Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings,
Or Harry Potter and his things,
I do not own an Elf or tree,
Wands and brooms are not for me,
I do not the halls of men,
Neither there or back again,
I do not own Lord of the Rings,
Or Harry Potters splendid things.
Summary: Harry Potter is a reluctant hero who doesn't want to be the great hero he is destined to be. Ever he feels that he is controlled by older and more experienced wizards when he only wants to live an ordinary life that he can never have. After receiving a strange gift on his birthday Harry finds himself in the world of Middle-Earth and winds up on Bilbo Baggins doorstep. Unused to this new world and unready for the situation he is thrust into Harry gets swept along with events surrounding Bilbo and Frodo and finds himself accompanying the younger Hobbit on a journey through strange and dangerous lands on a quest to destroy the One Ring and rid this world of its greatest evil, however Harry feels the call of the ring strongly and must fight his own temptation for it. Will he survive until the ring is no longer his problem or will he succumb to his desires?
((AUTHORS NOTE: I apologise to everyone who has be waiting for this to be updated but the urge to write has left me somewhat of late, add to that the difficulty it takes to write a crossover which attempts to keep true to the general story. Unfortunately this will result in Harry Potter really just being swept along with the Lord of the Rings story for a while before I can actually use him in an effective role.
I would like to dedicate this chapter to JuMiKu, Kirallie and tansy1354 who helped me get over my writers block and gave me ideas that enabled me to continue this story.))
-Chapter Four-
-Three is Company-
Frodo lay in peaceful sleep, lying on his side facing away from both the sleeping hobbit and the young wizard who accompanied both the Halflings on this journey. He stirred slightly in his sleep and turned to lay on his back, snoring quietly, blissfully unaware of a pair of emerald green eyes watching his every move.
Harry had elected to stay up longer than the Hobbits to ensure that they would be safe. He had more power at his disposal than his companions and could no doubt hold his own against many creatures living in this world. For that reason he has chosen to watch over the Hobbits as they slept.
He had felt distant from both hobbits mainly due to the ring that Frodo held. He remembered the conversation he had with Gandalf before they had left Hobbiton. He remembered the Grey Wizard telling him that the ring was forged by the great evil of this world and was connected to that evil, he remembered being told that the ring could do great evil if he or Gandalf took it for themselves.
He also remembered that Gandalf said that if he or the other wizard took the ring they could do almost anything.
His thoughts turned to home and the people he left behind. He thought of the Weasleys, of Ron and Hermione, of Dumbledore and Remus. He then thought of his Godfather Sirius and his thought became saddened and dark. Why did he have to die? Why did everyone who he cared about have to go away? Why did he only bring pain to those who cared for him?
Frodo stirred again in his sleep and turned onto his side facing towards Harry. Harry's eyes wandered down to the top pocket of the hobbits shirt where he knew Frodo kept the ring.
Perhaps he could take the ring, perhaps he could use its power to get home, perhaps he could use it to bring Sirius back, or to destroy Voldemort. What did it matter to him if this world was enslaved by their dark lord? Why did he always have to be the one who did the right thing? Surely it wasn't his fault if this world was destroyed and its people enslaved. It wasn't his responsibility to protect this world.
He suddenly found himself standing over Frodo looking down at the sleeping Hobbit. His body seemingly worked on it own, kneeling down next to Frodo. The Hobbit looked so peaceful in his sleep, totally unaware of everything around him. It would be so easy to just reach out and take the ring from him with no resistance at all.
His arm worked of its own accord, reaching out to the Hobbits shirt pocket. Further and further he reached before his hand was just hovering above the pocket. He froze and held his breath as Frodo stretched and yawned. The Hobbit stretched again before he fell back to sleep. Harry sighed in relief and began his movement again. He carefully opened Frodo's pocket and carefully reached inside.
His fingers touched the ring.
