Harry Potter and the High Elves

By: Katerinaki

Published: March 21, 2017

Beta'ed: No

Notes: I know it's been a long time, and this chapter may be disappointing to some because it looks at somethings that have already been seen, but I wanted to bring both story lines we've been following together. So hang in there. I promise, I will keep plugging away at this story.

Chapter 24:

The journey from Métimalondë had been one of great secrecy. Harry had made the decision that they would leave that evening only the day before, much to Alassë and Roimon's displeasure. The three of them prepared what they could without being noticed and then the next afternoon, instead of going to training, Harry dressed in the plainest green robe in his wardrobe and prepared to meet his two guardians on the wharf. He was tucking his old wand into his robe pocket when his eyes fell on his grandfather's sword. Really, he didn't have any expectations of needing it, determined that this journey would be purely to find answers for his visions from Dumbledore and then he would return right away. But a soft voice inside that reminded him of his father, told him to take it. And so he strapped the sword to his hip and slipped away, careful to avoid Narwien as she read in the sitting room, and taking a back alley so that even little Veryë didn't see him.

Roimon met him behind Sailano's house and led the way to where Alassë was waiting with a boat she'd procured. It wasn't much and Harry had the distinct suspicion that she'd borrowed it off Halatirno, or maybe one of the other fishermen as it smelled strongly of fish guts and any number of other questionable things. Still, it would be sufficient to get them through the wards and onto the Black Lake. This magic, Harry wasn't as sure of, but Roimon assured him that once they were past the wards, merely thinking of their destination would be enough to pass them through to the Wizarding World.

Harry raised the hood of his robe as they slipped into the boat and cast off. Alassë rowed as Roimon kept a look out and Harry focused on the upcoming wards. He'd gone over the instructions again the night before, but no matter how familiar he was with the concept, the true test would be when they arrived at the wall and the wards. He sat in the bow of the boat, waiting and fearing that he might somehow miss it. The wards themselves stood like a great dome, watching over the last haven of the Eldar, the spirit of the past Tar-Eldaturs powering it. Harry hadn't been expecting it to feel so…familiar.

"We're here," Alassë murmured, as she pulled up alongside a seemingly impenetrable section of the stone wall that guarded the harbor. Further down was the main portcullis, but they were sure to be stopped passing through there. He'd searched for weeks to find another way out of the city and had finally found it in an old lore-book. Closing his eyes as he cast his magic out and felt over the wall. He was looking for "the keyhole", as Cethindo had called it. It was a small section that, if given the right key, would open somehow. It was a backdoor, of sorts.

Harry was sure he'd miss it, not really certain what he was looking for. But as soon as he felt it, he knew it was right. The keyhole glowed softly in his mind's eye, a place in the wall that pulsed softly and emitted just a faint light, as if there was a candle behind it, shining through the crack. Just as the lore-book bid, Harry delved into his own magic to bring out just a glimpse of his core, the core of the Tar-Eldatur. The keyhole recognized him immediately and Harry felt the wards lift, just as the wall before him shimmered. He could just make out the other side, as if the bricks had become wisps of cloud.

"Go straight."

Alassë gave him an incredulous look, but followed direction, rowing them towards the wall. Just when they seemed to be about to hit it, the bow of the boat passed through the stone and they were cast into darkness for only a moment until they burst through the other side. As soon as they were past, Harry felt the keyhole slam shut and he looked back, wondering if he could see a difference. Only he couldn't see anything at all. Where Métimalondë would have been was only an impregnable cloud of fog. Not even a sound broke the barrier. The Last Haven was gone.

He turned back around to find Roimon and Alassë both looking at him expectantly.

"What now?" he asked Roimon.

Roimon chuckled and shook his head. "And here I thought you knew every secret! I've walked that wall many times and never found that door."

Harry smirked and laughed. "Just lucky I guess," he replied. "We need to go to Hogwarts, where you and Sailano found me. What do we do now?"

Roimon pointed on ahead where the fog only seemed to thicken. "We row straight, and focus on where you wish to go."

Harry nodded. "The Black Lake," he declared, thinking of the dark waters and the giant squid that made its residence in them. He thought of the rocky shores where he, Ron, and Hermione would go to study on fair days, framed by the tall, thick trees of the Forbidden Forest. He thought of Hogwarts itself, perched up on the hill and looking down over it all, a thousand lights reflecting on the calm waters.

Suddenly the fog lifted and there it was, just as Harry remembered seeing it his very first year.

