An Unexpected Happening: Chapter Two
Rein Elanor
Disclaimer: I am not dead. Therefore, I am not the Master, J.R. R. Tolkien. I am not a big guy with a beard and a flannel shirt. Therefore, I am not George Lucas. I am not an incredibly wealthy mother of a certain number of children. Therefore, I am not J.K Rowling. So I don't own this stuff.
A/N: Oh my gosh! I am overwhelmed by the response you guys have left! I didn't know that there was such a market for crossover fics out there! I just knew that I wanted to read some, and I couldn't find any. That's actually why I started this one. I'm so glad you guys like this story, though. If it gets to be stupid or low quality, please tell me so, and I'll cease to inflict this on you. But until then, on with the show!
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They sat, all seven of them, before the bottom of the hill. Gimli, Legolas, and Strider had on green cloaks that blended perfectly with the grassy land. They rather thought, however, that Snape in his unrelieved black and Padmé, in her similar white, would be a bit too obvious, so they had the two of them sit behind the others.
Before long, the riders were galloping past. Hermione's breath was taken away. The men all had bright yellow hair and flashing spears. Strider waited until they were almost past, then he stood.
"What news from the North, Riders of Rohan?"
Suddenly, faster than Hermione would have thought possible, the riders were surrounding the seven, and a hundred spears were pointed at them.
Snape's dark eyes were boring into Strider's head, obviously ready to hex him into the ground for apparently betraying them. Hermione grabbed his arm.
"It's alright, I think," she whispered. He turned his glare on her face, and then to her hand on his arm. But she didn't let go, and he didn't say anything when her hand moved to grab his.
"I came out of the North," Strider was saying. "I was hunting Orcs."
The four newcomers were trying to follow the strange conversation that was taking place between the chief horse-master and their three dubious new friends. The chief, named Èomer, asked a lot of questions about Gimli and Legolas, not to mention Strider, but strangely, seemed not to notice Obi-Wan, Hermione, Padmé, and Severus.
Padmé paid closer attention to the proceedings than the other tree. Being a diplomat, she could understand the cautious dance Strider was stepping. Èomer too seemed careful, though he was not nearly as skilled at the other. Suddenly, Strider threw back his cloak, and drew a shining sword from its sheath.
"Elendil!" He cried. "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again!"
Padmé was shocked at the once-scruffy man's change. Now he stood tall and majestic, and there was a regal light in his eyes. Padmé had been only an elected Queen, but she recognized a true King when she saw one.
She glanced at her companions. The girl Hermione was standing taller, looking proudly at Aragorn, obviously honored to be in his presence. She was only a few years younger than Padmé herself. (In truth, Hermione was only a few months younger than Padmé.) Obi-Wan was looking keenly at the man who had just revealed himself to be a King. Severus Snape looked calculating.
Èomer in the end agreed to lend the seven of them horses- 4 in total- so they would continue their search.
So they had been noticed, Obi-Wean reflected, as he stared ruefully at the strange creature before him after the riders had gone. The riders had simply not assigned them enough importance for them to be concerned.
Padmé, the expert at everything, (or so it seemed sometimes to Obi-Wan) had watched Aragorn mount his horse, and then had done it perfectly herself. Obi-Wan knew that he would be sharing the horse with her, and he used the Force to jump onto the animal's back. He saw the elf give him an apprising look.
"Why do I have to be in the back?" he asked Padmé playfully. "Remember Geonosis? I think I proved myself well there, don't you?"
She glanced back at him. "Yes, I do remember Geonosis. And that's why you're in the back."
Obi-Wan laughed.
Severus and Hermione were having a more difficult time of mounting their horse. Every time Snape would manage to mount his horse, the horse would rear, and kick him off. This amused Hermione so much that after the third time it happened, she was rolling on the ground in tears, in danger of being trampled.
Aragorn took pity on them at last, and he mounted the feisty horse instead. He held down a hand to Hermione, and told Snape to get on the horse he had just left.
