New A/N: Yes, after three entire months; I AM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! The break from Fanfiction was quite a bit longer than expected. For several times, I had tried to write the next chapter of this thing, but it just wouldn't work out well, and I would just scrap the entire thing.
To get back in the mood for the continuation of Erinqua, I decided to re-write the current chapters! Well, not so much re-write as make them more readable. All I did was read through it again and change a few words here and there. The main purpose of this is so that I remember my plans for the story, so that I can write a decent chapter.
If you're curious and want to read through the story again, or you just want to remember what the hell was going on - even I forgot, so you're excused - be my guest. Just don't expect any major changes.
- The Baron
(Old) A/N: Hello! I was browsing a community a few days ago when I came across a HP/Hobbit crossover. After exploring the different fics there, I decided to write one myself.
I find anything with Tolkien's universe fun to write, because her universe is just so Fucking Huge! You could literally spend a year reading about it, and you still wouldn't have read everything.
Anyway, I made this note to say the following to be sure; I own Harry Potter nor the Lord of the Rings universe; both belong to J. K. Rowling and J. R. R. Tolkien respectively.
Oh, and I know I said that I was on vacation for a week; well, the only reason I'm posting this is because I've got this chapter – and the next three – already written. It has been on my schedule for a while, you see.
There was Ilúvatar, the All-father, and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made.
And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music, and they sang before him, and he was glad.
But for a long while they sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of mind of Ilúvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly.
Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and harmony.
- Excerpt from Tolkien's Morgoth's Ring, the tenth instalment of The History of Middle-Earth. A piece from the Ainulindalë, the Great Song, recited by Pengoloð to Ælfwine.
Chapter 1: Arrival
Bilbo Baggins was living a perfectly happy life, in a homely burrow on The Hill, built by late his father for his late mother. Then, on a beautiful day with a bright sun and green grass, a wizard came along. Gandalf, to be precise. Gandalf invited him to go with him onto an adventure. Naturally, Bilbo said no, as no self-respecting hobbit would ever dare go on an adventure; it simply wasn't done. Gandalf left, and Bilbo forgot all about him. In retrospect, it was quite unwise, for wizards never give up.
The next day, Dwarves came. Bearded Dwarves, from under the mountains. They entered without being invited, seated themselves at his table, and started eating his food. Now that wasn't so bad; every hobbit could appreciate someone who ate a lot. However, the Dwarves (from under the mountains) started throwing around his mother's plates, wiping their feet on the rugs, but then, then the wizard came again.
Oh, how Bilbo was starting to hate that pointed grey hat.
And just when Gandalf got everyone under control and seated at his dinner table – with the king under the mountain himself amongst them – and told Bilbo that "We are all here," and that it was "Quite the merry gathering," there was another knock.
Everyone blinked for a second, surprised, and then Bilbo was off again, opening his round, green door for the sixth time that day.
On the other side stood a young woman, a little smaller than Gandalf. She had fiery red hair that cascaded down her back and onto her red robes, reminiscent of the ones Gandalf wore, only more elegant. She had bright violet eyes, a colour Bilbo had never seen before anywhere except on flowers and clothes, and had smooth, pale skin, with a few freckles sprayed across her nose.
The woman appeared to be nervous, and was fiddling with the hem of her robes when he opened the door.
She blinked her violet eyes, and smiled. "Oh, hi! Erm, where am I? I'm kind of lost."
Bilbo stared at her with raised eyebrows. How could anyone not know where they were, with Hobbits all around? He shook his head after a second. "Good morning. You're in Shire, Bag's end, to be precise. I am Bilbo Baggins, by the way."
The woman's eyes betrayed her confusion. "Shire? Where is it opposed to London?"
Bilbo frowned. "Lundun? What's a Lundun?"
The woman frowned. "How could you not –" She fell silent in the middle of her sentence. Clearly she had expected him to know about 'Lundun'. "Very well. Could I see a map, perhaps?"
Bilbo smiled widely at her. Helping someone, that he could do. It wasn't an adventure, after all. "Of course, my lady! Follow me."
He led her through the round hall into a side room, his study, where he kept a large map on the wall. If the woman was confused by the low ceiling, round halls, and the concept of living underground, as humans usually are, she didn't show it.
"Here we are," Bilbo said grandly as he waved at the map, which had a single red dot on it; the location of Shire. "The red dot's where we are right now. I suppose you're from Gondor, or Minas Thirth?"
The woman's face once again betrayed nothing. "Gondor." She answered after a few seconds, but Bilbo could sense that it wasn't the truth. She seemed friendly enough, though, so he let it pass. "Do you think I could sleep here tonight?"
