Peregrine and Meriadoc

A/N:  Apologies for the huge delay with chapters.  That pesky real world is getting in the way of my writing time… again. 

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"Ron, what is your problem?  Legolas is here to help us!  Just like Aragorn and Gimli - and I don't hear you complaining about them!"

"They don't go around showing off to everyone!"

"Neither does Legolas!  It was Lavender and Parvati that asked him for lessons; you're so childish, Ron Weasley."

"And you're completely mad if you think anything's going to happen between you and that elf!"

Harry just raised his eyebrows and shook his head.  He had been listening to Ron and Hermione having nearly the same argument everyday since the three hunters had come to the castle.  Ron was eaten up with jealousy for all the attention Legolas had been getting.  Particularly the attention he had been receiving from Hermione.  Harry for one was quite pleased at the new arrivals.  Everyone was so excited and intrigued by Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf that they had stopped paying him any attention for once.  Even the Creavey's had deserted him and that was just the way Harry liked it.  Of course, most of the school were unaware of the great danger they were all under.  The news of Voldemort and the ring of power was still a secret… but Harry knew, and he worried more and more about it everyday.

"What's up, Harry?" Ron asked pausing in his breakfast to realise Harry was quieter than usual.

"I'm just wondering why Dumbledore and Gandalf have stopped trying to find Voldemort," Harry said quietly.  "Do you think they've changed their minds?"

"But what else can they do?" Hermione whispered.  "If they don't find You-Know-Who and stop him, he'll get his hands on that ring and then who knows what will happen?  No, they've probably thought of a better way to find him or something."

"Why don't you ask him, Harry?" Ron suggested.  "I'm sure Dumbledore'd tell you if you did."

"I think I might," Harry nodded.

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Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were already deep inside the forest while Harry, Ron and Hermione were eating breakfast.  They'd been there several hours already, trying to prevent the Orcs and Uruk-hai that were now prevalent in the forest from reaching the school.

Legolas and Gimli were resting in a shallow glade, with Aragorn someway off.  Gimli was running a cursory eye over his axe, tutting every now and again.

"Orcs necks are doing this in," he grunted.  "It'll need sharpening again when we get back to the castle."

"It's being put to use again – instead of being put to rest," Legolas said with a smile, turning from the forest into which he had been peering.

"Put to rest!" Gimli repeated.  "A dwarf's axe is never put to rest until he dies, Master Elf, as well you know!"

"All I know, my friend, is that this forest is the most action that battleaxe has seen since we last destroyed the ring."

"And we should've known we weren't rid of it then!" Gimli said huffed.  "Evil like that never disappears completely."

"Gimli!  Legolas!"  They were interrupted by the voice of Aragorn, calling from some distance away.  They followed it immediately, hearing the urgency in the voice.

When they reached him Aragorn was crouched down, staring intently at some markings in the Earth.

"Look," he inclined his head towards the ground. 

"Footprints…" Gimli said blankly.

"Hobbit footprints," Aragorn said, looking up at them meaningfully.

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"Merry," Pippin sat wearily, throwing himself down on a stone, "We've been looking for over an hour and we haven't seen one thing in this forest we can eat.  What are we going to do?"

Merry looked around them, twitching his nose.  "We'll find something, Pippin, don't worry.  Just look at this place it's perfect for mushrooms…"

Pippin raised his eyebrows.  "Mushrooms?"

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"Is it Frodo?" Legolas asked Aragorn as they and Gimli hurried their path through the trees.

"I can't tell," Aragorn shook his head.  "But there were two of them – we can't take any chances.  This forest is crawling with Orc.  If we don't find them soon, whoever it is will have a great fight on their hands."

"Stop!" Legolas halted suddenly – so suddenly that the slower Gimli ran straight into him.  "Do you hear those voices?"

"I hear nothing but the forest laughing at us, but I trust your ears more than mine, my friend," Gimli grunted.  "Are they hobbit voices?"

Legolas turned his head curiously.  "Yes," he said smiling, "They are hobbits and one's we know well.  It is Merry and Pippin. They lie not far to the north.  Come."

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"We're in trouble, aren't we Merry?" Pippin said in a downcast voice, but he wasn't talking about mushrooms. 

Merry rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed.

"Yes, Pippin, we are in trouble.  Who knows how we ended up in this forest?  Or if we'll ever find a way out of it…  How I wish Aragorn were here!  We need a ranger to lead us through these woods…"

"Merry," Pippin said slowly, hearing movement some distance away and getting to his feet to investigate.

"…. I wish we'd paid some attention now when we were with him.  I know he used to listen to the ground a lot – do you think we should try that?  Pippin?  Pippin what's wrong?"

Pippin was waving his arm at Merry, gesturing to him urgently. "Merry, look!  Aragorn is here," he said excitedly, waving his arms frantically into the trees ahead.  "Hey Aragorn!  We're over here!" he called loudly.  "There's Gimli and Legolas too, Merry!"

