184OMG – 746 follows, 448 favorites, 138 comments, and 16 communities. Woot! Le hannon (Sindarin, Thank you) so much for the communities, comments, favorites and follows. Welcome all new readers.
Unbeta'd Harsh criticism welcome. Effusive praise too. ;-)
Summary: Harry Potter chased a former death eater into a portal to a new world. Now his issues have grown. This is going to be Harry/elfling, just 'cause I love them. Likely M for violence.
My update schedule: I apologize for the long delay in updates. Every time I went to create more, I got lost in my notes. I've organized, and cut down to 20 pages of notes. I've been pulling teeth trying to get out an update of 4k words for the last 6 months. I refuse to make you wait longer for 75 more words. I can't predict a next update; RL interferes. Thank you for your patience.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, any of J.K. Rowling's recognizable universe, or characters. I also don't own Lord of the Rings, any of J.R.R. Tolkien's recognizable universe, or characters. Speech will be some LoTR movie verse, which again, I don't own.
…
Chapter 6 Prep to Move
Thranduil held up his hand. "Daro." he requested, pausing the messenger from Dale.
The silvery stag approached the throne, bowing its head briefly. "Hi Thranduil?" Harry's voice tentatively started. "I need a favor. We believe Ginny has followed us, and may have appeared at the location I arrived in. Could you look after her until her brother Ron arrives? Thanks."
Thranduil stared at the spot the stag disappeared, before shaking himself. "Send for Tauriel." he requested the guard.
…
"You're sure this is the only way?" Harry asked Hermione plaintively, eyeing the thick potion with disgust.
"Yes, of course. We've been trying for weeks, you've been trying for months, and our magic just isn't stable enough. The only way we'll have regained control is if we're physically closer to our normal ages." she answered impatiently.
"Can't be worse than polyjuice, mate. Bottoms up." Ron said mournfully, clinking glasses with Harry and Hermione before gulping down the green potion.
Hermione's face spasmed, contorting in painful grimaces before she clutched her stomach, disappearing into the next room.
Ron dropped the glass to the floor, ignorant of it rolling erratically into the hall, as his hands covered his boiling face. His shout rose in pitch as fabric tore, flesh bulging through the openings.
Where seams were reinforced at the waistband and ankles, the fabric acted as a tourniquet, strangling blood flow to a slow gurgle. Breathless, Ron collapsed red-faced to the floor, panting on all fours.
"Ron" Harry cried, dropping to his knees beside him in alarm, even as the change struck him.
Gasping for air, Ron moaned, falling on his side.
Heavy footsteps thundered down the hall. Gloin, followed closely by Gimli and Khim burst into the room.
"Lad, what have you done now?" Gloin asked, looking horrified at the dwarfling writhing on the floor. He knelt to sever the constricting clothing, quickly drawing the dagger from his belt with practiced ease, and slicing the fabric.
Khim took sentry position by the door, a black scowl darkening his features, as Gimli investigated noises from the other room. He supported a fully clothed Hermione back into the room. Her outfit appeared to have been shrunk in the wash; wrists were fully exposed, ankles bared to the air and fabric straining subtlety around thighs and shoulders.
"Why do potions always taste so bad?" Harry complained, wiping his mouth and still shaking as the potion finished his transformation, features shifting slightly before their eyes.
Hermione looked between her friends, as the adult dwarves glared down at her.
"Oh dear." she said, disappointed. "It should have worked better than that."
Features thunderous, Gloin loomed over her, demanding, "What in Mahal's name were you doing lass?"
Staggering to his feet, Harry ran to look into the mirror. His features had only changed slightly; he now looked to be a child of seven. His face fell. "I'm still not old enough." he groused.
Hermione explained. "It's an aging potion. It should have given us greater control of our magic, by matching our physical forms closer to our normal maturity. It seems to be based on years, and is not proportional to the race. That's a problem." she said, worrying her lip as her brain raced, ignoring the stupefied expressions on the native dwarrow.
Khim examined Ron for a moment. "Aye, he may not look quite like an adult yet, but he looks more than battle ready to me." Crossing his arms, he snickered. "The elf not so much."
