A/N: Hello, hallo, hola and salut :) Good and bad news. Good news: I got a new chapter for you! Honestly, it is thanks to all your amazing comments and your support. Bad news: I extended my internship. What can I say, I am young and need the money. At least they pay well for my misery.

I kinda love how this chapter turned out. Next chapter they will arrive in Rivendell, FINALLY! This journey has been going on for far too long.

There was a little detail Elladan had omitted about this so-called "spring". He conveniently forgot to mention that the small river ended in a waterfall which in turn ended in a deep pool beneath it. Harry let his eyes wander, it looked truly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The water was somehow crystal clear and turquoise at the same time. He would never trust one of the twins again, they seemed for of a pair of jokesters anyway. You could never trust a jokester. He didn't know how he knew that, but he felt that this was the truth and a good wisdom to live by.

"We are here," Elladan announced unnecessarily and slipped off his horse. He landed gracefully on his feet, gave his horse a loving tab on its neck, and turned to the others. "Well, what do you think?" He asked expectantly and held out his arms as if they hadn't seen the view already. His whole face was glowing with a wide smile, and he seemed almost giddy with excitement.

"Um, it's pretty, watery," Harry answered diplomatically and tried to smile. He was not lying as it was technically the truth. Water was watery. Elrohir who sat behind him snorted and pinched his side which caused Harry to shriek, flinch, and almost fall off their own horse.

"You are ever so observant," Elrohir laughed and held onto Harry to prevent his fall. It was a weird feeling for Harry, it was almost like Elrohir, any of the elves really, always seemed to look out for him. No matter how much they teased him and no matter how much they tickled him, they always tried to keep him safe.

Elrohir swung his long leg over the horse's body and slid off. In the same movement, he wrapped his hands around Harry's middle to lift him off with him. One would think Harry would be used to being manhandled by now, but it was still a strange feeling. Harry guessed that came with being a kid. It was annoying, honestly. He could have gotten off that horse by himself. Surely. Probably even uninjured. He still didn't have any shoes and was reminded by that of the feeling of dirt and small debris digging into his toes.

"Why thank you," Harry smiled sweetly at the twin. He would totally dunk him later for that comment. Yes, that is what he would do, dunk them into submission. Or dunk them until they agreed to let him move out earlier than at 100. Those were unattainable standards.

"Stop bantering, let's get into the water," Clueless interjected and started stripping. One layer after the other came off as Harry watched in horror. Amour, silk tunic, pants, and shoes. The twins joined in and also started stripping, and discarding their clothing around them. Harry tracked their movements with his eyes which widened with every inch of pale skin that was revealed.

"Eh, I am not taking off my clothes!" Harry yelled before thinking about it and crossed his arms protectively across his chest. These were not coming off. Under no circumstances. The three elves turned to him fully with all their glory and Harry felt heat creeping up his neck and tinting his cheeks. He felt them studying for a moment and his defensive posture. He felt like prey.

"And why not, little elfling?" Elladan asked and smiled dangerously as he stalked closer. Harry was truly terrified; the elves are completely naked now. "Why would that be, little elfling?" Elrohir asked as well.

"I just don't want to," he whined while retreating backward. He couldn't really tell why to like many things, but it was just a general sense of discomfort. He felt like he had the right to privacy, and it was not that uncommon to not want to strip in front of intimidating men. Elves, not men.

"That just won't do," Elrohir tsked. He was also creeping closed. "You don't want to get your clothes wet, do you?" He asked, gesturing to the water. Harry didn't look away and his eyes remained trained on the three figures in front of him.

"I don't need to go for a swim, not really," Harry negotiated while he couldn't resist so sneak a peak at the water. From the corner of his eyes, he examined the water suspiciously. It looked beautiful, the surface undisturbed and small sliver fish darting around. But why did it make his stomach twist and his heart race and his thoughts spin? Why did it make his limbs feel heavy and his stomach burn and his eyes sting?

"Harry, I am afraid you will need to give us a valid reason. 'I don't want to' doesn't count," Clueless chimed in and smiled apologetically. Harry bit his lip, never letting his eyes leave the twins. Clueless made it sound like he was a spoiled little brat like he was whining about getting his way.

Oh god, is that what they thought he did? Was he really being unreasonable? It was just a bath after all.

