A/N: And on to the next chapter. Here we are at Helms Deep!!! Let the battle begin!!!!
Hermione felt the cold rain drench her skin, felt the tension around her, and could hear Legolas' heart beating, but she noticed none of it. As she stood on the wall, her wand drawn in front of her, she focused on drawing any magical ability, be it elven or no, to the spell she was about to perform. Her eyes were closed slightly in concentration and she barely noticed the tip of her wand glowing a brilliant white. As she stood there, her thoughts were on her magic; the many years that she had been taught at Hogwarts, the many battles she had fought with her friends and the many triumphs she had had. She thought of Harry and Ron who were now at Hogwarts, unaware of the terror she was about to face, and how they would always be with her. She thought of victory, and of courage, and of the brave and innocent men and elves that stood with her; most of which had done so against their will and with little knowledge. As her courage and her will to triumph grew, so did the light on her wand, and by the time the Uruk-hai had reached the fortress, the light was as great as if it had come from Dumbledore himself. Hermione heard a voice off to the side, the voice of Aragorn, and she listened to his instructions in elvish.
"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!" he cried, pacing as he did so.
Hermione heard something else, but what it was exactly was hidden in a rumble of thunder. She saw Legolas and other elves ready their arrows in their bows and took out her own bow, but as she did so, she heard him say something at her side.
"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc."
They were ready. The stomping of the Uruk-hai was pounding in her ears and the load bellow of one rung out above them all. She felt a tingling in her fingertips and lower arm, the feeling slowly spreading. Hermione narrowed her eyes, focusing on the nearest group of Uruk's in her area and listened for her fathers call. Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, she heard his voice rise up and pointed her wand to the group that was set in her gaze.
"Hermione!" he called.
"Avada Kedavra!" she yelled, her voice ringing out.
Out of her wand shot a bright green light, spanning out over a small cluster of Uruk's. Many were momentarily blinded by the light, but after a little while, the light dulled and all that was left was a pile of dead Uruk-hai; their bodies lifeless and unmarred. By her count, no more than fifteen were dead, not much but much more in a second than in the span it would have normally taken. With that she lowered her wand, fixed it back in her belt and fixed an arrow in her bow. The Uruk-hai, after what they had just witnessed, were in a fierce uproar and began to charge at the fortress, but they were prepared. Aragorn's command rung out over the din.
"Leithio i philinn!" he cried.
Hermione let loose an arrow, another soon following, and over her head came many others, let loose from the bows of the hidden elves. More arrows were released from both elf and man and soon were retaliated by those of the Uruk's. Gimli was quite restless at this point, axe at the ready and seemingly hot in his hands. He was jumping up and down, wanting to get a look at what was going on, and finally got what he wanted. The Uruk-hai had thrown grappling hooks over the wall and were pulling latter's up to lean on the fortress.
"Pendraid!" cried Aragorn, making Gimli very happy despite his lack of what the word meant.
Uruk's climbed up the ladders at a great speed, and Hermione had soon put away her bow and had taken out her sword, killing the nearest Uruk that came in her path. She killed them as they came, seeing Legolas and Gimli do the same. Above the din, her ears caught the friendly voices of her companions, hearing them compare scores before going back to their tasks. It seemed Legolas was winning.
Another Uruk came at her from the front, and she sliced off its hideous head, doing the same to the one that came after it. Finally having enough with the stupid ladder, she pulled out her wand and yelled a fire spell, burning away the rope and letting the ladder and numerous Uruk's to fall to the ground. More ladders came up, sending more Uruk-hai to take the place of the dead ones. Hermione fought with both sword and wand, rarely using her bow unless she felt the need. As she fought off one Uruk with her sword, giving it a swift stab in the chest, she yelled a severing charm to sever the head off another. The sickly smelling black blood drenched her cloths, but that was of little matter, and as she killed another one, it's blood spilling out over her arm, she began to smell the stench of death. Of both the innocent and the accused.
