"Someone's coming!" Harry could hear something coming their way.
"Stay together! Hurry now! Arm yourselves!" Gandalf ordered.
Everyone rushed towards each other, huddled together. Harry and his friends drew their wands.
"Is it more Trolls?" Neville asked nervously.
But it wasn't more trolls. It was a man bursting through the bushes on a sled pulled by Rabbits. A man with brown robes, a brown tapper hat, long grey hair that was covered in bird poop. And a long beard. To Harry, he looked like the distant cousin of Hagrid, except not as giant.
That man was Radagast the Brown.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" Radagast yelled.
"Radagast. Radagast the Brown!" Gandalf greeted with open arms. He put his arms away before walking towards Radagast.
"This is Radagast?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "He's got a little... well everywhere, actually."
"Some might think that's good luck, Hermione." Luna pointed out.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked Radagast.
"I was looking for you, Gandalf." Radagast answered. "Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."
"Yes?" Gandalf now had Radagast's attention even more.
Radagast then paused like he was going to say something. But couldn't. "Just give me a minute. Um, oh! I had a thought and now I've lost it. It was... it was right there, on the tip of my tongue!"
"We've all been there." Harry assured.
"Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a silly old stick insect." Radagast realized. And he had stuck out his tongue to reveal an insect.
Gandalf removed the bug from the tongue. And then placed the bug in Radagast's hand.
"Ugh..." Hermione and Ginny squirme.
"Well... at least it's not Slugs." Ron commented getting flashbacks to when he tried to curse Malfoy, and it backfired on him big time.
Radagast then looked at the others. "Who are these?" He asked. "Oh wait, wait! You must be... You must be the Wizards! Dumbledore's apprentices!" He realized.
"You know Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"Of course I do. We Wizards get around, you see." Radagast answered. "But I need to speak with you, Gandalf. It's about the Greenwood."
Gandalf looked at everyone else. "Could you give us a minute, please?" He requested.
The others decided to leave Gandalf and Radagast alone to speak. "The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf. A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows anymore. At least nothing good." Radagast informed. "The air is fowl with decay. The worst are the webs."
"Webs? What do you mean?" Gandalf asked.
"Did he say, webs?" Ron whispered as he and Harry listened in on the conversation.
"Spiders, Gandalf. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of ungallant. Or I am not a Wizard. I followed their trail. They came from... Dol Guldur." Radagast explained and causing Ron to flinch at the thought of Spiders.
"Dol Guldur?" Gandalf asked as he turned back to face Radagast. "But the old Fortress is abandoned."
"No, Gandalf... it is not." Radagast said. "A dark power dwells in there. Such as I have never felt before. It is the shadow of an ancient horror. One that can summon... the spirits of the dead."
"That sounds like something Voldemort would do." Harry said nervously.
"It can't be. No magic can summon the dead like that." Hermione pointed out.
"At least... not in our Universe. Maybe the rules here are different." Luna countered.
"I saw him, Gandalf. From out of the darkness. The Necromancer has come." Radagast told Gandalf. And then he began to think of some horrid thoughts of fighting off bats. He stared getting twitchy. But then he stopped. "Sorry." He said.
"Try a little bit of tope." Gandalf handed him a pipe. "It'll help settled your nerves."
Radagast took the pipe and began sucking in the smoke. And then releasing it through his nose and ears. And then looked stone.
"Now, the Necromancer. Are you sure?" Gandalf asked.
And just to show how sure he was. Radagast pulled out a sword in wrapping. In the shape of a sword.
"That is not from the world of the living." Radagast warned.
"Wait a second. Who's this Necromancer?" Harry asked. But before anyone could answer, a strange howling sound emerged. Like a wolf.
"Was that a wolf? Are there, are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked hearing it too.
"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Bofur answered, his fear knowing what it was.
What it was was a Warg. A large Black creature that charged at the party. "What is that?" Harry asked.
"Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before." Hermione answered.
"Reducto!" Ginny shot quickly at the Warg and causing it to explode.
"Look out! Another!" Neville quickly shot out Stupefy at the Warg. And then Kili shot an arrow at the beast, and Thorin buried his sword into the beast.
"Warg scouts! Which means an orc pack is not far behind!" Thorin informed.
