The Light of a Dying Star
Breathalittlelonger
Summary: Harry Potter accidentally becomes transported to the LOTR realm, and finds himself a home and friends. But even as he's there, he finds himself pulled into a dark and terrible war. Spoilers throughout the entire LOTRs series, as well as the entire Harry Potter series.
Author's Notes: Yet another Harry Potter/LOTRs crossover fiction. I decided to try my hand at it, and see how well the response would be. In this one, Harry has no memories-except those that are the worst-of his life, and he has no magical powers. He's just a helpless innocent child, who joins up with the rest of the nine companions on the quest to rid the world of evil. Towards the end, Harry remembers who he truly is, but is granted the right to choose for himself-stay in Middle Earth, or return back home and face his enemy once more?
Spoilers: All the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, including bits of "The Hobbit". Also, all the Harry Potter books, bet set more firmly on the beginning ones, and bits and pieces of the ending.
Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or anything else that might be related to fiction. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, while Lord of the Rings and its characters belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien.
Author's Notes2: This story is not beta'd as yet. I've worked as much as I can to weasel out those annoying little grammatical errors, or spelling errors throughout this story that may have cropped up. If there ARE any mistakes, I humbly apologize, and beg consent that I'm just a writer whose trying to make everyone happy at the same time.
Chapter One: Reborn
He was almost positive that he was dying.
He could not remember ever being in this much pain, even though he'd suffered in pain for most of his life.
He was vaguely aware of hearing screaming, shouting, crying, and most every other sound imaginable. He didn't remember who he was anymore, only that he wished for the end to come quickly.
He knew that it was coming, but he didn't expect the sudden abrupt silence.
It was so quiet…so peaceful…
He sighed in content for a few moments, then realized that he could still feel the pain in his body, the silence only having temporarily made it vanish. He almost whimpered, but pulled himself together, not wanting to show himself as week or pathetic. After all, he'd been abused by all different kinds of ways by his past 'family', he'd been tortured by his enemy…he frowned when he couldn't remember the details, but he knew he was tired of feeling the agony that he felt, tired of always being the one to be burdened by it.
A whisper, a sigh caught his attention, and he whipped around, looking for it. He spotted a beautiful woman dressed completely in white, and looking sad at seeing him there. He paused, momentarily confused.
"Young one." She whispered sadly. "I am pleased to finally meet you." She took a breath. "I know you are in pain, but I cannot help you. The only thing I can do is grant you another life. One where you can find peace, family, friendship. Though if you chose to go, you shall arrive during a war. One much more violent than the one that you had been in."
He frowned. He didn't like wars. Though he knew the cause for fighting well, he was tired of it. He simply wanted to be at peace, to sleep…
"I am afraid that is not possible." The woman spoke regretfully. "At least…not yet. There are others. Others that need you, young one. I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do to change that. I can only assure you that you will have a family. You will have a home." She promised.
He considered, then hesitantly took a step forward. She frowned. He nodded silently, and she sighed, almost in relief it seemed.
"Very well. I shall change you into an elf, so as you do not stand out. You will be dressed in dark green robes, and you will be smaller. You will appear as a child, not yet grown. You will have strength at your calling, and know the languages of the elves, and others. Though your injuries shall remain, those that come across you shall heal you." She said firmly. "And they shall guide you to where you wish to be." She added softly. "I am sorry that you cannot rest with those that had been in your past life, young one, but it is the way that has to be."
With that, he felt his eyelids closing rapidly, and took in a few deep breaths to calm himself. Whimpering slightly at the change that was coming towards him, he found himself settling back down into that peaceful, quiet darkness….
And awoke to a bright light shining in his face. He opened his eyes quickly, and found himself in the most beautiful forest that he'd ever seen before in his life.
He was laying on a bed of soft leaves and warm ground, feeling as though he was in the most peaceful place he'd ever been. For once, he was alone, and it was peaceful. Quiet. Soothing. He smiled-and then froze when he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him.
Quivering where he was, he thought rapidly before he decided to hide. He found a large tree, and forced himself to remain still and quiet as he hid behind it, peeking around it to see that there was a group of nine strangers coming towards him. One of the strangers stopped, and he inwardly panicked. He wasn't sure what to do if they found him, he wasn't sure what to do if they caught him. Softly whimpering under his breath, he clutched the bark of the tree tightly, wishing that it could help him to disappear.
"What is it?" A dark haired stranger carrying a bow and sword whispered to the one that had stopped. The stranger that had stopped first was beautiful-long blonde hair, large bow…he was clearly an elf. He stared in fascination. The other was human, he was certain of it, but it was almost puzzling…the human seemed far older than he was meant to be.
