A/N: Sorry, sorry sorry sorry and sorry again. this was s'pposed2 bup inXmas but the begining tooklonger than i thought, and then my computer colapsed. luckily i had this uploaded in Doc manager... uff... well, here it is for the ones who want to read anf for the rest to close the window... xDD RR pliz and thanx to all my reviewers!

Lina

Cap 9: Changes (Part Two)

The pain in his chest was unbearable, and he blacked out in seconds, but that wasn't too much of a help.

He opened his eyes again and found himself… nowhere. There was nothing, just blackness surrounding him. He could see, feel, smell, hear or taste nothing. He just knew he was, that he was there and he could think.

He lay there (or so he thought) for who knows how long; half-conscious as time passed in this strange place that was nowhere. And then it happened. Memories flooded his mind, memories that weren't his. The sounds and signs of nature, the words of the earth, the laguages of the animals, the grace of the air, and the power of fire and their knowledge were drilled into his mind, and ordered so perfectly that access to them was within a mere thought. The process felt as if it had taken ages, all the memories forcefully entering his mind and storing themselves in an accessible but protected place of it. For what felt like years the process continued until all the information was filed in his mind. In the end he couldn't think of a use for the information considering that after all those years Voldemort must have taken over the world.

As he ended that thought, he blacked out even in this realm, being sent into blissful oblivion. He didn't know how wrong he was. He couldn't even imagine it. And he was never aware of his physical changes.

The next morning they tested James and Lily's blood, to see who could donate Harry some of it. It turned out that James' blood matched Harry's even if he wasn't a Shadowmancer, which James was glad about. He had been praying to Nature and all higher powers that he was the one with his son matching blood. He couldn't forgive himself for what he had done to his son, even if he knew it was meant to happen. He nearly killed his son, for goodness sake! How could he not feel bad even if it had being foreseen? No way. But now he had a way to help his son through the danger. Even if he had healed most of the wound, that was just part of what was needed to for Harry to stay alive, and he wanted to do much more. And he could.

They gave Harry a blood restoring potion, but it could only be given in little amount, because if not the effect would last longer than needed and the arterial pressure could increase to be life threatening. So for three days James gave his son 400 ml (one unit) of blood transfusion per day, and also gradually healed what he could of the wound.

But Harry was unconscious for a week, until he woke the next Tuesday, in the dead of night. He was completely lost, remembering nothing of what had happened. And then it all came back to his mind. The swords fighting, the magic burst, his father stabbing him, and then the information gained in that strange realm of darkness, all the knowledge came back, and also the feeling of having been in nothingness for many years. He looked around. He was in a hospital wing. After some closer observation he noticed he was in the hospital tower of the Palace. Had he been unconscious for so long? That couldn't be. He slowly sat up, and was surprised by a sharp pain on his chest. He looked down and found he was without top, wearing only the pyjama shorts, and bandages surrounded his chest.

Had they really been years, or was that just a feeling of mine? He thought as he looked around. He needed a calendar, he needed to know the date, and he needed to know if Voldemort had had time for taking over the world or not. At least he had only had something like a year or less in Earth. He tried getting off bed, but his legs couldn't sustain him stand, so sitting on his bed he looked around searching for a calendar. He found it in a corner of the wind, next to a large cupboard. It was an earth calendar, and it was marked until Tuesday, October 7th, just a week since the accident in the clearing. (A/N: I'm using 2003's calendar.)

Just a week… He knew that no years had passed by, because the photo of a panda next to the days and dates told him so. In the castle they bough six Muggle calendars per Earth year, all with different photo themes, and duplicated them to have one in every room that needed one. Every two Earth months (nearly a year) they changed the calendars to others of the same Earth year but different designs and models, so they could know two months had passed by in Earth and they could tell a year had passed for them. Throughout the year he'd been there, they had been using wall calendars, with animal photos. And he perfectly remembered the panda of that month.

Just a week? How? It felt like so much more time. I couldn't have received all that information in just a week, it's simply humanly and inhumanly impossible, He thought completely confused. But maybe… maybe my mind was away for long, but my body… for how long? And then I remember that I fell unconscious in that strange world… Grrh, I'd better forget all this, is giving me a headache.

