Black Eyes
Chapter Four: Depth Perception
by Capella
A/N: Get ready for the plot twist! Sort of! ....right! Actually, there's more slashiness than plot twists. Erm, you'll have to get ready for those next chapter.
I'm so glad you guys liked the bit of Haldir/Draco that I snuck into the last chapter -- it was sort of a test run to see if you guys would like it. And since you did, I suppose I'll have a bit of fun with it.
Oh, and before I start rambling, I just wanted to say thanks, thanks, thanks to everyone who reviewed. 60 reviews! And I've only got out 3 chapters so far! I can't even express how ungodly cool that is. So thanks from the bottom of my slashy Draco-luvin' heart.
And I'm very sorry this is so late. Got a weird headache eight days ago, made me bed-ridden, and worst of all we couldn't figure out if it was a migraine or sinus infection or what. got a cat scan, no tumor, but then the antibiotics kicked in, so i'm alright now. Yay!
And, sorry, I wanted to make it more graphic, but there's this stinky rule on ff.net. *shrugs* talk about spoilin' a girl's fun. Oh well, I made it as steamy as I can under the PG-13 rating. And heck, was it a good time. *grins*
Well -- that's it, actually, no more talkie. So sit back, relax, and enjoy chapter four: Depth Perception.
_________________________
"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."
-- Galileo Galilei
_________________________
"Excuse me?"
The look Haldir gave him over his shoulder was positively glacial. And beautiful. But mostly glacial.
"I am not aware that an order such as 'wait here' was so difficult. Perhaps I was mistaken when I assumed you had at least a tenuous grasp on the Common Tongue."
Draco bristled. "I understood your order, elf," he said, glancing to his right at the backs of Harry, Fiona, Rumil, and Aragorn as they walked away. Rumil's hand rested gently on Harry's forearm, guiding him. Legolas had gone to saddle the horses. "I don't quite understand why I can't go with them. I'm part of this, aren't I? I mean, I didn't come here to be stuck in some room while everyone else runs off."
Finally Haldir turned to face Draco fully, cool and collected but with a bit of anger in his eyes. "Actually, wizard, I am not sure why you are here in the first place. Perhaps Harry felt he owed it to you to take you along with him. But why have you burdened him with yourself? Can you not see that they have much more important things to worry about than looking after you?"
The anger and frustration of being left out that Draco had felt kindling for the last few minutes finally came to the forefront. "Looking after me? They brought a twelve-year-old girl and you think I'm the one who needs looking after!"
Haldir merely looked at him calmly. In the face of continuing stoicism, Draco began to feel a bit the fool.
"Fine. You want to know why I came. Well -- it's too hard to explain to someone like you, but somehow while I was back at Hogwarts, I learned that Legolas is Harry's biggest fear. And I have my suspicions about why exactly that is. So I came to keep an eye on them."
"You think you know everything," Haldir murmured in a somewhat neutral tone but with something that looked a bit like amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Well, by all means, keep an eye on Legolas Greenleaf. But I do not know how pleased he will be. Go on, then," he said, and motioned Draco towards the swiftly retreating group.
_________________________
Legolas came out of the small nook in the wall where he'd been hiding during the conversation. Haldir gave him a slightly bewildered smile. "He wants to keep an eye on you."
"I heard. What do you think of him, Haldir?"
It was rather amusing to watch the faintest hint of red enter Haldir's face and to see the way Haldir's eyes shifted to watch Draco pause and examine a statue.
"Well, to start, he is arrogant, irritating -- he seems to have no conscience, and he doesn't appear to care that he is putting a burden on the rest of the group, and -- oh --"
Legolas looked over and saw Haldir watching Draco walk away, obviously transfixed by the smooth roll of hips, the arrogant grace, the way he radiated allure as naturally as a fire radiated heat.
"He walks like that on purpose, does he not," Haldir said, and it was not really a question. He sounded mildly perplexed. But then again, Legolas realized that Haldir had probably never met anyone exactly like Draco Malfoy.
Which may or may not have been a good thing.
