Author's Note

So generally, I don't reply to reviews. One of you guys said something though. About there being no action. I assume you meant between Draco and Harry.

I said at the beginning of this fic, that there would be nothing graphic.Both to make the story more appealing to those who aren't into slash, but also because this is only my second fic.

I haven't ever written graphic sexual content. For now that's unlikely to change, so apologies in advance to those that were maybe hoping.

Secondly, on another note, to those that are interested in just where in the timeline we are, relative to the events in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Right at the beginning of this chapter, we are in the year 1720 of the Third Age. In the year 2770 of the Third Age, Smaug attacks Dale and Erebor, claiming the Lonely Mountain.

It's in the year 2941 of the Third Age, when Smaug is killed by Bard and when the White Council attack Dol Guldur. It's in the years 3018/3019, that the events of The Lord of the Rings happen.

So as you can see, those events are still over a thousand years away. Hope that cleared up any questions.

We were informed via the mirror, that the elves would arrive in about six months from now. They had a few preparations to finish.

What's more, there are small pockets of Silvan elves scattered across western Middle Earth. They would be informed of the creation of the new kingdom.

The Silvan elves haven't been ruled by a Silvan since their Lord, Denethor died in the First Age. Slain by the creatures of Morgoth, master of Sauron.

I'm actually glad we aren't in the First Age of the world. Against the power of Morgoth, who was nothing less than a god, according to the histories we read, we would be lost.

A bodiless Maia, with most of his power gone however, should be within my and Draco's combined abilities to deal with.

That being said, on the issue of the elves, it was decided by Lord Celeborn that those Silvan elves who live in small scattered communities, should be given the choice as to whether they want to live in the new elven kingdom.

We've been told that two hundred of the Ñoldor who live in Imladris, will accompany them. We've informed Aiwendel of all of this. We've also told him something else.

" Aiwendel, Lady Galadriel informed me of her wish to plant mallorn trees here. Tuilalcaron and I will tear down this fortress to make way for that. "

" You told us that the corruption in this forest, spread from Dol Guldur, but now that whatever evil resided here is gone, will you be able to heal this forest? "

His eyes lit up when I mentioned mallorn trees. For a moment he appeared sad. Lost in memory. He soon snapped out of it.

" Indeed I can. Out of my brethren, I have the greatest affinity for natural things. I do not boast when I say that none on Middle Earth has my skill in this area. "

" So yes. The corruption did not spread to the entire forest. I was able to hold it at bay and keep it contained in the southern part of this forest. "

" As the centuries went by however, I felt the darkness slowly getting stronger. Who knows how long I would have been able to hold it back. "

" For too long has this forest been known as Mirkwood. Soon, it shall once again bear the name of Greenwood the Great. "

" You have informed me of the wish of the ents to expand their forest and join it to this one. I can hardly contain my excitement. I shall get to work immediately. "

He had been steadily getting more animated, the longer he spoke. More excited. At the end, he beamed and clapped his hands, then rushed off.

Draco arched an eyebrow at me. I shrugged. He turned away from me then and struck his staff against a wall. It came tumbling down.

Following his example, I started demolishing walls as well. It was monotonous work. We soon fell into a routine however.

This carried on for months. We decided to pace ourselves. The rubble, we stacked into a number of even piles.

We cast spells to remove the last traces of dark magic on the stone. In the months that we worked, we were able to see a gradual change in the scenery.

Slowly but surely, life returned to the area. Grass grew, flowers bloomed. The dead looking trees surrounding the hill slowly regained their vitality.

After five months, birdsong was a constant in the background. Night and day. The forest itself had a new life to it.

When we flew above the treetops, green leaves is all we saw. Animals large and small had begun moving southwards again.

Destroying the fortress and clearing the rubble isn't all we did. Indeed we wanted to expand the size of the hill itself. Using Engorgio liberally, the dimensions of the hill doubled.

That's what we did during the day, at night, we hunted down the spiders. We made a fortuitous discovery, once we tore down the foundations.

A massive nest of spiders were discovered, in a large cavern hewn under the fortress. We set it all to flame with Incendio.

The corpses of the spiders, we vanished using Evanesco. Turns out that only dead organic matter can be vanished here. Otherwise, we would have vanished the rubble.

