Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings.
Chapter 13: Seperate Paths Taken
"Frodo?" panted Hermione, "I don't mean to sound like a pain, but we've been climbing over these sharp rocks for days without stopping. Can we rest?"
"I'm all for that," said Sam.
Frodo would never have admitted it on his own, but he was tired too. "Alright," he said, "We'll stop for a bit."
They had been traveling for days on end, through a maze of rocks, sometimes having to climb up them, and some times using Sam's rope to climb down. One particular foggy day, the three had been climbing down, not knowing where the bottom was, when Frodo slipped and fell. Hermione had cried out in horror, but as it turned out, they were only a few feet above ground anyway.
And so the Quest had continued. Hermione had to admit, it was getting very boring and exhausting right about now. She missed Fred, George, Merry, and Pippin, always playing jokes on each other and making the journey more fun. She also missed Harry; she felt like she had dragged him into this in the first place, and now he was all alone, without anyone to guide him. Of course, she realized that Aragorn would take care of him, but she still worried every night about what had become of the rest of the Fellowship since they had rowed away.
Right now, she, Frodo, and Sam were eating lembas bread, given to them by Galadriel. Thinking about the elf queen made her absentmindedly put her hand to her brooch. She hadn't used it yet, and hoped she never would find herself in a situation where she would have to.
"Sam, you got rope, but I didn't see what Galadriel gave you Frodo," she said, trying to make conversation.
Frodo pulled something out from around his neck. "She gave me what she called 'the light of Earendiel'," he said, showing her a glass phial with a glowing liquid inside, "It's supposed to give light in dark places."
"Interesting," said Hermione, "May I see it?" Frodo handed it to her, and she began examining it. "What's in here?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied, "Some sort of starlight."
"It's beautiful," she said, before handing it back to him.
Sam was staring at Mordor. Even from far away, you could still see its smoke-filled mountains, the fiery sky, the random bursts of lava from the pits of Mount Doom…
Hermione gave an involuntary shudder. Sam was more worried about the current situation however. "Let's face it," he said to the others, "We're lost. I don't think Gandalf meant for us to come this way."
"Well, this is the direction Aragorn was planning on heading in, so it must be right," said Hermione. She decided to consult the little book she'd brought all the way from Rivendell, turning to the back pages containing maps. "Ah yes, here we are, Emyn Muil," she muttered.
"Does it say how to get out?" asked Frodo.
"Unfortunately no," said Hermione, "Let's just keep following the path we're taking."
"We have, and all we end up doing is going in circles," replied Sam.
Hermione sighed, "I wish the rest of the Fellowship were here. Gandalf or Aragorn would know where to go."
"But they're not, so let's just rely on our own instincts for now," said Frodo. Filled with sudden resolve, he picked up his pack and started climbing amongst the rocks. Hermione and Sam followed, Sam eagerly, Hermione not so eagerly. She kept glancing behind them; she had a feeling someone was watching them. And she was right.
A few nights later, the three friends were asleep, huddled together for warmth in the cold unfriendly rocky passage. High above them, a skinny, sneaking creature crept down to their camp, muttering under his breath.
"They're thieves…they're thieves…they're filthy, little thieves! Where is it…where is it… must have the Precious! Curse them…we hates them…it's ours, it is, and we wants it!"
The creature's hands moved towards Frodo's neck, but suddenly all three of them leapt up, taking it by surprise. Hermione was trying to shoot spells at it, but this thing moved with surprising speed and agility. Frodo and Sam were trying to wrestle it to the ground, but it managed to knock over Frodo and tackle Sam, holding him around the neck in a death-like grip. Angrily, Frodo pulled out Sting and brandished it, while Hermione seized the opportunity to cast a Stunning spell, which hit its target. The creature went limp at once.
"What is it?" she asked fearfully.
"Gollum," said Frodo simply.
Hermione stared at it with great curiosity: so this was Gollum! She'd heard all about him, and assumed him to be nothing more than a wretched sort of orc. But he looked more like some demented old house-elf to her, minus the bat-like ears. She found herself pitying the creature without really realizing just what she was doing.
"What should we do with him Mr. Frodo?" asked Sam, getting up hastily.
"I think now would be a good time to use your elven rope Sam," he replied.
"Oh don't hurt it!" Hermione cried out.
The hobbits looked at her in surprise. "Hermione, that thing nearly throttled me!" exclaimed Sam.
"Oh Sam, I don't know if he can help it, he doesn't look like he's in his right mind!"
Sam snorted. "Well that goes without saying," he muttered.
For the time being, Frodo took the rope and fitted it around Gollum's neck like a leash and collar. The next morning the group awoke to wild shrieks of pain. They found Gollum screaming and clawing at the rope on his neck.
