AN: First thing, something I forgot to add in Chapter 1: I don't own any characters or content mentioned here that are from Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.

Second, happy Halloween to all! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Harry was surprised at how easy it was to learn to ride a horse, if you didn't have a choice that is. Keep your balance right and let the gravitation do the rest and as a seeker, he had no problems with that. Hermione wasn't that skilled so for the first day he had to give her some pointers but she managed not to fall off their nightmarish mounts.

It would seem even the horses in Mordor were meant to intimidate enemies as they too were clad in special armour that must have been made by the same smith that made theirs.

They we're galloping through what was named as Ithillien by their wraith escort second day in a row now. He had to grudgingly admit, they got the best of best... armour, weapons and mounts in those cursed lands.

Another thing they discovered was that they didn't need to sleep any more. That unsettled them more than anyone on of the two wanted to admit.

One time Hermione mentioned how the lands of Ithillien must have been full of life in the past as opposite to the now mostly dead looking scenery. Whole forests of dead trees and the twilight caused by ash clouds of Mount Doom. At that moment he looked at her as he sometimes did during that journey. He would glance at her, to see the black robes billowing behind her, her face covered by steel helm. He would lie, if he told that that view didn't stir something in him, awe for example. But then he remembered what those robes entailed and he was assaulted by memories he would like to forget.

"We're nearing our destination, but be alert. Those lands do not fully belong to us yet" it was the first thing the Nazgul said to them in those two days. Even if Saurons... their... control of the land was not total no one dared to attack them.

And so it was dawn of their fourth day of travel when they rode into the dark valley of Morgul. It was surrounded by high and sharp peaks of the Mountains of Shadow. Not an hour later they were entering the dreaded city of Minas Morgul.

What they saw inside amazed them. It was a strange and a loud mix of orcs, men and some creatures they didn't recognize. They were similar to orcs, but smaller and looking more cunning.

When the three riders slowly steered their mounts to the inner circle of the city silence followed them. Every living creature looked at them in fear, only a few dared to look straight at them.

"The city is huge! I wonder who build it"? Hermione said silently to Harry in English.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it wasn't anyone serving Sauron"

Finally they arrived at rather plain looking but large double doors. Following the Nazgul's example the jumped down on the stone pavement and allowed three orcs that jumped out of the near alley to handle the horses.

What they found behind the doors prompted their jaws to fall and rooted them to the spot. It was a cathedral sized chamber, with many slim columns of once white marble, that now was dirty and cracked. The floor was made out of the same white marble with the addition of a black one, creating a chessboard like pattern. Those marble slabs were mostly cracked, or missing in some places, the stones lost their shine. On both sides of what appeared to be the centre aisle of the chamber stood many sculptures of noble men, their faces and in many cases heads thought... were missing as if blasted off by some powerful spell. Here and there in the dim light provided by many torches they could even see blood stains. Even the cold air felt and smelled as if they were in an old tomb.

"Welcome, to mine domain" it was their escort that spoke.

"Yours"? They both asked snapping out of their shock.

"Yes, mine. I am the Witch King of Angmar and I'm your teacher as only I could take care of that besides our Lord"

"How so"? It was Hermione that asked naturally.

"In my life I have dabbled into sorcery even before I accepted the Ring of Power from our Lord. As I had experience with sorcery I have come with and idea on how to protect my sense of self from fading under the influence of my ring powers." as he told them his story his voice stayed cold but full of pride.

"And Sauron didn't do anything about it because? He must have know about you" this time it was Harry that asked, hoping that maybe they would find an ally in the most unlikely place.

"Because young one, fighting Surons will that we must obey is like fighting a dragon alone and with no weapons, impossible."

He heard that Hermione wanted to say something and so did he, but he stopped her by putting his glowed hand on her armored shoulder. She shoot him a glance but he just shook his head.

"All right then, so can we bend the rules? Somehow go around his orders"? Harry asked once more.

"We will not discuss such things! Our Lord could easily detect your treachery and then more that your life's will be in danger"! Witch Kings voice was full off anger, and it rose to a screech at the end that they somehow knew could force any warrior no matter how brave to run in terror from him.

Then all was silent for a few minutes as them and the Witch King were having a small staring contest. As much as it could be called that, as none were able to see each other eyes hidden in shadows of helms and a hood respectively.

"Now then... We will start with History of Middle Earth, the land we are on and the land we try to conquer from thousands of years..." their teacher gestured for them to follow and as he walked further in the chamber he started his lecture from the rise of Sauron to power.

After their first encounter with the elfs in the clearing and three days march to this beautiful valley they met with the master of this house. They all stood in what appeared to be a elegantly furnished private study.

