A/N: I want to thank all those that voted and/or reviewed; you make my day. I also want to thank those that voted; I actually had to go back and change this chapter to add in Sirius' love interest once the tie was broken. Hopefully you approve.

All spoken language is in Westron unless specified as otherwise.

Enjoy.

Trollshaws, Eriador
August 3, 3018 Third Age

"Wait up brother-mine! We both have to be in position for this to work."

"Shhhh! I know that mine-brother, but we must hurry and be silent if we are to catch them at all."

If one was to wander into the south-eastern part of the forested area known most commonly as Trollshaws at this time, they would come to see a most peculiar sight. Two, what appeared to be, humans with fiery red hair were scurrying along the undergrowth, moving as quickly and quietly as possible, stopping every now and then behind a tree or bush to listen for any sound.

What some may not know is that the two humans weren't quite human, even if they had decidedly rounded ears. On closer inspection, one would notice their similar – well identical really – features. They had pale skin which was covered in freckles; a rarity in these parts. Not to mention their bright red hair which, even in Rohan where red hair and freckles are more common, no one else had ever seen with quite the same intensity. They weren't overly tall, standing at around 5'8; pretty average in human standards. They were more broad shouldered and stocky than elves, but not enough to be classified as bulky. Their hair was cut very short; a style rarely seen on anyone besides hobbits. But despite their human appearance, they had a presence that – besides emitting a sense of mischief – felt…off. Even though they seemed young in both mind and spirit, there was a certain ageless quality to it that would bring elves to mind. And the way they moved was definitely more swift, graceful and silent than any humans could ever hope to achieve. The problem was that no one really knew what to classify them as; they weren't elves but they were ageless. They weren't quite human but they shared the majority of their attributes and abilities. They weren't hobbits but they shared many customs such as hair length and having a surname. They weren't wizards but they have an understanding of magic and had once been able to manipulate magic as wizards do. Most were satisfied by not classifying them at all and simply calling them by their given names: Fred Weasley and George Weasley.

Fred and George Weasley have been residing in middle earth since they inexplicitly found themselves here 450 years ago. They were lucky that they were not the only ones from their world to come; by the time they came Sirius Black, Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin had already been there for over 3 years (8 years in Sirius' case). Therefore they got the benefit of familiar guides to teach them the language and customs of their new home.

They found learning a new language quite difficult; though they were told that they were better than Sirius and Tonks. Sword fighting wasn't too bad except they lacked the finesse to be a good duelist; they preferred to use brute strength not unlike the techniques they used as beaters during quidditch games. For that reason Remus disliked practicing with them, he enjoyed the technical aspects of sword fighting (even though he was more than strong enough to be able to just use Fred and George's techniques), learning more for sport than need. As for Sirius and Tonks, Sirius was the best sword fighter out of them and Tonks the worst. Sirius mixed the twins' style of pure strength with Remus' preference of proper technique, using one more than the other depending on his opponent. And Tonks…well, Tonks and sharp pointy things don't mix. But she at least knows how to sword fight (she should, after having more than 450 years to learn!) when she isn't too busy almost stabbing herself after tripping over something.

Again the twins were of average talent when it came to horseback riding, only being a bit better than Sirius. But even though they weren't the best riders, they still enjoyed riding a lot. They were however the best in archery. Sort of. Tonks was actually the best, not up to level with the elves, but still able to win tournaments against humans. That is if she wouldn't trip over her feet while shooting, or accidentally let the arrow and/or string slip before she's ready, and any number of things that usually happens when she's aiming. What Tonks has in talent, she lacks in consistency. Remus is about average and Sirius is terrible. He'd be of more use running up and facing his opponents five on one with his sword than sitting back and trying to shoot them down.

Another skill they learned was reading. Reading in the languages of Middle Earth that is. Even though most humans don't know how to read in middle earth and they could get by just fine without ever learning, when you have 400+ years to waste, why not?

Besides learning those skills, the twins and their companions spent their time traveling a lot. They enjoyed all the places they visited for different reasons; Minas Tirith was perhaps their least favorite giving a sense of strictness and nobleness. But it was still undoubtedly a beautiful city and there was something about the size, age and twisted paths of the fortress/city reminded them of Hogwarts, so they still enjoyed it. Rohan reminded them of the field behind the Burrow; a wide expanse to fool around and play in even if they were horseback riding instead of flying. Hobbiton reminded them of the Burrow; something was always happening, everyone was family and you lived a simple but happy life. They almost expected their mom to come out of one of the hobbit-holes and call out that supper was ready. The place they decided to stay at after almost 50 years of traveling however was Rivendell. The reason could be summed into two words: Elladan and Elrohir.

