"Sauronion: Son of Sauron"

By Loki Palmer

Author's Note: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Lord of the Rings and all related characters and languages belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. Arphen Randir belongs to me.

Chapter 12

Arphen brought his entourage to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower.

The portrait of the Fat Lady curtsied upon seeing him. "Welcome home, young prince. I see Lord Potter and his friends are still alive?"

"No thanks are needed, Miranda ... at least, not for me, as much as for Lord Potter and Masters Longbottom and Finnegan. It was the three of them who killed the troll, not me."

Hermione could feel the heat rising in her cheeks – did this young stranger have the nerve to ignore his own accomplishments? "Excuse me, young sir, but erecting a fiery barrier to keep us safe is no small magical feat, and you think you don't deserve ANY thanks?!"

Arphen looked at Harry for support, but Harry shrugged his shoulders. "She does have a point there, you know. You deserve some credit and thanks for the help."

The portrait opened. Arphen breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the common room was empty. Now to find his chambers ...

~SAURONION~

Following his memories of the castle, he found a portrait of an older man with lightning blue eyes.

"Παππε Ζευς, εισοδον εις ταμεια μου αιτω." (Grandfather Zeus, I request entrance into my chambers.)

The older man woke up and looked at him. "Οπλον σου και χειρα σου εν τω τειχω θες." (Place your weapon and your hand in the wall.)

Withdrawing Mjøllnir, he inserted it in a slot provided on the wall. Holding onto it, he put his left hand in the other slot provided and waited for the portrait to identify him.

The portrait of Zeus smiled as he released him. "Well met, my grandson. Who are these with you?"

Pointing them out, Arphen introduced the others, saying, "Lord Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Seamus Finnegan, and Daphne Greengrass. Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my grandfather, Zeus of Olympus."

The eyes of all six people went wide, though Hermione's stood out as the widest in Arphen's eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"I think Your Highness's introduction of me shocked her," said Zeus's portrait with a grin and a wink.

"Παππε, ουτος ου εστιν κωμικος!" (Grandfather, this is not funny!)

Zeus's guess was accurate, because Hermione fainted in the next moment. Harry and Arphen caught her.

Harry looked at Arphen. "Well, let's carry her inside, but you have some explaining to do for us. Legends are springing up all around us, it seems ..."

Arphen gave a chuckle. "The funny thing is, Éomer of Rohan said the same thing when he met your ancestor, Aragorn ..."

"You have met Aragorn?"

"Yes. You carry the same royal bearing about you as he did. Let's talk about this more when Hermione wakes up."

~SAURONION~

Some minutes later, Hermione awoke from her faint to see Harry. "Hi, Harry. I had the oddest dream ... about a troll dying, meeting someone who is the grandson of Zeus ..."

"Hermione, I hate to burst your bubble, but it was not a dream," said Harry. "We were just waiting for you to wake up so he could tell us his story."

"Your reaction was natural, dear Hermione. Most non-Olympians react in the same fashion when they discover us, but there is nothing to fear as long as we are not angry."

"Olympians ... as in the gods and goddesses of Olympus?"

Arphen's face frowned for a brief moment. "Not quite. Are the Olympians more powerful than your average magical person? Yes. Do they have longer lifespans? Yes. Are they gods and goddesses? No. You may as well call the Valar gods and goddesses, but that is a description they reject. The Olympians may be harder to kill, but we can die. I should know; I had a younger sister, Iris, who died by way of Voldemort. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Would it be allright if I started at the beginning of my story?"

The six gathered around him with looks of eager attention. "Please do," said Harry.

"Okay. Who has heard of the multiverse theory?"

Arphen's face showed no surprise when Hermione raised her hand. "The theory that says there may be more than one universe, where events may happen in a different fashion?"

"Yes, that is the idea. First of all, I come from another sector of the multiverse. My birthplace there was Godric's Hollow, England, in the same year as Harry to parents Nikos Herakles Palmer of Olympus and Michaela Torsonn Palmer of Asgard. They were friends of Harry's parents, so, by extension, Harry became one of my friends, so close as to be brothers. He and I also became friends with one of my cousins, Lacey Areia McCarty, daughter of Ares, and one of her friends, by the name of Hermione Granger. My name, in the original Greek, was Πατρικιος Μιχαηλ Παλμερ, although I have also taken the nickname of Loki in other sectors I've visited. When I first visited Middle Earth, I took upon myself a Sindarin translation: Arphen Randir, and that is the name I go by here."

"Who was your mother related to on Asgard?"

"She was the granddaughter of Thor, hence the explanation for why I possess Mjøllnir."

Hermione looked into Arphen's eyes, and she saw the battle that Arphen had waged with a troll for her in his world, and the love that blossomed between them as a result. She also saw an image of herself petrified, and Arphen's thunderous grief consuming him.

"It was during that period of time," she heard him saying in her mind, "that I went on my first visit to Middle Earth with Harry ... but that visit is another story in itself. I will always support Harry, and you, whatever happens."

As Arphen pulled out of Hermione's mind, he could see fresh tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hermione ... please don't cry."

"Arphen, don't feel sorry. It was beautiful to watch." She pulled him down to say in his ear, "Even though you can tell I'm drawn to Harry, we will always be friends, you can be sure of that." She then kissed him on the cheek and beamed at the stunned look on his face.

"Oh, Hermione, hand him over here!" said Luna. She was the next to kiss him on his other cheek. Then Daphne grabbed him and kissed him on the lips.

Arphen was not sure what to think of all of this female attention, but he could not deny his face was blushing to the point of glowing in the dark …

Author's Note: Well, that was a lot of fun. Review, please! We enjoy the reviews so much, don't we, preciousssssss?

Smiles,

Loki Palmer