Meanwhile in Middle-Earth, Ron and Hermione were led up the stone steps and were just in time to see the golden coupleÂ’s grandson heading off towards the forest. They became alarmed when Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn headed in the opposite direction to their friend.

When the new emissaries stopped suddenly it was Lady Galadriel who explained, “Fear not for your friend young ones, King Elessar is taking Harry to his own private quarters to care for him. I assure you that he will be taken good care of as the King also happens to be an excellent healer.”

Hermione gasped, “Harry is being looked after by a King, how, why?”

Ron suddenly came to life as well. “Merlin, hold on, you said that Harry was his child, does that make Harry a Prince?”

Celeborn’s lilting voice rang out in laughter. “My love these two remind me of Elrond’s twin terrors, Elladan and Elrohir with all these questions.”

“Indeed! Young ones, I am afraid you will have to wait till the morrow for your answers. You will also have a chance to meet our grand-daughter and the rest of the King and Queen’s closest friends. For now come eat and sleep as I can see that the events of the evening are beginning to catch up with you.” She smiled as both young people began to yawn.

With that they were taken to a guest flet near the coupleÂ’s own and were given some night clothes and food. It didnÂ’t take long before HarryÂ’s friends fell into an exhausted but relieved sleep.

0x0x0x0x0

The two awoke early in the evening of the next day to find a tray of food and sets of fine looking clothes awaiting them. It was then they noticed Lady Galadriel and another male blond haired elf approach them from the direction of the balcony outside their room. Hermione had to struggle to keep in a sigh as she caught sight of him. Ron just snorted remembering that another blond haired git by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart had been greeted with the same reaction.

“Good evening, young emissaries, I hope you are feeling rested. This is Legolas Greenleaf, a long time friend of King Elessar, and he is here to help me get you ready for your meeting with the King and Queen later. Master Ronald, Legolas will help you get dressed as I am sure you will find our clothes a little strange at first and I will be helping Lady Hermione.

“While we are helping you we will also explain what will be expected of you in your new roles as emissaries and some points of etiquette and customs you will need to know.

“As a part of our elven customs, you will also have new elven names bestowed upon you to show to others that you are considered to be friends of the elves. For now we have a chance to get to know each other a little better as that is also part of what it is to be an emissary.” She smiled as Legolas picked up the clothes on RonÂ’s chair and led him to the next room along off the balcony.

0x0x0x0x0

When Harry finally awoke nearly forty-eight hours after arriving in Lothlorien, the first thing he heard was the soothing voice of Strider calling him gently. “Come Harry, my son, it is time to wake from your long slumber.”

Harry felt his glasses being placed upon his face and he was finally able to open his eyes and feel his new fatherÂ’s presence for real at last.

“Strider, are we home yet? Is my new mum here too?” The boy looked around the room nervously to see if anyone else was there. But all he saw was a light airy room with a table and chairs in one corner, a bedside table on one side of the bed and a chair next to the other side, which Strider was currently sitting in watching over him.

“Harry we are not home yet, we are in the realm of your grandmother, the Lady Galadriel and your grandfather, the Lord Celeborn. But yes, your new mother is waiting outside, anxious to welcome her new son,” Strider replied smiling but it was soon replaced by a more serious expression.

“There is however something you should know first about your friends. It seems that Hermione and Ron were not ready to let you go and had somehow formed a magical bond with you so we had to bring them along as well. They are currently being taken care of by your grandmother and grandfather. However there is no need for worry as they are fine, they were not as drained as you were so they are already awake and I believe are having something to eat. You can see them in a little while after you too have eaten and dressed, if you like.”

Harry looked a little shocked at this news but Strider’s words were somehow reassuring nonetheless. “The bond sounds like the one between you and me, but I am sure that I didn’t give any oaths to my friends or them to me. But I suppose that anything is possible especially it seems when it comes to me. As long as they are alright for now, I guess I’ll just have to wait till I see them to work it out.”

The youth then looked a little uncertainly at his hands before speaking again, obviously nervous of explaining what was on his mind. “Um, before I meet my new mother, Strider, please may I ask you something?”

When Strider nodded, Harry continued thoughtfully. “You seem to call me son so easily, yet I’m not sure what to call you.”

“I took an oath to take you as my son and to that I hold, as you took an oath to accept me as your father. While I would be overjoyed if you felt comfortable enough to call me father or ‘Ada’ which is father in your mother’s native tongue, I understand that it may be difficult to do this.

“Perhaps now is a good time to teach you your first lesson about your new world. Remember I told you that I had many names; well, just like in your world a name identifies who you are and what family you belong to. But it is much more than that, for it can also show others who you are friendly with, such as in the case of the elves. If they consider you a friend they will bestow an elven name on you. In my case because I was brought up by elves my foster father gave me the name Estel, which means hope, and the last name of Elrondion to identify me as a son of Elrond. But my birth name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Here you would probably be known as Harry, son of James.