Harry glared at him. "Elves age slower than other races." he retorted with a pout.
"Harry, what age do elves come of age?" Hermione asked, deep in thought.
"One hundred, I think." he replied.
Hermione looked at the remaining potion. "There isn't enough time. You're going to need to take the rest of the batch yourself than." she grimly informed him with sympathy. Harry groaned.
"Thank Merlin." Ron croaked. "I'll let you have the rest of my share mate. Gladly." He shivered, swallowing more water to remove the taste. "I was wrong; it is worse than polyjuice."
"Nobody's going to taking any more of that cursed potion." Gimli snarled, raising his axe to pummel the cauldron. Hermione smirked when the axe bounced off the protective shield she quickly placed around it.
Handing Ron a glass of water, she argued "This is too important to have control over our magic. We can't wait to grow up normally with Death Eaters around. There are no time turners in this world. This threat is present and growing; we can't get backup from home. We need control our magic now."
"But you're children. There is so much more for you to learn before you grow up." Khim protested vehemently.
Harry shook his head, stepping backwards unsteadily before sinking to the floor. "We've never been allowed to be children before. War has no place for innocence; I've been hunted since I was a babe."
Ron chimed in "We've been wanted dead or captured nearly as much. We're the only current force in Arda that can stop the Death Eaters while you face Sauron and Saruman. I know you don't like it, but this is our job. You won't stop us from doing it."
"What about you?" Gloin asked Hermione with a glare. "You would skip all the traditions, the knowledge gained before adulthood to do this? You would go against the will of your guardians to fight this war?"
Hermione raised her chin. "This task is more important than indulging my love of knowledge. If I am to be denied your instruction in dwarfism, that is a price I will pay. I don't need a guardian; that was only your price for instruction."
Gimli exchanged glances with his father. Gloin nodded slowly. "I won't abandon you lass, but I won't relax my expectations either. You'll just have to study harder."
She nodded in agreement, handing Harry a refilled glass. Harry glared at the potion, before chugging it again with a grimace. "It's not fair I should suffer on my own." he said mournfully.
The native darrow watched Harry with fascination as his body began to bubble for the last time.
…
"Thief!" Legolas roared, springing from the shadows to grasp hold of Hermione's wand wrist. She noticed the blade at her neck bounced sunlight onto the ceiling, the reflection distorted by a trickle of crimson by the edge.
She froze. Wordless, her eyes darted towards Harry and Ron.
Dwarfish weapons materialized into empty hands, tension ratcheting higher.
Legolas hissed into her ear "You would steal his childhood regained?" The blade pressed deeper against her. "You would steal his innocence for your own purposes?" he demanded.
The entirety of Rivendell held its breath, poised for her answer.
Furious, Harry cast a petrificus totalus on him. Legolas stiffened, falling heavily to the floor. Harry accio'd his weapons, carelessly tossing them away.
Hermione backed away, already fumbling for the dittany in silence.
After replacing petrificus with incarcerous, he hauled Legolas up the wall, pinning him helplessly in place. Stepping forward, Harry snarled "Were you planning to carry me during the quest?"
"No!" Legolas gasped. "You shouldn't come along. You're an elfling!"
"If I don't go, I die." Harry parried. "So which would you prefer?" he wrathfully snapped. "Should I lose a childhood I never had, or should I plan my funeral instead?"
White-faced, Legolas shook his head frantically, distress painting his features as he was assaulted with images of Harry dying. A horrified tear was torn from the prince as his eyes closed. His hands clenched futilely into fists as he battled for emotional control, breathing heavily.
Harry's eyes softened for a moment, before the haunting aftermath the battle of Hogwarts flashed before his eyes. Some of the Order had tried to protect him then too. How many classmates would have lived if he was better prepared? How many if more adults took action? His voice ground out bitterly "You need to forget what I look like. I'm not a child. I never was."
Legolas's eyes snapped back to his.
His voice rose, addressing the frozen audience. "I will not allow you or anyone else to harm my friends. I stopped the last dark lord to try; you have nothing on him." His eyes shot around the room stabbing each spectator with his resolution and final message. "None of you do. Not even close."
