To Look Behind A Mask

An lone figur dressed in dark robes was standing at the coast, the waves being the only things that was moving in the night. Looking up with an pair of dull, almost life-less emerald green eyes, she saw the Star of Earendil lighten up the night sky with the light of the Silmaril.

"The Silmarils of Feanor…"

The elvish woman, who had once been known as Harry Potter back in her birthworld, clenched her teeth with grief when the memories of her life here in Middle-Earth started to come back:

Voldemort's death. The end of the Second Wizarding war. How the Wizarding World had turned against her afterwards, spreading new rumours that the sole reason to why only she had been able to defeat Voldemort was that she must be a Dark Witch herself. The pain of seeing none of her friends being able to help her, because she had not been able to see them again before the trial, where she had been sentenced to death solely on the rumours about her being a Dark Witch and they had thrown her into the Veil that was inside the Death Chamber, the very same Veil that had taken her godfather Sirius Black's life almost three years prior in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

"Liars…unlike Sirius, I did not die…"

~X~X~X~X~X~X

It had been the young Earendil that had found her during one of his first sea journeys. He had seen her floating in the waters close to the Havens of Sirion. The memory of waking up there in the house of healing, and meeting the two young rulers:

"You were right about her looking almost like an exact copy of me, dearest Earendil. It is only the eye color that is different, otherwise we could have been real twins," commented Elwing in an understandable curiosity, while Harry had blushed deeply and not met any of them in the eyes by looking down on the blankets. Somehow, passing thought the Veil had made her transform into an She-elf and first making Earendil believing that she was Elwing.

"Miss? From your appearance when I found you, you must be a refugee from Doriath or Gondolin too, like most of the people here," said Earendil in an gentle voice. Even if Harry only recognized those names from reading the Silmarillion of J.R.R. Tolkien in secret from her aunt and uncle the days before getting her Hogwarts letter, it had helped her to understand where she had ended up. Despite knowing that it would be an lie and that her name was not an elvish name at all, she had answered:

"I am afraid that I only remembers my own name, sir, and that is Hari."

That lie had become the start of her new life in an new world. She became very good friends with Earendil and Elwing, and had turned out to be an far better student for her new tutors than she ever had been at Hogwarts as they tried to help her to "regain" her "lost" memories by teaching her things that elves learned in their childhood and such. Besides, she knew that she needed to study well this time in order to fit in. This was not Hogwarts, here did she not have to worry about Voldemort coming to kill her. Harry had early found out that she was unable to do magic anymore, which she actually was very grateful for.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Since the trial back in England, I came to connect magic and my former life as an human with nothing else than pain, sorrow, loneliness and betrayal. I will never forget the joy when Elrond and Elros was born, how it felt that they would bring new light into my life. And indeed they did that, while I became an second mother for them…when it became clear that Earendil might not come back for many years, Elwing nearly became obsessed with the Silmaril in her sorrow…and then…Maedhros, Maglor and Amras, the then three living Sons of Feanor attacked…

~X~X~X~X~X~X

That day's early morning, had also turned out to be an fateful day for her:

Harry held the terrified Elrond and Elros close to her as she dragged them all three even more into the dark corner as they heard the sounds of elves being killed outside the room. Still in their night-robes and barefoot, for they had awaken by the sounds of battle, the six-year-old Peredhil twins had tried to find an safe place to hide and cringed to her in fear as their small lives were hung on her. In a cruel way, that was every true, for she would most likely be the sole hinder from an enemy warrior to kill them.

"Hari…where is mother? Is she alright?" whispered Elros lowly against the soft fabric in her white night dress. She clenched her teeth, unable to answer the boy's question. For the first time in 15 years, Harry deeply wished that she was able to use her magic again.

"Only this time…only once…to protect Elrond and Elros, along with the other residents here in Sirion! I would have been able to switch the Silmaril with an white jewel that I had put an spell on, and maybe tried to give it to the Sons of Feanor when their first letter about the Silmaril came…"

Suddenly, she heard an unknown voice say:

"Lady Elwing?!"

