The Lost Tales of Elves and Wizards: A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 4

The next morning the prefects led the new students back down to the Great Hall helping them get used to their surroundings. The students walked into a very appetizing breakfast. The first years sat at their house tables and ate to their hearts content. Harry and Ron noticed most of the professors at the Head Table enjoying their morning breakfasts as well. Harry and Ron were very interested about all of them wanting to know right away which ones to look out for.

"Well," said Fred, "Snape is definitely the first one you don't want to mess with. He hates everyone that's not a Slytherin."

"Yeah watch out for him," said George, "Although he's mighty fun to mess with!"

"And McGonagall," said Fred again, "she's alright most of the time, but she sure has a hot temper, even towards her own house, Gryffindors."

"Yup," said George, "She takes points from us all the time."

Harry and Ron looked over at them. Professor McGonagall was at the Hufflepuffs' table passing out their schedules. She had finished her breakfast and was well prepared to start first day's classes, maybe even eager to begin. Professor Snape sat up at the High Table slowly eating a bowl of porridge. He sat perfectly straight and his narrowed eyes darted around the room watching every movement already prepared to catch any rule-breakers. A few chairs down sat Professor Quirrell carefully inspecting each piece of bacon on his plate before he ate it as though it might be poisoned. Five more chairs down from him was Miss Eledhwen looking less graceful than the night before. She was curled up in her chair scarfing down a plate of pancakes that she had sitting in her lap with her gaze fixed on a rather large floating book in front of her. Harry stared at her amazed by how casual she was in front of the students when the other professors took care to be very formal outside the privacy of their own rooms.

"Who is that?"

"Oh her?" said George, "That's Miss Eledhwen the Weapons Master and Imbuing Professor."

"Why is she so – um – well…"

"Laid-back?" said Fred and George simultaneously.

"Yeah, it seems a bit unprofessional for a teacher."

"Well you see Miss Eledhwen isn't like the other teachers," said Fred.

"Yeah, she's been here FOREVER," emphasized George.

"She has this sort of seniority and everyone just let's her do whatever she wants. She's not much of a bother though."

"Seniority?" asked Harry, "She can't possibly be older than twenty-seven."

Fred and George just looked at each other and shook their heads, "Muggles…"

"Well you see Harry," piped in Ron, "Miss Eledhwen isn't exactly human."

Harry felt a bit of surprise and asked, "Well what is she then?"

"Ever heard of an elf before?"

"Sure, like Santa's elves?"

"Hardly," chimed a voice behind Harry and Ron. A voice they dreaded to hear and of course it was Hermione. She started in on with her know-it-all ravings.

"Miss Eledhwen is what is known as a High Elf which is clearly different from House Elves and other elvish type creatures. It is said that the Elves were the first inhabitants of Middle-earth. Their senses, especially of hearing and sight, are much keener than those of humans. They are immortal and are not subject to age or disease, however they can be slain or die of grief."

"Thanks for the dictionary definition Hermione," said Ron sarcastically.

"Well if you didn't want to know, next time don't ask," she retorted and walked away before they could respond.

"So how old is she then?" asked Harry very curiously.

"Last time we heard she was getting near her eighteen-hundredth birthday," said Fred.

"Eighteen-hundredth!?" Harry couldn't believe it. He looked back over at her. Her pancake platter was nearly finished now but she put the rest of it aside and set her book down. She sat up-right and yawned a little. She stood and started walking around to each table to visit with the students. Harry thought to himself again, "eighteen-hundred". He could hardly comprehend living that long. He turned back to Fred, George and Ron.

"So she must be really smart then. I bet she knows a lot."

"Sure does!" said Ron, "She knows everything, has a million stories too."

"How do you know Ron?"

"Because she comes to visit us every summer you know. She and dad have a fascination with Muggles. They're always tinkering with Muggle inventions and stuff."

"Drives mum crazy!" George and Fred said with a laugh.

She came up to the table then where they were sitting.

"Hello boys," she said cheerfully, "Hope you've been practicing your sparring over summer."

"Sure have ma'am."