As she fought, she heard her father shouting orders at the elves as he noticed things. An Uruk climbed the ladder beside her and stood about to attack, on the top of the wall. Hermione turned around from where she had been fighting and sliced her sword through the lower half of the creature before pushing it off the wall to let it die. Another took its place, coming towards her with its sword in front, swinging it madly. Before she could kill it, she felt the blade graze her arm and leave a mark through her shirt. She stabbed the Uruk in the chest, prying out her sword from the mail coat.
The battle raged on, and Hermione, Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn fought valiantly, and the Uruk's seemed to be losing, until there came a light in the darkness. From out of the corner of her eye Hermione saw Uruk's loading two massive spiked balls into the drainage gap in the wall. She thought little of it until a large Uruk-hai came running out from the back of the group. In his hand was a torch, lit with white fire, and at that moment, everything seemed to slow.
"Togo hon dad, Legolas!" cried Aragorn from a little ways away from where Hermione stood. "Dago hon! Dago hon!"
Farther down she saw Legolas notch an arrow and fire it at the creature, it lodging itself in the Uruk's shoulder, but it did not slow. He fired a second, but it kept running, and before anyone could act, he had dove into the gap and the wall exploded, sending men and elves flying. Hermione was sent back several feet, landing on the hard stone of the wall. Quickly picking herself up off the floor, her head spinning and her limbs throbbing from the impact, she stumbled forward through the dust to find Uruk's streaming in through the open wall. Aragorn lied unconscious on the ground.
Before she could go down to him, an Uruk had made it's way to her and had engaged her in combat, but luckily Gimli got down there in time. Slicing off its head, she looked back over the broken wall to see her father standing, motioning to elves to charge with him, his cried ringing out. Bringing out her wand she pointed it at the Uruk-hai charging towards Gimli and Aragorn, sending out another wave of green light that killed the first six. The ones down below were ready for the rest.
"Aragorn! Fall back to the keep! Get your men out of there!" cried Théoden from where he stood.
"Na Barad! Na Baraad! Haldir, na Barad!" yelled Aragorn, looking at Haldir who fought not more than ten feet from Hermione.
Turning around, Hermione ran towards Haldir, meaning to follow him in their retreat. As she neared him, she saw an Uruk come up behind him, sword drawn, and she did not see him make any move to stop it. Taking out her knife she hurled it at the Uruk, making it land in its neck. Turning around from where he had been fighting, Haldir noticed her and smiled quickly, motioning for her to follow him. They ran quickly, killing anything in their path, and other elves joined them on their way to safety.
As they neared the entrance to the keep, a band of three Uruk-hai came upon them. Their swords, dirtied with the blood of men and elves, were raised and their cruel smiles laughed at the party of elves through the darkness. Haldir and the elves behind Hermione looked ready to fight once more, but Hermione did not want them to disregard Aragorn's orders.
"Go, now. I'll take care of them," said Hermione, pulling out her wand with her left hand.
"I should not leave you alone my lady," said Haldir, his own sword drawn.
"You shouldn't, but you will. Take these elves and go," said Hermione, more forcefully.
With a nod, Haldir and the other elves left Hermione to deal with the Uruk's, which she did with one blast from her wand and two slices of her sword. With a quick look to make sure that no other Uruk-hai were on her tail, she made the last few steps to the keep where she found Gimli, Aragorn, Haldir and Théoden conversing. Men were bracing the gate against the many Uruk's who were fighting to get inside and the elves that Haldir had brought with him were helping them. With one look at the struggle that the force on the gate was causing, Hermione sheathed her sword and stood directly in front of the door. She raised her wand and pointed it at the door, mumbling a spell under her breath.
"Habui Porta," She whispered, a spell to hold the gate against the Uruk's.
