The Eorlingas

'Can you read, Lily?'

Éowyn had entered the room. Over the past couple of days, Lily's leg had been healing abnormally fast, and she had been relieved to learn that at least this part of her magical being still worked. It had taken some effort, but Éowyn was opening up to her. She had learnt from her that the Meduseld was the Golden Hall of Edoras, named so because its straw roof looked as if made of gold when seen from afar. It housed the King and his kin, and on its throne now sat King Théoden, uncle of Éowyn and her brother, Éomer, whom the King had adopted after the death of their father. Éowyn also told her of the stories on the tapestries. How Eorl the Young had been the first King of Rohan, and his father Léod had been killed by a wild white horse he had tried to tame. Eorl, enraged by his father's death, hunted the horse responsible, but when he found him, he decided not to kill him, but made him surrender his freedom instead as a weregild. The horse accepted and was named Felaróf. Felaróf became the first of the Maeras and was said to have understood the speech of men. Eorl ruled as King for thirty-five years, until he was killed in battle when Rohan was attacked by Easterlings. Eorl and Felaróf were buried together in a mound outside the gates of Edoras, and Eorl was succeeded by his son Brego. Now, many mounds adorned the grassy hills around Edoras, laying down the old bones of Kings and their horses to rest.

The Maeras, till this day, surpassed all other horses in strength, intelligence, and speed. They roamed wild and free on the plains of Rohan, led by their own Lord and descendant of Felaróf, named Shadowfax. Éowyn had shared many other stories with her, on Middle-Earth and its many realms, but Lily had loved the stories about the horses most of all. It had made her share her own stories on going into the woods on her mother's horse, and of the adventures she had had there with her sister, and with Severus. As soon as she had revealed that she could ride, Éowyn revealed more of herself also. The pride she held for being a part of the Eorlingas, known as the Rohirrim to anyone outside of Rohan. Her uncle the King was ill, and therefore she spend most of her time within the Meduseld looking after him and Snowmane, his royal horse. She admitted, with a twinkle of mischief in her eye, that she, against the rules, took Snowmane from his stables from time to time and rode as swiftly as she could over the lands surrounding Edoras, and with her sword held high as though in battle, setting her soul free. She had shown Lily her sword. It was styled beautifully with a bronze pommel and guard. The guard shaped into two horses' heads bowing to one another. A wide grove ran down three-quarters of the blade, reducing the weight of the sword while maintaining its strength. Lily had learnt all this from Éowyn's telling, as she was a Shield Maiden of Rohan, and Lily admired her deeply for it.

'Yes, I can read,' Lily answered.

'Most of us never learn to read,' Éowyn explained as she handed Lily a book. 'Wise but unlearnt as they say. Our stories have always been passed on through tale and song. I did learn, as is expected when related to the King, but never had a chance to read much as books have rarely been written by and about our people.'

Lily looked down at the book. It was written in a much older version of the Common Speech, which would prove to be difficult, but not impossible to read. "Bíspell of Haleth" the title read on its cover. 'It's the story of Haleth,' Éowyn explained. 'She lived in Thargelion, in East Beleriand. Her father Haldad was the leader of the Haladin, one of the three Houses of the Edain. He and her twin brother Haldar were slain in an Orc raid, and so she became the leader of the House. She held her people together for seven days until Caranthir, the fourth of the seven sons of the elf Fëanor, drove the Orcs away and ended the siege. Caranthir learnt that day that Men held great courage, and offered her and her people land in the North that was under the protection of the Eldar. Haleth, proud and with a strong desire to remain independent, declined his generous offer, and gathered what remained of her people to Estolad. I will not spoil the rest for you on how the Haladin became known as the House of Haleth, for it is a great story of immortal Elves and mortal Men, and of women choosing their own destiny.'

'She sounds a bit like you,' said Lily genuinely. 'Thank you, Éowyn. I think I will very much enjoy reading this while my leg is still healing.'

'I've never seen a leg heal as fast as yours,' said Éowyn. 'Is that too, part of your witchcraft?'

'It's not witchcraft, but it is the magic in me,' Lily confirmed. 'Within a few days' time I expect I will be back on my feet again. Then I can finally go outside and see Edoras and the fields and plains of Rohan you always speak so fondly of. Perhaps I can even go out and find herbs and other things for my Potions, and then I can show you what beautiful things magic is capable of.'

"Magic" was still a difficult word between them, and through subtle ways, Lily tried to convince Éowyn of the beautiful side of magic. Éowyn had sought the advice of her uncle, and Gríma, his advisor, but all that came of it was that Lily must be delusional, and that the word of a girl who was barely a woman should not be held in high regard. Lily didn't like it that she was looked down upon like that, but on the other hand it also meant that she didn't have to fear being thrown out of Edoras, and into a world that was entirely unknown to her.

