Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR and I don't think I ever will.
A/N: this goes back to before the ring was destroyed so the story is just beginning. There may be a few bits you recognise because of this but I'll try to make it as different as possible. This should be called The Journey Begins AGAIN but they haven't even set out yet so it kinda can't can it? I mean we know what happens in the actual story but this is Fan Fic so things change and things get added or missed out but the idea can stay the same, it's not like I'm gonna write the story the same as it is in the book cos that wouldn't be fan fic would it? Anyway enough of me and on with the story!! Hope you like it and please, please, PLEASE review!!
The Journey Begins
It was a beautiful spring morning in the Shire. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. All was peaceful and happy. Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, was just sitting down to nice second breakfast. Hobbits lived in hobbit holes. These holes were not the grimy kind of holes like rabbits live in these holes had chairs and tables, bedrooms and kitchens and bathrooms. They were also built into the side of hills and Frodo lived in a particularly nice spot which caught all the sunshine. Frodo jumped as a loud bang came from outside. Frodo waited a while but it wasn't long before another loud bang ruined the silence and tranquillity of the morning.
"What's going on out there?" Frodo thought to himself as he headed down the hall to the large, round, green front door. He swung open the door to find two other hobbits setting fireworks off.
"Good morning Frodo," one of them said cheerfully as he ran to fetch another firework, "Come to watch our firework display?" He smiled as he passed Frodo.
"Merry and Pippin," he sighed, "I could have guessed"
"What's that meant to mean?" Merry looked at him
"What are you doing," yelled an angry voice, "Keep it down or you'll be in serious trouble"
"Old bat" Merry said angrily, "She always spoils our fun"
"She has a point though" Frodo looked at the two of them, "You're only meant to use fireworks at parties or special occasions, you know that" He paused, "Where did you get them from anyway?" That was the main mystery. The usual firework supplier was Gandalf the wizard, but he only came on special occasions or when he felt necessary to visit.
"Well," Pippin began hesitantly; "We stole them from the last party but we only took four" he finished quickly.
"So you've used them all then?" Frodo frowned at them
"Yes" They said together
"Good," he said as he turned to go back inside shaking his head, "They never grow up do they?" he sighed with a smile on his face and closed the door.
Meanwhile at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry three friends were walking to their common room after a long day at school, when a voice called to them.
"Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger," They spun round to see who was calling to them, it was Professor McGonagall "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office immediately, follow me."
The three of them followed Professor McGonagall up a lot of spiral staircases until they came to a halt in front of a large statue. Professor McGonagall said the password, "chocolate frog", and the statue revealed another spiral staircase Harry recognised as he had been to Dumbledore's office loads of times before. When they reached Dumbledore's office there was another wizard there. He had a long white beard and long white hair very similar to Dumbledore's hair and beard. The strange wizard wore long white robes and a long white cloak and carried a staff. Harry wondered if he was from the Ministry of Magic but he didn't dare ask.
"Ahh, here they are," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he smiled at them as they entered, "Please sit down" the trio sat down in the three empty seats in front of the desk. "Now I have called you here to meet my friend Gandalf," he paused and nodded towards the wizard, "Now Gandalf asked me if I could find some responsible, courageous and of course adventurous students to help him with something, and I have chosen you three."
He turned to Gandalf, "I can assure these three fulfil your requirements as they have had many adventures in their time here so far" Dumbledore smiled "I am very pleased to have three such bright, brave and strong wizards in my school."
"Excuse me Professor but what exactly are we to help with," Ron asked impatiently, he was tired and wanted to go to bed.
"I was just getting there Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said, "Gandalf would you like to explain now or shall we wait until tomorrow when these three aren't as tired?"
Gandalf turned to Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Could you three pack a few things, not much because you'll have to carry it, so we can set off early in the morning," Gandalf looked at Dumbledore who nodded, "I'll explain on the way tomorrow."
"Yes I think that is a good way of doing it, now off to bed with you" They got up and left the office and headed for the Gryffindor common room without a word. Harry wondered what Gandalf meant by 'pack a few things' and 'we can set off early in the morning'. Did Dumbledore want them to leave Hogwarts for a while? Where were they going and why?
He forced himself to forget all this as he climbed into his four poster bed. This could be his last night at Hogwarts and he wanted to enjoy it.
Morning came too soon for Harry and he was woken up at dawn by Gandalf.
"Get dressed quickly we must leave soon" Gandalf whispered to Harry and Ron trying not to wake anyone else up. When they were dressed in muggle clothes but still wore their long black cloaks to keep them warm, they ran down to the steps to the common room where Gandalf sat in front of the fire waiting. The boys joined him to wait for Hermione. Very soon after they had sat down, Hermione rushed down the stairs from the girls' dormitories followed by Professor McGonagall.
