Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Speaking through the mind: Bold Italics.

A/N: Okay peeps, I'm back sorry for taking long it's just I'm writing so many fanfics at the same time. Just a little warning for my future chapters that I would like to elaborate from know because some faithful hobbit readers might get confused: I am NOT going to be following allotted time it took to reach Erebor; in the book and the movies I think it was around 6 months, but for my story it is going to be longer, and the distance to places would be longer as well, as I want to add a lot of things in between. There will be some occurrences that is like the book or movie, and there will be some I made up. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 6:

Lux-Vita felt the sunlight shine brightly on her face when she had woken up, finding herself in a tiny bed that fit her emaciated form. Her throat felt hoarse and as scratchy as ever and she knew that she should have Gandalf check it soon; she would ask any of the dwarves, maybe there was a healer amongst them, but she wanted to avoid them as much as possible, which would be hard as they were all travelling together.

They say that crying is good for the soul, but Lux-Vita felt horrible; swallowing now hurt immensely, and she could taste blood, her muscles were strained and her face was all blotchy; she was sure that her eyes were all red, and she felt embarrassed that the dwarves may have witnessed her blubbering by the garden. Lux-Vita hated looking weak.

She knew Gandalf must have tucked her in, and she was grateful to him; in the day that she got to know him, she sensed him to be a very wise wizard with an incredible eye to detail and she hoped that he wouldn't notice her spasms now that she wasn't crying anymore, and her body wasn't shaking with sobs.

Lux-Vita knew there to be a potion taken for helping with the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse, reducing the tremors. Problem was, she wasn't given any since she hadn't spoken a word since her arrival with the cup and Cedric, and it wasn't taught at Hogwarts, so she wouldn't know what ingredients were needed; even if she did know however, she didn't have the equipment for potion-making with her and the ingredients probably didn't even exist in this world.

Cringing at the sound of her bones cracking as she got off the bed, Lux-Vita hastily placed a cleaning and refreshing charm on her hair, body, mouth and clothes so that she wouldn't stink. Her hair however was still a bit greasy as it was matted with blood, dirt and acromantula venom from the third task. Lux-Vita didn't dare use a more effective charm due to her arm tremors; her hand kept shaking, and after four years at Hogwarts, she knew it to be dangerous to do an inaccurate spell on yourself; she could end up accidentally setting herself on fire or worse.

Making her way out of the room she had slept in, Lux-Vita could hear snoring, and upon entering the living room she saw that there were eight of the thirteen dwarves fast asleep on the floor, and even though it looked to be comfortable for them, Lux-Vita cringed at what the hardwood floor would do to her aching limbs.

Unknown to Lux-Vita, Thorin heard her shuffling and noticed her cringe when observing the dwarves sleeping on the ground; this cemented the opinion Thorin made on her that she was too weak to survive with them on the road. If she so much as complained about their roughing it and sleeping outdoors, he would demand Gandalf to send her back. Wizard or not, he would not have a spoilt princess slow them down and get on their nerves.

Lux-Vita felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of her head, and she turned to find a pair of icy blue eyes glaring daggers at her, making her flinch – cursing herself at her obvious show of weakness; Lux-Vita wasn't one to flinch away from people, she hated the shriveled shell Voldemort had turned her into; he succeeded in making her weak.

Tentatively, she looked back at Thorin and saw him to be seated with Balin and the burly, menacing looking dwarf with tattoos. Balin smiled at her with a little wave which she returned with a diminutive nod, while the tattooed dwarf glared at her just like he constantly did last night.

She made her way over to the kitchen, hoping that a warm glass of water or lukewarm tea would soften her throat and remove the revolting taste of blood. She stood timidly by the doorway when she saw the rotund dwarf bustling around making breakfast, and the dwarf with an axe embedded into his head sitting on a stool.

The dwarf that was seated noticed her arrival and began grunting in harsh tones, waving his hand around in what Lux-Vita noticed to be some form of sign language, attracting the attention of the rotund dwarf who looked over at her with a kind smile.