A great eye wreathed in flame clouded his view. The eye stared at him getting closer and closer, the flames licked his face and the heat became unbearable. A high pitched screech began quietly and got louder and louder and louder until all he could hear was the screeching. He clasped his hands over his ears and closed his eyes but the screeching only got louder and the flames got hotter.
Suddenly the screeching stopped and the flames seemed to subside. He opened his eyes and looked up in sudden terror, for before him, not an inch away from his face was a great eye, large than he was, staring at him, in him, through him. The eye stared and stared and stared before suddenly the screeching started again and the eyes surged forwards at great speed and shot straight through him.
The pain was unbearable and he let out a cry in agony…
Harry awoke with a gasp. The moon was high in the sky and the stars twinkled overhead. His gaze turned quickly to the Hobbits. Both Sam and Frodo were asleep and undisturbed, nothing had changed from the moment they had settled in this small collection of trees near a small stream that Sam had told him connected to the Bywater river further North east of their position.
Was it all a dream? Had he only dreamt that he has seen the Eye again? Did he only imagine he had heard the dreadful high pitched screech? Had he only dreamt that he had tried to take the ring?
He felt ashamed of the dream, ashamed that in his mind he had succumbed to the call of the ring. If he couldn't overcome his temptation to that small trinket that Frodo carried then this journey was doomed to fail before it had even begun.
He settled back down into his spot between two tree roots and leant his back against the tree never once taking his eyes off of the Hobbits. He inwardly cursed the Grey wizard for leaving him alone with these hobbits and the cause of his recent torment. How could he be expected to be of any help if he was always thinking of the ring, always desiring the ring, wanting it, longing for it…
He yawned suddenly breaking his current chain of thoughts. This was going to be one long journey if he continued to have dreams like this every night. What he wouldn't give for a dreamless sleep potion right about now. He didn't even know if this world had the ingredients to make such a potion.
"Oh well…" he yawned again and allowed his eyes to drift closed. "Might as well try to get some sleep I suppose." And within minutes of this statement he was snoring lightly as sleep took him.
Harry slept restlessly. Thoughts of his own weakness and the source of his torment weighted heavy on his mind. He awoke again not long after the sun rose above the horizon. The two hobbits slept still and knowing what little he did about Hobbits he thought he probably had a good few hours until they woke up anyway.
Deciding to wash, he walked to the stream which was about ten minutes away. Harry reached the stream and knelt down besides it. Cupping his hands he splashed his face with some water from the stream before getting some more water and having a drink. After a few more minutes of washing he stretched and gazed around the area. The world remained seemingly unchanged.
In the distance he could see farmers awake early working in their fields, he could see birds flying about the land looking for a morning meal and far in the distance he could see, on a road leading to Hobbiton, a rider dressed in black. Thinking nothing of this he turned away and began back to his companions.
Frodo and Sam both lay asleep in the same positions he had left them in. He sighed. He decided he should wake the Hobbits, after all if they got an early start then they could make good time in the morning and get closer to Rivendell where hopefully Harry would be able to remove the thing that currently caused him torment.
Thoughts of his dream still weighted heavily on his mind and he was reluctant to get too close to Frodo in case desire for the ring overcame him and he did something he would regret. Sam therefore was the best choice of Hobbit for him to wake and Sam would no doubt wake up Frodo afterward.
He approached the sleeping blond haired Hobbit and watched him for a moment. Sam was fast asleep, his mouth hanging slightly open as he snored, after the complaining he had made the night before about not being able to sleep here he had slept pretty well in the end.
Using his staff Harry lightly prodded the Hobbit. "Come on. Wake up." He said. "We have a long way to go."
Sam barely stirred from his slumber as he rolled onto his side and began snoring again. Harry gave a long suffering sigh and prepared to take more drastic measures. Harry took two large steps back and raised his staff to point in Sam's direction.
"Rictusempra" he said and waited and watched for a few seconds until Sam started snorting. The snorting turned to giggling and the giggling turned to laughter as the Hobbit was tickled awake. Harry ended the spell when Sam was fully awake.
