A/N: I kinda feel bad about my rant about the lack of reviews, apparently I had the anonymous review thingie disabled (I didn't even know you could enable/disable it…) so sorry about that. And thank you Jina de Mars for pointing that out to me.

Also thanks to all that reviewed. It makes me happy like I just had a big bowl of ice cream.

So without further ado, the long awaited for reunion scene! Yay!

Enjoy.

Rivendell, Eriador
October 20, 3018 T.A.

Iri didn't know how they had all managed to get to this room; all he could remember was grasping arms, a lot of tears, mumblings of "Oh my God, you're real" and a lot of hugs.

Somewhere in the midst of all that, Sirius woke up and hasn't let go of him since. But now the group of ex-wizards (and one ex-witch) found themselves in a large bedchamber which consisted of many comfy looking chairs and a bed that could have easily fit them all, all of them drinking in Iri's presence and Iri drinking in theirs.

Finally Iri broke the silence.

"So the veil…it was a portal all along, huh?"

That seemed to break the tension and soon voices could be heard all through the night telling stories of what they had been through the past few hundred years, and what they had thought the fates of others had been.

They didn't even leave the room the whole of the next day (or the day after that); Gandalf (and many elves carrying platters of food) had come in explaining that the council would be postponed until the 25th so that the foreign representatives could have time to rest from their long journeys, and so everyone could have their own separate reunions (like the other hobbits with Bilbo, and Aragorn with Arwen).

And so that was how Iri and his long thought lost family spent the next three days; talking about anything and everything, until their voices would grow so hoarse and their eyes would droop so much they'd end up sleeping in the giant bed in a comfortable heap, only to wake up the next morning and do it all again.

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October 23, 3018 T.A.

Sirius watched over Harry's sleeping form with tenderness. God, he had thought he had lost him long ago. Had lost any hope of seeing him again over two hundred years ago. To see him again, alive and well, it was more than he had ever imagined.

Harry didn't talk much about his experiences in Voldemort's clutches, but Sirius could hardly blame him. Imagine all that he must have endured for over 400 years! But not any more. If there was one thing Sirius regretted more than anything else, it was that he hadn't been there for Harry when he had needed him, even more than he regretted making Peter the Potter's secret keeper. (Sirius had had no reason to suspect Peter as the death eater spy. Had Peter been loyal, Sirius' plan would have worked without a hitch. Sirius had had no control over Peter's loyalties or actions. But it had been Sirius' decisions to get revenge instead of taking care of Harry that had allowed Harry to grow up in a family that detested and abused him, his actions of leaving headquarters that robbed Harry of his second father.)

Sirius now had a second, or rather third, chance to be there for Harry, to become a family. And he vowed that he would do everything in his power to keep his godson safe and happy.

With a determined glint in his eye and a new purpose in his life, Sirius threw an arm over the sleeping Harry's shoulders and settled down to sleep.

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Iri watched as Sirius joined the others in slumber and carefully extracted himself from the mass of bodies. Iri had long ago perfected the art of fake sleeping to avoid Voldemort and had no trouble fooling his friends.

Iri made his way to the balcony and let out a heartfelt sigh as he watched over the picturesque scenery. As thrilled as he was to see everyone again, especially after believing them all dead (because of him no less), it was still a little (okay, very) overwhelming.

Iri had spent the past 400 years emotionally isolating himself from everybody. After everyone he had loved had died (or at least after Iri had thought they had died), he had never formed any new relationships because a) he could only leave Voldemort's side once every few years (which was hardly enough time to establish a good relationship) and b) Iri didn't think he could stand the continuous heartbreak of having everyone he grew to care for die, whether because of Voldemort or old age, while he was forced to linger in the land of the living, forever separated from his loved ones. Scratch that, Iri knew that he wouldn't have been able to stand the heartache of continuously getting attached to people and seeing them die.

And as for Voldemort, his only constant, Iri refused to develop any sort of feelings for him besides hate, disgust and scorn.

When Iri had discovered that he was in another world, he had almost broken down; how much could he take? Would he ever die and join his loved ones?!

Only Iri's considerable survival skills and the fact that those kinds of things always happen to him, prevented Iri from doing much else besides blinking at the news of his new situation.

And so Iri pushed all other thoughts out of his head and did what he did best; he focused on the present, he found out all he could about his new situation and he escaped yet another dark wizard.

Iri didn't even know what he had planned to do, but it was in Iri's nature to keep fighting and surviving. So Iri fought and survived even if he would have liked nothing better than to die and see his family again.

