As promised, about an hour after the two had set off, a rain-soaked Sirius and Kili landed in James' front garden. Kili had barely had chance to dismount his broom before he was tackled into a huge hug by his brother. The two dwarfs stayed like that for a few seconds before touching foreheads gently.
"Are you alright?" Fili asked his brother anxiously.
"I'm fine brother" said Kili with a smile. "I'm just glad to be with you once more. When you fell into that cavern I thought…. I thought the worst had happened."
"What on earth possessed you to follow me down there?!" said Fili gently. "Mahal knows I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you because of me."
"I just couldn't bear the thought of leaving you behind, even if, if….". Kili couldn't finish his sentence, but luckily Fili understood his brother's meaning, so pulled him into another hug instead.
"Well now, the worst has not happened, and we are together again, so let us praise Mahal and be grateful" he said softly.
James and Sirius, having already greeted each other, watched the two brothers with sympathy in their hearts. They couldn't imagine what it must be like to be so far from home in a strange new world.
"Well Fili, Kili, we need to figure out a way to get you back to your home" said James, rubbing his hands together thoughtfully. "Why don't we go and have a look at where you arrived Fili and see if there are any clues still there?".
The others nodded in agreement, so the group made their way round to the back of the house, where the newly-repaired garden shed stood tall and proud. Sirius, being the lighter of the two and the more athletic, hopped up onto a nearby wall and propelled himself onto the flat roof.
"Can you see anything?" asked Kili.
"Not as such" said Sirius. "The air feels weird though. It's like there's some sort of energy here which isn't quite normal."
The young wizard reached out his hand to touch the empty space around him. Suddenly, there was a disturbing crackling sound, and in a flash, Sirius had been pulled into a crack in the air, leaving nothing but empty space where he once stood.
"PADFOOT!" cried James.
The three stood there for a second, dumbfounded, before James made a move towards the shed.
"What are you doing?" asked Fili.
"There's only one thing for it" said James determinedly as he climbed up onto the roof. "I've got to go after Padfoot, and I'm feeling pretty confident that wherever that portal leads, it's going to be somewhere back in Middle Earth. So, I would suggest that you two come with me so that you can find your way back to your company."
Not needing much more persuasion, the two dwarves scrambled up onto the shed after the young wizard (with a little less elegance – dwarves were not built for this sort of thing after all).
"I suggest we hold onto each other" said Kili. "That way, wherever we end up we should hopefully be together".
The others nodded in agreement, so the trio of boys linked arms. James reached out in front of him to put his arm exactly where Sirius had, and they vanished into the night.