"This means English or the common tongue"
This means Sindarin
A/N: The language bracelets translate anything heard or said by the wearer, between English and the common tongue. If for example Merry has one on but Pippin doesn't, Pippin will hear Merry in English and not understand, but Merry will still understand Pippin. Complicated, I know.
Legolas and Aragorn's native tongue is Sindarin, and so when they speak to others it is in Common, but when they speak like this it is in Sindarin, and only Legolas, Aragorn and Gandalf understand. Frodo knows a tiny bit, but is not fluent.
Legolas opened his eyes, and looked around. He seemed to be lying flat on the ground of a circular room, and he noticed that the entire Fellowship was there too, sans Gandalf.
Strange. Legolas thought. His memories were starting to come back now; there had been a large crack in one of the walkways in Moria. But we all fell, he thought in confusion. When Gimli jumped, I grabbed his beard, but we both went down the chasm. I looked up, and saw the rest of the walkway topple and fall, bringing the rest down with me and the Dwarf. Odd. I should be dead.
Gandalf was talking to another old wizard, Albus Dumbledore, who happened to be his younger brother. They had been separated many years ago when Gandalf, known as Aberforth at the time, had chosen the path of the Istar, rather than that of Earth's Wizards. They had apparently all nine fallen from the roof, and Dumbledore had only been able to rouse Gandalf.
"I think I heard movement in the outer office." Dumbledore commented.
"Indeed," Gandalf returned, and they walked through from Dumbledore's inner office to his large outer one.
Movement, indeed. More like a stunned Elf. Gandalf thought, upon seeing that Legolas had come round, and was staring in shock around him.
I should be dead! Legolas said to Gandalf. How are any of us alive after falling in Moria, and how did we get here?
No idea Gandalf replied happily. But my brother Albus Dumbledore and I can devise a way to get to Lothlorien, However it will take a ridiculously long time.
How can you say something like that so happily? Legolas moaned.
Ignoring the query, as he couldn't understand, Dumbledore stated "I have a little invention called a Language bracelet, as you can see I am wearing one, and it allows one to understabd your Common Tongue. You will find that we don't speak Sindarin here, nor your Common tongue, so they could prove helpful. Welcome to Hogwarts!"
"Hogwarts?" Legolas asked, taking the proffered bracelet. "Pray tell, what is Hogwarts?"
"Hogwarts is this place, this school for young witches and wizards!" They all turned to Frodo as he spoke.
"Ow!" Frodo complained. "Is this Death?"
"No Frodo, we have been transported somehow to my brother's school." Gandalf said calmly."Our other companions seem to be regaining consciousness at last."
Indeed they were, and Merry was quick to make his confusion known. "This isn't the deep dark or death! Where am I! Pippin! Thank the Valar I'm not alone!"
High Elven laughter reached Merry and Pippin's ears, accompanied by the lower pitched laughing of Gandalf and Dumbledore. "Merry you fool, we're somehow not dead! Don't you see we're all here?"
Looking around sheepishly, Merry blushed. Pippin saw Dumbledore, and immediately asked, "Who's that?"
"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Gandalf's brother."
Because he was wearing a Language bracelet, Dumbledore's words were understood by all. "Let's wait for the rest to wake up, and then we can decide what to do. It will take almost a year to create a way to Middle Earth, and we want to make it precise, preferably either Lothlorien or Mount Doom itself. Ah, look, Aragorn's up!" Gandalf said loudly.
Once all the Fellowship was awake, all having similarly confused reactions to not being dead or under deep water, proper counsel was held. "These are Language Bracelets, they let us understand each other and others at this school, if you don't want what you say to be understood, simply pull the band off your wrist. There we go!" Gandalf said happily.
After each had slipped their bracelets on, Dumbledore proclaimed, "Alas, you would all be extremely noticeable were you to stay at Hogwarts. However, I may have a solution." Everyone looked up at this, "All of you except the Dwarf, forgive me, your name is Gimli right? Yes, well the rest of you all have magical talent in this world's type of magic. As it will take almost a year to get you back home, we could bring you into this school as transfer students. Gimli could be our Groundskeeper's helper, which is pretty much working outside with the animals and the grounds. The school year begins in a week, and we could give you a crash course to get you up to standards, what do you say?"
After a chorus of "Yes, let's!" from the hobbits and a "only if the groundskeeper likes me," Dumbledore proceeded to say; "There is one problem, that being your age. All the seventh years are seventeen or eighteen, so I can cast a spell on you all to appear younger. The young Hobbits will only require a small amount."
Legolas groaned loudly, muttering in Sindarin, too quiet for any but Aragorn, sitting beside him, to hear, before speaking loudly, "I will not in any circumstance be brought to the age of eighteen again! I embarrassed myself too many times because I was so young for anyone to tell about in a year! Not happening!"
"It can't be too long ago, I doubt you'll feel any different."
"Actually, that was almost three thousand years ago, and I'm still teased by my brothers!"
