Chapter 1
A/N: This is a test run. I want some feedback on this story to see if I will continue and finish it. If I do it will be in two parts. The first part spanning the Hobbit Story and the second spanning the Lord of the Rings. Disclaimer: No money was made here. The world and characters belong to J.K Rowling and Tolkien. I'm just playing in the sandbox of the worlds they created. Enjoy!
I woke up slowly to the eerie Jade light of the black lake. The far wall of my small bedroom was strong glass looking out into the depts of the black lake. My room was in the dungeon level of Hogwarts castle. I shared these quarters with my adoptive father Severus Snape who was the potions master of this boarding school.
I grew up in these halls as Hogwarts best-kept secret. No one outside of the staff and house elves ever knew about me. As I stretched my back and rubbed my eyes a couple of young Mer-people waved at from the other side of the glass. For some reason, the magical creatures on the property from the merpeople, centaurs, Hippogriffs, and Thestrals were especially fond of me.
Dissy, papa Snape's house elf pops into the room to greet me.
"Good morning little miss! Master Snape says you're to go see Mistress McGonagall today!"
I hope off the bed and hug the house elf good morning. The Hogwarts house-elves were also very fond of me especially since I was no taller than they are. Although I turned 17 this past June, I still had the body of a toddler to my everlasting frustration.
Grandpa Dumbledore says it's because I'm a half elf, so I don't grow as the other kids do. I was very confused by this when I was younger and for the longest time I thought my birth mother was a house elf but no… she was a different kind of elf entirely.
Dissy pats my back kindly and then quickly directs me to a small child-sized vanity. She pulled out a Slytherin green sleeveless dress for me with an empire waist and a black robe with silver detailing and matching slippers and stockings. A lot of the clothes in my wardrobe reflected the four house colors but papa took pride in the fact that Slytherin colors suited me best much to the other professors' displeasures.
It was due to my coloring. My eyes were a deep purple color with some silver specks, and I had an overabundance of long, thick and wavy, silvery blonde hair that would put a Malfoy to shame. It reached down to my bum and Dissy loved to put it up into charming elaborate updos. I was a bit of a terror though so the only thing that kept the locks in place during the day was Dissy's magic. I couldn't take my hair down at the end of the day without her help because of it.
The green of the dress today brought out the peachy tone of my pale skin and the light freckles across my nose stood out more. It was a good start to the day. When my morning ablutions were done Dissy popped away to do what she did for the rest of the day and I quietly walked into the sitting room. My morning tea and toast were waiting for me on the coffee table in front of the fire. Even though it was mid-summer the dungeons were forever chilly, though I personally didn't feel the cold too much. It bothered papa Snape some, so the elves kept the fire going year-round.
When I was almost done eating, I overheard raised voices for the other room. I stood up and walked over to the tapestry that hid the door to the potion's classroom. I opened the door quietly and saw that papa's office door was slightly ajar on the other side of the room. Quite as a mouse, I crept closer in order to eavesdrop on the argument.
"Severus it is time. We can no longer wait. You knew this day would come! After what happened with Harry this year and the Philosopher stone, Emel (meaning heart in elvish) is no longer safe here in the castle."
"I understand that Albus, but we need more time. She needs more training! She is not only elvish but a witch as well! She is not ready to be on her own yet! She is still only a child and I will not abandon her!"
Albus sighed. This was an ongoing argument for the past few years between the Headmaster and the rest of the staff. Back before the prophecy with the potters, in the early days of the war, Voldemort had been searching for a way to gain immortality. During this time the dark lord used some 20 of his followers and cast an ancient spell he came across in his travels to summon a being from another world. It required such immense power that it drained the power of all 20 casters and subsequently killed them in the process, but it worked. Sitting in the middle of the aftermath was a tall beautiful being never seen, an Elf woman.
The inner circle had been invited to watch the proceedings and all were enchanted by the frightened women. Voldemort though looked on with glee not for her beauty but for her immortality. Over the next few months, this woman was slowly but surely dying as Voldemort tried different ways of gaining the power from her flesh for himself.
Regulus Black had been among the lucky few who had seen her arrival. He had fallen head over heels for the maiden the moment he laid eyes on her. During the months of her captivity, Regulus did his best to help her without gaining the suspicion from the other death eaters and the pair began to bond.
Soon Voldemort became frustrated with the lack of results with the elf and began to turn to other options in his search for immortality.
