Authors Note
So in the flashbacks many of you will probably notice the differences from canon. So to clarify a few things, Harry never took Divination in third year. He took Ancient Runes instead. What's more, he isn't the moronic jump first without thinking things through Gryffindor he was in the HP verse. The complete differences in personality and circumstances will be explained in flashbacks throughout the story.
They walked out from under the boughs of the forest slowly, heavy hearted. As they did, they ran their hands across tree trunks. They would miss Fangorn and the ents. Their friendship and companionship was deeply appreciated.
However, they could not in good conscience, while away the years in comfort and safety, while the world at large was so troubled. This talks of corrupted evil Maia and monstrous creatures and undead beings had deeply troubled the two of them.
They'd long debated where they'd go to after their time to leave had come. There were so many places they wanted to see. Meeting dwarves and elves sounded fantastical.
However, they decided to head to Gondor first. While they could speak three of the languages that were spoken in Middle Earth, they couldn't read or write in any them. After all, what use is reading and writing to an ent?
That is an unacceptable gap in their knowledge. One that needs to be remedied urgently. That is why they decided on heading to Minas Arnor. The Tower of the Sun. Said to be Gondor's finest city.
There, it should be fairly easy to rent out a home for a few years, or buy one if it comes to that. They'd then solicit the services of a tutor. They'd decided only to learn to read and write in Sindarin and Westron. Quenya is superfluous for now.
Ordinarily, a journey from Fangorn Forest to Gondor would take four months by horse, fortunately, they have a faster means available to them. Their two hippogriffs. Regulus and Sirius.
Yes. You heard right. We named them after my godfather and his brother. Ever since I told Draco about Regulus, he's felt a deep kinship to him.
I look towards Draco and find he's already staring at me. I quirk an eyebrow. He smirks and walks ahead of me. I laugh. He halts a few paces infront of our mounts and bows, I follow. They immediately bow back and then we climb on. " To Gondor we go " he says. A touch dramatically. I laugh again as they take off in an eastwards direction.
Flashback
Draco and I are alone in the Room of Requirement. It has taken the form of a comfortable lounge, with soft blue armchairs and sofas. There's a fire burning in a fireplace and soft music is playing on the wireless.
We are sharing a sofa. His head is laying on my lap while he reads a book. I'm reading a Defence book while absentmindedly playing with his hair.
" Draco, what do you want to do after Hogwarts? I've been thinking about this for the longest time. Everyone is so sure I want to be an Auror but I honestly don't. I'll fight if I have to, but that doesn't mean I want to do it as a career. "
" In the summer of last year, I met Bill Weasley. He told me of his job as a curse-breaker for Gringotts. I would like that, I think. To travel the world as a freelancer. I don't think I'd like to work for the goblins. "
Draco hummed. " I wouldn't like to work for the goblins either. To be honest, I've always wanted to be an enchanter. My marks in transfiguration and charms are the second highest in our year group. "
" That being said, my father will never allow it. He doesn't believe a Malfoy should work. I want to be free of him and his expectations, but while I'm financially dependant on him, I don't have a choice. "
Silence falls between us then. Unspoken truths that we never voice. There's a chance both of us could die in this coming conflict. I want to protect him, but I don't know how.
Flashback End
It took us three weeks of flying till Minas Arnor was in sight. We landed a few miles away from the city, out of sight of anyone. We decided the hippogriffs are far too conspicuous to bring with us. They will return to Fangorn Forest on their own.
When we wish to call for them, we can summon them mentally. It's the result of a bonding spell we cast.
We remove our satchels from the backs of our feathery companions. After giving them a final petting, they take off and we begin the walk towards the city.
From passive legillimancy, we've gathered it's now the Year 1601 of the Third Age. King Hyarmendacil ll rules Gondor. From what we understand, Osgilliath is the capital city, but it has fallen on hard times, not least because of the kinstrife.
The city of Minas Arnor is breathtaking from up close. I've never seen anything like it. By the gasp I hear next to me, Draco feels the same. We've been getting a fair few looks from passing travellers.
We're both wearing robes. Me red, though it's not the eye catching hue of my former Hogwarts House. It's faded, more like rust, and the colour of fading leaves. There's no doubt about the fine quality though.
Draco's robes are slightly more elaborate. The piping and stitching on his green robes, which are the colour of grass and newly budding leaves, are done in silver thread while mine is bronze.
