A/N: Sorry for the wait, but real life has been getting in the way. It does that. Exams are coming, and I'm stressing a little.
The title's something of a misnomer, as this story isn't quite over, and I've started work on a sequel, tentatively called 'From Out of the Shadows', though the title is far from permanent.
In which there is fluff, sweetness and humour. Enjoy!
Two months passed after what was later dubbed 'The Dance of Shadows'. Harry and Ginny spent most of the first two weeks in their shared bedroom, making up, as they called it, 'for lost time'. No one, especially not Ron, particularly wished to enquire as to the details. Hermione had changed Eomer and Pippin's hair back after threats to Harry had failed miserably and desperate entreaties to Ron, Sirius and Ginny had been met with laughter and fallen upon deaf ears.
Aragorn had heard that Arwen was coming to Minas Tirith to marry him and consequently spent a lot of his rare spare time pacing and looking slightly nervous in the manner of most men who face the greatest day of their lives. Of course, most men weren't going to be crowned King of a powerful realm vastly weakened by a long and life sapping war of attrition. Nor had most men waited over fifty years for that day. As Harry said in a carefully timed manner to Theodred in one of the better taverns, 'that's a lot of time for a man to have no comfort but his hand', causing Theodred to perform a spectacular spit take, much to Harry's utter glee and Boromir's chagrin, as Boromir had been sitting opposite Theodred at the time.
Boromir had grumbled about the paperwork that came with being Steward, but done it with much of his brothers help/nagging.
Faramir had helped his brother with his duties as Steward and carefully courted Eowyn with her uncle, brother and cousin's collective wholehearted approval, and Harry, Sirius and Ron's benevolently dispensed advice and amusement at his occasional nervousness.
Sirius had spent a lot of time walking, talking and singing with Eirian, under the watchful eye of her brother who was alternately pursuing his own young lady in a light hearted, banter filled flirtation that had Hermione muttering about 'Much Ado About Nothing' and exploring the implications of his combined Maia and Wizard heritage with Gandalf and Hermione. He had so far learned to consciously use his inherent, if rather limited, Maia powers, including greatly enhanced speed, agility, reflexes and strength, farspeaking (solely to those of his blood and with magical/Maia blood, meaning that he could communicate with Elladan and Elrohir with a great deal of effort due to their small amount of Maia blood, but not Legolas) and what Harry had jokingly dubbed as his 'moth magnet' light emitting abilities, and unusual magical powers, which seemed to draw on the same power source as his other abilities.
This meant that he could perform wandless magic with relative ease (which had intrigued Hermione no end), but the spells were often overcharged and hard to control. So far he could levitate a feather, create a ball of light, set things on fire, create weak barriers (which was as much instinct as anything else) and unlock doors (making he, Sirius, Ron and Harry partners in pranking), but any attempts to make his hair return to its original colour had so far been in vain. Eirian had yet to show any overtly supernatural abilities, but it was noted that her rate of healing, the almost liquid grace of her movements and her singing voice of all things bore closer examination. So far, however, it was clear that the Maia and magical blood ran strongest in her brother.
Ron and Hermione had spent a lot of time looking round the city, and the local bandits stayed well away from them after Hermione had hexed one with the word 'Coward' emblazed on his face in spots, and 'Thief' on another.
Théoden had spent the two months advising Aragorn on dealing with unruly courtiers and refining the former Ranger's grasp of court politics, which grew in leaps and bounds, as well as organising the rebuilding of his war torn nation from Minas Tirith.
And Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam spent much of their time resting, which to Hobbits meant eating utterly vast amounts of food and not doing much. This inevitably led to much teasing about the Hobbits getting fat. None of this, however, was directed at Frodo, who was still somewhat frail from his ordeal, and occasionally woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Along with his troubled looking blue eyes, which Harry had idly suggested he trademark, lead to almost Mrs Weasley levels of mothering from Ginny, Hermione and Eowyn (the latter when she thought no one was looking). The presence of several elves, a Maia and two part Maiar mitigated the troubles somewhat, and everyone in the citadel slept rather more easily as the light they emitted drove away much of the lingering darkness.
