Artemis: Hello Minerva I'm back from my trip.
Minerva: YAY! But nothing happened while you were gone, I didn't do anything, nothing at all, its been very boring around here
Artemis: Really? Well its good to be home. By the way would you care for anything? Coffee? Tea? Unauthorized postings?
Minerva: Well I don't really care for tea or coffee, I'll take some coke if you have any, and I don't know about any unauthorized posting, what are you talking about?
Artemis: ::hands her a coke:: Oh nothing, one of those crazy new sports beverages...you know what I'm in the mood for?
Minerva: ::hopefully:: Mothers?
Artemis: Actually I was going to say vengeance. But what's that you said about mothers...you haven't got any do you?
Minerva: Erm...no. .I'm just going to walk this way... :: runs away with magical baguette in hand::
Artemis: AHA! ::runs after::
Chapter 6: Beacoup des Rendez-Vous
"Now remember, we have to be very quiet. Who knows what they'll do if they find out
we're spying on their secret meeting." Hermione whispered for the third time.
"You know Hermione, you haven't even left the room yet. Are you sure its really necessary to whisper at this point?" Ron dryly replied, a little louder than necessary.
"Oh Ron, don't be so put out." Harry pleaded, "You know we can't fit four under the invisibility cloak. Even three is difficult enough, and we can't just leave one of us alone in the room anyway."
"But why are you leaving me behind?" Ron moaned, "Personally I think Hermione should stay. I mean what if Luna has to change or something. Am I just supposed to stand in the hallway?"
"Honestly Ronald, its pretty obvious if you think about it," Hermione retorted impatiently, "You'd probably trip and ruin our element of surprise before the meeting even began."
"Well I can't see you keeping your big mouth shut through an entire council when there's technicalities to be brought up and useless facts to be recited." Ron blasted back.
Harry took a cue from Luna, who was completely ignoring the bitter feud which had begun across the room, and he walked over to where she was sitting. She seemed to be reading out of an amber tome with a fraying cover and yellowed pages.
"What's that you're reading?" he asked, trying to get a better look over her shoulder.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." She replied, "Its an older publication. There's a newer version but it omits a lot of the most fantastic beasts that you'll find in this one. Like the balrog for instance."
"The balrog?" asked Harry, not sure if you wanted an answer. He'd made a million mental notes not to encourage Luna, but he was too serious to let it drop.
"Yes, the anti-wizard. The balrog is a creature of fire and shadow smoldering with
terrible strength and even more terrible hatred. They live in the deeps of the world, and
no longer venture out onto the mortal plane. Lucky for us." She was finished and
immediately went back to her book.
Harry shook his head and made a mental note, 'Seriously, don't encourage Luna!' Then
he went over to lie down on the bed and sluice through the events of the day. Despite his
initial mental doggedness, Harry felt his eyelids grow heavy. His legs were crying out in
support of a rest, and here in Rivendell Harry could feel all dark thoughts flying from his
mind.
The sharp words of Hermione and Ron blurred into a dull hum, and the crisp sound of
Luna's page turning amplified, lulling Harry into a deep sleep. He dreamed, and for the
first time in a long time no evil darkened his visions. So peaceful did he seem, that Ron
and Hermione were loath to disturb him.
It was because of this that Harry and Hermione found themselves sprinting to the place where the meeting was to be held, hoping they hadn't missed anything but the exchange of pleasantries.
Fortunately they were not as late as they'd feared, and as an added stroke of luck they
snuck in seamlessly. All of the expected attendees were already seated and focusing on
the tall dark elf that was addressing the council. The mood was tense, and no one took
any notice of a stray wind or a faint rustle.
Another good turn for the eavesdroppers: they weren't the only ones who needed to be
filled in. Many of the participants seemed just as confused as they were, and more often
then not when a question popped into Harry's mind some member of the council shared
his confusion and asked the speaker to clarify.
The elf was not the only one to talk. Indeed Gandalf, and Strider both made input, and
many other folk whom Harry did not recognize contributed briefly. All in all it was a
strange and winding tale which could only be half understood in such limited time.