Once the spiders, and all traces of their filth was removed, we set about expanding the cavern as well as creating passages and smaller caverns.

You see, there was a reason the spiders bred in numbers over here. There appeared to be a subtle warmth in the cavern.

Draco and I attributed it to the fact that this must be a natural hotspring. The water is not present though. They must have blocked it off.

The passages we create, are really just packed earth. We use Duro to turn the earth into stone. That way they won't collapse.

The original cavern is fortunately natural, though its original shape was marred by clumsy attempts to expand it.

In the smaller caverns, we use Deprimo to create large, wide pits. We expand and smooth away the rough edges at the bottom of them.

We open up the blocked channels and let the warm water fill the newly made basins. They then become hotsprings.

We create two dozen of them. One of which is more ornate than the rest. We animate the stone passages to carve them into the shapes of flowers and trees and animals.

The rest we merely carve into the shape of trees. The large original cavern, Draco uses Herbivicus to make flowers grow fast.

The flowers are a crossbreed between various creeping flowers and a flower taken from the White Tree on the summit of Orthanc.

The end result being a thick covering of creeping tendrils that grow against the walls of the cavern and it's roof.

The tendrils aren't green however. They are a mixture of dark blues and purples. The effect, with the bulbs, is reminiscent of the sky at night.

Pure white bulbs, the size of tulips, grow from the vines on the walls and roof. At night time, they bloom and a faint light is emitted from each flower.

That and a sweet smell. The lights emitted are far fainter than our tree or indeed, the White Tree, Gildor in Minas Anor, but because of the sheer number, thousands, it's enough to light up the entire cavern.

While I spend the final week clearing the final remnants of the fortress, Draco put the finishing touches on the hotsprings. Coaxing the vines to grow through the passages and the rest of the caverns.

It was magically taxing. To rush all of this. However, we decided it would make a good gift to the elves and to show Celeborn and Galadriel that we've buried the hatchet.

We had set perimeter wards, by the Old Forest Road. So we knew therefore, the party of elves had entered the forest.

Over the centuries that Draco and I had been animagi, we'd learnt the language of the birds we could transform into.

We therefore sent birds to go and see who entered the forest and how many. All three of us, because Aiwendel was with us, listened in silence as the birds gave their report.

Elves they said. More than a thousand of them. They couldn't tell the exact number, because they didn't all travel as a single group.

It was two days later, at dusk, that we saw them leave the treeline. Three elves were in the lead. Two silver haired males and a golden haired female.

They were mounted on horses. That meant they either went past Gundabad, or they traveled southwards of Angrenost.

We moved closer to them, slowly. It's then that they dismounted. I didn't get the chance to count how many elves were there because we were exchanging greetings.

We pay special attention to the young silver haired elf. By my reckoning, he's only fourty six. Very young for an elf. Still, he's fully grown.

" I must say, you have grown to be the spitting image of your father young elf. " He laughs then. He formally introduces himself. His name is Celebrindor.

We are then introduced to countless elves. It's also then, that we are informed about their numbers.

There are two hundred Ñoldorin elves. Three hundred Sindarin, who came from Lothlórien and about seven hundred Silvan elves.

There are now no more Silvan elves scattered across western Middle Earth. They are all part of kingdoms.

While the elves start settling at the base of the hill, temporarily that is, Draco and I show the three royals our gift to them and their people.

Aiwendel stays to converse with the other elves. I'm actually unsure how to address them. Lord and Lady, or King and Queen?

When I say this, they laugh. " Perhaps it's best to wait until things are settled. For now however, the usual address will suffice. " So says Celeborn.

It was dusk when they arrived. The sky is starting to turn dark. Perfect timing, I think. We lead the way to the cavern.

The old rough entrance to it is gone. Graceful arches of stone, moulded to appear like branches, frame the doorway.

With a thought, both my staff and that of Draco's, emits a faint light. Only enough to see about a foot infront of us.

The elves follow us silently. In about a minute, we reach the cavern. We walk right to the centre and wait.

The lights our staffs emit, fades away. I sense the confusion of Celebrindor. His parents say nothing however. They merely wait.

Soon though, one by one, the flowers bloom and the cavern is bathed in silvery light. I hear gasps from all three elves.

