((Sorry this chapter took a bit longer to write. I've been very, very busy. Please Read and Review!))


Chapter 3: Rivendell or Bust

Harry didn't know how long he had ridden. His entire world was the pounding of hooves and the stinging whip of branches as they passed too close, and Frodo gasping weakly every time they hit a bump. Suddenly, the air seemed to grow cold. Harry looked wildly around. He found that without warning, eight Wraiths had intercepted them and were fast on their heels. He screamed and tried to spur the poor horse on to even faster speeds. Asfaloth suddenly turned into a patch of woods and began circling trees, throwing the Wraiths off and sowing confusion. When they were sufficiently discombobulated, he took back off towards a river that Harry could just see through the trees. Suddenly, another Wraith stepped out right in front of them, but Asfaloth took a tremendous leap and sailed right over his head. When they reached the far side of the river, Harry drew his wand and pointed it at the creatures who were gathering on the opposite shore. "Get back! Go back to Mordor or wherever you came from and leave him in peace!"

"Give up the Halfling, whelp!" hissed the lead Wraith.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry shouted. The silver stag flew from his wand, but at the same moment, the Wraith began making a sound, like it was trying to suck in air. Harry's vision suddenly began to swim. He heard voices, starting out dim and growing progressively louder. The Stag faded away as he lost his concentration.

"Not Harry! Please not Harry!"

"Stand aside you silly girl."

"Not Harry! Please, no! Take me! Kill me instead!

"Stand aside now!"

"Not Harry! Please...have mercy...AHHHHHH!"

Harry tried to fight it. He tried to raise his wand up. "Expecto...Expecto..." He fell from the saddle and landed hard on the ground. "I'm sorry Frodo...I'm so sorry..." he whispered. He dimly saw the Wraiths riding out into the river. It barely registered when a loud roar followed by a huge wave swept the Wraiths away.

Darkness then took him and he knew no more.


"Harry, lasto beth nîn. Tolo dan nan galad." The voice was very strange, and yet at the same time, like hearing an old friend. Harry opened his eyes and found himself looking up at a man who appeared young until you looked into his eyes. It was then that you began to get a sense of how immeasurably old he was.

"Who are you?" he asked weakly.

The man smiled. "My name is Elrond. You are in Rivendell, my home and a refuge from evil, at least for the time being."

Harry sat up with some effort. "What...What happened?" he asked.

"Do you not remember?" asked Elrond.

Harry strained to think of all that had happened since that strange detention which seemed so long ago. "I remember riding...And the Dementors or Wraiths or whatever they are chased me. Then...Then I heard my mother..."

Elrond smiled again. "That is good. You remember much. That is more than can be said of many who suffer the Black Breath. To fill in the gaps, after the Witch King attacked you, you fell off your horse and fell unconscious. Believing that you were dead, the Nazgul came for Frodo and the Ring. That is when we sprung our trap. As soon as all nine were in the river, I called the Loudwater and it answered my call. Swift is the water which flows down from the Misty Mountains. The Nine have been deprived of their mounts and their solid forms."

"So they're dead then?"

Elrond sighed. "I am afraid not, Harry. They have been greatly diminished, but they will return now to their dark master and will be given form again."

Harry allowed himself to sink back into the warm comfort of the bed, but he immediately sat up again. "Frodo and he others, are they-"

"Relax, Mr. Potter. They are fine. You got Frodo here just in time. He is resting now. The others are also well. I just sent Strider and Mr. Malfoy off to get some rest. They have stayed by your side since they arrived."

This news shocked Harry very much. This was the last thing he ever expected of Malfoy. "Am I well enough to get up for a bit?" he asked.

Elrond shrugged. "Only if you feel well enough. But do not tire yourself out. You have gone through a terrible ordeal and your body still needs time to recover."

Harry found Frodo's room and entered, expecting to find the Hobbits keeping vigil. Instead, he found only an old man in tatty grey robes sitting in a chair next to the bed, smoking a long wooden pipe. The man looked up at Harry. "Ah. You must be Harry Potter, the one I have heard so much about. I am Gandalf."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you from Frodo."

Gandalf peered at him, his eyes sparkling underneath his bushy grey eyebrows. Harry shifted in his seat, having the same slightly uncomfortable feeling that he was being x-rayed that he got sometimes from Professor Dumbledore. "Hmm..." Gandalf said after a time. "Aragorn was right. You have a mysterious power about you. We will have much to discuss later as soon as Mr. Malfoy awakens."

Harry was about to ask who Aragorn was, but at that moment, Frodo stirred and let out a small groan. "Where am I? What time is it?" he muttered.

Gandalf smiled. "You are in the house of Elrond. And it is ten-o-clock in the morning on October the twenty-fourth if you want to know."

Frodo's eyes fluttered open. "Gandalf! Harry!"

Harry smiled down at him, glad to see him awake.