Both of us wear hoods over our heads. Neither of us have ever liked wearing wizard hats, finding them to be theatrical. Our profiles are striking though. The fact we both wear robes and carry a staff makes it obvious just what we are.
By their reactions, I'm guessing they've probably heard of, if not seen the other wizards. As we enter the gates of the city, the whispering increases.
As we enter the town square, we take it all in. There's so many people, bustling around. The scent and sounds of thousands of people wash over us. Thankfully, the smell of raw sewage is absent. We'd feared that, with this being a relatively backwards world, but it seems the people of Gondor have greater knowledge than most.
Draco stops one of the children running past and asks where we can find an inn. The boy looks awestruck. After stammering for awhile he directs us to a decent inn on the second level of the city.
His eyes grow to the size of saucers when we tip him with a pearl. You see, we don't have any currency with us. We can't use galleons, because it's obviously foreign. We can't even melt them down because they're protected by the magic of the goblins.
Fortunately, we had an inkling of the issues we'd face money wise. That's why we liquidated all our galleons and purchased precious metal ingots and gems with the currency.
The innkeeper, despite being bewildered, accepted a small ruby as payment for our stay. It bought us six months of room and board with him. After we concluded our business with him, we asked for directions to a jeweller, so that we could sell some of the gems.
He directed one of the serving ladies to lead us. It ended up being a bit of a climb. The finest jeweller in the city had his establishment on the fifth level, where the city's wealthiest denizens lived.
The jeweller ended up being an old man, he too was awestruck to meet us. He was also astonished by our proposition, but was more than glad to buy from us. We produced a small bag and poured the gems onto a counter top in his workshop.
His brows rose up into his forehead. We luckily had the foresight to only bring rough gems with us to Gondor. Still, these were fine pieces. A dozen rubies, eight emeralds and ten sapphires.
After inspecting them and weighing them, he went to his strongbox and counted out a not inconsiderate sum. From what we've come to understand, the currency of Gondor consists of two different coins.
The gold Castar and the silver Tharni. The Tharni was worth one quarter of the Castar. We were given one hundred Castar and five hundred Tharni. A sizeable fortune. After thanking him, we returned to the inn for our supper and then to sleep. It's been a long day.
The next day however, a surprise awaited us. Just as we finished our morning ablutions and dressed ourselves, a knock sounded at the door. It was the innkeeper. Apparently someone important wanted to see us.
As we climbed down the stairs, a soldier awaited us. On closer inspection though, judging by the gilt edging on his armour, he was a high ranking officer. He looked worn down though, sad and weary. As we descended the stairs, he bowed his head and spoke.
" Lord Wizards, I am Húrin, Commander of the City Guard. I come to beseech you for a boon. It's my son. Almost a week ago, he fell off his horse and has been in a deep sleep ever since. Is there any way you could perchance help? "
" The Warden of the House of Healing says there's no hope. I cannot just give up though! He's my eldest child, my poor wife is heartbroken. " As he's speaking we've moved to stand before him. As he finishes, I look towards Draco. He has the greater skill between us when it comes to healing people.
He looks contemplative. After a moment he nods. " Very well Commander. We shall see what there is to be done. Lead the way.
He leads us up to the sixth level, where the House of Healing is located. When we said we didn't bring horses, he has two soldiers lend us theirs. We quickly made the ascent.
As we dismount, we notice a small crowd watching. I sigh internally. By making enquiries, we've been able to ascertain that four wizards have been to this city, if only briefly.
The White Wizard and the two Blue Wizards were here briefly, centuries ago to rest, before they continued on eastwards. The Grey Wizard was here briefly as well, but he returned to the west of Middle Earth.
There's conflicting thoughts about me and Draco, we've surmised. There are those who accept that we are wizards, and see the staff we each wield as proof of such.
However, there are others who doubt. All the other wizards are afterall, old men. Well, hopefully our healing of the boy will put the doubts to rest. We need the goodwill of the people of Gondor.
We're lead into the boy, who we find out is named Pallendur's room. His mother is sitting beside him. She looks gaunt. Bloodshot eyes and unkempt appearance. Under the circumstances, it's understandable.
She rises as we enter. Hope in her eyes. Before she can speak however, Draco does. " I will now examine the boy. You and his father and one healer may stay if you wish, but do not interrupt my work. "
He moves to stand by Haleth's bedside and places his hand on the boy's head. He closes his eyes and murmurs a diagnostic spell. I watch him closely.
