Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings.
A/N: Very early on in this chapter we find Ginny showing Pippin around Minas Tirith. I know next to nothing about the layout of Minas Tirith save what I've seen in the movies. This means the stuff she says came out of my own head, based on what I've seen in the movies and my own imagination. I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that there are exactly nine levels to Minas Tirith, but I'm not positive, so don't kill me if I got that wrong.
Chapter 30: Ginny Strikes Again
"On your mark, get set, GO!"
Six horses went flying past all the others. Harry was on Thalion, Ron on Telien, Legolas on Arod, Merry on a pony that he called Mushroom, ("I was thinking of eating!" he said when he caught the others' expressions.) and Fred and George on two horses that they had affectionately named Filibuster and Zonko. Gimli had decided to ride with Aragorn instead.
"Are you sure don't want to race?" Legolas teased. Gimli just gave him a Look.
It didn't take long for Ron to be ahead of the others. Because he wasn't allowed to cheat, he decided to use a few riding tricks he had learned from the months he lived in Edoras. By far the one that worked the best was when he leaned forward and whispered to Telien, "A few lumps of sugar go to the horse that gets to Dunharrow first!" Telien didn't really know English, but he had pretty much figured out what the words "lumps of sugar" meant.
The result was that he was far in the lead, although Legolas was quickly gaining ground with Arod. Harry was a bit surprised to turn and see that Fred and George didn't look disappointed with their brother's performance. On the contrary, they looked positively gleeful. Harry could only assume that they had something up their sleeves.
"So Pippin," said Ginny, "What do you think of Minas Tirith?"
"It's very nice," he replied, "But I haven't seen too much of it yet."
"What!" cried Ginny, "Then I'll have to give you the grand tour! We'll start on the bottom level, and we'll take Snout, because it'll take too long to walk."
It was a tight fit, but both managed to fit on the little horse, who whinnied happily and broke out in trot.
"A little bit faster," muttered Ginny, "Ok, there we go. Well, the first couple of levels are where all the shops are. They're at the bottom because it's more convenient for merchants coming in and out of the city."
"You know a lot about the city," said Pippin admiringly.
"It's common sense," replied Ginny, "Oh look, that stand's always been one of my favorites, they have the best apples!" And she stopped Snout to buy three. "Here," she said, tossing one to Pippin.
He took a bite. "It's delicious!" he exclaimed, "They taste like the ones from the Shire!"
"That's probably because it grew near the Shire. Or at least, one of its ancestors did. This particular shop gets seeds for growing apple trees all the way over the Misty Mountains in the West. It's very expensive trade, and so are these apples, but I live with Faramir, whose father is the Steward, Denethor…"
"I've met him," said Pippin, "I'm in his service now, in payment for Boromir dying to save me and Merry."
"Now why would you do a thing like that?" said Ginny, sounding shocked, "I mean, it was very kind and generous of you and everything, but you can bet Lord Denethor won't see it that way. He'll just take advantage of you. What's he made you do so far?"
"I've been made a guard of the citadel."
"Just like I thought. A guard! In a time of warfare! And it's so obvious how inexperienced you are, no offense."
"None taken."
"Good. I mean really, what is he thinking? He must be out of his mind!"
"Gandalf seems to think so. He's pretty disgusted."
"And well he should. The man is insufferable," she said, hissing the last part in a low voice, so no one but herself and Pippin could here. "Anyway, what were we talking about?"
"The apples," said Pippin.
"Oh right. Well, as bad as Denethor is, I can at least get these pricy apples at times because he can afford it. And I think he likes me, in a way. He says he admires my valor whenever I get into a fight with Faramir about putting me in battle too. I think it's because Boromir found me and because apparently I'm a bit like him. Both stubborn and courageous, according to Faramir."
"Where do they grow the apples?" asked Pippin, keen to get off the subject of Denethor and his family.
"Oh, they're in the woods of Ithilien," she replied, "You've seen them right?"
"From far away. I've never actually been in them."
"Well," sighed Ginny, "I suppose it's too late now. Nobody can leave the city anymore, it's too dangerous. Maybe someday, if this ends and we've survived, I'll have to take you to see it. It really is beautiful at times."
Pippin thought this sounded a bit ominous. "And where are we now?"
"Oh, well we've left ground level obviously, and then now we're on the first level and there are still shops…"
"How many levels are there?" asked Pippin.
"Nine," answered Ginny, "The first few levels are for the shops, as you know, and then the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels are where all the people live."
"How many people live here?" asked Pippin, wide-eyed.
"Enough," was the reply, "The seventh and eight levels are the soldiers quarters. Lately we've been recruiting more and more of them. And the ninth, the top level, is where the palace is. It used to belong to the King, but the line broke off ages ago, so now the Steward lives there, and Faramir and me."
"Ginny? What exactly is a steward?"