Lily had requested that the door be kept open on purpose. It was how she was able to meet other people that were passing by when Éowyn was indisposed. It was how she had met Háma, the doorward of the Meduseld and the captain of King Théoden's guard. Háma was a large and proud man, with long hair and a great beard. Though impressive in his stature, he was humble in his words, and spoke fondly of Éowyn and Éomer, having watched them grow up and become fierce warriors by their own right. She had also met Grimbold and Elfhelm, though briefly, as they were very busy and important men. Meeting Théodred, the King's only son, had also been a pleasant surprise. He had told her that he was the Second Marshall of Rohan, which meant that he oversaw the West-Mark, including the Ford of Isen, and that he spent most of his time at The Hornburg, which was a fortified gorge in the White Mountains named Helm's Deep.

Every person Lily had met, had met her with kindness and stories of the land. Gríma, the King's advisor however, was a different story. He didn't look like all the other men and women she het met. Everyone was tall, broad-shouldered, and their hair varying no more from a pale blond to light brown in colour. There was a clear connection between the people and the realm of Rohan, and yet Gríma appeared shorter than the rest. Hunched over, as though troubled with a great burden, reminding Lily of Severus more than she cared to admit. His hair was black and stringy, and his skin so pale as though it was made of wax paper. He didn't speak to her, but he stood in the doorway of her room, looking at her with his pale blue eyes, as though deciding whether she was worth his time or not. The strangest thing, however, was that whenever Éowyn left the room, he was never far behind to follow her. As though he listened to their conversations from dark places she couldn't see. Something was off that extended beyond his unkempt and foreign appearance, and Lily knew better than to reveal too much of her origins in his presence.

'Then I will make certain that there are horses to choose from at the stables in a few days' time,' said Éowyn. 'I will come with you, and I will show you all there is to see.'

Lily saw the wanderlust in Éowyn's heart. And the curiosity, too, about her life and where she came from. Éowyn didn't say it out loud, but Lily knew she was withholding until she was certain it was just the two of them, alone in their own private conversation. How she wished she could have simply raised her wand, blocking all sight and sound so that no eyes could see, nor ears could hear what was shared between them. 'I'm looking forward to it.'

With a nod and a smile, Éowyn walked her way up to the door. 'It is time for me to take my leave. There are rumours of strange sightings by the borders, and Théodred is expected to return soon with more news on the matter. I shall come back later tonight with supper.'

'Perhaps tonight I can share a little bit more about my own House,' said Lily. 'The House of Godric Gryffindor, and his Goblin-made sword.'

'I would love to hear all about it,' Éowyn answered, and a spark gleamed from her eyes. 'I shall see you soon.'

As the days passed by, Lily's mind had wandered back to her family, her friends, and Severus most of all. She had dreamt of them, and wept for them, until she had no more tears left to cry. And in hear heart she knew that her tears would not form a river back home, and so she scraped together all the Gryffindor courage she could muster and decided then and there that there was only one way forward. She had to meet with a wizard, and to get there she would have to heal, and become a part of the land the River Snowbourn had brought her to. Its present and its history, and it would all start with the House of Haleth. As Éowyn turned the corner, she opened the book, and started to read.

A/N Rohirrim is Sindarin for People of the Horse-lords and are mostly used by outsiders: the name they had for themselves are Eorlingas, named after their king Eorl the Young who had first brought them to Rohan.
A/N Weregild refers to the amount of money someone is worth to their tribe or town. If killed in combat, their family would be entitled to reparations from the slayer according to the value of the weregild. By example, Isildur considered the One Ring as his weregild for his father and brother's death.
A/N According to the lore, the Maeras were brought to the West by the Vala Oromë. Oromë is the favourite Vala of the Eorlingas. Maeras (plural) is the Old English word for horses.
A/N "Bíspell" is old English for "story".
A/N The Edain are the Three Houses of Men that came to Beleriand from the far East during the First Age. During the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, most of Beleriand was brought to destruction and descent into the sea.
A/N The Eldar are the elves who were the first and eldest Children of Illúvatar.
A/N It is important to note that the term 'witchcraft' means something else entirely in Tolkien's world than it did in Rowling's world. Witchcraft in Middle-Earth is more commonly known as Dark Sorcery, practised by the Black Númenórians, better known as the Nazgûl/the Nine Ringwraiths. Out of those 9, only 2 have a title, The Witch-King of Angar (Captain and Lord of Minas Morgul) and the Mouth of Sauron (Lieutenant ofBarad-dûr).