Ring Child
By Kiamii
Notes: SPOILERS of EVERYTHING
This story starts after Bilbo's departure in The Fellowship and will continue past the Return of the King.
Harry is seventeen, right after the defeat of Voldemort but before the Epilogue.
I do NOT own Harry Potter... OR Lord of the Rings.
Chapter One "Magical Wars"
Harry stood there, unable to comprehend what was taking place in front of him. Here lay before his disbelieving eyes, a place far from home indeed. When he had said 'I've had enough trouble to last me a lifetime' to his friends and Dumbledore, he had meant it! Nothing could have prepared him to face this sort of thing. The last thing he had done was munch on the sandwich he had asked from Kreacher and had fallen asleep in the Gryffindor Dorms… Well he certainly wasn't there anymore… Where was he?
To find that he was in a place that he had never seen the likes of before. He was in a room of sorts, which was perfectly... petite. The door in front of him was large and round, everywhere in the room filled with delicate antiques that he had never before seen in his life of seventeen years. Harry fell himself go into shock as he actually noticed that there was someone else IN HERE! He was taller than the ceiling and reeked of magic himself. Harry found himself looking up at him.
"My my, so you've arrived at last." The man said to him, causing Harry to squeak and back away. The man in front of him reminded him very much of Albus Dumbledore, only in neutral gray robes and a wizarding hat, a staff in his hand and he was smoking. Harry froze. Was it just him or was this man expecting him...? Ignoring that, the man seemed enormous compared to him! The place was indeed unfairly normal but, made the man looked extremely towering compared to Harry. Something was wrong with this… Harry looked down at his hands and his eyes widened and he felt like he was going to faint. No way… This couldn't be happening! His hands were extremely tiny.
"May I be informed of a name that beholds you, young one?" The old man asked him kindly. Harry's emerald green eyes looked at the man who looked possibly beyond years older than Albus. He was smiling pleasantly at Harry, as if he knew something.
"I'm Harry, who are you?" Harry asked very quietly. The old man looked at him with such a puzzled look that Harry felt his cheeks heat up.
"Harry? Such an odd name that is. No matter; we shall have to change that in a moment, but it will work for now in this introductory. I am Gandalf the Grey. I take it that you yourself are a one of a kind Istari child." Istari? What was that? "An Istari Child you are indeed, one of which never existed before... until now of course." Gandalf said in what could be said as amusement as he knelt down to be gone of the dangling chandelier from the ceiling. Harry's eyes looked lost and he certainly felt lost. Who the hell was this guy? What was an Istari?
"Forgive me child, I am wandering away from this marvelous explanation. You are a wizard from your world, I have heard from the Valar. Here, you, as a wizard, are known as an Istari and are very much different than my kind though they are classified as one and the same. We use staffs and I believe you bear wands. You require words of another language to work with magic, I should assume." Gandalf explained.
"Why am I a one of a kind Istari?" Harry couldn't help but ask, noting that his voice was much higher and smaller than he could remember. He had to be dreaming. Why not go along with this then? He was Harry-Bloody-Potter the Boy-Who-Just-Won't-Bloody-Die-And-Always-Does-The-Impossible anyways.
"You are a child, I daresay around as many as three summers. You are of mankind, yet an Istari. My kind only becomes Istari as a man, when we reach a very old age. You were born an Istari, having never happened before." Gandalf told him, kneeling down. Harry's eyes went round in wonder. Great, even in his dreams he was doing the impossible. And wait… Did he say THREE?
"But, I'm seventeen!" Harry protested and nearly jumped when Gandalf picked Harry up and placed him on his lap as he sat down in a chair. Oddly enough, being there felt comfortable and Harry couldn't stop himself from relaxing.
"Quite mentally, that is your age, but here you are a small child without a family. Harry, you are an odd and unique child called to Middle Earth. You are not in your world anymore. You are in a place called the Shire of Middle Earth, owned by Hobbits."
"H-Hobbits?" Harry stammered first. So he was in another place. An alternate universe?