As with everyone else present the witch and wizard were absorbed, and their duty of
transparency was easy- their tongues did not once itch with the desire to converse.
The lore was all infinitely fascinating to Hermione, and she began to feel a deep
admiration for the dark elven Loremaster who told it in such a rumbling baritone. He was
leading them all through the annuls of his memory and Hermione grew fond of the way
his eyes flashed grimly at the darker parts of his tale. Fortunately, for this reason at least,
the dark parts were clearly in the majority.
Harry too was deeply in thought. Could this dark lord really be Voldemort? If so, was
that the reason Harry was here? But what about his friends? Surely they had not been
send to fight Voldemort. And how had the dark lord gotten here? Did he know a way to
return? Would they ever get home, and was this their chance to leave Voldemort behind
forever?
'No.' Harry resolved silently, 'I won't leave here unless Voldemort is dead or coming with me. Or both.'
A tall stern man was speaking now. He reminded Harry of Strider. This was a lord of
men. A man men are proud to count among their numbers, and he was not without pride
either. He called himself Boromir.
Indeed Boromir spoke of the men of Gondor (who knew where that was) with such
glowing words that Harry expected him to just cut to the chase and propose canonizing
the lot of them.
In response to something Boromir said, Strider rose swiftly to his feet, and in that
moment Harry saw the other shrink before his eyes. Strider's commanding presence
disseminated through the room and when he placed his sword on the table, broken though
it was, all were in awe of his might.
Aragorn he called himself, and Harry could think of no better occasion for a change of
name. The lean ranger was gone, banished by the mighty king who now stood before
them, commanding all the eyes and attentions of all those about him. Boromir slinked
back to his seat.
The littlest of them was the one who dared speak first, and as he spoke to Frodo, Aragorn regained his former mortality. It was then that Gandalf rose:
"Bring out the ring, Frodo!" He said solemnly. "The time has come. Hold it up, and Boromir will understand."
Harry took a step forward in spite of himself. All eyes were on the Hobbit, who hesitated
for a moment before producing a small band of gold. He walked before Elrond, and
placed it upon the table, beside the shards of Narsil.
A great desire rose up within Harry. He needed to see it, he needed to have a closer look.
He began walking forward and Hermione went with him, without reservation and
seemingly equally enchanted.
No one had noticed them. Slowly they came towards the ring of chairs and with nimble alertness, began to pass between Boromir and another man. With sudden vigor Boromir rose and swung out his hand.
Harry and Hermione quickly evaded to the edges of the cloak and Boromir's hand touched only the area between them. He was making some speech now and Hermione hurried into the center of the ring when he sat to avoid being caught by another of his impassioned uprisings.
"Do you hear that?" whispered Legolas to Galdor, the elf sitting beside him. "It is as though the ring draws breath of its own."
The Elder nodded, "The power of the ring is unfathomable. I would not consider it beyond its might to breath as any child can. Or at least to create the illusion that it does so."
Finally, secure in the idea that everyone was focused on the hobbit who had now stood to recite a poem, Harry dared turn his gaze back upon the ring. For so small a thing, its presence was huge.
A desire was upon him to touch it, to hold it and even to put it on. He reached for it, and
as his fingers grew close an absurd feeling of reckless joy filled him, growing steadily
stronger as his fingertips groped.
He would have had it too, had not Hermione suddenly screamed and grabbed him,
forcing them both to the floor just as an axe came crashing down upon the ring, through
the space he had just been transparently occupying.
In that moment, many things happened. The great steel blade of the axe splintered,
propelling shards of shrapnel at the unprepared observers, and its dwarfish wielder to the
ground.
Harry his the floor, Hermione tumbling after and the invisibility cloak slipped partially off and began to pool on the floor beside them. This exposed seemingly independent limbs and pieces of Harry and Hermione to the onlookers.
And the ring sat unmoved on its pedestal, unscathed and unimpressed by the chaos about it.