That's when I look at them. Even Celeborn and Galadriel have shed their aloof masks. They look amazed, though Galadriel's face is tinged with sadness.

From what I've read, she was born in the Blessed Realm. These pale imitations must remind her of the Silver Tree, Telperion, which once grew in Valinor.

Celebrindor's face is filled with childlike wonder. Unlike his parents, he didn't even try to conceal his feelings.

That's when Draco laughs. " We discovered this cavern beneath Amon Lanc. The histories we read in Thranduil's realm made no mention of this place. "

" Whatever evil lived here afterwards, used this place to breed spiders. As you can no doubt feel, it's subtly warmer in here than it should be. "

" We discovered that this place is actually a natural hotspring. " That's when he starts walking and leading the elves to the passages.

" Eladar and I created these passages and made additional caverns. Inside each one is a large hotspring. "

He then leads them to the most ornate one. In all the passages, the vines and bulbs only grow on the roofs.

The stone walls are left bare, so that the carvings in the stone are visible. It's clear that they can see the effort we put into it.

It's Galadriel that speaks then. She looks solemn. " I fear that I must apologise to both of you. When we met at first, I was wary of the both of you. "

" I acted rashly and thus soured your opinions of us. You surprised me though by what you did after. "

" Despite the insult I paid you, you still saw fit to help us. Thanks to you, we have a son. We had long made peace with the fact we would only have one child. "

" Thanks to the two of you, The One has blessed us with another treasure. So I apologise for my rashness and any offence I caused. "

We were slightly surprised, but glad that she apologised. I say we, because I see Draco's approval in his body language. It's he that spoke next.

" We gladly accept your apologies and hope that this is the start of a wonderful friendship. We have two more gifts for you, before we leave. "

" As I'm sure you can tell, these flowers are special. They are scions in a way, of Gildor. The new White Tree of Gondor. "

" From reading the histories in Osgilliath, we have realised that Gildor is the most beautiful of all the scions of the Silver Tree Telperion. "

" It was the only one that could emit light of its own. The light however, does more than illuminate. It nourishes, preserves and enhances. "

" Every plant that grows within the light of Gildor, has been altered. All the trees and flowers within Minas Anor are in perpetual bloom. "

" A diluted effect of the light of The Two Trees of Valinor. In Imladris I read that the light emitted from the trees, kept nature in a perpetual state of summer. Plants never faded. "

" These flowers growing here, will have the same effect. Once the mallorn trees are planted on this hill and are fully grown, their beauty will never fade. "

" A pale imitation of Valinor, but fairer than any place in Middle Earth by far. By means of another potion of mine, the growth of the trees can be sped up. "

" A decade of growth, in a single week. This will be our second gift to your people. The final one shall be another batch of the fertility potion. "

Once again, we appeared to have surprised the elves. It took a few moments, for them to find their composure.

Lord Celeborn was the first to break out of his stupor. He bowed his head then. " There are no words that can truly convey my feelings adequately. "

" Nevertheless, I shall settle for a heartfelt thank you. You shall forever have our gratitude. " That's when Draco laughs.

I elaborate. " No thanks are necessary Lord Celeborn. We merely did it because it was within our abilities to do so. "

" Evil has been driven out of the west of Middle Earth. Bands of orcs and goblins in the Misty Mountains are all that's left. The dwarves can easily deal with them however. "

" All that's left now, for all of us is to enjoy the peace that we have. The forces of darkness will no doubt make moves westwards one day again. "

" We must be ready for that eventuality. It's for that reason, that we will continue to supply the elves with fertility potion. "

" Every fifty years, we shall provide you with it. I fear that one day, widespread war will come to Middle Earth again. "

" When that happens, we shall need the elves, men and dwarves of the west to be at full strength in order to protect the free peoples. "

The older two elves had understanding expressions on their faces. The younger did not. It's understandable.

Celeborn and Galadriel are thousands of years older than we are afterall. It's only natural that they would immediately grasp what I was saying.

They who were alive to witness most of the conflicts that occurred in Middle Earth. On that solemn note, the five of us leave the caverns and head back out.

When we exit, the elves already have cooking fires going. Celebrindor leaves us then to inform the other elves of the hotsprings.

