Standard disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or the Hobbit. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: Finally introducing Tauriel!

Chapter Nine - Tauriel And A Bond

"Do giant spiders exist in Middle Earth?"

The taller man's eyes grew wide, "Why yes they do. Children of the Great Spider, Shelob. Though I've not heard of any coming this far from Mordor in an age."

"You hadn't heard of trolls moving south either but we still stoned that trio a while back didn't we?"

"Fair enough. Why though?"

"I can hear a bunch of them skittering off that way." He pointed in a direction to the right. "A few elves are chasing after them."

"Elves? Then perhaps our friends were taken to Thranduil's hall."

"Hm." Harry thought about the situation for a moment. "You know where that is?" The grey wizard nodded and his young companion finished, "Then start making your way there. I'll head off those spiders just to make sure they don't have them. I'll track your scent afterwords."

Without another word, the vampire disassembled into a cloud of bats and took off into the trees, leaving an irked grey wizard alone in the dark. "Alone again." Gandalf groused. "It's not like I wanted to look for the dwarves too or anything."

Meanwhile Harry was flitting through the trees at the speed of thought, tracking the spiders who by happy coincidence were being followed by the closing trio of elves. Looked like by confronting the first group he'd inevitably meet the second. Perfect.

With an arch of effort Harry's body swarm climbed up above the trees before diving down to the ground and coalescing back into his human form, and then he waited. The first thing he heard was the skittering of long legs scampering in a hurry across the ground. The second was the creaking of branches and grass as large bodies came closer. Then he saw them, a mass of spindly beings rushing toward his location like a bat out of hell.

The vampire smiled and drew Gurthang from his hip. Sending a prayer of apology to the spiders of his youth, the first true friends of his life, Harry consumed himself in the revelry of first blood, channeled his magic into his blade, and just as in Dol Guldur he swung.

The first rank of spiders were severed in half in an instant. The next swing wiped out the second. And before the creatures could even realize what had happened he dispatched the third, leaving only a paltry few still moving. Then he sheathed the longsword and waded in amongst them with claw and tooth, shredding, tearing, and leaving not but twitching husks behind. Finally, the last spider lay struggling futilely in his grasp as the vampire drank from its body. It was a bit of a surprise when he felt a new ability kick in in his eyes. Interesting.

He pulled back before draining the spider completely and inquired, "Can you understand me, creature?"

"Yes, Lord of Darkness." The tongue was a hissing wrench that no mortal of the light could ever hope to emulate.

"What was your purpose in these woods?"

"To feast upon travelers, feed the hive, and snuff out the light of Thranduil's hall."

Well that was certainly troublesome. "Your numbers are great, I find it hard to believe that no elves tried to exterminate you."

"We were surprised as well, but our young were fed so we did not question."

Harry's eyes narrowed, "Were they fed with the lives of dwarves and hobbits recently?"

The spider jerked once more in his grasp, trying unsuccessfully to flee, "No! No, great lord! We came upon the small ones on the road, chased them off it, tried to eat them, but an even smaller one with a Sting in its hand cut them free. Then the pointy ears came and hurt us all. We fled, the dwarves remained."

"So the elves have them then. Who sent you here?"

"The necromancer."

"Too bad he's gone then. I know you only follow your nature, rest in eternal webs." For the companionship of those creatures in his cupboard Harry could offer the being that last benediction. Then he clenched his fist the rest of the way closed and something vital shattered in the spider's body. It dropped to the ground and curled its legs in on themselves as it died.

A few seconds later Harry's ears twitched to the almost nonexistent sounds of the new arrivals and he turned around to see the three elves standing across the clearing just at the tree line, bows drawn with arrowheads aimed at his heart. At the sight of his crimson eyes they loosed.

Harry only sighed with annoyance as the projectiles impacted his chest. "Really? I haven't even done anything to you yet." Then he looked into the eyes of all three one by one and the blood from the spiders kicked in. His iris's narrowed, a visible glow extended from his lids, and the elves froze in place, only the red haired she-elf at their head managed some manner of movement, and that only in her twitching fingertips.

{Ooh, ocular paralysis.} Luna purred, {That's going to be incredibly useful.}

"I imagine so, my love. Now let's go say hello."

