Unsurprisingly, Severus's 'academic' visit was cut short. He left the very next morning with claims that he could work better in his own environment and not have his magic work against him.

Sarah and Jareth knew that he left because he wanted to work on un-glittering himself. It probably didn't help how Sarah kept quietly giggling and muttering something about glittery vampires under her breath at dinner.

She had lain awake that night after the kiss between Severus and she. Should she tell Jareth? Deep in her heart, she felt like she should- he was her husband, after all. She was learning that Fae traditions were different than Above ones. In her view, as long as everybody abided by proper etiquette and didn't get pregnant outside of marriage or bonding, it seemed like a free-for-all. Jareth had told her that since Severus Snape Offered for her, it wouldn't be unlikely for him to try something. She decided to keep the kiss to herself but still felt a little guilty.

Sarah and Jareth didn't hear from Severus for nearly a month after his departure. During that month, Sarah delved into rereading the Harry Potter series, trying to figure out the motives and mystery behind the man who had kissed her so passionately. She had suspected that since so much time had passed with no word from him, maybe he had forgotten his intent to Borrow her. It didn't deter her from trying to learn everything about him- even if some of the information in the books was erroneous.

Sarah had successfully put most of his visit and his intentions behind her until one dreary day when the goblins came bearing a package for her. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with string; very unassuming. Not from her family, as they only sent packages during holidays and birthdays. Also, not from her in-laws; theirs usually arrived via hobgoblin courier and were more colorfully wrapped.

Sarah unwrapped the package and found a note sitting on top of green tissue paper:

Sarah,

Forgive my lack of communication. I have not forgotten you! I have only now regained my full sense of confidence…

'Worked the glitter off,' she thought.

…And have been able to perfect the be-spelled present I have given you.

I assure you that it will work to its fullest efficacy in both your world and mine, and perhaps even the Muggle world as well. All you must do is compose a letter in your mind, address it, and think of where the letter is to go. It should appear at it's destination within moments.

I await your reply.

Yours,

SS

"Be-spelled present." She dug through the tissue paper to find a beautifully carved box, each side carved with a detailed rendition of individual Hogwarts House crests, the top of the box crowned with the school seal. She ran her fingers over it; it was lovely! She opened the box to find an equally lovely stationery set inside, complete with a green feather quill and a silver pot of black ink.

Jareth came home to find a small group of goblins playing with brown wrapping paper, eating a box, and trying to fashion green tissue paper into an origami hat… or a goat, he wasn't sure. Sighing, he let them be and went in search of Sarah.

He found her in his study, sitting at his desk furiously writing with a quill, her fingers already stained with black ink. "What are you doing, love?"

She looked up at him with barely contained glee. "It's a magic stationery!"

He quirked an eyebrow. "A magic what?" He walked over and examined the items in front of her. It looked like a normal stationery set.

"Here." She stuffed a bit of paper into an envelope and scrawled his name on the front. "Go someplace else, you'll see." He looked at her oddly for a moment before summoning a crystal, tossing it in the air above him, and disappearing in a shower of glitter. Sarah held the envelope in her hands and said, "Send this to Jareth… please." She didn't know if it helped for the instructions to be said out loud or just thought, but she felt better speaking them.

The envelope vanished. She started dancing around the study in excitement! A few minutes later Jareth reappeared with the letter in hand. It had worked! He found himself being hugged by a very excited and happy Sarah. "Ah, I do see. This is a very intricate piece of magic. Severus, I trust?" He wrested an arm free and hugged her back.

"Yes. He said I could probably write my family in the Above." She paused. "How would they write back?"

Jareth looked at the letter in his hand. "I have no idea. Maybe write him and see?"

Thus started a regular correspondence between Sarah and Severus. After getting further instructions from him (the recipient had to write their reply on the back of the letter and think it back to the sender), and relaying them to her family and in-laws, regular letters started appearing and disappearing from Sarah's person daily.

"Kind of like emailing or even texting," she told Jareth one evening after reading a letter from his mother to him. Jareth had very little experience with the inner workings of Aboveground communication, but he could at least follow the references. "I prefer goblin couriers," he groused.

The box of stationery never ran out.

