Chapter 3- The lady of light

Fern's P.O.V

We stumbled, half in shock, out the gloomy mine and onto the rocky mountainside. As soon as the dull sun hit us we sunk onto the rocks. Cedric sat a few feet away from me, rocking backwards and forwards, Boromir was trying to restraining Gimli, who was trying to get back into the mine yelling out in his native language, ready for a round with the fire demon. Just past them, Merry is trying to comfort Pippin, who was lying on the ground weeping. Legolas stared into the distance, shock written on his Elvin features. Sam sat on the ground his back to us all, his head in his hands.

"Legolas, get them up." Aragorn said, not meeting anyone's eyes and wiping the Orc blood off his sword. "Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir snapped, scowling at the wondering king. "We don't have a moment!" I snap back at him, getting to my feet, tears still wet on my cheeks. "We have to keep going. By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs! And by then we have to far away so that they can't follow us! Cedric." I turn to my quest partner. "What do we told to do if we lose someone on a quest?"

Cedric stops rocking and looks up at me. "We're meant to carry on, we carry on fighting because that's what they'd want us to do. Because if we don't continue then we'll die." Cedric said slowly, eyes wide and glistening. "Exactly! Pain and grief are luxuries we don't have time for! Gandalf would want us to finish the mission he put us on, even if we all give our lives to get Frodo to the damn mountain we will finish this quest!" I glare at my friends, my own grief turning to anger, not at them but at the Balrog, at Gandalf for letting go, at Elrond for not preparing us better, at myself for not being able to save the wizard.

I lock eyes with Boromir, who's startled, angry eyes meet my cold orbs. "She's right." Cedric said, getting up, scrubbing his grubby hands over his wet face. "We have no time to wallow in our grief, when the war is ended is the time for sorrow."

I held a hand out to Sam. "Come brave Hobbit. There's a war to win." He looked up at me, tear tracks creating clear patches on his cheeks through the grime. He nodded slightly and took my hand, hulling him to his feet I smiled weakly at him. "The wind will take the tears and put them to good use." He looked up at me in bewilderment. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien. Come, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up." Aragorn says sharply, nodding to Merry and Pippin. "We must make haste."

"Stay close, young Hobbits! They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods, an Elf-witch, of terrible power. All who look upon her, fall under her spell…" Gimli hissed to the Hobbits as we entered the Lothlórien woods.

Legolas rolled his eyes. "The Dwarves have some very bizarre views on elves and their culture. Then again, we did lock up the King-Under-the-Mountain." The elf said, half to himself and half to no one in particular. "Well, that wasn't very nice. How do you expect to make friends if you lock them up?" I grin up at him, he roles his eyes skyward, a small smile gracing his princely face.

He shakes his head at me with a breathy laugh, then all of a sudden his arm stops me from walking, an arrow about five meters in front of me is pointed between my eyes. "Well, here is one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox! Oh." And that was how Gimli was almost impaled on the end of an arrow. In one fluid motion, both Legolas and I have our bows out, arrows notched, bow strings taught. "The dwarf breaths so loud we could have shot him in the dark." A elf stepped forward, taller and paler then Legolas dressed in flowing silver robes.

My eyes swept over the elves as Legolas' bow dropped, a familiar face jumped from the shadows. "Luna!" I grinned, lowering my bow and wrapping my arms around the smaller girl's frame as she collided with me. "Fern! Everyone's been so worried!" Luna gushed. "Dumbledore's been kicked out, the Minister thinks he had something to do with your disappearance. Ron and Hermione are going insane. Chiron and Percy and the others actually know what's going on because your father turned up but Hogwarts is in the hands of the Ministry, no one learns spells any more, just theory." Luna spoke quickly and urgently her pale eyes shining in worry.

I grasped Luna's biceps lightly. "Luna. Luna calm. Breath Ithil." My stern gaze calmed the half-elf girl. "Fern. It's terrible, Hagrid's gone! He's being hunted! The quidditch teams where nearly disbanded, and all the woman running School wants to hunt down Muggleborns for apparently stealing magic but she was stopped. They've restarted the hunt for Sirius and Neville went missing, when he came back, he said You-Know-Who had risen. Azkaban was broken into and Dumbledore's re-started the Order of the Phoenix."

I gave a little laugh. "I leave for a bit and everything goes to pot? Honestly, can't the world function without me?"

