AN: Sorry the long awaited chapter. I hope that you're still enjoying the story.

A Wish Across the Stars

Lady Countryrose

Ch. 10

Smaug had made his moved that night. Like he had told Balin, he had waited until nightfall for him and Hermione to leave. What he had not planned, was Balin coming to him again and lead the two across the caverns to the front door. That was where the two had found out that he was lookout that night.

"Are you sure about this," hissed Hermione in soft tones. "Thorin isn't going to come along and catch us, is he?"

"No," Balin shook his head. "I gave him and the rest a sedative for sleep." He gave a sad look. "Neither one of them have been sleeping well lately. I believe it is one of the reasons that Thorin hasn't been himself."

Smaug grumbled, "We should go before any one of them starts to wake."

"Goodbye, Balin. You have been the best of Dwarves." Hermione hugged him before climbing onto the dragon's back.

The Dwarf teared up, "Thank you, dear."

The dragon crawled out of the opening of the mountain hole. 'It's time that I take my new treasure to another place.' He looked towards the mountain, once more. 'I was getting tired of the Dwarven treasure and mountain. It's time for the sea.'

"Where are we going," asked Hermione; as she looked towards the night sky.

"No where near anything that you have known before." He stretched out his wings. "We are going to a place that I know that would be away from danger. From the darkness, from anything that could harm us."

"Sounds wonderful," she sighed deeply. "I don't know about you, Tom. But I'm dune with war."

"Good, because I don't plan to start one."

Smaug flapped his wings; he started off slow, for Hermione to get use to the movement of air. Then he flapped faster and faster, until he was able to push himself into the night air. He felt Hermione leaning into his back, onto his neck. He could feel his heartbeat from his neck and it was one of the calming things in his life.

"The stars, no matter where you are. They make feel like a child again. Believing that they are diamonds sparkling or angels watching you as you travel."

"Hmm . . ." Smaug turned towards the west, smelling the sweet smell coming from there. "I have never thought about that before."

"Tell me, Tom." He heard her question within her statement and did not take any offence in her tone. "What were your beliefs as a child, other than rule the world?"

The dragon chuckled, "Oh you had to ask." He shook his head, by tilting his head 90 degrees one way and 90 degrees the other. "I dreamed to have a home by the sea. Something that any wife would be happy to live there with me. I wanted to have a happy family, above anything else."

He sighed deeply, "I went to my father's home. Not wanting to kill him, but to see if I would have a father." He clawed the air. "But what I got was my grandparents demanding that I would leave and to never come back. Voicing that if I did, they would call the police. I was going to leave, but grandmother accused my mother to be a witch for making her son to get her pregnant."

"I can imagine that being hard on you," voiced Hermione.

"It was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I killed every one of them, sending each into my horcruxes. Hoping that they could spend their time in hell for what they did to my mother."

"Tom," she asked softly. "Do you know anything about your mother? Anything at all?"

"Yeah," his body rumbled his reply. "I found a journey from the orphanages' office, during World War II. When I came back for summer break. I found that the whole building was evacuated and nearly destroyed."

"That must be a cold welcome?"

"Yes it was, sadly none of the professors knew about the muggle war. If they had, they would have kept the students at the school." He growled lowly. "I just wish I could have turn back time and tell the Headmaster at the time. To look into the muggle world for the safety of the students."

"You were Head Boy then?"

"No, just a year shy but I was an outstanding student. I had more pull than most students, even while in Slytherin."

Hermione felt that the confrontation was getting closer towards the darker areas. So she asked, "What are your dreams now?"

The dragon laughed, "Oh; my Death Eaters were right about you. Always full of questions." He smiled to himself, something that he hardly ever done in either world. "I can say that my dreams are a bit different than they were on Earth. But I must say, some are far better than others."

"If we were on Earth and we were in school together. Do you think we would have known each other?"

Smaug huffed, "Wow that is a question." He saw some campfires from a distance but manage to steer away from them, not wanting to battle with anyone. "We might have known of one another, knowing Hogwarts scheduling. But would we have been acquaintances, I doubt it if I were in Slytherin."

"I was almost in Ravenclaw, the hat and I had a long heated talk about it. But I wanted to stand out and I did while I was in Gryffindor but I also made many angry with me." She giggled. "Even Draco Malfoy was angry that I wasn't in Ravenclaw."

"I know, he wanted a reason to talk to you." Smaug smirked, "He didn't want his father to know that he had a crush on you. But I knew, why else would he complain about you so."

"Really, wow I didn't notice. All I had ever felt for him was disdain." Hermione leaned over to one side, only enough to see the landscape below. She could tell that the trees looked healthier than the ones from a hundred or so miles behind them. "How long do you think for us to reach the sea?"

"Don't know," he replied. "It depends on the current of the air and how much I'm straining on my wings." Smaug took a whiff of the air. "For me, it wouldn't take long. Maybe two more days or so. I do need time to rest in between long flights and to eat of course."

"Of course, sorry I don't know all about dragons." She chuckled. "Charlie Weasley would have been the best person to talk to about this."

