Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I do however own the plot and Tristan.

Sorry it took so long to update! School is getting rather hard now…all the homework and crap they give me…it's a conspiracy… :p

Okay, I'm not sure whether or not to put Tristan in the Fellowship or not…I'm sorta leaning towards not but whatever. The last time I asked this question I sorta got even answers…

Plus, Harry isn't allowed to tell anyone of his 'secret' but you know, it isn't exactly Harry Potter without him breaking a rule…or a hundred. Lol.

And please no flames! Don't leave a "This sucks." Just stop reading! That would be the smart thing to do!

This will be slash. Just warning ya'll…

Thank you to those who reviewed! Reviews inspire me to keep writing. Thank you so much!

Sorry if it gets a little confusing...but it's late and my mother cut off my caffiene supply hours ago... -sigh-

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Into the Night

"Sirius Black chose to become a Whitelighter."

These words rang through Harry's head as he automatically and with no feeling walked along side Frodo and Sam. He took enough glances at them to know they kept shooting him worried and curious looks but he was grateful they didn't disturb his thoughtful peace.

Sirius? Alive? Well, not technically but he wasn't really dead was he? Was there a chance he could possibly meet up with his godfather? Did Sirius even want to meet with him again? Would he blame Harry for his premature death at the hand of his cousin?

Harry had avenged him though; he made it his first priority at the beginning of the war. He had trapped Bellatrix and fought a wizard's duel with her. She was formidable of course…but Harry made sure he was the victor of that particular duel and he also made sure that Bellatrix had suffered as much as Sirius had…

…he also remembered Mad-Eye-Moody's outrage. The aged wizard had yelled and screamed at him for acting on pure 'stupidity'. He claimed Harry shouldn't have gone and endangered the whole of the Magical community just to get some revenge. (Harry could tell that he was quite proud though.) Harry would have settled and agreed to this had not Snape put in his two cents. The old grease ball had claimed that getting revenge for the 'dirty mutt' was not even worth it because 'the dog brought it on himself'.

Needless to say…no one dared to even stare at Harry in a wrong way after that day.

Slightly smiling and indulged in that particular memory Harry failed to notice Sam stop and Frodo cease walking. So Harry walked on until he heard Sam speak.

"—farthest away from home I've ever been." He heard the hobbit say. Harry turned and saw the trepidation on his face and before he could say something Frodo beat him to it.

"Sam…" the dark haired hobbit began, "It's not so bad…remember what Bilbo used to say…" Harry smiled and continued on. He left them to their little moment and soon all three were once again on their way.

--

It hadn't been too long when Harry noticed that he was standing in the middle of somewhere surrounded by a lot of yellow. Harry looked around and to his dismay, not only did he not know where he was except for that fact that the yellow happened to be corn, he noticed that he was alone…

Hobbit One was nowhere to be seen…and neither was Hobbit Two.

"Ah, crap." He'd been so indulged in his thoughts he hadn't noticed where his feet were walking. Harry breathed in and then he scanned the area once more before trying to listen in to where the hobbits might have gone.

"This way!" he heard and Harry let out his sigh of relief. He quickly headed to where he heard the whispered voice and upon his arrival he groaned.

"Wrong hobbits." He said out loud. He rolled his eyes as two hobbits (who were not Frodo and Sam) quickly scurried along, not spotting him. Both of them seemed to be holding various vegetables ranging from potatoes to corn. Harry could easily identify them to. He'd spent too much time getting on Frodo's nerves with both of them.

Merry and Pippin.

"OW!" came a yelp and Harry used his advanced sight to look ahead and he smirked.

It appeared they had found Sam and Frodo for him…

"Why look Merry! It's our dear old cousin Frodo Baggins!" Pippin exclaimed happily as he quite comfortably seemed to be crushing said hobbit while sitting on top of him. Frodo gave a slight groan to only which Harry must have heard. Sam quickly got up and pushed the young hobbit off roughly before checking his "Master" over.

Pippin toppled over as he caught Harry's eye as he walked over. The young hobbit perked up even more and signaled Merry. "Hey, it's Calanon too! Hello elf-friend!" he waved to Harry who returned his gesture with a smile.

"What are you all doing here?" Merry then asked. "Traveling?" he guessed as he gestured their packed bags. Pippin's face fell.

"You're leaving?" this was directed to Harry who could have sworn he had heard someone mutter angrily. Harry then heard it again but clearly. He looked to both Merry and Pippin who looked panicked.

"Your doing then?" the elf guessed and was quickly answered.

"COME BACK HERE!" came an angry yell.

Harry sighed. "That's a yes."

Before anything more could transpire, Harry found himself lightly jogging beside the poor hobbits that seemed to be running at their fastest pace. Harry was about to signal for them to stop because he had seen the slight drop, but unfortunately for him he had misjudged the rate of speed and distance and before he knew they had all come to the drop.