"Are we all here?" Gandalf looked at them, "Breakfast for four of us then," he clapped his hands and a small table in the corner became laden with breakfast for them. "We must eat quickly now." The four of them ate as quickly as they could and ate as much as they could for Gandalf had told them they may not eat for a while. When they had finished Gandalf took them outside into the grounds and Harry saw Dobby the house elf saddling up three brown ponies and a tall white horse. Dobby attached large bags of food on one side of each pony and bottles of water on the other. The horse carried three tents.
"We will ride for a while but when we get to the mountains we must send our horses' home" Gandalf patted the horse's neck, "Then we will walk the rest of the way. Does anyone have any questions?"
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked
"First we will travel to the Shire, a small village, to meet the rest of our team."
"How long does it take to get to the Shire? Why do we ride ponies when we have brooms?" Harry yawned.
"A day's ride then a day's walk I should say. And you can't ride a broom for various reasons, for one it is safer where we are going to not prove to the world that you are wizards, that must remain secret between us and it may save your life if the enemy does not know you can use magic, and two because you'll make the others jealous if you fly and they have to remain on the ground." Gandalf mounted his horse, "Come on we must leave now. I'll explain everything else on the way." Harry, Ron, and Hermione each climbed onto their pony and they set out for the Shire.
A few hours later they were well on their way and the sun was becoming brighter and finally everyone felt more awake. "Erm...Gandalf what is the purpose of this erm...journey?" Hermione asked anxiously
"A while ago a friend of mine found a ring, not just any ring; it was a ring of magic and power. When you wear this ring you become invisible but like many enchanted things it is evil and possesses you. So we must go the fires of Mordor, in Mount Doom, where it was made and destroy it but it won't be easy as the evil Saruman and Sauron are after the ring and have an evil army of orcs guarding the fires of Mount Doom. You three won't be going anywhere near Mount Doom."
He said when he saw the look of terror on their young faces and with these words a look of relief swept across their faces. They remained silent for the rest of the day.
The next day when they saw the green grass and heard the birds singing as they drew closer to the Shire Harry, Ron and Hermione began to feel happier. They arrived at around ten o' clock in the morning which would have been night time at Hogwarts and Gandalf lead them towards a round green door in the side of a particularly nice hill and he rang the door bell. "This is a hobbit hole," Gandalf said and Ron pulled a face, he lived in a small house but it certainly wasn't a hole, "You'll be surprised Mr Weasley". A moment later the door opened slightly and a face appeared
"Gandalf!" The door swung open and a small figure ran out and hugged Gandalf. The man was only young in his early thirties maybe and he was smaller than Harry.
"Come in, come in" Smiled the little man opening the door as wide as it would go. Harry, Ron and Hermione were surprised to see at the end of a long hall there was a dining room with a fire at the side and a table in front. They all sat down and the little man brought tea and cakes for them. "So Gandalf what brings you and your friends here?"
"This is Frodo Baggins. He is a hobbit." Gandalf explained "and this is Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger" The three of them smiled at Frodo. "We are here to explain about the ring Bilbo gave you and what you are to do with it." Frodo looked confused but Gandalf explained everything. When Gandalf had finished they heard a knock at the door.
"Excuse me" Frodo said as he scuttled down the hall to the door. Moments later Frodo came back followed by another hobbit. "Sam, this is Harry, Ron and Hermione. They're here with Gandalf" He introduced them, "This is Sam"
"Oh Hello" Sam said as he sat down.
"I'd guessed we'd have to take Sam with us too." Gandalf chuckled as he quickly told Sam the plan.
They stayed in the Shire for a few days and when the time came to leave Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't really want to, the Shire was such a lovely place that until now they never knew existed, but they couldn't argue with Gandalf. They all woke up very early on the day of departure and ate hurriedly. As they were just leaving the Shire, Harry noticed a bush move and he kicked it gently and out rolled two more hobbits.
"What are you two doing here?" Gandalf held them by the ears.
"We wanted to know where you were going." One squeaked.
"What we are doing is none of your business." Gandalf let go of their ears, "Now you go home and we'll continue on our journey"
"Oh an adventure can we come?" Pippin smiled hopefully, "You'll need intelligent people on this mission...quest...thing"
"That counts you out then" Merry said nudging his friend in the side with his elbow, "Your not even intelligent enough to find your way to your own pockets without getting lost on there way" Pippin almost nodded before realising what had just been said and then frowned at the others who were laughing.
"He has a point there Mr Took." Gandalf chuckled. "Well if you do get in the way we could always use you for bait. Come on" And they all set off on their adventure not knowing what would happen to them.
