Chapter Four
Rivendell

To say it had been a long two days would be an understatement. It had been awkward, and borderline terrifying at a few points. The rain had started half way through the first day and it hadn't let up. Asfaloth was doing his best to keep us on the path, and Glorfindel was doing his best to keep me from falling for the most part. We had stopped for a few hours to stretch our legs and have something to eat while resting Asfaloth when the rain had made the path exceedingly difficult to traverse on horseback. So, we were walking. For the most part, I was able to keep us mostly dry. I poked around at the wards from my school to find that I could no longer feel them. I halted in my path, which in turn made Glorfindel stop to look back at me.

"I can't feel my wards anymore," I said, clasping my bag in front of me.

"What does that mean?" he asked coming to me.

"Either we won, and a teacher broke them," I responded, "or we lost, and someone else broke them without me noticing."

"What could have broken them?" Glorfindel asked.

"Well," I started, "Professor Filtwick is a Dueling Champion and the Charms Master, he could easily break any student's wards. Other than him, I don't know, an explosion definitely. If a Death Eater wanted in there badly enough, a ward wouldn't hold back anything past the initial blast."

Glorfindel rested a hand on my shoulder, "Then, we will have to believe that it was this professor, and that those children are safe. We are nearly to Rivendell, don't lose heart now Mithrandir is a powerful wizard, I'm sure he will be able to give you aid once your injuries have been looked over."

I looked into Glorfindel's eyes they were sincere, and carried a worried expression. I was strangely comforted by the pressure of his hand on my shoulder. I looked away and nodded quietly. The two of us continued walking on in silence. There was not much I could do unless I made it back to my school. I had to hope that Ernie had tunneled them out if we had lost, and that they were all safe in the school if we had won. With a stretch of luck, Professor Filtwick would know that I had been the one that cast all those wards, and the other teachers would know that I was still out there somewhere, magically missing, but alive.

It wasn't more than three hours later that we came to the true entrance of the valley. Even in the pouring rain, it was a beautiful sight to behold. I ran until I was ahead of Asfaloth, who whickered when I passed him and stopped at the edge of a cliff. Down in the center of the valley was a large settlement of well-crafted buildings. There were waterfalls, and bridges connecting everything despite the water everywhere.

"The main house there," Glorfindel's voice came from beside me making me jump, "that is where we are going." He said with a smile pointing the building out.

"Wanna get there quickly?" I asked, thinking of something quickly.

Glorfindel gave me an amused look, "that is what we have been trying to do."

"No," I smiled, "Like, instantly? I can apparate there now that I can visualize where we are going… I can't take Asfaloth though, I don't know how to do that."

"You can do that?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, deciding not to tell him that I was unlicensed as of the moment.

"Very well," Glorfindel said, "Asfaloth, return to your stall I will attend to you when you get there."

Asfaloth took off quickly, but happily. I put myself closer to Glorfindel and held onto his arm.

"You might want to close your eyes," I stated, "it always makes my stomach turn when I don't."

I waited for him to close his eyes before I took another look at where we were headed and took a deep breath. I then quickly turned and willed myself and Glorfindel to our destination. With a loud resounding crack, we went from the cliffside, across the valley. When I opened my eyes, I took a careful stock of everything. I luckily hadn't left anything behind, but I wasn't in the spot I had been hoping. Glorfindel was on the other side of the tree laughing.

"How did this happen?" he asked laughing at me.

"I don't know!" I shouted embarrassed, "I must have been concentrating on this tree instead of the ground!"

"Better in a tree then," Glorfindel said looking down, still laughing, "than in the waterfall."

With that he jumped down and out of the tree. I was not as able, I hated heights. I slowly tried to get myself down the tree. I missed my footing on the branch beneath myself and fell. Glorfindel's reflexes were quick, he caught me before I was able to get really hurt from tumbling out of the tree. I clung to him, frightened from the fall.

"S-sorry," I said as he put me down.

I straightened up my soaked uniform. It was clinging to my frame, once we were inside, and there wasn't a chance of getting resoaked, I would use magic to dry us off. Two other men walked up to the two of us. They were both armed to the teeth, and it was like looking at the Weasley Twins, they were so similar that there was no mistaking that they weren't twins themselves. I hid myself behind Glorfindel's bulk and looked at the two of them from behind him.

"Laurefindil," one of the twins started, "were you able to find Estel?"

"And what do you have here?" the other said leaning over to try to see me from behind Glorfindel.

"I was not able to find Estel," Glorfindel answered, "I was waylaid by my young new friend Etoile."

With that, he grabbed my shoulder and brought me out of my hiding place.

