Chapter Five - Lost and Found
"Hayaa!" Harry screamed his battle cry as he chased the huge spider with a burning twig. He had an enormous smile on his face. Action was exactly the thing he had been missing. Maybe travelling alone days on end didn't really suit him. It had made him a bit unhinged and it had sort of crept upon him. Maybe this was the way Dumbledore and Riddle went bonkers. Didn't Riddle travel around for a decade or something?
Harry had met with three nice spiders who had tried to eat him. He figured reverse was only fair play. He was tired of berries and sandwiches and meals that while tasty, were not tasty in the right way. He loved his magic but he really couldn't remember the actual taste of delicious, mouthwatering food anymore. And if you couldn't imagine it, magic wouldn't deliver.
Harry knew the forest would only last till the end of this day or so. He had not delved deep into it and had left the elves way behind him. Even now it was evident that the place was getting a lot lighter and the trees kinder. Hearing them 'speak' was still baffling but they told good stories. Stories of an old, old world with kings and knights. Acts of valor and darkness so awful that princess stealing dragons were nothing in comparison or girl eating basilisks for that matter.
Harry didn't hear it all yet. It was images and whispers straight to his mind. Despite the darkness in the forest and few traitorous trees, Harry felt a sense of peace and safety here which he couldn't explain. He was usually the one who provided those feelings. But it was a nice change. He certainly was not bored. New things were popping up all the time.
Harry prepared for his sixth night here. It was almost a week, this was the fifth day, that he had been gone and his home sickness was something terrible. He also felt guilt for worrying them, all the while he was here enjoying himself. Sort of enjoying. He wouldn't mind some comforts, like a travelling tent with good rune work. He still couldn't remember the right runes to make the tent act properly which really bugged him.
His tree-nest was tried true so he did it again but this time he spend a bit more time on the wards. He didn't want to eat spider for breakfast. It did NOT taste like chicken as Sirius had told him. The full moon bathed the leaves of the trees in silvery light and Harry found himself missing even the werewolves. He assumed they didn't exist here. A creature as dark as a a werewolf would surely have popped up somewhere in that orc's head.
~o~
In the end he had to admit that meeting the Malfoy relatives had been beneficial. He knew which direction the great river Anduin was and that it was only a day, maybe two, away in his speed. He didn't need to slow down since he knew there were no villages along the way.
Unfortunately that also meant he had to crush his earlier plans. There were no human villages along the river this far north. There was an elven city but he would avoid that no matter the costs. The elves couldn't and wouldn't offer him help. Nor did they have such magic that was needed. Only thing Harry might gain was history and based on what he knew of the snooty elves, it would probably be as useful as talking to a centaur. And the elves left other races in middle earth to suffer, there was no way they would help him. Prison him more likely.
He would have to head for the sea beyond the mountains. Either to south or further west. South would take him closer to Mordor. He had had enough of dark lords, especially those ones that were supposed to be dead when in reality it seemed they weren't, so west sounded more suitable. It would add weeks to his journey if he used magic to help him along the way, days if he apparated most of the way but if he was really lucky and travelled like he now had done, he might meet a wizard on the way.
He would also have to really start figuring this whole getting home thing out by himself as his travelling now seemed a bit pointless. There was no one else but the wizards that might be able to help him in anyway and it was likely his best chances of finding one were in the west. Harry doubted the wizards here were the same as him. Erewan certainly didn't seem to think so but even the pretentious elf wouldn't argue that the wizards were powerful.
He looked up at the sky. "I wonder if it'll finally start raining." The sky had been getting greyer during the day. Heavy clouds littered the horizon. It was also a bit chilly so Harry conjured himself a travelling cloak with a generous hood to keep the possible water away and then continued onwards.
~o~
Harry was happily minding his own business later that day. He was almost clear of the forest when he heard the ruckus.
'A hunting party,' the woods whispered.
"Hunters, eh. You wouldn't have noticed of which race?" Harry asked but the forest just repeated the first sentence over and over again.
"Best clear myself out of the way then."
He began running past trees to the left.
For a while the noise of trampling prey quieted.
Swoosh, fthunk!
An arrow sunk itself on the tree next to Harry. It was made of ash colored wood. Elven made.
"Damn, it's the ferrets," he muttered to himself and tried to speed up. Unfortunately his short legs were already going as fast as they could. It just wasn't fast enough. He had felt the shift in his magic that had probably guided the arrow pass him.
Harry got scratched on the face when he forcibly pushed through thorn bushes and suddenly the earth vanished from underneath him. He rolled down the small hill and sputtered dead leaves and soil out of his mouth before casting a quick healing spell on his leg that had sprained in the fall.
"Stop!" Someone shouted from behind but Harry didn't listen to the order. He had a bad feeling that just maybe, maybe Erewan had managed to remember something. He guessed elves would not be happy about someone treating one of their own like that. Still, he could've sworn he had smashed the memory beyond repair.
