Thank you to all my awesome reviewers. I love them. Okay, so the whole disclaimer thing bugs the crap out of me. I don't both with them, because if i owned either story, I wouldn't be wasting my time on FanFiction. Now, one with the show.
Arwen paced the stable, waiting on Hermione's return. She heard hooves on the cobblestone as a horse crossed the bridge. Arwen ran to the horse to find Hermione unconscious in the saddle. Aragorn walked up beside the horse and pulled Hermione from the saddle and sat her on the ground, supporting her shoulders. Hermione jerked awake, punching Aragorn in the face, pulling out of his reach.
"Oh, Merlin," she cried, realizing what she had done. "I'm so sorry."
Aragorn pinched him nose as the blood began to flow.
"I can fix that," Hermione said, panicked. "Bloody hell, where's my wand?"
She felt around her person and searched the saddle, not finding it. She flicked her wrist, muttering, "Episky" without expecting it to work. Aragorn's nose snapped back into place as pain seared through Hermione's right arm. She pulled back her sleeve to see an intricate tattoo the exact size, color, and design of her wand on the inside of her forearm. A twisted vine encircled her wrist. Across her palm was a golden dragon's head while its body stretched around the back of her forearm. (A/N Hermione's wand was vinewood and dragon heartstring)
Hermione looked up at Arwen who was staring at her openmouthed. Hermione ran a hand through her hair self-consciously, but stopped abruptly upon feeling how silky it was. She ran over to the river and looked at her reflection in the water. Her features had become sharp and angled. She was surprised by her likeness to an elf. She stood and pushed her hair behind her ears. She passed out as she felt her ears end in points.
When she awoke again, Hermione found herself in her room with Gandalf beside her. He smiled at her when he saw her awake.
"Do you have any memory of what has happened before your return here, Miss Granger?" he asked.
"What am I to remember?" she replied.
"I shall explain. Rowena Ravenclaw lived in Middle Earth before going to the Earth we know. She was an elf. While she was here, she was married to another elf and had a daughter. When war broke out when Sauron was in power, she ran to our world. While there she fell in love with a human and to my knowledge gave up her immortality, but I don't have facts for that. You were born eighteen years ago, in our time, here in Middle Earth ninety years ago, but your parents were murdered by the armies of Mordor while trying to save you. You were taken to Earth and placed in my care. I thought it best you were raised by Muggles, so I placed you in the care of the Grangers, old friends of mine. They raised you as their own daughter. Upon using your elven magic here, your elven side has been revealed."
"And my parents?"
"You are the last descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw in either world."
"What about my wand? Why did it do this?"
"Your wand changed when you used your elf magic. Mine became my staff. Your magic will be amplified tenfold. Now, my dear, I must see to Frodo, the hobbit you helped to save. Good day, Lady Ravenclaw."
He departed with a bow, and Hermione got out of bed. She walked across her room to her vanity and sat down, picking up her brush. She looked at herself in the mirror, examining her new appearance as she absently brushed her hair. After a while, she stood and looked in her wardrobe for something to wear. She pulled out a dark red dress and put it on. She wondered through the gardens before finding a gazebo, where she sat looking out over the lake until Gandalf found her.
"There is a meeting being held," Gandalf told her, "about what to do with the ring. You are the last of the Ravenclaw line, so you are needed. We will keep who you are a secret for as long as we can."
Hermione nodded and went back to her chambers to change her dress to one of deep blue. She pulled some of her hair back and styled it to make a good impression on those who were a part of the council. She walked out onto the balcony as the first members began to arrive. First were the dwarves, four of them. Five men also arrived soon after them. Three elves appeared on horseback shortly followed by a second trio. Hermione watched as each group walked into the city. She didn't care much about any of them until the last group arrived.
The elf had long platinum blond hair and pale blue eyes. He wore ivy colored tunic and leggings, with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back and two short swords or long knives under the quiver. He rode a white horse, which he dismounted with ease. He looked around the city in wonder, his eyes falling on Hermione before she swept back into her chambers.
Those who had come to the Council of Elrond sat in stone chairs around a small round stand. The area the chairs were arranged in was a shallow basin. Elrond sat in a chair behind a podium. Six men were seated in the semicircle, to their right four dwarves, and further six elves. There was an empty chair, then Gandalf and Frodo.
"We await one more of our number," Lord Elrond said. "Then, we shall begin."
Hermione entered the garden, but paused before continuing toward the men. She couldn't understand why she was so nervous. She had been in front of men before. She couldn't shake the feeling of unease and worry that they would not accept her for being a woman. She took a deep breath and walked passed Aragorn into the Council circle. All the men stared at her, while Gandalf smiled in encouragement. She stopped and bowed her head to Lord Elrond.
"Something you need, darling?" one of the humans asked seductively. "I'm sure I could provide."
Hermione turned toward the man, putting on a defiant face. She stepped toward him and leaned down so her eyes were level with his, her hands on the arms of his chair.
"You should understand who you are speaking to before you say something stupid that will piss them off," she snapped darkly. "You don't know who I am, what I've done, or what I could do to you. And all I'd have to do is talk."
