Taken from the LOTR wiki:
Elanor
Elanor was a golden, star-shaped flower that grew in Lothlórien.
Simply search "Flowers in Lord of the Rings" to find the wiki page I got her name from. As far as I'm concerned, Lily was a Lord of the Rings nerd who read the original books before it became a trilogy. Also, this is a Troll Hunters/HP cross. I recently stumbled across the third sequel to the franchise and got hooked at the series. Enjoy!
Elanor cursed under her breath. That pain in the ass vampire would find it funny to throw her into an entirely different world just to force her to figure out how to get back with his specialty, the Kaleidoscope.
At least he wasn't a complete dick...or he was setting her up for a bigger headache long term.
She had credentials as a teacher for some reason, and a 'degree' in history. A little investigating found that the local history teacher at the high school had vanished and the principal was looking for a temporary replacement.
Well, she wasn't an idiot to ignore the obvious hint the vampire had given her.
In less than a week, she had the job.
In the school, two days later...
"Did you hear about the new history teacher they hired to replace Stickler?" said Toby.
"I just hope she's not another changeling," said Jim.
The first thing Jim thought when he saw "Ms. Black" was that she was hot. The second was that she looked rather young to be a teacher.
Once everyone sat down, Ms. Black spoke up.
"As you've likely heard, I've been hired to replace Mr. Stickler who has gone missing. My name is Ms. Black. To be truthful you're going to be the first class I've ever formally taught," she admitted. "Which is why I am going to implement a very special treat for you all, one that you will likely enjoy long term."
She held up a book, one that any student would recognize from the library as the Diary of Anne Frank.
"Now I'm sure some of you have already read this book, or have used it for your essays at some point. I know from personal experience that history can be incredibly boring at times...which is why we're going to do something different. As we delve into the past, I am going to give you a choice when it comes to essays and standard homework. If you can't find a way to prove you've at least read your text books, then I want you to write me an essay based on the time period we are currently studying as a substitute. It can be an essay about greek myths, cowboys, even about Anne Frank and the struggles the Jews and other undesirables suffered at the hands of the Nazis. But you have to at least try to keep it as close to the period we're studying as possible. In exchange I'll forgive forgotten bits of homework and the odd bad test grade. Sound fair?"
The students all perked up at the idea of being able to skip boring homework.
"Just to be clear this does not include finals. I expect everyone to at least get a passing grade on that, deal?"
"Yes, Ms. Black," said a more enthusiastic class.
"I'll write down the minimum requirement for the essays later. For now I want to get a better idea of how much you've learned under your previous teacher so we can work from there. In other words, we're going to do a pop quiz."
There was some good natured groaning, but the students dutifully filled out as much as they could.
Once the bell rang, everyone filed out for their next class.
The second that door closed Ms. Black, or rather the dimensionally displaced Elanor sighed with relief.
"Thank the gods I had experience with the DA, or that would have been torture," she said to herself.
As the week progressed, she found a more or less positive feedback from the staff and more importantly the students. Some of the kids who were failing history were a bit more enthusiastic about at least trying to learn thanks to her new 'substitute' system.
She was somewhat amused when she saw the oddball Jim Lake walking around with what could only be a horseshoe of all things. She hid around the corner and listened in to his conversation with the rather chatty Toby.
"So we drop this to see if the new teacher is a changeling, right?" said Toby.
"While I appreciate the rather wide imagination you two apparently have, I regret to inform you that I am not one of the fae courts," she said, coming around the corner. Toby dropped the horseshoe in shock, and the two boys were stunned when she easily picked it up.
"What do you mean, fae courts?" asked Jim.
"It's an old world superstition. It's still somewhat common in Ireland and other parts of Europe to place cold iron...like this horseshoe for instance...over cribs and other entrances to ward off changelings and other fairies to keep them from absconding with infants. The fair folk can't stand the stuff," said Elanor amused.
"What about trolls?" asked Toby.
"As far as I know, trolls are weak to sunlight and certain blessed objects. I have a few books on the subject if you're interested," said Elanor. "I happen to specialize in mythology and other old world superstitions as a hobby."
Which wasn't entirely true, but she could hardly tell the two she was an honest to magic witch.
It was during one of her nightly excursions (one of her new coworkers had suggested a delightful French bistro she wanted to try out, but kept forgetting) that she saw something that made her groan in annoyance.
The odd magical signature she kept sensing in the school was coming from one of her students. The same student who apparently believed her to be a changeling of all things.
She took one look at the 'life and death' fight between what looked like a troll (though not any breed she was familiar with) and Jim in what could only be magical-imbued armor and sword.
If there was one thing she could recognize pretty damn fast, it was a stereotypical plot regarding "sudden fate/destiny to protect others". And knowing her luck, this poor kid was probably stuck with one of the "until death" type clauses that didn't really give you much of a choice once it chose you.
Her saving people thing might have taken a bit of a hit, but there was no way she was going to let this poor kid stumble through this mess alone without some advice from a more experienced party. The multi-armed troll was clearly the kid's mentor, but he was likely more used to other trolls than dealing with teenagers. Especially human teenagers with deadlines for homework and other obligations that were always more important when you were younger and didn't already have protecting the world on your shoulders.
Chances were he hadn't told his mother or other guardian about this mess, likely in a misguided sense of keeping them safe.
Elanor had a headache, and after a few strong drinks began drafting a plan to put an end to that before it caused a rift between the 'hero' and his family.
A few days later...
Jim was shocked when the new history teacher showed up at his house, with his mother present. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything to warrant a home visit.
