Disclaimer: I don't own Harry's Wonderful World or Middle Earth. They unfortunately belong to their rightful inventors.

These Broken Wings

Chapter Eight. Broken Wings Can Mend

Harry ran blindly down the hall. The only sound that reached his sensitive ears was his own harsh breathing, wracked with almost silent sobs, and the nearly non existent slaps of his feet on the wooden flooring.

Even though he had more endurance in his newly acquired elvish body, Harry paused to lean up against the wall. However he abruptly decided that he was sick of running and slid down clumsily onto his bony backside. Running his hand through his long raven locks Harry was not particularly bothered that we was ruining his perfect braids.

"Elerossë?"

Harry glanced up into soft grey eyes that seemed to glimmer with all knowing understanding.

"I'm fine," Harry answered on reflex wiping his face with one of his sleeves. He turned his head away so that he would not have to look at Lord Elrond.

Lord Elrond on the other hand seemed to have paused for a moment. Grey eyes considered the hunched over lump and the pools of green cloak that surrounded his newly found grandson.

Harry wiped his face again and sniffled.

"You don't seem fine," Elrond pointed out taking Harry's distress as a cue to invite himself to settle on the floor.

Harry glanced up a slight watery grimace on his face. "You should go back and not bother with the likes of me."

"Now that is a silly thing to say," Elrond replied reaching out and squeezing Harry's shoulder. "Maybe I can help."

"You can't," Harry said dejectedly. "Not unless you can go back in time and bring back the dead."

"No," Elrond agreed, "No I can't do that."

Harry pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes to stub the flow of any more unwanted tears. "I'll be fine."

Elrond nodded and stood. However a moment later Harry felt a strong grip gently goading him to stand. "Come, I'll take you to your chambers and we can talk in private away from prying eyes."

Harry's head whipped up in time to see a few concealed pair of eyes watching his grandfather and himself intently. Typical! Even as a strange elf he didn't get a break from curious bystanders.

Elrond lead Harry through the halls with an efficiency that came with living in Imladris for over millennia. Soon they came to Harry's chambers which Elrond entered with Harry meekly following him.

"You seem very pent up about this mystery 'dark lord'," Elrond observed shrewdly as he lower Harry onto the bed.

Harry watched as the Elvish lord bustled towards some cabinets and pulled out various packets of what looked like plant life, well dead plants.

"Voldemort…" Harry paused and wanted for the wince – which did not come. "Voldemort will either be killed by myself or… I… I… will be murdered at his hand."

Elrond's head snapped around and Harry could clearly see the Elf lord's lips pursed together tightly. "Can you pull through with it?"

"Pardon?"

"Can you kill, Elerossë?"

Harry blinked slowly and shook his head. "I figured when the time came that I'll… just… try…"

Elrond sniffed and turned back to his work pouring water and mixing herbs. "That's not good enough."

"What?"

"If, dear boy, you are to be an assassin then you need to know how to kill, where to strike and when to strike. You'll be a fool to just take chances…"

Harry blushed profusely. "Well I…He is a wizard…"

A strange glint sparkled in Elrond's eyes. His deft hands were still working without guidance. "He is still human the same rules will apply."

Harry didn't have the heart to tell Elrond that Lord Voldemort was definitely no longer human – or mortal.

"It is suicide going in without a plan. That is where I'm sure Lord Glorfindel, Erestor and myself will be of assistance."

Harry could not help but look incredulously at Lord Elrond.

"I was High King Gil-galad's second in command in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves after all."

Harry could only smile faintly. When one put it like that, how could you argue?

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"This," Elrohir drawled. "Is a sword."

Harry watched with raised eyebrows as the elvish twin twirled the blade slowly so that the sun caught on the silver dazzling him slightly.

"Really?" Harry murmured sarcastically. "I thought it was a rubber chicken."

His cynical comment earned him a snort of appreciation from Elladan and a glare from Elrohir.

"Swords are not toys to be trifled with," Elrohir continued, his slow footsteps bringing him around to arc around Harry's standing point. Harry watched him wearily only moving his head but not his body.

"Unless you're the son of an insane assassin."

Elrohir glanced up into the wide blue yonder and mentally asked the Valar if Harry was divine punishment for how he used to taunt his teachers.

Seeing the expression of askance on Elrohir's face Harry decided to quit while he was ahead. "But I'm not the offspring of an assassin insane or not so I guess your thoughts do apply to me."

"Yes they do," Elrohir snapped churlishly. "Now pick up the sword."

