Chapter 2: Shadows of the Past


"Come now, you blasted son of a Diggory, move your arse! We're nearly there!" a voice intoned as another huffed.

"I would be much quicker if you wouldn't have decided to take the route through the forest! The road would have been just fine!" the other raged in annoyance as the first growled.

"The Wraiths were upon us! My patronus cannot fend them off forever! Taking the road would have led them straight to us and to our destination!" the first shot back as the second growled.

"Well you could have at least shrunk this pack!" the second roared as the first blinked and gained an innocent look.

"Elrond believed it would do you well to carry it from Rivendell. Said it would build your strength. I trust his judgment." the first man said with a chuckle as the second's eye twitched.

"I'm 34 years-old, dammit!" the second roared as he threw down the very large pack from his shoulders, "This isn't funny anymore! I'll get Elrond if it's the last thing I do!"

"You swore that same thing last month, too…" the first deadpanned.

"Shut up, Harry Potter! It's all your fault anyway." the second shouted at the first, Harry Potter, while pointing accusingly, "You were the one who wanted to pass through Rivendell on our way back from Rohan."

"Would you have rather gone through the damp darkness of Moria then, perhaps?" Harry asked as he took his staff up firmly in his hand and stamped it to the ground. The large pack at the second's feet lifted into the air and flew to Harry's hand, shrinking to the size of a mouse as it did.

"No…" the second admitted quietly as Harry chuckled.

"Then it was the all for the best, right?" Harry asked, smirking as his second came up beside him, "Whose the wise wizard, Cedric?"

"Gandalf." the second, Cedric Diggory, answered without a beat, grinning as Harry's eye twitched.

"No. It's me." Harry said as Cedric gawked at him.

"Really? Because you could have fooled me." Cedric said as Harry sighed, "Remember when you landed us in that nest of Orcs and we had to fight our way out?"

"Remember who saved who's arse in that nest of Orcs?" Harry shot back as they began walking through the woods again.

"Remember who conjured a storm for lightning just because he couldn't light the fire?" Cedric asked as he hacked away at the branches in their way with his gleaming sword.

"Remember who got their arse handed to them by Théoden's little girl in his third year of training at Rohan?" Harry replied.

"Remember who nearly drowned themselves while trying to bring water to the drought-ridden fields of Gondor?" Cedric shot back.

"Remember who's arrow bounced off the target and took someone's eye out?" Harry said.

"You said you'd never bring that up again!" Cedric said as he turned back to Harry with a look, "I still can't look the old lady in her good eye even to this day, and that was nine years ago!"

"Well then, perhaps this is a life lesson: man up!" Harry shouted as Cedric gave him a look.

"I'm three years older than you!" Cedric shouted back as Harry shrugged.

"And yet I confront my problems head-on." Harry said as Cedric crossed his arms while Harry walked on ahead.

"Oh, you mean like your crush on both Galadriel and Legolas?" Cedric asked smugly as Harry faltered in his shock.

"You said you'd never bring that up! I didn't know Galadriel was married and that Legolas was a boy the first few times I met him!" Harry defended as Cedric smirked.

"They introduced him as Prince Legolas." Cedric said as Harry huffed.

"I was a bit distracted by his effeminate beauty and beautiful smile." Harry said, sighing happily.

"Plus you're really weak when it comes to pure elf magic." Cedric pointed out, "Which both of them have in great abundance."

"Yes… Though I'm not sure if Galadriel returns my affections for her. I know that Legolas did." Harry said as Cedric snorted in laughter.

"You and elf magics… They'll be the death of you." Cedric said, shaking his head.

"What about your own feelings for Elrond's daughter, Lady Arwen, and the Lord of Rohan's niece, Lady Éowyn? Hmm?" Harry inquired as Cedric's cheeks colored deeply.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Cedric said as they went over a hill.

"Of course you don't." Harry replied dryly.

"Both may be fair and beautiful women, but my true love still waits for me at home; Cho Chang and I shall marry, my Lord." Cedric said, speaking directly to Harry.

"Of course you would." Harry said with a small smile, "I would not have you displeased and I would never stand in the way of such a happy union."

