A New Place, A New Love

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who is still with this story. I love this story dearly and will continue to update it when I can. I hope you enjoy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or most of the dialogue. I am using the screenplay from the LOTR movies as a reference and therefore the credit goes to them.

Chapter 10

Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Boromir smiled at her and gestured for her to go ahead of them. Gandalf was leading them towards the bridge of Khazad-dun, but the sounds of Orcs were getting louder and louder.

"We need to keep moving down this path," Gandalf said.

"But what if there is an ambush of orcs waiting?" pippin and Merry asked in unison.

Minerva thought about offering to scope it out, but she was cut short by Gandalf's response.

"There's no way to know, but we must go this way. We must press on-"

Gandalf was cut off by the appearance of orcs in front of them. As the orcs were approaching, there was a deafening roar that sent the orcs cowering and crawling back to where they came from.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked.

"A Balrog," Gandalf said quietly as a massive shadow engulfed in flames enters the hall, "a demon of the ancient world! This foe is beyond any of you."

Minerva hears the fear in his voice and realizes this must be what he was afraid to encounter when they first discussed going through the mines.

"Run! Quickly!" Gandalf yells.

Aragorn, being the closest to the staircase, leads the Fellowship towards their freedom. Gandalf is relying heavily on his staff, and while Minerva doesn't like that fact, she is forced to push on and keep the hobbits moving. The ground beneath them is quickly deteriorating and as they run on, Aragorn is forced to throw several of the members across a chasm in their way. As they reach the hall with a bridge of stone at the far end, Gandalf urges them on even more. There is desperation in his voice. They are all racing across the decaying stone bridge, trying not to fall off the side. Just as Minerva thinks they will all make it, Frodo gasps behind her.

"You cannot pass!" Gandalf says commandingly in the middle of the bridge.

"Gandalf!" Frodo and Minerva yell together.

Aragorn and Boromir draw their swords as Gandalf continues to face off with the Balrog. Minerva urges Frodo to stay back as she draws her wand; however, before she can utter a word, Gandalf brings his staff down against the frail stone bridge. For a second, everyone is relieved, except Minerva. Images of Dumbledore falling from the Astronomy tower are flashing before her, and she knows something is wrong.

"Gandalf, run!" Minerva screams desperately, but she's too late.

The fiery whip finds its way around Gandalf and pulls him over the edge. Minerva is sure he says something, but she hears nothing. Trying to run for him, she finds strong arms pulling her away from the collapsing bridge and towards the archway. If it weren't for Aragorn and Legolas, the Fellowship would have fallen apart. They led the group into the forest known as Lothlorian. Minerva was so out of it that she barely noticed Frodo acting strangely.

By the time she took a moment to really look at him, her animagus hearing picked up on movement. However, the armed elves surrounding them made her realize she was far too distracted. The hobbits were not safe when she was wallowing in despair. She had to be strong for her lions… Or at least these people that reminded her of her students.

The captain, Haldir speaks in a tongue she does not know, but between the body language of the captain and Aragorn, their conversation went well. Soon they were being led towards a beautiful city to meet the Lady of the Wood. Another elf by the name of Celeborn greets them, with Galadriel standing beside him.

"There are only nine of you. The Fellowship is meant to be eight plus Mr. Frodo. Where is Gandalf?" Celeborn asked.

No one wants to speak the truth, but Galadriel's eyes find Minerva's and she suddenly understands.

"He has fallen," she says simply before addressing Aragorn, Sam and Frodo.

The elves welcome them with food and beds to rest, but there is a truly somber note to the evening. Minerva did not have much of an appetite, but that did not stop Legolas and Aragorn from bringing her a plate.

"He would want you to keep your strength up," Aragorn offered as he sat down next to her, "You are quite a formidable force."

Sheepishly accepting the food, Minerva slowly begins to eat.

"Minerva, if you don't mind, may I ask you a question?" Legolas spoke after a few minutes of silence.

Nodding her head in acceptance, Minerva prepared herself for the inquiry.

"Several times I have noticed you looking at us as if we remind you of someone else. Who do we resemble to you?" he asked cautiously.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to think of a place to start her explanation.

