Disclaimer: I own the plot, though I apologize if it's been done before. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.
There and Back Again
Chapter 7: Conversations
By Jess S
Hogwarts: Room of Requirement
"Reppuli!"
Harry jumped backwards a short distance, in order to give himself more reaction time, before waving his own wand and shouting, "Propulso!"
A wave of glittering, white light burst from the end of his wand to intercept the wave of terra cotta energy that Violet had sent at him a scare moment before.
The collision resulted in a burst of pale orange light, before both waves disappeared. Leaving the air clear once more, though it hummed with power.
"Consis-" Violet began, but Harry was faster.
"Constituere!" He shouted, flicking his wrist sharply before sending the spell right at her, in the form of a bolt of grayish-light.
The elf attempted to shake off the effects of the irresolution spell, waving her wand slightly, like he'd taught her, to erase the presence of the spell she'd begun casting, so that it wouldn't interfere with her present spell.
Harry shook his head, smiling slightly, before waving his own wand again and pointing it directly at her once more, murmuring, "Expelliarmus..." quickly followed by a waved cushioning charm to break her fall, and a direct summoning charm, to seize her wand. Once he held her wand in his hand, he walked over to her, raising an eyebrow at her as she watched him from her position on the floor.
"Lavnin," {I yield,} Violet ceded, after a moment's silence, smiling slightly.
Harry returned the smile, while offering a hand to help her up. " Mae dagor le," {You fought well,} he told her, "ta ena tana voitele iolwen o dîn înle anwale minda, ve ta tulka poldore o kuru lîn, ar ve ilaike o kuruen lîn, atta-luume." {it would seem that having a wand directly suited to you really does matter, as it increased your magical ability, as well as the effectiveness of your spells, two-fold.}
"Uma," Violet agreed, still smiling. "Ta na stalenath ana veru o sina olwen..." {It was much easier to fight with this wand...} she nodded her thanks as he returned her wand to her.
"Ná noole." {It makes sense.} Harry nodded, appearing thoughtful. "Ollivander quetta le ilvoro sanga iveru entulesse onaan kuruvar olwenn veðe caro lîn..." {Ollivander did say that you'll never get the same result with another wizard's wand as you will with your own...} He noted as he held the door out into the main room for her.
"Hannon le," Violet nodded, "Anwa..." {True...} but then she stopped, frowning.
"Man ra ná?" {What is it?} Harry asked.
"Lasta," {Listen,} she replied, nodding toward the door.
Harry frowned, but did as she directed, and after a moment's silence, he too, could hear voices coming towards them, voices that sounded an awful lot like Ron and Hermione. "Dan (ta/yana) uume ta sanda," {But that doesn't make any sense,} he murmured, "mankoi tae na-" {why would they be-} he stopped as his eyes landed on the nearby clock. "Ne i Vala!"
Violet also turned to the clock, her frown deepening, as she saw that it's hands read seven fifty-one. "Takena menvoite verule ando taare noa man..." {It seems we were practicing longer than we had thought...}
"Ná yeeta," {So it appears,} Harry agreed with a sigh. He then turned regret filled eyes to her. "Im naikele, meles, dan-" {I'm sorry, but-}
"Hanya nin," {I know,} Violet nodded, "Maure nin tana uumea." {I need to be invisible.} she smiled, quickly stepping forward to place a gentle kiss on his cheek, before stepping away. "Alma mart, melme nin." {Good luck, my love.}
Harry nodded, smiling slightly as she headed for one of the side rooms. He didn't doubt that his new 'students' wouldn't catch her. He knew her far too well to ever think of that... So it was with a sigh that he turned to make his way over to the door, to greet his childhood friends...who were still children.
~ * ~
Elves, being immortal, are known to possess a considerable amount of wisdom, for it comes with experience and the passage of time, as does patience. The last was rather fortunate, for a lesser being, one that does not (possess) such a quality, would have given up long before now...
Rúmil and Camthalion Míriel continued to push onward. Day by day, their search continued, much as it had done throughout the past four-and-a-half weeks. [AN: I changed Elrohir's name (to Rúmil) because of all the confusion it was causing]
In that time, the brothers had seen many things. Some of which they were familiar with, others they knew only through the tales Elerossë (Harry) had offered them, some from his own experience, most from his books.
Tiny, winged creatures with bright blue coloring matched their friend's description of _ Pixies. Which proved to be just as devious as the wizard had described them.
