Holly Potter looked at the cracked mirror with annoyance. Here she was, fifteen and in an inescapable prison all because of some idiot's idea of what a family should be.

Dumbledore had to be delusional if he thought she was joking about the fact her aunt hated her very existence.

So here she was in her room, locked in there after saving her ungrateful cousin from the soul sucking demons most likely sent after her.

Still, it wasn't all bad as she had managed to go to the neighborhood gas station which sold books. She had managed to blow most of her muggle cash on enough fantasy books to keep her occupied and hopeful ignore the growing gnawing pain in her stomach. It was either hunger or cramps, though at this point it didn't matter which.

Hedwig hooted from her spot on Holly's shoulder. Like Holly, she enjoyed books.

Holly felt faint, and realized if she didn't get up to do something, she might pass out. And that would not be fun at all. The last time that happened she had the worst crick in her neck.

So she decided to put a bag together in the event she was able to run away from here. Not likely, as the lack of nourishment and the idiots outside would likely catch her first.

Still, it was better than doing nothing.

In went her books (the useful ones at least), her broom, her clothes, any potions that were still good and her kit (she mostly used Ron's outside of class since he never did) and anything she wanted to keep. On a whim she threw in the books she had bought and all those Dudley had never read once. Her wand was holstered on her hip with a leg sheathe she had purchased in Hogsmeade. Hedwig hooted in annoyance, so she threw in all the owl treats she had after feeding her owl one.

Hedwig reclaimed her spot on Holly's shoulder as she fell asleep right after reading the part where Bilbo had left Frodo Bag-End and had been gone.

'I wish I were in Middle Earth and not this hellhole...' she thought as she passed out. Her hand still clutched the book as her magic, fed up with all the abuse and neglect she suffered through life, reacted.

Right as Petunia opened the door to tell the brat that they would be gone for the night. She saw her niece vanish into thin air and shrieked.

They left the house without telling anyone about the odd flash of light, and since Figg was off to the vets because one of her cats had eaten something it shouldn't, no one was there to inform Dumbledore that Holly had used up a lot of magic. The only time they found out she was missing was when the Order of the Phoenix came to retrieve her, only to find her gone. When the Dursleys came back and found them, they discovered their mistake.

The first thing she noticed was that she was in the woods. And that it felt as foreboding as the ones at Hogwarts.

The next thing she saw were the spiders. Easily as big as Aragog's brood, she drew her wand and prepared to hex them all. Hedwig was close enough to stick by her if anything happened.

The spiders clicked in annoyance, and she realized that she was behind a barrier of some sort. They couldn't get to her, but she had no way of escaping without a horde of spiders to catch and eat her and her owl.

They were at a standstill.

The spiders moved out of the light of her shield, but they stayed close enough that she knew they were simply waiting. Waiting for it to fall and her to stumble in the dark.

She stayed awake through sheer force of will for several hours...until something shot past the shield. A spider hissed in anger as one of it's comrades was killed. She saw what it was that killed it...a simple arrow.

Suddenly there were people, though they were easily the most beautiful people she had ever seen.

Seeing one about to be attacked from behind, she reacted accordingly.

"Arania Exumei!" she shouted, leveling her wand at the spider behind the man.

The spider went flying into a tree, and she didn't even flinched when he shot an arrow to the side of her. She didn't need to look to know a spider had tried to sneak up behind her. They had been waiting for it all night after all. Hedwig shrieked at some of the spiders, backed up in shock...right in time to be hit by more arrows.

In less than an hour, the spiders had more or less cleared out in search of easier game.

Holly found herself surrounded by what only could be elves.

"Who are you?" demanded an older elf.

"And why are you in Mirkwood?" said another.

Holly's brain did a three second standstill.

"I'm sorry but did you just say Mirkwood? As in the woods which used to be known as Greenwood before the darkness?" she asked in surprise.

"So you know where this is. Who are you?" said the first elf.

"First off, watch the attitude. Secondly I barely knew where I was until you said something. And third my name is Holly," she said annoyed.

"How did you come this deep into the spider's feeding ground?"

"How in blazes should I know? I fell asleep reading and woke up in the middle of a bunch of damn arachnids!"

Hedwig shrieked at the one who was antagonizing her partner and he flinched.