"However…" Cedric said, sensing the part of it coming. Harry sighed as he gazed forward at the road that was so near.

"However… you and I have both spoken to Gandalf. We have both gazed upon the scrolls of Nortel, and tomes of Sharingan." Harry said, sitting down on a tree stomp, "When we return, not if, but when… When we do, it not be the time we left…"

"But you heard Gandalf!" Cedric said quickly, "He said that there was a chance that time there would not pass while we resided here!"

"Gandalf was being extremely optimistic." Harry said wearily, running a hand through his hair, "He cannot go to his Order about this matter, and has only glanced over the things that only a wizard of White can see at their leisure."

"Still, you young men must have hope." an old voice intoned as Harry and Cedric turned to see Gandalf coming down the road, "I could hear you when I arrived, you were quite loud."

"Perhaps…" Harry said, bowing his head with a grin while Cedric and Gandalf chuckled.


"Is it time?" Cedric asked as Gandalf nodded.

"Yes, it is time. They are fast approaching, and it will not be long before they find the Shire with having captured Gollum." Gandalf said mournfully as all three bowed their heads.

"Then let our path be made clear." Harry said calmly as he raised his staff and his other hand, spreading them slowly apart. The trees of the thick wooden forest seemed to move apart and bend out of the way as an arch of them showed a clear path straight to a tiny village in the distance. Gandalf merely chuckled while Cedric shook his head.

"Why didn't you do that before?" Cedric asked, sheathing his sword, "My blade's been getting dull and dirty hacking away at tree branches and shrubs and you could do that all this time?"

"Yes." Harry said, leaning heavily on his staff, "But it takes a great deal for them to part and then move back once we're done. Besides, magic shouldn't be used to solve every problem. Only because we must make haste is the reason I used my power."

"And quite a bit of power it is." Gandalf said as he began walking with the two, "There are many rules and restrictions on we of my Order, but to you… The heavens are the limit, young Harry! Your power grows as mighty as Saruman's own. Especially with those powers from your own world."

"Speaking of which…" Cedric said slowly, suddenly recalling something, "Why didn't you just Apparate us to the village? It would have been quicker. In fact, why didn't we just Apparate from Rohan to here in the first place instead of going through Rohan's Gap, Rivendell, Weathertop, and Bree?"

"Because magic isn't the answer to everything." Gandalf stated firmly with a lingering look on Cedric.

Harry adverted his eyes when Cedric cast him a look. He knew what the Hufflepuff would say now.

"Are you still on the guilt about my not having magic anymore?" Cedric hissed dangerously, "It's been years, Potter! Seventeen years, to be precise! I think we both know that I've learned to live with it; or rather, without it in that amount of time. I think my being alive is a little better than being dead with magic, especially because it wouldn't matter then!"

"Yes, but it's not right of me to just solve everything with my powers." Harry said quietly with his head bowed, "Besides, I don't like flaunting the fact that I have your magic while your stuck without it."

"Yeah, but it's been seventeen years, Harry!" Cedric emphasized, "I've accepted the fact that the only way I can do magic is with magical items. Besides, saving us traveling time and a lot of work isn't exactly flaunting your power."

"Maybe…"

"Besides, if you hadn't taken my magic, I'd be dead." Cedric stated so flatly that Harry flinched at the deadpan tone.

"Yeah…" Harry said.

"By Peter Pettigrew's hand no less." Cedric said as Harry chuckled a bit.

"That hand went into the ritual to revive Voldemort, so no worries there." Harry said, recognizing when Cedric was trying to both cheer him up and make him see sense.

"Now smile and shut up." Cedric said jokingly as Harry did as he was told.


The talk of Bilbo's disappearance from the Shire was still as heated as it was the day they had left those 17 years ago. Some of the hobbits blamed Gandalf, due to the fact that the wizard had disappeared soon after Bilbo with Harry and Cedric in tow with him. Some had blamed Harry and Cedric themselves, mainly due to the fact that they had popped up out of nowhere and had been lodging in Bag End mere days before Bilbo had made his sudden announcement.

