Harry Potter and the New Home

by ThePenandtheSword98

With muggles on the brink of discovering the magical world & with an ominous prophecy predicting the extinction of magic as a result, Harry must lead his people to a new world to avoid extinction. But the road won't be easy as they have to establish themselves in their new home, and learn more about the same least they be destroyed by the terrifying forces within. Rating may change

4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: FIRST MEETINGS

November 8th, TA1980

Harry woke up with an increasingly familiar presence laying on his chest. The last few months since they had begun dating had been a whirlwind. Given that for years they'd spent nearly every waking minute together, neither of them acknowledging their growing feelings for each other, it was no surprise to Harry how quickly they were moving along. Already he couldn't imagine a life without Daphne (although it could be argued that he'd already been there long before they actually started dating). But they still had to be discrete. While they hadn't gone all the way yet, if the wrong person found them in bed together they both would loose much respect in the eyes of the magical world. While the muggle world on earth had grown increasingly loose, in the sense that it was acceptable, and even expected to have sex before marriage, one of the traditions the magical world had long since held onto, and refused to give up, was that sex was to be reserved between a man and his wife, and that concepts such a divorce did not exist in the magical world-except in contractual marriages where one party had breached the terms of the contract by dishonoring the families involved.

Still, Harry had never slept as good as he did with Daphne laying in his arms, thus he felt no rush to get up. Or at least he didn't until Ron burst into his room in their tent. "Harry, we've got a major problem." Harry looked his best friend over. Ron was wearing a dragonhide vest, a goblin-made sword at his waist. The sword had belonged to the Potter family, but Harry had given it to Ron as a thank you gift for everything the redhead had done for him the last three years. But while people wearing swords and armor wasn't unusual in the last week since Harry had made the announcement that they lived in a feudal society, Ron rarely wore both unless he was training with Harry which usually occurred only in the afternoons. "What is it?"

"Our scouts were on their way back when they reported a large host of men and what appears to be elves, not house elves, but full size elves the kind you find in muggle fairy tales, marching towards us. They will be here within a week."

Harry threw the covers off himself, making sure that they still covered Daphne who had somehow remained asleep or was feigning sleep and listening in. "Summon everyone to an emergency meeting. We're going to announce the results of the election now. The voting was finished last night and the votes have been tallied. We were waiting till this evening so that everyone could celebrate the results with a dinner feast but this is a situation for our new King or Queen to deal with." Ron nodded, and spun around as Harry quickly threw on some trousers and a shirt, laying his own basilisk hide armor (this one made from the hide of the basilisk that he had slain when he was twelve), and he strapped the Potter family sword to his waist. While both he and Neville had claim to the sword of Gryffindor, it had been decided that neither would claim it because of the venom that had impregnated the blade. Instead it, along with other artefacts from their history, would be placed under a twenty-four hour guard in the restored Hogwarts where people would be able to visit it, but it would remain safe where they would know where it was if they ever needed it's horcrux killing ability again.

Harry marched out of the tent that he knew everyone was calling the power tent since it housed the major players from the blood war-Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna and the shocking twist of Daphne-her position as Harry's spy in Slytherin had allowed a lot of students to escape punishment, and had been instrumental in finding out which families truly supported Voldemort, which ones were either forced to or were too scared to go against him, the neutral families and the few truly light families. As such in the aftermath and the cleanup her knowledge had been the deciding factor for Harry in what families were targeted to get trials before leaving (mostly those who would have life sentences in Azkaban and thus would be left behind on Earth) and those who would receive little to no punishment.

But Harry pushed all of this to the back of his mind. He hadn't even had breakfast yet, nor finished preparing his brief for whomever the new leader of their people would be, but here he was, fixing to allow the oath-sworn vote recorders to announce the results of an election that he hoped would allow him to place the burden of leadership onto someone else, fading out of the public eye. In the three years since his defeat of Voldemort, Harry may have gotten used to his position as a public figure-and speeches-but he would never be entirely comfortable with being expected to lead hundreds of thousands of their people into the future.