"Keep an eye on you," Haldir murmured to himself, shaking his head slightly with a bemused smile on his face and what may have been a chuckle. Legolas resisted the urge to pull out an arrow and chose to favor Haldir with an icy glare instead. Haldir raised his hands in front of him in surrender. "Not that I think he has any need to, of course. And -- look, here they come."
Harry was marching down the hall towards them, a disgusted look on his face, with Rumil attached to his arm and trying to keep up. It wasn't readily apparent who was leading who. Draco stood in the middle of the hall with Fiona, alternating glares between Harry and Aragorn. Aragorn strode in the opposite direction, and it was obvious from the ramrod-stiff line of his back that the talk had not gone well for either of them.
"Gandalf's gone," Harry said tightly when Legolas touched his wrist. Legolas blinked. That was unexpected. "And Aragorn won't tell me what news Gandalf had. He just said that if we wanted to find it out, Gandalf would have to tell us himself. I suppose it's just too bad for us that Gandalf had to clear up a matter in Mirkwood."
Legolas sucked in a breath. "Mirkwood?" he said, trying to appear casual, but he could feel his heartbeat racing in his chest. Harry's lips quirked up in a wry grin that said he was in no way fooled.
"Apparently your father was none too pleased at your disappearance. He started accusing Gondor merchants of kidnapping you for slave markets." Harry paused, frowning, and looked a bit displeased. "I didn't even know there were slave markets in Gondor."
Legolas managed a laugh. "There aren't," he said. "My father doesn't come out of his forest enough to know anything of Gondor. But he dislikes men at the best of times, so he assumes the worst. Go on."
"Your father was threatening to bring his elves out of Mirkwood to retrieve you, and Aragorn said the elves were ready to march when Gandalf left to speak with your father and straighten things out. Hopefully he succeeded. This was a few weeks ago. I suppose if the Gandalf failed, the elves would be here already."
"Did he say when Gandalf would return?"
Harry let out a deep breath and had the grace to look a bit guilty. "Well -- he did say that Gandalf should be back in a few days. Or less. And I suppose it isn't really Aragorn's fault. Perhaps -- I guess I shouldn't have yelled at him. Just, lately, I can't seem to keep my temper quite under control. I don't know what's the matter with me." He sighed. "I must just be uptight from this whole -- you know, eye thing." He motioned vaguely to his pale-green eyes. There was something strange in his expression, something fading that Legolas couldn't quite place his finger on.
"Should you apologize?" Legolas asked carefully.
"No," Harry snapped, and then a bit softer: "No, I don't think so." He offered no explanation, and Legolas asked for none. There was silence for a few moments.
"Rumil and I must be leaving," Haldir said smoothly, motioning for his brother. "I will stay until Gandalf arrives, but after that, I am not sure how long I can stay. The sea is...calling me and, with the conflict in Middle-earth over, I see no reason to remain here." He inclined his head to Legolas and Harry, spared a slightly wistful, confused look for the approaching Draco, and strode off with Rumil in his wake.
"Well, I see your interview with Aragorn did not go so well," Draco said, shooting a glance at Haldir's back. "But now what are you going to do? Wait around here for Gandalf? Or return to Hogwarts?" The last suggestion was said in a hopeful tone. But Harry was already shaking his head, frowning. Before he could speak, however, Fiona piped up from where she stood beside Draco.
"We can't go yet," she said in a surprisingly firm tone. "Aragorn said that whatever Gandalf wanted to tell us has something to do with me. Even though he didn't say so, I bet it's my mom. There's no other reason that he'd even look at me."
Legolas was a bit surprised despite himself. An observation rather astute for a such a small child.
"I suppose you're right, Fiona," Harry said and offered a smile. "We can afford to wait a few days for Gandalf. But -- Draco, if you want to leave, I'm afraid it might be quite a while. You would have to obtain permission from the Valar, and to do that, you would need an elf guide to take you to Valinor. So. I'm afraid you're stuck with us for now."
Draco mumbled something inaudible under his breath.
