Chapter 14

"Excuse me Ron, may I have a word?" Ron opened his eyes, and looked up at Lord Elrond. He smiled calmly and nodded,

"Of course, please sit down." he motioned to the ground beside him. Elrond took him up on the offer and sat down, copying his cross legged position. The elf's eyes swept over the area. The leaves of the trees were just beginning to change colour, but there were still plenty of flowers out and the whole place screamed with life.

"This is a good spot for meditation." he praised. Ron nodded, and looked around, mimicking the older person's gesture.

"It's peaceful. A good place to try to discover my animagus form." he agreed, "But you didn't come here to say that… did you?" Ron had been in Rivendell for a very short time, but he knew that look; the elf lord had something on his mind.

"No I did not." Elrond looked at him seriously, "Ron, you recall, I'm sure, the vision you had a week and a half ago."

"Of course, not something you'd forget."

"Well, Erestor seems to have found the reason you weren't killed by it. It's… shocking to say the least." Elrond reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar scroll.

"Hey! My family tree!" Ron had nearly forgotten that he'd left it with Erestor ages ago. Elrond opened it and drew Ron's attention to a name on it. The mysterious Isorfin, the one sibling in the whole family with an elvish name. Elrond stared at it carefully then looked at Ron,

"Ron, Erestor had to literally dive into the depths of the library, and search for something he wasn't even sure was there, that was only a half formed idea in his head. But he was right, and he was able to explain why you survived."

"Well?" Ron prodded when the elf stopped.

"Ron, Erestor had a friend long ago, long before the first people on this list were born. His name was Faeron. He lived in a small town, one of the rare places where elves and humans lived together. He came to Rivendell to see the house, and to see the library."

"Let me guess, he was a bookworm and he and Erestor instantly clicked and became firm friends."

"Not quite, they did 'click' as you put it and they became acquaintances, they did spend a lot of time while he was here, but they didn't keep in contact much, in fact I think there were about two letters in twenty years. But Erestor did receive a letter saying that Faeron had married and that he had a newborn son. He was called Isorfin." Ron frowned slightly in confusion.

"I'm not seeing where you're going with this coincidence."

"Perhaps it would help if you knew that his wife's name was Miraleni… a human name." Ron frowned then he glanced at the parchment. He noted that one of Isorfin's sisters was called Miraleni. He also remembered that Erestor had told him it was unheard of to name a human an elvish name and vice versa… so that would mean that Miraleni, the wife of Faeron, had been human. This would mean that their children would have been half and half.

"Ok." he said finally, "I think I know where you're going with this but say it so I'm clear."

"Isorfin and all his siblings were half elf and half human. If they all married humans and their children did the same and so on and on, then the presence of elvish blood would become less and less each generation."

"Are you basically saying that this Isorfin and the son of Faeron are the same person?" Elrond nodded. Ron knew he probably sounded dumb, but he wanted to have this clear in his mind. "But that would mean that I'm related to the elves, that I have elvish blood in my veins!"

"Which is why you were able to survive the visions, and would explain why you were chosen to lead the elves to defend the humans." Ron furrowed his brow slightly,

"Ok, we can go back to that, does my whole family have this? Does Malfoy have this? Wait! If I do have elven blood in my veins, how come I'm not as graceful, or glow, or have pointed ears, or can hear the trees… actually I can do that, but only one wants to talk to me I think. Why am I not more… elf-like? And what makes you so sure? Also why did they try to hide their heritage on the elven side?" Elrond waited till Ron caught his breath again, and then explained patiently

"Because it's less actual blood and more an elven gene, and just because you have a gene in your DNA doesn't mean it's active. Yours obviously is otherwise the vision would have killed you, but that gene is overwhelmed by your human ones, so you're much more human then elven, but if you think about it you picked up your stealth skills faster then any full human would have. And in regard to your siblings they may have the gene or they may not, but it's doubtful that it's active, in them or in your parents, or even your grandparents. It's probably been dormant for many generations. But in you, whether by natural or mystical means, it's active, it saved you." Ron stared at him absorbing the information. "And in answer to your question about how we're so sure well… to be honest it does answer an awful lot of questions… besides um, Faeron was unusual for an elf because he had a distinctive feature." The elf's eyes travelled upwards and Ron shook his head as he chuckled. He reached up and tugged at his hair,

"He was a flaming red head?" Elrond nodded, smiling. Ron laughed,

"And to answer your last question, well I'm afraid that is a mystery, maybe they were afraid of other humans reactions, maybe they were ashamed of it, I doubt we'll ever know."