After a moment, the gate seemed to hold. There was no need of the men and elves bracing it. All that was needed was for Hermione to keep the spell up as needed. The Uruk's were locked from the outside for the moment, but until Hermione grew too weak to keep the spell up, until she felt her strength drain, they would need to defeat them. As Hermione stood, her wand still raised and her eyes, unblinking on the door, she felt another pair of eyes on her. Those of Théoden King who was standing behind her with a look of confusion and surprise on his face. He never knew that someone who seemed so helpless and defenceless could be so powerful. He never could have imagined that she would have lasted this far, and was now holding the gate from its impending destruction.
Some time past while Hermione held the gate. The elves and men had gone back to the battle and Théoden had continued to direct his men. Hermione hadn't seen her father, Gimli or Legolas in quite some time. Suddenly, she heard Théoden yell for everyone to pull back to the keep, to retreat. Hermione felt her strength draining as she fell to one knee. All of the spells she had performed, all of the energy she had used, had weakened her. She would not be able to hold the gate for much longer, and then the Uruk's would come and all would have been in vain.
"Board up the gate," said Hermione, her voice strained.
"What?" asked Théoden, walking over to her.
"I said, board up the gate. I cannot hold it much longer and when I can't the Uruk's will be free to come inside. Now do it," said Hermione, the last part but a whisper.
With a nod, Théoden called men over to bar the gate with wooden planks and shields. Hermione felt the spell fading, the gate would not hold much longer. Her eyes became heavy, her breathing shallow, and her grasp on her wand was becoming loose. Soon she would drop it and the planks and shields would have to hold until they could make it to the hall of the keep. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn come from above, weary from battle. She vaguely registered Legolas and Aragorn kneeling beside her, or their words. Her strength was now very minimal and, with one last ounce of strength, she held the gate a little longer before her wand fell to the floor. Hermione fell on her hands and knees, her limbs shaking and her face pale. She did not think that she had the strength to stand, let alone walk, and so she slid to the floor where she slipped into brief unconsciousness.
*
When she awoke, Hermione found herself in the hall of the keep, sitting in a chair while she heard her father and Théoden talking. As she regained her focus, she found that the king had a blank expression on his face. He was in shock of his loss.
"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" asked Aragorn who received no answer. "Is there no other way?"
"There is one passage," said one of Théoden's men, Gamling. "It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are to many."
"Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass." Said Aragorn. "And barricade the entrance."
Théoden took a step forward from where he stood, his eyes wide. "So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?"
There was a pause. Aragorn seemed to be digesting his words, thinking it out. What could men do? What could anyone truly do? Hermione sat up in her chair and made to stand up, wanting to know exactly what was going on since she had slipped away. One hand held the arm of the chair and she stood, on shaky unstable legs. Hermione took a step forward and stumbled, being caught in Legolas' arms.
"Hannon le," whispered Hermione, looking up at him. He smiled lovingly at her.
"Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them." Said Aragorn suddenly.
A fire was lit in Théoden's eyes. "For death and glory." He said.
"For Rohan and for your people." Said Aragorn.
"The sun is rising," said Gimli out of nowhere, making an astute observation.
Aragorn looked distant for a moment, like he was remembering something, and looked at the window, it's light streaming in. "Yes, yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep one last time." Said Théoden.
"Yes!" cried Gimli, running up the steps to where the horn was kept.
"Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. Fell deed awake. Now for wrath! For ruin! And a red dawn!" cried Théoden, mounting the horse that had been brought to him.
"Are you sure you should ride?" asked Legolas in a whisper.
"Yes. I'll be fine I assure you." Hermione whispered back.
"That's what you said before," said Legolas.
"I mean it," said Hermione.
The horses were brought and all mounted, but as Hermione began to regain her strength, little by little, Legolas could tell the she would not last long. Even elves had a point where they should stop to rest and Hermione had reached that point. After all the power and strength that she had used she was weak and her eyes were almost half-closed. She needed rest, Legolas could see that. She would not make it much longer.
