AN: Sorry everyone; I have very sick for many weeks, I am not well enough to give you this chapter. Plus I have gotten myself a Betta for this story; thanks, poncho.
A Wish Across the Stars
Lady Countryrose
Ch. 9
Smaug had spent a few days in Dal, helping the humans rebuild their home by doing repairs only a dragon could do. He had then spent a couple of days in the Lonely Mountain dwelling near Hermione's room. Only to have to take off once more deliver the starlight gems in Mirkwood, where he was to leave them with an elf of the woodland realm.
He could then finally make his way back to the mountain once more, where he found Hermione, once again in her room, but this time with a very powerful lock upon the door.
Smaug, wondering why she would have done such a thing, started glancing around for any threats or other things out of the ordinary, only to find Thorin Oakenshield, nearly concealed by shadow, starting at her door.
Smaug then turned back towards the door and asked in that loud clear voice of his, "Female, what is the meaning of this?"
After a moment of silence, the doors were thrown open and Hermione looking haggard, as if she had just gone through one of her exams, came storming out exclaiming, "Oh, thank goodness!"
"What has happened in my absence?" Growled out Smaug, he was starting to lose his temper with her.
The woman before him smiled, "I've been locking myself in here, ever since you left to help the other races of Middle Earth." She glanced around for a moment. "I think there is something wrong with Thorin, he believes that I should have been his woman or something, he was hoping that the marriage bracelets wouldn't have worked or that you would not have been able to turn human. I don't know, but I have a feeling that we should leave soon."
The dragon; after hearing what she had to say, glanced down the hall once more, to where he had previously had seen Thorin, only to discover that the dwarf king had been long gone. Smaug knew then that it was time for them to leave. He had done everything in his power to make up for the time that he had spent taking what was not his. But he had yet to find a place for him and his female to live. He would have to get her out of the mountain, sometime during the night, once most of the Dwarves would be asleep or too tired to grasp what they were doing.
Smaug reached out with one of his claws and enclosed Hermione within, as if he was trying to hold her, letting her know that he was there and he was not going to leave her. He brought her to his face, where he could rub his nose upon her, letting the smell of her reassure him that she was alright and had remained unharmed in his absence. He knew he was possessive; it was part of being a dragon after all, along with the face that he was also an alpha in his own right.
"Have you found anything within your books, female?"
He heard a massive sigh coming from her, massive enough for him to push his hand away from his face, to where he would be able to look her in the eyes, only for him to see the great disappointment within them.
"No, I haven't," stated Hermione. "How were you able to become human, the last time?"
The dragon chuckled; he knew she was not going to like his answer, "I simply wished to be one at that moment in time."
Hermione had given him a glare; saying, "If it is so simple! Then wish to become a shapeshifter or an animagus, so that you can be a dragon or human, whenever you wanted!" The second she stopped speaking, she let out a gasp of realization, he had the capability all along, simply by wishing it, why had she not realized earlier, she did not know.
Smaug smirked down at his little female, "I will try wishing later, but first we will have to get out of here, tonight. While everyone is asleep, this way they'll be none the wiser."
Hermione sadly asked, "Where would we go?"
The dragon glanced around for a moment, making sure they were still alone before answering, "We will find out later, go back into the room and pack everything that we may need. Don't worry about the food, we will find that out in the wild."
Hermione nodded and went into her room, where she found her beaded bag and started shoving things into it. While she was doing so she thought about the future with her dragon, would she be happy once they were far and away from the others? Would she need to make him clothes, for his time as a human? She then picked up all the books that she had used to find her answers, she packed the ones that she had brought with her and left the ones that she had borrowed from the Dwarves.
Smaug still laying by her door; asked, "What would you like to do, after everything . . ?"
Hermione smiled, "I never knew what I wanted to do with my life," she said with a faraway look upon her face, as she was still packing things. "I never thought I would live long enough to even save my best friend, much less long enough to have to think about a life after the war."
Smaug grumbled, "Yeeesss, I know." The dragon looked like he could slip right back into this old self, the one that would gladly eat those that stood in his way.
Hermione shivered as she glanced up and saw that side of him, the one that she should fear, regardless of him being nice to her.
"Don't worry female, I'm not angry with you," stated the fire breather. "I'm just angry with how life has always treated me, nothing close to happiness, and it is getting weary upon me. If I didn't have you in my life, I would have died, again!"