Harry had of course stopped easily enough and he would have been saved from the trouble but it seemed fate had other plans…mainly in the form of Pippin who had been running in the back and had quickly turned to grab unto something…

…that something had, unfortunately, been the startled elf's cloak. Due to momentum and Pippin's weight; Harry had fallen over too.

"NNNnnnnoooooo!!!" Harry couldn't help but scream as he tumbled and fell. He let out a series of grunts and yelps as various flora and wild life unceremoniously poked, prodded and pierced him. His sudden fall then came to a sudden stop and he hastily stood up and dusted himself off and tried to remove stray leaves and sticks. He then turned and was about to glower at a certain hobbit until he noticed that no one was paying any attention to him….

…as they were currently standing around some mushrooms.

Before Harry could begin his ranting he heard something…no, more like he sensed something. He turned and he focused all his senses on the road…something was coming, he could feel it.

"We should get off the road." Harry turned to see Frodo, who was also looking at the road, who was now looking very blanched. His hand strayed to his pocket and Harry could only guess that was where the ring was…

"Get off the road!" Frodo almost yelled this time as Harry sensed that whatever was coming was heading their way even faster.

He quickly ushered the hobbits off the road and under some small hole on the side of the road. There they waited. Harry felt his heart beat faster and idly wondered if the others could hear it too. Suddenly he felt cold. Some part of his mind connected this feeling to those of being cornered by a Dementor. The being hovering above them seeped darkness and Harry felt a headache coming on. He heard the creature sniffing around and Harry idly wondered how long he could hold this thing off, just until the hobbits got safely away.

Then from the corner of his eye he saw Frodo and what he saw almost made him gasp.

The hobbit was slowly edging the ring unto his finger. Harry looked up and then tried to concentrate on the ring…ugh! Why was nothing happening!? He was about to slap the ring away and get ready to jump out and defend all their lives until Sam beat him to it.

Harry relaxed and carefully grabbed a bunch of carrots that were loosely placed in Pippin's hand. He tossed them to the side and over the road and the creature let out a hiss and it quickly left.

Everything then happened rather fast.

Harry found himself jogging beside the hobbits. He could barely discern their conversations because he caught the noise of horse hoofs pounding on the ground and he was quickly thinking up ways to defeat this opponent he knew nothing of.

"---ferry. Follow me." he heard Merry say. Harry then heard various horses following them and he gasped.

"There are three of them at least!" he gasped to Frodo who looked rather pale and terrified. "Listen! I'll hold them off! You all run and follow Merry!" he told them as he quickly set to unsheathe the sword that Gandalf had lent him. Frodo looked worried then. "Don't worry. I may not look like much, but I can certainly fight." He assured the hobbit.

His chance to prove himself right came in the form of another creature that came at them from in front. Harry got a good look at them then. They were riders clothed in black and torn cloaks given them a deadly and terrifying appearance. Their faces were masked by black and they did in fact have the overall look of a Dementor.

Harry braced himself and stepped in front of the terrified hobbits. He quickly parried a swing from the creature and cursed loudly as he saw that more of these riders were coming and crowding around them. "Run!" he yelled as he switched blows with another rider and then ducked to avoid his head from being cut off.

"Evil creatures filling hearts with…fright, give us a chance…take away their sight!" Harry whispered desperately as more of them seemed to come out of nowhere. He was about to question if his spell worked when one of them screeched. Soon, they all began to scream and Harry smirked. Unfortunately one of them managed to follow them still and Harry guessed it had to do something with the ring Frodo carried since the rider seemed to follow Frodo more as they ran.

"There!" Merry yelled and Harry spotted the ferry. He quickly ran ahead of them and quickly untied the thing and got it ready. One by one all the hobbits jumped on and Harry was about to leave when he noticed the most important person in their group was missing. He looked back horrified and noticed that the rider was close on Frodo's trail.

"FRODO!" Sam screamed and Harry could only watch as the hobbit made it to the small dock and in one leap managed to jump unto the ferry.

Harry turned and saw the rider come to a halt at the water and its horse reared back. So the creatures were afraid of water…Harry made a mental note of this and quickly, with Merry's help set the ferry to go faster.

A few minutes had passed and now the company of five sat down and tried to catch their breath. The first to break the silence was Pippin who turned towards Harry. The hobbit had a serious look on his face and Harry thought with dismay he might have to explain his little stunt to the small hobbit. Pippin furrowed his eyebrows and began to speak in a grave voice.

"You owe me some carrots Mr. Elf."

Harry felt his eye twitch. Was this a sign of things to come? Is this what he would have to put up with? He glanced back to the small dock…

…if only.