Now Bombur had eleven children back in Ered Luin, and his beloved wife was currently pregnant with their twelfth child. Bombur's wife, Aniel was known as the marveled dwarrowdam among their kind, since it was rare for one to give birth to more than a child; maximum in history was three.

Bombur had five daughters, and the poor human girl reminded him dearly of them, and so he felt the need to fatten her up and care for her even if Thorin had a problem with her presence. Gandalf was correct yesterday when he had shouted at them after Glóin and Thorin managed to run her off in tears; dwarves looked upon females as their greatest treasure, and must be treated with respect.

"Hello lassie, did you want anything to eat?" Bombur asked her kindly, ignoring the fact that she flinched when spoken to.

Lux-Vita took tiny steps towards him and readied herself for the pain that would surely erupt from her throat for speaking, "I-It's o-okaym I-I j-j-just w-want w-warm w-wa-wat-water or lu-lu-lukew-warm t-tea."

"Ah Lass, I'll get that for you, you just sit over there by my cousin Bifur," the rotund dwarf smiled and Lux-Vita couldn't help but return it, he seemed like a friendly dwarf unlike the others, except for the brown-haired one with barely any beard, the blonde one and Balin.

She hesitantly sat by Bifur, making sure to keep some distance between them. She noticed that he was staring at her, and when she looked at him, he began waving his arms and grunting slightly.

"Here you go Lass," Bombur placed a glass of warm water and a cup of lukewarm tea, making Lux-Vita crack a wider smile at the kind dwarf, "T-Th-Thank y-y-you."

"No problem, I'll go ahead and continue breakfast. Bifur cannot speak Westron anymore due to the axe in his head, only the dwarvish sign language, Iglishmêk," the rotund dwarf added.

Lux-Vita nodded and looked at Bifur empathetically. The Dursleys enrolled Lux-Vita to school only when the neighbors noticed two years later that they only registered Dudley, and so they began taking her to school when she turned seven. Three years before she began learning in school, Lux-Vita would head off to the library and teach herself many things, and held a passion for languages, one of them happened to be sign language.

Lux-Vita looked at Bifur, studying the motion of his hands carefully and then made the formation of 'do you understand me' with her hands. Bifur grunted and made a motion with his hands that resembled 'a little bit', Bombur smiled when he noticed the human girl was engaging his cousin and didn't run away from him. Usually many dwarves would cringe away from him due to the axe embedded in his head.

The dwarves began filing into the kitchen with bleary eyes and their hair was in disarray, they clumsily sat on any free stool as Bombur began handing over plates filled with mountains of eggs, bacon rashers and toast.

Lux-Vita was shocked when the rotund dwarf placed a plate with equal portions on her plate; she honestly thought that they wouldn't feed her and was planning on making herself a small amount of breakfast when the dwarves were done eating.

Lux-Vita shook her head, ready to deny the food but the rotund dwarf smiled at her and said, "Lass you need to eat, I barely saw you eat yesterday. You're skin and bones, you need fattening up."

Lux-Vita nodded quickly, "Th-Th-Thank y-y-you," she whispered, ignoring the prying and curious eyes of the eleven dwarves that had recently walked in. She kept her eyes peeled on the food, and tried to restrain the tears that were threatening to fall out; the rotund dwarf reminded her of Mrs. Weasley who had never once failed to complain about how she was getting thinner and thinner whenever she went to the Burrow after summer from the Dursleys.

It hurt to swallow, but Lux-Vita managed by crushing each bite slightly with the back of her fork before placing it in her mouth, hiding any winces behind her hand; she didn't want anyone watching her suffer. However, what Lux-Vita didn't know, was that Gandalf remained hidden ever since she had woken up and entered the kitchen.

Gandalf observed how kind Bombur was to her – he had honestly expected it, seeing as he had five daughters back at the Blue Mountains. He was surprised that Lux-Vita could communicate slightly with Bifur, and came to the conclusion that in her world they had some form of similar sign language as well. Gandalf noticed how teary-eyed Lux-Vita became when Bombur gave her a big portion of food, insisting that she should eat more and fatten up and he concluded that she must have remembered someone from back home.

