Chapter 6

The Walking Dead Arc

Maggie held the small, plastic shopping basket in her hand as she looked over the list that Harry had provided. "Deodorant … toothpaste … cough drops …" she read, trying to find as much as she could. There wasn't much in the rundown store. It had been picked over long before they showed up. Harry was outside making sure that there weren't any walkers around to bust in on them. She told him that she'd wait inside and get started on the looting. Maggie hopped over the back of the counter to search for anything left behind. It was then that she heard a vehicle rumbling closer.

Her heart immediately began pounding. It wasn't Harry leaving. She was sure of that. For one thing, the noise was getting closer instead of moving away. Second, Harry had parked his car behind the store to hide it from the road. Maggie ducked low with just her eyes peeking over the countertop. When a ragged, old pickup truck squealed to a stop in front of the store, her stomach jumped up into her throat. Two men hopped out of the front cab while three more jumped out from the bed of the truck. They were hootin' and hollerin' something fierce, she thought. That wasn't a smart idea in a time like this.

The men were of various ages. Some appeared to be in their forties while a couple looked to be in their early twenties. All of them were dirty and unwashed. As they began walking toward the front door, Maggie gasped and slid down completely behind the counter. There was no way for her to escape through the backdoor. She'd have to move from behind the counter, and with the front of the store completely covered in floor-to-ceiling windows, she knew that they would immediately see her. Just as she was thinking about making a run for it, the door to the store opened. Maggie tried desperately to control her harsh breathing. Her heart was pounding so hard that it was starting to hurt.

" … just shut the fuck up already," one of the men said as they entered. "You talk a big game but probably never got a piece of pussy in your life before I came along." Maggie heard several of the men laugh.

"Fuck off!" she heard one of the younger men curse. "I got plenty of pussy … Probably more than you," he countered. The men laughed again. "Anyway … that girl yesterday didn't deny me the chance," he bragged.

"No fucking beer!" a different man slurred angrily. Maggie jumped and held back a yelp when the man kicked the glass door of the empty freezer. There was a loud pop of broken glass before it tinkled against the floor. Maggie slapped her hand over her mouth.

The first man snorted. "She didn't have a choice. Besides, she was already half-dead anyway."

Maggie heard them spread out as they started pawing through the leftovers. They weren't quiet about it either. They just ripped stuff off of the shelves and threw what they didn't want on the floor.

"You shoulda kept her alive, man," another complained. "I was just beginning to enjoy the bitch." Again, they all laughed.

"You want some action? Go fuck a walking corpse," the man who was clearly the leader countered.

"This place ain't got shit!" the drunk guy complained.

"Here! Have a bottle of cayenne pepper," one of them joked. The drunk man cursed, and Maggie squeaked softly as the plastic bottle hit the wall right in front of her. The bottle exploded from the impact, sending orangish-brown powder flying everywhere. Before she could stop herself, Maggie coughed quietly. Some of the men continued arguing and joking. She was just about to thank her lucky stars when pain erupted from the top of her head. Her entire body was pulled upward, and she was slammed onto the counter. She cried out in pain as her back hit the counter.

"I told you this place would have something good," the leader called out. "Ooooh weeee! She's a looker!"

Maggie got her first good look at him. He was unshaven and dirty. His teeth were completely covered in plaque. He obviously hadn't brushed his teeth since the catastrophe began. He was wearing a blue, flannel shirt with the sleeves cut off. His shirt was almost completely unbuttoned. His gross, hairy chest was dripping with sweat, and the man stank of booze and body odor. Maggie screamed and thrashed around, but two other men were quickly at her side, holding her arms down and pinning her to the counter.

"We got ourselves a live one!" the leader shouted, earning laughs from the others. "Let's see what she's got to offer!"

Maggie's mind nearly blanked as the man grabbed the front of her jeans and unbuttoned them. Though her mind wasn't completely there, her body continued to fight which only made the men happier. At that moment, she almost wished that it was a group of walkers tugging at her. At least it would be over quickly if it was, she thought.

HPTTM

Billy Joe turned and pig squealed at his brother, who was the leader of their new, drunken posse. His older brother began tugging her pants down when he suddenly stopped. Billy Joe blinked a few times until he realized that there was a machete buried right in the middle of his brother's head. His brother's eyes were wide and unseeing. His body began tilting until he fell backward with a brutal thump. As the realization hit him, Billy Joe became enraged. He turned, only to see a shotgun barrel pointed directly at him. Behind the gun was a handsome man with black hair and the greenest eyes he had ever seen. Before he could curse or beg, his ears began ringing and for some strange reason, his body hit the floor hard. He shook his head, but his ears continued to ring. He looked down and saw the front of his blue T-shirt turning red. He gasped and began to panic. His shirt was ripped to shreds, and when he pulled the shredded parts away, he saw that his bare chest looked like a pile of raw meat. That was when the pain hit him. He evacuated his bowels and screamed, clutching his ruined chest.

HPTTM

As Harry pulled the trigger, one of the men holding Maggie down flew backward. He moved the shotgun to the side and pulled the trigger again. On her other side, the man's head exploded in a mist of blood. Before his body could properly drop, the remaining two men screamed and began running out the door. Harry calmly walked after them.

HPTTM

Alan ran out of the store, chasing Jimmy. They both made a beeline for the truck. Jimmy was angling for the driver-side door, so Alan ran around the truck. As he reached the passenger side, Alan heard Jimmy cursing. The truck was a piece of shit, and the door handle almost always stuck. He was pulling and shaking the handle so hard that the entire truck rocked from side to side. He heard Jimmy cry out in triumph as the door finally opened. Just then, the driver-side window exploded, and Alan ducked down. He heard Jimmy groan pitifully, but Alan wasn't dumb enough to stick around to see what had happened to him. He got to his feet and bolted down the street.

Alan had never run so fast in his entire life. Not even in his senior year of high school when he scored the winning touchdown during homecoming. His legs were a blur, and he ignored the stitch in his side as he tore down the road. The further he got, the more he began feeling a sense of bliss. He had escaped almost certain death. That was why it was strange that he suddenly felt a searing pain in his leg. His leg gave out, and he hit the road hard. He cried out as his body slid across the blacktop, his skin scraping away. He grabbed his thigh and felt something wet. Holding up his hand, he saw that it was covered in blood. In a panicked state, he turned his head and looked back from where he had come from. On the road was the black-haired man with a pistol in his hand. Alan had never even heard the shot.

HPTTM

Maggie was shaking uncontrollably as she slowly pulled herself from the counter. Harry just stepped through the doorway, and Maggie jumped when she heard a gunshot followed by the sound of a car window shattering. A moment later, a second shot followed. After a third shot, Harry came back into the store and looked her over. Maggie just stood there, unable to decide how to proceed. Her mind was a complete mess. Harry cleared his throat and pointed down toward her waist. Maggie looked down. Her jeans and underwear were still pulled down so low that most of her hips were showing. Suddenly mortified, she pulled them back up. Her mind began working again, and she realized what had almost happened. Looking around, she saw three dead men lying on the ground. Harry pulled his machete from the leader's head. In his other hand was his handgun. He put it back in its holster and picked up his shotgun which was resting against the wall next to the door.

"Come with me," he told her. Maggie's body was moving before he finished his sentence. Within the blink of an eye, she was right behind him, nearly pressed against his back. She followed him out the door. As they made their way to the beat-up, old truck, she saw another dead man on the ground by the driver's door. He was on his back with a hole in his chest. Maggie saw that there was another hole right in the middle of his forehead.

"There's the other one," Harry said, pointing down the road. Maggie turned and looked. Sure enough, the last one was crawling down the road. He tried to stand up but only fell back down before starting to crawl again.

Harry just stood there silently, and Maggie knew what he was doing. He was giving her the opportunity to decide what will happen to the man. If she did nothing, there was no doubt he would decide himself, which surely meant a bullet in the head. Maggie's hand twitched, and she almost asked him for his gun, but then she stopped herself. She thought about it for a moment. She thought about how she was raised, and she thought about her religion. Then she thought about what would have happened to her if Harry hadn't been there. That was when she began to see red.

Harry was confused when Maggie jumped in the truck. Harry didn't even have time to get in the passenger side when she started the rumbling engine and tore down the street. Harry watched with wide eyes as the front tire flattened the man's belly. Guts spurted out like he was an overly-ripe tomato that had been squeezed too hard. Harry heard his agony-laced wails as the truck continued onward. The truck's tires suddenly squealed, and the truck turned sharply, doing a one-eighty. She stepped on the gas and aimed right for him. Harry heard the double thunk of a front and back tire hitting the man. By then, he was little more than paste. Harry was quite shocked actually. He didn't think the girl had it in her. She drove back and stopped right in front of him. Harry walked around and jumped in.

"Park around back next to my car," he ordered. Without a response, she did as he said and parked next to his vehicle. They both got out of the car. As soon as she did, she bent over at the waist and began throwing up. For several minutes she vomited until there was nothing left to throw up. When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Harry handed her a bottle of water that he took from the car. As she drank it down, Harry began siphoning the gas from the truck into a red, plastic gas can.

Maggie finished off the bottle and coughed. Her stomach still hurt, but it felt a little better. "Thanks, Harry …" she told him. "For everything," she added. Harry nodded.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, looking concerned. Maggie didn't know what to say.

"I don't know," she honestly answered. Harry nodded again, also not knowing what to say.

"Sadly, there are worse things out there than walkers," Harry told her, putting the gas can into the back of his car. "Hard times usually bring out the worst in humanity. Believe me, I know."

Maggie could only nod. She still hadn't come to grips with everything that had just happened.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he suddenly asked. His voice wasn't harsh or annoyed. He sounded as though he actually cared about her well-being. Maggie closed her eyes and shook her head. "You want to keep scavenging with me?" he asked. She silently nodded.

"Okay … Just stay close to me this time," he said. He didn't need to tell her twice.

HPTTM

Harry looked at Maggie out of the corner of his eye as he drove down the winding backroad. The girl was very quiet, which wasn't surprising in the least. 'She's probably going to be traumatized for a while,' Harry thought as he followed her quiet directions.

"Left here," she said, pointing. The dirt road that they were on was coming to an end, and Harry could see a normal, asphalt road creating a T-shaped intersection. Harry slowed down and turned left. "The apartment building is about a mile down," Maggie told him. Harry nodded and continued down the road.

It was only a couple of minutes until Harry saw the apartment complex nestled safely between a thick crop of trees. Had Maggie not told him exactly where to go, he didn't think that he would have ever found it. The complex wasn't very large, and the buildings looked old. The bricks making up the buildings were of various shades of brown, and the trim throughout the buildings was painted forest green. Harry figured that there were maybe two dozen apartments between the two buildings that made up the complex. Harry backed into the parking lot just in case they needed a quick getaway. Harry turned off the car and looked at Maggie. She was still looking straight ahead as though she was thinking deeply.

"You ready?" Harry asked her softly. Maggie turned to him and nodded. When she opened her door, Harry opened his as well, and they got out. Harry adjusted his gun belt and attached his machete to it. Maggie was suddenly at his side.

"Can you teach me how to use that?" she asked. Harry looked down, wondering what she was talking about.

"The gun," she clarified.

"I don't think your dad will …" Harry began but was cut off.

"I'm an adult," she firmly replied. "Don't worry about him."

Harry could see that she was serious. Harry went into his car and came out with the second gun belt that he had taken from the police station. He tossed it to her. Maggie grunted when she caught the heavy, leather belt. She clumsily tried to put it on before Harry stepped in and helped her. He spun the belt until it was facing the correct direction, then he tightened it. Maggie looked down and examined it. She then took a step back and asked, "How does it look?"

Harry's eyes traveled over her slim waist and flared hips. The belt rested right on top of them, emphasizing her womanly shape. Harry smiled at her. "It looks good on you."

Harry stepped up to her and reached down. He unsnapped the button on the strap that was holding the gun in the holster. He then pulled the handgun out and handed it to her. She gripped the handle tightly. Harry readjusted her grip. "This button here," he showed her. "That's the safety." Maggie pressed the safety in.

"Now pull back on the top slide."

She pulled back until she heard it click. She then let the slide snap back into place.

"Now it's loaded and ready to fire. Don't pull the trigger unless you mean it," Harry warned. He watched as she carefully put it back in the holster.

Maggie stayed close to him as he had earlier suggested. There were only a few cars left in the parking lot, but Harry made sure to siphon off as much gas as he could. After the gas was safely stored away and he had grabbed his crowbar, they moved to the apartments. Harry noticed that the complex seemed mostly untouched.

"I wonder if everyone left when this all started. There are only a few cars left," Harry said.

"I don't know," Maggie replied. "It was mostly older people who lived here. We used to sell fresh eggs to the people here. That's how I knew about this place," she told him. As they approached the first door, Harry kept quiet. He was listening for any sign of life within, but he heard nothing.

He arrived at the first door and pressed his ear to it. Again, he heard nothing. He knocked on the door softly. No one answered. Harry turned the knob and unsurprisingly found it locked. He jammed the bar between the door and the frame and pushed. The wood cracked and splintered as the door was forced open. He pushed it wide open and waited for a moment. No walkers came for them. He decided to give her a lesson. "Gun out," he ordered. She quickly complied.

"Keep your finger off the trigger until you might have to fire it," he told her.

