Sarah was seriously thinking about calling the Ghostbusters. The new students were being sorted right then and she was stuck dealing with Peeves.
She had trapped him in a room on the fourth floor, she had salted the far wall and been corralling him this direction. As soon as he was in she salted the door, and the windows had already been salted aswell. Despite his ability to walk through walls, when all the walls and entrances where covered he was stuck. She did amuse herself a bit while Peeves tried to pass through the ceiling or floor.
"Defeated by condiments? Come now, what will the other ghost say! It was just a few water and flour balloons! No harm done?"
"My little brother is being sorted down there and I'm stuck baby sitting you! Your going to be stuck in this room until someone brushes the salt away." She said as she closed the door and tried to get to the dinning hall in time.
Since she arrived she had become for the most part, an expert on dealing with nuisance of magical creatures. Most of the remedies she learned from her time with muggles worked perfectly, and the wizards seem to ignore those options, always going for a wand.
She entered the Great Hall from the teacher entrance and quietly made her way to her seat. The sorting was nearly done, and for once she was glad for the W in there last name.
"Walsh, Michelle!" Professor McGonagall called. The girl walked up and waited with the hat for nearly 30 sec before crying out in loud voice.
"RAVENCLAW!" Sarah had been completely surprised by how the sorting was done last year, but after that first year the oddities of the castle started to feel second nature. She had after all defeated a Goblins Labyrinth, how hard could a wizard's castle be?
She clapped with the rest of the staff members and the ravenclaw table as the girl excused herself and ran to sit with her table.
"Wiedenbach, Gregory!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"White, Alexander!"
"SLITHERIN!"
"White, Shamus!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Williams, Toby" She finally said. Sarah didn't really care what house her brother got into, most of the family had been Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. The family did have a bet on which one though, she hadn't placed a wager. She kind of hoped for Ravenclaw cause there homeroom wasn't to far from her office. The hat was placed on his head and wait just a few moments before it let out.
"SLITHERIN!" She was glad that everyone would lose there bet to her Great Aunt, the only other person in the family that had been Slitherin. She had been betting on Slitherin for everyone since she moved back into the estate. It was good to hear she would get some of those lost galleons back.
Toby smiled and took off the hat and ran over to the table as he was congratulated by his fellow Slitherin's.
_...-~-…_
This first thing Toby realized after spending time with his housemates was it was like being back in the foundries. Only this time he wasn't setting up to be prince. His housemates constantly felt like they were preparing to stab each other in the back, or buy there way on each other good graces. He had arrived at this show late, and other bigger fish already controlled the best waters.
Like this Draco Malfoy.
He seemed to have some sort of big plans, and the Dark Lord was someone he actually talked to. He couldn't write home about this kind of stuff or they might pull him out of school and he had waited to long to get here. Now he would learn real magic, and learn how to manipulate these wannabe master smiths to be a good work crew.
The first thing was to become respectable, and with this crowd already set up with a hierarchy he had to climb. Kissing up to Malfoy was easy. Like a few other first and second years he followed him around and hung on his every word.
Also getting in good with his Head of House, which meant being adept at defending against the Dark Arts. He was glad for this, he heard last year Snape had been the Potion master, and he found that he was terrible at potions. At home he never did anything similar even cook. He was going to need help.
It was the first weekend at school and he was trying to find a deserted corridor in this overly large school. He could have asked some of his housemates to help but he was already seeing giving them any kind of information was like giving them blackmail material. It was going to be a very careful give and take relationship, and he wanted to do the taking.
He pulled a piece of chalk from his bag and drew a small door on one of he stone. After drawing a handle he knocked on it. He waited only a few seconds before the door opened and he could see the Master Smith standing there waving him in.
"What can we do for our Prince?" he asked, and then nearly fell over in surprise as Toby hugged him.
"You can't imagine how awful my house mates can be. I thought the fires in the foundries where bad, these people are like living with rattle snakes ready to strike when you take your boot off." Toby said as he pulled away and took a seat at the edge of the work shop.
"Have they tried to hurt you?" he asked laying a hand on his hammer that he kept on his belt at all times.
"No. Not that kind of help. Most of them are smarter then using brute force to finish disputes. I'm gonna need a leg up on them. I need better ways to get information, I want to be a top of the line pupil, when I get the respect of the Professors I can get more power to exercise. After I get that I can work on turning them to help with whatever I plan."
