Harry Potter and the Ring of Doom

"Please tell me we didn't come all this way for a wall," Ron said. He was looking a little green, since there had been an odd splash or two in the lake. Knowing him, he was hoping that they were due to falling rocks.

"No, Mr. Weasley, we did not," Gandalf replied with some asperity. "This is the end of the Elven-way from Hollin. Holly was the token of that people, and they planted it to mark the end of their domain. This western door was made chiefly for their use in their traffic with the Lords of Moria. Those were happier days, when there was still friendship between those of different races, even between Dwarves and Elves."

"It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned," Gimli said.

"I have not heard that it was the fault of the Elves," replied Gimli.

"I have heard both," answered Gandalf, "and I will not give judgement now. But I beg you two, at least, to be friends, and to help me. I need you both. The doors are shut and hidden, and the sooner we find them, the better. Night is almost upon us!"

He stood at the wall, looking at it as if the very weight of his eyes might bore a hole through the rock, while Gimli carefully tapped here and there with his axe. Legolas was pressed against the rock as if listening.

"What exactly are we waiting for, then?" Ron asked quietly, expecting only to be heard by his friends. "It's not like we can see any sign of those blasted doors."

"Dwarf-doors are not made to be seen when shut," Gimli said, turning to face Ron, who promptly turned a shade rather closely resembling that of his hair. "They are invisible when closed, and their own masters cannot find them or open them, if their secret is forgotten."

Gandalf stirred. "Ah, but this was not purely a Dwarven secret, was it? It was meant to be used by the Elves as well. Unless things are changed, eyes that know what to look for may discover the signs." He walked forward to the wall, and began to run his hands back and forth across the smooth space between the holly trees. They could hear vague muttering, but could not make out words. Finally, he stepped back.

At first, nothing was visible, but as the moonlight played across the surface, thin lines began to be seen, like silver veins in the stone. At first, they were no more than gossamer threads, so fine that they faded and sparkled as light off the surface of clear, cool water, but they steadily grew more distinct; broader and clearer, until the design could be seen.

At the top, as high as Gandalf had been able to reach, was an arch of interlacing letters in what appears to be Elven characters. Below, although the threads were in places blurred or broken, the outline of an anvil and hammer, surmounted by a crown with seven stars. Beneath these were trees, each bearing crescent moons. More clearly than anything else outlined was a single star with many rays.

"There are the emblems of Durin!" cried Gimli.

"And there is the Tree of the High Elves!" said Legolas.

"And the Star of the House of Feanor," finished Gandalf. He turned to the Hogwarts students. "Remember how I spoke of ithildin, also called starmoon? Before you is a sample of it."

"What does it say?" Hermione asked. "If I had the time, I'd have loved to try to learn Elven, but the best I have is a few spoken words, from Arwen."

"Learning Elven swear words?" Draco laughed.

"Problem is, Draco, curses in Elven are likely to be just that - curses," she replied with a smile. "You don't get the more colourful ones that we have, but what they do have is more likely to actually happen."

Gandalf watched the interplay with some interest, and very slight annoyance. "These have none of that, nor do they have much of importance to us, unless we wish to know who built them. The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. Underneath it adds: I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs.

"But what does it mean?" Ron asked.

"That is plain enough," Gimli replied. "If you are a friend, simply say the password and you will be permitted to enter."

"But what is the word?" Ron persisted.

"That I do not know, yet," Gandalf replied, and as he saw Boromir and Ron both building to speak, he added, "and if I am permitted a rest from foolish questions, I will seek the opening words." He stared at the door for a long moment.

Meanwhile, Harry was looking at Hermione, originally just for the sheer enjoyment of it, but then because he could see her mind working. She crossed her arms as she looked at the door, and a look of intense concentration came to her face. As Gandalf stood, and walked to the door, Hermione grinned widely. "If he doesn't get it, I think I have it," she chuckled quietly.

