FicWad

Harry and Hermione were walking in the gardens of Lorien.

"I've been... trying to put in to words what I feel about Gandalf" Hermione said softly.

"Really?" Harry turned "You were never much one for poems, Bree not withstanding"

"Well - I miss her, and..." She waved her arms around "This land makes me feel more creative" She smiled "So - do you want to hear it?"

"I suppose so" He smiled. She paused, took a deep breath, then opened her mouth.

"Frodo?" A voice rang out across the garden, and Harry and Hermione turned as Lily and James walked across the garden to them later.

"Maybe later" Hermione said, then turned "My Lord and Lady?"

"Come with us" Lily said "We must speak, 'ere you leave"

"But I was about to sing" Hermione moaned.

"Trust me" James smiled "You will want to hear what we have to say... Hermione"

xoxox

Lily and James led them through to a secluded garden, and to a stone structure in the middle of it.

"This is the Mirror of Eht Erutuf" James said.

"Not a stupidly ornate bird-bath?"

"No. It is The Mirror of Eht Erutuf" James repeated, glaring at Harry "And you are not too old to take over my knee"

"Sorry, my Lord"

"If you look in to it, even my Lady and I do not know what you will see. It might be the future, it might be the past. It might be something that comes true, or it might not. It might even be a world without shrimp" Harry and Hermione stared at him "Sorry - I guess I spent too much time with Luna"

"About that..."

"After you chose to look in The Mirror" Lily said firmly "So - who's first?"

Hermione glanced at Harry, who nodded, and took a step forward.

"Lean over the surface, but do not touch it" Lily whispered. Harry nodded again, then leaned over.

"I see... trees. Being felled and shoved in to a furnace. And... Hermione? Dead? Or Petrified? I see Hogwarts burning... and... OH MY GOD!"

"What?" James asked. Both he and Lily leaned over Harry to gaze at the mirror.

"Okay - this seems oddly familiar" He smirked "But... I thought I saw... I thought I saw..."

"A puddy-tat?" Hermione asked. Harry smirked, then looked back at the surface of the mirror.

"But no - it's gone" He shrugged "It's probably not important" He turned to Hermione "Your turn" She leaned over.

"I see... more trees" She paused "What is it with the trees? Anyway... I see a great battle, I see a lot of people with red hair. I see a long, dark tunnel and... the image of a snake with a crown... that can't be right" She paused "And... a huge glowing eye. It's... staring at me..." She pulled back "Wow. That was kind of scary"

"I too know what you have seen" Lily said "For it troubles my mind too" She turned to face them "Do not think that merely by singing, or chanting, or having a fully armed company of fierce elven warriors and more ancient magic than you can shake a stick at do we keep this realm safe" She smiled, then held up her hand, revealing a ring with a small jewel set atop "The Ring Of Nenya, The Ring Of Adamant" She giggled "As wedding rings go, it's kinda pretty, don't you think?"

"Very nice" Hermione said "How do you know who we are?"

"The three rings allow us certain... gifts" She smiled "But no doubt you will learn more of that later" She turned "Come - it is time to go"

xoxox

"It's time you were all moving on" Lily stood in front of the eight "While we like you all, if we have to hear one more complaint about a MMM prank, I think we will break our own laws and string two hobbits up by their toes" Everyone turned and glared at Fred and George, who merely shrugged "And so, I give to all of you gifts, to commemorate your time in Lorien"

"Really?" Hermione asked. Lily turned to her "I thought we could only get these if we waited for the special edition of the story?"

"No - you can have them now. Besides the special edition won't be done for another six months or so, and you will probably need the gifts before that" She turned to the group.

"To you, Merry and Pippin, I give you these cloaks. Not only will they keep you warm, and make you nearly invisible, but they are charmed so that you can not carry out any pranks against people I like"

"To you, Boromir, son of Denathor, I give you this" She handed him a book titled 'Teamwork, Or How Not To Steal Magic Rings From Your Friends"

"To you, Aragorn, I give you this" She handed him a shiny green stone "Arwen said you would know what do to with it"

"To you, Samwise, I give you this" She handed him a small box "If you manage to survive, and not die horribly, you will find this of use"

"To you, Legolas, I give you a bow and quiver, and some Grecian 2000 in case the coming travels make your hair less than perfectly styled"

"To you, Frodo, Ring-Bearer, I give you this" She gave her a small object. Hermione examined it.

"The Mirror of Galadriel (tm)?"

"I thought it might come in handy" Lily smiled "Plus also, this" She handed Hermione a torch "Surprisingly, The Land Of Shadow is quite dark, so you might find this useful"

"And Gimli - given that our two races hate each other with a firey passion, what would you ask of me?"

"A lock of your hair, so I can put it in crystal and use it as a symbol of peace between our two races"

"Really?" Lily asked, and Neville nodded "I would have thought you would have asked for a weapon, or a flying horse or something, but okay"

She turned to the group again.

"My final gift is this :- when you are no longer eight, the knowledge of yourselves will come to your mind. Take that knowledge, and use it well"

xoxox

Harry and Hermione stared down at the river.

"Boats?"

