Child of the Stars

Maglor held Harry while he slept. Not wanting to let go of the young one after that particular experience. There was also the consideration if Harry’s fea was at the maturity level that was suggested by what he saw. That added an additional complication to everything, especially due to his prior upbringing by those orcs hiding in the skins of humans.

The younger the elf, the greater the need for their fea to be nurtured. Which could take different forms. All of them required some form of contact close or otherwise, with family of blood or adoption. Combine that with the deep feelings elves could feel, often there was a reluctance to put said elfling down. So naps on adults was quite a common and considered a healthy thing to do. Harry, while having suffered from touch deprivation, seemed to have no problem with actually being touched. Instead, showing signs of craving it. However the young one’s independent nature may make it difficult for him to accept or tolerate it as much as the elves would want to do.

Which was going to become a problem when they got to Ea.

That brought Maglor to the other consideration he was mulling over. They would need to set up that consultation with Gringotts. Even without speaking to Gilriant of his experience in the circle he could hypothesize based on the research that was done. It was likely whatever the issue was centered around dementors. So he wanted to make sure the young one was rested before the said meeting. He also needed to make sure that Harry understood what the possible consequences of going through the Veil back to Ea would be. Namely, his physical state.

Likely Harry would want to be the same physical maturity he currently was as a young wizard. The problem being that Gilriant was not entirely a wizard anymore. His elven heritage was asserting itself to the point his fea was nearly completely that of an elflings. The only reason he viewed it as nearly, was there were clearly other influences. Possibly from his Maia heritage, some from his wizarding, or whatever else he was blessed with because of the Hallows. Between the damage to his current form, and the fact his fea no longer matched it at all, going through the Veil would likely trigger a change.

An added consideration was where they would reside once they were back in Ea. There were many places where Maglor would not be welcome. Likely they would tolerate him for the sake of an elfling, especially with the charge laid on him by Mandos. However he did not want Gilriant to live with that sort of tension. He would need to be forthright about it, without sending the young one on some sort of crusade to get others to warm up to the bard. The young one was smart enough to already realize that could be an issue.

Perhaps focus on making plans as to where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. Ideally, they could find Elrond. His son would likely welcome them with open arms. From the family discussion about Gilriant’s little dream trip under the cloak, it was likely the young one had already found him along with the identified Glorfindel in Imladris.

Mentioning that after going through what was likely to happen passing through the Veil could be an excellent distraction. Gilriant was very much family oriented. The opportunity to get to know more and potentially live with them would have his focus quickly. The downside might be convincing the young one he didn’t need to try and confirm right now. Maglor would like him to rest properly first. He had a few ideas on how to frame that consideration so Harry would agree.

For right now he would rest as long as Harry did. While the very young and the ill often needed actual sleep, adults typically used a waking trance. Their minds and bodies rested while retaining enough awareness of the world around them. The trance itself could be useful in reviewing memories, lighter ones better than anything with emotional upheaval. Maglor didn’t need nearly as much rest as Gilriant did, but he still did need rest. He could also go longer before the issue was forced.

A simple enough matter to settle into his waking trance while still holding the young one. Letting happier memories drift to the surface. While often his mind would pull him to the darker experiences of his life, with the young one resting on him, he would not do this. It would not be restful for either of them.

When Harry woke Maglor was instantly alert allowing the young one to groggily move off towards the door. The tall elf could tell Kreacher was shadowing the still waking up youngling. So he would not worry that Gilriant would wander off, or say fall back asleep in the tub if he decided to bathe. By the time he came back the bard had set the blankets to the side and made sure their research was on the table in case it was needed. He put them to the side as he had the feeling Kreacher would be bringing in food shortly. The Hallows that had slipped off the young wizard he left on the couch. Judging that would be better than touching them.

Harry sat down, pretty much instantly recovered with the fea of the Losts Ones and his relatives. Anyone watching would see the smile that lit up his face the instant they did that. He had been a bit worried that claiming the Hallows would make him feel too different for their comfort but if anything they were quicker to settle on him. Somehow he could feel it even more now. When he paused and looked to the side where his Grandfather hovered he could almost see the outline of his actual form. Huh, that was new and something to explore later. Food first or Kreacher would throw a fit.

