Sad Endings and Unknown Beginnings
By Servant of the Shadows
Chapter Five
Memories//Diary Entries
Parseltongue//Dragonspeak
Author Notes
Thoughts
Warnings: Slash, mentions of gore, violence, Mpreg(MAYBE), OOC, AU, crossover, total disregard of HBP and DH, insanity, insanity and a tendency of irregular updates… Think I got them all… Unbeta-ed, so sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.
~*~*~*~*~
The darkness had become a constant in Harry's weeks of travel, but he did not notice much as his eyes always drifted towards the graceful beauty that walked among the fellowship. His golden hair, he had noticed, swung with each sway of his hips. Those vibrant sapphire eyes seemed to almost glow in the darkness and the pale skin was so luscious he could almost feel it.
It was truly a sobering thought, the fact that he was walking within a tomb. Watching the elf was a good distraction to the fact that it was wholly possible for the ring to fall within these darkened walls. Shadows and broken arcs were ever present and with every step they took, Harry had to make sure they did not spot him among the rubble.
The light he had cast with his staff had long ago been quenched and the notice-me-not charm had faded days ago. Harry dared not cast another spell within Olorin's casting range, not knowing how the wizard would react. His fear of discovery had increased to an incredible level and so he had resorted to exchanging his vision for that of his Ashwinder animagus, the snake's eyes making a perfect instrument within these dim Halls.
Idril, who was laying in a fitful sleep over his right shoulder, snorted a small jet of flame. The sight of the pure fire brought a prang of ecstasy over him, he was a true pyromaniac in every sense of the word. The sight of yellow to his right caught his attention and the fact that the disgusting creature, Gollum, was still pursuing the Fellowship sickened him.
"This place, I do not know." Gandalf said from his position in the lead. "Let us take a rest; maybe my memory will be refreshed." He said as his hat came off and his staff came to rest over his feet. Sitting down atop the closest boulder, the old mage took out a wooden pipe and quickly struck the flint. Small rings of smoke floated from his pipe and Harry could not help the small groan of pleasure that escaped his lips once the smell of burnt tobacco reached his nostrils.
Oh, how he wished to be the one smoking. Vanquishing all temptations from his mind, Harry became aware of the small hobbit approaching the aged wizard. He sat down by his legs and spoke in hushed whispers. The weight of the world lay over his shoulders and the weariness that was evident in the Hobbits face brought a sense of melancholy to his heart.
He still remembered how it felt to be in his shoes, how it felt to have the world depend on those who did not know how to defend it… "Something is following us. I can feel its gaze across my back; it makes my skin crawl and a sense of defense to spring within me. What is it that shadows our footsteps?" Frodo said, his voice strained in an attempt to keep his tone steady.
"The creature Gollum, he who wielded the ring for many years. It had corrupted him in many ways and it calls to him even now. Be wary for he is sneaky." Responded Gandalf absentmindedly.
"I wish he were dead. I wish I could kill him…" Frodo said, his voice tangled with a strange emotion.
"Do not ever wish for something like that. It is true that he is not a desirable creature, and for that reason alone you should pity him. The ring consumed him, and he did not have your strength when he wielded it." Said Gandalf harshly.
"I am sorry Gandalf… I just wish I did not have this burden. I wish Bilbo had never found the wretched ring." The hobbit said, his face reflecting the remorse he felt at his heartless words.
"So do I, so do I Frodo. Now, let us not linger in sad though and what ifs, why don't you go accompany Gimli. It seems he has been rather down since our entrance to the mines." The Ring Bearer nodded sharply as he stood from the ground and made his way towards the camp. The dwarf lay by the fire grinding a stone against the sharp edge of his axe, his face a mask of impassiveness.
Harry decided it was time to settle his own camp. He quickly rolled out the cushioning charmed sleeping bag and prepared for a restless night of sleep.
~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~
Three days passed in front of the stone archways before Gandalf chose the path to take. Three more days in which he could watch the elf, and three more days in which Harry could contemplate what the hell was wrong with him; he had still to find an answer to that question…
The quick, careful glimpses he had taken within the minds of the fellowship informed him of the fact that they all knew that they were lost. There was no problem with that seeing as they trusted the old wizard wholly. Harry had once trusted a wizard so, that trust was what led him to this immortal life.