Once all were saddled, they stood before the door, waiting for Théoden to move forward. With a cry, "FORTH EORLINGAS!" they opened the door and rode forward, slashing at the Uruk-hai as they rode through. The rode until they came to the bridge, just outside the gate of the Hornburg. They rode in single file, killing as they went. They rode down into the mass of Uruk's, many men and elves following. In the midst of the battle, Aragorn looked up to the east where he saw the sun rising and a white rider standing at the top of the hill.
"Gandalf," he breathed, looking at him as he stood against the sun.
Another rider came up beside him, Eomer on his steed. He lifted up his arm and spoke, more riders coming up beside and behind him and Gandalf. Théoden too looked up from battle and saw him, breathing his name as if it were fresh air. Suddenly, the mass of riders began to come down the hill, riding towards the Uruk-hai. A group of them looked towards the oncoming force, shielding their eyes from the bright light on the sun. Once they were close, the riders of the Rohirrim jumped into the momentarily blinded Uruk's, catching them off guard and engaging them in battle.
Hermione, who had gained back some of her strength, was putting it to good use. She fought as if she wasn't tired, as if her sword didn't feel weighed down in her hand, too heavy to lift and wield. It was not long before many Uruk's had been killed and the remaining fled, leaving their dead lying alongside the dead men and elves. The sun had risen, it's light shining out over the mass of bodies, riders and warriors. Hermione smiled when she saw it, the night having seemed like days, like weeks. Looking around her, she saw everyone cheering. Gandalf held his staff high, the sun gleaming off the white wood. Gimli, who had come down from where the horn was kept, was standing on the bridge with his axe raised in victory. Théoden seemed to be quite pleased with the outcome of the battle, cheering loudest overall.
"Victory! We have victory!" he cried, raising his sword.
Legolas and Aragorn rode over to her, their horses on either side of her. Hermione looked over to them and smiled, they had won. They had survived. "Had I not said I would be well?" she asked Legolas, grinning.
"You did say that," he said, smiling back.
"You did well Hermione. I never should have doubted you," said Aragorn, looking at his daughter.
"You didn't. You just wanted to see me safe." She said, smiling at him.
"One battle has been fought, and this time won," said Gandalf, riding up in front them. "Let us hope that other battles have had similar outcome."
"Talk of that will be for later. Now is a time for rest; rest and discussion." Said Théoden, too coming up in front of Hermione and the others.
"There is no rest for the weary," said Hermione, smiling a little.
"For some, no, but for you my lady as well as others, the weary will get the rest direly needed." Said Théoden.
Without another word they rode back towards the fortress. Hermione, despite her words, was in need of rest and the sooner a suitable place was sought she would sleep until the end of time. As she dismounted, she gazed out over the battlefield, seeing many innocent and valiant, evil and bloodthirsty, brave and frightened figures on the cold, wet ground. Until matters were sorted out there they would lay, having found peace among the wretchedness and cruelty of the world. Hermione shed a tear for them, it leaving a wet line on her pale, tired and dirty face. After a moment she turned away, following Legolas and Gimli back into the hall and towards a bench where they sat, lying back against the wall. Hermione rested her head against Legolas' chest and closed her eyes, as she had grown accustomed to it during her stay at Hogwarts. As she slipped off, however, she could not help but think of the last words of Gandalf,
"The battle for Helms Deep is over, the battle for Middle-Earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits, somewhere in the wilderness."
A/N: Here is the Helms Deep chapter. I know that it is a little short and all, but that's just how it turned out. Please review and I really hope you liked it.
Translations:
A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!- Show them no mercy! For you shall receive none!
Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc- Their armour is weak at the neck and underneath the arms
Leithio i philinn!- Release the arrows!
Pendraid!- Ladders!
Togo hon dad, Legolas!- Bring him down, Legolas!
Dago hon! Dago hon!- Kill him! Kill him!
Na Barad! Na Baraad! Haldir, na Barad!- To the Keep! Pull back to the Keep! Haldir, to the Keep!
