Star Wars: I have several fics up, on going and finished, please consider reading and reviewing if you Star Wars?
AsphodelRose87: Catching Fire During An Unexpected Journey inspired this story which inspired Deadly Belladonna. If you are looking for your next Hobbit fix look to AsphodelRose87
Thank you, Theo! For Betaing. Reminder: The Hobbit was my first book, I've read it dozens of times, however, I do end up quoting the movies, because they are fun.
Chapter 8 - The Dragon's Treasure
In the end, they dug up Dumbledore's grave, Headmistress Susan Bones saying it was stupid to keep such an object in an obvious spot anyway.
With a flick of Harry's wrist, he was tossed bodily out of the high tower, luckily there was no glass this time.
When he swooped back in on kestrel wings and landed on two feet, the Elderwand splintered in his loose grip. Susan was scowling at him.
Harry smiled slightly, finding he didn't at all care about the wand and he could tell that Hermione was clearly fighting not to laugh at him.
And Teddy, his beautiful and wonderful son, was outright laughing at him.
"Maybe it's time for you to retire," Susan said, straight faced.
It was Harry's turn to glower at her, "My magic isn't gone it's-"
"Growing," Hermione said, "which at the tender age of ninety shouldn't be possible."
Teddy shook his head, "Really, Dad, how do plan to teach mere mortals-"
Harry pointed his finger at the boy whose hair turned an amused lilac, "You are not too old to ground."
Teddy laughed harder.
Susan shook her head, "He's right, Harry, you can't teach your classes like this."
But Hermione had that look in her eyes, and Harry, like the teenager he had once been, looked to her for help.
"Perhaps," she said, "A staff might work."
"A staff?" Harry asked.
"Like Merlin?" Teddy asked excitedly.
"I thought Merlin had a wand," Harry mused.
"He had both a wand and a staff," Hermione said, "It will take us a while to either acquire one or find someone who can make one, they are incredibly rare."
"And useless," Susan said, crossing her arms.
Hermione shook her head, "Only if you don't have the power to wield one."
"What do I do until then? Defense Against the Dark Arts is too important of a subject to cancel classes for," Harry said.
Susan smirked, "I'll teach it."
He frowned at her, "But you're busy and the Assistant Headmaster—"
"You can be Headmaster," Susan said, "I was thinking of retiring, but this? I would love to go back to truly teaching again."
Hermione and Teddy laughed at the sour expression Harry made as he glared at them, "I never wanted—"
"Do you want to leave Hogwarts?" Susan cut in.
"No," he said, a tad bit grumpy.
Hermione smiled at him, "And who said he would never get involved with politics or roles of major leadership and influence?"
Harry flipped her off.
Teddy burst out laughing again, near cackling, and even Susan laughed.
There was a hoot, and Harry spun as a snowy owl glided over to him.
Hermione blinked at the young owl and asked in shock, "Hedwig?"
Harry nodded as the owl purged on his shoulder, glared at the room with reproachful amber eyes, and stuck out her leg for him.
"Whose it from, Dad? Is it Aunt Luna?" Teddy asked.
Harry nodded as his eyes ran over the paper, and he smiled, "She's made some new friends."
Harry had just lost his position and gained more responsibilities than he had ever wanted in his life again, but this message made him feel better.
Luna was finding out who she was and where she belonged, and he could think of no one who deserved it more.
Luna found the end of the river and despite the glamour, despite the unknown of the terrain, she knew time was running short. Thorin and his company would be reaching the mountain soon and because Durin's Day would soon be upon them, they couldn't afford to delay.
When she got to the great lake, knowing that going in one direction, thanks to Bilbo's maps, she would reach Laketown, she decided to do something fit for Harry Potter.
The cold from the mountain hadn't bothered her so far, and even in the icy waters, she had every reason to believe it wouldn't bother her now either.
Tying her elven cloak around her waist, because really, the cloak, despite its simple fashion was beautiful, and put her shirt back over it. She did this so the cloak, even waterlogged, wouldn't be dragging on her neck.
Then she dove into the lake, and began swimming.
