Harry Potter and the Ring of Doom

The Ents began their march down into the Valley of Saruman. As they got partway down the hill, Hermione heard an odd series of creaks and moans, as if all the trees in the world were moving. She turned to look and her eyes went wide. She tapped Draco and pointed. Moving with the Ents was a forest.

"Hoom! Now you see the Huorns," said Treebeard. "They march with us on Isengard."

"What are they?" Draco asked.

"They are," is all that Treebeard would say.

The Moon was hidden by clouds, so none in Orthanc saw that by midnight, a new forest surrounded the ancient tower. It became obvious to Draco and Hermione that even when roused, the Ents were careful, moving only as necessary. After a time, there was a commotion, and trumpets blared.

They thought for a short time that they had been discovered, but quickly noticed that what appeared to be the entire contingent of people who could live within the walls of Isengard were now marching out. When they realized that it was filled with Orcs, Hermione saw a movement in the corner of her eye, and spun to face Draco. "Draco! No! There's thousands of them!" He was still moving as if to begin firing from the wand that he had drawn. "Draco, not even you are good enough to kill them all," she wheedled, hoping that the blatant flattery might get his attention.

He turned to look at her, and started to laugh quietly. "' Not even you are good enough to kill them all'? Was ... is my ego really that bad?"

"Well, before ... It came into our lives, I'd say that you certainly acted that way. Now? Think how you reacted. think that answers you about your ego. Got your attention, though, didn't it? Honestly, there are probably ten thousand of those Orcs and men down there. If you start taking shots at them, then they are quite likely to come over and kill us all."

"I just want them all dead," Draco growled. "What I feel for them right now makes my feelings for Harry when I hated him most seem like I was courting him." She started to screw up her face to hold back a laugh as she thought about that, and heard him finish with, "Don't even think about it, Hermione."

"Too late," she chuckled. "Just the image of you down on one knee, professing your love, and asking for his hand in marriage." She shook her head. "Ooo, the companion images are a bit squicky for me, thank you very much." They shared a quiet worried laugh.

It took more than an hour for the departing army to pass through the gates, and once the army had left the area, Treebeard set Draco and Hermione on the ground and strode purposefully to the gates. He began to pound on the gates, calling, "Saruman! Treebeard would speak with you! Saruman! Come out and speak with us!" His answer was to begin to sprout arrows fired by some of the remaining men and Orcs.

After a short time of this, when he had begun to resemble a pincushion, Treebeard took real notice. He stood back for a moment, let cry a loud hoom-hom, and twelve more Ents arrived at the gates. The group reached out to the gates and walls surrounding them and seemed to seal to the rock before they began to pull at the stone.

My gods! thought Hermione. They tear at that like Draco or I would tear at the crust of a slice of bread. Those chunks of stone - as if I needed a reminder not to get an Ent angry. She laughed loudly when Draco tapped her on the shoulder and said, "As if I needed it - remind me never to anger an Ent." His left eyebrow rose questioningly. She explained her thinking just moments earlier, and he started laughing as well when she had finished.

He looked back to the gates and his laugh went away. "Mind if I pick a few of them off?" he asked Hermione softly.

"They're quite a distance away."

He looked at her for a moment before asking formally, "Do I have my Lady's permission to kill some of those guarding the gates? They are, after all, working for Saruman, who certainly appears to be our enemy, from all the evidence we have to hand."

She looked and realized that, having phrased the question such, he would not fire upon the gatekeepers unless granted permission. "My Champion, I only ask for care in your aiming. I would not see our friends hurt by a wild shot."

He nodded his salute, cast night vision on the both of them, and then aimed his wand at the gates. Closing an eye he murmured, "I've practiced this on the Malfoy - Stupefy! - grounds until I reached a point where I was able to hit a man-sized target - Accio bow! - up to a quarter of a mile away." As the first shot flew, Hermione was intrigued to see that the spell was a distinct pulse of red energy, moving at high speed, rather than a beam, which is how they usually saw it. They both ducked as the bow flew over their heads. "Interesting effect, isn't it?" he murmured as he saw the pulse strike someone at the top, causing them to topple to the ground a good distance below. "That was a man. Aha! An - Incendio! - Orc; got the little b."

Hermione found herself intrigued by the fact that his ugliest spells were only against the Orcs. At least one caused an Orc to explode rather violently, knocking several others from their posts, and blowing a chunk out of the wall. Draco staggered after that one. "I'd forgotten why I never cast that. Not a cheap spell, so to speak. I think I need to take a breather."

"Why isn't that one classified as an Unforgiveable Curse?" Hermione asked. Part of her was horrified at watching what she had seen, but again, she'd noticed that the spell in question had been used against an Orc. She scowled as she wondered why she wasn't more disturbed by the death and destruction.

"Because only people with no soul are willing to cast it on a person. It's usually used to clear a larger area that the Reductor Curse will." He didn't see Hermione's face fall at the comment regarding souls.

