Part 4 of More to The Story. It's about a family that are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love. Part 4 picks up after the final battle of The Battle of the Five Armies, with equal parts of books and movies with the crossovers. OC's and real characters.
Everyone is together, either in Dale or in Erébor. However, Jordan's curse has finally take over and she has the hardest choice she will ever have to make: love for the dwarf she would spend the rest of her life with, or the life of her brother who is counting on her to rescue him.
I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.
Chapter 1
The mountain was slowly being put back together. Dwarves, humans, and elves alike, bustled around all over, working, cleaning, cooking, helping the wounded. There were no idle hands. Navigating through the corridors and around the crowds was difficult while Jordan wore the invisibility cloak. She did not want to be found out or stopped on her way to carry out her last quest and save her brother.
Arriving outside the library doors, which she discovered after what seemed like days ago, but surely only hours. She reached to push the door open and her eyes landed on her hands and arms. The curse had clawed its way to the surface, visible all over her skin, making her blood run cold and heart full of guilt. The raw power was pulsating through her body. As if her own magic and the curse were fighting for control. Not that she could tell what which was which anymore. Tapping into whatever magic would help, she called out and connected with the evil sorcerer.
She could see Milhauke in her mind, standing in the backyard of her house amongst his army of creatures. Septimus was next to him, keeping Blair kneeling at his feet with his wand. The leader was grinning madly at her and she sneered back in Black Speech. "If you want the book, get here now!"
He nodded to her and closed his eyes, answering her summons, he came out of her mind and his transparent body stood in front of her. "Well done, Jordan. Well done."
"Where is it?" Jordan demanded as she opened the doors and entered the library.
"Can't you feel it? Can't you feel the magic from the book calling to you?" Milhauke asked. He could feel it, he knew Jordan could too, she only needed to accept it. "Let it take you over and you will find it. Find it, deliver it to me, and your brother will be freed."
Jordan closed her eyes, feeling the dark magic penetrating her mind, her heart, and her soul. The book called to her, telling her it would end her suffering, she would overcome all despair. When she opened her eyes, she stood before small painting. She had no idea how she walked anywhere, not being in control of her own body. Staring at the painting, she locked eyes with a giant spectral dog.
It was the Grim, the omen of death. It stood guard over the magic spell book, warning off anyone who came looking for it. It was a clever idea to either to scare anyone away with chance of their own death, or to show that only death will come from using the guarded book. Even more unsettling was how the shining eyes followed anyone who came near it. At first, the dog sat calmly, completely still, with one of his massive paws securely standing over the locked book. Until Jordan challenged it by not walking away. The Grim began to move like the magical portraits back home. He stood up, barred his teeth to her, his dark fur standing straight up on his back.
"That's it!" Milhauke pointed to the picture and the dog snapped at his hand. It was like he was able to attack from the portrait. He shoved Jordan forward, "get it!"
Jordan was not afraid of the omen, she always had a fondness for dogs and wished her fellow witches and wizards would not label the dog with something so awful. She tried to sooth the defensive k-9, to gain his trust. She held out her hand to let him sniff, he only became more agitated. So, she reached into her bag and pulled out some dried meat. Grim started to calm down, smelling the food and gently took it from her, eating and watching her. She gave him another piece, which he ate quickly. On the third piece, the Grim now trusted her enough he took his paw off the book. She reached for the book and he did not try to stop her.
"You never cease to amaze me. You're charming enough to take from death himself." Milhauke praised.
"Jordan?" Ori's voice called out from behind, surprising the witch. "There you are! We've been looking all over for you. Who is that?"
Jordan froze in terror and shock. He could see Milhauke! How? She thought.
Ori pressed on, "Whatever's happened, we can help you! Bifur was able to bring the elves. The Lady Galadriel can," he was cut off.
"This isn't your lover, is it Jordan? He seems too small and scrawny." Milhauke sneered down his nose at the dwarf.
"Shut up, old man." Jordan snapped in black speech.
"Get rid of him or I will do it for you!" He pulled out his wand to point it at her friend.
