((Well, everyone's been asking how I am able to update so fast, so I'll let you in on my secret. I write two chapters at a time. It's not hard at all, and it's usually by accident. I'll be writting, and I'll get a wee bit type-happy and before I know it, I have written twelve pages. "Probably best to split them up." I think. And then, I have to send the now seperated chapters to counciling for seperation anxiety, and it's a complete mess. Oh, could you all do me a huge fave? I've been trying to decide whether or not to make this slash. On the up side, it's Draco and Harry, every fangirl's dream. BUT, according to my brother, it could make it too complicated and could turn off alot of readers. But, I think that might just be my brother being a standard homophobe guy, (and really, what little sister ever REALLY listens to their brother) so I'll ask you all what you think. Let me know in your next reviews please!))
((I still don't own Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings.))
Aragorn was silent and grim as they traveled the next day.
Eowyn had tried to engage him in conversation sever times without much success.
"Where is she?" she asked at one point. Aragorn glanced at her. "The woman who gave you that jewel." she clarified.
Aragorn smiled sadly. "She is sailing to the Undying Lands with all that is left of her kin."
Eowyn nodded sympathetically, but Aragorn could not miss the slight gleam in her eyes. Draco's words came floating back to him. "She has it bad for you."
Up ahead, Harry also walked in silence.
"What's eating you?" asked Draco.
Harry glanced up. "What makes you think something is?"
"You've been withdrawn since we talked to Aragorn. What's up?"
Harry sighed. "I know you didn't know, but Aragorn is in love with Arwen. Has been for years."
Draco thought for a moment. "Wait...You mean Arwen, Elrond's daughter?"
Harry nodded. "I saw something the night before we set out." He related to Draco what he had witnessed by Gilraen's Memorial.
"So, Aragorn told her to leave just because of Elrond?" asked Draco. "The prat!"
They looked up suddenly. Hama and another soldier named Gamling were riding out of the formation and up over a hill. Legolas followed them.
A few moments later, a scream split the air followed by the sounds of growling and steel clashing against steel.
Aragorn dashed up the hill to see what was going on.
They saw Legolas draw and fire two arrows.
"A scout!" shouted the Elf.
"What is it, what do you see?" asked Theoden as he rode up.
"Wargs!" shouted Aragorn. "We're under attack!"
The villagers erupted into pandemonium.
"All Riders to the head of the column!" ordered Theoden.
Harry and Draco leapt onto Hrothgar and Wulfga and galloped up to where the Riders were assembling. They passed Boromir trying to lift Gimli up onto Arod as the Dwarf shouted, "Get me up there, lad! I'm a Rider!"
Theoden rode up to Eowyn preparing to mount her horse. "You must lead the people to Helm's Deep." he said.
"I can fight!" she argued.
"No!" shouted Theoden. "I already lost Eomer and Theodred. I could not live if I lost you as well. You must do this...for me."
Eowyn nodded resignedly and began directing the people to the lower grounds.
"Follow me!" Shouted Theoden.
The Riders spurred their horses and followed the King.
Legolas stood on the crest of the hill, firing arrows at a spectacular distance and hitting his targets every time. As Gimli galloped past on Arod, the Elf grabbed hold of the Horse and swung himself on.
Show off. thought Harry.
The Wargs were getting closer at an alarming rate.
Theoden sounded the charge.
Harry and Draco braced themselves as the two forces slammed into one another.
Both wizards were kept busy firing spells and crossing blades with Orcs.
Harry stabbed a Warg through the mouth and then sent an Orc flying with a well-placed banishing charm.
The battle lasted less than fifteen minutes before the decimated ranks of Orcs and Wargs retreated.
Harry looked around. Men, Horses, Orcs and Wargs were strewn everywhere, dead or dying.
He looked around for his companions. He saw Boromir and Legolas speaking with Gamling a short ways away. Draco was nursing a nasty-looking cut on his arm, but looked otherwise fine.
He could not see Gimli, but he followed the sound of Dwarvish cursing to where he lay trapped under the piled corpses of two Wargs and an Orc.
"Gimli, how did you get in this ridiculous position?" he asked.
"Please, do not ask." the Dwarf grunted. "Just help me move these."
Harry laughed and pointed his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa."
The corpses lifted high enough for Gimli to crawl out.
The Dwarf wasted no time in finding a still growling Warg to kill.
Suddenly, they heard Legolas call, "Aragorn!"
Harry looked around. He had nearly forgotten him. But nowhere did he see the Ranger.
"Aragorn?" called Gimli uncertainly.
A gurgling laugh drew their attention. They converged on an Orc who was coughing up blood, but still laughing manically. Gimli put his axe up to the creature's neck.
"Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing."
"He's...dead!" it gasped. "Took a little tumble off the cliff!"
"You lie!" hissed Boromir, grabbing the shoulders..
The creature laughed once more and died.
Harry spotted something shining in the Creature's hand. He pried it out and his heart leapt into his throat. He handed it to Legolas. The Elf stared down at the Evenstar pendant, saying nothing.