Coming into the hobbit village, Harry felt like it was it was his second year at Hogwarts all over again when everywhere he went he saw the stares and glares aimed at him while others whispered to one another. Though he comforted himself with the fact that he wasn't the only one receiving such attention. Gandalf seemed to ignore it with practiced ease, and Cedric was just itching to unsheathe his sword, but the Hufflepuff knew better than to and was greatly restraining himself.

Harry ignored the eyes and the whispers with his mind focused on their reason for even being in the Hobbit village. It was time, the right time. Gandalf and he had finally figured out what the golden ring was all those years ago. The ring that had been the plague of Harry's nightmares almost as much as Voldemort's killing his parents or Cedric having died in front of him in the graveyard. Yes, he still had nightmares every now and then, but he'd never tell Cedric that he still felt guilty about getting the Hufflepuff killed only to have him come back to life with no magic.

Though the dark dreams of the lidless eye, wreathed in flame through a ring of gold were nearly as bad as well…

Just thinking about the ring made Harry grow tense and anxious. He couldn't have that if he wanted to be of any help and use his now vast knowledge, built up over the last 17 years, to assist Gandalf.

Harry nearly chuckled aloud when he remembered his first few weeks after Gandalf had taken them away from Bag Ends. Harry's mind was plagued by the ring and the vision it forced him to witness. He had dove into any and all the teachings that Gandalf and Elrond had given him in the fields of magic and knowledge. He and Cedric had read scrolls and books for study, thinking that if their eyes stayed busy, so would their minds. But they were foolish then, so as soon as they put down a scroll or book, the ring and the flaming eye would appear in their minds and in their vision.

They had soon went to Gandalf about it, and he seemed pleased that they were plagued by the eye in those vision more so than the ring itself. He told them that their fear of the evil which had graced their minds at the time was greater than their greed for the ring.

After that, Gandalf had Harry and Cedric moving from place to place every few years, learning about the world they found themselves in and how to cope with it. With time, their fear of the ring only came within their nightmares of it, but they had learned to deal with those. Having known about magic and some of the scarier parts of it, Harry had comforted himself with the fact that over the years he was growing increasingly more knowledge in magics of both Middle-earth and Hogwarts. Cedric had, after his own training in sword-fighting, horseback-riding, and archery, made time to guide Harry through the years of magic Harry was missing out on. Harry had learned how to Apparate, how to cast non-verbal and wandless spells, and many other things.


"Harry, you're spacing out." Cedric said, snapping his friends in front of Harry's face a Harry blinked.

"Huh? Oh… Right…" Harry said, blinking back his thoughts as they reached Bag Ends.

Harry turned from the door as he gazed out at the Hobbit village. The Shire was truly a peaceful place, it's tranquility felt even in the air as Harry sighed in relaxation. It was altogether was of the more peaceful places in the lands of Middle-earth, but Harry had opted to not returning to it. The hobbits were just not his "people" as they were Gandalf's. Harry much more enjoyed the company of the elves than any other race.

In fact, now that Harry thought about it, there were a quite a few places he didn't go in Middle-earth despite 17 years of travels. He never went to the Tower of Isengard, as Gandalf was growing suspicious of his old friend Saurmon over the years, but still trusted him greatly. Harry had never been in the mines of Moria, though he had felt the darkness of the place and opted not to enter.

He had been to Gondor's ruling capital of Minas Tirith only but once, and frowned as he recalled it. The Steward of Gondor had been pleasant enough, an air of nobility and power around him, but if there was one thing Harry knew was worry. He could see the man was weighed down by his worries for the kingdom he held dear and how best to protect it in dark times that were to come. Harry had seen the man a scant year ago, and could tell he was going mad with worry and heavy with burden. Perhaps the man could-


"Harry! Get in here!" Cedric's voice shouted, jarring Harry from his thoughts once more as Harry took up his staff and was about to enter the house when he paused at the door because of a sudden outburst from who suspected was the young Hobbit, Frodo.

"What are you doing?" Frodo exclaimed as Harry sighed and entered the house. He saw Cedric standing off to the side while Gandalf and Frodo were at the fireplace, a contemplative look on the ancient wizard's face while Cedric's face was clouded as he tried to hide his discomfort around the ring.

