Onto Greener Pastures and Brighter Skies

Interlude: Harry's Adventures- Part 2 In a Quiet Village I Spoke with Death

Author's Note: Welcome to a slight divergence from Tolkien's reality. History that never happened in canon is discussed, but it happened in this story. Enjoy.

Betaed by the amazing Noradin

Thud, clank, clank, thud, thu- squish. Harry's groan of disgust was overshadowed by the gurgling gasps of the last orc as it fell over dead, most of its nearly black life's blood spilling out from the gash in its neck onto the wizard's head. While the packs of the beasts he had encountered weren't too hard to dispatch, the business of killing orcs was a messy one and without a nearby residence there was no way to easily clean himself. The surrounding villages had become wary with the increasing number of roadside attacks by the orcs and a suspicious stranger so obviously covered in blood wouldn't be welcomed, so renting a room and bath was out of the question.

Pulling his sword from the orc's corpse, Harry looked around the area and sighed. The group had ambushed him when he stopped a little ways from the road for a lunch break and to allow Luna a rest and a chance to graze. She was far enough away and had so many protection and notice-me-not wards on her that the orcs completely overlooked the horse and only went for the lone, seemingly defenseless man. Now the seven disfigured bodies lay strewed across the ground, guts and entrails and other such parts Harry really didn't want to think about painting the grass dark. All in clear view of the major road, which was blessedly deserted at the moment, but wouldn't stay so for long.

Harry banished the bodies with a flick of his wand and walked over to where Luna was still peacefully chewing on a patch of grass, completely unconcerned by the brutal fight that had taken place not even fifty meters in front of her and the blood-drenched man currently patting her mane. Is this level of calm and indifference normal for a horse? No, no it probably isn't.

With one final pat and a cooed "Good girl, such a wonderfully, fantastically placid good girl you are", the wizard began to lead his horse towards the woods, following the breeze that kindly offered to lead him to the nearest lake. His Invisibility Cloak was a great help when he needed to disappear in a pinch and was adequate at concealing Manny, but it had an often useful and sometimes annoying resistance to magic as a whole. It would need cleaning by hand or give him away by smell the next time he used it.

Hedwig was already perched on a low hanging branch over the tranquil body of water, using her wings and beak to clean away the dirt that had collected in her feathers over the past few days. The owl spared a single short squawk for Harry when he approached the bank, but remained focused on her task.

"So," Harry began, "you didn't feel like helping me with those orcs, huh?" Not even a twitch in response. "Some aerial support would have come in handy; one of them almost got me from behind. It's a good thing Manny was there." Only the ruffling sound of feather grooming permeated the silence. Well, if she wanted to be juvenile, then two could play that game. Facing away from his owl, Harry stated, "I see, you didn't interfere because you knew that I had it all under control. With my amazing sword skills and spectacular magical gifts, you really would have just gotten in the way, after all. You are so considerate, Hedwig, a true lady of the highest cla- Ahhhh! Oh Merlin, please: not the face!"

Several minutes later Hedwig had returned to her first-class spot to continue preening while Harry sank into the water to wash the dark stains from his cloak and attend to his newly received battle wounds, leaving Manny to recline in the midday sun. Warriors come in all shapes and sizes, from hulking mountains of muscle to terrifying tiny white bullets with talons and hooked jaws of death. Harry really needed some human companionship.

After finishing his impromptu bath, Harry left the water and joined his friends in their relaxation, spreading out on the soft dirt. He felt in no rush whatsoever and wasn't too keen on returning to his aimless wandering from town to town.