Gandalf stepped up to the rock and lightly touched the star beneath the anvil with his staff. "Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen! Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!" he said in a commanding voice. The silver lines faded, but the stone did not move. Many times he repeated these words in different order, or varied them. He then moved to other spells, one after another, first speaking faster and louder, and then soft and slow. After this did not work, he spoke single words of Elven at the doors. Still nothing happened. Again Gandalf approached the wall, and lifting up his arms he spoke in tones of command and rising wrath. "Edro, edro!" he cried, and struck the rock with his staff. "Open, open!" he shouted, and followed it with the same command in every language that had ever been spoken in the West of Middle-earth. He then threw his staff on the ground, and sat down in silence and disgust.

As he sat there in disgust, glaring at the doors, Hermione flounced to the door. By the time she had reached them, every eye in the Company was on her. The wind that had begun to blow died, as if it too was waiting in anticipation of what she would do. She leaned forward and said softly, but clearly, "Mellon."

The star shone out briefly for a moment and faded again. Then silently a great doorway was outlined, although nothing had been visible before. Slowly it divided in the middle and swung out slowly, inch by inch, until both doors lay back against the wall. Through the opening a shadowy stair could be seen climbing steeply up, but beyond the lower steps the darkness was deeper than night. The Company turned to look at Hermione, whose look brought to mind a certain cliche concerning cats and canaries. Harry started to laugh, and ended up laughing so hard he fell to the ground.

He didn't laugh long, though. Something snaked up out of the water and grabbed him, and suddenly he was in the air, above a many tentacled thing. The others were grabbing weapons while the tentacles whipped around, some of them coming in at Harry, and the others toward the Company. He was as pleased as someone upside down can be to see the three of his friends all using their gifts from Gandalf to fire Expelliarmus spells at the thing. He went for his own wand, and as he did, he felt the chain loosen around his neck, and the Ring began to fall. He swooped out with the hand holding the wand and caught it, the Ring sliding on his forefinger.

That's it! he exploded internally. I'm trying to get this stupid Ring to Mordor to throw it in the thrice-damned volcano, and these things decide that I'm a crunchy treat! I have had it! He pointed his wand down at the thing beneath him, and the fury he felt boiled out through his voice and wand. "Infernum!" he shouted.

The thing beneath him literally exploded in a gout of flame, showering the area with blue-white hot chunks of beast. Two of the chunks hit the holly trees, which immediately burst into flames. Harry began falling toward the lake, which also had a rather distressing blue-white sheen to it. He saw some of the tentacles falling as well, and decided to gamble; he bounced off one, pushing himself toward shore, but saw that he wasn't going to make the shore. As a last ditch effort, he pointed at the Walls of Moria and shouted "Accio wall!" Since he was easier to move than the wall, he shot toward it at a distressingly high speed. "Expelliarmus!" he screamed, which slowed him down enough to make the impact with the wall merely knock the breath from him. The ten foot fall to the ground between the burning trees didn't help either.

He barely heard the triple shout of "Finite Incantatum!" as he worked to get his breath. He stood and prodded his ribs, and was happy to find that he didn't seem to have broken any of them. Hermione came running over to him and nearly bowled him over in her attempt to hug him, while Ron and Draco extinguished the holly trees.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, Harry!" she nearly sobbed into his ear.

"Hermione? Bruised here," he gasped. She let go, and he breathed a little easier. "You may be wonderfully soft in certain areas, but I hit the wall and the ground pretty hard."

"What did you do?" she asked. "It sounded like you invented a spell out there, based off Incendio. Then you did some gymnastics move, and then I'd swear I heard you shout 'Accio wall!'"

"I did. I figured that, with me airborne, I'd be more likely to move than the wall would. Put a bit too much power into it, which is where that Expelliarmus came from." Now that his wits were about him better, he suddenly realized how odd the world looked, as if he were no longer completely within the world. He looked down to see the one distinct thing within his vision: the Ring. He yanked it from his finger, and Hermione jumped.

"You were wearing it when you did those spells? What were you thinking?"