"Orc Pack?" Bilbo and Ron asked at the same time.
Gandalf in the meantime stormed over towards Thorin. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" He demanded at Thorin.
"No one." Thorin answered.
"Who did you tell?!" Gandalf repeated.
"No one, I swear!" Thorin repeated.
"What in Merlin's Name is going on? Why are there Wargs trying to attack Thorin?" Hermione asked.
"We are being hunted." Gandalf answered.
"Well who would be trying to hunt us?" Neville asked.
"I don't know, probably Voldemort." Harry suggested.
"We have to get out of here." Dwalin said.
"We can't! We have no ponies! They bolted!" Ori pointed out.
"Oops." Harry realized. "I set them loose without..."
"Harry! Now we've got to walk the rest of the way!" Ron complained.
"Bigger issues, Ron!" Ginny shouted. "There's Orcs about to attack us!"
"I'll draw them off!" Radagast declared, jumping in on the action.
"These are Gundabad Wargs! They will outrun you!" Gandalf countered to Radagast.
"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits." Radagast shot back. "I'd like to see them try." He said with a smirk.
True enough, Radagast took off on his sled with his Rabbits pulling. "Come and get me!" He dared the Orcs enjoying himself.
And the Orcs followed him. All riding on their Wargs.
Gandalf and the rest of the party looked on beyond towards a field, covered with Giant Rocks over a grass field. "Come on!" He yelled to everyone.
Harry went up a little to observe.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled getting Harry's attention.
"Gandalf! We can't just leave Radagast!" Harry tried to say.
"He'll be fine!" Gandalf assured as the party began moving in the opposite direction. And Radagast was just fine indeed. He was swerving and maneuvering past the Orcs who were trying to stay on their Wargs. But they were going in a circle.
"Stay together." Gandalf whispered.
"Move!" Thorin yelled as everyone started running back.
"Oh, this is brilliant." Ron said sarcastically. "Now we can just run in circles."
"Less talking, more moving!" Harry told Ron as they moved past another large rock. Only to see the Orcs in front of them again.
"Ori! No!" Thorin held Ori back. "Go back!" And they stayed behind the boulder to see Radagast lead the Orc pack away.
"Now's our chance, go!" Harry insisted as everyone ran ahead.
"This way. Quick." Gandalf led the way.
"Where are you leading us?" Thorin asked.
Gandalf just looked at Thorin. The party ran for another small rock. Only for the Orc Pack to pass in front of them again.
"Go right!" Harry yelled as everyone took shelter behind a small rock cliff.
"There's one right above us." Luna whispered as she looked up to see the Orc above the rock.
Thorin looked at Kili. And then looked down at his bow. Kili then slowly took out one of his arrows before jumping from cover and shot at the Warg. The Orc reached out for a horn.
"Expelliamus!" Harry quickly shot disarming the horn from the Orc.
"Accio!" Hermione shot. And the Orc and Warg came tumbling down. And then Dwalin killed off the Orc. "Dwalin! Wait!" Hermione tried to insist.
But Dwalin had buried his axe deep in the Orcs. He was soon followed by the other Orcs.
"Are you daft, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"I didn't have time to cast the Muffliato Charm!" Hermione answered.
"What does that do?" Bilbo asked.
"It silences the person." Neville answered. That made Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny look at Neville. "What? I know how Charms work."
"That's right, Neville." Luna replied knowing how smart Neville was at Charms.
But true enough the Orcs stopped chasing to hear the sounds of battle. "The Dwarf scum are over there!" The lead Orc yelled. "After them!"
"Great. Now they're coming this way." Harry realized looking at the destruction.
"Move! Run!" Gandalf insisted.
And the whole party continued their chase over the fields. The Orcs right on their tail.
"There they are!" Gloin yelled pointing to the Orcs.
"This way! Quickly!" Gandalf informed as he and the party moved in another direction.
But the Orcs quickly closed in all off sides. "There's more coming!" Kili yelled.
"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin ordered.
And Kili began shooting down the Orcs. But right as Gandalf saw an opening behind a rock. And he started to run for it.
Kili had begun shooting the Orcs and Wargs. A Warg had charged near Kili.
"Depulso!" Harry had managed to shoot that Warg back and coming to Kili's aid.
