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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fanfic Draco's first year sister, Emily Malfoy. Harry Potter and co. belongs to J.K. Rowling and Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. Sadly that means I do not own Gollum, for I find him quite hilarious…
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~ This fanfic contains spoilers from The Lord of the Rings books/movies and the Harry Potter books. ~
---------- Rated: PG-13 for violence and mild sexual reference. ----------
Two Heroes, Two Villains, One RingCh. 3: The Hospital Wing and Many Meetings
At 10:30, all the students were back in the Great Hall, with the exception of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, eating their breakfast. The Gryffindors were talking excitedly about the strange little men they found, while the Slytherins did the same. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, who surprisingly hadn't caught wind of the strangers yet, were talking politely at their tables.
This wasn't the case however, with Emily Malfoy. Emily sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table, her nose buried in a book. Because of this, she didn't notice when a tall, thin fifth year girl walked over and sat down beside her. "Hi!" the girl said. Emily looked up from her book. "Are you talking to me?" "Sure am", the girl replied. She got a confused look on her face. "Why do you sound so surprised?" Emily sighed and put her book down. "Well, maybe because you're the first student to talk to me all week. I guess it's because I'm Draco's sister. I hear he isn't too popular with the Ravenclaws." Emily sighed again. "Or anyone other than the Slytherins for that matter." The girl's jaw must have dropped a mile. It was a few seconds before she finally spoke. "You're Draco Malfoy's sister?" she asked incredulously. "Emily Malfoy, at your service. Weren't you there at the sorting?" "No, I came a day late. I kinda missed the train." Now that she thought of it, the girl did slightly resemble her brother. She had the same pale skin and long, silvery blond hair. The girl sat there, shocked for a moment, but then slowly smiled. "Welcome to Ravenclaw. I'm Cho Chang." (I know, I know! Cho is one year ahead of Harry, but in this fanfic, she is a fifth year.) Cho held out her hand in a friendly gesture, which Emily shook gratefully. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.
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Meanwhile…
"What do you think they are, Albus? I've never seen anything like them."
"I don't know Poppy. This is beyond my areas of expertise."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared in awe at the four strangers that had been brought to the Hospital Wing that morning, while Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle barely managed to stifle their laughter. Professor Snape and McGonagall stood on either side of Dumbledore. All of the stranger's belongings had been taken and set on a table on the other side of the room. Madam Pomfrey frowned in thought. "Judging by their height and pointed ears, I'd say they're either House Elves or Goblins." Pomfrey shook her head. "But they're wearing cloths, and strange cloths at that, so they can't be Elves. I don't think even muggles wear cloths like those." "And they're definitely not Goblins," Snape added, with an unusual smile.
A deep, commanding voice was heard outside the door. "Wait here," it said. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," said Dumbledore, kindly. The door swung open and Hagrid stepped in. "Sorry to bother you, Professor… oh, hiya Harry! Professor Flitwick said I could find you here. I, uh, found two trespassers in the Forbidden Forest. Thing is, they're like nothing I ain't never seen before. They…" Hagrid stopped short as his eyes fell on the four strangers that lay on the beds. "As you can see," Dumbledore started, "we have already found some strangers of our own. They were found this morning, two on the Quidditch pitch and two in the Slytherin common room. Well now, let us not be rude to our guests. We should at least invite them in, I daresay." Hagrid sighed. "I'm warnin' yeh, though. These two are different. I haven't taken their weapons, and I pity the fool who tries to". Dumbledore nodded his acknowledgement and Hagrid motioned for the two "guests" to come in.
There were several gasps as Legolas and Gimli stepped through the doorway and entered the room. Dumbledore smiled gravely and stepped forward. "Welcome. Would you mind telling us your names?" "Is it not custom here, then, for the captors to first introduce themselves to their prisoners?" Gimli asked. The elderly professor smiled. "I would hardly call you prisoners, seeing as how you still have your weapons. Very well, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of this school, and these are my colleagues, Professors Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. These are some of our students: Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, and Draco Malfoy."