Angry Centaurs, creatures that were half-horse and half-man, patrolled much of the forest nearby the Wizarding School. The twins had been careful to avoid confronting these creatures when they'd passed through that area of the forest. For the hoofed-sentries' anger seemed to be directed, for the most part, toward the Wizarding world, which Harry, their friend and leader, was a part of.
Poltergeists, ghosts, hags, zombies, ghouls and vampires were among the beings that they found haunting the forest. While werewolves, kappas, grindylows, red caps and manticores roamed continuously in search of prey.
In spite of all these perils, and the wonders, such as the numerous unicorns they'd had the pleasure of encountering, they had yet to find any traces of their own kindred.
"Tornnin, cennin naan onna amtoi...." {Brother, I see another creature up ahead...}
Rúmil turned to look in the same direction as his brother, "A?" {Oh?}
It took him only a moment to spot it himself. It was an extraordinary creature, though somewhat alarming, with the body of a lion of substantial size, with massive clawed paws and long golden tail that ended in a cluster of copper hairs. The creature's head, however, was that of a human. The overall affect was such that it appeared that a lady with the body of a feline, was watching them with pale blue eyes, shaped like almonds, set it slightly tanned skin.
Wary of her great claws, the elves approached her. They knew what she was, Harry had told them all about sphinxes and their riddles. But, at this point, they needed all the help they could get...
"You search for the Havens of this world?" the sphinx murmured, her eyes twinkling mysteriously.
"Yes," Rúmil nodded, bowing slightly to the creature, while his brother did the same. "Might you help us, lady?"
"My kind are guardians...and this is my secret to guard." The sphinx replied, "Answer my riddle."
"Your riddle?"
She nodded, "Answer on your first guess, I will offer you my aid. Answer wrongly, and I attack. Remain silent, and I will let you walk away from me unscathed."
The elves glanced at each other, before nodding in understanding.
"May we hear your riddle, lady?"
The sphinx smiled mysteriously, "Of course..."
~ * ~
It wasn't until well past the pre-set time that the meeting was ready to begin. It wasn't surprising, really. In retrospect, they should have expected the sheer awe the rooms would induce. The Room of Requirement had modeled the chambers that Violet lived in and they now sat in after both Imladris and the Golden Wood. As the other witches and wizards had never seen an Elven city of any sort before, they were more then a little impressed.
"What is this place?" Angelina Johnson asked after a short, somewhat uncomfortable pause, as everyone continued to stare around them awe present in their eyes no less than it was in her voice.
They were seated in Violet's dining room around a gigantic and beautiful table that, to both Harry and Violet, looked as though it had been made of the extraordinary wood that could be found only in Lothlórien.
"This," Harry replied with a small smile, "is the Room of Requirement."
"Room of Requirement?" Hermione repeated, frowning. After a moment she shook her head, "It wasn't in Hogwarts, A History…. I looked through it again, after you mentioned that name..."
Harry offered a small laugh, shaking his head before he replied. "It's only one book, 'Mione, I'd be very surprised if it held even half of Hogwarts' wonders in it." He held her confused gaze for a few short moments, before looking around at the others. "The Room of Requirement has always been here, some of you may have found it before…. It appears whenever needed, and offers whatever the person that seeks it requires."
"Convenient…" Cho Chang offered after a moment's silence, smiling softly.
The Boy-Who-Lived returned the smile, nodding slightly as he continued. "Yes… One of the House Elves told me about it…. Although, now that I think about it; I think I heard Professor Dumbledore talking about it during the Yule Ball, last year."
"I think we've been here before, too," one of the twins offered, turning to his double. "Remember, in third year?"
"Oh yeah!" the other nodded, smiling slightly. Seeing the expectant looks the others were sending their way, he continued. "We were hiding from Filch…. He almost caught us that time when we were out after hours, but we hid in here…" he looked around. "I seem to remember it being quite a bit smaller, though…"
"Yeah," the first twin nodded, "it was a broom closet…. A rather small one, too…."
The others laughed slightly at this, undoubtedly picturing the two of them wedged up in a tiny broom closet, before they once again turned expectant looks to Harry.
"Shall we begin, then?" Hermione asked.
"Begin?" Harry raised an eyebrow slightly, "I should think we're well past the beginning." At her reproachful glare, he smiled slightly. "Alright, alright…We shall begin again, then." After a few moments of thought, he raised an eyebrow at them. "Well, I suppose we should start with questions. Anyone?"