"Stupefy!" Hermione shot at another Warg.
"We're surrounded!" Fili yelled.
"Good! That means we can shoot in all directions!" Ginny claimed. And she shot a Bat Bogey Hex at one of the Orcs making a swarm of bats appear.
"Flipendo!" Neville shot.
"Levicorpus!" Luna also shot next to Neville.
"Where's Gandalf?" Ron asked suddenly.
"He's abandoned us." Dwalin roared.
"Hold your Ground!" Thorin yelled out while drawing his sword.
Ori had launched a slingshot at an Orc, but all it did was bounce off harmlessly off the Orc.
"Bombarda!" Harry shot at the Warg and blasting both the Warg and the Orc.
But that was just one stepping stone. More Orcs were advancing.
"I don't think we have a Prophecy to bargain with this time, Harry." Ginny commented.
They wouldn't need a Prophecy. Because Gandalf returned. He had appeared behind a large rock. "This way, you fools!"
"I'll take it!" Harry exclaimed.
"Go! I'll cover you!" Kili told Harry.
"Come on! Let's go!" And Harry ran for where Gandalf had gone. Which was a large slide that led deeper into a cave.
"Quickly! All of you!" Thorin ordered the Dwarves. Then he turned to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. "Come on! Let's go!"
"Let's go! We're too exposed." Hermione ran for the slide and slid down.
"What about you?" Neville asked Thorin.
"You first. I'm right behind you." Thorin answered as Neville slid down.
"Come on, Ginny!" Ron yelled over to Ginny who was trying to fight alongside Kili.
"Kili!" Thorin yelled.
"Let's go!" Ginny shouted to Kili. And Kili followed Ginny down the hole where Gandalf was doing a head count.
Thorin was the last to go in. But he landed right on Harry knocking him to the ground. And knocking off Harry's glasses.
"Blimey." Harry grunted.
"Sorry." Thorin replied.
"No harm done." Harry said. "Anyone seen my-" There was a crunching sound. "Glasses..." He sighed.
Neville had stepped on the glasses by accident and he held it up. "Sorry, Harry."
"Oh, that's alright, Neville. It's not your fault. Hermione!" Harry called.
Hermione went up to Harry. "Honestly, Harry. Have you still not learned this spell?" She asked. And she sighed. "Oculus Reparo." And she fixed up Harry's glasses.
"Sorry, Hermione. After the Dursleys learned I used Magic. Well... they don't go around breaking my glasses anymore." Harry answered.
It was in that moment that another horn had shouted. But it wasn't an Orc horn. It was an elvish horn. And a whole party of armed and armored Elves had arrived on the plains, with their bows and lances, and they proceeded to massacre the Orcs like it was nothing. One Orc even landed down. Dead. While the rest of the Orc party survivors fled away. For good.
Gandalf however poked the orc with his staff just to make sure that it was dead.
"Who did that?" Neville asked.
"Whoever they are. They're my new best friend." Ron commented.
"They're mine too." Harry added.
Thorin took the arrow from the Orc, and he could tell what kind of arrow it was right away. "Elves." He said in disgust, then threw away the arrow like it had the plague.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?" Dwalin asked from the end of the tunnel.
"We follow it, of course." Luna answered walking up to Dwalin.
"What she said!" Bofur added.
"I think that would be wise." Gandalf agreed.
It would be a wise decision to follow the path after all. Because the second they exited the other side of the tunnel, Harry had come across a sight incredibly splendid to see. Perhaps even more splendid than the first time he ever laid eyes on Hogwarts. A city surrounded by mountains, and waterfalls running through. And the sun shining down on the city.
"Wow." Ron took the words right out of Harry's mouth. "Look at this place." He said.
Even the Dwarves all looked in astonishment at the sight of Rivendell.
"We are not in the Shire anymore, Bilbo." Neville commented to Bilbo.
"No. We are not." Bilbo agreed as he looked in awe as well.
"The Valley of Imladris." Gandalf informed the party. "In the common tongue, it's known by another name."
"Rivendell." Bilbo said.
"Here lies the last homely house, east of the sea." Gandalf continued.
"Well that's nice." Luna commented. "It's beautiful isn't it. I don't think I've even seen such splendid architecture before. Not even in Hogwarts."