"NO! It can't! Come home Fern, we need you. We need a leader." Luna urged as we moved through the trees with the group of Lothlórien elves. "Luna, Ithil." I sighed. "I can't. I don't know how, I'm not an elven witch, or a Goddess. And besides, Cedric and I, we were given this quest by my father, we can't abandon it. We both know Neville is a leader, he's not the boy who kept losing his toad any more. He's needs to see that, you all need to see that. I can't always be there to save the day Luna, I'm not Percy, I'm not even Thalia. I can't always be the person people expect me to be, I'm sorry Luna." I smile sadly at my shocked friend before dropping back next to Cedric.

"You want to go back." Cedric stated, glancing down at me. "Of course I do!" I ran a hand through my already tousled braid as we follow the elves into the trees onto a platform shaped like a large leaf with no railings, where Aragorn and Legolas are pulled away from out group. "They're my friends! Hogwarts is a second home. And Sirius, he's going to be cooped up in Grimmauld Place, he'll tare it apart!" I just don't know what to do any more Ced." I sigh, sliding down the trunk of a tree until I'm sitting, elbows resting on my knees, floppy wrists crossed. "I don't know how much longer I can do this."

I sense Cedric take a seat next to me, shoulder to shoulder. "You're not in this alone. We'll put things to rights here and then help put things back together at home. We'll fix it, like we're meant to. Like we were born to."

I snorted, I didn't ask to be born a so-called 'Hero'. I didn't ask Tom Riddle to kill my Mum. I was getting sick of it, I just wanted to live a normal life, with a Mum, a Dad, a sibling or two, maybe a pet dog. But no, I had to be born of a Witch and a God in a time of war. I sighed again, subconsciously aware that Legolas and Aragorn were arguing in Elvish with the elf the led the ambush.

"I need some air." I decided, getting to my feet as Aragorn and the Elf moved further away. "We're in a forest. You can't get much airer then that." Boromir pointed out. "That's not what I meant." I replied, stepping to the edge of the platform and glancing down, estimating the distance. Ignoring the calls to step way from the edge, I took another step, over the edge.

I fell. The wind snapped in my hair as the ground rushed closer. Meters from the ground, the wind caught me and with a great whoop of joy, I shot upwards, past the tree line into the open sky. The stars spun around me as I rose to thinner air, the moon shone bright on the trees of Lothlórien as I dipped bellow the cloud line. The building built high in the trees glimmered in the night a lone elf stood at a long window, impossibly beautiful.

"Lady Aphrodite." I breath, bowing before her, despite the fact I was standing on nothing. The elven goddess smiled gently, stepping aside to let me enter the room. Instead I just perched on the window sill, legs dangling into the room. "If I may ask my lady, what are you doing here?"

"I am watching over my children, Fern. I may have sons and daughters on Earth, but here, in Middle-Earth, I created the elves. Strong and beautiful. Both warriors and royalty. I have grown to love this land so I help watch over it. And to do that I became Galadriel, the Lady of Light." She smiled at me again. "Which you are now helping with. Which is why I offer you my protection." I watched as she practically glided over to her dressing table. After removing a slim box from a draw, she returned to the window. "As you know, a demigod cannot be harmed by a god if the demigod has another god's protection. And that a symbol of protection must be given." Aphrodite held out the box, which I cautiously took.

The outline of a silver dove in a circlet of roses hung from a thin chain. "What about Cedric?" I asked, looking up from the necklace. "Cedric Diggory is the son of Demeter, he is in no danger from other gods. You however, are, as the daughter of Zeus, in danger. So I offer you my protection because you offer protection for this world."

"Thank you my lady. I accept your protection, because it means I can protect my friends better." I removed the necklace and slipped it over my head, it disappeared down the front of my shirt. "You best go. Your friends are getting anxious for your return." Aphrodite smiled gently, I nodded and lent back. "Fern." I looked up at her. "You don't have to bear the weight of the world alone, because you are not alone."

"I'm starting to see that my lady." I smiled brightly and pitched myself into the night. Trees flashed passed me, the deep blue of the night became the dark green of trees. I landed heavily on the platform, Cedric yelped in surprise I grinned cheekily at him. The elf who'd been arguing with Aragorn when I left scowled at me. "You will follow me." He said to our Fellowship before turning and walking away.

"Well, that didn't sound ominous." Cedric grinned. "Come on Green-fingers." I laughed, following after Merry and Pippin.

Little end note I forgot,

Ithil means moon in elvish.