"There is something in this forest with us." The elf said in a soft voice, looking puzzled.
"Gandalf?" The human moved towards the towering man with a large staff in his hands, and he was, for a moment, confused. The man seemed familiar, almost. But he knew him not. His memories were battered, broken. He could only ever remember pain. He did not even know his own name.
"Spread out." The human ordered. "Whatever it is, bring it back-unless it belongs to the Darkness."
He shuddered, and crouched down low, knowing that they would find him now. He was only a few feet away from them, but he could hear them as clearly as day. He thought briefly of climbing the tree, but knew that would be pointless. His arms were still very sore, and his legs would not be able to work with him. He simply waited, hoping against hope that these would not hurt him, knowing that his hope was useless.
He watched as the nine spread out-a few coming towards him…the elf, and the human that had both spoken were. The tall man with the staff was far from him, he need not fear him. The four small humans were gathered together, looking in the opposite direction as well. The other small….human?…was looking behind them, making sure that they would not be attacked. Another tall human was keeping an eye on the four smaller ones.
He suddenly stopped breathing in fear as the elf suddenly was directly on top of him, looking down at him in some surprise.
"An elfling!" He called to the others in his surprise. "A child!"
The rest of them came quickly towards them, and he scrambled backwards, trying to hide, but knew that it was no use.
"We will not hurt you, little one." The first human spoke reassuringly, looking worried and alarmed. "We simply wish to help you." Help…no one ever helped him before-unless it was to hurt him further. He backed even farther away and came against another tree. He stared in fear, wishing that he was braver, but knowing that he wasn't.
"What is your name?" One of the smaller humans asked, curious. "Surely you can talk?" He added.
"Pippin, leave him be. He's scared." Another besides the one called Pippin said reasonably. He was briefly reminded of someone, but couldn't think of who. He shrank down when the elf came towards him.
"I give you my word that I shall not harm you." The elf said solemnly. He hesitated, noting the sincerity in the elf's voice, but was unsure of what to do. He had no weapon. He had nothing to defend himself. He gave a tiny nod of his head to show he understood, and was greeted with a surprised but pleased smile. He shuddered. The elf reached towards him, and he flinched, thinking that he meant to strike him. The elf drew back, frowning.
"I gave you my-" He started, when the human spoke in an angered tone.
"He's hurt." The human spoke, his eyes smoldering in anger and sadness as he stared at the child before him.
'He' simply shrunk further at the anger, knowing that he would be hurt now. He winced but didn't do anything when the elf slowly took him, and pulled him forward. Once he released him, he took a few hurried steps backwards, but didn't turn his eyes away from any of them, fearing that they might strike him from behind. Feeling uneasy and terrified of what might happen, he waited while holding his breath. The elf stared at him for a few moments, and then looked quietly towards the others.
"He is an elf. We must help him." He stated simply towards the others.
"Agreed." One of the smaller humans said, looking curious and interested at him. He found himself soothed at the words, but was still more frightened than anything. "We can keep an eye on him."
"Sam, how are you going to do that in between practicing weapons fighting, and everything else?" The second human objected.
"We have to take him in Boromir! He's just a child!" The one called Sam insisted.
"We all agree, then, that we should watch over this child." The tallest human, the one with the staff, stated. "But first we need to find out more about it….its injuries, and see if he has a name."
He didn't have a name. All he had was memories. Memories of darkness, death, pain…why were they caring for him?
"He seems confused." The first human said, chuckling.
"Or perhaps he is simply hungry?" One of the smaller humans suggested, looking like he might be. He inwardly smiled, remembering an old friend that was always hungry...but then the memory disappeared, and his feeling of fear returned.
"Pippin!" Another chastised, looking scandalized. This one, too, reminded him of another friend, but he could not remember. Memories hurt.
"What? I'm hungry-its lunchtime." Pippin grumbled, annoyed.
"This little one is of more concern than your stomach." The same one sniped. Pippin sighed.
"Little one, are you hungry? We've got some food." Pippin said, smiling at him-and looking hopeful when he did. He stared at Pippin, trying to remember who he seemed like…then he nodded reluctantly. Pippin grinned and threw his companion a triumphant look. "See! I told you, so, Merry!"
"Then why don't you feed the lad, Pippin?" Boromir suggested, grinning in spite of the situation.
Sam came forward then, reaching into his bag, and pulling out a small object.
"Here." Sam suggested, offering it towards him. He looked at it in confusion, wondering what it was. "Here, take it…it's an apple." He explained.
He stared at it, wondering if that was food.
"He looks as if he doesn't even know what an apple is." The elf said slowly, and a hint of anger was in his eyes.
"Careful, Legolas." The first human cautioned. "You do not want to be scaring him further."