Hannon le- Thank you
Hermione felt the cold rain drench her skin, felt the tension around her, and could hear Legolas' heart beating, but she noticed none of it. As she stood on the wall, her wand drawn in front of her, she focused on drawing any magical ability, be it elven or no, to the spell she was about to perform. Her eyes were closed slightly in concentration and she barely noticed the tip of her wand glowing a brilliant white. As she stood there, her thoughts were on her magic; the many years that she had been taught at Hogwarts, the many battles she had fought with her friends and the many triumphs she had had. She thought of Harry and Ron who were now at Hogwarts, unaware of the terror she was about to face, and how they would always be with her. She thought of victory, and of courage, and of the brave and innocent men and elves that stood with her; most of which had done so against their will and with little knowledge. As her courage and her will to triumph grew, so did the light on her wand, and by the time the Uruk-hai had reached the fortress, the light was as great as if it had come from Dumbledore himself. Hermione heard a voice off to the side, the voice of Aragorn, and she listened to his instructions in elvish.
"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!" he cried, pacing as he did so.
Hermione heard something else, but what it was exactly was hidden in a rumble of thunder. She saw Legolas and other elves ready their arrows in their bows and took out her own bow, but as she did so, she heard him say something at her side.
"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc."
They were ready. The stomping of the Uruk-hai was pounding in her ears and the load bellow of one rung out above them all. She felt a tingling in her fingertips and lower arm, the feeling slowly spreading. Hermione narrowed her eyes, focusing on the nearest group of Uruk's in her area and listened for her fathers call. Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, she heard his voice rise up and pointed her wand to the group that was set in her gaze.
"Hermione!" he called.
"Avada Kedavra!" she yelled, her voice ringing out.
Out of her wand shot a bright green light, spanning out over a small cluster of Uruk's. Many were momentarily blinded by the light, but after a little while, the light dulled and all that was left was a pile of dead Uruk-hai; their bodies lifeless and unmarred. By her count, no more than fifteen were dead, not much but much more in a second than in the span it would have normally taken. With that she lowered her wand, fixed it back in her belt and fixed an arrow in her bow. The Uruk-hai, after what they had just witnessed, were in a fierce uproar and began to charge at the fortress, but they were prepared. Aragorn's command rung out over the din.
"Leithio i philinn!" he cried.
Hermione let loose an arrow, another soon following, and over her head came many others, let loose from the bows of the hidden elves. More arrows were released from both elf and man and soon were retaliated by those of the Uruk's. Gimli was quite restless at this point, axe at the ready and seemingly hot in his hands. He was jumping up and down, wanting to get a look at what was going on, and finally got what he wanted. The Uruk-hai had thrown grappling hooks over the wall and were pulling latter's up to lean on the fortress.
"Pendraid!" cried Aragorn, making Gimli very happy despite his lack of what the word meant.
Uruk's climbed up the ladders at a great speed, and Hermione had soon put away her bow and had taken out her sword, killing the nearest Uruk that came in her path. She killed them as they came, seeing Legolas and Gimli do the same. Above the din, her ears caught the friendly voices of her companions, hearing them compare scores before going back to their tasks. It seemed Legolas was winning.
Another Uruk came at her from the front, and she sliced off its hideous head, doing the same to the one that came after it. Finally having enough with the stupid ladder, she pulled out her wand and yelled a fire spell, burning away the rope and letting the ladder and numerous Uruk's to fall to the ground. More ladders came up, sending more Uruk-hai to take the place of the dead ones. Hermione fought with both sword and wand, rarely using her bow unless she felt the need. As she fought off one Uruk with her sword, giving it a swift stab in the chest, she yelled a severing charm to sever the head off another. The sickly smelling black blood drenched her cloths, but that was of little matter, and as she killed another one, it's blood spilling out over her arm, she began to smell the stench of death. Of both the innocent and the accused.