Even in all the time he had lived, all the experiences he had had, Harry still wished to have died alongside his friends. The thought that he had forever to live cast a shadow over his eyes as his mood darkened. Living forever was not worth it if you had no one to share the journey with…
"Ah," The voice interrupted his shadowed thoughts. "I remember now, it is that way." He said as he put his hat on and grabbed his staff from the floor, his hand always pointing towards the left archway. Even Harry could tell that the old man was bluffing, but no one said anything as they prepared to more forth.
"How do you know, Gandalf?" Frodo asked as he came to stand beside the wizard. "What made you remember?"
"Remember? The air is fresher from that doorway, the one to the right smells of death and stale scents. I would not test our luck going that way, child." Said the grayed man, Frodo chuckled at his antics.
~*~*~*~*~*~
And then they were walking through the darkness once more. Harry and Gollum a few steps behind and both attempting not to be found. Idril was awake by now and scouting ahead of Harry, always too high up for the elf's sensitive ears to hear.
The monotone task of walking over the rubble and viewing the world in a twisted, multicolored world had bored Harry before he had started the monotony and by now he was about ready to jump in the middle of the group and scream bloody murderer… or ravage the blonde that walked to provocatively ahead of him.
Once him consciousness caught up with the thought Harry had to steady himself on air as he tripped over his own feet. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? The feeling of slamming his head against the cavern walls almost overwhelmed him. This feeling felt like an Imperius Curse casted over him, the sensation that fills up your whole being. The feeling that everything would be alright…
He had never felt this strong about anyone, not even Draco who he had thought was the love of his life. Truth be told, it scared him… the fact that he would give his life without question for the blond ahead of him. Never in his two thousand years of life had we witnessed something like what he felt.
The silence of the mines had long ago started to rub him the wrong way. It was true that it was a tomb, but even tombs had scavengers and he had yet to see a rat among the corpses and the rubble. It was not exactly fear of something else being here, he already knew there was something ancient and evil hiding here, but the fact that even this far up there was nothing but death. Besides, his hands hurt from having to scale across the rubble. He was not a goat, damn it! Yes, he was fuming once more no need to point out the obvious.
A wave of fresh air hit him, and the smell of something else besides dirt and corpses came as a relief. They were finally nearing the end of the Mines. Casting a glance upwards, Harry could easily make out the blue scales that belonged to his Andariel. With a quick whistled note he called to her. HE watched as the shrunken beauty maneuvered with the air and dropped altitude.
Twisting and turning, she came and just before crashing against him she spread her wings fully, effectively stopping her decent. He stretched his hands, cursing himself as his axe slammed against the staff, and caught her. She chirped happily, ignoring the frozen state of her master. The fellowship ahead of them also froze at the sound of weaponry.
No sound came for the next seconds and when the silence broke it was to a wizened wizard's quick brush off. "Let us not waste time when the exit is so near at hand." The Fellowship continued to move, and the narrow hall that they had been walking on for so long widened into a great hall that spoke of gigantic feasts and merry brews. And it all saddened Harry, for they were his unwitting neighbors. He could have helped them if he had been aware of the danger.
Harry took a deep breath as he calculated his next move. How was he to enter when it was an open space? Deciding to take the risk he took a deep breath and walked forth, as if he owned the place. No one turned around at his entrance; no one noticed his entrance… For they were all following the distraught dwarf as he yelled in despair.
"No!" he mourned as he took off towards the side room. The small room that had a vault in its middle, the corpse of a dwarf clutching onto a large tome resting beside the tomb… Olorin reached the mourning dwarf before the rest of the Fellowship as he lay sprawled across the tomb, the runic script on top of the tomb being covered from Harry's view by the dwarf.
"Here lays Balin, son of Fundin. Lord of Moria." The wizard translated as he took off his hat in respect. The wails of the dwarf seemed like a hunted melody to Harry, and the small shaft of light that fell from a hole in the ceiling seemed like the world's farewell gift to the Lord of Moria. A taste of freedom in his time of death, Harry bowed his head in respect to the Founder's of this city as he became aware of the other corpses lain across the room. "So this was their last stand?" He muttered for his ears alone.
