Harry Potter – Emissary or Exile by Tansy 1354
Summary: Take one man who has finally accepted and fulfilled his destiny, then take one fifteen year old boy who has just found out about his, add a bit of very old magic and a new journey will begin for both. (HP/LOTR XOVER)
Part 9. Friendship and Fellowship
The next morning Arwen, Aragorn, Thandmir, Hermione and Ron met up with the rest of the Fellowship in the pavilion that had been their home during their quest. A mountain of food was set up on a large table with padded benches along each end and side, enough to accommodate those dining comfortably.
Gimli, Gandalf and the hobbits were already inside and eating, while Legolas waited outside for the others to arrive, the elf giving the three teenagers an encouraging smile before entering and taking a seat at the table.
The teenagers were shocked at the sight of those in the pavilion as they had never seen any beings like these before. But their biggest shock came as they lay eyes on an old man with long white hair and beard, wearing grey robes and a wizard's hat. Legolas heard, Hermione gasp under her breath, "He looks just like Dumbledore, but that's not possible."
Arwen and Aragorn had barely herded their charges inside before Aragorn was mobbed by one dwarf and four hobbits all talking at once. Finally Gimli's gruff voice separated from the rest, "Well Laddie, king or no, you better start explaining before I go looking for my axe."
The three teenagers started to back up towards the entrance, but stopped when Aragorn laughed "Peace Gimli, I will gladly answer but I must ask you to stop scaring our guests, they do not know that your bark is much worse than your bite. Please if you will all sit down, I will explain who these young people are and how they came to be here."
Gimli glared at the two young lads and the pretty lass before muttering a dwarven curse that made Aragorn, Gandalf and Legolas grin, but he returned to the table along with the hobbits.
Aragorn and Arwen led their charges to the table and then Aragorn had them stand beside him as he began, "My friends let me introduce two new emissaries from a distant land, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley." He indicated each with a sweep of his hand before continuing, "This young man" indicating Thandmir, "is Thandmir Elessarion, the new son of Arwen and my self."
When this announcement was met by silence, Arwen laughed, "Perhaps, dear Aragorn you had better explain the rest of it, while they are still too stunned to interrupt. Thandmir, Hermione, Ron and I will start on breakfast while you talk."
So while some ate the rest listened as Aragorn finally went into a bit more detail about what had been happening in Minas Tirith over the last few weeks. His audience remained quiet throughout as the unusual tale of the spirit and the oath was told. This was followed by a brief summary of the visits in Thandmir's dreams and finally finished with the preparations and arrival of the three teens in Lothlorien. Aragorn left out a fair amount of Thandmir's personal life though.
"Now young ones, let me introduce you to your breakfast companions, Legolas you have already met, he is an elf from another Elven realm to this one called Mirkwood.
The gruff one with the beard is Gimli son of Gloin and he is a dwarf from the Lonely Mountains, the ones who are attempting to clear the table on their own are called hobbits or Halflings from the Shire. Their names are Frodo, Sam, Merry and last but not least Pippin who is the youngest of our group." He grinned as Pippin scowled at him.
"This tall fellow with the staff is Gandalf, who is a Maia or Istari which is a type of wizard just like you three, so master dwarf I suggest you do not upset them." He laughed again, his heart light now that he had finally revealed his secret to his friends.
His voice became warm as he continued, "Now let us finish breakfast and then we can sit and get to know each other a little better."
Finally even Ron had eaten his fill and found that he had met his match when it came to the hobbits, he was quickly declared an honorary hobbit and invited to join them for all of their many meals. Recognising kindred spirits when it came to food he heartily agreed.
They had all taken positions on various logs and things in the glade surrounding the pavilion. Once more Aragorn started to speak directing him self to Hermione, Ron and Thandmir this time.
"The ones seated here with us are all my closest friends. A little over six months ago, I met up with Legolas and Gandalf, both of whom I have known most of my life. I had just recently made the acquaintance of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin and I met Gimli for the first time. I also met with Boromir who was the son of the Steward of Gondor where I now rule, for the first time. Unfortunately he was the only one of the company of nine that set on the quest to destroy the one ring who did not make it back.