"What did you mean by this explaining why I was chosen to be captain?"

"Because you have a connection to each race that is against the Goa'uld and Voldemort. You have elven blood within you, you have the magic of the wizards and you are connected to those you call muggles by the simple fact that you are human. You'd be surprised how useful it can be to have a physical connection to a people. They're more incline to trust you." Ron quirked and eyebrow slightly, as if unsure if this was a good thing or not. Then he smiled softly and looked over his shoulder at the house.

"It does explain why I feel… connected to this place, you people." Ron then nodded to himself and said "Thank you Lord Elrond, for telling me, but I'd like for this to be kept quiet for now. More because of other wizard's reactions then the other elves."

"Of course. I'll go now, if you want this to be kept quiet, then I had best hurry and sew Erestor's mouth shut." Ron grinned and nodded in thanks. Elrond walked off and Ron returned to his meditation, searching his spirit for the animal within.

Ron woke and sat up automatically. He felt wide awake for a change. Why? Was something happening today? Training? Nope, he was done. Lessons? No, he finished them three days ago. What then? He was finished everythi-…

"OH MERLIN!" he bellowed, nearly falling out of the bed. He was finished! He was done! Today was the day. He was being dubbed a captain today. "Oh damn, I'm not ready I'm not ready I'mnotready, I'mnotready!" he started pacing back and forth in an utter panic, tearing at his hair, it felt very long and thick between his fingers, but he really couldn't care about his hair. He couldn't do this!

"Caw!" He leapt a mile in the air and stared at Dubhaltach who stared at him beadily. Then the creature began to caw and sing and make a general racket.

'Must be raining.' Ron thought irritably as he covered his ears. Augureys only really made noise when it rained, they sang of it joyfully. Good thing Ron knew that or else he might have thought he'd woken up dead, like Professor Binns. Augureys were thought to cry only in the presence of someone who was about to die, or some thought the cry itself was fatal, so they weren't very popular as pets. Nevertheless Ron loved him, he was very beautiful if taken care of, which he was. Ron hurried over to the double doors and threw them open. Dubhaltach was soaring away in seconds. 'Not even a good luck nip!' Ron thought sourly as he watched his pet fly off. As if hearing his thoughts the bird came back, landed on his shoulder, drenching it as he did, it was pouring, and nipped his ear affectionately. He then took off again. Ron smiled after him, feeling less worried now. He went into his washroom and showered off. As he wrapped a towel around his waist he paused as he caught sight of his own reflection in the mirror. He mindlessly secured his towel tightly and walked up to the reflecting glass. He studied his own image carefully. His hair was long enough to tie back now, and it was fiery and smooth, when it was dry anyway. With it so long he thought he looked a bit like Bill.

He next studied his face. It wasn't a bad face really, although it was scratchy with stubble at the moment, yes Ron had finally gained stubble. His nose seemed to have shortened or, either, his face had just grown to accommodate it, it was still long, but he could live with it, at least he didn't look like Sireno anymore. He had bright eyes, but he saw wisdom behind them. He didn't feel particularly wise but he knew that wisdom came with experiences, as well as age. Next was his neck. The scar wasn't an angry red any more, it was just a scar. It wasn't going to be the last, Ron was sure. His torso was changed greatly in near three months. His shoulders were broader and his arms rippled with muscles. His chest and stomach were hairless and firm. He wasn't grossly muscular like the men in the muggle magazine about wrestling his dad had brought home one day, he was just the kind that told his strength, but he was still approachable. At least he thought he was. His teenage skin had healed up, i.e. he no longer suffered from spots. There was definitely something to be said about the diet of the elves. All in all he though he looked good, in a happy with yourself sort of way, not a narcissus way. He got dressed in his favourite outfit, pale blue silk under tunic, navy over tunic, navy trousers and navy boots. He dried his hair with a quick wave of his wand and tied it back like Earithramir did. He then strapped his wand sheath around his thigh. He didn't have any other weapons… yet. He would by tonight though. He shivered excitedly. He was really going to do it. He was about to take on the huge responsibility of Captain.

