Violet
Once upon a time, there was a little magical world that was created by a wonderfully imaginative woman and a timeless Labyrinth that was created by a man...
I am neither that man nor woman so I can only wish I were.
I am only playing with the characters they created.
Everything was a blur for Hermione.
One minute she was yelling for the man, or Fae, she loved with her whole heart, and the next moment the person who was once her best friend was on the ground screaming his lungs out in pain after being disarmed by several voices.
"Hermione!" Those familiar voices yelled, and she found herself surrounded by family...all of which were abruptly pulled off her by the one person she had been waiting for.
"I see I am a few seconds late," he seemed to be pouting as he crushed Hermione to himself, but his relief was distinct by the tone of his voice and he determined to never let her out of his sight again.
"Jareth," Hermione breathed, just as the screaming stopped and more blond hair blinded her vision.
"How much did that thing hurt you?" Lucius demanded of Hermione. "When did you get here?" Lucius asked Jareth, firing off his two questions in quick succession. "Give her a through examination Draco!" He ordered his son. Draco and Severus were not even bothering to hide their concern for Hermione, or their fury for the lump of red hair gasping in pain on the concrete floor who suddenly took two strong stunners to his chest.
"If you were not so busy torturing that worthless fiend you would have noticed my arrival a few seconds after yours," Jareth answered with a drawl.
"You would have been here a few seconds earlier if you had just waited for Severus to finish his potion," Lucius smirked, but his facial gesture was fading into concern as he noticed small things about the Goblin King. He looked worse than Hermione did at the moment. "Are you alright my friend?" He said lowly as he laid a hand on Jareth's shoulder.
"I am fine," Jareth answered dismissively.
"Jareth?" Hermione asked, looking up at him as she seemed to be carrying more of his weight than he was hers. "Jareth!" She gasped as she struggled to hold him up, but found herself collapsing and was deftly caught by two arms which happened to be Lucius's while Jareth was being held up by Severus. "What is wrong?" She asked, silently crying at his weakened state.
"Ambry!" Severus called.
"Jareth!" Ambry gasped, rushing to her brother after answering her soul mate's call. "The time he has spent here Aboveground has hastened the process," she whispered to Severus.
"What process?" Hermione asked.
"Mia," Lucius said carefully. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and he swallowed and looked away.
"You are Jareth's soul mate," Ambry said quietly. Hermione managed to look more shocked, as pleased as she was, with Ambry's unexpected disclosure.
"I can see you look slightly thrilled," Draco teased her.
"What else?" Hermione asked Ambry. "There is more to this than you want to tell me," she voiced her suspicions to a few guilty faces and it was Severus who answered.
"When you were taken, Jareth's side of the bond the two of you have formed has taken your leave as a rejection of his, ahem," he cleared his throat, "love."
"...You have shown me what I can have and I want it, not with anyone else but you, my sweetling. You say you think you love me, Hermione, but I already know I love you. I love our child that is growing inside you.
"I know if you were to refuse me I would die of that broken heart, my love. Once a Fae has given away his heart and their love is disregarded-"
"You die," Hermione breathed.
"What?" Hermione asked dazedly as she struggled to reprocess what Jareth had once told her. "No," she shook her head. "I just found him, he can't be-" she could not say 'dying' or even bring herself to think it.
"Sweetling," Jareth breathed. Hermione looked down where Severus laid him.
"Jareth," she whispered kneeling next to him on the mattress that had been there for her. She cuddled into his side and held him close to her. "Don't leave me," Hermione whispered.
"I'm sorry," Jareth said softly, only to be pulled closer to Hermione.
"Please, you can't leave me Jareth!" She pleaded. "I love you," she whispered into his neck while her tears slid down into his hair, soaking it. "I love you so much that it hurts my heart too so you can't leave me."
"My love," Jareth smiled down at her. Hermione lifted her head to lay a chaste kiss on his lips.
"I promise that I will never leave you willingly," she said softly. "Just don't leave me."
"I fear I cannot hold on much longer," Jareth said quietly.
"But I love you!" Hermione cried. "Is there not a way to heal you?" She asked desperately.
"Marriage," Ambry answered. "It is the only way to complete the bond now, and it is the only way to heal his heart, but I fear he may not make it back to the Underground...the magic it takes one to cross realms...whether one takes him across or he takes himself...it is too much."
"Gretna Green," Draco said immediately. "They can be married within the hour."