Within five minutes of it beginning, the assault on the gate had it in rubble, as well as a portion of the wall. Between the Ents and Draco's pot-shots, the guard force was in disarray, and those that were still alive were scattering. The speed with which they had destroyed the southern wall was astonishing. "I know I've said it once," Draco breathed in awe, "but it bears repeating. Never, ever get an Ent angry." Hermione merely nodded, eyes wide.

The Moon had come out from behind the clouds as the Ents tore at the gates and walls, and shed pale light on the ground, and with the night vision spell, even the stars were casting enough light for them to see by. They could see the confusion in the area amongst those that had survived the assault. They heard Quickbeam shout "The tree-killer, the tree-killer!" and saw him begin to run after a pale figure running between the shadows toward the tower. Draco carefully took aim and muttered, "Stupefy!" The shot flew and impacted the tower just to the runner's right, having passed immediately before him, close enough that the runner slowed noticeably. He still made it into the building just ahead of Quickbeam.

Hermione looked around and realized that the Ents had been busy around the perimeter. There were massive holes in the northern and eastern walls, with Ents coming through them. As they milled around looking for targets, it became obvious that Saruman was not finished, as vents and shafts across the plain began to spout flames and belch a foul stench. Several of the Ents were mildly scorched and blistered from the sudden explosions of flame; one of them became a giant torch in the midst of the plain. Draco pointed his wand at him and wavered. "Damn it all! I was never taught any good spells!"

"Extinguish!" Hermione was screaming, but he looked at her blankly. She grabbed his arm and pointed at the burning Ent. "Extinguish, damn it!" They were both surprised by a burst from the end of Draco's wand that shot out to the living torch and suddenly the flames disappeared. The Ent staggered. They stared at each other in shock.

When the Ents had seen one of their own go up like a torch, they went a bit mad, roaring and trumpeting until the rocks began to crumbled from the mere sound of their voices. Draco and Hermione plugged their ears as best they could, but could feel the force of their shouting as a physical thing. They watched as slabs of rock that must have weighed tons flew skyward as if they were mere leaves on the ground. Iron posts and masonry flew hundreds of feet into the air, smashing against the tower. No damage was visible against the smooth surface, however. The Ents near the tower of Orthanc were hurling themselves against it, trying desperately to get a purchase on the stone, and were beginning to injure themselves as they smashed their bodies against the building.

Treebeard walked out into the ring and shouted, his voice rumbling across the plain and silencing the other Ents. From a high window in the tower a shrill laugh could be heard, and that affected the Ents. They immediately became preternaturally silent; cold, quiet, and grim, and walked across the plain to gather around Treebeard. They gathered the burned Ent with them, and Draco and Hermione were surprised to see him move as if nothing had happened. Treebeard spoke quietly, and those snatches of conversation that the two students could hear appeared to be in the Entish language. As dawn began to break, the Ent gathering broke and they faded into the grey morning light. Draco and Hermione carefully made their way to the gate area and gate house. They were left alone for the day, which worked well for them.

#####

"Well, it's dawn," Hermione said. "I don't know about you, but I need some sleep. Dozing on Treebeard is not an option - I'd fall off or something. Let's see if we can work something out in this gatehouse."

They searched the building for a time, finding it quite well stocked with food and drink, and even bedding. They found a room on the second floor that ws mostly empty, and dossed down to get some well needed shuteye. Draco cancelled the night vision before they were blinded.

It was some time in the afternoon when Draco awoke to the smell of bacon. "Hmm? What's that?"

"There you are, sleepyhead," Hermione laughed. "I got a fire started, and found some food to cook. Those Ent drinks may be filling, but I rather enjoy chewing my food." She walked out to him carrying a plate of bacon with scrambled eggs. "Used the bacon grease to cook the eggs."

He tucked into the food, devouring it like a ravening wolf. Her eyes were a bit wide at that. Swallowing, he said, blushing slightly, "I haven't had real food since you have, and this is delicious. Aragorn was right - your cooking is fit for royalty."

"It's bacon and eggs, Draco - definitely not cordon bleu cooking." She was tapping her foot as if annoyed, but he could see by her look that she was secretly pleased.

"Hush, you. I'm extolling the virtues of your cooking, and I'm just getting started. I haven't had a proper Malfoy rant of any sort in far too long, so going off on your cooking is a safe way of releasing the pressure."

"'A proper Malfoy rant'?" she asked with a laugh.

"You never had the ... um ... 'pleasure' of hearing my dear departed dad go off on a subject. Good old 'Luscious Lucius', as Mom was wont to say went he extolled on the virtues of tortures of various sorts, could go for quite some time on any subject you wanted. The darker, the better, of course. You've undoubtedly heard Harry or Ron talk about some of my attempts during our days in Hogwarts. I'm not a master of it, though."

"Luscious ..." Hermione blushed deeply. "I mean, Draco, may I ask you a question? It's extremely personal, and I give you permission to call me whatever name you want to if you find it offensive. Including things like Mudblood."

His eyebrow raised in that peculiar way that he had. "I promise not to call you any name whatsoever, Hermione. Even if the question infuriates me, I'll merely get up and leave the guard house, and blow up a section of wall or two until I calm down."