He half expected the blond haired Hobbit to be angry or at least annoyed at being woken by Harry but instead he just yawned and stretched. After a few moments Sam rubbed his eyes and turned to Harry. "What time is it?" he asked sleepily.
"About half past nine I suppose." Harry guessed.
Sam nodded and yawned again. He stood up and stretched again, grunting in pain at a twinge he felt from lying on a root while he slept. He turned to Frodo and nudged him a few time. "Mister Frodo. Mister Frodo. Time to get up mister Frodo."
Frodo yawned. "Sam…what…" he said, confused. He blinked a few times before sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Its morning, time to get up mister Frodo." Sam answered.
"Right…right" Frodo said drowsily. He caught his bearings slowly and looked around at the campsite. "Alright Sam, you make breakfast while I pack everything away."
Sam nodded and got to work on breakfast while Frodo turned to the campsite and began to pack away the camp things. Harry seemed to be forgotten. He stood by and watched as the two hobbits worked vigorously at their assigned tasks. Frodo had just finished packing away his things when he noticed Harry standing by a tree. The wizard was staring at nothing.
Seeing that breakfast would be a while yet Frodo walked up to the young wizard. He coughed to clear his throat and got Harry's attention. He became somewhat nervous in the green eyed wizards gaze. "Um…beautiful morning." He stuttered.
"I suppose." Harry answered noncommittally. He was still wary from his dream and not entirely ready to trust himself around the Hobbit so indifference seemed the best policy for now.
Harry's indifference however seemed to unnerve Frodo even more. "So…er…did you sleep well?"
"Not too badly." Harry replied in a small lie.
An uncomfortable silence fell upon them. Harry was comfortable in his current position, if perhaps not with the current situation, and Frodo was not currently prepared to move away having nothing to do. A thought suddenly struck the Hobbit and he moved to one of the packs. Kneeling down he searched it thoroughly. After a few moments he moved to the next one and then the next, Harry's own pack, and searched them both before picking up the items he had removed and turning back to the wizard. The Hobbit was carrying a few bottles.
"We'll need water." He said simply and thrust some of the bottles toward Harry before walking off toward the stream. The wizard looked at the bottles for a moment then nodded and lifted the bottles up and began to follow Frodo.
The two walked in silence to the stream, Harry had to walk very slowly to allow Frodo to keep pace with him. Once they reached their destination they lay their bottles on the ground and knelt beside the stream. One by one they dunked the bottles under the water and filled them with the cool, fresh water.
Frodo stared all around him, rarely was he out this early in the morning and this particular morning was very fine, it wasn't too cold nor was it too hot, the light was just peaking through the clouds to highlight the many small hills that littered the shire and there was little noise filling the air save bird song. It was this that brought it back to him that the Shire was a truly beautiful place. He heaved a deep sigh and became instantly aware that the wizards' eyes were once again upon him.
"Is you world like this?" the Hobbit asked. He knew from both his Uncle and Gandalf that Harry had come from another world.
Harry was slightly surprised with the question and thought hard about it. "In places" he eventually answered.
"You know my Uncle Bilbo always talked about the places he had seen, the beauty of Rivendell, the wilds of Mirkwood, the great stone halls of the Dwarves, but I don't think that there is any where that can rival the Shire." Frodo said almost wistfully.
"I know how you feel." Harry said with a sigh.
"Really?" The hobbit asked in slight surprise.
Harry thought about it for a moment and answered the Hobbit. "Well…not completely but I get the general idea."
Again the silence came upon them neither having anything to say to each other. "Perhaps" Frodo broke the silence. "Perhaps we should get back to Sam. He's probably finished breakfast by now."
Agreeing the two collected the bottles and began back to camp. After a relatively generous breakfast and a little while spent cleaning up and packing their things the trio were off. Over hills and through valleys coming ever closer to the small forest that lay beyond a farm, all the while the hobbits talked about anything and everything while Harry stayed two or three steps ahead , paying attention more to where he was going rather than the Hobbits.