"Gretna Green?" Ambry asked. "Jareth is more familiar with the Aboveground than I am."
"Here," Severus immediately pushed a nourishing potion and then a healing potion to Hermione's lips. "Now you look a tad bit better than the groom," he gave her a half-smile. "Now, Lucius will apparate Hermione, Draco take Jareth-"
"What about the scum?" Draco asked.
"I will lock him in an oubliette," Ambry said. "Severus can call me as soon as he apparates to Gretna Green so I will know where to find you all. Jareth can deal with the boy later," she sneered at the, still, stunned and magically bound red head.
O.o.O.o
"Harry," Narcissa greeted him with a small amount of surprise. Harry looked up at her with watery green eyes. "What happened?" She asked quickly, and was instantly by his side in one quick stride. "I just heard that the wet nurse was having a little trouble with Vy today, but I didn't think it was that much trouble!"
"Who is he to Violet?" Harry asked her softly, holding out a picture to Narcissa. Narcissa looked confused for a moment before looking down at the picture and then sighed.
"That was Violet's father," she answered quietly. "The woman who wished away Vy said that he passed on."
"He did," Harry whispered while looking down at the child in his arms. "His Unit was training with live rounds that day. Another soldier, a new recruit just learning the ropes of this type of training with seasoned men, became too, excited you could say. Every soldier knew that their chamber was to be empty of bullets at the hanger, where the Sergeant allowed the rest of the Unit to take off the heavy bulletproof vests they were wearing out on the field. This soldier's weapon fired and Dudley took the bullet straight to his heart."
Harry looked up at her with tears streaking his cheeks, "He was gone by the time the Medics arrived on scene."
"You knew her father," Narcissa whispered. Harry nodded.
"Dudley was my cousin," he said.
"But wasn't your family..." she started but did not feel like putting her foot in her mouth. Harry chuckled.
"Yes," he gave her a rueful half-smile. "I was their personal house-elf ever since I learned how to walk," he said with a hard edge to his voice. "But Dudley was making an effort to make amends with me and we were almost becoming like a brother to each other, the way it should have been while we were growing up."
"I am sorry Harry," Narcissa said softly, and kneeled by his chair so he could see how sincere her words were. Harry looked back at her with a little anger and she could not help but smile. "I know that look and I am not offering you pity," she said quickly. "I am sorry because I understand what you went through, but from another perspective."
She sighed before continuing, "Bella and I had a close relationship growing up, but then she became too interested in You-," she shook her head, "in Voldemort. We started drifting apart until, finally, she became so obsessed with His cause, with him personally.
"The last thread that broke our relationship apart was when she insisted that Draco be the one to murder Headmaster Dumbledore to bring honour back to the Malfoy family," she looked up at him with sad eyes. "By then I had already mourned the loss of our relationship, but with that action she became my enemy."
"At least you have still have Andy," Harry said quietly.
"Yes I do," Narcissa smiled. "Just as you now have Violet."
"What's happening?" Both of their voices were raised, one with fright and the other with slight anger mixed with fright.
"Oh my," Catalina's transcendent voice echoed softly throughout the room. "I have not had the privilege of attending to a runner in quite a while," she said happily.
"What is the meaning of this?" Harry demanded. "Where did you take Violet? I-What did you do to Narcissa?"
"Calm down Harry," Catalina admonished him. "Narcissa and Violet are just fine. I promise," she said sternly, while Harry looked a little concerned at the frozen Narcissa kneeling next to the rocking chair he had occupied only a moment ago.
"I want Violet back NOW!" He yelled, his face turning red with anger. Catalina smiled.
"And you will have her back...if..." she drifted off deliberately. Harry's fists clenched with his anger after he noticed she had calculated this.
"I don't know what game you are playing," he hissed. "But I assure you I am not playing along!"
"Oh," Catalina drawled. "Then I take it that means you don't want your cousin back?" She asked charily.
"Of course I want her!" Harry was yelling now. "She's the only family I have left-"
"So I take it this means you do want her?" Catalina asked delicately. Harry fumed.
"I would do anything for her," Harry hissed venomously at the Fae woman.
"So it shall be!" Catalina said all too happily for Harry's liking. She held out her hand, palm up, next to her and a translucent clock appeared, hovering over her palm. She pointed to the face and twirled her finger in a counter-clock wise motion, winding back the time. "You have thirteen hours," she said.