The afternoon before the day of Aragorn's coronation arrived, just as sentry reports filtered back, saying that the party from Rivendell and Lothlorien was due the next day. Harry had gone out to meet them, cheerily saying that he didn't want people to be distracted by a supposedly dead person among the wedding guests. His reception had been effusive to say the least.
Elrond was riding slightly ahead of the party, wrapped up in his thoughts, and one thought in particular was running around inside his head. His daughter was going to her doom. A doom she had embraced, but a doom none the less. The mere thought of her dying and never seeing her again tore at him. But she would be loved, that he could console himself with. While he wished it wasn't so, the love Aragorn and Arwen had for one another was painfully reminiscent of Beren and Luthien, that was obvious. It was not only for her that he sorrowed, but for Harry.
Harry, the young man who had fought the good fight so hard for so long, the young man who had been unstinting in his loyalty throughout. Aragorn could have had no better ally in the tumult that was sure to follow the fall of Sauron, a steadfast supporter whose mere name struck fear into the hearts of all who would seek to harm Aragorn or Arwen. But Harry was dead, killed in the battle on the plains of Morannon at the moment of victory. He could easily imagine the pain that his friends and lover were going through. It was the same pain he had felt when Elros and Gil-Galad had died and Celebrian had had to go to Valinor, even worse for the fact that Harry had passed beyond the circles of the world to an uncertain future.
Arwen had wept tears for her friend Ginny's loss and for her own. Harry had, soon after realising the closeness between Aragorn and Arwen, privately sworn to Elrond, Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir that he would give his life if necessary to keep Aragorn safe. All the elves had felt the of sincerity in his tone, and the presence that Elrond associated with the Herald of Manwe and Oathkeeper of Iluvatar was very definitely present, albeit very discretely. The presence had soon moved towards the cellars, and since Glorfindel had been very drunk later that evening, as well as several empty bottles of Dorwinion wine on the cellar floor, Elrond could only assume that they had been catching up and reminiscing about old times.
Elrond blinked and woke from the reverie at a loud and familiar sounding crack. Not more than forty yards away was… no, it could not be, yet it was. As Elrond the Wise's jaw dropped for the first time in an age, Harry, that wonderful, impossible man, grinning like mad and dressed in red and gold finery, spoke in a very familiar cheeky tone. "So, did you miss me?"
Elrond dismounted, and closed the distance between them in a matter of moments. He looked at Harry for a long moment, then silently pulled him into a fierce hug.
Harry bore the rib cracking hug for some time, then said firmly, "Elrond. Elrond. Elrond! I may be a resurrected wizard, but I do need to breath."
"How?" Elrond breathed in wonderment, holding Harry at arm's length.
"Long story short, I died, Lord Namo sent me back, I crashed the wake. Apparently I have work still to do, and Gandalf said something cryptic about I and my line which he claims isn't a prophecy. I was sent to meet you to prevent any major shocks during the solemn undertaking of a marriage service or coronation." Harry replied casually, then added, "And I think I'd better say hello to everyone else."
As he said that, Glorfindel came running up at full pelt and clasped Harry's arm in a warrior's greeting, then pulling him into a hug.
"It seems Balrog slayers are now no longer the ones with the monopoly on true resurrection." Glorfindel said with a grin.
Harry shrugged and said in a bantering tone, "I'm just that wonderful."
"Or Lord Namo couldn't stand the sight of you and kicked you back here."
"Considering what I've heard about you, I reckon that's why you were sent back. You and Finrod apparently left a trail of mayhem and destruction wherever you went."
"Was not."
"Was so."
"Was not."
"Was so."
"Was not."
"Was so."
Elrond rolled his eyes despairingly as the childish argument was broken up by the arrival of Arwen, who Harry swept a low and surprisingly courtly bow towards.
"Aragorn is going to think he has passed into the heavens when he sees you, my lady Evenstar. I can only think of one who compares, and I freely admit that I am biased on that score." Harry said, with smooth gallantry. Clearly he had learnt how to speak in a courtly manner at some point, or he had always known and just couldn't be bothered to use it. The latter, Elrond thought, was distinctly more likely.