"Wait." Gandalf commanded as Frodo jerked his hand back from the fireplace. The old wizard then took up a fire-poker and managed to get the ring onto it before he dropped it into his hand, gazing down at it in a moment of surprise at it's coolness to his palm, "It is quite cool. Here, take it. Hold it up and look closely."

Frodo did as he was commanded, gazing up at the ring in the light, but suddenly his face held a degree of confusion, "I cannot read the fiery letters…" Frodo said, his voice quavering slightly as Harry and Cedric stood together with baited breath.

Had their suspicions been correct? Harry had hoped that when they sat out to the Shire they had been wrong, but now…

"There are few who can read them, three being in this very room." Gandalf responded as Frodo looked up at him, "The letters are Elvish, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which I shall not utter here. But this is, in the common tongue, what is said, close enough: One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them." Gandalf began as Cedric stepped forward.

"One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." Cedric said as Frodo looked to him, and then to Harry as he stepped forward, a curious look on his face as he staff stood proud in his firm grip.

"It is only two lines of a verse long known in Elven-lore." Harry said in a dramatic voice, "Three rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in there halls of stone, Nine for the Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne."

"In the land of Mordor where Shadows lie." Gandalf said gravely, "One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them."

"One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the land of Mordor where shadows lie." the three speakers said in unison before an uncomfortably tense silence followed.

"This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all." Gandalf said, gesturing to the ring in Frodo's palm, "This is the One Ring that the Dark Lord of Mordor lost many ages ago, to the great weakening of his power. He greatly desires it… but he must not get it!"

The room fell silent for a moment as they all stared at Frodo expectantly.

"Umm… shall I get some tea…" Frodo suggested quietly, and then like fire was at his heels, did the young hobbit race from the room.


Cedric chuckled at the little hobbit's reaction, but a stern look from Harry stopped him. Harry understood just how confused and frightened Frodo must have been by all their dramatics and talks about the One Ring. He was sure that Frodo only had the barest understanding of the Rings of Powers and the last War of Middle-earth. The ring was trouble, of that anyone was certain once they gazed upon it for a while. And yet, Harry knew that if he allowed his mind to be idle enough, he would crave the ring, want it to right wrongs, but knew in heart of hearts that the ring was nothing but the physical form of pure destruction and chaos.

"You searched many times over, Gandalf." Harry said suddenly, his pitch-black robes fluttering slightly as he moved toward the fireplace, "Poured over many ancient scrolls, texts, and tomes… when the answer was right under your nose the entire time."

"What is it, Harry?" Gandalf asked as Cedric seemed to echo the question with his expression.

"Strange, isn't it that we should not have seen such things before a year ago?" Harry questioned back slowly, as if reflecting on the question himself, "Unusual, that the answers were hidden in in the smoke which rose from Mount Doom."

"You believe that he has blinded us?" Gandalf asked as Cedric grew tense with all the unsaid implications. If Sauron was able to blind Gandalf for the last 17 years from seeing the truth…

"Not only him." Harry said, turning slightly to glance at Gandalf, "You would think that Saruman would have-"

"Saruman is one just as I and would fight to his last breath against the forces of darkness!" Gandalf shouted thunderously as his eyes flashed dangerous.

"I am not accusing him… just yet." Harry said softly, "I'm merely saying that it is possible. Or, that he could be in a sense of denial. There are many questions that must be answered for."

"And I shall ride to Isengard to ask them myself." Gandalf said firmly with a stern expression, "I have known Saruman for many a years, and I would like to know what has blinded him from the truth as well."

"Gandalf…" Cedric called softly as Gandalf swirled quickly to him, his eyes still flashing, "Harry is not accusing Saruman the White of anything just yet. If he-… If we are wrong, then we will gladly apologize. However… if we are right, then-"

"I will hear no more of this." Gandalf said, rising a hand to silence to the two young men, "I will leave for Isengard as soon as we are done here."

"If that is what you wish." Harry said slowly, his emerald eyes still reflecting the flames of the fire, "However, should any… problems arise, then you know where we ourselves shall be."

