Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings.

A/N: The Return of the King is here! YES! And now we're at the Voice of Saruman. Here's one of the parts of the book that I did read. So while you won't exactly be seeing book verse in here, there are some small book references in here.

I'm sorry I didn't update. I've been on vacation, plus I started work, so life's been a little hectic. My summer's been busier than I thought. I need a laptop.

Chapter 25: The Journey Continues

Harry urged Thalion onward through the maze of trees on the route to Isengard. He felt very anxious, knowing that this was the place where the evil Saruman lived, and did not really feel like meeting him. Gandalf might be unusually calm about this little venture, but Harry couldn't help but wonder if in coming back to life, Gandalf had lost a bit of good sense.

Behind him, he could hear Ron chatting with Legolas and Gimli. All three of them had become very close friends. "So Gimli will take us to these caves, and Legolas will take us through Fangorn, and I'll make sure you come to one of our Quidditch matches!"

"It's a deal," said Legolas, "But I don't see how we are going to find a Quidditch match here!"

"Maybe you could home with us and we could take you to one. Dad can always get tickets at work."

"We'll see," said Legolas softly. He glanced at Aragorn, who looked at Harry. They were all thinking the same thing.

Many times so far Harry had wondered if he would ever see Hogwarts again. Now, after surviving a huge, almost impossible battle, the odds of them actually going back had suddenly risen. And now that he really thought about it, did he really want to go back home?

Home was where everyone treated him like a lunatic. Home was where Umbridge was slowly taking away all his privileges at Hogwarts. Home was where Dumbledore constantly ignored him. Home was where he felt constantly hunted by Voldemort.

But here, he found people not only understanding him, but suffering similar experiences. He liked the people of Middle Earth, and not just because they didn't stare at his scar. He would miss the Fellowship, and judging by the looks that had passed between Aragorn and Legolas, they would miss him too.

But Ron seemed completely oblivious to the inevitable. He was talking excitedly to Gimli about the time they went to see the Quidditch World Cup. "And then a Bludger hit Krum right in the face and broke his nose and then Lynch just dove down and tried to catch the Snitch but he crashed and then Krum just snatched it right in the air! Can you believe that? But Ireland won anyway, because their Chasers were just too good, they scored about 180 points, amazing huh? And they came up to the Top Box and everything and we got to see them all…"

Harry nudged Thalion up towards Gandalf, who was leading the group. "Is something troubling you Harry?" asked the old wizard gently.

"Well, yeah, actually." It never ceased to amaze Harry how much Gandalf reminded him of Dumbledore. "Gandalf, if we win this war, when are me and my friends going to have to leave?"

Gandalf chuckled. He remembered back when all Harry could think about was going back to Hogwarts. Now he seemed to want the exact opposite. "I suppose you can stay here as long as you like," he replied, "But you should go home. You will be needed there I am sure."

"Yeah," said Harry, "But I'm sure not appreciated there."


Somewhere in the woods outside of Osgiliath, Hermione stirred. As she always did when she woke up, she found her hands absentmindedly touching her elven brooch. Blinking in an effort to wake up, Hermione sat up and looked around, yawning widely. She discovered that she wasn't the only one awake.

"Hi Frodo," she said, "How long have you been up?"

"A while," he replied.

Hermione looked into his pale face and tired blue eyes. "Frodo," she said, half sternly, and half in concern, "Did you sleep at all during the night?"

"Not really," he said sheepishly.

"You can't keep doing that! I realize it must be hard to carry that ring all the time, but you need your sleep! If you don't you could get sick!"

"I know, I know," groaned Frodo, "I try, but I just can't. I'm so tired, but I can't sleep!"

"Hmm," said Hermione, "I wish I could make you a Sleeping Draught. That always helped Harry. Maybe if I had the ingredients, and the time…"

"Wake up!" cried Gollum, suddenly sticking his head out from the top of their little cave-like shelter. Hermione shrieked in surprise.

"Sméagol!" she cried, "Don't do that!"

"Sorry miss," said Gollum as humbly as possible, "Sméagol only wants to tell you that we must leave now!"

"Alright, we'll be up in a minute," said Hermione, stretching and yawning. Turning her head slightly she saw Sam doing the same. Then he started rummaging through his pack, pulling out lembas bread.

"Here," he said, giving her and Frodo each a piece, "Breakfast."

"Thanks Sam," said Hermione, nibbling on the bread. In truth, she was tired of eating the same thing every day. But it was better than nothing. As this thought entered her head, she noticed Sam hadn't gotten anything for himself.

"Aren't you going to eat at all?" she asked.

"Oh I'm not hungry," he said in an off-hand sort of way. But Hermione glanced at Frodo and knew he was thinking the same thing: Sam never passed up an opportunity to eat. What was going on?