Legolas spotted a young servant hovering over in the shadows behind them and motioned her over. "Take Fiona and Draco to their rooms," he told her, and she bobbed a quick curtsy, sending a questing look to Harry and then to Legolas.
"Will you be needing your rooms now?" she asked breathily, a little wary of the blind wizard who she had just seen yelling at her King. Legolas glanced at Harry, who nodded.
"We only need one room for the both of us," Harry told her, and she blinked in surprise. Legolas heard Draco snort in amusement from behind them. He ignored it.
"If you'll follow me, then?" she said, unsure for a moment before she began walking down a hall to their right. Harry didn't even wait for Legolas to put a hand on his arm before he strode after her. Legolas had to walk fast to catch up to him; Harry wore a troubled expression on his face, eyebrows lowered and mouth pressed together in a thin line. Before Legolas could even say a word, Harry was already speaking.
"Aragorn is hiding something from me," Harry said tightly as they followed the servant down the halls. Legolas knew better than to say anything; he kept his mouth shut and waited for Harry to go on. "I didn't come all the way back here to have secrets kept from me. I want to know what he's isn't saying." They paused a moment, as the maid showed Draco and Fiona their two rooms. She then took one look at Harry's thunderous visage, let out a tiny little squeak, and pointed out their rooms. She scurried away down the hall, casting furtive looks back at them. Legolas laid a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder and guided him into their room. It was large, with a dark blue rug and several arched windows, and Legolas was relieved to see a roaring fire in the fireplace along one of the walls. The suitcases with their clothing lay in a corner.
The twisting light caused by the fire cast a strange, mysterious shadow on Harry's face, and Legolas stared at him, captured as surely as if under a net. Oblivious of Legolas's stare, Harry let out an irritated sigh.
"I should go down to his room right now," Harry muttered. "I should --"
Unable to help himself, Legolas stroked a finger down Harry's jaw to his lips, Harry's soft breath ghosting over Legolas's hand. Legolas, feeling a bit as though he'd been put under a spell, leaned down and pressed his lips gently to Harry's own.
Harry opened his mouth with a bit of a moan, bringing his hands up to grab Legolas's shirt and pull him closer until their bodies were flush up against each other. Legolas broke the kiss, head spinning, shivering as pleasure danced its way up his spine. Harry let out a whimpering gasp, fingers tangling in Legolas's long hair and pulling him down for another kiss.
"Oh, please --" Harry whispered desperately once they broke for air, pressing his body tighter to Legolas's own. Legolas slipped his hands under Harry's tunic, skimming his hands across the shivering, silky skin. Harry shuddered at his touch and latched onto the juncture of Legolas's neck and shoulder.
They had to step back a moment to get Harry's tunic off, but as soon as it was gone, Legolas was pressed against Harry again, pushing him back until the back of Harry's knees hit the bed and he fell onto the soft sheets. Legolas climbed onto the bed and hovered above him, hesistating a moment as he gazed down at Harry's flushed, desperate face; he had caught his bottom lip in between his teeth to keep from making noise. Harry grasped the bottom of Legolas's tunic and pulled it up over his head, throwing it to the side and letting his hands roam over Legolas's chest. Legolas let out a strangled groan when Harry's thumb grazed his nipple. He barely caught a hint of a smile on Harry's face before Harry looped his arms around Legolas's back and pulled him down, bringing their hips into contact.
He must have made a sound, because a moment later Harry pressed a finger against his lips. "Try not to make too much noise," Harry whispered, at the same time pressing his hips closer against Legolas's and letting out a tiny gasp. "Draco's in the room right next to us -- oh, do that again -- I mean, I don't want him to hear -- wait, stop it, I can't think -- oh, God!"
"Do you want me to stop?" Legolas asked, smiling wickedly even though he knew Harry couldn't see it, and used the hand that wasn't occupied to carefully grasp the waist of Harry's trousers. Harry thrust into his grip and snarled.
"If you stop now, I'll kill you," he managed to pant, and pulled Legolas's lips down to his own. The last coherent thought that Legolas had for quite a while was that he might have a bit of a problem staying quiet.
