I own nothing except bits of the plot
Chapter Two
Thorin ignored the looks he received from his fellow dwarfs as he carried the girl to his pony. He lifted the girl onto the front of his saddle with ease, climbing up behind her. Her limp body slumped against him and her head was tucked just underneath his chin. Thorin grabbed a thin piece of rope and, ignoring the disapproving look from Gandalf, tied the girl's hands onto the front of his saddle.
"Is that really necessary?" The wizard asked once they had begun travelling again.
Thorin kept his eyes on the road in front of him. "I do not want to worry about being attacked."
Even to him his excuse sounded pathetic but he could not shake the feeling that there was something different about this girl. It wasn't just the way she dressed but how she spoke and when he had drawn his sword he saw the effort it took for her to lift her hands in surrender. He had seen how her right hand had flexed, as though wanting to grasp something in defence.
"There is something strange about her." He admitted gruffly to the wizard when he would not avert his eyes.
Gandalf studied the lifeless girl; he too could sense something different about their unexpected addition. There was something powerful but he could not place the source of her power.
Neither said anymore on the topic; Gandalf manoeuvred down to Bilbo and left Thorin with Hermione. The dwarf found her name just as odd as everything else about her. He could not stop his eyes from straying down to her face and he convinced himself it was to ensure she was still unconscious and not because of her undeniable beauty.
His kin did not ask any questions regarding the girl and he did not provide any answers. They did not need to ask; he was their leader and they would follow him literally into a dragon's nest if that was what he asked of them. He could practically feel Kili and Fili's curiosity but neither said anything. They continued forth on their quest and the girl did not stir even as the rain poured over them. It was beginning to darken when she finally came to.
Hermione groaned softly; why was her head pounding? She tried to lift her hand to rub against her aching temple but couldn't. After a moment of useless tugging she opened her eyes, blinking away the blurriness and sleep until she could see clearly. She was no longer in the dense forest that she had landed in but halfway up a small mountain. She tensed, seeing the arms on either side of her and firm hands holding the reins to the horse they were on. It was then that she discovered the reason for her inability to move her hands; someone – the man she assumed – had tied her hands to the saddle.
She wanted to struggle but she knew it was pointless. Every time Hermione shifted the rope rubbed on her wrists and she did not want to remind the man of her helplessness. He must know that she was awake; after all she was pressed right against him, her back against his chest. She could feel his long beard tickle the skin on her neck and the warmth from his body was grudgingly welcomed when she felt the chill in the breeze.
She didn't expect him to speak to her and jumped when he spoke, his voice a deep timbre. "Are you alright?" Though he had asked she doubted whether he truly cared if she was or not.
Hermione felt a flash of annoyance run through her; was he trying to rub in the fact that she was all but unable to defend herself against him? She took a deep breath and willed herself to stay calm; she may not know the man but she was not stupid enough to offend him.
"My head hurts." She admitted quietly, wishing her fingers were free so she could fiddle with something. "And so do my wrists." She added stiffly.
The man made no move to untie her. "We will be stopping soon." He told her.
Hermione wanted to turn around, see the man and try and figure out what he was thinking. His voice gave nothing away and she had always been good at reading people.
She hesitated before asking, "Who are you?"
She felt him stiffen but she did not regret asking him. Honestly, he did know her name and it wasn't as though she could do much damage knowing his name.
"I am Thorin Oakenshield." He introduced himself formally after a moment.
Hermione found his name a little odd but didn't dare tell him that. He probably thinks the same thing about mine, Hermione thought to herself. She wished her hands were free to search for her wand. She began to panic; what if her wand had fallen out of her pocket when she had fainted?
Thorin led the group over to a flattened ridge in the mountain that gave them clear view of the ground below. It was high enough that they would be safe from roaming animals and give them the advantage should they be spotted and attacked. He was not surprised to hear the hobbit sigh with relief when it was clear they were stopping for the night. He still could not understand what had possessed Bilbo to follow them or what Gandalf had been thinking when he chose the hobbit as their fourteenth member.
"Fili and Kili gather some wood." He ordered his nephews. "Baggins, prepare some food."
Hermione watched as they all reacted immediately; the two – Fili and Kili – slipped off their horses and disappeared into the night and the rest clambered down off their rides. Thorin dismounted smoothly and Hermione almost fell off from the sudden lack of backrest. If he noticed he did not comment, reaching up to untie her hands from the saddle but Hermione noted disappointedly that he kept them bound together. She couldn't resist glaring at him but he ignored her, all but yanking her off the horse.
