**~** **~**
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.
**~** **~**
~ 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. 9: The New Teacher
There was an eerie silence as Professor Remus Lupin stepped into the Great Hall. All eyes were on him as he walked toward the staff table. He smiled at Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they stared back at him, astonished. Harry finally managed to smile back.
Snape, however, wasn't so pleased. "What is that werewolf doing here?!"
Dumbledore answered coolly, "He is here because I have requested that he be the temporary Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Dumbledore stopped to glare at Snape. "And he has graciously accepted."
Snape was shocked. "And, you did not see fit to consult the other teachers first?"
"Drastic times call for drastic measures, Severus," Dumbledore said.
Snape was on the verge of losing it. "The children's parents will not approve! He's a werewolf for crying out loud! He's dangerous, he's uncontrollable, and he's ---"
"--- one of the most qualified wizards for the job I have ever known," Dumbledore said firmly as he narrowed his eyes at Snape. "Not to mention he specializes in Patronus Charms."
"Headmaster, I must protest!" Snape exclaimed.
"Severus, there will be no further discussion of this matter at this time! You know how serious this situation is!" Dumbledore shouted.
Everyone was stunned. No one had ever seen Albus Dumbledore lose it like this. However, no one was more shocked than Harry. He leaned over to Hermione and whispered, "I've never seen him like this before! What is he so upset about? We can fight off the dementors."
Hermione spoke quietly, "I'm afraid it's not that easy, Harry. The dementors that attacked us at the end of our third year were only about a hundred or so! No one knows for sure how many dementors there are, but it's rumored that there were over eight hundred guarding Azkaban!"
Harry's face paled. "Eight hundred?" he whispered.
Hermioine nodded. "And if they truly have rejoined Voldemort and his death eaters, I honestly don't think we stand the slightest chance of being able to hold them off for long."
Dumbledore regained his composure and raised a hand for silence before speaking. "I will address you all again when I have more information. You will pick up your new schedules at 3:00 this afternoon," he said before turning around and welcoming Professor Lupin.
Suddenly, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and heard a soft voice in his ear. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but could you explain to me what is happening?"
Harry turned to see Legolas looking at him questionably. Harry sighed a said, "Azkaban is a prison for wizards. The dementors that guard the prison have just all of a sudden disappeared. Professor Dumbledore thinks they left to join Voldemort."
"The dark lord who recently returned to power?" Legolas asked.
"Yeah. That's why everyone's panicking." Harry said.
Legolas looked thoughtful. "And what are dementors?"
"Creatures you really don't want to meet. They suck the happiness out of any environment. They wear black cloaks so you can't see what's underneath." Harry decided against telling him about the Dementor's Kiss, because he really didn't want to think about that right now. "The Patronus Charm that Dumbledore mentioned, it's an anti-dementor spell. The only way of fending them off."
"That sounds like a Nazgul to me, it does!" said Sam.
Legolas and Harry turned to see that they were not alone in this conversation. Gimli, the hobbits, and Ron and Hermione were all listening intently. "Nazgul?" Ron asked.
Pippin spoke up, "Ringwraiths. They've been tracking Frodo and Sam to…" Pippin suddenly stopped as if he had just started to say something he shouldn't. "Well, they… they're a lot like these demeanor things your talking about," Pippin quickly finished while Merry glared at him.
"Ah," Hermione said suspiciously.
Legolas turned back to Harry. "And the new teacher? Albus said he was a werewolf, but he looks nothing like the werewolves Gimli and I killed in that Forbidden Forest."
Gimli nodded.
"You were attacked by werewolves in the Forbidden Forest and lived to tell about it?!" Ron exclaimed, astonished.
"Yes, indeed," Gimli said. "Never have I met an elf more accurate with a bow than Legolas here."
Legolas smiled. "And never have I seen someone wield an axe as skillfully as Gimli."
"Wicked!" Ron said in amazement.
Harry chuckled. "Well, in answer to your question, the new teacher, we've had him before. He's a really great teacher. Two year ago, everyone found out that he was werewolf and he quit. Werewolves look like normal humans most of the time, but during a full moon they turn into the monsters that you fought."
Legolas frowned. "I see. Well, as for the dementor issue, while we're here we will help in any way possible.
Harry smiled. Suddenly he remembered the letter he had just gotten from Sirius. "Can you excuse us for just a moment?" Harry asked Legolas.
"Of course," Legolas replied.
No one else noticed them leave except Remus Lupin.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly headed to the seclusion of the Gryffindor common room. As they rounded the corner, they saw something that they did not expect. The portrait hole that lead to the common room was wide open, the Fat Lady nowhere in sight. They quickly walked into the room to find… nothing. Everything was just as is was when they left. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione and they shrugged. They closed the portrait hole and sat down in a corner as Harry began to read the letter out loud:
"'Dear Harry,
It seem Hogwarts is not the only place where strange things are happening. In addition to the strangers you say showed up at the school, two more turned up in my cave on the same day you owled me. Sorry I've taken so long to reply to your last letter. Remus had to forward it from his house. I've moved closer to Hogwarts again to help Dumbledore keep an eye on things.
Anyway, these strangers, one says he is a man named Aragorn and the other says he is a wizard called Gandalf the White and are companions of the others that were found. I don't think they are dangerous. They have also requested that I ask you to let their friends know that they are all right. I would like to bring them to the school but I don't know how or when I will be able to do that. I have already informed Dumbledore of this. Hopefully I will be able to see you soon.
Your Godfather,
Sirius Black'"
Harry sighed, "We'd better tell Legolas and the others."
"Yeah, someone's gonna be wondering where we are," Ron said.
Hermione had an idea. "Harry, why don't you take a look at the Marauder's Map, to see if there are any teachers around."
"Good idea," Harry said.
Harry pulled the Marauder's Map out of his robes right pocket, and gasped as he studied the map. "No, that's impossible!"
Hermione looked worried. "What's wrong, Harry?"
As Ron leaned in to get a better look at the map, Harry pointed to a dot on the map standing right outside the common room door… labeled TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.
The three kids looked up at the portrait hole to see that it was once again wide open. Standing in the opening was none other than Voldemort himself.
"Hello, Harry," he hissed.
A/N ~ Chapter nine is finally done! Again, thank you all for being so patient and I hope you like this chapter. On another not, I am going to stop saying what I am going to write because I keep getting new ideas and am having a hard time working all of them in when I'd like to. With that in mind I will update as soon as possible. Catch ya later!
~ Kettch