Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, blah, blah, blah.
Chapter 6: Three Down, Two to Go
Elrond led Harry up the flight of steps and through a long hallway. Harry was gazing at the place in awe; he'd never seen anything so beautiful before.
There were no real windows in the buildings, just open spaces in the shape of windows that gave it anoutdoors feeling. Every now and then a peaceful light breeze would come through. The air wasn't too hot or too cold. Everything was just perfect.
They walked past a balcony on the path and Harry had to resist the urge to lean over it and gaze at the majestic beauty around him. There was a huge waterfall with crystal clear water flowing into a river below. The whole country was surrounded by mountains and forest. Harry was suddenly longing to walk along the forest paths, over the little bridge over the river, and just wander lazily through it all. Then he remembered why he was here in the first place and hurried after Elrond.
Elrond turned to him and smiled. "Wait here," he said. Then he went through a door and left. Harry stood there, hoping against hope that Frodo was awake after all, and that the elves had managed to heal him.
After a few minutes he heard the door open, he had barely turned around and all he managed to see was a blur of bushy brown hair before he was crushed in an enormous hug. "HARRY!" cried a very familiar voice, "Oh, Harry, thank goodness you're safe, Arwen told me what you were doing, and I've just been so worried!"
"Hermione!" gasped Harry, "Let me up."
For it was Hermione. She let him up, and stood, gazing at him, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness. He was dumbfounded. "Hermione?" he asked, "How did you get here? How did we all get here? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said, "I've just been worried about you! I'm sorry, I realize now that I should've gone into more detail about what we were about to do, but I was so excited to try the portal out to see if it worked, and then Fred and George's arrival startled me! But I'm really sorry about what happened, something malfunctioned, but I've been studying in Lord Elrond's library, and I think I known what went wrong."
"So we can go home?" asked Harry hopefully.
"Of course not!" cried Hermione, "We still need to find Ron and Ginny!"
Harry immediately felt guilty and ashamed. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about his other friends so quickly. But with all the excitement involving Aragorn and the Nazgul and the Ring, he'd barely given Ron, Hermione, or Ginny a thought over the past week since he left Bree.
"Are you alright Harry?" asked Hermione, looking concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. So what about you? What've you been up to all this time?"
"Oh, well, I chased after Fred and George as they went through the time portal, you already know that, and then the next thing I knew I was lying in a bed in some sort of hospital room here in Rivendell. Some elves found me outside Bruien and brought me directly to Elrond. He patched me up." Hermione's eyes were shining. "Aren't the elves simply wonderful?"
"Yeah, I guess, I only really talked to three: Elrond, Arwen, and this elf by the gates…"
"Oh that's Glorfindel," said Hermione, "He's a very powerful elf; he was going to go and look for you all but Arwen insisted. She's a fascinating person, one of my best friends here."
"You and Arwen are friends?" asked Harry.
"Yes of course," said Hermione, "Anyway, Elrond suggested I stay here, and so I did. I mostly spent time in his library, trying to find a way home. I knew there was no point in looking for the rest of you because there was no way to get back."
"How'd you know the rest of us were here?"
"Well, I guessed really, but I figured once I jumped in, you'd all follow, and it appears I was right."
"Harry!" yelled a voice.
Harry turned around to see Fred, George, Merry, and Pippin racing down the hallway towards him. He smiled. "Hey guys!"
"You made it! You're alive! Excellent!" cried George. Then he saw who was standing behind Harry. "Hermione!" he exclaimed.
"Hello you two," she said.
"We found you! All right!" yelled Fred ecstatically. The twins raced over to hug Hermione.
"Now you can get us home!" cried George.
"Not yet!" cried Hermione, "How many times do I have to say it? We can't leave until we've found Ron and Ginny!"
"Oh yeah…" said George.
"Aw, we can leave ol' Ickle Prefect behind, can't we?" asked Fred with an evil grin.
"No we can't," said Hermione in a dead serious voice, "I can't believe you would even suggest a thing like that Fred!"