Elladan and Elrohir were Lord Elrond's (the ruler of Rivendell's) sons. His identical twin sons. His identical twin sons who were referred to more commonly as the Lords of Mayhem. If that didn't make the red-haired twins swoon, then their gorgeous elvish features certainly did. And to add to their fairytale ending, their courtship (well, dating courtship I suppose since none of the twins really wanted to get engaged or married) consisted of a prank war. Fred and George still sigh happily whenever they think about it.

Fred and George never thought that they'd find two people who complimented them so well. In their home world they only had casual flings or friends with benefits. It was an interesting experience having a serious relationship (well as serious a relationship could be with them at any rate).

The two sets of twins have been dating for around 400 years now. The only problem that others had with the relationship was that nobody except the twins knew how it worked. Did Fred only date Elladan/Elrohir and George only date the other? Do they switch up the twins within the sets so one night George will date Elrohir and the next go out with Elladan? Or was it a giant foursome with any combination dating at any given time?

Most agreed that it was a mystery that was best left unsolved.

Either way, the strange relationship worked and everybody was happy. Well, maybe not everybody. With two new pranksters extraordinaire and pervayors of mayhem living in Rivendell the number of pranks and the originality and complexity of said pranks went way up. Not to mention that the number of successfully foiled pranks plummeted. Which really sucked for Erestor, Elrond's chief councilor and favorite target of the Peredhil twins. Though it did make Glorfindel, his lover, happy because of all the times he got to cheer poor Erestor up. Not that Glorfindel would ever admit to it. He may be brave (he did slay a balrog after all), but he wasn't stupid.

Fred and George were glad that they had changed physically, or they would never have been able to keep up with the Peredhil twins in prank wars (and their pride would be most displeased if that ever happens). Elves are like super-humans; they are stronger, have better endurance and are better at everything really (ex. Archery, singing, etc.). Thanks to the Weasley twins' human bodies merging with that of their animagus forms, they were both stronger (though not as big of an increase in strength as Remus or Sirius), they have a stronger sense of smell (again not as much as Sirius and Remus), hearing (Sirius and Remus still have more of an improvement to their hearing as well) and sight (though it's Tonks that was improved the most in this area).

Before coming to Middle Earth they already knew their animagi forms and had been given Maurauder-esque names by Harry. Both twins are easy-going, ambitious, mischievous, curious, playful and loyal. But just because they have (very) similar personalities doesn't mean they are the same person or have the same form, much to others' shock. George was given the name Mr. Slink after his animagus form of a ferret. Ferrets are very curious, playful and energetic. They get along with anything and are extremely brave and bold. The only problem with ferrets is that their curiosity and lack of fear usually causes a lot of problems and mayhem, even to the point of self-harm (and they say curiosity killed the cat…they've never seen a ferret). George was happy with his form, though he would have liked it more if it didn't remind him of Malfoy. At least he wasn't an albino ferret.

Fred's animagus form was a fox, dubbed Mr. Sly by Harry. Fred was the (slightly) more cautious one of the twins, who usually had a back up plan, or any plan at all really (compared to George's going with the flow and thinking on his feet). Foxes have all the same traits as ferrets but to a lesser extent since their curiosity and boldness are usually tempered by their cunning and cautiousness to get the same results with less danger and effort.

Besides the physical improvements, the twins also found sneaking around and moving silently a lot easier; skills they put to good use.

Currently the red-haired duo was crouched behind some bushes hoping for their other halv-…. err, their other quart-… they were waiting for the Peredhil twins to show. Though they missed the variety of pranks they used to be able to do with magic, they found a thrill in the challenge of making up new pranks of the same caliber as their old ones without the use of magic.

