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.

Now we're skipping ahead in time a few days after Yule and coming to an idea that DoctorWhovian18 came up with, which is in this chapter as we speak. With the fishing part, I had help from DoctorWhovian18 and the hobbits, especially with one word I needed to describe the fishing rod being bit by a fish. So I am thanking them. :)

Also, as DoctorWhovian18 pointed out, my relationship with Frodo is moving too fast. This chapter will make sure that my relationship with Frodo slows down, but I thought I had already established this last chapter. Oh well, we'll see what happens in this chapter, but it's reminding me of stereotypical summer romance, actually, or one of those friendships where we tell people everything and then we never see them again. Well, I'll step back and let you, readers, read this next chapter. :)

On the day before Frodo had to return to Hogwarts via Platform 9 ¾, while he ate breakfast, thoughts of Pearl Took entered Frodo's mind. Pearl was another pretty girl, quite stunning too, and very girly… wait a second! What was his insane mind thinking? Why was he having all these strange feelings? Were they really only there to bug him?

And still, he thought of Pearl. Then he remembered what Pippin told him about Pearl: she would be four or five years old around this time in the Shire. Wasn't she too young for him? Then again, age did not really matter. He liked being around those younger than him. A small pressing thump entered his heart towards Pearl. She was so beautiful and… but he also thought Aria was beautiful. What exactly were these feelings?

Aria joined him at the table. As Bilbo put some scrambled eggs and bacon on Aria's plate, Frodo spoke outright, asking a question that formed in his mind, "Bilbo, Aria, what do you call feelings that are just starting to blossom, but you're not sure where they're going?"

Aria gave him a look as though he had gone mad. "It's a crush, Frodo. I have a crush on you." She surprised herself. Did she really admit this? Her face flushed red, making her more uncomfortable.

Frodo chuckled shyly. "Well, I have a crush on you, too, Aria. But I'm also thinking about Pearl Took. Maybe… well, maybe I have a crush on her, too."

"Oh," said Aria, feeling a little hurt. Maybe this was all right.

Frodo turned to her with a calm gaze. "No need to be concerned, Aria. I wouldn't forget you."

Aria grinned shyly, but couldn't help feeling still hurt. "Thanks."

As Bilbo sat down, he relayed to Frodo and Aria, "Well, I do remember being twelve years old. I had my first crush on this young witch at Hogwarts. Plimpton Flinwing was her name; of course, she turned out to be a Slytherin and didn't fancy me very well. I never did figure out the reason for her behavior. Let's call it a boy's crush, which immediately stopped when I turned thirteen."

"How did it go?" asked Frodo, chuckling. Bilbo's stories were sure fascinating.

Aria was intrigued by Bilbo's story as well, listening intently to every word spoken. It sounded like a well-rehearsed tale.

Bilbo chuckled at himself, going on into the story, "It didn't end well, my lad. Plimpton had this issue with hobbits, thinking we had small feet and no brains. So I told her that we have big feet and a large brain. Then she tried to use the spell Melofors to turn my head into a pumpkin. The spell back-fired and everyone laughed at her. I did give her some comfort, while tending to her at the Hospital Wing. We had a good friendship throughout Hogwarts, Plimpton and I." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, I daresay it went well having a good friend, even though she is a female."

"Females aren't all that bad, as long as you choose the right ones," said Aria, speaking wisely.

"My, my, you are very inquisitive for your age," said Bilbo with encouragement.

Aria said, shyly, "Thanks."

"Bilbo's right about you, Aria. You're as inquisitive as Hermione," said Frodo. A wave of confusion struck him. Was he really complimenting on Hermione's antics?

Aria was stunned. "Look at you, Frodo: complimenting Hermione Granger. Oh wow!"

Frodo turned to her. "You are a bunch of mischief yourself, Aria."

