Disclaimers: See Chapter 1 for more info.

Acknowledgements: To TooLazyToLogin for giving me the original idea for this series. To DoctorWhovian18, for her ideas on pranking, ideas on other things about the story, her advice and helpfulness, and the list go on. To LOTCR, for her ideas for this story. I'd also like to thank ValueMyHeart for reviewing, following, and favoriting this story. To all my readers who are favoriting, following, and reviewing this story. And I'd also like to thank Frodo and the hobbits for their help with this story as well. Yes, that sounds crazy to the normal readers, but I'm still thanking Frodo and his friends anyway.

I appreciate LOTCR bringing up her latest idea, and she'll know which one, because it's actually what I had in mind at one point, but now I can add it here. So now, we'll get to see one more chapter during the two main days of Yule, which is the end of the year and the beginning of the new. So, here it is. And as for what I had planned with the fishing, that's going to be moved to the next chapter.

In spite of the chilled weather outside Bag End, inside was filled with merriment. Afternoon turned to evening. It was only hours now before the beginning of the new year. Frodo knew this was a special time. He did not want to miss this end to the old year for anything. How special it would be would prove its worth later on in Frodo's life, but for now, Frodo would enjoy this Yule more than ever.

Dinner was celebrated well with chatter. Aria finally gained enough courage to speak to Frodo, but she was still wary and shy. Frodo was reminded of Samwise Gamgee in many ways due to Aria's shyness. They seemed so similar, and yet so did Frodo and Aria. Everyone was in a conversation at some point, but Aria felt more secluded and an outsider than anyone realized… well, almost everyone. Frodo was still keeping an eye on her, making sure she took part in some of the conversation. How they ended up being fast friends that Aria failed to understand. Hopefully, this friendship would stick, or so Aria thought.

Primula asked Aria, promptly, "Aria, tell us more about this Authors' House. Have you been introduced to anyone? Any boys?"

"Primula, do we have to inquire about this?" asked Drogo.

"I was only asking," said Primula. "She can always say 'no'."

Aria told her brief story, "This one boy, who I met only briefly, is staying at the Authors' House. He's rather a comedic fellow. One time he spent half the hour wondering why there were so many birds chirping. Next thing I know, he's running around like a parrot, exciting everyone and behaving like a moron, saying things like 'caw caw, caw caw'." She heard some chuckles from the four hobbits. Aria let out a small chuckle herself. "Well, in truth, that first meeting was the only introduction I've had of him. No one's really spoken to me much. I'm more of a loner around the Authors' House, except when people need me. Otherwise, I'm left alone most of the time." She dug into her chicken drumstick, moments into feeling a hand pressing on hers. She looked up to see Frodo gazing at her.

Frodo told her, concern in his eyes, "Well, you don't have to be alone around me. I'll keep an eye on you."

"We'll be at Hogwarts, so how much time do you think we'll spend together? Really?" said Aria.

"I'm sure, lots," said Frodo, feeling butterflies in his stomach. What was he doing? He was asking to spend loads of time with a girl? Okay, maybe Aria was all right for a girl. He didn't need to worry about her. She wasn't that girly. Moving his hand off of Aria's, Frodo returned to his plate and said, pretending to act civilized, "That is, if you want to spend loads of time with me. You don't have to." He gave her his trademark cheeky grin.

Aria let out a giggle, making Frodo's face flush red in embarrassment. Girls were tough to understand, too complicated. So then, what was Pearl doing at this hour? Probably making herself pretty. That's what Frodo could expect from a girly girl.

Bilbo inquired to Frodo, his parents and Aria, "Tonight, we're going to have some merry celebrating of our own, before the start of the new year. If you all would like to join me in the parlor after supper, and I do make good reminders, we can begin with some tales of my adventures." There were many agreeing sounds coming from Frodo and his parents, and a quiet 'yeah' from Aria. "Good. Then we'll get started on that as soon as we're ready."

Then there was a pause and more conversations from Drogo, Primula and Bilbo. Frodo found himself becoming more comfortable with Aria. It was like she were one of the boys, even though she was a girl and acted very much like one… at least, that's how Frodo saw Aria. While Aria was collecting herself and becoming a little looser around Frodo, she couldn't help feeling her uptight behavior starting to show again. She was not at home and she knew it, but Bag End felt something more like home to her.

o-o-o

At the end of supper, and once the dishes were washed and put away, everyone met Bilbo in the parlor. There, Bilbo told Frodo and Aria, who sat on the floor before his feet, the tale of how he helped the company of Thorin Oakenshield out of the halls of the Woodland Realm:

"So I snuck into the Elven-king Thranduil's halls. No Wood-elves saw me, but it was sure a sight to see. From there, I took the keys from the cellar and freed the Dwarves. They were thrilled to see me, delighted, and then with me as their temporary leader, I led them back to the cellar and put them in barrels. Now, these were massive barrels, enough to fit a Dwarf and myself. Then we rolled out the chute and into the river. As our barrels moved and sloshed in the river, we sang songs and gave a merry cheer. We were on our way to the Lonely Mountain…"

Aria raised a hand.