Council members rose to dodge pieces of the axe and soon everyone was standing,
dangerously anxious and staring right at Harry and Hermione. Before Harry could reach
to pull the cloak over their heads, the dwarf, grasping at the ground to push himself up,
grabbed at plain air and was suddenly holding a silver cloak and looking down at two
young (and fully present, anatomically) humans.
Gimli drew back in shock. Never before had he seen such a thing.
'A shard of my axe must have struck me in the wrong place.' He thought, 'Little humans appearing before my very eyes!'
Gandalf smiled. He was growing quite fond of this young wizard with so much daring
and raw power. He sensed there was far more to the boy than could be assessed on first
glance. He also had an inkling that if Harry chose, he could keep his full might hidden
from whomever he wished.
'He certainly guards his own thoughts well.' Gandalf mused, remembering the rough rebuke of the boy as he'd tried to gain access to his mind, 'Impressed already, and you've only seen the tip of the iceberg.'
Boromir on the other hand was not impressed. Magic and sorcery, it all seemed like a
cowardly pursuit. Such things were for creatures insufficiently adequate by their own
merit, such as Sauron, and even Gandalf. Truly noble beings fought with their own
strength. That was all his people needed.
Aragorn was shocked for an instant, though Strider wouldn't allow him to stay this way
long. Muscles tensing, he prepared himself for anything. The ranger considered himself a
good judge of character, but he couldn't read this boy, and had not so much as an idea
what to expect. He had their weapons, but Aragorn saw Harry back up and allow his hand
to rest close to the shards. There was a short sword at his waist, but there was doubt in his
mind, and he prayed they meant no harm.
Legolas' eyes met Elrond's, and there was a moment of silent communication between
the elves. Legolas' eyes dropped purposefully to his boot, where was concealed a dagger,
then he looked back up to the gray orbs of the Lord of Rivendell.
Legolas knew not of these intruders, but he had the feeling Elrond would know what to do, and he was right. The lord shook his head, a negative, and Legolas took no action.
Now he turned to Aragorn, and each knew the other was ready to spring to the aid of the
council at any point. Legolas sensed those before him were more than the simple humans
they seemed, but he banished this notion and felt no fear. If the strangers threatened the
life of any council member, they would have him to deal with.
Except the dwarves perhaps, they could save their own skins.
The ring itself was Frodo's first thought, and he found himself frantic until he could see
that it still sat in its place, as though nothing had occurred. Relieved, Frodo turned to
Bilbo beside him. The ring had made his uncle disappear before, and he himself also, at
The Pony, and at Weathertop. It could not however, to his knowledge, only partially
conceal its wearer. Bilbo seemed equally confused.
Suddenly a feeling came over Frodo that could only be described as bitter jealously.
Could these two have another ring, and had they mastered it to the point where they could
command it to hide only parts of them? If so, it seemed likely they could easily make
claim to his ring too. Then he saw that he knew the two intruders.
"Harry and Hermione?" Frodo recognized two of the humans who had joined them at Weathertop.
Crotchety as ever, Gandalf's face had curved into an expression of half amusement. He immediately sobered however, when other members of the council began looking to him for guidance.
"Be seated, friends." He bade them, and soon everyone in the room had sat back in their seats, save Harry and Hermione, who stood awkwardly by the pedestal.
"Now, this is Elrond's council." Gandalf reasoned. "Let him decide what is to be done."
Hermione turned and was relieved to see the dark elf, presumably Elrond, rise. There were no hands she felt herself better judged in than those of the dark, wise elf with the benevolent gray eyes.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" Elrond asked.
Hermione, acting on all she had heard in the council spoke:
"We came from far away, and even now we have no idea why we're here. Still, I can't
believe that our coming was a coincidence or a mistake. Harry especially has had the
same goal as all of you for as long as I've known him. To destroy the dark lord, and to
eliminate the grip of evil on the world. True, we weren't invited to this council, or even to
Rivendell, but from what I've heard you all say, it sounds like you all came by 'chance'
as well. We've been listening this whole time. The danger is as real to us as it is to you.
We wish to be recognized among the resistance."