Looking up to see where the voice came from, Harry gasped in surprise. In the light from the dawn, she saw an unusual tall, male elf stand in the door. While the banner on his armour told her that he was one of soldiers under the Sons of Feanor, she did also see that his hair was dark red and that he was missing his right hand.

"There is only one known elf here in Middle-Earth with that height and hair colour…Maedhros Feanorion, the oldest one of Feanor's Seven Sons!"

Before Maedhros was able to speak to her again, another voice was calling:

"Brother!"

"Maglor! Did you found Elwing or the Silmaril?" asked Maedhros as he turned around to meet the other elf that came running. Harry knew right away that she was in a very dangerous situation now, with two of the Feanorians so close to the twins and herself: She did not have any weapons, nor was she able to do magic anymore. In short, she would be unable to defend the boys and herself if they choose to kill them. Harry was only able to hope that the two Feanorians would have the mercy to kill them fast, but that was unlikely.

"…she threw herself out by the window and transformed into an sea bird before flying away with the Silmaril?!"

Harry only knew some basic Quenya, but she was able to understand what the two brothers was talking about. At least lady Elwing was safe, now she only had to focus on how to get Elrond and Elros to safety too. A sword, that still had some blood on it, was put under her chin and made her own green eyes meet Maedhros grey ones.

"Girl, who are you? And why does you look so alike lady Elwing, expect with green eyes? Last time I checked, she was king Dior's sole daughter."

Feeling the twins hugging her even more in fear, Harry answered with an steady voice:

"My name is Hari, your highnesses. I am simply one of many orphans from Doriath that lost my parents in the Second Kinslaying back there 26 years ago. As for my almost unnatural similarity to Queen Elwing, I was simply born with this appearance of mine. I also happen to be those two young princes nursemaid."

Well, the last part was slightly an lie, but it seemed as Elrond and Elros caught on that Harry was trying to save their lives and nodded quietly. Also even if the House of Feanor had fallen from grace long ago, Harry still saw the two Feanorians as royals and thus spoke to them with the right title in her eyes for them. From their slightly shocked look, neither Maedhros or Maglor was used to be addressed as royal princes anymore since an very long time. The brothers spoke quickly to each other in Quenya, most likely talking about what they should do now. Then Maedhros said unexpectedly:

"All right. Take the boys and follow with us, miss Hari. If lady Elwing is still alive, then it would be an good idea to exchange her sons back for the Silmaril. I promise that we won't harm the boys or yourself if you come along without an fight."

Harry hesitated at first, but then remembered that she must be the only one left to take care of Elrond and Elros if almost everyone else in the city was killed.

"As you command, my lord. But if their highnesses Earendil and Elwing can't give back the Silmaril for some true reason, then please raise Elrond and Elros until they are old enough to come to the court of High King Gil-galad as warriors."

With those words, she had unknowingly sealed not only Elrond's and Elros fate for the next years, but also her very own one, to the two longest surviving Sons of Feanor.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

People has called Elrond and Elros hostage during that time, claimed that the two Sons of Feanor only took care of them in order to get back the Silmaril from Elwing. Those people are wrong, for they do not know the truth…with time, Maglor became like an adoptive father to the twins…

~X~X~X~X~X~X

It had been an bit hard to live with Maedhros and Maglor in Amon Ereb in the beginning due to the memories of the Third Kinslaying, but as time slowly passed day for day, Elrond and Elros seemed to forget their lives in Sirion. Not that Harry complained about this change in her young "foster brothers", it would only be foolish of her to remind the boys about that event in their young lives. It was during one of those days, when Maglor tried to prevent his foster sons to falling into the river, as Maedhros came up to her.

"I am still astounded over how well yourself and the boys has accustomed you to life here, my lady."

Harry, who just tried to hang up some laundry for it to dry, tried to reach one good branch as she spoke:

"Yeah, small children are amazing on that, especially if they are in the age as Elrond and Elros was when we came here…oh, I hates to be this short!"

Harry, who was slightly stunned in growth even as an elf thanks to her unhappy life back in Privet Drive with her abusive Muggle relatives, was unable to hang up the wet sheet on the long branch.