“Anyway, when I took on the mantle of a Dunedain ranger, I became known as Strider because of the length of my stride. But it was also more suitable for what I was doing; it also had the advantage of protecting my true identity as IsildurÂ’s Heir and heir to the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

“In this I understand how you feel about your own name and what it means to others and the expectations that you are supposed to live up to. I myself wrestled long and hard with my own doubts and fears that I would fail to live up to my destiny, or that I would be weak like my ancestor before me who was tempted and failed to carry out the one crucial task he was given and caused so much heartache for the peoples of Middle Earth.

“Because of that I did not wish under any circumstances to become a leader. I only wanted to remain a simple ranger, travelling in the wilds alone using the skills that I had perfected over the years to help others.

“When I left that world to go to Rohan, the home of the horse lords, I took yet another name; that of Thorongil which I took with me when I served at the court in Gondor. In those years I gained a reputation as Strider and Thorongil, but only for the actions I took under those names and not for who I really was. Finally when I fulfilled my destiny and took up my true heritage, I became Elessar Telcontar,” Strider reflected.

At that point Harry motioned Strider to come closer and when he was within grabbing distance he pulled the elder man into a hug which was more than happily returned. Once he pulled back from the hug, he looked into the silver eyes of the man in front of him and his own eyes filled with tears.

“Do you know how much it means to me to hear you tell me this? I have struggled so long with my name, not that I am not proud of being a Potter, but because of the implications of being Harry Potter. To be Harry Potter, means to be the boy-who-lived, saviour of the wizarding world and target for everyone to control,” Harry replied in a tone that showed the agony this revelation still brought him.

Strider waited till the youth looked at him again apparently ready to continue the conversation. “But you don’t have to be any of those things here with us, you have but one role to play here and that is as our son. Trust me that will be enough for you to become.” A long buried hint of mischief was then replaced with a look of pride in his silver eyes.

“So as for my name, for now may I suggest that perhaps ‘Adar’ may be most appropriate as it is much less formal than father.” Strider smiled encouragingly at the young man who was now deep in thought.

“I never really knew my father and mother except from what other people told me, but when you began visiting me, I realised you were what I hoped a father would be like. So I think I will call you Adar, as you suggest. And thank you for allowing me to have a choice. I am very rarely asked how I feel about things when decisions are made to do with me.” Harry smiled warmly at his Adar.

“I am glad that is decided, and may I add I will do all I can to live up to your high opinion of me,” Strider added, touched by what the boy had said.

“What do I call my new mum in her native language, Adar?” It felt so wonderful and natural to both of them to hear the name spoken in its proper context at last.

“Why don’t you ask her that for yourself, Harry? It will give you something to start with. However in case you are interested the formal elven word for mother is Naneth, while the less formal term is Nana.”

Harry nodded then watched as Strider walked to the door and opened it. Outside Harry could just make out a balcony and it seemed to be late afternoon, but before he could take in anything else, a beautiful young woman with gently pointed ears and long black hair stepped over the threshold smiling as she came.

He felt the love directed at him immediately and somehow there was no doubt in his mind that this could only be his, “Nana?”

She nodded and moved serenely to the bed and took him in her arms, “Yes, ion nin. (Yes, my son). I have looked forward to this meeting ever since my dear husband started telling me about you; although it does seem strange, to have an almost grown son, when I only married my beloved mere months ago.” She laughed and it reminded Harry of the haunting trill of the phoenix which always had given him renewed hope and strength to go on.

Then without warning she gently took Harry’s face between her long smooth fingers and fixed him with a serious look. “But first I want you to understand something very important, Harry. Having you with us feels like Aragorn and I have been blessed with a gift beyond price and it is one that we intend to jealously treasure, do you understand?”

Harry slowly smiled at her shyly and nodded his heart too full to do anything else. She pulled him into a hug before kissing him on the top of his head and he hugged back, knowing that here at last was a loving family all his own.

When they broke apart his Nana continued, “I thought if you would be willing to take a new name, would you accept the name of ‘Thandmir Elessarion’? It means true treasure and Elessar’s son, for that is what you are to us.”

Strider and Arwen, waited patiently observing the reactions of the youth in front of them carefully, neither willing to rush him into any decision. Harry in his turn looked back at them in bewilderment, for this was beyond his wildest imagining.

Harry swallowed nervously, “I think that this is what my parents would have wanted for me, so surely they wouldn’t object if it would only make my life better. Don’t you think?”

It was his Adar that answered for the both of them with a wide smile, “Yes Harry, I believe they would; besides you will have a name that will always remind you of how much you are loved. So will you accept this name, then?”

When Harry smiled broadly back at him, Strider took one hand and Arwen took the other, as the Ranger King proudly confirmed, “Welcome to our family, Thandmir Elessarion.”