"Where I come from, I work in a school, and everyone here reminds me of a former student, colleague, or friend. A few years ago, we were in a war. A lot of those people died and several of them became different people," turning to Frodo, she pointed towards him, "Frodo's situation reminds me a lot of a former student's situation. He had to fight the most powerful dark wizard with the help of his young friends. He later said he owed all of his strength to his friends and teachers, and I see the Fellowship as Frodo's source of strength. I wanted to help him and all of you on this journey, but I failed.

"I've lost so many people over the years to dark forces, and when I ended up in the Shire, I thought it was another chance to save everyone,' tears formed in her eyes as she continued, "I lost someone that I loved dearly back at the school, and Gandalf had a striking resemblance to him… but Gandalf was so much more than just a familiar face. I thought I could keep all of you safe and that obviously didn't happen. Sometimes I feel as though I am cursed to outlive everyone I care about."

Legolas is suddenly regretful for asking her about her life, but it all made sense.

"We have all lost people we loved, Minerva," Aragorn says softly, "but I am sure you fought for them and you being her proves that you are still fighting for them. You have demonstrated dedication, and for that we are grateful… but the burden to save everyone should not fall on your shoulders." Aragorn grabbed her hand in his own before softly smiling at her, "There is nothing that you could have done to save him. He chose to fight that creature. When you live in a war and you volunteer to still make a stand against adversity, you know the possible consequences. None of their deaths are your fault. All of them, including Gandalf, knew the risks. He made the decision to protect us, and I know you would have done the same."

"You may feel as though you are cursed to live, but think of the countless lives you have saved because you survived," Legolas added.

Minerva couldn't help but be reminded of James and Sirius as the two men sat in front of her and offered wisdom well beyond their years. Thanking them softly, Minerva excused herself. She walked towards the forest. Even though she was in a completely different place, she took comfort in the similarities that she found all around her. The forest, although not as ominous as the Forbidden Forest back at Hogwarts, held just as much wonder and mystery.

The sounds of nature were the perfect level of white noise for Minerva as she found a fallen tree to sit down on. Her head had been tended to minutes after they arrived, and she no longer felt dizzy when she exerted herself. Reaching for a nearby leaf, Minerva transfigured it into a small dish that could be used as a pensieve.

Stressful days at Hogwarts and years of war had taught her to take time to properly reflect on one's memories. She used a simple Aguamenti charm to fill the small pensieve and touched her wand to her head. Focusing on the memory of Gandalf and the Balrog, she slowly pulled the wispy white strand from her temple. Part of the benefit of using a pensieve was the temporary calm it afforded her. The emotions were still present, but by focusing on just the memory, her mind was focused on what exactly to extract and what to leave alone. The moment of peace was exactly what she needed.

Placing the memory strand into the filled pensieve, Minerva stared at the shimmering surface now holding her pain. Before she reviewed the memory of his death, she wanted to add some of their happier times to the mix. She found it had helped after the loss of Albus and Severus. She placed a few spare memories into the water before she touched the pool. Her consciousness was instantly transported into the Mines of Moria just minutes away from their escape.

Gandalf was still alive and they had just seen the staircase that would lead them to safety. Instead of focusing on where the Fellowship was going, she focused her attention on Gandalf. What she had not noticed before was how many times he looked at her before looking behind him as the Balrog closed in on them. He had stayed on that bridge for all of them, especially her. She understood what Aragorn and Legolas meant now. He knew exactly what he was doing…she just wish it could have been something else.

As she watched the scene play out, she marveled in his power. He seemed to radiate power as he made his stance clear to the fiery beast. "You shall not pass," rang throughout the memory before the bridge began to fall. Minerva walked closer to him as he turned to them, unaware of what was about to transpire. Watching him fall over the edge and grip what was left of the bridge, she finally heard what he had said to them.

"Fly, you fools!" he grunted before softly saying, "Fly, my love."

Minerva could see a tear in his eye as he let go of the edge and fell into the chasm below with the Balrog. As she cried at the discovery of his last words, other memories began to play out around her. Their meeting at Bilbo's home…Him beside her as she woke up…Their first embrace.

