Of Hogwarts and Inheritances

Chapter 12: Christmas Interlude

Sarah didn't like Saturday mornings.

"Toby," she hissed quietly, partly for stealth and partly because she wasn't fully awake yet. "Toby, get up." The firm command in her voice made him stir, and he groaned softly, rolling over in his bed, throwing his blanket up over his face to try and block out the noise. Sarah tugged the blanket down, and Toby, much too sleepy to protest, simply let it fall away. As per the norm, he felt his sister's arm sliding around his waist, pulling him into a sitting position. "Damn it," she cursed, "You get heavier every day." He mumbled a protest to that, but stubbornly refused to budge from his bed.

"I'z too early," he said. Sarah sighed.

"You say that all the time." She wrapped her arm around his back, leaning his weight on her and beginning the slow trek back to her room. His head lolled from side to side, but at least he somewhat supported his own weight. Otherwise, Sarah didn't know if she could make it back to her room without tripping them both.

When they got to the mirror, Toby reached out to the silver surface, his fingers melting into his reflection. Sarah let him topple into it, knowing that Ludo was already on the other side of the glass, waiting to catch him. When his form had completely disappeared, Sarah then touched her own fingers to the mirror and whispered those cursed words, "Labyrinth, I need you." It rippled in response to her, feeling her fingertips, recognizing her presence and rejoicing in her return. At least, that's the feeling she got every time she went back to the Labyrinth. It began pulling her in, impatient with the pause she took before entering, eager to feel her presence once more. The pull of the Labyrinth was a hard thing to resist, so she allowed it to tug her in, closing her eyes as the feeling of transporting worlds washed over her. It was like entering and leaving water all at the same time; submerging yourself in fantasy and breaking away into reality. It was a refreshing, relieving feeling.

Sarah opened her eyes, watching Jareth as he gently placed the sleeping Toby in his bed. She wasn't necessarily surprised to see him there, since it was, after all, his room. But she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Where's Ludo?"

He didn't look up at her as he told her the Labyrinthine creature was still somewhere in the woods, sleeping. Instead, his gaze was on her little brother. His gloves were off, as they always were when he cast his protection wards, but he wasn't casting them now. Instead his hand, smooth and long and pale like moonshine, settled gently over Toby's forehead. Toby seemed to breathe easier at the touch, sinking deeper into the bed.

"How goes his days at school?" Jareth asked, thinking for a moment. "Bogwarts, was it?"

Sarah stifled her laughter. "Hogwarts," she corrected, and wondered at the Goblin King's fascination with bogging and bogs. "He's doing okay. He's made a lot of friends." She sounded proud at that, stepping closer to the bed, wanting a closer look but not wanting to disturb this rare and wonderful peace that exuded from the Goblin King.

"Ah, yes," Jareth replied as if he knew all along. "That's right, Hogwarts." He didn't say anything after that, and Sarah assumed he was thinking about something. His hand retracted from Toby's head, and he began to weave the protective wards into place. He never touched Toby during the process, but his hands danced up and down above Toby. Winks of sparkles and glitter and light fell from his fingers onto her brother, disappearing into his skin and leaving no trace. Sarah was mesmerised.

This wasn't the first time she had seen Jareth cast his spells on Toby, but it never failed to amaze her what the Goblin King was capable of. The pieces of light melting into Toby's skin seemed to light him up somehow, and Sarah always thought he looked like he was glowing a tinge after the spells were in place. The glow just made him look a bit more pale, she supposed.

Jareth didn't say anything when he finished, just stood up and began to walk away. He knew that Toby would wake soon, and he always endeavoured to stay away from the young boy. But Sarah's hand on his wrist gave him pause, and he looked at her. She was staring down at his hand, tracing her fingers over his Christmas present. "You're wearing it," she said, with a bit of surprise. He chuckled, tucking her hair behind her ear with his other hand.

"Of course I am, precious. Were you expecting me to throw it away?" Her blush was his answer. It could have also been from his light brush against her cheek, and the way she stared up at him. He caught the hand holding his wrist, bringing it up for the slightest of caresses against his lips. It was his silent goodbye, and with it he slid gracefully away, leaving her to stare after him, wondering if it was the magic of the Labyrinth that left that tingle on her knuckles.