It took a long time, and she had to pause to rest on ice blocks or rock croppings every so often. She discovered that though the water and temperature didn't affect her much, even if she could still tell it was cold and uncomfortably so, it was hunger that made her belly ache.
She didn't have any money, but hopefully she could beg something off the townspeople.
Luna arrived at Laketown when the sun was setting, and chilled to the bone, she dragged herself onto one of the docks like an elder seal. Her heart was racing as she stared up at the cloudy sky painted in pink and orange from the dying sunlight.
She laid there and just breathed, having some regrets as again her stomach twisted. Swimming was hungry work.
Staggering to her feet and feeling not unlike a drowned cat, she made her way into the ramshackled town that was held up on stilts above, or not so above the water in some places.
The people here seemed rather depressed and self-centred, and she realized how long it had been since she had seen men, how different they were from elves, dwarves, and hobbits. She was so distracted by her own observations and the soden fabric chilling against her skin, colder than being submerged in the water, that she didn't notice the man lurking in an alley.
A man with a flap-eared hat, greedy eyes, and rotten teeth grabbed her arm, pulling her into the shadows and began to reach for her pants.
She was too cold to summon fire, too tired to truly fight back even as she reached to claw at his face, to push back from him.
Luna screamed.
She hated men.
But as fate would have it, it was a man who came to her rescue pulling the lech off her by the hair and throwing him bodily into the river.
She spat at the man whose head came out of the water-gasping, lips already blue from the cold. She stomped on his fingers and kicked him in the face as he tried to get back on the docks. He plunged back into the water and the next time he came up for air, he was more frantic, less sure of how to get out.
"Come, this way," the man who had rescued her beckoned, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Luna followed, eager to get away from this conflict.
"My name is Bard," the man said, his long dark hair framed handsome brown eyes that looked at her with care.
"Thank you, Bard," she managed, before saying, "My name's Luna Lovegood."
He smiled at her, "You're a bit too fair to be from these parts, and I don't believe I recognize your accent." He directed her up some stairs, "This is my home, you are welcome to stay the night with me and my family."
Somewhat reluctantly, she followed, but she relaxed when she entered the well loved home and the man behind her was greeted by three loving children.
The three children—who introduced themselves as Bain, Tilda, and Sigrid—looked at her curiously.
Luna smiled at them, "My name is Luna, I'm from the West, and I cannot thank you enough for your kindness."
Tilda laughed, "We played host to a company of dwarves, you are more than welcome."
Luna paused, "Thorin has been through here? Was Bilbo with them? Were they all alright?"
"You've been travelling with dwarves?" Bard asked warily.
"And a hobbit, though many call them halflings," she agreed.
Bard shook his head, "Strange times indeed."
"I think I have some clothes that should fit you," Tilda said, "My sister and brother will have dinner set by the time you change."
Luna nodded her thanks and not half an hour later, she found herself dry and eating a cooked meal.
"How did you get to Laketown?" Bard asked.
She smiled at him warmly and didn't give him a straight answer, "I have my ways."
She was exhausted and found no difficulties in falling asleep in a strange bed tucked in beside the two girls who shared a bed only somewhat bigger than a single person bed.
Exhausted enough that she didn't realize that the day of her arrival was Durin's day, but was reminded to her when they were all woken late into the night by the mad ringing of the alarm bell.
Cries went up around them, "Dragon!"
Luna woke up, "Smaug!"
Bilbo looked out into the night, watching Smaug soar toward Laketown.
He knew they should have waited for Luna.
And as the horror of what was about to befall the people of Dale, his one spot of positivity was knowing that Luna, even lost in Mirkwood, possibly recaptured by the elves, would be safe from the dragon.
Luna watched Bard take down the arrow from his ceiling, and she stopped him, "I'll distract him. I'll give you time for the shot."
"Distract him how?" Bard asked him, "You're just a girl-"
"I have ridden dragons before, I know dragons, but this one is ill. You only have one shot, you are just going to have to trust me."
"You're insane," he told her.
"And I'm also a friend of wizards. If you want to end Smaug and save your people, you're going to have to trust me."
Bard hesitated then nodded, "When legends come alive, I suppose."
"Where is your station?" she asked.