After a few hushed moments, his patience was rewarded with an outburst of repressed inquiry.
"What are we—"
"How do we—"
"How do you—"
Harry raised a hand, somewhat unnecessarily, as everyone had basically all ready stopped abruptly in their sentences, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "Ok, then, now I see why teachers usually don't do that," he smiled as everyone began to relax slightly and reddened cheeks slowly faded to their natural skin tone. "Why don't we try that again? We'll just go around the table, to make it easier. Ron, do you have any questions?"
The youngest of the Weasley brothers, obviously not overly pleased with the attention, was a little redder then usual as he replied. "No, not really…I mean, aside from what we're going to be doing, but I figured that you'd probably be answering that anyway…."
"No," Harry smiled slightly, "it's a good place to start…. Although the answer is quite a bit more complex then you might think…" He sighed, leaning back in his chair slightly as he mulled over his answer. After several moments of silence, he finally replied. "Well, for starters, this will be a sort of study group. Umbridge isn't teaching anything worth knowing, so we'll have to work around her…. Secondly," he sighed, looking around the room. "I know that most of you don't believe that Lord Voldemort is back… Like I said before, in the Leaky Cauldron, I'm not going to be wasting my time trying to convince you of something you'd rather join the Ministry in hiding from. But, I would like to also open this to helping the fight against him." He raised a hand to forestall the comments he saw coming, and continued. "You are, by no means required to join in this effort, and may instead simply remain part of the study group. I won't hold it against you if you decided to not join. That's your choice. But it's a choice that you have to make. You can't turn to anyone else to make it for you."
"But we can't do anything!" Everyone turned to look at Marietta Snitch, the other Ravenclaw girl that was sitting besides Cho Chang. "Even if You-Know-Who is back, the Ministry will handle it! We can't do anything, we're just kids!"
Harry smiled raising an eyebrow, "You're right. As long as you think like that, you won't be able to help anything, you will be nothing more then a mere child. But that, as I said, is your choice."
"And you expect us to make this decision without any proof that You-Know-Who really is back?" Zacharias Smith demanded sharply.
"No," Harry replied, meeting the (much) younger wizard's eyes. "You have my word, and Professor Dumbledore's. You have Cedric's dead body. And you have everything else that the Ministry's been hiding, if you look for it. Beyond that, I can offer nothing more." He stopped suddenly, looking towards the door.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, as she and many of the others tried to figure out what had so readily grasped his attention. "What is it?"
"Someone else is here," he told her quietly, rising to his feet with a grace that the 'other' teenagers in the room couldn't help but envy.
A moment later the door that led to the entrance hall (as the others had dubbed it) swung open.
"So now you're starting an official fan club, Potter?" Malfoy's sneer seemed to be crossed very closely with a smirk. "Oh but wait," now it was definitely a smirk. "You can't start clubs without Professor Umbridge's permission! ... Is our dear Inquisitor aware of this little gathering, Potter? Somehow, I doubt it?"
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked quietly, as emotionless and calm vocally as he appeared to be physically. Quite a contrast to many of the others, whose reactions ranged from both nervous to frightened, and agitated to furious.
"Well, Scar-face, I heard about your little plans…" the Malfoy began, his patented 'Malfoy smirk' widened slightly as several scared looks were directed towards him. He knew what they were afraid of. He could see to it that they were expelled for this. All he had to do was tell Umbridge... But that wasn't why he was here. He probably wouldn't have bothered coming here if he did plan on going straight to Umbridge. That was just asking for a fight, with rather bad odds. Perhaps Potter actually knew that, which would explain how he'd managed to keep his face expressionless... Then again, Potter had been rather out of character since the beginning of the year, anyway...
"What are you talking about, Ferret?" Weasley snapped, the tips of his ears reddening to display his irritation.
Seeing as he wasn't going to get a reaction out of the Gryffindor, whom he still considered his rival, he continued. "How dumb do you think I a, Weasel? Even if your housemates don't mind worshipping Potter's bloody scar, you certainly couldn't get anyone from the other houses here for that!" he snapped, bring his a silvery glare down on the redhead.
"I dunno," Ron snorted, "Ferrets and snakes tend to have small brains, don't they?"
Malfoy didn't bother reacting to that, even though it was rather good comeback from a Weasley... But he couldn't compliment an enemy, now could he? Instead, he turned his attention backed to the leader of the group. "Look Scarface, as much as I may agree with some of Umbridge on some things, her classes are boring as hell, and they aren't going to help me O the O.W.L.s."