"A steward takes care of the throne while the king is away. He has the powers of the king, for what should be temporary use only. But because the line of kings failed so long ago, the stewards have been keeping the position their entire lives."
"So are they kings?" he asked, "I didn't really understand when Gandalf told me."
"No," said Ginny, "Because if in the event the real king should return, the steward has to give up his position."
"But the real king is coming!" said Pippin, "At least, I think he is. Aragorn is coming back to…"
"Shh!" hissed Ginny, "Not so loud, are you mad?"
"What?" asked Pippin.
"Lord Denethor does not want to give up his position at all! Never! So it's not a good idea to discuss something like this in public, do you understand?"
"What would he do, challenge Aragorn to a duel?"
"No, Denethor's too cowardly, but he will give Aragorn a very hard time at it, so don't talk about it, whatever you do, understand?"
"Yes," said Pippin meekly. Ginny's talk scared him a little.
Hermione was very frustrated. She kept trying to get a chance to talk to Sam, but Gollum was always lurking nearby. She wanted to warn him that she thought Gollum was plotting against him, but it was as if the wretched creature knew what she was trying to do and was guarding her closely.
Finally Hermione decided the best thing to do would be to wait for him to fall asleep and then talk to Sam. Sam seemed to have the same idea, because she could see him trying to stay awake. Meanwhile, Gollum knew what they were both up to, and he tried to stay up as well.
It became a grueling game of trying to feign sleep and outlast each other at the same time. Hermione watched as Sam succumbed to weariness. I've got to stay awake, she thought, I won't fall asleep, I won't fall asleep, I won't…
Suddenly Hermione heard a crooning, almost hypnotic sound nearby. It made her feel weak and sleepy. What a lovely tune, she thought, and drifted away.
As soon as he was positive she was asleep, Gollum stopped crooning and cackled with delight. He had won! And now, to business…he pulled out the last of the elven bread with a look of disgust, and began sprinkling it on Sam's cloak…
BANG!
A bit more of the fire powder that Galadriel had given to George had now been spent, in the form of throwing it in front of Merry's path and exploding. Mushroom buckled and squealed in fright, while Merry tried desperately to steer him through the smoke. Nearby he heard George laughing.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND!" he yelled, shaking his fists.
Fred laughed and slapped George high five. "Next victim?" he asked.
"Hmm," said George, "How about Legolas?"
"Good idea," said Fred with an evil smile, "What shall we do?"
"You won't be able to do anything," said Harry, who was catching up with them, "Legolas is miles ahead of everybody, I thought you knew that!" Laughing, he urged Thalion onward and rode away from them.
Fred's smile grew wider. "Legolas may've escaped us," he said, "But we appear to still have a victim."
George smiled too. "Ready when you are!" Together they raised their wands.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Here do I swear loyalty and service to Gondor, in peace or war, in living or dying, from henceforth, until my lord release me, or death take me." Pippin had just taken an oath swearing allegiance to Gondor, and Ginny, glancing at the long, gray-haired old Denethor, had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She caught Faramir's eyes and knew he felt the same way. Poor Pippin had no idea what he had just gotten himself into, and the steward was not helping matters. As both of them had grown immensely fond of the hobbit, they both resolved to keep him out of trouble the best they could.
Or at least, they both did until Denethor brought up a very touchy subject to them.
"I do not think we should so lightly abandon the outer defenses," he said, giving Faramir a sharp look.
Gee, thought Ginny angrily, No 'Oh don't worry Faramir. We'll manage somehow. I'm just SO relieved that you're alive. It's great enough that you managed to evacuate so many people!'
Faramir was breathing very heavily. He knew what was coming, even if she didn't. "My lord Osgiliath is overrun," he said as slowly as possible.
"Is there a captain here who still has the courage to do his lord's will?"
At this, Ginny could not keep quiet. "He does do your will!" she cried furiously, "You just don't see it!"
"Ginny…" said Faramir warningly.
Denethor glared at her. Normally any other Gondor citizen would have looked at the ground in shame. Ginny didn't. She just stared coldly back at him.
"You're less like Boromir than I thought," said Denethor furiously.
"Am I?" she said fiercely, "Or is it just that unlike him, I don't particularly feel like being your pet?"
Everyone gasped. Ginny knew immediately that she had gone too far, and for once, she actually felt sorry for what she said. She hadn't meant to go that far, it just slipped out. She wasn't sorry for Denethor at all, but she felt terrible for insulting Boromir. She liked him a lot, and knew he wasn't like that at all. But at the time, all Ginny had wanted was a stinging comment to throw back at Denethor, and that remark definitely qualified.
Denethor actually stood up. "Get out!" he thundered, "GET OUT! I never want to see your face in my hall ever again!"
"Fine, you won't!" Ginny turned and stomped out of the room, pushing open the heavy doors with as much furious strength as possible. They shut behind her with a deadening thud, hiding the tears now streaming down her face from the rest of the hall.