After a few moments he opens his eyes, then looks at me, his thoughts then reach into my mind ' the boy has a skull fracture, slivers of it broke off and are pressing against his brain, that's why he's unconscious. Fortunately, with magic, it's relatively simple to heal. '
He turns away from me and then refocused on his patient. I meanwhile open the satchel he brought with him and remove the skele-grow potion.
Draco wasn't lying about the ease of healing. When I'm finished removing the bottle and take a step closer, he's already vanished the slivers and is chanting a healing spell.
Without even turning, he holds out his empty hand. I hand him the bottle. When he finishes the spell, he carefully measures a slight amount of potion in a cup.
He then gently lifts the boy up and pours the potion carefully into his mouth, massaging his throat as he does so. When all the potion is gone, he lays the boy down again.
He then turns towards the anxious parents. " Your son will be fine, I've healed the crack in his skull, now we just need to give the potion some time to work. He shall hopefully awaken tomorrow. "
The parents look shocked as Draco speaks, then the mother starts sobbing in relief. The father just barely manages to control himself.
" Thank you, Lord Wizards for your aid. My family will never forget what you have done for us this day, I swear it. "
Draco and I incline our heads and leave. Later on in the day, we enquire about the services of a tutor and we're referred to the best one in the city.
So time passes onward, and when our studies were completed, we devour all the tomes in Gondor's archives. Everything from the founding of Númenor, to the Rings of Power and everything in between.
Draco, who's a genius at potions, used the decades to experiment with mundane ingredients. Both of us were astonished with the results.
Back in our world, this would be impossible. However here, because the world is so saturated in magic, it seems anything is possible. The most amazing discovery however, is the plant athelas.
It has seemingly endless uses when it comes to healing. The most amusing use though, is a fertility potion. I say amusing because Draco tested it on a mare.
The stable masters were amazed when the mare delivered four colts at once. Ordinarily, the stress of it would have killed the mare, but an invigouration draught restored all her energy.
We had greatly come to enjoy our stay in Minas Arnor, but we longed for the forest again. After thirty years in Gondor, much had changed. The old king died and his son Minardil now ruled.
We were asked to attend the King in Osgilliath in the year, 1634. Apparently one of his grandchildren were ill. We therefore left our home ( yes we eventually decided to purchase a townhouse on the fourth level ) and made our way to Osgilliath.
We had over time eventually come to realise that horses would be necessary so we purchased two fine steeds. Ridding our horses at a canter, we arrived at Osgilliath in less than an hour after we left Minas Arnor.
The city made me think of faded grandeur, while it was the capital, a number of the grand buildings, including the grand Dome of the Stars lied in ruins.
Wrecked decades before we came to Gondor, during the Kinstrife. We were led by soldiers to the palace, which was on the western side of the city.
As we entered the palace, we were met by Prince Minastan, the girl's father. After rushed greetings we were led to the princess's rooms.
It turns out she went swimming at night, after her parents had denied her permission during the day. It is the middle of winter now, so you might have surmised what she has.
As we enter her room, we see her cheeks are flushed and her breath rattles slightly. The room is very warm, because not only is the fireplace lit, but additional braziers are lit as well.
With a wave of my hand, the fires in the braziers all die down. I hear gasps. I ignore them though. While I've done this, Draco has reached the bed. He places his hand on her chest and murmurs a spell to clear the liquid from her lungs.
Once he finishes, he casts a rennervate on her and she immediately awakes. The prince and his wife rush forward but I hold out a hand for them to wait. They do, but I can see the worry on their faces.
Draco then removes a pepper-up potion from his satchel. This one however is a tweaked recipe using athelas. While it would be amusing to see their reactions to steam shooting out of the girl's ears it's best not to risk it.
He gives the vial of potion to her then and asks her to drink. The effect is immediately apparent. The flush dissapears from her face and a healthy hue replaces it. She gasps as her vitality returns.
This time I don't stop her parents as they rush to embrace her. Draco moves to stand beside me, I give him a small smile which he returns.
After a few minutes talking to his wife and daughter, the prince stands up and comes towards us. He bows his head in gratitude. He tells us his father requested that we see him after the healing is complete.
We follow him then, as he leads us to the throne room. As we enter, we look around. The throne room is all white marble and blue lapis lazuli.
At the end of the hall is a dais, where King Minardil of Gondor is seated. A familiar figure stands next to him. At the foot of it we bow our heads. He then speaks.