Harry looked at Hermione, impressed and then turned to Elrond. The elf was smiling, and his words were kind,
"Indeed, it is good to have purpose. I believe nothing is without it in this world, and this holds true to your presence here at this council. Let them be seated." From where none had been before, suddenly two elves approached, carrying two chairs.
By chance, or perhaps not, there were two spaces in the ring of chairs. Harry was seated
beside Aragorn and a blonde Elf who introduced himself as Glorfindel, head of Elrond's
household. Beside Glorfindel sat Elrond, and on the lord's other side, his raven-haired
advisor, known as Erestor. Hermione sat beside the adviser and Frodo was to her left.
Little pausing for breath after this strange series of events, Elrond began again the
discussion. It was decided that there were only a few courses that could be taken. Clearly
the ring could not be destroyed by ordinary means, and Elrond could not protect it in
Rivendell.
Boromir proposed to use it, but was rebuked by others who explained that the ring could not be used for good, no matter the intentions of its wearer.
So the choices were as follows: to unmake it in the heart of Mount Doom, in the heart of Mordor itself, or the less permanent approach, to cast it away to some hidden place and hope it never be found again.
"But the ring will be found." Aragorn said, "Sauron will stop at nothing to have it, and it is always calling to him and his servants. It would be pure cowardice to deny its existence so."
"Then that leaves us with but one option." Gandalf mused aloud,
"The ring must be taken to Mordor." Surmised another blond elf, who stood as though prepared to take the ring, walk out of the council and head to Mordor himself.
"And I suppose you think you're the one to take it?" Gimli laughed incredulously and stood in challenge.
"Better I than a dwarf who would no doubt sooner toss the ring to his hoard and hide in deep caverns with a mug of ale than face the dangers of Mordor." Retorted the elf, eyes gleaming and now standing himself.
The dwarves all rose and began shouting, and the elves too, and soon the men joined in and everyone was arguing with everyone else and there was naught Elrond nor Gandalf could do to stop it.
Hermione turned to Frodo, who was still seated beside her. Their eyes met and she sensed he was about to do something very important. He rose, and small as his words were, they silenced the assembly.
"I will take the ring to Mordor." He said. "Though I do not know the way."
No one argued, indeed everyone was dumbfounded by the little hobbit's words.
"And we will go too." Harry cried, and though Hermione was surprised she was not of a different mind.
Aragorn also volunteered, and Boromir. Then the blond elf joined them, and since he was going the dwarf felt obligated also. Finally Gandalf stood, saying that he intended to go too.
"One more and we are equal to the numbers of the black riders." Elrond mused, and turning to Hermione he asked, "As I remember you have two other companions. Would they also like to go, do you think?"
Hermione nodded,
"We stick together." She said.
"WAIT!" came a voice from off beyond the chairs. Suddenly Sam, Pippin, and Merry came running into the circle.
"We stick together too." Merry cried, adamantly placing himself beside Frodo.
"That's right, and there's no way you're all gonna be sending Mister Frodo out on this thing without his Sam, I'll tell you that." Sam added.
"Well, it is always better that we outnumber the wraiths by a few hobbits, don't you think Elond?" Gandalf said.
And so it was that the fellowship was formed, and Harry and Hermione went away with more than enough to tell their friends. As they were going to leave, a voice called them back.
It was Gimli, and the dwarf not only apologized to Harry for nearly hacking at him with his axe, but presented him with his invisibility cloak.
"Take these as well." added Gandalf, coming up behind Gimli and handing Harry their four wands (Which he had gotten from Aragorn) and Harry's broom.
Back in the room, Luna and Ron were flooded with stories from Hermione and Harry.
"If only he were a history teacher at Hogwarts. I'm sure he and Dumbledore would get on perfectly. I for one could listen to him lecture all day!" Hermione was making her report on Elrond.
"What she don't tell you is that she could listen to Professor Binns all day as well." Ron muttered.
Hermione immediately wanted to know exactly what that was supposed to mean, and
Ron was all too eager to tell her just what it meant. Harry sighed. With these two that
couldn't keep peace on a train ride to Hogwarts, he was anticipating a long trip to
Mordor.
