Chapter Twenty: A Desperate Pursuit

Disclaimer: I don't own LotRs or Harry Potter. I only own the plot.

oOoOo

Hermione couldn't remember the last time she ran so much in her life. The trees around her seemed to close in on her as exhaustion started to settle in. She believed her brilliant plan to chase after Harry and the Hobbits had become futile. She couldn't see them anywhere and yet, in her mind, she had to believe they couldn't be too far ahead of her.

As she continued along the path, it was drawing thinner the further she ran, and the trees became thicker and closer to each other. She slowed to a walk, the tiredness she was feeling from running so far settled in, and the adrenaline pumping through her, helping her continue, diminished. The pain from the gash on her head was throbbing once more.

She grabbed her head, feeling dizzy, and grabbed onto a tree for a moment as her vision became blurred and she tried to make out what was ahead of her. She mentally kicked herself for thinking following Harry and the Hobbits was a good idea. She wondered if Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were still over on the other shore. She had a good mind to go back, but something stopped her, and her feet seemed to move forward in the opposite direction from them on their own like some possession took over them.

The dizziness and nausea passed after a few moments and her vision cleared. To her, it felt as though the trees had moved closer to each other, but she shook it off, telling herself she must have hit her head pretty hard, and her mind was playing tricks on her. She steeled her resolve, continuing along the thin path for what felt like miles to her tired legs. As she walked, she subconsciously looked around for any clues which could help her get on the right track in finding them, but she came up empty-handed. There was nothing on the path which could tell her if they even went the way she was going.

It wasn't long before she came to a fork in the path and on the ground, there were three pieces of Lembas Bread still neatly wrapped up in leaves lying across both tracks and Hermione growled in frustration. She wondered why they were there and if something happened to Harry, Frodo, or Sam to cause them to drop them. She kneeled down, picking them up, and storing them safely in her satchel. As she went to place the third one in though, she stopped and looked at it for a moment, remembering what Legolas said to Merry and Pippin about it in Lothlórien before they left. She opened it, taking a small bite from the corner and chewed on it thoughtfully, savouring the taste. She took another bite, wrapping the rest back up in the leaf. It was true what he said, and Hermione smiled. The smile fell from her face, being replaced with a frown as she thought of him.

For a moment, she wished he hadn't let her go to pursue Harry, but she felt it couldn't be helped now. Once she caught up to them and said what she wanted to say to Harry, she could go and catch up with him, Aragorn, and Gimli. As she thought this she found it impossible to do considering she was in a strange land and had no idea which way they went.

She couldn't believe her stupidity, standing up angrily and stuffing the Lembas bread into her bag. This caused her pendant to fall out onto the ground from the bag where she put it for safe keeping until it was possible for her to wear it again. Hermione fell back to her knees, staring at it. All of the things which happened to her started with her pendant because Gandalf wanted her to come back in time, and somehow activate the Magic which lay dormant within it.

Hermione felt tears come to her eyes, thinking back on everything Galadriel told her and realised it hadn't helped her at all. Galadriel never showed her how to activate her pendant. She wondered then if Galadriel knew the answer to it herself or if Hermione was the only one who could figure it out and it was her birthright or something. What was the meaning behind Galadriel's words?

Hermione's eyes widened for a moment, her eyes leaving the pendant, and she stared into the trees ahead of her. What if she wasn't supposed to return to the future? What if she was supposed to come back to this time and stay because this time was where her true kin were? Galadriel mentioned Hermione was capable of being granted the gift of the Eldar. To become immortal and travel to Valinor to be with her kind, but was it what she truly wanted in her heart? Could she stand back and watch Draco and Harry return to the future without her? Was she capable of handling the emotional turmoil and heartbreak she knew it was going to cause her should she return to the future? Hermione knew the day after she returned she would forget everything about their journey and she would forget her new friends and... Legolas. Was she prepared to do this?

Galadriel also mentioned her returning to the future could cause a horrible chain of events to happen, and she wondered if the hidden message within her words. The people who met and associated with her would remember her when in the future she would be given the easy way out and forget they even existed. It was too horrible to think of, but she also felt going back would be the easiest path to take even though it would kill her to do so. To watch her friend's, leave without her would be hard, but she would have people in this time who love her, and she would forget her despair and grief for them when she reached Valinor. She would be happy, and she would be able to spend eternity with Legolas which is something she wouldn't mind in the long-run.

Thinking about it was hurting her though. She was hurting because staying would mean discarding the future and everything she knew. She would be abandoning her friends, loved ones, and a possible future where Voldemort is dead if they succeeded in this time. Everything of her old life in the future felt like a dream now, an idea which was fading with every step and new adventure that crossed her path in Middle-Earth. Could she go back to the future after all this was over? It didn't seem real anymore. She felt as though this was where she belonged and some bizarre force of control was trying to keep her here. Was there even a future there for her? Ron was dead; her parents didn't know she existed and weren't even her birth parents, most of the other Weasleys were killed, as well as many others who fought for the Order and opposed Voldemort.

Hermione didn't know what to do. She sat in the same position for a while, tears rolling down her cheeks, and staring unblinkingly at the pendant. She eventually reached forward, picking it up, and clutching it to her chest as a bout of strangled sobs took over her, and she shook uncontrollably from the torture she was feeling. She was torn in two. Part of her argued it would be sensible to return to the future where she belonged. The other more significant, though not more dominant, part of her begged her to stay in the past and not return because she feared what would be awaiting her there, if anything.

Hermione was already so far beyond the point of no return; she couldn't remember what it looked like when she passed it.

