"So began a battle that none had expected; and it was called the Battle of Five Armies … Upon one side were the Goblins and the Wild Wolves, and upon the other were Elves and Men and Dwarves."
-The Hobbit, chapter XVII: The Clouds Burst
Shortly after the birds had finished singing, Harriet noticed it; there was change upon the wind. Something was stirring and Beorn had become agitated. She did not know the exact reason but she felt it, all of the animals felt it.
Something was not quite right.
Beorn was preparing for something and she wanted to know what it was.
"You are leaving," she said told him bluntly.
"The foul creatures of the Wild are moving. They are massing, preparing for something nasty."
Harriet frowned slightly. "Should I be worried?"
"They do not come this way," said he. Then, "no, whatever their foul plans I shall go to meet them!"
Harriet's frown became more pronounced. Should she go with him? Was she ready to go off facing danger head on, again? So soon after she had started to come to terms with her losses? Would Beorn alone be able to handle such large numbers?
Would she sacrifice her latest 'us'?
In the end, honor, and gratitude toward her host, and a healthy dose of her saving people thing, won out. "I will go with you. There is some aid I might give you."
It was Beorn's turn to frown. "Little birdies do not need to go to war, for war I bring against these foul creatures of the world."
"I am not always so little and I have my own ways of defending myself."
"Ha! You cannot even wield an ax!" And it was true, she had tried and failed miserably, to her host's endless pleasure.
In answer, Harriet reached into her ever present satchel, summoned her wand, and sent a silent reducto at a stump of wood, reducing it to small bits and pieces.
For a time, Beorn was speechless.