Severus stalked down the hallway and took the stairs two at a time in his agitation. Something was definitely wrong with Sarah. All her warmth and humor that had seeped its way into her letters over the months was gone. Just like that. It was like she was meeting him for the first time. And he could feel an undercurrent of agitation towards him that had nothing to do with his earlier jab at Jareth. Something had changed, but what?
Stepping outside of the Hall, Severus decided to take the twenty minute walk to Hogwarts. He wanted to clear his head and formulate a plan.
By the time he had reached the gates to the school, Severus had a plan in mind. He just had to wait for Sarah to fall asleep to enact it.
Using her new wand, Sarah set to work getting herself settled in her room. She unshrunk her trunk and put her clothes away and soon had a cheery fire going, warming the room nicely.
Pulling a silk cord next to her bed, she summoned a house elf and instructed him to bring her a cup of evening tea and whatever was being made for dinner. While he was fetching that, Sarah changed into a white nightdress and pale blue peignoir. She took her hair down from its pins, brushed and braided it. Lighting a candle that was sitting on the table, Sarah composed a letter to Jareth while she waited for her supper.
With a small 'pop' the house elf materialized with a tray of bread, cheese, slices of thick beef, and Sarah's requested tea. Supping as she wrote, Sarah soon grew drowsy and relaxed. Draining her cup, she folded and addressed the letter and watched it fade.
Yawning and stretching, Sarah scrubbed her face with water poured from a pitcher into the washing basin and snuggled into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
About forty-five minutes after Sarah retired, Severus materialized in the center of the small room. Any Wizard worth his salt would know to enact wards to prevent exactly what he had done. And, obviously, Sarah wasn't accustomed to such precautions. He waved his wand delicately at the sleeping woman, ensuring that she wouldn't wake. Sitting on the side of the bed, near Sarah's hip, Severus gazed down at her. Lust briefly flashed in his eyes as he took her in. If everything went his way, he'd be waking up to her every morning for a year. But first, he had to figure out why she was treating him so coldly. Closing his eyes, he entered Sarah's mind, entered her dreams.
He felt her mind recoil a bit as he immersed himself. He muttered a quick spell, rendering his presence as insignificant as possible. That was odd. She had accepted his presence the first time, but he also had control of the situation then.
He looked around; he was in a rounded room with a crystal chandelier and clear spheres floating in the air. The room wasn't empty, though, it was filled with masked people dancing, laughing and cavorting with each other. Their masks were slightly menacing, almost like goblins. He weaved his way through the throngs of people, careful not to disturb or change things. He was a literal black mark on an otherwise pastel colored dream. An outsider. An observer.
Suddenly, in resplendent blue and soft white, Sarah and Jareth waltzed by. They were the only ones unmasked and while Jareth looked more or less the same, Sarah looked much younger. All innocence and wonder, she gazed upon her partner with dreamy eyes, unaware of the crowd and how they watched and laughed at them, laughed at her.
The dream shifted suddenly. Everyone's costume changed as did the choreography of the dance. Instead of a dreamy waltz, their bodies moved faster, almost frantically, across the room. While Sarah and Jareth remained unmasked, her body and face shifted to reflect her current age. Her hair tamed from wild curls to sable spirals cascading down her back. A frothy pink and blue confection formed upon her body, replacing the brilliant white and silver of the princess gown. Jareth's appearance changed as well. He lost his upturned eyebrows, his hair was cropped and softly brushed back. His costume was black with horizontal lines of gold across his chest. A cape was tied diagonally across his torso.
The other masquerade dancers had changed too. Instead of menacing parodies of goblins and other creatures, they shifted into, among other things, a butterfly, a fish, a soldier carrying a small drum, a brightly dressed girl playing the triangle. They traveled with a girl dressed as a monkey playing the symbols. The trio set the tempo of the music.
Ghostly lyrics floated through the air: "Paper faces on parade, Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you!"
Severus stood there, perturbed. He had no idea what was going on. What did this mean? The first dream felt more like a memory. This did not. Not taking himself from the moment, he reached out with another part of his magic to glean what he could from Sarah's mind. Oh, that's what it was; Sarah was dreaming of that Phantom of the Opera thing she liked so much. Putting together the information quickly, he surmised that Jareth was playing her handsome Raoul to Sarah's Christine. Then, who would be the Phantom?
The happy couples were broken up at the arrival of a new guest. He was a vision in crimson from his feathered hat to his shoes. The only other color was his white skull-like mask. Red Death had arrived. Stepping gracefully down the stairs, he beckoned Sarah towards him, who, as though in a trance, obeyed without a word. She reached up and caressed the skull mask before tearing it from his face, revealing Severus beneath.
'Ah,' thought the observant Severus. 'I am the dark seducer.' He smirked at the scene unfolding before him. 'Fitting.'
Dream-him reached towards Sarah, saying how she belonged to him, and, in response, she drew back her hand and slapped him across the face, knocking the plumed hat from his head.
