He laughed as she growled at him. She should have realized he would take her sneakers so she would wear his boots. He grinned sadly and summoned a crystal. He touched it to the mirror and watched as the mirror swallowed it. He watched Sarah as she summoned her 'friends'. He clutched his hands into fists as he didn't hear his name mentioned. That damn girl! Why doesn't she realize all that he's done for her? He's fulfilling her dreams by making her a Sidhe, even though it was through his means! She wanted this, however unconsciously! He suddenly realized Hoggle was in the room with the girl and listened in. His shoulders slumped as he heard what the dwarf said. Jareth really didn't have a choice but to ban them from seeing her, it was for their own good and her safety. Darryn was on the loose and if he knew citizens of the Labyrinth were visiting a mortal, he would want to know why. It was essential that Sarah didn't see her friends for a while. He already wasn't planning to visit her again until the Masked Ball, which would be very hard on him, but he could handle it as long as she was safe. He sat back on his chair as he pondered how he could at least watch her. Five minutes later he got his wish. As he heard Sarah's wistful wish in the common room, (he had a mirror there too) he summoned the old portrait from the Gringotts vault and made a plan. He smirked as he watched Sarah run out of the common room and chuckled.

"Sarah, I'll never let you go again. I might have let you slip away a few months ago, but there is no escape for you now." His laughter rang throughout the Goblin Castle, alerting all of his subjects that he was up to no good. A goblin in the mortal realm at Hogwarts heard the laughter and shuddered in fear.


Albus sat at his desk surrounded by piles of books. I knew that taking her here would give me much more work. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had to write a letter to the Elven Queen to relieve her that he wasn't against the Sidhe in any way, shape, or form. He also had to make sure that the preparations for the Halloween Masked Ball wouldn't be affected by an unexpected visitor, and that the guest list was done. Fawkes flew up onto his shoulder and rubbed its beak against his face. He chuckled.

"This is going to be a very interesting year, Fawkes. At least that's guaranteed." Fawkes gave a trill.


Filius Flitwick sat on his stack of books as he peered at the young girl across his desk. He watched her summon a crystal and toss it in the air and catch it in her gloved hand. He knew who she was, she was the Kobold Dame, or the Lady Goblin in German. A lot of the Goblins had resorted back to German, one of the oldest languages. It was the language of the old Goblins, the ones of the Goblin City when they weren't talking English with their Fae King. She didn't know though, that the Goblin King had claimed her as his Queen, and she was going to probably be too blind to notice it, also. She sighed and looked up at the half-goblin half-wizard.

"So Professor Sidhe will use crystal magic also?" She grinned maliciously. "I knew she was a Sidhe. Well, the name was pretty obvious." She smiled whimsically. "Whether or not she's related to Ja-him, is irrelevant.


So Sarah Williams ate breakfast with Professor Williams, her stepsister as she now referred to her as. Sarah picked at her eggs with her fork as she looked at her gloves thoughtfully.

"So this duel doesn't have anything to do with my grade, right? What do you predict?" Sarah joked with a growing sense of dread. Jessica snorted into her oatmeal. Professor McGonagall glanced over the table at Jessica, slightly perturbed. Jessica wiped her mouth with a napkin and grinned at Sarah.

"I see that neither of you win, to both of your egos. Neither win, neither lose, and because of this, you'll dread and love the temporary and final outcome." With furrowed eyebrows, Sarah responded.

"What does that mean, Jessica?" Jessica shrugged, and then grinned.

"I just read the signs, I don't interpret them. Call me Jess, by the way." Sarah nearly jumped when she heard a harsh bark of laughter behind her.

"She can only call her familiarly during summer, Williams. Remember the rules." Sarah looked behind herself and was facing Professor Sidhe's sneering face. Jessica was in bubbly attitude.

"No, I can be familiar with her all that I want anytime. She's my sister after all." The Professor's high arched eyebrows raised then she snickered, looking at Sarah critically.

"Really, I thought you only had a younger brother." Sarah turned suddenly narrowed eyes to the sneering blonde.

"And how would you know that, Professor? I wasn't aware that Professors could get personal information about students."