"Uh," he started. "I have a tattoo," was the first thing that came to his mind he instantly blurred out. He didn't really know if that was actually true, probably not, but it seemed to do the trick. He regretted the lie the next moment. Why can't he think about things before saying them out loud?

"What?" Both the twins yelled at the same time; their playful nature forgotten for a second. They straightened their posture and exchanged a worried look. Harry swallowed.

"Where?" Elladan asked while Elrohir asked "What?" Their voices were loud enough to conceal the rumbling of the nearby waterfall.

"It's a skull," Harry improvised, "with eh-" he thought for one second before saying, "a snake coming out of its mouth," all the three elves looked more horrified by the second. "It is across my chest. Really cool, I guess you wouldn't understand."

He just couldn't stop talking, why was he saying that? He took a couple of more steps backward but came to a stop when he felt the hot body of the horse in his back. He saw the glances the elves exchanged after what he said, saw their silent conversation. He saw how ironclad determination changed their faces and eyes. Oh no, he had to get out of here.

"Like I said, pretty cool and not a big deal. I guess I will be going now," he tried to distract them. His muscles tensed with anticipation. He had to be fast, faster than them at least. Were elves the same as men in the category?

"Oh, why don't you show us?" Elladan suggested with an oddly friendly voice and a strange smile that was really just lifting up the corners of his lips. Harry's eyes were drawn to him but in the corner of his eyes, he saw Elrohir advance. He scolded himself for being so stupid and letting them out of his sight.

"Yeah, we would like to see," Elrohir added, while Elladan crept forward. Harry's chest began to feel tight and sweat tickled down his back. He was out of time.

In a split second, he turned and dove underneath the horse and out the other side. He prayed that he wouldn't be trampled. His legs boosted him forward and he began sprinting for the trees. He could feel them coming closer, could hear their breath, and feel it in his neck. Once again, he urged his little legs to run faster. He was getting closer and closer to his goal. In the forest, it would be easier to evade the elves with their longer legs.

"Got you," someone said too close to him, and he was snatched out of the air. Clueless pressed him against his naked chest and smiled down at him. "Lesson number one, don't let your enemies leave your sight. Lesson number two, don't turn your back to your enemies."

Harry pouted. Also, he was pretty sure Clueless' nipples were pressed against his arm, ew.

It was a little intimidating to be questioned by three naked elves. Harry tried not to look at their junk, but it was hard at times. It was just as intimidating being stared at by the three. His arms curled around his stomach, and he pressed his lips together.

"Please tell us why you don't want to take your clothes off," Clueless asked in a low soothing tone. Harry wanted to tell him, but he didn't know himself. He just didn't want to.

"You don't really have a tattoo, do you?" Elrohir asked probingly.

Harry shook his head.

"Is it because you don't want to go swimming?" Elladan threw in his guess.

The moment he said it, Harry knew it was true. There was no reason to be so wary of the water, but he just was. Twisted burning stomach, racing heart, spinning thoughts, heavy limbs, and stingy eyes. Suddenly, there were phantom hands on his ankles and water in his lungs. He swallowed forcefully and pushed the arising panic away.

He nodded and averted his eyes.

"You are safe with us," Elrohir assured him. Harry believed him, he knew it was true, but he couldn't shake the dread that clinging to him, nonetheless.

"I just don't want to," Harry was aware that he sounded like the little child he looked like, and he was aware that it didn't help him in his case, but he just didn't care.

"It is okay, you don't have to," Clueless said and drew Harry close. On the one hand, Harry felt the warmth in the embrace, felt the reassurance and the safety it provided. On the other hand, he was oddly away that Clueless was still naked. He did not particularly want to be so close to his junk.

Thinking about the bath, he noticed his smell, like smoke and horse and dirt. His illness was still clinging to him, and his skin started to feel itchy from the crusted mud and sweat. His hair was a bird's nest and oily and felt disgusting.

"You could try dipping your toes in," one of the twins suggested, probably feeling Harry's resistance dissolve. Harry nodded and smiled a little. Dipping in his toes didn't sound that bad. That he could certainly do. Clueless let him go again.

Time to get naked, apparently.