Taking up the cup of tea with a smile and nod to Kreacher Harry looked over at Maglor. Something was different there. He couldn’t exactly put a finger on what yet. Either his senses expanded somehow, or he was given a new one. Something he would need to work on and figure out. Just add that to the pile. “So . . . that happened.”

A chuckle escaped Maglor as he inclined his head while fixing up his own tea and plate of food. The action nudged Harry to grab what he wanted to eat. “That it did. I’m afraid we on the outside were fairly limited to what we saw until Mandos emerged bringing you over to me.”

“Mandos?” Harry paused in slathering his toast with jam. “Isn’t that the guy everyone goes to in Ea when they die? I guess that makes sense but how was he here?”

“According to him he was and he was not at the same time, and only very temporarily.” Maglor replied easily. “Long enough to confirm some information and alleviate a concern of mine.” When Harry lifted his eyebrows in question, the tall elf elaborated. “First, you have something to do here and a role to play in Ea.” Gilriant nodded slowly, fiddling with his food as he listened. “What was most important to me was that he tasked me with what I planned to do. Stay with you and help you.”

Harry dropped his toast.

“I’m not going anywhere without you hinya.” Maglor looked Gilriant in the eyes. “Not now, and not even when you have reached the fullness of your gifts. I already promised you that.” A smile flickered on the tall elf’s face. “Having been tasked by Mandos, just means there are few that can justify trying to separate us.” He reached across the table to clasp the young one’s hand.

Harry blinked hard then swallowed. “Yeah, okay.” After a quiet moment his gaze landed on the faint figures he could see of his other three relatives. “What, what about Grandfather, Elured and Elurin.”

A sigh escaped Maglor. “According to Mandos we will be passing through his halls. That is where all go after they have died. There the fea of elves are healed. The fact that I have not died is one of the reasons I will not have to stay. They likely will, at least until they are fully healed. Being re-embodied takes time, and as we are likely going to middle-earth. There may be some convincing needed for them to be allowed to follow us if they wish to.”

The stubborn expression that formed on Harry’s face, though Maglor could not see it, was mirrored on Gil-Galad, Elured and Elurin. Gilriant is all that is left of their children, and their children’s progeny. The idea of being parted with the young one did not sit well with them, even if they already realized this likelihood. Even without seeing the others, the bard recognized that expression. He had seen it many a time on his family’s faces. With the young one being born of all their Houses, plus Thingol’s well . . .

“And that is why Mandos may fear you a little.” Maglor couldn’t help but to smile. “You are most definitely of mine,” He waved a hand at Gil-Galad, Elured and Elurin’s fea, “and their families.” That at least startled Harry enough to give a small smile.

Maglor let go of his hand to wave at the food. “Eat, before Kreacher starts yelling at me.” The accompanying harumph from close by paid proof to his words. That made Harry outright laugh and grab his food, further relaxing. The bard wasn’t fool to think this settled everything, but at least they moved on for now. He wouldn’t be surprised if Gilriant started plotting something later on. Still he kept the topics light until he made sure the young one had his fill.

After everything had been cleaned up the bard moved the research closer to them on the table. “So, how much of what we thought was correct? And don’t worry about being able to explain everything. I certainly understand if there are some things you cannot.” Again and again Maglor was showing a sharp contrast from others in Harry’s life. He wasn’t demanding answers. Sharing information freely, and respecting boundaries there might be. He made a promise to stay with him, and one that Gilriant was starting to believe in.

“Well some of it was right. Like dealing with the dementors is definitely going to be a thing. And yeah, getting everyone home. But it's both more and less than anyone ever thought. It's not about death really, or not just about death.” Harry sat back thinking about how to put it into words. Maglor waited patiently, letting him take his time. “It's more about balance. We don’t belong here, so when the whole thing happened it pulled the dementors in, and because they aren’t supposed to be here either it messed them up.”

Which was part of the sad thing about it. Not either of their fault. They were just dealing with the fall out of other people’s decisions. And didn’t that sum up Harry’s life in a nutshell. Well now he was going to power back. Together they were going to fix this, and move on. “So we have to deal with the dementors, but it’s not going to be simple.”

“Because they are the guards of that terrible prison?”

“Exaclty,” Harry agreed. “We are going to have to warn the ministry first, and give them a deadline.”

Maglor thought about it, and then suggested, “The goblins want you to consult with them. The consultation itself they paid for. However whatever they want from you they have not. Perhaps we can make that part of the deal, they act as intermediaries?”

