This Dream's On Me

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Part 3
Chapter 5

"Miss Harry, does your culture have any dances?"

Curled into his side, Harry lifted her head, blinking those brilliant green eyes as she looked over at Ori. Grumbling, because by moving her head his own had lost its perch from where it'd been rest upon her wild hair, Fili directed his own gaze over to Ori, frowning slightly as he did so.

Currently it was approaching mid-afternoon, and almost all the dwarves were sat around Bard's house while the older ones discussed how they were going to handle the next stage of their journey.

Both himself and Harry had taken the spare seats on the couch, Kili still sprawled out across one cushion and glaring death at his slowly healing leg. Harry hadn't been able to do much to heal the wound itself, not wanting to risk dosing his brother up on too many potions when she was unsure how they'd react to dwarf physiology.

So far though, all looked well. The wound would just have to heal naturally until Harry was sure the poison was all gone. Both himself, his brother, Ori and Harry had been shuffled away from the planning stage for now, not that Fili cared all too much. They had the least experience out of all of the dwarves when it came to stealing, and while Harry had managed to successfully pull of a theft from a heavily guarded bank, there was no dragon for her to catch a ride on as an escape means. At least, not one that would actually help her out anyway.

Dori, from where he was sat beside Nori up to the kitchen table, was keeping a close eye on Harry regardless of the fact the two heirs to Durin were perfectly fine with her, and it put Fili on edge a bit. Sure he knew dwarves were a secretive and suspicious lot, but he'd hoped that they'd at least put enough trust in him to give Harry a chance.

Clearly suspicions of strangers that spanned decades was not so easily outdone by the trust of two princes.

Harry didn't seem to notice though, or rather, if she did she tactically ignored it in favour of answering Ori's enquiry.

"We have several actually, I've tried teaching a few to Fili, but alas, he still stands on my toes."

"Hey!"

Harry let out a low chuckle, dancing to her feet and a grin stretching across her pale lips. Even in the low lighting of Bard's house she seemed to glow, a teasing, mischievous fairy that'd been kind enough to grace them with her presence.

"I think you'll find you were the one stepping on my feet. Come 'ere and let me prove it."

Harry snorted, but she was still smiling as she twisted her hair back into a low ponytail with the stretchy ribbon that adorned her thin wrist.

He'd not done any dancing with Harry since that last dream at Beorn's house. He knew the placement of his hands though, knew the curve of Harry's hip that he'd feel under his palm and the fingers that came to rest on his own shoulder.

The two human girls had been kind enough to shuffle out of the way, leaving the two of them a reasonable amount of space to perform one of Harry's slow wizarding dances.

He'd never known a dance so slow until she'd ran him through the steps. It wasn't an energetic as the dwarves steps, but there was something about the movements, something that called to the softer side of his feelings.

It was their dance really, there was just an air about the dance of Harry's culture that seemed to show all the tender feelings that he held for the female without forcing him to voice them aloud. It was uncomfortable, all the other dwarves watching him run through the steps, Harry's brilliant green eyes a glaring distraction.

But he managed to not stand on her feet, so really, it was job well done.

He distinctly remembered a fair haired dwarven lad blatantly refusing to learn any of the court dances when it'd come time to teach him, remembered the lad exclaiming he was going to be an dragon slayer, so he wouldn't have time to use all these stupid dances and so he didn't really need to learn them by that logic.

So it was with begrudging amusement that Thorin Oakenshield stood back, watching as his oldest nephew led the only female of their group through an unfamiliar dance.

From the ease with which the girl, Harry as Fili called her, moved from each step to the next, it was painfully obvious that she was very familiar with the dance.

Fili was in deep, that much was clear from the face he'd gone so far as to learn a dance style from the girl. She was looking at Fili as if no one else existed in the room, a veil of happiness seemed to surround her dragging Fili in. Really, it was no wonder that the fair haired dwarf seemed to orbit the girl.

They worked so well together, it was painful to think he was dragging the both of them to what would probably mean their death should the dragon live.

Harry was spun beneath his nephew's arm before they came back together, stopping and just looking at one another for a moment.

They were in love, he couldn't deny it. The only thing that could have made this better was if the girl had a beard.

Well, nobody was perfect he guessed, at least Kili wouldn't be the only one without a beard in the family for a while. His youngest nephew had ended up sharing that trait with Frerin. His younger brother's beard seemed to have grown overnight, that was how fast it'd come in. He was sure that Kili would turn out to be the same.

"S'not very energetic."