She bit her lower lip, worried. "Your father was murdered by Voldemort's Death Eaters, but he was in Azkaban. What sort of connection to the summoning did your father have? Or do you even know?" she amended quickly.

He frowned and put down the now empty plate, stood up and walked to the window, and started to speak while taking shots at the wall. "You know about the Dementors, right? That they basically work for Voldemort?" She nodded. "Well, they by and large leave the important Death Eaters in Azkaban alone. Daddy dear was You-Know-Who's right hand man. So, when they planned the summoning, Dad was meant to be used as a conduit. And then the summoning failed, or so they thought."

He took a deep breath. "Since Dad was a focal point, well, obviously it had to be his fault. Mom was killed first, just so that he'd know about it, and I was to be killed just so that I wouldn't grow up to be a traitor like Dad obviously was. Plus, it would probably turn on whoever got to kill me. There are some real perverts in the Death Eaters." He shuddered. "They probably would have given my corpse to good old Crivingham." At Hermione's puzzled look, he answered simply, "Necrophiliac."

Hermione turned a rather nasty shade of green at that announcement, then ran to the window and returned her breakfast to the world. "Sorry," he murmured as she pulled her head back in. "I'm sort of numb, or else I'd probably do the same, especially since it would be me that ... well, I'm not going to make you do that again."

She walked to one of the crates and pulled out a jug. Pulling the stopper, she took a swig of what was in it and spit it out the window. "Clearing the palate of all the acid," she explained. "There isn't any water stored in here, but there is quite a bit of wine and ale. The ale I've had a chance to taste should be poured back into the horse it came from." She tilted the jug again, drinking some of the wine. "It's actually not too bad; this wine. A bit better fare than I would have expected Saruman to have given to his guards."

"May I?" Draco asked, and received the jug from her. Taking first a sniff of the jug and then a drink, he said, "I think these may be the stores for visitors. This is a decent wine, and would command quite a price where we come from, so it probably does here as well."

They spent part of the day inventorying the contents of the gatehouse. It was quite obviously being used as a storage shed, with the large amount of foodstuffs and such stored in there. Something else became obvious a time later.

Hermione had bent over to pick a box up from the floor, when they both heard a loud ripping noise. Draco looked over to see that the jeans Hermione was wearing were torn from waistband to crotch in the back. "Ooops!" she giggled.

He looked at her for a moment, trying to piece something together, and two things struck him at the same time. First, she was drunk. She was known to giggle once in a while, but this one was lasting for a while. Besides, he noticed she was a little unsteady on her feet. Second, her blouse had not been tight on her when they had entered the forest of Fangorn, but he was uncomfortably aware of the fact that it had become tight. He looked down at her ankles and realized that either the two of them were taller, or the clothes had shrunk while they were wearing them. "Hermione," he said a little painfully, "I need to enlarge your clothing. You'll need to undress and hand them to me. I can repair your jeans at the same time." He reached down to pull his wand out of his back pocket, and when he looked up, was glad he'd removed it, because he accidentally fired off a shot of sparks from it that might well have blown off a buttock. Hermione was now topless, and her ripped jeans were at half-mast. Her knickers were being pulled down with the jeans. "Behind the wall, now!" he barked more painfully than before. She finished undressing and wobbled off behind the wall.

Merlin's beard! he thought to himself. If Harry gets back and doesn't appreciate what I just saw, then I will definitely roll him over and cover him with dirt, because I will have killed him. He cast Scourgify on all her clothes, followed by a Reparo on the jeans, and then a gentle Engorgio to enlarge everything slightly.

I finally understand the concept of karma now, he added in his thoughts. I've been a shit all my life, and now I not only fall in love with the unattainable, but basically get a sight that will torture me for a lifetime, because I can't have it. He gently tossed the clothes where she could get them. "Let me know if anything is too loose, because I'll resize it for you." He resolutely stared out the window. I have got to get alone to resize my own clothes. Merlin, but my own pants are about to split. He cleaned and enlarged his own shirt before he heard Hermione speak.

"Thanks, Drakey," she cooed. "But now you won't get to enjoy if they split again!" She staggered out to look at him, holding a newly opened jug in her hand. She had managed to get two of the buttons done, but they were not lined up properly. He closed his eyes for a moment and walked over to her. Taking the jug from her hand and setting it on a table seemed like a good idea at the time, but once her hands were free, she threw her arms around his neck unsteadily. "Hold me, you sexy thing," she slurred. Before he could react, she had leaned forward and begun a rather intense kiss.

The blood was roaring in his ears when he finally got her disengaged from his lips. He gently pulled away from the hug and sat Hermione down, successful only because he promised to take off his own pants. He pointed his wand at her and put her to sleep, then carefully buttoned the top buttons of her blouse before straightening the rest of them, and carried her gently to her blankets and covered her. I didn't say you'd be awake when I took them off, though. Kissing her forehead, he whispered, "Good night, sweet princess." He walked out to the other room and shivered for a while, realizing how much he had wanted to take her up on her offer, and how near a thing it had been.