Gandalf bended slightly and relieved the dwarf that lay by the tomb of the tome he still held and read several passages from years past which told of great victories for the dwarves. A small nostalgic smile drifted in his lips as Harry remembered watching the younger race battling the wretched creatures. They had been truly magnificent in their glowing armor and great axes; they had been Harry's inspiration for the weapon he now carried.
Drifting towards the end of the room, where the well lay as a sleeping snake, walked a hobbit. His curiosity spiked and his intentions pure. Harry, always paranoid and always aware, saw him drifting close as an impending storm. The old mage still read the tome, grabbing everyone's attention.
Risking discovery, Harry slammed into the hobbit's mind as he bent over to pick up a stone. The world seemed to be crawling in an infinitely slow pace as he read Pippin's thoughts. The stone, now poised above the deep chasm, dropped as Harry's yell came a second too late.
"Stop!"
The tome was dropped as the wizard turned towards the door, where the yell had come from. The sound of the rock slamming against the stone walls was the only sound that could be heard as the room froze in itself. And then…silence.
Idril huffed in annoyance as she stared at the hobbit, her tongue slithering over her sharp fangs in a menacing way. No one dared move and no one dared speak. Harry was relieved and annoyed at the same time.
On one hand he had been discovered in the worst way possible and on the other he had stopped thinking about how to introduce himself once the company discovered his presence. "I-" He said, glad for the deep hood that covered his pink dusted cheeks.
"You…" Harry heard, it had not been only uttered by the hobbits he had saved before and that fact confounded him greatly. Where had he met Olorin before?
Boom!
The startling sound made Harry jump as the fellowship turned towards the well. The hobbit lay frozen next to it, his hands wringing the hem of his shirt. They were not ready for a battle of this scale, none were wearing armor.
"Fool of a Took!" Olorin yelled at him. "Next time throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!" He added, his temper flying. The younger of the two had tears in his eyes.
Boom! Boom!
"Enough! If you have time to yell at him seek a way to escape from this situation!" Harry yelled from his spot in the door, he could hear the footsteps behind him and the gurgled yells of glee. His anger was making his eyes shift, he was sure of it. No longer were they the peculiar and serpentine orange eyes.
Everyone in the room was speechless at the man who had dared to yell at Gandalf the Gray. "Move it!" Harry yelled. "We have an army of orcs, goblins and… a cave troll on our asses!"
He turned his back on them and slammed the doors shut just as an arrow slammed into his open palm. "Geh" he yelled in pain as he stumbled back a couple of steps and turned his back to the doors with the impulse. The Hobbits gasped as they saw the blackened arrow halfway imbedded in his sinew, blood dripped to the floor.
This, perhaps, was the turning point in their minds which snapped them into action. The two men finished slamming the doors shut and the elf took out his bow. The wizard and the hobbits unsheathed their swords as the dwarf jumped atop his cousin's grave.
"Let them come!" he yelled from his vantage point. "There is still a dwarf in these mines that lives!"
Harry snorted as he heard him, yet he closed his eyes as the black haired man neared him. "Break the shaft, and we will mend it when we leave this place." He said, Harry snorted once more. The man looked affronted for a second as the arrows kept flying off the elf's bow.
He gripped the shaft with his remaining hand and pulled it out with on heave. He grunted in pain. "What are you doing!? You will bleed to death!" he yelled as he attempted to stop him.
"Move, Numenorian. This does not concern you!" Harry responded back, annoyance and pain lacing his words. The man stumbled back as if he had been slapped. The remaining company turned towards them in surprise.
"How did you know?" He asked, his voice shaking.
"I know many things Aragorn, son of Arathorn. But this is not a good time to flaunt them." Harry said as he forced tears out of his eyes. A lone, crystal clear tear dropped from his hunched form and fell over the wound.
The sound of sizzling followed as the broken tissues mended together. As Harry stood straight for the first time in over two weeks he sighed in relief, the wound was gone and only a smear of blood was there to prove its existence.
Idril rested by the tomb, knowing she could not do much in her shrunken form. The Fellowship turned towards the mysterious navy garbed man in disbelief. "Troll!" The remaining man yelled, effectively making the company jump to action.
"Now, it is time to repay the favor…" Harry said as he turned his back to the fellowship and slipped the deep hood from his raven tresses. They cascaded to the floor in luscious waves as the robe was vanished from his body, the staff still rested across his back, but the giant battle axe was now resting in his hands.