Channeling his best Gary Oldman Dracula glide, Harry flowed across the ground to his waiting captives. "Greetings, elves of Mirkwood. Boy do I have a bone to pick with you." He focused on the woman and willed her mouth free, "What is your name?"

"Tauriel, Captain of the Mirkwood guard." She ground out. "Free us at once!"

"No. Did you recently capture a group of dwarves?"

"I will tell you nothing more, creature."

Harry mock sighed, "I was hoping to do this amicably." Then he shot forward, lifted her right arm to shoulder height and snapped his teeth down upon her wrist. He was expecting the usual flush of memories. Light and noise put together with thought to form a picture of the recent past, as he had done dozens of times since earning the skill from Elrond. Instead…. he felt his consciousness completely enter the mind of his captive as her own entered his in kind.

In an instant two experiences were had at once.

Harry:

The vampire came to fully in a world consumed by stars. Every direction he looked a ball of light hovered and shone bright as a beacon. Giving in to curiosity he placed his hand on one and the world changed into a 360 degree memory view. So, he was in a mindscape. That was new.

A redheaded elven child was speaking to a woman that had to be her mother. "Mama, what are those lights above?"

The woman smiled fondly at the little one. "You've been in the undercity for too long, my lovely Tauriel. Those are stars. The lights of the heavens. In them are the stories of our world, memory, they are precious and pure."

Tauriel's eyes had not left the majesty of the skies, the lights above filling her orbs completely, "They are the most beautiful things I have ever seen."

The woman chuckled ruefully, "Just so, little one. Just so."

The red haired girl beamed up at her mother and said, "I'm going to see them all someday. Every star in the sky."

"That is a lovely dream, my little Tauriel, but we are Silvan elves of Mirkwood. It is not our place to leave this land."

"But these stars… compared to them, Mirkwood… doesn't it feel small?"

The older woman only stared to the sky herself for several moments before saying, "There is small, and then there is what is possible. This life is what is possible for us. Learn to treasure what you have, not what could be. I too was a dreamer once, but it only leads to disappointment."

Harry released the orb and tried another one.

Images, thoughts, emotions, he saw and felt them all. Tauriel trying to find her place in the world, yet being held to a lower standard for being Silvan.

Tauriel, foraging and ranging to learn the skills necessary to someday join the Mirkwood guard for some measure of adventure, tired of staying cooped up in the undercity.

Tuariel, reading everything she could find in the undercity libraries about the lands beyond their own for the hope of someday seeing them for herself. Being told by her family to be at peace with the life she was given, but yet always desiring more. Always wanting to experience more.

The images finally slowed on the red haired elf, older now, adjusting the straps of hunting leathers and stringing her bow. Beside her a door opened and a taller elf with silvery blonde hair entered, equally equipped. Tauriel saw him and sighed with annoyance. "Prince Legolas, what are you doing here?"

"Exactly as it seems, Tauriel." The now named Legolas' voice was a bit high for a man in Harry's opinion, but he wasn't judging. "I have joined the Mirkwood guard."

"You are too important to risk on the borders, my prince." Tauriel spoke with the voice of someone who knew her arguments would fall on deaf ears. "The king has no other heirs."

Legolas huffed, "I have things to protect, so I will protect them." His unwavering gaze told the redhead exactly what 'things' he was looking to protect. Sadly they were things that were not his to look after.

"Prince Legolas, I have told you before, you are not my Fated One. I would know."

The prince grew unnaturally still for a moment in the way only elves seemed capable of doing, then he said, "This is not about that." Though his shifting eyes made it clear he wasn't telling the truth. "I have already spoken to the watch commander and I have the first shift at the eastern gates. I will see you there." He left. Tauriel groaned.

From his position on high Harry could feel what she did. That she was trapped, alone, and unheard. She'd joined the guard for an excuse to see the stars more than once every ten years, for a chance at adventure. Now she was stuck watching over the same uneventful strip of land with an unwanted suitor. One who was far above her station, and who seemed convinced with enough time a mating bond would spring into place.

Harry chose another orb.

Tauriel knelt in a throne room. Legolas beside her and a gaunt man with a startling resemblance to the prince sat before them both upon a throne carved into a tree's trunk with a circlet of silver upon his brow. He wore a face of weary annoyance.