He pointed to a scaffolding tower with a bell.
She nodded and instructed, "Don't draw attention to yourself."
Then she scaled the buildings and dilapidated houses as easily as tree trunks. Taking in a deep breath, she bellowed out into the night sky atop the tallest building she could to the side and front of the tower, "Smaug the Mighty! I have words for you!"She raised her hand and with all the power she had left in her from the Lands of Exile, she shot a thin flare of fire into the sky. She felt that almost all of that power was spent, soon she would not even be able to call a flicker of flame in her hands.
The drake spun in the air, no more plums of fire came as the dragon settled on the houses across from her.
If Smaug looked, turned his mighty head, then he would see Bard getting into position.
But he didn't, his full attention centred on her.
"Who dares demand words from me!?" the dragon roared, though Luna could tell he was amused, a very old creature that had been bored too long.
"I am the little moon who addressed the dragon carved from the jewels of the night sky," she called back to him.
The dragon chuckled, breathing in deeply, taking in her scent, he said in turn, "Little elfling, too young to be wondering from your wood, are you not?"
"I am a daughter of exile as was the wind that brought me back East beyond the western sea, from beyond the far western shores of the Valar."
Smaug hasiatated swaying back and forth before asking, "What wind could travel so far?"
"A fair drake, starlight to your midnight, she brought me home as she sought out her own, so long ago lost to her."
He climbed closer to her, crushing houses beneath his claws and weight, his tail lashing out was accompanied by the sundering of wooden homes.
"You taunt me, little elfling!"
"My name is Luna Lovegood," Luna countered, not backing down in fear, though she was close enough that one breath of fire would, as Bilbo's contract warned, melt her bones.
"Luna," Smaug repeated, then drawled, "Luna."
"Dragon friend am I," she said in riddle, "Who raised dragons from hatchling to elder, who rode on white wings as bright as moonlight, who released a drake, who released a friend. I am healer and moon, I offer peace, oh Great Smaug."
Smaug whipped his head back and forth, "Lost, lost a hatchling once. My mate, she was also starlight but faded, faded when man traveled too far north took what he should have not. Ran, ran beyond reach."
Luna's heart broke for him, "That's why darkness came?"
Why he had grown sick.
Dragons mated for life.
Smaug bowed his head, "Gold, the mountain, mine, it is all mine, I who lost what cannot be bought."
A hatchling.
"My friend, she took the name Ithilwen, like mine, it means moon."
The madness from those amber-serpentine gaze faded briefly, the sickness receding as he turned, arching his body up, wings thrown wide to look up at the silver moon above.
And Bard's arrow struck true.
Swallowing a sob, Luna leapt over rooftops as Smaug collapsed into the riverways.
Smaug did not fight his fate and when Luna dropped to the boarded walkways on light feet near the dragon's head, he did not even attempt to her.
She ran hand over the tightly grooved scales of his snout, tears in her eyes, "Oh Smaug, forgive me for my dissipation, I knew no other way to cure Dragon Sickness."
Smaug huffed out a warm breath, his great eye focusing on her, "No apologies, moonling, no cure exists. Cursed is the treasure of Erebor, cursed am I. Tell my hatchling, my Ithilwen, that we never willingly abandoned her."
Luna nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks, "I will."
Smaug sighed, gaze fleeting toward the starry sky, "It's enough."
Luna watched the fire fade from his eye as she bowed her head and continued to cry for the great creature that came to such a ruinness end.
Around her, men cheered, their own loved ones spared from a friery doom.
Bilbo was losing his mind with worry, both for Luna, and now Thorin, who grew ever more obsessive about finding the Arkenstone.
He was relieved as the others to see the dragon fall, but that relief was short lived when not days later Thorin pulled him aside to question the loyalty of his kinsmen.
Therefore, it was with great joy that Luna, who appeared from nowhere, tapped him on the shoulder.
He spun and upon seeing her fair face exclaimed, "Luna!"
She grinned down at him, her wild moon-blonde hair looking very clean, and her blue pants and baby-blue vest looking newer than the day he had first met her. The white undershirt was looking a bit worse for wear, but her boots, well, they looked like the muck and weeks of travel had been washed away.