Today's prank was simple but sweet. During breakfast Fred and George drugged Elrohir's and Elladan's drinks with a sedative. Though it didn't cause them to fall asleep, it did at least dull their senses and reflexes so they're more likely to fall for the next stage. Fred and George goaded them with smaller gags and pranks like 'accidentally' spilling food and drink on them, nudging their feet when they walk so they stumble (A/N: when someone's foot lifts up to take their next step, if you nudge it with a small kick towards their other leg, their foot will usually get caught at the bottom of their calf since they're still moving that foot forward to take a step. This will cause them to effectively kick themselves in the back of the leg and stumble. They usually won't fall making this a safe but highly annoying way to screw around with someone. If you're going to try it, remember timing is everything), and every other little thing they could think of to make the dark haired twins seek vengeance on them. Once that was out of the way, the Weasleys led Elladan and Elrohir on a merry little chase until the drugs kicked in and the Peredhils could no longer keep up. In the time given them Fred and George set up a rope trap (A/N: you know those ones in the cartoons and movies where you step in a circle and all of a sudden you're upside down hanging by your ankle? One of those) and sat back to wait. Hopefully the drug was still potent enough that the dark haired mischief makers wouldn't notice the trap and would be caught in it. Once caught Fred and George would knock them out (carefully so no damage was done) and then get on to the main event. They would strip the two half-elven twins, colour their bodies with dyes they stole from the seamstress' stores (was it mentioned that they stole only the brightest and most lurid colours?) and then steal all their clothes and head back to the camp. Hopefully the dye won't come out for a month, though they are certain that it will last at least a week.

Unfortunately the distant sound of rumbling feet and clanging swords drew their attention away from their mischief. They abandoned their trap and went running, drawing out their swords, towards the sound of battle.

When they arrived at the clearing, they saw Elladan and Elrohir fighting 5 orcs while 7 orc corpses lay on the ground. Fred and George didn't waste time jumping into the fray and helping their companions kill the remaining orcs.

"Well hello again to you too, my dear Sly, glad you could make it." Elladan stated while wiping his brow free from sweat.

"Indeed, it wouldn't be the same without you two. Especially after all that effort of making sure the orcs had a decent chance at slaying us due to the drugged water from this morning…" Elrohir continued with a tone that promised retribution.

Fred and George swallowed nervously.

"Well, we are certainly happy to be of assistance. And it looked like you two were holding out quite well all things considered…"

"Why I bet you didn't even need us here at all. You two are such good warriors, you could have beaten them single handed."

"And blindfolded."

"And standing on one leg."

"And – "

George didn't get to finish what he was saying because Elladan and Elrohir took that opportunity to tackle the red heads.

After a few minutes of wrestling and kissing, all four of the twins lay on the ground trying to catch their breath.

"I suppose we ought to head back to camp and send a message that we came across another group of orcs."

The whole reason that the four of them were out here and not in Rivendell was because of the orcs' unexplainable behaviour as of late. Although orcs are always unpleasant and violent, they usually aren't that hard to deal with since they aren't skilled fighters (relying on sheer strength and brutality).

Over the past year, the orcs have been acting oddly. They rarely travel because of their weakness to sunlight, preferring to stay in dark forests and caves. Recently orcs have been traveling from Fanghorn forest to up north towards Rivendell, and to a lesser extent the Shire and Bree. That so many orcs would travel through that great expanse was mind-boggling. And that they get so close to Rivendell were they were outmatched in both number and skill was nothing short of suicidal; an odd course of action for creatures who seem to care about nothing except themeselves, food and violence.

Many teams were sent out from Rivendell to help rid the area from the infestation and to try and to find the cause of this phenomenon. Elrohir and Elladan insisted on being sent out as well despite Elrond's reluctance to allow his sons to come into harm's way. They were 2888 years old, had plenty of experience doing this sort of thing, not to mention a personal vendetta against orcs.

In 2509 T.A., their mother Celebrían, was traveling from Rivendell to Lórien (the home of her parents, Celeborn and Galadriel). While traveling through the Misty Mountains on the Redhorn pass, she was captured by orcs. They tortured and tormented her until Elladan and Elrohir were able to rescue her. Due to the torment she suffered at the orcs' hands, she could no longer bear living in Middle Earth and sailed to the undying lands of Valinor.

Since then the Peredhil twins have taken much pleasure in eliminating as many orcs as possible.

It was only a few weeks ago that the reason for the surplus in orcs was discovered; they were searching for something. Glorfindel was able to overhear a conversation between two orcs arguing about the best plan of action. Though they did not reveal what and/or who they were searching for, the blond elf was able to find out that Saruman was interested in it for whatever reason. Also that the orcs were converging around Rivendell to ensure that the person with the wanted object (or the wanted person him/herself if there was no object) would not be able to seek aid from the elves.

