Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings.
Chapter 37: Going Home
The first thing Hermione realized when she woke up was that she was no longer in Mordor. She felt herself in a soft bed with birds singing outside. She could also hear familiar voices nearby.
"When d'you think she'll wake up?"
"Ron, you've asked that a million times already!"
"Yeah, if you really want to know, why don't you wake her up yourself?"
"I can't do that!"
"Then stop asking!"
"Leave him alone you guys; he hasn't seen her in ages!"
"Neither have we! Look who's talking, you were the one hopping around saying, 'Is she alive? Is she alive?'"
"Oh stop it, all of you! You'll wake her up!"
"Ginny?" mumbled Hermione. She opened her eyes and saw Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny staring anxiously down at her.
"Hermione!" Both Harry and Ron pulled her into a hug.
"Where am I?" she muttered, "The hospital wing?"
"You could say that," said Ginny.
"Oh guys, I had the weirdest dream! I invented this time portal, that could take you to different dimensions, and we all went through and got lost in this place called…"
"Middle Earth?" asked Fred.
"How did you know?" asked a very shocked Hermione.
"Because it wasn't a dream. We're all in Minas Tirith right now," replied Harry.
"Minas Tirith?" gasped Hermione. She sat up slowly and looked around. Yes, they were definitely still in Middle Earth. "Where are Frodo and Sam?" she gasped, "How did you find us like that? What happened to Sauron, and all the orcs? Did anyone besides Gandalf and Boromir die?"
"Actually, Gandalf's alive after all," said Ginny, "He came back to life apparently. A lot of people have died, but no one else from the Fellowship."
"That's good I suppose," sighed Hermione.
"Aragorn had the idea to battle at the Black Gate, to buy you lot some time to get to Mount Doom," explained Harry, "Once the mountain exploded, we realized what you'd done. So Gandalf took some of the eagles with him and they went to look for you. It took a few hours, but they found you and brought you back in the end."
"Are Frodo and Sam awake?"
"Sam is. He hardly left you at all," said Ginny, "Merry and Pippin finally dragged him away to the kitchens so he would actually eat!"
"Yeah, Legolas and Gimli should be coming in to get me at any minute," said Ron, "They'll be thrilled to see you're awake!"
"What happened to you all after I left?" asked Hermione.
So began the swapping of tales. Sam had pretty much already filled them in on everything that had happened on their journey to Mordor, but there were parts during Shelob's attack that they needed both accounts for. The others told Hermione all about Sam fighting the spider, ("I could never do that!" cried Ron.) and how he had rescued Frodo from the tower. Hermione in turn told them about her heart-stopping chase through Shelob's lair, (Ginny was particularly interested in this, as it reminded her of a certain dream she had not too long ago…) her talk with Galadriel, and how she had rescued the hobbits from the orcs.
Meanwhile Harry and Ron told her all about Helm's Deep, the Paths of the Dead, and sneaking to Minas Tirith via the corsair ships. Fred and George told her about the Uruk-hai, the Ents and Isengard, the party at Rohan, the great race, and riding into Minas Tirith. Ginny told her all about her battle ventures at Osgiliath and with the Witch King. Sometime during all this, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, and Sam came in at different intervals, and got to here the stories all over again.
"Well," said Hermione finally, "My worst fears were correct. You did get into trouble while I was gone!"
"That's what we're here for Mum," said Fred with a wink.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Someone remind me why I missed you two!"
"You missed us?" cried George in mock surprise, "Gee, I thought you were celebrating the fact that we were gone!"
"Of course not!" cried Hermione in real shock.
At this point Gandalf arrived to tell them that Frodo was awake, and they all ran out, except for Ron, who stayed to help Hermione get out of bed. She smiled and blushed, and thanked him for his help.
Frodo was delighted to see them all again, and shared a wink with Hermione as he relived his part in the Quest. All three of them stayed true to their word and didn't tell a soul the truth about what happened at the Crack of Mount Doom.
The next few weeks that passed were blissful. Now that there were no more battles, no more tasks, everyone was able to catch up on some much needed rest. For the first time they could really just enjoy themselves. Ginny kept her promise and rode Pippin out to look at Ithilien. He wasn't too impressed, saying he preferred the Shire to the woods. He also preferred spending time with Fred, George, and Merry in their pranking ventures. Harry, Ron, Legolas, and Gimli liked walking through Minas Tirith, while Harry and Ron took their friends into the finer details of Quidditch. It didn't take long for them to realize this sort of thing was way over their heads. But none of them really cared.
Hermione and Ginny were thrilled to be reunited, and Hermione was soon introduced to Eowyn, who was now happily engaged to Faramir. When they met, Faramir claimed he had something that belonged to Hermione. "Here," he said, handing her the book she had left at the Window on the West, "It was fascinating. I'm sorry I kept it from you for so long."
"That's all right," said Hermione, "It's not really mine anyway. I took it from the library in Rivendell, I thought it might be useful."