Damn, Arianna thought as the Halfling Sidhe combated her verbally. Forgot others don't know anything about her.

"Dumbledore mentioned the young Lord." She figured it was safe to say. She watched as tumblers took place in the Halfling's head.

"The young Lord?" Sarah asked Arianna, and the Fae visibly cringed, but quickly recovered. That was how Jareth referred to Toby, and it rubbed off, she realized. She sneered again and walked away, cursing Jareth in her mind. She wouldn't be helping her son with his newest conquest if it wasn't for her husband.


Sarah stood in the Great Hall on a long table, facing Professor Sidhe with her fake wand in hand. She noticed that the blonde had an intricately designed wand poised at her. She quickly grasped at her horse crop tied at her waist, hidden under her cloak. She held the crystal on the top and felt strengthen her resolve and control. Professor Flitwick stood between the two duelists on his telephone book. He had his arms stretched towards both women.

"This is a clean duel. Rules are thus: No bodily harm upon the other deliberately, each takes a turn, and the receiver can block or rebound. No intentional shots to the crowd, obviously. A nice clean duel, ladies." He jumped off the book and carried it off of the dueling table. Professor Sidhe grinned maliciously while Sarah grimaced. She barely heard Flitwick's starting yell when a bolt of electricity hit her square in the chest, throwing her back five feet. She grunted when she hit the floor. She felt her chest where the bolt disintegrated and felt a bit lightheaded. She looked through murky eyes around the room, and then her senses suddenly flared to life. She heard gasps around the room as she got to her feet and reached up to feel her face. Her glasses were gone and her glamour had vanished.

"Shit," She mumbled when she realized the glasses broke in her fall. She reached into the air and pulled a new pair out of the air with the same glamour. She looked at Professor Sidhe as she grinned at Sarah, taking her own glasses off long enough for only Sarah to see her without her glamour. Sarah saw the long silver hair just gather at the floor, facial markings that looked like makeup, high cheekbones and eyebrows, and her long pointed ears that accentuated her odd eyes that were one blue, one grey. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She replaced her glasses as quickly as Sarah did.

"Arianna de Aisling, Leanan Sidhe. Pleasure to be of the same clan you'll join." She smirked mischievously at Sarah's disbelieving glare. Sarah noticed that Arianna needed only to whisper for only her to hear.

"I'm not going to be Leanan Sidhe! How did you even!?!? Did Jareth?!?" Arianna smirked, revealing her pointy teeth she didn't worry about hiding.

"Yes. Your turn." She said in an annoying sing-song voice. Sarah growled. She quickly replayed Arianna's first move through her head and realized that Arianna used her hands too. She grasped her wand in her right hand and clasped the crop in her left.

"Standing smugly, belittling me, wipe that smirk off with a dip in a sea." She muttered as she waved the wad, a blue light shooting out just over the sidhe's shoulder. She glanced over it and snickered as she looked back at Sarah.

"Missed." Sarah grinned very goblin-like with a glint in her eye.

"Did I?" She asked sweetly. Arianna sneered and then turned around, then lost her speech as a busload of water poured over her from an unknown source. She screamed in anger and horror.

"YOU WET MY CLOTHES!!!" She screamed at Sarah and flourished her hand as her wand disappeared in her fit of temper. Sarah saw the yellow lightning blast this time and easily side-stepped it, throwing a shot at the woman's stomach.

"Ticklish somewhere, let's find it. Use it against her, she's too full of shit." A gold light hit the Sidhe in the side and she toppled over. She haphazardly threw a curse at Sarah who wasn't expecting it, and was thrown off her feet again. Both got up at the same time and both her deadly serious, no more fairness. Sarah saw the blonde's lips moving and her hand shimmering, and Sarah stuffed her wand in her pocket as she clutched her crop. She muttered a shield rhyme and then saw it. A huge green light rushed at her. She heard shouts from the watching professors and she stood her ground. She closed her eyes as it went through her, and the force of the magic forced her body to close into itself in defense. She saw a gold light and she swore she could hear a male scream in her head as her eyes rolled up and her body crumpled to the floor.