Aria let out a small giggle, continuing to eat her food in silence. Frodo shook his head at her, before giving her a wink. Okay, now he was out of his league! Complimenting girls was just something he was not equipped to accomplish, no matter the odds. Clearly he missed something there or… was he at all in the right? Girls were strange, but Aria seemed all right, as did Hermione. Then there was Pearl and her sour look she gave him at the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. What had he missed? He was only watching the game…

Putting the thought aside, Frodo realized he had eaten most of his food. Once the trio had finished their breakfast, with Bilbo putting away the dishes, Frodo turned to Aria. She was his friend and he could admit it there.

"Do you want to go fishing with me?" asked Frodo, blushing.

"Sure, but I don't want to touch the worms," said Aria.

Frodo chuckled. "I know. You've told me."

"Really? I've forgotten," said Aria.

"Well, I didn't," said Frodo, standing up. "I'll grab my fishing rod." He disappeared down the hallway. When he entered the study, he found Bilbo writing again. Frodo told him, "Aria and I are going fishing in Bywater."

"All right, but make sure to give Aria your beginner's rod, if she's not used to fishing," said Bilbo. "You have your second rod, right? The one your parents gave you."

"I've got them both right here," said Frodo, showing his uncle both rods. The beginner's rod was rather small, but would it suit Aria? Frodo didn't know, but then Aria seemed much smaller in height than him.

"Good," said Bilbo, pleased. "Now just make sure you don't trek mud in the house, like you did last time.*"

Frodo grinned mischievously. Then he said maturely, "Don't worry about me, uncle. I'll take care of Aria. She's my responsibility after all."

"She is your guest. Treat her well out there," said Bilbo.

Frodo grunted, saying nothing in exchange. Quietly, he left the study and went into the dining room, where Aria stood up as if on cue. This shocked Frodo. He wasn't expecting this kind of response from her. It almost terrified him. Aria was uncomfortable yet again. Maybe she had moved too fast for him… or something. She felt embarrassed. Hoping to resolve this issue quickly, Frodo passed to Aria his beginner's rod, before leading Aria outside Bag End. Finding the bucket of earthworms, Frodo led Aria straight to the gate.

They were on their way down the Hill now, making good time. Aria did her best to keep Frodo's beginner's rod up in the air, so the line wouldn't slack on the dirt road. Frodo finally managed to tell Aria to use the reel to hold the line in place, but not too tightly. He hardly was able to hold a conversation with her as they walked to the village of Bywater, with Aria's mind still fixated on the fishing rod.

When at last they came to Bywater, Frodo showed Aria the spot where he and Bilbo fished whenever Frodo came to visit his uncle… well, his cousin actually but Frodo preferred to call Bilbo his uncle, as if Bilbo and Drogo were brothers when they in fact weren't immediate family. Aria did catch on, which surprised Frodo, because explaining genealogy was something every hobbit knew and had to learn. Putting that aside, Frodo helped Aria put a worm on her fishing rod, before she swung the string out onto the Lake. Frodo did the same for his and their fishing began.

A thought struck Frodo, which he had to ask, "Aria, you know you don't need to take life so seriously."

"Well, it's just, I feel like I'm on the losing side, mostly with card games, but still…"

Frodo was a little taken aback, but gave her advice, "Aria, don't be this way. We shouldn't be too comfortable with the losing side. You're not with me, are you?"

Aria looked at Frodo then. His words were sincere. Maybe she should use them. "No. I think we're on the winning side. Thank you, Frodo. That's really sweet."

Frodo blushed in embarrassment. "Well, I'm sure you win at some things. Look at us, we're on the winning side and we're friends. I call that an achievement in itself."

"Yeah, it is an achievement," said Aria, thinking it through. She had to admit: being friends with Frodo was quite the accomplishment. Maybe she was winning and was good at some things after all. Maybe it was better that she stop thinking of herself as a loser and more as a winner, at least on what she could win. She glanced at Frodo, just as her fishing rod yanked in her hand. Paying more attention to Frodo's instructions, Aria reeled in, pulled, and continued to reel in her catch. She did not want this fish to break free or make the line break.