...

...

...

Toby awoke with the taste of wonder on his tongue. He knew what that meant.

He was in the Labyrinth again.

There were voices, one he recognized as his sister's, but the other one was an enigma. It was familiar, but somehow not. He wanted to sit up to see this person with the deep voice, flecked with mischievousness and dark promise, a voice he'd only ever heard in his dreams, a voice he thought he imagined in those moments of oblivion and silence. His body hadn't yet caught up with his brain though, and it took a few seconds for him to pull himself up. By that time, the voice had stopped speaking, and the only thing he could vaguely remember or see was a flash of something – velvet? Like a cape maybe? – disappearing around the corner. Even then, he thought he might have hallucinated, or thought it to be a goblin.

"How do you feel?"

He brought his attention back to his sister, who was hovering over him with a concerned look. "M'fine," he said, taking a moment to stretch. He yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and hopping off the bed. "C'mon Sarah, today we have to go to Diagon Alley." Sarah laughed at his enthusiasm, the way he took her hand and dragged her to the mirror. Waking up in the Labyrinth always energized him, and he always felt powerful and strong there.

"Alright, we better hurry before Irene notices we're gone." Toby went first through the mirror, as he always did, letting the Labyrinth's room fade around him, slipping effortlessly into Sarah's room. He was already headed back to his own room once Sarah crossed the border between worlds, eager to mail his present to Ginny. He had gotten her a journal from a muggle bookstore, at a mall they stopped at on their way home from King's Cross. He figured with all the writing she did in her journal, she'd be close to filling it. And it looked so old and worn, and it was just a plain boring black. Toby thought something brighter and cheerier would suit Ginny better. Something with a little pizzazz. That was why he bought a journal that was deep red with a silver hemming. The red leather was probably fake but he liked the way it felt.

But Luna... he still didn't have a present for Luna.

She was a bit harder to gift. She didn't care much for fancy clothes or nice jewellery. Toby supposed he could have gotten her something typical, maybe a journal like Ginny's or a box of chocolates. But Luna wasn't a typical person, and Toby didn't want to get her a typical gift. So he waited and puzzled, hoping that maybe inspiration might hit him soon.

"Young master Tobias," Sqeek spoke up, toothily smiling up at him. "Is time to go." Toby, fully dressed in jeans and a shirt, grabbed his robes and went downstairs, hanging them on his chair before taking a seat for breakfast. His parents, mom standing at the stove and dad sitting across from him, stared dubiously at his wizard robes. Their attention was promptly redirected when Sarah entered the room, dusting soot off her shoulder and holding a piece of paper.

"Are we taking the floo again?" Toby asked her. Sarah saw Irene and her dad look at each other, mouthing the new word in confusion. She smiled nervously at her little brother.

"Not this time," she told him. It would probably be best if she didn't give her dad a heart attack. It was a good thing that McGonagall had informed her earlier that her fireplace had not been disconnected from the floo network. She had just taken a few minutes to ask for alternative ways to Diagon Alley, hence the piece of paper and the soot lingering on her shoulders. She took a seat at the table and started in on breakfast, trying her best to ignore the probing looks from the rest of her family. It didn't take long for the rest of them to follow suit.

"So, Sarah," Irene started, and internally Sarah groaned. "What is this 'Diagon Alley' you and Toby keep talking about?" Toby's face lit up.

"It's so cool!" he exclaimed, bouncing in his seat. "It's this marketplace for wizards, and it's got everything. There's this one store that sells brooms—"

"Brooms? So witches really do fly on brooms?" Irene cut in thoughtfully, and Sarah thought she was taking this all in a bit too easily. But Toby shook his head, a dreamy look coming into his eyes.

"There's a sport called quidditch, and it's played on brooms." Robert, across from Toby, looked up in surprise.

"They have wizard sports on brooms?" he asked, now intrigued. Sarah snorted. Figures.