Jordan did not hesitate a moment and set the memory of the dark sorcerer on fire. Her hate for him was growing with each breath. She was ashamed for Ori to see her like this, but there was no helping it. Once Milhauke was gone, she signed to her friend, Run! Get out of here! She did not want him to see what she would be doing next. He refused to leave, gaping at what he just witnessed, so she started to grow fire in her hand to threaten him. When he realized she was not messing around, he disappeared from the library.
The book in her hand began to drain the energy out of her, leaving her feeling cold. It was like it seeped in from her hand, up her arm, corrupting the rest of her body with hate and wickedness. All she wanted was to set the thing on fire.
It had a lock on it, thus keeping its dark secrets sealed. Setting it on the floor, she unlocked it. Alohomora. It's energy gleefully doubled in enthusiasm upon its release.
Then she pulled out the children's book, Tale of Beadle The Bard, out of her bag. Carefully, she removed the binding from each book. The dark book being much more difficult. It was in distress over being removed from its cover and tried to keep shutting itself from the attack. Setting it in the cover of the children book, it practically slithered into the bindings and sighed in relief! And just as quickly as it fixed itself, the bright and colorful cover depleted and had the look of despair in its images. The ugly insides made the outside match it. She had no intentions of reading the book, only accidently catching a few words of the first page. It could have been a diary, or even just notes, of the first Dark Lord or Arda, Morgoth of the Valar. She did not know any details of him, only that he was not someone to mess with or to take on alone.
Reattaching the children's stories to the outside of dark book was much easier. Nothing really changed about the outside. Which would be good since Milhauke already saw the awful thing. By the time he would realize the lie, Blair would be safe. I hope.
Looking back to the Grim, the black dog sat staring at her. She fed him one more time before returning the dark pages to its original hiding place. Grim looked surprised and happy at her attention when she patted his head. She prayed for the next time she encountered the Grim, if he was truly an omen of death, they would come together as friends and he would guide her from this terrible existence.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
It felt so good to be laying down, in a soft bed, nice and warm. Fili felt like he could have lain there for days because he was so tired. When he opened his eyes, he saw he was in the infirmary inside the mountain, Thorin and Kili were in beds on either side of him. The last person he remembered seeing was Nicole and Sarril, who were working together to attend to his wounds.
"Ah, you are awake. How are you feeling, Fili?" Nicole came over and felt his forehead. "No fever, so that's good. How do your ribs and the rest of your bones feel?"
Fili was careful to test out his arms, legs, and lungs, for any further signs of broken bones. He was stunned, "I feel great!"
Nicole smiled, "Don't try to get out of bed just yet. If you do too soon you could pass out."
Fili was still cautious as he tested all his limbs in bed. "That potion worked miracles. I feel completely healed!"
"That's good. Your uncle and brother should be waking soon too. Kili had quite the concussion, but Thorin had the worst of all your injuries. Jordan was able to save him."
"Where is she?"
Nicole went quiet, not sure what to say, and sorry she brought it up.
"Is she dead?" Fili's mind went to the worst-case scenario.
"We don't think so, but she is missing."
"Missing?"
"We think she's in the mountain. We just can't seem to find her."
"Does she know I survived?"
"It's possible."
"What are you not telling me, Nicole?"
"She's not herself, Fili. When Karah and the rest of the company last saw her, the curse had completely taken over, consuming her inside and out. They tried to stop her from leaving, but she disapperated and now no one knows where she is."
"What is disapperated?" Kili's groggy voice called from his bed.
"Kili!" Nicole smiled down at her future brother in law. "How are you feeling?"
"I'll let you know in a minute. Is there any water? That potion you gave me left a terrible taste in my mouth." Kili exclaimed as he accepted her help to sit up and drink from the cup of cool water.
"Well?" she asked. There was another cup available so she filled it and handed it to Fili.
Kili drained his and assessed his body. "Really good, actually! My head doesn't hurt at all. Has Uncle awakened yet?"
Thorin groaned, "I never get a full night's sleep with you two around." He rubbed his temple and his eyes.
Kili smirked, "I can hardly argue that right now considering it's daytime."
Nicole sat down on the edge of Thorin's bed, ready to hand him some water. "How about you? How are you feeling?"
He took her hand and brought it to his lips, "wonderful."
