A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I had a MAJOR case of writer's block! I promised a friend I'd have this chapter up by August first, so… this chapter is dedicated to her! Thanks for being an inspiration! To everyone else who was ready for this chapter, thanks for all the support! Please review, as usual! Oh, and these aren't mine *sniffle*

Splitting Up

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked, the sounds of battle approaching the shore. Screams from voices familiar and unfamiliar alike began filling the air, cutting through the bone.

Harry stood ankle-deep in the water, and bit his lip contemplatively. He looked back at his friends, who were pale faced and fidgeting, then back to the hobbits, who were beginning to paddle away. "Sorry, 'Mione. You and Ron go on. These two need help!"

Ron stared at his friend. "Harry, are you bloody INSANE?!"

Harry smiled. "See you somewhere, Ron. Bye, Hermione."

Hermione squeaked, then tears began to pour down her face. "Harry! B-but… Harry, no!" she stamped her foot, and started towards the raven-haired boy. She would've reached him, but Ron grabbed onto her arm.

In the instant it took for her to pause and send daggers at Ron via her eyes, Harry saw his chance and began sprinting towards the elven canoe. The water grew deep quickly, and he began to paddle, crying out to Frodo and Sam, and forcing himself to ignore Hermione's anguished shrieks.

"Harry! HARRY! H-H-HARRY!" Hermione shrieked, attempting to throw herself after her friend, but Ron held her back. As Harry joined Frodo and Sam, she turned around and sobbed on Ron's shoulder.

Ron froze, then put a hand on her shoulder and held her at arm's length. "C'mon, Hermione, we've got to get back! They need our help!"

Hermione sniffled, then nodded. She began to lead the way back to the camp, flatly refusing to turn around. As she stomped off, Ron cast a final glance over his shoulder to Harry, who was quickly growing smaller in the distance of the river. He raised a hand in fair well, and Harry returned it.

A final glint of the sun, and Harry was gone.

~*~*~*~

"Hermione?"

"Don't say a word, Ron Weasely."

"…Hermione?"

"No."

"… Her-my-oh-nee?"

"What?!"

"You're going the wrong—GAAAH!"

Hermione whipped around, her wand at the ready, and found herself facing one of the ugliest creatures she had ever seen. "What the…?" she muttered, staring at it.

The Orc had no interest in the frizzy-haired girl holding a stick. Instead, it reached out and grabbed hold of Ron's neck. Tightening its grip, the Orc lifted the pale Weasely off of his feet and held Ron at its shoulder height. The Orc grinned maliciously at Hermione, who goggled at it, temporarily frozen.

FLIT! TWANG!

A long arrow whipped through the air and pierced the Orc's shoulder. With a cry, it dropped Ron and whipped around to face Legolas, who stood with his bow drawn, but no arrow in hand.

The Orc realized Legolas's dilemma, and began loping over to him, it's working hand balled in a fist.

Hermione, meanwhile, knelt by Ron's side. After an initial check, she figured that he was all right, mearly in shock. She jumped to her feet, pointed her wand, and triumphantly cried, "IMPEDIMENTA!"

The Orc froze in mid-lope. Legolas leaned back, then looked around, expecting the Orc to jump at him.

"He'll start moving in a second, so HURRY!" Hermione cried to him.

Legolas nodded curtly, then pulled out his sword and quickly slit the Orc's throat with a single blurred movement of his arm. Blood poured from the gash in the Orc's throat, and the Orc, to add to the horrible scene, remained standing as blood poured down it's front. Legolas grimaced and grabbed a clean-ish edge of the Orc's outfit and wiped the blade of his sword clean. "Thank you." Legolas said to Hermione as he did so.

A livid shade of green, Hermione gagged and muttered, "You're welcome." before she staggered off into the trees and wretched. She returned a few moments later, wiping her mouth with her mouth pulled into a distasteful mew of disgust.

Legolas helped Ron to his feet, then turned to Hermione. "Little ones, are you prepared to kill?" he asked, looking them in the eyes.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. "I-If we have to…" Ron muttered.

The elf nodded briefly, then clapped them on the shoulders. "Try to help the others with that… that… freezing spell if you can." With another nod, he disappeared into the woods.

Ron and Hermione followed him, but he was too far ahead. Instead, they followed their ears to the sounds of battle. Hermione froze every Orc they came by, and Ron muttered spells that quickly bound the Orcs up tight enough so they couldn't move- quite a feat considering the strength of a single Orc.

~*~*~*~

The two wizards continued on in this fashion, for quite a while. Shortly after they had frozen and bound their seventeenth Orc, they heard Boromir's trumpet blasting.

They ran towards the sound, finding their path miraculously Orc-free. They continued on, cautiously picking up their pace, soon forgetting about silence and stealth in their frenzy to get back to, at the very least, Legolas and Aragorn (for they hadn't seen any of the Fellowship since Legolas had slit the Orc's throat).

As they crashed about, breaking branches loudly, another Orc burst from the trees beside them. It grinned, then picked up Hermione, who had frozen at precisely the wrong moment. As it slung her rudely over it's shoulder, Hermione's luck failed her in the worst way: she dropped her wand.

"RON!" she screamed, kicking and thrashing about.

"HERMIONE!" He screamed back, then furiously muttered spells at the Orc.

The Orc, however, ignored this and dodged each of Ron's ill-aimed spells. It swung its fist and hit Ron's temple, causing him to collapse instantly. Ron hit the ground, and the Orc ran off into the woods, Hermione's screams fading as its distance increased.

~*~*~*~

"Little one."

Ron muttered indistinguishably, then rolled away from the sharp jabs in his midsection.

"Little one. Time for waking." Legolas's soft, musical voice drifted into Ron's subconscious, and finally roused the redhead.

"Wassamatter?" he mumbled, then snapped awake as he remembered where he was. "One of those… those… things! It took Hermione!"

Legolas nodded. "We know. We were unable to stop the Orc that had her, as well as the Orc's that had Merry and Pippin."

"Wah-? Those things go them, too?"

"Yes. And…"

"And…?" Ron asked.

"And… Boromir is dead. He was killed, but he died an honorary hero's death." Legolas looked away. "Come on, little one, it is time for us to go. We must leave. Quickly."

Ron nodded, then stood up. Legolas began to walk away, but Ron held him back. "Uh, Legless?"

"Yes?" Legolas asked with a small smile.

"My name's Ron… could you… maybe… call me that instead of 'little one'?"

"Yes, on one condition." Legolas's eyes twinkled in an almost Dumbledore style.

"What?" Ron asked, years of living with Fred and George having trained him to dread the worse when asked to do things in conditions.

"Call me Legolas, not 'legless'…"

A/N: So? Was it worth the wait? Review and let me know!