"What's wrong with him?" asked Hermione.
Where do I start? thought Sam grimly.
"It burns us!" shrieked Gollum more loudly, "It freezes!"
Sam ignored him and handed out lembas bread to Frodo and Hermione. Frodo ate his, but Hermione chewed absentmindedly as she headed over to Gollum. "Are you alright?" she asked, with nothing but deep concern in her voice.
"It hurts us! Take it off us!" wailed Gollum.
"Alright, calm down," she said soothingly, as she turned to the hobbits, "Frodo, I think the rope's really hurting him. Maybe we'd better take it off!"
"We can't!" interrupted Sam, "We don't have any other rope, and if we let him go he'll throttle us in our sleep!"
"I'll conjure a rope myself if I have to! We can't let him suffer like this!"
"It's no more than he deserves," muttered Sam.
"Maybe he does deserve to die," Frodo murmured back, "But now that I see him, I do pity him."
Gollum was now throwing himself on the ground in agony. Hermione couldn't stand this. She leapt over to pull the rope off of him, but Frodo grabbed her wrist. "Let me talk to him," he said, and made his way over. Sam shook his head and looked away.
Hermione watched as Frodo bargained with Gollum. He knew the way to Mordor, and was promising to take them there if they took the rope off. This seemed fair to Hermione, but Sam wasn't buying it.
"I don't believe you!" he yelled, "You're just trying to trick us!" Gollum squealed and tried to run but Sam jerked the rope sharply and Gollum fell, crying out in pain.
"Sam STOP IT!" shrieked Hermione, "Show a little compassion for once!" With that, she promptly walked over and untied the rope around Gollum's neck. He stared at her with his wide pale eyes, amazed that anyone could find room in their hearts to show him mercy. "Please lead us out of here," she begged quietly. Gollum nodded. Right now, he would've done anything for the kind girl; he was so relieved to have the horrible rope off.
Frodo also approached Gollum, giving a merciful, but firm, air about him. "You will lead us to the Black Gate," he said sternly, and Gollum nodded, in a frightened sort of way. Sam looked away. He had no compassion for the wretched creature, but he had agreed to follow his Master to the end, and that is what he would do.
Hermione, for her part, stayed close to Gollum, sometimes trying to give him a reassuring smile, so he would begin to trust her. Every now and then he would shriek and run off, but he always popped upagain, just when it would look like he had disappeared for good, to Sam's annoyance.
Harry, Legolas, and Gimli watched as Aragorn ran ahead and lay down with his ear to the ground. "What's he doing?" asked Harry.
"Listening for vibrations," replied Legolas, "to see how fast the Uruks are running."
"Ah," said Harry, trying (and failing spectacularly) to look like he understood.
"Hurry!" Aragorn called down to them, "Their pace has quickened!" The three friends quickly caught up to him.
All four hunters raced across the plains of Rohan, desperate to find Fred, George, Merry, and Pippin before it was too late. They would barely stop to rest; one thought about what the Uruk-hai could be doing to their friends was enough to give Harry that miraculous boost of energy.
He was just wondering when and if they'd ever catch up when Aragorn stopped and bent low over the ground. Harry walked over to him. "What's that?" he asked. In response, the ranger held up what looked like a metal leaf. "Oh, isn't that one of the elven brooches we got in Lothlorien? How d'you think that fell off?"
"Not idly do the Leaves of Lorien fall," said Aragorn.
Harry thought for a minute. "So…you think one of them took it off on purpose? Does this mean they're alive?"
"It's possible," said Aragorn, smiling. He bent over the ground to examine the orc tracks. "Less than a day ahead of us. Come on!"
Harry couldn't help but wait for Gimli, who had fallen behind and had now landed sprawled on the ground after tripping on a hill. "Come on," he said, helping the dwarf, "I think we're catching up to them!"
"I'm wasted on cross-country, we dwarves are natural sprinters!" he growled in reply. Harry stifled a laugh as the dwarf picked himself up and tried to catch up with the other two.
Aragorn was staring out over the plains. "Rohan," he said quietly.
"Hermione told me about this country," said Harry, "Isn't this where people keep horses or something?"
"Well, yes, you could say that," said Aragorn, "They are a rustic sort of people, and they love their horses more than anything."
"But isn't Saruman supposed to be around here?' asked Harry, looking around nervously.
"Not here, no, that's over a day's journey away," said Aragorn, "He lives in Isengard, near Rohan's borders."
"Good thing we don't have to go there," said Harry.
"Well, actually," said Legolas, who had been staring off into the distance, "That's where the Uruks are heading. I can see them turning north-east."
