Hello loves!

So, the prologue is done now. But now I have a few explanations for you.

I read the Harry Potter books before seeing the movies so I have a slightly different vision of many of the characters, only a few characters from the movie I like exactly the way they look, including Hermione and Dumbledore.
Harry is taller in my imagination and a little bit more muscular than Daniel Radcliff, hair is naturally black, wilder and more messy. I think in the fourth movie his haircut came closest to that.
Ron is also taller and a bit slimmer and he has deep red hair, more towards cherry red.
Draco is noticeably finer in appearance than Tom Felton, more Legolas-ish, and his eyes are gray rather than bluish.
Gregory has more muscle, less fat, he still looks beefy overall, but in a sporty way.
To me, Seamus has light red hair, not that shade of brown, but more towards strawberry blonde, and significantly more freckles
Blaise remains dark-skinned, although he is also more heavily built than in the film, not as lanky.
Neville is the tallest of the group, almost too skinny, the baby fat gone. He has dark hair similar to Harry's, but very straight and longer than in the film, more like shoulder length.
Severus is of course (!) much younger, looking like the sheriff of Nottingham without the full beard.
Ginny is slimmer, more delicate and smaller, but not so... childish in looks, more mature, she looks older than she is. Like Ron's, her hair is more cherry red than auburn.
With Professor McGonagall, I find that Maggie Smith portrays her very successful. I would just make her a lot younger, like what she looked like in the early 80's.
Collin is quite small, wiry, and has street mutt blonde hair.
Luna in the movies is pretty much how I imagine her to be. Maybe a bit lighter skin, the hair a bit longer and smoother and clearly 'airier' in appearance.
I think those were the main characters from Harry Potter.

It's different with the Lord of the Rings characters, I saw the movies before I read the books and that's why I picture the fellowship almost exactly as they look in the movies.
Only Legolas stands out a bit, because I like the depiction from The Hobbit much more. He seems more mature, not so gentle but much more aggressive, I would almost describe him as wilder, more impetuous. And his eyes are a lot bluer and more intense, which I like a lot better. (Imagine a very slightly languishing look on my part... that blue... When he glares like that, just oh!... I don't really like Orlando Bloom that much, but he just plays Legolas perfectly)

Oh, and I'm ignoring the fact that Legolas and so many other characters in The Hobbit were only invented or inserted by Peter Jackson and were not described by Tolkien at all. I'm taking the best out of books and movies, so to speak.

So, that was the wall of text, but I thought I'd write that down for you in advance so that you have a rough idea of what's going on in my head as I write and proofread the story :)

Further explanations will be distributed in the next chapters, I don't want to scare you away!

OK, on with the next Chapter. Hope you enjoy!

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"Now first things first. For now, are we safe enough that you guys can enlighten us about what's actually going on here? You two seem to be the only ones who have any knowledge about this madness." Potter had his arms crossed over his chest and alternately looked between Granger and Draco.
The two exchanged a thoughtful look and Draco murmured, "There shouldn't be anything here aside from Gollum, who is guaranteed not to harm us while being in the group. We just shouldn't set up camp for the night, I have no idea how long it'll be quiet around here."
"Okay, spill it, then. Where are we and what book are you talking about," Potter practically ordered.

Draco and Granger took turns talking, complementing each other and it took almost two hours until they had roughly told the story of the fellowship and the ring.

"Fact is: We are nine people and that is the number of the fellowship. Everything that just happened here, the whole situation, is described exactly like this in the book, just with the fellowship instead of us. The Kraken attacking the Ringbearer, the collapsing portal, all the bodies here. Oh, and the ring is definitely real, Hellfire couldn't touch it, which means it can only be melted in Mount Doom, where it was forged. That being said, I felt the dark magic in it, the attraction, the lure it has for me," Draco concluded the explanation.
"I don't want that thing..." Granger promptly said desperately. "I don't want it, one of you can take it, or I give it back to Gollum..."
Draco turned to her and studied the utterly helpless, desperate expression on her face. "Granger... Hermione... If any of us can bear that ring and resist it, it's you. None of us guys have the willpower or purity to do it."
"How... what makes you think so?" she mumbled in astonishment.
Draco laughed in amusement, "We Slytherins fall flat on principle, power attracts us anyway. And your four hotheads over there... Don't you think they would use the ring impulsively and accidentally lure the Nazgul in?"
"Hey..." Potter and Longbottom sounded grumpy and Longbottom added "I'm many things. Fearful, clumsy, honest, loyal, and maybe brave enough to pass for Gryffindor instead of Hufflepuff, but impulsiveness is definitely not one of my weaknesses."
Draco shot him a look. "Don't take it personally, Longbottom, we're not talking about bravery or other heroic qualities here, we're talking about pure and sheer will. And you don't have that. Not like Granger here, our Ravenclaw in Gryffindor robes."
"I'll give it back to Gollum..." Granger murmured, again.
Draco shook his head. "You can't, and you know it perfectly well. Sauron must be destroyed, just like Vol... Vol... Voldemort. If you make Gollum disappear with the ring, the fellowship will not have a chance to complete their task."
"Oh damn..." Granger looked around in defeat. "Allow me to introduce myself: Frodo Baggins, ring-bearer and poor thing with shitty karma."