It took Hermione a second to gather her bearings when her feet touched the ground. She swayed at first but quickly adjusted, shuffling away from Thorin's grasp when he went to help her. That defiance earned her a warning look from him before he ushered her over to the wall of their little clearing. He gave a firm push against her shoulder to get her onto the ground before helping with the rest of the horses and ensuring they were well tethered for the night.
Hermione huffed indignantly when Thorin shoved her down; honestly, couldn't the man just use words instead of pushing her around the place? She did not know why it was necessary for her hands to remain bound but she figured she wasn't going to win that argument so she settled for studying the strange company she had found herself in.
The elderly man was by far the tallest, Hermione realised. While Thorin was second tallest, the rest of his companions were not that much taller than the man-child. She had been confused before, now she was truly baffled upon realising that the horses were actually ponies. Most of the men had grey or dark hair, though a few had dark brown like Thorin, and she could see the swords and axes dangling from their belts. Most, if not all, were large and had beards almost as long as her hair. They were all dressed in long tunics and thick coats trimmed with fur and leather boots. The man-child was the only exception; he wore a white shirt that was tucked into baggy blue pants with suspenders and a burgundy overcoat. He wore no shoes and Hermione was a little surprised by the large feet on such a small man.
She watched them closely for a moment and, satisfied that they were all busy with their individual tasks, she carefully reached for her pocket. She relaxed upon feeling the familiar length of her wand still tucked safely inside. She did not dare risk pulling it out and instead tucked her knees to her chest and tried to make herself as small as possible feeling the wind pick up. Parts of her skirt were still damp and her legs were bare and exposed to the chilly air of the mountain. She wished absently that she had never gone to the Department of Mysteries in her school uniform.
"Perhaps you would be more comfortable in a change of clothes?" The elderly man suggested kindly as if knowing what she had been thinking.
Hermione jumped a little but smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you." She went to reach for the offered clothes but stopped when she realised they would be no use to her with her hands bound.
The man tutted and looked at Thorin, "Must she remain bound?"
"Yes." He said bluntly, not taking his eyes away from his task.
Hermione couldn't see what he was doing and didn't particularly care. She wanted to argue with him but the older man beat her to it.
"At least let the poor girl change into something a little warmer." He huffed, "Else we will have a sick hostage."
"She is not a hostage." Thorin retorted. "Fine, untie her but when she is changed the rope goes back."
Hermione sighed with relief when the rope was finally removed. "Thank you." She rubbed the tender skin on her wrist.
"Come, there is some privacy back here." The man ushered her behind a large rock. "No, there is no place for her to escape." She heard him say to Thorin once he had left her to change.
Hermione changed quickly, not wanting to risk one of the men to come see what was taking her so long. She slipped her wand into the much larger pocket that thankfully had a small zipper to keep it inside. The dark pants were slightly bigger on her small form and the white shirt had to be tucked in to keep from swamping her small torso. Even though the shirt had long sleeves she knew the thin fabric wouldn't do much good against the weather but it was certainly much more comfortable than her uniform.
She hesitantly came out from behind the boulder, blushing as all the members of the company turned their eyes to her. Nervously she dropped back to the spot that Thorin had dumped her and resumed her earlier position, hoping he would leave her be.
"I believe some introductions need to be made." The elderly man said, "I am Gandalf and you are already acquainted with our leader Thorin. This here is Bilbo," He indicated to the man-child. "And we have Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Gloin, Oin, Ori and Nori."
Hermione gave a small wave, "I'm Hermione." She told them quietly.
"What a strange name." One of them said. She thought it might have been Ori but she could not remember which man belonged to what name.
Balin – or at least she thought that's who it was – knocked Ori over the head. Ori muttered out an apology and Hermione couldn't help but smile. He was obviously the youngest of the group and reminded her a little of Neville.
"Now, how did you happen to come to Middle Earth?" Gandalf asked curiously, a pipe in one hand and his staff over his knee.
Hermione hesitated; how to explain without revealing what she was? She did not know what they thought of witches although she had a suspicion Gandalf was a wizard.
"Can I ask...are you a wizard?" She asked him feeling brave. From the corner of her eye she noticed Thorin's eyes narrow at her question.