"Thirteen hours for what?" Harry asked. "Oh," he said slowly with wide eyes, noticing the face had thirteen hours instead of the customary twelve and the two of them were no longer it the nursery, but outside the gates of the Labyrinth. "Thirteen hours to reach the castle at the centre of the Labyrinth," he answered his own question.
"Very good Harry," Catalina laughed and it sounded as if it was echoing throughout the whole Kingdom. "Because we are good friends, and because this war will turn malicious if you do not succeed, I will help you this once." The large doors opened up behind her at her words. "Hurry now," her voice drifted off with the wind while she slowly faded away.
"Thank you Catalina," Harry said before hurrying through the gates as they were closing.
O.o.O.o
"You witless nitwit!" Ginny shouted at her companion. "Y-you reckless, irresponsible, imbecile!" She screamed even louder while hitting the wizard with a throw pillow.
"Watch it!" Sirius yelled, covering his head with his arms to block the cushioned blows to his head. "What is wrong with you? What did I do?" He asked.
"What did you do?" Ginny asked disbelievingly. "What did you not do?" She screamed.
"You're not making any sense!" He shouted back. Ginny rapidly breathed in and out through her nose while eyeing him angrily.
"I was helping Healer Thorns sort out his stock today," she said off-handedly. "One of the shelves had a loose nail and it sent a whole pile of potions crashing down around me."
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked carefully, considering her temper. Her nostrils flared. "I know some potions can be quite nasty when they come in direct contact with our skin."
"Oh the potions came in contact with my skin alright," she bit out.
"Well you look fine now," he said slowly.
"I can assure you I was glowing at the time-pink and blue all over!" She finished in a scream, making Sirius flinch.
"If you need reassurance then the pink and blue rash is gone now," he said slowly.
"My rash is gone now!" Ginny repeated, laughing hysterically. Sirius just smiled reassuringly at her. "That whole shelf was stocked with pregnancy potions!" She screamed at him and his smile faltered, then vanished. "You forgot the damn contraception charm!"
"What?" He asked dumbly. She proceeded to thrash him with the throw pillow again while screaming. "You could have remembered too!" He suddenly retorted.
"I could have remembered?" She screamed. "Pray, tell me how I could have remembered when it was never necessary for me to learn it? I never even considered on going that far with anyone but Hermione!" She was suddenly crying. "You went out with all those girls, did you not ever learn it?" She asked roughly. Sirius cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Well, um, no," he squeaked and Ginny could not help but snicker at the squeak the man made. "I only ever got that far with you."
"What am I going to do?" Ginny asked herself aloud.
"What do you mean?" Sirius inquired. Ginny looked down at him and half-heartedly smacked him with the pillow again before letting it drop in his lap. Sirius silently gave a sigh of relief.
"I think we both know that you have to return soon," she said softly. Neither one of them noticed her sitting room door close.
"I'm going to be a dad," Sirius murmured, his eyes suddenly watery, and then his vision blacked out.
O.o
Arthur looked down at the green book in his left hand and made up his mind as he walked down the corridor at a slow pace, but his mind was made up. 'A willing soul for a soul,' was clearly written in the book. The words and pages were ostensible so he chose to have little doubt about its authenticity.
'I thought I would be seeing you,' a transcendent voice spoke seemingly only to the startled man. 'Have no fear Arthur Weasley,' the voice seemed to chuckle. 'You know I mean no harm.'
"I know," he whispered. "I have come...I have come-" he rasped.
'I need hear you speak your request so that I may grant it accordingly," it said precisely.
"Of course, of course," Arthur repeated himself absentmindedly. "He is needed here now," he said. "His adventure was abruptly ended before it could properly begin and now he has something worthy to live for."
'And you know he will use this new freedom to live his life appropriately?' It asked.
"I can only hope and give him the chance," Arthur said demurely.
'What of your life?' It inquired. 'I will not take a selfish offering.'
"Am I being selfish?" Arthur asked himself more than the voice. "I only seek some peace, and you can offer that in exchange for a man to renew his life. I have lived mine and it has been satisfying. My children love me and I, them," he said with conviction. "I know I have more years in this mortal realm, but I can give a man back his life! A man who is needed and will be needed by more than my son," he said, wiping away the tears from his eyes.
'Why do you seek my peace then? We both know there are other ways to obtain the tranquillity you seek,' it said.
"I could seek that peace," Arthur agreed. "And we both know that he would still have to leave behind more than he did the first time." He sighed. "I am tired, so tired," he said softly, "would you accept me for him."