"Thank you all for gathering so quickly. Earlier this morning, the scouts reported something that has caused us to need to know who won the election so that the situation may be discussed with our new leader. Given that we had our vote recorders swear oaths to be truthful in recording the vote, to tell no one who voted for whom, and to not allow the results of the election leak before the public announcement, we are here today to do just that. So without further ado, Professor Flitwick was selected to lead the vote recorders, and it is he who will announce our new king or queen. So, Professor Flitwick if you would please?" Harry stepped off the platform to allow the small professor to have full center stage.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. First allow me to thank everyone for entrusting me with this monumental task. Not since the time of King Arthur of Camelot has the magical world been as united as it has been now. One man is responsible for that, so please a round of applause for Mr. Potter for his outstanding leadership and dedication to the betterment of all in the Second Blood War, and the last three years." Harry barely managed to control his automatic reaction of trying to hide away from the crowd, simply accepting their praise with a nod, grateful that soon someone else would have all the attention on them.

"And now, our first King is…" someone handed Flitwick a small piece of parchment with the name on it. "With Ninety three percent of the vote, our King is Harry Potter!" Cheers abounded and this time Harry didn't manage to control his reaction. While he had almost expected it, he had hoped that someone else would be chosen to lead their people. But now, that task was his-not for the duration of a war, not for a few years through trying times, but for his life. A push from behind got him moving towards the platform again.

"I thank you all for trusting me to lead us. I swear to you now, that while I may now be royalty, I shall never forget that it was you who made me so. That I will always endeavor to lead you and protect you to the best of my abilities. Now, there is work to be done, so I'll end there. Tonight, at the feast that the announcement was originally scheduled for, I will accept the crown the Goblins have so kindly crafted for us to have and will announce the first of those who shall be raised to the status of nobility. In the meantime, please return to your daily tasks."

Harry stepped off the podium to the applause, allowing himself no time to ponder the changes his life had taken ever since he learned of the prophecy the night that Sirius died so long ago. He quickly rushed to the command tent with his trusted council quickly following suit.

"Ron, you were the one to read the scouts report, tell us what you know."

"As you wish Sire," Ron grinned at the dirty look Harry sent him for the cheek. "The scouts from the West report a host potentially as large as ten thousand or more moving on us. They rather suspect that that group was just the advance group. They were coming from the South West, and they report another large group coming from the North East. One that is filled with what appears to be elves of the sort you'd find in muggle fairy tales. We don't know anything about the people or creatures that roam this world. While we can probably muster a force that outnumbers the approaching army, they may very well have weapons or powers on their side that we are not aware of. Therefore it is my recommendation that we call up every single able-bodied person we can. We spend the week or so we have before their arrival training them to be able to fight. Issue whatever weapons we can, and just do our best to ensure that they will at least stop to talk before beginning a fight." Ron finished with a sigh. Harry understood the sentiment. Ron, Harry and Hermione had been fighting for the wizarding world in one form or the other since they were eleven trying to stop Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone. They were tired of fighting.

"We should definitely train as many as we can to fight. The problem is how our magic reacts within this world. The natural magic here is more Wilde, and we've already seen that it has some affect on our standard spells causing some to be extremely weak and others to be supercharged. The unspeakables need more time to investigate the affects of this magic on our own and vice versa." Hermione spoke up. While combat was not her forte, research was, which is why she was the one leading the team investigating how the magic of earth reacted to this world.

"I agree. I also don't think we should risk having everyone at the potential center of a clash with powers we know nothing about. According to the map from the scouts, there is a large field here," Neville pointed to a field South-west of where Hogwarts was located. "This makes the most sense from a logical point of view for them to assemble together to march on us here. We should meet them there." With that statement Ron and Neville started arguing the strategic importance that having their backs against a mountain range provided them. The argument continued until Harry raised a hand for silence.

