Wands and Crystals

Chapter 3:

The rest of the year went by without much incident after she was allowed to leave the hospital wing. Thankfully, there hadn't been much need to warn the Headmaster about Voldemort's plan, he had already suspected the Dark Lord's motives and it was only a matter of convincing the Ministry of Magic of the truth. He had also suggested that she not stay alone over the summer holiday since she was now a target for the Death Eaters to search out while she was not within the safety of the castle. She didn't particularly like the idea of a house guest, but until she learned how to control her fae magic it would be wise to have backup close by.

Climbing up on to the Hogwart's Express she quickly found an empty compartment to get comfortable in. As she sat thinking of who she wanted to have as a houseguest for the entire summer that wouldn't drive her completely insane she found herself beginning to doze off; once she was asleep an empty white room appeared around her dream self. The empty room was almost too much to bear that she wondered if she pinched her arm if she'd wake up back on the train. She really had to commend Jareth on his creepiness factor.

"This was not King Jareth's creation, Lady Sarah."

She spun around to find a woman in silver standing behind her. Something about this woman felt familiar, but she could not understand why, she had never seen her before. The woman gave a gentle, knowing smile.

"I am the Spirit of the Labyrinth, your new magic stems from me. My apologies for the strangeness of the room, I'm afraid I am not as creative as the Goblin King."

"That's alright, what can I do for you?"

"It's more of what I can do for you, regarding the extra magic you were gifted. I can teach you how to control it and properly wield it to your command."

"That would be very helpful considering every time I've used it I've been put on bed rest."

"Yes, especially since you are a witch using your mortal magic on a daily basis all day long. Your body is not used to the strain."

"How did you know I was a witch, I've never passed that information to your King. Knowing him, he would probably think I cheated if he ever found out."

"Lady Sarah, I know everything there is to know about the runners who pass through my walls, it is how I determine what the labyrinth should look and behave like while they make their journey. However, I have not confided that information to the King either, but sooner or later you will have to face him in person. Your fae magic is an extension of our world, and to truly learn how to use it requires you to have a link to our world, or for you to live in the Underground."

"He sent you here to try and convince me to return didn't he, dirty..."

"He did not send me, though he does know that I had intended to contact you myself. I had hoped he would get around to trying to teach you himself, but he doesn't seem to be taking your control over the magic as a priority. My master is quite taken with you, never before has any runner really challenged him. Most do not even attempt the trial of the labyrinth, and if they do they soon give up and forfeit he child. Not only did you take on the labyrinth, but did so in less time than you were originally given. You broke through the dreamscape that the King himself built, and your overcame the spell pushing the thoughts of finding your brother from your mind. Then, of course beating me is a feat no other has ever been able to achieve before."

"I don't understand, I made it clear from the moment he showed up in my brother's room that I did not really mean what I had said and I wanted my brother back no matter what."

"Think about it, Lady Sarah, all the information you need is in your little red book." She smiled at the young brunette before her. "I must leave you now, Mistress, you will soon be arriving at your destination, and I do believe you have a guest in your compartment. I will come to you again soon."

Before she could respond she was jolted awake, and found that she was indeed not alone anymore. In the seat in front of her was a strange looking girl slightly older than herself. The other girl's eyes glanced up from her book that she had been reading to see that her companion was finally awake. She set the book down on the seat next to her and grinned, she reached out her hand for Sarah to shake.

"Hello, I'm Tonks, I will be staying with you for your summer holiday."

She took the other girl's hand and shook it politely. "I didn't know I had been appointed a specific person to stay with me, Dumbledore only suggested that I should consider having someone stay."

"Hmm, yes, he does have a habit of not being quite clear. I am an aurora in the Ministry of Magic, I used to go to school at Hogwarts as well, you would have been in your first year when I was leaving school."

Tonks put up a protection spell once they had arrived at Sarah's flat, Sarah showed her around the small building and to the guest room. Tonks explained that she wouldn't be in the house all the time, she still had to show up at the Ministry so no one suspected anything out of the norm from either Sarah or Tonks herself. It worked out perfectly in Sarah's mind, she had a summer job at the local library while she was on break, and she was not sure she would be able to explain this girl whose hair changed from a dull purple to firey red when she got angry, or could change the features on her face when she made fun of those around her.