George sighed as he gathered all his weapons and equipments to head back to camp. Obviously they hadn't eliminated all the orcs in the area like they had previously thought, so there would be no more pranks for a while.

Good thing jokes and gags were still allowed.

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Edoras, Rohan
September 9, 3018

Remus sighed as he heard a loud crash from inside the small cottage (which actually wasn't much more than a hut) that was his and his wife Tonks' home.

"Don't worry, I'm alright and nothing broke. But… it is going to take us longer to leave because all your clothes fell out of the bundle."

Remus just shook his head softly and continued to strap on the bag containing the food that would allow them to travel from Edoras to Rivendell without having to hunt too often. Once he was done he headed back into their home to repack his clothes… again. Hopefully he would be able to get Tonks out of the way until it was time to go; as much as he loved her, she always does more harm than good when it comes to packing, cooking, cleaning or just about any household chore.

"Are you sure you don't have anything else to do before we go? Why don't you groom Oro so he's ready for the trip?"

Oro was Tonks' horse, named after her dear friend Orsino Thruston who also happened to be the drummer in her favorite band the Weird Sisters¹.

"I already did that. He's groomed and all set to go. Hey, I know! I can pack the pots and pans. It shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Remus thought frantically for a way to get her to leave until everything was safely packed away.

"Have you said your farewells to Éowyn yet? She'd be heartbroken if you left without saying goodbye."

"Oh no! Sorry Remus, I'll have to help you finish packing when I get back. I want to catch her before her sewing lessons."

Tonks ran out of their house mumbling about pointless lessons that don't really matter all the while.

Even after more than 450 years in Arda, its inhabitants still didn't quite know what to make out of Nymphadora Tonks Lupin. She had the most outgoing and bubbly personality in the world but could also be very outspoken and stubborn. She was a woman but wore her hair shorter than any man (except for Remus, Fred and George). Not to mention the colours her hair usually sports. She was awful at sewing, cooking or any other skill most women have. But she could fight and her horseback riding would put the most boastful to shame. In a world were men were the warriors, workers and leaders and women were usually only house-wives, Tonks just didn't fit.

After all their travels, everyone knew the story of the dimension travelers. But hearing about a world where mortals could perform magic and women fought and died alongside men, and seeing the people of that world were two completely different things.

Most were indecisive towards the situation; they were unused to the idea of a woman having the same duties and responsibilities as a man but accepted that that was how things were in their world, so though uncomfortable didn't really do anything against Tonks. Others saw this as an abomination that went against the natural order of things. They believed that Tonks and her radical ways had no place in Arda. Others saw this as a positive change and encouraged her to continue with her lifestyle and wanted her to help convince other young woman to follow in her footsteps. And of course there were those who were in between one of those three: for example someone who saw women being equal to men as a good thing but didn't want to say anything in fear of being ostracized.

One person who believed that woman should be able to have the same options (like being able to go into battle) as men was the king's niece, Éowyn. She and her older brother Éomer were sent to live with the king when their mother (who was the king's sister) and father where murdered by orcs. The young princess was always free spirited and insisted on being trained in fighting and riding like her brother. When she met Tonks, the two got along famously and Tonks became an older sister, best friend and mentor to the young girl. Whenever both were in Edoras (which was very often) they were rarely seen apart.

Some people uncomfortable with the idea that the princess was so close to Tonks insisted that Éowyn was also given sewing, cooking and other womanly lessons to negate her time spent with Tonks and hopefully steer her towards a more accepted life. Their efforts are so far very much in vain.

Remus hoped that Tonks and Éowyn weren't separated for too long. But it was a likely possibility, especially since Tonks (and Remus himself) wasn't in the king's favor right now and they are being viewed with much suspicion at this point in time.

Perhaps it's better to explain from the beginning. After around 50 years of traveling with Sirius, Fred and George, Remus and Tonks decided to settle down and get married. Remus knew how much Tonks loved Rohan, so he suggested that they make their new home there. Less than a year later they were wed with a home of their own.

But just because they now had a home in Rohan didn't mean they stopped traveling. Remus would frequently go to Minas Tirith to learn how to read and write (the Rohirrim being a nomadic people in origin had little use for reading and writing; they taught history through story-telling). Remus also took every opportunity to peruse the giant and ancient library found there.