As he sat looking out the window, trying with no luck to get the image of a nude Hermione out of his mind, he heard hoofbeats approaching. He carefully got out his wand and aimed it at the oncoming rider, but was surprised to recognize him. He ran down the stairs.

"Gandalf!" The wizard sat atop a white horse; one that looked as if it could be the platonic ideal of the concept of the horse.

"Draco. I need to speak to Treebeard. Where is he?" As he spoke, the Ent he looked for walked up behind him. "Ah, there you are! I need your help." As he rode alongside Treebeard, he was already talking at great speed.

I saw him drop down that chasm. How the hell is he still alive? Maybe we could teach Harry that trick, too. Hermione would be happy about that. His thoughts jumped back to the woman upstairs. Damn. What is wrong with me? The old me would have had no problems peeling her out of those clothes and having his way with her.

Yeah, another voice inside him said. The same Draco that was exactly what the Ring needed as a host. A slimy bastard who didn't care for anyone but himself. Want to go back to that? Remember, you'll lose your friends if you do.

Shut up. I'll never go back to that ... thing that I once was.

Easy enough. She's still up there, and drunk. I'm sure if you woke her up ...

"No!" he shouted as he said Gandalf and Treebeard returned. He was standing with clenched fists and breathing as if he'd been in a fight. Gandalf looked at him a bit oddly, but said nothing.

"It is good to see you, Draco. I trust that Hermione is well?"

Gandalf started at that. "Does that happen often where you come from?"

"Not that I've ever heard," Draco responded. "I'm sure I would have with all the studying that my father made me do in the Dark Arts. Maybe an odd allergic reaction to something in this world?" He shrugged. "Maybe we'll have a chance to figure it out later."

Gandalf shook his head. "Well, further news must wait. This is a dark night, and there are things I must do. Perhaps the dawn will break on a brighter day. If so, we shall meet again. Take care, and go not to Orthanc!" With that, he was away.

Treebeard came to him, chuckling. "Well, it appears that referring to you as hasty was perhaps ... hoom," he chukled, "hasty? You said no more than you needed, and far less than you could have. Watch yourself, Master Draco, for sometime soon we will loose the River Isen from its bed to clean this den of filth before we allow it to return to its run." As he spoke, he picked absently at the walls, removing great chunks and tossing them aside. "Well, I have things to do. I shall see you presently." He walked off into the night.

"That leaves me to deal with the problem upstairs. Wish I had my potions gear; I could whip something up for that head she's going to have in the morning." He walked back inside and up the stairs.

A short time after midnight, he heard a rumbling, and found himself glad of being on the second floor, as a wall of water came roaring into the Iseangard plain. It began flowing down the various pits and shafts, and even in the dark Draco could see the gouts of steam as it struck the various fires below the surface.

#####

The next morning Hermione awoke with a headache, and to the smell of water nearby. Draco was burning some bread in the fire, and trying very hard to cook some bacon and eggs. Despite her rebellious stomach, she found her mouth watering, and she carefully got up and walked over to him. "Want me to take that over?" she whispered, since anything louder seemed painful.

"Are you in any condition to?" he asked softly.

"Maybe it'll take my mind off this headache," she moaned. "How much did I drink?"

He held up the empty jug. "This holds maybe a quart, and you had all of it, and the beginnings of a second one. Enough to get you pretty pissed, I'd say."

She closed her eyes, and an image of a shirtless Draco with a bulge in his tight pants jumped into her head. "Did I do anything embarrassing?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Yes," he replied, not looking her in the eyes. "I have one question. 'Drakey'?" he laughed weakly as he asked it.

Everything she'd said and done came back to her, even through the alcoholic haze of the night before. Her eyes went wide, and she ran down the stairs and outside into the early morning. She began to cry as she ran out into the water that had accumulated at some point during the time she'd been asleep.

Eventually, she realized that Draco was behind her. Before she could say anything, she heard him say, "I don't hate you, you know."

"Why not?" she wailed. "I do. Myself, that is."

"Because you were drunk, and not really yourself."

"I hate to tell you this, Draco, but alcohol won't make you do something you never would normally. It merely lessens your inhibitions. Therefore, I must be the trollop I was last night."

"Why did it happen?" he said, putting his arm around her.

She pulled away from him, but she felt him grab her a bit harder and aim her toward the building. She let herself be led in that direction, since she didn't think he was going to let up, and sat down on the stone. "I was missing Harry, and my hormones were going haywire. I don't mean to make any problems worse, but thinking about him was making me very horny, to be blunt." She blushed slightly.

"You're also very attractive, Draco, and once the alcohol was in me, it started to put two and two together, and unfortunately came up with something other than four. And you're as much a gentleman as Harry is, ever since the Ring tried to grab you. To be honest with you, Draco, that was not helping my mood any. In my drunken state, I was blending you and Harry, and tried to seduce Harry, basically, even though it was you." She began to cry again. "I was going to cheat on Harry, and use you."