"I do." Gandalf said simply, and with that they fell into yet another uncomfortable silence.

Frodo returned with tea and biscuits, setting the tray down on the table in the room and setting the ring next to it. They all took up and cup and sat around, staring at each other in silence while they drank and ate.

"What you all said earlier…" Frodo began quietly, "It's all true… isn't it?"

"Yes, young Baggins, we speak no lies." Gandalf said as Harry sat forward.

"That ring there is the one ring forged by the Dark Lord, Sauron, in the fires of Mount Doom… taken by Isildur, the then King of Gondor, from the hand of Sauron himself." Harry recited as a look of realization flashed across Frodo's face.

"Bilbo found it… in Gollom's cave…" Frodo muttered quietly as he recalled the stories Bilbo used to tell. Gandalf heard the muttering, nodding to the truth of them as he leaned forward to Frodo.

"Yes, andfor sixty years the ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life, delaying old age… but no longer, Frodo." Gandalf said, a grim look overcoming him, "Evil is stirring in Mordor. The ring has awoken. It has heard its master's call."

Everyone paused as if with Gandalf's words, the ring stirred in it's spot as a fleeting low whisper that was like a black screech to their ears emanated from the ring. Frodo looked at Gandalf and then Harry and Cedric, each of the four knowing that the others heard it.

"B-But he was destroyed… Sauron was destroyed!" Frodo said, almost frantically as Gandalf glanced down at the ring on the table between him and Frodo.

"No, Frodo. The spirit of Sauron has endured." Cedric said suddenly, "His life force is bound to the ring and the ring survived. Sauron has returned. His Orcs have multiplied… his fortress of Barad-Dur is rebuilt in the land of Mordor."

"He speaks the truth, young Hobbit." Harry said, eyes glancing periodically to the ring in a grim detachment before he gestured to it, "Sauron needs only this ring to cover all the lands in the second darkness. He is seeking it… seeking it with all his thought is bent on finding it and it to him."

"W-What?" Frodo said before he could stop himself.

"The ring yearns, above all else, to return to the hand of its master." Harry said as he suddenly frowned very deeply at the ring, as though disgusted and fascinated by it's very presence among them, "They are one… the ring and the dark lord."

"Frodo, he must never find out." Gandalf said as suddenly Frodo hopped to his feet, scooping up the Ring.

"Alright!" Frodo said in a panic,hurriedly looking around the living room while thinking fast, "We'll just put it away, we keep it hidden!"

Harry and Cedric looked between themselves in disbelief. The hobbit couldn't possibly be serious…

Could he?

"We never speak of it again. No one know it's here, do they?" Frodo said as he turned to Gandalf, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Do they, Gandalf?"

Gandalf looked at Frodo, sadly. He hadn't wanted to frighten the Hobbit so, but it seemed that his little history lesson had turned into a scare campaign. Gandalf sighed heavily as he prepared to say what he hadn't wanted to.

"There is one other who knew that Bilbo had the Ring…" Gandalf answered slowly, "We looked everywhere for the creature Gollum, but… the enemy found him first."

Harry shuttered as he could practically see Gollum writhing in agony while being tortured by the Orcs in Mordor. He could almost hear the wretched creature's screams of pain.

"We're not sure just how long they tortured him, but… amidst the endless screams and inane babble, they discerned two words." Gandalf said as Harry closed his eyes.

"S-Shire! Baggins!" Gollum had screamed.

Harry shivered.

Harry opened his eyes to see the horrified look on young Frodo's face.

"Shire! Baggins! That will lead them here!" Frodo said, looking around as he was probably thinking the dark knights to be at his door any moment.

"You must take it!" Frodo shouted desperately as he thrust the Ring at Gandalf, "Take it! Take it far from here!"

"Do not tempt me, Frodo Baggins!" Gandalf voice replied equally as desperately, "I dare not take it… even to keep it safe…"

"But why not?" Frodo asked as Cedric and Harry looked away, "Surely you could-"

"Understand this, Frodo Baggins…" Gandalf said solemnly, "I would use this Ring from a desire to do good, but… through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to be imagined."

