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Disclaimer: Nope, I still do not own any of the characters in this fanfic, except Emily Malfoy and Megan Jones (possibly more in the future). I used to own all of the characters… but then I woke up…Sadly that means I still 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 Ring
Ch. 5: Riddles in the Dark
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a majestic castle dwelling that has stood for a thousand years. At the foot of the castle is the wizarding village of Hogsmeade. Overlooking Hogsmeade are great mountains at the edge of village. The mountains themselves have so many outcroppings and over hangings that it would be impossible to find one who did not wish to be found.
In a cave, at the peak of the mountain, all is restless. Tension is rising. The time draws near. A dark figure stands alone on the edge of one of the mountain's many cliffs. The figure turns his pale, flat nose to the air and sniffs. He can smell fear in the air. The figure's great red eyes scan all that is before him. The village, the forest, and the castle in the distance.
Lord Voldemort, formerly known as Tom Riddle, hears much recognized footsteps behind him. Without so much as tilting his head to see the person, he addresses the second shadowy figure. "Lucius, this will be the first muggle attack we have done since my return. I want it done cleanly. Avada Kadavra, burn the house, shoot The Mark. You know the drill. You may torture them briefly if you wish, but do not linger for too long. Even though Fudge refuses to believe that I have returned, Arthur Weasley still has much of the ministry on their toes." "Yes m'lord," Lucius Malfoy replied. Voldemort paused a moment before continuing. "At midnight, you, Severus, and Wormtail will apparate to the house and break in. Do not disappoint me Malfoy, and even more importantly, do not fail me." "Of course m'lord."
With the bow of his head and the swish of his cloak, Lucius Malfoy went back into the cave to prepare for the attack. Everything was going according to plan. The current time is now 11:39 pm.
Breakfast the next morning was much more pleasant than the hectic one the previous day. Ron had just finished eating his eggs when an owl flew in carrying a Daily Prophet. Ron unfolded it and scaned the front page… and then spit his pumpkin juice all over Neville, who was sitting across from him. "What was that for?" Neville asked. Ron quickly showed Harry the paper and received an equally horrified look from him. "What is it?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"Miss Granger!" Hermione looked around to see who was calling her and Professor McGonagall beckoning to her. "Miss Granger, follow me please." Hermione shrugged and promptly followed McGonagall while Ron and Harry exchanged nervous glances.
About half way to their destination Hermione realized they were headed to Professor Dumbledore's office. Upon reaching the stone gargoyle McGonagall said "Sweet Tarts" and the gargoyle stepped aside. Dumbledore was waiting in his office. "Take a seat Miss Granger. Minerva, you may leave us," Dumbledore spoke gravely as McGoangall nodded and closed the doer behind her.
"Miss Granger, I will get right to the point." Dumbledore took a deep breath. "Your parents house was attacked by Death Eaters last night at twelve o'clock." Hermione gasped and tears started to form in her eyes. "Are they…?" "No, no, I can assure you they are quite alright. Shaken, but in no other way harmed." Hermione was even more shocked now. "How is that possible?" Dumbledore sighed. "I was tipped off. I have a spy working for me from within the Death Eaters. And by I, I mean that the Minister of Magic does not know about this. My spy contacted me about an hour before the attack. I then got in touch with Arthur Weasley right away and he was able to arrive at your house just in time to take them by surprise." Hermione's mouth was hanging open now. Dumbledore went on, "We arranged it so it would not seem as though they were expected. Mr. Weasley and three others from his department arrived ten minutes before the Death Eaters. Mr. Weasley will be interviewed by the Daily Prophet and will tell them that he was at your house having a late night dinner at your house and that he brought along some friends from work to meet your parents. When the Death Eaters arrived and saw all the lights on and four fully trained wizards in the den they broke in anyway. All three of them escaped but Mr. Weasley did note that one of them had a silver hand…" "Peter Pettigrew was there?!"
Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. Suddenly realization dawned on her and the pieces of the puzzle came together at once. Suddenly it made sense to her. "Professor Dumbledore, if you don't mind me asking, who was the spy?" Dumbledore smiled inwardly. "If I tell you this, you must promise me that you will keep this a secret. You may tell Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley but they must not tell anyone either." "I promise," Hermione said. Her suspicions were confirmed when Dumbledore said, "It was Severus Snape."
A/N: I apologize for not posting anything in quite a while. I got a new job and have been quite busy. This chapter was not everything I meant for it to be because I wrote this in about an hour. I just wanted to post something! Thank you all for the help with the Mary Sue thing. I had never heard that term before. I can assure you that Megan will not be perfect, she will not be flawless, she will not be smarter than Hermione, and she will not be a main character. All she is meant to be at this time is an extra thorn in dear old Draco's side. Here's a preview of what I have planned for the next few chapters: Gollum will be found in… are you ready for this?… Snape's storage closet! Harry, Ron, and Hermione will not hate Snape so much anymore. Aragorn and Gandalf will be reunited with the others. Sirius will return to Hogwarts. Megan will torture and embarrass Draco some more. Legolas will meet… are you ready?… Dobby the House Elf! Boy, am I evil! Gimli will get teased a lot (I find him quite hilarious). The evil experiments of Fred and George. Mua ha ha! The last thing I am going to say is that eventually, I don't know when, but eventually Voldemort will be contacted by Sauron. I am still thinking of how. Also, I would like to take a vote on whether or not I should come up with a way to bring Boromir back. (Alternate universe, anything can happen right?) Boromir was my favorite character in The Fellowship of the Ring and I would like to see him back. If you think it is too bogus then let me know. Please review with your thoughts on it. I am also open to suggestions for this fan fic. Please sate anything you would like to see. I'm not guaranteeing that I will use it but I will consider it nonetheless. I hope to post chapter six soon. Sorry for such a long A/N.
~Kettch