Adventures in the Bar of Killed Off Characters

By:

LiL Pippin Padfoot

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Disclaimer:

"I never conquered when it came ... just held such better days, days when I still felt alive, I couldn't wait to get outside" – Adam's Song

It just describes it sorta.

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Chapter 14

He did it!

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Boromir was shocked. Appalled, really. His mouth gaped open, his eyes bulging. Haldir was gone. Sirius blinked, but it didn't quite hit him. Haldir had just walked out. It made no sense whatsoever.

Haldir blinked as he walked right out of the bar into an alleyway, lit only by a small yellow lamp hanging above the wooden bar door. Haldir looked at the bar. It was crumbling red-ish brick, although he supposed it could be a different color, in the yellowish light of the street lamp it was hard to see. There was also a wooden sign hanging over the door. It was old an weather-beaten. It was held on by a bar, which may have once been black but now had succumb to rust. A breath of wind blew by, which set the sign to swaying and creaking. Haldir squinted against the dim lighting of the alleyway and read the sign.

Bar of Killed off Characters

And there was a picture beneath it of a mug of what could only be assumed ale, though it was tough to tell anymore. Haldir saw a window on the one side, one that they could see when they were within, but only saw pitch when they looked out. He walked up to it and looked inside the bar. He noted sadly that no one seemed to notice he was gone, except for Sirius and Boromir. Boromir looked thoroughly shocked, with his mouth agape in wonder, but Sirius… Sirius looked thoughtful. As if he didn't know quite what had just happened.

Haldir gave in to a little chuckle at Boromir's face. 'I am sorry to leave them in there,' he thought. 'But I most go, if I can leave I will.' And with that thought he turned heel and walked down the alleyway.

Haldir grimly walked down the alley. There were other bars, he noted.

The Bar of Old Men

The Bar of Young Men

The Bar of Villians

'What makes ours so different?' he wondered. 'Boromir definitely belongs in the Bar of Old Men,' he smirked to himself. 'Oh, if he knew what I was thinking…'

Finally, he seemed to be approaching the end of the alley. There was a bright light, and he could smell the earth. He stopped, and closed his eyes; remember the beautiful woods of Lothlorien, of the Lord and Lady of Light, and the tall Mallorn trees. He began to run toward the light.

He reached and it and a wide smile grew on his face. It was Lothlorien. He breathed deep the sweet-smelling air. And a tear came to his eye; he was home.

Before he could take two steps in, a voice arose from behind him.

"Haldir, why are you here?" the voice was unearthly, and unsettling, but not unkind. It was deep, but was a woman's voice. Haldir knew instantly who it was. He turned and bowed to the Lady of Light, Galadriel.

"My Lady," he said, bowing deeply, till his knees touched the soft green grass.

"I asked you, Haldir of Lorien, why are you here?" Haldir looked up, and did something he dared not to have done before. He gazed upon Galadriel. She was as she had always been: clothed in a long white dress, and her golden hair pulled back in an ornate braid. Her crown of white jewels was set upon her head, and contrasted with her deep sapphire eyes which showed deep wisdom and understanding of things long passed. Haldir took time to answer her.

"I left that awful place." He said, thinking back to the dim bar, filled with sorrowful souls.

"That does explain why you are here." She said quietly, looking deep into Haldir's eyes, not permitting herself to obtain the information she needed. She slowly closed her eyes, then opened them. Haldir was silent. He stood up from his bow, and swallowed. "If it displeases you that I am here, then I shall leave." He put his head down, and waited for Galadriel to tell him to leave.

"Haldir," she lifted his chin with her soft hand, on it was still the Ring of Adamant, not shining like a frosty star, but glinting in away that still showed its power, no matter how diminished. "Out of all my servants, you were one of the most loyal. I will not turn you away from this place, for this was your home, as much as it was mine."

Haldir noted how she used 'was' instead of 'is'. "Then I may stay, my Lady?" he inquired.

Galadriel looked at Haldir. "You may." She said slowly. "But first, I would like you to consider your friends." Haldir thought of his friends here in Lorien. There honestly weren't many. He was always busy; he had never had a wife or children. There had been Legolas, and Elladan and Elrohir, Arwen when they were younger, and of course Aragorn. But he had none in Lothlorien.

He hung his head once more. "I have no friends here," he said. "But I wish to stay."

"I do not speak of friends here in Middle Earth, Haldir." She said. "Think instead of the friends you have earned." Haldir thought for a moment. "I do not know of what you speak." He said slowly. "I do not understand."

"No?" she asked. "What of the Steward's Son? And of that man, you do not know him as well, but he is good man. Sirius, his name is. You may not have noticed, Haldir," she said. "But where he hails, his name is a constellation of stars, a dog, which here in Middle Earth; we refer to as the constellation of Huan."

Haldir thought for a moment. "You are right, as always." He said. He suddenly felt a pang of remorse of leaving Boromir and Sirius in that putrid place. "Do you mind then, if I go back?" he asked.

The Lady of Light laughed, and her voice was as merry as the first rain of spring. "You may, Haldir, and may the light of Lothlorien shine upon your heart always." And with that, Haldir bowed once more and departed.

Galadriel stood for awhile, and watched as Haldir departed, then quietly to herself, she said "And let Sirius be your Huan." Then she turned and vanished deep within the Mallorn tree forest.

Haldir turned and walked out of the forest and it soon turned into the alley. He glanced back, and saw that Lothlorien was still there, a golden beacon. 'I could still go back,' he thought, but he shook the thought from his head. 'I must find a way for all of us to leave. I will not just leave them.'

Before he knew it, he was back at the bar. He took a deep breath, and placed his hand on the tarnished brass knob. He opened the door and he could hear the sounds of the bar; the clinking of glasses, the loud talking, and of course, Boromir could be heard over all, he smiled to himself. No one noticed as he slipped quietly into the bar. Boromir was raving at the Peanut Guy. "Why won't you answer me!" he growled, scaring the wits out of the poor fellow. "Where did Haldir go?"

"Oh, Boromir, I didn't know you cared!" Haldir said, walking up behind Boromir. Boromir froze, and turned around. "Haldir!" he said, dare I say, happily. "Where were you, I was worried- I mean, I really didn't care, but Sirius over there," here he lowered his voice "Worried out of his mind." Haldir nodded. "I can imagine." Boromir nodded.

"But, where were you?" he asked Haldir as they walked over the bar.

"Haldir?" Sirius asked as Haldir slid onto the bar seat next to him, and Boromir sat on the other side.

"I'm back." was all he would say.

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A/N: If you do not understand, the end of the alley is going to be a sort of heaven for all who get there. For Haldir it was Lorien, but for Sirius it might be back at Hogwarts with the Marauders, and for Boromir it may be his childhood in Gondor with his mother. That sort of thing.

Also, for those of you who have not read the Silmarillion, Huan is a hound (that talks!) and helps Beren get a Silmaril so he could then marry Luthien.