"About getting down, Hermione. I wasn't aware that I was even wearing it until just now. I was just so damned angry at being singled out because of this damned Ring that I just exploded." He pulled the chain from his neck, and found that it was not unclasped. "Oh shit! This thing is going to have to be watched carefully - look at this." He held up the chain and the Ring.

Gandalf came over. "You wore the Ring during that fight?"

"Not intentionally. It was falling toward the lake, and I reached out and grabbed it. Apparently it slid onto my finger before I cast any of my spells."

The Company was looking at him. "I thought that thing granted invisibility?" Ron said.

"I was thinking about that," Harry said. "If that's what it did, how in hell did Isildur see Sauron to cut the stupid thing off his finger? The only times we know of the Ring being used, each time the wearer wanted to hide. Invisibility is the easiest power to give in a case like that. Minimal power and the person is happy. Me, I never knew what it did, so I wasn't preset for invisibility. After all, you could all see me as I tried to be the human bullet." He shook his head as he reconnected the Ring to the chain, going so far as to wrap the chain twice through the Ring. Sliding it over his head, he looked at Hermione and chuckled. "Love, you were wonderful, before this whole thing started. Did you actually put in a little hip wiggle as you walked up to the doors?"

She thought back, and then laughed. "Not intentionally, I didn't. Maybe you were just watching too close, Mister Potter?" she said in a passable imitation of Professor MacGonagall.

"Depends. Which answer gets me detention?"

Ron laughed. "Harry. You. Gutter. Out!" Draco was having trouble keeping a straight face.

Aragorn was merely smiling as he looked at the four, and finally cleared his throat. "We should get inside and begin our trek through Moria. I hope this laughter presages good things for our travels."

They stepped inside the doors and closed them behind them. Gandalf raised his staff and a slight glow came from the tip. "Gimli and I shall take the lead." With that, he began to set out slowly up the stairs. After about two hundred of the broad shallow steps, they came to a landing, where it was decided that they would take a short break, and grab something to eat. The Company felt up to travelling for some few more hours, so it was decided to keep moving.

After a short time, Harry put his left arm around Hermione and rested his hand on her hip. Leaning in extremely close, he whispered, "I think Gandalf was less than pleased with your solving that riddle, love."

"I think so too. Y'know, Harry, that's the second time in half an hour that you've called me 'love?'" She kissed his cheek lightly.

Stepping around a rock, he squeezed her hip with that hand. "Well, it's certainly better than calling you Hermoine all the time. Pet name sort of thing."

She giggled, which was an odd thing to hear whispered. She reached down and gently grabbed his left hand. Rather than remove it completely, though, she moved down and right slightly. "Better," she giggle-whispered.

He kissed her ear and let go. "I think I'm gonna need both hands soon." Sure enough, a short distance ahead, there was a large gap, about seven feet across, and the party needed to jump it, one at a time. They did quite well until they reached Hermione, who stood at the edge, terrified.

"I can't!" she cried. "I can't do heights! I hate them!" She stood and shivered.

"Strider," Harry said, "pull her back from the edge." Aragorn, puzzled by the request, complied, and Harry leapt back across. He took Hermione into his arms. "Hermione, we need you to come across. If it's that difficult a problem, then close your eyes, and I'll deal with it."

"What will you do?" she asked, still shivering in fear.

"I'm an athlete. I'll pick you up and jump across."

She looked aghast at him. "You'll never make it carrying me!"

"It's only seven feet across, my love, and if you think I'll let you drop, you don't know me very well."

"I won't!"

"You have two choices, Hermione. Either you jump on your own, or I will pick you up and jump across with you. Only two choices I'm giving."

She looked him directly in the eyes and and he saw the realization that he wasn't bluffing register with her. "Okay, Harry. Jump across again, and catch me on the other side." He jumped back across and stood, waiting for her. He watched her screw up her courage, and then she took a running leap at the small chasm, her eyes locked on him the entire time. Her feet touched down on the other side and Harry quickly scooped her into his arms. "I knew you could do it, Hermione!" he said while she cried on his shoulder.

