Disclaimer: I own nothing, unfortunately

Warnings: I am extremely bad with writing in the present tense and then going to the past tense, so I am sorry if I do that here and have not managed to correct it. There will be a lot of fighting, this will be a slash story, but not 'in your face', and always kissing faces off slash. Just love and respect

Summary: After the anti-climactic 'Final Battle', Harry finds himself in a new world, with a new love, family and a new understanding of certain traits.

Please Review! I would like to know if people like this, and how I could improve, as this is my first ever story =]

Sorry this is late, everyone. School has been such a nuisance, we are getting so much homework for our prelims, and it is a nightmare, and then there was Christmas, and now my Grandma is in hospital, and everything's just gone to the dogs. I will try to update at the same pace as before, but I am not completely sure I will manage.

Harry Potter and the Heart of Gondor

Chapter 9 – Another Adventure?

We did not reach the forests of Lothlorien until the afternoon after we left the Mines of Moria. As soon as we entered, I felt the soothing magic of the Lady Galadriel, checking us for harm or bad intentions. I smiled softly as I felt it, knowing no one else had felt it, except Aragorn, for he felt what I felt through our link. It took a while for us to get anywhere near the elf city in the forest, and when we got to the border, I could immediately sense the elves coming our way, to make sure we were not threats.

I looked up as soon as the elves entered the clearing we had just stepped into, looking right into the point of an arrow. My eyes trailed a path down the owner of the bows arm, and met the eyes of that leader of this contingent of elves- Haldir. I gave him a disapproving look for aiming an arrow at me, even as I ignored the slight growling noise Aragorn made at the threat to me. I could see Haldir almost visibly falter, remembering me from Gandalf and my travelling. He looked in my eyes, and slightly lowered his bow and arrow, knowing he would be no match for me. He held a hand up to his men, making sure no one was overly threatening, and stepped closer to me, pulling me into a tight embrace. I smiled slightly, glad that Haldir still thought of me as a good friend. I wrapped my arms around him in a quick yet fierce embrace myself, having missed the blond aristocratic elf, and when he stepped back, I smiled lightly at him.

I stepped back to Aragorn's side and said to the elves, "I had not known that the hospitality had changed this much in so few years, Haldir of Lorien. Had I known, I would have made sure to come the back way with my group, so as to not get ambushed for merely wishing to see my old friend Lady Galadriel. Surely you would not wish to harm one of the Lady's guests?" I winked at Haldir as I said this, smirking slightly as he got s slight mischievous look in his eye, too small to be noticed by anyone else, except perhaps Legolas. This was a game of sorts, Haldir and I used to play when I would visit with Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn, not just staying in the forest with Gandalf. At first, he had been trying to make sure my intentions were pure, always the guard for the Lady, until it became a fun banter we would partake in. It always worked to get both of us into a good mood, no matter how terribly we had felt before; because of this, we had become somewhat close friends, especially for the usual frigid elf, who was known well for his control of his emotions.

I grinned slightly at his reply, "I would not want to harm a guest of the fair Lady, should they pose as no threat to her and Lord Celeborn. You should know my job well, by now, Harrison of The Shire, for the amount of times I had to tail you to make sure you meant no harm, even if you had travelled with Gandalf Greyhame." We both became serious at the mention of his name, and he continued, "Where is that old Istar, anyway, for I know my Lord has wished to speak with both of you, Harrison. I should hope he was only delayed on your journey, though for the look on your face, it is but a fools hope. Tell me, how did he pass?" He asked mournfully; he had liked Gandalf too, as Gandalf had liked him. They had had a strange relationship, Haldir obviously being older and wiser than he looked, and Gandalf being more agile than his age would have ever suggested; they could have been rivals if not for the humour they got out of their arguments, almost like how Gandalf and I would sometimes argue, now that I thought of it. You really could not know Gandalf and not argue with him; he was too exasperating. I saw him nod for his men to stand down and put their weapons away; we posed no threat to them.