" We welcome the Red and Green Wizards to our royal capital of Osgilliath. We also express our gratitude at your healing of our beloved granddaughter. "
" I hear however, that it's not the first time you have healed a child of Gondor that we all thought were lost. Years ago you healed the heir of the man standing beside me. "
" My loyal friend Húrin, who is now the Steward of Gondor. As thanks for your aid, I present to you these two blossoms, from the White Tree. "
As Húrin comes forward with the blossoms, we bow our heads again. " No thanks are necessary Your Majesty, but we will accept the great gift you offer us in gratitude. " Says Draco.
The king then speaks again. " From our understanding, you have only seen Minas Arnor and now Osgilliath. Gondor is a fair country and it would please me greatly if you saw more of it. "
" In a few days, I will depart this city and make for Pelargir the great port city of Gondor. I would like the two of you to accompany me if that's agreeable? "
I look towards Draco, he quirks a brow. My lips twitch. I look towards the king and nod my head. He looks pleased, Húrin looks relieved. I frown inwardly.
Later on as Draco and I are sitting in the library, Húrin finds us. After bowing his head slightly, he sits down.
" I'm greatly comforted that you will accompany the king. He insists on going to Pelargir with a minimal retinue. I worry for him. The descendants of Castamir the Usurper still live. No doubt plotting their revenge. "
" The king is a great man, but the years of peace have clouded his vision. I've been having a foreboding feeling about his trip. Please look after him. Gondor needs him. "
So saying, he quietly leaves us. When he's gone, Draco speaks. " So the plot gets thicker. From the history books we've read, Castamir's descendants fled to Umbar. "
" So there's a chance an attack could come from the sea. We are strong, you especially, but we cannot overcome an entire army. When we leave, we must tell Húrin to prepare a relief force just in case. "
As he's speaking I nod my head. " Agreed on all points. We should take it easy the next few days that we are still here. I have a feeling the next few weeks will be hectic. "
Five days later, we ride alongside the king at the head of a small retinue of fifty men. Only twenty of them are guards. From my understanding, Pelargir doesn't have a large garrison. Only Five hundred men.
The reason for that is because the navy is supposed to protect it. The navy has been in decline for centuries though. I've read that currently there are only thirty warships.
That's a massive disparity when compared to the hundred the Corsairs can put to water. Draco and I are no fools though. Before we left, I told Húrin to prepare a sizable force, in secret, just in case an attack comes.
After three days on the road, Pelargir finally comes within sight. It's a large city. Like Osgilliath, it's built by the river, but that's where the similarities end.
It's clear that while Osgilliath was built as a statement of prestige, Pelargir was built with a more practical purpose. Therefore the city is mainly flat, with only the citadel in the centre rising above two stories.
We ask the King if we can stay at an Inn near the gates instead of accepting his hospitality, our excuse is we'd be able to explore the city easier. After a few moments, he agrees and we part ways for now.
That night, we sneak out of the city in our animagus forms. We're both birds fortunately. I take the form of a golden eagle, and Draco takes the form of a peregrine falcon.
We fly for miles down the river, then we split up to land on opposite sides of the bank. We immediately get to work raising intent based detection charms. Sadly they won't last long, but it will have to be enough.
We then head back to the city and sneak into our inn. During the day we explore, and in the evenings we dine with the king. This routine lasts for a week, till we feel our charms going off.
I immediately open the bedroom window and use my mind to coax one of the birds to land on the windowsill. Once it lands, I tie a note to its leg, then a cast a wordless compulsion to deliver the message to Húrin.
We rush outside. As we rush towards the wall, we waylaid a passing soldier telling him to raise the alarm, the city will soon be under attack. To his credit he doesn't question us and immediately starts running.
I look up and frown. There's clouds in the sky, blocking out the stars and moon, so the surrounding land is dark. As we reach the top of the wall, I enhance my vision with magic.
I spot the first ship about a mile out. Not too long after that, bells start ringing and the city starts to wake. I take aim at the lead ship. Confringo I murmur.
In a few seconds the ship explodes and fire lights up the night. Draco does the same to the next ship. It seems the Corsairs though are smarter than I thought. Even before they tripped the wards, they disembarked a number of their troops.
I can hear horses and booted feet in the distance. Soon, the garrison of Pelargir rush the walls. I can hear commotion by the docks. It means the Gondorian Navy is preparing their ships.