Sarah groaned as she felt the world move around her. She opened her eyes and shut them immediately, feeling the Earth tilt on its axis. She felt liquid going down her throat, broth, and then the warmth that surrounded her leave. She laid like that for a while longer, then opened her eyes again relieved to see everything in its normal sharpened and heightened sense. Her eyes widened as she looked to the night stand, finding her glasses there. She quickly put them on and felt the glamour slip in place, her senses dulled and mortal as she was used to. She sighed and looked to her left. Professor Dumbledore sat there staring at her over half-moon spectacles. She breathed unevenly.

"Wha...what happened?" Albus chuckled at her nervous countenance.

"Well, you didn't lose..." Sarah was aghast.

"What? How!?" Albus smiled as he answered a hand in his beard.

"When she sent that spell at you, your shield bounced half of it back to its originator." Sarah's mouth was half open.

"And that means?" She was confused. He chuckled.

"She was knocked out at the same time, so the duel was a tie." Sarah's lip curled.

"Least she didn't win. How long have I been out?" Albus smiled and looked at his odd watch before answering.

"Two and a half days. Professor Sidhe woke a day ago." Sarah's lip twitched. She sat up straight and stared to the right where she felt a twinge of magic. She saw a crystal floating next to her face and she swatted it away. It popped like a bubble. The remaining magic didn't feel like Jareth's, but she ignored that.

"Jareth...." She growled and her head turned when she heard Albus chuckle.

"He's not here, Sarah. That wasn't even his. He has no power over you here, as you've said." Sarah stared at him for a moment, confused, and then understood.

"Professor Sidhe! She has Crystal Magic, she's Leanan Sidhe, and she knows Jareth!" Albus smiled sadly and nodded.

"I know." Sarah looked at him for a moment like a fish in the water. She rounded on him after a minute.

"You knew? You knew all along and you never told me?" Albus chuckled sadly.

"Of course I knew. I have to know everything about the Professor's of my school." Sarah raised her hands, and then let them drop unceremoniously to the bed in defeat. She slouched a second, then thought of the green spell hurled at her.

"I read that the only spell that was green was the Avada Kedavra curse," She started, and Albus smiled ruefully.

"If she indeed threw a killing curse at you, she wouldn't mean it." Her eyebrow rose as she laughed dryly. His smiled turned serious.

"She wouldn't, and she couldn't. Anyway, she didn't throw the Avada because she was using Crystal Magic as you did. The spells she uses are colored green, signifying she is one with nature. The only times her spells are other colors are because she's manipulating the elements. You shall be the same." He smiled as Sarah grumbled. He was glad that she was already accepting her fate.

"We're nothing alike." She frowned as he only chuckled into his beard.

"As you will be of the same clan, you have to be. Besides, from what I've seen, the only difference between both of your magic's is the years of experience and the color of your main spells. While she is green, you are gold." Sarah grinned ruefully. She sighed and was instantly depressed. Albus noticed this and leaned back in his chair.

"What troubles thee now?" She looked up at him with sad eyes. She pursued her lips and looked at her clasped hands.

"It's just, well, I miss the Labyrinth. Is that rational, considering all that I've told you? I haven't seen my friends since before I left, except when Hoggle came here after I first came." Albus looked up at her sharply.

"What?" Sarah realized she hadn't told him about the incident with Hoggle. She proceeded to tell him what happened, ending with Jareth's order. They sat silent for a moment, and Albus spoke.

"With Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus' point, I have to say you'll have to trust Jareth on this." Jareth went to Albus the previous morning and told him of Darryn, Jareth's cousin, warning him of the potential danger to Sarah and the school. He saw her outrage and continued.

"As for your wishing to return to the Labyrinth-" Sarah interrupted, muttering under her breath with her arms crossed.

"Not to the point of wishing," He glared at her briefly, and then she acquiesced. "Just listen, don't interrupt,

"Your magic calls out for its home. The Labyrinth is where your magic flourishes. Hogwarts is the closest that you'll find considering it's Aboveground. Besides, your sire is there too, and your new magic is connected to him so it's crying for his presence." Sarah frowned.

"Are you saying my magic needs him?" She snarled, not liking the turn the conversation was taking. His eyes lowered in a fatherly way.