Harry felt it before he saw it, the feeling of air being compressed as the door exploded. Pieces of debris flew around the room, but none of them reached Harry as they burned to cinders before they touched him. Behind him he heard a double hiss that indicated the unsheathing of twin daggers. He ignored this as wave after wave of orcs flooded the room, their back skin melding with the darkness behind and their shrieks rebounding across the giant room behind them. It was impossible to tell how many there were. And he did not care…
His axe met the first wave and casting a slight Banishing Charm as the blade met the feeble swords sent them flying into the darkness. Harry yelled in victory, his laughter starting. Killing was so much fun… Lifting his axe above his head he spun it around in circles before swinging it towards the recovering line of orcs with all the momentum the spinning had granted it. Maniatical laughter started to spill from his mouth once more.
The cave troll that had been forgotten for a few moments came back into play as he attempted to skewer the Hobbit that possessed the ring. Luckily, the young male jumped out of the way and the spear got stuck in the stone wall. He heaved, but it would not come free. An arrow flew across the room and imbedded itself in the trolls' thick neck, a second one came close by and as the spear finally came free Harry reached the Hobbit.
He stood in front of the Hobbit as he raised his axe menacingly and yelled at the brute. "Back you wretched slave!"
The thing only appeared infuriated as it roared at him. Harry smiled as he parried a thrust that was intended to kill him. This time the troll attempted to slam the wooden spear horizontally into Harry and as the axe came into contact with the spear, the troll rebounded from his momentum. Harry was still frozen in spot, the floor around his feet only slightly cracked.
Once it lay atop many of the orcs, Harry jumped on the brutes' stomach and slammed the blade of his axe into his neck. Blood sprayed across the room as the cave troll was beheaded, and laughter emitted from Harry mouth. He stood once more and continued his attack.
He did not see the expression of amazement that covered the faces of the Fellowship. The expressions of fear… Harry danced with them, with the flailing blood and the flying limbs, with the shrieks of pain. He remembered the day he had saved Laeri from the burning house and he was not in the mines anymore… He was attempting to save his children once more.
The house had become reaching hands and shrieking laughter, he fought against the limbs as they attempted to push him away from the bleeding children. Away from his family, and he laughed along with them. Tears falling from his eyes…
Instinct told him to turn and as he did his world became clear, he was in the Mines again. Behind him stood a stunned elf, his sapphire eyes glinting with puzzlement as he saw his face for the first time. His hand stretched as if to caress his face, ignoring the fact that they were separated by several bodies. Behind him crackled an orc, his blade poised to stab the elf. Time slowed and Harry saw as the blade lost altitude. Idril shrieked in rage as she witnessed what was happening, her small wings making it impossible for her to reach him before the probable happened.
Harry dropped the axe in his anger as he pointed a crooked finger towards the orc, his blood boiled. "Do not dare!"
The orc stopped in the action and the elf turned towards him at last, Idril reached the orc just as he burned to a crisp. The remaining orcs froze in place as the fire consumed their brethren.
"Vrak-hai!" They yelled in fear as they surrounded the fellowship.
"Great killer?" Gandalf translated in amusement and in puzzlement. "Never before had I heard the orcs name a person." He added quickly as he sped towards the now orc free doorway. "Never before had I met a human that mourned a dragon either. You are full of mysteries."
Harry gritted his teeth in annoyance at the reminder of Smaug. "Would you like to meet his daughter?" Harry asked sardonically as Idril dropped from his shoulder. He cast a wandless Engorgio Charm over her as she dropped. As she returned to her original size she roared, some of the orcs who had rallied around them scattered at the sound.
"Good evening, Dragonkiller." She growled at Gandalf the Gray. The wizard stumbled as he saw the expansive shape that belonged to Smaug's daughter. He nodded and gulped, not knowing how to answer. For once, Olorin was struck speechless.
Coming to an abrupt halt, the company became aware of their surrounded state. The orcs danced and mocked them as the Fellowship struck all those who were near, Idril slamming her tail and snapping her jaws to all she could reach.
Harry's annoyance was overwhelming as he slammed the butt of the staff onto the ground. "Inferno Arrecio!" He yelled.
