Disclaimer: This is really starting to get boring. We all know what I don't own, because it all belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien, except for my own fanfiction ideas.
Chapter 7: The Council of Elrond
Early the next morning, Harry got out of his bed and got dressed, feeling a little apprehensive. Today was the day that they would all discuss the fate of the Ring. Not only that, but Harry had the feeling that he and his friends would have to explain to everybody exactly who they were and how they got there. He was not looking forward to it.
He went down to breakfast, where he found Frodo and Sam. "Good morning," he called out.
"Good morning Mr. Harry," said Sam, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, but please Sam, how many times do I have to tell you, just call me Harry!"
"Sorry Harry, it just slipped out!"
"That's all right Sam."
Meanwhile Fred and George were eating at the far corner of the table when Merry and Pippin burst in, looking furious.
"You're not going to believe this!" cried Merry indignantly, "We didn't get invited to the Council!"
"Can't see why you'd care," said Fred casually, "It's probably going to be boring, sitting there for hours, listening to some wise old people talk about what to do when the world is doomed."
"But they're going to choose the Ringbearer!" cried Pippin.
"Yeah so?" said George, "What, do you want to bear the Ring or something?"
"No," said Pippin earnestly, "But we still want to know what's going on. We want to help in any way we can!"
"But everyone underestimates the hobbits of course," said Merry, "Except for Frodo, because he brought the Ring here in the first place. But we helped!"
"Well, if you want to listen in on an important meaning, I believe we have just the thing for you," said Fred.
"What?" asked Pippin.
"Extendable Ears!" said George, beaming as he pulled some out of his pockets, "Some of our finest merchandise. We never go anywhere without a few."
"What to they do?" asked Merry.
"Just insert them into your ears, tug them in the direction of whatever you want to listen in on, and you'll be eavesdropping in no time!" said Fred.
"Amazing!" cried Pippin.
"All right, here you go," said George, placing the Extendable Ears into their eager outstretched hands. "Be careful with them!"
"We will!" they cried and dashed off.
After breakfast, a bell rang out, signaling the beginning of the Council meeting. Harry got up and headed in the same direction as everyone else.
The Council of Elrond was taking place in one of the stone courtyards. There were wooden chairs placed in a semi-circle around the area. At the head was a larger chair, where Elrond sat. In the center was a small stone table.
Harry sat next to Gandalf, who was right next to Frodo. Hermione sat on his other side, along with Fred and George. There they waited for the rest to arrive. No one noticed the suspicious looking flesh colored strings nearby.
Finally, Elrond took his seat and the meeting began. "Strangers from distant lands, friends from every part of Middle Earth. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. You are all bound to this fate, this one doom, none can escape it. You will either unite or you will fall."
Hermione nodded in understanding. This sounded a lot like Dumbledore's speech last year when Voldemort came back. She agreed wholeheartedly. The only solution to the threat of an evil powerful Dark Lord was to stand together, in her opinion.
Elrond was now asking Frodo to put the Ring on the table. As soon as the little hobbit pulled it out, a tense silence seemed to fill the air. Once again, Harry felt a crazy urge to grab it. This time he knew better. He knew he had to master the impulse; it would do him more harm then good.
By now Frodo had put the Ring down and was retreating to his seat. A man got up, muttering something about a dream he'd had concerning the Ring. Gandalf looked on worriedly. The man was getting closer and closer to the center; his hand reaching out…
And all the while Harry was feeling the pull of the Ring grow stronger. He saw what the man was doing, knew he was about to take it, and surprisingly, Harry found a wave of anger coursing through him. I deserve that ring more than he does! he thought furiously, It's mine! Before he could stop himself, he leapt up to knock the man's hand away.
His actions were fortunately hidden, because at that moment, Gandalf and Elrond jumped from their seats, yelling, "Boromir!" Then Gandalf started speaking in a harsh language that neither Harry, Hermione, nor the twins had ever heard before. It filled Harry with terror and was enough to make him and Boromir sit down. The Elves were shuddering. Plainly this language affected them deeply.
Elrond looked deeply upset. "Never before has anyone uttered that tongue here!" he said.
