Disclaimer - I don't own Tolkien's Middle Earth or Harry Potter.

This is my second attempt at a mega-crossover idea, so along with utilizing Japanese mythology, I'm going to further disclaim that I'm using characters and settings from Great-Uncle Dracula, Chronicles of Narnia, and Fena: Pirate Princess to flesh out the idea that I'll disclaim further along as I introduce characters and settings into the narrative, as well as other fandoms I may bring in.

For further context, my first attempt was before the seventh Harry Potter book came out as well as before The Hobbit live-action series came out. I also bit off more than I could handle. (And by that I mean a lot more than I could handle.) I held back on certain things, either by withholding them or changing the idea I had for various reasons I won't go into here. I also admit that, like any other fanfic writer, I've my ship and headcanon preferences.

Also, I'll be taking my time adding in the Tolkien elements so that they'll hopefully be believable rather than not.

Finding a Hero: The Black Family
What Is

The war was over.

In Hermione's opinion, the taste of war left a deep desire for life to return to normal. Yet, as each day passed by, the euphoria slowly gave way to reality, that days, where the sun seemed brighter and filled with hope didn't prevent dark, negative thoughts from surfacing now and then, such as what she might say to her parents once they returned home, their memories as well.

It was a strange train of thought to cross her mind as she arrived just outside the Burrow. The sunlight lit up the Burrow, reminiscent of the times before the war, of a childhood filled with light and laughter ready to swallow up the welcomed guest in genuine warmth didn't help. Something felt off, like an illusion, as she arrived just outside the gate before heading up the path. And as her hand came within inches of the doorknob, there came a realization that something about the Burrow was different.

She didn't know how long Hermione stood there; her thoughts only stirred when she heard Harry speak up from behind. "I'm rather glad to see the Burrow again."

Hermione turned her head so she might look at him, noting she'd not heard the sound of him Apparating. "Does something feel different?"

"Well, the Death Eaters attacked the Burrow on the wedding day. So there might be something different," Harry said, stepping closer and reaching out for the doorknob from which she'd already lowered her hand, only to pause as she did, frowning. "Maybe it's because he's not here. Fred, I mean."

Without hesitation, Harry reached out for the doorknob, twisting the knob to open the door. And then-

Mrs. Weasley didn't hesitate in hurrying forward to greet them with warm hugs, just as she had done before the war, even at Bill's wedding to Fleur. Hermione closed her eyes, welcoming the warmth of kindness radiating off Mrs. Weasley despite what the family matriarch had lost. Hermione took a deep breath, letting the smells of the Burrow invade her nostrils. Hermione's eyes remained shut as she took in the familiarity of it all while noting the feeling that something wasn't right.

"Care for something to eat?" Mrs. Weasley said as she bustled the two into her kitchen, her smile as bright as Hermione remembered.

Hermione opened her eyes, watching Harry smile at Mrs. Weasley apologetically. "Sorry, but we've plans for lunch."

"Ah. Yes, I remember," Mrs. Weasley turned away, heading towards the stove as her smile faded. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, feeling guilty even though they shouldn't, as Mrs. Weasley sighed. She then turned her head, looking over her shoulder as they both took seats at the table to wait for Ron and Ginny to come downstairs. "It's alright."

"Is it?" Hermione asked, still feeling guilty, knowing full well Arthur and Percy found themselves busy with work at the ministry. Charlie—Hermione didn't know what he was up to beyond whatever he was doing involving dragons. Bill and Fleur had their own place. And-

Harry glanced upstairs. "Is George eating?"

"Nowhere near as much as a mother would like."

And there it was, the reality hanging over the Weasley household.

Hermione looked down at the table and her fingers, realizing just how off it felt not to hear something from upstairs coming from the twins' room. She glanced up at Harry and thought he might be thinking the same thing: Mrs. Weasley asking if they wanted something to eat had more to do with George than anything.

As if on cue, a familiar face appeared. George startled upon realizing Hermione and Harry were there, his eyes seeing empty as if he were far away mentally. Not that Hermione blamed George for feeling the way he did. " At least I'll be getting my family back. I mean, maybe. "

"How are you?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

George shrugged his shoulders in response before sitting down at the table. The silence was-

Hermione glanced away, unsure of what to say. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mrs. Weasley place some of the food she made onto a plate before setting it in front of George. Turning her head slightly, she watched George pick up a spoon, moving the plate's contents around before setting the utensil down. Her mouth pushed together, her head darting up to look at Harry, who seemed just as confused as she was regarding what they should say to George.

A thundering sound came from the stairs, indicating Ron would appear soon, reminding Hermione that he still hadn't passed the Apparition test. He smiled at them, not noticing George—silent as he was, sitting there with them. "Ready to go?"

"And what about Ginny?" Hermione asked.

The warm smile on Ron's face left, his face scrunching up in dismay as he looked up the stairs. "She's probably still trying to get ready."

"Obviously," George muttered, catching Ron off guard.

Ron stared at his older brother for a few minutes as George stared at the food in front of him. Eventually, he turned toward Hermione and said, "I don't understand why you girls must take so long to get ready. It's plain barmy."

Hermione swallowed, remembering the Yule Ball while telling herself Ron didn't mean to-

"You're really good at sticking your foot into it, aren't you, Ron," George said, sitting up straight. The empty look in his eyes was replaced with a rather dark look. "Fred and I gave you that book, and you still don't get it?"

"George," Hermione cleared her voice.

George startled, looking her in the eye right before swallowing. He glanced away. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to her? I'm the one you tried biting the head off of," Ron frowned.

His older brother flinched, then muttered as he looked away, "Sorry."

"I still don't understand what I did wrong," Ron said. "Well, it doesn't take you that long to get ready, does it, Hermione? I mean, you don't care about that kind of thing like other girls do."