"You're forgiven, Hermione," Draco said quietly. "You've paid me a very high compliment, my Lady, and I can not hate you." He stepped inside. "I'll be upstairs cleaning up what was supposed to be a breakfast."

#####

Draco looked at the pan. "How in hell does overcooked bacon get soggy and scrambled eggs become as solid as a rock?" he asked himself as he looked into the pan. "Well, time to throw this out, and see about something else. Maybe I'll just chew on some of the lettuce. It still looks pretty good." He cast Scourgify on the pan, and the contents disappeared in a large puff of smoke.

A while later, a still contrite Hermione came up the stairs. "Why do you forgive me, Draco? What possible compliment have I paid you, by trying to use you as a replacement for Harry?"

"Just that, my Lady," he said, bowing. "My personality has changed such that I remind you of the lucky man that you have gifted with your love, and I do not mean physical love. That gives me some hope for the future."

He looked carefully at her. "May I give you something that you need right now, Hermione? I think it will help." She looked at him, very puzzled, and he pulled her into a gentle hug. "You need to know that I still care for you as a friend, and I will always treasure the fact that you trusted me enough to think of me that way." She looked up at him again. "You forgot I wasn't Harry, basically." When the hug was over, she was smiling. He grinned and hid behind a few crates. "The view was nice, too," he laughed.

She laughed a little and said, "You made the mistake of leaving the pan over here, Draco. My aim may not be the greatest, but I'll bet I can hit you from this range." She scowled then. "Damn it. Why must I be a freak?"

"Why are you saying that?"

"I found myself wondering why you're the way you are. Usually when someone with the personality you had has a shock like the one you did, they don't undergo the sort of change you have. Psychologically speaking, they don't switch personalities like you did. An angry person will remain angry. Someone hateful will tend to stay that way, but change the victim, so to speak. It's as if you went through some sort of looking glass."

"I remember what that Ring wanted me for. My power lust, my hatred, my vindictiveness, and other such things. I'm making a concerted effort to reverse those things. I never want to be the type of person that the Ring would think was a perfect vessel again. So, when I find myself falling into those attitudes in my mind, I consciously change them. As time has been going along, it's gotten a lot easier. Five months of practice will do that."

"Is that why ..."

"It's why you didn't wake up naked, next to a naked me. The old Draco would gladly have taken advantage of your state, if only to lord it over Harry when he saw him again. This, of course, ignores the fact that you wouldn't have even contemplated getting drunk around that Drao," he finished with a laugh.

#####

They spent the day looking around the ruins, splashing through the water, and actually getting into a water fight in which Hermione took unfair of advantage, since Draco was unwilling to splash water too high on her body.

Hermione shook her head at noticing that. She was trying to return things to normal as soon as possible, but it was going to be difficult. I really screwed up big time last night, and it's only the fact that he has changed so much that allows him to forgive me. She laughed to herself; a laugh devoid of any real humour. Maybe I can take lessons from him, and learn to forgive myself. That was inexcusable.

"Hello? Hermione?" She started as she realized that Draco was speaking to her. "Are you in there?"

"Sorry, Draco. Woolgathering."

"More like kicking yourself in the ass again, if I know you. What's it going to take to get you to forgive yourself?"

She looked him in the eyes. "Being Obliviated. What I tried to do to you was beyond cruel. It's only your gentle soul and honour that kept me from cheating on Harry last night." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'll have to tell him about it after he's back, and has had some time to recover from the trip there and back."

"We'll tell him," Draco said. "You'll tell him in the worst possible light, if you're as depressed then as you are now. And I'll accept any curses he may choose to throw. In fact, if he decides to throw any at you, I have to intercept them, but knowing him, he'll accept what you have to tell him and wish us the best of luck. That's'why I have to be there. To give him the whole story."

They spent the rest of the day exploring as best they could, with Draco helping Hermione every time she started to cry about the previous night, and finally bedded down after a dinner of salted pork and a small amount of wine. Draco was watching her intake carefully, but she made no effort to drink more than what she was given, and it relaxed her enough to allow her restful sleep.

#####

She awoke the next morning with a clear head to the sound of Draco grumbling at the cooking gear. "I am not going to be beaten by bacon and eggs. A dead chicken is not smarter than I am, damn it!" She couldn't resist; she giggled at that comment, loud enough that Draco turned to face her.

"It's an acquired skill, Draco, and none of us let you learn during our travels. How about Harry and I take you under our wings after this is over, and teach you to cook?" She chuckled to herself as she realized that she had managed to gently wrest control of the cooking gear from him without an argument.

As they finished their breakfast, they could hear Treebeard approaching. He began to call their names, so they came outdoors. "I came to see how you are faring, little ones," he laughed. "The Huorns are back. All is well; aye, all is indeed well!" the Ent said.

"I didn't even know they were gone," Hermione said.

"Yes, well, Gandalf apparently had a need for them," Draco said nonchalantly.

"Um, Draco, isn't Gandalf ..."