I looked down slightly as I described how we had fought the Balrog, and Haldir came closer to touch the slight burns on my face that I had not had a chance to heal. His eyes held sorrow as I explained how he fell, though I could see the admiration for our job in defeating the Balrog. I felt Aragorn grab my hand in the telling, and I squeezed his in thanks. The interaction did not go unnoticed by Haldir, and he smiled slightly at the sight. I smiled sadly as I finished the tale, tears in my eyes, but my head held high, proud of Gandalf for what he did, even if it was entirely too noble for his own good. I cleared my throat slightly, before I asked Haldir if we could see the Lord and Lady of the woods, and he nodded slightly to his men, and they started leading us through the woods. It took a while, but we eventually reached the centre of the elven settlement. I smiled slightly as we climbed stairs to get to Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn's meeting chamber, where they met all of their guests, no matter of importance; soon, I would see my friends again. Lady Galadriel had had an almost mothering nature to me while Gandalf and I were here, and I felt honoured that she took me under her wing, even if it was only for a year that we had spent here the first time.

We waited a few moments as someone went to tell Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn they had visitors. I grinned when I saw them come out of a room at the top of the stairs; Galadriel had a smile on her face, and I could tell she was excited to see us, as was Celeborn, as they had a quicker pace than normal as they walked, almost ran, down the stairs. I walked forward from the group, and we met half way in a three way embrace, and I smiled again as I felt Galadriel's arms wrap around me; she was the mother figure I had in this world, as Celeborn was like a father figure. I felt Celeborn's arm around my shoulders, before I stepped back and looked up at them, from my still too-short height, at around 5'8". I pouted slightly at the fact that Galadriel was still taller than me, before I grinned again and called Aragorn's name, waving at him to come up. He walked up to us cautiously, and I just winked at him as he stopped beside me. I turned to the two elves, and introduced Aragorn as my significant other. I heard Galadriel gasp slightly, before she abruptly hugged Aragorn, smiling widely, and I could tell she had spoken to him in his mind, for I could hear a whisper through our connection; not enough to understand, just enough to know it's there.

…

It didn't take long for the others to find themselves succumbing to sleep, once we were shown a little hovel to rest in. Aragorn and I stayed awake and spoke to each other through our bond, making sure we didn't accidentally speak out loud. It was relaxing, to be able to have this closeness with someone, to know that I wouldn't be judged by anything I said. I couldn't help but feel content with how close Aragorn and I were, and by the small smile he threw me, I could tell he could feel what I was. We talked well into the night, before I finally gave into my tiredness and fell asleep with my head on his chest, with his arm wrapped protectively around me.

…

We stayed in Lothlorien for three and a half days; enough to get rest and a little relaxation, but not enough for our enemies to get to us, or even find out where we were. It had calmed me, mostly, having been able to see my mother and father figures, for I have not seen them in almost eight years; I had told them about Aragorn, who was away on a Ranger mission at the time, and to put it lightly, they were delighted to hear I had finally somewhat settled down. Just thinking back on how ecstatic the Lady had been amused me greatly, having never known someone in such high authority to be so giggly. I remember when she had given us our souvenirs- I suppose you could call them- from the elves. She had looked positively giddy to be able to gift us all with something to help us on our journey. I felt a smile curve my lips even as I turned to watch Aragorn row our boat further down the River Anduin.

He no doubt felt me looking at him, as he turned slightly to look back at me, and I grinned mischievously. I knew just the thing to lessen the tense atmosphere, even if it would make me seem a bit 'batty'. I took a deep breath, and then started singing quietly;

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find,

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you,

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve and chivalry,

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin,

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means,

To achieve their ends.

So out me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!

(Don't own it. It's all J.; the song and the characters, that is. ;D)

Aragorn had started laughing after the first couple lines, and his laughter caused everyone to look around at us, which meant they started listening in. Soon enough, everyone was either chortling quietly, or laughing outright like Aragorn and Frodo. It felt good to laugh after the seriousness of our journey, even if it was for only a moment.