REVIEW REVIEW REIVEW!!!!!!!!
Minerva: YAY! But nothing happened while you were gone, I didn't do anything, nothing at all, its been very boring around here
Artemis: Really? Well its good to be home. By the way would you care for anything? Coffee? Tea? Unauthorized postings?
Minerva: Well I don't really care for tea or coffee, I'll take some coke if you have any, and I don't know about any unauthorized posting, what are you talking about?
Artemis: ::hands her a coke:: Oh nothing, one of those crazy new sports beverages...you know what I'm in the mood for?
Minerva: ::hopefully:: Mothers?
Artemis: Actually I was going to say vengeance. But what's that you said about mothers...you haven't got any do you?
Minerva: Erm...no. .I'm just going to walk this way... :: runs away with magical baguette in hand::
Artemis: AHA! ::runs after::
Chapter 6: Beacoup des Rendez-Vous
"Now remember, we have to be very quiet. Who knows what they'll do if they find out
we're spying on their secret meeting." Hermione whispered for the third time.
"You know Hermione, you haven't even left the room yet. Are you sure its really necessary to whisper at this point?" Ron dryly replied, a little louder than necessary.
"Oh Ron, don't be so put out." Harry pleaded, "You know we can't fit four under the invisibility cloak. Even three is difficult enough, and we can't just leave one of us alone in the room anyway."
"But why are you leaving me behind?" Ron moaned, "Personally I think Hermione should stay. I mean what if Luna has to change or something. Am I just supposed to stand in the hallway?"
"Honestly Ronald, its pretty obvious if you think about it," Hermione retorted impatiently, "You'd probably trip and ruin our element of surprise before the meeting even began."
"Well I can't see you keeping your big mouth shut through an entire council when there's technicalities to be brought up and useless facts to be recited." Ron blasted back.
Harry took a cue from Luna, who was completely ignoring the bitter feud which had begun across the room, and he walked over to where she was sitting. She seemed to be reading out of an amber tome with a fraying cover and yellowed pages.
"What's that you're reading?" he asked, trying to get a better look over her shoulder.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." She replied, "Its an older publication. There's a newer version but it omits a lot of the most fantastic beasts that you'll find in this one. Like the balrog for instance."
"The balrog?" asked Harry, not sure if you wanted an answer. He'd made a million mental notes not to encourage Luna, but he was too serious to let it drop.
"Yes, the anti-wizard. The balrog is a creature of fire and shadow smoldering with
terrible strength and even more terrible hatred. They live in the deeps of the world, and
no longer venture out onto the mortal plane. Lucky for us." She was finished and
immediately went back to her book.
Harry shook his head and made a mental note, 'Seriously, don't encourage Luna!' Then
he went over to lie down on the bed and sluice through the events of the day. Despite his
initial mental doggedness, Harry felt his eyelids grow heavy. His legs were crying out in
support of a rest, and here in Rivendell Harry could feel all dark thoughts flying from his
mind.
The sharp words of Hermione and Ron blurred into a dull hum, and the crisp sound of
Luna's page turning amplified, lulling Harry into a deep sleep. He dreamed, and for the
first time in a long time no evil darkened his visions. So peaceful did he seem, that Ron
and Hermione were loath to disturb him.
It was because of this that Harry and Hermione found themselves sprinting to the place where the meeting was to be held, hoping they hadn't missed anything but the exchange of pleasantries.
Fortunately they were not as late as they'd feared, and as an added stroke of luck they
snuck in seamlessly. All of the expected attendees were already seated and focusing on
the tall dark elf that was addressing the council. The mood was tense, and no one took
any notice of a stray wind or a faint rustle.
Another good turn for the eavesdroppers: they weren't the only ones who needed to be
filled in. Many of the participants seemed just as confused as they were, and more often
then not when a question popped into Harry's mind some member of the council shared
his confusion and asked the speaker to clarify.
The elf was not the only one to talk. Indeed Gandalf, and Strider both made input, and
many other folk whom Harry did not recognize contributed briefly. All in all it was a
strange and winding tale which could only be half understood in such limited time.