"Hey!" Merry called, suddenly seeing them too.  "Hello!"

The three hunters had seen them and ran the last few hundred yards to reach them.  Aragorn fell to his knees and clasped his hands around Merry's arms.

"Merry!  Pippin!  How glad I am to see you both alive and well!"

Gimli and Legolas smiled at them both as well.

"Though it's a miracle you are what with shouting so loudly.  I'm surprised you didn't have your throats cut.  Don't you realise this forest is crawling with Uruk-hai?"

Pippin swallowed quickly.  "Uruk-hai?  We haven't seen a single one."

"Then you are lucky," Legolas nodded, "as we are to have found you both so swiftly," he smiled down at them.  It had been many, many years since Legolas had last seen the hobbits, many years to him since their mortal lives had ended and it touched him deeply to be in their company once more.

"Well I for one am glad you're here, because we're starving," Pippin said, matter-of-factly.

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Harry had got as far as Dumbledore's office, but he hadn't got as far as knocking on the door.  The truth was he was worried, deeply worried, about what was to come.  His last confrontation with Voldemort had taken more out of him than he had ever admitted.  It had also resulted in the death of another student… an event that Harry had never forgotten.  But before he had the chance to think anymore, the door opened in front of him and Dumbledore stood before him.

"I was waiting for you to knock, but I'm afraid I got impatient," he smiled, his eyes twinkling and immediately comforting Harry's nerves.  "Won't you come in?"

Harry always enjoyed seeing Dumbledore's office, despite the fact that when he was there it wasn't usually good news he was receiving.  It's seemingly endless collection of curios and artefacts fascinated him, but he was there for a reason and he couldn't put things off.

"I wondered if I could ask you some questions, sir?"

"Of course, Harry, sit down," Dumbledore indicated the spare chair in the room with his hand.

"Ron and Hermione and me were talking over breakfast," Harry started nervously.  "We were trying to work out why you and Gandalf stopped looking for Voldemort and we, er, couldn't think of a reason.  I thought I'd ask you, if you don't mind."

Dumbledore smiled at Harry.  "I thought it wouldn't be long before you started questioning our actions.  You are too intelligent and have seen too much not to wonder," he said evenly.  "I will tell you what's happening, Harry, and indeed I must, for I am sorry to say that if we are going to be successful in our battle against Voldemort, we will need your help."

Harry nodded slowly, for some reason not the least bit surprised.

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Aragorn led Merry and Pippin into the Great Hall of Hogwarts.  Legolas and Gimli followed behind.  Merry and Pippin's eyes opened wide at the size of the room and, indeed, at the size of the dinner plates on the tables. 

"So let me go through this again," Merry began, as they took their seats.  "We're in the future?  And we're here because someone's trying to find Frodo and the ring?"

"Yes," Aragorn nodded, lighting his pipe. 

"Sauron?"

Legolas shook his head.  "No – this magic is the work of a powerful but corrupt wizard in this world.  Gandalf believes he may have found the Red Book and knows of our adventures –"

"Wait – you say Gandalf's here?" Merry repeated, staring at Pippin.  "Gandalf's alive?"

Aragorn took his pipe out of his mouth and stared at the hobbits thoughtfully.  "Of course, we ought to have asked before, but in my haste to get you both to safety I neglected what should have been done.  Where were the two of you before you appeared in the forest here?"

Merry and Pippin looked at one another.  "We were taken by the Uruk-Hai," Pippin said, colour draining out of his face.  "The killed Boromir, then took us.  They carried us for miles… we'd just managed to escape somehow when -"

"We ended up here," Merry finished.  "We thought it was just another trick for them to capture us again."

"Then to you, I am but a ghost, I suppose?" A deep and familiar voice announced behind the hobbits.  Turning around both Merry and Pippin's faces broke out into looks of the greatest astonishment.  They both flung themselves around Gandalf's waist. 

"Gandalf!  You're here!"

Gandalf smiled and gave them each a paternal pat on the head.  "So it would seem," he smiled.  "Indeed, we are nearly all here," he added with a solemn glance at Aragorn, who caught the message in Gandalf's eyes.  "But come friends, let us set aside our worries for a short time.  Let us eat!" 

Gandalf raised his staff ever so slightly and the hobbit's eyes widened to the size of saucer's as the table filled with food.

"Gandalf!" Pippin exclaimed gratefully.

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"I wonder if Dumbledore will tell Harry anything," Hermione wondered to Ron.

"Of course he will – he knows he can trust Harry."

"But this is big stuff Ron, he might not want any students involved."

"When You-Know-Who's involved, then Harry's involved.  Dumbledore knows that as well as we do, Hermione."

As they past the entrance to the great hall, they heard lively voices coming from inside.  They stopped and peaked around the door. 