"Okay," she replied in a shaky voice. She was clearly nervous.

"Whenever you go to a new location to scavenge, always try and clear the place out of walkers before you start looting … especially if the place is small."

Maggie nodded, and she felt his hand on her lower back, pushing her in front of him. She was momentarily confused. "Walk down the hall slowly and quietly," she heard him say. With her heart beating a thousand times a minute, she did as he said. Her hands were shaking even though they were wrapped around the handle of the pistol. The apartments were small, and the hallway was equally so. There were only two doors, and both were at the end. She walked down as quietly as possible until she reached the door on the right. She looked back at Harry with wide eyes.

"Push the door open quickly and be prepared to fire," he told her. She was just about to reach for the doorknob when he stopped her. "Remember to be sure before you shoot. You never know if a living human is behind the door," he reminded her. Maggie nodded, not feeling especially confident.

Grabbing the handle, she slowly turned it. Once it was fully turned, she shoved the door open and aimed the gun.

BANG!

She flinched badly as the gun went off by accident. Before her was an empty bathroom with a bullet hole in the far wall. Suddenly, she heard the familiar wheezing coming from the door behind her. She heard shuffled footsteps before something began banging on the door. She turned toward Harry in a panic, expecting him to be furious for accidentally firing. Instead, what she found was him chuckling at her actions.

"Put your gun away," he ordered, amused at her behavior. When she had, he pulled her by her arm until she was behind him. "I'm going to have to train you a little more," he told her, pulling out his machete. "Don't fire your gun unless you have no other choice. Every walker in the complex is now awake and alert."

Maggie swallowed hard. "S-Sorry," she stuttered out an apology. Harry waved it away.

"It's okay. Mistakes happen," he gently told her. "You'll need to be trained using melee weapons as well."

Before she could respond, Harry walked in front of the door and kicked it in. Maggie squeaked in fright as she heard the door slam into the walker. She then heard a loud thump of the walker hitting the floor. It then growled menacingly before Harry walked into the room and began hacking away at it. When she was sure that the walker was dead, she slowly followed him into the room. The walker turned out to be a little, old lady. At least she had been before turning into the disgusting, decayed thing that she currently was. Her head was cut open, and her rotting brains were leaking onto the floor. Maggie had to look away. Her stomach was already feeling very iffy. Harry didn't appear to mind in the least. He was going through her stuff as though he didn't have a care in the world. Maggie bit the bullet and joined him in looking for loot.

Chapter 7

The Walking Dead Arc

For some reason, the chirping of the crickets was especially loud that night. It kept Harry from quickly falling asleep, and even when he finally did, the sleep wasn't particularly restful. The night was hot and humid, but thankfully, the temperature didn't really affect him negatively thanks to his upgrades. Still, he was grateful that a soft breeze hung on the night air and gently drifted through the open window flaps on his tent. Harry was in that strange sleep stage where he was still close to consciousness. He rolled onto his side, glad of the fact that he was lying on top of his sleeping bag. The extra thickness made the hard ground much more bearable. Harry couldn't recall what he was thinking or possibly dreaming about at the time when he felt something touch him. Within an instant, he was sitting up, alert, and ready to attack. Suddenly, a soft, feminine voice gently shushed him.

At first, he thought it was Amy coming in to enjoy another roll in the hay. If that was the case, he definitely wouldn't have sent her away, but when she began to talk with her familiar southern twang, Harry instantly recognized the voice as belonging to the sexy farmer's daughter, Maggie.

"Shhh!" she quieted him as Harry heard her zipping up the tent's entrance. "I don't want the others to know I'm here," she told him. Harry blinked away the tiredness, or at least he tried to. He was just rubbing his eyes when he felt Maggie join his side and gently push him back into a lying position. Harry was about to ask for clarification of her actions when she kissed him deeply. With her actions clarified, Harry wrapped his arm around her thin waist and pulled her closer.

Being so close to the girl, Harry could smell that she had recently showered. Her body smelled fresh and soapy without a hint of sweat. From feel alone, Harry could tell that she was wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. While one arm held her firmly against him, his other hand squeezed her tight bottom. Harry had been with his fair share of women, and he could tell when a woman was eager for a fun night. Maggie had all the telltale signs that he normally looked for. She was pressing her body into him while kissing him hard enough to bruise his lips. She was deeply moaning into his mouth while he caressed her body, and her hips were slightly moving back and forth as she gently dry-humped his thigh. Harry was sure that she hadn't come there to talk. Now that he knew what she wanted, he began to take things further.

Maggie squeaked into his mouth as he pulled her up into a sitting position. She moved slightly so that she was now straddling his lap. She was confused as to what he was doing until he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and began to lift it up. Realizing what he was doing, Maggie lifted her arms into the air. She felt the bottom of her shirt move over her belly button before reaching the bottoms of her breasts. As her t-shirt was lifted up a bit more, the soft breeze hit her exposed nipples, making them as hard as rocks. Her shirt was then lifted over her head and was pulled from her arms. She brushed the hair out of her face just in time for Harry to attack her neck with his lips. This was an attack that she didn't mind in the least. His hands grabbed her jeans-clad ass, and he pulled her forward until her bare tits were brushing against his hard chest. Every time her nipples rubbed against his skin, Maggie felt a surge of pleasure race up and down her spine. Her big, beautiful eyes fluttered as Harry kissed and sucked on her soft skin. Biting her lip, she tilted her head even more so that he could kiss even more of her body. Her hands began their own exploration. They slid over his muscled back and shoulders, and her pussy tingled wildly when she placed her hands on his biceps and felt them flex. It had been a long while since she felt like a woman.

She came out here to thank him properly for rescuing her earlier that day. She wasn't exactly sure how far she was going to go, but now that she was in the middle of the act, she quickly decided to just go with it and let her body make the decisions for her. Considering the fact that her pussy was completely soaked, she already knew what decision her body made, and she was fine with it. More than that, she was ecstatic. Anything to help her forget about the hell that they were now living in was a godsend. She closed her eyes and focused on the pleasure that Harry was giving her. Even as she was gently lowered onto her back, she kept her eyes closed. It wasn't until she felt his fingertips gliding over her breasts that she opened her eyes. His fingertips brushed against her straining nipples, sending a jolt of pleasure straight through her pussy. Her eyes flew open, and Maggie gasped out loud. Her body jerked, and her back arched. She then heard Harry chuckle lightly.

"Are your nipples sensitive?" she heard him ask through the darkness. Not much of the moonlight made its way into the tent, leaving him as more of a Harry-shaped shadow than anything else. He never stopped playing with them, even as he asked her. She felt him pinch them before giving them a gentle tug. Maggie squirmed uncontrollably, and she started rubbing her thighs together.

"Yes!" she gasped out when he repeatedly flicked the pads of his thumbs over them. "They've always been," she confessed in her Southern accent. "When I was younger, I would lie in bed and play with them for hours," she told him. Maggie immediately blushed. She had no idea why she was telling him that. Harry didn't seem to mind though. His head lowered, and he flicked his tongue over one of them. Maggie moaned and grabbed the back of his head, pulling his face harder against her breasts. Her back arched as she tried to stuff her nipple into his mouth.

Maggie felt as though she were in heaven. His lips felt amazing as they sucked on her hard, crinkled nub while the other was being rolled between his fingers. By then, she wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was rubbing her thighs together, trying to get the slightest bit of relief from her needy pussy. Harry let go of her nipple with a pop. "Unbutton your jeans," he told her before moving his lips to her other nipple. Maggie didn't need to be told twice.

Reaching down, she struggled momentarily before quietly crying out in triumph when the button popped out of the little buttonhole. She forced the two sides open and lowered the zipper as far as it would go. No sooner than she had, Harry's hand dipped down the front of her open jeans. She knew that he could instantly tell that she wasn't wearing panties. His fingers immediately slid over her freshly-shaven mound on their southbound journey. They momentarily stopped so that he could caress her incredibly soft and smooth skin. Goosebumps broke out all over her squirming body. Her heart was pounding when his fingers began to move again. Lower they went, first touching her swollen and throbbing clit. Instead of quickly moving past, however, they lingered, and he started rubbing circles around the little nub. Maggie closed her mouth and whimpered as she felt a mini orgasm burst free from within. Her arm flailed a bit as her body bucked, and her hand accidentally hit his crotch. Before then, she hadn't realized that he was only wearing a pair of boxers. Feeling around, she shuddered once her hand found what she was looking for.

Giving his covered crotch a squeeze, she tried to grab his waistband to pull them down. Harry helped her by squirming out of them while his lips never left her nipple. When she grabbed him again, she marveled at the size of him. His bloated balls filled the entirety of her palm, and his massive horsecock rested against her forearm, practically reaching the inside of her elbow. She didn't have time to imagine this beast piercing her pussy over and over again, because just then, his fingers slipped from her clit and slid between her wet, slippery lips. When they curled, Maggie's whole body arched, and she moaned quietly but powerfully. Her body was shaking so much that her tits were jiggling. Harry let go of her nipple, and with his enhanced vision, he watched her breasts quiver and her body tighten while her pussy clamped down on his fingers. Using his thumb, he started rubbing her clit. Maggie squealed loud enough that Harry had to shush her. Her pussy was flooding his hand with her juices. Finally, Maggie couldn't take any more, and she had to push his hand away. She lay there breathing heavily while beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

"That was good," was all she could say in a breathy voice.

"It's about to get better," Harry replied to her while moving down toward her feet. Harry removed her boots and socks and placed them aside. Her legs lifted up as Harry began working the jeans down her hips. As he got them over her thighs, she felt the breeze caress her overheated pussy. Harry continued jerking on them until he was able to pull them off of her feet. He tossed them to the side as well and placed his hands on her knees.

Maggie watched with bated breath as Harry pushed her knees apart, exposing her naked slit. It was dark, and she had no way of knowing that Harry could see every inch of her smooth pussy perfectly. His hands caressed the inside of her thighs, and he loved how soft and smooth her skin was. Her body trembled as his hands moved higher, and his thumbs brushed over each lip.

Harry's head was swimming. He could see that her pussy was slick with wetness. Even if he couldn't see it, he would certainly be able to smell it. The air in the small tent was thick with the musky scent of her arousal. It took every ounce of willpower that he possessed to stop himself from fucking her like a wild animal right then and there. His cock was straining, and his body was quivering with need. His body wanted hers. He wanted her. Her tight, little pussy was practically begging him to enter. He could see a fat drop of arousal drip from her slit and roll down over her puckered hole. Harry's hand found his cock, and he started stroking himself while looking at her. "Take me, Harry," he heard her whisper. As if his body was on autopilot, he got into position and let his cock flop down on her pussy. He pushed his shaft hard into her slit. Holding it in place, he started moving his hips back and forth. Maggie moaned and mewled as her wetness was smeared all over his throbbing shaft.

Maggie groaned out a complaint. "Stop teasing," she begged. The head of Harry's cock was pushed down and mashed her clit along the way. Her back arched, and she cried out in pleasure. Up and down his head wiggled against her wet slit. Finally, after what felt like forever, she felt him line up and sink in. By then, her pussy was absolutely drenched. His cock easily slipped into her soaking wet tunnel. She heard him moan deeply as her tight walls hugged his thick cock. Maggie smiled happily. She was glad that he liked being inside of her. She was pleased that her body was able to give him the pleasure that he so clearly desired. He had saved her after all. He deserved every iota of pleasure that he was able to wrench from her taut, sexy body. As he pulled back, she squeezed her walls as much as she could. He moaned in appreciation when she suddenly became extra tight. To show his appreciation, he leaned down and kissed her passionately. With her legs open, she kissed him back with an equal amount of passion. Then his hips slowly began pumping.

Squeezing his hips between her thighs, Maggie shuddered and gasped into his mouth. Nothing had ever reached so deep before. Areas never before touched were now being stimulated with every slow thrust of his hips. She could feel his thick head mashing into her G-spot, making her back arch in pleasure. His moves were confident and steady, and he knew the exact angles to make her squeal. It was only a few minutes in before she felt another orgasm approaching. Her walls were clutching him tightly and fluttering around his shaft. She broke the kiss and bit down on his shoulder. Her vision was starting to blur as the intense feeling of a climax was bubbling up. Maggie's body was wiggling around, unable to stay in one place. Her pussy was fluttering around him, attempting to milk him of his seed. Pathetic squeaks and mewls of pleasure left her mouth and were muffled by the skin of his shoulder. Burying her pretty face in his neck, she cried out just as her body violently bucked. Her silken walls clamped down tightly and squeezed his shaft for all that it was worth.

Harry moaned as her insides squeezed him tightly. The pleasure was intense as he repeatedly thrust in at an angle. Just as he suspected, she hadn't lasted long under his expert ministrations. The perverse sounds of her wet pussy being fucked, the scent of sex that hung in the air, her cries and pleas as he fucked her harder, and especially the snug tightness of her pussy all added up to an explosive finish as Harry folded her into the breeding position and continued to thrust into her even as his cum filled her to the point of leaking.

