AN3/None of the characters that I have mentioned in this story are mine except for Marie. She's mine along with the plot. Gimli has expressed that he is extremely attached to Middle-Earth and asked me to quit soliciting him to move to Reality. I will not relent in my persuit, however and Reality shall be populated by Dwarves in the future if I have anything to say about it! :)

-

Marie stood firm as she smiled benignly up at the Adams' kids. Both Pugsley and Wednsday both were a few inches taller, despite them both being so young. They probably had inheirited their mother's height. She refused to show that she was afraid. She reminded herself that these two children were not evil, but, judging from what she'd seen before, that remained to be proven.

"Would you like to play Hangman?" Said Wednsday in a reasonably friendly tone. "We'd just about finished and wouldn't mind starting another round."

"Umm, I'm afraid I'm not all that good at Hangman." Marie skirted around the fact that she'd never played that version of Hangman before.

"Wedsnday, remember what father said. He said that it was important to be polite and being polite is giving the guest a bit of an advantage because he or she is not in his or her element." Pugsley interjected.

"Do you know how to play Wake The Dead?" Asked Wednsday. Marie shook her head. "Well, I guess that's out." She said to her brother.

"I'm good at card games." Offered Marie as she pulled out a deck of playing cards.

"Really?" Both of them said at once. "We love Poker, Crazy Eights, BS, Go Fish, and KEMPS."

"I'm pretty good at KEMPS." Marie said, grinning in relief. She wasn't sure she liked the sound of Wake The Dead..it sounded too corpse-related.

"KEMPS it is then." Wednsday agreed. "We'll get Lurch to play with us so that you have a partner." Wedsnday pushed her hand against a section of the wall and it opened. She smiled at Marie. "Lurch is in the basement with Uncle Fester, this is a slide that leads to the basement, it's really fun." She stepped back. "Would you like to go first?" She asked pleasently.

Marie decided that it was best to get these kinds of things over with quickly, so she thanked the girl and slipped inside the tunnel and began a rapid, wild descent in the darkness.

{Meanwhile}
"We'd be honored to help." Said Gomez Adams around the cigar in his mouth. "Hell, we'll even add the whole Adams family to the army!"

Morticia shuddered with disgust. "The idea of all those colors and the sickly sweetness you've described to us...it's enough to give one nightmares."

Gomez stood. "This calls for a celebration! We shall give a party and invite the entire family." He announced grandly. "Cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone will be here! And at the right moment, I will explain to them the need for retaliation against this evil, despicable menace. Why, these Sues go against the main Adams' principles!"

"With all due respect, they go against everyone's principles." Remarked Aragorn. "Now we must ask which of you would like to come with us?"

Gomez gazed pleadingly at his wife, but Morticia shook her head. "We need to remain here to protect the children, we will join the fight when they are done rounding up recruits and are ready to engage the enemy in battle." She said with a note of regret. She hated not being able to indulge in her husband's whims. "We will send one of us with you...Thing!" She called and immediatly he appeared. "Thing, you will go with them and assist them in any way you can." She instructed seriously.

Thing signed rapidly, then ended it with a salute. "Is that a yes?" Asked Boromir.

{Back to Marie}
Marie bit her lip when she looked down at her cards. It was the sign that she and Lurch had agreed upon. Lurch smirked and called out KEMPS in his deep, slow voice.

Pugsley and Wednsday set down their cards. "You weren't telling tales when you said you were skilled at this game, that is the fifth time you've gotten a full KEMPS." Said Wednsday reverently. "Would you mind telling us what your sign is?" She asked sweetly, almost sneakily.

Luckily, Marie caught her and smirked. "Not a chance, my friend."

Fester Adams smiled and rubbed his hands together eagerly. "My turn to play with her, Lurch!" He said gleefully. Lurch got up and Fester took his place after he and Marie had discussed their sign and Pugsley and Wednsday had done the same.

Marie shuffled the cards and delt out four to each of them. Lurch stood behind them, taking up the pencil and paper that had served as the scoreboard. She smiled when she saw what she'd gotten, she already had three of the same number, so all she had to do was keep a look out for another 8 and she'd be set..if Pugsley and Wednsday didn't get the first K.

She set out four random cards and Pugsley traded the Jack that turned up there for a 4 that he'd had in his hand. Quickly, she snatched it up and put down the 7 from her hand in it's place. She glanced at Wednsday to check for signs. She noticed that the raven-haired girl was acting as if she had something in her eye. "Counter-KEMPS!" She cried out.

Wednsday sighed, but put her hand in the dead pile and asked to be delt a new hand. She and Pugsley now had -K. This allowed Marie and Fester to stay in the game without a change of hand. So Marie once again bit her lip, Fester took his time in realizing it, though.

"KEMPS!" He said victoriously. "We get the 'E'!" So it went. Marie and Fester won that round, but lost the next one and the one after that.

They switched over to Poker next and were half-way through it when Gomez Adams strode into the dank, dungeon-esque basement. "Gandalf asked me to find you, Marie." He told her kindly. "He said that he has readied the portal and everyone is waiting for you."

So they made their way back upstairs and Marie was confronted by an aggrivated Snape. "Why can't you be punctual!" He said irritably. "You were supposed to be back within an hour! It's been two!" He scowled. "If you were a student, I would have deducted 60 points from your house, one for each minute that you've been gone."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Only 60, professor? You must be losing your touch." She walked up to the portal, which swirled in a bright contrast to the black rug on the living room floor. It shifted shape sort of like a lava lamp and was shiny like a disco ball. "Wonder where it leads?"

"Don't waste time pondering the inconsequentials, Miss Ratlief, just jump in the damn thing!" Snape commanded.