Chapter Four

Rivendell

Lord Elrond welcomed Boromir quite readily and sent him off with his sons Elladan and Elrohir to find Boromir some accommodations before turning his attention to Raumoquildeo who stood patiently waiting. "I do not know you." Elrond said slowly, his eyes carefully studying the slender youth before him. "You are a man, but you have the feel, the aura of one of the Istari."

"I am both man and Istar. I was raised by Alatar and Pallando after they found me admist the Shooting Stars. They send me now to join Olorin in their place. They are unable to leave the Eastern lands lest a great force rise up from there to join Sauron. There have been many necromancers defeated recently, and many armies disbanded."

Elrond looked at him sharply. "Those are names I have not heard in an age. And admist the shooting stars? I wonder …"

"They believe that I am the one of which the prophecy spoke. I know that's part of why they have sent me. Middle Earth cannot fall to Sauron's evil!"

"Indeed not young one, indeed not." Elrond paused and for a moment he looked every one of his 6000 plus years. "What a time we've come to see when we send but the barest of youths to defend us." Raumoquildeo considered taking offense, he was 16 after all, but he knew that to an elf 16 was practically still an infant. Instead he waited patiently and was soon rewarded with a shake of Elrond's head as he pulled himself from his musings. "Come along vinyamo, lets get you to Mithrandir. He'll know what to do with you."

As it turned out Olorin had known exactly what to do with Raumoquildeo. Or at least he had fakes it really well, which was Raumoquildeo's take on the situation. Within moments of meeting Gandalf, as Raumoquildeo had been firmly ordered to call the elderly man, Raumoquildeo had been whisked off to meet his first hobbits. He had heard of the small people before, Alatar was nearly as enamoured of them as Gandalf appeared to be, but there were no longer any hobbits living in the Eastern part of Middle Earth. His first impression was that they were rather delicate creatures but he knew from his papa's stories that that was far from true. Hobbits are actually quite sturdy little folk and as steady as they come. They were great favorites of the Vala Yavanna and very much in tune with the earth. Gandalf left him chatting with Samwise Gamgee about some of the local botany after giving Raumoquildeo a time and place for his "debriefing."

Back on Midgaard: The council of the Order of the Phoenix

Albus Dumbledore looked at his council of war, known to many as the Order of the Phoenix, and braced himself to give them bad news. He preferred to be the kind, grandfatherly figure but right now that kind old man was gone, instead a grim, somber one stood before them, though his robes were as flashy as ever. He quite liked the effect of the gold stars twinkling on the red brocade background. "What young Neville said was unfortunately quite true," he said solemnly into the silence. "Voldemort is indeed back." He watched as the faces of the people around the table went grey with the shock of hearing that the deadliest Dark Lord in centuries had returned from what they had believed to be his ultimate defeat some fifteen years before.

"How about Harry?" Remus Lupin demanded hoarsely. "Have you found Harry yet?" The sad look on Albus' face was all the answer that Remus required. His pup was still missing and now they needed him more than ever.

"How did the Dark Lord return?" Severus Snape's silky baritone held a measure of fear as he asked the question. He knew that with Voldemort's return he would be forced into spying again and that sort of stress was not something he was looking forward too. Playing a double agent was risky business and Severus had gotten sort of used to his less risky lifestyle.

"I have my suspicions Severus, but no real answers at the moment." Albus' voice held a tinge of regret that he couldn't provide the dark man with any more answers than that. He knew what he was going to ask of the man was unfair but he had to do it. For the greater good it had to be done.

"How can we be sure that the Potter boy isn't dead?" Demanded Alastor Moody, Head Auror and longtime friend of Albus Dumbledore. "I say we should be focused on training the Longbottom boy and not on trying to find Potter. There has been no trace of him for fifteen years. Not a rumor, not a hint of magic performed. No one that famous can hide that well. Someone should know or have seen or have heard something by now."

Remus gasped in pain at the blatant accusation that his pup might be dead. Severus echoed it but his gasp was born more from horror. "Longbottom is a menace," he snarled. "Potter has to be alive, I refuse to accept otherwise."

Albus intervened before a fight could break out amongst his council. "The fact that Voldemort has returned means that he must be alive Alastor. The prophecy wouldn't let it be otherwise. '… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…' Voldemort hasn't died so Harry can't have either. We just have to find him." Albus could tell from the looks around the table that not everyone gave the prophecy the same credence that he did but he was fine with that, so long as they helped him to find Harry.

"Just have to find the boy he says," muttered Severus. "As if it was that bloody easy. If it was that easy we wouldn't be having this little conversation now would we?" The other people around the table chuckled as Albus glared at the Potions Master before changing the subject back to the movements of Voldemort and his pack of dogs known better as the Death Eaters.

Translations:
Vinyamo: youngster

Mithrandir: grey pilgrim or grey wanderer; Sindarin name for Gandalf