"You are both right. We need all the wands and swords we can get, and the protection of these mountains at our back can't be overstated when facing an enemy we know nothing about. But not allowing an unknown potentially hostile army so close to where our non-combatants shall be is also not something we can dismiss outright. However, in this case, given that we have no time to set up solid defenses, nor time to truly train a large number of people, we must meet them at a place where the advantage lies with us, but also doesn't place non-combatant in the line of fire. Therefore we shall meet them at the beginning of the fields, where we have the advantage of a hill that should allow us to see any potential flanking maneuvers. Ron, Neville, Kingsley, begin rounding up everyone who can fight, and some of those who can be easily trained. Luna, I want you and Hagrid to round up every Hippogriff, Griffin, Abraxan, Aethonan, Granian, and muggle horse that you can. I want Buckbeak set to the side for me to ride. I doubt he will allow any other to use him. How many trained fighters can we muster on such short notice?"

"At best guess? Fifty thousand. Though that number is probably a lot lower, that would be my guess for how many we muster short notice, and train and equip to fight in the timeframe we have. We can probably muster thirty two thousand Aurors, Hitwizards and Magical LEP members, including those who were in training, retired, or medically discharged. If the goblins stand with us, that's another twenty thousand to give us fifty-two thousand or so." Kinglsey spoke up.

"And how many mounts did we bring?" Harry asked Luna next.

Maybe two thousand. None of which have been trained to handle the chaos of combat, and thus would likely not be of any use in combat. We do have a small selection of horses, a combination of magical and non magical horses, we bought off the Chinese which are suitable for combat. The hippogriffs would be exceptionally dangerous to bring into combat, with the exception of Buckbeak as he is well trained, and extremely familiar with you already."

"Very well. Will the goblins stand with us Professor Flitwick?" The half-goblin cupped his chin pensively. "Potentially, I will ask King Ragnok if he will have his twenty thousand warriors stand with us, but I cannot promise that he will. I think it would be best if you make your plans to not include the Goblins until I have a chance to ask him." Harry nodded, leaning his arms against the table that stood before him, looking at the map. While they had been talking, they'd been placing objects in various positions indicating who was where and how many. "Then that is what we shall do. Muster everyone we can train and equip with swords and armor, bows and arrows as well. We shall leave for the fields the day after tomorrow. Hermione, I want you to organize our supply chain, Ginny, you'll be in charge of a scouting party of five hundred. I want you and your scouting party gone by first light. Ron, Neville, Kingsley, you'll handle the muster. Luna, you already have your assignment. Daphne, you'll stay behind to manage things here. I know you want to come with me, but I need you here. Since I'm taking everyone else I could entrust this task to. Your skilled with diplomacy and spying, not outright combat." He added the last sentence at seeing his girlfriend open her mouth to protest staying behind. She nodded but Harry could tell she was still upset and that he was going to pay for those comments and making her stay behind later. But he could deal with that. "You all have your assignments, get to them. Astoria, Daphne stay behind please." Harry waited for the others to leave the tent before he spoke up again.

"Astoria, I need to see the following immediately, Arthur and Bill Weasley, Ron as well, Neville, your father, Dylan Davis, Tracey Davis, Seamus Finnigan, Alexander and Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, Angus McGonagall, Jean Delacour, Fleur Weasley, Jacques and Leon De Bar, Roberto Fernandez I and II, David and Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy. I need to see them in that order please, as quickly as possible."

"I will send the summons out right away sire." Astoria bowed and left the tent, leaving Harry to face his girlfriends anger alone. He took a deep breath before turning to face her. "I'm upset with you Harry, but I'm not going to yell at you. That would accomplish nothing. Just note that while I will stay behind this time, I am your girlfriend, not your wife and queen. It is not my duty to stay behind to handle the affairs of the kingdom whilst you are at war." With that Daphne turned and made her way out of the tent leaving Harry to take a deep breath, both at the icy attitude from Daphne, and her words. Wife. He knew one day he would get married-he had a duty as a Potter, and now as a King to provide an heir for his name and titles (which was now an entire Kingdom!), but he'd only been with Daphne for a few short months, and he had no intention of proposing to her before they had spent at least a year together.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around and took a seat at his desk. Astoria arrived about thirty minutes later to tell Harry that everyone he had requested was waiting outside. "Sire, I have Arthur and his eldest and youngest sons." As she led the three men into the tent, Harry marveled at the way magical society so easily reverted to their roots as a feudal society. Pureblood traditions he supposed. The British Muggles would of course take longer to adjust to it, but considering Britain was still a Constitutional Monarchy, he figured that they at least would know the basic traditions and etiquette for a feudal society-even if Harry wasn't a fan of said etiquette.

