A/N: The idea for this came with the story Order of the Greater Good, and was written about the same time. I should hold off posting this until after I find the rest of my thumb drives but felt that in honor or Elon Musk and the way he used David Bowie's Starman in his launch today, I would go ahead and post this crossover. Basically, the story is that Dudley learned about the Labyrinth and wishes Harry away. Harry grows up the Prince of the Goblins and we see the difference between Harry and the Harry from the books. It is not Ron, Snape or Dumbledore friendly. In fact, Snape ends up with broken bones within months of meeting Harry.
Legal Requirements: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its storyline or characters, so please don't sue me, I am only playing with JK's characters.
Make A Wish
Chapter One
1986
Six-year-old Harry Potter sighed as he shivered in the cold air while walking home from primary school that day. It was a week before Halloween and he had listened to his classmates discussing what they were going to wear when they went trick or treating next Friday, the night before the actual holiday. Harry had had nothing to add as he knew that he would be stuck in his cupboard under the stairs that evening, while his cousin Dudley was allowed to go begging door to door in the neighborhood for sweets.
Dudley would return home, eat all his candy like usual and then when his parents asked him about it later that week like usual Dudley was sure to blame Harry for it all being gone and Harry would be punished for something that his cousin had done.
Still, that was at least a week away and Harry found himself in spite of his Aunt Petunia being the class mother that day having enjoyed the day. Today was Thursday, the day his class listened to a guest reader in the library at school. Today's reader had been some sort of local celebrity, a news reporter with pretty blond hair and shiny teeth that had insisted on reading a book called the Labyrinth.
Harry had enjoyed listening to the woman read about Sarah, her brother Toby, the Goblin King and the various imaginary creatures that existed in the red leather storybook. Most of his classmates had, including Dudley who had been sitting in the front row while the woman had been reading.
His aunt, however, had not been thrilled with the story nor in Dudley's interest in it. She had ACTUALLY snapped at her son for the first time ever that Harry could remember. Dudley had not been happy and had been angry when his mother had forced him to ride home with her in spite of his wishing to spend the afternoon playing with his friend Piers Polkiss, a boy who had recently moved into their neighborhood.
When Harry arrived home, he put away his oversized threadbare jacket into his cupboard and walked to the kitchen to where his aunt was waiting for him. She didn't say a word, just pointed with her bony finger at the potatoes that needed to be peeled and ordered him to "Be quick about it."
There was a strange silence to the house which worried Harry as normally when Dudley was in the house, games were being played on his machine or the telly was on some channel that showed his cousin's favorite cartoons. Today there was no noise, no sounds of Dudley playing with his toys, no sounds at all other than angry stomps and footsteps from the other boy's room which was directly above the kitchen.
After the potatoes were finished, Harry was directed to vacuum the parlor, dust the shelves and fold the towels in the dryer before being ordered to his cupboard. Harry was no sooner in the cupboard than his uncle arrived home.
Vernon Dursley was as large and round as his wife Petunia was thin and angular. The man's face was regularly a rather florid shade of red and his voice was often loud as he spoke. Harry who had felt the oddness to the air since he arrived home, felt it grow even more strange when after Petunia and Vernon who had been speaking in shrill whispers in the kitchen called their son down from his bedroom.
Dudley ignored the summons the first two times but after he ignored his parents a third time, his father came to the foot of the staircase and shouted that if he didn't come downstairs right away, they were going to remove all his toys from his bedroom and send him to bed without supper.
Harry felt his eyebrows raise and goose-pimples appeared on his arm at that threat, well aware that his aunt and uncle had never spoken to Dudley like that before.
The overweight child came to the top of the staircase and glared down at his father and was about to refuse to come down but his father snarled at him. The spoiled and not that bright child was confused, normally when he behaved like this his parents gave in to his demands but this time, his father of all people seemed as angry with him as his mother was.
Stomping down the stairs, he whined. "But Daddy, I want to go to that movie!"
"No, and that is that." Vernon snarled then told him to go sit at the dining room table.
Harry frowned unsure why his uncle and aunt were so against taking Dudley to see this movie that had been based on the book the newscaster had read to them. Normally they gave Dudley anything he wanted.