"And what is it that your planning Master Williams?"
"I'm still Toby until I finish my set of armor." He said glaring at Urdrog. He smiled back, but flashed some teeth.
"That's right, still my apprentice. Then I have an idea for the studying. But still, what is your plans?"
"Um… I'm actually not sure yet." He said looked around at the forge and the many goblins working to forge the greatest of weapons and armor. "I think for now I just want to be a world class wizard. Then when I find a purpose for it, I'll use my influence."
"That would be most ideal." He said motioning for him to head to the wall were they kept many of the base plans. Urdrog already knew that by the time he came of age Toby would probably be retiring to the Labyrinth but for now it was good the boy have a chance at fun.
Draco was like an older brother to him now. An ill tempered, constantly depressed, and possibly mental, older brother. Draco's plans had not been going well. He didn't tell anyone, and I mean anyone what they were, but Toby already noticed that when people got hurt it seemed to directly effect his mood.
Katie Bell of Griffindor a few months ago had touched a curse necklace, and Draco had been furious about it. Some rumors of Ronald Weasley getting poison had put Draco in a state aswell.
Toby was figuring both had been meant for others but he wasn't sure who. He didn't want to bring this to Sarah either cause if he played at being a rat it would tear down everything he had been working towards. Most of the first year and second years already respected him. He kept himself adept at all the rumors and his class work. It was tiring work, he was glad he could manage his time like a Brownie.
Currently he was sitting on his bed going over the notes in a potion book. Urdrog was good, and he used Toby's magic and goblin crafting to make a perfect study book. It was the size of a decent tome. The inside lacked pages as it was just twin mirrors that face each other when closed. The magic cause it to be like a scrying window that showed him the contents of many different books. Getting the different books had been the difficult part though.
Urdrog explained that you had to touch each book with your wand and then the spine of the book they had crafted together. What made it so exceptional was that even after you touched it, if people wrote in it, the mirror book updated what it said.
Toby had over Christmas break gone to several book stores and copied the contents of them all, as well as the library inside the castle and the one at home. This might be illegal was the only worry, but as he didn't take the book he felt not as guilty.
He had devoured the Potions books as he was able to touch a number of Professor Snape's copies, and he had a habit of writing notes in his. He built on different teachers notes and it was more like having one on one time with each as he prepared for class.
He was careful not to touch any of the book that had answer listed, if he was caught he didn't want those type of books listed if they felt it was against the rules.
Currently in Slughorns class Toby was fiddling with a potion that was supposed to be a simple poison. Toby had been saddened to find that Slughorn kept next to nothing for notes, he was too adept at remembering his random trivia.
Instead he was coping the notes from a nearby Ravenclaw who seemed to understand what she was doing. Back in the Labyrinth a goblin was set taking most of the different notes and compiling them from many different book of the same title so he could cross reference them. Now if he could get this book to work as a screen for his game console he wouldn't be able to every complain about the amount of work it took to make it.
As the class let out, he got full marks and took his bag and supplies up the dungeon step to hear about a possible murder.
"Stevens! What happened?" he asked a fourth year that took it upon himself to be the one to spread the news.
"It was Malfoy! He was nearly killed! Snape patched him up, but now he's in the infirmary." And like that there was a mad dash as Toby and a bunch of his admirers went to check on there prefect.
Snape was outside the door when they arrived, and was calming down his students as he explained that Malfoy would be alright, but he wouldn't actually say who caused it. Almost like a hive mind we spread out to find out who knew.
Toby had spotted this tactic early on. Many of the first thru third years would be the ones to overhear what was going on, but it all depended on who they told it to. If they waited to long someone else was bound to find out and get credit. Each of the younger students seem to cling to an older as there sort of social anchor, and the respect trickled down from it.
Toby also wondered if he was just over thinking these kinds of things as he found some Ravenclaw's talking in the library. They weren't very shocked as they said those two had been rivals for year now, and it was only time before one of them would bleed. They just had thought it would have been the Slytherin doing the cutting.
Harry Potter was the one that did the cutting.
Toby raced to the common room to tell what he found out. He was back quick enough that the only other person (a second year), learn the offender had gotten detention for the rest of the school year. Toby delivered the name and strangely the group went quiet. Some of the other first year left to tell those they could, but the older student seemed to act as if they figured as much.