If we weren't here, they'd have been completely caught by surprise and the city overrun. Soon the king and captain of the guard approaches. Minardil speaks fast.
" What in the name of Eru is going on here? " I tell him then. " The city is under attack. Corsair ships approach in number down the river. "
" We have been able to destroy two so far but there are likely dozens more. We also sense the approach of a force of them on land heading towards the city. It's likely if we weren't here, they'd have caught you by surprise. "
I can see both him and the captain paling as I speak. The captain then says " We'd have been overrun fast and then slaughtered while the city was sacked. "
" Even still Lord Wizards, we cannot withstand such an assault. The navy can buy us time enough for the king and all the people in the city to flee. "
I shake my head. " To flee would leave us at the mercy of their warriors on land. No. Hope isn't lost. The garrison and the navy only need to buy us time. "
" I've sent a message to Lord Húrin to request aid. He seems to be possessed of foresight. He told me he felt uneasy about our trip to Pelargir. I told him then to prepare a relief force in secret to come to the city's aid if needed. "
" It seems that was a wise choice. " As I speak, the king looks astonished. Then determined. He straightens. " Very well. I will ensure this city stands till Húrin comes to our aid. "
After discussing a few logistical issues, the king moves towards the gates on the eastern bank of the city. The captain will go across the river and hold the western bank.
Draco and I will hold the river and assist the navy. As they've moved away Draco snorts " never a dull moment for us is there? "
I laugh. We do this for two days without sleeping, physically, thanks to his draughts we aren't tired, magically, we're running on fumes.
All the Gondorian Navy ships are back in dock, badly damaged. The Corsairs however still have twenty large warships left. The two leaders of this attack, Angamaitë and Sangahyando are the great grandsons of Castamir.
They disembarked and each are leading a flank of the land forces, one on the east bank and one on the west. I can see the weariness on the faces of Minardil and the soldiers. Fortunately, help has at last arrived.
Horns sound in the distance. For a moment there's silence. Then it sounds again. Cheers fill the air from the the people in the city.
I look towards Draco. " Head down into the city and heal who you can. The king will no doubt want to ride out the gates as part of a sortie. I will help him. "
After a moment of hesitation Draco nods and heads into the centre of the city. I quickly leap on my horse which has been waiting and head on over to the gate.
I was right. The King is there, along with one hundred mounted men. It's all those who are still fully capable of fighting.
I make my way towards him and he gestures to the spot beside him. He signals for the gate to be opened. I draw my sword and the familiar sight of the silver sword and it's rubies make me smile.
When the gates open, we charge out. The Corsairs, as soon as they heard the horns, turned their attacking force around and moved to engage the incoming army.
They sent the light cavalry they had ahead first, and we could see them and the cavalry of Gondor clashing. In the distance I could make out two banners.
One pure white, to signify the Steward of Gondor and the other banner carried the White Tree. As we charged, the Corsairs were caught by surprise.
We ran down the rear guard of archers, and then Minardil engaged who I later learnt was Angamaitë. I swung my sword and took off a head and at the same time my staff caved in the skull of another.
Soon everything was a blur, as soon as I cut one down, two took their place. Fortunately that when the infantry of Gondor finally reached us and it was a slaughter.
The next week was a blur of activity. Draco and I healed as much of the infantry as we could. The King saw to the reordering of the defences.
Once things calmed down, we finally put together casualty numbers. Fifteen Corsair warships were able to escape, but their entire landing party was destroyed, including their two leaders.
As everything settled down, we returned to Osgilliath. We didn't stay there long though. We wanted to see one more city before we left Gondor.
We were in the throne room of Osgilliath, with just the Minardil and Húrin. The king spoke to us then. He looked serious.
" The two of you my Lord Wizards have been great friends to Gondor. Without you, I would have died in Pelargir, and the city would have been sacked. "
" I would like to express my gratitude. Name it and it shall be yours. " I could tell by the set of his face and by the body language of Húrin that the King would not be dissuaded.
We had however foreseen this possibility. We would have done what we did for no reward but it seems the King is adamant in this. Fortunately there is something he has that we want.
Draco speaks then." Your Majesty, we can see that your will in this is adamant. Very well. We would like a home. One in solitude. These past few decades have been illuminating but also wearying. "
" We ask therefore, that you grant us the Fortress of Angrenost. From our reading in Minas Arnor, it has been mostly abandoned. "
Both he and Húrin seem surprised. Then however the King surprises us by laughing. He seems delighted. He claps his hands.
