Freddie and Sam went to class the next day tired and not so ready for school. They sat down in their desks and the school bell rang through the hallways and classrooms. Mr. Whitergray took attendance and began his class.

"But, before we begin, I'd like to ask Leo once more to take off his hat. I won't be so lenient today, Leo."

Leo sighed in resignation. He closed his eyes, and, ever so slowly, he took off his hat. His blond hair had been cut short but gelled in a very fashionable way. If anything, his short, spiked hair made him look hotter than he already was. But, it wasn't his hair that he was worried about.

His ears, which he normally kept under his hair, were clearly abnormal. Instead of ending in the usual curve, his ears had grown into a point, giving him a very peculiar look. The whole class sat in silence as they took in this extraordinary revolution.

"I was born like this," Leo whispered, breaking the silence. "No one knew why my ears turned out so…freaky. The doctors couldn't fix them because they said that it'll probably mess with my hearing if they did."

"Oh, my god," Lewis exclaimed. "He's a freak!"

Tears started to well up in Leo's eyes as appalled whispers flew around the class as a wave of gossip. Freddie turned around in his desk to look at him.

"Leo," he said. "Let me see properly."

A tear fell from Leo's eyes as he turned his head so Freddie could look at his distorted ears. To his surprise, Freddie gave him a warm smile.

"I like them," he said approvingly. "I don't know why, but you look better with pointy ears; makes you different."

"Come on, who wants to be normal, anyway?" Sam asked in an attempt to comfort him. "I think those ears are cool, man."

"Yeah." Aaron joined in. "Popularity's overrated, anyway. I mean, since when did we fit in here? We didn't care what they thought of us before, so why should we care now, huh?"

Leo smiled in relief and acceptation. He dried his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt and laughed in spite of himself.

"Yeah, that's true," he admitted. "I like my ears, too. I was just worried that you guys would think I'm a total freak or something...And, I don't care if everybody else thinks they're weird because I know they are and I'm proud of them. Does anybody have a problem with that?"

He directed that question to the class, which remained silent. He knew that they still thought that he was a freak, but he didn't care. He was a freak, but all that mattered to him was that his friends liked his freakiness.

"That's very good, Leo," Mr. Whitergray said. "But, this is a history class and not a class of self-discovery. Now, all of you, please turn to page 21 in your textbooks..."

Mr. Whitergray sat in contentment as he savoured the peace in the classroom as the students worked on some questions in the textbook. He glanced around the classroom to get familiar to the young faces. Neluni...James...Laura...Christine...Freddie...

When his eyes rested on Freddie, a flood of images flashed within his mind. Rolling hills, huge trees, and a river flowing through the fields. There were doors in the hills, put there as if something lived in the mounds of earth. Little people were walking and farming the land with simple tools. Ponies with carriages rattled over the dirt paths, past the hill-houses, to the windmills. An image of a particular hill-house with an ancient tree on top of it flashed brilliantly in his consciousness before it focused on two of the small people inside. They sat by the fireplace, laughing and talking. Their bare, hairy feet were propped up on stools and their curly heads turned to greet him.

Mr. Whitergray's eyes widened in shock.

It can't be, he thought. Freddie...? And Samuel? No, something's telling me that they're not them...but still a part of them. Who are these little men? A whisper from the past bubbled through his thoughts. Hobbits...of the Shire. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee of Bagend of Hobbiton.

The hobbits of his vision beamed at him as the images faded. His classroom swam back into focus and the vivid blue eyes of Freddie met his own. He marveled at the close resemblance of Freddie and the Hobbit that was called Frodo.

"Are you okay, sir?" Freddie asked him. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

He looked at Freddie, then at Sam. A voice inside of his head said, I think I just might have...

"I-I'm fine, Freddie. Thank you for your concern."

Freddie's head went down as he went back to work. Mr. Whitergray's eyes led him to the boy behind Freddie. Leo's eyes were unfocused as his mind wandered out of this world once more.