It was hardly a surprise then when he lost them.
The farmer's crops grew high in the field and obscured his view. He had only walked about twenty steps into the crop field when he lost sight of his two companions. Cursing silently and refusing to panic he set about retracing his steps, hoping to find his travelling companions in his wake. As he began to walk back he heard shouts coming from the direction of the farm house and barking dogs. Thinking nothing of this he continued searching for the two hobbits. He took about three more steps when suddenly four hobbit-sized blurs sped past him, shooting through the small lane made by the crops and running past him without looking back.
Harry stood there in their wake, struck momentarily dumb by the unexpected occurrence. Suddenly something clicked in the back of his mind, he had recognised one of those blurs, it was Frodo. He blinked suddenly and, hearing an angry shout from the farmer and more barking, turned tail and ran after the Hobbits.
He ran as fast as he could, never looking back, always forward. On and on he ran until the ground itself vanished before him.
Harry managed to catch himself before he fell over the side of this small cliff. He stood gasping, breathless for a moment and looked around him, the Hobbits were no where to be seen. He began to feel a kind of panic set in. Not a panic over the Hobbits fate or even a panic about the ring but rather a panic about just what Gandalf would do to him if he lost the hobbits only a few days into his journey.
"Trust a Brandybuck and a Took!" That was Sam, Harry thought.
"What? That was just a detour, A shortcut" He didn't know that voice.
"A shortcut to what?" Sam voice came again.
"Mushrooms!" another voice he didn't recognise.
Harry looked down the cliff side and saw at the bottom three hobbits scrambling for what he assumed to be mushrooms and one standing up from the floor and brushing the dirt off. He recognised one of the hobbits at the mushrooms as Sam and the solitary Hobbit as Frodo. He sighed in relief and began to move down the cliff.
"Hey!" Harry called out as he descended, getting Frodo's attention more than the other hobbits. "Are you alright?"
Frodo, turning to look at him, suddenly stopped mid-turn as a high-pitched screech sounded in the distance as a breeze blew along the road stirring the leaves. "Get off the road! Quick!" Frodo called to the other hobbits and Harry who has since reached the road and, without an argument the five off them ran off the road and into the undergrowth. The Four Hobbit took shelter under the roots of a tree while Harry knelt down behind a particularly dense bush.
No sooner has they gotten into their hiding places then the sound of horses hooves echoed on the path, slowly getting louder until the Horse and rider appeared above the hobbits hiding place and its rider dismounted.
From his position Harry could see everything clearly. The rider was a tall figure wearing a long hooded black cloak. The rider was covered from head to toe in armour and when he dismounted his foot hit the ground with a loud thump. The rider leant down upon the tree roots a seemed to gaze down over the roots. Harry held his breath as it seemed the rider had spotted the hobbits but something happen then that sent a chill down his spine. This black cloaked, armoured figure to a quick sniff followed by another one and then a long deep sniff and seemed to gaze around the area as if he couldn't find what he was looking for.
A memory struck Harry of a creature he had hoped he left behind in his world, a dark hooded creature whose only perpose was to bring suffering to mankind, a Dementor.
In that split second he froze, his fear of Dementors seeming to hold him fast. For the first time in a good few month Harry was truly afraid.
Harry's fear was broken when he suddenly realised that the rider was calling for something, something that seemed to want to call to the rider, something that also called to him…the ring.
Frodo!
Harry looked at the hobbit and what he saw worried him. Frodo's eyes were closed and the ring was in his hand slowly moving towards his finger. The call of the ring was getting louder and louder. Harry clasped his hands over his ears and closed his eyes tight and tried to force himself to remember the words to 'Jerusalem' to try and block out the ring but no matter what he tried the rings call was becoming overpowering.
Then all of a sudden it stopped as if it had never been their in the first place.