It appeared that, again, Potter was the only one affected by this comment. Everyone else was gaping at the Slytherin Prefect in obvious shock.
It wasn't Potter, however, that broke the silence. He just continued to gaze at Malfoy with vivid green eyes while his red-haired friend took over. "Then why do you suck up to her all the time?"
The Slytherin raised an eyebrow aristocratically. "It might do you some good to notice, Weasley, that sucking up is the only real way to stay on her good side. And, in Umbridge's case, you can earn a lot of privileges by doing so…" he told him, speaking slowly, as though to a child. Although, he probably wouldn't wear his arrogant sneer if he were addressing a child, that'd only scare them, and result in a headache for him, no doubt. He losted the 'little child' speak when he turned towards Potter, his sneer fading slightly as he met the other 'boy's' gaze with his own, challenging one. "Wouldn't you wish you had those, Potter?"
"So," Hermione cut in when it appeared Harry didn't intend to speak, still. "You want us to believe that... you want to join us?" she asked Hermione, suspicion evident in her tone.
"If you must phrase it so mundanely, yes."
"Sod off, Malfoy!" Ron half-shouted, his ears now bright red with the famous Weasley temper. "We don't need your help anymore than we want to help you!"
"It doesn't matter what you want, Weasel." Malfoy told the redhead, his expression taking on a darker, more dangerous quality. "Quite the contrary, you need me. Unless, of course, you want Umbridge to hear about what the lot of you are up to? I'm sure she'd be delighted to hear of it... After all, she's been telling everyone in my house to keep our eyes and ears open for anything of the sort. Seems she's heard gossip, but nothing she could make much sense of, aside from the fact that a lot of students don't like her class and are thinking of starting a club to learn from instead. That's why she wrote that new rule that was posted this morning, no clubs or anything to the sort, without her approval. Now she can expel you for this."
It was quite fortunate, for the Slytherin anyway, that looks couldn't kill. Otherwise he'd be quite dead. But it only served to amuse him further. He hadn't come here to make friends, after all. He just wanted a proper DADA education... so that his grades this year wouldn't anger his father as previous years' marks had.
"Perhaps," it seemed Potter had finally chosen to speak. "But then again, we could just ensure that you aren't capable of telling her."
Malfoy blinked, his silver gaze snapping back to Potter instantly, calculating. Was the Golden Boy saying what he thought he was? "What do you mean?" he inquired, his voice emotionless.
"There are many ways to do so, Malfoy." The Boy-Who-Lived replied, his tone even, "The easiest, of course, being Obliviation. You can't tell her what you can't remember."
The blonde wasn't quite sure of what to do then. Harry Potter, Dumbledore's Golden Boy, actually sounded like a Slytherin! And not one of those wanna-be's, a real one.
"What's to keep us from doing that, Malfoy?" Potter continued, after several moments of ringing silence.
"Aside from the fact that no one here is capable of that?" the blonde returned with a slightly perturbed sneer, his gray gaze now a bit uncertain. "It wouldn't do you much good. Some one else would find out about this eventually."
"So we could just do the same to them."
"Not if they didn't confront you going before to Umbridge," some of his Malfoy pride was obviously returning. "They may not be interested in gaining anything from you."
Harry raised a hand to forestall Ron's coming protests. "And what might that proposition be? Our sufferance for your silence? Do you really think we'd bother? Especially if there is someone here that is capable of Obliviation?"
"I highly doubt that, Potter. But if you must know, no that is not what I am offering. If I wanted to, I could certainly demand that, as no teenager could possibly cast the Obliviation charm, but that isn't what I'm offering...."
"Well what the bloody hell is, then?!" By this time Ron had gone bright red.
"I found out about this, simply by following the rumors and whatnot. There's nothing to say that someone else won't try the same thing. And you lot obviously have no idea of how to ensure that Umbridge doesn't find out..."
"And your point would be?" Harry inquired, appearing mildly curious as he raised an eyebrow in a way that quite nearly mimicked the blonde's early aristocratic brow.
"My point, Potter, is that you obviously need someone to keep an eye on Umbridge, as well as the people who are most likely to help her, my housemates."
"Are you volunteering to spy for us, Malfoy?" Hermione asked, clearly shocked.