"Allow me to do that. I used to do this a lot back home in Valinor. It becomes a lot of laundry when you are nine family members and eight of them are males."

Calmly, Maedhros grabbed the sheet from her and hung it up for her, despite the minor problem of only having one hand. This was the very first skin to skin contract between them since that day in Sirion. Blushing at this sudden event, Harry could not help but quickly take back her hands. Even Maedhros blushed a little and turned around:

"My excuses, lady Hari!"

In fact, he tried to leave so fast that he did hit his head on another, low-hanging tree branch before Harry was able to warn him. Seeing Maedhros leave, Harry signed deeply. She never said it out loudly, but she was able to both see and sense how the Oath of Feanor was hanging like a heavy yoke around the shoulders on his last two living sons. Or, as she remembered Hermione say once in their sixth year at Hogwarts: "there is a cross for every shoulder" when Harry had complained over that the Wizarding world had seen her as the Chosen one.

"Me being a "Chosen one"?! Yeah, and look how that faith in me turned out after that I had defeated Voldemort! Thrown to the side by those ungrateful people as if I were nothing more than a puppet!"

In her anger, Harry miscalculated the length of the next sheet and ended up throwing it over herself. Sighing, Maedhros freed her with his left hand as he said:

"I do not know why you suddenly changed from looking calm to be really angry, but I hope that I am not the reason for that."

Harry looked away, not daring to meet Maedhros' gray eyes in fear that she would only make herself look stupid.

"You are not…"

~X~X~X~X~X~X

As time passed even more, I soon came to understand…that I had fallen in love with Maedhros. Of all the male elves that I could have fallen for, it just had to be the sole elf that was similar to my own past: Scarred for life by an Dark Lord, having our lives slowly change into almost nothing as people starts seeing us as the bad persons…it took me almost five more years, before I ever started to try and make an move towards him…

~X~X~X~X~X~X

It was a storm on its way. Knowing that his old injuries, mostly the many places where his bones had been broken under torture, from his long time as Morgoth's prisoner would start ache and be painful due to the change in weather, Maedhros had stayed in his bed this day. Shortly after the others in the household had eaten breakfast, Harry had taken a tray and come to his room so he could have some too.

"If I was you, lord Maedhros, I would drink the tea first so you are not so stiff before eating," suggested Harry as she offered him the cup. Seeing that he slightly grimaced in pain when he moved his arm, Harry helped him to take a steady hold of the cup as he drank. But as Harry was about to put the cup back on the tray, Maedhros suddenly grabbed hold of her right hand with his left hand and refused to let go of her.

"What kind of scars are those?"

Harry froze, realizing in cold fear that Maedhros was speaking about the words that Dolores Umbridge had forced her to write with the blood quill, using her own blood as ink: I must not tell lies

"Those…are the result of an punishment many years ago, when someone tried to make me stop telling the truth. They believed it to be an lie that I made up in order to simply get more attention, and refused to admit that I had been telling the truth all the time during that year until it almost was too late…and thanks to that, I lost someone close to me…"

Maedhros did not say something as Harry spoke. Instead he tried to read, or at least spell out, the five words that were the scars on her hand. Despite that it was in a language that was completely unknown to him, Maedhros proved himself to be the oldest son of Feanor when it came to languages and read out as he slowly understood the writing:

"I…must…not…tell…lies?"

Harry tried to not start shaking or crying as the memories came back. For so many years, she had managed to forget everything about her birth world. To hear the English language come out from Maedhros' lips, even with his strong Quenya pronunciation, was like having an ice-cold shower over all of her. Noting that she had started to cry, Maedhros dragged her into a awkward, yet still comforting hug to calm her down.