"But it cannot stay in the Shire!" Frodo shouted, looked scared for not only himself but for the Shire and those within it. Gandalf only nodded in agreement.

"No, no it cannot…" Gandalf said softly, taking out his pipe and rocking slowly in thought.

Frodo clutched the ring tightly in his hand while Cedric and Harry watched him intently. This was the defining moment. This would be the very moment that would set the entire game of thrones into play. The next words from Frodo's soft pink lips would determine whether the world of Middle-earth would fall to the darkness of Sauron, or perhaps be saved by the young Hobbit before them.

"W-What… What must I do?" Frodo asked quietly as Harry smiled gently.

It seemed that the world still had hope, which was something that it would desperately need in the dark days to come…


"We have told Frodo to reach Rivendell, for the ring will be safe there for a while." Gandalf said, recounting the events of earlier as he, Harry, and Cedric stood outside with Gandalf while he smoked. The two younger men never took up the habit regularly, but Cedric seemed to have been worried enough to as he blew a drag of smoke from his mouth, "Frodo is as strong a hobbit as I have ever met but he will not make this journey alone."

Harry and Cedric saw how Gandalf turned to look into Harry's eyes, both younger males knowing exactly what it was that Gandalf wanted, "Will you two help guide him to Rivendell whilst I ride to Isengard?"

"Why?" Harry asked with no emotion playing on his face as he turned to gaze Gandalf equally, "Even in our saddest and darkest of moments, we would be tempted by the ring; you said it yourself. How could you trust us not to take the ring for ourselves and kill the hobbit?"

Gandalf's eyes returned to the gaze over the Hobbit village as he sighed, "Your own grief from things of your world will stay your hand, Harry. Cedric's overwhelming fear of the Eye of Sauron will keep him from it, but you Harry… It may tempt you, but you would never take it. You would resist the call, because the things you want most are beyond even the ring's power and you know this."

Harry said nothing as he gazed down at the Hobbit village himself. The things he wanted most? No, there was no things- what he wanted were people. What he wanted was family, friends, a life like any other person.

Yet, he could not have it. His parents were dead by Voldemort's hand… His friends were back in his world doing Valor knew what in his absence… And a normal life like any other…? He had long since resolved that such a thing was just as impossible to obtain for him as his parents were.

So really, the only thing the ring could tempt him with was a way back home, but… could the ring do that? Harry glanced to Cedric and saw the son of Diggory was deep in thought. The ring would tempt the both of them with a way home, but both had resolved to find their own way back. And they would! It was only a matter of time…

"I worry for him." Gandalf said as he glanced back to the house to see Frodo packing for the journey, "And my mind would rest easy if I knew you two would be accompanying him to Rivendell."

"You shall meet with us in Bree?" Cedric questioned as Gandalf didn't meet his gaze.

"… If all goes well…" Gandalf said quietly.

"Just to Rivendell? No further than that?" Harry asked, mirth evident in his tone as Gandalf chuckled.

"No, no further than that if you don't wish to be involved." Gandalf answered, "After all, this is not truly your war to fight in."

"We've made lives here in Middle-earth." Harry replied casually, "Couldn't have them being uprooted by some few thousand of Orcs, now can we?"

"Not at all, my Lord." Cedric said with a grin as Harry grinned back.

"I will go and tell Frodo then." Gandalf said, putting out his pipe as he stepped back into the house.


"We're doing it again, my Lord." Cedric said as Harry groaned.

"None of that, Cedric. You're part of it as well." Harry said as Cedric grinned at him.

"Yes, but it's your own personal devotion to helping those around you which his infected me, my Lord." Cedric said as Harry groaned again. He hated when Cedric mocked him with that title and calling.

"Stop it." Harry whined, "Besides, you're going along with it all." Harry paused for a moment, then gained an indignant look, "And I do not have a thing for saving people!"

"… Could have fooled me…" Cedric muttered as Harry reached over with his staff as he poked Cedric in the side with the bottom blunt end, "Hey!"

"Blasted son of a Diggory…" Harry muttered.