'May Merlin and the Valar have mercy on the elves that follow me.' He thought wryly to himself as he stepped out of his room and shut the door. He locked it with his wand before slipping it into his sheath. He mentally thanked Lomli for the great idea of both sheath and magically locking his door. He walked down to the main hall and entered. There seemed to be an explosion of noise as he stepped in. He reeled back in shock, then looked around. The whole hall seemed to be on its feet clapping. For him! He was shocked and his embarrassment got the better of him. He blushed. Really deeply. His face and ears were so hot one could have fried eggs on his cheeks and sizzled sausages on his ears. He felt Cilath take his hand and lead him away back out of the hall. Earithramir and Lomli were grinning at him. Cilath said softly

"Elrond said it may be easier for you if you ate in one of the private dining rooms." The private dining rooms were used often for when lovers wanted a romantic dinner alone, or if Elrond had to discuss political issues with people privately. The four ate together in one of them.

"So are you all set?" asked Lomli as he swallowed a mouthful of strawberries.

"I, I think so, almost." Ron stammered nervously.

"You'll do fine. Relax." Cilath soothed, nudging a plate of apple slices towards him. He ignored it and continued to rip up the flat bread into tiny pieces. He was suddenly feeling very nervous again and didn't want to eat, he'd just sipped a little of his juice. Not even Cilath rubbing his shoulder as she spoke to him was enough to distract him.

"Don't forget Ron, your very name is a good omen of your ability. 'Wise dominion' is what Ronald means. It's a sign!" Earithramir encouraged.

"You sound like Trelawny." Ron muttered, not feeling any better.

"This day will not come again Ron." Cilath said softly stroking his cheek, "Don't waste it with worries. Revion left his muggle things behind, play with them. Or you could read something, or-"

"Or you could spend the rest of the day in bed with our dear lady friend here." cackled Earithramir. The laughter quickly turned into a yelp of pain as Cilath kicked him sharply on the shin. Ron laughed at them and felt better. He was really about to do this, and he was all set, he was just being stupid.

'I can do this!' he mentally coached himself. 'I've proven myself, I can do this.' He smiled brightly, suddenly feeling very confident and energised. Lomli and Earithramir started to bicker about some mindless thing and he grinned as he drawled something that shut the both of them up. That was a very rare thing. As he continued to talk to his friends, it never even occurred to him that his sudden change of mood was odd or that elves were very sneaky people when they wanted to be.

Cilath smiled to herself as Ron suddenly brightened up and joined in a talk between Lomli and Earithramir. He hadn't any idea. It had taken a lot of persuasion on her part with Lord Dumbledore to give her the potion that would boost Ron's confidence. She'd literally only added a single drop, it would wear off by the end of the day. Ron just needed to relax, not worry about the ceremony or afterwards. Ron smiled at her and she felt her heart give a tug and her head went a little light. Oh Valar was she ever in love. She suddenly wished Lomli and Earithramir would leave her and Ron alone; they wouldn't have much time tonight. She caught Earithramir's eye and signal her desire. Earithramir nodded to show he understood, but to her annoyance he just continued the conversation. Why that little- no she wouldn't get annoyed, she could beat him at this game. It was all an attempt to wind her up. She refused to give him the satisfaction. Lomli clearly knew what was up because his blue eyes were twinkling with mirth. Cilath looked at Ron again and as he laughed she felt her heart rate pick up and she suddenly felt very warm, putting a pink tinge in her cheeks. Oh dear, not good. She narrowed her eyes at the both of them when Ron wasn't looking. They shook with silent laughter, much to the bewilderment of Ron.

"What's going on?" he asked looking between the three of them. She pursed her lips for a second in thought then stood up. She grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"As riveting as the conversation you were having was, I have other plans with Ron and, at the moment, they do not include you!" She released his hand, grabbed the front of his tunic and dragged him away, much to the amusement of Earithramir and Lomli if the laughter that erupted behind them was any indication. She released Ron only when she had him outside and in a secluded part of the forest. There was a gentle sound of running water and birds were singing somewhere in the trees. Ron grinned at her and she allowed him his satisfaction.

"Just what were your plans?" he asked cockily.

"Oh they were something like this." She shoved him hard, tripping him up. He fell over onto his backside and within seconds she was atop him. Her lips pressed against his and she gripped his wrists, pinning them to the ground. He pressed against them and she didn't give an inch. She pulled away and they grinned at each other.

"Now my captain," she purred, "I think you should perform your duty with your fellow warrior." He smirked

"In some societies it would be considered unprofessional and a case of severe rule breaking for a Commanding officer to have an… intimate relationship with someone who serves beneath him." She raised an eyebrow and then smiled slyly.

"Well technically, I'm above you at the moment and elves don't have any of those silly rules."

"Well who can argue with that logic?"