As with everyone else present the witch and wizard were absorbed, and their duty of
transparency was easy- their tongues did not once itch with the desire to converse.
The lore was all infinitely fascinating to Hermione, and she began to feel a deep
admiration for the dark elven Loremaster who told it in such a rumbling baritone. He was
leading them all through the annuls of his memory and Hermione grew fond of the way
his eyes flashed grimly at the darker parts of his tale. Fortunately, for this reason at least,
the dark parts were clearly in the majority.
Harry too was deeply in thought. Could this dark lord really be Voldemort? If so, was
that the reason Harry was here? But what about his friends? Surely they had not been
send to fight Voldemort. And how had the dark lord gotten here? Did he know a way to
return? Would they ever get home, and was this their chance to leave Voldemort behind
forever?
'No.' Harry resolved silently, 'I won't leave here unless Voldemort is dead or coming with me. Or both.'
A tall stern man was speaking now. He reminded Harry of Strider. This was a lord of
men. A man men are proud to count among their numbers, and he was not without pride
either. He called himself Boromir.
Indeed Boromir spoke of the men of Gondor (who knew where that was) with such
glowing words that Harry expected him to just cut to the chase and propose canonizing
the lot of them.
In response to something Boromir said, Strider rose swiftly to his feet, and in that
moment Harry saw the other shrink before his eyes. Strider's commanding presence
disseminated through the room and when he placed his sword on the table, broken though
it was, all were in awe of his might.
Aragorn he called himself, and Harry could think of no better occasion for a change of
name. The lean ranger was gone, banished by the mighty king who now stood before
them, commanding all the eyes and attentions of all those about him. Boromir slinked
back to his seat.
The littlest of them was the one who dared speak first, and as he spoke to Frodo, Aragorn regained his former mortality. It was then that Gandalf rose:
"Bring out the ring, Frodo!" He said solemnly. "The time has come. Hold it up, and Boromir will understand."
Harry took a step forward in spite of himself. All eyes were on the Hobbit, who hesitated
for a moment before producing a small band of gold. He walked before Elrond, and
placed it upon the table, beside the shards of Narsil.
A great desire rose up within Harry. He needed to see it, he needed to have a closer look.
He began walking forward and Hermione went with him, without reservation and
seemingly equally enchanted.
No one had noticed them. Slowly they came towards the ring of chairs and with nimble alertness, began to pass between Boromir and another man. With sudden vigor Boromir rose and swung out his hand.
Harry and Hermione quickly evaded to the edges of the cloak and Boromir's hand touched only the area between them. He was making some speech now and Hermione hurried into the center of the ring when he sat to avoid being caught by another of his impassioned uprisings.
"Do you hear that?" whispered Legolas to Galdor, the elf sitting beside him. "It is as though the ring draws breath of its own."
The Elder nodded, "The power of the ring is unfathomable. I would not consider it beyond its might to breath as any child can. Or at least to create the illusion that it does so."
Finally, secure in the idea that everyone was focused on the hobbit who had now stood to recite a poem, Harry dared turn his gaze back upon the ring. For so small a thing, its presence was huge.
A desire was upon him to touch it, to hold it and even to put it on. He reached for it, and
as his fingers grew close an absurd feeling of reckless joy filled him, growing steadily
stronger as his fingertips groped.
He would have had it too, had not Hermione suddenly screamed and grabbed him,
forcing them both to the floor just as an axe came crashing down upon the ring, through
the space he had just been transparently occupying.
In that moment, many things happened. The great steel blade of the axe splintered,
propelling shards of shrapnel at the unprepared observers, and its dwarfish wielder to the
ground.
Harry his the floor, Hermione tumbling after and the invisibility cloak slipped partially off and began to pool on the floor beside them. This exposed seemingly independent limbs and pieces of Harry and Hermione to the onlookers.
And the ring sat unmoved on its pedestal, unscathed and unimpressed by the chaos about it.
