Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings. I think we've got that figured out by now.

A/N: I decided to change the rating to PG-13 for the battle sequences. I don't know if it's that bad in this chapter, but I can't guarantee what'll happen in later chapters…

Chapter 9: In the Mines of Moria

For three days the Fellowship walked through Moria. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but Harry was far from relaxed. It was very quiet and unnaturally still, giving the place a feeling of unease. Then there was the fact that the Mines were enormous; it was lucky that they had Gandalf for a guide, as one could get lost in there almost immediately.

Along the way, Gandalf pointed out things to the Fellowship like mithril, the purest, most beautiful silver found in Middle-Earth, and that could only be found in Moria. Harry was fascinated by it. At one point Gandalf halted and shone his staff so they could all take in the vast beauty of the mines.

On the fourth day of their journey Gandalf lead them up a set of narrow stairs and then came to a landing with three passageways branching off in different directions. He paused, and for the first time since they had reached the Doors of Durin, he looked unsure of himself. "I have no memory of this place," he declared slowly.

The result was that the Fellowship waited for hours while the old wizard sat and tried to think of which way they should go. They talked quietly amongst each other, so they wouldn't disturb Gandalf.

"I'm hungry," muttered Pippin.

"You're always hungry," said George.

"I know, but this time I'm REALLY hungry! Did we ever have breakfast?"

"Yeah, must've been two hours ago," said Merry.

"It doesn't feel like two hours! Does anyone have anything to eat?"

"Sure," said Fred, with an evil grin, "I've got some toffees in my pocket here…"

"Don't even think about it Fred!" said Hermione sharply.

"What? I wasn't going to give him any Ton-Tongue Toffee, I swear…"

"What's Ton-Tongue Toffee?" asked Pippin.

"It's trick candy that can make your tongue grow at least four feet long!" said George.

"Excellent!" said Merry, "Can I have some?"

"No!" said Hermione, "You can't be fooling around right now; it's too dangerous!"

"Lighten up Hermione," muttered Fred. She glared at him but didn't reply.

Harry wasn't paying attention to any of this. He wandered over to wear Gandalf was sitting. He wanted to ask him something very badly, but didn't want to interrupt his thought. Gandalf, however, sensed him sit down nearby and turned around. "What did you want to ask me Harry?"

Harry was taken slightly aback. "Uh, well…I was just wondering, er…" he wondered how to put his thoughts into words. Then it all came spilling out. "Gandalf, why am I so attracted to the Ring? Part of me knows it's evil, and I don't want anything to do with it, but when I see it, I don't know, I just sort of lose control."

"You need to learn to control your desires and fears, Harry," replied Gandalf slowly, "I have only known you for a little while, but from what I've learned about you, whether through others or by your actions, I believe that you have trouble controlling your own emotions. Things like that can make one easier prey for the Ring."

"How?" asked Harry desperately, "How do I control my emotions? I don't want to be weak; I don't want the Ring to control me…"

"It is not something that can be taught," said Gandalf calmly, "You must learn it by yourself, with your own strengths. You will always have friends and people who want to help you, but only you can learn to trust in your own abilities."

Harry looked at him thoughtfully. It almost seemed like Gandalf's advice contained some sort of second message in it, but he couldn't think of what it could be, and didn't bother to ask. So instead he simply said, "Thanks Gandalf," and walked back over to the others. He had no sooner stood up when Frodo wandered over to take his place. Harry decided to let them talk together alone.

After a few minutes, Gandalf suddenly looked up and announced that the left path was the right way, and the Fellowship continued their journey. They had been walking for less than five minutes when they reached the end of the passageway and came out into a gigantic hallway. It was the Halls of Durin, and it was massive: filled with towering stone columns, which when compared to Harry felt like a tiny ant. They could have put five Great Halls in there with room to spare. It was all awesome to look at, but they had to keep moving.

As they rounded a corner, they saw light coming from a chamber off to the side. Lying all over the entrance of the chamber were the skeletons of dwarves. Gimli cried out in horror and dashed away from the rest of the group. "Oh no," said Hermione sadly.