"Half-lings if you will. They bear shoe-less feet and are quite short though I daresay that you are shorter by far compared to an adult," Gandalf said with a smile, "In fact, we are currently residing in the home of a friend of mine, Frodo Baggins. He shall be leaving on a journey on the eve of his birthday in a few days, and I am simply present here for today, about to marvel on a journey to find my own explanations." Harry looked at him before he heard the door rattling.
"Gandalf! I don't think I-" Frodo cut himself off as he spotted a very small child in the arms of his mentor. The boy wasn't a hobbit judging by his small size and structure of a man.
"Ah Frodo my dear boy! I would like you to meet a very unique child that I have stumbled across, Archir the Emerald, a wizard child." Gandalf said in joy. Harry, now dubbed Archir, looked at the elderly man with a quirked eyebrow. Archir? What kind of name was THAT!?
"An Istari child? How is that possible and one of emerald status?" Frodo asked in surprise. Harry looked down to indeed find his outfit an emerald green robe. He quirked an eyebrow again as Gandalf simply adjusted him on his lap. He suddenly found distraction in the form of Gandalf's beard and his small hands grasped it, playing with it. Gandalf let a smile grace his lips. Harry stopped, turning red as he realized what he was doing. He. Was. Not. A. Child!
"Quite right my friend. Istari are not born as they are, they are created from the Valar as a man. Therefore I was humbly taken by such a delightful surprise to find this little lad was born with magic. I feel that he should accompany on your journey for he will do you much advantage despite his young age of three." Gandalf stated, causing Harry to pause in his meager thoughts. Gandalf simply smiled knowingly at Harry who couldn't help but allow Gandalf to do what he wished. Maybe it had something to do with him being in the body of a child and thus drawn to Gandalf like a grandfather and grandson relationship. He trusted Gandalf like he had with Albus. Gandalf stood and placed the boy on the floor. Harry couldn't help but look at Frodo shyly. The hobbit stared in amazement and actually looked down to be at Archir's height. Archir discovered that he was about a foot shorter than Frodo who was, at best, three and a half feet. How annoying. You had to be short if a HOBBIT was taller than you. This was not something that Harry looked forward to.
"Good afternoon my fair little Archir the Emerald. I am Frodo Baggins of the Shire, adopted heir of Bilbo." Frodo said politely.
"Hello," Archir mumbled, looking at his little feet, which he noted were in strange looking shoes of brown shades. Frodo's own feet were shoeless and hairy, making Archir smile. He felt this to be rather amusing for some unknown reason.
"Archir, you will accompany Frodo on his journey, will you not?" Gandalf asked the small boy. Archir looked up and bit his lip before nodding, seeing as he could do nothing else.
"Excellent! Now Frodo, I shall see you and the others when I can. Good day, my dear hobbit and my dear young Archir. You'll find his belongings atop the counter of the kitchen. Frodo, a word if you will…" Gandalf said before patting Archir on the head and taking his leave outside with Frodo. They took a moment or two before Frodo reentered the room, a frown marring his face. Gandalf was gone as quick as a bee. Mighty fast for an old man, Archir mused. Archir turned his head to see Frodo frowning lightly at the wizard's leave before turning to Archir.
"So, I daresay you must be hungry." Frodo stated kindly to the small boy. Archir opened his mouth to deny when his stomach let about a growl of starvation. He hadn't eaten in awhile and only then it had been Kreacher's sandwich. Frodo chuckled and took hold of his hand, taking him to the kitchen where he began to fix the two of them lunch. As Archir sat on a large comfy chair at the table, Frodo expertly cooked up a batch of roast and mashed potatoes with green beans. Filling up a cup with juice, he placed it in front of Archir who looked at the plate with wide eyes, unsure if he would be able to eat all that. His eyes must have shown what he was thinking, because Frodo was quick to assure him.
"Just try to eat as much as you can," Frodo told him, beginning his own meal.