"You two!" she groaned, "Frodo's not sleeping, and Sam, you're not eating, I feel like between the two of you I live in luxury!"

"I'm fine," said Sam. Then he sighed. "The truth is we're starting to run out of food."

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Hermione. Back in Lothlorien, she had checked and re-checked, and then checked some more, on their supplies. She had been certain there would be enough. But clearly, there wasn't.

"We'll just have to ration it, that's all," she decided out loud. "I don't know how we'll do it, but we'll manage somehow. We always have before."

Sam was about to reply when they were interrupted by Gollum, again. "Come on!" he shouted, "We must go! There's no time!"

"All right Sméagol, we're coming," said Hermione, as Sam opened his mouth to scold him. She got up and immediately banged her head on the top of the rock camp. Rubbing it slightly and wincing in pain, Hermione got out and waited for her hobbit companions to follow. "All right Sméagol," she said, as cheerfully as possible, "Lead us on!"


The group from Rohan could tell they were reaching their destination when loud singing suddenly burst out through the woods.

"THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENNNNNNNNNDDDDDDSSS! YES IT GOES ON AND ON MY FRIEEEEEENNNNNNDDDDDDDSSSS!"

"What on earth was THAT?" asked Harry. Gandalf simply chuckled.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Oh no," said Ron slowly, "I recognize those voices."

He and Harry looked at each other. "Fred and George!" they said.

"What've they gotten into this time?" wondered Ron.

"Knowing those two, it'll be something wild," said Harry.

They rode through the last bit of trees and into the sunlight of flooded Isengard. Sure enough, the Fearsome Foursome were sitting on a large rock singing their lungs out.

"SOME PEOPLE…" yelled Fred.

"STARTED SINGING IT…" continued George.

"NOT KNOWING WHAT IT WAS!" added Merry.

"AND THEY'LL CONTINUE SINGING IT…" cried Pippin.

"FOREVER…"

"JUST BECAAAAAUUUUUSSSE!" sang George in a deep opera voice.

"THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS! YES IT GOES ON AND ON MY FRIENDS…"

"What happened to them?" asked Ron, clearly stunned.

Legolas laughed. "It appears they are under the effects of pipeweed."

It was then that the four noticed the newcomers. "Heeellllloooo there!" called Fred in a drunken state.

"Welcome to Isengard!" cried Merry, arms outstretched.

"The destroyed realm of Saruman," added George, "Now under new management!"

"Blimey George," said Fred, bending down to get a closer look, "Is that our little brother?"

"It is," said George, sounding deeply shocked, "How ya doing Ronnie?"

Ron's face matched the color of his hair. He muttered something that sounded like, "I'm not their brother; they must be mistaken. We just look alike; we're not related in any way!"

Gandalf shook his head. They were in an even worse state then he thought. Gimli, on the other hand, was furious. "You young rascals!" he yelled.

"That's what they call us!" said Fred cheerfully.

"A merry hunt you led us on and now we find you feasting…and smoking!" spluttered the dwarf, as if these four had committed some sort of horrific crime.

"We are sitting on a field of victory, enjoying a few well earned comforts," stated Pippin.

"Oh really?" snorted Harry, "And just what did you do to earn it all?"

"You insult us Harry!" cried George, "Do you realize that we sat through ten hours of waiting for the Ents to decide whether or not we were orcs! And then we had to survive the battle here, and the giant flood…"

"All safely on top of Treebeard the entire time no doubt," murmured Gandalf.

"I think we deserve some rest and relaxation," finished George.

"Isn't that all you ever do?" asked Ron.

"No, no, no," said Merry, "We are actually Treebeard's most honored gate-keepers!"

"Oh?" said Harry, with amusement, "And just who have you met in this important job?"

"You of course," said Fred, "You'll have to report to Treebeard first. He's in control of the whole place. This way please," he said with the air of a tour guide.

Treebeard was pleased to see the new arrivals. "Young Master Gandalf," he said, "I'm glad you've come!"

"I trust these four were not too difficult for you?" asked Gandalf, somewhat anxiously.

"No, no, not at all," said Treebeard, "Though I am a bit confused…what do they mean to sing a song that never ends? How will anything ever get done if all one does is sing?"

"Oh they don't really keep on singing, it's just a ridiculous song," replied Gandalf.

"I don't know," said Treebeard, "They haven't stopped singing it since they started. That is, until you came."

Harry looked around at the ruined fortress. Everywhere he looked there were Ents working diligently. He caught Ron's eye and knew they were thinking the same thing.

"Where's Saruman?" he asked.

"He's locked in his tower," said Treebeard, tilting his head in that direction. It was odd, Harry thought, talking to what looked like a tree. Gandalf had told him a bit about the Ents on the way, but at the time Harry had no idea why he was learning all this. Now it was clear that these walking talking trees were behind the destruction of Isengard, and somehow, someway, the twins and Merry and Pippin had helped bring it about.