Maggie gasped as she was filled with his hot cum. In fact, she was filled so much that she felt some of it escape her pussy and leak down and over her asshole. Harry was a savage. He paid no attention to her well-being. He just fucked her harder and harder even as she squealed and begged for mercy. Her pussy was too sensitive, and she needed time to rest and recover. Harry, however, didn't stop until his balls had been completely drained. When he finally pulled out, he showed his dominance over her by repeatedly slapping her sensitive clit with his cock like a bat. Maggie yelped and closed her legs. Harry, of course, was still trapped between them. He stared her in the eyes and pushed her knees apart again. Maggie blushed deeply and kept her legs open for him. She could feel his cum leaking out of her still-orgasming pussy. From the look on his face, it was clear to her that he wasn't done with her that night … not by a long shot. Not long after, her head was tilted back, and she was moaning like a whore as she was brutally pounded from behind.

HPTTM

Harry was sitting on the ground with his back against a tall tree that provided him with plenty of shade. He slowly ran the side of his black machete across a whetstone, sharpening it to a fine edge. Once the water on the stone had become too thick and murky, he poured a small amount of his drinking water on it and got back to sharpening. He looked to his left and saw Maggie and her father arguing. Or at least it appeared that they were arguing. He turned his head to the right and saw Andrea and Dale. She looked none too pleased with the old man. Harry shook his head and chuckled. In his opinion, Dale tried to act too much like the Harrison girls' father. Sure, Andrea was a bit of an idiot, but she should be allowed to make her own mistakes. She didn't need Dale deciding what she could and couldn't do. Sooner or later, there was bound to be a big blow-up over something. Amy was near her sister, looking as though she didn't want to get involved. Amy then turned his way and looked at him. Harry smiled at her and waved. She looked a bit embarrassed about being caught but smiled and waved back nonetheless. Then Dale looked his way.

Harry had a feeling the old man didn't approve of his "relationship" with Amy. Amy didn't go around declaring to everyone that they often fucked like rabbits, but she didn't exactly hide the fact that they were being physical with one another. No one in the camp cared in the slightest. They all had their own problems and worries. Andrea even approved. The only one that didn't was Dale. 'He probably thinks that I'm taking advantage of her … which I am,' Harry smirked. He watched as the old man turned back to Andrea as she began gesturing wildly.

There was a reason why Dale hadn't confronted him yet. Several reasons, in fact. For one, Harry didn't give a fuck what anyone thought, nor would he change his behavior. Dale likely knew that. He had dealt with Daryl after all. The redneck had a similar attitude to Harry's, only he was much rougher around the collar.

Another reason was that Harry was dangerous. Dale knew this. There was nothing that Dale could possibly threaten him with to keep him away from Amy, not that he cared all that much about the girl. Trying to keep Harry away from his lover would only antagonize him, and it wasn't smart to antagonize such an efficient killer.

The biggest reason was that the group needed Harry much more than he needed them. Of course, they didn't know about his ability to leave this crazy world. What they did know was that Harry was very good at defending the group. He was also a very good looter and hunter. The group would be in a much worse state if Harry hadn't joined them. Any negative action toward him risked him getting angry and leaving. In truth, Harry wouldn't really care if Dale tried to say something to him. Harry would simply tell him to mind his own business. That was what Dale really needed to do. He needed to mind his own business and worry more about himself. Amy and Andrea could take care of themselves. They were part of the group after all. In the end, Harry didn't care either way. If he pissed off the girls and drove them away, that was on him. It was none of Harry's business what Dale, Andrea, or Amy did or how they interacted.

HPTTM

Harry's SUV rumbled to life. Immediately, he turned on the AC and waited for the hot air to first turn lukewarm, then cool until it finally began blowing cold. Harry sighed as he angled the vent toward his face. The vehicle had mostly been emptied for his upcoming scavenging run. It had been gassed up, and the empty gas canisters were stored in the back. He was just about to take off when his passenger side door opened, and Maggie plopped down on the seat. The look on her face told him that she was none too happy at the moment. "Your father?" Harry asked, putting the SUV into drive. He pulled a one-eighty and drove down the long, dirt driveway and turned right once they reached the road.

"Yes," she gave him a one-word answer.

"Is it about that, or something else?" he asked, jabbing his thumb toward the gun belt that he had given to her.

"This and something else," she simply told him. Harry nodded. He already knew that Hershel wouldn't be happy about his eldest packing heat. He half expected the old man to kick him off of his farm.

Harry stayed quiet. He was more than happy to stay out of other people's problems, and if Maggie wanted to stay silent about it all, then Harry was quite eager to …

"My dad can be sooooo annoying!" she groaned. "He wouldn't listen to anything that I have to say. I tried to explain to him about the walkers, but he still believes that they're just normal people with a sickness. He won't hear another word about it." Maggie crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at the road ahead of them.

"He'll understand someday," Harry assured her. "He's been mostly isolated from the craziness by staying on his farm. Eventually, though, the craziness will find him."

"I'm just worried that something bad will happen to him if he doesn't take it seriously," she confessed.

"Make sure to keep practicing, and maybe you'll be there to get him out of any sticky situation that he finds himself in," Harry said, tapping the gun holster on her hip. Maggie smiled slightly at him and nodded.

"What did he think about you carrying a gun?" Harry asked her.

"He's not pleased … with me or you," she told him, her smile widening.

"Oh?" Harry asked, turning to look at her. "Is he planning on giving me the boot?" Harry teased.

"No," she shook her head. "I told him that I'm an adult, and I can make my own choices. Then he said that it's his house and his rules. So I told him that he could kick me out if he wanted."

Maggie then sighed. "He's got enough on his plate worrying about Beth."

"Your little sister?"

"Yeah … She's not doing so hot."

Maggie didn't speak much about her sister Beth. In fact, Harry didn't see the girl very often either. She almost always stayed inside the house, only occasionally coming out to interact.

"She was very religious, and this whole mess is hitting her really hard. She tries to hide it but …" Maggie went quiet.

"Maybe we can find a way to help cheer her up," Harry said. Maggie turned to him and smiled.

"I know something that would cheer me up," she suddenly said in a sultry voice. Harry raised an eyebrow. She giggled and whispered something in his ear. Needless to say, Harry was soon parked down a backroad underneath a shady tree while they tested the shocks on his favorite vehicle.

Chapter 8

The Walking Dead Arc

Harry dove over a pharmacy counter as a bullet hit the wall behind him. He landed hard on his side before sitting up and pressing his back against the inside of the counter. He quietly scooted all the way to the right with his Glock in his hand. His heart was hammering, and his mouth was dry. Harry had never felt so alive.

"Just give us your bag, and we'll be on our way," came the gruff voice twenty or so feet on the other side of the counter.

Harry had driven half an hour in the direction of Atlanta to find some bigger stores. He eventually found a Walmart that hadn't been picked completely clean. Unfortunately, there were others hoping to get first dibs on the sweet loot inside. Coming across gangs of thugs was common for a scavenger like Harry. While scavengers like Glenn would hide and wait for them to pass, Harry would take them head-on. This was his territory, and he'd be damned if some stank-ass rednecks were going to take what was rightfully his.

"Promise?" Harry called out. He heard the men laugh.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," the gruff man responded, earning even more laughs from his fellow criminals.

"Stick a penis in your eye?" Harry asked. The thugs roared with laughter, all of it at their friend's expense. Mr. Gruff didn't sound too amused.

"You motherfucker!" he yelled out and fired his gun. Bullet holes tore through the side of the counter, though Harry was safely off to the side.

"There's no need to be grumpy," Harry called back.

"Throw out the fucking bag!" the man bellowed as he ran out of patience.

"Alright, alright! Calm down. Here it comes!" Harry hollered. He pulled out a bag of flour from his sack and heaved it over the counter. As if time slowed, Harry popped up with his gun already aiming. He pointed the iron sights right at the middle of the tumbling, white sack, and he pulled the trigger. The bullet exploded from the barrel, hitting the sack of white powder directly in the middle, and splitting it wide open. Flour burst out in every direction, like one of those fancy Weasleys' Whiz-bang bottle rockets that would explode in the night sky. The gruff-voiced man caught the worst of it. He cried out as flour hit him directly in the face. His friends coughed and choked as they breathed it in. By then, Harry was sliding over the counter and firing.

The leader of their merry group caught the first bullet directly in the forehead. Blood, brains, and chunks of skull burst out from the back of his head. Exit wounds were particularly bad when using hollow points. Another bullet hit his friend in the chest. Harry saw the tortured look on his face when the searing metal buried deep in his body. The impact pushed him back hard, and he was just beginning to fall when Harry saw another man hiding behind a medicine rack. His foot was sticking out, betraying his position to Harry. Harry fired at the rack, directly where he knew the man's body to be. Though he couldn't see the initial impact, Harry did hear the beginning of a scream. Time seemed to speed back up until he was back at a normal pace. Harry jumped and hit the ground in a combat roll as guns were pointed in his direction. He slipped behind one of the long, metal racks that made up the store aisle. The pained cries made him smile.

"Where the fuck did he go?" one of the remaining men called out while trying to get his coughing fit under control.

"How the fuck should I know? I got powder in my eyes!" another complained. Harry crept further down the aisle, following the sound of coughing. When it got louder, Harry jumped high up into the air and pulled himself up the rack. Leaning over, he shot the coughing man right on top of the head. The man dropped without making a sound. He was dead before he hit the ground.

HPTTM

Sammy watched as Johnboy dropped to the ground. He saw the fruity-sounding English guy on top of the rack with his gun aimed at his friend. The bastard then looked at him and smiled cheekily. This enraged Sammy. Though he had flour in his eyes, he could see well enough to shoot the motherfucker. He screamed and aimed his gun in his direction. He fired over and over. Fourteen rounds ripped through the thin metal rack. His heart was thumping in his chest so hard that he swore he could feel the blood flowing through his veins. Sammy quietly crept to the end of the aisle, his breathing loud and labored. His hands were shaking so badly that he would be surprised if he could hit the broad side of a barn in his state. It didn't matter though. He would be able to hit the bastard at point-blank range. Nearly pissing his pants when he reached the end, he waited for a few seconds before spinning around to the other side of the aisle, both hands gripping the gun while pointing. He saw nothing. The aisle was empty. Suddenly, something crossed his line of sight, moving fast from up above, before disappearing down below. Hearing the sound of something heavy hitting the stone-tiled floor, he looked down in confusion. On the ground at his feet were two human-looking hands and a handgun that he recognized. He lifted his own gun to compare, only to see that there was no gun in his hand. In fact, there was no hand. He lifted his other and found a stump that was squirting blood. It was then that the pain and the terror of the situation hit him. He screamed as piss began pouring down his legs, warm and uncomfortable.

He saw the man step out from the side, a black machete in his hand. A manic look covered his handsome face. He didn't have time to beg before the machete tore into his body, over and over, hacking and cutting. Thankfully, his end came quickly, and he was spared much of the pain and suffering that the man inflicted upon his body.

HPTTM

Harry gathered all their guns, leaving behind two of the men who were still alive but slowly dying. He exited through a side door that he had parked by and crept around to the front of the store. Sure enough, there was a van parked right against the curb with a single man guarding it. He was wearing dirty, acid-washed jeans and a Harley Davidson T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. On his head was a pair of headphones, and he was bobbing along to some song that Harry couldn't hear. In his mouth, a cigarette burned, and he leaned against the side of the van puffing away as though he didn't have a care in the world. This made it easy to sneak up on him. He never stood a chance. Harry captured him in a choke hold, and with his enhanced body, the man's neck snapped as easily as breaking a popsicle stick. He let the grubby man fall to the ground where he landed facefirst. Stuffed in the back of his jeans was a handgun. Harry pulled it out and stuffed it down the back of his own trousers. Opening the van's sliding door, Harry looked in. His nose immediately wrinkled from the smell. It stank of body odor. Rummaging through the van, Harry found some extra ammo, a few packs of cigarettes, and a few cans of peaches. Taking all of it, he went and dropped it off in his SUV before going back into the store to continue looting. When he was finally done, Harry siphoned the gas from the van and left the store before anyone else could come.

HPTTM

Jimmy tried to be as quiet as possible. It wasn't easy considering he had a clucking chicken under his arm. Making sure no one was watching, he climbed up to the loft and was immediately hit by the pungent smell of the infected. Their soft groans always gave him the chills. Though he never said anything, he always hated going up there to feed them. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. As much as he liked and respected Hershel, he sometimes wondered if the old man was starting to go senile. The newcomers definitely didn't think the way that Hershel did about the infected. To them, they were nothing more than dead husks of the formerly living. In the end, he decided to follow Hershel's way of thinking. The old man hadn't steered him wrong yet, and besides, he was dating his youngest.

The old floorboards creaked as he stepped up to the ledge. From there, he could see at least three dozen standing around or slowly lumbering in circles. Not wanting to stay there any longer than necessary, he tossed the chicken down where it flapped around making loud noises. It was quickly grabbed by them and torn apart as they fought for what little meat that was available. As he turned to leave, he heard another creak of the wood, only this one was louder. His brain didn't comprehend what was happening until he heard a crack, and his body experienced the sensation of freefall. Slamming hard into the ground, he choked out a cough. The wind had been knocked out of him. Had he been a bit quicker of the mind, he would have realized the very, very bad situation that he suddenly found himself in.

