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Disclaimer for Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  Nor the Borg.  Other people own them.

Not Myself by Saerry Snape

Chapter 153 – In the Halls of the Elves

Harry wandered into the great hall in the early hours of the morning, yawning widely as he stretched his arms over his head.  He then paused as he saw a slim figure crouched by the cage that held a sleeping Amadeus.  A white silk sheet pooled upon the marble floor and was gathered loosely about a body that was haloed by a curtain of ebony hair.

The teen paused and took a step back into the shadow of the archway he had just exited.  He felt a little guilty as he heard the whisper of gentle words being whispered to the caged werewolf.  Turning his head away, he muttered softly in Parseltongue, trying to drown out the Elvish that translated the moment it touched his ears.

The ebony head turned and emerald eyes glanced about the hall before they landed on the shadow that lounged within the shadows of the archway.

"Hello?  Edrin?"

"No," said Harry softly, stepping forward so some light fell upon him.  The planes of his face and clothes were lit in silver light, making him look like some sort of ghostly apparition.  "I's me."

"Harry," said Sheen, rising to her feet and turning towards him.  One fist gathered the silk sheet in a bundle at her throat, which caused it to cascade down her body in long, smooth lines and pool at her feet.

Harry swore that for a half second he saw blue eyes instead of green and short hair instead of those long tresses of ebony.  He blinked and shook his head to rid himself of that image.  It wasn't an annoying image but it was one that was slightly disturbing.

At least at this moment in time.

"What are you doing awake?" asked Sheen.  "It is not even sunrise yet."

"I'm an early riser sometimes," replied Harry.

"Ah," said Sheen.  "Allow me a moment and then we shall walk.  You will walk with me, will you not?"

"O' course."

The Queen of the Elves smiled and vanished through an archway that was hidden by a curtain behind a winged throne.  Harry leaned against a pillar as he waited, looking across the room at the two furry lumps near the crackling fire that were Remus and Mika.

Sheen reappeared a moment later, having abandoned the silk sheet for a black wool dress and a shawl of a shimmery sort of material that reminded Harry of his invisibility cloak.  She tucked one arm through his and gently pulled him out of the great hall into the gardens.

Two guards at the door came to attention as they passed, muttering, "M'lady."

"Good morn, Tylwys, Marlan," said Sheen, nodding to them.  She then pulled Harry further into the gardens, releasing his arm as she turned and sat down on a bench made of transparent crystal.  Harry stood for a moment before he sat down on the opposite end.

Sheen leaned her head back and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

"You are often awake in the morning?" she asked

"Used to be," said Harry, staring at a flower that was growing near his bare foot.  "Have'n since I got to Hogwarts.  You?"

"More often than not."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a moment as the gray sky began to turn pale and golden.  As the first sliver of the sun appeared, Sheen asked, "You did not say much during our conversation yesterday."

Harry frowned and said slowly, "I's…its just a li'le weird.  I go from being – well, na exactly normal – to…to one of the Tethdaìr."

"You seem to have adjusted well."

"Not as well as one mi' like.  Why am I even tellin' you this?"

Sheen smiled gently.

"I sometimes bring out the truth in people.  It would seem as such even with you.  All of our Elven Tethdaìr are immune to the truth-call."

"Ah well," said Harry, shrugging.

"As I said, you seem to have adjusted well.  You said that you have power over fire."

"Yes…"

"That is your skill," said Sheen.  "Each of the Tethdaìr have a skill at which they excel.  Tylwys and Marlan there are themselves Tethdaìr – lightning and fog."

"Da said somethin' about 'the magicks of destruction.'"

"Fire is destructive, is it not?"

"Yeh…"

"There you are."

Harry frowned and said, "But that's only one power…"

"'One power?'" repeated Sheen.  "My child, do you not know what fire can do?  It can not only burn, it can heal.  It can promote growth by destroying dead things so new can be planted.  It can do ever so much more…  No.  The skill to control fire is not only one power.  And it is, indeed, the most furtive and rare skill to have amongst the Tethdaìr.  There may be many who despise you, who are only partially Elven, for having that skill."

