Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: And now we come to the part of the story where canon starts to get played with. Mwahahahahahaha!

Chapter Seven - The Breaking Of The Fellowship

Selene and the others were setting the bedrolls around a makeshift campfire to start working on dinner when the evil horns began sounding. At once everyone was gathering their arms and circling the hobbits in preparation of a charge when a new horn, purer of sound, bellowed above all the others.

"The Horn of Gondor!" Thorin noted.

"Boromir!" Selene pelted off into the woods with Carmilla and Gandalf hot on her heels.

Thorin held off long enough to share a knowing look with Tauriel. "It's time."

"It is." She agreed. "Take care of Harry for me."

The dwampire took off after the others while the elf turned to look down at Frodo and Sam. "It's time, Frodo."

The hobbit looked nervously up at her. "What do you mean?"

"You'd need another few centuries to put one over on me, little friend. You've been planning to set out on your own for some time now and I refuse to let you proceed without a seasoned guide and tracker at your side. The need for solitude makes sense with the influence your ring could have over others, but you cannot deny you know not the way to Mordor. Now, with the others gone, is your best chance to get a head start, so do not argue the point and waste anymore time. Instead, let us be off."

Frodo had a visible moment of conflict before finally smiling up at her. "Thank you, Auntie Tauriel."

Sam was looking between both of them with wide eyes. "We're leaving the others? What about the Fellowship?"

"It is for the Fellowship that we need to leave." Frodo started leading the way to the boat, "Now we are all still friends. If we stay… the ring will only tear them all apart. I have foreseen it."

"Wise beyond your years." Tauriel praised as she followed, leaving her mirror behind as she did. If she kept it Harry would only want to come after her and use it to pinpoint her location for apparition, and her mate could be of better use to the world at the moment than traipsing along towards a volcano. To that end she had already made sure that Gandalf had the portkey coin. The only way for her husband to find her now would be to waste days circling the skies and he would certainly much rather be doing other things. Like picking a fight….

Meanwhile

"Duck, Aragorn!" Aragorn heard the warning and bent over just in time to avoid a wild swing from a nearby orc that lodged itself into the trunk of the tree he'd been using to guard his left side. A quick lunge up through the armpit with the tip of his own weapon and the creature was dead before the human ducked under him to use the husk as a meat-shield and take stock of his current situation. Boromir's warning had come just in time and it was a marvel that the man had had the wherewithal necessary to offer the necessary aid.

The Captain of Gondor was dancing between trees with his shield raised high, deflecting blows and arrows faster than most could comprehend, and stabbing out with every opportunity as a dozen orcish beasts sought to flank him. The blonde had surrendered his chance to cut them off to aid the Ranger and now Aragorn could see the enemy closing in around him, his own foes already breezing past his form further into the trees. It seemed the dark creatures had finally realized the stalling tactic the two were employing and had sought to simply bypass them rather than ending the threat they posed first. Hopefully the others had heard the warning of Boromir's horn and made their retreat or this would have all been for nothing.

The Heir of Gondor raised his sword high and charged at the swarm entangling his comrade, but by the time he reached the outer line he was already too late. Boromir blocked a blow from one enemy, dragged his sword across the throat of a second, shoulder checked a third, but a fourth rounded the tree he was using to cover his rear and shoved a jagged knife into the center of his back.

"No!" Aragorn abandoned all attempts at calm footwork and tackled the nearest orc, rolled over its shocked form to trip the next, and sliced the achilles of the last in his way to reach Boromir's side; if they would die they would die together. But the man who had fallen to his knees pushed him back to safety at once and, with shocking strength, spun around, slammed the rim of his shield hard enough into the throat of the beast that had wounded him to shatter its neck, and launched his shield at a last straggler's chest, knocking it off its feet before the power left his limbs and the wounded man nearly collapsed to the earth, stopping himself at the last minute br gripping a sturdy branch from a neighboring tree.

