Harry Potter and the Ring of Doom

They were led to the right arm of the River. Beneath the shadow of Tol Brandir a green lawn ran down to the water from the feet of Amon Hen, the Hill of Sight. Behind it rose the first gentle slopes of the hill clad with trees, and trees marched westward along the curving shores of the lake. A little spring fell tumbling down and fed the grass.

"Here shall we rest tonight," Aragorn said. "This is the lawn of Parth Galen that I spoke to you of, Harry."

They drew the boats to the shore and set camp quickly. They set watch, but no sign of enemies arose. Even so, Aragorn tossed uneasily in his sleep before awakening, then returning to sleep. Finally, in the early hours of the morning, he rose and went to Harry.

"Why are you up?" Harry asked. "It's not your watch."

"I do not know," came the reply, "but a shadow and a threat have been growing in my sleep. I would draw my sword, if I were you."

Harry pulled his gift from Elrond, and was more than a little dismayed to see a faint blue glow. "Wonderful, we have orcs," he murmured, unconsciously mimicking Boromir's comment inside Moria.

"Yes, but not close. They are likely across the river at Amon Lhaw, the Hill of Hearing. We shall remain alert, but do not worry overmuch."

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When morning had come, and the Company had eaten, Aragorn spoke. "We have come to the day I have delayed as long as possible; the day the choice must be made. What now becomes of our Company that has travelled so far in fellowship? Shall we turn west with Boromir and go to the wars of Gondor, or turn east to Fear and Shadow; or shall we break the fellowship and go where each may choose? Whatever choice is made, we do not have long to decide. There are Orcs in the area, and they may be on this side of the water, although I believe it not to be the case."

After a long delay in which no one spoke, he turned to Harry. "It seems that the burden falls upon you. You are the Bearer chosen by the Council. Your own way alone can you choose. I cannot advise you in this; I am not Gandalf, although I believe that even he did not know exactly what his advice would be at this point. Even were he here, I think the decision would fall upon your shoulders."

Harry sat unanswering for many moments before responding slowly. "I know that haste is needed, but I cannot choose. Give me an hour more, and I will come back with my choice."

"An hour I give, but no more," Aragorn said. "You shall be alone, as well. We will stay here. Do not stray too far." The Hogwarts crew met eyes for a moment, but said nothing. Harry stood and walked away into the woods.

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He walked through the woods for a while, trying to figure out a plan that would allow him and his friends to break away from the rest. Well, at least one that won't require sinking the other boats and holding the others off by force of arms.

He sat upon a stone, facing east, and let his mind wander as he looked without looking in the direction he knew he must go. He suddenly awoke from his thoughts: a strange feeling came to him that something unfriendly was behind him. He sprang to his feet and turned; but all that he saw was Boromir, who was smiling at him kindly.

"I admit to some fear for your safety, Harry. If Aragorn is correct and Orcs are in fact near, then none of us should walk alone, least of all you, on whom the heaviest burden rests." He sighed "I also have a heavy heart at this time. May I stay and talk a while, since I have found you? I know that I would find comfort in it. Where so many talk, all that results is endless debate. But perhaps two can solve what eight cannot."

Harry frowned. "I appreciate your kindness, Boromir, but I don't think that it'll help. I know what needs to be done, I'm just ... well ... I'm afraid to do it." He sat and hugged himself.

Suddenly Boromir came and sat beside him. Unbidden, Harry thought, If he puts his hand on my knee, he's going through a tree. And then I let Hermione loose on him.

"Are you sure you do not suffer needlessly? I wish to help. Will you not accept counsel in your hard choice?"

"I think I know what your counsel will be, Boromir, and it sounds good, but I still feel it to be wrong."

"Why?" Boromir asked sharply. p>

"It would lead to a delay in dealing with this Ring. The world cannot survive if the Ring is not destroyed."

"Ah! The Ring!" Boromir said, eyes lighting. "Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much for so small a thing?" He paused, eyes shining. "And I have seen it for only those few moments in the House of Elrond. Could I not have sight of it again?"