The Fellowship ran over to where Theoden was staring down a high cliff, at the bottom of which lay jagged rocks and a rushing river.
Nobody said it, but they all thought the same thing. Nothing could have survived that fall.
"Get the wounded on horses," ordered Theoden to Gamling. "The Wolves of Isengard will return...Leave the dead."
Legolas's head shot up and he stared Theoden in the eye. He wanted to argue. He wanted to say that Aragorn wasn't dead. They all did. But they knew this wasn't the case.
"Come." said Theoden sadly.
After a few minutes, they left the cliff. Nobody spoke.
Legolas numbly helped a wounded soldier onto Arod's back. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a horse whinnying furiously.
He turned to find three men attempting to control Brego who was rearing up and would let nobody handle him. Legolas walked over.
"That horse is half-mad, sir." said a soldier. "There's nothing you can do. Leave him!"
Legolas took the horse's reigns from one of the men and began speaking softly in Elvish. Brego stopped rearing and looked at Legolas, though he kept jerking his head as if he wanted to escape. Legolas took his head gently and removed his saddle and harness. He instantly took off galloping. One of the soldiers tried to go after him, but Legolas stopped him.
"Let him go." he said sadly. "He has seen enough of war."
Eowyn walked through the gates of Helm's Deep gladly. The entire caravan had made it to the fortress, and it appeared that a large gathering of peasants and soldiers from across Rohan was there already. She was happy to see Eothain and Freda, the children who had ridden to Edoras to raise the alarm, embracing a woman who had to be their mother.
She moved on to an area where people were sorting food.
"Where is the rest?" she asked.
"This was all we could save, my lady." said a man.
She sighed. There was barely enough to last the number of people they had a few days.
"Take it to the caves." she said.
"Make way for the King!" shouted a soldier. "Make way for Theoden!"
She ran to the courtyard where Theoden and a shockingly small number of men, most of whom were injured, were dismounting.
"So few..." she said. "So few of you have returned."
Theoden nodded grimly. "Our people are safe, but we have paid for it with many lives."
Something about the way he had said that and the look in his eyes alarmed her.
"Eowyn..." said a voice behind her. She turned to find Harry and Gimli approaching.
Their faces told her what she already knew, but she had to ask.
"Lord Aragorn...Where is he?"
Harry's green eyes filled with tears and he lowered his head.
"He fell." said Gimli with his voice cracking.
Eowyn gasped. She looked up at Theoden who would not quite meet her eyes.
She sat down hard and cried until her tears ran dry.
The remaining Fellowship followed Theoden as he issued orders to the troops.
"Draw all our forces behind the wall." he ordered. "Bar the gate and set a watch on the surround."
"What of those who cannot fight, my Lord?" asked Gamling. "The women and children."
"Take them into the Caves. Saruman's arm will have grown long indeed if he thinks he can reach us here!"
They left the wall and made for the Keep. But as they did, Harry noticed the small culvert at the base of the wall.
"King Theoden sir, this should be blocked up." he said.
The King shook his head. "No. There is a grate. They cannot get through there."
Harry sighed, but Theoden's tone told him that no matter what he said, he would just end up with another "I'm the king and you're not." answer, so he let the matter rest.
Miles away, wicked irony was laughing at the defenders of Helm's deep.
"Helm's Deep has one weakness." Wormtongue was telling Saruman. "It's outer walls are solid rock, but for a small culvert at its base, which is little more than a drain, but it is blocked by a metal grate so that no enemies can enter it."
Saruman picked up a jar of what appeared to be black pebbles. "I do not seek to enter it. I seek to set the Fires of Isengard beneath it." he poured the contents of the jar into a large metal vessel.
"How?" asked Wormtongue, leaning down towards the vessel with a candle. "How can fire undo stone? What kind of device could bring down the wall?"
Saruman saw the candle and quickly grabbed Wormtongue's arm, thrusting him away.
"If the wall is breached, Helm's Deep will fall." he said, purposely ignoring Wormtongue's question. He walked out to the main chamber and walked towards the door to the balcony.
"Even if it is breached, it will take a number beyond reckoning, thousands, to storm the keep."
"Tens of thousands." said Saruman.
"But my Lord, there is no such force-" a loud horn blast cut him off. They had reached the balcony. He was so shocked at the sight which greeted him that he forgot to close his mouth. All of Isengard was filled with a sea of spears. Thousands and thousands of Uruk Hai waited eagerly below, howling in Black Speech or just howling.
Saruman raised a hand to quiet them. "A new power is rising! It's victory is at hand!" More cheers and howls. Saruman quieted them again. "This night, the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan! March to Helm's Deep! Leave none alive! To war!"
The Uruks went crazy and ths time, Saruman did not calm them.
"There will be no dawn," he said, "for men."
A battered shape floated down the river, not moving. It was, in fact, a man, albeit, a man who by all accounts should have been dead. He drifted lazily towards the shore. He lapsed every once-in-a-while in and out of consciousness. During one of these times, he saw above him, the face of one who could not possibly be there.