"Relax, Hermione, I was just joking!"
"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but, who's that?" asked Merry.
"Oh, sorry guys," said Harry, "This is one of my best friends, Hermione Granger."
"So you're Hermione?" asked Merry, reaching out to shake her hand, "It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too," said Hermione, shaking his hand, "Are you two hobbits, like Bilbo?"
"Bilbo!" cried Harry, "Bilbo's here?"
"Yes, you know him?" replied Hermione.
"Of course we know him, he's Frodo's uncle!" said Pippin, "He disappeared at his own birthday party and no one in the Shire knows where he went!"
"Oh yeah, Gandalf told me Bilbo went to stay with the elves," said Harry, "I forgot about that."
"Is that so, Mr. Potter?" said another voice.
Harry turned around. "Gandalf!" he cried.
"Yes, I'm here too," he said, smiling happily. Then he looked at Harry with concern. "Are you alright Harry?" he asked, "Did the Ringwraiths catch up with you?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine, they didn't really do anything to me."
"I find that hard to believe."
"Well, ok, they did point their swords at me a couple of times, and kind of threatened to kill me," he said, ignoring Hermione's gasp of horror, "But I'm fine Gandalf, I really am!"
"All right, as long as you're not hurt," he said.
"Is Frodo going to be ok?" asked Harry.
"Lord Elrond is attending to him now. I believe he will be back on his feet in a day or two."
"Good," said Harry, breathing a sigh of relief, "What should we do now?"
"For now, I suggest you all relax and enjoy Rivendell. Now that you have accomplished your mission in bringing the Ring to Rivendell, you may find you have nothing else left to do. We will have a meeting in a few days to discuss the fate of the Ring. Even now, people from all over Middle-Earth are arriving here: Elves, Men, and Dwarves."
Hermione looked very excited. For her, being able to see all these creatures she'd so far only heard or read about was a dream come true. "May we come to the meeting?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too interfering.
"We would like nothing more," said Gandalf, "By all means please do! In fact, I believe your presence is mandatory. I do not think your coming here at this pinnacle point in our history was a mere coincidence." Upon saying this, he walked away, humming to himself. Harry was once again reminded of Dumbledore.
For the next few days, they all did exactly as Gandalf suggested. By day three, the companions were delighted when Frodo came out to join them. He wanted to know everything that happened to them after he was stabbed, and was particularly interested in what Harry had to tell him about the flooding of the River Bruien. He had barely been conscious when Arwen brought him to Rivendell; he had almost felt like he was only half there.
Meanwhile, Fred, George, Merry, and Pippin had become inseparable. They were almost constantly pulling pranks on almost everyone they met. They drew the line at Gandalf and Elrond; otherwise, no one else was safe from them. Their very first day in Rivendell, they "accidentally" fed Arwen a Canary Cream, bewitched Hermione's favorite books so they yelled at her whenever she turned the page, turned the entire main hallway into something new the twins had invented called the "Portable Swamp", and switched nearly everyone's pillows with Exploding ones. And that was just the first day. Merry and Pippin also inspired the twins to create "Magical Mushrooms", which turned your head into a, well, mushroom.
"Remember to save some for us when we get back to the Shire," said Merry, "Let's tell old Maggot that we decided to pay him back for the ones we stole, Pippin!" he added with an evil grin.
"Well, we definitely will put some aside for you guys, as our esteemed partners in crime," said Fred, bowing.
"But we do need the rest for our future joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" said George proudly.
"If you ever do start a joke shop, which I doubt!"
The four friends turned around. Hermione was standing there with a frown on her face.
"What if we already got premises?" asked George defensively.
"But there's no way you could have! It costs so much money to rent a shop in Diagon Alley!"
"You saying we don't have any money!" demanded Fred, growing red in the face.
"Oh…of course not!" said Hermione, remembering how touchy Ron used to get on the subject of money. "I never said you didn't have anything, but I'm sure your parents don't know, so you couldn't have gotten anything from them, and I know you made a lot of money at Hogwarts, but even that doesn't cover it! You haven't been doing anything illegal, have you?" she asked anxiously.