"I sense a 'but."

Sheen laughed at that.

"But…I will still train you here, if you wish.  There are still your innate fighting abilities to temper."

"I c'n fight."

"Ah, yes, I know.  I have watched you."  Sheen smiled as she continued, "But we have five different Masters of War who could teach you so much more.  And you shall need it."

Harry's eyes darkened as he realized what she was talking about.

"To fight Voldemort, y'mean."

"You do not look forward to what you are destined, do you?"

"I doan believe anyone should be destined for anything."

"Ah," said Sheen, turning towards him, "but you have a destiny.  Why else would you, who only bear a small portion of Elven blood within your veins, be of the Tethdaìr?"

Harry shrugged and leaned forward so his elbows were propped on his knees.

"Harry…"

"Everyt'ing happens to me," muttered Harry, putting his face in his hands.  "Why?  What about me brings so many t'ings to me?"

A gentle hand touched his shoulder and he lifted his head to stare into eyes that were brighter than his own.  Sheen smiled gently and said, "I do not know why so much revolves around you, sweet child, but I do know that you can handle each and every one in its own time.  You carry a strength in you unlike any I have ever seen in a mortal, even my dear cousin, who is strong in his own right.  That strength will protect you but it can also cause harm to you.  Remember to be careful of those things that keep you strong.  If they should fall into the wrong hands, that strength could be used against you."

Harry's eyes widened at her words and he gasped, "Niamh."

Sheen nodded.

"Yes.  I know you love her very much and she you.  But beware."  She patted his arm as she continued, waving an arm at the castle that surrounded the small courtyard the garden was settled within.  "During this last year, you have seen a good example of how love can be used for evil's gain.  You have even been touched by it yourself."

She reached out and touched his right arm, where the Gauntlet had been.  Pain flared as runes much like those on Niamh's on arm, appeared, black as the Dark Mark upon Severus' arm.

"I see that the Gauntlet did not leave you as unmarked as one would believe," she said.  "Indeed…there is something odd about these runes."

"What?" asked Harry.

"Here.  Here are all the runes that have been told to be carved upon the Gauntlet of Aerilsed: hate, revenge, murder, chaos, destruction, and disorder.  But these here…"  She ran her fingers over a cluster of four runes.  "…these are the runes for love, loyalty, sacrifice, and courage.  These are light magicks."

Harry frowned and the words he'd heard when the Gauntlet had vanished from his arm rang through his head.  He had no idea he spoke them aloud.

"Ya dethèin krai feth sie, kee reta braihan.  Mashtíer bè Aerilsedza Hèirai loth mak gree Gautlein traithan maith Daicrai ket yaia praithee bè gree korbé ursal gree waru korbé raithae noth ka pith shai.  Ignorme laidee Gautlein ta frestray aith mayday ta gorbesh."

Sheen jerked back and stared at him in shock.

"What did you say?"

Harry blinked.

"I said tha' aloud?"

"You did.  'A promise made long ago, now to be honored.  Ancestor of Aerilsed's Heir shall wear the Gauntlet created from Darkness for four passings of the moon until the new moon waxes on her final day.  Only then shall Gauntlet be destroyed and world be free.'"

"I heard a woman's voice say that when the Gaun'let destroyed itself."

"Destroyed itself?" said Sheen.  "The Gauntlet was not destroyed, Harry!  It went into you."

"What?" exclaimed Harry.  "But…but she said it would be destroyed!"

"That was Maylese Taynai, the last Princess of Aerilsed.  Her eldest daughter was your ancestor and her only son my great-grandfather.  Maylese was the one to order the Gauntlet to be locked away after it took the lives of so any Elves.  But only after a blind sorceress gifted with the Sight told her that the Gauntlet could only be destroyed by a mortal heir of the Aerilsed line who bore the power of the Tethdaìr.  This was laughed at, of course, for there had never before been mortal heir's to the Elven lines until Maylayne Ardwith met Tirades Snape and wed him, creating your own family line.  And the thought of a mortal member of the Tethdaìr was simply ludicrous."