_________________________
Harry drifted back into consciousness slowly, feeling languid and satisfied. He was curled against Legolas's side with his head pillowed on Legolas's chest. He simply laid there for a moment, listening to Legolas's deep, steady breaths and feeling more content than he had in days.
He wondered how long they had slept, and just as he was about to wake Legolas to ask, he heard their door bang open. With a gasp, he scrabbled for the sheets.
"Harry, Gandalf is..." Draco's voice trailed off into what could only be described as a stunned silence. Harry felt his face grow hot. He pulled the sheets up to his waist and sat up. Beside him, Legolas stirred and sat up as well, placing a kiss on the nape of Harry's neck.
"We have a visitor, Legolas," Harry said sharply. He could feel Legolas stiffen.
"Draco," he said coolly. Draco ignored the elf entirely, speaking instead to Harry again. Harry resisted the urge to pull the sheets higher.
"Gandalf has arrived, Potter" he told Harry in an icy voice. "You two...slept...for a long time. He arrived at dawn." Without another word, Harry heard Draco's footsteps turn and walk out of their room. He let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding in.
Legolas's fingers trailed down his spine, drawing a shiver from him. "We should get dressed," he said unsteadily. Legolas let out a small, breathy laugh in his ear that would have been enough to weaken his knees if he'd been standing.
"We should," the elf agreed, and after a moment he got up. Harry could hear him rummaging around in their sacks for clothing. Legolas's footsteps padded back over to the bed, and he pressed some clothes into Harry's arms.
A moment later they were walking out of the room, Harry feeling a bit more composed than he had the night before. He wasn't quite sure why he had exploded like that, but all of a sudden, he had hated Aragorn so badly -- wanted to strangle him, curse him, anything. Even now, just thinking about the confrontation made his fingers twitch in a need to do violence.
That made him almost pause right there. What had made him so angry? It wasn't that Aragorn had been hiding anything from him -- although that would have made him simmer, it shouldn't have provoked the feeling that it had last night.
"Harry?"
Harry blinked, brought out of his thought. "What?" he asked irritably. He could feel Legolas's questioning gaze on his face.
"We've arrived in the throne room."
"Good," Harry said, putting his arm forward and touching solid wood. It took him a moment, but he found the handle of the door and pulled. "Perhaps now I can get some answers." He took a deep breath and walked forward, feeling his stomach twist with nervousness. Legolas walked along side him, squeezing his arm lightly when Harry needed to stop.
"It is good to see you again, Gandalf," he said. In truth, he didn't even know if Gandalf was in the room yet or not. He just had to guess and hope.
"It does me good to see you as well," Gandalf said warmly, and Harry turned his head to the left, in the direction of Gandalf's voice. "I see that you are becoming more used to your affliction, are you not?"
"I want it gone." He said it in a sharper tone than he meant to. He tried to temper his voice when he spoke again. "I was told that you had something you could only tell me in person. Can you tell us now?" He assumed that Fiona and Draco were already in the room. Gandalf's next words proved him right.
"Yes," Gandalf said, and sighed heavily. "But it has something to do with you, Fiona, as well. Draco, if you wish to come as well, you may. Follow me."
Legolas steered him carefully after Gandalf, though in truth Harry could have followed Gandalf by himself, from the sound of the wizard's footsteps. He grinned to himself. Legolas's hand clasping his own in a tight grip was comforting, though.
Abruptly they stopped, and Harry ran into someone's back before Legolas could stop him.
"Watch it, Potter," Draco drawled, and Harry flushed. He was about to reply when Gandalf spoke.
"I would have made you wait longer, but she has just woken for the second time, and I thought that both you and Harry should see her, Fiona." There was a sound of a doorway creaking, and then Harry heard Fiona gasp.
"Mommy?" she whispered, tears in her voice. "Mommy -- it's you --but what's wrong with your eyes?"
_________________________
A/N: FINALLY! Jeez! This chapter would just NOT be written! But oh well, I've got both angry!Harry, plot twists, and a bit of pointless smut? What in the world is better than that?