It wasn't until he felt rotting hands clawing at his bare arms that he knew he was in serious trouble. As quick as a flash, he was on his feet and backing up from the infected. As one got a little too close for comfort, he kicked it in the chest, sending it tumbling back. He frantically looked around as he began hyperventilating. The ladder to the loft was gone. It had been removed by Hershel. They didn't want the infected to escape after all. Spinning around, he saw the barn doors. He ran over and pushed on them. They bowed inward but were stopped from opening. He knew that the doors were latched and locked from the outside. "

HELP!" he screamed. "I'M IN HERE! HELP ME!" he begged, banging on the wooden doors with all his might. Nothing. With nothing left to lose, he began kicking the doors as hard as humanly possible. The door bowed, and he thought he heard a crack. Something grabbed him from behind. He turned and pushed the woman away as she clicked her jaws at him. Kicking the doors again, they held firm. Again, he kicked with all his might, and they began to buckle. He gave it everything he had, and the doors crashed open with a thunderous boom. As he lurched forward to freedom, something grabbed his ankle and tripped him up. Hitting the floor again, he looked back and saw an infected crawling along the ground. He screamed and kicked in a panic. His foot contacted over and over with its face, but it held firm. He pulled hard, and his foot was wrenched from its grip. Stumbling to his feet, he was suddenly grabbed from behind, and he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

HPTTM

Beth Greene was passing out some fruit that was freshly plucked from their trees when she heard a loud bang coming from the area of the barn. Looking over, she saw the door fly open, and her stomach dropped. Her immediate thought was that they had broken the door down. She ran over there to see what had happened. She vaguely heard others joining her. She skidded to a halt just in time to see her boyfriend, Jimmy, get bitten on the shoulder as he tried to escape from inside the barn. Before she could scream in fright, Jimmy's eyes opened wide, and he let out a blood-curdling scream of terror.

He was grabbed by another, and his arm was bitten into. Large chunks of flesh were pulled from his arm. She saw the meat stretch before tearing off the bone. The thing began chewing and devouring the human flesh in the same way that she and Maggie used to eat turkey legs at the county fair. As it went in for another bite, more joined in, sinking their rotting teeth into him. She could see him looking at her with desperation, silently begging her for help. However, Beth was frozen with shock and fear. Those that couldn't get a taste of his flesh spilled out of the now-open barn, spreading out in every direction. At some point, she screamed in horror.

HPTTM

Harry turned right down the long, dirt driveway of the Greene farm. He parked right next to the little tent village that they had created on the left side of the driveway which was shielded from the sun by the copse of trees towering over them. As he got out, he was met by several members of the group, all eager to see if he had found anything useful. Daryl was more than happy to accept the packs of cigarettes that he had taken from the dead men. He pulled a canvas bag out of the back seat while the others were digging through the food, clothes, and medicines that he had brought back. Walking over to Rick, he opened the bag while Shane joined them. They reached in and pulled out several handguns.

"Where'd you get these?" Rick asked quietly.

"Met a group of guys at the local Walmart," Harry told him. Shane felt something slippery on one of the guns and looked at his hand. There was blood on it.

"Things get messy?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"It seems like every day, the survivors out there are becoming more savage," Harry told them.

"I guess we're lucky that Hershel …" Rick was cut off by the sound of a girl screaming. They immediately turned and saw dozens of walkers bursting out from the open barn. The walkers ran in every direction while one went directly for the little blonde. Harry, however, was too quick for it. He snatched one of the guns from the bag and fired. A quarter of the walker's head ripped apart, spraying dark and dirty blood behind it. It immediately fell forward, its momentum causing it to slide on the grass a few feet before stopping.

"SHIT!" Shane cried out, pointing the gun in his hand. "WALKERS!" he yelled as he started firing.

"WALKERS! WALKERS!" Rick yelled, trying to warn everyone. By then, terrified screams ripped across the farm's usually pleasant atmosphere. Harry fired until the gun was empty. Running back to the car, Harry grabbed his guns and got to work.

HPTTM

Hershel heard screaming and immediately got up from the kitchen table. "What in the world?" Patricia said as she also got up and followed her host out of the kitchen and through the front door.

Hershel just exited his home and looked toward the commotion before something rammed into him, knocking him hard to the ground. "AAAAAH!" he cried out as his knee twisted. Not even a second later, he saw Patricia being grabbed by two infected. Even as the woman screamed and struggled, they held on tight and bit down on her face, tearing a meaty chunk right from her cheek. The other one bit her hand and arm, its bites traveling upward as though her arm was a juicy ear of corn on the cob. As the woman's dress was torn, she was blocked from his vision by another one crawling on top of him. Hershel screamed loudly. He had never felt such terror. Shoving his arms out, he pushed its chest hard enough that its chomping teeth were unable to get at his neck. Still, the thing struggled, desperately trying to bite down on him. Its boney fingers swiped at his face, and its foul-smelling hair tickled Hershel's eyes as it leaned over him. Gunshots were going off all around him, but that was of little concern to him at that moment. As the thing struggled harder, he felt his strength leaving him. Very soon his grip would slip, and it would be the end of him. Then he heard another gunshot, though this one was much louder. It was so loud that his ears began to ring. The thing in his arms stopped struggling and went limp. Hershel rolled his body to the side and let it fall off of him. With the weight gone, he sat up and saw the horrified look on his daughter's face. Maggie was holding the gun that Harry had given her, and she was pointing it in the direction that she had just fired. It was then that Hershel noticed that she wasn't looking at him. He followed her line of sight and saw what she was staring at. The rotting corpse that was once his wife, Annette, was lying on the porch floor right beside him with a bullet hole right between the eyes.

HPTTM

Harry's shotgun went off, taking a walker's head with it. Firing again, he took down another as he made his way to Maggie's sister. The girl was just standing there, not moving. "Hey!" Harry called out, grabbing her arm. There was still no reply. Harry pulled her back, and she stumbled. Looking at her while Rick and Shane called out orders and the rest of the group fired their weapons, he saw that her eyes finally found his. "Stay behind me," Harry ordered and pulled her back.

Harry took the heads off three more before his shotgun ran empty. Pulling his Glock out, he fired at the ones running away. It was then that he saw what was happening on the front porch. Harry ran over and pulled himself over the white railing. The woman named Patricia was dead. Two walkers were feasting on her spilled guts. Two quick shots put them right down. He saw another walker dead right beside a downed Hershel. Maggie had her gun out, and she was breathing heavily.

"Did you get bit?" Harry asked, not in the mood for niceties. Hershel seemed to be in shock. "Well? Did you?" Harry asked again, this time louder.

"Uhh … well … I …" he said in a strained voice. Harry eyed him up and down. He didn't see any bites or scratches.

"He didn't," Maggie answered for him.

"MOM!" said a distressed voice from behind Harry. He turned and saw Beth walk up and kneel down beside her father, though she was looking at the dead walker. She began sniffling before bursting into tears. Harry let her be and pulled Maggie to the side.

"What the hell's going on?" he asked. By then, the gunshots were few and far between. He guessed that most if not all the walkers were dead by that point. "Where did all the walkers come from?"

"I don't … " she began, also sounding distressed.

"It's my fault," said Hershel in a defeated voice. "It's all my fault," he repeated. Harry pulled Maggie further away.

"Well?" he asked quietly.

"My father was keeping them in the barn. He thinks that they're just sick people, and he hopes that there will be a cure one day. I tried to talk him out of it, but …" She looked back at her devastated father and sister.

"Your mom was one of them?" Harry asked. Maggie shook her head.

"My stepmom … Beth's mother … Dad's wife," she explained. Harry shook his head. The others weren't going to be pleased.

"Make sure your sister's okay. I need to make sure no one else is hurt," he told the girl. She nodded sadly and joined her sister. Harry joined Rick and the others as they continued to clean up.

"What the hell happened out here?" Shane asked. Harry filled them in on what he had found out. Just as he suspected, neither was pleased … Shane less so. He wanted to immediately pack up and leave "old, psychotic Hershel" to the mess he created. Rick was more even-headed and knew that the farm was the best place for the group. Harry let them argue amongst themselves and walked over to poor Jimmy. His clothes were torn and bloody, and there were great big chunks of meat missing from various parts of his body. His face, neck, and shoulders were particularly nasty. Harry couldn't help but think that the boy got what was coming to him. Only an idiot would partake in anything so horribly dangerous, and it ended up biting him in the ass. That was a bit ironic since his ass was probably the only place that he wasn't bitten. Shaking his head sadly, Harry aimed his gun right between his eyes. A pull of the trigger made sure that he would remain among the dead.

Chapter 9

The Walking Dead Arc

"Bloody brilliant!" Harry said as he was searching through abandoned vehicles around the old quarry that the group had last lived by. In the bed of a white truck that had the name of a mining company stenciled on the side of the door, a thick-steeled locked box with a danger sign sat. Harry had first tried to open it with his hands, but even with his extra powers, he couldn't do more than bend the steel handle. Thankfully, with the combination of his unearthly strength and a thick pry bar, Harry forced the door open after fifteen minutes of struggle. The door shot open, and it made a loud bang as it slammed into the box's metal side. Inside the metal box were several smaller boxes that were filled with dynamite. Harry grabbed the boxes along with the spools of wire and the detonator box.

He stuffed them into the back of his SUV and continued his scavenging. The next car he scavenged didn't have much. When he opened the door, the corpse inside turned its head and hissed. Its rotten hand lifted up and reached out for him. 'How strange this is,' Harry thought to himself. The undead was literally reaching out to eat him, and his heart rate didn't increase by a single beat. A machete to the head ended their encounter, and he checked the small, red car. Not finding anything of value to him, he siphoned what little fuel there was in the tank before moving on.

Harry popped in a cd that he had found earlier in the day and relaxed to the sound of classical piano. After the barn incident, the group worked things out. Hershel had even come around to a more logical way of thinking in regard to the walkers. Maggie's little sister had been having a rough go of it, but there wasn't much he could do about that. Life at the farmhouse was actually pretty nice, and their little group had found some semblance of normality.

He had never told them the truth about himself, and he didn't intend to. A few days ago, his watch indicated that it was ready to be used again. Harry could leave anytime he wanted to. He could feel that his time was coming soon. He just wanted to make sure that he left them in a good situation. Of course, he made sure to have plenty of "encounters" with Amy and Maggie. He would certainly miss those two whenever it was that he decided to go.

"Nice," Harry said as he checked the trunk of another abandoned car further down the road. Inside was a large, forty-pack of bottled water. He quickly transferred it to his car before continuing. By then, the sun was already going down. He had already informed the group that he planned to be out late, so they didn't worry. Harry was working overtime to make sure that the group had plenty of food, water, and supplies stocked so they would have a fighting chance once he was gone.

His scavenging carried on for a couple more hours before he decided to turn back. Since he was already in the area, it didn't take long before he pulled into the long, dirt driveway. Immediately, he saw that something was not right. In the distance, the barn was blazing, and silhouetted in the fire were the shapes of dozens of walkers. Parked next to the barn was the RV, and there were walkers all over it. The groups' various vehicles were driving around wildly while guns were constantly going off.

"Shit!" Harry muttered, pulled out his handgun, and placed it on the passenger seat next to his trusty shotgun. Throwing his ride into four-wheel drive mode, Harry, stepped on the gas and drove into the fray. Seeing two walkers on the right, he swerved and ran them down. "Oof," he grunted as he ran over the fleshy speedbumps. Up ahead, he could see Hershel firing off a shotgun as a small horde came lumbering after him. Turning slightly, Harry plowed right into the horde, sending several flying through the air while several more were run down. Harry jammed on the break and turned the wheel, skidding as the SUV did a one-eighty. As he did, the side of his vehicle slammed into another couple of walkers, sending them flying back fifteen feet.

He had no idea where everyone was. He only hoped that they were safe. Harry's job was to take out as many of these things as possible to give the others the best chance at escaping. As much as he could be an uncaring asshole sometimes, he had grown to like the group as a whole, and he didn't want to see them suffer. He turned and a female walker lit up from his bright headlights. She opened her mouth and screeched just before her body exploded in a shower of guts and body parts. Harry smashed through a wooden fence and into an open field, his body bouncing around the SUV as he did. All around him were dozens, possibly hundreds of those cursed creatures. Grabbing his Glock from his seat, Harry fired out of his window with near-perfect aim. One shot ripped a walker's head in half. Another shot hit the head of an undead child, sending its small body twisting through the air. He turned right sharply and saw the small hatchback almost completely covered in walkers. They were beating on the hood and doors, telling him that someone was definitely inside. Harry aimed perfectly and crossed the hatchback's front like a T. His vehicle bounced as several were flattened beneath his tires while another flew over his hood and hit the right side of his windshield, shattering it. Again, Harry skidded to face the hatchback, and his headlights illuminated the inside of the car. Glenn and Maggie were inside, and there were still several more beating at the driverside window, trying to get at her. Harry floored it, and with a sickening crunch, he ran them over as well. As the hatchback began to drive again, Harry continued to fire at walkers until the bullets were spent.