"It is good to see you alive, Harry Potter. I assume that your love found you safe and well?" Arwen said with a smile.
"She did, and found me very surprised at her appearance in Edoras. I must confess that I first thought that Eomer had spiked my wine. Again." Harry said a faint smile on his face.
"Your talent for beating the odds has, it seems, not atrophied, Lord Potter." Galadriel said with a smile and a dry tone, having drifted forward alongside Celeborn, who bowed his head to Harry with a quick smile.
"Something for which I am supremely thankful, My Lady." Harry said, bowing.
"Ginny has him very well trained, succeeding where all others have failed," Glorfindel muttered to Elrond, who suppressed a smirk with difficulty.
"Anyway, I take it you are all well?" Harry inquired, receiving a chorus of affirmatives.
"Excellent, then I'll be off. I have to make sure Sirius doesn't try and turn Eomer into a canary again." Harry said, bowed once more, and disapparated.
There was silence for a moment, and then Glorfindel said, "Is it just me or does life take a profound turn for the extremely weird when Harry's around?"
"No, it's not just you." Elrond said slowly, watching the space Harry had just vacated.
Harry strode back into the citadel, beaming sunnily at the cowering and bandaged guard who he had previously used as a battering ram, causing the man to tremble slightly. Being shoved headfirst through a wooden door does little good to one's self confidence. The other guards just stood stonily, tracking him with half an eye, then when he had passed, looking with a mix of sympathy and amusement at their terrified colleague.
"They're coming, and boy are you going to be happily surprised when Arwen arrives." Harry said as he entered the council chamber, interrupting a discussion on taxes and annual crop yields that had been boring Aragorn to death. The new King, barely hiding his relief, dismissed the councillors, who looked a bit annoyed as they rolled up their scrolls, shut their books and left.
"How is she?" Aragorn asked, barely able to contain his excitement.
"She is well, beautiful as ever and looking forward to arriving here. Galadriel is… as she always is, mysterious and smiling. Elrond has something of a shadow over him, knowing that his daughter has made the choice of the Peredhil, and not the one he wished, though I sense his great pride in your success and his acceptance." Harry reported with a smile.
"Good, good…" Aragorn ran his hands through his hair as he paced in small circles.
Harry contained a grin, and said good naturedly, "Aragorn. Calm down. You're planning a wedding, not your own execution."
Aragorn cast a harried look at him, and continued pacing. Harry sighed, realising nothing he could possibly say could do any good, and muttered the incantation for a cheering charm, then strode out.
"The King's suddenly in a very good mood. If you lot want a pay rise or something, now's probably the best time to ask for it," Harry said to the guards on his way out. They just stared at him as he disappeared in mid stride with a loud crack.
A scant moment later, he appeared inside his and Ginny's shared chambers.
"Honey, I'm home!" He said with a jokey grin.
"And what time do you call this?" Ginny said, emerging from their shared bedchamber and playing along.
Harry paused for thought, then said, "Do you want the cheesy answer or what will inevitably follow?"
Ginny just rolled her eyes and kissed him. After a long and passion kiss, they surfaced for air.
"Really Harry, with all this carrying on, people will begin to talk!" Ginny said with a cheeky smile.
"Bah, let them talk. Half of them love me and half can't stand me, and all wish they had this much fun," Harry said, re-engaging the kiss and leading them both back to bed.
The Coronation
"Now come the days of the King," Gandalf said, placing the simple - yet weighted with history - winged crown of the Kings of Gondor on Aragorn's head.
Then he said quietly, to Aragorn, as his protégé looked up and smiled at him, "May they be blessed,"
Aragorn looked up at the crowd, standing on the topmost level of Minas Tirith restored, who immediately began to clap and cheer for the King. He looked to his right, and saw the Fellowship arrayed in a line, clapping hardest and cheering loudest of them all. He smiled softly, pride in heart. His friends, standing to watch his, excuse the pun, crowning moment, all of whom would, and had, gone through blood, fire and death itself for each other. He was truly blessed to have such friends as these.