He looked down at his wound, and then concentrated in his elven magic, reaching out with it to scan the damages. The sword had gone between two ribs, though it the upper rib had some pieces missing. It had cut through his lung and tore a fair amount of bronchioli, but most of it was healed by now. He continued scanning himself, and found that he had suffered of blood loss, feeling the residual magic of the blood-restoring potion in his system, and also his father's foreign blood. But is suited his system well. Although it felt a bit strange, his body showed no dejection against it. He sighed heavily, and lay down on his back, allowing tiredness to overtake him and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

The next time he woke up, the shadows of the beds and shelves told it was somewhere between 4:00 and 4:30 pm. He felt a bit more tire than last night, and the pain on his chest was sharper. He supposed it was for the lack of shadows surrounding him and giving him some energy, which had been present last night. He slowly sat up, trying to avoid as much pain as possible. He was able to rise himself, but could stay up for only some seconds before needing the support of the wall behind. He stayed there for what felt like hours, but were indeed only fifteen minutes, before the door of the tower opened, and in came his parents and Remus, all with worried expressions.

'Harry!' Cried his mother as she noticed him sitting on the bed. She ran the few meters between the door and his bed, her arms open, ready to embrace him. And hug him she did, delicately grapping her arms around her son's injured body. 'Oh Harry, finally. We've been so worried. A whole week! You don't know how scared I was,' she mumbled in his ear while rubbing his back softly. When she finally released him, she looked at him sternly, and said in a serious but worried tone, 'Don't you dare scare me likethatagain!'

Harry just looked at her smiling sheepishly, though his eyes twinkled mischievously. But the merry moment didn't last long, as Harry turned to look at his father. The moment Harry's eyes fell in his father's, James looked away.

'Father…?' Harry said, his tone soft and careful as it turned to question in the end, his voice raspy or the lack of use. Then he continued softly but firmly, 'It's OK, Dad' At these words James' head snapped up, eyes wide open in shock. 'We both knew it was meant to happen, and no matter how much we tried, it would happen in the end.' Harry continued, even if his thoaat hurt like on fire, his eyes looking into James, seeing and feeling all the mixed emotions.

They stayed that way for a couple of minutes, looking at each other, James in disbelief and Harry in a serious way, akin to hope. Then Harry's face cracked into a kind smile, his body agreeing with his thoughts and showing his father that he really didn't care about the accident (or incident) in the forest.

This was enough to convince James. His eyes brightened enough to light Gringotts' tunnels, and a broad smile crossed his face as he swiftly moved towards his son. Harry's smile widened has his father's strong but gentle arms enveloped him in a tender and caring embrace. He loosened his smile and relaxed in his father's protective arms supporting his head on his father's shoulder reassuring James that he didn't care and thought of it as something that had to happen, and not Prong's fault.

'Thank you,' his father's soft voice barely reached his ears, just because of his elven hearing. He smiled weakly in silent and unseen answer, before allowing tiredness to overtake him. He drifted into a peaceful slumber in his father's arms and a couple of minutes later he was soundly asleep.

Harry slept until late in the evening, waking up half an hour after dinner. He sat up looking around, noticing that his wound hurt less than the last time he woke. Looking down, he found the shadow of a shelf falling on his chest, soothing the pain and restoring some of his energy. He sat there for something like five minutes, before the presence of people in the corridor alerted him of his parents and Remus' arrival.

'So. You finally decided to wake up, sleeping...? Well, notbeauty,' his father asked teasingly when he saw him sitting on the bed, as he walked into the room. Harry just answered rolling his eyes and smiling while shaking his head.

'Well, now, lie down young man,' ordered James as he walk to Harry's bed, his demeanour a bit more serious.

Harry looked at him with his eyes wide in shock. Then his expression changes, and he looked at James as if he had just growned a second head. 'Are you mad?' Harry asked half shouting. 'It hurts like hell!'

'Harry, keep your thoughts to yourself. I need to treat your wound, so lie down,' ordered his father with a tone that left no space for arguments. Harry just sighed in defeat and with his mother's help lay down again. Lily then lowered the covers down to his hips.