"Everyone just calm down. Now, what is your name and how did you come here?" asked the elf she had helped first.

"My name is Holly Potter, and this is Hedwig. As for how I got here, I honestly have no idea," she admitted.

"Are you a wizard?"

"I'm a witch. That is the proper term for a female magic user," she corrected.

"What color are you?" asked one of the elves.

"Color?" she repeated confused, then remembered that for some odd reason all the wizards in Lord of the Rings went by a color coding system. So she went by her favorite color. Teal.

"What color is teal?" asked the only elf who was even remotely polite.

"It's a blue-green mixture," she replied. They were heading back to the palace so that they could either send her away or deal with her.

"There are names for mixed colors?" he asked surprised.

"Clearly you don't paint much. For example fuchsia is a deep pink with hints of light purple, and cerulean is a sea green with hints of light blue," she said.

They continued this discussion all the way to the palace, where she got her first real shock since waking up.

The one she was discussing paint colors with...was Legolas. As in the one who was played by Orlando Bloom in the movie. All she could think was... 'Damn did they under-rate his looks.'

"So what brings a witch all the way into Mirkwood?" asked the Elf king.

"Honestly, I haven't any idea how I ended up in the woods. One minute I was reading a book, and the next I woke up in the middle of the spider's den with my familiar here."

The Elf King looked at her oddly. She didn't exactly look like any witch they had ever met.

"We have called in Mithrandir to see if we can't return her home father," said Legolas.

Holly made a face.

Seeing this, the Elf King raised an eyebrow.

"I would rather deal with spiders than return where I vanished," she admitted.

"In any case you'll have to wait here until Mithrandir comes."

"Just leave me near a library or someplace quiet and I'll stay out of everyone's way," she said.

'Or the kitchens,' she added mentally.

Gandalf entered Mirkwood...and immediately paused. There was a great force of power in the woods, one that seemed vaguely familiar yet at the same time not. When he drew closer to the palace, he had finally gotten a fix on what it was.

Magic. Somewhat contained, but magic nonetheless. He wondered if the elves had called him to discuss some item they had located...it was more powerful than most magical users normally were.

"Mithrandir!" called Legolas.

"Prince Legolas. So why did you father call me? I was halfway to Hobbiton when I heard the news that the elves needed me."

"We have a bit of a...problem. There's a witch who appeared in Mirkwood."

"She's not causing trouble is she?" asked Gandalf in concern.

"Not at all...but she appears to be a bit misplaced. She appeared in a major spider feeding ground and has no idea how she got there. We've been keeping her in the palace as a precaution."

Now that was unusual. A witch appearing out of nowhere, but one that hasn't caused any trouble?

"Oh, and watch out for the owl," added Legolas as an afterthought.

"What owl?"

He ducked as something white flew past him and outside. Turning around he found a beautiful snow white owl catching a mouse near the entrance.

"That owl," deadpanned Legolas.

"How peculiar. Judging by the coloring it's in entirely the wrong climate for it's species."

"It's my familiar," came a female voice.

Gandalf found himself confronted by the source of the magic. A young woman, about fifteen years of age, with a wand. Well, he could see one in her right hand. The other had a book in it against her hip.

"Back from the kitchens Holly? I swear our cooks are going to miss you," teased Legolas.

And hadn't that been a shock, when she had been discovered missing only to be found in the kitchens helping the cooks. Even Legolas had to admit she could outdo some of their best chefs.

Gandalf stared at her in shock. A fifteen year old girl with that much magic? If she ever turned evil it would be a disaster.

"Well it's not their fault I had some new recipes they've never heard of," she calmly retorted.

She calmly held up her right hand after placing her wand in a holster to allow her owl to land on it. The owl shifted to her shoulder after a bit.

"I do believe I see your problem," said Gandalf after a moment.

In the end Holly agreed to travel to Rivendell, mostly because she had never seen it and would be more comfortable there than in Mirkwood.

That is, if she could get the hang of riding a horse first.

Holly twitched. She ached in places humans weren't meant to ache and to top it all off she would swear the damn horse was leering at her. And then there was the smell. After about a few hours the horse started to sweat and it reaked.

But the worst part, the absolute worst part was that the damn thing galloped at random intervals and she had nothing to cling to.

In short she now hated horses with a fierce and fiery passion to rival her hatred of Dumbledore.