As she fought, she heard her father shouting orders at the elves as he noticed things. An Uruk climbed the ladder beside her and stood about to attack, on the top of the wall. Hermione turned around from where she had been fighting and sliced her sword through the lower half of the creature before pushing it off the wall to let it die. Another took its place, coming towards her with its sword in front, swinging it madly. Before she could kill it, she felt the blade graze her arm and leave a mark through her shirt. She stabbed the Uruk in the chest, prying out her sword from the mail coat.
The battle raged on, and Hermione, Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn fought valiantly, and the Uruk's seemed to be losing, until there came a light in the darkness. From out of the corner of her eye Hermione saw Uruk's loading two massive spiked balls into the drainage gap in the wall. She thought little of it until a large Uruk-hai came running out from the back of the group. In his hand was a torch, lit with white fire, and at that moment, everything seemed to slow.
"Togo hon dad, Legolas!" cried Aragorn from a little ways away from where Hermione stood. "Dago hon! Dago hon!"
Farther down she saw Legolas notch an arrow and fire it at the creature, it lodging itself in the Uruk's shoulder, but it did not slow. He fired a second, but it kept running, and before anyone could act, he had dove into the gap and the wall exploded, sending men and elves flying. Hermione was sent back several feet, landing on the hard stone of the wall. Quickly picking herself up off the floor, her head spinning and her limbs throbbing from the impact, she stumbled forward through the dust to find Uruk's streaming in through the open wall. Aragorn lied unconscious on the ground.
Before she could go down to him, an Uruk had made it's way to her and had engaged her in combat, but luckily Gimli got down there in time. Slicing off its head, she looked back over the broken wall to see her father standing, motioning to elves to charge with him, his cried ringing out. Bringing out her wand she pointed it at the Uruk-hai charging towards Gimli and Aragorn, sending out another wave of green light that killed the first six. The ones down below were ready for the rest.
"Aragorn! Fall back to the keep! Get your men out of there!" cried Théoden from where he stood.
"Na Barad! Na Baraad! Haldir, na Barad!" yelled Aragorn, looking at Haldir who fought not more than ten feet from Hermione.
Turning around, Hermione ran towards Haldir, meaning to follow him in their retreat. As she neared him, she saw an Uruk come up behind him, sword drawn, and she did not see him make any move to stop it. Taking out her knife she hurled it at the Uruk, making it land in its neck. Turning around from where he had been fighting, Haldir noticed her and smiled quickly, motioning for her to follow him. They ran quickly, killing anything in their path, and other elves joined them on their way to safety.
As they neared the entrance to the keep, a band of three Uruk-hai came upon them. Their swords, dirtied with the blood of men and elves, were raised and their cruel smiles laughed at the party of elves through the darkness. Haldir and the elves behind Hermione looked ready to fight once more, but Hermione did not want them to disregard Aragorn's orders.
"Go, now. I'll take care of them," said Hermione, pulling out her wand with her left hand.
"I should not leave you alone my lady," said Haldir, his own sword drawn.
"You shouldn't, but you will. Take these elves and go," said Hermione, more forcefully.
With a nod, Haldir and the other elves left Hermione to deal with the Uruk's, which she did with one blast from her wand and two slices of her sword. With a quick look to make sure that no other Uruk-hai were on her tail, she made the last few steps to the keep where she found Gimli, Aragorn, Haldir and Théoden conversing. Men were bracing the gate against the many Uruk's who were fighting to get inside and the elves that Haldir had brought with him were helping them. With one look at the struggle that the force on the gate was causing, Hermione sheathed her sword and stood directly in front of the door. She raised her wand and pointed it at the door, mumbling a spell under her breath.
"Habui Porta," She whispered, a spell to hold the gate against the Uruk's.