" Very well. I'll have the papers drawn up and transfer ownership of the fortress and the valley from Gondor to you. Take it as a sign of my gratitude. "
" Calenardhon has slowly been in decline these past centuries, as the population moves closer to the inner provinces and so I give the fortress to you gladly. "
" When the ownership is transferred, will you be heading there? " I shake my head. " Not just yet Your Majesty. We first would like to visit Minas Ithil. "
He looks pleased. He did after all want us to see more of his kingdom. We bow and leave. We have preparations to make after all.
Two days later, Húrin presents us with the deed to the valley and then we leave Osgilliath, heading eastwards towards Minas Ithil.
The next couple of days pass at a leisurely pace. The easternmost province of Gondor, Ithilien is said to be it's most beautiful. Traveling in it, I'm inclined to agree.
The only mar on its beauty is the mountains surrounding it. The Ephel Dúath or Mountains of Shadow. I can see why it's called that. The mountains are bleak and bare, with almost constant cloud cover.
As we enter the valley, Draco and I frown. As pleasant a sight as it is, there is an uncomfortable feeling in the air. Watchfulness.
The city of Minas Ithil is breathtaking, but it's also a ghost town. Only the garrison, which numbers two thousand men live here. There are no women or children.
A wise decision, because this place is isolated. Help would come here too late. Word was sent about our arrival, so quarters are already prepared at the tower of the citadel.
We're told by the Commander of the Garrison that the king has granted us access to the entirety of the city. Both of us are glad, because there's an artifact at the top of the tower that we're curious about.
At night we stand upon the walls of the city and gaze back upon it. It's breathtaking. There's a soft glow to it. It's ironic I think, that they built their most beautiful city in the shadow of such evil.
As the weeks and months pass us by, we read the scrolls and books in the library to pass the time.
I've never been one for divination, still, there's something about this place that's unsettling. The soldiers all look uncomfortable here as well.
Six months after we've arrived, we head to the top of the tower, after procuring the key. In the very centre of the room is a plynth and upon it is a perfectly spherical orb that's pure black crystal.
Its about the size of a the crystal balls I saw at Hogwarts. So this is one of the famous Palantíri. We move closer. Draco motions me to go first.
My lips twitch. I move infront of it and raise my right hand above it. I close my eyes and bend my will towards the stone. At first, nothing happens, but then I can see.
A massive forest appears in my mind, I focus more and my gaze deepens, ah now I see the ents. It surprises me, the change I can see in the ents.
Fangorn once told us that they are not a hasty people. That may be true of the ancient ents, but the younger ones are running around the forest, planting new saplings, observing animals.
Warmth blooms in my chest. Draco and I did that. We saved them from a cruel fate, to slowly lose their minds and intelligence and become ordinary trees, thereby passing into myth and legend.
Next I turn my gaze further west, into Arnor. I see the predation of evil men upon the last remaining kingdom Artherdain. I see who the aggressors are.
Angmar. I turn my gaze towards Carn Dûm, the capital of Angmar. It is shrouded. I bend all my will into breaking the shroud and I hear a faint sound, almost like glass breaking.
That is when I see him. If I didn't see a disembodied Horcrux or a dementor, I wouldn't have understood what I was seeing. A wraith. The most powerful of them all. The Witch King.
I withdraw my gaze. Troubled. Draco looks concerned, but then he takes his turn. While he uses it, I look outside the window into the valley.
Fangorn told me there have been whispers of darkness from the Greenwood. The identity of the ruler of Angmar is troubling. Where there's smoke there's always fire.
When Draco finishes, I tell him what I saw. He too looks troubled. " Harry, we cannot just leave things be. We must investigate. We must climb the pass and enter Mordor. "
I don't like it, but he's right. We must make sure. The next day we pack provisions our satchels and explain to the commander where we're going.
He looks troubled. He says there is a garrison in the fortress above the stairs, but nobody has heard from them in a couple of years.
It's troubling because no orcs could have snuck past the city here, nor could they enter Mordor because Gondor has a garrison at the Black Gates.
We leave after breakfast and begin our climb. We know the soldiers can spot us, so we don't shift into our animagus forms. By nightfall, we've made it halfway.
We decide to catch only a few hours of sleep on the ledge that we found. Five hours later, at just after midnight, we wake up. We both drink an invigouration draught and resume our climb.
By midday the next day, after taking short breaks, we reach a tunnel at the end of the stairs. Even in the midday sun, the light only penetrates the first few metres of the tunnel.