Draco rubbed his chin. "You make a good point there. If you replace Frodo... then who are the others?"
"And why is that important?" Weasley asked curiously.
Granger jerked his eyes at Draco. "Oh my, you're right... We told you that the fellowship would be torn apart... As long as we're here, we should try to avoid that at all costs, after all we want to go home again, and that could be a bit difficult, when we are scattered throughout Middle-earth. And to do that, we need to know who is playing what role here so that we can bypass certain events like the fight against the Balrog."
"Oh..." came from the rest of the students. Severus was silent, for he could see the necessity. And he could read between the lines. Because even though Draco and Granger hadn't said anything of the sort, Severus was pretty sure that not all of the fellowship would survive this journey. War was raging here just as it was on Earth. And he had absolutely no intention to lose his life fighting for this world, he just wanted to somehow survive the war on his own doorstep, thank you!
Granger looked at him. "You are Gandalf. The role does not suit any other of us, we are clearly too young and inexperienced."
"Then none of us can actually be Legolas. He'll soon be a thousand years old, too," mused Draco.
Granger waved him off, "You're Legolas, that's as clear as Professor Snape's role."
"What, why?" Draco looked at her, perplexed.
"Well think about it. Legolas always seems calm and level-headed, which of course doesn't suit you. However, he can also be completely different. In fact, in the books he can be pretty aggressive, especially when he's still in Mirkwood, and THAT definitely suits you. And in Legolas' case I have to say that it would fit optically as well, you do have something elfish about you, the fine facial features, the fair hair, the narrow, wiry physique," Granger explained logically, actually making Draco blush a bit and touch his ears.
"At least I'm spared the pointy ears..."
Granger chuckled in amusement, but then looked around seriously again. "And Aragorn isn't difficult either. It's Harry."
Potter frowned. "The one who will be king? I'm supposed to be him?"
Inwardly, Severus had to agree with Potter's doubts. Already the second time for today that brat was right about something!
But Granger disproved their doubts with her logic. "It's not about that. Aragorn is a leader, he has many responsibilities and shoulders them quietly and with a certain dignity. Even if you don't quite figure out the dignity yet, the rest fits you like a glove."
"Speaking of clumsiness... I'm afraid I'm the one throwing the dead body down the well," Longbottom murmured, slightly embarrassed, ending the discussion of Potter's supposed good qualities.
"How true, Longbottom, that would suit you too well," Severus grumbled with his usual cynicism.
Granger whirled on him. "Now stop picking on Neville, that's not getting us anywhere!"
"Miss Gra-..."
"Severus, stop it. She's right, you can really skip your usual tone here. You all have absolutely no idea what to expect. I'm telling you, you need every ounce of courage you have, every ounce of cunning you can muster. We can't pick on the negative traits of the others because that only demoralizes and that's the last thing we need in this situation, so everyone pull yourself together. No taunts, no hostilities. We're not on Earth, we're not in Hogwarts, we're not Slytherin or Gryffindor. We're sitting in the mines of Moria, where orcs, mountain trolls and a balrog are just waiting to maul us. We have to stick together, because there's no all-powerful Albus Dumbledore here to save our asses, we're on our own here!" Draco's cheeks had turned a strong shade of red during his sermon and he glared almost angrily at everyone and especially at Severus.
He really didn't know what to say in reply.
It was Granger who defused the situation. "And yet Neville and the professor are right. Pippin is clumsy, but also brave and lovable. From all of us, Neville is the most like Pippin."
"And Greg is Gimli, they're both aggressive, big mouths and lots of oomph in their arms." Draco looked amused at his friend, who glared at him.
Weasley looked back and forth between the two in irritation. "Big mouth? We haven't heard too much about that, I would say."
"Just because I'm mostly quiet and let Draco do the talking doesn't mean I can't and won't speak my mind. I just don't talk to everyone for no reason, Weasley," Goyle said matter-of-factly and Severus had to grin when Weasley gave Goyle a confused look.
"Draco's right," Zabini agreed, too, and Severus finally nodded in agreement.
"Fine, then we now have Gandalf, Frodo, Pippin, Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas. Still missing Sam, Merry and Boromir. And to be honest I don't see Weasley or Finnegan as Boromir, I think you are, Blaise."
Before Zabini could respond to Draco's remarks, Granger said enthusiastically, "True. However, I'm not sure which of the two is Sam and which is Merry. They could both be Merry, hotheaded, loud, boisterous. Sam is the quieter type, but also loyal and self-sacrificing to the end..."
Potter looked at Weasley. "I think... you're Merry. And Seamus is Sam."
"Why?!" Weasley looked at Potter like a beaten dog.
Potter sighed. "You are the best friend anyone could wish for, but to this day you still have trouble controlling your needless jealousy and your desire for material things, fame and recognition. And this Sam doesn't sound like he can even feel anything like jealousy."
"Jealousy is something hobbits don't seem to know much about anyway. These folks are just too peaceful for such negative emotions. But Harry's right, if so, then Merry would be more the type for it. He likes the attention, at least that's how it comes across in the books sometimes. Sam has no moments like that." Granger grabbed Weasley's hand. "You are Merry. And Seamus is Sam."
Severus had followed this exchange with interest. He hadn't expected such an almost in-depth character analysis. However, that didn't get them any closer to the return journey or out of this danger. And he suspected that this analysis would get out of hand if he didn't put a stop to the whole thing and change the subject.
He would have liked to take the reins here, but after the last few hours he had to admit that he couldn't take the lead, Draco and Granger had to do it. He had to trust both of them, and he was glad that both had such a healthy, logical head on their shoulders - and that both could keep their friends firmly under control. "Now that that's settled... How do we proceed now? We have been here for a few hours and I sense that someone, probably this Gollum, is watching us."