Just one look at Lord Elrond was enough for them to understand that his we the most important figure around, even Ron could see that. They tried to "talk" as much as hand signs allowed it, but after some misunderstandings the Elf Lord took a more daring approach. He gestured to Luna and showed a non threatening gesture, picked up a book from a shelf gestured to a random page filled with curviest writing the trio had seen, then gestured from his temple to Lunas to the text.

It took them some extra gestures to work out what he wanted to do. Luna, being Luna agreed with a dreamy smile on her face.

What followed was the most bizarre experience in their lives. A soft and warm glow surrounded the elf's hand and a gold ring adorned with a great blue stone appeared on one of his fingers. He touched Lunas temple and after almost fifteen minutes took it away.

She had closed eyes and relaxed expression on her face, when she opened her eyes she thanked the great elf lord in fluent Sindarin, but had to take a seat a she swayed on her feet.

"You ok Luna"? asked Ron with concern in his voice as he approached her.

"Yeah, just a bit dizzy. You know, learning a language in few minutes is rather disorientating. But thank you for the concern Ronald" she said with a sweet smile on her face.

"So it's safe... could he do it for us too"? it was Neville as Ron was busy stuttering.

"Yes, you just must trust him. He will not intrude on your memories."

And so it was that their first day in Rivendell was spent practicing the new language while talking with Elrond about circumstances of their arrival.

It was five weeks since their arrival to Rivendell and the trio of friends were starting to get very worried. Elfs scouting parties have brought no news about Harry or Hermione and Lord Elrond with heavy heart told them they would stop sending those patrols so often and so far as it has been done for the past weeks.

"There are many places the could have appeared and most of them are not hostile." They were told and they had to agree albeit reluctantly.

"My friends, you look worried." Their gloomy thoughts were stopped short by a now know voice. Three heads turned around from staring at the green and serene valley to look at their newest friend. Neville stood up as did Ron to greet the boy that appeared to be around twenty, had brown slightly curly hair, beginnings of a beard and was higher than the read head. A great warrior in the making.

"Aragorn, what brings you here"? Ron asked as they shook their hands.

"A couple of things really. I'm sorry that there is no news about your friends I've heard that the patrols will now be sent less frequently. Other thing is... I'm leaving Rivendell." It was all said with a calm voice.

"What? But Why..."Neville and Ron asked simultaneously.

"It's because of her, isn't it"? Luna asked with sad small smile as she turned to look at the gardens.

"How did you found out"? Aragorn asked with disbelief in his voice. He had to admit the girl was sometimes scarring observant. At lest she didn't know the other truths that were reviled to him that made him take this decision.

"Well no matter. Yes I'm leaving but I will be visiting sometimes. I will keep looking for your friends or any rumors of them, you have my word. Do keep practicing with the swords." The last thing was said with a bit of humor in his voice.

The three of them, Aragorn, Ron and Neville meet at the end of first week of their stay with the elfs. It was arranged for the young warrior to show them how to fight with a sword and get the three friends started on learning Westron as the Elf Lord refused to use his powers for that, telling them it would be unhealthy for them and it would drain his powers too much. As it turned out Neville was better than average with a sword. He told them it was because of his grandmother as she was persistent in stating that he would need to be the perfect noble, as an heir of House Longbottom and to not stain his parents great reputation. Ron on the other hand was quite clumsy at the beginning and it was pointed out in many light jokes between them. It motivated the read head but he still had some catching up to do.

"We will and we will miss you." Said Ron with a smile. Neville just shook his hand with the brown haired young man.

"Good luck Aragorn." It was Luna, she stood up and hugged him lightly.

"Thank you." Aragorn smiled fondly at them and after a slight bow went back into the house.

The trio glanced at his retreating back, before they all went back to looking at the silent gardens. Many thoughts bubbling in their heads.

Following days were quite boring, but at least the dark thoughts have left their heads.

Neville and Ron were in a middle of a sword practice fight, with Luna sitting on the stone bench looking with a dreamy expression around and observing the boys from time to time. They were on one of many terraces they deemed as "theirs". Luna not for the first time thought that the elfs were artist above all else as she took in the details of the architecture.

From the entrance to her left an elf come out.

"Lord Elrond want's to see you." He told them and waited to escort them.

They arrived at the same study they entered in their first day here. The elf opened the doors and gestured for them to enter.

"Pleas take a seat." Lord Elrond stood by a window when they entered, he gesture to the three chairs that were waiting for them. As they sat so did he, behind a desk of a dark brown wood, with trimmings of silver and sculptured with images of vines and Nightingales.