As dinner progressed, Harry could hear his cousin making demands and his parents saying no or offering up other options than going to see this movie about the maze. Dudley was pushing hard and when his parents refused yet again, he upended his bowl of chocolate ice cream with syrup and whipped topping and demanded to know why he couldn't go to see the Maze movie.
"We said no," Vernon replied frowning as his wife attempted to clean up the mess his son created. He stood up, carrying his own dessert into the parlor, turned on the television and ignored his son.
Petunia thought that Dudley had followed his father into the parlor and was muttering to herself as she cleaned up the ice cream and made plans to get Dudley a new bowl. "As if I would let my only son near that freakishness. Wouldn't want him to turn out like that sister of mine or her freak child. Maybe if Harry wasn't here, I would risk taking him to see the movie, but I don't dare do so, not as long as there is a chance that his freakishness might rub off on Dudders as that freak boy did onto my sister."
Now Dudley didn't understand much of what his mother was saying, but what little that did settle into his sluggish thinking mind was the idea that it was his cousin's fault that he couldn't go see the movie he wished to. Soon settled in next to his father on the sofa, he was eating his new bowl of ice cream while his mom sent his cousin to go clean up the kitchen after dinner and sat in the chair positioned so that she could watch him doing so while watching television.
Dudley sat there, glaring at the wrestling show his dad was watching and every once in a while his cousin would come into view as he put away pots and pans. All Dudley wanted was to make Harry pay for being the reason he couldn't do what he wanted. As his anger grew at being unable to get his way, as his father ignored him every time he tried to get him to go see the Maze movie, Dudley got angrier and angrier.
It was almost eight-thirty, it was now dark outside and Dudley watched as Harry returned inside the house from where he had just taken out the trash and muttered to himself. "I wish...I wish..."
"I said no, Dudley. You are NOT going to see that movie." Vernon snapped.
With narrowed eyes, Dudley slid off the sofa and moved towards the doorway between the kitchen and the parlor and glared at the freak. Stomping his feet, shaking his trembling fat fists and wiping the tears now leaking from his eyes as a result of his anger he shouted: "You freak, this is all your fault. I know how to fix this, I wish, I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now!"
Dudley heard his mother gasp as there was silence, the telly having gone quiet, the room was dark then the light returned and the freak was nowhere to be seen. His mother walked to the cupboard and opened the door, no freak. "V-vernon, he isn't here."
"Good." His father said as he shrugged.
"D-do you realize..." Petunia gave her son an odd look and then glanced at her husband. "What do we tell people? What do we tell his school?"
"Tell them that some member of his father's family showed up and wanted the freak. Frank will back us up if need be, but I am sure that the freak is just hiding someplace Pet. Don't worry, we will deal with the little bastard when he returns, just see if I don't." Vernon told his wife as his show returned on the formerly blank screen. Making a note to call the government to complain about his loss of service during the middle of his favorite show, Vernon never noticed the angry look his wife gave his son before she climbed the stairs to their room.
Impulsive
Jareth looked at the boy the goblins had brought to his throne room and then glared at them. He had placed an embargo on wished away children due to that infernal movie. That a former wished away had remembered let alone wrote a book about his time in the underground was infuriating enough, but that they had somehow found out about his history and that of his Sarah.
Since the day that infernal movie was announced and then begun production, he had had hundreds of impressionable young teenage girls wishing away family members, babysitting charges and even mere neighbors away to him thinking that they could woo him away from his beloved.
Most had been returned above after a quick meeting between them and his mother. Jareth released a quietly evil chuckle as he thought about how many of the girls couldn't escape fast enough after meeting with her. Jareth had only started the embargo after realizing that for this man Jim to have had so much of the truth of his beloved, someone in his world had to have spoken.
There had been three possible suspects all of whom had passed his tests though he still wondered about that dwarf Hopple. Now Jareth had no idea who had known so much and had betrayed his kingdom to such an extent but out of concern, he had closed the portals after allowing his subjects to send word to the Champion that they would be out of touch for a while.
Now the goblins had impulsively gone above and brought back a wished away in spite of his direct orders not to do so. "What is the meaning of this?"
"They did so on my orders, son." Jareth looked at the man who had entered his throne room wearing the purple and white regalia of the King of the Underground.