"You stole something from the elves?" gaped Ginny, "I never would've believed it of you Hermione Granger!"
Hermione blushed. "I am going to give it back…"
All that kept them from going home was Aragorn's coronation. Harry didn't mind, but he couldn't figure out what his friend was waiting for. He would soon find out.
"Oh Lady Hermione," called Ginny teasingly one fine summer morning.
"Stop calling me that!" she snapped.
"You have a visitor!"
"Who?" asked Hermione.
"You'll see!" said Ginny, "They want you to be involved in the coronation."
"Oh no, I couldn't!" said Hermione.
"I think you could if you knew what you were going to do!"
"What is it?" asked Hermione.
"Come on, and you'll find out!"
Late that morning, the whole of Minas Tirith turned out to see Gandalf crown Aragorn king. Harry and Ron were standing beside Eomer, now the King of Rohan, Fred, George, and Ginny. Gimli was standing next to Aragorn, and the hobbits were near the center by the White Tree, now in full bloom. "Where's Hermione?" muttered Ron. Harry couldn't help but notice the mysterious smile on Ginny's face.
Aragorn was walking down the aisle, with people bowing as he went past. He stopped when he reached Harry. "I need to speak with you later," he said quietly, "I know you don't like getting a lot of attention, so I thought I'd wait until afterwards."
"Ok," said Harry, nodding.
Aragorn smiled. "Le hannon," he said, and went on.
"What did he say?" hissed Ron.
"I dunno…Hermione's the one who knows elvish!" Harry hissed back.
Now they could see the elves approach Aragorn, Legolas prominent among them. He looked different without the armor and weapons, Harry noticed. He also saw Elrond and some of the elves from Rivendell. And then he was shocked to see Hermione walking with them, holding some sort of flag. Aragorn went over to her. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
Beaming, she drew it back. Arwen was standing behind it.
Aragorn froze. I guess she wasn't dead after all, thought Harry. He was interested, in spite of himself, to see what would happen next.
They stared at each other for a few minutes, then Aragorn drew her in and kissed her. Everyone started clapping and cheering, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione hardest of all. Ron just looked dumbfounded.
"How come that never happens to me?" he demanded.
"Because you're you Ron," replied Fred.
Aragorn and Arwen were married that very evening. Harry had never seen two people look as happy as they did. He decided to wait until the next morning before he talked with Aragorn.
For some reason, he felt a bit nervous. This was his friend, but he was a king too! What did he want? Harry hoped it wouldn't be anything too fancy.
The next morning he walked into the Hall, where Aragorn sat alone. "Where's Arwen?" he asked.
"She's out by the gardens," was the reply, "She and Legolas are already making plans on how to make this city more beautiful."
"That's nice," said Harry. After a few awkward seconds he said, "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes," said Aragorn. For some reason he looked very nervous as he got up and went over to Harry. "Harry, you have become one of my closest friends. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I thought you sounded a bit reluctant to go back to Hogwarts."
"Yeah," said Harry fiercely, "I don't want to go to where people don't appreciate me, I don't want to face Umbridge again!" His hands curled into fists.
"Well," said Aragorn awkwardly, "I wasn't sure if you'd want to of course, but if you wanted to stay here, in Middle Earth…you could always stay here with me. I already talked with Arwen about it, and she likes the idea. I know you'd be loved and accepted here in Gondor."
Harry was stunned. He had been given an offer like this once before, by Sirius, and he had loved the idea, only to have it rudely taken away from him. This time was much different. He wanted to stay and live with Aragorn and Arwen very badly, he wanted to stay in a place where he was loved for who he was, not because of a scar on his forehead. In a way, it reminded him of Ron's home, the Burrow.
He almost said yes. But then Galadriel's voice rang through his head, back from a time long ago in Lothlorien: It is absolutely necessary that you remain safe. The fate of your world depends on it. Harry had no idea what she was talking about, but he felt he had to listen to her. Obviously he still had things to do at home, although what those things were he didn't know. "Aragorn," he said, very softly, "I really want to. But I can't. I have…stuff I need to do…back in my world," he choked out.
"I understand," said Aragorn, and he suddenly pulled Harry in a tight hug. Harry could not remember what being hugged by a parent felt like, but in that moment, he had a feeling he could take a guess.
The next day Elrond and Hermione announced that they were going to set up the portal to take them home in Rivendell. It was time to say good-bye.
"I'll miss you!" said Eowyn, hugging Ginny.
"Is it true you're going to be a healer now?" asked Ginny incredulously.
"Yes," said Eowyn, "Being with Faramir has changed me!"
"How could you?" cried Ginny to Faramir in a mock hurt voice, "You took away a kindred spirit!"
"I apologize," said Faramir with a wink, "Take care of yourself!"
"I will!" she said, and went away.
"Do you think she will?" asked Faramir.
"Of course not!" said Eowyn, "I wouldn't if I were her!"
Hermione raced over to say good-bye to Arwen. "I'm so glad you stayed!" she exclaimed.
"Me too," said Arwen, "Thank you for everything!"