Hermione stared, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Ginny's arrival interrupted the awkward silence. "I'm ready," she said before glancing over at George. Without hesitation, she walked over and hugged him, leaning her head against that of her older brother as she did so. "Be sure to eat something, and don't worry, mum, George."

George glanced away, not responding.

"Do take care, George," Hermione said, smiling at him even though he didn't look her way. "We do care, you know."

Lunch started well enough despite the way her thoughts drifted to worrying about how George was doing while wondering if the others thought the same thing. Ron side-Apparated with her to a place near the cafe they'd chosen for their double date. And then-

"Aren't you supposed to be returning your parent's memories today?" Ginny frowned, her head tilting as she thought of a different topic from what they'd been discussing.

"That's today?" Harry asked from where he sat across from Hermione.

"Yeah, that's today. The Ministry of Magic finally tracked them down, and I'll be meeting up with them at my parents' home," Hermione said, her mouth twisting into a smile, the euphoria from the war ending returning even with the doubts crashing through her head regarding how her parents would react to learning she'd erased their memories. "It will be good to see them again and introduce them to Ron."

"Wait," Ron's head jerked up from his food. "You want me to go with you?"

Hermione's entire body tensed, and she looked at Ron. "Well, I was hoping you would. I mean, we had discussed it that I would be returning my parents' memories."

"This isn't how I wanted to meet your parents," Ron said.

Which was fair, yet the comment still stung. "I was hoping for your support."

"I know, but," Ron said, shaking his head. "This is rather sudden, Hermione."

"Sudden?" Harry frowned. "Even though I didn't know she'd be returning her parents' memories today, Hermione's been talking about doing that since we defeated Voldemort. And it's important to her. Surely she told you when it was?"

"Yeah, but I was hoping not to," Ron said.

Hermione startled, sitting up straight as she stared. " He means he was hoping not to meet them today, but I can't blame him, as it would have been very awkward meeting them right after I returned their memories. "

"Did you just say you don't want to meet Hermione's parents?" Ginny asked.

But before Hermione could interject-

"Well, no."

Harry frowned. "Really, mate?"

"What?" Ron looked at the others in confusion.

"Your sister just asked you if you wanted to meet my parents?" Hermione said. "I mean, you do want to eventually meet them, right?"

"But I have met them," Ron said. "And it's not as if we're going to interact with them very much, so we need to rush into it. Plus, Hermione returning her parents' memories and saying, 'hey, this is my boyfriend,' feels super weird."

"It's alright," Hermione said. "But he's right that it would be a rather awkward to introduce him as my boyfriend to my parents." She frowned. " And the rest of my family—the family I've not told them about. I mean, taking my parents to Diagon Alley was a disaster. "

"It's not alright," Ginny said. "I mean, Ron is right in saying it would be awkward for him to go, but you should still have some kind of support."

"Ginny and I could go," Harry offered.

"No," Hermione straightened up. "There are, I think, some thoughts I need to sort through. I mean, it's true that all of you have met my parents the summer before our second year—Ginny's first, but you've not really met my family. And my parents—they're not my only family."

"You didn't just erase the memories of your parents?" Ron asked, frowning, scowling.

"I lived with my parents," Hermione said. "So the Death Eaters would have found them if they came looking for me." Although, in the back of her mind, she wondered if she'd done enough interacting with her own family before the war starting and definitely not after—not when certain things changed that summer. There was a level of euphoria resulting from getting to return her parents' memories, from thoughts of things returning to normal, fading.

And there was no use dragging it out. Lunch was finished quickly after that, with the unexpected turn in the conversation dampening the mood. Ron left with Harry and Ginny, and she Apparated to her parents' house.

As she looked around, there was a light layer of dust over everything, which wasn't surprising given a year having passed since anyone entered the home, including her. In some ways, she was thankful, as it meant the Death Eaters didn't even think of coming here, yet the Death Eaters and Voldemort underestimating their enemies didn't mean it couldn't have happened. She dragged a finger over the dust before pulling her wand out to use a cleaning spell.

With the dust gone, she looked up at the pictures on the wall, of her bother with her straight brown hair and brown eyes—like her, and her father with black hair and gray eyes smiling out of the pictures of Hermione and-

Hermione wasn't their only child, yet she remembered when she left for Grimmauld place, her parents sent her younger sisters away to a relative in France. However, her parents didn't go into detail regarding their reasons for doing so despite how odd it felt not getting the chance to learn whether her youngest sister was magical. And she missed Jules despite how trying the youngest Granger could be.

As for Elizabeth, there was a bitterness to their parting, with Elizabeth being in denial about being magical along with the two of them not getting along, with their last conversation involving Elizabeth chewing her out for not caring, for spending so much time away from the family., particularly after the negative experience their parents had the summer before Hermione's second year. Jules might forgive her for erasing their parents' memories, but Elizabeth, should she ever find out-

Hermione let out a sigh, slowly heading through each room and doing a quick cleaning spell to remove the dust, stopping to linger in the bedrooms of her family members, including her father's room, which was used when he needed to retreat from the world, which made sense given the how the room was above the second flight of stairs, in the attic away from all the commotion downstairs.

The sound of someone calling out from downstairs made Hermione startle, and she headed down to see someone from the ministry there with her parents, along with someone from St. Mungos, in case the removal of the spell might go wrong. There was a definite look of confusion on their faces, but in the back of her mind, she wondered if there would be similar confusion, if not worse, when she returned their memories.

She started with her mother and watched Olivia Granger blink back the chaotic confusion of having her memories return and step over to her father. "Hermione, what's going on?"

"I'll explain everything when I return his memories. " Hermione lifted her wand to start the process and-