"Please, my liege, hear the fears of your servants." Tauriel begged, stepping forth and kneeling before the throne, a thickly rolled scroll held before her. "The guard has noted many problems in the forest. The pathways have been corrupted, game has abandoned the usual trails, fresh dikes in the river have diverted entire sections of road, and worst of all, swarms of large spiders have been encroaching on our borders. Every day these events grow worse. Please, take this scroll and read it. The accounts and affidavits of every guard to witness these disturbances are inside to corroborate what I say."

The king merely waved his hand. "The opinions of Silvan elves are of no use to me. The trails are exactly as they should be, and the spiders are no threat to our kind. You may tell the others of your guard that everything is at it should be."

"With respect, your grace, our kind is tasked by the White Council to defend our roads for travelers. As things stand we cannot meet our duty."

Thranduil's expression pinched for a moment in clear annoyance, contrary to his usual mask of indifference, before he reset it and merely said, "I will hear no more of this. Throw that scroll away and return to your duties. I am done with you."

Tauriel bit her tongue and bowed, spinning on her heel to take her leave.

When the great hall's doors closed behind her, Legolas tried to console his clearly angered captain. "Tauriel, if my father says everything is fine, then it is. You have no need to worry further."

She spun to face him, "No need to worry? Then why are no travelers coming through our lands anymore? Why are we not allowed to hunt the spiders back to their lair and eradicate them once and for all? Finally, why are the elven kin from Rivendell that came to see their families not allowed to leave?"

Legolas fell silent. "I… I do not pretend to know the will of my father. But I am loyal, and I know that he has only the best interest of our kind at heart. You must be careful, Tauriel. I say this now because I care about you, if the wrong person heard these kinds of inquiries it could lead to questions of your loyalty."

The redheaded elf did not even dignify that with a response. Instead she turned on her heel and marched off.

Hm, so she was aware of the problems facing her territory, and unlike the other elf and king was actively seeking ways to deal with them. Fascinating. This Tauriel was a woman of action, and she was unafraid to speak up for what she believed in. He could appreciate that.

Harry laid his hands on one last light.

Yes, here is what he was looking for from the start. He was in the trees, watching Tauriel and a group of her guards as they stared at a group of dwarves and a halfling absolutely surrounded by spiders. The loose mess of web in their hair and on their clothes implied that they had recently been cocooned, yet managed to escape.

"We must save them." Tauriel declared, earning a shocked look from her second.

"But Captain Tauriel, we have orders specifically not to engage the spiders."

She gave the elf a glare that made him wither in place. "They are travelers in need. Aiding them is our duty."

"T-They have left the path, though."

"Because they were clearly chased away. I am giving you a command as your captain. Follow it." So saying, she dived down from her branch, arrows already flying as her troops followed her lead.

She'd trained her guard well and together they made short work of the eight legged foes, driving them into a swift retreat before turning to the dwarves. She'd planned to question them. Ask about their experiences on the road and how the spiders had come upon them, but then Legolas had shown up, seen the elven blade the head dwarf carried, and ordered them all arrested by the authority of the crown. She'd been so angry at the usurpation of her authority that she'd ignored his pleas to wait and chased after the last of the spiders with her second and third on her heels. Then they'd run into a monster far worse than those they pursued.

With a tooth filled smirk Harry exited the memory and began working his way out of Tauriel's mind. He had what he needed, along with a great deal of questions for the woman.

Tauriel:

Tauriel had a sinking feeling she knew what was happening as her consciousness flew from her body into that of her attacker, and it couldn't be more of a worse occurrence. How after all this time had fate chosen this person of all people for her?!

Long ago, her mother had performed the duty of all elven mothers and provided her with a 'talk' about the facts of life and what she could expect in the future. She'd informed her outright that someday she would meet her mate. The one person that was perfect for her, and whom she would be able to create a child with in her lifetime. Her mother had made it clear that when she made physical contact with this person the effect…. would be instantaneous. As would the connection. That she would be faced with a chance for each of them to share a part of themselves with the other. In her parent's case, they had felt their partner's emotions as their own, though the actual type of sharing varied from couple to couple.

When the motion carrying her forward stopped and she beheld the open gates of a monstrous castle surrounded by a roiling blizzard, she knew it must be true. She was not a dream walker as those of her ancestry were, but they'd told her enough stories to recognize this as a mindscape. A quite impressive one at that. And if the massive bars on the open doors were any indication, it should have been closed tight to any intruders…. yet it lay open for her. It seemed the 'parts' of themselves shared in this moment would be memories. She shuddered and made her way forward, cursing the gods for giving her such a clearly violent and monstrous mate. How was she supposed to connect to one such as he?