These sort of dangers became more common, slowing them considerably, but that was the worst of the dangers that they dealt with that day. Finally, they came to an area with a large archway, beyond it lay three small arches, all heading east. Leftmost pointed downward, the middle one continued straight, while the rightmost one began to climb. "I have never been here," Gandalf murmured. "I believe that we should stop here for a few hours rest whilst I decide our course of action." They stepped through the arch to find a room off to the utmost left. Ron tried to burst into the room, but was stopped by Gandalf's staff. "There may be dangers in there we know nothing of." He shone his light in the room, exposing an open hole in the floor, broken and rusty chains trailed down into the blackness, and stone fragments lay nearby. "You see, Mr. Weasley?"

They carefully entered the room, avoiding the hole as best they could, but Ron's foot caught a piece of stone, which slid far enough to hit a chain and drop it into the hole. While Ron sat down quickly and rather heavily, nursing his foot, Gandalf rounded on him. "Fool! Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance!"

Aragorn saw the three other Hogwarts students eyes blaze in the darkness, and his eyes widened. Draco stepped forward. "Old man, you owe Ron an apology. Just because you're scared doesn't give you the right to insult him for an honest mistake." He paused for a moment to build up a full head of steam. "You all keep telling us how dangerous this Moria place is, so can you blame him if he was trying to look six places at once? I ..." He was stopped by the very faint but very clear sounds emanating from the depths: tom-tap, tap-tom.

"That was a hammer, or I have never heard one," murmured Gimli.

"I agree," replied Gandalf. "It may have nothing to do with Mr. Weasley's accident," he said, stressing the word, "but something has probably been disturbed that was better left unawakened."

Ron stood. "I'll watch at the door," he said. "I should've been watching where my feet were, and I knocked that chain down. I'll keep a lookout going." Gandalf grunted and rolled himself in a blanket.

A short while later, Gandalf rose and walked over to Ron. "Master Weasley, I do owe you an apology," he said. "I am nervous here in a way that I have not been in years. I took that out on you, and I was wrong for that. You get some sleep; I cannot get a wink, and may as well watch." He clapped Ron gently on the back in a friendly manner. As Ron walked away, he murmured to himself, "I know what is wrong with me; I need smoke! I have not tasted it since the morning before the snowstorm." As Ron quickly slid off into sleep, he saw the glow as Gandalf lit his pipe, and a puff of smoke.

Gandalf roused them several hours later. "I have made up my mind. I do not like the feel of the middle way, nor the smell of the left path - that way lies foul air or I am no guide. We go right - it is about time we climb again."

As they walked during that day, Harry noted something. His senses seemed sharper than they used to be, and his hearing seemed to have become more sensitive. He could see farther in this darkness than anyone - expect perhaps Gandalf. Add to this the occasionally almost oppressive weight of the Ring, and Harry began to feel that evil pursued them wherever they went, and waited ahead for them. It did not help him to think that he was hearing footsteps behind them that were not echoes.

They had marched for eight hours, and the students were dead on their feet, when the walls disappeared, and they stepped into what felt to be a black and empty place. The air behind them was a warm wind, and the black before them felt cold on their faces. Gandalf chuckled happily, "I chose the right way. At last we are coming to the habitable parts, and my guess is that we are not far from the eastern side, although I suspect that we are a good deal higher than the Dimrill Gate. I am guessing from the feel of the air that we are in a wide hall. Let me risk some real light."

He raised his staff, and for a short moment there was a blaze like a flash of lightning. Shadows fled before the light, and for just a moment they saw a vast roof overheard held by many pillars. Before them and to both sides stretched a vast empty hall with black walls polished like glass. Including the door they had come through, the hall had four exits; one for each wall. The light disappeared. "That is all I dare for the moment. There used to be great windows on the mountainside, and shafts leading out to the light in the upper reaches of the Mines. I think we have reached them now, but it is night again outside, and we shall not know until morning. If I am right, tomorrow morning we shall actually see the morning peeping in." He stretched and sighed. "In the meantime, let us go no further, and rest if we can. We have travelled the greater part of a dark road, but we still have a long way to the Gates."