"Ginny?" She turned around to see Gandalf staring at her. "Why are you outside?" he asked gently, "And why are you crying?"
"Oh Gandalf," she sobbed, "I've ruined everything now, I really have. I just insulted Boromir, I didn't mean to, but now I've been banned from the hall, and w-what'll I do? They all hate me now!"
"Why did you insult Boromir?" asked Gandalf calmly.
"I-I wanted to get back at D-Denethor, he was p-pushing Faramir around again!"
"Ah yes," said Gandalf, "Denethor does love Faramir, but often he forgets it."
"Yeah," sniffed Ginny, wiping away her tears, "Try all the time!"
Gandalf laughed. "He is in love with power, and he is very distressed, because whatever happens, he sees his position ending. If we win, and Aragorn is made king, he will lose his role of steward."
"And if Sauron wins, he loses it anyway," added Ginny, "I see."
"Correct. It is similar to the fate of the Elves. Whether Orcs or Men win, they will have to leave Middle Earth forever."
"That's terrible!" cried Ginny, "Aren't elves good people?"
"Yes they are. If you are lucky, and we all survive the upcoming battle, you may get to meet one of them."
"But I guess they carry this a whole lot better than Denethor, eh?"
"Of course…"
At this point the door opened. Out walked Faramir, looking very dazed. "Oh Faramir!" cried Ginny, rushing towards him, "I'm so sorry, I never meant to dishonor your brother; I liked him, really I did!"
"It's all right Ginny," said Faramir faintly, "Thank you for sticking up for me." Closer inspection showed that his eyes were filled with tears.
"Faramir?" she asked, "What's wrong?"
He didn't answer, but instead walked away. "I wonder what happened in there?" asked Ginny worriedly.
At this point Pippin walked out. "You won't believe what just happened!" he cried.
"What is it?" Ginny asked anxiously, "Why's Faramir so upset?"
"Because Denethor just ordered him to try and retake Osgiliath!" exclaimed Pippin.
"No," said Ginny, "He can't. I was there, I saw what happened…it's suicide!"
"And then Faramir accused Denethor of wishing that he had died instead of Boromir. And do you know what Denethor said?"
"He didn't say yes!" growled Ginny.
"He did."
"I'm going back in there to have a word with him!" yelled Ginny, and she starting storming back towards the doors. Pippin grabbed her arm.
"Don't, he'll kill you!"
"Let him try!" she snarled, trying to yank free.
"Please don't!" pleaded Pippin, "I don't want you in trouble again!"
Ginny was still struggling, slowly pulling towards the door, but at these words she turned around to look into the hobbit's big, pleading, brown eyes. They seemed to bring her back to good sense. "Sorry," she said shortly, "Come on, let's get out of here before I get in trouble just for being outside."
Gandalf watched them go. He couldn't help but smile. Already Pippin was using sense in adverse to rash behavior. Gondor and Ginny definitely appeared to be doing him some good.
Out at the camp in Dunharrow, one of the captains thought he heard riders coming this way. It must be the king at last. But after a few seconds he realized that instead of slowing, the riders were picking up speed. Squinting slightly, he could see a huge cloud of dust making its way towards camp. In his eyes it meant one thing:
"STAMPEDE!"
Soldiers everywhere flew out of the way of the dust and into their tents. Actually it wasn't a stampede. It was six riders hurtling towards Dunharrow on a mission. The mission was this: make sure not to get there last so he didn't have to sing a stupid song in front of everyone.
A little pony like Mushroom simply could not keep up with the other horses. It looked like it was all over for Merry. Surprisingly Legolas was only just ahead of him. After a while the fun wore off and he didn't really care about winning. He didn't really care about what place he got in, so long as it wasn't last.
Next was Harry, who was inches away from George. At the lead were Ron and Fred. Neck and neck they were dashing towards Dunharrow.
"COME ON FILIBUSTER! DON'T MAKE ME LOSE TO A PREFECT!"
"FASTER TELIEN, SO HE CAN'T RUB ANYTHING IN MY FACE AFTERWARDS!"
Suddenly Ron gave Telien a quick, sharp kick that sent the horse practically flying across the finish line. He had won.
"I WON! I WON! I DON'T BELIEVE IT, I WON!"
"Would you look at that George?" said Fred, "Ron won!"
"Simply amazing Fred," said George. Evil grins spread across their faces, which Ron failed to notice. Merry didn't either.
"I lost," he moaned.
"That's too bad Merry," said Ron cheerfully.
"Good race though," said Legolas as he dismounted.
"Indeed it was," said Fred, "So Ron, get back on that horse and prepare to sing!"
"But…but…but I won!" stammered Ron.
"He did beat you fair and square," said Legolas.