--

"Where are we going?" Harry asked again. For the hundredth time. But he seemed to get some sort of sadistic glee from annoying those around him…at least that's what he wanted Frodo to believe…seeing as he had nothing to do and walking was boring him…

Frodo sighed. "The Inn of the Prancing Pony…weren't you listening?"

Harry resisted the urge to pout. "No…I was otherwise…occupied." He quipped.

Frodo nodded. "Gandalf is to meet us there."

Harry blinked. "Why didn't he just come with us?"

"Head of order or something…" Frodo said quietly and Harry sensed that the hobbit was feeling discouraged. And sad. Hmm…

"And then we're done right? That's all we have to do…?" Harry asked quietly then.

Frodo looked lost. "I hope so Calanon."

He shared a look with the rest of the small party and Harry sighed. He felt like he was in one of those sci-fi movies Dudley used to watch…except without the science.

--

It had started to rain. Really hard. Like buckets being poured unto them each every second they remained outside.

Harry felt like a wet dog. He also found out that he didn't feel as cold as the hobbits obviously did seeing as they were shivering…and he wasn't. He felt wet…but not cold.

"Stupid elf…" he heard Pippin mutter through his chattering teeth. Harry pouted then. It wasn't his fault he'd been turned into an elf.

"That hurt. My intelligence is quite high thank you very much." He said indignantly.

"Your equilibrium needs help though." Frodo quipped and Harry pouted once more.

"I break like one dish and you never let me live it down!" he almost whined.

"Calanon…I'd need at least ten more hands to count the number of dishes you've murdered."

Harry said nothing then.

--

Finally arriving to the inn, they quickly convinced the gatekeeper they weren't up to anything. They made it to the inn and Harry slid off his wet cloak. He glanced to Frodo who was muttering to the innkeeper. Said innkeeper glanced up to him then glanced down only to quickly look back at him. Harry slightly stepped back as the man's mouth hung down in amazement.

Harry quickly found a table and lay his head down. He felt the hobbits come sit down next to him but worst of all he felt eyes on him so Harry looked back up to tell the innkeeper to get the hell away but what he found made him want to blend into the wall…

Most of the eyes in the room were eyeing him strangely…almost hungrily. Harry groaned and gave them all a glare. Most of the eyes retreated but as Harry scanned the room, his own emerald eyes caught a pair of gray ones and his breath caught.

Gray eyes…could it be…?

Upon closer inspection Harry felt his hopes being dashed. It wasn't who he thought—who he wanted it to be.

The man sitting a ways from them was eyeing Frodo with trepidation and Harry with outright surprise and suspicion.

"That man has done nothing but stare at you and Mr. Frodo since we arrived..." Sam said quietly and quite indignantly, like if the man had done them a great wrong. Harry resisted rolling his eyes and just began to look around the room. He found Pippin drinking with a couple of men and he cocked his head. He turned his head back only to find Frodo speaking quietly with the innkeeper again.

"He's one of them rangers. Dangerous folk that roam the wild. Never heard his real name but around here he's known as Strider…" he explained. Frodo nodded and thanked the man.

Harry blinked. He had better started to pay closer attention to his surroundings or else. Moody always said that a careless mind was an easy defeat…or something. 'Pay more attention…'

"—Baggins!? Of course I know a Baggins! There! Frodo Baggins! He's my second cousin once removed on his mother's side don't you know—"

He heard that. He quickly turned and before he could stop Frodo, the hobbit had run to Pippin. Harry saw everything as it might have happened in slow motion. He saw Frodo slip…he saw the ring fly into the air…he saw as it landed on Frodo's finger…

…and he saw Frodo disappear as did almost everyone in the establishment.

It was absolute chaos then.

Even with his newly improved senses Harry couldn't find the hobbit anywhere until he saw a strange movement from the corner of his eyes. He turned to quickly find Strider leading a panicked Frodo up the stairs.

"You draw far too much attention to yourself Mr. Underhill." Came Strider's hiss to the poor hobbit.

Harry scowled and he hastily and swiftly made to follow them. He grabbed his sword again as he approached the door Strider had just closed.

Harry listened in for a second. "What do you want?" he heard Frodo ask and he heard Strider pace before answering, "A little more caution from you, that is no trinket you carry."

"I carry nothing!" Frodo sounded panicked.

"Indeed." Strider answered. That was when Harry decided to intervene.

With a quick jerk he slammed the door open and came face to face with the strange man and a sword at his throat.

Harry growled then. The man merely tightened his hold on the sword he was holding.

"You are not from Rivendell. I would have seen you before. Identify yourself stranger." The man said quietly.

"Don't hurt him!" Frodo said from the background. His cry went unheeded as Harry and the strange man known as Strider locked eyes.

