Chapter 6

A/N: I own nothing. All goes to Tolkien and J.K Rowling. Also, Now we're getting closer to the beginning of the Hobbit! If it's not this chapter then it will defiantly be next chapter. Secondly, I looked it up and it takes 4-6 weeks to travel from the shire to Rivendell in one direction. For the purpose of this story, I chose to make it 4 weeks. Pls Favorite and Review!

Bungo and Bilbo were overjoyed to have Bella home at last. It did not take long for the small family to fall back into there usual happy routine and every night before bed Bilbo asked for stories of the 'fair folk' she had gone to see before going to bed.

Once Biblo had gone to bed Bella sometimes told Bungo about her time with Emel her little shadow and how close they had become while she had been in Rivendell. She still felt some guilt in leaving Rivendell and upsetting Emel so badly with her departure, but Bella knew Bags End was where she belonged with her family and hoped Emel would eventually come to understand and forgive her.

It was a few months later when Bungo was sitting on a bench in the front garden that he was approached by an elven messenger on horseback. It was not unusual for the Baggins family to receive mail from the fair folk in Rivendell but never had they been sent anything by courier before.

The messenger said that he would wait for a reply and that he would take up lodgings at the Green Dragon until then. With that said the Elvish traveler left and Bungo looked at the letter and noticed it was addressed to both he and his wife, 'Mr. & Mrs. Baggins.'

Going back into the smial Bungo searched for his wife and found her baking some of her famous tea biscuits in the kitchen for later. He shared with her the odd occurrence that had just passed in the front garden and showed her the letter. Concerned, Bella brewed the pair of them some tea and they settled by the breakfast nook by the open window in the kitchen to read the missive.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Baggins,

It is with great urgency that I write to you now. Mr. Baggin's I'm sure Bella has told you all about the young elfling she befriended during her stay in Rivendell this past winter by the name of Emel.

Before your wife came to stay with us, Emel had been recently orphaned. Her father was a mortal man and her mother was an elf who had long since passed onto the halls of Mandos. From what we could gather, Emel's remaining mortal family had to abandon her in the nearby forests of Trollshaw due to exenterating circumstances. She had been discovered by the captain of the guard on a patrol and taken in as my ward, not two months before Bella came to visit.

Having only been around mortals until recently Emel was not adjusting well to life in Rivendell and grieved the loss of her family. Elves are immortal and will live forever unless either cut down in battle or if they suffer from an affliction, we call fading. When an Elf grieves, they are at risk of falling into a decline until they can no longer hold onto their earthly bodies and pass on to the Halls of Mandos. Emel was suffering from just such an affliction until Bella came to visit and brought joy back into the child's life.

Now that you have returned to Hobbiton Bella I fear Emel is fading once again and there is nothing anyone here has been able to do to bring her out of it. I have sent an emergency courier to you in order to ask a life-altering favor. We are becoming despite to save Emel and we think Belladonna Baggins is the only one capable of helping her now. Elflings are rare among the Eldar and considered a cherished blessing from Eru. It grieves me deeply that I cannot help Emel like she so desperately needs.

If you would be willing, I ask you now to do me an enormous favor in order to save the child. Would the two of you be willing to take Emel into your home and family as one of your own? Please let me know what you decide and if you agree the I Lord Elrond of Rivendell will be forever in your debt.

Kind regards,

Lord Elrond of Imladris

Bella and Bungo were at a loss for words. They wanted to help, being the generous and kind-hearted people that they were but they were worried about how Bilbo would feel about the possible addition to the family. They decided to talk it over with there son when he returned home for visiting his cousins at Old Tooks.

After dinner that night, Mr. and Mrs. Baggins sat in front of the fire in the family room with Bilbo to break the news and get his thoughts on the matter. Thinking it the best way to go about it, Bungo simply handed over the missive to his gangly tweenaged son so that he may read it for himself.

With each passing moment that he read the letter, Bilbo became more and more alarmed. Finally, he gave the letter back to his father and asked with great concern, "When will she get here? Is it soon?"

The two parents looked at each other and had one of those silent conversations with there eyes which only long-time lovers were able to have.

