Disclaimer: I'm not Rowling nor those who own the rights to the second fandom this story plops into. Therefore, I own neither of them. In fact, if you recognize it as published works, I don't own it. I own (if you could call it that) the idea for this story.

A/N I know...I know...I'm awful. I made those who have followed me since I started this wait for YEARS! I can't give you an excuse but if you want the reasons for the crazy long wait, check out my profile. Finding my muse and coaxing her to be nicer to me might be a good idea though...the little brat ran away and then came back only to take a sabbatical, a vacation, and then claim "issues" while I was trying to get on with this story. She's a brat... Also...this is now officially a cross over...don't like, don't read. It will, however, focus primarily on the HP characters more so than the second fandom I introduce in this chapter.

Albus Dumbledore was going, to put it bluntly, spare trying to figure out what had happened to the four Gryffindors. He had multiple members of the Order trying to figure out what had happened. Currently he was sitting in his office listening to a report of their findings from Minerva, Severus, Filius, Tonks, and Bill Weasley. Bill was in the middle of his explanation of some spell work he had tried when he froze, staring off into space for barely a moment before jumping to his feet and rushing to the fireplace.

With barely a, "Something triggered the Burrow's wards," before he was gone and it took the professors a moment to react before they too followed. The sound of voices pulled them through the kitchen and out the back door where they found Molly, Arthur, Charlie, Bill, and the twins in various states of shock. It took less than three seconds to determine why.

Standing in the yard looking as if they were out of a fairy tale were four young adults. The two females were dressed in flowing gowns that barely rustled as they turned in place, small smiles on their faces. Red and brown hair was wrapped around their heads in braided crowns, keeping it free from snarls. The two males were dressed in tunics and pants that seemed to match the stylization of the gowns, making them appear as if they were dressed in a type of clothing from the Middle Ages; their shoulder length hair tied back in a tidy ponytail at the nape of their necks. Brilliant green eyes glanced at Albus, sending a shock wave through his body as he was able to finally get through his stunned mental state and put a name with the face. Before he could say anything though, the owner of those green eyes turned to the redheaded female and spoke in a language that, while lyrical and extremely beautiful, was foreign and not one he knew.

The one spoken to grinned and turned to Molly before taking a small step and holding her hands out. "Hello mum. We're home." That was all it took to break Molly out of her shock and she raced forward to engulf her daughter in a crushing hug before moving on to each of the others.

After the initial greetings, Harry slipped off to the side and contacted his parents using some method the headmaster couldn't identify. Very shortly the Potters, Sirius, and Remus were all joining in on the greetings. The Potters had blown their cover in the Order meeting immediately after the quartet had disappeared. The reactions had been spectacular but not the kind the white haired wizard wanted to dwell on. Lily had lit into him harshly with enough viable evidence that many of the Order members were beginning to doubt that he knew what he was doing. The fact that he'd done little to nothing to protect the students was only a fan to the flame of her temper.

Shortly after Harry's family arrived everyone was settled into the living room and chattering over each other, all trying to find out what was going on. Sirius whispered to Harry and Hermione that Lily had not been able to tell what had happened to them, only that they would be home safe eventually. Not that the four of them had told anyone else.

"First let me ask a question," Hermione jumped in over everyone peppering them with questions. "How long have we been gone and what happened from your points of view?"

"The attack took place roughly six weeks ago. To those of us there you four were surrounded and holding well defensively but we couldn't get to you because of a shield they had placed at their backs. All we know is that something happened that caused a magical backlash that knocked everyone down or out depending on how close we were to you at the time. When we gathered our bearings all that was left was a scorch mark where you had been," Tonks said quietly.

The curly haired brunette sighed in relief, "That isn't as bad as we had feared. We were afraid we would miss entire years or worse."

"What happened?" Charlie asked.

Ron, Ginny, and Harry all looked at Hermione. "We were caught in a spell reaction. At the exact same time four different spells impacted our overlapping shields and the magical backlash from the reaction tossed us elsewhere." Here she paused. "What does anyone know of dimensional worlds?"

"Very little," the headmaster answered even as most everyone shook their heads in befuddlement. Snape's expression held more than a hint of sourness yet he held his tongue. "All I know is that there is a theory that parallel or alternate worlds exist alongside our own but I have heard nothing to confirm or deny this."

Bill spoke, "I know a bit more. We've come across some stuff relating to this in some of the curse breaking we've done in the past. Basically put, the theory the Headmaster mentioned is correct. There are worlds other than this one but they are not so much parallel or alternate as they are simply more along the lines of entire worlds that are neighbors to each other in the ethos."

Hermione nodded, "That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. What hasn't been mentioned though is that under very specific circumstances and at very specific times some of them will touch and travel between the worlds is possible. And that is what happened to us."