The two elder elves take their leave of us and go and speak with the Brown Wizard. Draco and I, climb to the top of the hill and sit in companiable silence.

The stars have already started appearing and we lose ourselves in memory. Thinking of a different time.

FLASHBACK

I had been looking for Draco all day. I couldn't find him. It made my foul mood, induced by Umbridge, even worse.

It was only after I went to the Gryffindor Common room and retrieved the Marauder's Map, that I found him.

He was in the third floor corridor. Where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden in our first year. It's stood empty ever since then.

I took my cloak and rushed there. When I arrived there, after rushing down the corridor, I saw the door slightly ajar.

Draco was sitting huddled up in a corner, looking lost. A piece of parchment, lay abandoned next to him.

I silently open the door slightly and enter. Then I close the door. I cast Colloportus, non verbally to lock it.

After what happened in third year, I realised something. My life was never going to be normal. I, was never going to be normal.

Third times the charm as muggles say. I'd realised that each year, something would happen to me at Hogwarts.

I also realised that Hogwarts was not ' the safest place in Magical Britain ' as I'd been lead to believe. I'd been deluding myself all along.

In third year, as I lay next to Sirius, with the Dementors about to suck out our souls, I realised something.

Nobody is going to save me. There is nobody that I can completely rely on, other than myself. It was proven true by the fact that, the me from the past, using a time turner, was the one to save us.

I also realised just how powerful I was. It came from an offhand comment from Lupin.

" Did you know Harry, that no seventh year at Hogwarts currently, can produce the Patronus charm? There are also very few adults that could have fought off so many Dementors at once. "

That's when it came to me. I needed to stop taking things so easy. I was such a fool to take Divination as a subject.

The only thing worthwhile that I learnt, was that a servant of Voldemort would return to his side. I couldn't even prevent that.

All of that is why before I term ended, I asked Professor McGonagall if it was possible to switch electives.

I doubt she would have agreed, if she didn't personally hold such disdain for divination. Nevertheless, she said I'd need to catch up a whole year's work over the summer.

I agreed. Hermione was only too happy to lend me her books. I was fortunate in that I knew she took loads of notes during class.

I knew the Dursleys would never have allowed me to do my Hogwarts work at home though. They proved that by forcing me to lock my trunk and wand up in the cupboard under the stairs.

I was lucky in two respects though. One, is that despite having seen my wand, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between it and a fake.

It was easy enough to bribe the Weasley twins, to make a fake wand for me. Secondly, the Dursleys never opened or even touched my trunk.

All they did, was make sure I put my wand in my trunk and then they locked it away. I found a solution to that in third year though.

I overheard Seamus talking to Dean once, about a mokeskin pouch which you could carry around your neck. It had an undetectable expansion charm on it.

Which meant that you could store a lot of things in it and it wouldn't get heavier or bulge in a noticeable way.

The other thing about it was that it could be charmed with a notice me not spell. That way muggles couldn't tell if you had it or not.

Again, I used the Weasley twins to find me one. I paid them five galleons each for their silence. Naturally, they said I must come to them any time I needed contraband.

All these thoughts flashed through my head in an instant, as Draco slowly lifted his head. Drawn no doubt to the sound of the door locking.

I removed my cloak and hurried towards him. " Draco, what's the matter? Are you hurt? " I said in a rush as I knelt down beside him.

I took his hands into mine and noticed how his was trembling slightly. Now I was really concerned. Before I could ask again, he motioned towards the parchment.

I reached around him and took hold of it. It was a letter I realised. The Malfoy Coat of Arms was upon it. I then started reading it.

My Darling Son

As you no doubt know, the Dark Lord has returned. Soon he will begin to gather his followers again. That is not all he will do however.

He will expect the children of his most faithful to serve him as well. He will brand them with the Dark Mark and expect them to join him.

Your father refuses to believe in this possibility. You are my son however. There is nothing to me more important than you.

I refuse to allow you to be the servant of a madman. I know you darling. You might be spoilt and arrogant, but cruel and evil you are not.

You will not be given a choice however. It's serve or die. After Lucius told me of the mark darkening last year, I knew I had to prepare.

When I married your father, I kept my personal vault at Gringotts. Your father has added to it by giving a monthly allowance to me.