Rolling down the windows, Harry grabbed the shotgun and used one hand to steer while the other fired shotgun blasts at any walker unlucky enough to come near him. Flashes of fire, sparks, and embers lit up the night sky as Harry rained down shotgun fire on the unholy horde. Without his enhancements, he would have found it very difficult to drive and shoot accurately, but thankfully, he was having no problems. The only problem was that it was getting difficult to see out of his dirty and smashed windshield. He could see vehicles leaving the farm one after another, and as he turned, he thought he saw someone running into the woods. There was nothing he could do for them now, so instead, he aimed for a large gathering of walkers and plowed them over. His vehicle went up on two wheels and slammed back down, causing Harry to collide hard with the door. He winced loudly as his shoulder began to ache. As smoke and steam began to pour from underneath the black hood of his ride, Harry knew that he wasn't the only one to take damage. "Fuck!" he cursed. The old girl wouldn't last much longer, he thought as he clipped another walker, tearing off its leg at the hip and smashing his left headlight at the same time. When he found a spot that hadn't yet been overrun, he hit the brakes and stopped the car. It was sputtering and steaming, but it refused to die. Harry looked at his watch and remembered Luna's instructions. He grabbed the correct knob and cranked it until it wouldn't go anymore. The Space-Time-Turner was primed and ready. He was about to press the button when the flickering light of the blazing barn gave him pause. He stared at it for a brief moment, mesmerized by the dancing fire of the inferno. When he snapped out of it, walkers were already climbing all over his beloved Range Rover.

She gave one last choking sputter, and Harry lovingly caressed the dashboard with his hand. "Stay strong, old girl. We're going on one last ride together," Harry smiled wickedly. He fiddled with the cd player, and as soon as Bon Jovi began blaring through the speakers, Harry stomped on the gas and drove directly for the burning barn.

Harry could barely see as walkers were hanging onto every inch of his ride. One laying across his windshield finally rolled off, and he had a perfect view of the barn. The music blasted, and the walkers groaned as they held on for the ride of their lives. Closer and closer the barn came until Harry could feel the heat of its fire. Pressing the button, he disappeared from the front seat. The Range Rover slammed into the burning barn, and the pressure of the impact mixed with the heat of the flames caused several boxes of dynamite to detonate at the same time. Harry would have been proud if he was able to see his car, the barn, and several dozen walkers go up in a Blaze of Glory.

HPTTM

Harry felt himself falling, and he heard the shattering of stone as his descent continued. Like his first trip, his mind was muddled, and he found himself momentarily confused. It wasn't until a deep, thunderous boom echoed over and over that Harry was able to pull himself from his haze. Suddenly, he was tumbling through the air, and down below the ground was getting ever closer. Harry panicked before he felt his magic lash out. As he hit the ground, the stone became rubbery, and Harry was launched into the air again. "AHHH!" he yelped as he hit the ground again, this time being tossed horizontally instead of vertically. He hit the ground a dozen feet away, his naked body rolling to a stop.

He lay there on his back, blinking his eyes. His stomach squirmed and grumbled, and the sudden chill he felt wasn't pleasant. In fact, his back and ass had gone numb from resting on the freezing cold, stone floor. Hoping to regain the feeling in his ass, Harry pushed himself to his feet. After swaying from a sudden episode of dizziness, Harry pulled himself together and took stock of the situation. Once again, he was completely nude. He was about to complain when he realized something. He had just had a bout of accidental magic. "YES!" he hissed. He opened the wallet that was in his hand and pulled out his wand. He gave it a wave, and his body was suddenly covered in a freshly conjured layer of clothes. Harry gave his wand a quick kiss. Oh, how he had missed his magic. Being physically enhanced was great and all, but it was no substitute for actual magic. Keeping his wand in hand, Harry slowly spun around and gauged his situation. All around him was darkness. "Hello?" Harry called out. Hello … Hello … Hello … echoed back.

His first instinct was to say that he was in a cavern, but he immediately knew that wasn't correct. Though it was vast and spacious like a cavern, there was enough light to see elaborately carved pillars in the distance. In front of him, there was an area of the ground that was more lit up than the rest of the room. Harry looked up and saw a pinprick of light. Wherever he was, there was a hole in the ceiling letting light down into the depths below. As he breathed, a heavy mist escaped his mouth with every exhale of hot air. Before he could start thinking about a way to escape, Harry heard the sounds of high-pitched yelping kind of like hyenas laughing in the distance. He furrowed his brow. The thought of hyenas in such a place was laughable, but still, the sounds were real … and disturbing. It wasn't long until he heard an accompanying scurrying, like a billion cockroaches crawling along his bedroom wall. "What the fuck is that?" he asked himself in a quiet voice as he stared into the darkness in the direction of the sound. He thought he saw something. Squinting, he looked hard into the distance. Sure enough, something was crawling along the wall. Suddenly, that one thing turned into ten, then a hundred, then a thousand …

Harry stumbled back when something whizzed by his head. He waved his wand and conjured a massive ball of light. In an instant, the entire cavernous hall was lit up as bright as the midday sun. The yelping quickly turned to pained and angry shrieks, and hundreds of the creatures tumbled off the walls. THUNK! Harry jumped as something hit the ground only a few feet away from him. It was laying on its side and not moving. Harry used his booted foot to roll it on its back. Harry recoiled in disgust.

Whatever it was, was human in shape. That was the only thing human about it. It was dressed in a mixture of torn and filthy rags and roughly crafted, mishappen armor. Its face was a nightmare. Greenish, scabby skin was stretched across an asymmetrically-shaped skull. Its eyes were glazy and grotesque, and its mouth was open, revealing rows of sharp, rotten teeth. It had long, gnarled ears that were missing chunks of flesh here and there. Its lumpy head was mostly bald, except for a few wisps of pale, white hair.

THUNK!

Harry jerked again when another nearly hit him.

THUNK!

Another hit the stone floor a bit further away. Harry looked up and saw more bodies falling. 'These things are falling from above,' Harry thought. Looking around again, Harry could see that they didn't like the light, but some were powering through and getting closer. Again, something flashed by his head, and he suddenly realized that it was an arrow. Harry swung his wand wildly and let loose a massive shockwave of magic. Hundreds of the foul creatures were violently thrown from the walls. The entire hall shook from the wave of magic. The walls trembled and cracked, and even one of the pillars which were as thick as a redwood was shorn in half. The top half of the destroyed pillar detached from the ceiling and slowly tumbled over. It hit the stone ground with an explosive force that nearly made Harry's ears bleed. The ground beneath it gave way. Huge chunks of stone began to fall into the unseen abyss, and Harry once again was falling. This time, however, he was ready for it. With a wave of his wand, his falling was slowed. The beasts fell past him, screeching as they did. Down below, he could hear the sound of rocks and bodies smacking against a hard surface. As one gigantic chunk of a pillar fell past him, Harry heard it hit water with a deafening splash. Once he was close enough to the ground, Harry apparated the rest of the way.

All around him was carnage. Twisted and broken bodies of those disgusting creatures littered the rock-strewn ground. Down this far, the light from above could barely reach. Harry could tell that he was in an actual cavern now. The proper ground was made of natural stones, jagged and angular as though the Earth had just ejected them. In the middle was a river lake that was being fed by a waterfall cascading from a massive fissure in the far wall. In the opposite direction, the water of the small lake drained through a wide cave opening. Where the water went from there, Harry didn't know. Just behind him was the mouth of another large cave. As much as he didn't want to go into the cave, he had no choice. He didn't know which world he was on let alone where he was on that world. Blind apparition was just asking for something terrible to happen. He was about to take his first step when he heard a deep, guttural growl come from deep within the cave. Then, the darkness of the cave slowly began to lighten. Harry felt vibrations in the stones beneath his feet. The light pouring from the cave's mouth intensified, and Harry was suddenly filled with the unstoppable sensation of dread. His skin goosebumped, and his body shivered. Though he wasn't the best at the Mind Arts, he was good enough to tell when something supernatural was messing with his head. Using Occlumency, Harry slammed his mind shield closed, and the sensation of dread disappeared. An infuriated roar bellowed from the cave.

Looking around, Harry could see no escape, and he was about to actually try some blind apparition when a fiery head escaped from the cave. A face of shadow wreathed in flame opened its maw and expelled its rage in the form of an ear-splitting roar. Its mouth was a dark void while its throat was a white-hot blowtorch. Twisted horns rose from its head and curled around the sides like some demonic ram. Two broken slits as nostrils and eyes that burned hotter than the flames of hell couldn't even break the shadows that seemed to hide it from his sight. Wide shoulders exited next, and a cloud of black smoke billowed out, making the chasm stink of sulfur. Massive muscular arms came next, its skin ejecting flames that lit up the deep with a terrifyingly eerie glow. Then came the rest of its body. It stood up straight and proud, over twenty feet tall, and flaming wings unfurled. Its arms flexed, and in its hands was a flaming sword that was twice as long as he was tall and a fiery whip. As it stood there, Harry thought that the beast wanted to be looked upon … to be admired … but above all, it wanted to horrify him. For a split second, Harry had no idea what to do. The sheer lunacy of the situation caused him to pause. That was all the time it took for the beast to lift its sword and swing it down on him. Halfway down, Harry came to his senses and apparated further away from it. The sword struck the ground, sending shards of rock and sparks into the air. The beast roared in anger and pulled its sword from the ground. Harry glared at it, and his hand tightened around his wand.

The beast then began to charge, the ground shaking with every step. It roared again, and Harry fired. A bolt of lightning snapped from the tip of his wand and hit the beast dead in its open mouth as thunder cracked. Harry watched as its head snapped back, and it stumbled. Electrical sparks mixed with flying embers as Harry fired again. This time it was a steady stream of lightning. It hit the beast in the chest and tore a burning orange trench down its belly and over its thigh. It threw its head back and roared in pain. In retaliation, its whip cracked through the air toward Harry faster than he thought possible. Harry was barely able to throw up a magical shield when the whip struck it. The shield broke with a spectacular pop, and Harry was thrown to the side. He hit the stone ground hard, bouncing off one half-submerged boulder and landing on the lake's bank. Sensing it, Harry apparated away just as the sword struck the ground where he had just been laying.

The twisted mind of the once mighty Maiar was confused. The puny magic-man wasn't a Maiar or even a child of Eru, and yet it stood there pelting him with boulders that, surprisingly, hurt a great deal. Every time he swung his whip and sword, the little being would move and fire magic at him. A long, thick dagger of ice flew through the air and impaled him in the thigh. Momentarily, his flames wavered before they returned and melted the icy projectile. Screeching in anger, it charged again in Morgoth's name. Just as suspected, when he swung his sword, the tiny creature disappeared. This time, however, he twisted around with a backhand that slammed into the little magic-man, sending him flying into the water.

Harry skidded across the surface of the water until the raging current sucked him down. Dazed and nearly out of his mind, Harry vaguely felt that his wand was still in his hand. He was sucked down deeper, and his body slid across the bottom. The frigid water quickly cleared his mind, and Harry blinked away the creeping darkness. On the lake's bottom, thousands of golden coins sparkled. The water was so clear that he could see thousands of years worth of treasures that had, unbeknownst to him, fallen into the winding river higher up in the mine and were carried downstream to the hidden lake. Suddenly, the flaming sword pierced the water's surface and nearly impaled him. Missing by a few feet, Harry was thrown around by the sudden maelstrom that the impact had created. Stones and treasures were kicked up and floated all around him. The water around him wasn't icy anymore. In fact, it was beginning to grow hot. Harry suddenly knew that the creature was using his hellfire to try and boil him alive. His panic was cut short when he saw something silver fluttering in front of him. It glittered like ice by the light of the stars. It was like something he had used a long time ago to defeat another ungodly beast. Grabbing the handle as it floated by, Harry used his magic to shoot straight up out of the water.

Below him, the flaming beast was standing on the lake's edge, leaning over with his demonic sword buried deep in the water. Placing the strongest Flame Freezing Charm that he could manage on himself, Harry apparated onto the beast's head just as it realized that something had gone wrong. As soon as he reappeared, Harry plunged the frozen blade into the beast's head. The charm shattered right before the flames extinguished, and both beast and man screamed in agony. The beast tipped forward, its body smoking as it fell dead into the crystal blue water of the lake, taking Harry with it. Harry hit the water and tried desperately to hang onto the sword as the current violently pulled him. Slowly, the sword slid out of the beast's skull, and both Harry and the sword were sucked toward the cave's mouth where the river began again. The pain was excruciating even in the icy water. The last thing he could do was place a Bubblehead Charm on himself as he was sucked into the cave. Holding onto both sword and wand, Harry was taken on a ride of twists and turns. His poor body was beaten against the rocky sides of the cave, but he refused to black out and let go of his weapons. After what felt like forever, he was spat out into a mountain ravine. The churning current eventually slowed until he was floating lazily down the river.

With the greatest amount of effort, Harry pulled himself onto the shores of the Dimrill Dale. With no energy left, he passed out.

HPTTM

A waifish blonde skipped along the water's banks until she came upon him. Taking a good look at him, she sighed. Harry's arms, chest, and face were severely burned. Luna shook her head, causing her dirty blonde hair to bounce around. "What am I going to do with you?" she signed. Dropping to her knees, Luna leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. There was a flash of brilliant, white light, and Luna was gone. All that was left was a newly healed Harry Potter still clutching his wand and sword.

Chapter 10

Lord of the Rings Arc

Around the small pond, Galadriel walked. Though to call it a pond was being generous. In truth, it was little more than a spring that was being fed from the snow melt of the Misty Mountains. The statuesque elf looked down at the water's reflection but saw her own beautiful face staring back at her. The water was crystal clear, though it appeared to have a golden sheen thanks to the abundance of golden Mallorn trees circling the spring. Galadriel knelt down, not caring if her dress got dirty. Reaching out, she gently brushed the tips of her fingers along the water's surface. Ripples formed and distorted her lovely face.