Gasps ran through to the room. Molly slumped against Arthur in a brief feint, one of the twins slipped right out of his chair and the other ended up spraying the mouthful of pumpkin juice he had taken right onto Charlie. Laughter broke the tension as Charlie glared at his brother and cleaned his rather sticky face off. Professor McGonagall briefly looked as if someone had smacked her head with a board before she gathered her composure and looked thoughtful. Remus and Tonks managed to keep their reactions quiet.

"You said you were worried about how much you had missed. How long were you gone from your point of view?" the Transfiguration professor asked once everyone had calmed.

Ron shrugged, Hermione coughed, Harry looked up at the ceiling, and Ginny's face split into a mischievous grin. "How old are you Headmaster?" she asked, her brown eyes sparkling.

"I fail to see how that is relevant but I am one hundred and seventeen this month."

The mischief in Ginny's eyes increased, "In that case we've got you beat by about two hundred years in age." The twin still on the floor choked on his drink and started coughing even as he stared at his siblings.

"You are most certainly not younger than the Headmaster by that much!" Professor Snape exclaimed, clearly thinking this was a joke of some sort.

"You mistake me Professor. I did not say we were younger nor did I mean that; I meant that we are older than the Headmaster."

"What!" multiple people yelled before trying to exclaim that this could not be possible as loudly as possible. The din got so loud that none could be heard. Eventually the sound of laughter broke through the noise and everyone turned to see Ginny laughing full out while Hermione giggled quietly and the boys chuckled,

"I'm sorry," Ginny laughed, "but the looks on your faces were hilarious! I wish I'd had a camera!"

"So you were joking then?" Arthur asked. The relief that sparked was very short lived.

"No, I was not actually. But your faces were so funny I just couldn't help laughing."

"How can you be that old though? You don't look much different and you weren't gone that long," Charlie asked.

Hermione sighed, "We didn't age but to us we were gone for roughly three hundred years." Ignoring the gasps she turned to the headmaster, "Professor, do you know the charm that tells one's true age?"

Blue eyes twinkled, "I certainly do Miss Granger. Would you like me to perform it on each of you?"

"Please do."

In succession the headmaster performed the charm and indeed each teen was actually not a teen. Each was approaching three hundred and twenty years old. Silence filled the room.

"What happened to you?" Molly looked as if she was going to cry.

"We went to another world mum. Time moved differently there but we didn't age physically. It was a shock when we figured that out though it did help us in our quest to get home. It gave us the time we needed to find the answers to our questions. We were able to help friends, save lives, and defeat an evil that makes Muddyshorts look like a first year bully," Ron answered the question. Silence reigned again for a few seconds before a low grumble echoed through the room. Eyes turned to a blushing Ron. "Er…I don't suppose we could put off further explanations until after we've had a bite to eat could we? I'm starved!"

Laughter broke the tense mood and even as she wiped her eyes dry Molly promised everyone a small feast. With that she hurried out of the room and everyone dispersed with the agreement to reconvene over dinner to learn more of the tale.

On the way out of the room, one of the twins spoke, "Muddyshorts?"

Ron let out a sigh of contentment as he sat back in his chair. "Mum, that was fantastic. After three centuries of not getting to taste your cooking I was going spare!" Chuckles echoed around the table. Each of the students had taken the time to clean up and change out of the clothing they had arrived in before eating so it wasn't so glaringly obvious they had been gone. Yet it was. Each was different than they had been. Ron was more mature and courteous. Hermione seemed more world wise and calmer than before. Harry was much more relaxed and at ease with himself. Ginny seemed to be steadier than before, her temper barely sparking over things that would have caused anger previously. The single biggest difference was that not a single one of them objected to either Dumbledore or Snape being present. In fact, they were courteous and accepting of them, even going so far as to include them in conversation. Snape was shocked enough that he was, for the most part, civil with sardonic comments from time to time.

In the silence that followed Ron's comment, Harry sighed. "I suppose you would like an explanation now." Snape snorted, drawing an amused glance from Harry. "Yes, that was a rather stupid comment, I know."

"Yes, it was but sometimes stupid comments need to be made," Hermione interjected before anyone else could. Placing her cup down, she stood immediately followed by Ron and Harry. "Shall we move to a more comfortable sitting area?" The answer was affirmative and the entire group made their way into the crowded living room.

Once everyone was settled Ginny spoke, "I'll start since I'm the only one who actually remembers what happened right away when we got there. Just remember that we can't tell you everything, primarily because it was a long time for us and we've forgotten some of it. Anyway. The spells' reaction caused a huge flash of light. After that we all felt a huge surge with a pulling feeling and then everything went dark. The next thing I can remember is…"

Cinnamon brown eyes cracked open as Ginny groaned quietly in the back of her throat. Once her eyes were focusing a bit better than a complete fuzz out she was able to see the green of tree branches filled with leaves waving above her. Feeling as if her head was going to pop off and roll away she ever so slowly rolled to her side and spotted the other three teens around her.