After a moment, the gate seemed to hold. There was no need of the men and elves bracing it. All that was needed was for Hermione to keep the spell up as needed. The Uruk's were locked from the outside for the moment, but until Hermione grew too weak to keep the spell up, until she felt her strength drain, they would need to defeat them. As Hermione stood, her wand still raised and her eyes, unblinking on the door, she felt another pair of eyes on her. Those of Théoden King who was standing behind her with a look of confusion and surprise on his face. He never knew that someone who seemed so helpless and defenceless could be so powerful. He never could have imagined that she would have lasted this far, and was now holding the gate from its impending destruction.
Some time past while Hermione held the gate. The elves and men had gone back to the battle and Théoden had continued to direct his men. Hermione hadn't seen her father, Gimli or Legolas in quite some time. Suddenly, she heard Théoden yell for everyone to pull back to the keep, to retreat. Hermione felt her strength draining as she fell to one knee. All of the spells she had performed, all of the energy she had used, had weakened her. She would not be able to hold the gate for much longer, and then the Uruk's would come and all would have been in vain.
"Board up the gate," said Hermione, her voice strained.
"What?" asked Théoden, walking over to her.
"I said, board up the gate. I cannot hold it much longer and when I can't the Uruk's will be free to come inside. Now do it," said Hermione, the last part but a whisper.
With a nod, Théoden called men over to bar the gate with wooden planks and shields. Hermione felt the spell fading, the gate would not hold much longer. Her eyes became heavy, her breathing shallow, and her grasp on her wand was becoming loose. Soon she would drop it and the planks and shields would have to hold until they could make it to the hall of the keep. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn come from above, weary from battle. She vaguely registered Legolas and Aragorn kneeling beside her, or their words. Her strength was now very minimal and, with one last ounce of strength, she held the gate a little longer before her wand fell to the floor. Hermione fell on her hands and knees, her limbs shaking and her face pale. She did not think that she had the strength to stand, let alone walk, and so she slid to the floor where she slipped into brief unconsciousness.
*
When she awoke, Hermione found herself in the hall of the keep, sitting in a chair while she heard her father and Théoden talking. As she regained her focus, she found that the king had a blank expression on his face. He was in shock of his loss.
"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" asked Aragorn who received no answer. "Is there no other way?"
"There is one passage," said one of Théoden's men, Gamling. "It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are to many."
"Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass." Said Aragorn. "And barricade the entrance."
Théoden took a step forward from where he stood, his eyes wide. "So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?"
There was a pause. Aragorn seemed to be digesting his words, thinking it out. What could men do? What could anyone truly do? Hermione sat up in her chair and made to stand up, wanting to know exactly what was going on since she had slipped away. One hand held the arm of the chair and she stood, on shaky unstable legs. Hermione took a step forward and stumbled, being caught in Legolas' arms.
"Hannon le," whispered Hermione, looking up at him. He smiled lovingly at her.
"Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them." Said Aragorn suddenly.
A fire was lit in Théoden's eyes. "For death and glory." He said.
"For Rohan and for your people." Said Aragorn.
"The sun is rising," said Gimli out of nowhere, making an astute observation.
Aragorn looked distant for a moment, like he was remembering something, and looked at the window, it's light streaming in. "Yes, yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep one last time." Said Théoden.
"Yes!" cried Gimli, running up the steps to where the horn was kept.
"Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. Fell deed awake. Now for wrath! For ruin! And a red dawn!" cried Théoden, mounting the horse that had been brought to him.
"Are you sure you should ride?" asked Legolas in a whisper.
"Yes. I'll be fine I assure you." Hermione whispered back.
"That's what you said before," said Legolas.
"I mean it," said Hermione.
The horses were brought and all mounted, but as Hermione began to regain her strength, little by little, Legolas could tell the she would not last long. Even elves had a point where they should stop to rest and Hermione had reached that point. After all the power and strength that she had used she was weak and her eyes were almost half-closed. She needed rest, Legolas could see that. She would not make it much longer.