"Etoile," he smiled, "These are the sons of Lord Elrond: Elladan and Elrohir."

"Uhm," I stalled blushing, "Hello…"

The two of them bowed to me, unsure of the protocol I bowed back as if preparing for a civil duel. All three men gave me amused looks. I turned my head to look back at Glorfindel, confused by everything that was going on.

"Laurefindil," the one that was called Elrohir started, "there's been a development…"

"…Arwen's run off to try and find Estel herself, we were hoping you had crossed paths with her," the one named Elladan finished.

They were very similar to Fred and George, I realized. I only hoped they were not as partial to pranks as my home's counterparts. Both had their differences though, they were both tall, with long dark hair. Elladan was slightly thinner than his brother Elrohir, but both were well built. Clearly there must be something in these people's food or water supply, because they were both also flawlessly beautiful. What they had said was concerning though, a lady was out in the wilds looking for the person Glorfindel had had to abandon looking for in order to bring me here. I looked at Glorfindel, who looked like he was contemplating what he should do. The twins were looking to him for answers that I wasn't sure he had. I hoped at that moment, that whomever this Arwen was, she had found Estel and that both were safely on their way here.

"The river leading out of the valley is flooding. It would be unsafe for anyone to go looking for Arwen at this juncture," Glorfindel said after a long pause, "worry not, our borders have been safe as of late."

With that, he took my uninjured hand and started leading me towards the large building ahead of us. The twins followed us close to our heels. They must be agreeing with Glorfindel, or planning to search on their own once the rain had stopped pouring. As it currently was, the four of us were getting even more soaked if it was even possible by that point. When we entered the house, I dragged my heels in, stopping us from going forward.

"Let me get us dry," I said pulling out my wand.

I quickly cast a drying charm on the four of us. It felt like standing in the path of a hairdryer, but at least we were all warm and dry again.

"What do we have here?" a voice called out from down the hall.

I looked, there was a tall man that looked like a slightly older version of the twins that were behind me stunned and starring at my wand. Beside him was an old man that reminded me of Professor Dumbledor, he had been the one that had spoken. I thought for a moment, he was also familiar to one of the previous headmasters from Hogwarts. I hadn't been in the Headmaster's office much. The incident in my sixth year aside, I had never really gone into Dumbledor's study before then. That would have made him one of the Headmasters himself, but that was an impossibility I was sure. I tried to remember the name that had been on the plaque Stormcrow or something I thought. I decided I may as well give it a shot.

"H-headmaster Stormcrow?" I asked curiously.

"Headmaster?" he responded, "that is a title I have not heard in a very long time, miss?"

"Brisker," I responded, "Etoile Brisker."

"Found a mirror, in an old room, did you? And decided to poke about it?" he asked smiling, "Hufflepuffs, your curiosity truly knows no boundaries."

"Are you actually Professor Stormcrow?" I asked shocked, "how are you still alive?"

"You will find that time moves quite differently here my dear," Stormcrow responded.

"Gandalf," the other man said, "you two know each other?"

"Oh, not at all Elrond," Gandalf responded chuckling, "but she does require your aid, that looks to be a nasty curse," he finished gesturing to my cursed arm.

So, this was Lord Elrond. He quickly gathered my arm into his hands and unwrapped Glorfindel's careful bandaging. With that, Elrond and Gandalf whisked me away from the other three, leaving them in the proverbial dust. The next few minutes were a blur for me. Gandalf, who instead of a wand used a staff that was taller than he was, was muttering counter-curses and Elrond busied himself with patching my arm back up.

"Lord Glorfindel was able to do most of the healing," Elrond stated after a while, "I am just replacing his bandages. You're very lucky you didn't get an infection."

I didn't respond, I was too focused on the elderly wizard, and the man in front of me. Elrond, had very strange looking ears. They were pointed. He however, didn't look like a vampire, his skin wasn't pale enough and he wasn't giving me that skin-crawling feeling that the last vampire I had met had given me.

Subtlety was sadly not one of my gifts when I blurted out, "what's wrong with your ears?"

For his part, Elrond seemed to take my question in stride, "There is nothing wrong with my ears, I am an elf, as are my sons, daughter and Glorfindel… Did you not notice?"

"No," I responded honestly, "Sorry by the way…"

I was taking the fact that I had travelled with an elf in stride, I hope I hadn't upset him by thinking he was a man the whole journey here. Hopefully elves couldn't read thoughts, I heard Gandalf mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'Hufflepuffs', so I looked at him. For his part, he hadn't changed much from his portrait in Dumbledor's office. I had not gone into the office since Professor Snape became Headmaster, so I was unsure if his portrait was still there or if it had been moved.