Aragorn got to his feet and saw that the ring of enemies had backed up a few steps, taking in the surprising resistance from the humans that both stood gasping for breath that didn't seem to want to come before the great elm. "Are you whole, Boromoir?" He swished the tip of his blade back and forth but the enemy didn't advance. With their fell-fellows already moving on toward the camp it seemed their wariness was taking precedence at last; they wanted to see what the humans would do before sacrificing more of their numbers.

"More or less." The blonde grunted, though the sword he was carrying chose that moment to slip from the suddenly nerveless fingers in his right hand. "But that damned thing got a bit too heavy I think." Boromir slipped a long knife free of his belt with his left.

Aragorn chanced a look over and saw a worrying sheen of crimson fluid spreading out over the side of his friend's jerkin. "You should make a run for it. Seek out Lady Tauriel for healing-"

"A Captain does not run while his King remains." Boromir huffed and shifted his weight forward until he was standing just in front of the Ranger. "You go. I'm feeling like I still need a workout here. I'll follow in time."

"One of us can still survive this-"

"And it should be you." Boromir countered, his eyes not leaving the orcs, that now seemed to at last be losing their patience as they tightened ranks and started moving in. "Go to Gondor and tell them I died well."

"Boromir!" Aragorn reached to grab the man, to stop his hopeless charge, but he failed, and the leader of men shouted for Gondor as he ran into the fray for the last time. Or, he would have… if a giant spider-lady didn't barrel right past him and flatten several beasts in her path as her wicked spear began stabbing into everything she'd missed; beside her, the cloaked form of Thorin Oakenshield flitted about, slicing everything he saw with Orcrist in a gleaming veranda of death that reflected sunlight, shadow, and blood to every eye it held.

Boromir did not stay stationary through the shocking arrival. No, he took up the slack, slamming his good shoulder into the orcish brute that had started moving after Aragorn's blindspot, and bearing it to the ground. He did not move after.

For his part, Aragorn cursed himself for letting his shock stop him from keeping mind of his surroundings and immediately ran to his friend, pushing him over to be met with a fell sight. The monster was dead, the knife buried to the hilt in its abdomen; but the fell one had gotten as good as it gave, for before the Ranger's gaze now was a black handled dagger lodged between the ribs on the right side of Boromir's chest. He would have to be a fool to not recognize the visage of a Morgul blade. This man had saved his life, and more than once that day, yet his own was surely about to end….

All around them the fighting carried on, and now that he had the moment to listen deeper, Aragorn could hear the clanging of conflict even further back. The orcs that had gotten past him had met resistance, their eager charge stalled instead by others. It seemed instead of heeding the horn's intent of retreat, the others had instead come to offer aid and met them in the field. He hoped the hobbits at least had escaped.

Falling to his knees, he held the Captain as the man shook and let out pained gasps. Blood swelled the grass beneath them but Aragorn did not mind it. "A-Aragorn." The voice was weak, but the Ranger bent his head nonetheless to hear it better. "I'm here, Borormir."

"Y-You must go to Gondor."

"I will, after this quest is complete-"

"N-No." The blond swallowed thickly. "My f-father is not a s-strong man. I did the b-best I could, but if I am gone then the W-White City will fall. He has not marshaled the a-armies. H-He has barely readied the city d-defenses. T-The only one that can o-overrule him is you. P-Please, do not let my c-city fall."

Aragorn ran a calming hand over the fading man's brow and answered, "I know not what strength or nobility runs through my veins. But whatever small amount there is, I swear to put it to use for our people. I shall not let them fade, or your city fall."

Before he could say anything else to that effect, the Heir of Elendil found himself pushed bodily aside as a frantically fretful Selene pulled the Gondorian into her lap. Her whip lay curved, jagged, and bloody along her hips showing the clear signs of its immediate deadly use. Though the Prince found himself eased as the weathered hands of Gandalf helped him to his feet. "The orcs-"

"Uruk-Hai." Gandalf corrected solemnly. "Scouts for Sarumon's main force. "You did well holding them here as long as you did. Selene and I handled the ones that got through you and Thorin and Carmilla are dealing with the rest. A forest proved to be a terrible place to attempt an ambush when so many of us are fleet of foot."