And then Iri had met Strider and the hobbits; and more importantly, he learned about his not dead family. Iri wouldn't even let his mind think on the consequences of what he heard; this wouldn't, couldn't, ever happen to him. His loved ones always died, leaving him alone on his own to stumble along. Iri couldn't take the chance of getting his hopes up, only to have them smashed again. Iri began distancing himself from his 'family' in his mind, separating Strider's Sirius from his Sirius, Rohan's Remus and Tonks from his Remus and Tonks, etc. As far as Iri was concerned, they were completely different people.

And then, Iri couldn't deny the truth anymore. It was them. Iri had been frozen to the spot, even though subconsciously he had always known that Strider's world travelers really were his family.

Iri couldn't remember the last time he cried, laughed and talked so much. He was so happy. He got his family back.

But as the days passed, Iri began to have doubts again. It was the way that Remus and Tonks were so comfortable in giving each other a small peck on the lips, or the way that Fred and George would talk about Elrohir and Elladan, and the way that Sirius had matured and healed emotionally since he had last seen him. Some were small things, others were big things; but they all proclaimed 'you missed this; we all changed and are not the same people anymore' in big bold letters to Iri.

And they were not the only ones who had changed. Iri had become self-resilient, depending on no one, and used to little to no contact. It was what helped him survive the past few hundred years. To come back, and be constantly surrounded, have continuous physical contact (whether as a hug, an arm over his shoulders or mussing up his hair, someone was always touching him as if to make sure he was real and wouldn't disappear), and not have any solitude was very distressing and overwhelming for Iri.

It was also the fact that they obviously didn't realize that 450 years had passed on Earth the same as it passed here in Arda. Fred and George weren't so bad; they had seen Harry fight and lead both in school and out of it, and recognized that Iri would be even more independent and headstrong now.

Remus and Tonks obviously still saw him as a man not quite out of childhood; they were constantly trying to shield him from some of the darker aspects of this world when telling their story, and spoke to him much the same way as they had all those years ago. But at least they were trying to replace their vision of Harry with the man before them now.

Sirius was the worst. Iri loved Sirius, but it was plain to see that Sirius still thought of him as his little godson, someone he felt needed unlimited protection and love. (Iri knew that Sirius meant well, but it was too much to take). Sirius wouldn't even call Harry by his preferred name of Iri, insisting that Harry was the name his parents gave him, so Harry was the name Sirius would use.

As much as Iri loved and missed his godfather, Sirius was doing a good job of frustrating him to no end. Iri could tell that he would have many problems in the future convincing Sirius that he was a fully grown adult – he was 474 for Circe's sake – and more than capable of taking care of himself.

Feeling more tired now, Iri decided to get some rest and climbed back into the giant bed with the rest of his family. He pushed all thoughts out of his head – he didn't know what his future in this new world would be, but he would face it the same way he always does – head on and one day at a time. Maybe coming to this new world would be a good thing; somewhere to start fresh. Somewhere he could just be himself and live a normal life. Iri spared one last look at his sleeping friends; as exasperating as they may be at times, they were still family and Iri was indefinitely grateful that they were alive and well.

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October 24, 3018 T.A.

"Hurry up Sam! The feast is about to start!"

After spending the last 3 days with his friends from Earth, Iri and the others decided to separate for a bit and have a bit of a breather (though Sirius was clearly reluctant to until he remembered that he hadn't seen Aragorn yet).

So Iri spent most part of today in the company of his four hobbit friends and Frodo's uncle Bilbo. Iri liked the hobbits; they were nice and cheery people and made good company. And Bilbo was always enthusiastically telling a story or singing a song – Iri thinks that he had learned just as much about middle earth from one day with Bilbo than the rest of the time he had been here put together.

Lord Elrond was holding a feast tonight in honour of all the visitors. Iri was quite curious about them; according to Bilbo they had come from all over middle earth for various reasons. Iri was looking forward to learning more about his new home and its people.

Elrond was kind enough to provide Iri with clothes, since the only things he had were old and suffering from much wear-and-tear after 2 years in the wild. Compared to what he was used to, the fancy elvish garbs felt very odd but welcome to Iri.

Once all the hobbits were ready to go (except for Bilbo who insisted that he didn't go to such things and would rather work on his book (There and Back Again: A Hobbits Tale, the story of Bilbo's adventure involving 13 dwarfs and a dangerous dragon) and/or make up songs), Iri and the four young hobbits made their way to the dining hall.