"Basically, but your crop and those Fae gloves are a temporary solution, feeding your magic, but it needs to be recharged within a month or two." He saw her pursed lips as she looked over her gloves, examining them. Then she reached between her legs under the covers to bring out the crop. She examined it briefly, and then sighed as she placed it back under the covers touching her thighs in a reassuring way. He looked at the teen sadly.

"I know that you don't want to go back, but you will have to eventually." Her lips pulled back into a snarl. He noticed this tensely.

"He is your liege lord, as much as I hate to say it, and I have to abide to not only Wizard laws, but also Fae laws. I have to honor a Fae Blessing. You can come here no matter what, but until your schooling here is over, he has no authority on this property. As Danu's laws stand, I must adhere. So mote it be." He muttered at the end and added a few incoherent words and Sarah looked to the opposite side of the bed and considered her position rationally, not as a spoiled brat as she would've, two months earlier.

"So after either this year or next, I'll have to return to the Castle beyond the Goblin City in the center of the Labyrinth?" Albus looked at her and smiled sadly.

"I'm afraid so." She looked him in the eye.

"But what you told Karen?" He sighed wearily.

"What I told your stepmother I believed was true. After you came here, I reread the old laws of Faerie and realized I was wrong. Incidentally, that's happened a lot during my life." He smiled ruefully. His eyes misted for a moment in remembrance, then they returned to their crystal blue. He glanced at his peculiar pocket watch and sighed yet again. He looked at her over his glasses.

"I'm afraid Poppy shall be here in a minute, and then we can all go to the Great Hall." At her questioning gaze, he smiled.

You're to be sorted. I wish for you to join the older students' tomorrow night rather than be sorted with the first years." She smiled back then the smile fell from her lips.

"Tomorrow night!" She gasped and looked up at him startled. He nodded with his half-smile, then his head tilted a second and he chuckled.

"I will see you in a half-hour then, Ms. Williams." He nodded his head, stood, and walked from the room. She noticed Madame Pomfrey, the new nurse pass him with an upturned nose as she pushed a small cart toward Sarah. She saw her clothes and the cloak neatly folded on top. Madame Pomfrey put the clothes on the bed and then fussed over her for the next half-hour before releasing her.


Sarah sat on the little stool in front of the main table, facing the Professors. Professor McGonagall held an old, patched up hat in her hand as Albus explained the principle of sorting to her. Sarah nodded, only understanding the gist. She closed her eyes as the hat slipped over her ears and eyes. She heard a voice whispering in her mind.

"Hmm, cunning and deceitful I see, loyal and brave. Stubborn and arrogant, prideful and courageous. Your pride and stubbornness will be your weak point in your ongoing struggle with the Goblin King." She gulped and the hat chuckled.

"You need to be with people who'll teach you what you'll need to know to deal with Fae, so I guess you'll be, SLYTHERIN!" She heard it yell out for the teachers. The hat was lifted from her head and she saw disappointment flash briefly on a few faces, then heard Slughorn get up from his chair and hurry over to her, but she was too busy glaring at Professor de Aisling, who was only smirking back with a knowing glare. She only looked up when she realized Slughorn was clamoring over her, talking about how he was happy to have another Slytherin in his house. She barely paid attention, but kept a smile in place. She would have to resort to Hogwarts: A History to get information about her new house. She looked around briefly, scanning her new home, well, the Great Hall, really. She looked at the hour glasses behind the table, all of the sand in each at the top. She glanced back at Slughorn and realized he was already done and sitting, drinking a cup of ale. She smiled, stretching her leg muscles and flexing her hands. She had the sudden urge to blow something up with the pressure suddenly burning in her. She thanked the professors and stepped out of the Great Hall. She heard footsteps behind her as she stepped out of the Entrance Hall out into fresh air. She glanced behind herself and saw Jessica follow her. She sighed as she walked down the stairs, Jessica reaching her at the bottom of the stair. She grinned at Sarah as they started walking toward the lake in silence. The both sat on a huge rock jutting out toward the beckoning water. Sarah looked over when she heard Jessica sigh, noting her tired expression as she herself was being appraised. Jessica was the first to break the silence, looking over the water again.