"There, there, Hari…I am here…you are safe, you are safe here…"

~X~X~X~X~X~X

After that day, it was only an small matter of time before we started to have an relationship for real. Of course, the boys and Maglor seemed determined to play matchmakers for us once they understood what was going on between us, forcing us to try and find to have private moments without them around. And then suddenly, as time passed by far too quickly in my eyes, it was time for the boys to move to the court of Gil-galad…and I was ordered to follow with them. Had I only known what Maedhros and Maglor was about to do once they had gotten words that we had arrived safely to Lindon, I would never have left…

~X~X~X~X~X~X

It was somewhat of a bittersweet day for the five elves, that had almost become like an real family during the time in Amon Ereb. Elrond and Elros had to leave behind the persons that had become like a real adoptive father and uncle for them, not knowing if they would meet each other again.

"I know that I must sound ridiculous with this, boys, but I want you to promise me something," said Maedhros as he almost had to jerk Maglor loose from the iron hug that the younger brother had his two foster sons in.

"What, uncle Maedhros?" asked Elrond in surprise while the red-haired son of Feanor finally managed to make Maglor let go of the almost grown-up Peredhil twins. Half-forcing Maglor to stand behind him, Maedhros answered in an almost sad voice as he looked towards Harry who was standing at her own horse:

"It is about Hari. I want you two to take care of her for me now. It would be dangerous for her to stay with us forwards and it can also happen that she will really need your support soon…should it soon arrive proof of her relationship with me. And please give this to her once we have left."

Maedhros placed a small box in Elrond's hand as he spoke. Before the twins was able to ask him what he meant by those words, Maedhros dragged Maglor towards their own horses. Mounting back up on the horses, the two last Feanorians looked one last time over their shoulders on the three elves that they had taken care of for so many years, and rode away back to where they had come from.

"I miss you already…Maitimo," whispered Harry in an sad voice and tried not to start crying as she saw the two riders leave. Unknown to her, Maedhros wept bitterly while riding away, knowing in his heart that it was unlikely that he would ever meet her again.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

"Indeed Maedhros words to the boys soon turned out to be true…my heart was broken at hearing that he had killed himself out of the great pain that the Silmaril caused him in his only remaining hand…only Elrond and Elros managed to prevent me from running off and kill myself in my grief over his death. That was needed, for exactly a year after his suicide in a bittersweet reminding about how fertile the House of Feanor had been during the Years of the Trees, I gave birth to Maedhros' offspring…"

Suddenly, Harry's wave of memories broke off as she heard a voice call for her:

"Amil Hari! We have found him! We have found uncle Maglor! You were right in that he would faint when he saw us, thanks to that we took of our helmets before starting to look for him, but apart from that, he is all right! We even heard him whisper "Ambarussa" when he saw us, right before he fainted!"

Harry turned around to see two riders come riding towards her. The first one was her daughter Alguara, who had the same dark-red hair and grey eyes as Maedhros. Right behind, was her son Airetar, the older twin. Airetar was also like an nearly identical copy of Maedhros, apart from the fact that he did have more dark auburn-coloured, almost dark brown, hair than his late father and Harry's green eyes. Airetar was holding an unconscious, black-haired elf in front of him in the saddle.

"Maglor…!" cried Harry with tears in her eyes as she saw him. Her unofficial law-brother was very thin, with dark shadows under his eyes and he looked like he never had got a good chance to rest since his last remaining brother's death so long ago.

"Lets take uncle home to Imladris. Lord Elrond will most likely be overwhelmed with joy once he understands that we have found his long-lost foster father. I even dare to bet that he will not let uncle leave Imlaris once we have gotten him there," suggested Airetar as he fixed his hold on Maglor.

"And he will have two adoptive grandsons to spoil rotten!" laughed Alguara when she remembered the two young heirs of Imladris, Elladan and Elrohir, who was not older than 8 years old this summer. Harry smiled weakly at hearing her children argument between them in a manner that reminded her about a young Elrond and Elros for so long ago.

"I believe it is more like he will spoil you two, once he gets that you are the legacy that your father Maedhros unknowingly left behind. He must have understood my condition when we saw each other for the last time…given that his own mother was pregnant no less than five times after his own birth, it would have been very strange if he did not know!" smiled Harry as she mounted up on her own mare. The movement made a small golden ring on her left ring finger shine in the growing light from the dawn. That ring was the closest thing to a marriage ring that Harry had gotten from Maedhros, an proof on their relationship.