A/N: T rating for two uses of the F-word and Grima's dirty mind (seriously, it makes me feel greasy to write him). A monster chapter to make up for the wait.

Harry had woken up and apologised to Boromir, then transfigured a rock into a sandwich of some sort and started eating it by the time Gandalf discovered the path to take.

"Ah. It's this way."

"He's remembered." Merry sighed with relief.

"No, it's just that the air this way smells less foul. When in doubt master Brandybuck, always follow your nose."

"Tell a hobbit to do that and we will unfailingly find our objective. As long as it happens to be near a large amount of food." Harry muttered with a good natured grin.

Pippin nodded happily. "Unlike the Big Folk, we hobbits have our priorities in order."

Aragorn snorted quietly. "Among those priorities being 7 square meals a day."

"8, in the case of Merry and Pippin." Frodo said softly, the first time he had spoken since Gollum's appearance.

"We're growing young Hobbits!" Merry said defensively.

"Yes, you're growing all right. Sideways." Harry deadpanned.

"Says the man the height and shape of a tall man's rake!" Merry retorted.

"Chubby!"

"Skinny!"

"Eru save us, you 3 are like small children!" Aragorn said, clearly exasperated and amused in equal measure.

"He started it," all 3 said in unison. After a moment they shared a long look and burst into honest to goodness carefree laughter.

Aragorn simply shook his head and walked away, fervently hoping that any children he had with Arwen would be far better behaved. Still, it was good that there was some laughter in this place of horror and darkness. Harry, Merry and Pippin, still giggling softly, followed the rest of the Fellowship, who to a humanoid had benevolently exasperated expressions on their faces.

Soon the Fellowship entered the main hall of Moria. Gandalf increased the brightness of his light, with Harry following suit with a bemused look on his face that vanished when he saw the columns.

"Merlin's beard." He breathed.

The party turned as one to the two people they knew who had a propensity for collecting odd names, Aragorn and Gandalf.

"He was a legendary wizard from my world," Harry said, catching the looks on their faces. "He looked a bit like Gandalf come to think of it. Not exactly like him, just enough to be surprising."

"I did wonder why you called me that when we first met." Gandalf said conversationally. "This is the legendary city of Dwarrowdelf."

Gimli was looking around with a rapturous expression, tempered with the knowledge that known of his relatives were here to make this hall a place of light and laughter. He was still staring up towards the roof when he noticed that the Fellowship had moved on. With one last longing look at the columns, he caught up. Unfortunately he looked down just in time to miss seeing the first curious Orc scouting the unexpected visitors its home.

Quickly, like a nest of ants following the scent marks of another, dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of Orcs came streaming down the pillars, surrounding the Fellowship, who instinctively tightened into a defensive ring.

Harry summed it up best. "Oh fuck."

Rivendell

Elrond looked out over the balcony. The three young wizards had been in Rivendell for nearly 2 months, and in that time had familiarised themselves with the geography of Middle Earth, and in the case of the tall redhead called Ron who he gathered was some sort of cross between a lawman and a soldier, strategy and tactics.

All 3 had been the very souls of courtesy, though Elrond suspected that it was the calming influence of Ron's wife Hermione that kept him out of trouble most of the time, and the other woman, Ron's younger sister and Harry's beloved, Ginevra, who preferred to be called Ginny for some reason, spoke little, always politely when prevailed upon to speak, but had an air of preoccupation most of the time. Elrond recognised it from his own daughter when Estel left to protect the Shire or go Orc hunting with Harry and the twins.

What puzzled Elrond the most about her, was something which she had refused to explain, her preference for a shortened name. When he had politely enquired over dinner, in which he had been sitting beside her, her brother had hastily swallowed his mouthful under the watchful eye of his wife, and started laughing, mentioning the words, "Aunt Muriel," who Elrond gathered to be a person who was not in favour with miss Ginny Weasley, or Mrs Hermione Granger-Weasley, judging from the fact that Hermione had grimaced as if eating something sour and Ginny had worn an expression that Elrond noted with some amusement would not have looked amiss on Arwen when she was younger if Elladan or Elrohir had said or done something she found inappropriate.