Boromir stepped forward, went down on one knee, presenting the rod of stewardship, and said formally, "The last Steward of Gondor begs leave to give up his office."
Aragorn took the rod from Boromir, then handed it back, saying, "I do not give you leave, Steward of Gondor. I will need a strong Steward in times to come, especially as said Steward is one of my dearest friends." Quietly, he added, "There is no man I would rather have by my side. Your parents would be proud of you."
"Thank you, My Lord," Boromir said quietly, a wealth of emotion in his voice. Aragorn smiled down at him, then looked up and directly at Harry, who suddenly got the sense that something was being sprung upon him. The evil grins the Fellowship and the rest of his friends were directing at him only confirmed this.
"I would also like to invest a court Wizard. Would Harry Potter please step forward?" Aragorn said, face grave, but with a distinctly Dumbledore-esque twinkle in his eyes. Harry stepped forward, and bowed gravely. His face was a careful mask, but his eyes said clearly, 'I am getting you for this'.
"Harry Potter, I request that you accept the post of Royal Wizard of Gondor, and this symbol of office," Aragorn said, beckoning to Legolas and Gimli, who brought forth a dark holly wood staff, carefully engraved with runes and sigils, a bright emerald set in the top. Written in Sindarin down the side was 'I am wielded by the man who walks in the shadows to protect the light, the Darkness Slayer. Not all that is dark is evil, for light cannot exist without shadow.' As Harry numbly took the staff, he noticed a space carefully designed to fit his wand perfectly. He clipped his wand in, and was rewarded by golden and silver light flooding the designs and lettering on the staff, the emerald lighting up to gasps of awe and wonder from the crowd.
"Relax. I won't require you to spend all that much time at Court. Even if you do not accept, that does not diminish the slightest bit in my eyes," Aragorn said softly, then added thoughtfully, "But Gimli may kill you if you don't, he, Legolas and Ron spent ages on that staff. Apparently Ron has a real feel for such work."
Harry mock pouted. "Can't I just take the staff?"
"No. Take the staff, take the job," Aragorn said with concealed grin.
Harry sighed ruefully. "You just had to do this in public, didn't you?"
"Yes," Aragorn said, fighting to keep his lips twitching in smirk.
"Fine. I'll play Merlin to your Arthur. And thank god there's no Morgana or Lancelot around," Harry muttered with a smile. Aragorn restrained a grin, having heard about King Arthur and Merlin, usually in conjunction with Emrys pestering Harry and his friends about his grandparents.
"I accept this great honour, and I swear to serve you and your heirs faithfully, Lord King, until I breathe my last," Harry said solemnly, eyes twinkling with mirth as he inwardly plotted revenge.
"And I swear to keep faith with you, and reward your loyalty as well as it deserves. Rise, Lord Moristar Morinhetar, Royal Wizard of Gondor. Rise, Black Wizard, Darkness Slayer," Aragorn said, inwardly slightly worried and very amused at the look in Harry's eyes, ignoring the whispers that circulated through the crowd at the title conferred on Harry.
"This day does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace," Aragorn said as Harry retreated to his place, mock glaring at his friends who were all grinning broadly and dimming the lights on the staff. Legolas and Gimli slipped round to join the Fellowship, also grinning, and were rewarded with similar glaring. The resultant cheers were deafening.
Then Aragorn did something utterly extraordinary. He began to sing. And sing beautifully. The song, in Sindarin, washed over the crowd who stood in awed silence. No King in history had sung for his people, not that it bothered anyone, quite the opposite. When he had finished, he walked down the white paved path as the entire crowd bowed their heads in respect as he past, great and small alike.
Aragorn noted particular people in the crowd as he passed. Faramir, the new Prince of Ithilien and Eowyn, who had a large betting pool, run by Sirius, on when he would pop the question. Ginny had a bet that she would be the one to ask, and Aragorn suspected that she might win. Since Harry wasn't betting against her, this was quite likely, though that could be to do with the fact that she had him wrapped round her little finger.