"Again, far more mundane than I should like to phrase it, but true nonetheless." The Malfoy heir nodded, before meeting Harry's eyes once again and raising an eyebrow. "Do we have an agreement, Potter?"
Instead of immediately responding, Harry turned towards Hermione. "May I see the scroll, Hermione?"
Hermione blinked at him for a moment, before nodding and bending down slightly to pull the scroll that all of them had signed in the Leaky Cauldron out of her bag.
Once she'd handed it to him, Harry laid it on the table in front of him and pointed his wand at it. "Adligare Honos ad Licentae Cado," he murmured, tapping the scroll as each word fell from his lips. After he'd finished the scroll possessed a golden aura. As the golden light faded, Harry walked around the table to where Malfoy stood, unrolling the scroll for him to see. "I trust you are aware of the implications of a Wizarding Contract, Malfoy?"
"Of course," Lucius Malfoy's son nodded, apparently having gotten over the fact that his rival could cast one of the most powerful contract-binding spells in existence.
"Then sign."
"There's no contract, Potter, I'd be an idiot to sign without knowing what I'm signing." The Slytherin replied, watching the Gryffindor closely.
"The scroll simply binds you to the oral agreement we're making. You may join us, under two conditions. Firstly, nothing you hear in this room or with regards to this group may be repeated outside of it. And secondly, as you've offered to serve as the group's espionage agent, that is also part of your part in the contract. Do we have an agreement?" Harry asked, offering the Slytherin a quill.
After a moment, Malfoy accepted it, nodding ever so slightly as he took the scroll from his Gryffindor rival, placing it atop one of his books to sign it.
And now, the 'DA', as it had yet to be named, thirty Hogwarts' students bound to it, Draco L. Malfoy, being the most recent addition to the group.
~ * ~
"That must be annoying," Bill Weasley offered after Professor Dumbledore finished informing the Order of the Phoenix of the situation at Hogwarts. "Having someone who's both a spy and an idiot nearby all the time."
Even McGonagall nodded in agreement to that statement, along with the other members of the Hogwarts faculty. She disliked speaking ill of her co-workers, but Dolores Umbridge was an entirely different matter.
"It is indeed," the Headmaster agreed with a weary sigh. After a moment he shook his head before looking around. "And what have the rest of you to report?"
"Nothing at the Ministry, I believe," Kingsley Shacklebolt replied, shaking his head when the other Ministry members, Emmeline Vance, Arthur Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks, nodded in agreement.
A heavy silence hung around the room as the Order's members sat in contemplation. It was indeed a predicament they were in. Not only did they not know what Voldemort was up to, as he hadn't made any move as of yet, they also had the Ministry working against them. Fudge was determined to make their leader look like an idiot and have all of his followers disgraced. Not something you'd expect to be the fate of some of the greatest heroes of the age.
"What about Harry?" the silence was broken by one of the youngest members of the assembled group, and the only one with bright-pink, spiky hair.
Several people blinked at that, startled out of their reveries.
"Pardon?" Dumbledore inquired, turning his somewhat dimmed gaze to the young Auror.
"Harry," Tonks replied, looking around at all of them. She threw up her hands when all of them stared at her. "Merlin's beard! Don't tell me none of you have been watching him!" She demanded, looking around at the Hogwarts faculty present.
"And why, pray tell, would we need to pay attention to Potter?" was the Potions Master's silky reply.
Tonks didn't bother trying to focus her glare on him for long, instead shaking her head to turn her attention to the rest of the group. "For Merlin's sake! Just a few weeks ago you lot were going on and on about how different he was! Hasn't anyone thought to watch him in school? To see if he's changed in the way he acts around his friends? In class? Towards schoolwork? Anything?"
After several moments' silence, Professor Flitwick nodded. "Mr. Potter's skill in Charm's work increased considerably over the summer..."
"As has his skill in Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall agreed, nodding. "When I asked him about it, he said he'd decided to follow up on Miss Granger's advice and 'study a bit in' his 'spare time'."
"Is he really that much better?" Sirius asked curiously, "I mean, if he had decided to read up a bit on things, he obviously would've improved."
"Yes, but that's just it." McGonagall shook her head, "he's better than that. Almost too good, considering his previous record... And, honestly, it seems like he's holding back..." She then turned her attention to the unusually silent (at least where the son of James Potter was concerned) Hogwarts' Potions Master. "Don't you agree, Severus?"
Professor Snape glared at her, "I have no idea of what you mean."