"'Course not," said Fred, "But I'm afraid we are not at the liberty to say who our most generous donor was. Sorry."
Before Hermione could protest, Harry, Frodo, and Sam came bursting in. "You should see the entrance to Rivendell!" gasped Sam, "All different people are pouring in to see Elrond!"
They all ran over to the nearest balcony to watch. A man that looked a little bit like Aragorn came riding in magnificently on his horse. Many dwarves were marching in, looking slightly fearsome with their long beards, stern looks, and battle axes strapped to their backs. Elves were coming in as well; one in particular came in on his white horse and leapt of gracefully, gazing in awe at the beauty around him.
"Elrond had said different people would be coming from all over, asking for his advice," said Hermione. Her eyes were shining. "Isn't this so exciting?"
"Yes indeed," said Arwen, who had silently approached them. The others jumped in surprise. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you," she said, smiling down at them.
Fred and George didn't answer. Once it got registered in their brains who was standing before them, they found they were having trouble talking, or even functioning properly. They just goggled at her. Luckily for them, no one else noticed.
"Hi Arwen!" said Hermione brightly, "What are you doing?"
"Well, I saw everyone coming, and I figured I'd better let Ada know," replied Arwen.
"Why, where is he?" asked Harry.
"I think he's in the library, talking with Gandalf," said Arwen.
"Have they decided what to do about the Ring yet?" asked Pippin eagerly.
"No," answered Arwen, "That will all be decided at the Council tomorrow."
"It's tomorrow!" cried a startled Hermione.
"Yes," said Arwen, "Everyone should be here by tonight."
"Will there be enough room for them all?" asked Harry.
"Oh yes, you don't need to worry, Ada will take care of all of that," said Arwen, "I'd better go now though. Good-bye!" And she walked gracefully away.
The twins' minds suddenly unfreezed. "Bye Arwen!" they shouted at the same time.
Arwen turned around and laughed. "Good-bye you two!" she called back to them.
"She remembers us Fred," said George dazedly.
"Of course she does, who wouldn't remember someone who turned them into a canary?" asked Hermione.
Fred and George snapped back to reality. "We told you, that was an accident!" cried Fred indignantly.
"Oh come on Fred, give up, I know they'll never believe us," said Merry.
"I wonder why," muttered Hermione. Then she walked away, murmuring something about reading some more in her room.
That night there was a huge feast. One reason was to feed all the hungry guests, and also so that everyone could have a fun evening and basically forget their troubles. Harry was very excited; he hadn't had so much food to eat since Bilbo's party. He was now sitting with Bilbo himself. The old hobbit was eager to relive his adventures since his birthday to anyone who'd listen. That listener turned out to be Harry.
Bilbo excitedly told him how he had put the Ring on his finger, packed up at Bag End, and left for Rivendell. He had stayed there, finishing his memoirs, which were called There and Back Again: A Hobbit's Tale. Harry promised to read the book later.
Meanwhile, Hermione was chatting amiably with some of the Elves. She had long debated with herself about whether or not to tell them about the position of elves at home, and possibly get them all involved with S.P.E.W. (Elrond and Gandalf had already decided that it was safe for people here to know who these children were and where they really came from.) But she decided tonight was not the time or place to discuss such matters, so she simply enjoyed the company of her friends Arwen and Glorfindel, as well as some of the new elves that had arrived, such as Legolas, the elf they saw ride in before, and Galdor, from the Grey Havens. They were both very interested in the world Hermione lived in, minus the part about the house-elves. Legolas in particular was fascinated to hear about whatever Hermione could tell him about the Forbidden Forest, which sounded so much like his own home in Mirkwood.
Fred and George were the men of the hour as usual. They and Merry and Pippin had provided the rest with butterbeer and some specialties from the Green Dragon, much to Bilbo's delight, since he hadn't been there in a long time. The twins were also never letting the chance slip by when they could flirt with Arwen, though she resisted them quite well.