Legolas eyed the headmaster suspiciously. "This, is a school? Do you live here? Are you a king of some sort?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Please, one question at a time. First, yes, this is a school. Second, yes, I do live here. We all do during the school year. And third, no, I am most definitely NOT a king. Now, would you kindly state your names, why you are here, and what your purpose is?" Legolas nodded. "My apologies, Master Dumbledore. I am Legolas Greenleaf, Son of Thranduil, king of the Mirkwood Elves. This is my friend and companion, Gimli, son of Gloin, of the Lonely Mountain." If anyone found these names strange they certainly did not show it (except for Malfoy, who was once again trying to keep from laughing). Legolas continued, "We do not know how we got here. When we awoke we were lying on the ground in the forest outside this castle. I assure you, we did not trespass by our own choice. As for our purpose, we mean no harm. There were four others with us before we arrived here, and we wish to find them, and then find a way home. Now, may I ask you a question?" Dumbledore nodded. "Where in Middle-Earth are we?" Dumbledore frowned. "I do not know anything of this Middle-Earth you speak of, but you are in England. This castle is the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Legolas and Gimli stared in awe. "You're a wizard?" Gimli asked. Snape, who had been quiet until now, stepped forward. "Of course he's a wizard," he said suspiciously, "we all are." Legolas and Gimli looked at each other before bursting out laughing. "You can't be wizards!" Gimli exclaimed. "You are too young!" Everyone was taken by surprise, except Snape, who had that familiar ready-to-kill look in his eyes. Dumbledore smiled. "Well, what is a wizard where you are from?" Legolas spoke, "In the time of darkness, many years ago, wizards were immortal beings sent down from the heavens to aid in the war against Sauron. These elderly beings were wise, powerful and above all, immortal. They always put the lives of others before their own. That is, until Saruman the wise betrayed us all…
If Dumbledore was going to ask who or what Sauron was, he decided to save it until later. "You mentioned there were others with you before you arrived." The headmaster stepped aside, giving them a clear view of the beds. "Are these your companions?" Legolas and Gimli gasped. "The Hobbits!" Legolas exclaimed. "Frodo and Sam are here too! How did they get here?" Legolas checked the Hobbits for signs of life, and found they were breathing normally. A fear slowly crept over the Elf. The ring! Legolas and Gimli quickly searched Frodo but found nothing. Legolas whirled around and drew his knife as Gimli drew his axe. All eleven wizards raised their wands in surprise. "This Hobbit wore a trinket around his neck, on a chain! Where is it?" Legolas demanded. Dumbledore motioned for the teachers to hold their fire. "Their weapons and belongings are over there on that table. We only confiscated them because we were unsure of their intentions. You may take what you please." Legolas walked over to the table and searched the pile of stuff. Sure enough, at the bottom of the pile, was the ring. Legolas picked it up and put it in his pocket. The two then put away their weapons. "I apologize. This is an unfamiliar land to us, and we are a bit… edgy." "Perfectly understandable," Dumbledore replied. "What is so important about that ring?" McGonagall asked. "Uh, Legolas fancies pretty jewelry," Gimli quickly lied.
Legolas frowned. "Two of these are of the four that were with us. The other two we know, but were elsewhere at the time we were last together. The other two that were with us, a man and a wizard, I do not see. Have they been found?" Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, but these were the only others found so far. You said one of them is a wizard?" "Yes," Gimli replied. "He is Gandalf the White." Dumbledore frowned. "I am unfamiliar with the name of this wizard. And this other friend of yours, you said he is a man, correct?" Legolas nodded. "But are you not all men?" Gimli was in shock. "Of course we're not men!" he barked. "Why, I'm a Dwarf and Legolas here, is an Elf!" Now everyone was even more confused.
After what seemed like eternity, Dumbledore spoke up. "It seems to me that your friends are at a bit of a disadvantage, not being a part of this conversation. I think it is time that we awaken them." The headmaster pointed his wand at them and muttered, "enervate!" One by one, the Hobbits awoke with a start. "Where are we?" one of them asked. The Hobbit called Frodo, stirred a bit. "Legolas? Gimli? Wha… what's going on? How did we get here?" Before waiting for an answer, Frodo felt his chest, and went pale. "Where is it?" Frodo gasped. "I have it right here," Legolas said calmly and handed the ring to Frodo, which he put in his pocket.
Ten minutes later, the Hobbits had been filled in on everything that had been talked about, prior to them waking up. Dumbledore stood up from the chair he had been sitting in. "Well, I must say that you all seem like a perfectly friendly group, so that leaves me with one more question… for now: Are you dangerous?" Gimli laughed a deep rumble. "Of course we are dangerous!" "But only to our enemies," Legolas quickly added before scowling at his companion. "And so far, you have not proven to be our enemies." "Likewise," Dumbledore replied. "Minerva, Severus, I think it is time we held an immediate staff meeting. Our new "friends" must be present, of course. I think the other teachers would like to meet our guests." He turned to the students and smiled. "You are dismissed." Ron started to protest, but Dumbledore held up a hand. "The rest of the students will be informed of what is to happen, after it is decided what is to happen." The student nodded and left the room. "Severus, would you please help Minerva rally the teachers, and inform them there is an emergency staff meeting in fifteen minutes?" "Yes, headmaster," Snape replied. Snape and McGonagall swiftly left the hospital wing. Albus Dumbledore sighed. This was going to be a long day.
It was 8:45 when Gandalf and Aragorn awoke in the dark, dank cave. Aragorn spoke first. "Where are we?" was the obvious question. "Gandalf…" Gandalf's eyes had focused on the same shape that Aragorn's had. There was a large beast moving around in the shadowy corner. Gandalf, first checking to make sure they still had their weapons, said, "I think we can risk a little more light." The head of Gandalf's staff began to glow, illuminating their surroundings. In front of them, was the most magnificent beast they had ever seen. It had the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse, and the head and front legs of an eagle. It did not seem to be interested in harming them, however.
"Good to see you're awake," said a gruff voice from the far corner. Aragorn whirled around and drew his sword, but Gandalf remained calm and slowly turned. Gandalf brightened the light a little so it fell upon the strangers face. "Who are you?" Aragorn asked. The stranger stepped further into the light. "My name is Sirius Black. And I am not your enemy." Sirius motioned to some rocks on the floor of the cave. "Take a seat. There are many things that I wish to know…"
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Author's note: What do you think? This is my first fan fic and I think it is coming along nicely. I sincerely thank Cliffhanger, PixieDust, and ditto2001 for those wonderful reviews. I'm sorry. I promise, Gollum will be in the next chapter. Also, I have altered a few scenes in chapter 1 and 2, so you may want to skim over it again. The fourth chapter will be up this week or next week! Keep reading and keep those reviews comin'!
~Kettch