"Good, good. And Ron! Welcome to school finally," she beamed at him, "Bet you can't wait to see what weapon skill you're paired with, hm?"

"Uh yes ma'am, hoping to get a sword like Charlie," he was blushing and diverting his eyes. She looked over at Harry and beamed at him as well. He turned away shyly.

"See you boys in class then. Tenna' telwan san'." (Until later then.)

She walked away and continued making conversation with students. Harry noticed that she could chat cheerfully even with the slimy old Slytherins. He couldn't believe she was so nice to them - then a thought hit him, "Maybe she was a Slytherin!" but it slipped away quickly when he thought about how nice she had just been to them. No she couldn't possibly be a Slytherin. They were the foulest wretches in the entire Wizarding world and Miss Eledhwen was just too nice to be one of them.

The bell rang then which meant it was time for his first class of the school year, Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. He and Ron hurried along so as not to be late. The day was long but remained terribly interesting for the boys. Fred and George were right about McGonagall and Snape. McGonagall he could handle though, but Snape - it was apparent to Harry that Snape absolutely loathed him for no reason at all. Harry dreaded the next seven years with him imagining that he would completely fail his Potions class even if he studied hard and got everything perfectly right like Hermione did.

Their next class after lunch was Flying with Madam Hooch and right after that was Weapons and Imbuing with Enchantress Eledhwen. The two classes were split for the first years. Instead of having a full hour for each class they had forty minutes for flying lessons and forty minutes for sparring lessons. It was like a very long P.E. class, but Harry and Ron looked forward to it because it would mean they got to go outside, get out of the dreary old classrooms and stretch their legs. They were especially looking forward to it after Professor Binns's History of Magic class which was extremely boring and seemed to drag on and on. First years were the only ones that took flying lessons and the next year and there on after it would only be an hour of Weapons and Imbuing and they could fly as much as they wanted on their own time and if they had a broom.

All during lunch Ron kept telling Harry how excited he was hoping he'd get a long sword like his older brother Charlie had.

"They're the noblest weapon you know. Great knights always have them. The great King Ellesar of the Reunited Kingdom had the great sword Andúril! It was the most amazing sword ever!" He exclaimed proudly.

"Who's King Ellesar?" asked Harry.

"YOU DON'T KNOW?" Ron looked at him with shock, "I thought everyone knew about him, even the Muggles. Don't tell me you don't know about Lord Frodo and the War of the Ring either!"

"No…I don't," he said feeling sort of stupid now.

"Wow so it is true. The Muggles really did burn away all the knowledge of it then."

Harry just shrugged now. He didn't really want to know more about what he didn't know.

"Don't worry," said Ron, "You can ask Miss Eledhwen all about it. She was there you know, back then. She was close friends with the king. Her older sister married him after all."

Harry was a little interested now. It sounded like Miss Eledhwen had had her fair share of adventures in her lifetime. Someday Harry too hoped to have great adventures of his own. He wanted to be known for more than just being "The Boy Who Lived." He wanted to see all new worlds that he might not have known about all this time and meet other great wizards to learn amazing things from them. Although now that he thought about it he was in a whole school full of great wizards, Albus Dumbledore being one of them. Everyone always talked about his genius as a wizard and even though he wasn't too fond of some of his other teachers they all seemed rather brilliant as well. There was so much to take in, so much to learn. He was still trying to absorb it all into his mind.

The bell rang then signaling the end of lunch and it was time for flying lessons. Flying! Harry was rather excited for this particular class. Even though first years couldn't own broomsticks they still got a chance to learn in a whole class dedicated to it. Then afterwards it would be Weapons and Imbuing class. He wasn't too excited for this one. He wasn't sure he'd like Malfoy taking swings at him with a big 'ol sword when the teacher wasn't looking. Or maybe Crabbe and Goyle lunging at him with clubs and maces and he knew they would too if they got the chance.

Elsewhere on the school grounds in Hagrid's house he and Eledhwen were deep in conversation.

"Have you found any more of them Hagrid?"

