Steam rose from a hot bath, and Harry gave a sigh of contentment as he sunk deeper into the warm water. As a phoenix, he hasn't minded dust baths and rain to keep him clean. However, Gimli was right – as a human, especially with his battle-stained robes, he had acquired quite the aroma.
Thankfully, Gimli had shown him this bathing room. He thought the dwarf, uncouth as he was in many respects, would have an aversion to baths. The truth was quite the opposite.
"Dwarves are famous for our baths!" Gimli had exclaimed, as he led Harry towards the bathing rooms. "Why, the halls of Erebor have over sixty bathing rooms, all heated by underwater vents. The faucets shone with quartz and the tubs were marbled with gold. My great, great grand-father, Farin, carved the largest of the tubs…"
When they arrived at the bathing rooms, Gimli took his clothes, promising to get them cleaned as well. Harry was happy to let the dwarf take care of it; he still wasn't entirely used to interacting with humans.
Harry let out another long sigh as his eyes roamed across the room. The room consisted of one large bath area, which seemed to be continually heated by fires below. There were also an additional two, smaller baths; one for a quick rinse to get the grime away, and the other to cool off after. The baths looked as if they could hold a couple dozen people, but were thankfully empty at the moment.
Secure in the knowledge that he was alone, Harry closed his eyes and let his mind drift. All too soon, a door creaked open. Harry cracked one eye open, ready to tell Gimli to come back later. Instead, the words died unspoken as his gaze took in a tall lithe figure who had appeared in nothing more than a towel.
"You!" blurted Legolas, staring at Harry in obvious shock. Harry cursed as he realized Gimli still had his clothes. He moved away from the pool's edge, seeking refuge in putting as much distance and water between him and Legolas as possible.
Blast that dwarf! This couldn't be a coincidence. Harry wasn't ready to speak with Legolas – especially stark naked.
Legolas crossed his arms, the movement causing his towel to shift lower on his hips. Harry swallowed, then turned to face the elf directly. It was not much better. Legolas looked both stern and furious, and Harry weighed the merits of Apparating away immediately.
"Do not think about leaving before this conversation is over."
Harry looked at Legolas with even more alarm as the elf advanced slowly towards him, his voice rising.
"You've been stalking us. Then you used that information to steal the one thing we can use to track this new evil. And why, in the Valar's name, are you taking a bath? You are no guest of the castle and you flout all laws of hospitality – hospitality that I gave you when we camped under the stars but which you have since repaid in wilted flowers and lies."
"Lies? I am no liar!" Harry thrust out his hand, but belated realized that the words carved into his skin – I must not tell lies – had vanished along with all other scars after his Burning Day. He scowled and lowered his arm back into the water.
"Of course you would side with the elves over me. I told you they took me prisoner; I was merely taking back what was mine! I'm sorry that you didn't like the flowers; I was trying to apologize for barging in unannounced, but I guess I messed that up too."
Legolas appeared bereft of any rejoinder; Harry blushed a brilliant scarlet when he realized that in his anger, he had stood nearly out of the water completely.
"You – you're a fool, Legolas Greenleaf." Harry Apparated away before the elf could reply, leaving droplets in his wake.
Harry quickly transformed back into Eclipse and went searching to find the errant dwarf. He found him near the great laundry rooms, where smoke billowed out every time a servant opened the door to go in or come out.
"Did you enjoy your bath?" the dwarf asked upon seeing Eclipse. His eyes glinted mischievously.
"No thanks to you. Legolas hates me even more now."
Harry landed on the dwarf's shoulder. If his talons dug in a little too hard, it was because he was unaccustomed to the height difference between Gimli and Legolas.
The door opened once more, letting out another great gust of smoke. This time, a servant appeared holding a familiar bundle of cloth that Harry could have desperately used earlier today.
Gimli laughed as he took the clothes. His chuckles had faded as he rounded the corner, but the mirth was still evident in his voice.
"I had forgotten about your apology bouquet. Perhaps this time you could try gifting him jewelry instead? I am sure it will be better received. Better yet – perhaps you could tell him the truth. He can never stay mad at Eclipse for long."
Now that the shock of Gimli knowing his secret was wearing off, Harry could see he would quickly grow tired of his snark. He dug his talons in a bit more.
"I told you. Not yet."
The dwarf scoffed but didn't argue. As they reached a courtyard, Harry shifted in preparation to take flight and think about everything that happened today.
But Gimli had one final question for him.
"Eclipse – is that your real name?" the dwarf asked, staring at him pensively.
Harry started. He had grown fond of it, but..."No. My name is Harry Potter."
The evening bell rang, crisp and clear in the humid summer air. Harry had perched on the rooftop of the castle after his meeting with Gimli, and had been quietly brooding since. He needed to figure out a way to reveal himself to Legolas and Gandalf but couldn't think of any way to casually reveal a hidden past and a human form to them.
He shook his head regretfully. He would have to think on it more later – at the moment, he had more immediate matters to focus on. Spreading his wings, Harry flew gracefully down to the entrance way of the castle and slipped inside the cool, dark hallway.
It had felt like a lifetime ago since Harry was in Minas Morgul, but in reality, it had been less than a day. King Aragorn announced that a full council would meet this evening to receive and deliberate on Harry's information. Harry doubted they would like what he found. It could only mean one thing: war was coming.
Harry slowly drifted down to the palace entrance, where a bemused guard opened the door to let him fly inside. He had almost made it to the king's meeting chambers, when he saw a familiar flash of blonde hair below. Harry drifted down to Legolas, and landed gently on this shoulder.