"Dead? That's what I thought, but he certainly seemed alive enough when he rode up on that horse. You were sleeping off the effects of the wine."

Treebeard laughed again. "Yes, Gandalf lives. As I said, I came to see how you are doing, and to let you know that people are coming from the south, and should be here before the day is old. erhaps you will be glad to see some of them."

As if the words had been the cue for the deed, they heard hoofbeats approaching the gates. The two ran to the gates to see if perhaps it were Gandalf, but instead it was a twisted, queer sort of man on and old horse riding from the mist. His mouth worked without sound as he saw the damage to the gates, and began to turn his horse as if to leave, but in three strides Treebeard had reached him and lifted him from the horse, which fled in terror.

Set upon the ground, the rider grovelled before Treebeard. "I am Grima, friend and counsellor to Theoden, king of the Rohirrim. I come bearing messages from Theoden to Saruman. No one else was willing to ride through land so full of foul Orcs, so I was sent. And I have had a perilous journey. I am tired and hungry. I went far to the north to avoid capture, and have been chased by wolves."

Treebeard looked at him for several minutes before finally saying, "I was expecting you, Master Wormtongue. Gandalf arrived first, so I know as much about you as I need to, and I know what shall be done with you. 'Put all the rats in one trap', Gandalf said, and that is what I shall do. I am now master of Isengard. Saruman is locked in his tower, and you shall go there and give him all the messages you may think of."

"Let me go! I know the way," Wormtongue said.

"You knew the way, of this I have little doubt," Treebeard said with a deep chuckle. "Things have changed since then, however. Go and see!"

Wormtongue limped through the arch with Treebeard, Draco, and Hermione following him. Once his eyes fell on the ruination and flooding, he turned back and whined, "Let me leave! All my messages are worthless now."

"Of that I have no doubt," Treebeard rumbled. "However, you have two choices - stay with me until your master arrives, or go take your chances with Saruman, across the water. Which will it be?"

Grima put a foot into the water, but then drew back. "I cannot swim."

"It is not deep," rumbled Treebeard. "It is dirty, but that will not harm you. In you go, Master Wormtongue." With that, Grima waded in until it was to his neck. Draco lost sight of him at this point, but Treebeard had followed him in. A few minutes later, he returned and told them, "He is with his master now. I saw a hand come out and pull him in. I doubt that Saruman will like what counsels that Wormtongue may give."

He took a breath. "I must go to the north and clean off some of the slime from this endeavour. There will be men coming soon; Lords of Men, to be precise, and I leave you to greet them. They will be wanting man food for roughly twenty-five people. I shall send some Ents to collect it shortly."

"What about drink?" Draco asked.

"The water is clean and clear where I shall meet with them. That is good enough for them." With that, he walked off toward the north.

"Well," Hermione said. "I think it best if we go pull some food out for when those Ents arrive." They returned to the gatehouse, and shortly after they had finished setting out barrels and boxes of food, a number of Ents came and took it north.

It had been some heavy work, so Draco leaned back into the shade and closed his eyes while Hermione sat outside and waited. "I'll wake you if I hear something," she said.

"Not necessary, Hermione. I have no intention of sleeping. I'm just a little tired after all that lifting." She laughed quietly to herself a few minutes later as she heard a gentle snoring coming from him.

She sat on the stones outside for a while when she heard more hoofbeats - quite a few more than before. "Draco - we have visitors coming." He was on his feet in an instant, wand at the ready.

As they rode closer, Hermione's face broke into a grin as she recognized Gandalf, as well as three others. However, all the rest were new to her. "Welcome, my lords, to Isengard," she said with a trace of impudence in her voice. "My companion and I are the wardens of the gates." She openly grinned as she said, "Lord Saruman is within, but he is closeted with someone called Wormtongue, or else he would doubtless be here to welcome such guests as you."

Gandalf laughed brightly. "Doubtless he would! And was it he who ordered you to guard his damaged doors?"

Draco responded, "No, it seems that the matter escaped him for some reason. Our orders were given by Treebeard, who has taken over management of this fine establishment for the time being. He commanded us to welcome the Lord of Rohan with proper words, and I hope that we have not displeased you."

"And what of your companions?" cried Gimli, who wore a bandage around his head. "What of Legolas and me? You rascals! A fine hunt you have led us. Two hundred leagues we travelled, through fen and forest, battle and death, only to find you here, obviously none the worse for wear, since I smell evidence of food! Hammer and tongs! I am so torn between rage and joy that if I do not burst, it will be a marvel!"

"You speak for me as well, Gimli," laughed Legolas. "I am more curious about the wine, however." He motioned at the open jug.

"One thing you have not found in your hunting, then, is brighter wits," Draco laughed. "We sit here on the field of victory, and you ask how we came about a few well-earned comforts?"

"Well-earned?" Gimli laughed back. "I doubt that!"

The man who obviously led this group was at the head of a large round of laughter. "It can not be doubted that we witness the meeting of dear friends," he said, especially when Hermione helped Gimli down from the horse and pulled him into a hug. "These, then, are the lost ones of your company, Gandalf?"