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King," said a voice. Harry jumped about a foot in the air on his horse and looked up to see who'd been talking.

It was Saruman. Harry knew it without even asking. He had long white hair and a beard similar to Gandalf's, and he had a long black staff. He also gave off an air of evilness that made Harry shiver. The strangest part about him though, was his voice. It wasn't icy cold and terrifying, like Voldemort's of Lucius Malfoy's. It wasn't sneering like Snape's. It was smooth, calm, and melodious. In fact, it was almost hypnotic.

"Hello neighbor!" said Fred cheerfully. He was still under the effects of pipeweed. But Saruman couldn't really tell the difference. He shot the twin a dirty look and continued talking to Théoden, asking for peace.

"I don't believe this," said Ron, "He tries to kill us all by sending out a huge army of Uruk-hai, and now he expects us to all be friends again or something!"

"I was not questioning you, Ronald Weasley," said Saruman sharply, all traces of hypnotism in his voice gone. Ron gulped.

"How does he know my name?" he whispered to Harry.

"Well, he appears to know everything else," Harry muttered back.

"You are quite right Harry Potter," sneered the old wizard. Then he turned back to appeal to Théoden once more.

But the king of Rohan wasn't buying it either. He was furious with Saruman's treachery, which had wrongly brought out so many deaths, and he wasn't afraid to voice his opinions too, heavy with emotion.

Harry had a feeling this was about to get pretty ugly.

It did. Saruman did not like to be criticized by those who he believed to be inferior to him. Most of the party below him was just itching to shoot him down. But Gandalf restrained them all. He knew they needed Saruman, as he was Sauron's closest confidant, and any information about the Enemy they could get would be extremely helpful.

Saruman already knew this, and he loved taunting them. Fred and George were just as eager to taunt back.

The evil wizard reached into his robes and pulled out a huge black ball covered in what looked like flames. "Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth," he said, "Something that you have failed to see."

"If you could just get to the point and tell us what it is we'd all really appreciate it," said Fred, rolling his eyes.

Saruman hid his irritation at their appalling lack of fear. "You're all going to die," he stated simply.

"Now tell us something we don't know," said George.

Saruman could no longer hide his frustration with the pair. "I know that the two of you are nasty little beasts, and if my Master got his hands on you…"

"You're mean," said Fred in a mock whiny voice.

"Remind us not to invite you to our friendly neighborhood gatherings!" said George.

Gandalf groaned and rolled his eyes. "Be silent, both of you!" he snapped.

"Why thank you, my old friend," sneered Saruman, "But I can take care of myself!"

Gandalf shook off that last comment. There were more important things at stake. He needed information.

But Harry could tell he was not going to get it, at least, not without a fight. He could tell that Saruman was not only evil, but extremly clever. He was very good at pushing all the right buttons, snidely hinting how he believed Aragorn couldn't be a king, how Theoden was not really an honorable leader of Rohan, that Frodo's quest was in vain and he and his companions would surely die...

At this comment, Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He turned to look at Ron, who was pale. What if Saruman was right? What if something terrible happened to Hermione?

"Oh shut up!" groaned Fred. He and George had had enough.

"Yeah, look who's talking! You're the one trapped in your own tower!" yelled George.

They had touched a raw nerve. "You will both be silent!" he roared, and in an act that surprised everyone but Gandalf, seized his staff and sent a fireball down at the twins.

Gandalf's quick shield with his staff was the only thing that saved them. "Why must you always try to get yourselves killed?" he asked exasperatedely. Then he turned to his evil fellow wizard. "Saruman, you're staff is broken," he stated firmly, and the black staff crumbled into ashes.

"Cool," muttered Ron, "You should do that to You-Know-Who!"

A lone, hunched figure suddenly appeared beside Saruman. Harry squinted to see that it was Grima Wormtongue. He also noticed the man was paler than usual and looked like he was suffering a lot.

Theoden saw him too. Unlike Harry, his face softened, and when he spoke his voice was full of sympathy. "Grima," he called, "Come down. Be free of him."

"Are you mad!" whispered Ron. Harry was also stunned. This man had possesed the king and practically destroyed Rohan, and Theoden wanted to forgive him! It seemed inconcievable. But Harry looked closer and then noticed a change in Wormtongue's eyes. He looked tempted by the offer, almost as if he knew his mistake and wanted to start over.

But Saruman merely laughed. "Free? He will never be free!" Harry started to feel sick at the cruelty of it all, especially when Saruman then proceeded to slap his servant across the face and knock him to the ground.

"That's just wrong," said Ron, looking just a bit sympathetic.

"That's why you don't side with bad guys," muttered Fred.