"But how did the Gaun'let go into me?"

"You told me yestereve that it melted, burning the very flesh from your arm and leaving nothing but bones.  But that melted pool restored your arm."

Harry nodded in confirmation and Sheen continued, "The best I can figure is that there was another trick to the Gauntlet being destroyed.  Not only did it have to be worn by an heir of the Aerilsed line and a Tethdaìr but by someone who had willingly sacrificed their own safety and life to save another the Gauntlet had taken hold of.  The very thing you yourself did for your Niamh.  I assume that after that sacrifice and the amount of time needed the Gauntlet's magic was turned from dark to light and that is what healed your arm.  It used its own magic to heal you and in turn went into you."

Harry blushed as she said 'your Niamh' and ducked his head.  He prodded the rune for loyalty then ran his fingers over sacrifice and courage, considering all that had been said.

Sheen smiled and rubbed his shoulder before she lifted her head and looked towards the doorway that Tylwys and Marlan stood guard at.  There was a crash from inside and the sound of someone cursing.

"Come, Harry.  I believe your godfather is awake."

She rose gracefully to her feet, looking down at him as he sat numbly for a moment.  Then he shook himself and stood, offering her his arm.  The Queen of the Elves laughed and looped her arm through his as they walked back through the garden to see what Sirius had gotten himself into.

* * * *

Three more days dawned and the three werewolves who had been lodging in the great hall returned to their human forms with the third dawn.  Harry winced as he watched the painful transformation from wolf to human of his friend and ex-professor.  He couldn't even look at Amadeus, whose transformation seemed even more painful than the other two.

By the time the sun was completely up, the three werewolves had cloaks bundled about them with a Pain-Reliving Potion made by Severus the night before in their hands.

Amadeus, released from the cage he'd been in for two days, downed the potion in one go then pulled Sheen – who sat on the floor beside him – close.  He buried his face in her shoulder and Harry politely turned away as he saw the man's shoulders shake with silent sobs.  The dark-haired teen barely heard Sheen whisper, "My poor wolf.  Look at what I've done to you…"

"To me?" said Amadeus in a hoarse voice, lifting his gray head to reveal eyes that were red and shadowed.  "What of what I have done to a child?"

Mika looked up, hearing himself being referred to.

"Amadeus…"

"No," growled the older werewolf, lifting a heavily scarred hand.  "Do not tell me I have done no harm to you, Mika.  I've spread my curse to you and I well remember my claws blinding your eye.  So do not lie to me."

Mika blushed and ducked his head as Sheen suddenly noticed his blind eye.  She rose from her lovers side and went to crouch before the young werewolf, lifting his chin with elegant fingers.  A single brown eye met hers for only a moment before looking away.  The blind eye, a grayer shade of brown, stared defiantly into the bright green.

Sheen gently ran her fingers over the jagged scar that had blinded the eye then touched the bite mark on Mika's shoulder, which the cloak had slipped back to reveal.  He flinched away and Harry, who could see his friends remaining eye, saw shame for what he had become in that brown orb for the first time since he'd been bitten.

"My Amadeus did such harm to you," she whispered, "and yet you came to his aid."

"It wasn't his fault," mumbled Mika, still not looking at the Elf Queen.

"Yet you could blame him.  Why do you not?"

"Because I know it was the Death Eater's who threw me into the cell with him.  Because I was they when he turned and I saw the fear in his eyes when he knew that he would try to kill me the moment the wolf took over.  And because I see the shame in his eyes when he looks at me."

Mika lifted his head and his remaining eye was filled with sudden defiance as he continued, "My father made a mistake many years ago when he felt that a man he had trusted had betrayed him.  He never forgave him.  I will not become my father and blame Amadeus for what wasn't his fault."

Across the hall, Severus turned away at those words.  He knew very well who that man who Moody felt had betrayed him was.  How could he not, when he still bore the scar the old Auror had given him before they'd carted him off?