Toby vanished to his dormitory and thought about this. From what he learned from the House Elves, Goblins, and other students (beside Slythrin) Harry was a good wizard. You should hear the house elf Dobby go on about him. Though Kreacher, a house elf that belong to Harry had nothing but bad things to say about him. Then he had heard the stories from the other students like when Harry sicked a serpent on a fellow student, and that he was a parlsemouth. Something generally only a dark wizard was capable of. By most rights he sounded like the kind of person that should be in Slitherin. He even faked his way into the tri wizard tournament, something Toby had hoped would be brought back by the time he was old enough to enter.
After a bit he gave up and just started in on the homework he had. He sped through it in the amount of time that would make a House Elf proud.
_...-~-…_
The news hit Sarah like a sack of bricks. Dumbledore was dead.
It was nearing the end of the school year, and a group of death eaters had broken into the castle. She had just been informed by Flitwick when she woke. The first thing she did was take off to the dungeons to check on Toby. As she reached for the door handle a leather glove held it closed.
"Sarah, before you do anything rash we have to talk." Jareth's voice said from just behind her, sound O so reasonable.
"What is there to talk about? I need to make sure my brother is alright!"
"He's fine. He working the crowd as we speak to take up the mantle of this malfoy kid. What we need to talk about is this school though. Even with Dumbledore gone, this place is heavily enchanted and fortified against Darker Magic's."
"Dumbledore is dead! Do you think they'll keep it open with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named about?"
"Listening about I believe yes they will. But what I'm asking is that you don't return next year."
"You still want Toby to come back…"
"Yes. Toby will return on his own cause he believes in the power this school has. I cannot watch over and protect both of you though."
"So you'll leave me at home? Where I'll have to worry about both of you the whole time?" She was so angry that tears started to leak out. She tried to hide them but she knew he would notice as if he planned them himself.
"So touching, worry for me of all people? Come now Sarah, wipe away those tears. I don't want to see you cry, so obviously I won't let either of us die knowing what a state it would put you in." That over confident grin plaster to his face. Sarah step forward and hit him as hard as she could on his shoulder before kissing him and taking off out the door. Jareth vanished after his kiss, he had much to prepare for.
Sarah got barely halfway down the hall before she saw Toby come up the stairwell. Toby had his wand out and a hand in his school bag.
"Sarah! Malfoy is gone!"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm great! I got something to show you though, lets go back into your office." She was curious, and surprised about how he held himself now. She had always seen her little brother to be a curious, happy distracted kind of kid. She hadn't seen much of him besides the times during summer but he felt more like the kind of person you look to when things are going wrong, he had an air about him like what he said was what you wanted to do. It kind of reminded her of how Jareth was when he wasn't being an arse.
"Have you seen one of these before?" Toby asked as he placed a wide, low walled silver bowl on her desk. Inside had a mass of silver and white swirls with small image fragments showing inside.
"Is that a pensieve?" she asked slightly confused as she approached. "It looks kind of like the one Dumbledore has in his office."
"See I knew you were a good teacher! Right you are, and I've already decided that this is more useful then wands are most of the time. Take 10 points for the Professors Hourglass." He said with a big grin. She gave him a look she had been using on trouble makers but he just laughed it off.
"Okay, but why do you have one?"
"I, ah… well I made it. Most of the complications of it are in the metal work, not the enchantment."
"Wait, how far along are you in your spellwork?"
"Um… well… you see I've been looking ahead quite a bit. I already started looking at next years courses." He was lying, she knew him that well. How much farther he was looking forward she couldn't tell, but she was barely casting at a 5th years capability, and she had been practicing a lot to get up to the other teachers levels.
"Well… I want to show you something I saw." He pulled a vial out of his bag. The little vial was full of white fluid that seemed to radiate light. He pulled the cork and dumped it in. Sarah stepped forward and entered the memory. After a moment she wished she hadn't.
She was standing on top of the astronomy tower next to her brother. He had his school bag on him and was dressed as if he just left from class. He was gazing fascinated upwards. She followed the gaze and saw the Dark Mark hanging from the sky above.
"It is what happened last night. This is a memory." Toby said standing next to her. She saw the other one pull a cloak out and wrap it about himself as a person on a broomstick approached the tower. It was Dumbledore!