Harry groaned. He was worried sick about his poor friends, wondering what horrible fate they were suffering right now. He needn't have worried…
The Uruks had tried everything. Absolutely everything. They really had. They had tried threats, whipping, beating, everything. Nothing worked.
It all started right after the Uruk-hai captured Fred, George, Merry, and Pippin. They tied up all four of them and carried the hobbits on their backs. The twins were too big to be carried, but they were just as much a pain on the ground as they would be if they were carried. They did everything in their power to slow down the evil creatures, whether by just randomly stopping, or kicking the Uruk in front of them, or even trying to trip the one next to them. Reprimanding the twins only went so far, if a Uruk hit Fred, George was sure to kick back.
The first afternoon passed this way, and as the sun went down it became clear that the Uruks were not going to stop but continue through the night. Pippin kept twisting around, trying to see if anyone was coming from behind. But no one was there.
"Cheer up Pippin, Aragorn will save us, don't worry," said George.
"He needs to go with Frodo, he won't waste his time worrying about us," replied Pippin.
"If he doesn't, Harry will," said Fred, "I've never seen him willingly leave friends in danger. And you should see him when he's mad!"
"Yeah, but what if he can't catch up?" said Merry, "He'll have to stop and take breaks; he can't run like theses guys can!"
"I wish we could," said Pippin.
Fred got an evil grin on his face. "I dare you to ask the guy up front if we can take a break!"
"He'll knock my head off!" cried Pippin.
"If he was going to kill us, he'd have done it by now," said Fred, "Go on, I dare you!"
Pippin's eyes narrowed. "I want one of your Basic Blaze boxes from the Wildfire Whiz-bangs."
"Deal," said George.
Pippin gulped and then yelled as loud as he could, "Hey, you! Up there!"
Fred, George, and Merry all stifled their laughter as the leader, Ugluk, approached. "What do you want?" he snarled.
"When are we stopping?"
Ugluk roared and slapped Pippin across the face. "Think you're funny do you?"
"Hey you can't do that to my friend!" yelled Fred angrily.
Ugluk simply sneered at him and returned to the front.
"Sorry mate," said George, "You get a Deflagration Deluxe for that one."
"I'm just glad it's over," muttered Pippin.
"Over?" asked Fred, "No my friend, this is just the beginning!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Merry warily.
"We are going to make these bloody Uruk-hai pay!" Fred responded.
"Just how do we plan on doing that?" asked George.
"Quite simple. We are still the most annoying creatures on Earth. By the time we get to wherever we are going, I say our goal is to make sure the Uruks have been driven permanently insane!" cackled Fred.
Merry grinned. "I think we can accomplish that," he said.
"What's the plan of action?" asked Pippin eagerly.
"Hmm," said Fred thoughtfully, "How did we drive Sam crazy on Weathertop?"
"You don't mean…" said George.
"I doubt they'll find that song annoying," said Pippin.
"Pippin my friend," said Fred seriously, "By the time we stopped singing back at the Quidditch World Cup, everyone in the immediate area was begging us to stop. It is the ultimate torture!"
"Are you sure?" asked Merry uncertainly, "I dunno if it'll work. We're talking about Uruk-hai here!"
"Trust me," said Fred, "They're all brawn and no brains. They can handle any physical torment, but psychologically, I'm sure they're weak."
He was right. At first the Uruk-hai tried to ignore them as they started singing, but it is not a Uruk's nature to ignore something that bothers them, and they were becoming very annoyed with "99 Bottle of Beer on the Wall".
Finally Ugluk ordered his troop to halt. He walked up to the four boys, looking as menacing as possible. "You four wanna shut up?" he snarled, brandishing a whip.
"No, not really," said George casually.
Ugluk got in his face. "Oh, you think you're funny do you?"
"Actually, I find myself downright hilarious!"
The other three snorted with laughter.
Ugluk roared. "I am going to tear you all apart if you don't shut up!" he growled.
"Go right ahead," said Fred, "I'll only be sorry that I couldn't see the look on Saruman's face when you have to explain why you killed us."
For the first time they could see a spark of fear in the Uruk captain's eyes. They had a point. He didn't dare mess with the White Wizard's orders. So instead he lashed out his whip in George's direction. "Let that be a lesson for you," he said, "I can't kill you, but I'll punish you whenever I want." He started to walk away.
Pippin felt a surge of anger as he looked at George. He suddenly found himself yelling to Ugluk, "Well, we're not going to stop singing!"
Ugluk turned around. "What did you say to me?" he asked in a dangerous voice.
"You heard him," said Fred, "If you mess with my brother, or any of us for that matter, we'll get even!"