Dwalin had hit the nail on the head really, when it came to the dance they'd just been shown. But it clearly wasn't meant for that.

As far as he could tell, it was quite formal. Didn't stop the soft emotions his nephew felt for the girl, and the girl felt for his nephew, from bleeding through their every move there.

Harry Potter just shrugged, looking somewhat bashful but still smiling.

"It's not meant to be I don't think, it's one of the more refined dances. And unfortunately, the only one I really know."

"Don't worry lass, we'll teach you 'em all when we get Erebor back."

Bofur's words drew everyone's attention, and as if it had been planned while he was absent, they all turned to face him. The joyous, calm atmosphere had disappeared now, and instead anticipation hung heavy in the hair, the feeling much like the stormy skies just before lightning parted the grey clouds.

Even the beardless female was standing to attention, and it was now that he could see the hint of the hero beneath, the reason she wore the braid in her mane of coal coloured hair. Harry Potter stood to attention, her green eyes sharp and shoulders squared. Ready to stand beside them.

Yes, Fili had picked well enough it seemed.

Once this last leg of the journey was over, once Erebor was once again theirs, he would sit down for a proper talk with his nephew's One. Until such a time though...

He had to tell them about the significant lack of weapons.

The significant lack of weapons and the fact the only decent ones were in the city armoury.

This would not be easy news to break, but then again, what part of this journey could be classified as easy anyway?

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The company was silent as they sat around the in the living room, the owner of the house having escorted his children off into town, no doubt to restock their own pantry.

Which left Thorin to hold a discussion on what basically amounted to robbery. Not since the fall of Erebor had he had to resort to such a thing. Then it was to keep his people alive, now it was to reclaim their homeland. They would simply have to settle their debts with Laketown once Erebor was reclaimed.

There was no other choice really.

It wasn't until his eyes, drifting over the faces of the company, over the faces of his nephews, did he realize just what was wrong with the collection of people sat up to the table. Twelve dwarves, one hobbit and a female.

The Lady Harry stared back at him, and it still unsettled him to see how unnervingly bright those green eyes were.

"Why are you sat in on this discussion."

The girl visibly bristled and he swore he heard Fili let out a low groan of disappointment, but it was drowned out by the scrap of wood against wood as the female stood. Sheepish, but determined.

"I can steal all the weapons you need."

"What." He wasn't about to shoot the girl down completely.

While she didn't look like much, he'd seen her heal Kili's leg with her strange potions, seen the small ball of glowing light that she'd summoned up to amuse an injured Kili. The girl was magic, like the wizard, and while the absent, grey bearded guide had been an incredible pain, he'd also been invaluable an aid when push came to shove.

"I'll only need the aid of one of your company to tell me which weapons to pick, but other than that, I'll be able to get them all without alerting anyone."

"And how're you gonna do that lass?" Balin's question was in no way patronising, but genuine curiosity, and Thorin found himself turning to the girl for answers as well. He clocked Bilbo and Fili looked somewhat smug just a second before his eyes landed back on the girl.

Who promptly vanished from sight.

Exclamations of shock echoed around the room, even as Harry returned to a visible state again. He wasn't ashamed to say he'd jumped slightly, even as the pieces slowly came together in his head.

Fili would be a hard dwarf to hide, especially from elves who's senses were abnormally strong. Turning invisible would most certainly be an advantage, no wonder the elves had been unable to find the two upon Fili's escape. Or rescue. He preferred the first term.

"And how, Lady Harry, does one cultivate a power of invisibility?" He was interested. Of course he was, the possibilities were endless. To be able to hear what was said behind one's back, to be able to hide from assassins, to be able to hide one's family from those who dared to attack them... Yes, that power would be very useful.

The dark haired female frowned slightly, shuffling from foot to foot, before finally she let out a sigh.

"It's a bit of a long story, do we have the time?"

Thorin gave a nod, and at his confirmations, the girl let out a low sigh before slowly sitting back down in her chair.

"Well, it's starts with what was supposed to be a fairy tale, but turned out to be quite true. So bare with me. It's called the Deathly Hallows." She sent one last look towards Fili, before clearing her throat.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Thorin could see Ori, the company's scribe, pull out his journal and looking quite eager.

"Once, there were three brothers, who were walking along a long twining road at twilight. Now, they came to a river, which was far too dangerous to cross over. However, since the three were wizards, they gave a simple wave of their wands, and made a bridge grow from the side of the bank. Yet, before they could cross, a hooded figure crossed their path. Death. And he felt cheated. But Death was cunning. He congratulated the three brothers upon their magic, and promised to gift the trio for having been clever enough to evade him.