Harry was slumped on his side facing her while Ron was just beyond him sprawled spread eagle on his back. Hermione was closest to Ginny, half on her side half on her back. Even as she glanced around Ginny spotted Harry start moving and crack open his eyes before he too let out a groan.

"What the hell happened? Where are we?" he mumbled even as he tried to sit up. Apparently he moved too fast because he groaned again, grabbed his head, and passed back out.

Deciding to take things a bit slower Ginny inched her way to her hands and knees, taking deeps breaths the entire way and stopping to gather her wits when dizziness threatened her consciousness. Finally achieving her goal, she slowly crawled around to her friends, relieved to find all three of them breathing. Just as she was reaching the last dregs of her energy she heard a noise. Looking up she spotted a small group of people watching from the edge of the tiny clearing they had somehow ended up in. It was obvious they had been caught off guard by the presence of the quartet as they looked a bit surprised but nothing in their behavior gave Ginny a clue as to whether or not they were friendly other than gut instinct. She didn't see any other choice though and even as she passed out next to her brother a single word whispered through her lips.

"Help?"

"The next time I woke up I was tucked into a bed and felt like I'd slept for a week or so. Turns out I had. We were another week in recovering," Ginny finished the start of their tale.

Bill couldn't help himself, "What happened? Who helped you?"

"Well the three that I saw initially were two brothers and a friend of theirs. It was their father that saw to it that we recovered with his daughter helping him. We were essentially placed in a type of hospital wing but the rooms were smaller, more like a muggle hospital. Ginny and I were in one room; Ron and Harry were in the next room over. The two rooms did share one big balcony though so when we were able to get up and move, the four of us were able to sit together and compare notes," Hermione explained. "As for where we were…well you may or may not believe it. Ginny and I couldn't believe it at first. The boys simply didn't know."

"Where were you?"

"Arda. Middle Earth." Severus Snape had to control the reaction to do a spit take with the sip of tea he'd just taken while Remus just barely managed to avoid dropping his cup. Lily simply stared at the four of them in shock; the tale of middle earth had been a favorite of hers as a child.

After making sure he wasn't a dripping mess the potions master spoke, "Surely you jest!"

The brunette raised an eyebrow and looked him square in the eyes, "Do I look like I'm joking about this to you Professor?" He couldn't answer in the affirmative and she soon continued. "For those who don't know, Arda, or Middle Earth, is the setting for a series of fictional writing here on Earth. We suspect the author was a type of Seer who was able to view some of the events, if a little short on details. Has anyone besides Lily, Professor Snape and Remus heard of the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Hobbit?" The headmaster, Professor McGonagall, Tonks, and Bill all indicated they had at least heard of the stories.

"That was the world we ended up landing in."

Suddenly Remus paled, "So the great evil you helped defeat was…?"

Harry nodded. "Ultimately it was Sauron but that is getting ahead of our story by quite a bit."

Ron took up the thread of the story next. "For the first week or two after we woke up we were pretty unsteady so we took it easy. After that we got back into the swing of our routine as much as possible. That didn't last long as we discovered there were many new things to learn."

Ron was standing off to the side of a training ring watching his sister go through the routine she had set up to keep her body limber and strong. As far as he was concerned, she was poetry in motion and amazing to watch. Of all of them, she was the strongest at hand to hand combat, primarily because of her agility and flexibility. It took all of his self control to not jump when a voice sounded just behind him.

"What is she doing?" When Ron turned he saw the twins, Elrohir and Elladan, standing there watching his sister. Their expressions were puzzled which, as Ron had discovered, was fairly rare to happen with elves.

Turning back to watch his sister Ron answered easily, "She's doing a warm up kata. It is meant to help limber up her muscles before she practices or spars."

"She fights?"

Ron nodded. "We all know how to fight unarmed, she's just better at it than we are. As far as weapons go, though, we don't know a thing unless you count our wands which we've discovered are useless here." Ron didn't mention Harry's trunk. They didn't know about it and none of the four could get it to return to its full size so they could open it so there was no point.

The right hand twin raised an eyebrow, "Your magic sticks do not work? Do you know why?" The quartet had discussed their past with their host and his three children.

Hermione walked up at that point and answered before Ron could. "We think it is most likely because the items they are made from are not from here. Not native, so to speak."

"Well," Elrohir said, "if your weapons are ineffectual, why not learn how to wield new ones?"

"That's a good idea actually. We can learn some of the various languages, histories, and the geography too," Hermione mused as she watched Ginny end her kata.

"Where do we start though? I've seen so many different weapons being used here," Ron asked, clearly eager to start learning the physical stuff before the mental.

Elrohir shrugged, "With the basics. We'll start you off with a simple sword and see how you handle it. Not everyone likes them so we will look to other options if a basic sword doesn't work for some of you. Later on we'll see about helping you with the rest. Father and Arwen may be of some help with that as well."