Gandalf however frowned when he observed how Lux-Vita would wince with every swallow, and upon taking a closer look from his hidden place, he watched her crush each bite with the cutlery, trying to soften them as much as possible.

Gandalf stroked his beard, pondering her strange actions; come to think of it, she was hobbling slightly, favoring one leg over the other, and clutching her right arm to her side constantly. Last night, he thought that her body spasms were due to her heavy sobbing, however, her body still shook with them from time to time.

"Girl! Since Tharkûn has insisted you travel among us, go change your clothes," Thorin growled, his icy eyes on her form, making her body shiver.

Lux-Vita stared fearfully at Thorin, shaking her head profusely, she stammered, "N-n-n-no, th-th-thank y-y-you, I-I'm f-fi-fine."

All thirteen dwarves stared at Lux-Vita in shock. Dwalin barked at her, "What do you mean you're fine, you're barely wearing anything."

"Indecent, dressed like a common harlot," Glóin growled.

Gandalf was furious; he wanted nothing more than to defend the poor girl, however he knew that she must learn to stand up for herself especially amongst dwarves, and he was curious to see who would defend the girl's honor.

"Glóin!" yelled Balin and Bombur looking appalled. Bifur began grunting and waving his hands that was too fast to comprehend by anyone, and Fíli and Kíli stood up angrily, glaring at Glóin who looked unbothered and unabashed.

Lux-Vita kept repeating a mantra in her head not to cry, she wasn't about to give Glóin the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She didn't have any clothes to change into, but she could still transfigure herself some clothes; problem was, she was suffering from spasms and didn't dare try any magic, and she didn't want to borrow any of the dwarves clothes, she just couldn't stomach it – the last male's clothes she had worn was Cedric's.

"How dare you speak to a lady with such disrespect," growled Fíli.

"Enough!" roared Thorin, banging his hand on the table roughly, making them all jump. He stared at Lux-Vita, his icy eyes boring into her deadened ones, and he growled out, "What do you mean no? You cannot travel in such a revealing garment."

"Lass, do you not have any clothes on you?" asked Balin softly, his warm brown eyes staring kindly at her.

Lux-Vita blushed, "Pl-please, I'm f-f-fine."

"That is enough, I think we should stop harassing the poor girl and start our journey. When we pass through Bree I'll get her a few spare clothes, in the meantime she will do with what she has on," Gandalf interrupted swiftly as he emerged from his hiding, and Lux-Vita gave him a thankful glance.

As the dwarves grunted and began to pile out of the room to pack their belongings and their weapons, Gandalf shouted after Glóin, "Master Glóin, don't let me hear you insult Lux-Vita again, or I will make sure you never be able to speak again by cutting out your tongue!"

***Lux-Vita Laelynn Jamie Potter***

Lux-Vita sat outside cross-legged on the grass, enjoying the sunshine and the breeze of the wind while the dwarves began attaching their bags onto their ponies.

She watched the children play with a fond look on her face, immediately turning into a frown – she never had that sort of childhood; she was never allowed to play, make friends and just have fun. Instead, while all the children went out to play with their friends, she was forced to clean the house, cook the Dursleys food and run away from Dudley and his friends when they played Lux-Vita Lashing.

She missed sitting by the Black Lake with Ron and Hermione, the calming effects of the water and the ripples that appeared every time Ron disturbed it by throwing pebbles. She missed feeding the giant squid with Fred and George Weasley and their best friend Lee Jordan; the giant squid they dubbed 'Bob.' She missed her trusty Firebolt given to her by her godfather, and the rushing feeling when she performed the Wronski Feint and the amazing lightheadedness and freeing feeling she felt when playing Quidditch.

Inside the little smial, Gandalf being the tricky and meddling wizard that he was placed the contract signed by Thorin Oakenshield on Bilbo's table in the living room and left; he knew that Bilbo would sign it; he was merely just giving him a slight …push.