Sheen smiled, knowing as well as Severus what Mika was referring to.  It surprised her that Mad-Eye Moody's son would be a defender for her cousin but a glance at Harry showed that he was as surprised by this as she was.

Had he not known Mika was a defender of his father?

"Where exactly are we?" asked Remus suddenly.  "Unless these eyes are fooling me, you are an Elf."

Sheen smiled and turned towards him, taking up hands that were as scared as her lover's.  "Yes," she said, gripping those hands with a light embrace.  "And I thank you as well for the rescue of my Amadeus.  But…he is yours as well, is he not?"

Remus flushed slightly at the way she had said that then nodded slowly.

"He is my great-uncle."

"Ah!" exclaimed Sheen, looking back at Amadeus.  "Reginald!"

"Remus, please, Miss…"

"M'lady," said Harry, Severus, and Amadeus sharply.

Remus blinked and stared.  Sheen laughed merrily and said, "I am Sheen Ardwith, dear Remus.  Queen of the Elven folk."

"Oh my…"

"You get used to it, lad," said Amadeus in a reassuring tone.  He ran a hand back through his hair then scowled at the mop of gray.  "Damn, how I hate venturing back into the mortal world."

"You mean we…we are on a different plane of existence?" gasped Remus, eyes wide.

Severus nodded and replied, "You would be correct, Lupin."

"And you…you were the one that Darcorn came after!"

"He is an old friend of the royal family," Sheen said, moving back to Amadeus' side.  "Ageless as a statue.  He wanders the forest of Hogwarts, keeping a watchful on the last of the mortal members of the royal line."

Remus blinked then turned and stared at Severus and Harry, the latter of which was grinning wryly.

"You two?"

"Aye, sir," said Harry.

"Siri?" asked Lupin.

Sirius blinked then exclaimed, "Oh no!  I'm no Elf.  Pure wizard here."

"Don't forget idiot," muttered Severus in a voice meant to be heard by the Animagus.  Harry sighed as his godfather turned towards his cousin with a scowl on his features but said nothing.

Sheen smiled, not acknowledging the war of glares going on between Severus and Sirius, and said, "Stay as long as you all will, at the court's pleasure.  It is ever so wonderful to have new faces here where we get them so infrequently."

"But we've already been gone for two days!" exclaimed Mika, standing up hurriedly with his cloak clutched close.  "The whole school's probably in an uproar by now!"

"No, no," said Sheen.  "Time passes differently here than upon your plane.  Here a day is an hour to you.  To your plane you have merely been gone two hours."

Amadeus scowled at his gray hair as he said, "Just beware of how long you stay here.  Too long and when you venture back onto the mortal plane, your body speeds forward to the age you would have been had you remained.  I had brown hair when I left!"

"And yet gray suits you just as well, my dear wolf," said Sheen sweetly, ruffling the thick mane.  "Though I daresay your hair intrigues me…Mika, was it?"

Mika nodded and looked up towards his crop of white hair.

"Its genetic," he explained.  "My little sister has silver hair.  Oh, hell, Mischa!"

"She'll be fine," assured Harry.  "An' we'll be back before she even knew we were gone."

"Tomorrow," said Severus loudly.  "No insult to your gesture of hospitality, cousin, but we cannot remain here for too long a time.  It was late already when we left Hogwarts and shall be later still before we are done explaining our adventures.  I daresay the day after we return shall be quite the amusement."

"You mean for having been through three more days than everyone else?" asked Harry.

Severus nodded then turned and left the hall without another word.  Sirius muttered something that sounded like "Good riddance" and earned a glare from Harry's direction.  The long-haired teen snapped, "Why can't you two just forget the past?  It doesn't do anything but bring trouble!"

With that he stormed off after his father, leaving Sirius looking abashed.

"Family troubles?" whispered Amadeus to Sheen, who was looking worriedly after the two.

"If only it were that simple, love," she replied softly.