James stood next to his son's bed, and waving his right hand above the teen's chest and muttering some incoherencies he made the bandages around Harry disappear and reappear on the bedside table. He then proceeded to heal Harry's wound a little more, as the effect of the magical blade wore off. Waving and intertwining the cells and tissues back to their place as painless as possible, he healed a percent or two more of the wound. Meanwhile Remus had gone to one of the cupboards and taken two vials with potions. One had a thick and colourless solution and the other a light blue liquid that Harry recognized as an elven painkiller. As James finish with what little he could do with magic, he took the vial with gel-like substance from Remus' hands and took off the lid. He then tugged two fingers into the vial, left it on the table and the turned to Harry smiling faintly at him. He then said in a soft and nearly emotionless tone, 'This'll hurt you a little, and burn a bit too, but it'll be gone in seconds,' and ended with another smile.

He then proceeded to carefully rub the section around the sound, which was red and irritated by the inflammation process. Harry winced as his father's hand touched the sensible skin and as he felt the cold gel on his chest. He pressed his eyes shut and bit his lower lip stopping any sound from coming out his mouth. After a minute or so the pain started to subdue as the gentle massage on the wound turned relaxing and soft, the cool substance lowering the temperature of the wound and the skin around.

The massaging process continued for about five minutes before his father stood up and silently went to the sink next to the window of the room to wash his hands. As he walked back he took a crystal goblet form one of the shelves on the wall and then took the second vial from Remus' hands., James poured exactly half of the vial content into the goblet, then handed it to Harry.

'You know that this wont completely stop the pain but it will numb the wound enough for the pain to just bother but no hurt,' his father said in his teacher-mode before handling him the glass. Harry took it from his father's hands and downed the content down his throat, the sweet flavored liquid a blessing to his dry throat.

'I'm sure you're hungry, Harry, so do you want me to ask the house-elves to bring you some food?' his mother asked as she took the glass from his hands.

'That'd be great mum, but not too much and something light please,' Harry accepted with a grateful smile.

'OK. I think some vegetables and egg will suit you then.'

'Yep, thanks,' Harry answered with a smile and a nod. Lily returned the smile and turned around heading to the door and out of the room to the kitchens.

They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before Remus gathered the courage to ask the question that had been nagging the three adults in the castle. 'Harry, do you have any idea about what happened?' the werewolf asked in a careful tone.

'I think I do...' Harry answered vaguely. Then his eyes focused again as he arranged his thoughts. 'I know I received information of some kind, which was filed in my mind. I have easy access to it now. But it felt like years… I think that my mind was away for years but my body was not. It as quite strange, and it felt like your description of the place were you were all these years,' he ended looking at his father.

'Yes… you could've been in the Sea of Eternity. But I can't think of how the time could have been reduced so much,' James , half to himself and half to the other two.

'What do you mean?' Harry asked with a slight frown.

'The magical outburst, which is when I think the information transference occurred, lasted only ten of fifteen minutes. The rest of the week you were unconscious because of the blood loss and the shock that the new information and the physical changes caused,' his father explained.

'Physical changes?' Harry asked with an eyebrow raised.

'Oh yes, you haven't seen yourself in the mirror' Remus said snickering lightly.

'What d'you mean?' Harry asked frowning. But instead of words, his father answered him by waving his hand in front of him, making ato feettall mirror appear in front of Harry.

The sight that met his eyes wasn't what he was expecting. In front of him was a complete stranger, the scar on his forehead,andhis hair colour were the only things that remaind the same from his old self. His reflexion had slightly lower forehead than what he remembered his to be, his eyebrows thiner and more elegant, his cheekbones were still at the same level though. His skin had paled some shades and his features were sharper and more elegant. His hair was the same wavy black hair, but now it reached half way down to his waist. his eyes had darkened some shades and were now a strange mixture between emerald and forest green. Some of his muscle mass had thined down, but he felt his strength would be the same as always when he healed, and he was now lighter for quick movements. But the main difference between his actual reflection and how he remembered it to be were the pair of elven pointed ears that replaced Harry's human ones.

'How... how did this happened?' Harry asked in a shalow voice through his amazemen.

'Now that you've seen yourself we can explain our theory,' started his father with an ammused tone. 'You are what we call a Soul Elf, known among elves as the Valar Hiiin (Valar Children). Even if you weren't born to be an elf according to your DNA, your magic went agaisnt logic and forced your body to change in what it is supposed to look like, an elf. When you mentioned this information transferance, it all clicked in place. Elves ar born with a sertain amount of knowledge about their powers and nature, though it doesn't show itself until it's needed. The strange thing is that you have easy access to it, but that may be because your Occlumency and Legilimency abilities.' As James finished his speech, all Harry could do was gape un shock and disbelief as he understood what the words his father had said ment.