This was one of her favorite places in Lorien, though most would know it as Lothlorien. The spring was close enough that she could easily visit whenever she pleased but far enough so she wouldn't be disturbed when she wanted a bit of peace. This was only one of the reasons why she visited so often. What she discovered and had kept to herself was that there was a strange, natural magic that permeated the water. Upon looking at the surface, she would sometimes see things. Things that would happen or have happened, or possibly even things that would never happen would show themselves to her on the surface of this strange water. Wanting the ability closer to home, she had used this strange water to create her mirror, however, the mirror was a poor approximation of the woodland spring.

Galadriel continued to watch as the ripples lessened before finally, the surface became still once again. In recent months, she had been spending more and more time away from Caras Galadhon and staring at the crystal pool of water. The answer why was simple. A darkness was once again spreading throughout Middle Earth, poisoning the air and land with its cruel touch. She could feel its foul tendrils caressing her skin. She could feel the ever-present evil in her dreams. There was nowhere to hide from it. The only reason why it hadn't yet polluted Lothlorien was because of her tremendous power that was enhanced by the Ring of Water, Nenya. She looked at her hand where the mithril ring looked almost golden under the canopy of the Mallorns. Glinting in the light provided by the sunbeams that were breaking through the thick foliage, was a white stone of adamant set securely on the mithril ring. No, the wretched reach of Mordor had not yet been able to grasp her woods. However, it was only a matter of time. Every day the darkness grows. Tales of orcs, goblins, and uruks had reached her ears. They were spreading like a disease across Middle Earth, reaping the fruits of men as they pleased. How many villages had been looted and plundered? How many children had been boiled and eaten, or perhaps just consumed raw? The progeny of Mordor were putrid and went against all things pure and good.

There were times when she would sit by her unknown spring and despair. Galadriel would, of course, fight until the end to keep her woods chaste and uncorrupted, but she feared it was a losing fight. The time of the elves and dwarves was coming to a close, and as long as the One Ring existed, the mighty Sauron would continue to lay in wait, slowly gaining power. Soon it would be up to the race of men to stop the growing evil, and she was fearful that they would not be up to the task. Still, there were days when she believed in the good of men. She reminded herself that not all the elves had sailed west along the Straight Road to the realm of Valinor, and that the forges of the Dwarves still burned hot. Not all hope was lost. This thought is what kept her going day after day.

A small smile graced her beautiful face as she stared into the water's depths. Suddenly, she heard a rumble to the west. It wasn't thunder or a rock slide, both of which she had heard countless times. No, this was something else. Galadriel could sense the magic in the air shift. It felt charged, and it made her perfect skin tingle. Needing to know what was happening, she gripped the trunk of the thickest Mallorn and easily scurried up until she was able to reach the lowest branches. Within seconds, she was at the highest peak of the tree, and her head was poking out of the canopy. All around her was a sea of golden leaves rustling in the wind which was beginning to pick up, causing the thin branches to whip across one another, creating a strange crackling sound. The sun reflected off of her silver-gold locks and illuminated her eyes, making them appear to have been created out of jewel dust. Galadriel looked west to the Misty Mountains. As the name suggested, the mountain range was covered in a thick fog, and only a hint of the monstrous rocks could be seen through it. A beam of light cut through the fog, racing down from the heavens and striking the exact place where Galadriel knew Khazad-dum was located. She could make out an unseen force expanding in every direction. The tops of the trees at the edge of the woods were bent down one after another. As the force passed, they shook violently, some shedding their leaves. At a steady pace, it raced forward until it finally reached her. An earth-shattering crack like a mountain exploding made her cry out in pain. Her tree jostled and nearly bucked her off, but being light of foot, she was able to stay on. When it had passed, there was an eerie silence. It seemed that even the birds were afraid to make a noise.

Galadriel quickly wondered what had caused this cataclysm. It was magical in nature. Of that, she was sure. Her skin was prickling with the sensation of a new power. It was one she had never felt before. One thing was certain, she would not find the answers sitting in the tree tops. With a show of perfect grace, she dropped down through the canopy and caught herself on branch after branch until her feet hit the leaf-covered ground without a sound. Leaving the pool of water behind, she bounded through the woods on her way back home.

Halfway there, she came to a skidding stop. Something else had awoken … something lost and dormant. It was something she had not felt since the First Age. It was hatred and terror given form. More motivated than ever, she increased her speed until finally, she made it back to the city of Caras Galadhon. Not all elves possessed the skill to feel such a creature, even with it at their doorstep, but those that could, met her just as she crossed the city's border.

"What is happening?"

"Have the agents of Mordor found their way into our woods as they have with Mirkwood?"

"What will become of us?"

Several others talked over one another. Those that spoke were young … comparatively speaking, of course. The few that lived through the First Age and the War of Wrath knew what had awoken. The terror was beyond recognizable.

"A demon of the past has awoken again," Celeborn, the Lord of Lothlorien and the husband of Galadriel stated. He would know better than anyone, for he had fought in the War of Wrath and survived the destruction of Beleriand. Once the war was over, the hounds of Melkor had been laid to waste, though he had long thought that perhaps at least one had escaped. It seemed that he now had his answer. "We must act quickly."

"First, we need answers," Galadriel stated. "The disturbance occurred in the Misty Mountains, directly above Moria. A pillar of light from beyond the blue sky struck the mountain."

"That is what created such a sound?" Celeborn asked his wife. Galadriel nodded. "Perhaps this is what has awoken the Balrog."

"Perhaps …" Galadriel said, thinking of the magic that she felt before the Balrog's awakening. She continued to quietly think while her husband formed a large party. It wasn't long before they were on horseback, following the Celebrant and heading toward Nanduhirion. Partway through, Galadriel gasped, and her horse reared. Celeborn had felt it as well. The terror that the Balrog gave off suddenly ended. It did not fade as if the beast went back into hibernation. Its end was sudden and abrupt. That only meant one thing.

"Ride like the howling wind," Celeborn cried out in his native tongue. Their party of elves did just that. Their horses tore up the ground beneath their shoed hooves. Though they were fast, it still took many hours to finally break free of the forest. By then, the sun had long since set, and the temperature had dropped. Thankfully, elves were heartier than most, and a simple drop in temperature did not affect them much.

HPTTM

With chattering teeth, Harry Potter woke on the muddy banks of the Celebrant River. He blinked his eyes a few times as he tried to remember what had happened. Sitting up quickly as soon as he remembered, he looked around and saw that he was no longer in that deep abyss. The moon was nearly full and was blanketing the valley in dim light. Harry sat up and saw the glint of light reflecting off of polished metal. 'The sword,' he remembered. More important was the location of his wand. After a few seconds of searching, he found it laying in the mud on his opposite side. With his wand back in hand, Harry took a deep breath and immediately felt better. Grabbing the sword, he pushed himself to his feet.

As was becoming tradition with him, he took stock of his situation. He had his wand, his new sword, and … Harry checked his pocket and found his enchanted wallet. It was a little wet but still in perfect shape. He then checked himself out. "Perfectly healthy," he bragged. "That thing didn't stand a chance," he said, puffing his chest out.

"Perfectly healthy thanks to me," came Luna's sweet voice. Not being ready for it, Harry twitched from Luna startling him. "When I found you, you were crispier than a piece of daddy's bacon."

"Luna! Shit, you scared me!" Harry chastised her.

"Serves you right. Why did you have to fight that thing? You should have just run," she said, crossing her arms as she stepped into his field of view.

"Harry Potter runs from no man," he stated flatly.

"What about when Daphne Greengrass's husband came home and caught you buggering her? You ran like a little sissy boy," Luna giggled.

"That was different," Harry glared. "He smiled and said, 'Do me next!' Then he started taking off his pants." Luna continued to laugh at Harry's expense. Harry sighed.

"If you're done?" he asked. Luna gave one last giggle before pretending to zip her mouth closed. "Anyway … Thanks for healing me. I remember getting burned up pretty badly down in that chasm."

"You're welcome, Harry," Luna smiled, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and kissing his cheek sweetly. "I'll always protect you." Harry smiled and hugged her back.

"Wanna give me the rundown on this new place?" he asked when they broke apart. Luna shook her finger in a classic tisk, tisk.

"You gotta figure this one out on your own. The only thing I'll say is that there are plenty of towns and villages. Just pick a direction and you'll eventually run into someone," Luna told him. "Luckily for you, you got your magic back," she smiled. Harry spun his wand expertly between his fingers and smirked.

"Should make for an easier time," he responded.

"Be careful now, Harry. I don't like seeing you in such a state," she warned him.

"Hey! Who do you think you're talking to?" he asked, pretending to be offended. She glared at him.

"I know exactly who I'm talking to," she scoffed before disappearing from view. Harry chuckled and shook his head.

"Bye Luna," he said to the empty night. Now that she was gone, Harry looked himself over. He was muddy, wet, and very cold. Not too far away, he saw a large driftwood log a dozen or so feet away from the sloshing banks of the river. Going over there, Harry waved his wand and set the log on fire. Immediately, his body absorbed the wonderful warmth. Removing his wet and dirty clothes, he used his magic to clean and dry himself before conjuring a new set of clothes. After dressing, he sat down on the rocky bank and opened up the storage on his wallet. Thankfully, it was mostly filled with canned food from his previous adventure. Once he had filled himself on canned peaches, Harry thought about what he wanted to do.

The first step was obvious … he needed to find a civilization of some sort. Luna said that there was plenty and that he just needed to choose a direction. There was a problem, however. As he wasn't native to this world, he had no idea about what kind of dangerous creatures he might face in the dead of night. He had already gotten a glimpse of some of the dark creatures that called this place home. Were there things out there that were even worse? He had no idea. Harry wasn't sure if traveling at night was the smartest thing. He was just pondering if he should hunker down until morning when he heard the sound of galloping horses. As quick as a flash, he waved his wand and extinguished the campfire. Harry then made himself invisible and moved further away from the water's edge. Listening closely, Harry heard the clacking of hooves getting louder and louder every second. He climbed onto a pile of three massive slabs of rock where he was relatively hidden from view. He was still able to peek over it and see what was going on.

Not long after, around a dozen pure, white horses rode up and stopped at the extinguished fire that was still smoking slightly. Riding those horses appeared to be humans, though Harry couldn't be sure. At the very least, they were human in shape, but then again, so were those disgusting creatures in the cave. He suddenly wished that he was able to keep his enhancements from before. When they stopped, two of them dismounted. The large moon was reflected in the shimmering surface of the river, and the light it provided was enough for him to see that one was a male. The other was no mystery to him. It was like she absorbed the moonlight and radiated it back at him. Tall and elegant and wearing a dress of flowing white silks, she looked around and studied her surroundings. Harry could not keep his eyes off her. Her face was beyond beauty, and her hair shone like spun starlight. Like a thousand fingers reaching out to him, her hair tossed in the wind, dancing, and fluttering. Harry was enraptured by her presence, though he was not foolish enough to make himself known. Quietly he waited, pressing himself against the cold rock as he watched.

The male studied the fire and the surrounding ground while the woman walked slowly in his direction. No sound came from her feet as she lightly stepped on the stones and sticks scattered across the ground. Her scent was caught in the wind and carried over to him. She smelled of a hundred pleasant things, most of which he could not name. One was a flower that was unknown to him. The other was a woodsy scent that he vaguely remembered from his past. She continued to step forward, growing ever closer to him. As she did, more of her features became clear to him.

On her forehead, she wore a metallic band styled like twisting vines. Her radiant locks flowed around her ears like a rock jutting from the middle of a golden waterfall. Harry was surprised to find that, though everything else appeared to be human, the tops of her perfect ears rose to a point. Her lips were pink and full, and they were neither turned down in a scowl nor tilted up in a playful smirk. Her face appeared blank, as though she were in deep thought. Her eyes were as gray as a storm cloud, and Harry could instinctively tell that they held as much power as one. Then, only two horse-lengths away from him, she stopped. Her head swiveled slightly, and he swore that she looked right at him. The corners of her straight lips pulled upward, and she graced him with the slightest of smiles … or at least that was what he wished to believe. Her eyes caught his, and Harry's heart stopped. He held his breath, afraid that she really had seen him. But how could she, Harry asked himself. He was completely invisible to all, including himself. So he waited. After what felt like an eternity, she turned and walked away. As she made her way back to her party, he illogically found himself missing her presence. There was something about her. Just being near her made his skin tingle and his magic burn like a furnace fire.

Harry thought her a goddess, or perhaps she was an Angel like his lovely Luna. Harry didn't know. How could he know? There were some things that mortal men like him weren't supposed to know or understand. One thing he did know, however. He was going to find out more about her. He watched her talk to the man that was studying the ground. She spoke to him softly. Much too low for Harry to hear. Soon after, they mounted their steeds and continued on their journey. The divine being that captured his attention rode at the back of her party. As they left, she turned her head and caught his eyes once more. It was then that her beautiful smile became mischievous. She was tempting him. She wanted him to follow. He would not disappoint her.

HPTTM

With barely a sound, Harry apparated as close as he dared to the group. They had neared the East Gate of Moria, though they had ventured no further. The gate wasn't far from where Harry had ended up. He would watch them nearly fade into the distance, then he would apparate as close as possible. Thankfully, the sun was starting to rise, making his actions less challenging. Harry had a feeling that his choice of travel wasn't as stealthy as he had hoped. The party grew more disturbed with every jump. He thought that maybe they could sense him. Various members did look around on occasion, though they could never spot him.