After a moment Bella answered the question. "She's not coming to Hobbiton as of yet. This is something that will change all our lives and we wanted to see how you felt about possibly adopting an elf as a little sister before we decided anything."

"WHAT?!" Said Bilbo with alarm. "Father, you must go pen a reply without a moment to lose! It says she's dying! We're going to say yes to Lord Elrond's request, aren't we?" Bilbo asked as though refusing had never even crossed his mind.

With a relieved and affectionate chuckle, Bilbo's parents were once again warmed by there son's innocent and good-natured soul and proud to have been so lucky as to have been blessed with his birth.

"Yes, Bilbo. We wanted to give Lord Elrond and little Emel the good news they had been hoping for, but we never would have done so without checking with you first." Said Bella.

"Good. Glad to hear it. Thank you for considering me and I whole heartily agree. I've always wanted a little sister. She going to be an elf too! Cousin Lobelia is just going to die of envy!"

At the mention of siblings, Bella smiled a little sadly. Hobbit families were usually quite large but her pregnancy with Bilbo had been quite difficult and the birth itself left her barren. Both She and Bungo had been quite saddened by this news when the healers told them, but they were happy to have been blessed with Bilbo in there lives and never looked back on what could have been.

While Bilbo and his mother chatted happily about the pending arrival of his new sister, Bungo retreated to his study in order to pen a reply to the elven lord without delay. Less then an hour later Bungo was off to the green dragon to give his letter to the courier.

Two months later a small party of elven warriors trotted into the shire. This Included the captain of the Guard Glorfindel and the twin Princes Elladan and Elrohir. On a pack horse, they brought along all of Emel's belonging which she had accumulated during her year in Rivendell which mostly consisting of clothing and some books. When they approached Bags End, Emel was asleep in Glorfindel arms upon his horse. She was dressed in a green silken elvish dress and matching slippers. On top of this, she wore her old cloak with the hood pulled up shielding her from the glaring sun as she slept.

The party dismounted and Bungo opened the round door of his Hobbit hole in order to greet everyone. After niceties were exchanged the elves were invited inside. Only Glorfindel, the princes and one She elf went inside while the remaining 6 riders left for the green dragon to find lodging as instructed by their Captain.

Before following his guests, Bungo asked his gardener Halmfast Gamgee, who had been working in the front garden to go fetch Bilbo from his Cousin's house.

When he closed the door to his hobbit home, Bungo found three of the elves standing outside of the room he and Bella and prepared for Emel. Looking past them, he saw his wife and the one who introduced himself as Glorfindel placing a sickly and nearly skeletal toddler into her bed. When she seemed to be resting comfortably the adults all retreated to the dining room where Bella served them tea and biscuits.

There was a thick gravity to the atmosphere. Glorfindel address the two of them. "She has deteriorated much faster then we had anticipated. Lord Elrond and all the elves of Imladris are forever indebted to you and your family." Indicating the she-elf on his left he continued, "This is Healer Calen, one of Lord Elrond's former apprentices. Considering Emel's condition Lord Elrond thought it best one of our healers stays behind in Hobbiton while she hopefully begins to improve. Calen will be logged at the nearby inn the Green Dragon and available to you at all hours if ever you have need of her."

Bella and Bungo would have none of it. They insisted Calen stay with them while she was here. They had a large home with plenty of space for everyone and Bungo offered they go retrieve the rest of there party to stay here with them as well.

The four elves present graciously excepted there offer but Glorfindel said the others had most likely already paid for there rooms at the Inn.

Calen was settled into the room across from Emel's while Elladan and Elrohir went and relieved the pack horse of Emel's belongings including her black leather traveling pack they had found her with. Eventually, they all sat down to a generous and delicious dinner that rivaled the cooks of Rivendell. Bungo prepared the bathing room for his guests and after washing off the dust and dirt from there journey they all retired to their rooms.

After an equally tantalizing breakfast early the next morning, Glorfindel and the princes checked on Emel one last time before setting off on the road again.