"Belong to you. I'll never belong to you, you bastard. You raped my mind. Used myself against me to your advantage-"
'She knows. How?' Quickly Severus worked his magic to shape Sarah's dream into another rehashing of a memory.
The dream shifted again. He saw Sarah sitting in a garden drinking tea with a woman who had delicate features like Jareth's. 'Queen Orrla.' He stepped closer to the pair, picking up their conversation.
"He's a Legilimens, and a very powerful one at that," Orrla said. Severus realized that they were talking about him.
"He read my thoughts?" Sarah questioned, eyes growing big in disbelief.
"Read them. Maybe even influenced them… however," she pursed her lips in thought. "I doubt that. Our rules are very strict. What kinds of gifts did he give you again?"
He listened as Sarah listed the gifts and looked more and more troubled as she made the connection between the items. "I'm supposed to be meeting him next week for a visit to Hogwarts and Diagon Alley," she murmured. "How can I be around him knowing what he did?"
Orrla placed her hand over Sarah's, squeezing gently, making her lift her eyes. "I was apprehensive when I was first Offered for. And while I don't condone how Severus learned about your wants and desires, I do applaud his resourcefulness. He learned more about you in a few minutes that, under normal circumstances, would have taken weeks or even months to learn. And, as it is late August, time is short for him to convince you…"
Severus stepped out of the dream and cut the connection. He'd never have her now. Once again gazing longingly at the woman asleep before him, Severus apparated from the room and appeared at the gates in front of Hogwarts. If he couldn't have her permanently, then he'd have her in at least some capacity. Decision made, he quickly strode through the gates and headed towards the dungeons.
****
Sarah woke the next morning with a slight headache. "Odd," she murmured. "I almost feel like I'm not alone." Looking out the window, she hoped to see a familiar barn owl perched outside. Seeing none, and figuring that no one else would be visiting her, Sarah dismissed the feeling and proceeded to ready herself for the day.
Severus was waiting for her in the dining area and Sarah greeting him with polite coolness. At least he knew why she was acting the way she was. He could work with that.
"I've arranged a tour of Hogwarts today, Sarah," he said, leading her to the door. "Would you prefer to walk there? I could hire a carriage… or, we could apparate there." He moved in close to pull her into his arms. She stepped neatly out of his reach. "I would prefer to walk, if it's alright with you. Take in the scenery."
Sarah had planned on this and dressed accordingly in a pale green walking dress with comfortable shoes. It was topped with a lightweight forest green cloak with her wand safely tucked inside. Her hair was styled into a chignon to keep it off of her neck and out of the way. Jareth's necklace was the only accessory.
"Of course." They set off together. Severus kept a steady commentary of flora and fauna that they passed. Some of which Sarah had never seen before, and, caught up in the pending excitement of seeing Hogwarts, she let her guard down a little and enjoyed herself, asking questions and telling him of any Underground counterparts that she knew of.
The walk to Hogwarts flew by in no time and Sarah gasped at the beauty of the castle. It was there that she started taking over the commentary, pointing out things that she recognized, happiness and excitement coloring her voice.
He beckoned her. "There's so much more inside," Severus indicated the large doors. "Would you care to eat lunch at the Great Hall?"
Severus smiled to himself as he made out the small group of figures eating at one of the tables within the hall. Professors mostly, with a few prefects who had arrived early to help prepare common rooms and sleeping quarters for the students who would be arriving in a few days. This was perfect.
A space was open next to Hagrid, who still kept the keys and grounds of Hogwarts. After introductions were made, Sarah sat next to him, happily chatting about different animals and magical beings of the Wizarding World and comparing them to the ones she'd encountered in the Underground.
With Sarah properly distracted, Severus slipped from the crowd. Walking quickly back to the gates, he apparated to her empty room and searched her things carefully, looking for an item. Spying it, he pulled a small glass vial from the pocket of his frock coat and sealed it within.
Pocketing the vial, Severus returned to the luncheon, barely missed.
Lunch concluded with Sarah inviting Hagrid to visit her and Jareth in the Underground over Christmas break. "I'm sure you'll have a lovely time with us, Jareth detests cold so it rarely snows there. Oh, and I'm sure you'll find our variety of goblins fascinating."
Severus gently pulled her away to start their tour of the castle. He started in the portrait gallery and told her stories of the founders and past headmasters and headmistresses. By the time they had covered the gallery and part of the west most side of Hogwarts, Sarah had begun to relax, going so far as to loop her arm into his as they walked. She decided during a break in conversation at lunch not to confront him. She hadn't forgiven him by any means, but something in a dream convinced her to hold her tongue. He was, if anything, resourceful. And he hadn't done anything questionable thus far.
Deciding that they'd covered enough for one day, he escorted her back to the gates and gave her the same option as before: walk, carriage, or apparate. Sarah's feet and legs were tired so she chose the third option. 'Shouldn't be much different from when Jareth and her pop about.' It wasn't. And, bowing with a kiss on the back of her hand and a promise for more touring tomorrow, Severus left her at the door to Rosenthal Hall.
Disclaimer: 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.