And reviews are definately not unappreciated. ;)
Chapter Four: Depth Perception
by Capella
A/N: Get ready for the plot twist! Sort of! ....right! Actually, there's more slashiness than plot twists. Erm, you'll have to get ready for those next chapter.
I'm so glad you guys liked the bit of Haldir/Draco that I snuck into the last chapter -- it was sort of a test run to see if you guys would like it. And since you did, I suppose I'll have a bit of fun with it.
Oh, and before I start rambling, I just wanted to say thanks, thanks, thanks to everyone who reviewed. 60 reviews! And I've only got out 3 chapters so far! I can't even express how ungodly cool that is. So thanks from the bottom of my slashy Draco-luvin' heart.
And I'm very sorry this is so late. Got a weird headache eight days ago, made me bed-ridden, and worst of all we couldn't figure out if it was a migraine or sinus infection or what. got a cat scan, no tumor, but then the antibiotics kicked in, so i'm alright now. Yay!
And, sorry, I wanted to make it more graphic, but there's this stinky rule on ff.net. *shrugs* talk about spoilin' a girl's fun. Oh well, I made it as steamy as I can under the PG-13 rating. And heck, was it a good time. *grins*
Well -- that's it, actually, no more talkie. So sit back, relax, and enjoy chapter four: Depth Perception.
_________________________
"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."
-- Galileo Galilei
_________________________
"Excuse me?"
The look Haldir gave him over his shoulder was positively glacial. And beautiful. But mostly glacial.
"I am not aware that an order such as 'wait here' was so difficult. Perhaps I was mistaken when I assumed you had at least a tenuous grasp on the Common Tongue."
Draco bristled. "I understood your order, elf," he said, glancing to his right at the backs of Harry, Fiona, Rumil, and Aragorn as they walked away. Rumil's hand rested gently on Harry's forearm, guiding him. Legolas had gone to saddle the horses. "I don't quite understand why I can't go with them. I'm part of this, aren't I? I mean, I didn't come here to be stuck in some room while everyone else runs off."
Finally Haldir turned to face Draco fully, cool and collected but with a bit of anger in his eyes. "Actually, wizard, I am not sure why you are here in the first place. Perhaps Harry felt he owed it to you to take you along with him. But why have you burdened him with yourself? Can you not see that they have much more important things to worry about than looking after you?"
The anger and frustration of being left out that Draco had felt kindling for the last few minutes finally came to the forefront. "Looking after me? They brought a twelve-year-old girl and you think I'm the one who needs looking after!"
Haldir merely looked at him calmly. In the face of continuing stoicism, Draco began to feel a bit the fool.
"Fine. You want to know why I came. Well -- it's too hard to explain to someone like you, but somehow while I was back at Hogwarts, I learned that Legolas is Harry's biggest fear. And I have my suspicions about why exactly that is. So I came to keep an eye on them."
"You think you know everything," Haldir murmured in a somewhat neutral tone but with something that looked a bit like amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Well, by all means, keep an eye on Legolas Greenleaf. But I do not know how pleased he will be. Go on, then," he said, and motioned Draco towards the swiftly retreating group.
_________________________
Legolas came out of the small nook in the wall where he'd been hiding during the conversation. Haldir gave him a slightly bewildered smile. "He wants to keep an eye on you."
"I heard. What do you think of him, Haldir?"
It was rather amusing to watch the faintest hint of red enter Haldir's face and to see the way Haldir's eyes shifted to watch Draco pause and examine a statue.
"Well, to start, he is arrogant, irritating -- he seems to have no conscience, and he doesn't appear to care that he is putting a burden on the rest of the group, and -- oh --"
Legolas looked over and saw Haldir watching Draco walk away, obviously transfixed by the smooth roll of hips, the arrogant grace, the way he radiated allure as naturally as a fire radiated heat.
"He walks like that on purpose, does he not," Haldir said, and it was not really a question. He sounded mildly perplexed. But then again, Legolas realized that Haldir had probably never met anyone exactly like Draco Malfoy.
Which may or may not have been a good thing.