Both other-worlders turned to the open doorway that Gandalf had left while they watched Gandalf prepare the young Hobbit as though he were going to Hogwarts.

"You'll have to leave the name of Baggins behind you, for that name is not safe outside the Shire." Gandalf said as he helped Frodo into a coat, "You will travel only by day and stay off the road."

"I can cut across country easily enough." Frodo said, thinking aloud as Gandalf gave him a proud look, moved by the young Hobbit's courage and naivety to think that things would be so simple.

"My dear Frodo, Hobbits really are amazing creatures." Gandalf said, "You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you."

Suddenly, all of them heard a sound from outside as Cedric looked to the side, unsheathing his blade as Harry stayed his hand. Harry merely smirked softly as he gestured for Gandalf to take care of it. Harry had already known about the presence, as Gandalf glanced at him.

Gandalf moved quietly towards the window, his eyes wide with tension as he raised his staff above the window, and slammed it down on the intruder.

There came a yelp of pain form the intruder as Harry chuckled softly before using his staff to illuminate the figure in the bushes, showing it to be another young Hobbit. Gandalf looked as though his face would explode while his lips thinned to a tight white line. He seemed to recognize the Hobbit while hauling the small figure into the house and making Harry and Cedric come in and close the door.

Gandalf threw the young Hobbit down to the floor unceremoniously, making the Hobbit sprawl out across the floor. Frodo also seemed to recognize the Hobbit as he quickly rushed to the obvious male and slid to his knees as he embraced him. Both hobbits looked up in terror as Gandalf loomed over them with a furiously stormy look upon his face.

"Confound it all!" Gandalf began angrily as he loomed over the hobbits, "Samwise Gamgee, have you been eavesdropping?"

"I ain't been dropping no eaves, sir! Honest." the young Hobbit, Samwise Gamgee, answered while still in Frodo's embrace, "I was just cutting the grass under the window there, if you follow me-"

"It's a little late in the evening for trimming the hedges, don't you think?" Gandalf said sternly as Sam gulped.

"I heard raised voices…!" Sam said as Gandalf looked surprised and advanced on the two hobbits.

"What did you hear?" Gandalf asked, and Sam wasn't talking fast enough as he stared up at Gandalf in terror, "Speak!"

"Nothing important!" Sam panicked, "That is, I heard a good deal about a ring… and a Dark Lord. And something about the end of the world, but… Please, Mr. Gandalf, sir, don't hurt me! Don't turn me into anything unnatural!"

Harry raised a brow as he exchanged looks with Cedric. They had never seen Gandalf turn anything into anything else. If Gandalf knew Transfiguration, then he hadn't bothered to tell them.

Or rather, hadn't bothered to tell Harry...

"No?" Gandalf said suddenly as Frodo smiled up at Gandalf. Gandalf then suddenly grinned with a twinkle in his eye as Harry slapped his on forehead in exasperation. Whenever Gandalf got that look, there was trouble to be had, "Perhaps not, young Sam. I've just thought of a better use for you…"

No good would come of having two hobbits to deal with. Of that, Harry was sure.


The early morning of the Shire was shrouded in the white mist of the dawning twilight. Gandalf glanced down at the party as he climbed atop his horse and steadied himself. Harry and Cedric stood proudly as men often did while the two Hobbits, Frodo and Sam, seemed to take the parting more emotional, if only vaguely so.

"Is it safe?" Gandalf asked to Frodo, who placed a hand over the pocket the ring was in, "Good." then Gandalf looked up to address them all, "Take care, all of you. The enemy has many spies; of bird, beast, man, and other. Never forget that the ring wants to return to its master. It wants to be found. Remember that, Frodo."

And with that, Gandalf rode off through the trees while the party of four watched him go before starting their own journey.

Frodo followed Harry, who used his staff as a walking stick, and Cedric, who kept a hand gingerly on the hilt of his sword, all the while he and Sam were wondering just what they had gotten themselves into.

If only the young Hobbits had the slightest clue…


So good people whom read this story, please tell me what you think of it. If you have any questions, merely leave them in a REVIEW and I shall try to answer them as best I can.

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