He stormed from the room, fleeing the memories raised, leaving Legolas bound against the wall.
"Touch her again princeling, and your father will be needing a new heir." Gloin ground out. Hermione stopped him from approaching the downed elf, pulling him for a walk in the gardens. She jerked her head at Ron towards Legolas.
"Harry's stronger than you think." Ron said, cancelling the spell. "He doesn't need your protection." He paused, adding in a whisper. "He could use your support though."
…
"Please Glorfindel; I want to know how you killed it." Hermione pleaded.
"It's no use, young one. I'll not relive that fight for the amusement of others." he retorted.
"Do you really believe that they're all dead?" she probed.
"Yes." he said sharply.
Hermione glared at him. "Is there any chance you could be wrong? That one could have survived?"
"What are you saying?" he challenged.
"That if it's out there, Harry will find it." she answered softly. "It's what he does."
He closed his eyes in horror. "I died during that fight." he whispered. "I would not wish that death on anyone."
She smiled sadly, revealing. "Harry's already like you. He died to save us two years ago."
His eyes snapped open, piercing her soul. "You will tell me everything of your 'adventures'." he demanded. "Now."
Her eyes narrowed. "Only after you tell me what I need to know." she bargained.
…
Glorfindel slumped into the seat beside Elrond. Looking at the shadows in his expression, Elrond quietly asked "Bad night?"
"I dreamt of the fall of Gondolas, the many deaths before my fight with the Balrog." he replied with a shiver. "There was nothing I could do to prevent them." he lamented yet again.
"What brought back the dreams?" Elrond asked in concern. "I do not believe you have been haunted by that time for centuries."
Glorfindel choked out, "The elfling…the elfling is…twice-born." he revealed, hollow eyes meeting Elrond's. "He's like me."
…
Draco looked down in shock. 'She wouldn't have.'
He let his finger trail the ripped edges of the page. His heritage, carefully preserved for centuries, had been violated. There was no excuse for this. His hands clenched in impotent rage.
He had failed the trust given to him as future head of the family. The only person he had allowed into the inner library sanctum was Hermione. It had to be her fault.
He had been so adamant his theories were correct. He had needed the proof to prevent some of her more misinformed theories from becoming law. After furious debate, and only after he allowed her access to the sanctum, did they hammered out a new werewolf law they both agreed with. With Potter's support there was no question it would pass.
Now, he discovered this desecration. He would eviscerate her.
A small voice in the back of his head tried to reason with him. 'Hermione treasures book. She would never do this…but who else could it be?'
He shook his head. No, it must have been her.
…
The remaining council still in Rivendell reconvened.
"We are most curious as to your purposes. Why did you take the oath?" Lord Elrond asked.
Harry responded. "In our society we're adults. We've just been through a magical war unlike any you've seen, yet our offers to help here are ignored, and we are dismissed as children."
"You have added to the wards of Rivendell." Erestor countered.
Harry's eyes softened for a moment, before he forced his voice to harden. "But any actions involving our personal risks are denied or ignored." He glared around the circle. "You see our bodies, but forget our past. You need to stop protecting us. We can take care of ourselves."
Glorfindel stood enraged, glaring down at the elfling. "You can take care of yourself? You would lie to us? To our faces? You've already died once!" he cried.
The council exploded into a cacophony of sounds, raised voices demanding answers of him and their neighbours.
Harry's voice cut through the volume. "I had to die!"
Voices slowly ground to a halt, stunned to silence by this retort.
"I had to die." he repeated, meeting each of their eyes in turn, asking for understanding. "It was the only way to kill the dark lord."
Defeated, Glorfindel sank back into his chair.
"You see, I know exactly what a Horcrux is. Intimately." He gestured to his lightning scar. "I had part of our Dark Lord's soul latched onto mine since I was one years old."
Horror deepened, broken only by Harry's loud breathing. Elrond's hand had covered his eyes, as if to shield them from the vision conjured up.