"So you are only three?" Frodo asked with a curious grin. Remembering all that Gandalf had said, Archir nodded and took a nibble on the roast, finding it delicious. The two ate in silence until Archir could no longer eat anything more. Frodo frowned lightly when Archir was only able to stomach a quarter of the meal, but let it go for the moment. Frodo stood up and lead him out of the kitchen.
"We leave tomorrow for a long journey. I suggest you slumber away while I see about getting a few clothes procured for you Archir." Frodo told Archir, leading him to the bedroom that once belonged to Frodo growing up who took Bilbo's grand room. Frodo found a shirt from his tween-hood and helped Archir undress (simply unbuttoning the top of the robe for the child) before slipping the large shirt over the boy's tiny body. The shirt went to Archir's ankles, to his amusement and Archir's embarrassment. Frodo frowned upon seeing the numerous bruising and cuts on the boy's small chest and after tucking Archir in, he went to his study to think. The bag of the Istari child was next to him and in it was a small stick that Frodo assumed was the staff for the child. Also there were a set of small emerald green clothing, a book of some sort, a photo of a magical looking couple, and a stuffed odd looking bird. Frodo smiled at the site of the stuffed plushy before retiring to bed that night... Gandalf's departing words stuck in his head… The boy would help the journey rather than hinder… Frodo was a bit curious to know what the Istari Child would bring…
Meanwhile, Archir lay down upon the soft bed and closed his emerald green eyes, puzzling over the mystery that was now his situation. Here he was, a child of three, a rare type of person in the middle of an entirely different universe. The shirt was wooly and loose on him. Harry bit his cheek and sighed, burying his head into the pillow and opting to sleep. That was Harry's last conscious thought before he felt himself drift into slumber.
His eyes snapped open as he found himself in a place of almost emptied black. He looked around, blinking, before a light appeared before him and Gandalf the Gray appeared.
"Ah, young Archir." Gandalf's image came into view and Harry found himself sitting in a chair from nowhere. He looked at the Dumbledore-look-alike in confusion. What in the world? Geez… Nothing was the same anymore! Arg!
"You are wondering why you were brought to Middle Earth, no?" Gandalf asked with a chuckle. Harry nodded, not speaking. He was afraid this man would turn him into a rabbit or something if he did speak. Gandalf was not to be underestimated…
"I can only repeat this once, seeing as I am using borrowed time to enter your dreams… A war will take place soon. Very soon… One of which you will have the choice to help in or to stay hidden and out of their reach. You will lose people no matter the way. This is part of life child, I am dearly sorry. You were sent here to have a childhood of your own, but you will still face a war. It is part of life." Gandalf said softly. Harry looked down at his feet.
"Why am I here if I do not have to fight then?"
"Your war has ended, and the Valar thought to give a second life to you Harry Potter. Starting henceforth, some horrific memories may strike upon your mind in the midst of slumber, if only to fade afterwards when you are able to accept them. This is your only way to recovery." Gandalf told him. Harry was distraught, enough that he sought comfort even from this man who was telling him this.
"Will I ever see my friends again?" Harry whispered. Gandalf drew Harry up in an embrace..
"One day… Maybe. You will be able to communicate with them one day but, that is many summers from now my dear lad. Many summers lie ahead… I can promise you this; you will have a home to one day call your own here."
Harry looked up at the elderly wizard with eyes that were dark of icey green, but there was something about the warmth now… Harry nodded his head. Gandalf graced upon him with a smile and began to fade away, leaving Harry to the dreams of Hermione and Ron and the heavenly memories he held of his life as Harry Potter.
Author's Note: I wanted to try Lord of the Rings this time. I wonder if it sounded alright. No one else has done an Istari CHILD before like this. Similar to Elfling stories only Harry is one of a kind like in his old world, and I made him at a toddler age because he will grow in years to come, and I realize that three-year-olds seem to accept and believe things much easier than others. They are still in purity. Hope you liked this!
Added: (March 16, 2010) I decided to give a definite height to Archir and I twisted it around to make a reason for WHY Frodo so willingly took a child with him. The story is completed, but the chapters are being tweaked around for convenience. If you are a first time reader, I say to you… Good luck. Lol.