"Damn elves," he wheezed and jumped over a small stream. He would have to get far enough for them to not see him apparate. He really didn't think showing the immortal busybodies that here was a child that could do magic was a good idea or beneficial to his health. He needed to get just a little further.
Swoosh..
Another arrow passed him and Harry's magic didn't have to do a damn thing. Well, at least it was good the pricks weren't ready to kill him… yet. There was no elf with aim as bad as that. It was meant as a warning. Then again if he had been a normal human child he doubted he would've realized that. The next arrow went through his robe and nailed him into a nearby wood.
A little wave of his fingers cut him loose and he continued running.
Why were the elves bothering with him? If they had seen him, he looked like man child so shouldn't they be happy there would soon be one less. Certainly your average child this young wouldn't manage it more than a few days here. That is if they didn't think him a small orc but in that case the elves were idiots. Orcs didn't travel solo. But he already knew what the elves were.
"Bugger." He realized that yes, elves might be that big of an idiots.
"Ah!" He shouted when someone tackled him hard to the ground. He kicked backwards, adding a bit magic to it and the elf grunted and loosened his grip enough for Harry to dash away. Or rather limp away.
He must've looked awful by now. He was wheezing from this long run, his trousers were ripped in many places. His face was covered in scratches and now his side was aching from that fat elf jumping on him and there probably was a whole lot more aches and scratches from the tumble.
Harry had bigger problems though. He realized the elves had managed to direct him towards a rocky wall. He tried to swerve left but could hear his chasers getting closer there. Then he stumbled on a small clearing which ended on a tall enough boulders that he couldn't climb. He was trapped.
At the same time three elves burst out of the woods on his right. He could hear there were more approaching.
'Great, just bloody great,' Harry cursed in his mind. What was he supposed to do now?
"Look! It is a man child," the first elf stated and slowed to a halt. Enviously Harry noted the elf wasn't even out of breath.
Harry pulled the cloak tighter around him and covered as much as he could. He eyed the elves bows, one still had an arrow stringed. Not to mention they had pretty long looking swords also.
"It must be lost. Why else would it be this far into the wild," the second stated.
The third was hopping and rubbing it's shin. "I say this little warrior will be fine once we return him home. I have not lost a fight in decades and then this little balrog comes along." The elf stated laughingly.
Harry thought a lot of credibility of the great warrior was taken away by the numerous braids he had in his hair. They must take an hour each morning to do. Not to mention he had some sort of flowers as decorations there as well.
The first elf walked closer and kneeled ten feet from Harry in order to be on the same level.
Harry back-pedaled against the rock and tried to figure out where he could go from here. He really didn't need elven babysitters. He pulled his hood lower. They had no business of sticking their noses into his problems. Although it might be difficult to convince them of that as he was now.
"Do not be afraid, little one. I and my fellow elves wanted to make sure you were alright. We mean you no harm," the kneeling elf said in what Harry realized to be the common tongue, Westron, and then the elf smiled reassuringly. "We only want to help you return home. It is dangerous for a little boy to be this far into the woods."
The elf was clearly checking out Harry's condition. It was a good thing because it gave Harry time to gather himself. He only needed to get around the boulder and out of sight. Then he could apparate and leave the nosy elves in peace.
Damn his luck.
"I don't need your help," Harry flat out refused the elf.
Unfortunately his accent must've sound odd because the elf seemed to only become more interested.
"From where do you hail youngling? Can you tell me the name of your village, maybe I have heard of it."
At that moment three more elves rushed into the clearing. They took a look around, then relaxed as they saw things were under control and walked towards their companions.
Harry thought their hairs were ridiculously shiny. He also felt a bit insulted. If he chose so he could give them a load of trouble.
"A child of men? Here?" One of the newcomers said.
"We wondered over the same. We will have to halt our trip and return. The child must be delivered to safety," curtlyanswered the one who was obsessed over hair art and that Harry had kicked. He easily recognized the elf because besides the hair, he limped, had a smudge of dirt on his cheek.
"Do not frighten the young one with your tone. Haldir seems to have trouble already."
"How a man child could have ended in here?" One elf still wondered. "Are they not more careful with their young?" the elf sounded indignant and a bit angry.
"We can ask him after Haldir has calmed him down. Look, he almost has him and..."
Harry tuned the elves out and quickly turned his attention back to the one who had tried to talk to him. He cursed the elves for being able to move so quietly. The elf, Haldir, was only a hand reach away from him and he had just stood there like an idiot.
Harry dashed to the right, hoping his sudden move would give him an edge. But then the elf was on him and he was lifted in the air. The arms felt strong and the chest against his back firm.
"You do not need to fight me, little one," the huge elf, Haldir, said. "We only want to help you back to your parents. We will clean your wounds and give you something to eat. You must be famished," the elf spoke to him in a soothing manner.
'Yeah right,' Harry snorted and rammed his head back and heard a satisfied "umpff."