The Company huddled in a corner and set a small fire for warmth. One by one, they fell asleep. Harry stayed on guard, watching the area. A dread came over him a some point, as if it had flowed from the western door that they had come through, and he spent the remainder of his watch with clammy palms. His watch was nearly over when he thought he saw a pair of faintly luminous eyes in the western door. He started, and realized that he had been on the edge of dozing off. Looking again, he saw nothing. You're on watch, Harry, he said to himself angrily. This is not the time to sleep. You can do that when Legolas relieves you. He stood and walked quietly around for the remainder of his watch, until Legolas gently tapped his shoulder. He fell quickly to sleep.

He awoke to pale shaft of light on his face. He sat up, to be greeted by Gandalf. "Good morning! For morning it is again at last. I was right; we are high up on the east side of Moria. Before this day is done we ought to find the Great Gates and see the waters of Mirrormere lying in the Dimrill Dale before us."

"I shall be glad," Gimli said. "I have looked upon Moria, and it is very great, but it has become dark and dreadful. I doubt that Balin ever came here, now."

After breakfast, it was decided to go on again at once. "We are tired, but I think none of us wish to spend another night inside Moria. We shall all sleep better in the open."

"Which exit shall we take?" asked Boromir. "The eastern one?"

"Perhaps," said Gandalf, "but I am not yet certain where we are. Unless I am mistaken, we are above and to the north of the Gates, and finding the road down to them may not be easy. We shall most likely take the eastern arch, but I would prefer to look around first. There is light coming through the northern door; let us check there."

The Company stepped into a wide corridor. As they walked, the light grew stronger, and they saw that it came from a doorway on their right. High and flat-topped, the stone door still rested on its hinges, half open. As they entered they disturbed dust on the floor. The light was a single shaft that fell directly onto a table in the middle of the room, a single oblong block about two feet high, with a great slab of white stone atop it. "Thing looks like a tomb," Harry murmured.

Gandalf rushed over and sighed. "These are Daeron's Runes, such as were used of old in Moria. Here is written in the language of Men and Dwarves: BALIN SON OF FUNDIN, LORD OF MORIA." He hung his head. "He is dead." Gimli cast his hood over his face.

#####

As Gimli and Gandalf stood mourning, the others searched the room. Hermione found an old book in a broken chest. It had been stabbed and stained with something that looked to be dried blood. Gandalf looked up and was about to come to her when a great noise was heard in the depths, a thundering Boom that shook the floor. They sprang to the western door to the room, only to hear an answering horn in the hall they had come from. Answering horns came from further off, and the sound of many feet hurrying.

"They are coming!" cried Legolas.

"Wedge the doors shut!" Aragorn shouted. "Keep your packs on, for we may get a chance to cut our way free!"

"Leave the eastern door free!" Gandalf answered. "We will go that way if we have the chance."

Boromir and Aragorn ran to the western door to close it. Before they could, though, they took a look at the masses arrayed against them. A large number of orcs, and...

Boromir threw his back against the door as arrows flew toward him, and they could hear them break against the stone door. In a tone of familiar disgust, he said, "They have a cave troll." They jammed what they could under the door to block it, but it was mere moments after they had stepped away that a resounding crash hit the door, and they saw a split form in it. Another blow, and the door shattered, pieces flying everywhere in the room. The troll stepped in the room, with orcs firing arrows around it. Legolas and Gimli went for the orcs while Aragorn and Boromir went for the troll. Harry fired Expelliarmus at the front wave of orcs and saw bows fly, as well as a few orcs. He saw two other orcs catch fire and begin to run down the hallway, which caused the rest to break. Harry turned to see how the fight against the troll was doing, and saw Hermione against the wall, a large piece of door against her, lying still, and far too much blood around her.