It took another half hour before we reached shore, and when we 'landed' I jumped off the boat and almost kissed the ground in relief; I really do hate the swaying motion of boats. I quickly pulled mine and Aragorn's bags from the boat, and set about finding wood and stones to make a small fire. It didn't take long, and by the time I had the fire started Sam was already equipped with his small pans and sausages. I have no idea how he managed to not squash anything in his pack…

…

Once everyone was satisfied with their servings, I stood up to stand guard, and make sure they didn't make too much noise. I heard someone come up behind me and turned to see Frodo creeping along trying to be as quiet as possible. I raised an eyebrow at him in amusement but he just stuck his tongue out at me and pretended to sulk. I gave a laugh and brought him into a hug, ruffling his hair. I held him as he burrowed slightly into my side, just like when he was a kid, and looked up at Aragorn questioningly. He probably felt my little mental probe, for he looked up and looked half concerned when he saw Frodo needed security. He quickly got up and walked over, wrapping his arms gently around us both. This was one of the, very few, times that I appreciated my short height, as he could tuck me into his side with Frodo between us, making him feel protected, and no doubt loved.

I smiled slightly as I looked up at Aragorn, and I told him I wanted to take Frodo on a little walk, and that, yes, we would stay close. He shook his head fondly, before squeezing us then letting us go, and we walked away through the trees, making sure to keep quiet unless there was anything about. I held Frodo to my side as we walked, and we spoke quietly about irrelevant things, before Frodo took a breath and said what he wanted to say.

"Harry, I think I'm going mad. I'm hearing voices in my head, and I sometimes want to do things I would never normally do, like try and hurt one of you. I've even thought of running away and just going to Mordor myself! I don't know what to do!" I looked at him in slight concern, before I stopped him from walking and gently put my fingers on his temples. Immediately, I could feel the effect the Ring was having on Frodo, and I could also feel the emotional strain it was putting on my young hobbit brother. I quickly went about making a slight wall in Frodo's mind, to keep out the Ring's manipulations. Just as I finished and started pulling back from Frodo, I heard someone creeping up from the side of us, and I quickly pushed my body weight against Frodo, making both of us fall down. I covered our heads as bits of tree trunk went flying, the sword that had been aimed at our side hitting a tree instead.

I turned to see who had tried to kill us, and snarled in anger and exasperation; Boromir. I quickly unsheathed my sword and swung it up to block the next blow coming from the hot-headed Gondorian, before pushing back and standing up when Boromir stumbled back slightly. I quickly pushed Frodo behind the tree, before I started clashing swords with Boromir, protecting Frodo at the same time, and trying to get Boromir out of his Ring-induced madness.

"Boromir! Listen to me! You are not yourself!" I grunted slightly as I was pushed back by a kick to the midriff, before I attacked with renewed vigour. He would not get to my little brother, even though I did not want to hurt the man when he was obviously not in his right state of mind. I slowly forced him back, blocking blows from his sword, only attacking when I could make a move to knock him out. As I spun around to miss a strike, I glanced at where Frodo was, seeing his form huddled beside the tree, before quickly glancing up the hill; my stomach dropped. An army of Orc-like things were marching in this general direction, though they had not noticed us as of yet. I felt my lip curl as I snarled slightly, before ferociously attacking Boromir, forcing him back and to make mistakes, before jumped to the side, landing on a rock and jumping at Boromir, and I finally managed to knock him upside the head with the hilt of my sword, knocking him out.

I slowly stood and turned around, mentally shouting for Aragorn, even as I grabbed Frodo and told him to run back to the camp, find Sam and wait and hide in one of the boats. I did not look as he ran back the way we had come, as I got into a ready stance and evened my breathing. I slowly walked forward, staying in plain sight of the Uruk-Hai, and I knew the second they noticed me, and no doubt recognised me; I was rather famous (or infamous, whichever one you prefer) in this world, as well as my old one. I started fighting, weaving around some of the Uruk-Hai, going back to get them once they thought I had left them alone. It did not take long before I was going completely on instinct, even as I started using some magic, blasting small groups of the beasts away at a time. I felt Aragorn coming closer, but I knew he would soon caught up fighting the Uruk-Hai that got past me; which was, obviously, quite a lot.