'I'm an elf, a Valar Hiiin!' Harry asked though he lready knew the answere was "yes".

'Yes son, you are an inmortal,' James anwered with a sigh.

It took only a short moment for the meaning of that sentence to dawn in Harry and his understanding. He was a High Elf, one of the Beautiful People, an Eldar, an Inmortal, bond to linger though eternity should he not be killed by war. As he thought this, an image of him, his parents, Remus, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and the rest of the Weasleys behind appeared in his mind. Then, all his friends and family started fading away, his parent slower than the rest because of their longer lives, but in the end all were gone. He was alone. Maybe not now, in this moment, but he'll be in the end, lingering through time as his family and friends and loved ones died because of their nature. A shiver ran down his spine as realization dawned appon him and filled him with fear for his future, should he live though this and the followingwars.

James had seen his son's gaze drifting away into his thoughts, as he understood the meaning of what he had just said. He knew it was hard, he'd gone through it, when he learned he'll live longer than all his friends. But he knew that in the end he'll also die, and meet his loved ones, againt his son, who was going to live as long as he survived this and any other war. The day will come when all of them were dead, and his son will continue within the living, and slowly sadness and sorrow will tear him appart, with non to help him through it. But maybe the day will come when he fell in love with a human, and all signs of inmortality were gone because of his love. He hope that'd be the case, or that he fell in love with another inmortal. But that wasn't probable, because there weren't to many inmortal kinds in Earth.

'Harry?' asked Remus tentative voice, snapping both father and son out of their daze. 'Are you alright?'

'Yeah... it' just...' he trailed off as he drifted again into his mind.

'Harry...?' his father's voice brought him back to the world of things as the man's hand lay on his shoulder. He looked up from his place on his actual bed and a mirthless smile formed slowly on his face.

'In the end it isn't that great, is it?' Harry said looking back down to the convers of the bed.

'Son, it's better to face the future when it turns to be the present, not before,' James said with a confortiong tone. 'At the moment we are all here to help you go through your life, and maybe things will turn out for the best.'

'Maybe...' Harry repeated with a sigh.

James gently grapped his arms around Harry from the elfling's side, as the boy rested his head on his fathers chest. They were snapped back to the present by the sound of a door opening and the sound of a set of feet aproaching. James lifted his head and turned slightly to look behind him, while Harry just raised his head a little.

It happend to be Lily who was carring a tray with the food Harry had asked for, also with a glass of orange juice. As she aproached to them, Harry and James separated and, helped by his father, Harry sat on his bed properly, his back supported by three or four pillows.

'Here you are,' Lily's cheerful and motherly voice said as she alowed the legs of the tray fall and set it on the bed, leaving Harrys' legs between the wooden ones of the tray. 'I won't force yu to eat it all, but please eat as much as you can, because you lost a lot of wieght this week.'

'Yes, Mun,' Harry answered smiling at her, infected by her cheerfulness. He looked down at the plate and even though it only hadsome lettuce leaves, tomato and abocado with oneboiled egg, he thought he wouldn't be able to eat it all. He started eating, and at the first bite, he began feeling hungry. He ate with pleasure as the adults talked about who-knows-what sitting on the bed to his right. When he'd finished a little more than the half of the food, he admited himself he couldn't eat more. He drank some glups of juice befose crossingthe knife and fork on the plate. The moment he did so the tray disappeared, probably to the kitchens.

'How much you ate?' asked his mother when she noticed he had finished, some moments later.

'Something more than half of it,' Harry answered, resting his head agaist the pillows.

'Very well. Now, if you aren't too tire, I'll help you to the bathroom so you can get washed and go to the loo, ok?' James asked his son, smiling at him with a caring smile.

Harry nodded thankfully, and with his father's help he stood up and left the room through a door to his left and in the front wall, leaving a smiling mother and werewolf behind.

(thats all folks) the next xhap it's in my mind though i'm leaving fo holidays the 12th so pliz understand... read ya all!