His vision went red. He never remembered doing it, but he reached into his shirt and pulled out the Ring. Slipping it on, he leapt onto the cave troll's back, and climbed to its neck. It reached for him, trying to dislodge him, but could not quite get him, with Harry's dodging about the creature's head. Harry was obviously trying for a particular maneuver, but unsuccessful. This was making him angrier and angrier. His eyes lit on Hermione again, the large piece of door against her, and he smiled, a look that would have terrified any of the Company had they seen it. Pointing at the broken stone, he shouted "Accio rock!" and moved behind the troll's head. A moment later, the jagged hunk of door was protruding from the back of the troll's head, and it tottered and fell forward. Harry jumped from its back as it neared the ground and rolled to his feet. The remaining orcs chose to exercise the better part of valour and ran.

Aragorn ran to Hermione and hung his head, but just as he shook his head she let loose with a gasp; a sharp, painful intake of breath. "Ow," she gasped. "I think some ribs might be broken."

Harry knew that he had to have covered the distance on foot, because he hadn't learned to Apparate yet, but he certainly couldn't remember it. It was a very difficult thing for him not to pick her up in his arms and hug her. She looked at him and smiled. "I'm alive, Harry. I hurt, but I'm alive." She looked at him closer, and smiled, "Harry, you don't need to cry. I'll live." It was then that he realized that tears were copiously flowing from his eyes. He turned away from her for a moment to wipe his eyes, and discovered that he wasn't the only one. Draco rummaged through his pack for a moment and finally pulled out a wad of bandages, which he handed to Hermione to press against her still bleeding scalp wound, then wiped his sleeve across his eyes.

"I am glad that she is alive," Gandalf said, "but we do not have the time for this. Please, Miss Granger, move as fast as you can, and get down those stairs. I will stay behind for a moment to attempt to block pursuit as best I can."

The Company hurried down the stairs to a landing quite a distance below. Hermione steeled herself, and moved at a surprisingly fast rate, considering her injuries. As they stood there waiting for Gandalf, Harry's hands came to his mouth. They were shaking in reaction to how close he'd come to losing Hermione. It was then that he noticed that the Ring was no longer on his finger. His hand immediately shot to his chest, where the chain still hung, Ring dangling from it as when they had entered the Balin's tomb.

There was a blast of white light from above, and both dust and Gandalf came hurtling down the stairs. Gandalf came to a sprawling stop on the landing, and slowly picked himself up, dusting himself off carefully. "I have done all that I can," he panted. "But I have met my match and was nearly destroyed. We must go on, though; we cannot linger here!" A pause, then "I'm afraid you will have to do without light, though - I am spent."

Draco grinned. "Lumos!" he said, holding out his wand. The ground before them lit in a narrow oval as the dust highlighted the beam coming from the tip of his wand. This sped their descent considerably. Occasionally they came across a descent of steps, fifty or more, dropping them to a lower level. They had covered roughly a mile in about forty-five minutes when Gandalf stopped at the bottom of the seventh flight of stairs.

"It is getting hot!" he gasped. "We ought to be down at least to the level of the Gates now. Soon I think we shall have to look for a left-hand turn to take us east. I hope it is not far; I am very weary. I must rest here, even if all the orcs ever spawned are after us."

"What happened back there at the door?" Gimli asked as he helped Gandalf to a seat on the steps.

Gandalf sighed. "I suddenly found myself faced with something I have not met before. I could think of nothing to do but put a shutting-spell on the door. I know many, but to do things of that kind properly requires time, and even then the door can be broken by strength. As I stood there I could hear the orcs on the other side. I could not hear what they said, except for the word 'ghash', which is 'fire' in their hideous language. Then something came into the chamber. I could feel it, and the orcs fell silent. It took hold of the iron ring on the door and perceived my spell, and me."

"What it was I do not know, but I have never felt such a challenge. The counter spell was terrible, and nearly broke me; for an instant the door left my control and began to open! I had to speak a word of Command. That proved to be too great a strain. The door burst into pieces. Something dark as a cloud blocked all the light in the room, and I was thrown backward down the stairs. The wall gave way, and the roof of the chamber, I think. Balin is buried deep now, and maybe something else is buried with him." Gandalf stood and stretched. "I have never felt so spent, but it passes. We must move."