A small flame burst from the top of the dragon maws, the top of the staff, and it scattered and danced among it's crevices before it finally reach the butt. Silence had encompassed the room as they watched what the 'young' wizards played his tricks. The blazing inferno that was unleashed as the flame neared the bottom was not what they had been expecting at all…
The fire danced among the crowd of orcs, leaving nothing behind, and before long the fire had had nothing else to burn. With a sigh, Harry absorbed the fire and all the energy it had consumed. He knew his skin was glowing by now, as were his eyes, yet he could do nothing about it. The energy had been too much to absorb and even now he had to rein his powers before they wrecked across the tunnels.
"Well… That was no pallor trick." Gandalf said as Harry summoned his axe. The blade came flying in his direction and with a practiced air he caught the handle.
"Sorry to not have met your expectations, Olorin." Harry replied in an irritated tone as he strapped the axe onto his back. His axe was still at hand. "But I do not live and breathe your words." He added as he conjured his blue robe, slipping it over his shoulders he became aware of the state of himself.
"Hell, I hate the aftermath of battles." He whispered to himself. Idril snorted as she sat a few feet away from the group.
"Why is that?" Asked one of the hobbits, the one who had dropped the stone if Harry's memory served him right; having heard his whispered words. Harry turned to face the hobbit slowly.
"Because the blood will take a while to clean off." He answered with a smile on his face. The hobbit gulped. Silence engulfed the room. "Now it would serve us right to move out before all hell breaks loose. I do not fancy going up against that which rests beneath these hollowed stones." He added as he turned to face Gandalf.
"It is far too late, I fear… Fire calls to fire after all." He replied sadly as a glow started to appear at the end of the hall. Coldness and darkness seemed like a constant as a low growling could be heard.
"Idril, fly ahead with the hobbits! Find the exit!" Harry yelled franticly as he levitated the hobbits onto the dragon's back. She growled in the direction of the glow, which had become stronger and a slight noise had joined the fray. That of stone grinding against metal, of a sword striking dragging against the floor; the growling had increased. "Go, Andariel! Hide amongst our people and we shall meet again." He said as he hugged her snout.
He let go quickly as he strapped the axe behind the hobbits. "Have a safe journey and may the wind be under your wings."
She roared once before she jumped into the air and flew into the darkness. The rest of the Fellowship became aware that the hobbits had just been substantially kidnapped and jumped into a flurry of questions and threats. The Gray just stood there listening to their complaints, not voicing a word in the exchange.
"Fly you fools!" He finally yelled as the Balrog became visible. The jumped at the booming voice and realized the proximity of the Balrog, which had them running in record time towards the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. Jumping across rubble and dodging pieces of masonry that kept falling from the roof. The tunnels seemed to have reached a limit at the awakening of the fire demon.
Without the hindrance of the hobbits and only a small impediment for Gimli's stout legs, they had soon reached the narrow crossing that had been named a bridge since the founding of the mines. They ran cross it, as if a demon was at their heels and with all intents and purposes a demons was behind them. Harry didn't need to read their minds to know that they were afraid.
The floor shook and Harry turned to witness the fiery whip surround Gandalf the Gray's ankle. Time seemed to slow down as he witnessed the fall of the gray wizard. He heard he yells that belonged to the rest of the fellowship, they were anguished yells and pleas for him to help him. Yet the old wizard understood that he would not help him. He could not help him… He had killed Smaug; he had killed his father, his mentor, his everything at that moment… He would not receive help from a vengeful child. And so he fell… Tears and yells following him as he fell, a gaze that felt satisfaction following his fall as well. Legolas yelled in dismay and fear as the presence of such evil grated against his very being, he felt himself fading slowly and he could do nothing about it.
"Ui!" He yelled as he felt the life force leaving him. "Ui, ui!" The fire whip came back up, ready to strike at the elf next. Harry felt his world twist and turn as he turned to the elf, the pale face and sweat covered skin that met his gaze made him angry and as he viewed the whip coming the elf's way something within him snapped.
Throwing the staff aside he conjured a fire whip of his own. The blue flames danced across his hands in a display of beauty and as he interfered the Balrog's whip, his own grew greater still. "Go back from whence you came from!" He yelled. His view a flurry of angry red, the Balrog roared in anger at the fire elemental.