"Father, why would this wished away be allowed when so many others aren't?" He inquired as he looked at the young boy who sat there unmoving. "And what is wrong with him?"
"I froze him so that we could speak without his knowledge," Oberon replied. "When your mother came below a millennia ago, on a more permanent basis Jareth, the world above was a much different place. Things had started to turn dark. Some of the lands above with magic gathered together and formed hidden worlds so as to protect those who had such talents."
"Father, why are you giving me a history lesson that I was taught in my youth?" Jareth asked frowning.
"A prophecy was given of a time when darkness would begin to rise again in that hidden world. Your mother and I noticed such darkness about when you were to be born. It's why you were exposed to iron so that you would have an immunity to it and would be allowed to go above and save children from the darkness."
"Once again, nothing I am not already aware of," Jareth replied with a quizzical expression on his face as he looked at the frozen small boy and his father.
"That prophecy states that the world above would be destroyed not by the darkness that would come twice, nor by the one of light who has false wisdom, blind faith, and hidden pride but by the inaction by the one whose fate was altered by the ambitious pretensions of the one who remained hidden at the end."
"I know that Father. Stormbrow." He said rolling his eyes. "Why is..." Jareth's eyes were now on the forehead of the inert small boy and his eyes went to his father and then back to the boy. "He is Stormbrow?"
"According to your very own goblins, yes," Hades replied as he looked at his son. "Those who have gone to the Great Beyond sent word that if there should be a way to alter his path, we were to do so. It has been decided that the later prophecy is a false one given by a trickster."
"What later prophecy?" He asked, having not heard of that part of the story.
"A prophecy given to the aboveground wizards. It claims that the boy is the one who is supposed to defeat this current dark lord. The light and dark magicals have put way too much faith into it and those who guide our paths believe that the one who is to end the aboveground path towards destruction is you." Oberon announced. Seeing his son's skeptical look, he added "Your Sarah is to be part of this path. When the time is right, the two of you shall cross paths in the aboveground world. The boy is to be your teacher in his world and you are to be his in our world."
"He is a mere child," Jareth stated as he looked at the small child.
"Yes, he is." His father announced. "Jareth, he is the path to Sarah and your future happiness."
Jareth wasn't thrilled as his father filled him in on the plans already made. After it had been explained to him he asked: "What about the wished away and my responsibilities to them?"
"As time has gone on, there have been less and less wished away as the abovegrounders have grown cynical and into unbelievers. Those who guide us believe that the way to fix this is by helping the boy. You will still be able to watch over those who need you and those who harm them."
"What is the boy's name? I can't keep calling him the boy." Jareth pointed out with a scowl.
"Harry, Harry James Potter at least that is what he is called, at his naming ceremony it was Hereweald Jamison Peverell, but the family uses the first name for the same reason we don't share our true names," Oberon answered. "As you know, names have power and that is also in their world. No one outside of his parents and his godparents knows his real name."
"Which god?" He inquired.
"Actually goddess. Athena." Oberon replied. "One of yours."
"Goddess of wisdom and war. Olive branches and owls." Jareth replied as he looked over at the boy with assessing eyes. "How long do I have with him until he is to return aboveground?"
"You have five years to train him, but Jareth you will be still in his life, in whatever form you wish. When he had fulfilled his destiny he will have the option to return to us." Oberon said.
Jareth sighed as he understood what his father was offering but with a look at the boy and knowing that it was for the best replied. "Honored uncle, if his fate is to live a life aboveground. An adopted son who is able to move between worlds."
"It is going to have to be a blood adoption, Jareth. He needs your strength and healing abilities. Those who wished him away have done him wrong as well as those who left him with them. He needs love as well." Oberon warned. "You will not be able to close yourself off from him if you do this."
Jareth thought about it and then at his father then at the boy, no Harry before looking at his father yet again.
"It can't be done if the only goal is to get to the time your Sarah is to return," Oberon warned.
"While here I will call him Hereweald Prince of the Labyrinth," Jareth replied as he stooped down to kneel next to the boy. "Please release him from the spell."