"Yes, we are here." said Gandalf. "And you are lucky to be here after all the absurd things you have done since leaving home. A few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid. But you have some strength in you, my dear Hobbit."

Frodo smiled. "I'm glad to see you're alright, Harry. I remember you falling off the Horse and I was afraid the Wraiths had killed you."

Harry smirked wryly. "It'd take more than that to do me in."

Frodo smiled, but then looked back at Gandalf. "What happened, Gandalf? Why didn't you meet us?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Frodo..." the Wizard looked as if he were trying to choose the right words. "I was...delayed." Harry saw a distant look in his eyes and could tell that he was remembering something painful.

But Gandalf was spared from further questioning by a delighted voice calling, "Mr. Frodo! Bless you, you're awake!"

Gandalf's smile returned. "Sam has hardly left your side."

"We were that worried about you, weren't we Mr. Gandalf?" said the Hobbit.

Another entered the room after Sam. "By the skills of Lord Elrond, you are beginning to mend."

Elrond smiled down at Frodo. "Welcome to Rivendell, Frodo Baggins."

Harry decided to let Frodo rest. Well...rest as well as he could with Sam worrying over him like a mother hen. He walked down the Hall towards the kitchens where he was told he could get a bite to eat. A door opened ahead and he nearly collided with a very sleepy-looking Malfoy. "Watch where you're going, Harry." he grumbled.

Harry smiled inwardly. He had just called him 'Harry' instead of 'Potter' or 'Scar-Head.'

"Sorry about that. I heard you were worried about me."

Malfoy's face turned slightly red. "Of course I wasn't worried, Scar-Head." he sneered. "I just didn't want to get stuck by myself in this god-forsaken world, all because you get all weak in the knees every time a Dementor comes around. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Strider."

"Nobody's stopping you." said Harry, stepping aside. Draco started past him, but before he did, Harry stopped him. "Draco, wait."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "What?"

Harry grinned. "Your hair is sticking up everywhere."


They rested in Rivendell over the next days. Harry didn't know what it was about the place, but he awoke every day feeling more content than he ever had even at Hogwarts. But still, he was sad. So many times, he would see something amazing and instantly mark it in his mind, briefly forgetting that Ron and Hermione weren't there to tell about it. He knew that they must be worried sick about him. Likely, they thought he had been captured or even killed by Voldemort. Harry knew that Dumbledore probably had the entire Order of the Phoenix out looking for him. He also knew that the Daily Prophet must have been having a field-day with this one.

But still, there were plenty of things to distract him from his sadness.

The first of these came one day when he was awoken one morning by the most horrifying scream he had ever heard in his life. He opened his door and ran outside. At the same time, Malfoy burst from his room. Despite the fact that he looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him, nothing could stop the torrent of laughter which welled up within him at the sight of his old arch-nemesis.

His hair, his beautiful platinum blonde hair was now a very delightful shade of Purple.

Malfoy's head whipped around when he heard Harry laughing. He was ready to curse him into next month, but even in his current predicament, couldn't stop his own torrent of laughter. While his hair was purple, Harry's was quite utterly green.

"What are you laughing at, Malfoy?" asked Harry.

Malfoy went into his room and came back with a hand-mirror. Harry's laughter immediately ceased when he saw his own hair.

"Who in the hell did this!" he asked, enraged.

By then, Elrond had arrived. He was about to ask what was wrong with them, but then he saw their hair. He growled something that sounded like an Elvish oath and then shouted "ELLADAN! ELROHIR!"

Two identical, raven-haired Elves popped around the corner. "You bellowed, father?" they both said in unison.

Elrond stalked towards them. "How dare you treat guests in this manner!"

The twins looked highly offended. "Father, what makes you think that we, your beloved sons, are responsible?" asked Elladan.

Elrohir nodded. "'Dan is right. Just because we put honey in Glorfindel's bed..."

"...and put one of Mithrandir's fire-cracker's in Estel's lavatory..."

"...and then put a frog in Mithrandir's hat..."

"...that doesn't mean we are responsible for Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy's current condition."

"Although if it had been us..."

"...it would have been quite clever, wouldn't it?"

Harry leaned over to Draco. "Do they remind you of anyone we know?"

Draco gritted his teeth, remembering the many cruel pranks that he had suffered at the hands of the Weasley twins, Fred and George. "Too much. They seem to like laughter, Potter. What do you say we give them something to laugh about?"

Harry and Draco took out their wands and pointed them at the twins. "Rictusempra!" they both shouted. Two blasts of magic hit Elladan and Elrohir, sending them flying backwards. They both landed with dull thuds.

Elrond whirled on the two wizards. "What did you do to them?"

Harry grinned. "Oh, you'll see."

Suddenly, peals of laughter erupted from the twins. Elrond turned back to them. Both lay on the ground giggling uncontrollably. Elrond looked concerned for a moment, but then a slow smile spread across his face.

"It's called the tickling charm." said Harry. "It'll wear off in a few hours."

