Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings.
Chapter 16: Heading to the Entmoot, Edoras, and the Black Gate
"The Black Gate of Mordor!" announced Gollum, as he led them to their final destination.
It was an impressive sight, Hermione had to admit. So impressive that she wondered how they'd ever get in unseen. She wished they had Harry's invisibility cloak.
She suddenly realized that Gollum was referring to himself as Smeagol. "Who's Smeagol?" she asked him.
"That's our name, miss!" he said brightly, "We remembers it now! Master helped us remember!"
"Very good," she said smiling. "Smeagol…I like it!"
"I don't," muttered Sam. He could care less about whatever Gollum referred to himself as. That creature was nothing but trouble and he knew it, even if no one else did. But he decided for the time being to put his mind on other matters. "Look," he said, "We'll never get past that!" He pointed to the Black Gate, which not only blocked the only way into Mordor, but was very well guarded.
Suddenly there was a shout. An army of Men were approaching the Gate. But they weren't like any men Hermione had seen so far. They were wearing a different type of armor, with helmets that practically covered their whole face. Their eyes were line with some sort of black eye liner, and they looked evil. Hermione checked her book and found a group that matched this description. "Easternlings," she muttered.
"Wicked men," said Gollum, nodding.
"Look Mr. Frodo! Hermione! The Gate's opening!" cried Sam. He was right. An orc blew his horn and some trolls began to pull at a mechanism to open the massive wall. The troops began to march in.
"What now?" asked Sam.
"I suppose we could disguise ourselves as soldiers and walk in unnoticed," said Hermione.
"That wouldn't work," replied Sam, "Mr. Frodo and I are too small."
"We could use our elvish cloaks," said Hermione doubtfully.
"I doubt they'll hide us very well in there," said Sam.
"We have to try," said Frodo, "It's the only way."
"You're right," said Sam, as they both nodded.
"Ready?" asked Hermione.
"Wait…now!" said Frodo, but as they started to run, Gollum grabbed the back of Frodo and Hermione's cloaks.
"No!" he squealed, "They catch you! They catch you!"
"It's the only way Smeagol," insisted Hermione.
"No!" said Gollum, shaking his head frantically, "There's another way! A dark way, more secret!"
"There is?" asked Hermione.
"Why haven't you spoken of this before!" asked a very suspicious Sam.
"Because Master did not ask!" he replied.
"He's up to something," Sam declared, but neither Frodo nor Hermione was paying attention.
"Are you saying there's another way into Mordor?" asked Frodo.
"Yes!" said Gollum earnestly. "There's a secret way, up some stairs, and then there's a tunnel…" He paused.
"And?" asked Sam.
"And it leads inside there," he said, pointing to Mordor.
"I guess we could try it," said Hermione, "The more secret, the better."
"No Hermione," said Sam.
"Well, he's led us this far Sam," said Frodo.
"No," was all Sam said. But he knew he'd been beaten.
"Lead the way Smeagol," said Frodo. Gollum nodded and led them away from the Gate, which had just closed.
Hermione could see that Sam was very upset. "Please Sam," she begged, "Give him a chance!"
"I don't trust him, and that's that!"
"Come on Sam!" she cried, "How on earth will we get this done if we're fighting amongst each other?"
"I'm not fighting him, I just don't like him."
"But he's trying to help!"
"He's only helping us because we have the Ring. That's all he cares about."
"Maybe he doesn't. You don't know for sure."
"And you don't know for sure if he can really recover."
"Of course he can! All you have to do is show him love and kindness!"
"He'll just take advantage of your pity!"
"Fine Sam," said Hermione, looking very disappointed, "I can see this is going nowhere. Believe whatever you want, but please don't make life miserable for Smeagol, or he'll never have any chance of recovery!"
And she went to catch up with Frodo and Gollum, leaving Sam to contemplate what she'd said.
"Are we there yet?" asked Fred.
"No," replied Treebeard, "Don't be hasty!"
"What is that? Your motto or something?" asked George.
"I do not know what a "motto" is."