Astoria cleared her throat to gain Harry's attention and he shot her a grateful glance for breaking him out of his musings. A seemingly more and more common habit of his. "Thank You Astoria. Mr. Weasley, Bill, Ron, you are here because I am going to make you Lord Weasley. Ron, I would like for you to take up a separate Lordship, the Lordship of Prewitt. You do not, of course have to change your name but since Bill would be Lord Weasley's heir, and he yours, I figured you would all be told together." Three jaws dropped at this proclamation. It almost made Harry laugh. As if he would not ennoble one of the noblest families out there-especially considering everything they had done for him.

"You will of course have your own lands just as soon as I have some to give to you, and those who live on your lands will of course have to pay you taxes, of which you will have to pay taxes to the crown from. The ceremony will be held sometime within the next few weeks." The Weasley's stammered their thanks and left the tent. The process repeated with the rest of the eighteen others that Harry had chosen to ennoble with varying reactions. Malfoy had been told that Harry would be paying very close attention to his actions and would revoke his title if he felt that he was abusing the position he had been given. By that the time he had finished informing the families that would be ennobled, Harry was exhausted, but knew that he wouldn't be able to get any rest anytime soon as he had to attend his coronation. Outside of the people he had chosen to ennoble, very few had actually seen him all day-except at Breakfast. And the clear gathering of force had caused a lot of tension in the camp as they knew that something was going on, but since Harry had been out of sight for the day no one had been able to ask him about it.

That feeling that something was up increased as Harry walked out of the command tent with his basilisk hide armor and sword still on. The guards that took up a position alongside him did little to ease the tensions of the crowd, but they still cheered as he made his way towards the small platform that would serve as his coronation site. Those who were to be ennobled stood in the front of the crowd. Harry allowed the adorations of his people to wash over him. He was the first of a hopefully long line of Kings to bear the name Potter. He would set the traditions that generations after him would honor. But first he had to get through this (hopefully) non-war.

He had reached the beginning of the platform, and so he knelt before the High Priestess of the Triple Goddess, the only religion that the magical world truly recognized. The same as Arthur had before him, as the last recognized king of Albion. "Will you solemnly swear, upon life and magic, to govern the peoples of Albion, according to their respective laws and customs?"

"I solemnly swear, upon life and magic, so to do."

"Will you to your power, cause law and justice and mercy be executed in all your judgements?"

"I will."

"Then by the sacred laws invested in me, I crown you, Henry, King of Albion." Cheers rang out as the High Priestess placed the crown upon his head. "I present you King Henry of Albion. LONG LIVE THE KING!"

The echoing shout rang for a few minutes as Harry waited for an appropriate amount of time to pass before raising his hands for silence. "I could say a few words, but instead, I'll pull a Dumbledore and say let the feast begin!"

Laughter met that statement but Harry stepped down and led the way to the dining pavilion where he waited for everyone to get to a table before sitting, and allowing the House-elves to begin to serve him. The rest of the night he simply enjoyed the good atmosphere, thoughts of war, rebuilding, and destiny far from his mind.

()()()()()()()

November 10th, TA1980

Harry looked from atop Buckbeak as his army marched through the grasslands towards what was apparently called the Brown lands. From what Ginny had reported, an Army had saw her group making for the plains, and had promptly changed course to meet her there. The scouts they'd sent when they first arrived had reported that another two armies had combined to make a total of roughly fifty thousand total, plus the maybe twenty thousand that had come from the southwest. Harry, in the end, had been able to muster a full seventy thousand troops, plus another ten thousand on loan from King Ragnok, to bring their total fighting force up to eighty thousand. If the reports were right, they'd be outnumbered. If he had had more time, he'd have managed to bring more, but given the lack of available weapons and armor, and the already lengthy time it'd take to arrive at the plains, he'd have to make do with the limited number of people he had, which was still more than they had expected. But their potential enemy had also grown larger than they thought as a force from the North was marching south with speed that made Harry think they weren't entirely human.