"It sounds dangerous," Irene said, frowning. Sarah rolled her eyes as the conversation about brooms and witches and quidditch continued on. Her father was typically interested in the schematics of the game quidditch, while Irene's frown grew increasingly deeper the more she mentally realized every potential danger the sport (and the method of transportation) had. The only upside Sarah could find to this conversation was that her dad and Irene seemed less starstruck and more willing to accept the ridiculousness of what Toby was telling them.

They finished breakfast and tugged on their coats. Sarah and Toby climbed into the back of the car while Irene and her dad sat in the front, her dad at the wheel. "So where to Sarah?" he asked, and she glanced down at the directions she'd scribbled hastily on a scrap piece of paper. The ride to the Leaky Cauldron wasn't long, but Sarah found herself more and more nervous as they approached their intended destination. Even her dad and Irene seemed a bit skeptical, staring nervously at, what was to them a decrepit building. But Sarah saw the sign out front crystal clear.

"Here we are," she said, unbuckling herself. "The Leaky Cauldron." Her dad and Irene were hesitant to follow her out of the car, wondering again if this was possibly a really elaborate ruse Sarah and Toby were pulling as a prank. But as they entered the building, space seemed to warp around them and suddenly the sound of clinking forks and knives sounded.

For a moment, the people inside the Leaky Cauldron went about their ways. On the other hand, a few turned to look at the Muggles standing at the doorway, all four looking rather dumbfounded. Well, perhaps that wasn't the right word to describe Toby. He was just utterly curious of this new place he'd never seen before. The man behind the bar smiled brightly and walked towards them, frightening Irene and Robert.

"Hello, hello, is it your first time?" he asked. Sarah tugged Toby back to her, in almost a protective gesture.

"Yes," she said, trying not to seem nervous. "We're wondering where the entrance to Diagon Alley is?" she asked him. He seemed more than happy to help, ushering the four over to an unadorned section of the walls. He chattered on rather quickly, so much so that Sarah wasn't entirely sure what he was saying. But she caught words like, "bricks" and "specific order" and "welcome to Magical Britain!" before he tapped the wall a few times and the bricks collapsed away to reveal their destination.

"Diagon Alley!" Toby shouted, running headfirst into the marketplace of wizards. Sarah sighed and tromped after him, while Robert and Irene trailed behind, utterly terrified of Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron. Toby had, predictably, headed straight for the quidditch store, tempting Robert and Irene towards it as well. Irene made a motion with her hand against her head, as if she wanted to faint, but Robert seemed awed, and then excited. He started speaking to Toby about the displayed broom, the Nimbus, while passing wizards slowed to listen. They must not hear American accents very much, Sarah thought to herself.

"I'm going to go exchange our money," Sarah told them faintly, glad that they didn't really pay attention to her. She didn't want anyone, not even Toby, following her on her little excursion to the Gringotts bank. Not that they were helpless. Sarah had slipped a few galleons into Irene's purse, hoping that would distract them for long enough for her to finish her business.

She left quickly and silently, hiding in the crowds until she lost sight of them. Gringotts was pretty close, so it didn't take long for her to get there. When she arrived at the doors, the two goblins keeping watch gave her a short, but polite bow. None of the other wizards going into Gringotts seemed to realize that show of respect was directed at Sarah, rather they were just shocked that goblins had done anything mildly respectful at all. So Sarah managed to avoid attention, slipping quickly through the doors.

The goblins all seemed to pause when she walked in, but they went back to what they were doing almost instantly. When Ragnok met her only seconds later, Sarah figured he was the reason why.

"Championess," Ragnok greeted, bowing shortly at the waist. Sarah wasn't sure if she was supposed to curtsy, but decided curtsying in jeans couldn't be done, so she just nodded her head stiffly.

"Hello Ragnok." He seemed to smile at her awkwardness, sweeping his arm towards the hallway where Sarah remembered his office was.

"Shall we?" He asked, and Sarah just shook her head.

"No I just... I don't need anything today, I just wanted to look at the vault," she told him. Ragnok smiled. He gestured to the front of the room, where the tall podium sat. A goblin was manning it, and seemed to freeze when he noticed Sarah and Ragnok. There was a bit of a line in front of the podium, all the wizards holding large golden keys. Sarah reached into her pocket, grabbing the golden key Ragnok had given her the first time she came to Gringotts. She looked at it a bit quizzically, but Ragnok just ushered her past the line and the podium. A few of the wizards gave her dirty looks; a few others looked curious. Sarah just wished all of them would stop staring.