The others followed him into the room. Inside they found Gimli kneeling beside a tomb crying. Hermione ran over and put a comforting arm around him. Harry quickly glanced around and saw a book in one of the dwarves' hands. He carefully picked it up and opened it, but it was written in a different language, so he handed it to Gandalf.

Fred and George wandered around, looking slightly uncomfortable. They weren't good at being tactful and sympathetic during moments like this. Fred looked around for Merry and Pippin, hoping they would know what to do. Pippin was stretching his hand out to touch the nearest skeleton, which was sitting on top of the edge of a well. "You better leave that Pip, I dunno if you should touch that," he said slowly, heading towards the young hobbit. Pippin wasn't listening. For some reason, he was curious about this particular skeleton. He reached out his hand, touched it, and…

The head rolled off and fell into the well, making a loud banging noise as it went down. Before Pippin realized what was happening, the entire skeleton started to fall in. Luckily Fred managed to grab it and pull it back up again before it made any more noise that would give them away.

Gandalf, who'd been reading about how the dwarves made their last stand against the orcs in Moria, snapped the book shut and glared at Pippin. "Fool of a Took," he snarled, "If you hadn't caught that Mr. Weasley, we'd probably find this place swarming with orcs in no time!"

The words no sooner left his mouth when they heard a sound: the steady beating of drums. They were terrifying to hear; they seemed to say "Doom, doom!" with each beat. Then came something far less unwelcome: harsh shrieks and cries along with shadows coming closer and closer.

"What is it?" asked Harry, though he thought he knew (and dreaded) the answer.

"Orcs!" replied Legolas.

"Oh no," moaned Hermione.

"Well, so much for that," muttered Fred, staring at the dead skeleton in his arms. Before anyone could stop him, he tossed the rest of the skeleton into the well.

"Fred NO!" everyone shouted.

"What did you do that for?" cried Hermione exasperatedly.

"Well, the orcs were already coming so I figured there was no point in holding that thing any longer," shrugged Fred.

"That was one of my kin…" Gimli started to say indignantly, but Harry cut him off.

"Never mind that, we've got a bigger problem to deal with!" he exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the orc cries. They were getting louder and louder.

"Harry's right," said Aragorn, and he leapt for the door. Together, he and Boromir began to bar it shut, but not before a couple of arrows flew dangerously close to Boromir's head. He stuck it outside to look, drew it back in, and announced, "They have a cave troll!"

"A t-troll?" stuttered Hermione in horror.

"Have you ever seen a troll before?" asked Merry.

"We fought one once in first year," replied Harry, "That was when we were eleven."

"Oh good," said Pippin, "So you can take care of this one right?"

"I…guess so," said Harry doubtfully.

"Brace yourselves everyone, they're about to break through the door!" yelled George.

Legolas and Aragorn stood at the front with their bows aimed. One orc broke through and got an arrow in his head. Another one tried getting through with the same result, and another, and another, until the whole door crashed down and an entire army crashed through and stormed in on the Fellowship. The battle had begun.

Harry had only used a sword once, Fred and George had only practiced with them, and Hermione had never seen a real one in her life. But they did fine with the help of their wands. Hermione would sometimes simply stun different orcs before ramming her sword into them. Harry tried dueling for a little while with the sword Elrond had given him before they left Rivendell, but did a fair amount of spell work too. Fred and George went back and forth, sometimes hexing the monsters, and sometimes swinging their swords. They were really quite talented in this area, weaving in and out, using their Quidditch reflexes to dodge offensive attacks, as if they were simply dodging Bludgers.

After only a few minutes of fighting, the troll burst in. It roared and flung a giant chain at everything in sight, friend or foe. It didn't know the difference. Its impulse was to kill anything in sight, and it was doing a pretty good job. Legolas took one look at it and shot an arrow in its shoulder. Unfortunately all it did was annoy the beast and injure it slightly. It roared again and charged.