Ron grinned, "Great! Let's get started!"

Time flew after that as the four teens learned how to use new weapons and studied about the world they were now in. Hermione was in her element learning about Arda while Ginny was just as excited since she'd loved the stories since the first time she'd read them back home. The boys took a bit longer to get into it but once the girls started quietly explaining what had happened and what was going to happen they started taking a sharper interest themselves.

The physical part was of interest to all of them but Harry seemed to pick up learning to use the sword better than the rest. He did have an edge, no pun intended, in his ease though thanks to his experience wielding a sword in the Chamber, however clumsily he had done so. Ron could wield one well enough to defend himself but it felt a bit small and wrong to him. Elrohir took him to the blacksmith in Bree where he discovered he had an affinity for the balance of an axe, specifically a dual bladed battleaxe. His ease at wielding it made it appear as if he were born to do it, although he wasn't greatly skilled at it at the beginning. Practice and training were a high priority on the boys' list of things they were particularly interested in.

Ginny and Hermione both had some difficulty learning to wield a sword. Hermione found them to be too heavy and ungainly for her to use most of the time, even using both hands. It felt too slow for her. Ginny just felt as if the entire weapon was too large and cumbersome.

"Blades are dangerous!" Molly couldn't seem to help blurting out, cutting of Ron's dictation of their tale. Silence rang for all of two seconds before all four travelers started laughing. Molly huffed before she spoke, "I don't see what is so funny!"

Harry gathered his control the fastest. "It is just that there, blades are the normal method of self defense. While wands are normal here, there magic is a rarity. Besides that, with the exception of distance weapons such as bows or thrown daggers, a weapon is only dangerous in close quarters. A wand, on the other hand, is usually used at a distance. We really didn't have a choice if we were going to survive and find a way home."

"I still don't see why you had to learn how to use weapons like that! Especially you girls. It is bad enough that you know how to fight at all, even without weapons. Why would you need to learn to use weapons when there are others better at-" Her building rant was cut off sharply.

"You want to know why?" Hermione snapped. "I'll tell you why. A close friend's mother was attacked by orcs before we got there. Not only was she forced to watch those defending her die, she was tortured! I don't know if there was any rape involved but she was never the same again. In fact, to fully heal she had to leave and go to Valinor where she wouldn't be able to see her family again until or unless they sailed west themselves!"

"Elrond's wife," Remus murmured.

Hermione nodded with a sigh. "I'm sorry Molly. It is just that there, if you don't know how to defend yourself things are much harder and we had the ultimate goal of finding our way back home. If we hadn't learned how to defend ourselves in every way possible I strongly doubt we would have survived to make it back here."

"Besides, while the boys liked their big, bad weapons, we," Ginny motioned to herself and Hermione, "preferred lighter weapons for the most part since we had to rely more on agility than strength."

"At any rate, we learned more about where we had landed and how to survive there long enough to get home. Eventually we started venturing out of Imladris," Hermione continued their tale. Ginny let her mind wander back to the time Hermione was talking about.

Ginny looked up from her task when she heard hooves thumping against the ground and moving in her direction. Entering the clearing she was working in was Hermione, a grin on her face. "Hey Gin. Ready to head back yet?"

"Yeah. I've got everything I needed to get," the redhead nodded and stood before brushing the grass and dirt off the knees of her breeches. Looking around her she sighed, "I can't believe we got here over five years ago already. Do you think we'll ever get home?"

Watching Ginny loop her herb bag around her shoulders before mounting her own horse, Hermione answered, "I think we will but not until we learn more about how magic here works. For that though we need to get out of Imladris."

"I know. That's why we're getting all of this stuff ready but sometimes I can't help but worry."

"I do too. Now come on, we have to get back before the boys decide to do something stupid and leave without us. I know we agreed to split up but I would like to at least go to Lothlorien together." With that the two rode out of the clearing and back to meet Ron and Harry.

A few days later the four Gryffindors were en route to their destination with Elladan and Elrohir along as guides and companions. It had been decided that they would venture out into the world and Lothlorien was their first stop. They needed to learn more about the world they had landed in than the stories from home had told and try to discover a way to get home. The only way that was possible was to go out into that world. None of the four were under any illusion that it would be an easy task but all were determined to find the solution they needed while helping the place they currently called home as much as they could. Knowing what they knew of future events they figured even a little help was more than there was before.

They arrived in Lothlorien with little trouble along the way and were soon settled for a lengthy stay. That evening they dined privately with the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien. After a delicious meal during which they told their tale, Celeborn asked what they would be doing next.

"With your permission we would like to stay here for a while and learn. We all could use some more teaching in weapon work, myself and Hermione especially as we seem to be having a difficult time finding ones we particularly like even though we can defend ourselves reasonably well," Ginny answered. "We are also hoping to discover a way to get home but that, I feel, is going to take quite some time."