"I have received word that Gandalf the Gray will visit us soon. He will be able to explain to you the nature of sorcery used here in Middle Earth and he will help me with my theory concerning your arrival and return to your home world. But you must understand that 'soon' could mean even few weeks, if not months when we're talking about Gandalf. He has many task he must attend to." He told them with a soft voice and looked at them expectantly, waiting for questions. As none came he looked directly at Luna.

"I have arranged for my daughter Arwen Undomiel to teach you about our herbs and healing techniques. When she will deem you knowledgeable enough I would want you three to join our patrols and scouting parties. Also any elf in this house could teach you archery if you ask them." With the final statement Elrond looked at all of them.

"Thank you, we appreciate it." The trio said in unison and as Luna and Neville recognized that it was the end of their talk, they stood up and left the study with Ron following them.

The past week Harry and Hermione had spend on learning about history of Middle Earth from scrolls and from lectures of the Witch King. They also spend it learning more about their new forms. It was a lot to take in.

They discovered on their own that they didn't need sustenance nor sleep, but apparently they still needed rest, to let their energy recover. The Witch King told them that although they still had physical body those will soon die and slowly 'fade'. So he advised them to not take off their robes or armor. They could do it, but he told them that the sight would be repulsing and only the one wearing the One Ring could see their past physical forms in the realm of shadows. Hermione summarized it in a bitter tone.

"So we are bound by Sauron's will and imprisoned inside our own armor and robes... just great."

"And what if we are.. defeated, killed"? Harry asked one of the more important questions.

"You can not be killed. Only destruction of your rings could bring and end to your existence. In this matter your rings reassemble the One Ring, until it exist our Lord exists. If you are just separated from your ring you will loos your physical form and most of your powers. But even then... rings like those have a mind of their own, knowing only one master, and if separated they will do all that's in their power to return to you." Witch King paced back and forth during that particular speech.

"How do you know so much about the rings"? Hermione asked with evident curiosity in her voice.

"Our Lord Sauron granted me the knowledge and under his guidance I forged the rings for you in the fires of Mount Doom."

"So how easily our rings could be destroyed, there are just gold bands." Hermione was still in her research mode, which Harry hadn't see in her for a long time.

"Thanks to sorcery beyond your current understanding, they can be only destroyed in the same place they were forged." The Nazgul said with a supreme tone in his cold voice.

After that came a list of things they would need to watch out for, which wasn't much. Followed by that was another lecture in history.

As Harry gazed from the tower of Minas Morgul at the dark and desolated valley below strong winds tore at his robes making them billow menacingly, he couldn't help but wonder... What chance did they have to break away from Sauron's rule, a being that was thousands of years old and apparently had celestial origins? Slim, was the best answer.

"Harry, we need to get going." Hermione said rising from her throne made of black marble. He had one too, here at the top of the white tower of the cursed city. They weren't as heavily detailed as Sauron's, but they did show their status. He nodded his head and they started their long descent from the top to the Witch Kings chamber.

When they arrived the saw more than a dozen orcs were inside. Their teacher emerged from on of the side entrances.

"They are here for your sword practice." He said and mentioned for Harry to come forth, he also gave him a regular long sword, the likes normal Nazgules were using.

And so it begun. It would be half an hour of fighting, and after that Harry would switch with Hermione so he could observe and another switch, and another... One thing they quickly learned was that orcs fought dirty. So they had to learn the same tricks. As neither of the two fought with a sword before the orcs scored many hits in the beginning, more or less dangerous for a normal human being that is. It took them weeks before they grasped the basics, months before they fought equally with their opponents as the Witch King wasn't so kind to point out their mistakes often.

One day Harry was fighting one of the better skilled orcs when one strong hit cut through his left armored glove cutting off his fingers, on one of them was his ring. As this happened he let out an ear piercing inhuman screech, he instinctively reached for the ring even thought the pain that wracked his being was immense. He grabbed it with his right hand, dropping the blade he was holding, just in time before he lost physical shape he put it back on his right index finger. The pain stopped, his lost fingers and armor parts reformed. Harry admired the ring for a second before the air in the chamber become cold, he screamed or rather shrieked in that inhuman voice causing the orcs to panic and flee. He reached for the dropped blade and gave chase after the beings he hated so much. What followed was a massacre, when he stopped all of the orcs present for the practice fight were dead and they numbered in well over dozen. It was a good thing he had that helmet as involuntary a smile of twisted satisfaction formed on his face, or whatever was left of it.

Hermione stood speechless through all of it, multitude of emotions going through her head in the end she felt contempt. Slowly she made her way to Harry, whose blade dripped with the black blood of orcs.