"Keep an eye on you," Haldir murmured to himself, shaking his head slightly with a bemused smile on his face and what may have been a chuckle. Legolas resisted the urge to pull out an arrow and chose to favor Haldir with an icy glare instead. Haldir raised his hands in front of him in surrender. "Not that I think he has any need to, of course. And -- look, here they come."
Harry was marching down the hall towards them, a disgusted look on his face, with Rumil attached to his arm and trying to keep up. It wasn't readily apparent who was leading who. Draco stood in the middle of the hall with Fiona, alternating glares between Harry and Aragorn. Aragorn strode in the opposite direction, and it was obvious from the ramrod-stiff line of his back that the talk had not gone well for either of them.
"Gandalf's gone," Harry said tightly when Legolas touched his wrist. Legolas blinked. That was unexpected. "And Aragorn won't tell me what news Gandalf had. He just said that if we wanted to find it out, Gandalf would have to tell us himself. I suppose it's just too bad for us that Gandalf had to clear up a matter in Mirkwood."
Legolas sucked in a breath. "Mirkwood?" he said, trying to appear casual, but he could feel his heartbeat racing in his chest. Harry's lips quirked up in a wry grin that said he was in no way fooled.
"Apparently your father was none too pleased at your disappearance. He started accusing Gondor merchants of kidnapping you for slave markets." Harry paused, frowning, and looked a bit displeased. "I didn't even know there were slave markets in Gondor."
Legolas managed a laugh. "There aren't," he said. "My father doesn't come out of his forest enough to know anything of Gondor. But he dislikes men at the best of times, so he assumes the worst. Go on."
"Your father was threatening to bring his elves out of Mirkwood to retrieve you, and Aragorn said the elves were ready to march when Gandalf left to speak with your father and straighten things out. Hopefully he succeeded. This was a few weeks ago. I suppose if the Gandalf failed, the elves would be here already."
"Did he say when Gandalf would return?"
Harry let out a deep breath and had the grace to look a bit guilty. "Well -- he did say that Gandalf should be back in a few days. Or less. And I suppose it isn't really Aragorn's fault. Perhaps -- I guess I shouldn't have yelled at him. Just, lately, I can't seem to keep my temper quite under control. I don't know what's the matter with me." He sighed. "I must just be uptight from this whole -- you know, eye thing." He motioned vaguely to his pale-green eyes. There was something strange in his expression, something fading that Legolas couldn't quite place his finger on.
"Should you apologize?" Legolas asked carefully.
"No," Harry snapped, and then a bit softer: "No, I don't think so." He offered no explanation, and Legolas asked for none. There was silence for a few moments.
"Rumil and I must be leaving," Haldir said smoothly, motioning for his brother. "I will stay until Gandalf arrives, but after that, I am not sure how long I can stay. The sea is...calling me and, with the conflict in Middle-earth over, I see no reason to remain here." He inclined his head to Legolas and Harry, spared a slightly wistful, confused look for the approaching Draco, and strode off with Rumil in his wake.
"Well, I see your interview with Aragorn did not go so well," Draco said, shooting a glance at Haldir's back. "But now what are you going to do? Wait around here for Gandalf? Or return to Hogwarts?" The last suggestion was said in a hopeful tone. But Harry was already shaking his head, frowning. Before he could speak, however, Fiona piped up from where she stood beside Draco.
"We can't go yet," she said in a surprisingly firm tone. "Aragorn said that whatever Gandalf wanted to tell us has something to do with me. Even though he didn't say so, I bet it's my mom. There's no other reason that he'd even look at me."
Legolas was a bit surprised despite himself. An observation rather astute for a such a small child.
"I suppose you're right, Fiona," Harry said and offered a smile. "We can afford to wait a few days for Gandalf. But -- Draco, if you want to leave, I'm afraid it might be quite a while. You would have to obtain permission from the Valar, and to do that, you would need an elf guide to take you to Valinor. So. I'm afraid you're stuck with us for now."
Draco mumbled something inaudible under his breath.