Snape was still glaring at Aragorn and Hermione when they started off in the direction Èomer had indicated to Aragorn earlier. His thoughts dwelled on Hermione as he rode alone. Did Aragorn have to hold her so very tightly? And did she have to look like she enjoyed it so very much? She looked like a wonton hussy in that position, for Circe's sake!
"Why does your friend look so sullen?" Aragorn asked Hermione. "Is he always so ill-favoured?"
Hermione glanced over at Snape, taking in his dark scowl and set eyebrows and mouth. "Believe it or not, this is almost cheerful for him," she replied, laughing.
They rode on for a long time. Snape and Obi-Wan had to shed their similar robes. Obi-Wan now wore only his brown tunic and light pants. Snape wore a meticulously tailored frock coat and white linen shirt with black trousers. Hermione was shocked to see him wearing anything that was not black.
Eventually, the riders reached the place Èomer had mentioned, a huge smoking pile of dead bodies. Hermione turned her eyes away from the horrible faces as she dismounted her horse. Snape, of course, went to examine the bodies with Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. He came back with his face pale and set.
"What is it?" She asked him quietly, placing her hand on his arm in concern. He looked at her and sat down on the ground rather suddenly, with his knees bent. Obi-Wan and Padmé came and sat too. The Aragorn and the other two seemed off in a private world, concerning their quest.
"Those creatures in that smoking pile," Snape said, his voice low. "They're dreadful. I've never seen such pure malice before- especially on dead faces." His own face looked haunted.
Night was falling, and soon the three Middle Earth people came to where the four tired otherworlders were sitting huddled for warmth.
Aragorn's face, which had been so fierce and kingly only a few hours before, was drawn and sad. The elf and the dwarf seemed subdued.
"We can find no trace of our friends, and we must assume that they lie dead with the orcs."
Hermione asked Aragorn to explain about the fiends he had lost, and how they had come to be in their situation. Aragorn gave an abbreviated and censored version of events. Hermione grew teary-eyed when he told of the death of both Boromir and Gandalf.
When Aragorn was finished, he turned to Padmé. "I'd like to hear the story of your quest," he said smiling. "For I perceive that you, too, have a mission to accomplish."
Padmé smiled back, and began her story. "I was elected Queen of Naboo (my home planet) when I was only fourteen. I was not the youngest Queen ever elected, but I think I was too young."
Obi-Wan broke in. "You did a fine job of leading your people, my lady."
She smiled at him. "Well, if a Jedi Master thinks so," she teased.
Hermione glanced at Snape, to see id he would have any reaction to the blatant flirting going on. He remained stoic through the rest of Padmé's story, which detailed the war now raging in her galaxy.
Hermione had gotten used to the idea of magic, but the idea of a place filled to the brim with amazing technology was going to take even more getting used to. When Padmé finished her tale, Aragorn asked Snape and Hermione to tell their story. Hermione told her listeners about Voldemort's rise and apparent fall, and his subsequent rise to power again. She told them of the part her friend Harry Potter played in the war, and of the part Snape played. She watched Snape's face tighten at her use of Voldemort's name.
"It would appear that we shall all go down as heroes," Gimli said gracelessly, at the end of the story.
Snape's face twisted in scorn. Before he could say anything sarcastic and horrid, Hermione jumped back into the conversation.
"My, it sure has been a long day, hasn't it?" She said loudly. "I'm tired."
Padmé's diplomacy skills kicked in and she agreed with Hermione. "Yes, me too," she nodded. "I could do with altering my sleep cycle to last another three years."
Severus glanced at Hermione. He knew what she was doing, and he didn't like it one bit. He certainly didn't need some little chit supervising him and censoring his remarks.
To everyone's surprise, Aragorn agreed with Padmé and Hermione. "We should sleep. There is nothing we can do in finding our friends until morning. We ought to rest while we are able."
A/N: The next chapter will be up soon!