Soon, not only letters appeared for Sarah, but more packages as well. A vast variety of Wizarding books were sent to her at regular intervals. Everything from spell books with Fae friendly incantations marked for her, to their own version of faerie tales. Even the real biography of Harry Potter found its way into her hands (autographed by Harry himself!) Every spare moment Sarah had was spent reading and Jareth found that he spent less and less actual time with Sarah, and more and more time with Sarah-with-a-book-in-her-face.

He was less than pleased. One of the things he loved most about her was her intelligence and how she absorbed everything she could, but this was getting a little out of hand. He was beginning to forget what kissing his wife was like, for all he could do for the past few weeks was kiss the top of her head.

Music was next. Severus sent her a steady supply of Wizarding scores- 'coincidentally' written for piano and flute. He was even able to scrounge up a few pieces for the cello. Sarah immediately embraced these and opened the music room. This, Jareth liked much better since it was a more shared activity. Being as old as he was, and a Fae, he was masterful at most instruments and had an impressive collection of them. They spent some evenings playing companionably together, while others found him cooped up in his study until long after Sarah fell asleep. On those nights she would play without him.

It was still better than having her occupied with books. In addition to the pieces Severus had sent, Jareth dug out a few well-loved Fae compositions. He purposely left out any cello pieces. He didn't like that thing wedged in-between her thighs, not when he was a better fit.

During all this, Severus and Sarah kept writing. She had a bundle of letters that she kept in a drawer, and Jareth, being respectful of her privacy, did not go through them.

June bled into July, and as it was summertime in the Underground, Jareth deemed it the perfect opportunity to initiate a rainy season. "To make the forests more beautiful for you, my dear." He forgot how rain made his flying almost nonexistent, so he sulked.

Sarah came in to the throne room to find her husband perched on the windowsill grumbling at the rain. She was wearing a pink gown with a rose-colored cloak over her shoulders. With all the rain, the castle had become drafty. "Darling, why not stop the rain? Go out and stretch your wings?" She wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his fluffy hair.

He played with her hands resting on his chest. "Hmm, I can't do that- look how much greener the forests are." Sarah did look, and could only see more rain.

"You don't want it to rain for too long, Jareth, the goblins will wash away in a flood," she murmured.

He pulled her onto his lap and played with the hood of her cloak. "You're wearing too many clothes."

"It's drafty in here."

"Hmm…" He snapped his fingers and the torrential rain lulled into a soft drizzle, with sunlight peeking out from the grey clouds.

One of the benefits of a rainy season, is that it kept most of his subjects inside their respective houses and, as such, the kingdom was rather peaceful. Taking the opportunity for the extra day off and finding that their chambers were much less drafty, they divested each other of 'too many clothes' and indulged in carnal activities.

Feeling warm and sated, they dozed as the clouds cleared, revealing more sunshine. The remaining rain sparkled like glitter, danced in the sun's beams. Their slumber was broken by a screech followed by a pounding at their chamber door.

"What?" Sarah said groggily, sitting up slightly, letting Jareth's arm slip down to her waist. "Are the goblins on fire again?"

"Hmm?" Jareth woke up and brushed at a lock of Sarah's hair that had become stuck to his face. "What? Fire?" He wiped the sleep from his eyes. "I'll check." He got up and fished his pants out of the pile on the floor. Not bothering to put on a shirt he walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a petrified goblin.

"Ye Majesty. You must come- there's a monster in the castle!"

That got their attention. Dressing quickly, Sarah and Jareth followed the goblin to the throne room.

Goblin guards surrounded the pit in the center of the room where a brown box with air holes sat, their spears pointed towards it. The box moved slightly and a low growl issued from within it. One of the more terrified guards dropped his spear and ran from the room screaming.

"Idiot," Jareth said. Arming himself with a crystal, he walked through the gap and stood directly in front of the box. It wasn't very big, maybe the size of a large shoebox. "So," he reasoned, "The 'monster' wouldn't be big either." Attached to the top of the box was a note which fluttered in a breeze that blew in from a nearby window. A cream-colored paw stuck out from one of the air holes and attempted to snatch it. The Guards tensed, ready to attack. The paw was successful in catching the note, and growls were replaced by happy purrs.