As Buckbeak turned, he allowed his thoughts to wonder towards Daphne, who's private goodbye had been still somewhat cold towards him. Hopefully though, hopefully things would be better when he came back. With yet another sigh, which was becoming far to common for him these days, he turned his attention back to his army. One week. If word hadn't been sent one week from today, Daphne was to lead everyone as far to the east as possible. Goddess be with us.

()()()()()

Earnur II, King of Gondor, led his armies towards the plains where the still unknown army had made camp. Long had it been since the full force of the Elves and men of Gondor marched into battle together, but if Elrond was to be believed, an enemy far greater and more terrible than Sauron could ever be had potentially returned, and the full force of Middle Earth if not more would be needed to secure their safety. Personally he hoped that it was just a misunderstanding. He'd only been on the throne for forty years, having served King Ondoher is that disastrous battle at South Ithilien that had seen his King and all the rightful heirs to the throne killed. His own son was secure back at Gondor to prevent something similar from happening here. "Another two days and we shall arrive at the plains. Let us make haste, least the Elves beat us."

()()()()()

Elrond Half-Elven, Lord of Rivendell, marched with the full force of his host. Thranduil, blasted he be, had chosen to send a paltry force of three hundred of his wood-elves to complement the full might of Rivendell and Lorien. But Elrond had not the time to deal with Thranduil. If perhaps they survived this coming battle, he would have words with the King of the Wood Elves, but for now, he had battle plans to make. They'd be at the plains, ready to march wherever they needed to go to face Morgoth and whatever host he had managed to assemble in such a short time. A loud shout caught his attention and he turned to see Mithrandir leading the other four Istari towards his position. Good, they'd sensed it too. He said nothing to them as they approached, but simply nodded in acknowledgement of their presence. With little fanfare, they joined him at the front of the Elven army, each contemplating their own thoughts. Elrond was glad for their presence nonetheless, if they were indeed facing Morgoth, their help would be invaluable.

()()()()()

Daphne watched as her boyfriend and King led away one of the largest armies assembled in recent wizarding history, and the first to include Goblins and even Dwarfs. They'd come here for peace, but so far, all they'd had was war.

"He'll be fine Milady. Our King is a strong one. He'll win the battle and come home to you." Daphne turned to the woman who spoke. "Thank you for your words, ma'am, but I will worry for him until the day he returns, and will worry again the same when he leaves again." The still unknown lady nodded and spoke softly. "You must have faith Milady, it is the way of things that the young men shall go to war while the women are left to take care of things at home whilst the ones we love fight for us. Because make no mistake, they may say they're fighting for others, but in the end they fight for the ones they love back home, and the ones right beside them." Daphne thought about the other womans viewpoint before making her own statement.

"Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending, Harry cares far too much about saving everyone but himself. I do not worry they will lose the battle-I fear that Harry would die before allowing another to die in his place. He has had to do that far too often in the war against Voldemort."

With that Daphne turned and walked away, paying no attention to the bow that she received from her conversation partner. While she and Harry were not married to everyone who remained behind that seemed to matter little as they treated her as if she was already their queen. Of course, while she paid no attention to much of this, she filed it away for a conversation with the likely culprit behind this treatment-Astoria. Her sister had grown to fascinate her. She had quickly taken over as Harry chief personal assistant in the last week, as Daphne had to focus on managing the things that Harry couldn't. Setting up a new society, or even just remodeling one, especially in a foreign land, was not easy. Diplomacy was far more Daphne's area of expertise then Harry's thus, a lot of the minor disputes fell on her to solve. Once they started expanding beyond just this little patch of territory, the noble families would be expected to handle most disputes, with people only bringing major ones to Harry so that he could focus on the business of running their society. Harry was a warrior, and he had a decent mind for economics and diplomacy, but war is where Harry shined through, which is why she had typically written his speeches and made overtures on his part before they left. It never crossed Daphne's mind that she had been acting the part of a queen to Harry's king since the day Voldemort fell.

But while it never crossed Daphne's it did Astoria's, and indeed others throughout their society. They had seen how over the last three years Harry had come to depend on her for a lot of things, and that while Harry was often the sword and shield they needed, she was the one extending the olive branch with healing hands. Death and Healing working together was a combination that had been used to great success throughout the history of both their new world, and their old. Peace and strength and by virtue of having both, Peace through strength.