Gandalf nodded, "I am one of five in Middle Earth."
Hermione blanched; only one in five?
"Is that how you came here? Magic?" Gandalf asked having seen her reaction.
She nodded but couldn't say anymore. Gandalf could sense she was hiding something but did not want to push. Thorin, on the other hand, had no problem pushing for answers that he wanted.
"What is it you are not telling us?" His tone made it very clear that she should answer.
She tapped her fingers nervously against her knee. "What are the chances of you killing me if I tell you?" She asked too anxious not to ask.
Thorin and Gandalf exchanged surprised looks. "We do not mean you harm." Gandalf said gently.
"Right now you don't." She muttered. She knew she had no choice but to tell them. "I'm a witch."
They all gaped at her; they certainly weren't expecting her answer to be that. Now Gandalf understood why she was worried about being attacked; witches weren't well known within Middle Earth. Most that claimed to be witches used trickery instead of actual magic and often stole from those foolish enough to fall for their lies.
"Prove it." Thorin demanded.
Hermione slowly drew out her wand, not wanting them to attack if she moved too quickly. "Lumos." She muttered and her wand lit up in a warm glow. The men jumped and looked to Gandalf for confirmation it was real. Hermione held out her wand to him. "You should probably able to use it but it might be a little bit...temperamental." She warned him, thinking of Seamus and how he could never get spells right with a wand that was not meant for him.
Gandalf took the offered wand and studied it closely. He muttered a few things under his breath and sparks shot up from the tip and into the air. He presented it back to her, "How is it made?"
"Its ten inches and three quarters of vine wood with a dragon heartstring core." She told him.
"You've battled a dragon?" Fili asked excitedly.
She blinked, "No, that's how it is made. A wand maker would have gotten the core." She explained.
"Why did you think we would kill you?" Bilbo asked once the others had finished murmuring to each other.
Hermione shrugged. "Where I'm from witches and wizards live in secret from mu...humans. They used to have witch trials and burn those they thought of being witches alive."
"And you thought we would do that." Thorin added darkly, glaring at her.
She frowned at him. "Do you really blame me? In one minute of us meeting you were pointing a sword at me!"
"Let's stay on topic." Gandalf interrupted hastily, seeing the anger rising in Thorin. "How did you come to travel through worlds?"
She finally looked away from Thorin to answer the older wizard. "I didn't mean to. I was in the middle of a fight when I got hit; I fell through an archway and landed here."
"That explains your bloodied cloths." Gandalf mused. "Do you know how to get back?"
She shook her head sadly, "I think I'm stuck here." She hated the pitying looks she received. Instead she looked over at Bilbo and couldn't help but ask. "What are you?"
He blinked surprised. "I'm a hobbit."
She cocked her head to the side, "What's a hobbit?"
A few of the men chuckled and Bilbo flushed. "We're better known as Halflings, little people as some call us."
"Oh." Was all Hermione could say in response. She'd never heard of a hobbit.
She wanted to ask what the rest of them were, since they clearly weren't hobbits but she could tell they weren't humans either. Thorin caught her eye, practically daring her to ask the question but she simply pursed her lips and looked away.
"Well, now we have two magic-users for our quest." Kili said happily.
She blinked, "What quest?"
Thorin answered before anyone else could. "One you don't need to know about."
Gandalf raised an eyebrow. "It seems we have an addition to our company; it would be wise to inform the girl on our adventure."
Thorin glowered at the wizard. "Fine but we will not be responsible for you."
"I didn't ask you to." She retorted smartly. "I'm quite capable of looking after myself."
"We are going to reclaim our lost home Erebor from the dragon Smaug!" Someone piped up when their leader didn't say anything.
Hermione wrinkled her nose, "How did you lose your home to a dragon?" She asked thinking of the brainless animals from back home.
"The dragon, Smaug, claimed our kingdom for our gold. Dragons will do anything to get gold and Erebor had the greatest treasures." Thorin told her angrily. "Many of our people died because of that dragon and we were left with nothing!"
Hermione now understood why they asked if she had killed any dragons. "I don't think the dragons in my world as the same as here but I'm not entirely useless. I can help." She said confidently. She wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing.
Thorin eyed the young witch and couldn't deny that having another magic user would be a bad thing. They needed all the help they could get and he knew it.
So here's the second chapter. Thank you for all the reviews. Let me know what you think...
