In Quack's opinion, the secret meeting is boring. They had mistakenly thought that the presence of the reds guaranteed that this would be interesting and fun and that someone might be running around screaming or that they would change the hair colours of everyone there or something small and amusing like that.

They do not, choosing instead to pay careful attention to the boy at the front, the one with green eyes just like Lady, except the the types of green are different. Quack likes to call him lightning; he has a cool scar on his head and his eyes glow sometimes.

Lightning doesn't look like he really wants to be in front of everyone and they sympathise - it is awfully hard to play tricks when everyone is looking at you. It is a feat only achieved by true pranksters, a way to make sure that no one can pin the blame on you since you were within their sight the entire time.

Perched on Toby's shoulder, they patiently wait as Lightning tries very hard not to go red, fails and nearly mumbles instead of speaking well. He finds his own feet quickly, however, fending off a Black and Yellow boy that Quack isn't sure they like.

As Black and Yellow is Babe's house here, they want to like him but he can be quite annoying and he was rude to Babe once.

In spite of Babe making Quack promise not to do anything, they still had. They kept their promise because broken promises between friends break them up. Tumble had been more than happy to help Quack out; they liked Babe a lot too.

No promises broken and no bad deed unpunished: it had been a wonderful day for them.

Babe had found out in the end like Quack had expected but the goblin had not broken any promises so Babe just shook his head and let it go. Lady had gone one step further, had thanked Quack while Babe was busy with a book. Books are boring too but they are less boring than they first thought - some books are interesting.

Eagerly, Quack looks around before remembering that they are not in the library. They are in the Labyrinth. The Room of Requirement, the wizards call it. It is not about requirement here, not about what you need. It is about what you want. They are in the room of wishes, in the domain of the Goblin King. Here, they are safe.

"Luna, when you said we were going to be breaking Umbridge's degree by going to a vigilante group, I didn't expect whatever this is." This is not the first time Toby has registered this complaint, given that it is the end of May now and he started coming in January.

"I think Zacharias is making Harry Potter very annoyed." Luna says as though she has not heard Babe. Quack likes Luna; she actually suits her name. They have not had to find anything to call her.

Even Babe and Lady and Kingy had to be renamed.

Vainly, they had protested, had insisted that Toby and Sarah and- and Sarah and Toby were fine but the goblins knew better than to pay these protests any heed. Luna had not protested. She listened to Quack, talked to them, believed until she could see them and had been happy to let them climb all over her. Luna has very pretty ears.

Eagerly, Quack looks up to see if they can spot them behind her hair. Luna has pretty, long hair too but it often covers her ears.

Right now, her hair is tucked behind an ear so they are free to observe it. As the world thinks they have been having too many good things, however, Toby turns away, heads towards a small boy that Quack has often seen with Click. Click is nice too, always eager, and he has this box that makes a really nice sound because it seems to annoy most people. Even the hint of it around Lightning makes him angry.

Unfortunately, Toby is too busy with Click's... kin to bother with annoying Lightning. The goblin looks over to Luna in hope but she has just cast a spell, knocking her partner over into the cushions. Quack waits to see if she will be free now but they are taking it in turns to blast each other, like in a prank war. They have seen enough prank wars to know it will not be over soo-

Maybe they have scheduled times for prank wars? Luna lowers her hand, helps her partner up, tells them she has to rush off and disappears out of the door. Quack wants to call her back. This is the Labyrinth, is safety and she is leaving it for the castle. They know she will not listen. Lady was just as stubborn, never wanted to stay in the Labyrinth where it was safe.

And Babe is much the same. The goblin cannot understand why he wants to come to school here, with people like Pink Toad when he could learn this all from Kingy. Humans are odd - that is probably why, they decide. Nothing like goblins.

Kingy says so anyway.

Even Kingy does not say it to Lady and Babe though so Quack never outright tells them they are strange. They think they might know anyway - there is always a weird expression on their faces when Quack and Tumble do not understand something.

Under them, Babe stops. Quack quickly realises something is wrong. Directly in front of them are ten students, wands out in front of them and wearing nasty smiles. "Kingy." they tell Babe. "Call Kingy."

"I wish the Goblin King were here." Toby mouths, unwilling to share how to summon Jareth with ten intimidating students who he doesn't really recognise. There is one Ravenclaw, two Gryffindors, three Hufflepuffs and four Slytherins. Proper interhouse cooperation. He nearly snorts.

Nothing happens.

Toby tries again. "I wish for Jareth." It isn't working. Why isn't it working? "Jareth?"