I looked up when I heard a panicked shout, then grunted as something bowled into my side. I raised my sword to hack it to pieces, and then noticed it was Pippin. I growled slightly in annoyance, knowing I would now have to protect him as well as fighting off the disgusting things. I quickly pulled him behind me, keeping my senses open to any attacks from behind, and quickly told him, "Only attack if it is coming toward you!" before I went back to fighting. I saw a glimpse of Aragorn through the trees slightly to my right, and it looked like he was now protecting a hobbit as well. I would assume it was Merry, for where was one without the other? I sighed in exasperation, before discretely nudging Pippin to move slowly to Aragorn and Merry, and told Aragorn through our link to do the same. It would be better if we could fight back to back properly and easier to keep the Halflings out of trouble.

It did not take long before we were side by side, fighting to keep the Halflings safe, even as we tired slightly. Before long, we started making slight mistakes, and I thought furiously to Aragorn, "Where the bloody hell is that stupid elf and dwarf!" and I heard Aragorn choke on a small laugh. I snorted, before crying out as I was knocked to the ground, my left shoulder feeling dislocated. I heard Aragorn cry my name, in and out of our heads, even as I rolled to the side to avoid a swipe of a sword that would have no doubt cut me in half. Before I could even think of standing up again, a lot of the Uruk-Hai around us noticed me on the ground, and suddenly I was off like a top: rolling around and kicking out as almost all of them tried to take me out. I heard Aragorn, Merry and Pippin hacking away at all of the disgusting bastards, even as I pooled my magic, getting it ready to erupt.

I shouted for the others to get down, before I stopped rolling about, as my magic came out, first as a shield to stop everything, and then with a supersonic boom, that niggled something in my memory, my magic exploded outwards; knocking more than two thirds of the Uruk-Hai out, and the rest got knocked off their feet. I lay there panting, trying to get my heartbeat back to normal before I heard Aragorn crawling over to me. I slumped, resting my head on the ground even as he came up beside me and started checking my arm. He smiled slightly at me, saying, "That's the most magic you've used in a while. You're not too tired are you?" looking at me in concern. I shook my head slightly, before gasping and swearing under my breath as Aragorn fixed my arm. He looked at me in both concern and amusement, and I just stuck my tongue out at him as I slowly sat up and rested my head in his neck.

I groaned, before telling them, "I am so not doing that again anytime soon!" I felt more than heard Aragorn muffle a snort, before we both sprang up when Merry and Pippin cried out when they were lifted up onto the shoulders of two Uruk-Hai who had been dazed instead of knocked out. We immediately started trying to get through the rest, hacking them to pieces as we struggled to get Merry and Pippin to safety. Before we could do much more than swinging our swords and shouting for the hobbits, most of the Uruk-Hai were too far away to fight, and they were just going farther.

I stood still, in the middle of the clearing with all the bodies of the Uruk-Hai Aragorn and I had killed, staring after the small army in disbelief and growing horror. For the first time, I had failed to protect someone of the hobbit species. I felt Aragorn come up behind me and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I grabbed his other hand in mine, before letting go and walking back to where Boromir lay with a bump on his head, having been unconscious for the whole fight. I waved my hand over his head, using both my magic and the Istari magic of this world to heal his wound instantly. I waited for his eyes to open and come into focus, before pulling him up to make him stand. I held him as he swayed slightly; his mind was not used to not being so close to the Ring when he just wakes up.