"My dear Lux-Vita, are you alright?" Gandalf asked Lux-Vita pleasantly, though concern shone in his eyes. Lux-Vita nodded a sad smile on her face. He looked over at the dwarves who were nearly done with saddling their ponies, "Have you ever ridden a horse before?"

Lux-Vita shook her head in negative, "Wh-Who a-a-am I r-r-ri-riding wi-with?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"I do hope you don't mind accompanying an old man, I do promise to keep you safe," said Gandalf, and Lux-Vita knew he was trying to make her happy; he succeeded slightly as she managed to let out a painful giggle.

"Y-You're n-n-not old G-Gan-Gandalf."

"You flatter me, my child," Gandalf beamed at her, "Now come along, get up off the grass we must make haste and leave the Shire."

Thorin watched with anger as Gandalf helped the girl onto his horse before sitting behind her so that she wouldn't fall off. He knew that this was the last chance in keeping the girl with the hobbits in a safe place, and just as he was about to demand Gandalf that they leave her, he shot him a daring look. Thorin grumbled to himself as he yelled at his Company to begin moving onwards.

That damn wizard, nothing ever gets past him.

They began riding in mutual silent; no one spoke much, only the hat in a funny dwarf would occasionally hum a tune, while Bifur would carve a block of wood with his hands.

Lux-Vita was thankful that Gandalf offered her to ride with him; she didn't think that she could sit in such close contact with any of the dwarves. Gandalf was an old wizard and reminded her of Dumbledore, so she felt the safest and most relaxed around him.

Every once in a while, Lux-Vita couldn't help but fiddle with her engagement ring, a sad smile splayed on her face.

Thorin would subtly glance over at the girl, waiting for her to complain about the horse; he knew that beginners or anyone that have never ridden a horse, would complain about the back aches and soreness. However, much to his surprise, not a peep came out from her mouth. In fact, every time he would perchance a glance at her, he would find her staring and fingering her ring.

If he was to be honest with himself, he was extremely curious about that ring and its origins. The stones and the silver cut looked to be of great value and a rare find. Last night, he, like Glóin and Dwalin, had forgotten that the girl came from another world where it was probably not as rare to find as it was in Middle Earth.

One day, he promised himself, one day he would find out the truth about that ring.

"So, you think out burglar will come?" asked Óin, fixing his hearing aid.

"Aye, I say he comes," Fíli smirked.

"Hmph, well, if you're wagering on him, then I shall place a wager against him. I say he doesn't," shouted out Kíli jovially.

Lux-Vita couldn't help but smile to herself, those two reminded her of Fred and George Weasley; at least she had a part of her world with her in a way.

"I agree with the lad, five silvers says he doesn't," said Nori, nodding towards Kíli.

"What do you say Lux-Vita? You think dear Bilbo would grace us with his presence?" Gandalf asked Lux-Vita, his beard quivering slightly. Lux-Vita ignored the fact that all thirteen dwarves where staring at her and waiting for her answer, instead she thought over the few memories she had of the hobbit last night.

He loved the comforts of his home, and from what she heard about hobbits from Gandalf, they liked to eat a lot; she knew that coming along with these dwarves would be rocky and very dangerous with little and probably no comforts at all – but something about Bilbo Baggins left an impact in her, and she could tell that there was some underlying courage inside of him waiting to make its appearance.

Looking over at Gandalf, with as much confidence as she could muster, she told Gandalf, "H-H-He w-will c-come."

Gandalf beamed at her and nodded his head, ignoring the mutterings from the dwarves, he shouted over at them, "I do believe you heard the lady, I wager Bilbo Baggins shall make it."

Thorin growled slightly, "I don't think the Halfling will come, he's too absorbed with the comforts of his little home and the state of his pantry," he scoffed towards the end.

"Hmm, perhaps," was all Gandalf said, as he blew on his pipe; but everyone understood that Gandalf didn't agree with Thorin's words in the slightest. "We shall see however."