They sat in her living room a few days after arriving, Sarah was going over some schoolwork in the floor, but she could feel the other woman's eyes on her. She tried not to squirm under Tonk's gaze...

"Is it true that you possess a different form of magic, and that the Dark Lord wants to try and take it from you?"

Sarah glanced up from her book to look at the older girl uncertainly. She did not make it a habit to talk about her labyrinthine powers, she had only told her close friends and after the events with Voldemort she had told the Headmaster.

"Dumbledore mentioned it when he asked me to stay with you. He said you were really private about how you came about them. I'm a curious person by nature..."

"It's alright, Dumbledore trusts you, so I know I can do the same...yes, I developed new magic that is not the same as wizarding magic. Two summers ago when I was fourteen I found out that one of my most treasured fairytales was real. Crazy as that sounds, I'm being completely serious; I wished away my baby brother in a moment of frustration to the King of Goblins, to get him back I had to beat his labyrinth that was full of trials that tested my resolve and character. I, by lucky chance and help from new friends, beat the trials. My reward was the return of my baby brother, and later down the road I realized that either the King or the Labyrinth herself had gifted me with these newfound powers."

Sarah sighed a little as she thought about how she had found out about her powers. "I never noticed the new powers until later that summer, a month before school was going to start I had gotten into a argument with my stepmother, the power bubbled up out of nowhere and I ended up shattering every window in our house. Needless to say, Karen didn't take to kindly to finding out that her stepdaughter was a magical being. She told my dad that if he didn't get me out of the house and away from her son then, she would take Toby and leave him. She assured him that she would make sure he never saw Toby again."

"Damn, she sounds like an uptight bitch..."

"Yes, she is, I tried to make it work, and for a while I thought we were on the mend. Things had started to get better after my journey though the labyrinth, until that night when we got in an argument about my relationship status. She never liked the fact I didn't ever go on dates...Dad bought me this place and helped me get a job at the library just a few blocks away. School started and I have not seen my family since, Karen made sure of that."

"Do you still have the job?"

"Yes, the head librarian knows that I go to a 'private' school and stay in the dorms there so she said she would keep a position open for me during the summer months when I'm back in town. She also rents this flat out while I'm at school, we split the money fifty-fifty, that's how I ensure I have something to live off of when I come home."

"That's good." Tonk's said. "So, have you ever tried to get back in contact with this King of Goblins since you beat his maze?"

"No, but eventually I will have to face him, this power I got from his world is very difficult to control, and he is the only person I've ever seen wield it. Wouldn't really be wise for me to worry about my pride when I could potentially hurt someone by accident."

"As long as he isn't anything like the Dark Lord."

"He's not, he might be egotistical like him, but he doesn't kill innocent people for the fun of it."

"Why are you keeping her closed off to me?"

"Because, Lady Sarah needs to learn how to control her newfound powers. You were not making any attempt with that, too preoccupied trying to seduce her."

"I would have shown her how to control it." He raged.

"When? She needs to control it now, not on your time table. She could easily hurt someone if her emotions get the best of her, or even hurt herself, you should know that better than anyone."

She watched him grit his teeth at her audacity even though he knew she spoke the truth. She didn't enjoy reminding him of his past mistakes often, but sometimes he needed a dose of reality put back in his head. He was not going to be able to contact the Labyrinth's Champion for a while, she wanted to allow the girl some time to learn her new powers under her tutelage, and be able to sleep without influence of the King in her dreams.

"When my Mistress has a better grasp on the basics of her powers I will lift my protection from you off her mind, then you can continue your attempts to convince her to return. I do have it on good intuition that she knows she will eventually need your help to completely master the power flowing within her." She turned and began to fade from his sight. "I suggest you start thinking of a better way to win the Lady over."

"Insufferable labyrinth, spoiling all my fun."