When Emel woke up from her healing sleep to find herself in Bella's home she wept tears of joy. Calen had stayed with the family for three weeks before being satisfied that the elfling was truly on the mend. With some final instructions to her new parents, Calen left to return to Rivendell as well. Before the healer departed Emel had written an impassioned thank you letter to Elrond in her shaky elvish handwriting which she asked Calen to pass on.

Emel felt guilty about how unhappy she had been in Rivendell. She couldn't truly help it and was so much better off with the Baggins's but she wanted to make sure he knew how much she appreciated everything he had done for her up until then. She was also becoming aware of how uncommon a witch was and asked Lord Elrond tell no one of her magical abilities.

One afternoon while Bella was visiting Emel in her room before Calen had gone, Emel revealed her magic to her new mother and showed her some of the magical texts' papa Snape had put in her black leather bag. Bella was shocked but thankfully not afraid. Bella excitedly told her about the order of the Istari in Middle Earth and about her good friend Gandalf the Gray. When She learned there were only 5 wizards' in all middle earth it had been Emel's turn to be surprised. Eventually, Bungo had come into the room as well and Emel took the opportunity to tell her new parents the truth of her background and the circumstances surrounding her apparent abandonment in the Trollshaw forest.

At the end of the discussion, Emel had Bella promise not to tell her friend Gandalf about her magic and told Bella how her papa Snape had already given her any training she might need. Bella was reluctant at first but eventually agreed to keep it to herself once she understood Emel's reasoning. Emel was worried that these wizards might feel she belonged with them and take her away from Hobbiton and her new Baggins family. Bungo warned her not to do any magic around the hobbits in town either. Not everyone would be as excepting of it as they had been.

Once she was no longer bedridden, Emel began to settle into her new life in Hobbiton. She quickly came to love Bungo and Bilbo as much as she loved Bella. Out in Hobbiton, she was a novelty. Her beautiful silver hair and purple gaze had never been seen before by the hobbits and they considered the toddler to be a rare beauty.

Biblo was very protective of his little sister and the two quickly became inseparable. Their mornings were spent in Bungo's study learning their letters, mathematics, and hobbitish history. When Emel joined these lessons, Bella made sure to include Elvish reading and writing much to Bilbo's glee. Bilbo dearly loved to read and look at maps and this was something he and Emel had in common.

After elevenses, Bungo set off to look after the family estate and business dealings so the children were free to enjoy themselves for the rest of the day. Sometimes Bilbo and Emel would go and play with their cousins. If they weren't visiting the cousin's, then Bilbo and Emel would go 'adventuring' for the day and walk to a small forest on the northeast edge of Hobbiton.

Seemingly alone in the forest, Bilbo would urge Emel to practice some of her magic. She would often turn flowers into butterflies or transform into her animagus form for him. That was their little secret. He was the only one who knew she turned into silver and black clouded leopard kitten. Not even Bungo or Bella knew. It was a cherished and prized secret Bilbo felt was a confirmation of his special brotherly relationship with the small elf and he would never tell anyone else about her shifting ability.

When they returned home in the afternoon, Bilbo and Emel would help Bella prepare supper and learn to cook for themselves at the same time. After supper, the family would convene together in the living room and past the last hours of the day together. They would read books, crochet doilies or nit in front of the fire. Bella would also show the children how to sew and mend their clothes and Emel took up embroidery. (She thought she might be able to incorporate some runes she was learning on her clothes from the books papa Snape gave her, but she didn't tell her parents that.)

Emel and Bella also took this time to teach the other two how to speak in English. The family treated it like there own secret language which they saw as great fun.

It was a peaceful and idyllic existence and none of them could have been happier. Sadly, it didn't last.

Only two years after Emel had joined the Baggins family, in TA 2911, the whole of the shire suffered through a long and harsh winter that would eventually be know as the Fell cold had come early, freezing the last of the late season crops striking a blow to the food supply that was supposed to feed the Hobbits in the winter months.

The Hobbits of the shire were then set upon by starving packs of white wolves who had traveled across the Brandywine river which had frozen over. No one dared leave their hobbit hole and any who were despite to venture out were often killed by the feral wolfs.

If that wasn't enough, as the terrible season dragged on food became scares and a terrible flu epidemic took hold of the Shire-folk. The weakest of population, the old infirm and the very young all perished in the outbreak.