"Indeed they are, Theoden, and perhaps later they can be introduced properly. For now, though, we have need to speak to Treebeard. Where is he?"

"Away to the north," Hermione answered. "He wanted clean water to drink and to bathe in. Most of the other Ents are with him, still enjoying their work." Her comment was followed with a rumbling that sounded as if an avalanche were falling from the mountainside.

"Orthanc is left unguarded?" Gandalf asked incredulously.

"Well, there's the water," Draco said. "And I'm pretty sure Quickbeam is sitting there watching the only exit door. Given the fact that he would have popped Saruman's head off if he'd been able to catch him, I seriously doubt that Saruman is likely to come out that door any time soon."

"To let you know, Gandalf, there has been food taken in Treebeard's direction, so you needn't worry about that. I think he expected you to want to speak to him soonest," Hermione said.

"Well," Gandalf said, "I see that being lost amongst the Orcs has done nothing to prevent you two from doing your usual excellent work. Theoden, follow me and meet another legend come to life. For Treebeard is Fangorn, eldest and chief of the Ents, and when you speak with him, you will hear the speech of the oldest of all living things."

"I will come with you," said Theoden. "Farewell for now, and I hope to speak to you at some point, for I have heard some interesting tales of your exploits." He and all but Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas followed Gandalf into the mists to the north.

#####

"I think that none of us would have expected to be here," Aragorn said. "It is good to see you again. Gandalf said that you were well, but hearing and seeing are as different as the night is from the day." He accepted the hug that Hermione shyly gave him. As they broke, he looked at her oddly. "It appears that there is a further story to tell, as well."

She looked up oddly at him. "What do you mean?"

Legolas looked between her and Draco, and climbed up to stand next to Draco, measuring himself against the Hogwarts student. "I see the same thing that Aragorn appears to. You have grown quite a bit in nine days, friends."

Hermione looked past them for a moment. "Wow - March seventh already. Time flies."

"Actually, no, it's the fifth," Aragorn said. "Your months are 28 days long?"

Draco laughed. "No, February is the shortest. Let's see, it's April, June, September, and November are thirty days, February is twenty-eight days, except for every four years it's twenty-nine, and then the other seven are thirty-one days long." He looked at the three and said, "Confusing enough for you?"

"Ours is much better," Aragorn said. "All twelve months have thirty days, with five days for festivals that don't fall within any month."

"Makes sense to me," Hermione said. She paused for a moment before continuing. "I think we should both tell our stories. We're wondering what happened with you, and you definitely want to know about us. How about we do it over a meal? We haven't eaten lunch yet." As Gimli reacted unfavourably, she mock-pouted at him. "You used to eat my cooking before we got split up. Besides, my test subject hasn't turned purple yet, so it should still be safe."

"Ah, yes!" Aragorn said, sounding slightly frantic. "Safety!" He whistled over the horse he had been riding, and unhooked Draco and Hermione's backpacks from the saddle, as well as their swords. "Your wands are in the pocket along the side, Hermione. Your mithril wand is in the same place on your backpack, Draco."

He carefully grabbed his backpack and pulled out the mithril wand., and then opened the backpack. Hermione simply opened her pack and looked in. "Draco, I'm going to need your help later. I'll need some clothes enlarged."

He snapped to attention with an impudent grin. "My choice, my Lady?"

"No, my choice, you ..." She laughed. "Thanks. I needed the laugh. Let me go in and start getting some food ready." She stepped inside the building and began finding food for five.

"What was that about?" Aragorn asked.

"She can't cast spells anymore. That was part of the reason we got captured by the Orcs."

"Well, she's got her wands back. That should clear the problem up," Aragorn said.

"No, she couldn't cast with them before. That's why she switched to the sword."

"That makes no sense, though," Gimli said. "Both Aragorn and Legolas were able to use the wand to send the flowers into the air, much as Master Harry did. It must be the wand."

"Say what?!?" Draco shouted. Hermione came running "Hermione, take your mithril wand and try to cast Orchideous." She did so, with the result both knew would happen. "Hand Aragorn your wand." As she did so, he said, "Aragorn, show us exactly what you did."

Aragorn took the wand and held it at arm's length. He closed his eyes, pulled the wand closer, and carefully pronounced "Orchideous!" and was rewarded with firing a bouquet of flowers into the sky.

"Sweet Merlin's beard ... you're a wizard, Aragorn!" Hermione squealed.

"But, that doesn't make sense," he stammered, quickly handing the wand back to her. "Why haven't I shown this aptitude before?"

"Actually, with the number of prophecies that seem to refer to you, Aragorn, I'd say that you've shown it your entire life. It's just been channelled toward fulfilling prophecy." She stared off into the distance. "That makes sense. We seem to be in a world where magic may be even more powerful than at our home, but it's all tied up in the Rings everyone talks about. That and in prophecies. It's an interesting question as to what will happen when Harry destroys the Ring." She broke for just a moment, eyes filling with tears, but finally bulled on. "As I was saying," she said as she sniffed, "with everything tied up in the Rings, when the One Ring is destroyed, will it destroy the magic tied in with it, or will it free it to do what it should have been doing all along? I don't tend to see magic as a non-renewable resource, unlike Niven, so I think it'll come back." She refocused on the group, to see them staring at her. "Sorry," she said. "Being a freak again."