The eldest brother, Antioch Peverell, asked for a wand to beat all other wands. So, Death created one.

The second brother, Cadmus Peverell, wished to show he'd bested Death even more so than his elder brother, so asked for the power to recall loved ones who'd passed on. Made from the stone plucked out of the depths of the river, Death handed the stone over before turning to the third brother.

The youngest, Ignotus Peverell, asked for the power to leave their meeting, and to never be followed by Death. To which he was given a cloak, of Death's own.

The elder brother went on to kill a man he had fought with, bragging of the wand he'd been gifted. He was slain that night, killed for the Hallow. And so Death claimed the life of the first brother.

The second brother returned home, summoning up the girl he'd once wished to marry before her sudden death appeared. Yet she grew sad, for she did not belong in the wizarding world. So if she were to not stay within his realm, he decided to journey to hers. And so Death took the second brother.

As for the last brother. Well, Death searched and searched, but he was hidden under the being's gift. It wasn't until he willingly shed the cloak, passing it on to his son, that the third brother allowed Death to take him, greeting him as an old friend."

The girl flexed her fingers, which at some point during the story had coiled into a fist. The larger, thick hand of his nephew came to rest upon the girl's as the dwarves went about digesting the story they had just been told.

The thought that Death was a being that could appear before oneself was a somewhat difficult mouthful to swallow, but Thorin pushed that thought back. A cloak that could hide one from Death itself, a very powerful artefact to have.

However, that did not explain why the girl could turn invisible in the blink of an eye.

At his nod, Harry took a sip of her water from the cup placed before her, then carried on.

"The wand was lost to history, while the stone and the cloak was passed down through the family line. To cut the story short, I ended up getting my hands on all three of them, and when I passed through to this world, they merged with me, so to speak."

"So you can speak to the dead then?" Dori looked highly disturbed at the thought.

But Thorin knew that he felt otherwise. That almost everyone around the table felt otherwise. To speak to his parents, to his grandfather, to Frerin once more.

The very idea set something rampaging about in his chest, clawing behind his ribcages were it was locked away.

But it only took one look at the girl's face to know that wasn't true, that she didn't hold that power anymore, if she ever did. He briefly recalled her teasing Fili that he'd never have to worry about meeting her parents, and a pang of sympathy echoed through his chest. She was an orphan, parentless and had been so long enough to mention them casually in conversation.

So deep in his thoughts, Thorin completely missed what the girl said next.

Almost all of them did, but Balin.

"Excuse me lass? Could you repeat that?"

Harry looked away from the lot of them, but Thorin could still see her face from where he was sat. Her cheeks were burning a brilliant red, teeth running along her lower lip. He was still trying to figure out what he'd just heard, the tale he'd just been told sounded too tale to be real. On the same level of their creation in all honesty, but this was magic. Who was he to question the origins, the facts he'd just been told?

"I said I gave up that power so that I could be considered an honorary dwarf... It means I'll have the same lifespan and... And be able to bare dwarven children too. The one thing I've been sure of since childhood was that I wanted a family of my own. My parents died with I was fifteen months old, to give up the ability to speak to them was tough, but I don't regret it. Morn it, yes. Regret? Never."

Harry suddenly found herself bundled up within Fili's hands, and Thorin could honestly not blame the boy. She'd given up the chance to forever be able to speak to her dead parents, the loved ones long past, in order to build a future.

The girl had completely thrown her lot in with Fili, and if that hadn't been obvious by the fact she'd travelled across two worlds to be with him, then right now, he was sure.

Any true doubt he'd had of the girl's intentions died right then and there, watching as his nephew hastily whispered beneath his breath if her words were the truth and the girl nodded in response.

Kili was grinning from ear to ear, elbowing his brother in the ribs none too delicately with a truly ridiculous grin on his face, muttering something that Thorin didn't catch but made Fili's face burn crimson.

Meeting Balin's eyes across the table, the King Under the Mountain to be gave a low nod.

He'd reserve true judgement of the girl until the reclaiming of Erebor, something that she'd clearly earned. He would be fair in his assessment, but unless she did something truly traitorous, he couldn't see any reason to not accept the girl into the mountain stronghold.

"Lady Harry, Nori shall accompany you to the armoury. We leave three hours prior to dawn."

Shuffling nervously from foot to foot, Fili grimaced, running a hand through his wild blond hair and scowling some more.

He didn't like Harry being off in the town of men with none but Nori to protect here. It wasn't that he doubted the thief, or that he doubted Harry at all, but he'd have felt much better if the girl had allowed another to accompany her.