Harry was getting very anxious about this sudden turn of events. If the troll had had a club, he at least would've had some sort of plan in mind based on his previous experience. But he didn't thing the whiplike chain would work the same way. "Any ideas?" he asked Hermione.

"Don't ask me!" she snapped, "I wasn't the one fighting the troll back in first year!" They both cut the conversation short as they ducked to avoid the swinging chain.

"In case you didn't notice Hermione, this is a bit different!" yelled Harry as they got up again.

"Well we have to do something!" she replied, "Duck!" They barely missed the chain coming back a second time.

Meanwhile Fred and George were still fighting. They tried Stunning the troll, but its tough hide protected it. George looked up and saw Legolas fighting orcs on what looked like an upper level of the chamber, so they leapt up to join him. All three of them took out knives and started dueling. The orcs never had a chance against the skilled fighters. But the troll did. He flung his whip and they all ducked. It came around again and this time it got caught around a pillar. Legolas trapped it with his foot and yanked at it. Then he climbed up onto the troll's back to shoot an arrow into it's head. For their part, the twins had started gathering up all of the dead orcs' weapons. "Keep it steady mate," Fred called out to Legolas. The troll was thrashing about in pain, arms flailing, trying to pull the elf off of his head and get the arrow out.

"Steady, steady," muttered Fred, as they aimed some of the weapons, "Now!"

Both boys started flinging the swords and daggers into the troll's back. Not a single one went off target. They worked quickly, because the troll was shrieking and trying to pull the swords out of his back. Legolas had already jumped down as things started to get too dangerous. Finally as George flung the last dagger, the two had to jump down too.

While all this was going on, Harry and Hermione were desperately trying to come up with a way to kill the troll. The orcs weren't too much of a problem; their numbers were starting to recede. Even the hobbits, who knew about as much as the kids did when it came to sword fighting, were doing fine on their own. Sam had even started taking out his pots and pans and began slamming orcs with them, a unique but effective way of fighting. Frodo was slashing at orcs with his glowing Elvish dagger, Sting, that Bilbo had given him. Merry and Pippin were fighting closer to Fred and George, and together they kept the twins from being too overwhelmed with fighting the evil creatures.

Harry watched the four of them, then looked at the troll, who had not succeeded in getting the weapons out of his back, and was getting steadily weaker. He suddenly remembered something he had done that night on Halloween. "Merry! Pippin!" he called.

Merry, who had just drove his blade into an orc that was about to attack Fred from behind, looked up and motioned for Pippin to follow. "What is it Harry?" he asked.

"I have an idea," explained Harry, and he told them his plan.

"That's crazy! We could die!" cried Pippin.

"Ok then. If you'd rather we just wait a little longer and let the troll finish us off some other way, be my guest," said Harry. Pippin shut his mouth. "I think it'll work," continued Harry, "If we're fast enough that is."

"Fine, we'll do it," said Merry, and they dashed up to the upper level. Relieved, Harry quickly relayed his plan to Hermione, who agreed to tell everyone else.

As Merry and Pippin got into position, however, Frodo suddenly cried out. Harry wheeled around in his direction and was horrified to see a huge spear sticking out of him. He hadn't realized the troll was headed in his direction, and now it was too late. Next to him lay Aragorn. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving. Praying that he was just unconscious, Harry started towards them.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed in alarm, pointing at the troll's back. Harry turned to look.

Merry and Pippin, it seemed, had seen Frodo, and in utter anguish they decided not to wait for Harry's signal and go ahead with the plan anyway. They look a running jump and leapt onto the troll's back, in the same way that Harry had five years ago. But Harry wasn't ready yet, and although it did work the way he wanted it to, the troll was completely distracted, he himselfwas taken totally off guard.

"What do we do?" asked Hermione in distress as the troll caught Merry and Pippin and started to swing them around.

Harry recovered from the initial shock and yelled, "NOW!"

"STUPEFY!" screamed all four wizards at the same time. Gandalf even added in some spells that he knew with his staff.