“Right,” Harry brightened, “We need to set up that meeting with them. Maybe, you could do the negotiating bit? You know more about the dverger than I do.”

The bard smiled, “I would be happy to. May I suggest that I send a request for us to meet with them in a week?” When Harry looked like he was going to protest at the length of time Maglor added, “It will give you time to settle more, and gain strength. We don’t know what they might have as part of the consultation.”

The young wizard gave a slow nod. “Yeah, and it will give us time to figure out what kind of timetable we are looking at. When’s the most ideal time for everything.”

“Well thought out.” At Maglor’s proud smile Harry ducked his head.

“As it looks like we will be moving to Arda, there are a few things we need to discuss. Such as where we want to settle, I do have an idea on that. First though, I would be remiss if I did not tell you about something.” Maglor gathered his thoughts together on how to approach the subject. “We’ve talked about how elves stop aging at a certain point, correct?” Harry nodded with a faintly confused expression on his face.

“We age at a much slower rate as a consequence of it. Of the races on Arda, men age the quickest, then hobbits, dwarves, and finally elves. At fifty, we are considered physically mature, but still have some further growth into adulthood. What aging there is left to do is slows considerably until we are a century old. Only then is an elf considered a full adult.” He gave a small shrug, “Even then, especially in the later ages, children tend to stay with their parents for centuries at least. Often staying nearby or within the same dwelling even when they do marry. There are of course exceptions to that.” The next part was important that Gilriant understood it. As much as the growth speed differences mattered, so did this. “As the world aged, fewer children were born, making them even more precious, protected, and celebrated.”

With a sinking feeling Harry eyed Maglor. “And you are telling me this because . . . “

“From what I saw when Mandos gave you back to me, your fea is nearly entirely elven. There is other in you, but mostly it appears elven. Between your fea not matching your hroa, and the damaged state it is in, there is a good chance when we pass through the Veil your body may change to match your soul.”

Okay, being an elf would be cool considering how tough and everything extra they had. Why would this be a concern? Then it clicked in Harry’s head how Maglor started this part of the conversation detailing how elves aged. “I’m going to be a child? I don’t want to go through puberty again!” Once was enough, thank you.

Not what Maglor thought he would protest about first.

“Oh, no, everyone would treat me like a little kid, won’t they. I don’t want that!”

There it was. “And I will be the one raising you. Mandos said so, remember hinya? I’m not going to treat you like you're helpless. I know you are not.”

“Kreacher thinks this would be good for little Master.” Harry looked down, starting to deflate from his protest. “Little Master has many hurts. Can’t be fixed here. Little Master can get a new body that does not hurt him. Family that treats him right.” Here the house elf eyed Maglor. “Kreacher mostly trusts GoldClever to do this.”

“Thank you for your faith in me Kreacher.” Maglor responded dryly.

“But . . . “

“Gilriant, we told you we think the other elf you met in Imladris was Elrond right?” Harry nodded slowly and Maglor continued. “And we told you how I raised him right?” The young wizard nodded again.

“We could live there, with him. He’d likely welcome us with open arms. You can ask him the next time you see him. I think he would love to be a big brother and welcome you with open arms.” Harry stared at Maglor wordlessly, torn between the thought of more family that wanted him, and the fact he would be a child.

“I’d . . . like to have a big brother, I think.” Harry’s brain was whirling with the information given to him. It was almost too much. Far too used to too little information rather than the free sharing of it. Don’t get him wrong he was grateful that Maglor was being honest with him. Before he never understood why someone might say ignorance is bliss. He didn’t agree, but he understood why someone might say that now.

Harry also picked up on something Maglor did not say. If Elrond was raised by the tall elf, and would be considered Gilriant’s brother, that made the bard his father too. Another thought for him to process. Granted Maglor didn’t say that explicitly but the young wizard could connect the dots. Perhaps he didn’t say it that way as to not make Harry feel pressured to accept him as such. He could ask Grandfather what he thought about it all later on. That would give him more insight.

But what about Kreacher? Would he want to come with them too? As the thought occurred to him he turned to focus on the house elf and froze. Whatever it was about the gifts he was given woke up some sort of ability in him. Because he wasn’t simply seeing the form of the little being in front of him. Scratch that, little was a misnomer. Little only could be applied to physical state, because magically he was so much larger than that. And oh, he could See so much more.