Hermione had shoved her bag into her pocket before making her way back to her dragon, who she hugged at his nose, for she knew that it would calm him down once he could smell her upon him. And it did indeed help him. He calmed down and allowed Hermione to pet his scales. He purred more when she rubbed him in some places more than others; like, near his eyes and ears, it relaxed him even more.
Hermine knew what she was doing could be dangerous, but Smaug needed to calm down, his thoughts were becoming too dark for her to even focus on anything else. She did not want him to start killing people again; not now, when she no longer feared him, knowing he had a different side to him. She agreed that they needed to get away from the Lonely Mountain soon, for she feared that things would be a lot less peaceful now that Smaug would be staying with her once again.
She moved away from her dragon, once she knew he had calmed down, and made her way back into her room to look around for other things that they might need.
"Thank you," said Smaug. It almost sounded like it pained him to say something like that to anyone. "I don't know what I would do, without you being there for me."
Hermione smiled sadly, "I guess a pair of misguided people makes great company, right about now. Neither one of us should be here, but we are, and in a way; I'm glad." She found some clothes of hers that had made their way under the bed and reached for them, causing Smaug to get a good view of her rear. "Things could be worse than what they are, but it is just a new adventure."
With a glazed look upon his face; Smaug smirked, "Yeah, a new adventure." He had to shake his head to get his brain back to where it needed to be. He was going through places in his mid, where he would be able to go with Hermione, and still be able to live. He had to cross many places off from his mental list already; places like Gondor, Mordor, Rhun, Mirkwood, and the Shire were out of the question, as well as Rivendell.
He had had his fair share of putting up with the elves. The thought alone nearly caused him to shiver; he had more than enough of the elf version of Lucius Malfoy already. He wished he had not run into him while being in Middle Earth. Then a thought came to him, what about the sea? He then glanced towards Hermione and asked, "How would you like to live at the sea?"
The caused Hermione to look up from what she was doing and gave him a thoughtful look, "I've always loved the sea." She had that faraway look upon her face again. "I don't remember why, though; maybe it's because I like the sound."
If Smaug was back at Earth with Hermione; he would have done everything to find Atlantis, and have the two of them live there. Then he went through places that they could live; places that he had heard about and places that he had flown over, there was quite a lot of land that was not inhabited by any race of people. There was an island to the far west, called Himling; he will take Hermione there, for he knew that peace would not last within the land. It never does; for unrest was part of life, all things seemed to enjoy the masculinity of war.
War was an art of masculine strength, agility, a way of thinking, and the alphas over the omegas. In the time that Smaug has been a dragon; he learned this, was reformed by it, and lived by it. War was never something to laugh about or take lightly. He was going to take Hermione away from all of that, it was no place for a woman like her. He saw how it had changed a woman like Bellatrix LeStrange; a beautifully refined girl, who wanted to follow in the footsteps of the great psychopath that he had become. Smaug did not want that done to Hermione; he was going to treat her like a queen, one who could even rule over him.
He heard movement from over his left shoulder; the one facing away from Hermione's room and turned his head around, so he could see who was coming. He was that it was the elder dwarf, the one that Hermione had called Balin.
The elder dwarf gave the dragon a worried looking smile, "How have you been, Lord Dragon?"
Smaug grumbled before replying, "What do you want, dwarf?"
The elder dwarf stopped a few feet in front of the dragon; to where Smaug was able to see him, without straining his neck to do so. "Hermione is going to have to leave here soon."
"How so," Smaug asked suspiciously.
"I think Thorin may not be himself at the moment, he sees her as some kind of prize since she helped with keeping him alive, amongst other things." Balin glanced around; hoping that no one but the dragon could hear him, "Please, you must get her out of here! I don't want to see anyone harmed, the war has already made me live with such pain."
Smaug had done this own watchful glances as he answered the elder dwarf, "I'm planning on taking her out of her, tonight; while many of you are fast asleep."
"Understood; I'll bring a bit of stew for her to eat before the two of you need to leave."
"Acceptable," answered Smaug; who nodded for the elder dwarf to leave. After Balin had walked around the corner; he stuck his head into Hermione's room, "Stew will be making its way to you, soon."
"Good, I'm starved!"
This caused the dragon to laugh, as he watched her walk around the little room that she was in; enjoying the sight before him, as he waited for their time to leave.
