"I wish that the Goblin King would raise my child should my husband and I perish."
The impending storm blew open the windows of the cottage, an owl flying in, the first in months due to the Fidelius charm.
It morphed into a man, his hair wild, his eyes different colors, wearing a poet's shirt and slacks. His face was decidedly inhuman, although without close inspection it was impossible to deduce why other than a feeling of unease. Perhaps it was the naturally sharp angles or the feline slant to his multicolored eyes.
Whatever it was it made the witch hold her child more tightly, her bright red hair concealing his face from view.
"I have been called to take away many children, but so few do for love." The Goblin King said. "Lady Lily Evan-Potter, mother of Harry James Potter, why have you summoned me tonight?"
The witch tried to calm her beating heart, rapid with fear and awe at the fae man before her. "I have seen my death and my son's future."
The Goblin King paced around her, his subjects chittering in the shadows. "And his future?" He drawled, completely at ease. He held every single card in this game and the next.
"Unloved and abandoned, starving in a boot cupboard, put there by the man that will " save" him 10 years later, only to be raised and manipulated as a lamb for slaughter, a martyr, his inheritance and titles old and forgotten, siphoned away into the puppetmaster's pockets." The woman spat the word "Puppetmaster", her voice filled with venom that hinted at a temper as fiery as her hair.
"And what is it you wish from me?" The Fae purred, running gloved fingers over Lily's cheek.
She did not flinch, holding his gaze. "I wish you to take Harry away to a place where he will be safe and loved."
"You realize that he will be changed. Those who enter my kingdom and stay past the thirteenth hour will no longer be human." It wasn't a question.
Lily looked at her son and back at the goblin king. "No matter what race he belongs to, he will still be my son. I wish him to be happy and loved. That is my dream."
The Goblin King smiled, not smugly or a smirk, but a genuine smile. "I take the lonely and unwanted, transforming them into goblins that live in and service my kingdom. This would be your son's fate, but for your love and sacrifice, something I see from so few mortals that call upon me, his fate has changed. I will not only grant your wish, Lady Potter but fulfill it myself." He faded into the shadows. "I will see you upon your final breath, Lily Potter. When your child cries for you, and you can no longer respond, I shall spirit him away to the castle beyond the goblin city. You have my word, Lily Potter. He shall be happy. He shall be safe. You have 13 hours to change your mind."
And then he was gone.
She did not change her mind.
Jareth, King of the Goblins, watched through an enchanted mirror, scant minutes after the 13 hours we're up, as a foul wizard broke down the door of the Potter home, and killed Lily's husband, leaving him to cool on the floor.
Lily tried to fight, shooting spell after spell, but she too fell.
Jareth snapped his fingers, the child falling asleep just as his mother died. There was no need to see that.
A raised wand.
A curse.
A faerie shield.
The dark wizards spell backfired, useless against the might of the fae king. He crumbled to dust, yet his soul was still trapped on earth.
Strange. Something to look into later.
A small piece attempted to attach to the child but Jareth growled and it dissolved, screaming like the original.
He continued to watch as the child slept. A man came in, checked on Lily, kicked Voldemort in the face, and picked up the child, tears of relief pouring down his face when he found the babe still breathed.
Another appeared, one as large as Ludo, with thick brown hair and an even thicker coat with many pockets. A half-giant.
They argued briefly, but the first man soon let the larger one have the child. Jareth, ever so vigilant, saw the dazed look in the first man's eyes. Most would say he was exhausted but Jareth recognized a compulsion charm when he saw one. He was a master at them, although it was far more entertaining to use your words. More of a challenge.
The larger man took the child as Jareth pursed his lips in thought. A new name would be needed. Something that meant what the child would one day do. Amani? No. That's not right. Maybe something more modern. Something fae, but of dreams and wishes instead of the forest his kind so loved.
The large man took the child to yet another, using human transportation that had been enchanted upon the insistence of the first.
He drove in the skies, loud enough to wake the child had he not been in an enchanted sleep.
The spell would be wearing off soon. Lorien? No, too common, it might be guessed by a mortal. Not safe. But maybe something from the same series?
"Sprog! Bring me a list of elves from the human series Lord of the Rings!" Jareth yelled, gesturing wildly behind the throne where his assistant dwelled.
Sprog, a Goblin who had been an eight-year-old human, and thus was higher in intelligence than those turned at a younger age, did as commanded, returning after ten minutes and handing the list to his king.
Jareth busied himself looking through the list, before tossing it aside. He materialized a crystal and summoned a laptop. "Fae names for boys that mean wishes. No. No. Ohh. I've decided!" He declared, tossing the laptop aside like old rubbish where it was immediately claimed as a "warm, good, nest" by Lexie the chicken.
The goblins cheered.
"Now, back to the drama." Jareth peered into his mirror, seeing an old man with a long beard, a woman in emerald wizarding robes, and half-giant leave.
"Did they truly just leave a child on the doorstep?" Jareth asked no one in particular, before grinning wickedly. "Well, then. At least I have no need of an invite."
Between one breath and the next, Jareth appeared on Privet Drive. He pulled back the blanket covers carefully, seeing a scar on the baby's forehead. With a wave of Jareth's hand, both scar, and sleep, vanished.
"Mommy?" Said the child, looking up at Jareth with wide emerald green eyes. "Daddy?"
Jareth carefully picked him up. "Hush little one. All will be well. You have a new papa now, but you will always remember your mother, who loved you more than life and humanity itself." Another step and they were gone.
That was the last time anyone saw Harry Potter.
---------
I've had this one written for a while but never publish it before. Hope you enjoy. Let me know if I should publish more.
YOU ARE READING
The Goblin Prince.
Hayran KurguLily Potter was a seer, and a powerful one at that. Although her death was certain, the future of her child wasn't set in stone. After all, what is a man playing god compared to someone who could pass as one? And so, Lady Lily Potter, on that fatef...