Council members rose to dodge pieces of the axe and soon everyone was standing,
dangerously anxious and staring right at Harry and Hermione. Before Harry could reach
to pull the cloak over their heads, the dwarf, grasping at the ground to push himself up,
grabbed at plain air and was suddenly holding a silver cloak and looking down at two
young (and fully present, anatomically) humans.
Gimli drew back in shock. Never before had he seen such a thing.
'A shard of my axe must have struck me in the wrong place.' He thought, 'Little humans appearing before my very eyes!'
Gandalf smiled. He was growing quite fond of this young wizard with so much daring
and raw power. He sensed there was far more to the boy than could be assessed on first
glance. He also had an inkling that if Harry chose, he could keep his full might hidden
from whomever he wished.
'He certainly guards his own thoughts well.' Gandalf mused, remembering the rough rebuke of the boy as he'd tried to gain access to his mind, 'Impressed already, and you've only seen the tip of the iceberg.'
Boromir on the other hand was not impressed. Magic and sorcery, it all seemed like a
cowardly pursuit. Such things were for creatures insufficiently adequate by their own
merit, such as Sauron, and even Gandalf. Truly noble beings fought with their own
strength. That was all his people needed.
Aragorn was shocked for an instant, though Strider wouldn't allow him to stay this way
long. Muscles tensing, he prepared himself for anything. The ranger considered himself a
good judge of character, but he couldn't read this boy, and had not so much as an idea
what to expect. He had their weapons, but Aragorn saw Harry back up and allow his hand
to rest close to the shards. There was a short sword at his waist, but there was doubt in his
mind, and he prayed they meant no harm.
Legolas' eyes met Elrond's, and there was a moment of silent communication between
the elves. Legolas' eyes dropped purposefully to his boot, where was concealed a dagger,
then he looked back up to the gray orbs of the Lord of Rivendell.
Legolas knew not of these intruders, but he had the feeling Elrond would know what to do, and he was right. The lord shook his head, a negative, and Legolas took no action.
Now he turned to Aragorn, and each knew the other was ready to spring to the aid of the
council at any point. Legolas sensed those before him were more than the simple humans
they seemed, but he banished this notion and felt no fear. If the strangers threatened the
life of any council member, they would have him to deal with.
Except the dwarves perhaps, they could save their own skins.
The ring itself was Frodo's first thought, and he found himself frantic until he could see
that it still sat in its place, as though nothing had occurred. Relieved, Frodo turned to
Bilbo beside him. The ring had made his uncle disappear before, and he himself also, at
The Pony, and at Weathertop. It could not however, to his knowledge, only partially
conceal its wearer. Bilbo seemed equally confused.
Suddenly a feeling came over Frodo that could only be described as bitter jealously.
Could these two have another ring, and had they mastered it to the point where they could
command it to hide only parts of them? If so, it seemed likely they could easily make
claim to his ring too. Then he saw that he knew the two intruders.
"Harry and Hermione?" Frodo recognized two of the humans who had joined them at Weathertop.
Crotchety as ever, Gandalf's face had curved into an expression of half amusement. He immediately sobered however, when other members of the council began looking to him for guidance.
"Be seated, friends." He bade them, and soon everyone in the room had sat back in their seats, save Harry and Hermione, who stood awkwardly by the pedestal.
"Now, this is Elrond's council." Gandalf reasoned. "Let him decide what is to be done."
Hermione turned and was relieved to see the dark elf, presumably Elrond, rise. There were no hands she felt herself better judged in than those of the dark, wise elf with the benevolent gray eyes.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" Elrond asked.
Hermione, acting on all she had heard in the council spoke:
"We came from far away, and even now we have no idea why we're here. Still, I can't
believe that our coming was a coincidence or a mistake. Harry especially has had the
same goal as all of you for as long as I've known him. To destroy the dark lord, and to
eliminate the grip of evil on the world. True, we weren't invited to this council, or even to
Rivendell, but from what I've heard you all say, it sounds like you all came by 'chance'
as well. We've been listening this whole time. The danger is as real to us as it is to you.
We wish to be recognized among the resistance."