The voice seemed to sigh, 'Come child. Your offering is selfless.' Arthur sobbed, as warm, loving arms seemed to embrace him with words and he felt as though he was home in his own mother's arms and the feeling brought the grown man to his knees.
"You are home, my brave little king Arthur." He looked up into his mother's hazel eyes and wept.
"Where is Fred?" He asked after a moment.
O.o.
"NO!" Sirius yelled, startling Ginny and George, who had entered the room at his sister's screams for help.
'His offering was great, child. Remember it. Remember him.'
Sirius struggled to sit up, but was pushed down again by an admonishing Ginny. "We have to stop him!" Sirius screamed at the two siblings.
"Stop who?" George asked. Sirius ignored him and won over Ginny's struggles to have him rest after his black out. The two followed him as he ran towards the other end of the castle when Ginny gasped, and struggled to catch up.
"He's going to the door, George!" Ginny shouted to her brother, who was a few yards ahead of her. He struggled to catch up, but only succeeded in grabbing the back of the frantic wizard's robes. Sirius easily brushed him off with slight annoyance.
"Stop! Sirius!" Ginny shouted. And he did stop in a dead end corridor. Ginny and George's feet skidded to a stop behind the man while he looked up at a large painting of the Labyrinth, and then down at black robes covered in stone dust with a red mop of dusty hair peeking out the top and a big smile on the young man's face.
"What the hell is this?" George angrily shoved Sirius into the nearest wall. "Is this some sick marauder's joke of yours?" He yelled.
"George," Ginny croaked.
"Is it not enough that I lost the other half of myself and you have to rub it in my face?" He roared at Sirius while shaking him roughly.
"Forge!"
"What?" George yelled at his sister, but then his breath caught because it was not his sister who screamed his nickname.
"So I take it Harry lost?" Fred asked. "Seeing as how we're in some nice place and Sirius seems to be quite alive."
O.o.O.o
"Careful!" Hermione rushed towards Jareth after he stumbled and they both grabbed onto the sharp thorns of the low branches on the tree next to them. Hermione hastily grabbed onto Jareth's left hand and kissed the back. "We need you love," she whispered. "Do be careful."
"Hermione," Jareth said softly, lifting up their joined hands for her to see the white glow surrounding them, and smiling at the question that seemed to be running through his wife's head.
"What is happening?" Hermione asked, looking up at his pink cheeks, glowing eyes, and radiant skin. "Are you wandlessly healing yourself? Is that why I feel so tingly and...energetically happy all over?"
"You are healing me, love," Jareth smiled. "Your blood is healing me."
"My blood?" Hermione asked and tried to take back her hand to look for cuts from the thorns, but the magic was keeping their hands entwined.
"You've blood bonded with my daughter!" Lucius hissed at the Fae. "Were you that desperate to live that you could not wait for the Bonder?" Hermione looked up at him, Severus, Draco, and the Bonder. "Do you know what you have done?" He made to grab him by the collar but Hermione stood between them.
"It was an accident," Hermione said, looking up at Lucius with wide eyes. "We stumbled and somehow cut our hands...it's my fault really," she said quietly. "What is wrong with being blood bonded anyway?" She lifted up her chin to him in stubbornness.
"What's done is done," Ambry spoke up. "It is important to complete their inadvertent binding," she said pointedly to the Bonder. He cleared his throat, puffed up his chest, and eyed the couple with self-importance while twisting, flicking, and jabbing his wand at their entwined hands while murmuring.
"Congratulations," he said. "If you had waited there would have been a few ribbons and colourful sparks to go with the bonding," he said disappointedly before politely bowing and going back to his disturbed lunch. Jareth kissed his bride's soft lips before smiling at their audience.
"Where did he go?" Lucius demanded of the now vacant piece of grass where his daughter and new son-in-law were standing a second before Jareth faded away with Hermione.
"Even his bonding had to be dramatic," Ambry tutted at the vacant space.
"Dramatic? Dramatic!" Lucius roared. "You call binding their lives beyond death dramatic?"
"Keep in mind if one of them were to pass on, the other will soon after die of a broken heart," Severus could not help but push Lucius's last button. The blond wizard roared, causing Severus's robes to catch fire.
"Control yourself!" Severus hissed, dousing the fire with his wand.
I have to be honest and say that I kind of cried when I was writing about Arthur finding peace...