We both step inside, then I tap my staff lightly against the floor and intone, Revelio. A layout of the tunnels appear in my mind and I grimace.
" It's a warren of tunnels in this place, what's more, something is in here. My spell didn't say what but we can't take any chances. " I say quietly.
A silent spell from both of us and the gems in our staffs start to let off a light. After walking for a few metres Draco calls out to me and points.
I look where he's pointing and grimace. Spider webs. Huge webs. They look familiar. Like the kind of webs found in Aragog's hollow. I tighten my grip on my staff.
We must've been walking in the tunnels for half an hour when all my instincts start screaming at me. I mentally command Lumos Maxima.
My entire staff glows a blinding white and I spin around. There's a monstrous spider there. Twice the size of Aragog. I draw my sword.
The spider halted when the light came, but when I went for my sword, she charged. Unfortunately for her, she ignored Draco.
Sectumsempra is what I hear. Then the spider screams. Three large gashes have appeared on her abdomen. She turns around quickly to attack him and that's her penultimate mistake.
I take the sword and cut off one of her legs. Disgusting green ichor falls from the stump. As she tries to turn once more towards me, Draco uses one more spell.
Reducto. The head of it explodes. Luckily I quickly cast a shield as does he. None of her innards touch her. I walk over to Draco.
" We must search all these tunnels, make sure there's no more of them. " He nods. We spend another day scouring the place. All we find are skeletons and armour of Gondorian soldiers.
We use a spell to gouge a line on the cave wall showing the proper route from the entrance to the exit. The day is drawing to a close and dusk is approaching, when we finally reach the fortress.
The soldiers were terrified at first. Till we showed them a writ from the commander down below. Turns out they've been stationed here for thirty years with no relief.
Over the past decade many of them have dissapeared at night. Those that did patrols on the walls at night or in the passage leading to the tunnels.
We told them of the massive spider that was there as well as about the armour we found. They were terrified as well as relieved. Turns out about a hundred of them vanished over the years.
We promise to tell their superiors about everything. The next day, we leave the fortress and enter Mordor proper. We're struck speechless.
We've never seen such desolation before. The land looks dead. Appearances can be deceiving though. Once we're out of sight of anyone, we change our forms and fly for about an hour.
Our plan is to create a sort of perimeter fence of alarm charms. When they're tripped, an alarm will sound at the fortress. If the alarm sounds continuously for more than ten seconds, then that means an army of enemies approach and that they must flee.
Hours later we head back to the fortress. We explain the spells we cast and their purpose. They will be given a three hour warning.
They will then have to use that time to flee down the pass. I tell them to make sure that the first soldier that reaches the exit overlooking Minas Ithil must blow a horn to warn the city garrison of an attack.
As I go to sleep that night, a brief thought enters my mind to collapse the tunnels, I don't though.
The next morning, after breakfast, we head back towards the city. As we come across the corpse, Draco stops. As I turn towards him he taps his staff against the corpse and it hovers a few inches above the ground.
For proof he says. I nod. It's still morning when we reach the exit, he motions with his staff and the corpse slowly exits the tunnel.
He motions towards me and I get his cue. As the spider floats above the valley, he cuts his spell at same time as I murmur, Arresto Momentum.
The corpse falls down, but the momentum of it is slowed down. We begin our descent. An hour later we can faintly hear a clamouring down in the valley.
No doubt they saw something huge falling. The morning of the next day a couple of hundred soldiers are waiting at the base of the stairs.
There's an air of palpable relief as they see us. They begin heading back towards the city. The commander hangs back and we speak to him.
We tell him, how they spider lived in the tunnels above, how she hunted the soldiers of the fortress above at night. We told them of their situation and we told him of the spells that we cast and what a horn blowing would signify.
He immediately wrote a missive to the Steward when we reached the citadel. Hours later, a messenger on a horse set off.
The reply came a month later. The King was relieving the garrison in Cirith Ungol of their duties. A relief force of five hundred soldiers marched towards Mordor.
They would take three months to reach Cirith Ungol. I sent a bird with the message to the captain over there. He replied how relieved they all were to leave.
Privately, Draco and I mused that they'd probably retire from the army as soon as they got home.
Time flew by fast again, but this time, a year later in 1636, disaster struck. First, only a few men in the garrison became ill. We thought nothing of it. They had a healer.