Harry could have groaned as Elrohir delicately dropped the blade to the ground and stood back with his arms crossed against his chest. He doubted Elrohir was going to take his first lesson easy on him so Harry decided maybe staring at Elrohir would work in his favour. He could just see Elrohir kicking him up the bum as he bent over just to prove a point. And a rather painful point at that.

His wand however was left a Number Four Privet Drive. Lady Luck would never be so kind to allow him his wand in a strange and dangerous world after all! But something stirred in his memory and he decided he would try it out regardless.

"Up!"

To Harry's great surprise and horror his fantastic idea did work. The sword flew into his hand with the greatest of ease. The crux of the problem it was blade first.

"Ow!" Harry dropped the weapon and hugged his sliced hand to his gut. "That's sharp."

"Brilliant," Elrohir groaned rolling his eyes. "We haven't stared and we have an injury!"

"Sharp for a rubber turkey, nephew?" Elladan asked looking slightly sympathetic if not for the look of fascinated glee on his face.

"Chicken," Harry announced through clenched teeth. "Rubber chicken."

"If you say so," Elladan replied in all seriousness despite the large grin plastered on his face.

'

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Harry, Elrohir and Elladan trudged up the stairs and were greeted by Erestor at the top.

"Father's personal assistant, adviser and what not," Elladan whispered in Harry's ear.

"Whatever you are during your time with him," Elrohir warned in an undertone. "Be polite."

"Erestor," Elladan nodded in greeting. Harry let the twins overtake him and dawdled behind them. He recognised this elf. It was the same elf he had bowled over when he made his escape a few nights ago.

Erestor however greeted the twins with a stern nod and glanced over to Harry. "You were quick with him," Erestor said accusingly his dark eyes sliding over to Elrohir then back to Harry's bandaged hand.

"Elerossë has an eye for getting himself into scrapes, milord Erestor," Elladan explained.

"If he's not running headlong into trees…"

"… or summoning dangerous point and sharp objects…"

"… I'm getting insanely lost in some whacked out world I know absolutely nothing about," Harry finished eying the twins in annoyance.

To the outward eye Erestor's expression did not change. But if one was endowed with the gift of elvish eyesight they would have seen the corners of Erestor's mouth twitch.

"Now, now dear nephew," Elladan chided wiggling his finger in front of Harry's face. "All wise knowing Ada never makes mistakes."

"He is afterall not completely human," Elrohir finished and in a half hearted concealed undertone added to Erestor loudly, "Elerossë is having trouble taking this all in. Go slowly with him. You know what elflings can be like when they are confused, grumpy and miss there Ada and Nana."

"He is only sixteen after all," Elladan observed as if this explained everything odd about 'Elerossë'.

"Seventeen," Harry snapped quickly as if one year really made a difference. "And for your information I've never needed parents and I most certainly don't need them now."

Harry barged past the twins using his stinging hand to fuel his temper and paused by Erestor's side. "Let's just get this over with." Then he disappeared through the door way.

Elrohir and Elladan glanced at each other and shrugged. "Was it something we said?"

Erestor gave the pair the piercing gaze he learnt from his all too wise friend, Lord Elrond. "You two went to far this time," he said sternly before disappearing after 'Elerossë'.

"We were only giving as good as we get," Elrohir muttered under his breath.

"Bah, grumpy elflings," Elladan said.

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Erestor found Harry perched on one of the wooden library stools staring unblinkingly at a map of Middle Earth. He took his seat beside his new brooding pupil and sat in silence for a moment. He considered the younger elf for a moment before inquiring, "What is it that was said that offended you so?"

Harry would have loved to shrug his shoulders in reply but thought better of it. "Let's forget my mood and start," Harry suggested dodging around the question.

Erestor regarded Harry for a little while longer in the silence that followed. "Lord Elrond believes to leave you in peace and let you settle down before…"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Lord Elrond is a great friend of my, youngling. He is good and kind, no better elf or human will you ever meet. But he is no fool, Elerossë, your odd behaviour points to well kept masks and secrets and frankly he is worried about you."

"I've survived that is all he needs to know," Harry asserted.

"Surviving isn't living," Erestor pointed out.

'Neither can live while the other survives…'

Harry visibly winced. "Survival is all I can ever hope for. It is all I have."

Erestor leaned back in his chair and regarded Harry seriously. "The problem with the race of men is that they are broken, scattered, leaderless. Broken wings can be mended; you will fly one day."

'Or die trying,' Harry thought ruefully.