A/N: this goes back to before the ring was destroyed so the story is just beginning. There may be a few bits you recognise because of this but I'll try to make it as different as possible. This should be called The Journey Begins AGAIN but they haven't even set out yet so it kinda can't can it? I mean we know what happens in the actual story but this is Fan Fic so things change and things get added or missed out but the idea can stay the same, it's not like I'm gonna write the story the same as it is in the book cos that wouldn't be fan fic would it? Anyway enough of me and on with the story!! Hope you like it and please, please, PLEASE review!!
The Journey Begins
It was a beautiful spring morning in the Shire. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. All was peaceful and happy. Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, was just sitting down to nice second breakfast. Hobbits lived in hobbit holes. These holes were not the grimy kind of holes like rabbits live in these holes had chairs and tables, bedrooms and kitchens and bathrooms. They were also built into the side of hills and Frodo lived in a particularly nice spot which caught all the sunshine. Frodo jumped as a loud bang came from outside. Frodo waited a while but it wasn't long before another loud bang ruined the silence and tranquillity of the morning.
"What's going on out there?" Frodo thought to himself as he headed down the hall to the large, round, green front door. He swung open the door to find two other hobbits setting fireworks off.
"Good morning Frodo," one of them said cheerfully as he ran to fetch another firework, "Come to watch our firework display?" He smiled as he passed Frodo.
"Merry and Pippin," he sighed, "I could have guessed"
"What's that meant to mean?" Merry looked at him
"What are you doing," yelled an angry voice, "Keep it down or you'll be in serious trouble"
"Old bat" Merry said angrily, "She always spoils our fun"
"She has a point though" Frodo looked at the two of them, "You're only meant to use fireworks at parties or special occasions, you know that" He paused, "Where did you get them from anyway?" That was the main mystery. The usual firework supplier was Gandalf the wizard, but he only came on special occasions or when he felt necessary to visit.
"Well," Pippin began hesitantly; "We stole them from the last party but we only took four" he finished quickly.
"So you've used them all then?" Frodo frowned at them
"Yes" They said together
"Good," he said as he turned to go back inside shaking his head, "They never grow up do they?" he sighed with a smile on his face and closed the door.
Meanwhile at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry three friends were walking to their common room after a long day at school, when a voice called to them.
"Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger," They spun round to see who was calling to them, it was Professor McGonagall "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office immediately, follow me."
The three of them followed Professor McGonagall up a lot of spiral staircases until they came to a halt in front of a large statue. Professor McGonagall said the password, "chocolate frog", and the statue revealed another spiral staircase Harry recognised as he had been to Dumbledore's office loads of times before. When they reached Dumbledore's office there was another wizard there. He had a long white beard and long white hair very similar to Dumbledore's hair and beard. The strange wizard wore long white robes and a long white cloak and carried a staff. Harry wondered if he was from the Ministry of Magic but he didn't dare ask.
"Ahh, here they are," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he smiled at them as they entered, "Please sit down" the trio sat down in the three empty seats in front of the desk. "Now I have called you here to meet my friend Gandalf," he paused and nodded towards the wizard, "Now Gandalf asked me if I could find some responsible, courageous and of course adventurous students to help him with something, and I have chosen you three."
He turned to Gandalf, "I can assure these three fulfil your requirements as they have had many adventures in their time here so far" Dumbledore smiled "I am very pleased to have three such bright, brave and strong wizards in my school."
"Excuse me Professor but what exactly are we to help with," Ron asked impatiently, he was tired and wanted to go to bed.
"I was just getting there Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said, "Gandalf would you like to explain now or shall we wait until tomorrow when these three aren't as tired?"
Gandalf turned to Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Could you three pack a few things, not much because you'll have to carry it, so we can set off early in the morning," Gandalf looked at Dumbledore who nodded, "I'll explain on the way tomorrow."
"Yes I think that is a good way of doing it, now off to bed with you" They got up and left the office and headed for the Gryffindor common room without a word. Harry wondered what Gandalf meant by 'pack a few things' and 'we can set off early in the morning'. Did Dumbledore want them to leave Hogwarts for a while? Where were they going and why?
He forced himself to forget all this as he climbed into his four poster bed. This could be his last night at Hogwarts and he wanted to enjoy it.
Morning came too soon for Harry and he was woken up at dawn by Gandalf.
"Get dressed quickly we must leave soon" Gandalf whispered to Harry and Ron trying not to wake anyone else up. When they were dressed in muggle clothes but still wore their long black cloaks to keep them warm, they ran down to the steps to the common room where Gandalf sat in front of the fire waiting. The boys joined him to wait for Hermione. Very soon after they had sat down, Hermione rushed down the stairs from the girls' dormitories followed by Professor McGonagall.