Then it spread to the entire garrison. Plague. Draco wasn't caught off guard though. A cure had already existed in my world, and we knew the source as well.
While I cast spells to clear out vermin, Draco brewed one of the potions he created with athelas decades ago while we still resided in Minas Arnor. To cure Plague.
One it was completed, we administered it. Fortunately it only required one dose. We left instructions with the garrison to take the remainder of the potion in waterskins and go up the pass to give to the soldiers there.
We then left the city in haste and made for Osgilliath. There was nobody manning the walls so we opened the gates and placed a compulsion on our horses to meet us there.
We changed forms and flew with all haste to Osgilliath. When we arrived the next day, we split up. Draco stayed at Osgilliath while I made for Minas Arnor.
As fast as we travelled, hundreds had already succumbed. The next few weeks were the hardest of lives in Middle Earth so far.
We were able to save most people in the two cities, but the rest of Gondor was devastated. Tens of thousands died. It was horrifying.
Two of the royal children and about a hundred others died in Osgilliath. Between the two cities about a thousand people died total before we arrived.
Worse though to the people of Gondor was another blow. As we brought the plague under control and sent vast quantities of potion under armed escort across the country, the White Tree died.
The reaction to that caught Draco and I by surprise. The people were horrified and devastated. The Tree wasn't just a symbol. It was a living link to their past. The last infact, seeing as there were no more saplings.
King Minardil and Húrin rushed towards Minas Arnor. We were summoned to the citadel. The first time we'd ever been inside of it.
The King asked if there was anything we could do and we asked for a few days to think.
This was no mere tree after all. It was a scion of a tree that was brought into being by two beings that were nothing less than goddesses.
After three days of wracking my mind, I finally came up with a sketchy solution. After dusk I approached the citadel. I asked one of the guards to go to the lower levels and fetch me a few people.
They couldn't be related. One boy and one girl. Two teens. Two adults and two elders. I then personally went and asked for the king to join me in the courtyard where the dead tree was.
It was a cloudy night so the starts and the moon weren't visible. Draco asked the guards to have all the lights in the city extinguished.
After an hour and everyone had arrived, my staff and Draco's were the only source of light in the city. There was a crowd packing the courtyard but I paid them no mind.
" Your Majesty and everyone that I asked to come, place a hand upon the tree. " After a beat, the king did, followed by everyone else.
" Close your eyes and think of the love you feel for Gondor and your wish for the tree to live. " Again they complied, but with no hesitation this time.
I took a deep breath. Then I touched my staff against the tree and spoke clearly. Expecto Patronum.
Blazing silver light exploded from my staff and entered the tree. After a moment, the light faded. The crowd muttered. I stepped away from the tree.
Then gasps. The trunk briefly glowed with a faint light then it died down. Then something amazing happened. The tree bloomed.
All the flowers started glowing, faintly at first, then they blazed with light. Gasps and cries rang out. The entire city was illuminated with a silvery light.
Draco came to stand next to me and we looked around. People were looking at the tree and crying. Some were looking at me and murmuring a word I couldn't make out.
The King gave the most surprising reaction though. He embraced both of us. He was laughing freely. It seemed in the light of the trees blooms that all the years had melted away from him.
His voice immediately rang out, and proclaimed a feast and celebration that will begin immediately. Cheers rang out.
One week after the Day of Awakening as the people of Gondor would forever call it thereafter, Draco and I rode out of the gates, heading home.
People lined the streets and threw flowers as we rode out through the city. The King and Steward awaited us at the gates. Minardil spoke then and his voice boomed.
" Farewell Eladar and Tuilalcaron, as King of Gondor I declare an oath now, for myself, my son, his son, and in perpetuity that you two will always be friends of Gondor and be welcome always. "
The cheers from the crowds were deafening. We smiled and waved from atop our horses. Glad for the time we spent in Gondor but happy to finally be headed home.
Eladar- means ' Starfather ' . Name given to Harry for how he healed the tree and what came after. The new tree was named Gildor by the King of Gondor. It means ' Noble star ' so named because the tree blooms every night and the blossoms illuminate the entire Pellenor. The tree is the finest scion of the original silver tree in Valinor.Tuilalcaron- means ' Glory of Spring ' . Name given to Draco in gratitude for the potion he created that cured Plague. The recipients of the potion said it tasted like spring.Forever after, these names which were bestowed by King Minardil, is how the two of them will be referred to as by the descendants of Númenor and by the elves.