"Indeed. I believe we have the ability to assist you in the former but of the latter, I am unsure. Only time will tell," the lady Galadriel mused. "We can also assist you in learning more of Arda if you wish."

"Please. I fear that we're rather short-changed in certain aspects of this world," Hermione answered diplomatically. The rest of the meal and a little of the evening afterwards was taken up by discussion about what the four wanted to study, learn, or practice in.

Time passed as it tends to do and a fair number of months had passed before there was a change major enough to mark note of in Lothlorien. The son of another elven king arrived for an extended visit, both to discuss business and to further encourage relations between the two elven domains. Legolas was known to the quartet as he and the twins were the ones Ginny asked for help when they first arrived. The four of them spent a goodly amount of time enjoying his company but one morning in particular set a spark off that had been simmering for quite some time.

Ron was wandering around looking for Hermione. He'd tried all of her normal haunts and had resorted to asking a few servants if they knew where she was. Finally discovering her whereabouts he made his way to the secluded training area he had been directed to. Hearing her laughter before he saw her, he paused at the edge of the clearing to watch her. She was with Legolas and currently they were tangled together on the ground, her on her back with him trying to hold himself up to avoid crushing her as they tried to get untangled, both laughing helplessly. Ron froze, unable to move or speak. As the two in front of him finally got control of themselves and made to stand, he shook himself and turned to leave without announcing his presence.

Not bothering to pay any real attention to his surroundings, he didn't notice Ginny trying to get his attention as he made his way to his current lodgings. Nor did he notice Harry enter the door and watch silently as Ron began moving around and gathering up his belongings. At least, he didn't notice until Harry put himself squarely into the redhead's path.

"What the hell are you doing Ron?"

"Leaving. I have to."

Green eyes were puzzled as a dark eyebrow raised, "Why?"

Finally Ron raised his blue eyes up to Harry's green ones. "I can't be here while she's with someone else."

Harry's eyes widened involuntarily, "Hermione? She's not with anyone Ron!"

Flinging out a hand in the direction he had come from his temper snapped, "Then explain what I just saw! They were all over each other! I can't handle watching her with someone else. I just can't Harry." Ron paused and then rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm sorry."

Seeing the heartache his best friend was going through Harry put his hand on his shoulder. "Alright. I won't try to talk you into staying but I am going with you." Ron opened his mouth but Harry cut him off, "No arguing with me on this or I let your sister have a go at you!" Ron gave him a shadow of a grin.

"Thanks mate."

Within the course of a couple hours the two young men had packed their belongings, said their goodbyes and excuses to the Lord and Lady of the realm, and left. Harry did, however, leave a note of explanation behind for Ginny and Hermione. Ron simply left a goodbye note saying he needed to get away.

Ginny entered her rooms late that evening after hours of losing herself in studies of geography, languages, and cultures to find two small white squares of paper waiting for her on her bedside table. Picking them up she recognized Ron's writing on one and Harry's on the other. It was the course of a few minutes to discover the contents of each and when finished she sat numb and in disbelief of what had happened. A knock on the door shook her to awareness. Opening the door she found Hermione standing there, tears streaming down her face and two papers in her hand. Without saying a word, Ginny pulled her into a hug and shut the door.

The two compared notes and talked far into the night before they decided to heed Harry's advice and not go chasing after them. He seemed to feel that Ron needed some time away to put things into a better perspective and to allow things to settle down before the four of them faced each other again. He had, however, promised to write them and at least keep the two women updated on where he and Ron were.

Hermione groaned awake the next morning, eyes and head aching. She wasn't sure when she had returned to her own rooms but it had been dreadfully late and she had indulged in one more good long cry before falling asleep. Scrubbing her face and sitting up, the brunette vowed to herself that she would get a grip and deal with this as best she could by not moping about. After briskly and quickly getting ready for the day she set off looking for Legolas.

She found him in the same training area Harry had said Ron had come upon them in the day before. He was practicing his archery while he waited for her to arrive. Hearing her arrive he turned to her, a serious expression on his face.

"Ginevra told me what happened," he said solemnly. "I am sorry if I have caused problems for you."

"You didn't," Hermione gave him a small smile, pulling a pair of long practice daggers from the sheaths at her back. "Now, shall we pick up where we left off yesterday?"

Hermione was jolted out of her thoughts and looked around to realize that Ginny had finally called a halt to relating their story to the others when she started to lose her voice a bit. Hermione had long since passed off the tale to one of the others and sat back, her tired mind wandering back to the events of years before. Glancing at the clock as the others got up to head home or off to bed she realized that it was ridiculously late. It was generally agreed that the group would meet again the next day to continue the tale.

Molly paused at the door of the living room and opened her mouth to speak before closing it again and shaking her head. Ginny spoke, "Yes mum? What is it?"