She was just so fragile looking, what with her high cheekbones, pale lips and large eyes. Her limbs were too soft and supple, her body too slender to really provide much power in battle. He knew that her magic would protect her, that when the moment of truth came she would fight tooth and nail not only for herself, but for him, for all of them if it came down to it.

But that didn't stop him from feeling that this was wrong, that he shouldn't have let her go off to steal from the men no matter how good a job she'd done playing the thief in her own world.

What if they did get caught though?

Harry was of dwarven height, but her build was somewhere between the men and the elves. They wouldn't dare to try anything with her would they?

Ferocious anger bubbled up in his stomach at the very thought, but before he could go tearing off after his One, Uncle's plan be damned, the thieving duo appeared around the corner, looking both sneaky and triumphant.

Between their company, they had two medium sized boats that Thorin had bartered form Bard in exchange for the weapons they had been promised instead. Seven in one, Eight in the other. Well, weight wise it was pretty much equal, seeing as Harry was the extra addition and paired with Bilbo, they almost came to the same weight as a dwarf.

Not quite, but close enough to even things out.

"Did you run into any trouble?" Uncle Thorin had grabbed Nori's attention the second he returned, so Fili was more than free to see to Harry.

The girl was grinned, cheeks flushed red and a delighted little twinkle in her eyes that said all had gone well. He'd been feeling a bit guilty, about the fact they were stealing from the men before Harry had began noting things.

The guards were dressed well, the closer to the 'Master's' house, the better. The Master also appeared to have a great deal of money that he was most certainly not using to help the people of his kingdom out.

Coming from the Blue Mountains, where Uncle had made sure that everyone was fed, watered and had a roof over their heads, Fili had felt sick to his stomach. Perhaps he'd not really accepted how good of a leader his uncle was until now, until he'd seen the depravity that some could sink to.

All the guilt of stealing from the Master of Laketown was long gone now.

"No trouble, with that ability and bag the lass 'as, easiest job I've 'ad in a long time."

Uncle Thorin gave a low nod, gesturing for Nori to fill up the last open spot on the boat that rested to the left as he turned his gaze on the two of them.

Fili straightened, noting that Harry did the same thing from the corner of his eyes.

"We should arrive at shore by sun-rise... Well done Lady Harry."

Harry grinned, rocking back on her heels and it was only thanks to his quick reflexes that the girl didn't take a dip, underestimating how close to the edge she'd been.

Uncle wasn't quite able to hide the grin that twitched at his lips and Fili couldn't help but to respond with one of his own. Stealthy little imp or not, Harry's grace never seemed to stick around as long as it should.

But thinking on the stumbling, sleepy being that'd come down the stairs this morning, Fili decided he didn't mind either way.

Waking up to Harry's face every morning would be well worth the reward of preventing any accidental midnight swims she was inclined to attempt.

Kili's words from earlier that day came back with a vengeance and Fili wrestled with his blood, attempting to keep his cheeks from reddening, regardless of the fact it was night. Dwarves had good vision in the dark, how else would they manage their tunnels so deep in the mountain if they didn't?

But still, the thought that Harry could actually bare his child, an idea that hadn't even crossed his mind until now, sent his stomach flipping.

Maybe in a few years, when they'd had time to adjust to a life in Erebor and just enjoy finding each other and cementing their status as official Ones.

Though it was a somewhat anxious thought, children, offspring, it was as pleasing as it was scary.

And if he held a tired Harry a little closer on the boat ride, then who was there to really notice?

I'm so very sorry that this took so damningly long. I've just been on a massive block with this story, and I'm still not sure if I'm over it, but I powered through for this chapter to be presented to you as it is now. Forgive and enjoy?

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Preview of the next chapter

"It's no good, if he puts any more weight on that leg then I won't be able to repair it until I have full control over my magic again, and that could take years."

A frustrated groan passed through Fili's lips before he could stop it. They were so close, half a day's travel away at best, but the terrain was exceedingly uneven. So of course, out of all of them, it was stubborn as a mountain Kili, Kili who insisted he was quite find to hobble along on his own, that sprained his leg and agitated his wound even more.

Thorin let out a very long exhale, eyes drifting between the three of them before finally her turned his gaze to Fili once again.

"I can rely on you to carry your brother and meet us near the entrance as soon as you are able."

They were getting left behind. Well, not left behind, but the others were going on ahead. And while Fili knew it was logical, knew that they were on a deadline, it didn't stop it from stinging.

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So, thoughts on this?

Tsume
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