"Please step inside," Ragnok said, gesturing to the mine cart. He jumped in after her, and before Sarah could really prepare herself, the cart shot off like a rocket.

"AHHHHHHH!" she screamed, gripping the edges like they were a lifeline. The adrenaline that suddenly rushed through her, the way her heart beat so rapidly in her chest, Sarah thought for a moment that maybe the cart was going to lead her straight to the Underground. But despite the length of the ride, and despite how deep they went, the cart stopped at what was most assuredly Aboveground… ground.

It took a few minutes for the pins and needles to go away, and a few more for her to even stand properly, but Sarah got out of the mining cart and stood in front of a massive door with a small hole in it. Extending from the hole were what seemed like small cracks, but when Sarah looked closer they were inscriptions. She slid the golden key into what she figured was the keyhole, and the inscriptions began to glow, before sectioning away to reveal a huge room filled with precious treasures.

"Wow..." Sarah murmured, stepping inside. It was quite organized. Sarah didn't see any galleons littering the floor. But she did see square treasure chests stacked upon each other, rows and rows of them lining the room. When she flipped one open, she found out where all the galleons were kept. "This is amazing," she said. Ragnok entered with her as well, his hands clasped respectfully behind his back. "What is all this stuff?" Sarah lightly touched a golden necklace displayed prettily on a wooden manikin.

"The King sometimes entrusts treasures to us, in fear that the Underground goblins will wreck them if they are not safely stowed away. We keep them in this room," Ragnok explained. Sarah's hand jerked away from the necklace, her eyes widening.

"These are Jareth's things?" she said incredulously. Well she certainly didn't feel like wearing that necklace anymore. And why did he have a woman's necklace anyways? Suddenly, Sarah felt like taking back that watch she got him. But only a little part of her. Like, the fifteen-year old little part of her.

She moved away from the luxurious jewellery (and luxurious it was; rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds decorated some or each or all of them) and looked at the dresses hanging from the life-sized manikins. Sarah was certainly not fifteen anymore, but she still loved everything fantastical. And these beautiful dresses were certainly right up her alley. They didn't look like anything she'd ever seen before. The sleeves were large and billowy at the arms and shoulders, almost like the ones Jareth liked to wear so much. The fabric dipped precariously low in the back, and the skirts were long and almost ghostly. Gentle lines of gems patterned the hems, but they didn't make the dress look ostentatious, just eloquent and regal.

There was a little dust on them that Sarah felt when she touched the soft material. The gems were dulled by age, no longer shimmering. But the dresses still looked new and unworn, and Sarah wondered if perhaps it was the same with the jewellery. That begged the question though; for what purpose did Jareth have these if they were not mementoes of… his women?

And there was one dress that stood out from the rest, not because of its beauty but because of how different it was. It looked like any old, preserved dress that Sarah had seen in a museum. It was beautifully made, to be sure, but this one definitely seemed worn. The hems were frayed at the ends, and there was a little sweat stain on the white collar. The rest of the dress was a deep, royal blue. It looked like any medieval dress that Sarah could imagine in her head. In fact, Sarah had worn similar dresses for plays she had acted in. Could it be the dress of a woman who wished away a child? But why would Jareth keep something like that?

She didn't have time to ponder it, because she was sure she'd been away for long enough that Toby and her dad and Irene would have noticed by now. She left the vault, grabbing a few galleons on the way just in case, and shut the vault. Her key was stored safely in her pocket as she jumped into the mine cart, but before they left Ragnok looked at her.

"Championess, this is your vault. If there is anything inside of it that has caught your eye, you have full right to take it," he told her. Sarah stared at him, somewhat uncomfortable with the new information. Maybe because it meant that whatever was Jareth's was also hers. And maybe because that meant the two of them were connected in ways Sarah was still uncomfortable thinking about. So she just nodded, and let it drift from her head as the mine cart made its way back up to the surface, leaving those thoughts to settle deep down in the earth.