"It's like the words you live by," explained George.
"I guess you could say that. We Ents do not rush into things. We prefer to be slow. It is better that way, don't you agree?"
"No," said Fred, "I like to rush into things."
"Me too!" said Pippin.
"Then you and I are very different," said Treebeard. Although he would never have admitted it, he was becoming very fond of the boys and thoroughly enjoyed their company. "But it is not that far, to me at least. The Entmoot is only a day or so away."
"What's an Entmoot?" asked Fred.
"It's a gathering of the Ents," replied Treebeard.
"So there are definitely more of you?" asked George.
"Oh yes. Not many, but there are a few of us still left to manage the forests."
"Wish we had some of you around Hogwarts," said George, "You could protect the Forbidden Forest."
"Forbidden?" asked Treebeard, sounding shocked, "Why on earth would it be forbidden?"
"It's too dangerous," said Fred.
"And what is Hogwarts? I have never heard of it before."
"Hogwarts is the school we go to," replied George.
"A school?" asked Treebeard.
"A place to learn stuff," said Fred.
"For children?" asked Treebeard, "Interesting…do you learn much?"
"Well…" Fred wasn't exactly sure how to say that he and his brother hated school and did everything in their power to disrupt everyone's daily schedule. For all he knew this old Ent could think school was the greatest thing in the world. "We're taught a lot." He didn't mention that they hardly listened to what they were being taught.
"That is good. The more you know of the world, the better."
Farther away, at the city of Edoras, six companions came galloping up on their horses. Led by Gandalf, they all halted to gaze at the town before them before charging onward. At first, Ron wouldn't go any further.
"They'll shoot me down as soon as they see me!" he declared.
"They will not," said Gandalf, "Trust me."
"Come on Ron," said Harry, beckoning him, "We're here to help Théoden. I'm sure he'll lift your sentence once he comes back to his senses."
Ron thought for a moment. "Alright," he grumbled, "But I don't think they should see me yet." He pulled up the hood on his cloak to hide his face.
"Don't, you just look suspicious!" said Harry.
But Gandalf was nodding. "They won't let him in if they know who he is, and a disguise can always come in handy."
The old wizard wasn't completely honest himself. The guards let them pass, but as the got to the Hall of the King, some more guards, led by their captain Hama, barred the way, insisting that they leave their weapons outside.
Harry and Ron surrendered their swords, but kept their wands up their sleeves. Aragorn and Legolas also gave up their weapons, and Gimli (with some regret) gave up his axe. Then Hama turned to Gandalf. "Your staff," he said, indicating that he should put it with the other weapons.
Gandalf pretended to look shocked. "You would not part an old man from his walking stick?"
Harry and Ron glanced at each other, then looked away to hide their laughter. Hama noticed nothing suspicious, and agreed to let them in. Gandalf gave them a tiny wink, and they tried to conceal their grins. Legolas even contributed to the charade by offering to help Gandalf inside. Poor Ron nearly exploded at this.
The door slammed shut behind them. They were in.
Eventually, the seemingly tireless twins and hobbits fell asleep. Treebeard stopped when night fell, and laid them down on the ground before going off to round up some of the Ents. There the four slept until morning.
Pippin was the first to wake up, followed quickly by Fred. Merry and George woke up around the same time, in time to hear Pippin eagerly talking about a dream he had where they'd all smoked pipe weed until they were sick.
"I had a dream too," said Fred, "We were all sitting in this pub in our world called the Three Broomsticks, and we were all drinking butterbeer!"
"Butterbeer," said Merry longingly, "I haven't had that before, but I heard it's good!"
"You should've had some back in Bree," said George, "We told Butterbur how to make it!"
"I know, but with all that business with Strider and the Ringwraiths, there wasn't time!"
"Well, maybe someday you can try it," said George, "You should come to our world sometime. If we ever get back that is."
"I'd love to see your world," said Pippin, "Aren't you opening up a joke shop?"
"Yeah, thanks to Harry," said Fred, sighing happily. "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Sure hope we get back to open it. Our world needs stuff like that!"