"I was going to tell you to not stay up too late but I guess you're old enough to know that already, as odd to me as that is. I think it will take some time for me to get used to it," the redheaded mother's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her youngest child and only daughter, seeing a wise and experienced woman looking back at her.

"Don't worry mum, we'll always need you around." Ginny paused briefly before she spoke again, "but you should sleep. We'll be up for a while yet I think because it was morning when we left but for you it was late afternoon. For us it is still evening but it shouldn't take us long to get used to the time change." Here the redhead paused again for a moment, "Just don't be too surprised if we're hard to find for a bit tomorrow. We won't have left." Molly smiled slightly at the assurance in her daughter's voice, a bit grateful for the warning.

"Good night then dears," she said before passing hugs around to her children, both actual and honorary.

They sat and quietly soaked in the atmosphere of the Burrow for a bit before Harry stood and stretched, "Shall we?" The others nodded and follow him out into the back yard and to the backside of Mr. Weasley's shed where he pulled a tiny box out of his pocket and set it down against the building before touching the top as he stepped back. After the trunk grew to full size the four of them slipped into the interior of the trunk, all quiet as their thoughts wandered back to the topic of the evening.

The next time Ginny saw her brother was over two years later. Harry had come to Lorien to get her help in dragging Ron out of the funk he had slipped into. It didn't take her very long to decide that she was going to her brother. She set out immediately, leaving Harry in Hermione's care as the poor man was absolutely drained and distraught upon his arrival.

Now well use to the methods and requirements of travel of the world they were now in, Ginny was well prepared for her journey. She made good time reaching Imladris where she rested after at least two weeks of hard travel. While there she took the opportunity to speak with the Elrond's twin sons to find out what they knew of her brother and his current state of mind. They couldn't tell her much as they had left his company some months before Harry had but they had seen Harry on his way through Imladris to get her help. Once she told them what Harry had told her, they readily agreed to help her find Ron and bring him back to the elven city to recuperate.

Thus it was that Ginny was staring at her brother from across a bar room in Bree where he was doing his best to get and stay drunk for the night. She had slipped in quietly some time after the twins, who had found and joined her brother the day before, had, and Ron entered. With her long red hair bound up and her cloak covering as much of her as was possible, it wasn't too surprising that she was thought to be a ranger from the north. Once she had seated herself in a dark corner that offered her a clear view of the room, and incidentally her brother, she settled in to wait and watch.

What she saw was disheartening. Harry said that he thought Ron had given up and from what she saw, he was right. Unless of course, it was in trying to find a way to self destruct. He was clearly not taking care of himself judging by his weight loss and haggard appearance, never mind the obvious fact that he was drinking as if he were trying to forget the world around him. The twins were trying to engage him in conversation but from what she could tell it wasn't working. Finally one of them caught her eye and gave the minutest of shrugs. She sighed and nodded back, having decided how she was going to handle her brother. Fortunately for her plan, it was nearly closing time for the bar.

Slipping up to the end of the bar, she signaled the owner who was working the bar that night. "What can I get you?"

Pulling her good back just enough that her face was clearly visible to him and no one else she spoke. "I need to get my brother out of here before he kills himself," she nodded toward her brother.

His eyes followed her nod and landed on a very drunk Ron sitting blankly between the twins as they chatted with others around them. His eyes darkened just a bit. "He is going to drink himself to death at the rate he is going. Do you need any help getting him out of here?"

Ginny let out a silent breath, thankful that there would be no resistance from the one who could cause the most. "No, the two with him are my help. They'll help me get him out once I take care of him."

"Very well little lady. You take care of your brother, I'll deal with the rest," he gave her a nod before moving toward the other end of the bar. Ginny didn't waste time and slipped through the room to stand behind Ron. Pulling out one of her daggers, she swiftly rapped him on the back of the head sufficiently hard enough to knock him out. Elladan had seen her approach and was ready to catch Ron. Once she'd conked him, the patrons around them took notice.

The silence permeated the room until the owner cleared his throat. Once most of the eyes had landed on him he indicated that he was aware of what was going on and clearly supported Ginny's actions. As everyone realized this it was as if a huge sigh went through the room, relaxing the atmosphere. With any immediate problems avoided, the small redhead and her two brunette assistants bundled their large bundle out of the bar.

Three weeks later saw a sober Ron tucked comfortably into Imladris. He'd gotten over his anger with Ginny's actions once she had explained her reasoning behind them and how worried for him Harry had been. It had taken some time but when he had been unable to land a blow on Ginny in his angered, drunken state he had really had no choice but to listen to her even as he was cussing her name left, right, and center.