Currently the three were practising sword fighting, the sound of blunt practice blades crashing together travelling on the early morning air, on the grounds that if they couldn't fight with a sword and were denied their wands, they would be defenceless. All three were being tutored by Glorfindel and Arwen, who took it in turns to demonstrate a move, then have the three students practise until they could perform it perfectly several times in a row. At the end of each practice, they would have mock duel.

Glorfindel was facing Hermione and Ron at the same time, easily fending off strike after strike while calling out advice, and Arwen was engaging Ginny in a frenetic practice duel. Arwen had the advantage of speed and over a millennium of training, but Ginny was just about holding her own through a combination of greater mass, unorthodox tactics and an uncanny dodging ability that made Elrond wonder if she had a small amount of elven blood in her. However Arwen's endurance and training soon began to tell as Ginny tired. It was less than 3 minutes later that Ginny mistimed a parry and the tip of Arwen's blade tickled her throat.

The tableau held for a moment, then both dropped their blades and bowed to one another, before they went to get changed, chatting and laughing as they did. For some reason or another, the two had got on almost immediately, and Elrond was glad that they did. For too long had Arwen been in the shadow that Sauron cast before him, and she had not been truly happy since Estel had left on the quest.

Ginny was certainly a natural swordswoman, and with enough practice would be as good as any of the Dunedain, combining speed and surprising strength with impressive co-ordination. Ron also had the makings of a competent swordsman, wielding an impressive amount of power and the reach to perform deadly lunges, but lacking the speed and co-ordination of his sister. Hermione was good enough to defend herself and had a mathematical precision to her movements, but Elrond worried that her heart wasn't really in it, and since she was going into battle where a moment's hesitation could mean death, that could be costly. However from what he had heard from Harry, she and Ron had fought alongside him in battle on several occasions, albeit battle of a different sort.

Perspective shift

Ginny struggled out of her practice armour, having replaced her practice sword on the rack. It had been an odd 2 months or so, that was for sure. When they had arrived they had been greeted in a hospitable manner by Lord Elrond and his daughter, the Lady Arwen, who had made Ron's eyes briefly bug out, before he shook himself mentally, something that impressed Ginny, as Ron had once been reduced to a gibbering sycophantic wreck by the mere presence of Fleur Delacour, who, though beautiful, did not even begin to hold a candle to the one the elves called the Evenstar.

At first Ginny had thought her aloof and standoff-ish, but she soon found out that Arwen was merely distant because the man she loved was going on a deadly quest to save the world that might yet claim his life and his mind. Ginny, who had been in that very position before, spent a lot of time reassuring her (and being reassured in return), and recounting amusing exploits of Harry's and her brother's, while Arwen, who proved to be kind, witty and considerate under her reserved exterior, countered with the hijinks that Harry, Aragorn and Arwen's twin brothers had got up to.

The twins, Elladan and Elrohir, who Ginny had yet to learn how to tell apart, spent much of their time out Orc hunting, but when they resided in Rivendell, the very walls seemed to come alive with music and laughter. While they were hardly pranksters in the mould of Fred and George, they carried a certain happiness around with them wherever they went, save in battle, when they were apparently cold and deadly, making it a personal aim to slaughter as many Orcs as possible, due to something terrible which had happened to their mother, Celebrian. When she had asked Arwen about it, she had changed the subject abruptly.

Still. Reticence aside, Ginny valued Arwen's friendship.

Once they had changed, the elf maiden and the witch walked the halls of Rivendell, going nowhere in particular.

"As time goes on, I feel as if the path the Fellowship treads is getting steadily darker. That they walk on the edge of a knife and soon, so soon, may fall." Arwen said abruptly, unaware that her grandmother was to use those exact same words later on.