"No," Aragorn said. "I was stunned to hear an analysis by someone who has been outside our world, and so has a fresh view on things. I hope that you are correct, for to lose the magic would be to lose the Elves."

"That would truly be a loss," Draco said somberly, and then looked up at Legolas with a sad smile.

"Then let us drink to your Harry's success!" Gimli said. "Assuming, of course, that there is drink in there as well as food? Which we still have not seen?" He laughed at Hermione's shocked look. She shot him a dirty look which was ruined by her grin.

A few minutes later, they were all seated, eating quietly. After a hearty drink, Gimli said, "Since we were the hunters, and you the hunted, you tell your stories first, and then we shall tell ours."

Draco began recounting the story, but glossed past the reason they had ended up in Fangorn. Hermione interrupted. "I think he's avoiding it for my feelings, but what he's not telling you is that Grishnakh decided that rape was on the menu for the day. Draco saved my virtue and my life. I can never thank him enough for that."

Aragorn nodded and motioned at her backpack. "You'll find a piece of clothing I assumed was yours on the top of your things. It was torn, but I didn't know if you could repair it."

She flipped open the pack and squealed. "Draco, please repair my bra. They're starting to hurt a little."

Draco grinned. "As my lady commands. Reparo!" He then pointed his mithril wand and cast the Engorgio that they had been using on their clothing. The result had both of them rolling on the stone laughing.

"I think I should be flattered," she gasped, holding up a brassiere that would have been large on Madame Maxime. Once Draco had himself under control, he shrank it to a more believable size with his Ollivander wand, and she went behind the wall to change. She stepped back out a minute later finishing the buttoning of her blouse. "Is there something you'd like to tell us, Draco dear? You have a perfect eye for sizing women's clothing." Her grin took any sting from the question.

"I was my mother's dress dummy for a while, until I got a little too muscular for it. Learned a lot about sizing from that. Developed a good eye for it, apparently." He wiggled his eyebrows at her lasciviously, making her laugh.

Hermone continued with the story, telling of their meeting with Treebeard, the Entmoot, and the terrifying attack on Isengard. Draco talked of the surprise at seeing Gandalf ride up to them as if nothing had happened. "Now it's your turn, friends. What happened with you?"

Aragorn started with finding Boromir as he lay dying. "I can't hate him for falling prey to the blandishments of the Ring, even as angry as I was with him at the time," Draco said sadly. "I know what that thing can do. I was originally supposed to carry it."

"And you had the strength to throw it away, Draco," Hermione said softly. "You have strength that you refuse to admit. You have a good soul, no matter how much you claim to not have one at all." She patted his hand.

He smiled at her, and motioned to their three friends to continue. Legolas picked up the story, telling of their run across the plains in pursuit of them. Aragorn held out the clasp that Hermione had dropped. "Nicely done, milady," he smiled.

"I hated to lose it, but I wanted to leave some type of evidence of our passing, just in case someone did come searching for us. Looks like I did the right thing." She glowed happily.

"Indeed you did. It told us that you were still alive to that point, and since there was no evidence of a slaughter there, we knew that you survived for a time more."

"We despaired of your survival when we met the Riders, though," Gimli said. "They told us none had been found alive, and all bodies burned. I admit to a cry of pain at word of your demise." Hermione reached over and hugged him. "Then we reached the pyre and Aragorn and Legolas checked the signs and followed them to the body of ... Grishnakh, you say his name was? Someone obviously wished to ensure that he was dead. Rarely have I seen a blade thrust so deeply into the ground."

"I'll do the same to anyone else who touches her when she doesn't want that," Draco growled quietly, but loud enough for the assembled crowd to hear. He was surprised by the kiss on the cheek from Hermione. "I said that too loud, didn't I?" he asked. They nodded with slight smiles. "Well, continue," he grumbled quietly, with the hint of a smile colouring his face.

Gimli started next, telling of walking into the forest and their meeting with Gandalf, the freeing of Theoden from Saruman's grasp, the chasing of Wormtongue from the halls of Edoras, and finally the battle of Helm's Deep. "That's where I received this scratch," he rumbled.

Legolas interjected. "Many interesting things have happened on both sides. I believe that I understand how you have grown, however. You state that you have drunk the draughts of the Ents. I would be surprised to see that you had not grown, after drinking those."

"I think Harry will be pleasantly surprised when you see him again," Aragorn quipped with a smile, to which Hermione responded with an intense blush.

"Now that we are fed and happy once again, shall we rejoin Gandalf? I too would meet this Treebeard that you speak of," Gimli said. They stood and walked toward the stone arch that still remained and walked through to Isengard proper.