Once they had arrived, Ginny had sent a message off to Hermione and Harry to inform them that she had found Ron and brought him to the elven refuge. A month later at the most saw the quartet reunited once more. The greetings were a bit strained but Ginny didn't allow anyone to dwell on the tension as she had noticed something that she felt they needed to talk about. After she had corralled the other three onto her balcony and supplied drinks and food she began.

"I don't know about you guys but I've noticed something over the last few years that rather scares me." When the others indicated that she explain, she asked, "How old are we now?"

"I'm almost twenty-seven," Hermione answered. Ginny could see the gears grinding in her head as she answered that question almost absently. "But you're barely two years younger than me and you don't look any older physically than you did when we arrived here!"

"I think we're essentially immortal while we're here, unless we get killed of course," Ginny commented softly. "Unless we're just aging very slowly but that doesn't make sense to me based on how I've felt over the last few years." Ron and Harry froze as they processed this.

The girls ignored them as Hermione started to bounce in her seat a little, "We can find a way home; even if it takes years!"

"I was thinking something along those lines also. Of course, we run into the danger of years passing back home before we can get there but I find it is a chance I want to take."

By now Ron and Harry had jolted back to awareness, "So, what do we do?"

Hermione got a twinkle in her eye the foretold mischief, "We learn."

"I don't know about you but I want to travel more. See things we haven't yet. Maybe see if there are some different magics we can learn too to try and figure out how to get home," Ginny pondered aloud.

"Do you know where you want to go first?"

"West, out past the Shire first I think. I would love to see Laketown and Erebor but there's a dragon in that mountain right now and I've no desire to become a treat," Ginny mused. Each of the others fell silent as they pondered what they wanted to do to both pass the time and learn what they could in an effort to return home. They passed the evening in discussion of their plans for the foreseeable future before Ginny claimed she was exhausted and going to bed, thus kicking the others from her room.

Once in the hall Hermione reached out as if to touch Ron's arm but he stepped back and turned away to go to his rooms. He hadn't believed Ginny or Harry when they told him Hermione wasn't with Legolas. After all, why would she want to be with him when she could be with a prince? No matter what they had tried to convince him, Ron was stubborn in his belief.

Watching his sister in all but blood curl into herself in emotional pain, Harry decided that he was going to get through to Ron one way or another. Gathering the curly haired brunette into his arms for a hug he made a suggestion. "Why don't you go with Ginny when she leaves in a few days? Before you leave you can tell him how you feel about him and Legolas and then let him stew on it for a while. I'll pound it into him repeatedly too so he'll eventually get it through his thick head. Maybe Legolas can help me if needed."

"He'll just end up hating me!" Hermione's voice shook from suppressed sobs.

"No he won't, he doesn't and he never has. Not even when he was mad because you could cast the levitation spell before him. I think he fell for you on our very first trip to school, he was just too young and immature to realize it."

Hermione lifted her head, "Do you really think so?"

"Would you believe that he hasn't so much as expressed a passing attraction to anyone since we got here? Not even one of the elves?" Harry's smile was charmingly crooked.

Hermione did indeed travel westward with Ginny a week later while Harry and Ron went south toward Rohan and Gondor. The quartet had plans to meet in two years time in Lorien. The two women traveled at a leisurely pace, content to enjoy the soft summer weather. They decided to take a route that would take the north of the Shire itself since they were hoping to visit the dwarven kingdom that had been established in the Blue Mountains.

They were somewhere north of the hobbit town Hobbiton and resting alongside a large creek, enjoying the shade provided by a bunch of trees surrounded by some heavy bushes. Ginny was lounging contentedly and listening to the whisper of the water over the rocks. Hermione, however, was edgy.

After she had shifted her position for the fifth time in under two minutes Ginny rolled her eyes, "Honestly Hermione. What is wrong? You're worse than the twins on a sugar buzz after they've pulled a prank of epic proportions."

Brown eyes scanned the area around them as if she expected something to jump out at them. "I don't know. I just have this feeling that something bad is coming this way,"

"You develop a second sight or something?"

"No; but it almost feels like the wind is trying to tell me something. I swear I am hearing voices other than ours but I can't see anyone else."

Ginny blinked, a bit stunned by Hermione's explanation. "Say what?"

Hermione shook her head, slowly standing up with her eyes fixed in a particular direction. "The feeling gets stronger when the wind hits my face and ears. I don't know how to explain it any other way." Here she paused before spinning around and grabbing her packs. "Hide! Quick!" With that she dove into the brush where their horses were resting in the tiny clearing created by the trees and bushes. Ginny didn't hesitate and immediately followed.

No more than five minutes later she spotted a small group of what could only be bandits slinking over the hill. Eternally grateful that their horses were of those the elves bred and thus could be keep quiet, Ginny placed her hand on the nose of her horse to calm her. Hermione was doing the same with her own horse, her eyes fixed on the bandits. It wasn't long before they were close enough to hear them speaking and what they were saying wasn't friendly.