"You're alright"? She asked with concern in her voice.

"Yes." Was his cold answer.

"Do you regret this"? She asked waiving her hand at the bodies.

"No... It was such a great feeling, revenge..." She could hear some kind of fulfillment in Harry's voice. "And you know what? I wouldn't mind killing more of these fuckers..."

Hermione was torn. On on hand she felt the same way. On the other hand, did she had to become more of a monster that she already was? And then she remembered... Those visions of their stay in the dungeons were still fresh in her mind.

"We will need new practice... partners." She told the Witch King who silently nodded and headed out into the city through the main double doors.

"No one is to know about this Hermione." Harry said as he dropped the blade yet again. She nodded.

Not ten minutes later a new group of orcs entered, they looked rather uneasy seeing their comrades dead bodies but didn't voice it. Hermione moved towards them and the fight begun at the Witch King's signal. She used the same technique she thought Harry must have used. She let her hatred to the orcs fill her. It was a surprise at how easy it was to cut them down without remorse. When she finished the last orc she turned to see the two other watching her intently.

"What"? She asked with a bit of insane joy in her voice.

"I think your sword training is at its end after those seven months. You can go rest now." Was the only thing the Witch King could have said.

When they were back at the top of tower under those black clouds, they sat on their marble thrones and looked at the valley.

"For a while there I thought you were going to draw your cursed blade" Hermione asked turning her head to look at him.

"I was but I realized it would be a waste"

"How so? You know... You still didn't told me why you are so unwilling to use it." That question was nagging at her for some time now and there was no better time to ask this.

"When I touched the hilt on the day it was created. Some knowledge concerning the blade just... came to me. This blade contains the power of the one spell that marked me more deeply than anything else in my life, the Avada Kedavra curse. The blade is like the curse it can hardly be blocked, it would just pass through any obstacle short of a weapon blessed by Valars like it wasn't there and one strike is enough to kill. But there is more to this, it kills the body and soul and that uses some of my energy so I would tire faster if I fought with it alone. And should I desire it, the blade could be also used like a Morgul Blade like the ones Witch King showed us, the ones cursed to create servants for us. But my version of the curse spreads slower and is more difficult to heal, it also requires from me to later reform the blade... which would consume large amounts of my energy. It also appears that the blade powers are ineffective if used against me, as it was formed from my magic. So you see, it's rather that I don't want to waste my energy than anything other." Harry was telling all this slowly, all the time looking at Hermione.

"Useful ability, but not cost effective. I can understand that, but still... killing a soul? A bit unsettling." Was all that she said, she kind of expected something like that to be truthful.

After that silence has fallen between them as both contemplated today's events. Both of them came to the same conclusion, they would not escape the darkness and hatred that came along with serving Sauron so they should learn to tame it and use it rather that let it use them.

About a week later Harry and Hermione were in the archives of Minas Morgul. They where there with the Witch King.

"In here you will find many scrolls and tomes about sorcery of our world. You will see that our sorcery is mostly dependent on will power and not incantations, those are needed only for the most powerful sorcery. Our Lord has a theory, that branches of your magic that are more intent and will power based will work to some degree in Middle Earth. But the one you call... Charms will not work at all." As he talked he started going deeper into the archives until they reached steel door, he opened them an went inside. They followed naturally.

What they saw was a great stone sphere hanging from a massive chain in a circular room.

"First exercise, you must move the pendulum and then stop it as smoothly as you can manage. I have heard that the cursed blade you have have been created with sorcery. Don't think highly of yourself in this discipline then, the foul magic that helped create the blade was buried deep in your soul and now its gone, I felt it fading. Get started and don't come out till you mange it." Most of his words were directed at Harry and when he finished talking he left them alone.

"This shouldn't be that difficult." Stated Harry and pointed his right hand at the stone. He concentrated on wanting to move it... Only for it to smash with staggering force and a loud crashing sound into the opposite wall leaving a net o cracks in it. The stone was somehow intact.

"I change my mind..." he sighed and stopped the flow of energy. The pendulum started swinging from wall to wall. He could heard Hermione chuckling lightly.

"You find it funny? Lets see how you do at it."

"Allow me then..." She said with her best superior ton in voice she could muster and tried slowly stop the pendulum, only for it to stop dead in mid air.

"This could take a while." She admitted.

R&R Please

I wrote that it will be a slow update, but I was in the right mood and felt extra motivated from the interest the stats showed this story had. Don't get accustomed for so frequent updates. Chapter 1 is going to get a punctuation overhaul before next chapter is released anyway.

So a time line is set, at lest for those that know the history of Middle Earth, more precisley Aragorn's history.