"Aragorn, he's an elf child-surely he knows what food is at the least!" Legolas hissed.
"Calm down." Aragorn said sternly. "We will deal with the issue later." He added.
He hesitantly reached across and slowly took the apple from Sam, who had not moved once since his offering, except to bring it closer towards him. Staring at it, he studied it for a few moments, before a memory came up-this was a fruit, his mind told him. Eat it.
He took a small bite, and thought that it tasted wonderful. Sam chuckled.
"See? That's not so bad, is it?" He said, grinning. The others all breathed a sigh of relief at seeing him eat.
He finished the apple a few minutes later, and dropped the core on the ground. He hesitated for a moment, and then buried it underneath the dirt. Surprise was written on all the faces.
"Well, Sam, we know who he resembles." Another small human said, chuckling. He eyed them warily, wondering if he could trust them. But they had fed him…he yawned, feeling suddenly tired.
"And we also know that he's more like Pippin and Merry in that regard." Boromir said, chuckling.
"Hey! We resent that!" Pippin protested cheerfully. "You humans do the same thing!"
Wait…he just called him a human. Then what did that make Pippin and the others? He stared at them, half in fear, and half in wonder at what they were.
"Little one, tell us your name, at least. We can't call you 'little one' all the time." Aragorn suggested, eyeing him thoughtfully. He paused, looking briefly confused. Why did they want a name? Why did they seem to care? He tried to swallow, but his throat seemed to tighten up even further. He gave it up, and nearly started in surprise when Legolas spoke.
"Do you have a name?" Legolas asked, his voice tight. He stared, and shook his head. All of them seemed stunned.
"That's it, I'm taking care of him." Sam declared, moving closer. He stared, surprised and alarmed, but his heart jumped at the words.
"Sam, back off, you're scaring him." Aragorn said soothingly. Sam grunted, but crossed his arms and sighed.
"We should heal your injuries." Legolas stated suddenly, moving closer towards him quietly. "How many do you have?"
He frowned at the question. He had injuries everywhere. What did it matter how many he had, if he deserved them?
Legolas frowned, looking briefly puzzled.
"Show us your injuries, little one. They shall be healed, so the pain shall go away." He promised.
He hesitated, feeling suddenly ashamed and embarrassed. He had injuries all over the place…after a second, he slowly lifted his white shirt, and the companions gasped in anger and dismay at the sight before them. He took a step backwards, leaning against the tree in fear and deep mistrust.
"Whoever harmed this child shall pay." The much taller form of a human than Pippin, Merry, and Sam growled. "Dwarves are well known for carrying out harsh punishments against children."
"Your not the only one, Dwarf." Legolas snapped. "I, too, shall take pleasure in seeing that whoever hurt this child shall suffer. Greatly."
"Great, you guys do that, and Sam and I will heal him." Aragorn said, lips twitching. "Sam, get my bag please." He asked politely. Sam nodded, and went backwards, disappearing from few for a few moments as he went to get the bag. Aragorn slowly moved towards the child, looking at him reassuringly. "It's alright, little one. We won't hurt you." He promised. "We just wish to help."
"I think we'll head back to the camp too, make some food for the little one." Pippin said quickly. "And for everyone else." He added.
"Pippin, is that all you think about!?" Merry complained, following him.
"Not all." Pippin said, grinning. The two of them disappeared, and he felt a little relief at not being so crowded. He realized that the man Gandalf was gone, but both humans and Legolas, as well as the dwarf had remained behind. He stared at them, seeing that each of them were beautiful and handsome in their own way. The elf, of course, surpassed everyone, but the humans were pleasant enough. The dwarf…had too much hair. He almost smiled, but quickly suppressed it, not wanting to hurt the dwarf's feelings.
"See? We aren't going to hurt you, little one." Aragorn said, relieved when he saw the almost smile. He hesitated, but didn't move or say anything. He doubted he could speak, his throat was swollen shut from screaming. He felt like asking him where he was, but was unsure of the reaction he would receive. Legolas crept forward, giving off the feeling of…protection, almost. He leaned against the tree, feeling suddenly exhausted. He yawned, trying to stay awake.
"Sleep. Sleep little one." Aragorn whispered. "We shall protect you. You will not be harmed while you rest. I give you my word."
"WE give you our word." Legolas added, glowering at Aragorn who rolled his eyes. He couldn't have protested even if he'd wanted to. His eyes were too heavy too keep up much longer, and he slowly succumbed to the sleep that rolled over him.
Author's Notes: This IS my first crossover fic, so anyone who reviews, I would be eternally grateful. Even if its just to point out some of the errors here and there, I would appreciate any assisstance in the matter. Thanks, and hope you enjoyed reading the story!