I have emptied most of the vault however. I have sent you a shrunken trunk and in that trunk is one hundred thousand galleons.

As well as a new tent I commissioned. It is as large and luxurious as the one we used at the World Cup. There is a difference however.

There are powerful wards on it. Wards that will prevent any tracking spell, no matter how obscure, from finding the occupants.

It is stocked with three years of food and supplies under preservation charms. My love, we have no choice but to flee for our lives.

It is wise however, not to do so together. For your own safety. I will explain why another time. Be safe my son. Trust nobody in Slytherin House with this knowledge.

Not even Severus. The tent has a warded room where magic can be practiced safely, not to mention that any magic cast within it cannot be detected.

I know you'll make the right choice Draco. Look out for yourself and trust nobody that you aren't absolutely sure of. I love you my Dragon.

I was stunned as I finished reading the letter. His mother was a lot smarter than I gave her credit for. On reflection though, it's not such a surprise.

My mother died to save me. His mother's love for him shouldn't be any real revelation. I looked at Draco. He looked so lost.

I took him in my arms and held tightly. I could feel his body shaking. After a moment, he started crying softly on my shoulder.

" Shh shh, it's okay Draco. It's okay. She's right though. He will come after you if you refuse. You don't have a choice but to hide. "

After a few minutes his sobs subsided. In a creaky voice he asked softly. " But why do I have to be alone? Why can't she come with me? "

He sounds so sad. It's then that I feel a strange warmth in my chest. Subconsciously, I know what it is. I don't mention it though.

" You aren't alone Draco. You have me. For today. Tomorrow. Forever... " He gasps and looks at me. A red flush appears on his neck and cheeks.

I smile knowingly. I kiss him then and he returns it. In that moment, all our problems dissapear.

FLASHBACK END

The next day, Draco assists Galadriel and Aiwendel in planting the mallorn trees. Once they finish, he pours five drops of growth potion above each seed.

A few moments later, tiny shoots emerge from the ground. As the day progresses, slowly but surely, they begin to grow.

By the time the sun had set, the trees had grown to about twenty feet or just over six metres. It's golden blossoms also started to bud.

The other elves, but most especially the Silvans, were struck with wonder. No place in Middle Earth has trees so fair.

Two hundred of these trees were planted. The effect they lend to the hill of Amon Lanc is breathtaking.

It is good that we expanded the size of the hill. The trees already take up nearly half of it.

By the time they've finished growing, in about ninety years, they'll have taken up the entire summit of the hill.

The dimensions of these trees, are afterall greater than any other. By the time they are fully grown, the base of each tree will be as wide as ten full grown men standing side by side.

We eventually end up staying with the elves for the rest of the year. We briefly make a stop at Thranduil's palace and give more of the potion to the elves there.

Thranduil's twin daughters are about the same age as Celebrindor. We find out that their names are Calen and Elanor.

It seems they delight in pestering their father and brother. Not that either male seems to mind. On the contrary.

Thranduil himself seems to have changed. When we first met him, there was a bitterness inside of him, as well as weariness.

That is gone now. The birth of his daughters as well as so many new elflings, has uplifted his spirit it seems.

Now that the shadow has been driven out and a new elven kingdom has been founded in the south, there is a lightness in it.

Indeed, it's present in all the elves here. Laughter rings out day and night in their home. Speaking of laughter, Thranduil has come to a realisation.

After another generation of elves are born, they will have no more living spaces empty. From what I've seen, the elves here don't live in individual homes per se.

Each family is assigned a suite of rooms. Their bedrooms, a dining room, though that's seldomly used as the elves prefer to eat communally, a leisure room and then finally each family has a bathroom.

That being said, they have communal bathrooms as well. But in any event, space. To deal with that, Thranduil has commissioned the dwarves of Khazad-dûm to expand their home.

Las Galen is what Thranduil calls his home now. The dwarves agreed and from my understanding, a team of two hundred masons will arrive in the next year.

The elves are paying the dwarves in wines and produce as the dwarves have no want of treasure at this point.

We had grown tired of our labours though. So after bidding the elves goodbye, we left Greenwood the Great in the year 1721 of the Third Age.

True to his word, Aiwendel accompanied us. Excited to help the ents in their labours. Thus we three set out.