Bilbo turned his gaze to Aria, asking politely, "Yes my dear?"

Aria asked, promptly, "Did you meet Legolas? He is a Woodland Elf, is he not?"

"Whose Legolas?" asked Frodo, clearly confused.

Aria glanced at Frodo for a moment, before returning her gaze to Bilbo. Bilbo looked outright confused. Politely, he told Aria, "Which Legolas, dear? There's more than one."

"Oh, Legolas… Greenleaf? The Elven-king's son," said Aria, doing her best to correct her error. Frodo snickered a little at this question.

"Greenleaf is Legolas's name translated. That is not his last name. The correct way to say his name is Legolas Thranduilion. Now, you ask me whether I met this Legolas, Thranduil's son: as it happens, I only met him when I at last gained an audience with Thranduil, but that coincided with the end of my journey and my return home*," said Bilbo. "But moving away from Legolas, would you children like to hear the tale of how I bested the trolls in the Lone-lands?"

"I've heard this one before, several times," said Frodo.

"How did you best the trolls?" asked Aria, curious.

And so Bilbo told his tale, at which he mentioned Gandalf the Grey using his voice to trick the trolls into thinking they were angering the other. It was a thrilling tale that Aria got into. Frodo looked at her from time to time. She was a pretty girl, but… maybe he should focus on Bilbo's story…

As the evening advanced, Frodo enlightened Aria and his family with some dances that he came up with. Some of these were just for fun, but even then Frodo allowed Aria to join in. Drogo and Primula made some clapping sounds to help Frodo and Aria fall into the beat. Frodo twirled Aria a few times, before the two danced a little bit faster. Aria's cheery laughter was enough to liven up the room, but then Frodo's laughter made Aria giggle even louder. Eventually, Frodo grabbed Aria by the waist as they fell on the rug. Their laughter nearly diminished until they could hear Drogo, Primula and Bilbo applauding them.

Drogo cried in delight, "Again! Again!"

"Drogo!" cried Primula, nudging her husband.

Snapping out of their reverie, Frodo pulled Aria off the rug and into a standing position. As Frodo bowed, Aria curtseyed, only to leave them with more applause. Bilbo was too delighted that he looked at the time:

"And welcome to the new year! Happy Yule everyone!" said Bilbo. More applause, this time it was towards the new year and the second main day of Yule.

Frodo gazed at Aria. In one swift movement, Frodo pulled Aria in. Then it dawned on him when their breathing turned fast and their hearts beat like a galloping pony. Realizing what he was doing, even though he knew the tradition, Frodo moved away from Aria, who flushed red with embarrassment and giggled shyly.

Frodo apologized at once. "I'm sorry. I'm not ready for this."

"That's all right. There's no need to rush things," admitted Aria. "We're friends after all."

"Yeah, we are friends," said Frodo. He gave Aria a cheeky smirk, making her giggle all the more. He still was unsure about these new feelings, but he knew they meant something. Maybe he would ask Aria about it sometime after Yule was over or during… he didn't really know.

Primula told Frodo and Aria, "All right, children, it's off to bed with you."

Aria nodded, charging off into the hallway. Frodo followed his mother into the bathroom, where his bath awaited him. Aria smirked as she entered the guest room for her use, but gave Frodo a knowing expression. Frodo was embarrassed and it showed across his face. He waved at her, mere moments before Primula dragged him into the bathroom, closing the door in one swift glide.

"Have fun, Frodo," said Aria to herself, quite merrily, as she closed the bedroom door.

Indeed, it was a good night. But now it was time to go to sleep. At the same time, doubt spread across Aria's face. She already felt like she and Frodo had become more than friends, but Frodo backed away. Maybe she would ask him about it, but then… were they even ready for this sort of thing? What was it they were experiencing? This was so new and strange to her, she hardly knew what to say or call these rushing feelings. They were unlike anything she experienced and they showed in rapid time.

Maybe Frodo felt the same, maybe he didn't. Either way, it was an experience that Aria found to be unlike anything she ever witnessed, but had seen before with couples she watched in the movies and animation.

Footnotes:

*I'm not sure how canon this claim Bilbo made is, with how he met Legolas Thranduilion, who everyone has become acquainted with since The Lord of the Rings. As far as I know, it's as close to canon as we'll get because J.R.R. Tolkien never really described whether Bilbo actually met Legolas. So, all I can say is this is an original claim that could be considered canon.