After a minute or so of riding, Ragnok suddenly stopped the mine cart. Sarah, thrown off balance, had to right herself before realizing it was to avoid crashing into another mine cart. In front of her, Ragnok was angrily scolding the goblin who had driven the mine cart on this road.

"My apologies," he said, "But Mrs. Malfoy insisted." He seemed quite unapologetic, and Narcissa Malfoy, if Sarah remembered correctly, was also unrepentant. In fact, she seemed rather annoyed. She eyed Sarah with something akin to disbelief, her eyes flickering down as if doing that would help her figure out which vault was Sarah's. But why would she do that? Sarah thought.

There was a bit of a scuffle, as Sarah and Ragnok ended up switching mine carts with Narcissa Malfoy and the other goblin. That way, Sarah wouldn't have to wait for Narcissa to be done in her vault. Ragnok was apologizing on the way up, but Sarah didn't really hear him. Her thoughts were stuck on the missus, the way the other woman's eyes gleamed with interest but widened with disbelief at her. Sarah thought that must have been what she looked like, disbelieving that all the things in that vault were hers.

"Ragnok," Sarah said, as they climbed out of the cart, "I don't care what you and Jareth think. I don't want to inherit a vault full of money just because of some title I get for surviving the Labyrinth." Ragnok grinned at her.

"Well that's quite a problem," he chuckled, "because it's yours whether you want it or not." Sarah sent him an exasperated look, but he just chuckled again.

"I don't want money I didn't earn myself," Sarah told him, frowning. "It feels wrong." Ragnok stared at her seriously now, knowing her penchant for fairness and honour. He thought for a few moments, before a smirk splashed across his face.

"I might have a solution for that."

...

...

...

When Toby noticed his sister was missing, it was while he was looking at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. He remembered it from the last time he came to Diagon Alley, and he and Professor McGonagall and Sarah had stopped there for a short rest. Mom and dad were still standing dumbfounded in front of Ollivander's Wand Shop, staring at the old, majestic wand in the display case. Irene leaned heavily on Robert, who could barely stand straight himself. They seemed to take in the brooms just fine, Toby thought, but the wands really seemed to kick everything in for them.

Regardless, they seemed fine. They were too shocked to wander and get into trouble, Toby thought, so he focused on finding Sarah. He didn't notice her leaving them, and wondered where she could have gone. He felt a tug on his robes and looked down to see Sqeek grinning up at him. "The Lady went to go see Gingygotts cousins," he said. "Lady will be okey-dokey. Cousins will protect Lady!" Toby patted Sqeek's head, thankful for the comfort. At least his goblins were paying attention when he wasn't.

Toby went back to his parents, tugging their hands to get them away from the wands. Other wizards were starting to stare. "Come on guys!" Toby said. "I have to owl my present to Ginny!" The two were summarily confused at the concept of owling, so Toby had to drag them to the post office.

"Why don't they just use email?" Robert asked in confusion. Toby grinned, somewhat proud that he knew things his father didn't.

"Magic short circuits electricity, so technology is useless in the wizarding world." He dragged them inside, digging out the Christmas-wrapped journal that was Ginny's present. He peered over the edge of the front desk, still too short to be completely visible if he didn't go up on his toes. "Hey, I need a package mailed to... um..." he dug around in his pockets and pulled out a scrap piece of paper. "The Burrow." The present was handed over, a few sickles were given in payment, and the owl was on its way. With that done, Toby decided to go exploring with his parents a little more. He still needed to find Luna a present, after all.

When Toby stepped out into the streets again, he crashed right into someone. They both fell, and Toby groaned as his goblins surrounded him, tittering in worry. His head panged for a few seconds before it was clear again, and it was then that he heard an accusatory, "Watch where you're going Mudblood!"

'Not this nickname again,' Toby groaned in his head. He looked up at the infamous Draco Malfoy, who was sneering down at Toby. Toby just rolled his eyes and let his dad help him up on his feet, dusting his black robe off. Malfoy looked to be alone, his two idiots not tailing him like they usually did. He started eyeing Toby's parents with a deep scowl.