Harry looked at Hermione, impressed and then turned to Elrond. The elf was smiling, and his words were kind,
"Indeed, it is good to have purpose. I believe nothing is without it in this world, and this holds true to your presence here at this council. Let them be seated." From where none had been before, suddenly two elves approached, carrying two chairs.
By chance, or perhaps not, there were two spaces in the ring of chairs. Harry was seated
beside Aragorn and a blonde Elf who introduced himself as Glorfindel, head of Elrond's
household. Beside Glorfindel sat Elrond, and on the lord's other side, his raven-haired
advisor, known as Erestor. Hermione sat beside the adviser and Frodo was to her left.
Little pausing for breath after this strange series of events, Elrond began again the
discussion. It was decided that there were only a few courses that could be taken. Clearly
the ring could not be destroyed by ordinary means, and Elrond could not protect it in
Rivendell.
Boromir proposed to use it, but was rebuked by others who explained that the ring could not be used for good, no matter the intentions of its wearer.
So the choices were as follows: to unmake it in the heart of Mount Doom, in the heart of Mordor itself, or the less permanent approach, to cast it away to some hidden place and hope it never be found again.
"But the ring will be found." Aragorn said, "Sauron will stop at nothing to have it, and it is always calling to him and his servants. It would be pure cowardice to deny its existence so."
"Then that leaves us with but one option." Gandalf mused aloud,
"The ring must be taken to Mordor." Surmised another blond elf, who stood as though prepared to take the ring, walk out of the council and head to Mordor himself.
"And I suppose you think you're the one to take it?" Gimli laughed incredulously and stood in challenge.
"Better I than a dwarf who would no doubt sooner toss the ring to his hoard and hide in deep caverns with a mug of ale than face the dangers of Mordor." Retorted the elf, eyes gleaming and now standing himself.
The dwarves all rose and began shouting, and the elves too, and soon the men joined in and everyone was arguing with everyone else and there was naught Elrond nor Gandalf could do to stop it.
Hermione turned to Frodo, who was still seated beside her. Their eyes met and she sensed he was about to do something very important. He rose, and small as his words were, they silenced the assembly.
"I will take the ring to Mordor." He said. "Though I do not know the way."
No one argued, indeed everyone was dumbfounded by the little hobbit's words.
"And we will go too." Harry cried, and though Hermione was surprised she was not of a different mind.
Aragorn also volunteered, and Boromir. Then the blond elf joined them, and since he was going the dwarf felt obligated also. Finally Gandalf stood, saying that he intended to go too.
"One more and we are equal to the numbers of the black riders." Elrond mused, and turning to Hermione he asked, "As I remember you have two other companions. Would they also like to go, do you think?"
Hermione nodded,
"We stick together." She said.
"WAIT!" came a voice from off beyond the chairs. Suddenly Sam, Pippin, and Merry came running into the circle.
"We stick together too." Merry cried, adamantly placing himself beside Frodo.
"That's right, and there's no way you're all gonna be sending Mister Frodo out on this thing without his Sam, I'll tell you that." Sam added.
"Well, it is always better that we outnumber the wraiths by a few hobbits, don't you think Elond?" Gandalf said.
And so it was that the fellowship was formed, and Harry and Hermione went away with more than enough to tell their friends. As they were going to leave, a voice called them back.
It was Gimli, and the dwarf not only apologized to Harry for nearly hacking at him with his axe, but presented him with his invisibility cloak.
"Take these as well." added Gandalf, coming up behind Gimli and handing Harry their four wands (Which he had gotten from Aragorn) and Harry's broom.
Back in the room, Luna and Ron were flooded with stories from Hermione and Harry.
"If only he were a history teacher at Hogwarts. I'm sure he and Dumbledore would get on perfectly. I for one could listen to him lecture all day!" Hermione was making her report on Elrond.
"What she don't tell you is that she could listen to Professor Binns all day as well." Ron muttered.
Hermione immediately wanted to know exactly what that was supposed to mean, and
Ron was all too eager to tell her just what it meant. Harry sighed. With these two that
couldn't keep peace on a train ride to Hogwarts, he was anticipating a long trip to
Mordor.
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