The Company continued, and before long, Gimli said, "There is light ahead. It is not daylight, however; it is red."

"I wonder if that is what they meant by 'ghash', that the lower levels are on fire? Still, our only choice is to go on."

Soon, the light became unmistakable. It was flickering and glowing on the walls away down the passage ahead of them. Draco ended the Lumos spell, and they stepped closer to the archway. Gandalf poked his head through and pulled back quickly. "Some new deviltry. We would have been trapped had we come down the eastern door. Let us hope that it is between us and pursuit. Now for the last race! After me!" He turned left and sped across the smooth floor of the hall. The distance was farther than it had looked. A shrill yell went up behind them; they had been seen. There was a clash of steel. An arrow whistled over Harry's head.

"Ha! They did not expect this!" Boromir laughed. "The fire has cut them off! We are on the wrong side for their tastes!"

"Look ahead!" called Gandalf. "The Bridge is near. It is dangerous and narrow." Before them, they saw a black chasm. A slender bridge of stone without kerb or rail crossed the chasm in one fifty foot span. At the edge Gandalf stopped, and the Company came up in a pack behind. "Lead the way, Gimli! Straight on and up the stair beyond the door at the other end!"

Arrows fell among them. One pierced Gandalf's hat and stayed there, but another pierced Harry's shoulder. In pain, he spun and pulled the mithril wand and screamed "Expelliarmus!" A loud clashing of many bows falling and many orcs being slammed into walls followed, and Harry turned back to cross the bridge. Hermione stood in terror at the edge. "Forgive me, my love," he whispered to her as he then said, "Petrificus Totalis!" As Hermione stiffened, he followed it with "Mobilicorpus!" and began pushing her across the bridge. As he did so, he saw Legolas prepare an arrow for firing, but his hand fell and the arrow slipped to the ground. He intentionally did not look until he was at the other end, and then saw what had terrified the Elf, as well as the orcs.

There was a great shadow behind them, in the middle of which was a dark form, perhaps man-shaped, yet far greater; and power and terror seemed to be in it, and go before it. It stepped closer and its streaming mane blazed behind it. In its right hand was a blade like a tongue of flame; in its right was a whip of many flaming thongs.

"Ai, ai!" wailed Legolas. "A Balrog! A Balrog has come!"

"Durin's Bane!" gasped Gimli, and his axe fell from his hand.

The dark figure raced toward them. "Over the bridge! Fly! This is a fight beyond any of you. I must hold the narrow way. Fly!" Aragorn and Boromir did not heed the command, but held their ground, side by side, behind Gandalf at the far end of the bridge.

The Balrog reached the bridge. Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed cold and white. The shadows reached out about it like two vast wings. It raised the whip, the thongs whining and crackling as they spun through the air, but Gandalf stood his ground.

"You cannot pass," he said quietly in a voice that all in the area heard. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the shadows with you! You cannot pass."

It made no answer, but stepped forward onto the bridge, drawing itself to great height, and its wings spread from wall to wall. Suddenly a red sword leapt out, flaming, and was answered by Glamdring; a ringing clash and a stab of white fire. The Balrog fell back and its sword flew up in molten fragments. Gandalf swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.

"You cannot pass!"

With a bound, the Balrog was full on the bridge. Its whip whirled and hissed.

"He cannot stand alone!" cried Aragorn suddenly, and began running back along the bridge. "Elendil! I am with you, Gandalf!"

"Gondor!" shouted Boromir, following Aragorn.

At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud, he smote the bridge with his staff, which shattered and fell from his hand. A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up. The bridge cracked, and at the feet of the Balrog it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the black gulf, while the rest of remained, poised, wuivering like a tongue of rock thrust out into emptiness.

With a terrible cry the Balrog fell, and its shadow plunged down and vanished. But even as it fell it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about the wizard's knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. "Fly, you fools!" he cried, and was gone.