King Théoden, and Princes Eomer and Theodred all stepped forward as one, Princess Lothiriel and Lady Morwen stepping forward with them, respect strong in all their eyes.
Then the people he wanted to see the most stepped forward. A procession of elves, dressed in silver and white, stepped forward, Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn looking on proudly as Arwen stepped through looking calm and utterly serene as she proceeded up towards him, though this façade soon fractured, her love shining through.
They looked at each other for a moment, then kissed deeply and gently. What neither of the couple noticed amid the cheers, was Harry quietly singing, "Here comes the bride…"
Ginny looked up at him, and with a grin said casually, "Speaking of which… would you, Harry James Potter, make me the happiest woman in the world, and marry me?"
Harry looked stunned, then kissed her furiously and said, tears of happiness rolling down his face, cupping her face and said, "Of course, a million times yes!"
"Good, now kiss me you dolt," Ginny said impishly. Harry, grinning like a loon, complied. And the crowd was cheering so hard that no one noticed the new Royal Wizard making out with his soon to be wife. They separated, and Harry whispered hoarsely, "Announce it at the reception?"
Ginny nodded, and they turned back to where the Royal couple were walking towards four very short and nervous looking hobbits, dressed in their old clothes, who began to bow before Aragorn forestalled with a raise of his hand and said quietly and with utter sincerity, "My friends ... you bow to no-one."
And he and Arwen dropped to one, everyone else following suit. Merry and Pippin's faces just screamed, 'No one is ever going to believe us back home', Sam looked a bit uncomfortable, and Frodo… there was weariness there, but happiness as tears sprang to his eyes, holding onto Sam's shoulder.
That night, at the reception dinner for the coronation and the impending marriage of Aragorn and Arwen, before the dinner itself, Harry sought out Ron and asked, "Ron, I want to ask you something."
"Fire away mate," Ron said laconically.
Harry took a deep breath. This took far more courage than fighting monsters. "Ron, normally I would ask your parents, but they're not here. Do I have your permission to marry Ginny?"
Ron looked at him, then grinned widely, and said, "Of course, if you're both certain. You do realize that you're going to have to have two ceremonies?"
"I'm certain, and Ginny asked me in the middle of the coronation. Eh?"
"Mum will kill you both if she doesn't get the chance to organise your wedding," Ron said dryly as he reached for a goblet of wine.
Harry snorted, and said, "Thanks, Ron. Could you keep it quiet for the moment?"
Ron smiled after his best friend as he wended his way towards Aragorn, who did not look in the least perturbed by Harry's request to make an announcement. Ginny quickly made her way across to Harry, smiling widely, kissing him on the cheek.
"What was Harry asking about?" Hermione asked with a puzzled frown, having been chatting to Eowyn and Faramir. Ron just grinned, and she huffed at him and rolled her eyes.
Aragorn made his way to the stage assembled for the dinner, and stood, Harry and Ginny joining him. Everyone quickly quieted down, and looked up expectantly. Galadriel, Arwen and Elrond, all of whom having various methods of knowing exactly what was coming, wore knowing smiles.
"Harry and Ginny have informed me that they would like to make an announcement," Aragorn said quietly, and gestured to Harry and Ginny, who stepped forward.
"Hello, all of you. I would just like to say… Ginny and I are engaged to be married. She asked me, actually. That's all," Harry said, both he and Ginny grinning and blushing in concert as deafening cheers rose from the crowd before them, and Harry produced a pair of rings from one of his pockets, both gold inlaid with mithril and set with a single ruby each, to further cheers as he put one on Ginny's finger, then his own and kissed her passionately.
Hermione stared at Ron, then grinned at the happy couple, who were now accepting congratulations, Aragorn and Arwen being the first, closely followed by Sirius who grabbed his godson in a bear hug and clapped him on the back, laughing for joy. Tonight, all was sweetness and light. Tonight, everyone got their happy ending.
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed that one. As for the next chapter… All I will say is that prophecies are an absolute bitch to write.
Please click the moderately sized box and make my heart a little happier as I come up to exams.