Harry listened to them speak a strange language that he couldn't understand. He had to admit, the language had a pleasant ring to it. As they stood around talking, Harry got the feeling that they didn't particularly want to enter the mountain, not that he could blame them. Harry knew what awaited them inside. It actually looked as though they were waiting for something to happen. While they spoke, the lone female once again stood to the side. Harry could sense that she wanted to look his way, but for whatever reason, she didn't. After nearly an hour, they got back on their horses and turned around. Knowing that there was only one way for them to travel, Harry apparated back to his original spot and waited. This time, they didn't stop at his temporary camp. Their horses ran by faster than any horse he had ever seen. He could see that they were following the river. It was well-known that most towns or villages were situated next to a body of water, so if his hunch was correct, he could simply follow the river and eventually find where they lived. Once they were out of sight, Harry began his journey.

Using apparition, Harry did one long hop after another. He would use his magic to levitate himself high into the air, find a suitable landing spot in the far distance, and apparate there. It didn't take long before he reached the edge of a green woodland. Lifting himself once again, Harry could see that the river formed a border of sorts along the southern side of the woodland, and though there were trees along the opposite bank, beyond that was a vast, empty flatland. Lowering himself back down, Harry removed his newly acquired sword from his storage. He didn't know what kind of beasts or monsters called these woods home, and since the group that he was following all had weapons, Harry thought it was a good idea to be prepared. Conjuring a belt and sheath, Harry placed the sword inside and attached it to his waist. It was strange that he was now more comfortable with a bladed weapon at his side after being in that zombie-infested world for so long. He just wished that he could use it in a semi-competent way. Unfortunately, he was no swordsman. Still, having it there was comforting. With his wand firmly in hand, he was as ready as he would ever be.

HPTTM

The further he went, the stranger the trees became. At first, he thought he was looking at some massive beech trees. Their bark was thin, smooth, and silver in color. When he saw the leaves, however, he instantly knew that these were not any trees that he had ever seen before. The leaves were a beautiful golden color which tinted the light that broke through the thick canopy. Harry already suspected that it was autumn, if this world even had seasons, and the color of the leaves only confirmed it to him. Of course, the crisp wind that rattled the branches was also a dead giveaway. One thing puzzled him, however. If it was autumn, why weren't the leaves falling? Looking around, he couldn't see a single fresh, golden leaf on the ground. From the harsh wind alone, dozens should be falling around him right at that moment. It was strange, he thought, and it wasn't just the leaves. The trees felt strange, almost as if they had a life of their own. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were watching him. The feeling wasn't ominous or malicious. Instead, he could feel curiosity. They were curious about the new person walking among them.

Harry continued to walk for hours, lost in his own thoughts. He could feel the magic all around him. In some places, it was thin, almost like swimming through a frothy stream. In other places, it was thick like trying to run through waist-deep water. It reminded him of the wards at Hogwarts, only this magic was wild and natural. As he followed the river, he noticed that the trail had moved into the woods. He wasn't sure when the trail had shifted. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice. Harry decided to do something different. Instead of following the river, he decided to follow the flow of magic radiating throughout the woods. He wasn't worried about getting lost. He could simply use the Four-Point Spell to figure out which way was south and follow his wand back to the river. With that decided, he turned left and headed northeast.

It wasn't easy to follow the trail of magic. At times, it was more like pockets of thick magic that he was forced to find before moving on to the next one. He was glad to see animals that he recognized. He saw small songbirds chirping out their notes before flying away as he stepped on a half-rotted twig. He sat fat, little squirrels tumbling over each other as they fought over an acorn, and even once, he saw a massive stag in the distance. Its rack was as wide as he was tall. It was only there a second before disappearing into the brush. Before long, the sun was waning and darkness was creeping up on him. Harry could feel the temperature dropping, and he knew that it would soon be cold once again. His eyes were getting heavy as he had spent a very long day hiking over rocks and trudging through the woods. He would need to find a place to sleep for the night.

He eventually found the perfect spot. There was a small, moonlit pool of perfectly still water that was surrounded by a patch of thick, spongy moss. The little grove was surrounded by a circle of densely-packed golden trees that would hopefully keep him from being spotted. Magic hung heavy in the air, and it felt inviting. Harry sat down on the soft moss and sighed. His back was aching, and his feet hurt from walking all day. He dug back into his wallet, pulled out a pack of beef jerky, and hungrily ate most of it. After downing a bottle of water, he tossed his trash back into his wallet. 'I'll clean it out later,' he thought, pulling out an empty glass jar. Just as Hermione had done so long ago, Harry waved his wand and shot blue fire into the jar. The Bluebell Flames burned merrily in the jar. Harry smiled, remembering his friend. He placed his hand over the flames and let them tickle his fingers. It hadn't been that long since he had last seen her, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Hopefully, he would see her again.

"Your fire intrigues me, Neth Gollor," came the soft, honeyed voice of a woman. Harry gasped and jumped, accidentally knocking the jar of flames into the pool of water. As the jar sunk into the shallow pool, the flames never stopped burning. "Now, even more so," she added with a tinge of humor. Harry got to his feet and turned around. Standing before him was the woman he had been following. Her radiant beauty was even harder to look upon now that he was so close. On her striking face was the same mischievous smile that she had bestowed upon him as she rode away. Harry suddenly realized something.

"You speak my language," he said. It wasn't a question.

"I speak Westron," she nodded slightly as she walked closer, her hands together. Westron was what they called English in this world, Harry guessed.

"And you saw me by the river? You can see through my concealment spells," Harry asked her. Again, she nodded.

"Very little goes unnoticed by me, especially in my woods. I felt you …" she told him softly, walking even closer. "I feel you now …" Galadriel said, meeting his eyes. "Your magic is a beacon to me. It calls out, deafening amongst the sprawling silence. I would know you in the darkest night or in the deepest fathoms of the sea."

By then, she was face-to-face with him. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his cheek and closed her eyes. Harry shuddered as her perfect fingers gently crawled along his burning skin. Unable to stop himself, he placed his hands on her slim waist. She didn't pull away as they lowered and rested on her flared hips. Her forehead touched his, and he could hear her breathing heavily. After a few moments, she was able to pull herself together, and she stepped back, his hands slipping from her body.

"Forgive me. I have forgotten myself," she said softly. "I am Galadriel, the Lady of the Woods."

"I am Harry Potter," he said, still trying to control himself. Galadriel smiled sweetly and took his hand.

"Come, Neth Gollor. It is late, and my home is not far," her velvety voice tickled his ears. As she led him from the grove, neither saw the vision of the two of them making passionate love playing over and over on the surface of the water.

Chapter 11

LOTR Arc

Caras Galadhon was a beautiful city … if one could call it that. Only a few thousand feet from end to end, the circular city was more like a small village than anything else. Massive trees were used as homes for, what Harry had found out, were elves. These beings were certainly different from the elves Harry had met, he thought to himself as he dressed early one morning.

Galadriel brought him back to the small capital of these woods, which he learned was called Lorien, or Lothlorien. Once there, he was provided with a temporary home on the west side of the city, close to the only exit road. He was provided with food and clothing, though the food was mostly vegetarian, and the clothes were the same as all other male elves wore. Harry felt strange in them at first, but he slowly got used to wearing them. They were quite comfortable after all. Harry had barely pulled on his boots when there was a soft knock at the door. Quickly answering it, he was met with Galadriel's lovely face. Harry dipped his head in respect. He learned that the elven woman was held in the highest regard, not only in her woods but in Middle Earth as a whole.

Middle Earth … Harry shook his head when he thought about the lessons that she had bestowed upon him. This world was a strange one. Much stranger than either version of Earth that he had already left. Though her description did fill him with a sense of wonder. The history alone was a long and incredible tale. Harry was happy to find out that there were wizards out there doing their thing. She did inform him that their magic was quite different from his. Even her own was very different. After some minor tests, they concluded that Galadriel's power dwarfed his, but his magic was much more versatile. He could do things with his magic that others could only dream of. Galadriel was very intrigued by his mode of transportation. When he tried to apparate within Lothlorien, he found that it was similar to swimming through molasses. Basically, you got nowhere fast. Galadriel explained that her magic protected these woods from harm or magical influence. She then said that other places would likely have similar protections. It didn't matter much since he couldn't just pop anywhere he wanted. He explained that he needed to visit the place first before he was able to apparate there. It was too dangerous otherwise.

Galadriel smiled at him, and her smile was quickly returned. "Take a walk with me?" she asked. Here in Lothlorien, her requests were more like commands, though they didn't feel that way to him. He wouldn't deny himself the pleasure of walking with this gorgeous creature. Harry didn't know what it was about her, but being in her presence made his magic churn and bubble.

"Of course," Harry replied. They left his tree home together, and he saw that many of the city's residents were already awake and were hard at work. He didn't know how many elves lived in the small city, but he guessed that it was no more than a few hundred. As they walked, the elves paid their respect to the Lady of the Woods, as they called her. Having only been there a short time, the Silvan Elves were still cautious around him. Galadriel had apologized for it in private, but Harry waved her off. He didn't mind in the least. It was only natural considering the circumstances. Side by side they walked through the southwest gates, enjoying each other's company until they were finally alone in the golden woods.

"Tell me, Galadriel … Doesn't your husband mind that we spend so much time together?" Harry asked her. Her voice tinkled with laughter.

"Celeborn does not mind. Long have we been together, and he has his own interests to keep him occupied. He understands that we all have a destiny, and he can no more sway mine than I can sway his. What our ultimate destinies are … we are not meant to know such things, but we will find out in time. You are here for a purpose, and there is a reason why the mountain planted you at the step of my woods. You were meant to find me, or I you," she told him easily as the morning rays broke through the thin spots of the upper canopy.

"Why were we meant to find one another?" Harry asked her, curious about her opinion.

"Sadly, I do not know. The heavy burden of fate would be a much lighter load if we could only answer the question of why. The very same question plagues us all, Neth Gollor," she told him. He had asked her to call him Harry several times, but she kept calling him Neth Gollor, which she said roughly translates to young magician. Harry had a feeling that she was only doing it to tease him.

"Not knowing can be irksome," Harry said, bending down and picking up a thin, fallen branch. Galadriel laughed lightly again. Harry waved the dead branch around like a wand before tossing it back on the ground.

"With age, you will learn to tolerate such vexations. Patience is a difficult skill to learn," she smiled lightly. Harry looked at her as they crossed through a wide beam of morning light. Her hair lit his eyes with an explosion of color. Her hair flowed like a golden river shot with currents of shimmering silver. Her beauty transfixed him for a moment, but thankfully, he was able to pull himself together. It was difficult being in her presence when he hadn't yet become accustomed to her splendor.

"Patience has never been a virtue of mine," he told her, shaking his head. Her hand suddenly touched his, and she lifted it up. With her free hand, she allowed her long fingers to lightly graze over his hot skin. Harry shuddered under her touch. She then ran her finger over the sleeve of his tunic until her fingertip touched the circular glass of his enchanted watch.

"Are you worried that I'll leave before you find out why I was brought here?" he teased her. Harry wasn't big on destiny since the whole prophecy thing really screwed him over, though if anyone had such bad luck, it would be him. He was, after all, fate's punching bag. Although, Harry did have to admit that lately, he may have brought a lot of this stuff on himself. Even so, it wasn't so bad. Truthfully, Harry was having a great time. Sure, the last world was kind of fucked, but he had met some nice people and had bedded some sexy girls. It seemed that there were still plenty of adventures in his future. Whether he believed in a destiny or not was irrelevant. He was going to live his life the way he wanted, not caring about fate's plan for him. Galadriel, however, greatly believed in it.

"No, I am not worried," she smiled back. "Middle Earth holds many adventures for those who seek them. While we await fate's call, there is much for you to learn. These lessons will help you on your journey, both in Middle Earth … and the worlds beyond."

Galadriel was the only one to whom Harry had confessed everything. She knew about him jumping between realities, and she knew about his watch. She knew that he would one day leave Middle Earth while she would sail to the West. Harry didn't, however, confess to his debaucherous behaviors. It was best not to spread that around to a bunch of suspicious elves.

"And what will you teach me?" Harry asked her as they continued their slow trek through the woods. A sparrow in the tree tops was chirping loudly and was quickly answered by the chirps of a dozen more.

"A bit of this and a little of that," she joked, causing him to chuckle lightly.

HPTTM

It had been several months since his arrival to Middle Earth, and Harry wasn't even close to being ready to leave. As Galadriel had stated, he had a lot to learn, and she was an excellent teacher.

"My bottom hurts," Harry complained as he squirmed in his wooden chair. She was teaching him to read and write Sindarin, the language of the Elves.

"The next time you fall from your horse, try landing on your head, then perhaps your bottom will not ache so much," she told him before continuing her lessons. Horse riding was the main form of transportation in Middle Earth. The first week of learning to ride was killer on the back and ass. It didn't help when his temperamental horse decided to buck him off.

"It's not my fault. My horse is not all there … mentally that is," Harry told her, pressing his quill to paper and drawing the swooping lines of text.