Bringing up his fiery sword he attempted to strike the immortal, only to be stopped short by a bubble shaped shield. The fire danced around Harry as if comforting him. "Leave!" he yelled once more as he cracked the whip against its chest. It stumbled backwards and it yelped in pain as a wound appeared where it had made contact.
Daring to glance backwards, the met the sapphire eyes that belonged to the elf. They were pained and his skin became paler still. This time it was Harry who roared in anger, his dragon side coming out in greater quantities. His anger became greater still and without his consent he became aware of casting a Fire Vortex.
Already the swirling flames were burning through the sleeve that covered his right arm, the fire whip still present in his left one. The overcharge he had received at the burning of the orcs made the Vortex run out of his control, burning through his skin from the warmth. Scales sprouted from where he had been burned by his fire and further up his arm they went, his dormant dragon protecting him.
The fire burned greater still, his Ashwinder reacting to his need to destroy the evil that stood before him. His phoenix still dormant in the exchange promised a healing method for the ill elf. In a great heave, the Vortex left his limb and assaulted the demon. At first it seemed to not have worked, but before long the Balrog shrieked in pain.
The swirling flames consumed the demon and it kept going into the deep recesses of the tunnels, intending to leave nothing behind. And so the Bridge of Khazad-Dum fell…
~*~*~*~*~*~
Once Harry turned around, exhausted and afraid for the elf he became aware of the state of said elf. He had collapsed to the ground; the remaining company had surrounded their fallen brethren. He was panting by now and his face reflected pain, fear was sketched across Harry's. He fell to his knees beside the elf and caressed the long strands of pure gold.
They felt softer than silk; he could not stop himself from thinking. For the first time since the death of his friends, he cried real heartfelt tears. They fell from his eyes in torrents and as they plopped against the elf's face they seemed to glow.
Absorbed by the light creature, Legolas seemed to be getting better. His panting calmed and his painful expression vanished; peace seemed to radiate from his form. Harry sighed in relief as he stopped the flow of tears that splattered lightly on Legolas' cheeks.
"I had never seen anyone able to reverse a fading…"Aragorn whispered in awe. "I thought we had lost him as well."
Harry ignored his words as he scooped up the elf in his arms. Gently, as if to not wake him, he stood Aragorn seemed like he was about to complain. With a quick glare towards the man, Harry walked forward. As expected the two men and the dwarf followed behind him.
The ground started to shake once more, which alerted Harry to the fact that the tunnels were about to collapse. Casting a shield around them as to not be hindered by the falling rocks, they walked to the exit of the tunnels. Harry's emerald eyes gazing lovingly at the elf in his arms, the world around him not concerning him at all.
He gasped in pain and surprise as the bright sun light grazed his skin for the first time in weeks and the fresh air which teased his long locks brought a smile to his face. The light that reflected from the scales in his arm reminded him of the fact that Idril was far from him for the first time in sixty years and that thought brought a lonely feeling in his heart.
"So it is true…" Boromir whispered. "You are but a child in a world of men. How is it that you have come to wield such power?" He whispered in awe and just a tiny bit of contempt. Oh, how he wished to be the one to wield such power.
"It is you who are the child in my eyes, human." Harry replied as he lowered the elf to the ground gently. "Now who will take care of the elf in the trip to my homeland?" He asked as he turned to look at Aragorn, knowing he was the one to offer himself. He just nodded as he picked the elf up and looked in askance towards the young man.
Boromir fumed at the worded bard. "You have yet to turn twenty and your arrogance far exceeds you." He said. Harry just ignored him as he walked a few paces ahead. Once he calculated the distance he turned towards the mortals.
"Do you trust me?" He asked them.
"Why did you let Gandalf fall?" Aragorn asked back.
"Because he killed my father." Harry replied in a monotone. Aragorn seemed shocked at the statement as he nodded yes to the first question asked. "Good." He added with a slight smile as he awakened the dormant dragon within him.
Where a young man of fair looks and ragged clothes had once stood, now sat a gigantic black dragon with wise emerald eyes; the dwarf yelled in affront as he drew his axe, yet he dared not make a move. "What are you waiting for? I am weary and I wish to get home before sundown." The great dragon said as he lowered himself to allow the mortals to mount him.