Through winding passages she walked, passing countless murder holes, ramps in the ceiling made for dumping hazardous liquids, and gigantic suits of armor with hands on weapons and helms that turned to follow her progress. All of these defenses… just how paranoid was this man?

Her exploration ended at what had to be a library. Endless shelves full of books that most likely contained memories lay before her, branching out from a central, roaring, fireplace. And sitting in a leather backed chair with one such memory opened in her lap, was a silver haired woman with wickedly intelligent blue eyes.

"Oh," The mystery woman purred. "An elf in the inner sanctum, that's new. How ever did you make it past the defenses?"

Feeling a bit off kilter, Tauriel replied, "T-The doors were open. I'm sorry, Ms., but are you part of the bond?"

"Bond?" The sliver-blond tilted her head in curiosity before her eyes opened wide and she shot to her feet clapping ecstatically, "Oh! Is this an elven bonding! That's so exciting!"

The elf blinked, "You… know of the bond?"

"I'm a magizoologist, of course I do. I've studied all the races of Middle Earth extensively. So, Harry is your fated mate?"

"His name is Harry then. Good to know. And who are you? Why are you in his mind?"

The woman smiled, "I'm Luna, his wife." Seeing the shocked expression of her guest, Luna hurried to add, "Oh don't worry, I'm no threat to your relationship. I'm actually quite dead and just hanging around in his mind."

"O-Okay?" Tauriel wasn't really sure what to make of this situation. "My name is Tauriel. I think I'm supposed to experience some of his memories now."

Luna nodded, "That would explain the pedestals that just showed up over there." She pointed to her right where four marble pedestals seemed to just rise out of the ground. Leather bound tomes stood proudly on each one. "They just showed up a few seconds ago. Feel free to have a look."

Tauriel started to do so, but stopped her fingers just short of touching the first. Odd as this was, she needed to know something before doing anything else. "You are his wife, yet you do not seem bothered by this situation?"

Luna laughed out loud, the sound reminiscent of tinkling bells. "Tauriel, I love my husband, but I'm dead. I wish him only greater happiness in life, and a living, breathing, partner is something that will only be good for him in the long run. Also, it'll be a lot of fun to watch whatever happens between you two play out."

Tauriel wasn't sure she liked the eager gleam in the other woman's eyes, but nevertheless she retrieved the first book and opened it wide. White light flashed all around and the red haired elf found herself looking in from above at a child with black hair, curled tight for warmth in a small closet. He was shivering, crying, and blood seeped through the shirt on his back.

Something in the elf's heart broke at the sight. No child of any race should be treated in such a horrifying manner. Then her long ears twitched as they picked up the trembling voice of the boy before her. "P-P-Please God, just let it stop." He sobbed deeper into his pillow and Tauriel covered her mouth with a hand to stop a sob of her own from escaping at the sight. "All I want is a family. A real one." The sobs continued, and Tuariel jumped as she found herself pulled out of the memory, Luna's spectral hand upon her shoulder and an understanding look upon her face.

"Little piece of advice, never let Harry know you saw that. Never. He's very, very, touchy about his childhood."

"So that actually happened?" Tauriel was furious that anyone could treat a child that way.

"Sadly yes. That and more. Harry's relatives didn't like that he was… different from them."

"I do not understand why the bond would wish me to see this." Tauriel fumed.

Luna placed a finger to her chin in thought. "Perhaps it's the bond's way of letting the partners in question know what goes into the makeup of the other."

"Perhaps. That would make sense. So Harry has a strong desire for family, stemming from the radical lack of one in his youth?"

Luna smiled dreamily, "He always used to dream of what our children would look like. His goal for the future was to spend his adult years doting on them like crazy."

Tauriel offered a sad smile to the blonde and picked up the second book.

She saw Harry, a few years older, rowing across a great lake to a castle like no other she could comprehend. Images, thoughts, and feelings came and went. The small boat docking, a red haired friend, a hat that whispered ill omens in his ear before sending the boy to a large table full of people he hoped would someday be as family to him. Fighting a troll to save a bushy haired girl none else knew existed, slaying a massive serpent to avenge that same student. The emotional rollercoaster of leaving his relatives, finding two friends of his parents, and being denied the chance to stay with either of them before being sent back to that same hell. The triw-wizard tournament, and watching his friend die right before his eyes. Coming back to a school under enemy control, training a resistance, and experiencing leadership for the first time.