Dumbledore actually stared. Stopped, and stared, open mouthed. "Three thousand years?" He repeated in disbelief.
"I am an Elf." Legolas said this as though it explained everything.
Aragorn came to the rescue. "Elves live forever, unless they die in battle or of grief."
"Aye, and I am still considered around the same as a twenty-year old human. Joy."
"Wow." Dumbledore whispered.
"May I meet this groundskeeper, Sir?" Gimli asked.
"Of course," Dumbledore replied. "Come with me and I'll introduce you all. However, perhaps I should first give you all the antidote for the ageing potion, if you each take a specific amount, you will be back to eighteen on the dot. Legolas, we may have to use trial and error to find out how much." At this Legolas paled.
Dumbledore threw a handful of green powder from a pouch on the mantelpiece onto the fire, it turned green, and he yelled into it, "Severus Snape, my office, now!"
A moment later a dark, unsavoury type of person appeared, spinning, within the flames. He stepped out, and said to Dumbledore, "You're lucky in your timing, I only just got back from a particularly demanding meeting, I am growing tired of acting. Who are they?"
"They are friends of mine, and we require a large amount of the antidote to ageing potion, right now! And if you see Hagrid, tell him to come here, please."
"Yes, Professor. Nice bracelet." He said sarcastically.
As soon as he was gone, Pippin said rather loudly, "I don't like him at all, the greaseball."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "The usual snide comment is the slimeball. Greaseball, that's one he hasn't been called in years."
"He is a double agent in a great war, each side thinks he is spying on the other, but he has been brought back to the side he once left." Legolas pronounced solemnly. Aragorn quickly explained.
"Elves can see through to people's hearts with just a glance when they try, but they seem to make a game out of figuring out the meaning behind each others words. There's little point asking him to explain, Valar knows I found that out the hard way."
Legolas looked at Dumbledore and said, plainly for once, "He is to be trusted, his loyalty lies with you, not the Dark Lord."
The subject of his statement entered the room soon after, this time via the door, holding a large vial of purplish liquid in one hand, and a vial of clear liquid in the other.
"I took the liberty of bringing the Veritaserum also, Professor."
"Thank you."
With a murderous look at Aragorn, Snape left.
"Obviously doesn't trust you. This" Dumbledore held up the clear liquid, "is a truth serum, the strongest existing. This, however," he held up the purple one, "will drop your physical ages. How old are you?" Dumbledore turned to Frodo.
"Fifty-one in a few months." Dumbledore tipped a carefully measured amount into a small tumbler, and told Frodo to drink it.
"Can't I wait until the others do?" he asked fearfully.
"Not a problem, Frodo." Dumbledore replied.
After asking each member of the Fellowship, barring Gandalf and Gimli, their age and giving them a carefully measured amount, while Legolas had around the same as Pippin, for, if he were human, his age would only have to be dropped a few years, Dumbledore told them all to drink. They did, and looked at each other in horror as they began to grow younger before their very eyes.
"Wow," Pippin exclaimed. "That was awesome, and Aragorn, you look so different."
The Man in question scowled, and said to Legolas, Beware, I am once again eighteen! Remember the incident with the frozen lake? I feel a sudden urge to see if you're still as gullible!
No no no no no no no no no no no no not happening! If you try that one again I will actually kill you, I will show no mercy! Need I tell about your first visit to my home?
The tables seemed to have turned, Legolas now had the evil gleam in his eyes, and Aragorn was suddenly fearful, shaking his head and saying over and over again, "NO!"
Dumbledore pointed his 'wand' at Legolas, who suddenly froze, his hair cut in a rather cute style, which looked positively dashing with his bright gold hair. "Why did you do that?" Legolas asked, his voice deadly quiet. "It is customary for Elves to have long hair, and I was quite attached to mine."
"You would stand out too much, and people would question your gender, typically." He then turned his wand on Boromir, who ended up with a mullet, but Dumbledore reconsidered when he heard everyone else yell in disgust at the style. "Fine," he muttered, flicking the wand, and changing Boromir's hair to a short, spiky cut. He then turned his wand on Aragorn, who landed with a short, but nice, haircut that suited his wavy dark brown hair. Gimli hadn't taken the potion, and also didn't need a 'proper' haircut, as he wasn't going to be a student.
Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo were allowed to keep their 'Hobbit-cuts' because they were at least similar to the wizards at Hogwarts.
"Excellent! Let's go find Hagrid, and introduce you all! Then we shall go down to Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies, you can use the funding we keep for less wealthy students." Dumbledore rummaged about in one of his numerous cabinets until he pulled out seven identical cloth bags, presumably containing money. He then handed them out, and when Sam opened his to look at a fat, round, Galleon, their theory was proved correct.
"That is a Galleon. The silver are Sickles and the bronze Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon, twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. Simple, really. Now, Portus, there we go, touch the quill on three. One … two … Three!