"Your, mother, sends her greetings." Sarah sat up straight, clenching her teeth as she stared straight ahead. Jessica glanced over and saw her expression, and was puzzled, but wisely closed her mouth to her next statement.

"Linda Williams may be my birth mother, but I don't know her. Like a daughter should. Your brother," Sarah stopped a minute and flexed her jaw. She was on the verge of tears at this time. Jessica knew how she felt, so she let her say her piece, she deserved to rant.

"The moment Linda walked out of that door, she walked out on my life. For ten years I waited by the door, believing she'd come back, and one day, I just realized she didn't care. She didn't love my father, and she didn't want me." She ignored Jessica who tried to protest. Her voice rose in intensity until she was yelling, tears running down her cheeks.

"She never called! No contact with her! The only reason I knew her was through Dad's memories, and thoughtful Jeremy, who sent a birthday gift ever year from the both of them, but that was it! When I was five he sent me the book that ruined my life and future, when I was ten, a box of stuffed animals that resembled creatures from the Labyrinth, and for my fifteenth a music box that plays a song that damned man sang to me! No note, nothing! Now that I'm a witch and my mother bothers to remember me? I was nothing to her then, and I'm nothing to her now!" Sarah cried out as she jumped to her feet. Jessica stood up too, and opened her mouth to reassure her, but Sarah ran into the forest before she got the chance. Sarah stood behind an oak tree as she heard Jessica call out for her at the edge of the forest.

"Sarah! That's the forbidden forest! It's against the rules to go in there!" Sarah sighed as she climbed up the oak tree to a higher limb. She noticed that it was the only tree in the forest that was oak, or even alive on that note. She, from her angle, could see the entire forest and the castle. She looked at the end of the branch she was sitting on and was shocked to see a pair of eyes staring back at her. Mismatched blue eyes. She yelped and accidently slipped from her branch. She felt a tremor pass through her body and saw green as she passed out.


Sarah moaned, a hand flying to her head as she awoke. She felt that her throat was parched and coughed.

"Why do you keep fainting? I hope this won't be a regular occurrence for your or, dear me, Jareth will have his hands full." Sarah's eyes shot open and widened as she saw Professor Sidhe standing next to her, brewing tea. She stared at her in confusion.

"What? W…" Sarah felt her voice catch in her throat as the Sidhe turned and stared at her with a glare.

"Why the Hell were you so high up in that tree? I understand the impulse; I've gone up that high too, but to fall?" She pursed her lips and turned back to her tea that was boiling on a small fire in a fireplace. Sarah heard her muttering under her breath, and heard snippets,

"Halfling…fledgling…only turned…." Then she took the tea off the open fire and poured two teacups. She put the tea kettle on the tray with the cups and brought it over to set on the table next to Sarah. She drew a chair up as she put a lump of sugar in her tea and stirred it with a spoon. She looked up at Sarah dryly.

"Cream and Sugar?" Sarah licked her lips nervously.

"One sugar, little cream." The Professor nodded. Sarah looked around the room she was in. She didn't recognize it. The walls were deep green, and there were plants everywhere. She was in a comfy bed, more appeasing than the bed in her dorm she was giving up the next day. It didn't even resemble any rooms in the castle that she had seen. She looked back at the Sidhe and her situation sunk through link a stone in her stomach.

"Wait a minute, you? Why, you don't even like me! Where am I?" She looked up from her tea and shrugged.

"Yes me. It's not that I don't like you, you're just annoying along with the situation. You're in my chamber. My name is Arianna de Aisling, and I am your Professor and fellow Leanan Sidhe. I am a high rank, so you must respect me. I am to teach you of our ways. Drink." She handed Sarah the teacup. Sarah looked at it a second, then looked at Arianna. She sighed as she closed her eyes and blew on the hot tea. She took a small sip and fell in love with it. She took another sip and swung her legs around the edge. She sipped more of the tea as she stood.

"Where is this chamber, in Hogwarts? It reminds me of-" She was interrupted when Arianna stood abruptly.

"The Labyrinth?" At Sarah's shocked glance, she snarled.