I turned from him, before quickly grabbing my weapons, waiting for Aragorn to do the same, then grabbed his hand as we walked back to camp, Boromir trailing behind, sounding like he was lost in his thoughts. It did not take long before we were walking through the trees surrounding the place we set camp. I looked up from the roots that had nearly tripped Boromir, to see Legolas lying on the ground and Gimli trying to shake him awake, with about twenty bodies of Uruk-Hai surrounding them. I noticed the ground was smudged red, and I guessed it had been from a wound on the elf's head. I jumped over the last log surrounding our camp and ran to Legolas' side, dropping to my knees and skidding slightly as I landed beside his head. I quickly pulled my magic to the forefront of my mind, holding my hands above his head and slowly moving it down his body, making sure he wasn't injured anywhere else besides his head. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief as I saw he only had a concussion and a sprained wrist; I imagine he had tried to fight his way out before the Uruk-Hai got to us and probably miscalculated the strength of the monsters he fought. I felt my respect for him grow even as I healed his wound; he had most likely managed to fight with a sprained wrist, still managing to kill the amount he did. I smiled slightly as I remembered how Legolas and Gimli would always make their fighting a contest, knowing they were both relatively the same skill, even if they would never admit it.

I heard something moving about in one of the boats on the river side, and I quickly ran over to it and helped Frodo and Sam out of the boat before pulling them into a hug, even as I mentally berated myself for forgetting Frodo for a little while. I could feel their shaking as they clung to me, and I heard the others coming over to make sure the hobbits were safe. I let them both go and knelt before them; I could not stop the tears that were in my eyes from showing as I thought of what I had to say. I looked at the ground; for I could not look into Frodo's eyes, and quietly said, "You two will have to go ahead on your own. We cannot come with you, little hobbits. This path is for you to walk, as we shall walk another. We have to save the other Halflings, and you have to destroy the Ring, once and for all-" I looked up at Frodo as I finished, "-but you cannot lose hope, for without hope, what is the point of this journey? This journey is something that is made of hope; the hope of freedom. Do not lose sight or your goal, even if all else is bleak. Also, know that you will always be my little brother, and I will always love you as such. Should you ever feel that you cannot continue, or that you have failed, remember that you have all of our love to help guide you, you need only know how to use it." I smiled slightly before I took hold of his shoulders and brought him towards me, kissing his forehead as I whispered a spell to help keep him safe, more than the shield would have done. I did the same for Sam, even as they both looked at me with tears in their eyes, but also a hesitant acceptance, and then I let them go and walked to Aragorn's side. I could not bear to look as the two hobbits left.

Before the hobbits were even half way along the river, we were packing up camp and our packs; I used a spell to lighten things so they would not burden us, even as we threw things that we did not need into the river, to fall down the cliff. I discretely watched Boromir as he packed, for he had not said a word since we fought, and I knew he remembered our fight, for he looked as guilty as they came, as well as sorrowful. I wanted to make sure that he would not be under the Ring's control any longer, even as I felt my anger simmer under the surface. He should have told someone what was happening to him, even if it would have made him feel weak; did he not know what would have happened if he had actually managed to get the Ring from Frodo? First, Gondor would have probably been made into ruins, before I myself came after him for hurting Frodo, with Aragorn no doubt at my side. I shook my head at his idiocy, even as I turned to scout out the path we would take; I did not want any more unpleasant surprises.

…

It had been three days since we all said goodbye to Frodo and Sam; we were slowly closing in on the remaining Uruk-Hai, running most of the way after their small army. Yesterday Aragorn had found a metal leaf from one of the cloaks Lady Galadriel gifted us, and I knew we were getting closer. We were just coming to the top of a high hill when we heard, and felt, what sounded like more than a thousand horses coming our way. We all quickly hid behind one of the larger rocks just laying around, waiting to see if this large group of riders would be friend or foe. We heard them coming closer, and they suddenly burst forward and into our line of sight; galloping almost too fat to see as they went past. I relaxed as I saw the insignia on their flags, and once they were all pat our little hiding spot, I jumped out and playfully called out to them, "Riders of the Mark! Are you not going to greet one of your old friends?"