Bungo Baggins was numbered among those to suffer from the flu. The Baggins family was despite and Biblo begged Emel to heal him with her magic.

Emel searched any and every magical text she had but there was nothing to be found about curing the body of disease. Sword wounds, arrows in the body and even some poisons yes but nothing about a lethal virus except for potions which didn't exist in Middle Earth and impossible to replicate. When the wolf pack invaded Hobbiton Emel had carved protective runes in the posts on the fence around bags end to protect her family. This had taken a lot of magical energy she wasn't yet physically mature enough to supply and it had knocked her out for three days afterward and left he shaky and weak for many more days after she awoke.

Being half-elf Emel was not at risk of catching the flu from Bungo so she tended to him day and night while Bella and Bilbo were forced to keep their distance.

Finally, when all hope seemed lost the Rangers came into the shire with food and medicine for the Hobbits. They had to fight off the wolf packs, so it took some time for the Rangers to reach the village of Hobbiton in the middle of the Shire.

Bungo was not getting any better and his family began to expect the worst. In a moment of desperation when no one was watching him, Bilbo ran out in the middle of the snowstorm in hopes of finding a ranger with the medicine for his father they so desperately needed. When Bella realized her son had gone, she feared the worst and ran out after him to bring him back to the safety of there hobbit hole.

When she caught up with Bilbo her worst fears were confirmed. Bilbo was surrounded by three of the beasts that plagued the shire and was about to be killed like so many others. Picking up a fallen branch on the side of the road Bella let out a war cry to distract the wolfs and charged at them.

For a while, she stood her ground and managed to keep the wolves at bay and away from her baby, but it didn't last, and she was overwhelmed. They bit and clawed and her and Bella used the last of her energy to order Bilbo to run.

Not sure what else to do Biblo did as his mother told him and ran as fast as his furry feet would take him. The wolves were not far behind and him and thought he was done for when an arrow came out of nowhere and killed the closest of the three who had been on his heels. Looking up at his savior he found a group of rangers running towards him.

Distraught and out of breath Bilbo fell to his knees. When one of the rangers caught up to him, he tried to tell them, "My mother…. Hurt…. Back there… Father's sick…. Bag End…." Unable to say anything more Biblo passed out, the hunger and weakness seemingly having caught up with him.

When Bilbo next woke up, he was back in his bedroom in bags end being attended to by a ranger who sat at his bedside. The first thing Bilbo asked the stranger was news regarding his parents' condition. He was heartbroken to learn that his mother hadn't survived the attack, but it looked like his father was going to pull through. Bilbo was devastated. He felt responsible for his mother's death and there was nothing anyone was able to say that would make him believe otherwise. Emel tried to comfort him saying that his bravery in searching out for the rangers and their medicine very well may have saved Bungo's life.

Bungo did in fact recover and the snow finally gave way to spring but none of them were the same again. Bungo was horrified to learn about Bella's death but he tried to stay strong for the children. It was not meant to be. Bungo lasted only another three years before he passed away from heartbreak and followed his love to the afterlife.

When his father died Bilbo inherited everything. He was 24 and had not yet reached his majority of 33 but his Grandfather, Old Took helped him manage the estate and look after his adoptive sister.

Bilbo and Emel had never been the same after the events of the Fell Winter. Never again did they go adventuring together in the forest just outside of Hobbiton. Bilbo threw himself into his responsibilities and did his utmost under the tutelage of his grandfather to maintain the lands and property his late father Bungo had worked so hard for. Emel had lost a second set of parents of whom she had loved dearly and had felt powerless to prevent it. She became withdrawn and much more studious. She had mailed Lord Elrond and asked if he could send her some books on the herb lore of middle earth and the healing practices of the elves.

Having learned of Bella's and Bungo's death's through the letters they exchanged Elrond asked if she wanted to return to Rivendell but Emel refused. She could never leave Bilbo. She was desperately attached to him and now that their parents were gone, he was all that kept her going. To leave him and the shire would kill her. Also, during their fathers funeral, she had vowed on their parents' graves to always protect him and not even Eru himself could prevent her from keeping her promise.