Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit, no matter how hard I try to convince my Dad to buy it for me.

Author's note: This first chapter is a bit short, but I couldn't find a better place to cut it. the next one will hopefully be longer.

Bilbo P.O.V.

The dwarfs were waiting a bit away from the run down shack. It smelled strongly of ale and an unwashed person. Gandalf led them here, claiming that the person who lived here would be invaluable to their quest. Thorin had not been very willing to accept Gandalfs advice, especially after the hobbit they'd picked up in the Shire. They waited as Gandalf knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again, and kept on knocking. "You better have a fucking good reason to wake me up at this godforsaken hour! If you don't, I'm going to gut you like a pig and watch as you slowly bleed to death."

Shock was on every face of the dwarfs, but Gandalf simply puffed his pipe. Bilbo was starting to think Gandalf was addicted to smoking that pipe of his, since he never seemed to be parted form it for long. All thoughts of pipes and Gandalf left his head as the door opened. A girl stood outlined in the weak light coming from the fireplace burning behind her. Her clothes were dirty and a bottle was held in her hand. Her hair was so unwashed Bilbo couldn't tell what color it was, and her skin was a dark brown color, presumably from the dirt. All in all, she looked like she had a battle with a pig and lost. A magnificent scowl that Bilbo bet was making Thorin jealous resided on her face, and it was aimed firmly at Gandalf. "What do you want from me, you manipulative gray-haired bastard. Haven't you already taken enough from me. You took me from the thing I loved and pulled me into this hell-hole."

Gandalf looked very guilty. "I am very sorry for that. But you are needed-" That seemed to be the last straw for the poor girl. "Needed!" Her screech tore through the air. "Needed for what, exactly? You never told me. You never told me anything!" She was breathing angrily. "You didn't tell me why I'm here, you didn't tell me why it had to be me, you didn't tell my why I couldn't go back home. You just appeared one day, told me to pack my weapons and come with you. I thought you were bringing me to some pest you had. To make things worse, you told me to stay here and not leave. Since I don't know where the next big city is, I'm stuck. I would love to just leave and live on the forest, but I don't know which plants are edible, and which aren't." Her scowl seemed to get even worse, and the less experienced lads were quaking in their boots at the sight of it. "The weather is also horrible. Always to rainy and cold. I feel like a water-soaked log."

She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. "So Gandalf, if you hadn't gotten the message yet, I'm not going on whatever crazy suicide mission you have planned." She was about to slam the door in his face when the spoke three little words that froze her in her tracks. "There's a dragon." The door was nearly closed, so Bilbo couldn't see her expression, but by the way Gandalf was smiling, he had her hooked. How mentioning a dragon could hook somebody, Bilbo didn't know. But it hooked her, and the door opened again.

The girl seemed to have changed in a few seconds. Her back had straitened, and strength he hadn't seen before shone through her eyes. "If you are lying to me, I will torture you until the day I die. Then, in my last dying breath, I will shove a knife through your cold, black heart so that this world may be freed from your cursed existence. If you are telling the truth, you better let me have a go at that dragon, or I will kill you, then I will have a go at the dragon."

Suddenly, she looked down at herself and said. "I'm a mess. I need to take a bath, change my clothes and gather my weapons. I also need to flush the alcohol out of my system. That's going to take a day. Come back tomorrow. I'm sure you have somewhere to stay." Then she closed the door, locking out a shocked Company of dwarfs, one hobbit close to fainting and a smug wizard.

_ - o - _

The next day, after Gandalf told them about the girl they saw at the run down shack, and Thorin insulted Gandalf within an inch of his life, they were once again standing in front of the shack. The dwarfs were keeping a distance, since they didn't want to get caught in a fight in between the strange girl and Gandalf. Bilbo still didn't know what to think about her. The poor lad was trembling in his coat (since he didn't have shoes to tremble in), and was dreading the thought of spending more time with the dirt covered, crude and rude girl they had met yesterday.