"Oh yes, the dragon refuge Weasley." Smaug shook his head. "He was the only Weasley I had never really had issues with. He stayed away from England and far away from my followers. But the ones who had managed to find themselves on the dragon reserve. He had found someone who did not judge but helped out when needed. He saved one of men before they were burnt alive from a firebreather."

"Wow, Ron never really talks about him. I wonder why?"

"Easy, wizards are afraid of dragons. Especially the big ones."

"Yes, I can imagine so. I have seen four at the Triwizard tournament."

Smaug chuckled, "I wished I had seen Potter's face when he had to face his dragon."

"Not me," Hermione hissed harshly. "It was one of the scariest moments of my life." Her body shivered. "I don't want to see either of those dragons ever again, in my life."

The dragon turned his head to where one of his eyes could see her. "What about me?"

"Tom," she smiled gracefully towards him. "Unlike those dragons, I'm able to talk to you. Plus, your intelligence is valued."

When Smaug was about to add any more into the conversation. He heard a whizzing fly by his ear. Something they he knew well enough, someone was shooting an arrow towards them. He stopped in midflight, growling towards the ground. Only to find an elf standing on a rock ledge looking at him, without another arrow aligned on the bow.

"We got company," grumbled Smaug. He angled his wings and made his way down, onto the ground below. Knowing that the elf would find his way down to them. "It looks like an elf wants to talk to us."

When the two had reached the ground, Hermione crawled down. Allowing her feet the touch the solid Middle Earth once more. But a part of her, yearned for the sky.

"Where the two of you off to," asked the elf before them.

"Prince Legolas," stated Smaug with a worry sounding voice. "I must ask, why would I tell you?"

The blonde elf smirked, "Just wanted to know where the great dragon would go?"

Smaug turned his head towards Hermione, who spoke up. "You might at as well change form. Then he might stop calling you dragon, Tom."

"If that is your wish, I will." Smaug closed his eyes for a moment. A flash later, his form was of a noble looking man. "Now you see, Prince Legolas. I am simply not a dragon."

"It would seem," Legolas gave a smirk. He then turned towards the young woman. "My father was right about you, you are more than what it meets the eye. Tell me, did you have a hand in this?"

"I have no amount of knowledge that would change a dragon's form. No," she turned her eyes towards Tom. "It's all him."

Legolas smirked, "Okay, keep your secrets. But I would like to know, where are the two of you going. I won't tell anyone, if that is what you're worried about."

Hermione sighed, "If you must know. We are heading to the sea." She walked over to Tom and wrapped her arm around him. "He wanted to go somewhere that is more quiet than what he was given in life."

The elf prince glanced the area that they were in. He heard a distant sound of paws walking through the woods. "I guess, even a dragon deserves a bit of peace." He turned to the two of them. "I have a guess that you have just left the Lonely Mountain."

"Yes," stated Tom with a whimsical sound in voice. Which kind of made Hermione shiver at her knees. "I wanted to get as far away from that Dwarf Oakenshield." When he huffed a bit of smoke came out of his nose. "He wanted to take Hermione away from me."

The blonde prince gave a smug look, "I wouldn't be one of those that want your woman. But I would like to believe that we were friends. Which I hope that I am yours."

Hermione gave Tom a look, the kind that told him to take the elf's word on it. The man turned towards the elf, "It's agreeable to be acquaintances."

"Now that we have come to an agreement, shall we sit down and share a bit of fire. If my calculations are correct, it has been many years since you flew great distances." He waved his arm towards a small fire that he had going. "Please, come sit."

The two came and sat down around the small fire. Tom wrapped his arm around Hermione, knowing that it was something that she needed at the time. She leaned into him and fell asleep. He did not realize that time had passed by to where it had tired her out.

"She needed sleep," stated the blonde.

"Yeah," stated Tom that sounded distant. "There may be something going on with with her. Something that I may have helped caused." He brought her onto his lap, to where she snuggled up to him better. "I think she may be with child."

Legolas glanced towards Hermione with a worried look on his face. "If that is so, then that child will be the most powerful being in the world." The elf whistled softly. "That's a good thing that you're taking your woman into hiding. You wouldn't want the wrongful people to get to her or the child." He shook his head. "I will keep your secret."

Legolas glanced towards Tom with worry in his eyes. "But I would like to travel with you, so I could help protect you and her." He grumbled softly, as he looked towards the woods. "Even from my father and whoever else that may hold a treat to you two."

Tom sighed, "I guess we could use a bit of help." He looked into Hermione's face. "If I believe that she is with child, then we are going to need acquaintances to help us out from time to time. I can't rely on her for magic all the time."

"Then don't, you seem to have your own magic to rely on as well." Legolas gave smirk. "From experience of knowing dragons, I don't know any of them having magic."

"Lucky me," grumbled Tom. His own eyes grazed towards the woods. "I was born different."

"Don't be like that, you should be grateful knowing that you are different. You're the only dragon who has a heart. Which is something that I must say, is something grand." His eyes glanced towards Hermione. "And she is the cause of such a heart, which makes it that much dangerous."

"Yeah, for everyone that involved." Tom sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "For the first time. I just pray that everyone in the world would think I am more dangerous than their need of power."

The two seemed to have come to an agreement. Each one of them had their own hopes for the coming future. Which neither one of them hopes that would turn against them.