Remus often visited Rivendell for the same reasons, except to learn how to read Sindarin instead of Westron and peruse Erestor's and Elrond's library.

They also went to visit the twins and Sirius a lot, or to visit places and/or people they've met during their first 50 odd years in Arda.

Because of Remus' continued journeys from Edoras to Minas Tirith, one day Húrin II, the Steward of Gondor, surprised Remus by asking him to bring a message to Aldor, the king of Rohan, for him since all of Gondor's messengers were busy and he was going back to Edoras anyway. Orcs and Easterlings (men who lived to the south-east of Gondor and Mordor and who served Sauron and Morgoth (Sauron's master)) were attacking the southern Gondorian border and the Steward wanted aid and advice. After he delivered the message Aldor too surprised Remus. He wanted Remus' opinion on the matter since Remus was more knowledgeable of the situation, having just come from Gondor.

Remus advised the king on his opinions and was then sent back to Gondor with the reply and requested aid. Since then, Remus had become both the unofficial liaison between Gondor and Rohan and also an unofficial advisor to the king of Rohan. (The reason that Remus wasn't the official advisor was that he was away a lot and if he was always the advisor for every king (remember Remus is ageless), the ruling family would only see and act upon one person's point of view instead of many individuals' opinions.)

About 7 years ago king Théoden's royal advisor suddenly died in an orc attack while he was out visiting his brother in one of the remote villages in Rohan. Remus was in Gondor at the time and by the time he came back there was a new advisor: Gríma son of Galmod.

At first Gríma was a faithful servant, but over time he changed. First it was small things; Gríma would go off visiting Isengard more frequently for advice, he would listen to others' opinions less and less and would have stricter punishments against those that spoke against him. Gríma affected king Théoden as well; he wouldn't follow Remus' advice as often as he used to, he would try to separate Tonks and Éowyn more and he visited the city and its people less.

A year ago Remus went to visit Sirius while Tonks was going to join Fred and George to a birthday party of some hobbit that they had met over 60 years ago in Rivendell, Bobol or something if Remus recalled properly. (Unlike Sirius and Remus, Fred, George and Tonks frequently visited the Shire and the Hobbits. Like Gandalf, they grew a fondness of hobbits and their simple way of life.) By the time they came back, they could barely recognize their king.

He was weak, far weaker then he ought to have been, even if he was sick. The people were not happy; the king would listen only to Gríma, who was being called Wormtongue behind his back by the Rohirrim. Even without that nickname (which was eerily similar to Wormtail, another reason to distrust him) Remus could see the changes within the country were not for the better. Orcs were attacking the outskirt villages on an almost daily basis without anyone to stop them.

Instead of seeing to the people, Wormtongue would spend his time challenging the loyalty of Remus and Tonks so that the king would stop taking their advice; saying that they were always away and were not born from Rohan and would like nothing more for it to fall. Wormtongue would then continue about how every one was plotting against Théoden except himself and Saruman, to the point where the king began doubting the words of his own family.

Remus and Tonks knew that something wasn't right. They had decided to head over to Rivendell under the guise of another visit to Fred and George, hoping to meet Elrond (and/or Gandalf if he was there) for advice.

Remus could see Tonks and Éowyn exchanging final farewells as he walked the fully packed horses towards them. Éomer, Théodred (the king's son) and Éowyn were the only ones who knew the truth about the reason for their journey. They hope that they could find out what was wrong with their father/uncle. Seeing that everything was ready to go, Tonks gave her young friend a hug, murmuring encouraging words in her ear, and then they both mounted their steeds and were off.

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Great East Road, Eriador
September 21, 3018 Third Age

Sirius rode his horse leisurely towards Rivendell. He had plenty of time before Strider got there (especially since Strider only parted with Sirius to escort the hobbits to Rivendell yesterday). It was amazing how Strider, who Sirius watched grow up, now looked as old as Sirius (not to mention his maturity level in comparison to Sirius').

400 years ago when Remus and Tonks decided to settle down in Rohan and Fred and George made Rivendell their permanent home, Sirius was still restless. Over 50 years, and still no one new came to Arda.