Ginny noted that she used the collective noun to voice her real worry. For Aragorn. Privately Ginny worried about Harry. How had Middle Earth changed him? What if Dumbledore had been wrong? Rationally she knew that the testimony of the Lady Arwen, who had inherited her father's gift for seeing the hearts of men, and the Lady Galadriel, who from what she had heard was a natural Legilimens/Occlumens on an unmatchable scale (since some of this came from Dumbledore and Snape's portrait - when its occupant wasn't berating professional potioneers in one of his other portraits - both known for being extraordinarily skilled in the art of mental magic, she accepted most of the stories as the truth, or close to it), was the best thing short of divine testimony. Unfortunately Love and rationality have never been close companions.

Drawing herself back to the present, she replied soberly, "No matter how precarious the quest is, we can't intervene. It would take too long to find them, and it would draw too much attention if Saruman is as strong as you say. Besides, Glorfindel said that Aragorn was probably the best human swordsman he had ever seen, and he has Legolas, over 2,000 years old and the best archer in Middle-Earth, Gimli, who if Bilbo's tales of his father are anything to go by, is an experienced and skilled soldier, Boromir who is seen as Gondor's greatest warrior and General, and then you have Gandalf and Harry. I dare say that the Hobbit's could give a good account of themselves if they had to." She smirked and added, "Everyone underestimates small people, often at their peril."

Arwen smiled, slightly sadly, and said, "I know all of that, but it is definite a feeling, a warning. Ada has them as well, but his gift of foresight is far stronger than mine."

"Is it any more precise?" Ginny asked, beginning to get worried.

Arwen closed her eyes and appeared to be deep in thought for a moment, then said, "It is one of great and alien power and destiny. One who has done so much for so long, and his trials are only just beginning."

Ginny sat down on a nearby bench with a thump. Well, that was fairly unequivocal. At approximately the same time as the man she loved, to the concerned audience of Arwen, she voiced her feelings succinctly. "Oh fuck." Instead of preparing for battle, she burst into angry tears.

"Ginny." Arwen said gently. The younger woman turned away, not unreasonably self-absorbed.

"Ginny daughter of Molly, hearken to me. You come from a strong line of warriors and healers, all of whom faced the death of those they loved and remained strong, as you should now. Dry your tears little one, for neither anger nor sorrow will do your beloved any good." Arwen said, in firm, but still kind, tones that had underlying harmonics of command.

Ginny snapped her head round to look at Arwen, almost giving herself whiplash in the process. "What was that?" she snapped, red eyed but with no further tears coming forth.

Arwen smiled mysteriously and said, "I have more than just human in my ancestry. It grants my family an… enhancement on the usual abilities of the Eldar, and a few minor abilities such as the one you just sensed. I must admit I am impressed. No mortal has ever noticed, and even Aragorn took many years to learn how to spot it, let alone override it. Despite the fact that Ada used it every time Aragorn was caught doing something he shouldn't or avoiding something he should have been doing." Arwen paused, then added with a smile, "Which was a lot of the time."

Ginny laughed wetly, and said, "The only threat that ever worked on my twin brothers was the threat of sending word back to our mother of their misdeeds. Everything else failed to intimidate them. Even a dark lord didn't slow them down all that much." Then her smile faded, and she said quietly, "I don't want to lose him the way I lost my brother."

Arwen hugged her around the shoulders. "Come on. I'm sure Erestor and Glorfindel will be full of stories of Aragorn and Harry's misadventures, including a few that ada probably doesn't want them to tell me."

Rohan

"My Lord Théoden King. Councillor Grima." Theodred said in greeting. On the outside he was the epitome of calmness, but on the inside, his heart was beating like a jackhammer. Eowyn and Eomer were in similar condition, but as the heir and the eldest, it was his responsibility.

"My Lord Théoden King, we would have words with thee on matters of grave import." He continued, in what Harry called his 'talking-to-stuffy-politicians' voice.

Theoden, even more decrepit than before, mumbled something to Grima. "On what subject would the King have words with thee, Lord Prince?" Grima said, clearly irked that he had not been addressed as a Lord. Theodred smiled inwardly. The little bastard could choke on it. He would dance naked and sing rude drinking songs on the steps of Edoras before a Prince of the Mark called something that slimy 'Lord'.