"Actually, we could use something to eat, we haven't eaten in hours and I'm thirsty too." Weasley – Of course he thought about food first. But he was right, even Severus felt a slight rumble in his stomach.
Granger grabbed various rocks and began turning them into drinking bottles and handing them to Draco, who filled them with carefully measured aguamenti and passed them around to the group. "Drink until you feel full. There's no food here, I'm afraid," Granger explained before putting on her water bottle and draining it in one big gulp.
Weasley and Goyle both groaned simultaneously, "And why not?"
"Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration: Food is one of the Five Great Exceptions and cannot be conjured up out of thin air," Zabini quoted the textbook.
Weasley slumped his shoulders. "Bloody bullshit..." he grumbled before draining his bottle too.

Their bellies full to the brim with cool water, they finally made their way into the mines, of course with their wands out and literally on tiptoe. Gollum was always behind them, out of sight, but Severus sensed the presence of this being that once must have been a hobbit. Severus didn't know why latent magic slumbered in this creature, but he suspected that all hobbits carried some kind of natural magic. He was kind of curious if his theory would turn out to be true. The alternative was that the ring had had far more magical effects on Gollum than just changing appearance and extending life.
In general, Severus sensed a lot of magic here. Alien magic, admittedly, but apart from the ring resting safely underneath Grangers Shirt and something lying deep beneath them, there was nothing dark or even evil about it. The magic was just... there. Neither black nor white, neither good nor bad, she just was. Just like Hogwarts, just different... Less energetic, arcane and willed, if he had to name it, more natural, elemental, like a fundamental building block in everything around them.
Luckily, the arcane magic within them still seemed to work properly, even here where it didn't seem to be of natural origin, otherwise they would have had a really serious problem before even getting to the mine entrance.
Could this latent magic be found throughout Middle-earth? Or was that just due to the thoroughly magical people of the dwarves? Although, maybe dwarves here weren't actually magical at all, unlike the dwarves who had lived on Earth before. Maybe none of the races here were really magical. According to the tales of Draco and Granger, there were very, very few people, no, Maiar, who could actually work magic. And the elves also seemed to have some connection to magic, but not as actively as the Maiar. All other races made no magical impression on Severus, at least not from the tales.
Contrary to his usual nature, he was now more than just curious about what they could see and explore here. If only it weren't for the danger of the Ring and the fact that they absolutely didn't belong here...

Character analysis completed. What do you think, did I distribute the companions well among the nine?
(To summarize again:
Gandalf = Severus
Frodo = Hermione
Sam = Seamus
Merry = Ron
Pippin = Neville
Aragorn = Harry
Boromir = Blaise
Legolas = Draco
Gimli = Gregory )

Cya next time, and leave a comment! Its not hard, you know :)

Jazzmine