Illegal
Titania wished that she could deal with those nasty abovegrounders, both the magical and non-magical mortals who had abandoned the young boy she had arranged to bring to their underworld lands. As she played the character of the toothy reporter to the hilt, she chuckled as she created a compulsion charm on the woman she had just spoken with to question the disappearance of the young boy known as Harry Potter in a few years, time enough to protect him, but not his abusers.
It was a tad bit excessive but to ensure her plan would work, she had used the same charm on a local police constable, his immediate supervisor, a member of the nearby council child protective agency, and several reporters who not only worked for the local newspaper but for the nearby radio stations and the nearest larger city reporters.
This would deal with those who had wantonly ignored what was going on, but now to deal with the Dursleys themselves. As she floated around their cookie cutter home, sneering at the sameness, the odd cold cleanliness of the attached home and observed the way the slothful husband sat in front of the television and listening to his muttering had an idea of how to deal with him. "I wish that damn BBC would put something more worthwhile on. They charge us a damn fortune to watch this box, they should at least provide us with some good old-fashioned real shows, not this foreign crap or that light in the loafers touchy-feely song and dance nonsense they use our taxes to create.
With a small chuckle and a wish contained in a crystal blown his way, she went to deal with his wife. Listening to the mortal going on and on about how she wouldn't let her son be turned into one of those freaks and how she had to do something to prevent it, Titania realized that this unbalanced and bitterly jealous woman believed that her son had magic.
"Well, well, let's see how I can use this to teach you a lesson." After reading what was on the woman's mind, Titania decided to teach her a lesson. With just a bit of paranoia tossed into to notch up the woman's fears, she sent her the idea that her son would be getting a certain letter in a few years to attend Hogwarts.
"Let's see how she deals with that." Titania thought as she went to locate the young boy. While nothing he had done was truly illegal, she could see a future spend behind bars for this spoiled, obese child. Hopefully what she had done to the mother might turn his future around, but in truth, Titania was not sure anything could save him.
Heading to the magical world, she saw that the wizard she had been watching was holding a silver instrument and using the Wand of Destiny to see why the sphere wasn't spinning. Realizing exactly what the sphere did and what the other instruments were, she used a small amount of magic and had them all showing that nothing had changed on Privet Drive.
This should give them the time to help the young boy to gain what he needed to fulfill his destiny and prevent the end of the aboveground magical worlds. Titania made another visit to the Ministry of Magic and with a delicate little giggle removed the sphere with the false prophecy and left one showing it had been fulfilled.
After a few more minutes doing what she needed to do, she decided to explore the building and get into a little bit of mischief, after all, she had been so good all day. Surely Oberon would understand that sometimes a girl just had to do what a girl wants to do.
Hearing two men speaking about an upcoming promotion with a mortal wearing strange looking robes, she decided that she didn't like the names of the two main candidates, so looking at the list, smiled when she saw the name Arthur. That smile went away when she saw his last name was Weasel. No, no he wouldn't get that promotion after all dealing with non-magical mortals was a very important position or should be. Looking at the list again, she smiled and licked her lips when she saw the last name of Fudge.
Now that was the name of someone who should be dealing with non-magical muggles. Fudge. Popping out to a mortal store, she helped herself to some of the deliciously sweet treats then returned to help those men with their very important work while invisibly eating her peanut butter nut fudge.
She soon had Amos Diggory appointed to the position of Senior Undersecretary, after all, with the last name like Diggory, he was perfect for it a job related to the Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic.
Frowning wondering why they needed a minister for such a useless position in a magical world, she looked at the names and frowning at the name of Weasel again, she shrugged as she still liked the name of Arthur, it reminded her of that mortal who Merlin had helped become King of these lands a millennia ago.
So Arthur Weasley became the newly appointed Minister of Magic.
Floating along and running into a rather rude piece of work named Delores Umbridge, Titania looked upon the rather unattractive woman who was scowling and threatening the two very nice men trying to decide who should do which job now that this Bagnold woman had retired and decided that she would get the worst job she could find. That ended when she found the perfect job for the woman, Goblin Liaison.
Looking at the list and verifying the position hadn't been filled, Titania assigned the woman to that position knowing that the goblins were under the direct rule of her son and the indirect rule of her husband. This way, she was doing a good deed of assigning this woman to a position where she would work with those who were the only magicals uglier than Madam Umbridge and would be able to make sure that her disposition changed from sourpuss to happy magical mortal as surely her unhappiness stemmed from how unattractive she was in comparison to those around her.