It wasn't until the Company was riding for over two, perhaps three hours when they heard frantic yelling coming from behind them, and they halted their horses, turning around to see who the newcomer was, readying their weapons for a fight.

"Wait! Wait!"

"By my beard," muttered Dwalin in shock.

Fíli, Óin and Bofur cheered, knowing that they had won the bet, while Gandalf had a smug smile on his face, his hand patting Lux-Vita's shoulder softly.

Bilbo Baggins was running as fast as his huge, hairy feet would allow him, and he stopped by Balin's pony, out of breath bending slightly with his hands on his knees, inhaling and exhaling loudly. "I signed it!" he blurted out, handing over the signed contract to Balin.

Taking the contract with one hand, Balin reached over into his pocket, and with the other hand, took out his pocket-glass, inspecting the allotted space where their Burglar was meant to sign.

Once he was done, Balin smiled widely at Bilbo, "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

The dwarves all began cheering, whistling and clapping their hands while Bilbo blushed, his face turning all red as he ducked his head, not comfortable with all the attention fixed solely on him – something Lux-Vita found herself to have in common with the endearing hobbit.

Thorin however, didn't look pleased and his face was fixed with a huge scowl as he regarded the contract in Balin's hand to the soft-looking hobbit. Yelling over at the others, "Give him a pony!" he turned around.

He now had two useless people accompanying him to reclaim Erebor; two people to slow them down and complain about the rough conditions.

Upon hearing Thorin's words, Bilbo lifted his head and began stuttering profusely, "No, no, no, that won't be necessary," he then laughed nervously, "I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I-I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know," his tone held a bit of pride as he spoke his next words, "I even got as far as Frogmorton once –WAGH!"

The dwarves and Gandalf were all rolling their eyes with amused smiles on their faces as the hobbit kept blathering on about not needing a horse, and just as Bilbo was explaining his trek to Frogmorton, Fíli and Kíli rode their horses alongside him, picked him up from behind and placed him atop a pony, effectively cutting him off from his speech.

Bilbo snapped his mouth shut when he found himself sitting on a hazel-colored pony, and his eyes widened slightly in fear. His hands quickly grabbed onto the reins, holding on for dear life and he sat stiffly, his shoulders squared.

Every time Bilbo's pony lifted and tossed its head around, Bilbo would squeak, a terrified look overcoming his tiny features. Bilbo Baggins looked the picture of uncomfortable and Lux-Vita couldn't help but giggle, making her cough slightly and Gandalf to rub her back softly until her coughing fit dissipated.

Suddenly, Óin called out, "Come on Nori, pay up!"

A grumbling Nori tossed over a sack of money to Óin, starting a chain reaction as every dwarf that made a wager on whether or not Bilbo would come began tossing over sacks of money.

A flabbergasted Bilbo rode over to Gandalf and Lux-Vita. "What's that about?"

"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up," Gandalf smiled. "Most of them bet that you wouldn't."

Bilbo looked a touch insulted, and he puffed up his chest indignantly and asked, "What did you think?"

Gandalf and Lux-Vita traded small smiles, and he lifted his hand mid-air, catching a sack of money thrown his way by Nori, putting it in his bag by the horse.

"My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second; neither did Lux-Vita, she in fact informed me to wager on you showing up."

Bilbo looked gratefully at Gandalf and a tad surprised at the human girl who barely shared more than a word with him since her arrival at his smial last night. It was then that Bilbo sneezed loudly.

"All this horse hair, I'm having a reaction," muttered Bilbo to himself as he searched his pockets frantically for his handkerchief. He looked upwards in shock when he was unable to find it, and began yelling hysterically to the other dwarves, "No, wait, wait, stop! Stop! We have to turn around."

The entire company halted, some of the dwarves began objecting to each other asking what exactly the problem was, while others looked at the hobbit in exasperation.

"What on earth is the matter?" asked a concerned Gandalf. Lux-Vita just knew that Bilbo was about to put his foot in his mouth.

"I forgot my handkerchief," Bilbo stated in desperation, his eyes a bit teary and his face morphed into horror.