Jareth's shoulders relaxed and he vanished the crystal. He had a feeling he knew what this was and where it came from. Unhooking the note from the paw, he scanned it and beckoned Sarah forward. She looked at him and stepped down into the pit. From the pages of a book. Straight into your arms. SS… Read the note.

Sarah opened the box to reveal a tiny Siamese kitten wearing a bejeweled collar. She immediately made the connection from the cat to the note. "How did he know?" She murmured, picking up the tiny thing and holding it in her arms.

She was, for lack of a better word, obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera. Ever since her father had taken her to see it on Broadway in the 80's. She lived and breathed the soundtrack, learning every lyric, and had seen multiple live productions of it throughout the years. She'd watched most of the different film adaptations and read the original novel many times.

Her favorite novel, however, was one released in the 90's by Susan Kay. Simply titled 'Phantom', it told the title character's story from his birth, to his death, and beyond. In that version, the Phantom found a starving Siamese kitten on the streets of Paris. Taking a liking to it, he named her Ayesha, and made her a collar of jewels that he stole from the Shah of Persia.

Sarah had always meant to get a Siamese kitten of her own, but life took her in an opposite direction and she gained a Goblin King instead. She never told Jareth of her wish. She didn't think kittens and goblins would mix well. But here she was now, with one cradled to her chest.

Jareth was busy disciplining his goblins. "Packages are okay. Packages with air holes stay outside of the castle! What if it really was a monster, hmm? Risking our lives…" He sent five trembling goblins straight to the bog. Quota be dammed.

"Darling, look," Sarah caught his attention. He came over and looked at the tiny fuzzy ball of fur and fangs. Looking at his wife, who was utterly smitten with it, he knew no amount of arguing could change her mind. They were keeping the kitten.

Reaching an ungloved finger out, Jareth gave it a scratch under its chin. The kitten's purrs increased in volume. "Why would he send you a cat, of all things?" He asked.

Sarah quickly filled him in about the book and how she had always wanted a cat like Ayesha. "I don't know how he knew about it. I never told anyone- not even you."

"You keep a copy of the book in the library," Jareth pointed out. "Maybe he saw your copy, thumbed through it, and figured 'I'll get her a cat'."

Sarah laughed. "Severus Snape, perusing 'Phantom'. I hardly think he'd read something like that." Unbeknownst to them, she was right.

"Oh," Jareth groaned and gestured at the kitten, who had fallen asleep in Sarah's arms. "You're going to want to see it again." The 'it' being the musical. He had taken her to see it on one of their dates, and loathed it. "Too theatrical," he'd said, covering his ears and wincing when Christine's vocalizations reached a high E. And later on, "A falling chandelier- preposterous! Raoul is a twat…" He did have to give the music some credit. Some… A few of the songs were sweet in their own way and the less shrieking, the better.

His favorite part was towards the end when Sarah started sobbing as the Phantom kissed his love and let her go, since it gave Jareth the perfect opportunity to pull her into his arms and offer comfort. "I always cry," she'd told him as they were leaving. "No matter how many times I see it. I just feel so bad for him- unrequited love, you know?" He didn't know, but was there for her nonetheless.

Later, Jareth found she was just as sympathetic to the book's characterization of Severus, finding her wracked with sobs after reading his dying memories and unrequited love for Lily Potter. "Unrequited love," he had said, shaking his head, still not understanding.

Sarah started heading back in the direction of their chambers with the kitten, who was still sleeping soundly. "We need to get you settled. Find a name for you, too." Lifting it up, she examined its underside. "A girl... Well, at least you'll be a good hunter." She waited for Jareth, who had gathered up the box and the note. "You're not wearing a shirt," she noted.

He looked down at himself. In his haste to protect the castle from 'the monster' Jareth had only dressed in pants and boots. He smirked and struck a sultry pose "Doth the lady protest?"

She grinned at him. "No, it's a good look for you. Besides, I'm wearing nothing under this gown." She indicated the dressing gown she had pulled on in her own haste.

Tossing the box to a group of hungry goblins, he scooped his wife and sleeping cat into his arms and strode down the hall.

AN: I do not own any of these characters- they are the property of their respective owners.

Betaed by AnonyMissJ. I wouldn't be able to do this without you.