Unfortunately this Haldir seemed to be an experienced fighter because his arms didn't loosen an inch.
Harry began to squirm and though the tight grip felt uncomfortable and he would probably have bruises to show it, he didn't give up. He wasn't going to be left on the mercy of these elves. On the corner of his eyes he saw that two more were coming closer. Probably to help subdue him.
In an act of desperation he bit down on the hand holding him and he couldn't afford to give a warning. He bit down as hard as he could and could taste the tangy flavor of blood filling his mouth.
"Ach! This little hellion bit me," Haldir half-cursed.
"Hah, are you saying a child has defeated you oh great marchwarden of Lorien? You have probably scared the child witless."
"Do not hurt him more Haldir. I can see blood on his clothes and it is not yours," a sterner voice commented on the side.
It seemed to Harry that this Haldir was hesitating as well as the two other elves that had come to help. Maybe they really didn't want to harm him but they did want to capture him which was a big no-no.
So, Harry took action. He let himself go all loose and thus harder to hold. He knew this from all his fights with Dudley. Kids could be boneless if they wanted to but he had to be fast. Haldir was big enough that he could easily lift Harry around into his arms and carry him around like a little child. Thus Harry swung his leg forward and kicked back as hard as he could.
Haldir tried to hold back his curse this time but was forced to bend a bit.
Harry's feet finally touched the ground and he wiggled and squirmed like someone had dropped a bucket of ice cubes under his shirt. He could feel himself losing his assailant's arms. His own robe was all twisted, his shirt halfway up.
The elves were mumbling something but he paid it no mind. He would get free.
Just as he was sure he would get away, Haldir made last effort to catch him and caught him by his neck.
Harry could feel his throat protest and couldn't help but moan in pain. He was already breathless from all the wrestling and running and he was sore all over. And just like that, he wanted to cry.
'Oh, bloody hell. Not now,' he thought. It seemed like all his fighter reflexes were gone. He had no idea how to use this new smaller body and how fragile it really was. His child emotions were kicking in and in this sort of situation they called him to start balling his eyes out.
The elf had fortunately adjusted his grip after hearing him in pain and was now only keeping a grip on his robes while trying to gather him in his arms again. Harry saw that their tumble had taken them on the other side of the clearing. The other three elves were not close and the two helpers also kept their distance. Obviously not seeing him as a threat or then they trusted Haldir to deal with him. It really didn't occur to him that they didn't want to overwhelm him.
Haldir was the only thing between Harry and the bushes which he saw he could dive under and then be out of sight to apparate. Only someone very small would fit under the tangly roots and thick branches and there was no way through or over for the elves. They would have to run around the large bush.
Harry loosened his robe and tried to control his hiccupping. As if this wasn't awful without him crying.
"Shhh, we do not want to hurt you child. I am truly sorry if I hurt you. Please trust us. We will take you home," Haldir soothingly spoke him.
'As if,' Harry thought sarcastically.
Just as Haldir was trying to lift him up again, Harry again went boneless and fell out of his hooded robe and crouched on the ground. He was ready to dash to safety when the elf in front of him stumbled a few steps back.
Harry had time to wonder if he was somehow disgusting looking but he didn't think he was that beaten up.
"By Valar!," Haldir whispered and stood there as if turned to stone. His wide eyes zoomed straight into Harry and devoured him desperately. "An el- elfling!"
Harry also stumbled at that exclamation and glanced upwards. The elf, Haldir, still had a stunned look on his face that was now sort to a half twisted to agony. The elf just stood there. Harry's cloak was floating to the ground, abandoned. The other elves were now staring at Haldir and two of them had already turned to run towards them. Fast.
"Haldir, MOVE!" One of the rushing elves shouted.
Harry noticed the two that were the furthest had drawn their weapons and were eyeing the surrounding forest as if just now getting alert. It puzzled him, why would they act as if they were on serious security duty. He didn't give them much more thought. Elves were already proven to be peculiar.
Harry gave the shocked elf in front of him no more attention and kicked him where it would hurt the most. Haldir let out a small moan but even as he doubled over he still tried to reach for him.
Harry on the other hand lost no more time and rushed to freedom by diving between the elf's legs. He could hear the other elves shout something and could practically feel them rushing past Haldir to catch him. But it was too late as Harry stumbled under the big bush and was on the other side on his feet while the elves behind him seemed to be freaking out. Unable to pass the thorny bushes fast enough.
The next second Harry got behind the boulder and was lost to the elves. Although still not in his sights, he could hear them getting closer and shouting after him. He knew they would be on him in mere moments if he allowed it. Harry looked as far as he could see through the trees, then he dived into the mist and apparated there. Getting away from few over eager elves was still no reason to do blind apparation. Especially when there was no one to put him together should he splinch himself.
~o ~
A/N: Do you think I'm being too harsh towards the elves? And yes, this is sort of going to be an elfling!Harry