Something has to be wrong. It is the only explanation for why the Goblin King is not answering. The ten of them close in and Toby tries not to whimper. He hopes he is successful. Quack shifts uncomfortably.

"Where is he?"

"Umm... I don't-"

"Where is the Dark Lord, you snivelling worm?" A wand to presses into Toby's neck.

"I wish the Goblin King would come and take you all away." Toby mutters.

"What?"

"Why bother?" one of the Hufflepuffs butts in, looking rather unimpressed. "Let's just get on to the good bit."

Toby doesn't want to know what that means. Neither does Quack. The Gryffindor steps back, removing his wand from his neck and he takes in a breath, now that he is not going to get his head taken off for it. It is not a sigh of relief, there is no relief to be found here, not when the Hufflepuff is pretending to be uninterested, examining her nails. When she looks up though, he can see the cruelty in her eyes, the gleeful anticipation. He should have gone with Luna.

The Ravenclaw flicks his wand and Toby screeches in pain. Through heavy eyelids, he looks down to see a laceration across his stomach. Why didn't he go with her?

He cannot see the wound itself but the blood is leaking out of his clothes, no doubt turning his white shirt red. The robe he's got on is black so he can't actually see the blood either but he can feel it, can feel the wet patch and it hurts badly.

"Don't worry." the Slytherin says. "If they turn up, we won't make anything permanent. If not, well, I'm sure you only need one hand."

Toby swallows uncomfortably. It is becoming increasingly likely that 'they' are not going to turn up. He doesn't understand why though. Is something blocking his call? Consideringly, Toby lifts his hand from where he has been pressing against his… against it and fiddles a little, wincing as he has to pull his shirt out. His hand is red and sticky as it comes out and he shakes his fingers so the blood splatters on the floor, right on top of where his shaking gingers dropped his wand.

"Jareth." he calls, still mouthing it, saying nothing out loud. In his mind, he is screaming it.

The pain is making him lightheaded and one of the Slytherins flicks her wand, nonchalantly. A big cut appears on his arm and Toby is forced to cradle it with the other, even though he knows what will come next.

"Sarah." he tries, hoping that somehow she will know that something is wrong, that somehow she will find him. He is starting to sway a little, is unsure how much longer he can keep standing before he faints. He knows they won't stop when that happens, will keep going.

"Labyrinth." Quack says insistently. "Babe go back."

He is too lightheaded to make much sense of it, is slipping a little and someone else flicks their wand because there is the other cut he expected, one on each arm now. Toby should run. His feet are glued to the floor and their eyes lock his face in place.

There is another screech from somewhere, probably from his throat and he tries to move, really does but he can't and he's so tired, so heavy that he's falling down.

Falling-

As you might know, most owls hoot. Barn owls, however, screech. It was not Toby screeching. Do you see where this is going? No? Let me give you a clue, this particular barn owl has two blue eyes. The pupil of the right eye is smaller than that of the left.

Jareth swoops gracefully down, far more angry than he has been in many years. Considering his definition of years is different than that of humans, for Toby and Sarah it is a long, long time. Why, you may ask, did he take so long? Quack looks furiously up at him and Jareth looks just as furiously back. Something was blocking him from Toby, something he had not even sensed prior to this.

From all of them, he realises as he looks at the pathetic teenagers beating up a second year. They are protected from the Goblin King. While it makes sense that someone decided to prevent him from taking wished-aways, it does not explain why they thought he was going to attack the children. Jareth only comes where he is called, where he is invited.

Whoever they are, they must be terrified of him coming back to haunt them because he realises he cannot cast any magic on them. He cannot help Toby, even though he wishes to, even though his magic bubbles angrily beneath his skin, begs to be used. How long has it been since he was in this predicament?

(The last time was with one of his more unfortunate Labyrinth runners. She had had a child thrust upon her and wished it away. Then, of course, she had changed her mind. He tried to give her more time but she couldn't get to the castle by the deadline. There was still a happy ending, however, and they both live in the Labyrinth now.)

The Labyrinth.

As he watches the ten, he sends off Quack to Sarah. There is not much he can do as an owl but anger grants him its own mimicry of invincibility and he is lucky that he has held onto rationality for so long.

Toby is bleeding, is fallen and still his attackers advance. Jareth has had his biggest weapon taken away. He is vulnerable, is currently an owl. Toby is bleeding and he does not think to transform back, does not think to use his magic on himself, to shield himself from their gazes or anything else. He simply moves.