The thing that stuck with Tauriel the most by the end, was how alone Harry had been. Those other students had not become his family. No, they had judged him before they even knew him. Degraded him for perceived faults when he never acted anything but honorably. Only one girl, a younger counterpart to the woman from the library, seemed to see him as he was, and treat him as a man.

She pulled her hand away and returned to the man's mind. Looking to Luna she said, "You truly were lovely, Luna. Body and spirit."

"Thank you, Tauriel. I take it you saw his Hogwarts years?"

"I-I don't know how to describe it. Everything went by so fast, but yes, I think so. After all of that, how is he still sane?"

Luna shrugged, "Some might argue that he isn't. Now come, you still have two more memories to unload."

Tauriel did as ordered, and placed her palm upon the third book.

There stood Harry and Luna, tall, proud, and ready for war in front of a great stone arch beside their fellows as forces of evil and darkness rained blow after blow upon them. Only teenagers were they, yet they fought with the fury of adults three times their age, and they were holding the line. Then the unthinkable happened. The line fell, spells rained in all directions, and one hit Luna.

The elf watched the girl fall, experienced the struggle in her mate's mind, and saw him become the creature she'd met in the woods. A monster of night with the beating heart of a champion.

She didn't wait to reach for the fourth book.

The Battle of Moria, a bond of brotherhood formed, and a connection to family so long searched for finally found.

She surfaced once more and a realization suddenly came to her. "He was asking about the dwarves we captured." She whispered, horrified, "He's looking for his brother."

Luna stared at the other woman. "You… kidnapped Thorin and the others?"

"Yes. And with the power I've just seen him use…" Tauriel was starting to get very worried. The undercity was literally underground, where Harry would be at his most powerful.

"Ooh, yeah that's bad." The blonde shook her head. "Why would you want to do something like that?"

"It wasn't my decision! What do I do!"

"Cooperation is your best bet. I'm not exaggerating when I say Harry will literally burn your city to the ground for those dwarves."

"I believe it." At those words, Tauriel started to feel a pull on her navel gaining strength. It seemed it was time to leave. "Thank you, Luna. This has been an… interesting conversation."

Luna smiled warmly at the elf and replied, "All my conversations are interesting. Take care of our Harry. He's a mess, but he's worth it."

The pull was growing stronger, "You do realize that just because he is my Fated One, it doesn't mean I am going to go running into his arms right away."

Luna's smile grew bright as the sun, "You say that now, but Harry has a way of winning people over. Just wait and see."

The pull became too much to resist, and a moment later Tauriel found herself pulled from the library, out down the halls, through the massive doors, and back across the distance of mind and reality to her own body once more. To her trained eyes not even two seconds had passed, and Harry's own bodily jerk told her he too had just returned. She was more than a bit nervous as to what he might have seen in her memory.

Though she didn't have long to wonder as the vampire walked forward until he was only a couple inches away from her. "What was that?"

His anger rapidly disintegrated when Luna spoke in his head, {Don't be upset Harry. I just had a lovely conversation with Tauriel here.}

"Conversation about what?"

{I will tell you later, but for now suffice it to say she is more important to you than you know. Treat her well.}

Tauriel blinked, she was not used to hearing of a Fated One having no knowledge of the bond or what was expected. She wasn't exactly sure what to do about that. "We are Fated. You took a piece of me and I one of you."

"I'm not a fan of Fate in most regards," He leaned in further and sniffed up her neck, "but you are certainly fascinating." His mouth skimmed up to her ear then, "Where. are. my. dwarves? I know your people took them."

"T-They were taken to the undercity of Mirkwood." What was this feeling? Harry's breath upon her ear and neck, it was… exhilarating. "If you promise me not to level my home I will take you to it so you might plead your case to the king."

"Hm." Harry nearly purred as inhaled more of her scent before backing away. It was… intoxicating. "Very well, you have my word not to level the city… until after I speak with your king. If he pisses me off too much I make no further promises. Though I'm also going to want to hear more about this Fated thing." He released the power in his eyes and the elves suddenly found themselves able to move. "Lead the way."