"Oh you will?" sneered Ugluk.
"Yeah," said Merry, getting a sudden idea, "We'll sing '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall'…" he paused for dramatic effect, "In elvish!"
This was such an empty threat, since none of them knew more than a few passing words and phrases in the language. But the Uruks didn't know that. They all immediately shuddered. Ugluk himself froze. "You wouldn't dare," he said quietly.
"Wouldn't we?" asked George, with an evil smile. "Meeeellllllllllooooooon!" he said, drawing it out slowly and clearly.
The Uruks shrieked and covered their ears. They couldn't stand the language, the way the Elves couldn't stand the Black Speech. For them, it was like hearing the sound of running your fingernails on a chalkboard. "Stop! Stop it!" cried Ugluk, covering his ears.
"Leave us alone, and we might," said Fred.
"All right, all right, just…don't…use…that…tongue," said Ugluk, shuddering as he returned to the front. As soon as he left, Merry turned to the others.
"Are you alright?" he asked George anxiously.
"I'm fine."
"You're bleeding," noted Pippin.
"It's just a cut, I'll be fine."
"Are we going to keep singing?" asked Merry, as the Uruk-hai began running again.
"Of course we are!" cried George, "We're still at 53 bottles! We can't stop now!"
And so it continued, much to the Uruks' annoyance. But there was nothing to be done. As three days passed, Ugluk would occasionally lose his temper, and try to beat the four boys into submission, but more or less the same threats would be exchanged, and in the end, the boys always came out on top. Ugluk's only compensation was the thoughts of what Saruman would do when he got his hands on them. But Isengard was still days away, and in the mean time the roles had been reversed as the mighty Uruk-hai found themselves at the mercy of these four troublemakers. Ugluk inwardly groaned. This was going to be a long trip…
A/N: SO sorry for not updating! I had (and still have) a ton of homework, and then I was away for most of Easter, and I had to work in my spare time on this story. Plus I have to update my other story, seeing as how I haven't done so in months! So I am very sorry.
I can see it now: some of you are going to find the Fred and George area as completely unrealistic. The Uruk-hai are fierce warriors and could easily handle the Fantastic Four, right? Well, I had that irresistible urge to be a little silly, and plus, if the twins can drive the might of the Ministry of Magic insane, I think they can pretty much handle anything!
To those wonderful reviewers of mine:
Radszilla: hehe, I know, poor Uruks! Wait'll I get really into the Smeagol/Gollum relationship, I'm already planning the part with Shelob!
Infallallthingsaremadesplendid: Don't feel silly, to tell you the truth, I was actually planning on having her go with Aragorn, when I was suddenly like, "Wait, I want her to meet Gollum!" That's what gave me the idea really. OMG, I love your balloons! I gotta have some of those! (runs off with balloons) YAY! These'll look great in my room! Lol
Kaladelia Undomiel: Mischievous people rule! I actually never thought about that, the powder was going to used for something else, but maybe I'll change it a bit. They have enough to use it twice I'm sure.
Eclipse: He could indeed be anywhere! Where could Ron be? (grins evilly) I know! And I'm not telling! Ok, I'll stop being mean now! Ron is coming, you'll see! And Ginny too!
MischeviousPuck: Why thank you! I'll try to keep it up!
Genvessel: Huh. I always loved The Two Towers. I think it might be my favorite part. But the Return of the King section should be coming, and that'll be fun!
Darknesscomes: Ok, here it is! I hope you enjoyed!
Lady Cinnibar: You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it!
Sperirl: It's a good idea, but unfortunately I already separated them, and besides, I'm too big of a R/Hr shipper! I was actually thinking of doing some romance with Legolas involving someone else, but I won't do it now. Maybe if I write a sequel where the Fellowship goes to Hogwarts I'll work one in, but not now.
GCchic128: Me too! Hp/Lotr stories rule! Let me know if you've read any other good ones that I have yet to discover!
Tar-Aldarion II: Hmm, you have a point. But Harry really was scared, I just had him behaving a little recklessly there, he has behaved somewhat similarly in the books sometimes. But I'll try to be more careful.
LillyandJamesforever: Gasp! You're right, Denethor is like Fudge, I never thought of that! I'll have to work that into my story somehow. Don't worry, Ron will never replace Pippin, it's just not possible, you'll see what happens! You're right, Faramir does need love, the poor guy. (runs over and hugs Faramir too) Aww, come on everybody, group hug! Hehehe I think I reviewed for your story, but I can't remember. I can't believe English could be your second language, you're so good at it!
Almadynis: Thanks!
Sauron the Destroyer: I tried my best. Did you like it?