"Bringing mud into the wizarding world?" he snorted. "I swear you're all cockroaches or something. There's never just one infesting your house, there's always a family." Toby glared at the 'fellow' Slytherin, stepping in front of his angry goblins in a silent gesture not to attack. But Malfoy construed that as a challenge, and stepped forward as well, bringing the two nose-to-nose. He smiled cruelly. "Is there a problem, Mudblood?" he asked.

"Is there a problem, Mudblood?" Toby repeated, mocking Malfoy by speaking in a high pitched, pretentious and poorly done British accent. "Here's a thought: step aside and maybe there won't be."

"You can't tell me what to do," Malfoy said snootily. "You're just a Mudblood." Toby smirked.

"You sure about that?" he asked, and that was when his goblins sprang into action. They all shoved Malfoy's legs, making him stumble and trip to the side, allowing Toby to walk through where he once stood. "Well that's a good chap," Toby said, bringing back his poorly done accent. Malfoy's shoulders shook, his face bright red with embarrassment.

"You... you Mudblood!" he shouted. Toby grinned.

"Do you ever get creative? Or is Mudblood the only thing in your vocabulary of 'well no duh'." Malfoy pointed a finger accusingly at him.

"The Ministry of Magic will get you for this! Magic cast by underage wizards is not allowed!" But Toby just smiled cheekily. Under him, his goblins snickered wickedly.

"Who said I was using magic?"

...

...

...

When Sarah found her family, she was a bit suspicious of what happened while she was gone. Toby was sulking, his chin dropped on his chest as Irene stood over him, speaking stern words. Robert stood beside her, not saying anything, just standing with his arms crossed. He looked like he wanted to agree with whatever his wife was saying, but at the same time... not. Sarah thought he probably figured it was safest to stand there and look intimidating.

When they spotted Sarah, all of them seemed to forget about what happened, and rushed to her. "Sarah! Where were you?!" was the first thing out of Irene's mouth. Toby just looked relieved that he was off the hook now, and Robert gave her a little half hug, like somehow when she had disappeared, the magic of this world had swallowed her whole and wouldn't give her back.

"Um. Just taking care of some errands," Sarah told them. Irene looked like she was about to ask, 'what errands?' but Sarah, as an experienced older sister, redirected Irene's attention. "So did something happen?" She gave Toby a grin when he glared at her, all three of them listening as Irene launched into the little confrontation Sarah missed.

When Irene finished recounting the event (with overexaggerated mentions of how irresponsible Toby was being, and underexaggerated mentions of how horrible that twit Malfoy was), Toby knew he was in a load of trouble with Sarah, who turned to him with that oh-so-familiar look of sisterly sternness. Sqeek hid behind one of his legs, as scared of Sarah as the goblins always seemed to be whenever she got angry. Sneek burrowed further under his helmet, Skuell used Sneek as a shield and Maelicious… Maelicious got quieter, if that was even possible.

"Toby, that wasn't very nice," Sarah said to Toby. "He's your housemate, and in a higher grade than you." But Toby pouted and kicked the dirt protestingly.

"Only by a year," he said. "And he was being mean! He called mom and dad cockroaches!" But Irene tutted and crossed her arms at him.

"Sticks and stones, Toby," she said, but then frowned. "Although I didn't realize there would be any kind of prejudice in this magical world." Robert shrugged and patted his wife consolingly on the shoulder.

"Where there are people, there will always be prejudice," he said, and then smiled. "Now let's go home. I think I've had enough surprises for one day."

...

...

...

"Sarah? Can you get me more sugar from the store?" Irene called out from the kitchen. Toby poked his head out of his room, peering suspiciously into the second floor hallway of the Williams family residence. He heard the door open, his older sister calling out a short "Yeah sure!" before hearing the front door slamming behind her. Toby waited a few seconds, just to be sure she wasn't coming back because she forgot her keys (again), before darting down the hall towards her room. Behind him, cackling madly, was Sneek and Skuell. Sqeek was fairly quiet, and Maelicious was so quiet even Toby forgot he was there sometimes.