"The hobbits?"

"I left them in the care of Lady Tauriel. They should be fine for the moment."

Aragorn stared morosely down at the weeping Selene and the rapidly fading form of Boromir. "Is there nothing that can be done here?"

Gandalf shook his head and pulled a familiar coin from his pocket. "The wound is mortal and far beyond my ability to heal. But there is one who could see to a new sort of life for our friend." The wizard tossed the coin on the ground and a moment later Harry Potter was standing in front of him, laughing maniacally, covered in steaming black blood, and swinging his sword for all he was worth, screaming as he did, "Have at thee!"

Over a dozen trees behind their group were cut to smithereens from the force of his attack, and the vampire would have continued on his warfront had not Gandalf's hand latched onto his shoulder. "The Balrog is gone now, Harry. You are in the forest, no longer the mines."

"Fuck!" The wizard threw his hands in the air in a gesture of radical annoyance, slamming his sword back into its scabbard once the motion was finished. "I had the bastard right where I wanted him. Why'd you summon me back?" The other wizard turned him around and Harry found his attention locked at once onto his openly weeping daughter and the dying man she held in her arms.

"D-Daddy!"

At once the vampire knelt beside them and nodded, gently pushing her back so Boromir could see him. "Boromir, son of Denethor, do you fear death?"

"N-No." The man grunted out his answer.

"Are you ready to meet it?"

"N-No." He repeated. "I have t-to much to do. I'm n-not ready."

"I can offer you more time, but it comes with a cost."

"I will pay it g-gladly." Boromir answered, his weakened eyes turning back to those of the still weeping Selene. "One more day with your daughter would be worth a-any price."

Selene cupped his face and kissed him thoroughly for several seconds before pulling back and opening his jaw with her hands.

While she'd been doing that Harry had been biting deep into his own wrist. Then, when she had the man ready, he raised his weeping wound over his lips so the blood could fall freely down his windpipe. The vampire's keen red eyes watched the man swallow a few mouthfuls before they turned to Selene with a silent order. If she wanted this then it was up to her to perform the final act.

His daughter seemed to understand, for she began to hum a soothing melody while her fingers traced an easy path through her mate's hair to Boromir's jaw and then to the sides of his head. Then she gave her limbs a swift jerk and she wailed anew as she heard his neck break from the force. It was necessary, she knew, but it still hurt to cause him pain. To know that it was her hands that had robbed him of his first life.

Aragorn openly blanched at the seemingly callous action, and was about to say something about it when he felt Gandalf's hand come to rest on his shoulder. "Let it be, lad. Everything will make sense in a moment."

"How can you say that?!"

"Because I've seen this before."

So the two stared on, and each let out a sigh of relief when Boromir seemingly woke from the dead with a shout of pained confusion and sat up clutching his neck. He only had a moment to realize he was actually breathing again before he was bowled to the ground by a weeping blonde. He held her close, delighting in the feeling of her body against his own, but mindful of the girl's father looking down at him he pointedly kept his hands flat on her back. "I'm alive?" He asked the monstrous man.

"After a fashion." Harry grinned darkly down at the Gondorian and only then noticed that Gandalf was openly gawking at him. "What is it?"

The other wizard exclaimed, "I only just realized it, but your skin isn't burning!"

Harry looked down and only then realized that the sun was slipping through a break in the trees right onto his head. Too much had been going on to warrant his awareness of it earlier. "Well would you look at that?" He wondered, waving his hands through the air delightedly. "Must have been the Balrog. I guess its blood makes me fireproof."

Squatting down beside the excited couple the vampire explained, "Boromir, you're going to need a cloak." Selene was shielding the new dark creature with her body so he conjured a fresh covering for him. "You're like us now. A creature of the night. And the sun will spell your doom should it ever touch your skin. Do you understand?"