"Home," he breathed, as he felt the weight of Hogwarts' familiar wards settle over him. The castle rose up before them, distant lights sparkling in the windows. Alassë rowed towards the shore, her paddles the only sound. It had been some time since Roimon and Sailano had come to bring him back to the Eldar but surely there should be at least a few students out on the grounds, maybe a Care of Magical Creatures class. As their boat bumped up onto the shore, they were alone. Not even the Giant Squid could be seen in the depths of the water. Harry ducked his head and concentrated on the familiar face he'd worn for most of his life, but frowned when it was a bit more difficult to bring up from memory.

"Everything alright, Tárnya?" Alassë asked.

At last Harry fixed the glamour and Roimon's nod was enough to let him know he'd succeeded.

"No."

Roimon was first out of the boat but Harry and Alassë soon followed.

"Where is everyone?" Harry murmured.

The next moment there was a crack and Harry's question was answered. Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape appeared before them, wands at the ready. Harry's hand tightened on the pommel of his grandfather's sword as Roimon stepped in front of him.

"It's alright, Roimon," Hary told him as his former professors lowered their wands.

"Harry. We were not expecting you," Dumbledore said, smiling.

"I'm sorry for barging in, Headmaster," Harry apologized. "I need to speak with you—"

"Harry!"

He caught sight of Hermione a moment before Alassë stepped in front of him and before he knew it, Hermione was on the ground and Alassë had a very self-satisfied smirk as she relaxed from her fighting stance, confident that the "threat" was neutralized.

"Alassë!" He pushed past her to check on Hermione, who was wheezing on her back on the ground. Harry's stomach turned at the thought that one of his oldest friends was injured by one of his arantir. He summoned the healing magic that came much easier now, starting at her throat where a bruise was already forming and let the magic wash down her airway, just making sure where was no other damage. The bruising faded, but Hermione's shocked and intrigued expression didn't. As Harry helped her to her feet again, he was sure he'd be explaining. A lot.

But first he hugged her for the first time since the Triwizard Tournament.

"I'm sorry about Alassë," he told her. "She's one of my…" Hermione and the others wouldn't understand just what it meant to be Arantir. "Guardians," he said at last. "She won't do that again."

And she wouldn't. Harry gave her a pointed look to emphasize his words.

"I thought she meant to attack you, Tárnya," Alassë murmured in Eldarin.

"No, you didn't," Harry shot back in kind. "Stay your hand unless there is true danger."

"You would not know true danger until it hit you across the face," she retorted, a light smile.

"Like you did yesterday?" Harry smirked.

"Harry?"

Ginny, Ron, and the Weasley twins looked at him like he was some sort of alien, but Ginny took a few tentative steps forward, her eyes searching for something that Harry wasn't sure she was going to find.

Still, it had been a long time and Harry couldn't help the soft flutter he felt in his stomach. "Hi Ginny. It's good to see you again."

Ginny looked pointedly over his robes and the sword at his hip before ending on Alassë and Roimon flanking him. Harry suddenly felt self-conscious, like he was standing in front of the whole school in the Great Hall waiting to be Sorted again.

"I think you have some explaining to do," she said, smiling at last.

"I think you're right," Harry agreed, relieved that she seemed to accept the Harry she saw before her. So much had happened, he owed everyone an explanation, but it might have to wait. "I will too, at the right time. I promise."

Ron stood behind Ginny, but unlike her and Hermione, he didn't seem inclined to come any closer, and that cast a shadow over their reunion.

"Hi Ron," he said, hoping that maybe Ron would realize that he was still his friend.

Ron nodded. "Hey mate," he replied.

"I think perhaps we should take this reunion inside, Headmaster." Harry didn't like Snape any more now than when he'd left, but as he looked around at the rolling grounds with very little cover, he had to admit the Potions Professor was right. It was better the fewer who knew he was there, the better.

"Yes, I think that would be best," he agreed.

As Harry walked across the familiar grounds, he'd expected everything to feel just as it had before. Which, looking back, was ridiculous. The last year had brought the biggest changes since Hagrid had come to deliver his Hogwarts letter. Now, the halls of Hogwarts seemed like a distant memory, not at all the home that they'd felt before. Harry walked through them beside Alassë and Roimon and he felt like he was seeing a façade, only an image of what he remembered.

When they made it to Dumbledore's office, it was not long before the questions began again, and Harry smiled that it was Hermione who was the first.

"What are you doing back? And why do you look like you did before? What's going on?"

Surprisingly, it was Professor Snape who cut her off. "Perhaps we should give Mr. Potter a moment to speak, before bombarding him with inane questions."

"Actually, I need your help, Professor Dumbledore."

"About what, my boy?" Dumbledore asked, tilting his head in concern.

Harry inhaled and let it out carefully. He hadn't told anyone the specifics of the visions he'd been having, only that they occurred.

"I saw a vision a while ago, of a wizard being attacked by a snake. And since then I've had visions nearly every night. I think they may be from the False Lord."