Looking at the two men who were sorting out who would do which jobs with the functionary, she frowned at what she saw in their souls and decided to fix them when she was at it. A crystal sent to each of them had Walden MacNair suddenly decided to have GREAT affection for all creatures great and small and Lucius Malfoy forgetting all about his dislike of something called muggles and mudbloods.
Within minutes the illegal bribe changed hands from the tall platinum blond who didn't recall why he had paid to have these people put in those positions or that he had done so. The functionary who reported directly to the Wizengamot and who was assigned the magical job of appointing the best people to do each job had no idea the chaos his magical bound choices were about to create.
The beautiful fae blonde had one more thing to do before she returned home. With a flick of a crystal ball, all in Little Whinging would forget her posing as that reporter and with a touch of very special magic, a certain movie ceased to exit in the aboveground and the book she had given to young Jim Henson returned to her bookshelf at home. Her work here was done.
With a slight giggle as she recalled her son's horror at what he feared this man had wrought, she snapped her fingers and only those with magic in their blood would recall a faint memory of the goblin king and the story of his beloved's visit to their lands.
Titania floated away and returned to the Underground where she saw her husband talking to her son and the small boy who was now fast asleep. Eavesdropping and realizing that her son was furious with the mortal nonmagicals, she hastily informed him of her machinations which had him calming down but vowing to punish them when he was next aboveground.
Oberon and she returned to their castle and in the castle in the center of the Goblin city, a young king was sitting in a soft chair next to a bed containing a young and according to his healer very ill boy. Holding his hand out, he removed his black leather glove and then the king used the symbol of his authority to cut his palm, then did the same to the boy after being assured by his healer that the boy had been given pain potions.
Pressing them together, he counted to five to give young Hereweald just enough fae magic to heal him and to spark his magical core so that it would have the ability to perform not only aboveground magic but the magic of the Labyrinth but so that he would still age until he decided his own immortal fate.
There was a huge shower of light then darkness as all magic previously woven by anyone whose blood didn't flow through the boy's body exited it. The boy tossed and turned in his sleep as his scar on his forehead didn't go away but faded just a bit as if dying a small death. As Hereweald settled down into a deeper sleep, Jareth looked at the child he had been astounded to learn was six and smiled before settling into sleep in between keeping watch over his now adopted son.
Mob
The great Albus Dumbledore didn't know what to think as he walked through the halls filled with wizards and witches all talking to one another in tones ranging from disbelief to anger. How on earth had this happened? How had Arthur Weasley of all people ended up with the most important job in the magical world?
The so-called greatest wizard since Merlin was astounded at this shocking turn of events, as, for the first time in years, he had been completely wrong in what he had expected to happen, what he had stepped back in order to allow Malfoy and his ilk to allow to happen.
Weasley, the amiable red-headed wizard was standing in the middle of a group of his co-workers who were wishing him well while off to the side, Cornelius Fudge was trying to speak to Delores Umbridge who was also unhappy. While Albus wasn't sure what the actual words were, he was sure that both were trying to figure out how they had been shunted off into jobs that were derided by most in their world.
Seeing a glimpse of a tall blond off to the side speaking to some of his fellow pureblood wizards, Albus moved towards a witch standing nearby wearing a rather remarkable suede hat with a buzzard upon it. "Madam Longbottom."
"Well, Albus, clearly things have turned against the tide overnight." She said with a wide smirk on her face. She had never liked Delores Umbridge or that inane little bugger Fudge who she had been sure would be appointed to the top position. "I heard that magic itself arranged these particular appointments. Malfoy is taking this better than I expected, so there must be trouble brewing there."
Dumbledore looked once again at that group of wizards and found that the blond seemed calm but his political allies were clearly confused as to the appointments. Dumbledore had known that Malfoy was attempting to place his own previously bought candidate into the position of Minister. He hadn't fought it, well aware of what was going on and deciding that Fudge was the least of his worries. Now, to find out that Fudge was to be the Muggle Liaison officer was worrisome. Just what was Malfoy up to with getting that wizard appointed to that post.