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"Mae govannen Aragorn."

"Mae govannen Legolas."

Legolas always enjoyed his visits to Rivendell; he had known Elladan and Elrohir since he had been a small elfling and had spent much of his time with the twins out in the wild hunting orcs. Therefore it was no surprise that when Estel became a member of Elrond's family that Legolas and Aragorn became good friends as well.

Too bad this wasn't a social visit from the Prince of the Woodland Realm, but a visit to convey unfortunate news. Elrond told him to wait until tomorrows meeting to tell anyone else, so for the past few days Legolas has been relaxing and greeting old friends.

"I heard that there is a new traveler from the other realm here in Arda, and that he is here with us tonight. Is that true?"

"I suppose it's pointless to hide anything from an elf's keen hearing" Aragorn responded with a smile "but you would be correct. He had even traveled with me and the hobbits when returning to Imladris."

Legolas didn't know the dimension travelers as well as Aragorn did (they usually didn't travel as far north as Mirkwood) but he still considered them friends and was curious to meet the newest one.

"It is too bad the other world has no elves – if it did then maybe someone worthwhile would enter Arda."

"Ha! Even if they did have elves, they would be unable to make it through the portal due to their large heads!"

This was a common argument among Aragorn and Legolas; trying to prove that their race was the better one. It was all in jest of course, even though those who didn't know them might think they were serious.

Before Legolas could retort, Aragorn interrupted.

"There is our new friend now. He's with the hobbits."

Legolas turned to look and found himself speechless. Legolas didn't often admire the beauty of people, he was still quite young (in elvish standards at any rate), so he had no need or want to find a partner and settle down yet. But he couldn't help but stare at the being surrounded by hobbits. He looked regal with traditional elvish robes on, and moved with grace and precision. But his dazzling green eyes are what caught Legolas' attention the most.

"Are you quite sure that he is a human? He looks far more like an elf to me. He is even dressed like one."

"Yes I'm sure. Look at his size; he's much too small to be an elf. Just because one is pleasing to the eye does not make one an elf; he wouldn't be the first human to look so fair as to be confused with an elf as you well know."

"Yes, but usually those fair humans have elf blood in their veins."

"But not always. And he is wearing elvish clothes since he had no others, so Lord Elrond lent them to him."

Just then their conversation was interrupted by the sound of musical laughter, which turned out to be coming from Iri who was now seated beside Frodo and a dwarf.

"He must be an elf! His voice is too musical and enchanting. I've never heard a human with a voice such as that!"

"His voice is like that because his animal self (A/N: which means his animagus form) is a bird. Believe what you will my friend, but Iri is human like the others."

Legolas looked back at Iri who was currently listening intently to whatever the dwarf was talking about. Legolas couldn't imagine what Iri found so captivating – dwarfs usually just talked on end about their craft and mining, which was actually quite boring to hear. Too bad the young man wasn't sitting somewhere else, where he could find better company.

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When Iri sat down for the feast, he was to the left of a dwarf with a wrinkled face and a long white beard. On his other side was Frodo, with Sam beside him. On the dwarfs other side was a younger dwarf with a reddish-brown beard.

He looked around and noticed a few familiar faces; there was Aragorn with Sirius on one side and an unfamiliar handsome blond elf on the other. Lord Elrond sat regally at the head of the table with Glorfindel and Gandalf on either side. Fred and George sat next to identical dark-haired elves who Iri assumed were Elladan and Elrohir. Remus and Tonks sat further away on Iri's other side next to a large noble looking man. There was also a female elf who was the most beautiful being that Iri had ever seen. Her skin seemed to be illuminated in the moonlight and her hair the deepest black. Her grey eyes revealed age and wisdom. From her likeliness to Elrond and the Peredhil twins, Iri assumed that she was Arwen, the twins' younger sister.

"Welcome and well met!" the dwarf beside Iri rose and bowed "Glóin at your service."

Before Iri could respond Frodo interrupted.

"Are you the Glóin, one of the twelve dwarfs that accompanied Thorin Oakenshield to the Lonely Mountain?"

Realizing his rudeness, Frodo blushed and hastily rose to bow to the dwarf, scattering the cushions he had been sitting on to give him the proper height at the table. Iri couldn't help but laugh at the poor hobbit's predicament.

"Frodo Baggins at your service and your family's."

Glóin smiled kindly at the flustered hobbit and he and Iri helped Frodo gather the scattered cushions and sit down.