After the feast, everyone was feeling happy, full, and content. The elves headed for the music hall, where everyone went to dance, sing, or simply listen to the music being played. All except for Aragorn. He slipped out when no one was looking. Or so he thought.
Arwen saw him leave. She had a pretty good idea about what was bothering him, and decided to follow. And wherever she went, a certain twosome was sure to follow.
Arwen strode quickly through the halls and out to Aragorn, right where she knew he'd be. She walked so quickly and purposefully throughout the maze of passages that Fred and George found it hard to keep up. Finally George looked out a window and scanned the immediate area.
"Aha!" he exclaimed, and pointed. "There she is mate!"
Fred followed his finger and saw Arwen. Only she wasn't alone. She was walking towards the river with Aragorn. "What are they doing?" wondered Fred aloud.
"C'mon, if we hurry we can follow them," replied George. They bolted out the nearest door, dashed towards the river, and hid in the bushes. What they saw next, they didn't like.
Arwen and Aragorn were holding hands, talking low in Elvish on the little bridge over the river. Arwen put something in Aragorn's hand. The twins craned their necks to see. It looked like a necklace of some sort. Aragorn looked visibly upset. "You cannot commit this," he was saying.
"It is mine to give to whom I will," said Arwen. Then they both leaned in…and kissed.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Fred and George.
Aragorn and Arwen wheeled around. "What was that?" asked Aragorn.
Arwen thought she already knew. She walked over to the trees, pulled back a few branches, and revealed the twins' hiding place. They looked devastated.
"Sorry guys," she said, "But I'm already taken."
"No," was all George could say.
"I'm sorry," said Arwen. In reality, she was trying hard not to laugh.
The twins slouched away, looking depressed.
"I hope they're not too disappointed," said Arwen.
"Oh don't worry," said Aragorn, "If I know Fred and George, they'll recover in no time."
Meanwhile Fred and George were walking slowly up some stairs. "Well, that's that," said Fred gloomily.
"Well we always knew we never really had a shot at her," said George.
"Yeah but still…" sighed Fred.
"Oh well. From now on, I think we should go back to the Gryffindor Chasers. You know, Angelina and the others."
"If we ever manage to get home!"
"Sure we will. Hermione knows how. All we have to do is find Ginny and Percy Jr. and we'll be all set!"
"Percy Jr.?"
"Yeah, you know, Ickle Ronnie the Prefect!"
At this, both boys looked at each other and burst out laughing. Outside, Aragorn heard their laughter and turned to Arwen.
"What did Itell you?" he said, "It's been less than a minute and they're better already!"
Chuckling quietly, they headed back inside. It would be a long, tense day tomorrow with the Council meeting, and Aragorn needed to get whatever rest he could.
A/N: Quick translation for those whodidn't know: "Ada" means "father" in Elvish. IfI have the elves use their nativelanguauge again, the translations will be at the bottom.
Read and review! I can't say it enough! I've got 13 already! YAAAYYY!
UK All the Way: Good guess! You got it right the first time, as you already can see, it was indeed Hermione! Thank you for always reviewing; it makes me feel happy!
MischievousPuck: Thank you for reviewing; I'm glad you liked it!
Infallallthingsaremadesplendid: Great idea! Ron is already making friends, but I can't say who because you'd know right away where he is! But that's great, because as you must have noticed, Harry is forming a close bond with Aragorn and Frodo, Fred and George with Merry and Pippin, and Hermione with Arwen. So that would be perfect if Ron joined up with Legolas and Gimli. I'll see where the story takes me, and see if it works. As for where Harry will go when the Fellowship splits, now do you really want me to spoil the surprise? ;)Wait and see!
One more thing to add:I've got a problem guys. Remember the old dilemma with the movie lines? Well, it is going to be a full-fledged nightmare with the Council of Elrond. So if and when they crop up, please bear with me and know that it won't last. Don't worry: the Hogwarts crew will not sit there the whole time in silence!