Harry continued in a strangled whisper. "As he grew stronger, our connection grew. I could feel his emotions, see through his eyes." Impassioned, his voice rose. "He accessed my mind to plant images of my loved ones in danger, to draw us into a trap. He tried to possess my body." He let the dead silence linger as he met each shocked gaze. "The only way to ensure he stayed dead was to have him kill that connection, to have him kill me." he finished emphatically.
Hermione reached out to hold his hand, as Ron glared around the stunned group.
Harry drew a deep breath, persevering. "I was given a choice after I died. Join my family in the afterlife, or return and face what remained of him. I returned."
"And you were successful." Gandalf declared firmly.
Harry nodded once sharply.
Elrond interrupted. "But we are experienced in the dangers in this world. Are you not equally dismissive of our experience?" he questioned.
Hermione replied. "That's why we want to work together. Ron is leaving to find his sister. We suspect she arrived in Mirkwood, so he would like a guide to that area. We understand both the elves and dwarves are heading to this area."
"What are you saying lass?" Gloin demanded.
"We're saying Ron can protect both races from a Death Eater attack if everyone travels together." she answered.
"They'll slow us down!" Helegnaer cried, leaping to his feet incensed. "They'll get us killed!"
"I'll not travel with an elf!" Khim cried, banging the handle of his great axe on the ground.
The council exploded with noise.
…
Ginny screeched, frantically tearing spider webs from her hair. She shivered in disgust as the sticky mess rebelled, wrapping around her hands instead, gluing her fingers together. Her breath shortened to a staccato rhythm as her movements became more frantic. She hated spiders, almost as much as her brother did. She just hid it better.
Finally free, she sank into the forest mulch to recover. She was tired, hungry and filthy. She'd lost the button to find Harry. 'What am I going to do now?' she wondered. 'How will I find him?'
Wind whispered in the trees. Elves with nocked arrows quickly surrounded her.
She raised her wand in defense. Her wrist was seized from behind, wand swiftly removed.
She cursed her luck as she was bound and force-marched through the woods.
…
"Lord Elrond?" Hermione called out, tapping on the doorframe.
"How can I help you, Hermione?" he questioned.
She sat down nervously. "You're supposed to be the greatest healer in Arda."
He answered carefully. "I have studied healing, yes."
"I wanted to know…I mean…I'd like to learn healing from you." She blurted out.
His eyes travelled her face searchingly. "What has brought forth this desire?" he asked.
Her eyes grew troubled. "After the battle there were too many with injuries. Anyone with healing knowledge and energy was pressed into service. But many people still died." Her eyes stared into his. "We were children, most of us, fighting for the light."
He nodded in emphatic understanding.
Hermione snorted. "Adults hid, too scared to leave their homes, to protest the injustices done, while our school was occupied and run by Death Eaters. Eleven year-olds were tortured by older students to 'educate' them in the new dogma. Many still have injuries today."
Sorrow crossed his features. Some wounds were too difficult to heal. That children would be forced to bear the burden was tragic.
"We're again facing a war. The spells, potions I know should work on the race of man. But I'm now a dwarf, and I'm surrounded by elves. I've never met a hobbit before. I don't know enough about the other races to be confident to help. I want to learn."
His eyebrow rose. "What does Gloin think on the matter?" he questioned.
"If I can keep up my studies, he sees no harm." she answered.
He looked at her considering. "It would be my pleasure." he finally responded with a smile, before raising a finger in caution. "If in exchange, you will show me the potions of your world."
"Agreed." she said with a grin, as her excitement bubbled.
…
Erestor sniffed towards the young dwarrowdam. He wasn't convinced any dwarf could properly respect the books in his domain. They had no true concept of time.
Draco's snarling ferret leaped into the hall startling him. "Hermione, the ritual appears to have been ripped out of the book in the Malfoy library. If I find out you desecrated the volume you'll never get back in. I'll eviscerate you first. No matter what stories you tell. If it was someone else, I apologize, and torture them instead."
'Vindicated.' He was vindicated in his distrust. 'She could never be left alone with his books.' Erestor thought before returning to stare at her.