At last, Aria triumphed at getting a fish, and it was quite large. Frodo told her, as Aria held onto the fish that it was a catfish, but he had yet to figure out how many inches it was. At that, Frodo reeled in a smelt. Deciding to take advantage of their catches, Frodo left Aria with their catches while he went after the taxidermist in Bywater. When Frodo returned, the taxidermist measured the fishes and found Aria's to be seven inches, while Frodo's fish was five inches. With help from other taxidermists, the hobbit taxidermists took Frodo and Aria's fishes, allowing the two children to follow them inside the taxidermy building.

Frodo asked the hobbit taxidermist, "How much for today?"

"Four pennies," said the taxidermist. Frodo paid for the fishes, at which the taxidermist told him and Aria, "All right, the fishes will be mounted and ready in two weeks. We'll mail them to you both by owl then."

"Thank you. Aria, let's go," said Frodo, heading out. Aria followed after him. Once they were outside, Frodo asked her, "So now that we're friends and nothing more, I've been meaning to ask you: what happens when we do get to Hogwarts? I mean, this feels like one of those friendships where we tell each other everything, and then we never see each other again after the holidays are over. You know what I mean?"

"I think I do," admitted Aria.

"Well, we shouldn't let ours go that way. We should come and visit each other after class," said Frodo.

"Don't you have other friends?" asked Aria, concerned.

"Wait until you meet them," said Frodo.

"Frodo, I'll be studying, doing what most girls do with homework. I just don't have time…"

"Give it a chance, give me a chance. I don't want this friendship to end and I'm sure you don't either," said Frodo, taking her hand. He wasn't afraid of her, much, but the butterflies did return. "Please consider this. It'll do us both some good."

"What you're asking I'm not used to doing, not for years. I'm afraid of having a long-term friend. What could happen? We don't even know if this is just a short-term crush, Frodo," admitted Aria.

Frodo moved her over to a bench. There, Frodo told her, calmly and being polite as possible, "Aria, I don't know why but fate brought us together. You are my author after all. You will continue this, right?"

"Do I have a choice?" asked Aria. Thoughts crept up on her. Those at the Authors' House would go mad if they knew she'd quit on them. Then there was Frodo. He was too sweet for words. She had to remember they were only friends, nothing more. Besides, even if they could be more in the future, maybe, just maybe, they would know more about each other… oh, she had to do more research on Frodo Baggins, especially when she returned to Hogwarts. But then he was right in front of her too… "I always have a choice."

Frodo placed a hand on hers. "Aria, we're friends and I want us to be that way. Let's make a promise never to forget each other. That way, when we're ready, we'll know we were always friends."

"That's a big promise, Frodo," admitted Aria.

"Well, I don't see why we shouldn't make a promise," said Frodo.

Aria paused. "All right, but it will kind of hard to forget you, you know. I am still your fan."

"And I promise to not forget you," said Frodo. How was Pearl doing? Feeling his mind detract from the topic at hand, Frodo gave Aria a cheeky, guilty grin.

Aria let out a small giggle. She extended her hand, "Friends?" In a way, she was promising herself to tread carefully with this one, especially since they were friends. It was time she start a friendship slow and see where it went from there. Yes, her heart was telling her one thing, but she had to be cautious.

Frodo took her hand, "Friends," and shook it. Ending the conversation there, Frodo said, "Come on. Let's head back to Bag End." And of course, Aria followed after him.

Being back at Bag End meant that the holidays were ending and school would be starting up again. The very next morning, Frodo and Aria would have to return to Platform 9 ¾, where they would step onto the Hogwarts Express. Frodo had no idea what would happen when he and Aria returned to Hogwarts, other than memories to what lurked in the Forbidden Corridor set Frodo's curiosity in motion. Then there was his friendship with Sam, Merry, Pippin, Fredegar, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George. He knew he needed to make amends on his behavior and solidify their friendship. He only hoped he wasn't too late.

Footnotes:

*While her story and this story don't relate except for this mention, an example of Frodo getting mud on him actually came from DoctorWhovian18's story A Lesson in Buckland. You can look there for the idea, but this was only a mention.