Flying over to the Hufflepuff with immaculate nails, he claws at her wand hand, scooping up her wand with his beak as she drops it and using his claws to destroy it, barrelling out of the way just in time to avoid a particularly nasty spell. He manages to destroy another three wands before a spell clips his wings, sending him tumbling down to the ground. Thankfully only the top of one wing was damaged but flight is now out of the question.

Hopping up, he gets the wand that cast that spell - several well placed bites do the trick - and is about to get a sixth when a tremor rocks the floor. The remaining five attackers scramble quickly to their feet, looking hatefully at Toby. They advance on his prone body, laying flat on the floor, blood still leaking out.

Jareth can do nothing but smile.

The Labyrinth trembles in rage, rising up to reclaim the castle that was once a part of it. It too can be invited and one of its Champions calling to it is more than enough to allow it to regain control over a place that was once its own before the wizards fell out with goblins.

Maybe the attackers are terrified as the very floor itself rises, lifting them far up into the air and shaking a little. Jareth watches in satisfaction, forgets that they are not grown, forgets that these are not soldiers or enemies but cruel, misled children. The Labyrinth does not. It finds sympathy for them where he tells himself he has none and tests them, looks into their hearts.

The five who he earlier disarmed and who subsequently fled are pulled back roughly so that all ten of them are on the same platform, hanging in the air, just like their fates.

Four of them flicker and vanish and he knows there will be four new goblins being put to work somewhere or the other. The other six are fearful now and although he cannot hear what is going on, they seem to be arguing. Jareth permits himself a grim smile. He has never been at such conflict with himself before, has never had to deal with children attacking a child he knows.

Two of them exchange a glance then push a third off, eyes carefully watching as he floats to the ground. A fourth rounds on the first two, disgusted by their actions. Waving her wand, she desperately tries to reach him and with a look at the first two, steps off. The last two are huddled together, too scared to do much other than move.

The longer he looks, the more they fade away and he defers to the wisdom of the Labyrinth. They are not (yet) his subjects so it is not in his place to make any judgements. Jareth checks his wing, sees that it is nearly healed and settles next to Toby, eyes wide open in vigil.

For the next few minutes, he blinks only once - when the ten attackers are returned in perfectly good condition but unconscious. He surmises that they have finished their sentences - unsurprising as time can work differently in places barely a step apart in the Labyrinth.

When at last he hears footsteps, he tucks himself into the corner, ready to make his dramatic entrance.

Filius Flitwick, short Charms Professor and Sarah's friend, immediately comes over to Toby. He sees the ten attackers next, does some mental calculations and decides that it might be better to keep the injured boy and the group separate.

Jareth sweeps in from the open window as though he has just arrived, screeching curiously and nudging his head against Toby. Filius, far too used to Sarah's owl by now, gently pushes him away, rolling Toby Williams over and drawing in a shocked gasp when he sees the state of him. Quickly, he whips out his wand, casting a few spells - presumably to stem the bleeding and disinfect the wounds.

The owl lets out a distressed screech when it looks at the blood on the floor and Filius is far from surprised when it follows Toby's floating body to the infirmary. The other ten come after them, seemingly fine but the Charms Professor would rather get them checked over by Madam Pomfrey to be sure.

When they finally reach the infirmary, Filius collapses in relief - stress and using so much magic having thoroughly exhausted him. The owl looks at him intently then uses its beak to pat his hair before flying back to Toby Williams, laying peacefully in an infirmary bed.

It is relaxing in a way one might not expect to tidy up left out books, to shush students and occasionally take House points off, to check to make sure no one is in the Restricted Section who should not be, to go back to the desk and sort out any books that have been returned. Madam Pince does not like to use magic on the books, since a fair few of them are imbued in it so Sarah's lack of magic does not actually get in the way most of the time.

There was that time when a Gryffindor boy had frozen her and wasn't really willing to let her go but he had left her arms free (a mistake) so she'd promptly knocked him out. After that was a Slytherin girl who had been smarter but had not anticipated her phoenix friend. Anyone who even thought of it after that was efficiently discouraged by her barn owl shadow.

She had hidden behind her friends in the Labyrinth and in the interest of growth, Sarah tries very hard not to do that anymore. At first, the presence of her avian defenders had felt the same but Jareth had convinced her otherwise. If you know you are disadvantaged and you have friends who can mitigate that, it is not wrong to accept their help, especially if you are sure that you would offer it in turn.

As if the world is listening to her thoughts (and sometimes Sarah does wonder with everything that happens around her but now is not the time), Sybill Trelawney appears, rushing into her line of sight. She looks frantic and heads straight towards her with the unerring accuracy of an arrow which could either mean some very good news or some very bad news. It is difficult to tell with Sybill. Sarah gently puts down her armful of books in preparation.

