Disclaimer: I do not own any part if Harry Potter or Labyrinth.
A/N: I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. I've been somewhere else, mentally, for a long time, what with changing medications, treatments, and CPN's who should know better. I don't think I've done the story or the genre justice, but for the moment, this is the best I can do. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive, and have left reviews, I really do appreciate it.
Thanks again,
Rianess
Chapter Sixteen - Epilogue
"How you turn my world
You precious thing.
You starve and near exhaust me.
Everything I've done,
I've done for you.
I move the stars for no one."
"The Wizarding World of Britain had been brought to its knees. Nothing like this had ever happened before, and no one could really tell how they would cope with it.
"The Fates had not only left the British wizards and witches without their magic, they had also then landed those from the Underground with the cleanup. Apparently, this was something they were known to do – ride into town, cause chaos and then conveniently disappear again when it was all over.
"Things were sorted out of course, eventually. Not many people were very happy with the way it all turned out, but then, as Harry had said numerous times before, 'You can't please everybody'. For historians, teaching and explaining about these times to future generations, much of the specifics were lost, but the overall message stayed the same: tolerance, equality, family, cooperation. Also, a new adage would arise among the old wives of various cultures: 'Don't mess with other people's lives!'
"For King Dellandario and Queen Enaberia, life continued much as it had for the last few centuries. They were overjoyed to have their family back in one piece, but once the initial shock of events wore off, they spent their time as they always had, tending their kingdom and their subjects, holding all in readiness until they departed and their eldest son took over.
"Said eldest son, Talemario spent much of his time at his father's side. He was determined to become the best ruler he could be, and though he intended to make his own mark, he knew he could not learn all he needed to know from anyone more worthy than his own sire. He also had firm plans to spoil as many of his nieces and nephews as possible, and had a lot of fun harrying his brother and sister to 'get with the baby-making'.
"After she gave birth to their first child, Caredessi was more than happy to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make another baby with her husband, but naturally did not fill her older brother in on any of the details. The couple and the rest of the family rejoiced when she and Elalaeryn were successful and were pronounced to be expecting twins. Children were rare among elves, since they led such prolonged lives, many put off even trying to find a mate, let alone starting a family, until it was too late.
"Sirius and Lucius did not have the smoothest of transitions into their new roles, since there was an awful lot of bad blood between the two of them. Both felt as though necessity was forcing the other one to be with them, and not true affection or love. This all changed when a very foolish courtier made a move on Lucius in Sirius' presence. A growl and a shove was all it took for the erstwhile Marauder to claim his mate, and thus reassure both of them that what they had was real, and would last.
"Malfoy the younger and his Weasley mate probably had some of the toughest times. Insecurity and misunderstandings threatened to drive the two of them apart more than once. Draco had rarely had anything denied him, and expected his mate to concede to his wishes as well. He was in for a rude awakening when he discovered that he was not the dominant in their relationship, but that Bill, in fact, was. Bill frankly told his made that he had some growing up still to do, but promised to be with him every step of the way. With time and relative peace on their side, they managed to form a deep bond of mutual love, which lingered with them until their dying days, and some might even argue, beyond.
"Severus and Remus were the one couple that most didn't believe would last. Everyone knew they were bonded, but their bond did not drive them to be together all the time. Once the second of his two masters was removed from the picture, Severus surprised many by demanding a family from his furry lover. After he had recovered from the shock, Remus had no trouble in obliging, and the two of them proceeded to pop out four children in quick succession. It is rumoured that the Potions Lab in their house has some of the finest wards around – little fingers will get into everything, after all.
"Life for the former magical folk of Great Britain, was not so peaceful, however. The hardest news of all, was that many witches and wizards had lived far beyond the normal lifespan of muggles, and when their magic was taken from them, their health deteriorated rapidly. The death toll of heart attacks and the like sky rocketed in the first few weeks. This did not go down well with the rest of the population, and more than one angry mob had to be subdued. The goblins took charge of this themselves, and sadly, are not known for taking prisoners.
"In those early days, mistakes were made. Jareth and Elessar wondered more than once if they really were the best people for the job. Nevertheless, they persevered. The former magical folk, now squibs, were still kept separate from muggle society, most of them not having any clue on how to survive in that world, let alone interact with it in any useful sense.
"To begin with, the children, who were still magical, were allowed to stay with their parents. A new protection agency was borne, however, when it was discovered that some of those families were using their children as virtual slaves in their own households, making them use their fledgling magic for the tasks the adults had become used to doing with a flick of their wands.
"Not all parents had reacted this way, but those who had found themselves stripped of their rights to their children quicker than they could blink. Loving homes among those in the Underground were found for the displaced children, and most were thriving.
"Some of the adults had taken it much further, however, and had kidnapped magical children, to turn them into a insurrection group again their new rulers. Elessar and his friends and family were not surprised when it turned out that the leader of this group was Albus Dumbledore. Most of the Order of the Phoenix had been right up there with him, declaring that the whole situation was Elessar's fault, and that he had worked some dark, forbidden magic to bring this whole situation about.