Lux-Vita stuffed her fist into her mouth, trying really hard not to burst out laughing, lest she hurt her cords again.

The dwarves all gaped at the hobbit, their eyes widening at the ridiculousness of the situation. Bofur was the only one that managed to keep his calm, tearing the bottom of his filthy tunic; he tossed it over to Bilbo, "Here! Use this."

Bilbo caught the rag, alternating between gawking at in disgust and staring incredulously at Bofur who was smiling cheekily at him. The dwarves began laughing and Lux-Vita couldn't hold it in anymore; she began laughing, it was a mixture of raspy giggles and coughs.

The dwarves looked at her in shock; that was the first time she showed positive emotion since they have met her. Thorin glared at her slightly, but he didn't have the heart to yell at her, and if he were honest with himself, the situation was comical.

"Move out!" Dwalin barked at everyone, and they turned their horses and began with their journey.

Over Lux-Vita's coughing fit, Gandalf looked at Bilbo reprimanding him, "You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead."

***Lux-Vita Laelynn Jamie Potter***

That night, the thirteen dwarves, one wizard, one girl and one hobbit camped out for the night, and Thorin began barking out orders.

"You, girl! Go with Fíli and Kíli, make yourself useful and help them gather wood for the fire," snapped Thorin, ignoring Gandalf's scolding glare.

Lux-Vita sighed lowly and nodded her head in submission. She was about to ask Gandalf to check on her throat; since her laughing fit due to Bilbo and his missing handkerchief, Lux-Vita's body broke out in spasms more than usual, and she was lucky Gandalf didn't notice, and she was now constantly swallowing blood.

Fíli and Kíli waited by the edge of the trees for Lux-Vita excitedly, they were finally going to have a chance of making a real conversation with the human girl that had captivated their attention from just one small glance at her hollow and empty emerald green eyes.

The three of them walked silently for a while as they kept their eyes peeled for branches, and huge chunks of wood; Lux-Vita felt slightly guilty, if it weren't for her spasms, she could have lit them a fire in under a second with one word and a flick of her wand. But she wouldn't risk it; god forbid if she caused damage, Thorin Oakenshield already scared her with his glacier stare.

Even though Fíli and Kíli kept their eyes searching intently for wood, they couldn't help but alternate their eyes over to her one bare leg that looked to be injured as she hobbled alongside them, and her right arm that she was favoring; ever since they saw her, she had kept her right bare arm clutched to her chest, it almost looked as though she were hiding something.

In fact, her whole attire looked odd, it was many sizes bigger than her thin stature, white, baggy and loose, streaked with dirt and it reached her elbow and slightly above her knees. It was too revealing, though she didn't look to be a harlot.

"Lady Lux-Vita," Kíli ever the curious one, couldn't keep his mouth shut. Upon hearing his voice, Lux-Vita snapped her head towards the brown-haired dwarf, her eyes protruding in fear. "Why are you hobbling? Is your leg injured? We can have Óin check it out for you; he is the healer among us."

Lux-Vita was anxious, what could she say? She didn't know how to explain an acromantula bite; Madam Pomfrey managed to give her a potion to extract the poison, but it wasn't healed yet, it was still numb since the poison resided in her for so long after she was bitten.

She shook her head frantically, keeping her head straight ahead. Unfortunately, due to her sudden fear and since she was nervous, her body began to spasm again, but this time, the tremors were so hard that her mouth opened and she was unable to close it, allowing all the blood that pooled up from her throat to leak out.

"Lux-Vita!" Fíli and Kíli yelled in unison, dropping the wood in their arms and going over to her body that shook violently with tremors on the ground.

"We must take her to Gandalf or Óin!" Kíli yelled frantically, his eyes never leaving her frightened eyes and the blood that now marred her chin and white attire.

Fíli nodded; quickly he grabbed the wood they have dropped while Kíli lifted the human girl into his arms, ignoring her terrified whimpers at the contact, and together, they rushed back into the campsite, feeling fear for the human girl in their hearts.