The days had flown by while they were in Middle-Earth, and even though there was still such a long way to go before the Ring was going to be destroyed, Hermione felt as though it was nearing too fast. It was hard to believe they had been in Middle-Earth for little over three months and had grown so close to the members of the Fellowship. They were like a family, shielding each other and making each other laugh when the times were down. Even when there were arguments between them, there had always been the implicit declaration to stick by each other even if it meant death.

It was unfair to think all this, everything which was built, the friendships and everything they learned while coming to Middle-Earth was going to be nothing but a beautiful dream if they returned to the future. If this was the case, wouldn't it all be for nothing? Hermione pondered on this for a few moments, lifting her eyes from her pendant and trying to make a decision on which path of the fork she should take. The Lembas Bread was not beneficial to her because it was lying across both roads, so now the decision was hers.

She looked down the left path which, if her eyes were not deceiving her, seemed to lead to a rocky cliff face she knew she would never be able to climb. The other path looked frightening to her because it seemed more daunting and darker. The trees were closer together, blocking out the sun's rays. She knew there was no point in going back, it was meaningless, and she knew she wouldn't be able to catch up to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli now.

She knew she had to go on and, making a snap decision, she placed her pendant back into her pocket carefully. She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder, taking the frightening path because she knew there was no point in trying to climb a cliff as it would be suicide. She didn't think Harry, Frodo, and Sam would be brainless enough to try it either so this left only the right path in the fork, and she walked down it.

She didn't get too far down it when she heard screeching noises causing her heart to skip, and her blood to freeze within her veins. The screeching was coming from behind her, sounding close. It was familiar to her, and she looked back to investigate, her suspicions were confirmed when she saw little more than about fifty Orcs charging towards her. Knowing there was no way she could beat them all, she sprinted down the path, unsheathing her daggers just to be on the safe side.

She reached a clearing where the Orcs caught up to her, and she had no choice but to fight them. She ducked the sword of a first one, spinning out of the way of a second, and made a slashing criss-cross with her daggers, causing both to fall to the ground dead. Another came at her from the front and another from behind her, and she stabbed the one in front of her with one dagger, striking out behind her with the other, embedding it into its middle. They fell to the ground, and Hermione didn't have time to catch her breath when five more charged at her. She dodged them neatly, running down the line of them, her dagger stretched outwards and ripped through them like a hot knife through butter, causing them all to fall dead.

Hermione felt adrenaline pumping through her veins once more, sprinting towards a larger Orc and drop kicked it, knocking it to the ground. She spun her daggers in her hands, slamming them down into the Orcs chest, killing it. She pulled her knives out, kicking out behind her as another Orc came up to stab her in the back. The Orc stumbled when her foot connected and almost fell, but it didn't and started making its way towards her again. Hermione spun around, holding her dagger outwards and decapitated it. More Orcs swarmed into the area, and Hermione bit her lip, wondering what she was going to do.

She looked up at a tree near to her, remembering what Legolas did, and she climbed up the tree with a swiftness and strength she didn't realise she had, grabbing her bow off her back and loading it with an arrow. She started shooting arrows at them, and one after the other, the Orcs dropped down dead, and she continued to make easy work of them. She wasn't as quick as Legolas, but the speed in which she was taking the Orcs out would still have made him proud of her. She smiled faintly, getting momentarily sidetracked in her thoughts of him. An arrow hitting the tree trunk right next to her head caused her to snap out of her thoughts and fire back, hitting the Uruk-hai who shot the arrow right between the eyes, killing it instantly.

She didn't have time to feel victorious at her kill as another Uruk-hai came into the clearing, pointing his bow at her. Hermione froze, staring at the arrow which had black liquid dripping from the arrowhead. Hermione didn't know what it was, but she guessed it wasn't going something pleasant. She couldn't defend herself, because the Orcs were climbing up the tree towards her. She pulled out her wand to shoot them with stunners and other spells so they wouldn't get to her. This left her open for the Uruk-hai to hit her with the arrow she believed was poisoned.

The Uruk-hai aimed, releasing the arrow which pierced Hermione in the shoulder. The force of it knocked her out of the tree to land painfully on her back. Hermione was right about the poison, and she already felt the effects it was causing as her body began to stiffen. She struggled to move her head, looking at where the arrow was protruding out of her shoulder. Around the shaft of the arrow where her wound was, there was black liquid mingling with her blood. She knew it would only quicken the process as it slowly killed her.

An Orc walked towards her with a sword, raising it above its head, and ready to kill her. The Uruk-hai grabbed the sword to stop it from delivering the nasty blow to her head. Hermione stared up blearily, her eyes becoming unclear from the effects. She distantly heard the Uruk-hai speaking, 'No, leave her to die painfully so she may know what happens when one disobeys Lord Sauron,' it said, looking down at Hermione.

She felt tears build in her eyes as her joints stiffened, and she barely heard the pattering of footsteps from the Orcs who left her to die in the clearing. She had never wanted to die so much in her life, but she had also not wanted to live as much either, and between them, she couldn't think of which would be better.

Hermione managed to turn her head with difficulty, and through her distorted vision there came a blinding light, maybe even brighter than the sun. Hermione could not close her eyes to the brilliance of it, wondering if she was already dead. She continued to stare at the dazzling glow, and a figure emerged from it, walking towards her, but she couldn't make out who it was, only they were wearing all white, and their hair was white also.

A gentle hand came to rest on top of her forehead, and she dimly felt something being pushed into her mouth and being told to drink a foul-tasting potion. Darkness took her, and she knew no more.