"Their rebellion was blessedly short lived, however, since the goblins had been keeping tails on some of the squibs most likely to cause trouble, Dumbledore's name being pretty much at the top of that list. When he was taken in for questioning, the whole, sordid tale of how he had used and manipulated Elessar, and countless others, came out.
"He spoke of how he had been told of the magical baby his ancestors had stolen from the Underground. They had taken an infant particularly, and held him in stasis at that age, since that was when his magic would be most pure, and uncorrupted.
"They needed his uncorrupted magic to ensure they could perform the most powerful of light magic spells. Since the family had become more and more enamoured with power and control over the years, their magic had started to follow suit. If they were not able to perform on the level of light magic that the world would expect them to, then their secrets would soon be found out. They would become pariahs, practically excommunicated from wizard society, for if there was one thing that people loved, it was knocking down a hero.
"A family like the Malfoys, for instance, would not have the same problems. They never pretended to be the protectors of all things light and fluffy. They believed in the traditions and heritage of the their world and made no effort to hide the lengths to which they would go to ensure their culture would survive.
"Not so for the Dumbledores, they were not satisfied by merely being thought well of, no, they wanted to be worshipped, to be placed on a pedestal, hence, they needed powerful light magic. One of Albus' ancestors had come up with the solution of a magical baby, and had later snatched Elessar from his cradle.
"Things had gone well for the family for a number of years, until Albus had started to leech more magic from the child than he should. He didn't see why he had to take such a small amount, since it wouldn't harm the baby if he did, what he didn't take into account, was how it would affect his own body. He very quickly reached the point of saturation, where he couldn't take in any more. After he defeated Grindlewald, and he tried to replenish his reserves with Elessar's magic, he hit upon a problem. The ritual would no longer work for him. His own magic had leapt upon the intruder and rejected it, much in the same way a body's immune system can reject a donated organ.
"He began researching into how he could counteract this effect, but met with little success. When the news of the new Dark Lord reached his ears, he realised he would not have the power to destroy this upstart himself. That was when he had hit upon the idea of disguising Elessar and allowing him to grow up.
"So, he meticulously changed the child's appearance and bound his elven powers within his core. When the time was right, he was planning to unbind the boy and let the backlash take both he and the Dark Lord down. He knew that if the child was allowed to live through the experience then he would prove a threat to Albus' whole way of life.
"When the child had managed to take down the Dark Lord without the unbinding, Albus had been in shock. He was very worried that his position was now at risk and began a slow campaign to poison the minds of witches and wizards everywhere, against Harry Potter. After all, Albus had made him, so why couldn't he destroy him?
"Unfortunately for him, Fate had other ideas, and brought The Book, the last hope of the Underground to find their missing child, to Harry. Chance had been annoyed with Destiny some years before, and so had played a cruel trick on one of her favourites to get back at her, by sending the book to Sarah Williams and activating the enchantments. Disaster had been avoided, thanks to Fortune, and Destiny's plan for Elessar and Jareth proceeded unhindered from then on.
"After the truth of the Dumbledore family's actions had been spread far and wide among the populace, all rebellion died down. No one wanted to dwell on how close to disaster one man and their own short sightedness had led them. Without realising it, many of the now squibs had taken their first, very important steps on the road towards earning back their magic.
"New laws were established for the peaceful and equal coexistence of all magical creatures. Human witches and wizards were counted as magical creatures themselves. Stronger ties were made with foreign magical communities, and the British community pushed vehemently for similar laws to be made in the International Confederation of Wizards. The ICW and other communities did take note of what had happened in Britain, and made plans to never fall into that kind of complacency themselves. Olive branches and the like were offered to previously shunned peoples, such as werewolves, banshees and vampires. Most were happy to live in their own enclaves, but trade between communities flourished.
"Better protections were put in place, to ensure secrecy and segregation between muggles and the magical community. Children were taught about their world, and encouraged to keep the old ways alive, Samhain, Beltane and other such festivals were celebrated publicly and joyfully. When new muggleborns started to pop up, they were given the opportunity to learn about the world they now belonged to almost immediately.
"As for Jareth and Elessar, they celebrated the birth of their first child, a baby girl, whom they promptly named Magdalaena. They were to be blessed with five more children, the second borne being twins. Not much is known about their lives together, and when asked, their representative will only say that he's never seen The Labyrinth so peaceful and alive.
"The first time I cast a spell since the reformation, I wept. I had been missing my magic for such a long time, that to have it back was to regain a piece of myself. I felt complete, whole, for the first time in years. I made a vow that day, to make sure this story would not be forgotten. I want you to remember it, and tell your children, your grandchildren, and anyone else who will listen, and when you do, remind them of this: He who would sacrifice freedom for security, deserves neither freedom nor security. Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for listening."
And with that Ginny Weasley opened the door, and walked away.