"We might have to get a closer look to be sure." Harry agreed.
Thorin on the other hand didn't see it that way. "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy." He accused Gandalf.
"You want to take your chances with the Orcs?" Harry asked. "You be my guest. It's either those enemies or these."
"Harry is right." Dumbledore replied. "And you have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."
"You think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us." Thorin countered.
And Harry flinched at the thought of elf help. And Elves trying to stop them from doing anything.
"Of course, they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm, which is why you will leave the talking to me." Gandalf informed. "That means don't say anything smart mouthed or anything about food, Ronald Weasley."
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ron asked in alarm.
"It might have to do with your table manners." Luna answered. "You do have some really poor ones. Even in the Great Hall."
Sure enough, Ron kept his mouth shut as they passed across the narrow bridge and towards Rivendell. And once inside the city, there was one elf making his way towards the party. This wasn't like the house elves back home. This was about the same size as a human, but had pointed ears, and a small crown around his forehead, and elegant clothing.
"Mithrandir." The Elf greeted Gandalf.
"Gesundheit." Harry commented.
"It means Grey Pilgrim or Wanderer." Gandalf told Harry.
"Oh..." Harry realized. "Sorry."
"Ah, Lindir." Gandalf turned his attention to the Elf.
"We heard you had crossed into the valley." Lindir informed.
"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf insisted.
"My Lord Elrond is not here." Lindir replied.
"Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf asked furrowing his eyebrows.
And right on cue, the same horn from before in the plains sounded. And a large group of Elves riding on horseback galloped towards them.
"Close ranks!" Thorin ordered. And the Dwarves all formed a small circle among themselves like they were being attacked. They also pulled Bilbo into the middle with them.
Not that it would do them much good. The Elves all circled around the dwarves. But didn't lower their spears at them.
And the lead Elf had now rode up. With dark long hair, grey eyes, and a small elvish crown on his head. "Gandalf!" He greeted with a grin.
"Lord Elrond." Gandalf greeted back. "My friend! Where have you been?"
"We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South. We slew a number near the Hidden Pass." Elrond answered, before climbing off his horse and embracing Gandalf in a hug. And he had an Orc weapon taken from a slain Orc. "Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near."
"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf figured.
Elrond then noticed Thorin walking towards him. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain." He greeted.
"I do not believe we have met." Thorin replied.
"You have your Grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain." Elrond answered.
"Indeed?" Thorin asked surprised. "He made no mention of you."
Elrond narrowed his eyes. And he spoke in the Elvish language to the other Elves.
"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?!" Gloin accused.
"No, Master Gloin! He's offering you food." Gandalf explained.
"He's offering us Food? Say no more!" Ron jumped in.
"Oh..." Hermione groaned. "It's not about the food, Ron." She tried to say.
"Blimey, Hermione. He's offering food to us. That's one thing the Elves in both our universes have in common." Ron shot back.
The Dwarves in the meantime all started huddling together.
"Huddle." Neville grabbed the Wizards and Witches together in a circle.
"Why are we huddling?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know. They're doing it." Neville answered.
But then the Dwarves all turned back towards Elrond out of the huddle. And Neville broke up the Wizards own huddle. "Ah, well. In that case, lead on." Gloin decided.
Elrond then looked at Harry and the other Wizards. "Lord Elrond. May I introduce you to Harry Potter. And his companions. Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood."
"Hello, sir." Harry greeted trying to play diplomat.
"The ones that Dumbledore told you about." Gandalf clarified.
"Ah yes. Dumbledore's protegee." Elrond said.
"You've seen Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"Yes. I have." Elrond answered. "Come this way and we'll talk about it." He led Harry and the others into the city.
"Right after we have a bite to eat first, right?" Ron asked.
"Will you stop thinking about food, Ronald?!" Hermione shouted not being able to take it anymore.
"No." Ginny answered.
"What? We need to eat. We lost all of our supplies." Ron pointed out. "And why should the Dwarves get to eat all the good stuff?"
"I am curious to eat this Elvish food myself. I hope it tastes just as good as the Hogwarts Food." Luna said skipping up the steps.
"If it does, we're in for a treat." Neville agreed. "Um, can I... Harry?"
"Go on." Harry insisted.