Seeing his uncle so happy made Fili desperate to find out more about Jordan. He started to get out of bed when Ori sprinted into the infirmary.
"Has anyone seen Balin?" the scribe did not notice the royal line was now fully awake, only having eyes for Nicole. When he finally caught on to their stares, the blood fell from his face in panic. He did not want to be the one to break the news to Fili or Thorin of what Jordan had done.
Nicole shook her head, pulling her hand free from Thorin and handing him a cup of water. "He has not returned since he left with my family."
"What's going on, Ori?" Thorin asked in between gulps.
"Um, well," Ori didn't know what to do. He was falling to pieces, trying to sort out all of his thoughts. He wanted to find Balin and tell him first, as he would know best how to tell Thorin. He knew first, he must be loyal to his people and his king. But he worried if he told Thorin what Jordan had done, he would arrest her and put her in the dungeons, or worse, before they knew what she was up too. He worried about how Fili would take the news of his One's betrayal of his kingdom. Having witnessed the whole action, there was something not right about her, and he wanted to get to the bottom of this. He owed it to everyone, to help and protect his family and friends the best he could; and that included the witches. They could find a solution together.
Thankfully, Balin had returned just in time. "Thank Mahal, you're all awake!" He saw the panic on Ori's face, and the impatience forming on the royal family, he carefully asked, "what's happened?"
Ori felt much better having Balin around while he explained. He told them of being in the library when Jordan arrived, the mysterious man with her, the moving picture, and the book. Both Thorin and Balin exchanged looks, knowing the danger they were all in. Fili and Kili were worried over Jordan's state of mind. Nicole shared all those concerns, and also wondered how a moving picture came to be in Erébor.
"Ring the bell, Balin. We need to seal the mountain. No one in or out!" Thorin decided. "Jordan must be found and stopped. Summon the rest of the company here. Make sure Gandalf, Lord Elrond, and if possible, King Thranduil will join us. We will need their help to devise a plan."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Balin bowed slightly before taking off.
"Uncle, tell me what's going on." Fili demanded to know.
"I will explain when the rest of the company arrive." Thorin stood from the bed, testing his limbs and stretching.
Nicole also desperately wanted to know what Thorin was up too. Was he cutting them off from the outside world? Would he stop her from seeing her family? "Thorin, might I have a word with you?" He nodded and followed her to the apartment. Turn back to Fili and Kili, she hopped to keep multiple people occupied while she had a private moment with Thorin, "my daughter would like to come and visit with you two before you leave the infirmary. May I send her to you?"
Kili answered, "sure. I'd like that. Fili?" He asked his brother pointedly, knowing his mind was only on Jordan. "Fili?"
Fili shook out of his daze and agreed. He was trying to be patient and trusting his uncle knew what he was doing. He did not know what to think. Jordan would not betray them like this! Unless, she really didn't share his she only using him to get this book? Is that why she was so distant with him? How could she have used him like this? All along, did she plan to find the company to bring her to the mountain? How would she know where to find them? Was Karah in on it with her visions of the future? Was this all just some big scheme? Fili could not stop his mind from falling into despair. He still loved her. She was his One, his other half. What was he going to do?
"Brother?" Kili called to him again. When Fili did not answer, he jumped from his bed and got in his face. "Listen to me, Fili. Do not let your mind jump to conclusions! There has to be an explanation for all of this. Do not give in to despair. We will find her, and we will fix this!"
"Fix what?" René asked. Like the rest of the family, she had a knack for appearing out of nowhere. "Mama said you both were all healed! I knew you'd be alright."
Kili gave his brother some space and embraced his future niece in a hug. "You were quite right. How are you doing?"
She shrugged. "I'm fine. Do you know where Aunt Dan went? No one can find her."
"No, I haven't seen her for hours. But we will find her."
Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!
René covered her ears and yelled loud enough for them to hear. "That bell is loud!"
When the ringing stopped, the infirmary doors closed. Patients inside continued to get the care and treatment they needed. Those who were still waiting in the hall were escorted to other rooms to await treatment. No one was to remain in the hallways other than the guards at the gate. The exceptions were the rest of the company and Lord Dain, who came and went without any argument.