And because of how well they worked together, the noble lion, and the sneaky snake-each handling the things they were best at, everyone knew that that relationship-that partnership, would continue in this new world, no matter if they stayed together as a couple or not. Although those who had known both the longest hoped they did as they tended to complement each other in ways that neither Daphne nor Harry truly realized.

()()()()

November 12, TA1980

Two armies stared out across the field at each other. Given the goblins familiarity with medieval weaponry, and their better armor, they and the dwarves made up their front two lines. "Sire, there is no movement from the enemy lines." Ron told from his position slightly behind Harry. King Ragnok sat beside him on his own steed, and the Dwarven King, a name that Harry would probably never be able to pronounce, riding a dwarven steed that Harry also couldn't pronounce, said nothing as they waited for either side to make the first move-which Harry refused to do. He wouldn't be the reason their people fell into yet another, hopefully avoidable, war.

Instead, he turned and signaled to a his entourage, which included a horn blower, and two standard bearers. One which bore the ancient symbol of Camelot, the other bore the Potter crest. "Raise a white flag. We shall meet them in the middle. Ron, be ready to raise a shield should they attack." With that Harry nudged Buckbeak forward at a steady trot, the small party moved forward, with a similar sized party breaking off across the field and moving forwards to meet them. As they approached, Harry examined his counterparts. Five old men, one elf, and two humans, plus their standard bearer. At the roughly halfway point, Harry stopped and waited for the other party to do the same. He knew he too, was being examined, and from the way the old men were talking, they had seen something that gave them pause. Hopefully that helped.

()()()()()

Elrond looked across the field at the odd army assembled before him. Filled with men, dwarves, and some strange creature, riding mounts that looked much different than anything that had been seen before, had given him pause. While they clearly outnumbered their enemy Elrond knew nothing about those they faced, and their alliance with dwarves, different to any they'd seen before but clearly dwarves nonetheless, had made him stop. Dwarves had never before supported Morgorth, not in the numbers that stood across from them. "What do you think Mithrandir?" He asked the Istari beside him, as a small contingent moved forward, with a white flag being raised up in addition to the two standards that already flew by what seemed to be the command group. "I think that we should meet them and see who they are and what master they serve." Elrond nodded and moved his own horse forward to follow the wizard. The Kings of Rhovanion and Gondor were quick to follow suit. None of them spoke as they approached the other group, but each examined those opposite of them. The apparent leader was a seemingly young looking man with a simple, but elegant sword on his waist, with some kind of armor that almost appeared to be made of scales, helmetless allowing his messy raven locks to fall freely around his face. A strange scar was visible under his bangs, but the jaded green eyes that stared at the elf-lord were not filled with warmth. They appeared cold and calculating, a complete contrast to the otherwise kind looks. "My name is Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, who are you and whom do you serve? Sauron? Morgoth?"

"My name is Henry, King of Avalon. And I serve none but my people. We do not seek a fight. There is no need for thousands to die here on this field. We came to this land seeking peace and freedom from persecution, not for war. But do not make the mistake of believing that we will not defend ourselves."

"As none shall blame you. None here wish for a battle, but the manner of your appearance would understandably gain the attention of all those present. Perhaps you could offer some proof of what you say."

"I have no proof that I do not serve any other than my people-none but my word." Harry responded with a hint of anger in his voice that he tried to suppress. It was a well known fact among those who had come to this world with them that Harry was a man of his word. He could lie, and deceive with some of the best, but when he gave his word, when he made a promise, he would keep it until his obligation was either fulfilled, the task accomplished, or his death. It was a Potter Family trait-along with his 'saving people thing'. A probe at his mental shield caused his blank stare to turn deadly as he looked at the responsible party, forcefully throwing the elf out of his mind, and nearly knocking him off his horse from the strength of his mental push.