I wonder, thought Harry, If Wormtail has ever felt this way after he chose to side with Voldemort. Voldemort had mentioned in Harry's dreams before how he suspected Wormtail loathed returning to him, he only did it because he had nowhere else to go...

These thoughts were jerked rather abruptly from Harry's brain as he saw what happened next. Saruman had his back turned from Wormtongue, so he never saw the man come up from behind and stab him in the back, literally. Legolas, whose patience had finally snapped, had shot an arrow at the wizard, only to find it hit Wormtoungue instead. The two wicked men were dead.

Saruman fell from the tower and landed with a splat on one of the spikes of his mills. A gray smoke rose from his body, seemed to glare at them, and then disappeared. It looked oddly familiar to Harry, but he couldn't think of where he'd seensomething like it before.

"Such a tragic end," said George, shaking his head. He didn't look at all unnerved, unlike Merry and Pippin, who both looked slightly shaken.

"The filth of Saruman is washing away," said Treebeard with satisfaction.

"So," said Harry, turning to Gandalf and trying to act as though what had just happened wasn't outright shocking and disturbing, "Where to?"

"We must get to Edoras as quickly as possible," replied Gandalf.

"Why the rush?" asked Harry.

"We need to figure out the Enemy's plans," replied Gandalf.

"What's that you've got Pippin?" asked George curiously.

The younger hobbit had in his hand the round black ball of Saruman's. "Dunno," he muttered, rolling it in his hands.

"Peregrin Took! I'll take that, my lad," said Gandalf sharply, taking it and stuffing it safely under his robes. He gave the hobbit a sternlook.

"Wonder what that was all about?" muttered Ron as they rode away.

To my reviewers:

Padfoot124: I have no idea why. I don't run the techincal stuff on FanfictionNet.

LillyandJamesforever: Do you mean MuggleNet Fanfiction? This story got rejected there too. Apparently they don't accept crossovers! Oh well. I love MuggleNet, butI sure didn't love that! Glad you liked the chapter, nope, Harry's not going into the West, I'll tell you that much!

Lauren456: Well, what did you think?

MischeviousPuck: Ginny's probably one of my favorite characters in the fiction world! Faramir won't really have time to kill her when she comes back to help, because he'll obviously be too busy killing orcs! Wait'll we get to the part where Denthor sacrifices him and makes him go back to Osgiliath!

genvessel: Lol, fixing a wall that's been blown up by Uruk-hai: $1000. Medical bills after battle: 10,000. Finding that you have just killed more orcs than the two greatest warriors in Middle Earth: priceless! There are some things you won't find in books. For everything else there's fanfiction! I had to do that! Anyway, I guess Return of the King could be considered the light at the end of the dark tunnel, the reason for living, and watching/reading the trilogy. I guess that is my favorite movie out of all of them. I just know Two Towers better.

Mali: Well then, congratulations!

Rageddygal: I agree! Stupid Denethor!

Tom Riddle Charlie: Yay! Exploding Snap rocks!

Kaladelia Undomiel: I feel so bad, because I feel like I never use your ideas. I'm sorry! Did you like the twins anyway?

catwraith: Ginny! I don't think she'll come up in the next chapter, but the one after it.

grey wings: Your English is fine! It feels weird to hear people say they struggle with it, since it's a language I've been speaking all my life. But I suppose everyone feels that way about their native language. I'm glad you love my story, I've been reading fanfiction since last fall, and now I'm hooked! They have C2 communities with HP/LotR crossovers on here I believe, if you want to read more of them. Some of them are really good!

Lancetree80: I would, except I don't know Dragonball Z, or any of those other cartoons.

darknesscomes: Thanks so much!

Brandy Lebeau: I know, I know, I'll review ASAP! I have no idea what the scisfrena scen is you're talking about, but there will be more action once we get deeper into the Return of the King, I promise! No Ginny/Faramir, they're just really good friends. Sorry!

Aussie-Girl 3: Thank you, I always do have fun writing!

Inimene: What can I say? I've only really seen the movies, I've read parts of the books, and this really good book called The Origins of Tolkien's Middle Earth for Dummies, so I know the basics, and about the Valar, enough to understand other people's fics, but not enough to base my own fics off of them.

Brownie/Melody: Ah, there's nothing like reading fanfiction after a day at camp! I would know. But anyway, so glad you liked my story, I hope you can continue to review, as it really makes my day!

LilyFan78: Of course I'll continue with the third one, I'm not THAT evil! I'm happy to know you liked it.

insanechildfanfic: Thanks!

Eleniel of the Stars: I'd be happy to edit your story! I loved By the Power of the Stars! I'm glad you liked my story as well!

Robyn: Of course Ginny's safe, just like Ron! How long it will stay that way, who knows...?