"If you could tell me your name, yes, of course! I'll introduce you to the other guests afterwards." Bilbo answered brightly. The prospect of visitors is always a good thing, in any hobbit's eyes. That is, if they are invited and polite. Unlike those Dwarves.
"Solana Evelyn Potter. Though some call me – Erinqua."
Oo0oO
Solana was having a very interesting night. The day before was completely normal up until midnight, except for the anticipation of her birthday the next day; she woke up, went to the Auror office, got floo'ed to come investigate a case, solved the case, arrested the one who did it, went back to the office, filed a report, and went back home with a good feeling in the evening.
However, it was when she went to sleep a bit past midnight, after reading through her photo album – it housed both her and her parents' photos, and it was warded better than Hogwarts and Gringotts combined; even Fiendyfire only singed the edges – that things started to get interesting.
She had a dream, first of all. Now that itself wasn't really interesting, but what the dream was about was. You see, there was nothing but black space, and voices in the background. Solana strained her ears to hear what they were talking about, but couldn't until they started talking louder, like they were coming closer. Solana could only catch snippets of their conversation, but what she could pick up, bothered her quite a bit – shady characters talking about your person wasn't regarded as a good thing.
Solana Potter… sixth Istari… Erinqua… war is brewing… Erebor… The lonely mountain… Smaug… Sauron rising… End of the Third Age… and then, a sudden clear voice, over all others, Silence! She is here!
It was silent for a few seconds, until the clear voice spoke again, sounding like Fake-Moody sounded when he put her under the Imperius curse.
Sleep, Erinqua.
Are you talking to me? Why would I sleep? Her voice of reason countered, even as she yawned. After a second, the voice sounded again, much more forceful.
SLEEP!
And that time, even her voice of reason couldn't save her, and she fell asleep in her dream – because in the world of magic, everything is possible.
When Solana woke up, she found herself hugging her photo album to her chest, suddenly wearing elegant red robes, with the ever-present invisibility cloak, Resurrection stone, and Elder wand on her shoulders, finger, and strapped to her arm respectively. However, when she looked around, she found herself on top of a hill – The Hill, she would find out later – instead of in her bed, snuggled comfortably into her covers.
Oo0oO
Bilbo opened the door to the dining room – which was round and green like the rest in his house – and immediately all conversation stopped. The twelve Dwarves and Gandalf looked up and saw Bilbo entering, followed by a human female; the dwarves immediately frowned and placed their hands on their weapons, recognizing a fellow warrior, female as though she may be. Gandalf kept his hands on the table calmly as Bilbo introduced them.
"Solana, this is Gandalf the wizard," Only said wizard noticed Solana's eyes widen slightly at his introduction, "and company. Gandalf and company, this is Solana Potter."
Solana waved a bit and turned to leave, telling them that she didn't want to interrupt them, before Gandalf spoke up. "Come, sit with us, Erinqua. I will introduce you to the Dwarves." The Dwarves around the table shot Gandalf irritated glances as Solana froze in the doorway, turned back around and, with a nod, took a seat at the table provided by Bilbo. She wondered how Gandalf knew about that title; maybe he was one of the voices? Or knew the people belonging to them?
"Solana, these are the twelve Dwarven lords; Ori, Nori, Dori, Balin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Bombur, Bofur, Bifur, and the future King under the mountain, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf pointed at different dwarves every time he said their names, and they all grunted in acknowledgement.
"I'm honoured." Solana said kindly, and Thorin snorted rudely. "As you should be." She rolled her eyes; after dealing with her co-Auror Draco Malfoy for almost a decade, she was used to snobbish and pompous behaviour.
"We were just about to have tea." Gandalf announced. "I hope there is something left for the late-comers to eat and drink! What's that? Tea! No thank you! A little red wine, I think, for me." "And for me," said Thorin. "And raspberry jam and apple-tart," said Dwalin. "And mince-pies and cheese," said Bofur. "And pork-pie and salad," said Oin. "And more cakes-and ale-and coffee, if you don't mind," called the other dwarves. "Put on a few eggs, there's a good fellow!" Gandalf called after him, as the hobbit stumped off to the pantries. "And just bring out the cold chicken and pickles!"
Solana merely blinked in bemusement and slight amusement. Apparently, Hobbits and Dwarves ate a lot. "How did you come about these parts, lassie?" One of the dwarves – Gloin, if Solana remembered correctly – asked merrily, even as the other dwarves started talking to themselves.
"I don't know, really." Solana admitted. "I woke up here. My…" She had decided upon an easy-to-remember backstory, and paused for a second, blinking quickly as she was suddenly in tears - she'd only just realized that she might never see her friends again, unless she found a way back. "My village burned down, just last night. I couldn't do anything to save them – my magic was acting wonky – and…" She noticed the entire table had stilled, and they were looking at her with wide eyes. Gandalf continued puffing his pipe, as if he had known all along. He most likely did; Dumbledore was exactly the same, they could have been twins. "What?"