"My mind is my own, and any attempt to that again to me or my people will result in the issuance of an honor duel that you will not walk away from." Harry snarled at the elf lord. His words caused Ron to begin to draw his sword in anger, only stopping when Harry's hand shot out to stop his movement. Ron looked to Harry who continued to stare at the elf lord. With no orders to relax, but kept from the moment from pulling his sword, Ron settled for glaring at the elf as well.

Elrond winced as his head began pounding upon being forcefully thrown out of the humans mind. If anything though, the action had just made him more suspicious. Humans typically could not detect the presence of an elf-lord in their head, but not only had this one done just that, he'd also managed to throw him out of his head completely. Again, a rare feat. Elrond didn't even need to turn to see the glares that his companions were throwing at him. Nor did he need a high level of intelligence to realize that he had just committed one of the gravest insults-in their culture at least-upon their king. And until his presence had been detected in the Humans head they had displayed no signs of aggression. "My apologies King Henry. The fate of Middle Earth is nothing to mess around with therefore I had to ensure the sincerity of your words."

Harry nodded at the elf's explanation although he didn't like it. But since it was clear that neither side wished for a battle, he thought perhaps it would be time to ensure that this tentative peace lasted a bit longer. "Very well. However, I will not be so forgiving a second time." Here his gaze shot to the old man in white who's mind had begun to encroach ever so subtlety upon his shields. "It is clear to me that the purpose for which we have gather our armies here today is no longer a valid purpose. Perhaps then, we can dismiss our armies, and continue discussing a temporary peace treaty until a later time when one can be done properly. After all, a battlefield is no place for such discussions."

Elrond nodded, with the others quickly following his lead. "Perhaps then at first light, we can begin our discussions, for now, I think it would ease the minds of all parties if we each sent half of our gathered fighting forces away. The both of us." King Henry nodded, and with a single tap of his knee on his mount, wheeled around and begin making his way back to his own line. Elrond's enhanced sight allowing him to see the relief on the faces of his commanders when they were informed about the temporary truce, and their terms.

()()()()()

Harry didn't allow his relief to show on his face as he made his way back to the line. As soon as he arrived, he ordered that Ron send the least experienced as well as the young and old back to Hogwarts. "I want them to depart within the hour. But tell them to march slow. Should the negotiations fail, I want the rest of our army to be able to fall back without having to run all the way back to Hogwarts for reinforcements. Neville, I want you to dispatch a messenger to Hogwarts posthaste, let them know that we are seeking peaceful resolution. I want Daphne here by first light, so make sure whoever you send has the fastest mount available. Take a hippogriff or a threstral. Make sure messenger tells Daphne to place her sister in charge."

Both Ron and Neville nodded, and then bowed out of the tent to carry out his orders. "King Ragnock, I wish for you to be present for the talks. Although we are allies, we shall need to make it clear that an attack on your people will be considered an attack on ours. There are those among my people who will not like this, therefore I feel it best that we also put a binding contract in place ourselves-before negotiations begin tomorrow." The goblin nodded thoughtfully and then gave his consent to the creation of a new treaty-a binding one.

"I think a fifty year treaty would be better for all parties. Fifty years shall be plenty of time for mine and your people to settle into this new land, and would also allow us to renegotiate the terms of the treaty at a later time and date to be more reflective of our situation at that point."

"Agreed King Henry. Then a fifty year treaty it shall be." And with that Harry began to negotiate the terms of the newest treaty for wizard-goblin relations, each participant feeling like their new relationship would be far more beneficial to each party. By evening a rough outline had been figured out and signed. They had chosen to it that way because it would allow them to continue to negotiate the final terms of the treaty after they were back at Hogwarts but would also allow them a more solid treaty as they each made their own with parties that were coming tomorrow. The dwarves chose to wait until they had established themselves somewhere before approaching anyone with a treaty, which Harry personally didn't care about. The dwarf-wizard relations had never been as fraught or as complicated as with goblin-wizard relations. Most witches and wizards had never seen a dwarf and those that they did see were usually only those who had been banned from their clans. At least until they'd come out of hiding at the end of the second blood war.

Harry knew that tomorrow would be his first real test as the newly elected King of his people. The choices he made tomorrow, would have a profound effect not only on the here and now, but potentially on everything they did in the years to come. That's when he realized something. He was looking forward to the challenge.