"What's going on?" he asked cautiously. He knew she wasn't a changeling, but this was still pretty weird.
"I'm here to insure that your...late night activities...don't cause a nasty rift between you and your mother," said Ms. Black.
"My late night activities?" said Jim.
"Busy parents, especially ones in high profile jobs like your mother, are not as oblivious as you would think. Especially since she's trained to spot certain signs that something isn't right in a home," said Ms. Black bluntly. "And I know there aren't any clubs or after school activities that could explain the bruises you have."
Jim winced at that.
"Jim, what is really going on?" asked his mother, concerned.
"What's going on is your son was unlucky enough to be stuck with some sort of magical artifact or other mystical power source that requires him to deal with life and death fights against opponents better trained and much stronger than he is," deadpanned Ms. Black. "I'd recognize the signs anywhere."
Before Jim could deny it, his teacher's hand lashed out and snagged the troll hunter's amulet.
"I knew something was up when I kept sensing passive magic in my class and in the school. It wasn't that hard to track it down," said Ms. Black.
"This is some kind of joke, right?" said Barbara.
"I wish. Items like this rarely give the one it picks a choice, and if I know teenagers you've already tried to get rid of it before, only for it to come back regardless, correct?" said Ms. Black.
Jim's silence was particularly damning.
"Jim?"
"I..."
"Ms. Lake, these sort of items often come with 'destinies' or 'duties' attached. From what I've seen, there is a third party who is at least teaching him how to use it correctly since there is rarely a decent instruction manual. Your son likely didn't want to say anything because he didn't want to worry you," said Ms. Black.
"Is this thing the reason you left that letter in the recipe book?" asked Barbara upset.
"You actually had the sense to at least write a letter?" said Ms. Black surprised. "Well that puts you a few places ahead of most poor saps who get stuck with these things. You have the sense to know your own mortality at least."
Jim looked at her oddly.
"My what?"
"You acknowledge that there are times when things won't end well and that you're likely in over your head. Most would have left without bothering to leave a note explaining things," commented Ms. Black.
"This is crazy," said Barbara.
"Mr. Lake, this is your best chance to come clean once and for all and get actual support from someone you know loves you deeply and would be worried if something happened to you. She deserves to know the full truth, regardless of how strange it would seem," said Ms. Black. "Or do you want her to continue being oblivious to the possible dangers? I know for a fact that items like this come with enemies that won't hesitate to use your mother against you."
Jim immediately thought about the changeling Stickler, and realized she was right. Though he wished his mother could remain oblivious, it seemed he at least had a human ally who could explain things too her properly.
It was weird...one teacher tried to kill him, and the man's replacement was trying to explain things in a way his mother could understand in an effort to help him.
He took the artifact, and said the incantation.
"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command," he said clearly.
His mother's expression was somewhat painful to see, whereas Ms. Black had a rather...odd...one on her face.
He had trouble looking his mother in the eye. However it seemed his mother had other ideas.
Once the initial shock wore off, she hugged him tightly. He dispelled the armor and hugged her back.
Ms. Black had a rather irritated look on her face.
"That blasted vampire. He had to have known about that incantation..." she muttered under her breath in annoyance.
It was a rather emotional night, but Jim calmed down about being made to tell his mother the truth when Ms. Black told him flat out she was going to install a few things to protect his mother and all the other official "noncombatants/possible hostages".
She wasn't going to get stuck acting as one of the main combatants, but she would help if they needed magical assistance. She knew for experience these sort of things built up proper character that would see Jim and his friends through the rest of their lives.
On the plus side, Barbara had at least tentative acceptance towards Jim's new role as "troll hunter"...even if she wasn't particularly happy her son would be facing life-threatening dangers regularly.
Jim was just relieved the new teacher was able to explain things to her without freaking his mother out too much.
Ms. Black was utterly unimpressed with the Troll Market. Jim had thought it only fair he dump that particular surprise on her to pay her back for making him tell his mother the full truth.
"Well, it's a lot tidier than Diagon at least," she commented.
"Master Jim, who or what is this?!" said the same multi-armed troll she had seen earlier.
"Blinky, this is our new history teacher Ms. Black. Ms. Black, this is Blinky and AAARRRGGHH," said Jim.
Ms. Black went up to Blinky and held out her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Blinky and AAARRRGGHH," she said, shaking both their hands.
Blinky looked at her nonchalance in surprise.
"You're rather calm," he commented.
She gave him a deadpan look.
"My uncle was a werewolf, one of my first friends was a half-giant with an animal obsession, and I've faced far scarier things than an obvious scholar such as yourself," she replied flatly. "I have a rather firm policy of live and let live provided that the other party isn't trying to eat, maim or otherwise kill me...regardless of their outward appearance."
That seemed to calm Blinky down slightly.
"Wait...your uncle was a werewolf?" said Toby in surprise.
"He was a very gentle man with a mischievous side, but he was unfortunate enough that his father offended a rather cruel werewolf by the name of Greyback who turned him when he was a child. The society I belong to believe werewolves to be inhuman creatures, despite the fact that their condition only acts up once a month," she said sourly. "As far as I'm concerned, so long as no one here tries to attack me or otherwise get on my nerves, I could care less what their appearance is. After all, humans can often be far more cruel than anyone with a 'monstrous' appearance are."
"Well said!" said Blinky with approval.
Considering the damage King Arthur did when he was alive, before his sudden change of heart, he could wholeheartedly agree to that particular comment.
(Blinky rather appreciated the input "Elanor" brought to the group. It was nice to have an experienced witch on the team, even if she wasn't interested in being directly involved.)