"Or at least it's supposed to. We've never tried it on Elves" said Malfoy.

The twins got up and ran for their rooms. "I hope...HAHAHAHA!...I hope you...HAHAHA!...know this means war!...HAHAHAHAHA!" they shouted through their laughter.

Word quickly got around that the two visitors had beaten Rivendell's twin terrors. This caused Harry and Draco to receive the same kind of praise from the Elves that a hero who slays a tyrant king gets from the liberated people. Though no more pranks came within the next few days, Harry and Draco knew that only meant whatever did come would be truly awful.


Harry and Frodo strolled around Rivendell, taking in all the sights. It had been a week, and still, the wonder of the place had not faded. Occasionally, a beautiful voice that could never be made by a human would rise in song, and they would stop and listen until it faded. Harry felt a strange kinship with Frodo. Somehow, he thought that of everyone he had ever met, Frodo was somehow the only one who understood the kind of burden he carried.

Frodo glanced over towards a balcony where he saw Sam, muttering to himself and gathering their belongings.

Harry smiled. "Packed already, Sam?"

Sam jumped up and his face turned red. "No harm in bein' prepared. Mr. Harry."

"I thought you wanted to see the Elves more than anything." said Frodo.

Sam shrugged. "I did...And Rivendell is a wonderful place...But we did what Gandalf wanted, didn't we? We got the Ring here to Lord Elrond. And I thought...y'know...Seein' as how you're on the mend, we'd be off soon. Off home."

Frodo smiled wistfully. "You're right, Sam. We did what we set out to do. The Ring will be safe here in Rivendell. And I am ready to go home."


Elrond stood up in his study with Gandalf, watching Harry and the Hobbits talking.

"His strength returns." noted Elrond.

Gandalf nodded. "Though his wound will never fully heal. He will carry it the rest of his life."

Elrond went to pour himself a drink. "And yet to have come so far, still bearing the Ring? The Hobbit has shown extraordinary resilience to its evil."

Gandalf saw where the Elf Lord was going with this train of thought. "It is a burden he should never have had to bear. We can ask no more of Frodo."

Elrond sighed and set his glass down. "Gandalf, the Enemy is moving. His Eye is fixed on Rivendell. And Saruman, you tell me, has betrayed us? Our list of allies grows thin."

Gandalf took a deep breath. He hadn't yet told Elrond the worst of it. "His treachery runs deeper than you know. By foul craft, Saruman has crossed Orcs with Goblin Men. He's breeding an army in the caverns of Isengard. An army that can move in sunlight and cover great distances with seed. Saruman is coming for the Ring."

Elrond's eyes widened at this news. "This evil cannot be concealed by the power of the Elves!" he snapped. "We do not have the strength to fight both Mordor and Isengard." Gandalf leaned on the railing and gazed out over Rivendell. He had suspected this would be Elrond's answer. "Gandalf, the Ring cannot stay here. This peril belongs to all Middle Earth. They must decide now how to end it. My people are leaving these shores. Who will you look to when we've gone? The Dwarves? They hide in their mountains seeking riches. They care nothing for the troubles of others."

Gandalf straightened. "It is Men that we must place our hope."

"Men?" scoffed Elrond. "Men are weak. The Blood of Numenor is all but spent, it's pride and dignity forgotten. Do you forget? I was there, Gandalf. I was there three-thousand years ago when Isildur took the Ring from Sauron's hand. It should have ended that day. But instead of destroying it, he claimed the Ring as his own. Evil was allowed to endure. The line of Kings was broken. There is no strength left in the World of Men. They are scattered, divided, leaderless."

"There is one who could unite them." said Gandalf. "One who could reclaim the Throne of Gondor."

Elrond sighed sadly. "He turned from that path long ago. He has chosen exile."

"But it does not have to stay that way. Speak to him. You are the only father he has ever known. He will listen to you."

"I will try, Gandalf. But Aragorn is very stubborn. Once he sets his mind, little can change it. But this still leaves us with the matter of the Ring. What is to be done?"

Gandalf thought for a moment. "Since, as you said, this peril belongs to all Middle Earth, we should call a Council of the Free Peoples. They deserve to know. Send out riders to Denethor in Gondor, Thranduil in Mirkwood and Dain in Erebor. Frodo and Bilbo will serve as representatives for the Hobbits. Invite the wisest and the strongest of the Elf Lords here as well. And, I believe Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy should come as well."

Elrond looked confused. "Why them? They are children and they do not even seem to be of Middle Earth."

"They arrived right at this time, when Sauron has again grown strong. They just so happened to Meet Frodo on the road." argued Gandalf. "I do not believe in coincidence. By someone's design, their fates are now intertwined with those of Frodo and the Ring."

Elrond let out an exasperated sigh. "Very well. They will attend. However, I feel a disruption that may come down this path. Good or ill, I do not know. But I am quite certain that this was not meant to happen."