(Author's note: This story is going to be kinda a cross of many different things… Harry Potter, LOTR, and anything else I decide to slap in. This story takes place in the middle of The Order of the Phoenix and after the Journey of the Ring in LOTR. I don't take credit for or own any of the characters except a few that I made up. Enjoy. :D I'm sorry, there isn't much LOTR until the next chapter or two.)
Harry Potter awoke early one morning with a start. Sitting up in his four-poster bed, he rubbed the scar on his forehead sleepily. It was very early in the morning, for Harry could barely see in the dim twilight. Squinting around the room, he could barely make out the outlines of other four-poster beds around him. Taking a closer look at one of the dark shapes, he could now see Ron Weasley's face, content and asleep, snoring loudly. Harry gave a sigh of relief. That must have been what woke him…
The fifteen-year-old boy jumped a bit when the dark sleeping figure of his best friend stirred and mumbled, as if he knew someone had been staring at him. Heaving another sigh of embarrassed relief, Harry turned to one of the other figures. Brow furrowed, he could make out the features of Dean Thomas, one of his other friends. Dean appeared to be having a dream of some sort, as his face looked troubled and his eyes were squinted slightly.
Harry stood and walked slowly and carefully over to the large window. The Sun was creeping up over the horizon, casting an unnatural orangey glow on the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. Harry gazed at it absent-mindedly for a while, remembering the many adventures that had taken place there. The only thing that broke his gaze was a single wooden arrow shooting up from the canopies. It seemed to break the morning's light, as the sun glinted off of it, making Harry squint. He stared out at the forest for a moment longer, wondering what on Earth it could be he'd just saw.
Shaking his head slightly, he placed his mind on other things. He'd suddenly remembered the report on the importance of Direction-Following that Professor Umbridge, the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, had given him. He grunted a bit in frustration as the toad-like woman's smirking image flooded his mind. Shaking his head again to rid himself of the terrible picture, he picked up his unfinished report off his nightstand, and descended the stairs as quietly as he could.
As he rounded the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room, he was not too surprised to find one of his best friends, Hermione Granger, sitting in a large sagging sofa near the fireplace. She appeared to be weaving something, and Harry assumed that it was another of her little hats. 'She's been taking this SPEW thingy way too seriously lately…' Thought Harry as he made his way to the common room table.
" Good morning, Harry," Hermione had spoken to him without looking up from her work before he'd even reached the table.
" I half expected you to be working on your report for Umbridge… or have you finished it?" Harry eyed Hermione sarcastically for a moment as he reclined on the scarlet sofa beside her, which sunk pathetically beneath his weight. When she didn't respond, he continued. " Haven't started on mine yet."
" Me neither." She spoke again without looking up from her weaving, and Harry emitted a pretend gasp of shock. " Don't plan on it 'till tonight."
Harry sat dumbstruck for a moment. What was wrong with her? She didn't seem to care as much as she used to about schoolwork… Perhaps it was because she despised the old fart of a teacher they had? He decided not to continue with the subject, but instead work on his report.
" Today you will be working on Advanced Object-Making Spells," Professor McGonagall announced to her Transfiguration class, eyeing Neville Longbottom with a grim smirk. "The spell words are written on the board," she continued, waving her wand at the large board. The words 'Objectus Flobbocharlius Alpha' appeared in ghostly white writing on the board as she flicked her wand and continued. " I will now demonstrate…"
McGonagall flicked her wand briskly at an earthworm that was lying on her desk and repeated the words. The class watched, amazed, as the earthworm swelled up to about ten times its size, and took the shape of a purple cardboard box. The box sizzled a bit at having reached its full shape, and McGonagall smirked again at Neville, whose mouth had fallen open in amazement.
The scattered expressions of 'Objectus Flobbocharlius Alpha' filled the room as the students tried out their newfound spell. Harry was quite pleased to see his earthworm assume the form of a cardboard box, though its color remained the orangey brown of the earthworm. 'At least I got it to change a little', Harry thought as he looked over at Ron's project. Ron's earthworm had swollen up to ten times its usual size, but had remained a worm, and was now wriggling on his lap. Casting a glance over to Hermione's table, he was not surprised to see a large purple box sitting on the wooden, aged desk. He didn't even dare to look over at Neville's table, but when he did, he saw that the worm hadn't changed a bit. Sighing, he picked up the box, which wriggled slightly in his arms, and made his way up to the professor's desk.
Harry climbed the old, stone steps beside Hermione and Ron. His two friends had been arguing about S.P.E.W again, like they usually did when they couldn't find anything else to talk about. Harry had ignored the matter, and had broken off from the line after his friends had turned down the corridor to the Great Hall. Harry had decided to skip lunch today, and work on his report. He climbed the steps to the library, sighing a bit, his parchment and quills in hand.
As he rounded the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks, dropping his parchment and quill. He stood dumbstruck, before coming to his senses and bending down to pick up his things. He'd been startled, and he felt very embarrassed, which was why his ears were a bright reddish color. Looking up at the person who'd startled him, he stared in wonder.
A few feet before him stood a short man, with a thick braided beard and grim face. He was coated in layers of thick armor, and wore a bronze helm on his seemingly oversized head. As Harry straightened himself, he found that this little man was a good three feet shorter than him, and was looking up at him expectantly. Strapped to his back was a large, silver battle-axe.
" Ya better watch where yer goin'!" Shouted the little guy with angered enthusiasm. Harry just stood and stared.
" What ya looking at? Never seen a Dwarf before?"
The little man's face was now red hot with frustration at Harry's silence. He'd opened his mouth again, but no words came out. He swiveled around briskly to find that Harry hadn't been staring at him, but he was staring at a huge, orange creature. The creature looked like a shark, but it had the legs of a chicken and had a large mohawk on its head.
Harry instinctively whipped out his wand at the exact same time that the Dwarf had whipped out his axe. Both stood poised, like cobras ready to strike. Deciding to make the first move, Harry stepped before the Dwarf and waved his wand briskly in the creature's direction, dropping his things once again. Words escaped his mouth as he uttered the first thing that came to mind.
'Objectus Flobbocharlius Alpha…'