A/N: Hey guys! Here is my LOTR Hogwarts AU! I'm very excited. This story will mainly explore relationships and normal life at Hogwarts, until about 8 chapters in when all the LOTR plotlines come into play. I'm just excited to twist these stories together to make it my own. I don't know how often this will be updated, sorry. But PLEASE give me a review if you like it! Thanks!
~PJA

Prologue 1

Many Years Before

"Go on, Baggins, go in, I dare you! Are you a Gryffindor or not?"

Bilbo Baggins, a young hobbit from the Shire, was used to these tauntings by his older friends. He was a first year, and they were mostly fourth years, while Thorin, the group's leader, was a fifth year. Not to mention, Thorin and his friends were particularly adventurous and reckless, and he was not. He tagged along simply because Thorin seemed to like him, and Professor Gandalf had introduced them on the first day.

Now, however, Thorin had dared Bilbo to go into Gollum's Cave (his broom cupboard) and come back with a souvenir to prove it. The rumor had it that no student had ever gone into Gollum's Cave and come out alive; no one had ever seen Gollum before. He only came out at night, when the students were in bed and not permitted in the halls. A few had claimed to have seen him, but they were all full of rubbish.

Bilbo crept in. He was scared. He didn't know what to expect. But he had to do this. He had to prove to Thorin that he was brave; braver than the rest of them. None of his friends volunteered to come in with him; not even Thorin.

It was dark inside the cupboard. Bilbo looked for a lantern or something, but there was none. It was particularly roomy for a broom cupboard, though; he'd expected it to be smaller.

Though it was creepy, it actually wasn't that bad. Now that he was in, Bilbo began to focus on his next task: finding a souvenir. He crouched down on the ground, looking for something small he could take. The floor was a wretched mess. There was rubbish littered everywhere, and nothing was put in its right place. You could barely see the floor. Bilbo's fingers twitched, resisting the urge to clean it all up.

But then he saw it. Resting there under some sort of cloth, just peeking out. Something shiny and gold.

Bilbo picked it up between his fingertips. A ring. How about that? Who knew the mysterious Gollum had such a nice ring? Bilbo wondered if the ring held any sort of magic. Most things at Hogwarts did, after all.

Wfft. He heard something. Something ruffling around in the litter at the far end of the room. Bilbo stood stone-still. He dared not move. Something was in here with him.

Slowly, he crept forward, silently placing one foot in front of the other, his heart pounding. Curiosity overpowered his fear. He had to know what was back there. Step by step, he approached.

He was confronted by a pair of huge, bloodshot, blue eyes and a loud hissing noise.

Bilbo backpedaled, getting the hell out of there. He didn't care about the noise. He could barely hear it his footsteps, anyway; all he could hear was the blood pumping in his ears.

He burst out of the room into his group of friends. He stumbled and fell into their arms.

"What happened in there, Baggins?" Bofur asked, peeking out from behind his hat and cheeky grin. His Irish accent had one emotion, all the time: happy. "You look white as a ghost." They'd know; there were plenty of them around the school.

Bilbo couldn't answer; he was breathing too heavily.

"Did you get anything?" Thorin asked expectantly.

Bilbo thought about the ring currently in his pocket. He wanted to show him. It was a nice little prize. But something told him to not. He didn't know what that feeling was. He wanted to keep the ring for his own. It was his, and his alone. It was...precious to him.

Bilbo shook his head. "No, nothing. Sorry, fellows. I got a bit of a fright."

Thorin looked disappointed.

"Thorin!" From around the corner came Fili and Kili, Thorin's third year little cousins. "We're in trouble! Professor Gandalf and Professor Elrond, coming this way!" Fili shouted.

"We'd better move," Thorin announced. "Run!"

Taking Bilbo by the hand, Thorin ran down the hallway, followed by the little rag-tag group. And as they ran, between the pounding in his head, Bilbo couldn't help but feel a little rush of adrenaline. And what surprised him more?

He liked it.