Merry suddenly stiffened. There was a groaning noise in the forest. "Did you hear that?" he asked.
"Yeah," said George, "What d'you reckon it is?"
"I think it's the trees," said Merry.
Another groaning noise came. "Hold on a minute, that noise didn't come from the trees," said Fred. He turned to Pippin. "It came from you."
"No it didn't!"
"Yes it did!" said Fred accusingly, "That was you!"
"No I didn't! I was just stretching!" said Pippin. But no one believed him, especially after another groan escaped his lips.
Merry noticed something else. "You're taller," he said.
"Who?" asked Pippin, glancing around.
"You!"
"Then what?"
"Then me?"
"I've always been taller than you!"
Merry was not about to take this lying down. "Let it go mate," said George, "It's not that important. I mean, I'm older than Fred, but he doesn't care!"
Fred's head snapped in their direction. "No you're not!"
"Yes I am!"
"No you're not!"
"Yes I am!"
"Aren't you guys twins?" asked Pippin, looking confused. He didn't notice Merry eyeing the strange pitcher of water in his hands.
"Yeah," said George, "But I was born first!"
"No you weren't! I was!"
"I'm the oldest by 1:05 seconds!" said George.
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"Are not!"
"Merry, give that back!" yelled Pippin. The twins turned to watch. Merry was being chased by his younger cousin, the pitcher in his hand. Apparently he had stolen it and was now gulping as much down as he could.
"Merry, Treebeard said you shouldn't have any!" cried Pippin.
"I want some!" yelled Merry.
"Merry! Give it back!" cried Pippin, tackling him on the roots of a gnarled old tree. Suddenly the roots began to move! They wrapped themselves around Merry and Pippin and began to draw them in.
"Help! Help!" they cried. The twins were at a loss of what to do. The tree began to use its leaves to cover up the hobbits, still screaming. Soon they were totally locked in the tree. Fred and George finally snapped out of it.
"Treebeard! Treebeard! Help!" they screamed, dashing into the woods. Luckily it didn't take them too long to find him.
"What is wrong? Where are the little Shirelings?" he asked.
"The…tree…is…alive!" gasped Fred.
"Oh dear," said Treebeard, "Come. I will set it right." The twins gratefully climbed up onto him and he headed back to their camp.
"Away with you!" he called. "You should not be waking! Eat earth, drink deep! Drink water, go to sleep! Away with you!" The tree released its grip, and the two hobbits sprang out, gasping for breath. "Come, the forest is waking up," said Treebeard, lifting them up onto his topmost branches next to the twins, "It isn't safe here." He continued to take them to the Entmoot.
Harry glanced around the dark hall of what Gandalf told him was called Meduseld. He noticed that there were men on both sides, following them and watching them closely. He nudged Aragorn to point this out.
"I know," muttered Aragorn, "Stay alert."
Gandalf was greeting the king. Ron had been right; he did look ancient and shriveled. Next to him was a pale man with greasy black hair whispering into his ear. Harry was reminded slightly of Snape.
Ron was gazing uneasily at the setting. The place hadn't changed much since he'd left. But where were Theodred and Eowyn? He hoped they were all right.
Meanwhile Wormtounge was convincing the king that these visitors were not welcome. He was smirking at Gandalf, but after all he'd been through, the wizard was not about to be frightened off by a pathetic man like that, and he made sure they knew it too, by revealing his staff at last. Wormtounge, if possible, got paler. "I told you to take the wizard's staff!" he yelled.
Right on cue, his hired thugs came running out of the shadows to attack. Gandalf continued walking towards Théoden, while the others rushed up to meet their attackers. They were doing very well until two particularly strong men seized Ron and pinned him down. Wormtounge walked over and ripped off the hood.
"Well, well, well," he said, "I thought we'd gotten rid of you Ronald Weasley. I suppose I was wrong. Well, you know what we have to do now." He raised his own sword.
"Expelliarmus!" yelled Harry. Wormtounge went flying and crashed into the wall. He slumped to the ground, and Gimli pounced on him.