Legolas spotted a young servant hovering over in the shadows behind them and motioned her over. "Take Fiona and Draco to their rooms," he told her, and she bobbed a quick curtsy, sending a questing look to Harry and then to Legolas.
"Will you be needing your rooms now?" she asked breathily, a little wary of the blind wizard who she had just seen yelling at her King. Legolas glanced at Harry, who nodded.
"We only need one room for the both of us," Harry told her, and she blinked in surprise. Legolas heard Draco snort in amusement from behind them. He ignored it.
"If you'll follow me, then?" she said, unsure for a moment before she began walking down a hall to their right. Harry didn't even wait for Legolas to put a hand on his arm before he strode after her. Legolas had to walk fast to catch up to him; Harry wore a troubled expression on his face, eyebrows lowered and mouth pressed together in a thin line. Before Legolas could even say a word, Harry was already speaking.
"Aragorn is hiding something from me," Harry said tightly as they followed the servant down the halls. Legolas knew better than to say anything; he kept his mouth shut and waited for Harry to go on. "I didn't come all the way back here to have secrets kept from me. I want to know what he's isn't saying." They paused a moment, as the maid showed Draco and Fiona their two rooms. She then took one look at Harry's thunderous visage, let out a tiny little squeak, and pointed out their rooms. She scurried away down the hall, casting furtive looks back at them. Legolas laid a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder and guided him into their room. It was large, with a dark blue rug and several arched windows, and Legolas was relieved to see a roaring fire in the fireplace along one of the walls. The suitcases with their clothing lay in a corner.
The twisting light caused by the fire cast a strange, mysterious shadow on Harry's face, and Legolas stared at him, captured as surely as if under a net. Oblivious of Legolas's stare, Harry let out an irritated sigh.
"I should go down to his room right now," Harry muttered. "I should --"
Unable to help himself, Legolas stroked a finger down Harry's jaw to his lips, Harry's soft breath ghosting over Legolas's hand. Legolas, feeling a bit as though he'd been put under a spell, leaned down and pressed his lips gently to Harry's own.
Harry opened his mouth with a bit of a moan, bringing his hands up to grab Legolas's shirt and pull him closer until their bodies were flush up against each other. Legolas broke the kiss, head spinning, shivering as pleasure danced its way up his spine. Harry let out a whimpering gasp, fingers tangling in Legolas's long hair and pulling him down for another kiss.
"Oh, please --" Harry whispered desperately once they broke for air, pressing his body tighter to Legolas's own. Legolas slipped his hands under Harry's tunic, skimming his hands across the shivering, silky skin. Harry shuddered at his touch and latched onto the juncture of Legolas's neck and shoulder.
They had to step back a moment to get Harry's tunic off, but as soon as it was gone, Legolas was pressed against Harry again, pushing him back until the back of Harry's knees hit the bed and he fell onto the soft sheets. Legolas climbed onto the bed and hovered above him, hesistating a moment as he gazed down at Harry's flushed, desperate face; he had caught his bottom lip in between his teeth to keep from making noise. Harry grasped the bottom of Legolas's tunic and pulled it up over his head, throwing it to the side and letting his hands roam over Legolas's chest. Legolas let out a strangled groan when Harry's thumb grazed his nipple. He barely caught a hint of a smile on Harry's face before Harry looped his arms around Legolas's back and pulled him down, bringing their hips into contact.
He must have made a sound, because a moment later Harry pressed a finger against his lips. "Try not to make too much noise," Harry whispered, at the same time pressing his hips closer against Legolas's and letting out a tiny gasp. "Draco's in the room right next to us -- oh, do that again -- I mean, I don't want him to hear -- wait, stop it, I can't think -- oh, God!"
"Do you want me to stop?" Legolas asked, smiling wickedly even though he knew Harry couldn't see it, and used the hand that wasn't occupied to carefully grasp the waist of Harry's trousers. Harry thrust into his grip and snarled.
"If you stop now, I'll kill you," he managed to pant, and pulled Legolas's lips down to his own. The last coherent thought that Legolas had for quite a while was that he might have a bit of a problem staying quiet.