The dwarves exchanged glances. "Lassie," Gloin said, "Only the Istari have..." He waved a hand around, trying to find the right word, before apparently settling on "non-passive magic."
Solana frowned. "What are Istari? I've heard about them, but…"
Gandalf spoke up. "Istari are, basically, Maiar in human form, send to aid the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth against Sauron. But I'm seeing that I'm using unfamiliar terms, so I'll have to explain a bit of background.
"It all starts with the Éru Ilúvatar. He is the supreme deity; some crude eastern civilizations call him God. He shaped Arda, or as most Men call it, Earth. But before that, he created the Ainur, or the Holy Ones as they are called.
"The Ainur encompass two groups; the Maiar, and the Valar. The Valar are fifteen Ainur who entered Arda after its creation, to give order to the world. One, Melkor, turned against the others and they have been in war ever since. Part of the Valar's job is to combat Melkor.
"The Maiar are spirits, descended to Arda to help the Valar shape the earth. There are a lot of us, but many have gone back to Éru. Sauron was one of us, too, before he turned to Melkor.
"There are but five Istari. There is Saruman the White, chief among us; Radagast the Brown, a friend of animals, but he mostly keeps to himself; There are the friends, Alatar and Pallando the Blue, though I have not seen both in a very long time; And then there is me, Gandalf the Grey."
"Oh."
Gandalf chuckled. "Yes, oh indeed."
"Erm, how do I explain… just watch, I guess." Solana said, pulling out her wand – which looked like a stick to the rest of the company, even Gandalf – and silently vanished the dirt and grime on the floor, fixed a crack in the wall, and floated a random jar on a shelf.
Everyone – even Gandalf – was staring at her in amazement. Solana squirmed under their gazes. "What?" She asked after a few seconds of rather uncomfortable silence.
"There have been tales," Bombur spoke up, startling everyone; he almost never spoke, but when he did, it was on a matter of grave importance. "Of the witch, using a stick to channel magic, clad in red. Erinqua, she was called in some tales. Nightshade in others. Sometimes even the sixth Istari. The stories varied; in some the witch fought a large snake, in others a dragon, a hundred floating Nazgûl, armies of dark servants with magic, or a snake-man with red eyes. But," Bombur halted for a second, "in all, she leads Middle-Earth into the Fourth Age; the age post-Sauron."
And then he fell silent again, leaving everyone to contemplate the news that had just been brought onto them. Solana, in particular was worried. It descripted her life perfectly; the Basilisk, the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, Death Eaters, Voldemort, and, if Nazgûl were what she thought they were, Dementors. She was called Erinqua by the voices, and now Gandalf, and her own name – Solana – was a shorter version of the Latin name for the Nightshade plants, Solanaceae.
That was when a happily humming Bilbo entered, balancing trays on other trays, holding eggs, bacon, several pies, salad, jam, bread, wine, and water. When he noticed the quiet room, and the thoughtful faces, he stopped and stared. "What happened?"
"Oh, don't worry about it." Solana said with a forced smile, flicking her wand and levitating the trays and mugs onto the table. Bilbo blinked, then shrugged; he had seen weirder things brought home by his grandfather, the Old Took.
Everyone quickly started eating, and conversation built up again until they were happily talking, shouting at times to further accentuate their tales, talking, and talking some more, until at last, everyone shoved their seats back, and Bilbo made a move to collect the glasses.
"I suppose you will all stay to supper?" he asked in a polite voice that Solana could hear was forced.
"Of course!" said Thorin. "And after. We shan't get through the business till late, and we must have some music first. Now to clear up!" Thereupon the twelve dwarves – not Thorin, because apparently he was too important, and stayed talking to Gandalf – jumped to their feet and made tall piles of all the things. Off they went, not waiting for trays, balancing columns of plates, each with a bottle on the top, with one hand, while the hobbit ran after them almost squeaking with fright: "Please be careful!" and "Please, don't trouble! I can manage." But the dwarves only started to sing, and Gandalf and Solana started chuckling and giggling – respectively, of course – instead of helping him:
"Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
"Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
"That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
"Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
"Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
"Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
"Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
"Splash the wine on every door!
"Dump the crocks in a boiling bawl;
"Pound them up with a thumping pole;
"And when you've finished, if any are whole,
"Send them down the hall to roll !
"That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
"So, careful! Careful with the plates!"
Of course they did none of these dreadful things, and everything was cleaned and put away safe as quick as lightning, while Bilbo was turning round and round in the middle of the kitchen trying to see what they were doing. A mere ten minutes after they had left it, they were walking back to the dining room, eleven dwarves humming happily and one hobbit in need of a cup of tea to calm down from the stress.