And mount him they did, albeit a bit slowly and overcautiously. Before long they had settled down comfortably. The elf sat first with Aragorn's arms enveloping him in a tight cocoon (to which Harry had protested much), next sat the ranger and behind him sat the dwarf. Last of all sat the imprudent man that had called Harry a child, and with a sour expression he admired the great dragon.
Emerald, serpentine eyes glanced around him before he jumped into the sky with great beats of air. The mortals yelled in fright as the ground below them became a strange memory viewed in fast forward. If someone had asked them what direction they were flying in, they couldn't have answered.
The only reason they knew time was going by was thanks to the slow decent of the sun. The moon had only started to peek out when gravity took its course and Harry maneuvered with the air around them. Below them a great expanse of flowers could be seen and in the middle of the field was a great lake. A flash of sapphire told them that Idril had just landed as well and the four hobbits were getting off her on wobbly legs.
Harry landed beside her gently, as to not jostle his passengers, and waited patiently for them to get off him. The elf was still knocked out and Aragorn had to help him down. Once Gimli touched the ground he sighed in relief and promised never to fly again, which brought a chuckle from Boromir as he stretched his legs.
"Mmm…"
The sound of moaning stopped Harry from transforming back, he turned his great head in the direction of the sound and met sapphire eyes. "Where… Where did he go?" He whispered at first. "Where is he?"
Aragorn was about to answer when he spoke once more, his eyes drifting from Harry to the rest of the company. "What happened to me and where are we?" He asked. Harry decided it was time to offer some explanations and so he reversed the animagus transformation.
"You were fading…" He whispered hoarsely, as if the fact pained him. "You almost died…"
Legolas turned at the sound of his voice and as their eyes met he stretched a hand towards him before thinking it twice and letting the limb drop at his side. "What is this feeling that makes me want to seek you out?" He whispered in elvish. "What is it that drives me to you?" He added softly.
"I do not know… Yet I feel it too." Harry whispered back in the same tongue. Aragorn respectfully attempted to stay out of the conversation, yet he was failing greatly as he blushed. The mood was broken when Harry fell to the ground, his breaths coming as great pants. Legolas gasped and attempted to rise, only to be stopped by Aragorn's hands.
"Harry? Harry!" Idril yelled from the other side of the company. She quickly stood on her hind limbs and took a deep breath. The silence of the night was broken as her roar echoed across the fields and into the city they had not noticed yet.
Harry stood to a crouching position and heaved, soon throwing up blood. The sight startled the company and Aragorn had a difficult time subduing the elf. "Let go of me, Aragorn!" He yelled over a second roar that was emitted by Idril.
A distance away a group of mounted men could be seen galloping towards them. At the head of the company rode a man dressed in rich silks and a sapphire crown. "King Saphriel!" Idril yelled in distress, the man at the head spurred his mount to go faster as he realized who had been the one seeking help.
The hobbits were fidgeting near Boromir as they did not know what to do. Once the company reached Harry the man at the head jumped from his mount, unicorns as the Fellowship could not help but notice, and hurried over towards the fallen human.
"Grandfather? Grandfather…" He said as he saw the pool of regurgitated blood. The Fellowship watched perplexed as the man who was older than even they call the eighteen year old 'grandfather'. The puzzlement quickly turned into disgust as he lifted the mages' left sleeve.
The flesh surrounding the limb had been burned so badly that the remaining pieces of skin were blackened and in many places the skin had fallen off. "He used an overpowered Flame Vortex, didn't he?" The king asked of no one in particular.
"Something to the likes of that… aye." Responded Boromir, his voice a monotone as he watched the king fret over the human he had thought of as a child.
"Bring me a medic. We need to move him to his chambers as quickly as possible." He said as he stood. "The rest of you lead our visitors to their personal chambers within the castle." He added as he watched the bedraggled group of mortals.
"Welcome to Haleron, the Land of the Phoenix." He said as he turned around and mounted his unicorn. "May your visit be merry…" He added as he galloped away, leaving them behind in a cloud of confusion.
Sorry for the delay, but lately I've been feeling exhausted so I haven't had much time to write. Thanks for the many reviews and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! You deserve it x}. On that note, the next chapter will be mainly fluff so wait a little bit for it and again thanks for the lovely review!!! X}