…
"How are you holding up, being in a new world?" Bilbo asked.
"This isn't the first time I entered a new world." Harry said with a fond grin. "First, I received a Hogwarts letter. When the first wasn't answered, more were sent, in ever increasing numbers. My uncle was desperate to stop them. We fled the city, and still they found us every morning. Finally he had hidden us in this shack on a tiny island in the North Sea.
It was a dark and stormy night, just after midnight on my birthday when this massive pounding came to the door. The next moment, the door fell to the floor off its hinges and Hagrid, this massive half-giant was apologizing for the disturbance, but he had a letter to deliver. He was the first person I met from the wizarding world"
"He was a menace!" Ron grumbled.
"He was not!" Hermione cried, slapping his arm. "He was just…"
Ron moved out of striking range. "Remember Fluffy?" he challenged. "That thing was not fluffy!"
Legolas raised an inquiring eyebrow at Ron.
Harry jumped in. "Fluffy was a Cerberus, a type of three-headed dog the size of a warg. And the disposition."
Gimli choked out "Fluffy?" Disturbed, those in hearing range shook their heads.
"Hagrid always loved what others feared." Hermione said with a fond smile.
Harry laughed. "If he was here, he'd probably adopt a warg pup to raise, crooning how he's now its mommy, and dismissing any attacks made as the pup was overexcited to greet someone or something."
"What!" Glorfindel exclaimed in disbelief.
"Over the years he did introduce us to a number of dangerous beings." Hermione admitted.
"Like?" Gloin demanded, palm hitting the table, causing the drinks to rattle.
"Like Agog." Ron input with a shudder. "Agog was a giant spider. Since Hagrid was his friend, he only sent his children to eat us. All 200 of them."
Legolas's eyes grew huge. "How did you escape?"
"Running. Running really fast. And our old flying car." Ron answered.
"Agog was his best friend as a teen." Hermione supplied.
"Norbert was a dragon he wanted to raise." Harry responded. "We watched him hatch. Hagrid was crooning how he was now its mommy, and dismissing how Norbert singed his beard as him being excited." Harry grinned when he saw Gimli's reflexive stroking of his beard. Gimli scowled back.
"A dragon?" Bilbo asked in disbelief. "He wanted to raise a dragon?" Nightmares of Smaug rose in the ancient hobbit, his handkerchief rising reflexively to hide the tears springing to his eyes as he composed himself.
Oblivious, Harry continued mirthfully. "Of course. The dragon was only a little clumsy you see. He had just been born. Perfectly understandable."
"Remember his half-brother?" Ron said with a grin, poking Hermione from her other side.
"Our Hermione here had Grawp tamed with one wagging finger." Harry disclosed.
"Yup." Ron snickered. "He had a crush on her." he teased in a sing-song voice, pointing at Hermione.
"20' tall giant, and with one lecturing finger, he was bashfully doing everything she said." Harry revealed to the crowd, watching Hermione blush with relish.
The surrounding elves, darrow and hobbits were in complete agreement. The trio were magnets for trouble. They had no idea how these three survived to adulthood.
Spellbound, they listened as each tale unfolded.
…
Galadriel wiped a tear from her face sadly. Lagoron would not be coming home again.
She had raced to her mirror to discover the fate of her messenger when the news of Saruman's betrayal reached Lothlorien.
Her fears were realized as she watched another death of her kin. He had seen something of importance, something that was hidden in the mirror's fog around Isengard.
…
It had taken a lot of talking, but the two races had agreed to travel together. The adventurous tales told in the fire hall had finally broken the last of the resistance to the joint journey, and so with trepidation they prepared.
Finally, the uncomfortable group was gathered at the gate for farewells. The Mirkwood elves swiftly mounted horses, towering over the darrow on ponies. Only Gloin remained, standing beside the lone dwarrowdam in the courtyard.
"Take care of yourself Ron." Hermione said, pulling him into a fierce hug.
"Good luck finding Ginny." Harry echoed, adding his own.
"Don't resurrect any dark lords you two." Ron returned with a grin, turning to mount his pony.
Sadly the two friends watched Ron depart.