Once all were saddled, they stood before the door, waiting for Théoden to move forward. With a cry, "FORTH EORLINGAS!" they opened the door and rode forward, slashing at the Uruk-hai as they rode through. The rode until they came to the bridge, just outside the gate of the Hornburg. They rode in single file, killing as they went. They rode down into the mass of Uruk's, many men and elves following. In the midst of the battle, Aragorn looked up to the east where he saw the sun rising and a white rider standing at the top of the hill.
"Gandalf," he breathed, looking at him as he stood against the sun.
Another rider came up beside him, Eomer on his steed. He lifted up his arm and spoke, more riders coming up beside and behind him and Gandalf. Théoden too looked up from battle and saw him, breathing his name as if it were fresh air. Suddenly, the mass of riders began to come down the hill, riding towards the Uruk-hai. A group of them looked towards the oncoming force, shielding their eyes from the bright light on the sun. Once they were close, the riders of the Rohirrim jumped into the momentarily blinded Uruk's, catching them off guard and engaging them in battle.
Hermione, who had gained back some of her strength, was putting it to good use. She fought as if she wasn't tired, as if her sword didn't feel weighed down in her hand, too heavy to lift and wield. It was not long before many Uruk's had been killed and the remaining fled, leaving their dead lying alongside the dead men and elves. The sun had risen, it's light shining out over the mass of bodies, riders and warriors. Hermione smiled when she saw it, the night having seemed like days, like weeks. Looking around her, she saw everyone cheering. Gandalf held his staff high, the sun gleaming off the white wood. Gimli, who had come down from where the horn was kept, was standing on the bridge with his axe raised in victory. Théoden seemed to be quite pleased with the outcome of the battle, cheering loudest overall.
"Victory! We have victory!" he cried, raising his sword.
Legolas and Aragorn rode over to her, their horses on either side of her. Hermione looked over to them and smiled, they had won. They had survived. "Had I not said I would be well?" she asked Legolas, grinning.
"You did say that," he said, smiling back.
"You did well Hermione. I never should have doubted you," said Aragorn, looking at his daughter.
"You didn't. You just wanted to see me safe." She said, smiling at him.
"One battle has been fought, and this time won," said Gandalf, riding up in front them. "Let us hope that other battles have had similar outcome."
"Talk of that will be for later. Now is a time for rest; rest and discussion." Said Théoden, too coming up in front of Hermione and the others.
"There is no rest for the weary," said Hermione, smiling a little.
"For some, no, but for you my lady as well as others, the weary will get the rest direly needed." Said Théoden.
Without another word they rode back towards the fortress. Hermione, despite her words, was in need of rest and the sooner a suitable place was sought she would sleep until the end of time. As she dismounted, she gazed out over the battlefield, seeing many innocent and valiant, evil and bloodthirsty, brave and frightened figures on the cold, wet ground. Until matters were sorted out there they would lay, having found peace among the wretchedness and cruelty of the world. Hermione shed a tear for them, it leaving a wet line on her pale, tired and dirty face. After a moment she turned away, following Legolas and Gimli back into the hall and towards a bench where they sat, lying back against the wall. Hermione rested her head against Legolas' chest and closed her eyes, as she had grown accustomed to it during her stay at Hogwarts. As she slipped off, however, she could not help but think of the last words of Gandalf,
"The battle for Helms Deep is over, the battle for Middle-Earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits, somewhere in the wilderness."
A/N: Here is the Helms Deep chapter. I know that it is a little short and all, but that's just how it turned out. Please review and I really hope you liked it.
Translations:
A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!- Show them no mercy! For you shall receive none!
Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc- Their armour is weak at the neck and underneath the arms
Leithio i philinn!- Release the arrows!
Pendraid!- Ladders!
Togo hon dad, Legolas!- Bring him down, Legolas!
Dago hon! Dago hon!- Kill him! Kill him!
Na Barad! Na Baraad! Haldir, na Barad!- To the Keep! Pull back to the Keep! Haldir, to the Keep!
Hannon le- Thank you