Sirius had never given up hope that Harry could still join them; after all wizards live long lives and as Fred and George said, Tommy didn't seem as inclined to kill Harry as to have him as a slave. Even as time passed, Sirius never wanted to find a home without Harry. He had promised Harry a home, and by God he was going to deliver on that promise.

By the time the others had settled, Harry would have been over 70 years old. Still not too late to join them. And as much as the others would like to convince themselves that they didn't put their hopes too high, he could see the unspoken question each time he visited them and their eyes dulling just a bit more when they saw he was unaccompanied.

Looking back, Sirius never realized how easy it was to waste over 100 years. He wandered around a lot (stopping frequently at Orthanc, much to Saruman's annoyance), learned how to hunt and cook in the wild, how to read Westron and (read and write in) Sindarin (he refused to be the only one who couldn't; Fred and George could because they were dating elves and living in an Elvish land, Remus learned because he was Remus and would rather get stabbed with a rusty spoon than pass on knowledge, and Tonks learned because she thought the language was really pretty. That, and she lived with Remus).

By then, Harry would have been approaching 200 years old. Not many wizards live that long anyway, and even though Harry probably would have (he was very powerful), the fact that he was probably still in Voldemort's clutches would've guaranteed that he wouldn't. Even if Voldemort liked the idea of having Harry as a personal slave, what good was a 200 year old servant? Especially since all those who would remember what significance Harry had in the war and what he represented were all probably dead. Personally Sirius was still surprised that old snake face hadn't killed Harry when Remus and Tonks arrived in Arda.

On July 31, 2744 T.A. (what would have been Harry's 200th birthday) Sirius, Remus, Tonks, George and Fred held a memorial service for Harry and officially moved on.

Sirius now found himself lost. All his plans had involved Harry somehow. What was he going to do with his extremely long life?

He decided to become a Ranger of the North.

It was a perfect lifestyle for him; it wasn't restricting at all, he was free to come and go. It allowed him to form a brotherhood with his fellow rangers, something he's been missing since the Marauder days. (Although he still had Remus, they now had separate lives. Not to mention that Remus was now married). He got to fight the bad guys as he pleased and work with his sword often (even if it was against trolls and orcs).

In 2933 T.A., their company was ambushed by orcs. Arathorn II, the Chieftain of the Dúnedain was killed. Luckily Sirius was able to get his wife Gilraen and their 2 year old son, Aragorn, to safety.

Once at Rivendell, Gilraen asked Elrond to raise Aragorn as his own. She feared that the orcs would try to kill him as they did his father and grandfather if his heritage as Isildur's heir became known.

From then on Aragorn was known only as Estel; the elvish word for 'hope'.

Everyone soon grew to love Estel; he was a sweet child but still bold and mischievous. While the twins (both sets) became brothers to Estel (it was debatable if Estel was the younger or older brother) Sirius became a beloved uncle (not quite a father, but not quite a brother).

At first Remus was afraid that Sirius was using Estel to replace the void that Harry left, but it soon became apparent that Sirius saw Harry and Estel as two completely different people, even though he loved them both dearly.

When Estel turned 20 years old, he was told of his true heritage as both Isildur's heir and the rightful king of Gondor. Estel didn't want to become the king; he liked his life as it was.

It was around this time that Aragorn first met and fell in love with Arwen; Lord Elrond's only daughter. She had been in Lothlórien with her grandparents since her mother left to go to the Valinar.

Estel, who wasn't ready to face his destiny, sought to run away. Sirius, knowing how he felt (Sirius did run away, literally, from his birthright as heir to one of the most influential and rich pureblood families) suggested that Aragorn become a ranger with him; a perfect occupation for someone who doesn't want to be tied down, is a bit lost about themselves but still wants to make a difference. Sirius should know, that's why he joined the Dúnedain.

Aragorn did not only become a ranger, but came into his birthright as the Chieftain of the Dúnedain.

When Aragorn was 25, he met Gandalf the Grey who came to visit Sirius. Aragorn and Gandalf became good friends and under his advice Aragorn and his people began to guard the area around the Shire and its inhabitants. It was from those inhabitants that Aragorn gained the nickname Strider.

Aragorn and Sirius then spent the next 23 years in the service of King Thengel of Rohan and Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor under the aliases Thorongîl and Hûgîl² respectively. Though Sirius was only there to watch out for Aragorn and for support if he needed it, Aragorn got invaluable experience leading and attacking with an army against enemy forces. Estel became a source of hope and strength after his many victories (including personally killing the Lord of the rebel province Umbar).