"Eclipse! You'll never believe who I saw today: that strange istari, Harry, in the baths of all places."
"The one who left you flowers?" Harry asked, a little sourly. He still hadn't forgiven Gimli for the little set up, even after the dwarf let him complain for the better part of an hour. Harry had a sinking suspicion that none of his words penetrated the dwarf's thick skull; Gimli had a gleam in his eye that made Harry swear off taking any more baths in the upcoming days.
"The very same. Though I feel a bit ashamed for my reaction to the flowers and the recent encounter. I do think he means well, even if he does pose a security risk for the castle. There is something about his eyes; for such a young face, his eyes hold a great sadness. I do not think I could forget them, even a thousand years from now."
Harry's feathers drooped. Legolas would never live for that long, but it seemed more and more like Harry might still be around then.
He quickly put those thoughts out of his mind as Legolas entered the meeting room, and Gandalf's voice rang out in greeting.
"Back from Minas Morgul already? I am glad I do not share your gift of travel, or there would not be a single moment of peace left for me."
The wizard's words seemed to have a quieting effect on the already-quiet conversations in the room, and eyes turned expectantly towards Harry. Many of the faces were familiar, but Harry gave a start as his gaze landed on an unfamiliar elf and a trio of dwarves.
The King introduced them as Erestor, and Dwalin, and Gwalin and something or other - Harry had a hard time keeping track after the first batch of unfamiliar names. Apparently the dwarfs were helping repair some cavern or mine when the King of Rohan received Aragorn's call to arms. Gimli had started to get teary eyed at the mention of their work and Harry made a mental note to not ask the dwarf for more details, unless he had an extra hour or two to spend.
Eventually the conversation meandered back to the purpose of the meeting: Harry's scouting trip. He straightened up as all eyes turned to assess him. He tried to describe his journey as succinctly as possible, skipping past the flight to the city and focusing mostly on the army hidden underground.
"More orcs than I could count covered the underground chamber. But while their number is immense, the shadow creatures form only a small part of this army. There seems to be a sort of conversion process that takes place deep under the tower of Minas Morgul and there are only two entrances and exits. Both are heavily guarded."
"The situation is dire," the King said slowly, after Harry finished his descriptions. "Yet we cannot allow for more of these shadow creatures to be created. Every minute we wait is a minute that the enemy's army grows more dangerous. We must ride to war."
There was a low murmuring of agreement. Suddenly, one of the men stood. His hair was wild with curls, barely tamed by the circlet resting upon it.
"Rohan will join you. I have brought four companies, and we are ready to march."
A dwarf stood up to join the man.
"We did not come this way to simply admire these halls. We too shall fight besides Gondor."
The unfamiliar elf, though, remained silent throughout the exchange. As King Aragorn's advisors turned towards debating the specifics of when and how they would attack, the elf quietly moved to sit beside Legolas.
"Prince Legolas, it is a surprise to see you here." He gave Harry an indecipherable sidelong look before evidently deciding to ignore him.
"You as well, Erestor. I had not realized news travels so fast to Rivendell."
"An unhappy coincidence, I am afraid. I only recently arrived to visit Arwen, but duty sends me back to warn Rivendell of this new trouble. Will you carry the same tidings to Mirkwood?"
"Not yet. My bow is needed here. I hope to share news of the battle with my father after we have driven out this growing army."
"Many men have bows, but Mirkwood has only one prince."
Erestor's voice remained calm and seemingly unaffected, but Harry still caught the hint of disapproval in his words. Legolas did too, if the tensing of the elf's shoulders was anything to go by.
Legolas gave a tight smile.
"Indeed, there is only one. My choice to remain will protect my people better than running back with an aged warning."
Erestor stood and gave Legolas a shallow nod.
"Let us hope it is the right one. Until we meet again."
Legolas was subdued for the rest of the meeting. Harry remained perched on his shoulder, even as Legolas retired to his room. He thought the elf needed a chance to talk.
His suspicion proved correct; as soon as the doors swung shut, Legolas gave a great sigh. Harry moved to perch on the back of a chair and watched as Legolas lit the candles around the room and then flung the balcony doors open.
The elf flashed a rueful smile towards the phoenix.
"I had not expected the day to be so eventful."
"I'm sorry for the part I played in it," Harry said, thinking back to his early morning flight from Mordor.
"Do not be; that was the brightest spot of my morning. Seeing the mage Harry was also a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Both of you are individuals I would never have met, had I returned home to Mirkwood after the war."
"About that..." Harry said. His heart had leapt to his throat, making it difficult to breathe. Harry tried to think carefully about what to say next. This was the perfect moment to confess to Legolas.
But the elf quickly filled the pause caused by Harry's hesitancy.
"Before I joined the Fellowship, I had considered myself well traveled. Though I had seen towns and cities outside of Mirkwood, I never truly experienced life with Men or Dwarves or Hobbits. It's a refreshing view of the world, and one my people could benefit from experiencing more often. Since the war, I've been… reluctant to return, fearing a return to normal and forgetting my experiences to the inevitable passage of time. Perhaps Erestor is right. I have become a poor leader."
"You're not." Harry said emphatically. "I know a thing or two about living with high expectations. For some people, nothing you do will ever be enough. But for others - especially your friends - they will understand that you sometimes need space to vent or to reflect or just to take a break. If your people love you half as much as you love them, they will understand and they will wait."
"Thank you, Eclipse." Legolas gave him a smile, a real one this time.
"I will ask Erestor to relay the news to my father. Right now, my place is here… and this time, we'll fight together."