When they came upon where the two women had been resting they looked around at the prints they had made in the grass. One of them snarled, "I get the redhead bitch."

"Fine by me; I want the other bitch first anyway." A nasty grin spread across his face, "but once you're done with her, I'll have a go at the red head myself."

The other five sent up a chorus of complaints at this. The apparent leader of the bunch said, "Shut it or I'll stuff a blade in your belly. You lads will get your turn with them after we have had our fill." That apparently satisfied them as they began to wax poetic, if it could be called that, about what they intended to do to the women once they caught them.

Silently Ginny touched Hermione's elbow to get her attention. Blazing cinnamon brown eyes met furious chocolate brown eyes and they both nodded. Slipping their blades free of the sheaths they signaled their horses to remain still and silent before Ginny whipped a hand forward and a dagger flickered in the sunlight before it buried itself in the neck of the bandit leader. Before the dagger even found its mark the two had exploded from the bushes blades swinging.

The first bandit Ginny reached didn't really have any time to react before she had stuck her short sword into his belly. Yanking back, she kicked him back into another bandit and knocked them both to the ground. Turning she blocked a swipe from a third bandit before lashing out with the pommel of the dagger she held in her left hand and connecting solidly with his nose. A disgusting crunch sounded and blood blossomed as he yelled and fell back. Glancing over her shoulder she had just enough time to dodge an attack from behind. This one had gotten untangled from his compatriot and was bound and determined to take her out. She bent sideways at a sharp angle while swinging her leg up, letting her momentum carry her around and back upright. Her foot had managed to catch him just right and he had somehow stuck his sword into the side of his neck. Even as his eyes glazed over and he fell over the thought crossed her mind that she would never figure out how that had happened exactly.

Hermione had dealt with the first bandit she came across as quickly as Ginny had, using their element of surprise to full effect. The second she had dropped after a short exchange of blades but she had managed to dispose of him when he got distracted by Ginny's wild dodging kick. Her third opponent, however, was a different story. He was the first bandit that had spoken when they came upon where the two women had been sitting. This one, she discovered, was able to make the demands he had because he was highly skilled with the sword he wielded against her. The two exchanged blows for a while before Hermione got unlucky and slipped on a patch of bloody grass and fell to her knees. Looking up she saw the blade of her opponent falling down in a deadly arch.

Ginny turned back to her third opponent as he came at her again and she dodged his wild blow, his vision seriously hampered by the pain of a broken nose. Blocking his next attack with her dagger she shoved her sword into his but as hard as she could. Even as he fell she saw Hermione land on her knees. Barely pausing to think she jerked her opponent's weapon out of his hand even as she flung her dagger at the man in front of her closest friend, hoping against hope that she was able to stop that sword.

Her aim was true and her dagger hit him in the shoulder, throwing his aim off enough that Hermione was able to get out of the way. Ginny hadn't waited to see if she hit her target. Instead she hurled herself after her weapon as fast as she could move and got there just as he recovered and switched his sword to his other hand. He swung and she brought up the weapon she had swiped. She managed to catch the sword at the same time she slammed her other fist into his stomach. Hermione had recovered by this point and ended the fight with one decisive thrust of her sword into his ribs. Once he fell the silence around them was so heavy it rang in their ears.

"Are you hurt?" Ginny asked. This wasn't the first time either of them had killed a person; traveling could be hazardous at times. Ginny had actually been sick behind a bush after the first time she had used one of her blades to kill a person; orcs didn't count. Hermione hadn't been much better. Ron and Harry refused to talk about it.

"No. I slipped."

The two quickly searched the bodies of the bandits, gathering the few supplies and any money they carried as well as a couple of weapons. The blade Ginny had taken from her opponent wasn't so much a blade as it was a spike with two curved spikes going out from opposite sides. There were two that the bandit had carried. She also took a few throwing daggers.

"Those are sais!" Hermione exclaimed when Ginny showed them to her. "I didn't think anything like those existed here."

"What's so special about them?"

Leading her horse out of the brush, on the opposite side from the dead bodies, Hermione explained. "If memory serves me correctly and I understood what I read right, they're not really for slashing like a sword or dagger. The tines and center spike are designed for stabbing and catching bladed weapons, exactly like you did actually."

"I'm thinking I need to get better quality ones then because I like the way these feel."

A/N: And thus their adventure in Arda has begun. It will told as sequential flashbacks with inserts of the current time at the Burrow. Just to clear up any confusion as to how I formatted this chapter.

I do wish to point out something: I am not so good at writing romance unless I am in a particular frame of mind...and my mind wasn't there for a good bit of this chapter. Action, especially hand to hand or armed combat...well that I can do at the drop of a hat. However, for those who are itching to see more of the romance end of things...well I think that will be making a more solidified appearance in the following chapter or two ;) So...how much trouble can our quartet get into in Arda? I've got a few ideas for that. ;p