"Ah! A Baggins! I assume from your name and your knowledge of that little adventure that you know dear Bilbo?"

"Yes, he's my uncle. He had taken me in after my parents had died when I was very young."

"So where is old Bilbo now? Hopefully not on any more adventures?"

"He's actually here in Rivendell. He told me that he would have liked to go on another adventure, to visit the Lonely Mountain again, but he is getting old and Elrond and Gandalf wouldn't let him. They also seemed to think the Enemy is after my dear uncle and would make mincemeat of him should they find him wandering around in the wilderness."

"That's a relief. It's best that way. Bilbo should stay in Rivendell, where he is safe."

Frodo looked at Glóin a searching look. "Why? What do you know?"

Glóin paused a moment before responding. "That is not conversation for tonight; maybe tomorrow I shall reveal what I know. But I am most curious what has possessed four hobbits to leave their comfy hobbit-holes of the Shire. Not since Bilbo accompanied us to the Lonely Mountain has anything such as this happened."

Certain that he shouldn't mention anything concerning the Ring, Frodo avoided the subject. "That is probably best explained later as well. So how goes the reconstruction of your city?"

A long time ago, the dwarfs had a giant city atop the Lonely Mountain, where they prevailed in splendor. Unfortunately one day a dragon attacked, killing all those in his path. Though some dwarfs were able to escape, many died and the city was lost to the dragon's control. The dragon used the city as its stronghold and began hording treasure, mainly from the dwarfs but also from the men in the nearby community of Lakeside and the nearby elven kingdom of Mirkwood.

Many years later, Thorin Oakenshield, the son of the last ruler of the dwarf city, gathered a group of 12 dwarfs to try and reclaim the city and the treasure within. Superstitious of failure due to the unlucky number of dwarfs, they sought out one more companion. Under Gandalf's advice, they recruited Bilbo Baggins (much to Bilbo's distress).

After a long tale involving trolls, goblins (what hobbits call orcs), wargs (evil wolves), giant-eagles, elf dungeons, a human bow-man, and of course a dragon, the city was reclaimed and the dwarfs set to work to bring it back to its former splendor.

"Some of it is going very well, other things are not so good. Unfortunately due to the dragon's destruction much of our knowledge has been lost, and those who knew are now dead. Our metalwork is not as it used to be; we can still make keen swords and good armor, but it is no match to the quality of our forefathers. However in other things we have improved, in mining and building we have surpassed our forefather's skills. You should see the stone-paved roads, the sculpted columns, the cavernous halls! The waterways, the mountains, the pools! They are a beauty to behold."

Iri listened to everything with rapt attention. His family had been able to tell him a lot about elves and men (most notably about Rivendell and Rohan) but not so much about dwarfs.

Seeing Iri and Frodo giving him their utmost attention, Glóin paused.

"If you wish to hear more, I will gladly tell you. But stop me when you are weary! Dwarves' tongues run on when speaking about their handiwork, they say."

And with that Glóin embarked on a long account of the doings of the Dwarf-kingdom. He was delighted in finding two polite listeners who showed no sign at weariness and made no attempts to change the subject.¹

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Finally the feast came to an end. Iri feeling full and sleepy allowed Sirius to lead him away from Glóin, his son Gimli, and the hobbits.

"Go to bed Harry, you haven't been sleeping much this past week."

"I haven't been sleeping much because I was catching up with those I had thought were dead. And you've had as little sleep as I have, so if I'm going to bed, so are you."

Remus took this opportunity to butt in.

"That's actually a good idea, that way we won't be too tired to pay attention at the meeting tomorrow."

"But Harry's not going to the meeting. It concerns Middle-Earth affairs and Harry's only been here for 2 years; he doesn't know enough about the land and its people."

"Sirius, it's just a meeting. Harry's not going to disappear if you blink, and he's not going to be in any danger attending a meeting. And Elrond requested his presence there, so Iri goes."

Grumbling Sirius gave a stiff nod and wishing them a good night, headed towards his door.

Throwing one last glance at his godfather's retreating back, Iri turned to face Remus.

"So what is this meeting about anyway, and why am I invited?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I guess we'll just have to find out tomorrow."

And with that Remus went into his room and closed the door, leaving Iri out in the hall with his thoughts.

So the long awaited reunion is finally over and done with. Hopefully nobody was disappointed.

Next chapter: The Council of Elrond.

¹ this section (including what they say) is basically word per word from the book in the chapter Many Meetings

Mae govannen is an elvish greeting