One-night Regulus was summoned before the dark lord. To his great surprise, Voldemort asked to borrow the Black's house-elf Kreacher for a task to which Regulus quickly complied. When he left the dark lord's presence, he noticed that the Malfoy estate was nearly empty. Knowing that Voldemort was otherwise occupied for the evening on some unknown task with his family's house elf, Regulus took the opportunity to free his love from the dungeons and take her away into hiding.
As far as the rest of the world knew that was the last, they ever saw of the Black family hire Regulus black and assumed that he must have died somehow. This was not so. He had gone into hiding with Almarian the elf women and married. When Kreacher returned to him he nursed the poor sickly house elf to health and learned of the Horcrux.
Regulus did not act on this information at first. Almarian had become pregnant and couldn't abandon his family on a suicide mission. Over the next few years, the couple frequently had to move. As Voldemort grew in influence and power it became harder and harder for them to stay hidden and they would need help.
Taking a risk, Regulus called upon his old school friend Severus Snape. By this point, The Potters were under threat due to the prophesy and Snape had defected to the Order of the Phoenix to Regulus's everlasting relief. The order took Almarian and their small child into hiding at Hogwarts. During this time Regulus named Snape as his daughter's godfather should anything happen to him or Almarian. With his family safe, Regulus took this opportunity to finally do away with the Horcrux and ended up dying in the cave from the Inferi. His love, Almarian felt him die and it was the last straw for her. Not long after she faded and passed away leaving behind her daughter Emel in Snape's care.
When Lily was killed Emel was the only thing that kept Snape going but both Snape and Dumbledore knew that it was not the last they have seen of the dark lord, he would return.
It became apparent over the years the Emel took after her mother and was most likely immortal as well. The young girl was at risk if the dark lord ever learned of her because she was a halfling. Due to her witches' blood, Voldemort very well may succeed with her where he had failed with the mother.
Because of this, it was decided early on after the death of her parents that she had to return to her mother's world for her safety and the safety of all of wizarding Britain.
(still in Snape's office…)
"Severus she may be a child to our eyes, but she is already 17 years old, an adult in our world. We do not know hold long it will take for her body to catch up and we cannot wait that long. The spell has been ready for some time now. Voldemort spent all the last school year in this castle under our very noses. It was sheer luck he never learned of Emel while he was attached to Professor Quirrell. We will all be sad to see her go but it's for the greater good. We cannot risk him finding her."
Emel herself was currently squatting against the wall speechless. They were sending her away?! Hogwarts was her home! She never knew anything else and she was terrified of ever leaving it. She quickly escaped out of the room and ran through the halls of the castle. The stair's sensed her distress and quickly shifted to give her the quickest route to McGonagall's office.
Emel banged the door open and stood in the middle of the room close to tears. McGonagall looked up from some parchment startled at the abrupt entrance and looked down at the small girl.
"Poppet whatever is the matter?" She asked in her thick Scottish accent.
"Nana…" Emel said breathlessly and then proceeded to have a full-blown meltdown.
Minerva McGonagall had taken the girl into her private sitting room and spent a good portion of the day trying to calm the child down and explain. Emel was very attached to Severus as a father figure and she was daddy's little girl but Minvera had been her adoptive grandmother and the key feminine influence in her life. Emel's Nana had a way of explaining things and making her feel better whenever she was distressed. Severus was very good to her, but he was not well equipped when it came to emotional situations and Minvera was indispensable to them in times like these.
Snape had told Emel long ago about her biological parents and what happened to them. Though she was well loved he never kept her in ignorance because no one knew better the dangers then Snape. What he hadn't gotten around to telling her was that she would eventually have to leave never to see him again or any of the staff.
That night Emel was summoned to the headmaster's office and McGonagall went with her. When Emel saw Snape seated in one of the armchairs in front of the headmaster's desk, she skipped over the chair left out for her and climbed up into Snape's lap. She put her little arms around his waist and held onto him like he was about to disappear.
Severus didn't say anything, and his expression gave nothing away, but he gently began to rub her back and held her close to his person. Albus looked at Minerva questioningly.
"She overheard the pair of ya arguing this morning. She's been upset all day because of what she overheard. I've spent the better part of the day talking things through with the child." Informed Minvera.
"Ah, I see. That's unfortunate. I had rather she didn't learn of it in that way." Said Dumbledore.