Boromir gulped, and flinched at the way his newly sharpened teeth scraped the inside of his lips. "I understand."

"Don't worry." Selene kissed his cheek. "I'll show you all the ropes."

"Hrm." Harry pointedly looked away and started making his way back toward the beach. "Cuddle on your own time, Selene. We got a job to do." Though upon reaching the beach they found the boats missing along with the Hobbits and a couple packs of supplies. "Fuck!" Harry threw his hands in the air and rounded on Gandalf. "You had one job, old man!"

The older magical raised a brow and sniffed pointedly as he settled his weight against his staff. "I'm sorry but did you miss the hoard of Uruk-Hai we were dealing with? If it helps, I don't think they were taken. Orcs cannot swim. More likely…"

"They left to continue on their own." Aragorn finished for him. "Less temptation for the ring."

The vampire grunted and pulled his mirror out of his cloak, attempted to call Tauriel, and received no response. "Looks like you're right, boys." He walked over to the packs and picked up a small compact. "She left this behind." Running a stressed hand through his hair he added, "She'll have taken other steps to make sure she isn't followed, and Tauriel is the best guide over long distance they could hope for. She'll be calm, methodical, and ensure that the forces of the enemy don't have the opportunity to even realize that their little trio is in their territory."

A pair of trees crashed down and Thorin skidded to a stop beside their group atop the Drider's back. "So what does that mean for the rest of us?" He asked calmly, the lower half of his face was drenched black.

"I don't know…" Harry looked over to his daughter. "Do you have something to tell me, young lady?"

Selene shared a look with Boromir and then answered, "Boromir and I are going to Gondor. We've talked about it, and we think Sauron is going to strike there soon. It is the greatest bastion of defiance to his evil and the dark lord won't let that stand for long. We… wanted to see the Ringbearer at least halfway to Mordor before turning our own way."

The Captain of Gondor looked to the stunned visage of Aragorn and beseeched him, "My Lord Aragorn, please, I beg of you to come with us. I cannot stand up to my father alone, and only the King can supersede the orders of the Steward of Gondor. Please, your people need you now."

The Ranger crossed the camp and placed a firm hand on the still adjusting vampire's shoulder. "I made you a promise to protect the White City with whatever blood flows through my veins, and I mean to keep it. If the Ringbearer is truly beyond the reach of my help, then I would put it where it might best be used. I do not wish to be a King. I never wished for it. But

I do wish for the survival of our people with every fiber of my being, so now I will do what I must."

"Thank you." Boromir clapped his own hand onto Aragorn's shoulder and the two shared a moment of mutual gratitude before conversation turned to the others.

Harry tilted his head as if he were listening to something and noted, "Luna says I'm apparently needed in Rohan. Galadriel thinks the King is under some kind of spell." He looked at Gandalf. "Wanna tag along, old friend? I haven't seen Theoden since he was but a small child. Damn, but his old man could put an entire keg away on his own. I'd pay good silver to see that feat again."

The gray haired man agreed rather easily. "I have not been back to Rohan in some time myself and I would love to see its country once more. Perhaps it is fate that I return now at the end of all things. Yes, I will accompany you."

Thorin added, "Of course I'll be coming too." Carmilla nodded her agreement as well.

"Then it's decided." Harry stepped up to his daughter and cupped her chin. "Travel swiftly, drink lots of blood, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That's not a very long list, dad." Selene laughed and hugged him heartily. "I will come back, you know."

"No you won't." Harry slowly pulled loose and placed her hand back into Boromir's. "You've found a new home now, and I approve of it. But don't think I won't be visiting soon." Turning back to Boromir he added, "Hurt her in any way and I'll order you to rip your own head off."

"U-Understood, Lord Potter."

The group stayed together long enough to pack their supplies once more and then they went their separate ways. The Fellowship, at last, was broken.