She had a small smile on her face as she emerged from the pensieve. She had never been more thankful to be alone than now as she let every tear in her fall. She cried for Gandalf, but also for all of the other ones she had lost. They knew what they were doing and how dangerous the times were. She now accepted that she was not to blame.

By the time she made it back to the city and into bed, she was only able to get a little more than four hours of sleep before they all woke and set out on their journey. Luckily being a teacher for years had prepared her for nearly sleepless nights and her animagus did help with maintaining energy levels on very little sleep.

They were given three elven boats to take down the river Anduin. The current takes them past the Argonath, which were magnificent to behold. Minerva had never seen such massive stone statutes before. As they passed between them, everyone admired the sheer size of the carvings. A mile or so down the river, they land on a shore of a large lake.

"We will cross the lake at nightfall, hide the boats and continue on foot… We will approach Mordor from the North," Aragorn told them.

"That sounds simple… just through a razor sharp rocky labyrinth and a festering marshland," Gimli said gloomily.

"This is our path. I suggest you rest to gather your strength, dwarf," Aragorn said sternly.

Gimli scoffed at the idea of needing rest as Legolas urgently countered Aragorn's plans.

"We must leave now," he said.

"Orcs patrol the Eastern Shore. We must wait for the cover of darkness," Aragorn argued.

"The Eastern Shore is not what worries me," Legolas said nervously, "A threat has been growing in my mind. Something draws near. I can sense it."

Minerva watches as they try to decide on what to do, but an inquiry into Frodo's whereabouts worries her. Boromir is also missing she realizes, and frantically looks for clues to where they may have gone. Deciding that they would have gone into the forest, Minerva, Aragorn and Legolas head in search of Frodo and Boromir. By the time they find Frodo, he is disoriented. Aragorn tries to speak to him, but he is terrified…yet determined. Minerva understands the look even before Frodo speaks. He is leaving. He doesn't trust anyone else around him and the ring. Minerva is about to say something when she hears thundering feet hitting the ground.

"An army of sorts is coming," she says frantically.

Aragorn urges Frodo to run as he turns to fight. If Frodo stood a chance of escaping, they had to hold these creatures off.

"We must get to the others," Legolas yelled as he took off in the direction of Gimli and the hobbits.

Minerva took off running with him, but she realized they weren't going to make it in time. Focusing on four legs, a tail, and fur she transfigured into her animagus form mid sprint. She was sure she saw Aragorn and Legolas trip as they witnessed the transformation, but she had no time to waste thinking of that as she was soon met with the sight of terrified hobbits and a very angry dwarf.

Running out in front of the hobbits, she transformed back into her human form just in time to fire a spell at some incoming attackers. A horn sounding temporarily drew her attention away from the fight, and an arrow narrowly missed her.

"The horn of Gondor," Legolas said as they came into view.

"Boromir," Aragorn said as he impaled an orc and ran off towards the sound.

She was not sure how long she was fighting for, but there was a definite level of fatigue settling into her bones. At one point she loses sight of Sam, Merry and Pippin, but she runs into Gimli as she retreats to avoid another onslaught.

"Let's find the others," Gimli suggests as they take off into the forest where they heard the horn earlier.

While they do find Aragorn and Legolas, they also find Boromir dead. Aragorn is supporting his head as he mourns the loss of his companion. There are several arrows in his chest, but he still has a firm grip on his weapon. He obviously fought until the very end.

"Where are the hobbits?" Minerva asks when she realizes they are still missing three members of their fellowship.

"After I let Frodo go, I saw Sam run after him," Aragorn informed them.

"Merry and Pippin were taken," Legolas says as he helps Aragorn lift Boromir.

A few minutes later, Boromir is sent over the falls to his final resting place and the group has decided to rescue Merry and Pippin. Frodo and Sam knew what they had to do, and she knew that if Sam stayed with him, the ring would be destroyed. She had no clue how they were going to find Merry and Pippin, but she knew they would be saved. She would make sure of it.

TBC…