Ron spoke up for the first time. "The False Lord?"

Harry was about to explain, but Hermione, as usual, beat him to it. It was just like old times and Harry couldn't help but think of all the times she'd come to his rescue when he was new to the Wizarding World and didn't understand.

"Blimey! But then, that means you saw my dad!"

Harry frowned. "You dad? I don't—" An image flashed across his mind, the wizard slumped on the floor, bleeding and dying. He couldn't see his face. "He was the wizard that was attacked! Where is he? Is he okay? Please tell me he's not—"

He couldn't even bring himself to say it. Mr. Weasley had been like the father he'd never had.

"He's in St. Mungo's," Ginny explained quickly. "They are keeping him in a coma, to try to hold off the venom."

He had to go to St. Mungo's. If the snake's venom was still in Mr. Weasley's body then he didn't have much longer. And Harry knew he could heal him, like he'd healed Alassë and like he'd healed Hrávon. He was sure his arantir would understand the need to break from their original plans, but has he looked to first Roimon and then Alassë, he could see their hesitancy and wariness. They didn't understand. They didn't know Mr. Weasley like he did.

"I have to go see him. Now," Harry declared, already heading for Dumbledore's fireplace where a pot of Floo powder sat on the mantle.

"You can't do anything for him the healers at St. Mungo's aren't already doing," Professor McGonagall said. "And I think we need to address this very serious matter. These visions cannot be allowed to go on."

Harry was reaching for the Floo powder when Hermione stopped him. "Harry, wait! You can't go like this, with them," she told him, gesturing to his two arantir. "You'll draw attention even if you still look like you, you've been away for almost a year. It's been all over the Daily Prophet. If you charge into St. Mungo's, it's going to be all over the front page tomorrow."

"Táryna, please," Roimon implored.

Harry's frustration grew the longer they stood around as Mr. Weasley lay in a coma. He turned on his two arantir and snapped in Eldarin.

"I know he's just a wizard to you, but I have to go help him, now."

"We have a specific task in coming here," Alassë insisted. " As your arantir I cannot allow you to deviate."

"Deviate? This isn't some random wizard. This man has been like a father to me. He's taken me in when my own family didn't want me. I am Tar-Eldatur—"

"And you have a duty to the Eldar."

"I have a duty to my family. I am going to help him because I can."

"Then you cannot be seen. If the wizard newspaper reports your return, the False Lord will know and you will be in danger."

Harry growled, frustrated, but they had a point. He couldn't be seen. Regardless of whether Rita Skeeter or the Daily Prophet reported on his return, nobody could know of the healing skills he'd acquired, or any of the other magic he could now perform. It would raise far too many questions. Luckily, he had a way to go unseen.

"Fine. Where is my school trunk?"

"It's with your godfather," Dumbledore said.

At Grimmauld Place. "Then we need to go there. I need something out of it. I don't mean to be rude, but time is of the essence, especially if he's been unconscious since the attack. We can discuss my visions after."

Ron, Ginny, McGonagall, and the twins looked confused while Hermione and Snape seemed to be the only ones to truly understand what Harry meant to do.

"I see," Dumbledore replied at last. He removed a quill from his desk and tapped it with his wand. Harry felt the magic gather and bend, anchoring itself to the quill. "Everyone take a hold," Dumbledore directed.

Harry stepped up to place a finger on the Portkey, but Alassë and Roimon hesitated. Understandable, from what he'd learned of Eldar magic, Harry didn't think they had anything like a portkey.

"It's okay," Harry assured them. "It's going to transport us to my godfather's house. You just need to have a finger on the quill."

"Is there not some other way of travelling there?" Roimon asked, eyeing the unfamiliar magic.

"No," Harry replied simply.

Alassë huffed but at last she and Roimon were touching the portkey, squeeze between Harry and Hermione. With another tap of Dumbledore's wand, Harry felt the familiar jerk behind his navel as his feet left the ground and they spun through time and space to his godfather's home. They landed in a heap in the small foyer of the house. Alassë and Roimon were on their feet almost immediately, reaching for Harry but he was already pulling himself up. He took Hermione's hand to help her to her feet when the door at the end of the hall opened and Harry's godfather stepped out with Lupin close behind.

Harry grinned as Sirius looked him over from head to toe and whistled.

"Fancy robes, Potter." He smiled, stepping around Ron who was still sprawled on the floor, tangled with George, and embraced the godson he hadn't seen in a year. "It's good to have you back, Harry."

"Sirius, it's great to see you," Harry replied. "But I'm not able to stay. I need my dad's cloak."

Sirius frowned and seemed to notice the two eldar standing behind his godson. "What for?"

"I can save Mr. Weasley," he said.