"Correct Legolas," said George, "He beat us. And in our most humble opinion, anyone who dares to beat us twins in a race is a loser in our eyes!"
"What!" gasped Ron. He had gotten quite pale.
"I have to say, you guys are good," said Harry with a grin.
"Thank you, o esteemed financial backer," said Fred with a bow.
"What do you mean, financial backer…" Ron started to say, but George interrupted.
"Enough! Ron, get on the horse!"
"But this isn't fair!" protested Ron.
"Tough," said George, "Get on."
"But…"
"On!"
"But…"
"Now!"
"But…"
"What's the song he's going to sing?" asked Merry eagerly as the twins placed a violently struggling Ron on the back of Telien.
"Stay there or we'll put a Permanent Sticking Charm on you," said Fred warningly, "And to answer your question Merry, Ron shall be singing a very special song today! It's called…" Then he changed his mind. "On second thought, we'll tell Ron privately. That way we can teach him the lyrics. You'll all hear it in good time anyway." And together they both seized Ron and dragged him away.
"Noooooo! Harry! Legolas! Saaaaaaaave me!"
Both shook their heads. "You have to feel sorry for him," said Harry.
"But what can we do about it?" asked Legolas, shrugging his shoulders.
Harry thought for a moment. "I've got it!" he declared.
A few minutes later, a very morose looking Ron emerged from the tent. Slowly, as though headed for his execution, he mounted Telien. Then he started to ride around the camp.
"Oh no you don't!" cried George, "Get back here!" Together, the twins Apparated in front of the horse and got a firm grip on the reins.
"Now come back and start over," said Fred, "And this time, actually sing the song you're assigned!"
"I was singing!" protested Ron.
"Oh yeah sure," scoffed Fred.
"Mumbling, more like," said George in mock disgust.
"Now sing, before we hit you with a Sonorus Charm!" threatened Fred.
Ron groaned, and began to sing.
"Louder," said George.
"Don't worry," said Fred, "Just get it over with! If you ride fast enough, most of the soldiers won't even understand what you're doing!"
"Fine," said Ron. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and rode off singing: "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family! With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too?"
The rest of the gang had fallen to the ground, howling with laughter. "That…was…the…greatest…ever…" gasped Merry.
Harry and Legolas winked at each other. "I didn't really get what he was singing though," said Legolas to the twins.
"You didn't!" cried Fred in amazement, "But…you're an elf…with those super ears…"
"Well, sing it again and maybe I'll understand it better."
"Sure thing," said George, "We'll do it together though, in low voices so only Ron gets it badfrom the soldiers."
Neither one of them heard Harry mutter, "Sonorus!" under his breath. As a result…
"I LOVE YOU! YOU LOVE ME! WE'RE A HAPPY…HEY! HARRY, LEGOLAS! GET BACK HERE! TAKE IT OFF YOU LITTLE…" Here a string of curses issued from their mouths.
Harry and Legolas didn't care. They were too busy laughing over the success of a prank, and trying to get away from Fred and George.
A/N: I'd like to thank you all for your submissions! I chose the Barney song because I found that one to be the best, but I was glad to see everybody submitting something!
I'm only responding to some reviewers this time, because some of you just chose to send me your song suggestion, and there's nothing wrong with that, it's just that I basically already replied to you up there. I love you all though! Thanks for reviewing!
Mischievous Puck: No, Gandalf isn't Dumbledore. I've read fanfics where they do that, but I don't. I am so glad to hear I fixed Hermione! And I know what you mean about getting lost in a story, sometimes I really forget where I am and people will call me and I just don't hear them. My mind is in another realm. Happy reading!
LillyFan78: Yeah, I love it when they put girls into battle along with the men! I update as fast as possible, which is getting to be more faster!
Brownie/Melody: Ginny will be kicking some MAJOR orc butt, as I like to put it! And Hermione is slowly turning into less of a Gollum-sympathizer! OMG, I know what you mean about siblings, but for me there lies a different problem: the only place I can connect this thing to the Internet is in… (gasp of horror) my brother's room! All I can say is, I could kiss the one who invented American football. That means lots of practices. That means more Internet via laptop for me! HA! Lol
Black Tearz: Welcome aboard! Thanks for reviewing!
Prongs-gurl202113: 1. My original layout was going to have 37 chapters including an Epilogue, but that'll probably change, mostly because I lost my layout. It didn't survive the virus we had to eradicate from our computer. (A moment of silence for the layout) LOL 2. You'll see!
Morgana24: Another Draco fan eh? A few of my friends are Draco fans. I just stare at them and blink stupidly. But don't worry, I don't like perfect characters either. Ginny has her faults; I've noticed lately in the books that she can be a bit bolder than she should be (Hence this chapter.).
Catwraith: Cool, you take French? Me too! Ginny rules!
Angeles: Here you go! Next chapter coming right up!
