A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed for all the positive encouragement, constructive criticism, and suggestions!
So without further ado, here is the next chapter!
As always, these characters, places, and most of the plot do not belong to me! Please read and REVIEW!
Hermione was silently brooding in the corner of her cell. She knew that they would be locked up by the Woodland elves, but being captured like this reminded her too much of her time in Malfoy Manor. Though Hermione grudgingly admitted these elves were much more hospitable in comparison to Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Are you all right, My Lady?" Kili asked from the cell across from hers.
"Yes, and you?"
"Never better," he replied sarcastically, and Hermione felt an insane giggle bubble to her lips.
"I should thank you though," Kili said seriously. "I would not be alive had you not rescued me."
Hermione was confused for a moment before realization dawned on her, the spiders! "Oh!" She said, flustered. "It was nothing really, simple charm. I didn't even kill it!" She continued to ramble on, but stopped when she noticed Kili's amused look.
"You talk a lot," He pointed out. "If you didn't have such a bare face, I would have mistaken you for a dwarrowdam!"
"Err…Thanks?" Hermione paused. "Wait a minute, bare face? Excuse me, but you don't have much beard on your chin either!"
Kili's face turned sour. He glared, embarrassed, at the floor. "Sorry," Hermione bit out quickly. "I-I didn't mean to offend you."
"Would you hold it against me?" Kili asked her, still not meeting her eyes.
"What?" Hermione ogled him. "If you didn't have a beard?"
Hermione burst out laughing, she knew it was probably due to all the stress and hormones this quest produced, but for now, she blamed it on the spider venom. She was bent double and grasping the cell bars to stay standing. Hermione glanced up, met Kili's bewildered, hurt eyes, and burst into a new fit of laughter.
"Ahh…" She wiped tears from her eyes.
"You are insane." Kili muttered.
"Yes, I suppose we all are a little mental…" Hermione trailed off. "And to answer your question, no I would not hold it against you if you didn't have the bushiest beard or the scraggliest scruff. That would be preposterous."
"That's good." Kili nodded to himself. "All the dwarrowdams and dwarves laugh at me because I have no beard."
"You know, for what it's worth, where I come from, the most…handsome men all shave their beards." Hermione told Kili consolingly.
Kili made a face of horror, "So that's why Master Malfoy has such a clean face. We all wondered whether he had some elf blood in him."
Hermione only laughed at the thought of Draco with long blonde hair. He could look almost identical to Legolas, she mused.
Through their entire conversation, Hermione realized, she had not once thought about being in jail, captured by elves, or even Harry. Kili had a way of making her forget all her negative thoughts in life and just smile again. Hermione felt an instant pang of guilt the moment the realization dawned on her. She couldn't let herself be distracted now, she had to complete this quest. After that…If truth be told, Hermione had no idea what she would do once Smaug was defeated. The dwarves had offered her a home in Erebor…wait. Hermione's heart stopped. Thorin would die. Fili and Kili as well. No…No. Over the past few weeks, Hermione had let herself connect with these dwarves, and she knew she would give her life in an instant to protect them.
Well that's just it, isn't it? Hermione thought to herself. She would have to sacrifice herself for her dwarves. She was sick and tired of constantly running. She was a coward, she feared death. Hermione decided that in order to protect her dwarves, her friends, her…family, she was going to die to save them. And she would finally be with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and all her other fallen friends when it was over.
It was strange, Hermione mused, knowing exactly how many days you had left to live. It had a strange way of reshuffling one's priorities. For the first time since arriving in Middle Earth, Hermione felt like she knew her real purpose for being alive. She would stay alive to die for her friends. And for the first time, in that dingy cell in the Mirkwood Realm, Hermione felt a little more at peace with herself.
Yells of shock awakened her from her newfound sense of tranquility. Bilbo was standing there with the set of keys in his hand.
"Bilbo, you're bloody brilliant!" She heard Draco hiss from his cell.
Bilbo began unlocking each cell, and setting them free.
"Shh!" He motioned for them to be silent. "There are guards nearby."
They filed down into the wine cellar, and Kili placed a hand on the small of her back to steady her when she tripped over a stair. And Hermione found that she didn't mind it. Bilbo pointed out the barrels and only closed his eyes in frustration when the dwarves began protesting.
"Do as he says." Thorin confirmed.
The dwarves went silent, then one by one crawled into the barrels. "Wait!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Bilbo! My wand!"
Bilbo's eyes widened. "Wait here, Lady Hermione." He vanished as he put the ring on, and Hermione only hoped that he could get her wand back in time.
Hermione hastily shoved herself into a barrel and waited for Bilbo to return. There was a pit pattering on the stairs and Bilbo appeared a second later grasping Hermione and Draco's wands, and a couple of small daggers for the company. Louder footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and Bilbo hissed at the company to get into the barrels. Hermione ducked her head down as Bilbo slammed the lid of the barrel on.
A few seconds passed, and suddenly without warning, her barrel began to roll. Hermione clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt weightless for a moment as the barrel fell, and landed with a loud splash into the river. The lid to her barrel popped off and Hermione was drenched to the bone with freezing cold water.
They paddled downstream as fast as they could because Bilbo, who was currently clinging onto one of the barrels, had shouted about how the elves knew about their escape.
The company shouted as their barrels tipped over a waterfall and splashed into the rapid current.
A long horn sounded and the elves that were guarding the gate began to quickly crank the gate shut.
"No!" Thorin yelled desperately as they crashed into the gate. They were trapped.
Without warning, the elf guard found an arrow sticking out of his chest and he toppled down into the river.
"Watch out!" Bofur exclaimed.
Orcs were swarming the place and began picking off the elves one by one.
Hermione noticed Kili trying to climb the rocks to pull the lever. Draco noticed too, because with an unexpected act of chivalry, he shoved Kili aside and scaled the rock easily. Hermione whipped her head around to keep watch for him, and saw an orc raise his bow and take aim and Draco.
The arrow whizzed by before Hermione's horrified scream reached Draco. With a loud grunt of pain, he collapsed on the floor clutching his leg. Hermione screamed in rage and sent a confringo at the orc who shot Draco, but because of the violent waves, it missed and blew up the rocks beside the orc. All of a sudden, the orc was decapitated and sent tumbling into the water. The red haired elf, which Hermione had noticed Draco talking to earlier, stood there with a murderous expression on her face.
Hermione shot a few more curses and hexes at the orcs who were creeping up on Draco who had heaved himself up and pulled the lever down with all his might. The gates creaked open and the dwarves spilled out.
"Draco!" Hermione screamed. He noticed and crawled over the edge of the rock and slipped into his barrel just in time for them to be swept away in the current.
A/N: Now click that little button at the bottom that says REVIEW and let me know what you think about this chapter! Thanks!