Harry looked sharply at Boromir. The face was still kindly, but there was a dangerous gleam to his eyes. "I think it best to keep it hidden right now."

"As you wish; I care not," replied Boromir. "Still, may I not at least speak of it? For you seem to think only of its power in the hands of the Enemy - of its usage by those of evil intent, rather than by good. You say that Minas Tirith shall fall if the Ring remains. But why? Certainly, if the Ring were with the Enemy. But why, if it were with us?"

"Weren't you at the Council, Boromir? The thing is evil, and will turn everyone who uses it to evil purposes."

Boromir stood and began to pace. "So you say. So Gandalf and Elrond say. I have seen you do no evil with it, and Elrond and Gandalf refused to touch it. Perhaps they would come to grief, these elves, half-elves, and wizards. Yet I wonder if it is timidity, rather than wisdom that spoke through them. Men do not fall so easily. You have not fallen to it." His pacing became more frenetic. "We do not desire wizard-power, but the strength to defend our homes and our lands; strength in a just cause. And behold! in our hour of need, chance brings to our attention the Ring of Power. It is a gift, I say; a gift to the foes of Mordor. It is madness not to use it against him. The fearless, the ruthless, these alone achieve victory. What could not a warrior do in this hour; a great leader? What could not Aragorn do? Or if he refuses, why not Boromir? The Ring would give me the power of Command. How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner!"

He strode up and down before Harry, speaking ever louder. He seemed to have forgotten about Harry, talking of walls and weapons, the mustering of men; he drew plans for great alliances and glorious victories to be; he cast down Mordor and became a mighty king, benevolent and wise.

Suddenly he stopped and waved his arms. "And they tell us to throw it away! I do not say to destroy it. That might be well, if reason showed us any hope of success. Instead, we have a plan for a child to walk blindly into Mordor and offer the Enemy every possible chance to reclaim it! It is folly!" He spun on Harry. "Surely you see it, friend? You say you are afraid. If so, the boldest should pardon you. But is it not really your good sense that revolts?"

Harry measured his words for a moment before responding. "No, it is definitely simple fear, Boromir. But I am glad that you spoke as fully as you did on the matter. You were right; it helped me to decide what needed to be done."

"Then you will come to Minas Tirith!" Boromir cried.

"You misunderstand me," Harry said simply.

"You will come, at least for a while? Your travels will go better with news of the Enemy, and it it not much farther to Mordor from there than it is from here. Besides, a proper rest would do you well before setting out again." He set his hand on Harry's shoulder, but Harry jumped back, and suddenly had his wand in his hand.

"Why are you so unfriendly? I am a true man, as yourself, not thief nor tracker. I need your Ring: that you know now; but I give you my word as a Man of Gondor that I do not desire to keep it. Will you not at least lend it to me to let me make trial of my plan? Lend me the Ring!"

"No! It was my choice to carry it, and the Council laid it to me to pass it only when I chose to. I do not so choose."

"It is by our own folly that the Enemy will defeat us!" Boromir cried. "How it angers me! Fool! Thrice-damned obstinate fool! Running wildly to death and ruining our cause. If any mortals have claim to the Ring, it is the men of Numenor, and not some child from another world! It is not yours save by unhappy chance. It might have been mine. It should have been mine. Give it to me!"

Harry backed away, hoping not to have to attack Boromir. "Come, come, my friend!" Boromir said in a softer, calmer voice that spoke of danger even more so than before. "Why not get rid of it? Why not be free of your doubt and fear? You can lay the blame on me. You can say that I was too strong and took it from you by force. After all, I am a man trained for years for combat, and by your own admission, you are but a child." He suddenly sprang at Harry, his fair and pleasant face now hideously changed; a raging fire was in his eyes.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, and Boromir shot backwards, never having touching the ground on his forward lunge. He slammed into a tree. As Boromir shook himself to rid himself of the stunning he had just received, Harry reached into his shirt and pulled forth the Ring, not thinking, yet again, that the chain was supposed to be wrapped about the Ring. If there was ever a time for this little bastard to give invisibility, now would be it, since the Invisibility Cloak is in my pack still. He slid the Ring on his finger, and to his great joy, disappeared.