"No ma'am. Just findin' traces of their blood here and there. I'm suspectin' that whatever's been after 'em is only just injurin' 'em and lettin' 'em go."

She stared down into her cold tea feeling her heart twist with frustration and grief.

"I know how much you like 'em unicorns Miss Eledhwen an' I promise we'll find whatever's been hurtin' 'em. Won't let it get away."

"I am afraid, Hagrid, that the thing that is after them is not something we want to encounter…"

"Well certainly not unarmed. Nasty creature it has to be to be killin' unicorns."

She looked up at him with piercing eyes, "Whatever is after them is no creature Hagrid. It's a person…a very evil and wicked person."

His hair prickled and stood up on end, "You're not thinkin'…nooo…could it be?"

She turned away from him and looked outside towards the Forbidden Forest. She once new it as Fangorn Forest and somewhere thousands of miles into it it was still known as such by the Ents. She had almost wished Fangorn himself were there to look after the magical creatures that lived on the outskirts of the forest near Hogwarts. But even then she knew the Ents would be no match for…Him.

She saw something strange then flying quickly over the forest. She stood up abruptly thinking it was the creature on the attack again but then realized it was just a student on a broom flying rather awkwardly.

Hagrid looked around her, "Looks like a firs' year's lost control of his broom there. Goin' ta go an' help him ma'am?"

She froze up then, "Ah…no…I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Oh, sorry. Forgot about yer little – erm – accident."

"Yes," she cleared her throat trying to hide her body shuddering at the memory, "Well it looks like flying lessons will be over soon for the first years. I should probably go and get ready for my class then."

"Well alright then ma'am. It was nice seein' ya again. Feel free to stop on by any time, don't be shy now! An' I'll be sure ta' keep in touch about them unicorns."

"Thank you Hagrid. Quel fara." (Good hunting.)

She left his home and walked across the flourishing green grass towards a large armory. She used an Alohomora spell on the thick lock and flung the doors open letting light flood in. A small amount of dust kicked up as she entered. She crossed the long floor to the end at a large ornate hutch with elegant elvish carvings. A gift from her father nearly eleven hundred years ago when she told him her plans to become a professor at her friend's school. She unlatched the doors and let them open.

"And so dawns another year and another use for you Hadhafang," she said quietly to a long silver sword sitting in the hutch. She touched it gently and read its inscription to herself. "Aen estar Hadhafang i chathol hen, thand arod dan i thang an i arwen." (This blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defense against the enemy throng for a noble lady.)

It was a fabulous sword that had once belonged to her elder sister Arwen Undómiel and had passed down through her family several generations. When Eledhwen reunited with her sister in Rivendell during the War of the Ring Arwen bestowed it upon her for the long journey ahead following the Fellowship of the Ring.

She grasped the hilt of the sword and swiftly twirled around cutting and slashing the air around her. It was still in perfect condition. She thrust open the cupboards bearing the other weapons which all sparkled and shined as if they were brand new. Elvish weapons were forged to perfection with pure mithril, tempered so that they'd never dull nor break. Her mind had strayed off for a while recollecting her past with her old group of friends of which she was the only female amongst. She was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed all the students coming into the room.

They looked around at all the splendid weapons and stared in awe at them. Then they started running over to the ones they hoped to get for themselves. Hermione walked up to Miss Eledhwen and starting rambling off immediately startling her out of her trance.

"Miss Eledhwen, I've already tried explaining to the students that they don't get to pick their own weapons but they don't seem to understand and they're not listening to me," she said sounding irritated.

"Oh! You're all already here. Goodness the time does go by. Alright everyone. Please now, gather around me. We have a lot of things to do today in less than forty minutes now," she said looking at a wall clock, "I at least hope to get you all equipped with your most matched weapon skill today. But first things first."

She walked over to another wall of cabinets and flicked her wand flinging them open.

"You must first all adorn yourselves with the protective mithril chain mail. Don't worry, they're enchanted so they will fit to your size and since they are made of mithril they are very light and very strong. It will protect you against any piercing blow."

The students all looked at one another, eyes stretched wide. It was going to be a very interesting class period.