Perhaps it's best to say why their where enemy forces in such large numbers when no one had seen hide nor hair from Sauron since the end of the Second Age. In 2941 T.A., Gandalf had found out that Sauron wasn't completely destroyed as everyone had thought. No one could find a trace of him, but his influence was unmistakable.

The Witchking (the lead Nazgûl) made the fortress of Dol Guldur in the southern area of Mirkwood forest. It was due to the Witchking's manipulations that Arnor (the country of man founded by Elendil, while his sons Anàrion and Isildur founded Gondor. In its prime Arnor encompassed the whole of Eriador) fell, leaving a scattered people which became the Dùnedain, or the Rangers of the North. The Witchking was also responsible for the increasing number of attacks and invasions towards Gondor.

But the Witchking wouldn't have acted without the orders from Sauron himself, which left the question as to the Dark Lord's whereabouts.

Once Gandalf found out that the Witchking of Angmar who was responsible for Arnor's fall was actually the Lord of the Nazgûl, he along with the elves of Mirkwood, whom he told of his findings, drove him out.

The Witchking then began to reconstruct the tower of Barad-Dûr in Mordor and breed a large army, presumably under Sauron's orders.

After his role as Thorongîl, Aragorn and Sirius went to Lórien, where Arwen was once again visiting her grandparents. While there, Aragorn and Arwen swore their eternal love for each other, Arwen going so far as to renounce her elvish heritage and choose a mortal life to be with Aragorn.

Though Elrond was happy that Estel and Arwen found love with each other (why wouldn't he, he had raised Estel since he was 2 years old and already saw him as his son), he forbade them from getting wed until after Aragorn reclaimed the thrown (which would only happen after Sauron was defeated since Aragorn would not allow Arwen to become a target, as she undoubtedly would if she were to be the Queen of Gondor).

Aragorn was not the only one who reunited with his love in Lothlórien. Well, Haldir would disagree, but since when did his opinion matter? That's what Sirius thought too.

Sirius, being the considerate uncle that he was, allowed Aragorn and Arwen to have their lovey-dovey reunion in peace. Not to mention it gave him time to go hunting after a certain blond haired, beautiful (if a little prissy and stuck-up) elf.

You see, several hundred years ago while Sirius, Remus, Tonks, the Weasley twins and Gandalf were still traveling together, one of the places they visited was Lothlórien, home of the Lady of the Golden Woods. While there, Sirius met the 'charming' marchwarden, Haldir, who guarded the northern borders.

Haldir was tall, blond and graceful. He was very uptight and strict. Sirius saw it as his personal duty to get him to loosen up.

Haldir didn't appreciate his efforts.

But everyone else did. What other reason was there for Galadriel (whom Haldir had respected without fault) to assign him as their guide and escort for the duration of their stay? (Never mind that he was one of the few elves that spoke Westron, there was probably another one somewhere nearby. And Gandalf spoke both elvish and common tongue; he could have just translated for everyone.) Why else did Gandalf conveniently forget an item he couldn't leave without, or suddenly remember another topic that he 'needed' to discuss with the Lord and Lady of the Woods each time their group was prepared to leave? Even his brothers, his own flesh and blood, conspired against him; they continuously invited Sirius to their tartan for supper, or to talk, or invited him to their training or to come along with them while on duty patrolling.

It was maddening.

Sirius, however, loved it. He took every opportunity to talk to Haldir; sometimes complimenting him, other times irritating him to no end. He would prank him, try to get Haldir to help him prank others and try every outrageous thing he could think of to get him to smile, or at the very least to break his composure a little.

Remus liked to make fun of Sirius, saying that he was worst than a little boy pulling the hair of the girl he liked to get her attention.

Afterwards, Sirius found out that pulling the hair of the elf you like will get their attention too.

But after knocking the wind out of Sirius with a very hard and strong elbow to the gut and grumbling about the fact that he wasn't allowed to kill or permanently harm 'their guest', Haldir went back to ignoring Sirius to the best of his abilities.

Over the course of the next week Remus began regretting that he laughed so hard after hearing about Sirius' latest vie for attention, since he found himself Sirius' newest prank victim.