"Rovenaur is as intelligent as you and I," Galadriel told him. "She is of the Mearas, a wild breed of near untameable horses with intelligence, strength, and speed that far surpass those of other horses."

"Near untameable?" Harry asked her, raising an eyebrow. "Did you really, with your thousands of years of wisdom, think it smart to give me a crazy, untameable horse?

"Near untameable," she corrected him. "Rovenaur means wildfire. Her belly burns with the want and need for adventure. You will make a great pair … in time," she added amusedly as she thought about the horse bucking him into a puddle of muddy water. Needless to say, Harry wasn't the most graceful while on horseback, but he was slowly learning.

Harry had to admit that Rovenaur was a great-looking horse. She was tall and strong with a sleek, chestnut coat that shimmered like polished copper in the sun and faded into the shadows at night. She was also very hardheaded and stubborn, and she looked to buck him off at the worst times. Harry turned his head and looked at Galadriel who was sitting in a chair next to him. She was rolling his Holly wand between her fingers. Though she had tried, she was unable to produce magic with it as Harry did. She suspected that Harry, likewise, would be unable to use a wizard's staff to perform his magic.

On their daily walks, Galadriel often regaled him with tales of the history of Middle Earth, from the Years of the Trees all the way to the Third Age, which they were currently in. She told him tales of adventure and war, of the sinking of Numenor, and even the slaying of beasts like Balrogs and dragons. Harry, however, found the stories of the Rings of Power and the One Ring the most intriguing. He had explained how similar it was to a Horcrux from his world.

"Do you remember telling me the tale of Celebrimbor?" he suddenly asked her.

"Yes, I remember," she responded.

"Is that something I can learn?" Harry asked. "Not the creation of Rings of Power, but other things. The metalsmith here in Caras Galadhon, Argalad, has told me about great Elven weapons that were created long ago. He told me about things like the Palantiri and the Silmarils. He even told me about the sword I found, Ringil."

Harry had always been fascinated by magical creations. He had always wondered how the Vanishing Cabinets worked, or how Dumbledore was able to create his Deluminator. Galadriel ran her fingers through his messy hair. Harry closed his eyes and relished in the sensation of being touched by her.

"I will teach you all I know, but be warned, I am neither a master of forging nor smithing. Though I daresay Argalad will be pleased to teach you as well," she said, playing with several strands of his black hair.

"Argalad told me that you have created wondrous things that he could never hope to replicate," Harry countered as he reached out and took her other hand. He gently caressed the palm of her hand and the delicate skin of her wrist. Galadriel smiled humorously.

"He holds me in high regard, and therefore, his words are exaggerated. I will, however, do my very best to teach you all that you wish to know," she said with a sweet smile.

HPTTM

It was now 2998 of the Third Age, and Harry had lived with the Silvan Elves for over a year. During that time, the other inhabitants of the city had learned to trust the young wizard and had even grown used to him being there. Galadriel had especially grown close to him as she taught him all the things that she had learned over the years.

While it took him many long and painful months, he had learned to ride a horse with enough skill that he wouldn't kill himself during a long journey. His skill at speaking Sindarin was ever-growing. He still wasn't perfectly fluent, but he was getting closer by the day. This helped when it came to forging bonds with the other elves of the city. When it came to crafting and forging, Harry took to that like a duck to water. It was something that he greatly enjoyed. He found it calming and relaxing. On occasion, he found it irritating and tiresome when a difficult project didn't turn out as planned.

"Son of a …" Harry stopped himself and took a deep breath. The piece of amber that he had been testing his magic on had cracked right down the middle. Harry examined the crack before tossing both ruined pieces back on his desk. He sighed and stood up. He bowed his back and grunted as his muscles stretched. A streak of gold flashed before his eyes, and with the skill of a Seeker, he snatched it out of the air. In his hand was a struggling Golden Snitch, its wings fluttering as fast as a hummingbird's. Harry opened his hand, and the Snitch immediately shot off and resumed flying around his room. The Snitch was one of the first things he made, not out of need but more out of curiosity. He wanted to see if he could actually make something. Harry had known some things about enchanting before leaving his original world. Once Galadriel began teaching him, he quickly attempted to marry the separate processes. To him, the Snitch was just proof that he could do it. It was a relic of his past. To the Elves of Lothlorien, however, it was utterly brilliant. They quickly took the Snitch and used it the way it was meant to be used. They used it to play a game. Harry didn't exactly know the rules, but two teams of Elves darted through the trees on horseback attempting to catch the Snitch with little handheld nets that resembled two-foot-long butterfly nets. Harry had watched a game. He was amazed at how the Elves would jump from their horses to enemy horses trying to catch the little golden ball before jumping back again before they could be pushed off by the original rider. Harry wasn't dumb enough to play that game. His horse would buck him off and probably happily trample him before the first points could be scored.

Harry wished that he could turn the Snitches into a way to transport letters quickly and safely between different parts of Middle Earth. That was out of reach for him. Harry had no idea what kind of magic that owls from his planet used, but here in Middle Earth, he would likely have to set a ward around the entire planet that tracked every living being. He didn't see that happening any time soon. So for the time being, the Golden Snitch remained a toy. The sound of bubbling caught his attention. Harry walked over to his makeshift potion station and stirred the contents of the bubbling cauldron. He had asked Argalad to create his tools for him. The merry elf was happy to lend a hand. Harry didn't actually make potions in his station. He didn't have access to any familiar magical ingredients, nor was he particularly skilled at potion-making while at Hogwarts. Instead, he used it to try and create different alchemical substances that he could use in his magical crafting. Already he had created an incense that induced a deep and relaxing sleep, though he had done that by accident.

The incident was quite funny, though Galadriel would disagree if asked. Harry had been experimenting with dried sap that was pulled from the outer bark of the Mallorn trees within and around the city. Harry made sure to not damage a single one, lest he earn Galadriel's ire. After using his new instruments to process the sap over and over until all the impurities were gone, he was left with a small stone that looked similar to an uncut ruby. Harry, of course, ran many tests on the dried lump of purified sap. When it came to lighting it on fire, Harry found that it burned evenly and very slowly. A small pebble could burn for several hours. He also discovered that it produced a pleasant fragrance, almost like the scent of Galadriel's hair. Within a couple of minutes of inhaling the intoxicating aroma, Harry became drowsy and fell asleep in his chair. When the scent drifted out of his home, other elves came in one by one while attempting to discover the source. By the end, there was a pile of happily sleeping elves scattered throughout his home. Galadriel made him promise to be more careful next time, hoping against hope that he wouldn't accidentally turn his home into a toxic gas chamber.

It was a pleasant accident though, and after more experimentation, Harry discovered that you could dilute the strength of the sap by powdering it and mixing it with beeswax taken from hives that live in the trees throughout Lothlorien. Harry then turned that wax into candles. When burned, it gave off the same pleasant scent, but the sleep-inducing effect wasn't nearly as potent. Harry burned the candles at night and always woke up feeling like he had the best sleep of his life. He doubted that there was an elf in the city who didn't use his candles at night as well. Some of the potent, purified sap was kept by the elves for medicinal and experimental purposes.

Inside his cauldron, Harry found a less-than-pleasant sight. He had been trying to extract the essence from the sap so that he could turn it into a wonderful-smelling perfume. Instead, he found a blackened lump of tar that looked foul and didn't smell all that wonderful. Harry sighed, scooped the lump out, and placed it in a jar to study it later. While he was doubtful, it could still hold some type of useful property. More studies were needed.

HPTTM

"I would ask you to take heed of my warnings, but I doubt it will make any difference," Galadriel stated as Harry packed a bag with extra clothes and a hearty stock of Lembas that was wrapped in Mallorn leaves. Lembas was a very nutritious, thinly baked bread that tasted sweetly pleasant and remained fresh for months. A small stock could keep a man going for weeks.

"I'll try not to take any unnecessary risks, but unfortunately, bad luck seems to hover over my head like a specter. Even so, my natural good luck always balances things out," Harry joked while Galadriel sighed. Harry pulled the leather straps of his bag closed and walked over to his friend. Harry wrapped his arms around her thin waist and hugged her tightly. Galadriel returned his hug.

"Don't worry. I'll be back in a few weeks," he promised. Galadriel rested her forehead against his. He could feel her warm, pleasant breath against his lips. Her lips pulled into a small smile.

"Of course, you will. I have foreseen it," she teased him. Harry, however, wasn't paying much attention. As always, being so physically close to her had his senses in overload. Her scent filled his nose, and the tingle of magic raced up and down his spine. He couldn't control himself when he was in her arms. Harry's eyes closed, and he brushed his lips against hers. Galadriel slightly turned her head so that his lips lightly grazed her cheek. Her head lowered, and he found his nose buried in her sweet hair. He could feel her heart beating against his chest. Thankfully, he was able to overcome his temporary stupor. He kissed the top of her head and stepped back. She released her grip but continued to smile softly at him.

Harry smiled back at her. "I'll bring you back something nice," he joked again. Galadriel took his hand in hers.

"Just return whole, and that will be enough to please me," she told him before letting go of his hand and leaving his home. Harry watched her gracefully walk through his door. His chest constricted as he thought about not seeing her for at least several weeks. On the other hand, his heart burst with excitement as he was going out on his first real adventure since joining the Elves of Lothlorien.

The woods of Lothlorien could only provide him with so many materials to experiment with, so Harry decided to explore the areas around the woods to see if he could harvest anything useful. His first stop would be the mines of Moria. With everything done, Harry grabbed his sack and mounted his temperamental horse. Soon after, he was flying down the road at breakneck speed. Rovenaur didn't like to go slow. She only had one speed … blindingly fast. Harry wasn't complaining. It reminded him of being back on his old Firebolt, only the Firebolt wouldn't buck him off at a moment's notice. At that speed, it was only a few hours until he broke free of the woods and was back following the river into the mountain valley.

Once night had come, Harry camped out near the river's bank and slept until morning. When he woke, he continued his journey until he came upon the path that led to the East Gate of Moria. Harry dismounted his horse and said to the proud creature, "Return to Lothlorien. From here, I go alone."

Before he could even finish, the horse had bolted in the opposite direction, heading straight for home. Harry's eyes narrowed into slits. "Fucker," he whispered under his breath. Harry had no idea where he was going to go from here, but he was certain Moria was no place for a horse. With his bag over his shoulder, Harry began the slow climb up to the mine's entrance.

HPTTM

Harry barely had to touch his wand when a Disillusionment covered his entire body. Galadriel had been teaching him more than just Sindarin. She had been teaching him how to shape and mold his magic without the use of a wand. Incantations and wand motions weren't strictly necessary when it came to casting magic. They were just shortcuts. Incantations were the instructions and wand motions were used to help focus the magic. Galadriel had taught him how to feel his magic and how to bend it without twisting it into something foul. It was easier said than done, however. At times it felt like trying to redirect a raging river while at other times it felt much more manageable.

The mines were dark and cold, and the air was stale. As he walked the once-hallowed tunnels and traversed the great halls, Harry could tell that the name, Khazad-dum was once a fitting name for it. Dwarven Mansion, Harry thought. It was more of a festering breeding ground for Orcs than anything else. He could hear the excited scurrying of the Orcs in the lower levels of the mine. They were distant, but he could hear them. The Elves had been worried about this. Without the fear of Durin's Bane, the Orcs could run wild and breed. That was only the beginning. Deep down, Harry could hear the smashing of stone. The Orcs were mining Mithril.

Mithril was the reason he had come. It was the reason all had come to Moria. Beyond priceless, the wondrous silver metal was worth even more than that to him. Harry needed it for his experimentation. He had heard of all the fantastic things that had been created with the light metal, and yet, he had none to experiment with. The Orcs wanted it for different reasons. The foul and scabbed creatures lusted after the treasures of men. They reaped all things shiny, and in the days of old, they would present them to their master, Sauron. Sauron prized Mithril above all else.

Upon his arrival, a hole had been punched directly through the middle of the mountain. As Harry delved deeper, he came upon the destroyed section of the mine. From there, he could hear the scurrying of the Orcs down below, like cockroaches once the lights went out. Harry moved around the side to try and get a better view down to the bottom, but it was of no use. The light from above only went down so far before becoming dim. At least this had a positive effect. Because of this, the Orcs would no longer venture into the upper levels of the mine. Before doing anything stupid, Harry attempted apparition. With the softest of pops, he reappeared ten feet to his left. 'Brilliant!' Harry told himself happily. If Moria ever had their versions of wards, then either the magic faded or his arrival destroyed them. Either way, it was a boon for him. He looked down into the broken chasm and found what looked like a safe place to land one level down. Harry apparated as quietly as possible. He landed on a large, flat chunk of what once was a wall. The Elves had been trying to teach him how they move and walk, but Harry just couldn't do it. He couldn't stand up perfectly straight on the back of a sprinting horse. He couldn't walk across a field of dead leaves without creating a sound, and he certainly couldn't walk across snow without sinking into it. That was a form of magic that intrinsically belonged to the Elves.

Lower and lower Harry went until he could see thousands of Orcs on the level below. To say that this was a community was being generous. In the few moments that he studied them, he saw at least three Orcs get ripped apart by their own before their limbs and torso were devoured by the hungry mob. Harry pulled back from the edge so that he wasn't seen. He quickly made a plan and decided to enact it before the voice in his head that sounded very much like Galadriel talked him out of it. After all, fortune favored the bold.