"I know a thing or two about the Labyrinth, little girl. I'd advise you to watch your step." Her eyes narrowed at Sarah, then softened and she gave the suddenly wary girl a small smile. After all, this girl was her future daughter-in-law if her son's plans worked out. She didn't want to be a monster-in-law in the girl's eyes. She set her empty tea cup down and took Sarah's discarded cup from her wringing hands. She clasped the girl's hands in her own and gave her a soft smile, which Sarah reluctantly returned. Arianna took a breath. Sarah couldn't believe how different the Professor was now from when she first met her at the beginning of the month.

"Sarah. Promise me you'll stop being so clumsy, you'll care for yourself. No more acting on instincts. I'll watch over you, but I have an image to maintain, so I have to act the same as I have. Sarah, I'm here to protect you and help nurture your magic. I got out of hand in our duel, and trust me, I've paid the price!" She laughed, her eyes crinkling slightly. Sarah smiled back, relaxing slightly.

"So we're at an impasse, eh? Where we hate each other?" Sarah asked, hesitantly, as Arianna dropped her hands and picked up a book from the table. She turned around and handed the book to Sarah. History of Tuatha de Danann. Seelie and Unseelie Courts. The last was in smaller print below. Sarah saw no author, like The Labyrinth didn't. She held it tucked in her arms and smiled at the professor, who turned to the desk and picked something else up. She put her glasses on and Sarah realized she wasn't wearing her pair. She looked at Arianna curiously, realizing that she still had dulled vision, mortal senses. She didn't get the question formed when she was interrupted.

"I put a temporary glamour on you so you wouldn't be shocked when you awakened. When you wake in the morning, don't forget to put on your glasses. We'll work together later in the year to find a way to glamour ourselves in a more permanent fashion, as long as we can get out of it quickly. I already know, but I'm doing this for your benefit." Sarah smiled sheepishly. The professor walked over to the door. She opened it and Sarah saw the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She followed her out of the room and watched as the door hid behind a tapestry. Sarah never noticed the tapestry until now, it was very inconspicuous. She turned back to the Professor.

"Thanks for saving my hide. So," She hesitated, "What do I call you? Professor Sidhe or Professor de Aisling?" Arianna grinned.

"I believe in hiding in plain sight. Great hunting practice. Professor Sidhe is fine." Sarah left the classroom and walked down to the first floor and went past Sir Cadogan. She barely realized he spoke to her as she stumbled past him. She knew she'd been passed out since that morning, and dimly realized she'd been unconscious for the last 3 days. She sat heavily upon a chair in the sitting room, unaware of a single portrait on the wall, the only portrait in her temporary dorm. She looked up however, at the sound of stifled laughter. She looked up at the wall opposite her, and saw the portrait of his royal highness from the vault. She didn't have time to think before he spoke.

"How unobservant you are, I see." He chuckled. "You've always been, preoccupied to noticed my watchful eye. Even before you traversed through my Labyrinth." Her mind narrowed on one thing he said. She didn't even care how his portrait came to be in the room.

"Before the Labyrinth?" Jareth grimaced inwardly at the slip, and his emotionless mask came. He changed the subject as she started to glare.

"Nasty fall?" Her eyes narrowed.

"How did you know?" Jareth smirked, his eyes narrowing as they trained on her forehead. She felt it and realized she had a splitting headache. There was a slight bump there, where her fingers probed. She sighed and put her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees. Jareth's eyes softened as he watched the girl's shoulders shake. He wished he could leave the portrait. She hated the weakness she was showing to her enemy, the one who wanted to take her from her family and home. She squared her shoulder, stared straight at Jareth with red-rimmed eyes, and snarled at him.

"I'll never give in to you." She smirked slightly as she stood, ruining her gesture by sniffing. She winced, then straightened the gloves on her hands unconsciously. She stalked out of the room to her bedroom. She didn't hear him as she left, though.

"I'll never give you up." He sighed as he leaned back on his throne, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He grimaced as his eyes opened, his hands slamming onto the arms of the throne.

"I'll ask mum to do it." He grit his teeth, knowing he was going to regret his actions.


(R/R!!!! Or i send goblin after you!!!!!)