_________________________
Harry drifted back into consciousness slowly, feeling languid and satisfied. He was curled against Legolas's side with his head pillowed on Legolas's chest. He simply laid there for a moment, listening to Legolas's deep, steady breaths and feeling more content than he had in days.
He wondered how long they had slept, and just as he was about to wake Legolas to ask, he heard their door bang open. With a gasp, he scrabbled for the sheets.
"Harry, Gandalf is..." Draco's voice trailed off into what could only be described as a stunned silence. Harry felt his face grow hot. He pulled the sheets up to his waist and sat up. Beside him, Legolas stirred and sat up as well, placing a kiss on the nape of Harry's neck.
"We have a visitor, Legolas," Harry said sharply. He could feel Legolas stiffen.
"Draco," he said coolly. Draco ignored the elf entirely, speaking instead to Harry again. Harry resisted the urge to pull the sheets higher.
"Gandalf has arrived, Potter" he told Harry in an icy voice. "You two...slept...for a long time. He arrived at dawn." Without another word, Harry heard Draco's footsteps turn and walk out of their room. He let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding in.
Legolas's fingers trailed down his spine, drawing a shiver from him. "We should get dressed," he said unsteadily. Legolas let out a small, breathy laugh in his ear that would have been enough to weaken his knees if he'd been standing.
"We should," the elf agreed, and after a moment he got up. Harry could hear him rummaging around in their sacks for clothing. Legolas's footsteps padded back over to the bed, and he pressed some clothes into Harry's arms.
A moment later they were walking out of the room, Harry feeling a bit more composed than he had the night before. He wasn't quite sure why he had exploded like that, but all of a sudden, he had hated Aragorn so badly -- wanted to strangle him, curse him, anything. Even now, just thinking about the confrontation made his fingers twitch in a need to do violence.
That made him almost pause right there. What had made him so angry? It wasn't that Aragorn had been hiding anything from him -- although that would have made him simmer, it shouldn't have provoked the feeling that it had last night.
"Harry?"
Harry blinked, brought out of his thought. "What?" he asked irritably. He could feel Legolas's questioning gaze on his face.
"We've arrived in the throne room."
"Good," Harry said, putting his arm forward and touching solid wood. It took him a moment, but he found the handle of the door and pulled. "Perhaps now I can get some answers." He took a deep breath and walked forward, feeling his stomach twist with nervousness. Legolas walked along side him, squeezing his arm lightly when Harry needed to stop.
"It is good to see you again, Gandalf," he said. In truth, he didn't even know if Gandalf was in the room yet or not. He just had to guess and hope.
"It does me good to see you as well," Gandalf said warmly, and Harry turned his head to the left, in the direction of Gandalf's voice. "I see that you are becoming more used to your affliction, are you not?"
"I want it gone." He said it in a sharper tone than he meant to. He tried to temper his voice when he spoke again. "I was told that you had something you could only tell me in person. Can you tell us now?" He assumed that Fiona and Draco were already in the room. Gandalf's next words proved him right.
"Yes," Gandalf said, and sighed heavily. "But it has something to do with you, Fiona, as well. Draco, if you wish to come as well, you may. Follow me."
Legolas steered him carefully after Gandalf, though in truth Harry could have followed Gandalf by himself, from the sound of the wizard's footsteps. He grinned to himself. Legolas's hand clasping his own in a tight grip was comforting, though.
Abruptly they stopped, and Harry ran into someone's back before Legolas could stop him.
"Watch it, Potter," Draco drawled, and Harry flushed. He was about to reply when Gandalf spoke.
"I would have made you wait longer, but she has just woken for the second time, and I thought that both you and Harry should see her, Fiona." There was a sound of a doorway creaking, and then Harry heard Fiona gasp.
"Mommy?" she whispered, tears in her voice. "Mommy -- it's you --but what's wrong with your eyes?"
_________________________
A/N: FINALLY! Jeez! This chapter would just NOT be written! But oh well, I've got both angry!Harry, plot twists, and a bit of pointless smut? What in the world is better than that?
And reviews are definately not unappreciated. ;)