"I do not ask for pardon, Master Elrond," said Gandalf, eyeing them all pointedly, "For the Black Speech may yet be heard in every corner of the West!"
"Blimey, mate, you could've just told us that, you didn't need to go actually using that language! We hear you loud and clear!" cried Fred, looking shaken. George nodded earnestly.
Gandalf glanced at them. "I think it is time you four explain what you are doing here. Do you agree, Master Elrond?"
"I most certainly do," replied Elrond, "Friends, this is Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Fred and George Weasley. They are not from this world." There was a lot of muttering at this. "I beg you to let them explain exactly who they are and where they come from."
Feeling all the eyes on him, Harry stood up and began to speak, trying hard not to stare at the Ring on the table. He told them all about them being wizards, and how they learned magic at Hogwarts, and about some of their teachers, such as Dumbledore, and their friends, such as Ron and Ginny. He explained to them who Voldemort was, and why the evil wizard was after him in the first place, and everything that had happened to him, from the time he saved the Sorcerer's Stone to that dreadful night last June when he witnessed Voldemort's rebirth. He talked for so long, his legs nearly grew numb from standing there. Finally he got to the Time Portal and let Hermione take it from there.
Hermione got up, blushing, and explained how the Time Portal worked and how they tried to use it, though she left out the part about her idea for them to help join the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She knew they had enough to worry about. She told them how it malfunctioned, and how Ron and Ginny were still lost, but that the four of them were willing to help, despite the possible consequences.
At last, they were finished. There was an utter silence. Finally Elrond spoke. "Thank you," he said, "We need all the help we can get in the coming battle against Sauron's forces."
Then Boromir stood up. He wanted to know why they simply couldn't use the Ring against Sauron. It seemed like a powerful weapon, the perfect thing to use against the Enemy.
Aragorn replied that no one but Sauron could wield the Ring, because it didn't serve any other Master. Boromir was annoyed that a mere ranger would criticize his idea and started to say so, but was interrupted by an angry Legolas, who let Boromir, not to mention the rest of the Council, know that his friend wasn't just a ranger, but an heir to the throne of the kingdom of Gondor.
Harry gaped at Aragorn in surprise. "You're a king?" he asked in shock.
Aragorn looked mortified. "Yes," he said.
"Why didn't you tell me back at Weathertop?"
"Well, I thought about it, but you know, it's not exactly something I'm proud of," he answered, glaring at Legolas. He knew the elf meant well, but Aragorn had specifically told him not to tell anyone. As far as he was concerned, no one needed to know his heritage until it was absolutely necessary.
By now Boromir and Legolas had sat down again. Gandalf decided to change the subject and get back to dealing with the Ring. Elrond told them they had only one choice: someone had to take the ring into the evil land of Mordor and throw the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. That was the only way you could destroy it.
Nobody seemed too eager to volunteer. Harry couldn't blame them. He would've offered to do it himself, but he had enough to worry about in his own world. It was generous enough of him to help them in the first place. Besides, he didn't like the feeling he got around the Ring. He didn't know how long he would be able to resist it.
Hermione was also deep in thought. Half of her wished she'd never invented the Time Portal, the other half was glad she did. She wanted to help more than anything, but didn't trust her own abilities. Everyone at Hogwarts went on about how she was the cleverest witch of her age, but what how much use would her magic be against the will of Sauron?
Fred and George were eager for an adventure, but not one like this. This was the first time they felt like they had no control over the situation. It was one thing to be handling detention, but handling an evil ring was something new to them, and they weren't sure what to do.
Boromir was, once again, the first to voice his opinion. Under no circumstances did he want to ever enter Mordor. He'd heard all about it when he was growing up; he saw it everyday, as it was the neighboring land near his home in the city of Minas Tirith. He knew that it was a barren wasteland with evil around every corner, and that no one could escape from there alive. To him, taking the Ring there was about the stupidest thing he ever heard of, and he let everyone else know it too.
Both Legolas and Harry were totally fed up with Boromir by now. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond just said?" asked Legolas, "The Ring must be destroyed!"