It was all too much for the troll. It fell face down on the floor with a moan.

"Is it dead?" asked Hermione.

In response, Gimli walked up and slammed his ax in its neck. "Now it is," he said simply.

Hermione groaned and muttered, "Boys!"

Meanwhile the others had gathered around Frodo, who had also slumped face down on the ground. Aragorn, thankfully, was awake; he had only been unconscious after all. He gingerly turned Frodo over, and everyone was startled to see the hobbit gasping for breath, but very much alive. "I'm alright; I'm not hurt," he panted.

"Not hurt? Merlin, we thought you were dead mate," breathed Fred.

"I think there is more to this hobbit then meets the eye," said Gandalf, with an almost knowing smile on his face. Frodo nodded and revealed what had been hidden under his chest: a coat made of mithril that Bilbo had given him before he left Rivendell. Gimli stared at the shirt in awe.

"Well, that explains a lot," said Harry, grinning, "It's a good thing you had that to protect you."

Their relief was short-lived however, as they heard more orcs coming. "Not again," groaned George.

"To the bridge of Khazad-dum," was all Gandalf said.

They all fled, back into the Hall as fast as their legs could carry them. Hermione found herself bringing up the rear, her brain was quick but her legs weren't. Harry saw her trying to keep up. "C'mon, hurry!" he yelled, and he ran back to egg her along.

They were halfway there when orcs and goblins started coming out of nowhere, running down the pillars or swarming through the doors to stop the Fellowship. Soon they were surrounded. Harry knew there was no way out of this one, they were hopelessly outnumbered, but he braced himself and held up his wand and sword in defiance anyway.

Then, just when it seemed like there was no hope left, they heard a rumbling noise from the far end of the Hall. The doorway behind them suddenly glowed orange and they could hear the thudding noise of something coming closer and closer.

The orcs shrieked and scattered. They all climbed as fast as they could up the pillars in their mad frenzied hurry to escape. Gimli laughed in triumph, but Harry felt his anxiety mounting. What could've possibly frightened all those orcs? He doubted it was anything good. Judging by the look of sudden terror on Hermione's face, he began to fear the worst.

"What is it?" he asked Gandalf.

"I don't know and I really don't want to hang around and find out," said Fred.

"It is a Balrog, a demon of the underworld," replied Gandalf.

Hermione gave a moan of terror.

"This is beyond the strength of any of you," said Gandalf slowly, "Run!"

They didn't need telling twice. Everyone dashed the rest of the way through to the other door, down a flight of steps, and then halted at a gap between the stairs. Legolas easily jumped across, then motioned for Gandalf to follow, then Hermione leapt over, then with Fred holding Merry and George holding Pippin, the four friends jumped. But it was too much on the ancient stairs, and the stone where they had just been standing crumbled, making the gap larger. Boromir jumped next, then Aragorn tossed Sam, and then tried to toss Gimli, but he refused the helpand tried to make the jump himself. The result was that he nearly slipped and fell, but Legolas grabbed onto his beard and pulled him up.

Suddenly some more of the steps gave way. Aragorn and Frodo ran up further, but Harry found himself slipping and clinging to the edge. Hermione screamed. A few orcs that had seen them along the walls began shooting at him. Legolas responded by shooting back. Harry was struggling to hoist himself up when he felt Aragorn's strong arms seize him and pull him up. "Are you alright?" he asked. Harry nodded. But now all three of them were trapped on the other side.

Then a few boulders came down and smashed away some of the steps behind them. The stairs began to sway. "Lean!" yelled Aragorn. They all leaned towards the edge, and Harry felt himself sliding towards the others, who were reaching out to catch them. The rock holding the stairs cracked, and Harry, Aragorn, and Frodo fell right into the others. Then Gandalf led them on.

The Fellowship had just reached the Bridge, when in a wreath of flame a huge fiery demon leapt up and roared, with both a flaming sword and fiery whip in his hands. He was black, with red eyes and huge curved horns on his head, and was very fearsome-looking. Hermione screamed a warning.

