Greetings! This chapter is a little shorter than I wanted it to be, but I thought you all would enjoy reading this rather than waiting for me to write it. Anyway, I put a poll up on my profile about this story. If you are willing to participate I would be very grateful. I'd like your opinions about what kind of elfling Harry should be. Should he have the mindset of a child or an adult. Also, should I carry over Harry's Master of Death title into Middle Earth, keep it in the Wizarding World because of the time travel, or do a small hybrid of both?
If you don't want to navigate to my profile page feel free to comment below if you want to.
Happy reading!
Elrond Peredhil, Lord of Rivendell, cantered down the road, wincing at every rise and fall of his horse's gait. Elven horses were bred for speed and agility. They could cross the roughest terrain without jostling their riders to the slightest. Now, for the sake of the precious bundle resting in his arms he was seriously rethinking that old sentiment.
The elfling in his arms was still and motionless, but wide awake. Green orbs stared upwards at the bright blue sky above. It was startling how little the elfling moved or reacted to pain. For the last two days the child remained in the same catatonic state.
Every night, Elrond would change his bandages and carefully clean his various wounds. The angry red burns nearly covered the elfling's entire body, encompassing his back and legs. The child's small hands and fingers were heavily bandaged in addition to the burns covering his neck. In all, it was a ghastly sight.
Glorfindel and the fellow elves went out of their ways to make sure the elfing was comfortable. If the little one had any complaints, they never knew about it, considering the child remained mute. No sound passed his lips; not in pain, distress, comfort or conversation.
A thin sheet of rain fell down, spattering the small party of elves. Their cloaks were drenched in the rain.
Legolas pulled his cloak closer around him and fought the urge to shiver with the cold. It took about five days to reach Rivendell on horseback. It'd started raining the morning they left three days ago and it hadn't stopped.
The Prince of Mirkwood scowled. He was cold, wet, and in a bad mood. Five Silvan elves surrounded him as they rode down the path to Rivendell. That was five warriors that were needed to defend his home and were traveling to Rivendell because of him.
Ada had made it quite clear; Legolas had no choice in the matter. His father and the King commanded him to leave. In a literal sense, he'd been banished from his own home until he returned healthy and whole.
He shifted his dark grey cloak further around his shoulders. Rivendell was only an hour away.
Mandos watched silently. Harry Potter was leaving the Misty Mountains with the elves of Rivendell, while at the same time, the Prince of Mirkwood was nearing the hidden valley's borders. Fifteen years, the amount of time the young child had remained a captive of the orcs deep within the darkest recesses of the Misty Mountains.
The Doomsman turned away in frustration...or was it self-loathing and shame? He was the Valar of the Dead, the Doomsman, but never before had he felt so hollow. So... dark and dirty. For the last fifteen years it was all he could do to move away from his wife's tapestries, depicting Harry Potter's fate.
Death had watched Harry Potter closer than any human he ever had before. It was safe to say he knew the child better than the boy knew himself. Harry was brave, solemn yet funny, stiff but also wary. The former human was an enigma, for sure. Most of all, Harry had a heart of gold.
The knot in his chest lessened considerably the more distance Elrond Peredel put between the Valar's chosen one and those infernal pits he'd been rescued from. Mandos did know how, but he was going to make this right by the poor child, he swore it.
"Brother? Are you still watching?" Nienna's lilting voice pierced the silence of Mandos' quarters.
"Ai. He's been rescued and is traveling to Imladris as we speak. They should be under the protection of the Valley in three days, given his injuries."
Nienna nodded, her eyes skipping over to the tapestry of a small elfling in the arms of an Elf Lord. If she paid close enough attention, she could clearly see the moving silver threads falling to the bottom of the tapestry, depicting the unrelenting rain. A cloak had been thrown over the young elf, protecting him from the falling water. Harry's bright green eyes were closed.
Her heart broke again. Like Mandos, she'd nearly torn herself apart with guilt for the young child to have to suffer such a gruesome fifteen years. Why did Manwё interfere? The poor child deserved peace and comfort, not torture and torment!
"Manwё better have a good reason for this." Mandos' chilly voice sent shivers down her spine. This must be the voice that caused mortals to quiver in their boots.
"Brother-" Nienna started. She knew what would happen if her brother started down this path. When he got angry... He wasn't destructive just, scary when he lost control.
"Don't even start Nienna! You know how wrong this is! We broke our promise, all because he decided to interfere. Harry Potter has been tortured for the last fifteen years all because of Manwё. Let us not forget the fact Sauron the Deceiver has turned his attention to the boy. At this very moment, Harry is in peril of losing his soul and being bound in darkness. I won't stand by it, sister. Why? What is so important that the Valar would allow such a true soul to be chained in pure darkness?"
"I don't know." Nienna confessed softly, knowing her brother didn't hear her, too engrossed in his rant.
"Harry Potter is a child of man no longer. The instant he agreed to the bargain he changed to become one of the Eldar." Mandos paced the floor, his magic vibrated through the still room so thick it was almost touchable. "Are we not bound to protect our first born? Did we not all take oaths to protect every being and creature within our reach?"
"Ai, we are." Nienna said. Mandos stopped mid-step and looked at her in surprise. Nienna would have laughed if the situation had been any different.
Mandos was a powerful member of the Valar, and one of the most knowledgeable. It wasn't often her brother was caught unprepared. Obviously, he must have thought she would disagreed with him.
Instead of collapsing into giggles, she purposefully walked closer to the Valar of the Dead. Mandos was a good two feet taller than she was, and she peered up at him.
"I do know, brother. My heart aches at the thought of the child day and night. His fate has been long and hard since the day he was born. His is not the life of ease and comfort. Harry Potter is a warrior, a leader, and a hero. He has experienced hate, love, distain, envy and despair. Everyone he ever loved has been torn from him leaving him standing alone; although uncowed nonetheless. I know not, why Manwё declared Harry must suffer as he is, but I do know Manwё does all thing with purpose. Harry Potter was never an average wizard, and he will not be an average elf either."
Coming up next... Arrivals in Rivendell
P.S. Don't forget about the polls! ;)