Sarah's door didn't creak when he pushed it open, but still Toby was wary. Her room was always fairly sparse, just a bed, a dresser, and a mirror inside it. The mirror was what interested Toby, the gateway to the Labyrinth. He'd fallen through it so many times, the rippling always a comfort, always nostalgic. But he'd always gone into the Labyrinth with Sarah, this would be the first time he'd gone by himself.

It wasn't as if he was up to anything diabolical, though most would anticipate that. He just needed to get into the Labyrinth and… take one of the goblins.

Okay, hear him out for a second. During the car ride back home, Toby was thinking about what to get Luna, because she was the only person he had not gotten a gift for Christmas. But he just couldn't figure out what to get her. I mean, just think about it, the girl was not exactly your average… girl. He couldn't just hand her a journal or a pair of earrings and call it a day. Luna was a unique kind of person and she deserved a unique present. And it came to him, sitting in the back seat with his sister, listening to her talking to mom, explaining as much as she could about the magical world.

"I can't tell you how many times I've run around trying to catch some lost kid's cat or toad or something," Sarah chuckled.

"Students are allowed to bring pets into the school?" Irene asked, horrified. "But what about allergies? Do any of them have epi-pens?!" Sarah opened her mouth to explain that magical children didn't really have allergies to animals, and if they did there was probably a cure for it somewhere in Madam Pomfrey's infirmary. But none of that mattered to Toby, the only thing that did was the light bulb that went over his head.

"Labyrinth, I need you."

Toby slid through the mirror, that familiar rippling washing over him. He landed on his feet in the majestic bedroom that the other mirror-gate was attached to. Toby wondered if the Labyrinth made this room for him, although he often wondered in the Labyrinth was a sentient being at all. Nevertheless, what he was looking for would not be in this room. He left it, feeling a little nervous because he'd never really left this room by himself before, bar the little goblins running around his feet.

"Home! We back home!" Sqeek said, giggling. The hallways were dusty and old, a strange contrast to the elegant room he emerged from. He knew that the hallway eventually led to a large room, with a strange chair in it. It didn't look quite comfortable, and Toby often wondered who it was for.

When Toby entered the large room he saw it, and wondered at it again. It was fairly wide, and looked like a chair that a larger person would fit in. Perhaps the goblins stole it from a giant? But did giants exist in the Labyrinth? Maybe it was for Ludo. Ludo was quite large.

Regardless, Toby was drawn to the strange-looking chair. It felt old, centuries old, but it was still sturdy, still well-kept. He sat in it, placing his hands on what he assumed were the armrests, and looked ahead to see Hoggle.

"What do you think yer doing?"

Toby yelped, jumping off the chair. "Hoggle!" he exclaimed. Hoggle's little hands were on his hips, and he was tapping his foot in impatience. "Uhh…" Toby looked back at the chair.

"Sorry, is this your chair?" he asked. Hoggle jumped back a little, as if terrified of that idea.

"No! No," he replied. "But you shouldn't sit in it." With that, Hoggle began to… hobble away. But perhaps Hoggle would be of help to Toby, and so the young boy called the dwarf-like creature back.

"Hoggle, do you have any goblins you'd be willing to spare?" he asked, crouching to be at eye-level with the short creature. Hoggle gave him a weird look, crossing his arms.

"Why do you need another goblin? You already have four!" Hoggle complained. But Toby shrugged.

"It's not for me, it's for my friend," he said. "My friend Luna. She gets picked on a lot. I was hoping a goblin could protect her like they protect me."

Toby wasn't able to be there all the time for Luna, someone he treasured as his first friend at Hogwarts. She wasn't the kind of person who would fight back at someone who did her wrong. That kind of mentality made her an easy target, especially in places Toby couldn't reach, like the Ravenclaw Tower. And as a girl who was quite unique and special, most people wouldn't understand her. Toby was hoping that this goblin companion would give her comfort whenever she felt any kind of loneliness.