I watched as the apparent leader raised his spear showing them all to turn, and they did, as one. I smiled slightly as I watched them all riding closer, and as they surrounded us in a rather large circle. I stood beside Aragorn, both of us holding our heads up proudly, though I no doubt had a mischevious glint in my eyes, and we all watched as the leader rode up to us and took off his helmet, jumping off his horse as he did so. I smiled at him; I had not been to Rohan since I first came here in my travels with Gandalf; Eomer was but a boy at that time. I did not even know if he would remember me clearly. That thought was quickly banished from my head though as I saw the look of wonder and happiness on Eomer's face. I grinned at him, noticing a slight hesitation in his eyes, and he ran to me and gave me a hug, clutching at me desperately, as though I would disappear. I held him against me for a moment, before I pulled back slightly, looking him up and down critically. As I looked into his eyes, I could see he had missed me, and I was surprised to see he wanted my approval. I arched an eyebrow, and drawled, in manner scarily reminiscent of my old potions master, "Well, it seems you have grown up well, little Eomer. I do seem to remember that you used to say you would be the best warrior of this land, did I not? We'll just have to see how good your fighting has gotten, though not at this time," and I winked, letting him know I was mostly playing with him. I could see him blush slightly, even as he stood straighter, and it struck me how much Eomer had actually looked up to me in the little time I had spent in Rohan; it was a humbling thought.

I shook the thoughts from my mind, and continued vaguely, "Now, no matter how much I would love to hear about your life as you grew up, we are on a mission at the moment. We are hunting a mini-army of Uruk-Hai; any idea how many there are?"

He looked up at me properly, a slight smile on his face, and a proud glint in his eye. He nodded slightly, saying, "Yes, we attacked them just after nightfall, slaughtering the lot of them, there isn't one left. We piled the carcasses and set them aflame, that's what the smoke rising is from." As he said this, he pointed over to a trail of black smoke in the sky that we had not noticed before he pointed it out. I nodded slightly, a small smile on my face, even as I heard the others gasp in fear for the hobbits, and I gave ruffled Eomer's hair proudly, before replying, "Well done, I must admit that would be a feat myself and my companions, with Gandalf, would have found difficult," He smiled proudly at that, "However, did you see two Halflings running about? I fear it is mainly them we are looking for, but I do not doubt that if you did not see them, then they somehow managed to get away from the Uruk-Hai," I reassured Eomer after I noticed the slight panic in his eyes, and I saw him relax slightly as I thought out loud. He nodded, "We did not come across any Halflings, but we did see a dagger of what looked like elven make, though to a hobbit, it would no doubt be a sword," he mused ruefully, and I chuckled, shaking my head with a smile.

I looked at the others, and noticed their tenseness at the thought of the hobbits not making it out of there alive, and I smiled to try and reassure them, knowing the little hobbits, that were so like Fred and George, would not doubt have found a way out. Aragorn nodded at me slightly, agreeing silently with me, and I turned back to Eomer, and hugged him again, "I'm afraid this reunion will have to be cut short, as we will have to go find out what became of our young friends, but do not worry; I have a feeling we will be meeting you all again soon," with that, I winked at Eomer, and took Aragorn's hand, leading the way out of the circle through a path they made for us, with Eomer smiling at our backs.

When we got far enough away, I looked up at Aragorn with a giddy smile on my face, and he just raised an amused eyebrow at me, but I could see the smile tugging at his mouth. I hugged him gleefully, before I let him go and exclaimed, "We're going into Fangorn Forest!", bouncing away from everyone else, leaving Aragorn shaking his head at my back, and the others to stare at me in bewilderment at my happiness to go into the apparently 'deadly' forest.

I stopped bouncing and waited for the others to catch up, before I turned to Aragorn and stated with all seriousness, "Are you ready for another mini-adventure, my dear Estel?" He looked at me and just snorted, shaking his head in exasperation at my old favourite saying, for when we went on any Orc hunting. I smiled mischievously, knowing it would be fun in the forest, with my good old friend, Treebeard.