Now he understood why Maglor used the term spirit of the house at times. Kreacher’s magic threaded through the whole building. It stretched out and connected him to Harry and every other member of the Household. Gilriant could See how it flowed back and forth. Not just from, but too as well. Somehow braided together. A very part of the house elf’s being.

There was also some sort of magic wound around Kreacher. One that he instinctively thought of willingly bound to. Otherwise the young wizard would have started to throw a fit. Instead he just stared at Kreacher with a dazed expression. The house elf gently put a hand on his arm. “Little Master needs to let go right now.”

“Gilriant?” From a distance he could hear Maglor’s worried voice and Harry inhaled, closing his eyes. Yeah, a tick on the box needs time to get used to all this. Right now he’d just try not to focus too hard on any one person. Save that for when he really needed it.

He felt warm hands on either side of his face. Blinking his vision was filled with Maglor.

“Breathe hinya, just breathe. It’s going to be okay.”

The bard was worried? He reached up and grasped Maglor’s forearms. “M’okay.” There was an unhappy expression on the tall elf’s face even though Harry tried to reassure him. Right, maybe focus on the breathing thing. Oh, he was breathing too fast, that was the problem. Just in and out slowly.

“That’s it, there you go.” The soothing voice helped unspool the tightness in his chest.

Finally he could feel everything unwind and relax. The tension he hadn’t been aware of prior to being brought to his focus, fleeing from his body. Harry gave Maglor’s arms a squeeze and sat back in his chair. “Sorry.”

“No hinya, it is I that needs to apologize. Too much too fast I think.” Maglor sounded regretful as he still hovered over Harry.

“Not your fault. Not what did the thing.” Oh great eloquence there, Harry struggled to reorganize his thoughts. “Kreacher is a lot more than I knew. I think, yeah, see more things now? Need not to look to hard.”

Frowning Maglor finally settled back in his chair. “I didn’t help by overloading you with information.”

Harry shook his head. “You did the right thing in telling me right away. I want you to do that. Even if I get upset about it. I like knowing you’ll tell me things right away.” That was the absolute truth. No matter what he would always rather know than be kept in the dark.

Maglor studied him before replying. “Very well. However in the future if you are getting overwhelmed tell me. We can always pause and come back to things. Like now. We can discuss this more later but for now you need a break.”

Now that Harry could agree with, he just needed to do something first. “Kreacher?” Carefully looking but not Looking at Kreacher he made sure he had the house elf’s attention. “When we complete the oath and are ready to take everyone home. I’m going to ask you what you want to do. I mean it. What you want. Not what you think I want, or other people want, but what you want for yourself.” When the little being opened his mouth Harry shook his head. “Please don’t answer me now but really think about it and be ready. If I can, I will give it to you.”

At the slight scowl Kreacher gave him, he had to smile. While he loved this grumpy old house elf, in the end he wanted to do what was right for Kreacher. No matter what that might be. All too often people did what they thought was right for Harry. Not necessarily what was actually right, but what they thought was right. So he wanted to make sure to ask the small being, once he was sure that he might be able to honestly answer the question.

Now he looked back to Maglor. “Yeah okay, break time now.” Thinking over his options, he didn’t feel up to anything too physical as who knows what else might be kicking in right now. Harry’s brain was a bit overloaded, so studying was out. There was another option that appealed to him. “Could we, play music together?”

The warm smile he got from the bard made Gilriant feel warm all over in turn. “Of course. Anytime you want to.” It was nice, having something like this to share with Maglor. Yes he asked in part because he knew it would make the tall elf happy. Yet it wasn’t for only those reasons. It made Harry happy too. Though it was a new thing in his life, he rapidly found it to fill some part of him up. Like watering a dried out, but not yet dead plant and seeing it spring back to life.

He also enjoyed hearing how they fit together. Though right now it was more Maglor matching to what Harry was doing than vice versa. He was still learning after all. All the same it resonated something within him that just, made Gilriant happy. Music was obviously a big part of the bard’s life, and he was more than willing to teach and share that with him.

While it wasn’t the point at the moment, something kept telling him music would be important in the future.

For right now though, he could just enjoy the music. The pair could enjoy each other’s company.