The man's jaw tightened as fear flickered in his eyes. Hermione straightened and turned back to Elrond. She apologized with a bow, before taking her seat.
"What is this?" one of the dwarves roared. "A woman? And an elf none the less?"
"She is not here on behalf of the elves," Gandalf stated calmly. "She is here on my request."
"You had better have a good reason. How old is she, anyway?"
Hermione looked at Gandalf, as if to ask permission. He nodded his approval, and she turned back to the dwarf.
"Might I ask your name first?" she said politely.
"I am Gimli," the dwarf replied shortly.
"Well, then, Master Gimli," Hermione started. "First, it is rather impolite to ask a woman her age, even if she is an elf where age really doesn't matter."
"I'm going to take a guess," the platinum haired elf said. "You are fully mature, so at least fifty, but you seem young, so no more than one hundred."
"I don't know that much of elves, but I think I may be an abnormality. I am eighteen."
"An infant! This council is no place for someone so young and inexperienced, let alone a woman."
Hermione stood, furious. The mortals pulled away slightly as she rounded on the elf.
"You hold that I am inexperienced because I am young," Hermione said with venom in her words. "And I am weak because I am a woman. I may be a woman, and I may be young, but weak and inexperienced, I am not. I have been through more in my eighteen years then most of you in your lives. How many of you have outlived a war? How many of you have watched people you care about die? How many of you have been tortured for information that you will not give? How many of you live in fear that you will happen upon someone who just doesn't like you because you were born? That they might kill you? I have dealt with that, all of that. How many of you could stand by while you best friend fought a battle he could not win? I didn't. I was there beside him fighting for my life. If he had lost, we all would have been killed. And you think you have had hard lives?"
"Why do I have trouble believing that you went through all that?" the elf asked snidely.
"You could show them," Gandalf offered.
He tapped the ground with his staff, making the basin fill with a slight amount of water. Hermione tapped her temple and extracted all the memories she wanted to show. She dropped the memories into the water, and the Council was plunged deep into them. They flew through first year with the troll, Fluffy, the Devil Snare, the flying keys, and the chess board. They move on to second year with the writing on the wall and the slight view of the basilisk, to third year with the dementors and the full moon, being attacked my Remus. The memories faded, and Hermione started to speak.
"Here on in, the memories are hard for me to watch."
The only memory from fourth year was seeing Cedric dead body lying motionless on the ground. The fifth year memories opened with falling into the room with the veil. The memory went black as they were surrounded by black smoke. The Council looked around as the scene cleared to see five kids being held hostage. With flashes of white light, the Order members began to arrive. The memory froze as Bellatrix and Sirius began to duel.
"Imagine," Hermione said quietly, "Speaking two words and being able to kill someone. Imagine what it's like to hear those words and know someone you care about will be dead, and you can do nothing."
The memory started up again as the Killing Curse hit Sirius. The Council looked shocked at the ease of the death.
"The rest of these are mainly for Gandalf, but I'm sure the rest of you will get something out of them," Hermione snapped bitterly.
Hermione showed various memories from what would have been her seventh year. The wedding, the Ministry raid, the Snatcher. A new memory appeared, with Hermione's explanation of, "I said I was tortured."
Hermione stood in a room with Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback.
"Why do you have this sword?" Bellatrix asked. "Where did you get it?"
When Hermione remained silent, Bellatrix raised her wand and yell, "Crucio!" Hermione's screams filled the memory, causing some of the Council to flinch. Bellatrix asked again, and received the same, torturing Hermione again. When Bellatrix released Hermione from the spell, she was on the floor panting. Fenrir Greyback stepped toward her and pulled her upright, against his chest.
"I don't know how a Mudblood can smell so good," he growled, sniffing her hair.
She threw her head back and hit his nose, breaking it. Before she could do anything else, she was writhing in pain on the floor, screaming.
The memory flashed to Harry battling Voldemort. Gandalf watching in wonder as Harry explained everything even he hadn't understood and finally finished off Voldemort. The Council appeared back in their chairs, too shocked to speak. Hermione sank into her chair.
"Remus Lupin," she whispered, "Nymphadora Tonks, Cedric Diggory, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Fred Weasley, Ted Tonks, Colin Creevey, Alastor Moody, Lily Evans, James Potter, Severus Snape, Regulus Black, Charity Burbage, all dead because of that godforsaken war."
"I shouldn't have left," Gandalf muttered.
"It not like you could come back from the dead," Hermione snapped viciously. "It doesn't matter, now. The war is over."
"They let children fight?" one of the humans asked, disgusted.
"When there are only so many who can or are willing to fight, you take what you can get. You act as if I know nothing of war when I can stand my own against those far more powerful that I. That is the past. The ring is what is important now."
"Why don't we take a break?" Gandalf suggested. "We should all calm down before discussing the ring."
Elrond nodded, and the Council stood to take an hour recess.
So, there's another chapter. Sorry about Hermione's attitude in this chapter. She's still bitter over the war. She also hates being treated like a child. Tell me what you thought of this one. I really loved all the reviews. The more reviews I get the faster I will update. I want ten please. That can't be too hard.