"Oh yes you do," McGonagall snapped, clearly having wanted to yell at him for some time. "He deserved an O on that assignment and you know it! Just because you don't like him doesn't give you the right to give him an E on an O paper!"
"I hardly think that a Transfigurations Professor is an appropriate judge for Potions work," Snape replied coolly. "And there were errors in that paper."
"Yes, two grammatical errors and one debatable error, which you only found after reading over the paper ten times!"
"So he has improved in Potions as well, Severus?" Dumbledore cut in, clearly more amused by the bickering between the two House Heads than he was concerned about fair grading. After all, Severus may be harsh when it came to grading (especially when it came to Gryffindors), but he was fair...usually.
"Considerably," the Slytherin Head replied, obviously not pleased by the fact.
The Headmaster shook his head, smiling slightly. "Well then, I suppose Nymphadora--"
"Tonks!!!" the pink-haired Auror once again insisted, and was once again ignored.
"--is right and we shall have to keep an eye on Mr. Potter." Dumbledore finished, a slight twinkle having returned to his previously depressed gaze. He then looked around at the School's faculty, "Have you noticed anything else unusual in the student body?"
It took some time, but finally one of them had an answer.
"I have heard a rather interesting rumor," Professor Flitwick offered. Upon seeing the curious gazes sent his way, he quickly continued. "It seems that the entire student body does not like Ms. Umbridge's class..."
McGonagall snorted, "Of course they don't! I've visited many of the other Wizarding schools around the globe at some point in time, and I have never anything as ridiculous as that class she's running! No practical demonstrations or practice! None! In Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
Dumbledore sighed, "Yes, I'm afraid we're all aware of that.... Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyway to change her mind on the matter."
"Of course not," Mr. Weasley snorted, "She's one of Fudge's most fanatical supporters, and he thinks you might train the students to fight against him!"
Everyone shook there head's at that, having already heard of the 'Dumbledore's Army' problem that Fudge insisted existed.
"Yes, well," Professor Flitwick continued, "I happened to overhear, a short time before the first Hogsmeade weekend, a few weeks ago, that some of them were thinking of getting together to study Defense on their own."
Now, everyone else either groaned or was suppressing the urge to do so.
"That explains that last Education Degree she passed a few weeks ago," McGonagall shook her head, "She must have heard the same rumor."
"I bet you Harry's involved." When everyone turned to look at him, Sirius shrugged, "What? It sounds like something he'd do!"
"Oh I don't doubt it," Snape replied coolly, returning fugitives glare with an equally dark one.
~ * ~
After a few moments of silence, Malfoy, apparently bored (already) looked around. Then, he blinked, and looked around again, this time more slowly. "What the...?" He shook his head, reaching into his robes to pull something that looked like a silver pocket watch out. But it clearly wasn't a pocket watch, as there wasn't a clock on the inside when he opened it. Instead there appeared to be a tiny mirror, which had a two-digit number, written in green-flame, floating just above it. After looking at the number: 31, he looked around again, frowning.
"What is that?" Dennis Creevey inquired.
"It's an Ab'specularis," Hermione replied, looking at it. "It tells you how many people are within a set distance from the own--"
"And it says that there are a total of thirty-one people in this room," the Slytherin cut in, as he looked up again. "And I only count thirty."
"Well," Ron rolled his eyes, "it must be broken then."
Malfoy sneered at him, "It's an Argentaria product, Weasley, first class. They don't break as easily as the peon products you're used to seeing. That's assuming see any at all, of course."
"So you're saying there's someone else nearby?" Hermione inquired, looking around nervously.
"No, I'm saying that there is someone else inside this room that doesn't want to be seen, but has been listening to the entire conversation. And they were here before too, I checked before I came in, and in said thirty-one, including myself."
Before anyone could start panicking, Harry waived to a seat that had suddenly appeared on the other side of the table from his own, nodding to it. "Have a seat, Malfoy. Seeing as you wanted to be here so much." He raised a hand to forestall any protests, quickly followed by a challenging eyebrow. "Surely you can stand sitting at the same table as us, if you think you can stand studying with us, you're going to have to."
"Weren't you listening, Potter? There's--"
"Someone else here, I know. Please sit down."
"Harry?"
"Yes?" the Boy-Who-Lived replied, turning to raise an eyebrow at Hermione.
"There's someone else here?"