Meanwhile the two thugs holding Ron heard something behind them. They turned to find Aragorn and Legolas smiling at them…very dangerous smiles.
"Hello," said Legolas. A split second later both men were unconscious.
"You ok mate?" asked Harry as Ron got up.
"Yeah, thanks!"
"Don't mention it."
Gandalf, meanwhile, had raised his staff and was trying to release Théoden from possession. But then the old king laughed: a very Saruman-like laugh.
"You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey."
At this, Gandalf threw off his cloak to reveal his true powers as the White Wizard. Everyone was trying to shield themselves from the bright light as Gandalf began to draw Saruman out.
Harry suddenly noticed a young woman run out to help the king, but Aragorn stopped her, commanding her to wait. She struggled against him.
"Eowyn, relax, he knows what he's doing," said Ron, stepping forward.
The woman stared at him in shock. "Ron!"
"Yeah. Where's Theodred? Is he doing all right?"
Eowyn's face fell, and she looked away. "What's wrong?" asked Ron. But she refused to answer.
Harry attention was suddenly drawn back to Gandalf as he heard a wild yell. The king leapt at him, Gandalf drew his staff, and Théoden fell back. He tilted over, and Aragorn let go of Eowyn so she could catch him as he fell.
And right before their eyes, the old man transformed into a middle-aged man with golden hair and a much shorter beard. His eyes were back to normal, and the wrinkles on his face had smoothened. He was looking around the hall with new eyes, staring in wonder at everyone around him. He turned to Eowyn who was crying. "Eowyn?" he asked.
She nodded, tears running down her face.
Théoden turned to look at the others. "Ron?" he asked.
"Hi," said Ron, "It's nice to have you back."
"It's nice to be back," the king replied, getting up unsteadily. Then he saw a very old friend. "Gandalf?"
"Breath the free air again, my friend," said Gandalf.
The entire hall seemed to be in a state of shock. Wormtounge woke up and tried to run away, but Gimli held him tight. They all watched as Hama handed the king his sword. He held it tentatively at first, then turned and saw Gimli with Wormtounge. His eyes narrowed.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to see this!" said Ron with a grin as the guards tossed Wormtounge down the steps leading to the palace. There the former advisor lay, cringing and begging the king to spare him. Harry was reminded this time of Wormtail.
Théoden raised his sword, intending to kill the man, but Aragorn stopped him. "No my lord! Let him go! Enough blood has been spilt on his account!"
So Théoden lowered his sword. But when Aragorn offered his hand, Wormtounge spat in it and then fled on his black horse. Aragorn made a face of disgust and climbed back up the stairs to join the others.
"There's another thing we have in common," said Harry.
"What's that?" asked Aragorn.
"We both saved the lives of men who don't deserve it."
"Really?" asked Aragorn, looking interested. "Tell me more! I want to hear all about this…"
A/N: To my reviewers:
Kaladelia Undomiel: Ooo, yes, that'll definitely be amusing! I should seriously have the two elves meet! The story possibilities are endless…
Darknesscomes: Good! I hope this chapter didn't either!
Justx4xfun: Sorry. My lips are sealed!
Yanzen Uroloki: We did get Ron! Isn't it great! Ron rules! And Ginny will be coming in a chapter or two! I'm loving this!
Infallallthingsaremadesplendid: Amazing. When I was first thinking up this story, I'd come up with an incredible plot twist, and I wasn't even aware of it! I'm glad you like it, and please update your own story!
Genvessel: Hmm, never heard of Fiction Alley, but I guess I could post it on other fanfiction sites sometime. I tried originally posting it on MuggleNet fanfiction, but they don't accept crossovers! Sigh. Thanks for reading and reviewing; I really appreciate it!
Tom Riddle Charlie: I think I know how I can bring Harry and Ginny together, but it will mostly be hints since they still need to get together in the series. I love the idea of putting them together too!
dragonruler: Thank you! Yes, I'll definitely write a sequel if that's what you want, I've been getting it all planned out! It's going to be SO exciting:)