"Where's Aragorn?" asked Harry.
Arwen paused. "He has some foreign business to attend to. I'm sorry Harry, but he already left."
"Without saying good-bye?" asked Harry incredulously.
"Don't tell me Legolas and Gimli went with him!" groaned Ron.
"They did," said Arwen, "And so did Gandalf."
"Is he mad at me?" wondered Harry.
"No!" exclaimed Arwen, "Aragorn understands. I rather expected it anyway. I told him you might say no."
Harry was still upset. He wished Aragorn had at least stayed behind to say good-bye to him, after all they had been through together.
"Where are Merry and Pippin?" roared Fred and George, "We can't find them anywhere!"
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Frodo or Sam either," said Ginny.
"They left for the Shire," said Arwen, "Didn't you know?"
"No," said George, "Why'd they just leave like that?"
"I guess," said Hermione sadly, "They hated the thought of having to leave us, and they all decided it was much less painful to just go."
No one wanted to accept it, but it appeared to be true. The rest of the Fellowship was gone.
Ron quickly said good-bye to Eomer and Eowyn, and then they set off for Rivendell. It took a few eventless weeks to get there at last.
"Well," sighed Hermione, "This is it. Time to go."
"You may set the portal up in my library," said Elrond.
Hermione nodded, and turned the doorknob. She opened the door…
…and Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin were waiting inside!
"What…what…what are you all doing here!" she demanded.
"Surprise!" said Merry, "We came to say goodbye before you went through the portal!"
"But…Arwen told me you were on some sort of foreign business!" cried Harry.
"I was," said Aragorn, hugging him, "Business that involved getting to Rivendell before you arrived!"
"Did you seriously think we'd leave without you?" cried Pippin.
"We didn't know what to think!" said Ron.
"Yeah, we thought you were giving us the silent treatment or something!" said Fred.
"No!" said Merry, "Why would we do that?"
"Well, I'm very happy to see you all," said Hermione, "But I need to set this up…"
"Right," said Gimli, "We'll leave you."
About a half hour later Hermione came out. "How long does it take to set that thing up?" asked Ron.
"It's desperately tricky," said Hermione, "And then I had to check and double check to see if it worked right!"
"Hang on," said Harry, "Are we just going to get dropped off in different parts of the world again?"
"No," said Hermione, "We'll be back in the Room of Requirement, and no time will have passed since we left. See, both portals will work as a sort of bridge, connecting the worlds in a way. That's why it didn't work last time, see? We just got dropped off in different places. We're lucky we landed in the same dimension!"
"So, are you going to come visit?" asked Frodo.
"Are we going to come visit?" asked Pippin.
"Not yet," said Hermione, "Wait a bit. We'll call on you if we think the coast is clear, but for now, I think we should avoid it. Who knows if Umbridge would catch us or not?"
"That would be disastrous!" exclaimed Ron.
"Yeah, she'd try conquering you guys!" said Fred.
"I don't know about that," said Hermione.
"Don't put anything past her," said Ginny darkly.
"So we'll stay away?" asked Legolas.
"I'm sorry, but I think it would be best if you did," said Hermione.
"I agree," said Gandalf.
"That goes for all four of you!" said Hermione sternly to Fred, George, Merry, and Pippin, who muttering to each other in a rather suspicious manner.
"What?" they asked innocently.
Ginny went through first. She hugged the hobbits and Gandalf especially. "Thank you for healing me Aragorn!" she called, and was gone.
Ron went through next. "Don't forget, you owe me a Quidditch game!" he said.
"You owe me a trip through the forest!" replied Legolas.
"And one through the caves!" said Gimli.
Ron gave them the thumbs-up and left.
"Oh honestly," whispered Hermione as Fred, George, Merry, and Pippin pretended to cry and hug each other. They were really overdoing it in Harry's opinion, but he laughed all the same. Then the twins were gone.
Hermione hugged Frodo and Sam tightly, whispered her farewells, and left. Then Harry was alone.
"Aragorn," he started to say, "I'm really sorry…"
"Say no more Harry," he replied, and hugged him. He watched as Harry waved goodbye, and disappeared into the golden mist.
Harry stumbled straight into the Room of Requirement. Sure enough, everyone else was there.
"Well," said Ron, "That's that."
"Maybe we should hide the portal," said Ginny.
"You can't," said Hermione, "It doesn't matter anyway, no one knows about it, so no one could find it in here, as long as no one tells."
They all agreed, and left the room in silence, each one's heads filled with thoughts about their adventures in Middle Earth.
A/N: IT'S NOT OVER YET PEOPLE! Stay tuned for two more chapters! (BTW, "Le hannon" means "Thank you" for those who didn't know.)
Another thing, I realize this is a little late, but if you have any questions, you can e-mail me; I'll put it on my profile! PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT I GET SPAM MAIL ALL THE TIME, SO PUT WHO YOU ARE AND THE TITLE OF THE STORY IN QUESTION IN THE SUBJECT BOX!