When they stopped at the first town, she paused and looked at Gandalf.

"Magic isn't a secret in this place right? We won't get chased because we use it?" she asked flatly.

"Not as such, but people prefer it if we keep it a secret," said Gandalf.

"In that case once we're out of town this thing (she shot the horse an evil look) is going to be carrying supplies. I have an easier ride," said Holly.

Gandalf blinked.

"If that's the case then why didn't you bring it out in the first place?"

"Because I can't fly in such enclosed spaces," deadpanned Holly.

"I'm sure we could have asked the Eagles to meet up with us," said Gandalf.

She reached into her bag, which was magically expanded and pulled out a broom. He gave her an odd look.

"I'm not sure what a cleaning instrument has to do with flying," he admitted confused.

Holly straddled the broom and to his shock she was hovering off the ground.

"Any other questions?" she asked.

With the broom and the fact he no longer needed to slow down for her to catch up because she had trouble holding on at a gallop, Gandalf made much better time than before. What had looked like a month's journey became a much more reasonable week long one.

During the day they traveled well worn roads. At night they made camp and Holly cooked. During that time Gandalf asked her about her homeland and her magic. In exchange she got more knowledge about the world and how to use their magic.

By the time they reached Rivendell, she was able to cast a small light charm without using her wand. She was very pleased with that.

"So you are the mystery woman who appeared in Mirkwood. Tell me child, why have you come to Middle Earth?" asked Elrond. She liked him already.

"I honestly have no idea how I came to Middle Earth. I was reading a book I had read before while my familiar was on my shoulder, and I fell asleep. When I awoke I was surrounded by those spiders and had a barrier around me. I was so worried that the barrier would fall so I stayed awake until the elves found and rescued me."

"I heard from the kitchen workers that you have some odd recipes," said Gandalf. They had commented on how odd it was that she could cook and cook well. Most humans couldn't cook to an elf's taste.

Holly was just glad that she didn't have to cook fried foods constantly anymore.

Holly decided to stay in Rivendell while Gandalf spoke to Saruman about her problem. In the meantime she came across an archery range in use.

She was hooked after the first arrow she was allowed to shoot.

Of course they all cursed the day she met the twin sons of Elrond...

"What do we have here?" asked Elrohir.

"A human girl learning how to shoot?" asked Elladan.

"How long have you been at it?" asked Elrohir.

"Two days, and I've never touched a bow before in my life," she replied, correcting her aim. It hit the center, though the arrow didn't stick. Her arm strength still wasn't much to speak of.

"Good aim, though you might need to work on the power behind it," said Elladan, he was sitting on the fence while his brother noticed the owl nearby giving him a look.

"Not my fault that my muscles are underdeveloped," she scowled. She'd been working on that for three days! Recovering lost weight took weeks at the very least!

"Why is there a cold weather owl here?"

Holly whistled and Hedwig flew to her arm. He stared at her in shock.

"How..."

"Hedwig is my familiar. She's more of a mother hen really," said Holly smugly.

"She friendly?"

"If she likes you well enough she won't maul you if you come close. Most of the people I know wouldn't be able to come anywhere near her," said Holly.

Elladan decided to try it. He held up a closed fist, and Hedwig eyed him a bit before she landed on it. She practically purred while he stroked her feathers. Holly was impressed.

The only people she knew that Hedwig would land on other than her were the Weasly twins and Luna Lovegood.

"My name is Holly Potter."

"I'm Elladan," said the twin with Hedwig.

"Elrohir."

"Tell me, do either of you like pranks?"

Seeing the evil grin spreading on their faces, she knew she had found the elvish equivalent of the Weasly twins. What followed had Elrond cursing and Holly giggling evilly.

"Absolutely not," said Saruman.

"She is a true magical and she needs training. She is easily on par with, well myself actually."

"She is a woman. All they are useful for is for breeding and keeping the house clean," said Saruman.

"She needs to be trained," countered Gandalf.

"I will never let a woman into the tower of Isengard!" shouted Saruman.

Gandalf realized that Saruman would never allow Holly to be trained...so he would have to do it in secret. Anyone with that much power had to be trained before it broke loose.

Before anyone complains about the fact that I made Saruman sexist, please remember that LOTR was set in the Middle Ages. Women's rights weren't exactly a big thing back then.