"Over the bridge! Fly!" screamed Gandalf, and he hurried the others over before stopping midway and turning to face the beast. "You cannot pass," he said.

Frodo screamed for him. The Balrog halted and swayed cautiously on the bridge. Harry had his eyes screwed shut, muttering, "He'll be fine, he'll be alright, he's Gandalf, he can do it." Hermione clutched his arm in fear.

The Balrog decided to ignore Gandalf's warnings and charged ahead, swinging his sword, but a white light from the old wizard's staff blocked him. "You shall not pass!" he yelled, and slammed his staff and sword into the bridge.

Again, the Balrog hesitated, and again it decided to ignore him, but this time it was to his own expense. The bridge cracked from underneath him, and sent him down into the deep dark abyss beneath the narrow bridge.

"Blimey, he's done it," whispered Fred weakly. But just as Gandalf turned to follow them, the Balrog's whip came out and wrapped itself around Gandalf's legs, dragging him down. Harry immedialty started to run to him, but the twins, who seemed to have a better grasp of the situation, grabbed him and held him back.

"GET OFF ME GUYS, GET OFF, HE'S GONNA DIE!" screamed Harry, but they held on tight.

Gandalf stared at them for the last time. "Fly you fools!" he whispered, and then let go.

Harry felt numb. He knew Fred and George were pulling him along with the rest of the group, he felt his legs running with the rest of them, heard Frodo screaming and Boromir carrying him out, he saw the arrows of orcs flying past his ears, but to him, it was all part of a distant dream, it wasn't real. He became aware of the fact that they were out of the Mines, that everyone around him was either crying or trying to comfort each other, but at the same point wasn't aware of it. Nothing seemed right anymore, because Gandalf had fallen. To him, Gandalf dying was like Dumbledore dying: he had always expected him to be there, no matter what. Furthermore, a death among the Company brought home to him something that he hadn't really thought about before: they might not survive this war. They might die in the attempt to help Frodo, and he might never see Hogwarts again. The thought brought tears to his eyes, but he quickly brushed them aside, not wanting to look weak.

Aragorn was telling them they had to leave. Harry couldn't believe anyone could want to do that, all he wanted to do was run back in to the spot where Gandalf had been. But Aragorn pulled him along, insisting that they had to get to Lothlorien. Harry neither knew nor cared what Lothlorien was. But after one last look at the mountains, he trudged slowly away; full of grief and wishing this nightmare would end. It would, but not for a very long time, as he was about to discover.

A/N: OMG 9 REVIEWS IN ONE CHAPTER! YAAAAAYYYY! I LOVE YOU GUYS! (see how happy you make me when you review ;)? ) Ne ways...

infallallthingsaremadesplendid: Ah, you're killing me here! I want to tell you where they are so bad but I can't! You'll just have to be patient, they're coming along just fine. As for Harry's ring obsession, that and his little chat with Gandalf will actuallyhelp him later on with his life, I'll let you know that much!

UK All the Way: Don't worry, Harry won't replace Boromir. He'll havesomething slightly different happen when I get to Parth Galen. You'll see...

Kaladelia Undomiel: "sniff"That was SO sad! I can seriously relate to that kid because I like to make my own family videos in my spare time too (though they're nowhere near as good as his!). What part of the commentaries were you talking about though? I listened to the director and the cast ones a while ago so I don't really remember if they mentioned him or not. About the story, you'll see what happens to Harry, I love Bill too, and I think one of my favorite parts to write was Hermione and the password. I knew she'd be the type of person to figure that out!

beautystar: Hey, I like my long chaps! Long chaps rule! lol Thank you for your reviews!

darknesscomes: Well, here's chapter 9! Did you like it?

Justx4xfun04: Thank you! As you can see, I did update! Are you happy? lol

Radzilla: Wow, someone besides my immediate family and friends is actually impressed with my work? I must say I am touched! Glad you like what I did to Gred and Forge, I love those two, and I really want to get them right!

canidus-lupus-full Moon: Thanks for your review!