Yet, at the same time, she was still a girl, and should not travel with a male group all alone. It just wasn't proper. Yes, Gandalf had said that she could fight the dragon, but he also said that Bilbo was a burglar. Which he was still a bit miffed about.

All thoughts of how she needed protecting were chased out off Bilbo's head as the door opened. The girl they had seem yesterday had disappeared. Now, a clean girl with black hair and fair skin stood in the doorway. She wore brown breeches and a brown shirt. A strange cloak covered her. It had a molted green-brown pattern and a big hood. A giant bow that was nearly as tall as Bilbo rested on her back, with a quiver full of arrows for company. Two knives sat in separate sheaths on the left side her waist, and a sword was strapped to her right side. He also caught a glimpse of silver around her neck, but it was gone before he could see what it was.

He looked at the dwarfs to see their reaction, and wasn't surprised at what he saw. They were looking at her with varying looks of shock and wariness. It seemed they didn't want her to go on the quest. Understandable. If he was going to go on a quest were lots of fighting was sure to happen he wouldn't want to take a female with him either, no matter how well armed she was.

The girl, who's name they still didn't know, walked around to the back of the shack, were they lost sight of her. A few minutes later, during which Thorin glared at Gandalf the entire time, she came back, leading a pony after her. It was already packed, with two saddle bags on either side. "Don't even try to put me on one of the common horses, Gandalf. Tug could outrun any of these weak runts. He's the best horse here." The horse tossed his head like he was agreeing. Thorin looked ready to commit murder, and Gandalf was frowning. "And just who do you think you are, to insult my possesions?"

Bilbo winched. There's the temper he'd come to know over the week. Thorin didn't like people telling him their things were better than his. He should know. He'd told Thorin that his Old Toby wasn't as good as the one Bilbo had at home, and had to endure the glares and the sharp tongue of the King Under the Mountain. He worried that the girl wouldn't want to come now. He wasn't worried that she couldn't take it, her appearance and the way Gandalf had specifically picked her had now in and he knew she could take care of herself. He shouldn't have worried.

"I'm the person who's gonna kill a dragon for a bunch of dwarfs I've never met before, so you can get in and get whatever it is you want to get. Next time you decide to mouth me off, you might want to think about the fact that I didn't sign any contract and can leave anytime I want. I don't have to fight for you, and I'm certainly not going to stick around if I'm only going to be insulted by telling the truth." The least part seemed to be directed at Gandalf, who was warning Thorin with his eyes to not open his mouth again. Gandalf seemed to think they couldn't afford to lose the girl. Who's name they still didn't know. He decided that he was going to be the first to make a good impression. He took a deep breath, and stepped forwards, ignoring the look Gandalf shot him.

"Hello miss, my name is Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. I didn't get a change to introduce myself yesterday, but I hope to make up for that now. May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?" She snorted, and seemed to be amused at the manners the hobbit was showing.

"Since you asked so nicely," That was a dig a Thorin's comment. "I'll tell you. My name is Juliana Hendrica Johanna Rosalina Sofia Gimenez Iglesias." Bilbo's head was reeling at the long name, and he wasn't the only one. "But you can call me Julie. It's easier to remember." It seemed that she had noticed the dazed looked on Bilbo's face. The other dwarfs suddenly seemed to realize that the hobbit had introduced himself before them, and they all stepped forwards, each telling her their name and craft.

Her interest was piqued when Dwalin introduced himself and said he was a smith. "A smith? Do you mind terribly if the next time we stop by a town you could maybe have a look at my weapons for me? They are made of a special metal that is very hard to work with, and I don't trust a normal smith with them. You look like you know how to swing a hammer." She glanced at the two war hammers hanging from his belt, and added. "Of both the smithy and the war kind, it seems."

Then she seemed to realize she was nearly being nice, and her face shut down. She turned without another word and swung onto her horse. She sat there as Gandalf sighed and climbed onto his own horse, the confused dwarfs and hobbit following their example. There was one question that ran through all their minds. Why the sudden mood change? Nobody but Gandalf and Julie knew the answer to that question, and neither looked like they were going to share that answer.