Goosebumps formed on his arms and Harry suppressed a shiver as a cold breeze passed through. He peaked up from beneath his bangs and eyed the elves suspiciously. They were in the water already and conveniently didn't seem to notice him as they were talking among themselves. The water wasn't that deep, at least for them. It barely reached their hips which probably meant that Harry wouldn't be able to stand at the deepest part of it.

Slowly creeping closer, Harry didn't let them leave his sight. Observing the water intensely for a moment revealed that the current wasn't that strong. Even he in his child's body should be able to resist it. He suppressed the rising feeling of being unable to breathe and closed his eyes for a second. He could do this. There was no reason to be afraid. No apparent reason anyway.

At the water, he dipped the toes of his right foot. Surprisingly, the water wasn't that cold. It felt pleasant against his skin, and he saw how some dirt was already swept away. He nodded to himself. The rest of the foot was next, and then the left. Next he knew, his calves were immersed in the water. He sighed. It felt so good. Something changes, and he noted a weird absence of noise apart from the waterfall. Looking up sharply, he caught Elladan, Elrohir, and Clueless staring at him.

"You know starring is unpolite," Harry commented and all three averted their glances so quickly, Harry could barely follow. It was a little funny how ashamed they looked. He let his gaze linger, let himself be distracted for the moment before getting back to the task at hand.

Just one step more, just one little step. The water was so clear, he could see the ground of it, there was nothing else in the water except for three naked elves and some fish. He was safe. Even if something happened, the shore was so close, he could always run back. Or optionally climb an elf. Or jump off the waterfall. Not to himself, don't jump off the waterfall.

"Catch," one of the twins said before something came flying. Out of reflex, he stretched out his arm and plucked the little white square out of the air. He stared at it bewildered before he realized that it was a piece of soap. Which he had caught, it surprised him.

"Whoa, good catch!" The other twin cheered. Harry looked up and shot him a little smile. He could always rely on his reflexes, he knew deep down.

The soap didn't really foam or build a ton of bubbles, but it got the job done. Soon, a small river of dark murky water was flowing away from him and down the waterfall. It was astonishing how much dirt had been sitting on his skin. No wonder he had been so itchy. And smelly.

"Common, I will wash your hair for you," Clueless said and as he waded closer. The twins behind him started shouting and promptly wrestle each other. Hopefully one of them would fall off the waterfall. "Ignore them," Clueless smiled and took the soap out of his hand.

"Lean back," he instructed Harry, and Harry's hair was dipped into the water. It felt heavy and the strands were pulling at his scalp.

Clueless' finger felt like heaven in his hair, massaging his scalp and working the knots out of his strands. Harry sighed in content and his eyes closed. Clueless could stay, he could wash his hair every day, he decided. The twins could fall off the waterfall, but Clueless could stay up here with him.

"All done, now you only need to dip your head underwater to wash the soap out," Clueless declared. He might have also earned himself his name rights. Maybe he should finally figure out what he was really called.

"Thank you," Harry said and dove forward, as the water was a little deeper in front of him. It was a thoughtless movement.

The water surrounded him, it was rushing in his ears.

The water was cold, covering every inch of him.

He felt helpless as he was floating in the water.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe.

His lungs started burning far too soon.

His limbs felt heavy.

His eyes closed.

A hand grabbed him and pulled him up up up. The water hadn't seemed so deep before. The contrary in fact. Next he knew, his head was breaking through the water's surface and he started coughing. The air didn't seem to enter his lungs fast enough.

"What was that?" Someone asked but he didn't care. All he cared for was that feeling of dying. The feeling of life leaving his body. The feeling of suffocating. The feeling of floating away.

"Get me out," Harry rasped out flailing his arms. His left hand connected with something soft, but he barely registered and didn't hear the moan. He fought his invisible monsters.

"Harry-" someone tried. He couldn't distinguish anymore who was saying what.

"Get me out, get me out," he started screaming, twisting, and squirming in the arms holding him secure. They were like iron ropes not letting him go. "Get me out," the screams died down, but he kept muttering the same sentence. He needed to be out of the water, away from the monsters. Needed to be on land and away from his nightmares.

He felt the body holding his move. It wasn't fast enough. It seemed like a day but was probably seconds before he was wrapped in something warm, and he was sure he was out of the water. He sighed, but his eyes remained closed.

He could breathe a little easier. He was safe.

"Oh, little one."