The silver spirit floated around Sarah as she tried to bring forth her first crystal, however she was only getting more and more frustrated. The spirit smiled, she didn't expect her charge to get it down the first time she tried. She took Sarah's hand stopping her movements, and adjusted her wrist.

"Your wrist movement is a little jerky, but you are coming along. Until you can control your powers you will have to rely on your hand movements instead of just by thought. Don't worry about it too much, with a little more practice you will have summoning crystals down, then, we can move on to making them do things."

"I don't understand why this is so hard though."

"Because you are used to using your wand as an extension, its already there physically so you have something that balances out your movements. The crystal is not there yet so you have to learn to find that balance."

Sarah nodded, it made sense even if she didn't know how to find a balance yet.

Over the course of the next several days following her lesson with the Spirit she would try to practice bringing forth a crystal, only succeeding a few times, but non subsequently. Some of her previous frustration had subsided once she knew she could actually bring a crystal into existence, but only a little. Sighing she gave up trying to materialize another crystal and pulled her potions homework closer so she could work on it. She found she rather liked her potions class even when Snape was being an insufferable git. It reminded her of the calming feeling she got while she cooked meals here at her home.

A couple hours later, she heard the front door open, looking up she saw Tonks entering the flat carrying a large pizza in one hand. The colorful woman raised the thin box up suggestively in her direction making her smile excitedly. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the smell of the baked crust and melted cheese filtered through the air around her. She may love to cook, but free food was always a plus.

"So, how is your crystal magic coming along?"

"Eh, better, but I still need to practice. Managed to make three today. Plus, I don't know when my next lesson will be. All I know is that the Spirit has been blocking her Master from visiting my dreams. He can be rather annoying with his advances."

"Advances , huh?" Tonks wagged her brows at the younger girl. "Do tell. Is he handsome? Is he cursed to turn into a werewolf on a full moon..."

"You've been dreaming of Professor Lupin again I see."

Tonks' cheeks turned red at the mention of the former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's name. Sarah couldn't help the giggle that escaped at her new friend's expense, however, her humor was short lived when the conversations topic was directed back at her.

"But seriously Sarah, what's this guy like? I know you said he was a king, but what is he the of again, and why would you not want him?"

"Well, let me first point out that I don't want anyone because of their title or anything like that. Take Lord Voldemort for example, he has incredible power and talent, but he uses it to destroy the ways of our world instead of helping build and improve it. That's just one reason why you can't take someone's title for granted. Now, even my pessimistic view of the King, I can say he is not evil like the Dark Lord. However, I also don't know much about his character, the subjects of his that were with me throughout my journey didn't seem to care much for him, but he has never really punished them for helping me either." She took a bite of her pizza as she thought about how to describe the Goblin King to her friend. "As far as looks go, he has wild blonde hair, styled much like a punk rock star. He has mismatched eyes, and one of them is more dilated than the other."

"And you act like you're not attracted to him, yet, you can describe his eyes in such detail..."

"Tonks, I danced with the guy for a few minutes, you have to be close to dance a waltz properly. It is safe to say I did look at his face during that time."

"A waltz?! How romantic..."

"You're hopeless, you know that right?"

"Sarah, I may be rather eccentric compared to other witches, but I do enjoy a good love story just like any other girl would, and you have the makings of a rather interesting one." Seeing the protest about to be spat out she continued. "You are in the middle of it, you're not going to see it, and obviously want to deny that you might actually be attracted to this King. Personally, I think you should give him a chance. If not to win your heart, maybe your trust and friendship?"

Sarah knew she'd lost this argument, she didn't have anything that she could come back with that Tonks couldn't dispute. And as much as she wanted to deny the fact, giving the Goblin King a real chance to at least befriend her was a rather smart thing to do. Sooner or later she would have to let him in. Her eyes darted up to the other woman to see her smirking like a Cheshire cat.

Please don't forget to review. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. I will try not to take another year to post a chapter, promise I will work on the next one and hopefully have it up here in a few weeks if not sooner. This story got put on the back burner due to lack of inspiration and being distracted with other things.