"Arwen..." he whispered. She smiled and kissed him gently.
May the Grace of the Valar protect you...
Aragorn awoke and his first thought was, Ow. He had been kicked several times by an Orc, dragged across rocky ground by a Warg and finally, thrown over a cliff to hit the water fifty feet below. Needless to say, he was in pain. He closed his eyes, wanting to escape again into unconsciousness. But something wet touched his face. Arwen? he thought. But then, he heard an irritated whinny and something nudged him in the side. He opened his eyes. The mournful eyes of a horse stared down at him. "Brego..." he whispered. The horse whinnied again and kneeled down for him. Aragorn got up painfully and climbed onto Brego's back, not caring where the Horse took him.
Arwen smiled. She felt Aragorn's life-force grow stronger. He would be fine.
"Arwen..." said a voice. She sat up. Elrond stood in her doorway. "Tollen i lû. I chair gwannar na Valannor. Si bado, no círar." (It is time. The ships are leaving for Valinor. Go now... before it is too late.)
"I have made my choice." she said.
"He is not coming back." insisted Elrond. "Why do you linger here when there is no hope?"
"There is still hope." she said.
Elrond sighed and went over to the window and stared out. "If Aragorn survives this war, you will still be parted. If Sauron is defeated, and Aragorn made king and all that you hope for comes true, you will still have to taste the bitterness of mortality. Whether by the sword or the slow decay of time, Aragorn will die."
A vision suddenly came to her. She saw herself in a black dress, standing by a pedestal where an elderly Aragorn lay. He was obviously dead. Mourners were filing out, but she would not move.
Elrond's voice came in, disembodied. " And there will be no comfort for you. No comfort to ease the pain of his passing. He will come to death, an image of the splendor of the kings of men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world."
The mourners vanished and Arwen saw that a stone monument had replaced the real Aragorn. Leaves littered the ground, and she stood at the foot of the monument, still in black and with a veil covering her face.
"But you, my daughter, you will linger on in darkness and in doubt. As nightfall in winter that comes without a star."
Again the vision changed and she saw herself in Lothlorien, though the leaves had all fallen from the trees and the light of the Elves was gone.
"Here you will dwell, bound to your grief, under the fading trees, until all the world is changed and the long years of your life are utterly spent."
The vision ended and Arwen sobbed with grief.
"There is nothing for you here." said Elrond. "Only death." He sat down beside her. "A im, ú-'erin veleth lîn?" (Do I not also have your love?)
She looked into his sad eyes. "Gerich veleth nîn, ada." (You have my love, father)
Elrond watched the population of Rivendell slowly walk out of the front gates. For now, the only ones who remained were himself, Eledan, Elrohir, Glorfindel and Bilbo the Hobbit. He saw Arwen turn back to him once more before also leaving.
I amar prestar aen... han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith. (The world has changed... I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it in the air.)
The voice of Galadriel filled his mind. He knew that she would be watching to see what her granddaughter would do.
The power of the enemy is growing. Sauron will use his puppet Saruman to destroy the people of Rohan. Isengard has been unleashed.
Elrond saw brief flashes of the treacherous Wizard standing over a Palantír and of a huge army marching across Rohan.
This battle will test the mettle of the Fellowship greater than any task they have faced thus far. Will Aragorn rise to the task of leading Men into battle? Will Legolas and Gimli overcome their mistrust of the race? Will Boromir stand strong to defend Gondor's allies? And will Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy stand for a world that is not even their own?
Elrond saw each of the members of the Fellowship as Galadriel named them.
The eye of Sauron now turns to Gondor, the last free kingdom of men. His war on this country will come swiftly.
Elrond now saw a dark shadow overtaking the ruined city of Osgiliath.
He senses the Ring is close. The strength of the Ringbearer is failing. In his heart, Frodo begins to understand. The quest will claim his life. You know this. You have foreseen it. It is the risk we all took. In the gathering dark, the will of the Ring grows strong. It works hard now to find its way back into the hands of men.
A vision of Frodo and Sam, blindfolded and being led by a company of Men, now came to him. One, with dirty-blond hair and a face very similar to Boromir's led the group.
Men, who are so easily seduced by its power. The young captain of Gondor has but to extend his hands, take the Ring for his own and the world will fall. It is close now, so close to achieving its goal.
Elrond walked to his library. He gazed at the painting of Isildur's battle with Sauron, remembering that day very clearly.
Do we leave Middle-earth to its fate? asked Galadriel. Do we let them stand alone?
No. Elrond "said" to her. We cannot. If we do not trust in the strength of Men, we trust in the victory of Sauron.
He went to Eledan and Elrohir.
"My sons," he said. "Get your armor and swords. Take the fastest steeds to Lorien."
They said nothing but nodded. It would always amaze him how the twins, despite what jokers they usually were, could be so serious when needed.
Elrond sighed. All of his sons were now preparing to risk their lives for the People of Rohan.
I hope that we are doing the right thing, he said.
Yes, said Galadriel, As do I.