Boromir gasped, and began running here and there, hoping to find a sign of Harry somewhere. "Miserable trickster!" he shouted. "I see your mind now! You will take the Ring to Sauron and sell us all! You have only waited for your chance to leave us and commit your base treachery!"

Harry's hand twitched for a moment at the insult, and he contemplated an unforgivable curse for only a moment, before he turned and fled, and did not see Boromir trip in his searches and land in the dirt, unmoving. He ran to the hill of Amon Hen and stood there for a time.

I have to leave. I have to leave everyone behind. This thing is too dangerous for it to be around anyone. I have to get to the boats and leave without anyone. Not Hermione, nor Draco - not even Ron. I'd like their companionship, but I can't cause them the same problems that it caused in Boromir. Draco's acting a lot better, but he's still Slytherin. I don't want to have to fulfil the promise we made. Now to head down and find a way to drive them away from the boats.

It was then that he felt the Eye. His eyes were drawn to Mount Doom, and from there, unbidden to the dark evil tower of Sauron's stronghold, Barad-dur. Hope left him.

Suddenly he felt the Eye begin searching. It knew that he had sighted it, and began to scan. It slid along quickly, and touched Amon Lhaw, and continued to Tol Brandir. He heard himself crying out: Never, never! Or was it: Verily I come, I come to you? He could not tell. Then as a flash from somewhere else, some other point of power, he heard in his mind another though: Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!

Whatever they were, they strove in him for a time, then suddenly balanced so perfectly that it was no longer the decision of either power, but that of Harry Potter: free to choose and with a single instant to do so. The Ring came off his finger. A black shadow seemed to pass like an arm overhead, missing Amon Hen and fading to the west.

He headed back down to the lawn where he and Boromir had talked, and paused to listen. He could hear cries in the woods. "They'll be looking for me. I wonder how long I've been gone? Hours, I should think, from the sound of it." He shook his head. "I hate breaking my promise to them, but I can't do this to them. Hermione especially. If I ever see her again, I'll let her scream at me for lying to her. But I can't put her at any further risk than she's been in. Someday they'll forgive me." He drew the Ring out again and put it on once more, willing invisibility. He vanished and headed down the hill to the boats.

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The others had stayed for a long time by the river's side. They'd been silent for a while, but now they were seated in a circle and talking.

"I think Harry is deciding which course is most desperate," Aragorn said. "Well should he ponder that though, for the passage East is more dangerous now that Gollum has found us, and possibly made the other side aware of our passage."

Legolas spoke. "He seems torn as to what should be done. Can we not vote and help in that way? My vote would be for Minas Tirith."

"As would mine," Gimli said. "We were sent only so far as we could go, and to not go further. Hard was my parting from Lothlorien, and this one will be no less hard, if needs be that it happen. But if Harry chooses the hard road to Mordor, then Gimli for one will not abandon him."

"Nor will Legolas, should he decide such."

"Not all need go to Mordor with him," Aragorn responded. "My choice would be to send companions with him, but not the entire Company. My choice would be Gimli, myself, and one of the three of his fellow wizards. The others would travel with Boromir to Minas Tirith and help with that city's defense."

Ron spoke up. "I'm not sure any of you here really get it. We're not from around here. We were informed that the four of us had to bring this Ring back here or face the destruction of both our worlds. Admittedly, at the time, we didn't really give a damn about here, but we are rather fond of our own home, so we brought it over. Then we get to the Council of Elrond, and it turns out everyone else there is too much the coward to take this thing and do what needs doing with it, so Harry agreed to save your world, and we were damned if we were going to see him walk into this alone, so we came too. Not to insult Boromir or anyone else, but what the hell do we care about Minas Tirith and Gondor? We want to destroy that thing and go home."