"Sarah.", her friend hisses, grabbing her shoulders. She makes no effort to push her off, having anticipated it and gotten used to this sort of gesture. Sybill is nervous, she realises now. "I saw the club." Knowing that Sarah does not have a clue what she is talking about, Sybill continues. "Tessomancy is rarely misled when it comes to important occurrences, Sarah."

This explains far less than Sybill seems to think it should.

"A club?"

"An attack." Sybill's hands tremble.

Although Sarah can do nothing to alter the path of fate, Sybill often comes to her friend when she sees such things. It is nice to talk to someone about all of it, to speak to someone who does not automatically dismiss her visions, her powers. Sarah pauses, opens her mouth as if to speak and winces, as though she has just been struck. Sybill moves closer, hands flapping uselessly by her side. Her bracelets jangle with the force of her worry. For her part, Sarah reaches out, firmly gripping Sybill's shoulder to try to steady herself. It is harder than she usually holds her so Sybill stills.

The call of the Labyrinth, once settled is stronger now, almost intense. Quack makes their way up to Sarah's shoulder and the ominous feeling only grows.

"Kingy says to call the Laby, Lady."

She does not question it, feels that she has to do something, anything. The Labyrinth calls to her again, has called to her for a long time now. The Labyrinth calls and this time she calls back, singing its tune in her head and imagines physically grasping it and pulling it towards her.

It has always been the Labyrinth calling to her, inviting her in. This time, she invites it, calls it to her and it answers. The floor seems to rumble and the air changes, like when you move closer to the sea. Here, she has moved closer to the Labyrinth (or more accurately, the Labyrinth has moved closer to her).

The tremors subside and she casts a concerned look at Sybill who seems to have been unaffected by the change. Her friend does not look worried or uncertain or hurt (more than she was just before anyway) and Sarah breathes, acclimatising to the change. A quick glance at the precariously stacked books reassures her further - none of them have toppled with the shaking. But there is something strange about the way Sybill is looking at her, something probing and Sarah self-consciously brings a hand up to brush back her hair. The prophetess says nothing, just stands there and stares.

"Sybill?" she ventures.

"The leaves did not lie." Whatever they mutter about her unfocused nature, Sarah has quickly come to learn that Sybill is far more focussed than people believe - when she is interested. She forgets herself sometimes.

"Babe." Quack squeaks and Sarah is immediately reminded that it was Jareth who sent the goblin to her which must mean that he was with Toby so either they are having fun or... or something is wrong with Toby and there was an attack and of course Toby would call Jareth if he was in trouble which mean- she needs to find her brother.

"Toby." she manages to her friend, practically dragging her along as she storms out of the library. "I think something is wrong with Toby."

It is all Sybill can do to keep up with her as she strides determinedly through the halls. Sybill does not know where they are going and neither does Sarah but she can clearly sense something the Divination professor cannot. She stops every few metres and lifts her head as if she is a hound tracking a scent before deciding which direction to continue. It takes several more turns and more secret passages than Sybill had been aware of (and would like to explore when this is done because she has always been a creature with far too much curiousness in her) before she recognises where they are heading.

The double doors of the Hospital Wing face them; Sarah does not throw them open as she had expected, choosing instead to firmly move the one of the right out of their way. Sybill sees the owl before the boy, head turning to face them with its blue eyes. It is guarding Toby Williams' bedside. Briefly, under that gaze, she doubts her presence here but its head turns away dismissively as though to acknowledge that she is no threat.

"Madam Pomfrey." Sybill acknowledges grandly when the Matron comes over, dissuading her from trying to interrupt. While Poppy Promfrey usually has better sense than to get in between siblings and Sarah has proven herself to be quite reasonable, Sybill is not taking any chances.

"The worst thing," she announces to the Matron as she attempts to subtly block her way to Sarah, "is that had I checked the tea leaves sooner, perhaps he would be better.". It is as much an admission of guilt, a confession as a distraction.

The Matron scoffs a little and Sybill carries on as though she did not hear, moving to sit beside Sarah and nudging her shoulder gently, in support and also as a way of getting her to move over a little. Filius Flitwick sits across from them, Sarah's owl next to him. Would they count as three visitors or four? A glance at Madam Pomfrey reveals that they probably count as too many.

The prophetess turns once more to the young Hufflepuff lying on the bed. She does not know what has happened to him but she knows the same way she knew that something was happening that he is hurt. Sybill is bold certainly but she does not dare to ask what happened, not when the very air is heavy, demands her silence.

Nothing is said.