Like Freddie, Leo stirred up lost memories. A dark forest appeared in his mind with a warm campfire in the distance. Tall trees were all around him, telling him stories of the past. The fire drew nearer and illuminated tall, beautiful figures draped in cloaks and armed with bows and arrows. An image of a glorious underground hall that opened up to nature came into his mind. Everyone at the grand table that was set in an inner chamber of the magnificent palace had long, flowing hair and beautiful faces. Within the vision, Mr. Whitergray was quick to notice that they all had pointed ears. The people's attentions all focused to the stairway at the other side of the room. A tall, solemn man came down the stairs, taking his time to get to the table. The man stepped into the pool of light and his face was thrown out of the shadows.

Mr. Whitergray's heart skipped a beat when he saw the proud man's face.

Leo Grayfield... His mind was paralyzed as the Leo in the vision looked at him. Like the man could sense his presence, he looked at him and shook his noble head. His eyes implored Mr. Whitergray to uncover the truth. Again, a whisper from the past spoke into his ear.

Not Leo Grayfield, he thought. Legolas Greenleaf of the Mirkwood Elves. A Prince and a warrior that had protected the goodness of the world.

Legolas smiled in congratulations and the vision ended. The classroom came back into mind and Mr. Whitergray regained the feeling in his legs and arms. He quickly wiped off his cold sweat and glanced at the clock above the classroom door. He was very surprised when he realized that a mere moment had passed when the visions of the Elves appeared in his mind.

After a few minutes' break to get him prepared, his eyes wandered again down the aisles. When he saw Aaron, a familiar jolt of an ancient memory being pulled out of thousands of years penetrated his mentality. This vision was more powerful than the others'.

An immense surge of images poured into his mind. A city that gleamed white in the sun; vast fields of marshland; a forest of hundreds of giant, wise trees with a whole city resting in the branches; a small town of wooden houses; and, finally, a secluded city in the valleys of a range of mountains. The trees in the valley city weren't nearly as old as the other forest in this vision, but still spoke of wisdom and experience. Mr. Whitergray was taken around the nature-friendly metropolis at a rapid speed. He saw glimpses of more elves in the city, but he knew that they were different than the elves that Legolas belonged to. Several times he saw the same female elf that looked remarkably like a student of S. J. Carnil. Before he could interpret what the elf-maiden's name was, another image flashed before his eyes. A sort of meeting was taking place on a dais outside an elegant mansion. He had just enough time to feel the seriousness of the assembly before he was taken to the garden. A somewhat dignified, rugged man stood on a bridge, waiting. The man turned around as if he had heard Whitergray coming.

Mr. Whitergray stood in awe for a moment, intimidated by the simple nobility and pureness of this man who stood in front of him. The man's eyes begged him to say his name. However, Mr. Whitergray couldn't think of who this man could be.

You look...like a student I teach, Mr. Whitergray thought to the man. The man smiled in a dispirited mood. Aaron Strickland is the boy's name...

The man smiled in amusement this time, when he heard the name. He pleaded him once more, desperately hoping that he'd recognize whom he was. Then, a whisper flew past his ear.

Aragorn, Mr. Whitergray thought. You're Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, rightful heir to the throne of Gondor and King of Men. The little hobbits knew you as Strider, a name that they found the people of Bree called you.

Aragorn, too, grinned at Mr. Whitergray as the images vanished from his mind. But, instead of seeing his classroom again, he was back in the city that sat in the trees. An exquisite, golden elf came flowing down the stairs to meet him. She stopped in front of him to talk.

You know who I am, she thought to him. And you know who some of the others are.

You are Galadriel, Lady of Lothlorien, he thought. The others are those who did something that saved the world. I sensed it.

I am Galadriel, and I know who I am, she thought. But, you don't know who you are and the others don't know who they are. You must find a way to awaken you and the others' souls before the Darkness comes, Gandalf! Only you can find a way to bring them back. I will be coming to see you in person very soon and I will help you. Watch for my arrival and I will answer any questions you may have. Be warned: the past will repeat itself very soon. Farewell...

The vision ended and the school bell resonated through his buzzing brain. All the students filed out of the classroom, leaving Mr. Whitergray alone for a couple minutes.

"What was that?" He wondered aloud. "If that woman was right, what sort of evil calamity is going to happen? I must find out how to revive...the others and stop the Darkness..."

In a distant land, the shadows stir and Darkness awakens...

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A/N: Yay! I finally got some reference to a darkness! Thanks to all my reviewers, too! Remember: reviews are like Lay's chips. You can't get just one!