He gazed up to see what had happened and looked up just in time to see the four hobbit running into the undergrowth as the rider was searching the other side of the road. Harry ran after the hobbit and caught up to them in a small grove where the Hobbits lay breathless and Frodo stood in a stupor.
The blonde-haired hobbit that wasn't Sam spoke to Frodo. "That black rider was looking for something…or someone…Frodo?"
Before Frodo could answer Harry stepped into the grove, four pairs of eyes turned stare at him. They stood in relative silence for a moment before Harry spoke up. "We have to go." He said to Frodo.
Frodo stood frozen for a few moments before turning to the blonde-haired hobbit Harry hadn't seen before. "I have to leave the shire. We have to get to Bree."
"Right" The blonde-haired hobbit nodded in one quick movement. "Buckleberry Ferry! Follow me." he said and rose quickly from the ground.
With the blonde-haired hobbit leading the way the four hobbits and one wizards ran through the undergrowth, trying to stay out of the view of the riders which seemed to increase in numbers as the ran. Night was falling fast and their approach to the 'Buckleberry Ferry' became even more cautious. Every step was taken in complete caution and there was always someone keeping an eye out for a rider.
The two Hobbit Harry hadn't met had led the way and now stood on the ferry, which turned out to be a number of logs tied together in a small raft with a pike. One of the hobbits was untying the rope connecting the raft to the river bank and the other was preparing to push away from the shore with the pike. Sam arrived shortly after waded into the water to push the raft away from the bank. Harry arrived before Frodo but was sure the hobbit was just behind him.
Harry stood one the bank and looked behind him for Frodo, fully prepared to jump the gap between the bank and the raft if needs be. What he saw when he turned away from the river made him freeze in fear once again. Frodo was running as fast as he could toward the raft and hot on his trail was a black rider.
Harry, acting almost on instinct, jumped away from the bank and raised his staff before moving it in a twirling motion. "Expecto Patronum!" He cried out and expected, almost by habit, to see a large silver stag appear and chase the rider away. However this didn't happen.
A thin barrier of silver light appeared between the black rider and Harry and Frodo preventing the rider from reaching them. The rider's horse reared up in fear and, ceasing the opportunity, Harry picked up Frodo and tossed him onto the raft before jumping onto it himself.
Harry and his companions watched as the rider spurred his horse away and headed up river and only one thing ran through his mind. 'What was that thing?'
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"Smoke rises from the mountain of Doom. The hour is late and Gandalf the Grey comes seeking my council...For that is why you have come is it not, my old friend"
"Saruman" said Gandalf and bowed to the head of his order respectfully. With no words spoken the White and Grey wizards turned towards the Gardens and walked into the shade of the trees.
"It is seldom been heard of that Gandalf the Grey sought for aid, one so cunning and so wise, wandering about the lands, and concerning himself in every business, whether it belongs to him or not." Saruman scoffed.
"But if I am not deceived," Gandalf answered "things are now moving which will require the Union of all our strength."
"That may be so but the thought is late in coming to you. How long, I wonder, have you concealed from me, the head of the council, a matter of the greatest importance? What brings you now from your lurking place in the Shire?" Saruman asked suspiciously.
"I have discovered in my long search a thing of great importance, the thing he lost so many years ago. The one."
Saruman showed little signs of surprise. His step didn't falter and he only spared Gandalf a short glance. "You are sure of this?"
"Beyond any doubt!" Gandalf answered in earnest.
The White wizard stared into nothing as if examining his own thoughts. "So the ring of Power has been found…"
"All these long years…it was in the Shire, under my very nose!" Gandalf shook his head as if disappointed in himself
Saruman turn on Gandalf in scorn and contempt. "Yet you did not have the wit to see it. Your love of the Halflings leaf has clearly slowed you mind!"
The grey wizard glanced at the head of his order in some surprise before continuing. "….But we still have time, time enough to counter Sauron if we act quickly."
Saruman gave a look of surprise and at the same time managing to portray a somewhat knowing look. "Time? What time do you think we have?"
-End Chapter Four-
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