"Who's that with Aragorn and the others?" whispered Ron to Hermione. 

Hermione craned her neck around Ron's head.  "Must be some first years," she said, just seeing two rather small people sat opposite Legolas. 

"Ah, Hermione!  Ron!" Gandalf said, turning to look straight at them peering around the door, before they had time to move out of sight.  "Come in and join us."

They walked over to the table, Hermione feeling a little embarrassed to have Legolas around when she was caught eaves-dropping on people.

"I'm sorry, we weren't meaning to be nosy," Hermione explained.  "We just heard voices, that's all."

Gandalf dismissed her apology away with a wave of his hand, then smiled as he announced; "Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, I would like you both to meet two friends of ours.  They are hobbits – have either of you met a hobbit before?"

Hermione shook her head and Ron stared at the newcomers.  They were certainly no first-years.  Rather they were small, perfectly-formed little people with large pointed ears and, Ron had to disguise a grimace as he looked down, big hairy feet.

"I'm Meriadoc Brandybuck, and this is Peregrine Took," Merry announced grandly, standing up and bowing slightly.

"Hullo!" Merry said cheerfully, tucking into his second chicken leg.

"Pleased to meet you," Merry finished, holding out a hand.

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"There is no way we can find Voldemort, Harry," Dumbledore was saying.  "He's too well protected.  He's grown very powerful over the last year."

Harry kicked out hard at the table leg in front of him.  "That's because of me, isn't it?  Because Wormtail used my blood to bring Voldemort back!  That's the reason he's so powerful."

"Your blood did do something, Harry, but not that," Dumbledore said gently.  "If not you, Voldemort would have used another wizard to grow strong again.  You mustn't blame yourself for what's happened."

"You said I could help?" Harry looked up.  "Before, when I came in, you said you would need my help to defeat Voldemort.  What did you mean?"

Dumbledore looked carefully down through his spectacles at Harry.  "You've shown great resilience in your past meetings with Voldemort," Dumbledore said, "and we shall need someone who can stand firm against him.  I would choose you, Harry, over another adult wizard because of what I have seen you do in the past and what I believe you will do in the future.  Few in our world will even say Voldemort's name – you have done very much more than that already."  He paused for a moment, watching Harry's eager face earnestly.  "I see a lot of your father in you, Harry, especially as you get older… I have to tell you that if you feel any anger or a need to revenge Cedric's death, I would rather you say so now – it cannot help in the long run."

Harry swallowed quickly.  "I can't forget what happened after the third task," he said thickly, not looking at Dumbledore.  "And I do wish I… I do wish I could go back and change things.  It was my fault Cedric was killed – I told him to take the cup with me, if I hadn't he'd still be alive," Harry shuddered, words and memories echoing around his head… lose the spare…

"Harry,"  Dumbledore's soft voice brought Harry back to the present.  "If you are to help us, then I will need you to show the courage I know you are capable of.  Cedric's death was a tragedy, certainly, but you must put it behind you if you are to be of any use.  Do you think that you can do that?  It is not an easy thing to ask."

Harry thought for a moment before nodding.  "No, I know, and I can do it.  Please, let me help."

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"Where are you going?" Pippin looked up, seeing Aragorn sheath his sword and Legolas and Gimli pick up their own weapons. 

"We return to the forest," Aragorn replied, his voice set. 

"Why?" Merry asked.  "We've only just left it."

"I believe that Frodo will be the next of us to appear," Gandalf explained.  "The time for action has come.  We must remain in the forest until Frodo is found and bring him to Hogwarts immediately.  The safety of both our world rests upon it."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other anxiously, but kept quiet.  Merry and Pippin looked at one another too.  Nodding in silent agreement, they both reached for their own weapons. 

"Then we're coming too," Pippin said, glancing up at the others. 

"Stay here, lads," Gimli said kindly, as he set his axe at his side.  "There will be time enough to help us later.  Rest here."

"No!" Merry cried.  "Frodo's our friend and we're going to help him.  Sam too, if it comes to that."

"We're part of this fellowship too," Pippin added.  "You can't make us stay behind."

Aragorn looked at the two hobbits for a long minute.  At length he nodded at their determined faces. 

"Let them come, Gandalf."

Gandalf smiled kindly at Merry and Pippin.  "Let us be gone," he said to all.

Hermione and Ron watched them leave without another word.

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"Gandalf has gone with Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas.  They will wait in the forest until Frodo appears with the ring, then they must act quickly.  They will bring Frodo to Hogwarts and we will hide him – his location must be kept an absolute secret.  There is a spell, Harry, one that I know you are aware of, that keeps something secret from any other person –"

"-You're going to use a secret-keeper!" Harry gasped, interrupting Dumbledore.

"Yes, Harry, we are, and I would like it if you would agree to be the secret-keeper for the ring."

To be continued…               Please read/review!