"Well, I suppose now's as good a time as any..." Harry sighed, before turning slightly and holding out a hand towards where he knew his meles {love} was standing, "Man merne le ilya an omenta sii, melda nin?" {Would you like to meet everyone now, beloved?}
"Valinale," {Gladly,} she replied, removing the invisibility cloak while taking his hand.
~ * ~
Sphinxes were by nature both guardian's and tricksters. Truly cunning creatures that preferred the challenge of using their wit to protect something rather than just there claws. As such, there was always a certain gleam in their eyes when they began one of their riddles. Just as that gleam was present in the eyes of the lady whom Rúmil and Camthalion were now listening to.
"I am inevitable, though not all know me
I can be gained, but cannot be lost
I'm invaluable, yet often cursed
What am I?"
End of Chapter 7.
Translations:
Reppuli - to drive back, drive away
Propulso - to drive back, ward off
Consistere - to (make him/her) fall
Constituere - to (cause) confusion/hesitation/doubt
Adligare Honos ad Licentae Cado - "Bind (to) Honor until Freedom (of) Death"
Ab'specularis - Counting pane
Argentaria - relating to silver or money
Response to Reviews:
Xirleb70 - That sucks. Have you had any luck getting any of the stories (or the novel) back? I know that its hard, but my mom's done it before....
Well, I hope things have gotten a little better. It is the Christmas season, after all.
Darth Kottaram - Thank you...
*Winces* I know, I know. I couldn't find the grading system when I was writing it the first time, but I did go back and change it. Thanks for mentioning it!
Serpent of Light - LOL, yeah, it was a bit of a time filler. But, a necessary one, for some things did need to get done, and, as you said, so they did. *Sigh* I know I could've done better, but sometimes I just have to get a chapter out of the way... This one wouldn't do that. Although, I did like the Harry/Violet scenes in the last chapter... This one was a bit of filler too, sorry. L
Maxennce - Thank you. I'm glad you like it so much. ^_^
LOL, yes, that was one of my aims for this story. I didn't like how immature Harry was in the fifth book. I know that technically, he was just fitting into the role of a real teenage boy...But still... And yes, Umbridge probably wouldn't survive an encounter with any HP fan!
Vicious Lily - Thank you!!! You have no idea how much I needed that list! Thank you! Thank you! And, once again, THANK YOU!
And I'm glad you like the story. Sorry about the wait.
Rayvern - *Sigh* Yes, it is. I just couldn't find that when I was writing the chapter!
Well, yes, it isn't the safest thing to do, but (I figure that) he has to tell someone, and it may be easier to get through to the kids then it would be to get through to the adults. Don't worry, he'll be careful on that... And who said he was telling them what happened to him? I mean, he was almost sorted into Slytherin...who's to say he can't bend the truth a bit. Of course, he can tell the people he really trusts, but sometimes a white lie is easier to believe when compared to the truth.
Yllyana - Thank you, I'm glad you like it so far. ^_^
LOL, yes, thank you. You were right, it's O, E, A, P, D, T. It kind of makes sense anyway. Thanks!
Rachel A. Prongs - LOL, I know what you mean. Thanks ^_^
Lunawolf - Thank you.
Yeah, I know that Dumbledore could (probably) take it, but some of the other adults would undoubtedly have a little bit of trouble with it.... And do you really think that Harry would tell Umbridge anything true, voluntarily? Even the cannon-Harry wasn't that stupid when he was throwing temper tantrums!
LOL, you're not the first one to suggest that. I honestly haven't decided Sirius's fate quite yet. I'm considering both sides of the predicament.
Sorry about the wait...
Star Mage1 -You're welcome.... Sorry for making you wait so long on this one.
Remember what Dumbledore said in the first book? About how fast news (and rumors) fly around Hogwarts? Gossip can do many things... And I don't doubt Umbridge would listen to it.
Wytil - LOL, yes, it is. Thanks! ^_^
Lady Cinnibar - LOL, I'm glad. You're welcome. ^_^
...I couldn't find Marietta's full name when I first wrote that list out, that's why I gave her the last name 'Snitch', because it fit her part in the book. I know here last name is actually 'Edgecomb', but I prefer 'Snitch'.... And as to whether she'll fit that name in the story... *smirks* You'll have to wait and see.
You know the LOTR thing about a bunch of people having more than one name? Well, DA (Dumbledore's Army) will probably be one of them, but it will probably have more, too.