Before anyone could respond, Hermione said, "Where's Boromir?"

At that moment, Boromir walked back into their encampment without speaking. His face was grim and sad.

"Where have you been, Boromir?" Aragorn asked. "Have you seen Harry?"

"Yes and no," Boromir responded slowly. "I found him a ways up the hill and spoke to him at length about his plans. I urged him to come to Minas Tirith. He grew angry and threw me against a tree. Then he vanished. I have never seen such a thing. He must have used the Ring."

"Is that all you have to say, Boromir?" Aragorn asked, looking harshly and none too kindly at him.

"Yes. I will say no more."

"Wrong," said Draco. "There are a number of ways of getting information out of someone, and I'm of a mind to use them." He pulled the mithril wand and said "Imperio!" Boromir stiffened. "Now, Man of Gondor," he snarled, "tell us exactly what transpired up there on the hill."

Boromir told the tale exactly, and the Company's eyes hardened with each new word. When he was done, Draco asked, "When did you see him last, Oathbreaker?" Boromir started, even under the Imperius Curse, but replied, "Half an hour to an hour ago. I do not know precisely. I wandered in my madness."

Hermione began to run up the hill, screaming for Harry. Draco dropped the spell and ran up the hill after her. Boromir sagged to a seat upon a rock, and Aragorn looked upon him with scorn. "If your word can ever be trusted again, then I want your word that you will follow them and protect them. Perhaps then you can regain your honour."

"I will protect them with my life!" Boromir shouted and burst up the hill after them.

Aragorn turned to face Ron, Gimli, and Legolas. "We need to find him, and soon. But we are already splintering."

"I'll stay here," Ron said. "You go looking, and I'll wait for you to come back. I'm no good in a search party, I can tell you that. You'd just set up a new one to find me."

"Good, we'll return for you. Gimli, Legolas, come with me; we shall find him." The three of them sprang up the hill.

Ron stood. "Hated to lie to him, but I know Harry too well. He's heading for the boats, so I'd best get there first and wait for him. Make make it one of those fated accomplishments Hermione talks about sometimes."

He ran to the boats, and slid one nose first into the water, making it the one most likely to be chosen. He reached into Harry's pack, praying that ... yes! the Invisibility Cloak was on top. He grew it to normal size and threw it over himself and his pack. He grabbed a few extra lembas from Draco's and Hermione's packs, and tossed them into his before climbing into the boat at the very front. He didn't think Harry would notice that the nose was deeper into the water than it should be. He sat there with the Cloak on, waiting, and was rewarded by hearing something come to the beach, pick up Harry's pack, and drop it into the boat. Yes, I chose right! Ron exulted. Harry shoved the boat into the water until it was floating and then leapt in. He tossed the rowboat spell on it, and they moved out into the water.

Harry suddenly appeared as the Ring came off his finger. He rewrapped the chain through it, triplicate this time, and then sagged into the back of the boat and turned to look back to shore. "I only hope that they'll find it in their hearts to forgive me someday. I didn't want to leave them, but I can't put anyone else into danger."

"That's why I sat in the boat waiting for you, Harry," Ron said as he took the cloak off. "I knew you'd g all noble the second I heard Boromir's story, so I lied to Aragorn, and then climbed into the boat to wait for you."

"Ron, you moron! I was trying to save you from this!" Harry said, almost crying.

"You need me at your back, Harry. You've got Gollum on your tail, and you can't look everywhere at once. Besides, Galadriel called me the Protector, and I can't bloody well protect you if you leave me behind, can I now? Face it, you're stuck with me. Either that, or you go back to shore and wait for everyone, and end up with Aragorn or someone deciding how we should be split up. I know Gimli was going to follow you."

So it was that the Fellowship was broken, with the treachery of Boromir and the escape of Harry and Ron to the eastern shores, and the beginning of their trek into Mordor.