"On the subject of you, honoured councillor." Eomer said, lacing the word honoured with more sarcasm and venom than Theodred had previously believed possible.

"Do you have a grievance against me, Lord Marshal?" Grima asked, suddenly wary. Eomer was blunt and lacked the subtlety to be a serious foe in a war of words, and Eowyn tended to avoid playing the political game, but Theodred was as skilled with words and diplomacy as Faramir of Gondor. However, like his cousin, he rarely personally got involved. That infernal wizard! Saruman had warned him that the Black Wizard was a dangerous foe, and close to the throne, so Grima had suggested a countermeasure, taking malicious glee when it had been implemented. While his actual appearance had been temporary and bloody, Eomer had arrived at the same time, preventing any chance of clearing up the mess before any who might object arrived.

"We feel that you overstep your bounds, that you have caused the King's illness and that you have betrayed Rohan to Saruman. And other offences." Eowyn said, smooth, cold and sharp as a sword blade, eyes flashing at Grima when saying 'other offences'. How Grima wanted her, for her to submit before him and be his! All in good time, he thought to himself, all in good time. Now was not the time to make his move. Only when Rohan was fallen could he take what he so badly needed.

Eowyn saw the lust in his eyes and replied with a slight sneer and cold glare that any Malfoy would have been proud of. Eomer looked like a hawk that ached to strike down a particularly disgusting rat, while Theodred, the experience politician, revealed nothing in his bearing and position, save that his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"What evidence do you have of this?" Grima said, mockingly.

"This, o councillor." Theodred said, and Eomer opened up the bloody handshaped piece of black cloth.

"The Lord Harry Potter, otherwise known as the Black Wizard and Moristar, and a longstanding and steadfast ally of the realm, attempted to use one of his spells to travel to the hall, no doubt bearing vital news, possibly from Elrond of Rivendell, given that Boromir of Gondor was travelling there to a Council of great import when he passed through this realm many months ago. He had used this spell many times before with no ill effect-"

"Except for those who made the mistake of travelling with him. Tighter than a-" Eomer whispered, being cut off by a judicious elbow to the gut from Eowyn before he could finish his lewd comparison.

Theodred quirked a corner of his mouth in a momentary grin, then continued in a less formal tone, pacing up and down, "- yet this time Lord Eomer, 3rd Marshal of the Mark, saw a great injury form on Lord Potter's body, clearly the mark of fell sorcery. The shape the sorcery took, and the power of it leaves only one who could have done such a thing, Saruman the White Wizard. Saruman has turned against us, and we, myself, the Lady Eowyn and the Lord Eomer believe that you Grima, you who have defended Saruman for so long in the face of overwhelming evidence, are either our Lord's and our foe, or supremely stupid, making you unsuitable to be councillor to the King. Since your appointment moreover, the shadow of Isengard has spread, and the King has fallen into illness." Theodred turned to his father and said quietly, "How find you my Lord?"

The King wheezed, and said in a thin voice, "Not Guilty." Then Grima leaned close, a look of malicious triumph painted on his face, as the King whispered something to him.

Eomer snarled, and started forward to step into his cousin's outstretched arm. "Not now," Theodred said sotto voce, his lips barely moving.

"By order of the King, Lords Theodred and Eomer are to be escorted by guards and prevented from speaking to one another unsupervised, lest this sedition spread, and go on at least 2 patrols daily. The Lady Eowyn is to be restricted to the hall of Meduseld and the upper town. If she wishes to go elsewhere, she must apply for permission and be escorted." Grima spoke, tones laden with malice and triumph.

The three royals bowed as one and turned to go back to their quarters, all with stony faces. Trying to convince Théoden had failed. He had fallen too deep under Saruman's influence. Another plan would have to be made.

Okay, at the end of another monster chapter, I would like to ask you to review and check out and vote in a new poll on my profile about Theodred.