Sorry for making you wait so long. L
Captain Oblivious - LOL, thank you. ^_^
Sure, I'm not an Umbridge fan... *shivers* Now, that's a scary concept... Umbridge fans... Umbridge groupies... No, no, no, no! . . . Anyway, I'm not any of those things, so I'd love to see the poem.
Really? Well I honestly don't see what was wrong with 'Elfin Child', but 'Captain Oblivious' is pretty cool too.
That's a definite maybe.... I haven't decided yet, but it's a possibility.
I'm glad you like this so much. ^_^
And sorry about the wait. L
Hoshi-tachi - That's good. ^_^
LOL, no, you really couldn't jinx it, I just have to see what fits the story better...
And no, you're not the only one who didn't notice the Marietta _Snitch_ thing. I made that up, because it fit her character in the book and I couldn't find her actual name (M. Edgecomb) when I was writing the chapter...
*Smirks* Oh, they'll be back relatively soon. They just have to solve the riddle now! Then they can find the Elven kingdoms of Earth and form Alliances and whatnot...well, maybe... Anyway, they should be back soon.... And you're probably right... Both sets of twins at Hogwarts? RUN FOR COVER!!!
LOL, I'm honored. Thank you. ^_^
ArwenMGranger - LOL, thank you. ^_^
A lot of work. That's all there is to the translations, really. I've just collected a lot of Elvish vocab. and grammar rules, and I just put them together. It can be a lot of fun. But sometimes it's just what it is, work! (Which is why I can be very touchy about them.... When you put a lot of work into something, you don't like to hear trash about it.)
Sarah - Thank you ^_^ ...
1) ...It is still a crossover...
2) You'll have to wait and see :-P
3) There in completely different dimensions, therefore they don't have to be directly linked time-wise.... They probably will be going back, but I don't want them to go back until a certain time on M.E.. Therefore quite a bit of time has to pass...
Thank you, and I'm terribly sorry about the wait!!! L
Jessyka - Don't worry about it. I'm glad you like the story so much, and I hope you continue to do so. Thanks for reviewing! ^_^
Thanks to:
Prd2bAmerican18
Rogue1615
Zombie wolf
Evyominique
Jack4
Angelwings6117
Cataclysmic ^_^
Knot2be
ER
Meamz
Lady Psyche
Gaul1
Szelij
Delphine Pryde
Tsuki no Hime - Thank you very much! ^_^
I'm glad you like the story so much... *still smiling*
Yes, this is AU after all, so there have to be a few differences!
...As to the house of Mandos... I'm not quite sure. I thought that Mandos was basically the God of Death (Or Valar, whatever you prefer), so everyone went to his house when they died... But, looking back on it, that probably isn't true.
LOL, yes, that's one of the things I tend to do a lot. It makes sense reading it aloud, so I don't always catch things like that... Where was it?
Oh, it's no bother. I'm glad you like the story so much to spend this much time on it!
Thanks! ^_^
And sorry about the wait! L
Liedral -
1) Yes
2) ...For the most part, yes. That's why he always calls her 'my beloved'.
LOL, don't worry about it. ^_^
Orome1 - Thank you. ^_^
Lady Serenity, you mean? Oh, it's coming along. V-Star and I are trying to get an update up before Christmas.
1) Soon
2) Yes, it is.
3) LOL, we'll see.
Thanks, you to! ^_^
Shezza - Thank you ^_^
1) ...Wait and see!!! :-P
2) ...Maybe...It's a good idea...
Nyoko - LOL, thank you.
Yes, that would be the point of cliffhangers, but I really didn't mean to make you wait this long, sorry. L
How'd the test go?
Thanks, I'm glad. ^_^
Arianne - *Winces* I'm sorry!!! I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging here this long! L
William Black - LOL, ok, I'll try and make that a little clearer in the future.... The time with Violet he was kneeling, but I think Arwen was just standing on higher ground, and then she knelt down, bringing him with her.
Incensio Lady - Thank you, I'm glad you like it so much. ^_^
Sorry about the wait. L
AN: Hey everyone!
Once again, sorry about the wait! I'll try to update (a LOT) sooner for the next one, but that's all I can promise. Sorry...
Anyway, please REVIEW!!! Help Rumil and Camthalion solve the riddle and find the Elves of Earth!
"I am inevitable, though not all know me
I can be gained, but cannot be lost
I'm invaluable, yet often cursed
What am I?"
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Bye! ^_^
~ Jess S