"Professor Stormcrow," I started, "can you explain this place to me?"

"Just call me Gandalf dear, I haven't been Headmaster in nigh almost a millennium if I am remembering the time right," he corrected, "as to your situation. How did you come to be here with such a dark curse attached to you?"

'Millennium?' I asked myself, 'How is he still alive?'

"A dark witch named Bellatrix Lestrange, sir," I responded, still wanting to be polite, "I'm a seventh year prefect."

"And what is going on at Hogwarts?" he asked.

"War," I answered, "the school was under attack, and Professors McGonagall and Sprout my Head of House told me to bring the younger students to a safe place."

Both the people in the room shared a look.

"Tell us everything child," Elrond finally requested after a moment, "don't leave any details out."

I nodded, and explained the last year at Hogwarts to the two of them. I had a strange feeling that this would not be the last time I would be asked to do this. I ended my explanation with meeting the two of them, going over the last two days of travelling with Glorfindel. I also told them my fears for the younger students, now that I could no longer feel the wards doing their job. They both looked sympathetic. Out of the two of them, Gandalf looked like he whole heartedly believed me, Elrond was a little more grounded. Suddenly, Elrond stood and wandered to the door to the room they had initially lead me to. He opened the door and his two sons fell through the open portal, Glorfindel stood behind the two of them looking very amused with the situation and the fact that the twins had been caught red-handed. Gandalf looked at me before winking. I shot him a confused look but kept quiet, wanting to see where this would develop.

Glorfindel, stepped over the twins to sit at my side, "how is your arm?"

"Elrond said you did most of the fixing, but it's not infected thanks to you," I responded, holding out the freshly bandaged limb.

"At this point though Etoile," Gandalf started looking very grave, "I must inform you that there is currently no power in this world that could send you back through that mirror. In fact, I'm not sure the thing exists on this side of it."

"How is that possible?" I asked worried.

"Because the trade has been accepted," Gandalf explained, "long ago there were five wizards sent to this world to help it. At one point the Blue wizards of our order disappeared. They had found a way to get to another place entirely. One where time works very differently than here. I had gone with them, and became Headmaster of the school where the mirror let out. Eventually, I came back, the Blue wizards stayed on that side, and now," he paused and sighed, "and now my dear you are here. The trade is equal, now where before it had been unbalanced."

The sting of tears wet my eyes, "What do you mean?"

Glorfindel put an arm around my shoulders and glared at Gandalf, "Mithrandir, she does not need to know this."

"Yes, I do," I responded waspishly, "I'm seventeen and an adult in the wizarding world. I think I have a right to know what Bellatrix and Professor Snape have done to me."

Everyone in the room was either starring at myself or Gandalf. After a long moment thinking, Gandalf spoke.

"There is no way for you to go back through the mirror to Hogwarts," he finally said sadly.

'Don't cry Etoile,' I tried to order myself fruitlessly.

With tears spilling down my face I responded, "at least you're honest."

"There is no point in lying to you. The sooner you know the truth the sooner you can move on with it," he responded, nodding.

With that, Gandalf ushered Elrond and his sons out of the room. Leaving me with a pitying parting glance, the door shut. I was alone with my tears and Glorfindel. For his part, Glorfindel allowed me to cry on his shoulder, holding me tightly. Together we stayed that way long past the point where I had stopped crying and had fallen asleep.

Consider yourselves spoiled, I had no homework this weekend. With that I am truly off to study for some tests... hahahaha no, I'm going to work on chapter five and play Battle for Middle Earth II or more Fallout 4... 'Bongo Bongo Bongo I don't wanna leave the Congo Oh no no no no no~ Bingo Bango Bongo I'm so happy in the jungle I refuse to go~' Civilization by The Andrews Sisters has been stuck in my brain for a month.

A side note, there actually is a portrait of Gandalf in Hogwarts. It appears in Dumbeldor's office in the movie Chamber of Secrets. I decided that the two Blue wizards and Gandalf had once journeyed there and taught students for a time (The Blue wizards were said to have journeyed off to either the far East of Arada and started a cult trying to hunt the darkness and failed their mission given to them by Eru. Glorfindel was also originally considered to be a wizard, but instead he was moved down to their emissary, a thousand years after the fall of Gondolin.) The Blue wizards stayed but Gandalf went back to finish (And let's face it, he's the ONLY one that does his job as a wizard there) the task that had been given to him. It has been decided that this is an equivalent exchange of two wizards for a wizard (Gandalf) and our main character. It made sense in my mind when I wrote it so shall it be here hahaha.

Thank you once more to everyone that Favorited, Subscribed, and Reviewed! Have a great weekend everyone and I hope to be getting another chapter out soon!