"Are we all here?" Gandalf looked at them, "Breakfast for four of us then," he clapped his hands and a small table in the corner became laden with breakfast for them. "We must eat quickly now." The four of them ate as quickly as they could and ate as much as they could for Gandalf had told them they may not eat for a while. When they had finished Gandalf took them outside into the grounds and Harry saw Dobby the house elf saddling up three brown ponies and a tall white horse. Dobby attached large bags of food on one side of each pony and bottles of water on the other. The horse carried three tents.
"We will ride for a while but when we get to the mountains we must send our horses' home" Gandalf patted the horse's neck, "Then we will walk the rest of the way. Does anyone have any questions?"
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked
"First we will travel to the Shire, a small village, to meet the rest of our team."
"How long does it take to get to the Shire? Why do we ride ponies when we have brooms?" Harry yawned.
"A day's ride then a day's walk I should say. And you can't ride a broom for various reasons, for one it is safer where we are going to not prove to the world that you are wizards, that must remain secret between us and it may save your life if the enemy does not know you can use magic, and two because you'll make the others jealous if you fly and they have to remain on the ground." Gandalf mounted his horse, "Come on we must leave now. I'll explain everything else on the way." Harry, Ron, and Hermione each climbed onto their pony and they set out for the Shire.
A few hours later they were well on their way and the sun was becoming brighter and finally everyone felt more awake. "Erm...Gandalf what is the purpose of this erm...journey?" Hermione asked anxiously
"A while ago a friend of mine found a ring, not just any ring; it was a ring of magic and power. When you wear this ring you become invisible but like many enchanted things it is evil and possesses you. So we must go the fires of Mordor, in Mount Doom, where it was made and destroy it but it won't be easy as the evil Saruman and Sauron are after the ring and have an evil army of orcs guarding the fires of Mount Doom. You three won't be going anywhere near Mount Doom."
He said when he saw the look of terror on their young faces and with these words a look of relief swept across their faces. They remained silent for the rest of the day.
The next day when they saw the green grass and heard the birds singing as they drew closer to the Shire Harry, Ron and Hermione began to feel happier. They arrived at around ten o' clock in the morning which would have been night time at Hogwarts and Gandalf lead them towards a round green door in the side of a particularly nice hill and he rang the door bell. "This is a hobbit hole," Gandalf said and Ron pulled a face, he lived in a small house but it certainly wasn't a hole, "You'll be surprised Mr Weasley". A moment later the door opened slightly and a face appeared
"Gandalf!" The door swung open and a small figure ran out and hugged Gandalf. The man was only young in his early thirties maybe and he was smaller than Harry.
"Come in, come in" Smiled the little man opening the door as wide as it would go. Harry, Ron and Hermione were surprised to see at the end of a long hall there was a dining room with a fire at the side and a table in front. They all sat down and the little man brought tea and cakes for them. "So Gandalf what brings you and your friends here?"
"This is Frodo Baggins. He is a hobbit." Gandalf explained "and this is Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger" The three of them smiled at Frodo. "We are here to explain about the ring Bilbo gave you and what you are to do with it." Frodo looked confused but Gandalf explained everything. When Gandalf had finished they heard a knock at the door.
"Excuse me" Frodo said as he scuttled down the hall to the door. Moments later Frodo came back followed by another hobbit. "Sam, this is Harry, Ron and Hermione. They're here with Gandalf" He introduced them, "This is Sam"
"Oh Hello" Sam said as he sat down.
"I'd guessed we'd have to take Sam with us too." Gandalf chuckled as he quickly told Sam the plan.
They stayed in the Shire for a few days and when the time came to leave Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't really want to, the Shire was such a lovely place that until now they never knew existed, but they couldn't argue with Gandalf. They all woke up very early on the day of departure and ate hurriedly. As they were just leaving the Shire, Harry noticed a bush move and he kicked it gently and out rolled two more hobbits.
"What are you two doing here?" Gandalf held them by the ears.
"We wanted to know where you were going." One squeaked.
"What we are doing is none of your business." Gandalf let go of their ears, "Now you go home and we'll continue on our journey"
"Oh an adventure can we come?" Pippin smiled hopefully, "You'll need intelligent people on this mission...quest...thing"
"That counts you out then" Merry said nudging his friend in the side with his elbow, "Your not even intelligent enough to find your way to your own pockets without getting lost on there way" Pippin almost nodded before realising what had just been said and then frowned at the others who were laughing.
"He has a point there Mr Took." Gandalf chuckled. "Well if you do get in the way we could always use you for bait. Come on" And they all set off on their adventure not knowing what would happen to them.