"Yeah I don't exactly see you coming up with a better idea!" said Harry.
"I did!" Boromir retorted, "I think we should use the Ring!"
"We can't," Harry yelled back, "Weren't you listening?"
Meanwhile, one of the dwarves, Gimli, had chosen this as the perfect opportunity to pick a fight with Legolas. He hated elves, and wasn't hiding that fact at all. "I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" he was yelling.
The elves were all about to jump up at that little comment, but Hermione beat them to it. Her "S.P.E.W. instincts" had taken over. Harry actually turned around from his heated argument with Boromir to watch what came next. It wasn't pretty.
"How…dare…you…" snarled Hermione, "How…dare…you! You heard Lord Elrond, we're supposed to unite, and how may I ask, are we supposed to do that if you can't put your bigotry aside! You are absolutely disgusting..."
"Uh, Hermione?" asked Harry weakly, trying to pull her back down, but she simply shook him off.
"Get off me Harry! I'm not finished! If there's one thing I hate, it's injustice shown towards other creatures!" And to Harry's horror, she whipped out her wand.
Gimli eyed it warily, but held his ground. "I will not befriend an Elf!" he snarled, "You can't trust them!"
"WELL YOU'D BETTER START TRUSTING THEM!" yelled Hermione, "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT, AFTER ALL ELROND'S TRIED TO DO…"
"Merlin, she's out of control!" yelled Fred. He and George grabbed her by the arms and forced her back into her seat. Hermione struggled to get up.
"Hermione, relax!" panted George as he struggled to hold her down.
"NO!" cried Hermione. Harry ran to help the twins.
"Hermione," he said, "Calm down! Now is not the time or place to get angry! Everyone's staring at us; you're making us look bad!"
Finally Hermione calmed down enough to look over at Gimli. "I'm sorry," she said, "You just reminded me of the attitude towards elves that I've been fighting against in my world. The elves there are…"
"OK!" yelled George, drowning out what Hermione was about to say about house-elves, "Where were we again? Weren't we about to choose who the Ringbearer is?"
"It'll have to be a volunteer," said Gandalf, "Someone needs to go willingly. It would make him or her all the more stronger against the Ring if they are willing to fight it."
Once again, there was silence, as everyone pondered over who this person might be. Then Frodo stood up. "I will take it," he announced, looking a little surprised at his own daring. "Though, I do not know the way."
Gandalf smiled at him, and offered to go with him, and aid him on his Quest, then Aragorn volunteered to go, and Legolas, and Gimli, and then Boromir. And then…
"I'll come too Frodo," said Harry, "That is, if you need me."
"Of course I do!" said Frodo, sounding delighted.
"And I'm going too!" said Hermione.
Fred and George looked at each other. "What'd you reckon?" asked Fred, "Should we go?"
"I think that would be a good idea," said George cheerfully, and they got up to stand with the others.
"Hey!" yelled Sam. He'd been hiding in the bushes nearby the whole meeting. "Mr. Frodo isn't going anywhere without me!" he announced.
"No indeed, it seems impossible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you aren't," said Elrond, looking highly amused.
At this statement, Merry and Pippin came running out of their hiding place, the Extendable Ears trailing behind them, yelling that they were coming too. Elrond looked shocked. "So much for the "secret" council," muttered Harry to Hermione, who laughed.
"So be it," Elrond said, "You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!"
"Yes!" cried Pippin, "So, where are we going?"
"To Mordor, you idiot," said Fred, "If you're going to take our Extendable Ears, use them once in a while will you?"
The others laughed, especially Merry. Even Hermione was trying hard to conceal her grin.
After that, the Council ended, and the Fellowship was dismissed to go and pack for their long, treacherous journey. Harry felt slightly anxious. It was time for another frightening adventure. Here we go again, he thought.
A/N: I tried not to put in too many movie lines. I really did. I hope you're satisfied. Review!
UK All the Way: You are the best! I can't thank you enough for always reviewing. Congrats on getting Hermione right:)
infallallthingsaremadesplendid: Ooo, this is hard! I want to tell you whether you're right or not, but I can't! It'd spoil everything! I loved your story! You should update it!