Looking at the last group, the one containing the man who a mere six years ago had seemed like a shoe-in to that position, who had been shuffled off to the International Magical Cooperation office, Albus saw that Barty Crouch was glaring at him, clearly blaming him for what had become so public regarding his son, when in fact, Albus had been maneuvering him towards the top job until he had found out while his son was still at Hogwarts that he was hanging out with a dark crowd.
With a nod to acknowledge the mustached and thin wizard who clearly had been shocked at the news of having a viper in the nest when it had come to his son Barty Jr, Albus asked Augusta about her grandson Neville then went to speak to Arthur in order to congratulate the newly minted Minister.
In Little Whinging, Petunia Dursley grimaced upon leaving her son's school and heading home. She had gone to report that the freak had been invited to move in with his father's family and had requested his school records to cover up the fact that he wasn't at her house any longer. If that unwanted annoyance returned, this way she would have cover for not sending him to school anymore. Once home, she was reminded of why the freak was no longer there and that she had to watch over her son carefully to make sure that he never again exhibited any sort of magical abilities. First up, it was rather clear that her son had way too much free time and that had to end.
Coming up with a list of chores and placing them on a chart along with what the reward was to be if Dudley did as was requested without whining or complaining. Heading up to her son's room, she saw the mess and then looking at his second bedroom, with an annoyed sigh at not having Harry to do the work, cleaned out the debris until it was time to begin to prepare dinner for her family.
When Vernon came home, while Dudley was still out playing with his friends, she filled her husband in on her fears regarding their son and that freakishness. "We have to do something to prevent our little boy from ending up as one of them."
Vernon looked at his wife's chart and while he felt that having their son doing chores was beneath the boy, fear of magic had him agreeing with her suggestions. "When do you wish to speak to him about this?"
"This weekend, after I have finished my preparations." She replied while twisting her hands together, the nervous behavior doing more to convince Vernon that this was necessary that than words she had said. "By the end of tomorrow evening, I should be done. Perhaps you could take him out for the day."
"We can go visit Marge," Vernon replied cheering up at the idea of visiting his favorite sister.
"NO!" Vernon pulled back stunned at the tone from his wife who explained. "What if he should do something freaky while there. No, not until we have seen at least several weeks without his somehow doing magic."
Vernon could understand that he shuddered at the idea of his sister learning that his son had any sort of abomination in him. Going to the door to call Dudley in for dinner, they were soon seated at the table as a family. The meal was a typical dinner in the Dursley household, a roast, carrots covered with butter and honey, mashed potatoes with thick gravy and a nice three-layer chocolate cake for pudding.
In the Underground, Jareth left a sleeping Harry to the care of his favorite former nanny and went to speak to his goblins. An hour later, he returned and saw that the young boy was stirring and starting to wake up. "Hello."
The boy looked at the man with the wild hair, the makeup, and his clothes and wasn't sure what to think about him. He had been having some very strange and vivid dreams and now wasn't completely sure that he had woken up.
"How do you feel?" The man asked from where he was seated in the wing-backed chair next to Harry's bed.
Harry tried to speak but his mouth was dry, so all he managed was a cough. He was soon being handed a glass of cool water and helped to sip. Once he had done so and had been handed his glasses to wear, he asked: "Am I still dreaming?"
"Why do you think you are dreaming?" The man inquired as Harry took in the softness of the bed underneath him, the fancy rugs on the wall, the huge fireplace across the room with what looked like strange furniture in front of it.
"You look like one of those rock stars on Dudley's television set and why would one of those be here with me plus where is here, because I know for sure that unless I am dreaming, I wouldn't be sleeping in a bed, let alone one that is as fancy as this."
"Where do you normally sleep." The man asked.
"In the cupboard under the stairs." Harry honestly replied. "It's been my room since the moment that my parents were killed in a car crash and I ended up with my relatives."
"Under the stairs, that doesn't sound very large or comfortable." The man replied.
"It's not, there are spiders there and it doesn't have any light plus when I get locked in for a few days it starts to smell," Harry answered.
"Well, I am not whatever a rock star is. As for where is here, you are in the castle at the center of the goblin city and I am the Goblin King..."