Snape just ground his teeth and glared at the headmaster.
Gently during the meeting, the three adults told Emel that she would be returned to her mother's native world in a week's time. Unsurprisingly Emel began to cry again despite there best efforts and buried herself in Snape's protective embrace. It broke everyone's hearts to see.
That night and every day after until her departure date Emel refused to leave Snape's side and the dour man had no qualms over her attachment. He himself wanted to take advantage of the time they had left together. As the day drew closer, they could no longer ignore it and began to prepare for her departure. Though Emel could have passed her N.E.W.T.S by now from the rich education the staff had given her over the years, her magical core itself was still small in accordance with her toddlers' body. It didn't help that her father had been a very short wizard as well and Snape though she might have inherited his height deficiency.
One of her many parting gifts was a black leather traveling pack that Professor Flitwick had given her at her goodbye party that weekend. It was heavily enchanted with an undetectable extension charm as well as a lightweight charm, a waterproof charm, Anti-wear and tear charms, etc. The bag should last her an eternity. The staff didn't know much about this other world but during Emel's mother's short stay at the castle, They were under the impression it was very primitive and so everyone did there best to prepare her for every eventuality.
Snape ordered for her hardy; knee-high dragon hide boots with a small heal that would grow with her as she aged. McGonagall gave her one of her large family tartan blankets with enchantments woven in the material for warmth and comfort. Also, a small enchanted tent was pack with food to last the next month stored inside of it. Over the years at the castle, Emel had grown an impressive collection of books. All of these were packed and any and every other kind of book Snape could think of. He had her promise to continue her education in her new home and to keep her extensive book collection safe. There would be no replacing them where she was going. From Ollivanders, Dumbledore had two replicas of her (12 ½ inch unicorn hair, Cypress wood) wand made in case anything should ever happen.
Professor Flitwick also called in a favor from his goblin family connections and had two long daggers made for her. They were beautiful and maybe a little big for her, but she would grow into them. They seemed more like swords right now in comparison to her small stature.
As a final gift, the whole staff pitched in and had gallons exchanged for small unmarked pure gold coins so she could support herself if needed. The countless coin purses stowed away into her bottomless traveling bag amounted to an outrageous fortune. Clearly, she was well loved by everyone and it made her departure seem all the more real to her.
Finally, it was the last day before she had to go and Snape and Emel spent it in the room of requirement together. Walking back and forth in front of the bare wall on the 7th-floor corridor, a door appeared, and Snape opened it to a wild and beautiful forest. Together, father and daughter entered.
Snape wanted to spend the last day together in a practice run. He wanted to make sure his little charge would be ready and able when she was on her own. Together he showed her how to set up the protective enchantments around the campsite. He had her do it three times to make sure it was properly memorized. They then set up her enchanted tent and created a fire pit not too far from tent entrance. Snape showed her how to use flint stones in case she was forced to hide her magical ability. They hunted and fished together. He taught her how to make a snare and to lure in animals for dinner. They caught a few rabbits and he showed her how to the skin and prepare the meat to be cooked. They also caught fish and he showed her how to dry the fish and rabbit meat over the fire to preserve it for the winters if needed or long travel.
It was well past sundown when they returned to camp and tore it down. Snape and Emel didn't eat the fish and rabbit's meat but instead added it to her collection of food in the kitchen of the tent before packing it away into her travel pack with everything else.
When they left the room of requirement it was supper time. In the great hall was an elaborate goodbye dinner for her. The elves had gone all out and the high table groaned under the weight of all the food. She gorged on her favorite of all time, fettuccini alfredo with chicken and roasted button mushroom. It was a forcefully jolly occasion. After dinner, all the professors took their time to hug her goodbye and express their love for her. The worst was poor Hagrid. He couldn't stop crying and he hugged her for what seemed like an eternity unwilling to let her go.
McGonagall tearfully kissed each of her cheeks and bestowed her with a necklace. It was a goblin silver chain with a cat's paw print pendant housing a purple gemstone in its center. On the back, it was inscribed. 'To my little Kitten. Nana will always love you.' This was referring to the fact they were both cat animagus. McGonagall turned into her infamous tomcat while Emel turned into an energetic Snow leopard. Her form was still a Kitten though much like her regular body was still that of a toddler.
Snape and Professor Dumbledore held off their goodbyes for the next morning. They were to only ones who would send her off tomorrow morning.