"Potter landed with him."
"Huh?" she looked over to the real version of her brother. He was starting to climb down to the balcony the same way the cloaked version of him was. The cloak made him fairly transparent, was it actually rending him invisible?
"Potter has a really good invisibility cloak, if you looked a bit more careful you would have saw bit of his broom when they approached. You can hear him talking if you come down." She quickly tried to follow, but she hadn't figure out the path down from here once already and got down just in time to hear Harry say "But-"
"You swore to obey me, Harry – go!" Dumbledore said nearly yelling at the invisible boy. Dumbledore looked around the room and stopped when he saw Toby hiding under the cloak, a look of confusion on his face. Toby put his finger to his lips in a quiet motion, Dumbledore nodded and motioned for him to remain quiet as well. They all turned to look at the door as Draco broke in with his wand leveled.
"Expelliarmus!" he cried and we all watched as Dumbledore's wand flew. Toby made as if to toss him his own wand but a subtle hand movement from the withered arm said he didn't want it.
Sarah could barely believe it. Dumbledore had let himself be disarmed and killed. She was on autopilot as his death finally sunk in for her. She heard Dumbledore talk Draco out of it, and then a sound of breaking stone brought her back around for the Death Eaters and Snapes arrival.
She forgot this was a memory and even tried to get in the way of the killing curse that took Dumbledore. To her great annoyance her brother just laughed. She glanced around and saw the Toby under the cloak jump off the side. She quickly moved over and watched him slow his decent and land unhurt.
"How did you do that?"
"Charms, slow the fall of an object or person. I cast it on the cloak as I fell." He said looking down at himself. The world froze around her and he seemed very pleased with himself.
"Why are you so giddy? You didn't join up with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did you?"
"No! Nothing like that! This shows Draco is actually a good person at heart! I was starting to believe he really was a douche bag under all that hair gel. He lowered his wand before the Death Eaters came in. He really was going to give up!"
"But Dumbledore is still dead! Snape was one of the best wizards in the school and he just killed Dumbledore!" she said trying to drive the fear of what was going on into her younger brother mind. He obviously couldn't cope.
"It was a kindness."
"That house really has started to warp-"
"He asked Snape!" Sarah blinked a few times as if clearing her sight would clear her mind. Toby waited a few moments before continuing. "Earlier this year I was skulking around for ideas and I decided to break into Dumbledore's office. This was after I got sent there once, and he has all sorts of interesting objects so I wanted another chance to look at them; mainly without him staring at me while I did it."
"Why did you get sent to the Headmaster Office?" She said taking on the 'I'm a teacher or a parent' type voice.
"It was one of the few times I talked back to a Professor. I got in an argument with Snape outside of class about Goblins. He sent me to Dumbledore. Anyway, when I went back the second time-"
"What would you know about Goblins?" She was really trying to give them that look that she saw McGonagall give her students and they broke under the pressure. Her brother just smiled more.
"Well get to that later. Anyway as I was saying, I found the pensive and took a stroll around it. You wouldn't believe the memories Dumbledore has stored there! I found out why Snape joined up with Dumbledore, and was really against Voldemort. Also that injury on his hand was going to kill him in a few months anyway."
"So… Dumbledore asked him to do it for the pretense of still working for You-Know-Who?"
"Yep you're getting it now!"
"Does Dumbledore know you know all this?"
"He knew. We had a special arrangement. Which is also why I got to tell you; I'm coming back to school next year."
"I know… I don't think I'll be coming back though."
"Good, I don't want to be having to watch out after you." He said plastering a big grin on his face as the dream around them faded and they were back in her office. He covered the bowl and put it back into his school bag.
"What do you all have in there?" She asked trying to get a look at it before he closed it. Despite not being as filled with book as other students it sounded like it had many smaller metal objects.
"Useful items I've picked up. You have no idea how useful half the trinkets we use are in the right situations."
"Including invisibility cloaks? Where did you get it?"
"And on that note…" He pulled it from pocket and covered himself. She shook her head before talking to the air.
"We live at the same house, and you are still going home over the summer." The door open and closed a moment later. Sarah sat down at her desk finally letting her nerves get the better of her. Her brother was neck deep in trouble around here all school year and she hadn't even noticed.