"You have a long way to go. Do you really want to walk?" James smiled.

"But I can't swim" Harry moaned. Hermione stared at him "What?"

"You swam for an hour to rescue Ron"

"That was with gillyweed" He stared at the river again "Do you have any gillyweed?"

"Yes"

"Really?"

"No, not really" She glanced at Lily, who was smirking.

"Luna really does get inside your head, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does"

"So - have a nice trip, and send us a postcard and try to bring us back souvenirs" James smiled "And - you know - don't die"

xoxox

"Are we nearly there yet?" Hermione asked.

"Why?" Cedric asked "Are you getting tired of the view?"

"No" She shook her head "But if I have to hear Merry and Pippin sing 'Row, Row, Row your boat' one more time, I think I will throw them overboard"

xoxox

"So - we reach the end of the first stage of our journey" Cedric said "Either we stay on this side, and go to Minas Tirith, or we go on the other side and go to Mordor"

"Well - I am going to Minas Tirith" Percy announced "It is my duty, and I can't leave my brother in charge, cause he is a feckless waster"

"We should continue our quest" Draco said "We must help Frodo destroy the ring, otherwise Minas Tirith with fall" He turned to stare at Percy "Whether you help them or not"

"What about you, Ring-Bearer?" Percy turned to glare at Hermione "Surely we should hear from you?"

"I would welcome your help, but I am pretty sure that the eight of us sneaking in to Sauron's realm might be noticed" She looked around "So - if you will give me an hour, I will make my decision" She stood up "I am going for a walk" The other seven watched her go, then Cedric turned to Harry.

"Will she be okay?"

"Yeah. She knows what she has to do, she is just not ready to end the fun part of the trip yet" Harry sighed "Don't worry - it will all turn out for the best" He glanced over at Percy "Or I hope it will"

xoxox

As Hermione wandered in the woods, she started singing to herself.

"She stood amongst the noise and din, fire and shadow, she both defied. Then Fred tripped up and pushed her in, In Kazad'Dum, her wisdom died"

"Who's Fred?" A voice came from behind her. She turned to see Percy gazing at her.

"Never mind. Why are you here, Boromir?"

"I came to ask you a favour, young hobbit" He started pacing "My father, Lord Denathor, says that Gandalf is...was just scaremongering. Trying to stir up fear and worry, so that she can put her fake-king on the throne"

"And what do you say, Boromir?" She asked carefully.

"That he has a point" He smiled "But if you, and your ring, would be willing to come with us, we could stand up against any force"

"I'm sorry, Boromir, I can't do that" She stared at him.

"What if I force you?" He said, putting his hand on his sword hilt.

"Well, then we'd have a problem"

xoxox

"What the hell was that?!" Draco leaped to his feet.

"The Horn Of Boromir (tm)!" Cedric yelled "He is in great need"

"Where's Frodo?" Fred leaped to his feet, followed by George "Where is she?" They both ran off in to the woods.

"Oh for the love of... Legolas, Gimli - go after them. I will go look for Frodo" He turned "Sam - wait here"

"Okay" Harry waited until they had gone, then wandered over to the boats. He carefully packed some food, water and their cloaks. Then he sat down, and waited.

xoxox

"Pippin"

"Yes Merry?"

"Are we hopelessly lost?"

"Yes Merry"

"Bugger" George looked around "At least we aren't in any danger at the moment"

"Think again" A voice said from behind them.

xoxox

"So - there's no way I convince you to stay behind?" Hermione glared down at Harry, who was holding a paddle in his hand.

"Nope"

"Despite the danger, the torment, the heat, the cold, the rain and the fact I am going to be a bit of a bitch for the near future?"

"Yes" Harry smiled "And hell - I put up with it three days a month for the past year, didn't I... Ow!"

Hermione put down the paddle she had been holding.

"Let that be a lesson to you"

"Sorry" He smiled "So - you ready to go for the adventure of a life time?"

"Yes" She smiled "Let's do it"

xoxox

"So - Boromir tried to take the ring?" Draco asked.

"Yup" Cedric replied.

"And then he lost the hobbits?"

"Yup"

"Do we know which hobbits he managed to lose?"

"Nope"

"This isn't good, is it?"

"Not really"

"Hey guys" Neville came up behind them "There's a boat missing, and some of our stores, and this letter that says 'Gone to Mordor. Back Soon. Don't forget to buy milk. Love Frodo'n'Sam'" He smiled "So..." He paused, then realised the other two had the same expression on their face as he did "Cedric?"

"Neville?" They both turned "DRACO?"

xoxox

As the orcs dragged Fred and George through the plains, they turned to stare at each other.

"Fred?"

"George?"

"Well" They said together "That's something new"

xoxox

"Can't you row any faster?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah - but we don't want to leave Ron behind, do we"

"I guess not"

They both went quiet, and continued to row down the river.

xoxox

Thus ends the first part of the story of The War Of The Rings. The story will continue in The Two Towers, or, to put it another way, the next chapter.

xoxox

And just on a side note, why is it Malcom Baddock, who I have never heard of, gets to be in the major character list, while Cedric Diggory, who I would assume EVERYONE has heard of, doesn't?