Everyday would find Remus with his clothes missing, his hair and/or skin dyed, his hair cut to the most awful and absurd styles, his food being full of various bugs and/or disgusting plants, and his body stuck in various traps in the most uncomfortable positions. All his books were hidden; same for his weapons (Sirius does have a sense of self-preservation after all). Any time he was able to borrow clothes, they were always itchy and full of uncomfortable bristles and thorns. Any borrowed shoes seemed to have extremely slippery bottoms and/or coated with slimy mud. Any bows he borrowed for archery practice, the string would come undone. Needless to say by the end of the week Remus was as desperate for Haldir to give in to Sirius as Sirius himself was, if not more so.

Finally Haldir cracked. One day when Remus was hanging upside down, trying frantically to get himself down, scratch his body after being exposed to a plant that works much the same as poison oak and swear and threaten Sirius all at the same time, the impossible happened. Haldir let a quiet snort escape his mouth.

Everyone froze what they were doing to determine if they had imagined it.

With everyone looking so absurd, being so frozen in tense, especially in Remus' case as he was still hanging upside down, Haldir couldn't help but let another snort, this one slightly louder, escape.

Everyone looked at Haldir in disbelief except for Sirius, who jumped up and did a victory dance, proclaiming his greatness all the while.

Haldir didn't intend to let his moment of weakness change anything, and was as determined to ignore Sirius as ever. Unfortunately, now that Sirius knew that, yes, it was possible to affect Haldir, he doubled his efforts (a feat no one had thought was possible).

In the end Haldir caved. Though he did it with the most reluctant and patronizing manner as possible.

And that was how Sirius' and Haldir's relationship started. It wasn't a serious relationship in the traditional sense; Sirius valued freedom highly, especially after being in Azkaban for 12 years and house arrest for another 2. As for Haldir, he was happy being single before Sirius came and was accustomed to a certain lifestyle.

They didn't see each other too often, only about a month or so per year (but considering they both had all the time in the world, literally, why rush?). When they did see each other, they didn't act much differeht then they did during their first meeting; Haldir would still treat Sirius with light scorn while Sirius would tease and annoy Haldir mercilessly. But even if their actions were much the same from their first meeting, the feelings behind them were much different.

One occasion where they didn't play to their roles was shortly after Harry's memorial service. Sirius felt too sad and lost to play the annoying little boy vying for Haldir's attention. Haldir sensing that, was more compassionate and understanding than Sirius ever thought he could be. They spent the next few months in each others company, talking about Harry and the world Sirius left behind.

It was Haldir who gave Sirius the idea of becoming a ranger after talking about how enjoyable he found his duty as Marchwarden of Lórien.

Sirius decided to join the Rangers of the North at the next opportunity. Even though Galdriel offered him a place in Lórien, Sirius didn't feel as comfortable around elves as he did around humans; even though he had the life expectancy of an elf, he still felt like a man. Also, he wouldn't be able to suffer through being under Haldir's command (just imagine the jokes that would've been made at his expense!).

Another good reason to join the Rangers was that it gave them both space: though Sirius and Haldir cared deeply about each other, they wouldn't be able to stand each other if they saw each other day in and day out. Even Remus and Tonks, who loved each other very much, spent a lot of time apart. Humans weren't meant to live that long, and seeing the same person every day could get tiring. Thankfully no one from England was tired of their boyfriends/husband/wife.

Sirius decided that he should probably visit Haldir sometime soon; he hadn't seen him in a while now. If he was lucky he could get in while Haldir wasn't on duty and rope Orophin and Rúmil (Haldir's brothers) into helping him give Haldir a 'hey look who's here' surprise/prank.

After he met up with Strider to find out why Gandalf was so insistent on having Strider escort those hobbits to Rivendell of course.

Over 7000 words and 14 pages! Don't expect the other chapters to be this long though.

I couldn't decide whether to have twins' animagus form be a fox, a ferret, a weasel or a pixy. Decisions, decisions! I also did not want them to have the same animagus form; just because they're identical twins doesn't mean they have identical personalities.

¹ I got the name of the Weird Sister drummer from wikipedia. I'm just making up that he (or she, I don't really know) was friends with Tonks

² Thorongîl means Eagle Star and Hûgîl means Dog Star in Sindarin I looked it up at www(dot)jrrvf(dot)com

All my other info (like the dates that Aragorn was told his heritage and stuff) I got from wikipedia.