Hoggle harrumphed. "Give a goblin to a girl who can't even see it?" But when Toby explained Luna's strange sight, it made Hoggle rethink his opinion of her. "A girl like that shouldn't exist," he mumbled to himself. But then shrugged, determined not to let it bother him. "Well it's not up to me whether a goblin wants to stay in the human world," Hoggle told Toby. "Go ask around and see if you can find one of them to agree to your crazy idea. I'm out." And so Hoggle left, leaving Toby to roam the Goblin City as he pleased.

Faced with the bustling, chaotic epicentre of goblin madness, Toby smiled and looked down at his faithful goblin companions.

"Alright guys, let's do this."

...

...

...

"Owls are coming in!"

Ginny scrambled down the stairs, excited from all the presents flying in because of Christmas Day. Her older brothers were already there, tearing through the presents from their mum and dad. A few owls were leaving already, after been given a treat and a pat on the head by Mrs. Weasley. She was ushered into the fray of present-opening by her father, who gave her a smile and a pat on the shoulder. The first present she opened was, of course, her mother's. Chocolates and a new knitted sweater, as per usual. But Ginny put on the sweater anyways, watching her mum's face glow from it. She munched on a few other chocolates as she sifted through the presents to find more of hers. Toby and Luna had sent her presents for sure, she thought.

Ginny found Luna's present first. It was a set of brand new quills, but not any of the ordinary kind. The only remotely ordinary one was the quill of a swan, but all the others were wonderful colours and varying lengths. Perhaps the most interesting for Ginny was the colourful feather of a Lorikeet. It was an average size of an average quill, but the colours were so vibrant that Ginny was hesitant to call it anything close to average.

Putting her quill set away, she found her other present from her other friend, Toby. It was a new journal, and somehow it wasn't as exciting of a gift as Ginny thought it would be. I mean, it wasn't as if she told anyone the specifics of her strange and magical journal, so of course Toby wouldn't know that she essentially never actually wrote journal entries, or needed a new journal. But holding the present in her hand, realizing all the secrets she kept from him and from Luna, Ginny felt… something.

Guilt? Most likely. But still, she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Regardless, she took her presents upstairs to her room, throwing the journal and the quill set into her school trunk, and reached for Tom. Maybe he could help her figure out what this feeling was.

...

...

...

Christmas Day for Luna was usually very low-key. Her father would make breakfast for her, and together they would eat and speak of Snorkacks and Nargles and any other creature that was unheard of by the general wizarding public. For a long time, Luna thought that her father was the only one who would ever understand and accept her, mostly because he was quite the same way. But since meeting Toby, Luna was given hope that maybe she wouldn't be isolated to a life of singular belief and "weirdness."

That was why this Christmas Day when Luna woke up, she was the most excited she had ever been. She'd heard the flapping of the owls entering her home and immediately rushed downstairs. When she got to the main level of her home, her father was standing in the kitchen holding two presents and smiling widely at her. "Merry Christmas!" he exclaimed, and she laughed and hugged him.

"Merry Christmas," she replied. Her father's present for her was under the tree, and she opened that one first. It was a pair of Dirigible plum earrings, from a Dirigible plum bush that her mother had tended to when she was still alive. It comforted Luna to wear a part of her mother around her head, knowing that the plums would give her the wisdom her mother always seemed to have in abundance. She wore them straight away, and smiled when they brushed her cheeks.

The next present was from Ginny, a box of chocolates and a brooch in the shape of a crescent moon. It made Luna smile, and she pinned it to her robes.

Now wearing two of her gifts, Luna wondered if perhaps Toby also gave her something that was wearable. She took his box from her father, opening it. Inside of it was a book. A book of Muggle fairytales. She marveled at it, looking at the brand new binding and the wonderful colours. Muggles were always so flamboyant with their colours, Luna thought. She wished to read it, so she excused herself and went to her room.

It was only in the privacy of her room, the book cracked open to a random story, that Luna noticed the little weight on her right shoulder. She didn't turn to look at it, instead chose to gather what she could from her peripheral vision. It was small, with a little tail and a littler helmet. It was giggling softly into her ear.

"Well now, what's your name?" she asked it, asked him. He giggled again and then whispered in her ear, and she smiled. "It's very nice to meet you Dashe. Would you like me to read you a story?"

A/N You thought I was dead, didn't you?