An evil in our land brought us together and through our common efforts and the war that followed our bonds of friendship became so strong that nothing, not even our different races or stations in life or our outlooks on life could shake it. Each proved their metal and bravery against overwhelming odds on numerous occasions.
I might add I am pleased to see that Thandmir seems to have the same knack for attracting the kind of friends that I have here, they certainly have already proved they will watch your back no matter what the cost to themselves."
He turned to his own friends of the Fellowship, "My friends, the three that you see before you face their own terrible war in the land they come from. Thandmir lost his parents when they were murdered by an evil sorcerer much like our own Sauron and was tortured and used in the ritual to resurrect the sorcerer known as Lord Voldemort. He was right there when the first casualty fell that of a young school friend of his. He, Hermione and Ron were all involved in the battle that eventually claimed the second casualty right in front of Thandmir, that of his godfather, Sirius. But that is not all because it is believed that Thandmir is the only one in his world who can defeat this Lord Voldemort due to a prophecy made before he was even born."
Frodo who had been listening in the background was shocked at how closely his own life mirrored that of Thandmir's.
Meanwhile the ranger king quickly went and placed a reassuring arm around his son who had been a little stunned to hear Aragorn telling the others his story, "Thandmir, each of us here have faced evil in its many forms, and we know first hand about death, sacrifice and facing great odds. I know you will find it hard to accept but we really do know how it feels to see death and have to go on."
Aragorn continued, "To us you are not mere children, but young adults who know their own minds and are brave enough to fight for others who cannot do it themselves. For that alone you have earned a place amongst us and our respect."
At that Thandmir looked around the clearing somewhat taken aback as he noticed his father's friends all nodding in agreement.
Aragorn felt a gentle tap on his shoulder he turned around to see Frodo standing behind him thoughtfully.
Frodo looked at the young man in front of him, he recognised the haunted look on his face and it was then he also noticed the scar on the youth's forehead. "Thandmir, it sounds to me as though you have already survived many trials but none of them were of your choosing, do you feel guilty that you survived when others did not?"
Thandmir seemed to come out of a trance as he whispered back, so that only the elves and Frodo heard his reply, "Yes, they died because of me."
Frodo spoke again quietly, "Why do you think they died because of you, Thandmir?
The glade seemed to fade away and all that Thandmir noticed was the hobbit's quiet questions, "Cedric and Sirius were both in those places at those times because of me and my stupidity." The tears were falling but he was not aware of them running down his face and dripping off his chin.
Aragorn pulled out a small cloth from his pocket and proceeded to wipe the tears from his son's face, before pulling him into a hug. He was surprised when Thandmir returned the hug without any sign that he was going to let go soon.
Meanwhile Arwen had gone to the other teens and gathered them in a hug of their own as she noticed how upset they had become for their friend. However she soon realised that they were simply relieved that her son had finally opened up about what had happened to him.
Frodo looked at Aragorn and his son and felt the connection to the youth growing stronger, even though he didn't know the whole story of Thandmir's life. There was much that was similar in their lives and he quickly decided that he had to help Thandmir; perhaps it would help him to come to terms with his own experiences which still haunted him in his dreams and sometimes clouded his waking hours as well.
Arwen finally spoke out quietly, "Perhaps it would help Thandmir and his friends if you would tell them more about yourselves and your parts in the war of the ring. Gandalf, would you care to start with the history of the ring?"
Gandalf nodded and began the tale of the peoples of middle earth and the making of the rings. And so it was lunch was served and eaten and the tale continued until night fell and the evening meal was also taken in the pavilion as Aragorn announced that the two emissaries would receive their elven names and the three teens would be officially welcomed the next evening at a feast to be held in their honour.
After dinner the group split up for the night with Ron going off with Pippin and Merry. Thandmir remained with Frodo and Sam as Legolas and Gimli regaled them with tales of their homelands. Aragorn, Gandalf and Hermione were elsewhere talking about magic and Aragorn's training. Finally Arwen took the opportunity to visit properly with her grandmother and grandfather, since she didn't get to Lothlorien much since her marriage. Needless to say the night passed pleasantly for all.