"Calanon. My name is Calanon." Harry said evenly. Strider seemed to consider this.

"Where are you from?" the sword relaxed…just a little bit.

"…That is none of your business. Now…let Frodo go." Harry said firmly. The man seemed to find this amusing on some level.

"I'm not sure if you notice my friend but you are in no position to issue demands. Now, tell me—" Harry didn't let him finish. Using a move Moody had taught him, Harry took the arm with the sword and pulled it behind him, dragging the man with it. Harry promptly flipped him over. He smirked at the slight gasp that issued forth from the man's mouth as his back met with the ground. Harry quickly grabbed the sword, straddled the man, and pointed the sword at the man's throat this time.

Strider looked surprised…and angry.

Harry smirked down at him. "Now…tell me what I want to know."

"FRODO!" came a yell and Harry turned amused eyes at the door as Sam armed with a cooking pan came in followed with Merry and Pippin who seemed to be holding lamps.

"Ah…" Merry looked at the scene and eyed it with slight glee. "It seems we've arrived too late…"

Pippin looked confused. "Are you going to kiss him or do something else because your position looks quite strange from this angle." The hobbit said innocently.

Harry's eye twitched as he felt his face burn and the man underneath him grunted.

"Pippin…" Frodo sighed.

"Let me up. I'll explain myself but I expect the same courtesy in return." Strider looked Harry in the eye. After about a second to decide and a nod from Frodo, Harry got up and offered the man a hand. Strider accepted the help but as soon as he was up he strode over to the window and looked around.

"I can avoid being seen if I wish but to disappear entirely; that is a rare gift..." He said this to Frodo who looked weary and suspicious. "Are you frightened?" he asked then and Frodo nodded once. "Not nearly frightened enough then!"

Strider motioned to the door and Sam hastily closed it.

He then gave them all a grave look. "You will no longer wait for the wizard. They are coming."

--

Harry sat up beside the window next to Strider who was smoking. The hobbits were all asleep now. The elf surprisingly didn't feel at all drowsy so he chose to sit up and simply watch alongside Strider. The man kept shooting him glances and Harry found he didn't much mind.

"So…" the elf began but was startled as screeches filled the air. He looked outside and found that there were beings in dark cloaks swinging swords around in what used to be their old room. The creatures finally fled; their horrid screeches filling the night. Harry sighed and looked to the hobbits that were now wide-awake.

"What are they?" Harry asked the ranger as he blew out some smoke.

"They were once men. Great kings of men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one falling into darkness… Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgul." He gave them a serious look. "…Ringwraiths. Neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the ring, drawn to the power of the one… They will never stop hunting you." He gave Frodo a pointed look.

Harry saw the fear in his eyes and immediately felt bad for him. He, himself, once had to go through all this…being hunted down by Voldemort sure wasn't any walk in the park…

"Sleep." He suggested gently. Frodo merely nodded.

One by one the hobbits drifted away. Harry however could not. He had too much to think about. What should his next course of action be? He thought long into the night…

Strider's eyes never left him.

--

The hobbits were quite grumpy and very discouraged at the fact that they had to be awoken up at such an awful hour. Harry, who didn't get any sleep, merely trudged alongside the ranger. His head was still filled with unnecessary thoughts and other course of actions. Something told him he'd need Tristan soon and he groaned. Keeping his not-so-secret secret safe was driving him up the wall…was it really fate that had partnered him with a bi-polar angel? And he couldn't help but think that Strider looked a lot like Sirius… which hurt.

"Where are you taking us?" Frodo asked then. Strider turned back to look at him for a second.

"Into the wild."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

--

They walked ahead a bit more and finally Sam spoke up. "How do we know we can trust him?"

Harry shrugged while Frodo answered. "We don't have a choice."

"Where is he taking us anyway?" Merry asked this time. Harry quietly sang, 'Down the yellow brick road' but no one paid him any attention to which he pouted.

Strider however, glanced at the elf and gave him a funny look. "To Rivendell. To the House of Elrond."

"You hear that!? Rivendell! We're going to see the elves!" Sam gushed.

Some part of Harry wanted to retort, "What am I? Chopped Newt?" but the more rational side that knew what Strider just said meant trouble was panicking. Other elves? So soon? Harry bit back his groan and carried on. Fully aware of the ranger's gaze on him he quietly fumed and strategized with himself.

"Calanon? Are you well?" Strider asked. His voice held some sort of suspicion and Harry resisted the sudden urge to throw a tantrum of some kind…it'd be kinda funny to see how the ranger reacted.

"I'm well…" he responded and continued on.

Harry guessed he'd have to cross that bridge when it came…even if it was sooner than he thought.

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Unbetaed.

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Check out my other story "Devastating Beautiful" It's a KHII/Naruto crossover. It was inspired by the book Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.