"Oh, so this is a dream. That's okay, I mean, I liked the book. It sounded kind of cool, worms that talked, dwarfs and talking animals and those odd goblin creatures. I talked to a dog once in a dream, he turned into a man who gave me an ice cream cone. Still, why were you so mean to Sarah, I mean, I am only a kid but it is rather clear that you like her in spite of her being a girl." Harry stated.
The man suddenly smiled at the boy then said "It was part of her wish, even if she didn't realize it. She needed a villain, so that was what I became. Now, I am sure that you are starving, so let's get you in the shower and I will arrange for some dinner."
"I can take a real shower?" Harry held his breath waiting for an answer, he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to wake from this dream. "With hot water and real soap and everything?"
The man's back was to Harry so he couldn't be sure but his tone was a bit sharp as he assured him that yes there would be hot water and real soap. "Do you have a preference as to something to eat?"
Harry was silent, he had never really been fed all that much and what he had been given was never his choice, but if this was a dream and he could get to choose, he would choose what he had always wished to have but had never been allowed. "May I have pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni, oh and chocolate ice cream for afterward, I have never been allowed to eat ice cream outside of my dreams."
"Just this once as a steady diet of that isn't good for anyone. The shower is through that door and you should find some clothes that fit you in the bathroom when you are done."
When the little boy slid off the bed and with a wary eye on the tall man, hurried off to the bathroom, then locked the door once inside, Jareth who had been controlling his anger at what the boy had unwittingly told him, called for several of his goblins. "I want them punished. At your discretion, anyone who knew. My mother has some sort of plan in place, but deal with the Dursleys in small ways to aggravate the situation."
He ordered then using a crystal ball to send several of his most loyal of the goblins above. Pacing back and forth, he gave orders to those who remained. By the time he heard the water starting in the shower, Jareth had already begun to arrange his plans for the raising of this young boy and first up, while the boy still thought he was dreaming, get as much information from him as possible.
At Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was speaking to his Heads of House about the upcoming Halloween party while his mind worked out how to make sure that these unexpected changes in the Ministry were used to help save their world. He knew that Arthur Weasley would be a decent Minister which meant he wouldn't be in the position long, so who was there to prepare to replace him when the time came? Plus what was Malfoy planning that required Cornelius Fudge in the position of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office? Why on earth would anyone ever think that Delores Umbridge would be able to work in the Goblin Liaison office?
When they had gone over their plans for the upcoming holiday and Filius had shown them his plans for decorating the Great Hall, he asked Severus Snape, his Potion's Professor and Head of Slytherin house to remain behind for a few minutes.
Arthur Weasley was filling his wife in on the grand but unexpected news of his new appointment. As she began to speak of changes around the house, how he needed new robes and what this meant in regards to their finances, he quickly calmed her down and said: "Molls, the funds are not all that grand."
"But Bagnold..." She started to remind him that his predecessor lived well and spent funds freely then thought about the visit a local seamstress had paid to her earlier that day and told her husband of the offer.
"Molls, Bagnold lived in an old family home, had no children and had sponsors who gave her funds. We are still paying our lapsed bills, have seven children and I do not and will not have sponsors. I have never approved of that old tradition and will do my best to regain the honor that the position of Minister lost thanks to the most recent wizards and witches who have sat in that position."
"Arthur, it's not like that. Madam Malkin is offering..."
"I know what she is offering," Arthur stated.
"You need new robes, plus this way we can send Bill and Charlie plus Percy new robes for school and as your wife, I need to uphold..."
"Molly, no." He replied in a tense tone. "I have already made it known that I am refusing the patronage system. We will live on what I make or we will make changes to be able to do so. No, nothing in life is free Molly, they might not want anything right away, but they will ask for a favor at some point and I refuse to alter my stance on this subject."
Molly wasn't happy as she realized that yes, they would have more funds coming in, but not enough to live the life that they should be living as a magical family with two pureblood lines and the Minister's family. As she listened to her four children still at home congratulating their father, she vowed to find her way around Arthur's decision, after all, he would thank her later for doing what their family needed. Maybe, just maybe Albus could convince him that what she was doing was the right thing.
Sending a letter off to Albus via Errol, she decided that the first thing to be replaced was the family owl, clearly, he wasn't an acceptable owl for the Minister of Magic.
To Be Continued