He thanked all the powers that be that she brought with her a large sack of foods, mainly potatoes and salted-dry fish. He was most excited about the potatoes.
The company called out a great cheer but before they were upon them, Bilbo whispered hurriedly to her, "I think Thorin is unwell."
Her smile fell but before she could answer, the rest of the company had joined them.
Even Thorin, who had been disturbed and greedy of the wealth about him, seemed more himself as they all celebrated that Luna was back with them.
A celebration that ended when a warning went up that they had guests at the gate.
Thorin argued with those below, refusing to give an inch, his greed and bloodlust clear in every word.
Bilbo was appalled by what he heard, and Luna was speechless as she watched the Dwarven King with wide blue eyes.
Bilbo tried to reason with him, "You made a promise to the people of Lake-town. Now is this treasure truly worth more than your honor? Our honor, Thorin. I was also there, I gave my word."
Thorin placed a warm hand on his shoulder and for a moment, Bilbo was hopeful as Thorin said, "For that, I'm grateful. It was nobly done. But the treasure in this Mountain does not belong to the people of Lake-town. This gold…is ours, and ours alone."
Dread filled Bilbo's gut, as he swore he almost heard Smaug's voice in the Dwarven King's voice and tone; "With my life I will not part with a single coin. Not one piece of it."
Luna was horrified.
The dragon had told her that the treasure of Erebor was cursed, but she hadn't believed that someone as true hearted as Thorin would fall prey to it.
She said nothing as she shadowed things.
She had told the dragon that she knew of no other way to free someone from such sickness.
The mere thought of her friend needing to be 'put down' made her physically ill, sorrow clouding her thoughts. She could feel the war coming, between dwarves and elves and possibly humans or whatever other evil would befall this place.
Thorin had forgotten his promise to help send her and Bilbo away once the dragon was defeated.
She almost didn't notice the chest of gems he threw open to show her, "The White gems of Lasgalen. I know an Elf-lord who will pay a pretty price for these."
The gems looked like stars, like light of water, she reached out to touch them, finding them hard and cold, but her fingers felt out a thin silver chain, though the metal felt both lighter and stronger than silver, and set in the chain was a single circle cut gem. In it, she saw slight imperfections that the others did not have.
"They are yours."
"What?" she asked, startling as she turned to look at Thorin.
He took the necklace from her fingers and made to put it on her.
She pulled back her hair for him, as his large hands easily worked the tiny clasp, the weight of it settling on her neck like it always belonged there.
"The gems are yours, your piece of the treasure, you more than deserve it."
Luna's heart sank, she didn't want any treasure, save for Thorin being himself. But she thanked him anyway, a plan forming in her mind as she gazed back down at the gems.
Haldir was rather amused when two figures stepped into the tent.
The first he almost mistook as child until he noted his feet and ears, a halfling who Gandalf heralded as "Bilbo Bagins!"
Elrond's sons greeted in unison the child behind him, "Luna!"
She smiled at them, her eyes of winter-sky and hair moonbright. She looked an instant like an elleth, beautiful and ethereal even among their kind. Even her voice was lyrical as greeted, "Elrohir, Elledan, Gandalf," an image shattered when her gaze fell on the seated Thranduil, and something like disgust crossed her features.
He saw that her ears were rounding and Haldir realized that she was too young to be an elleth.
"Ah," Thranduil greeted, "If I'm not mistaken, this is the Halfling who stole the keys to my dungeons from under the nose of my guards."
Bilbo shook his head, straightening his shoulders, "You can't go to war with the dwarves."
"The choice is up to us," Thrandruil said loftily.
"Hogwash," Luna snapped at the King.
Haldir smothered the impulse to smile as the King of Mirkwood rose to his feet to glare down at her.
Bilbo stopped whatever would have followed by revealing the package he had been carrying on the table.
The Arkenstone glowed with its light.
Thranduil breathed, "The Heart of the Mountain. The King's jewel."
The human bowman who had feld a dragon, Bard, said, "And worth a king's ransom." Crossing his arms he looked at Bilbo, "How is this yours to give?"
Bilbo lifted his chin, "I took it as my fourteenth share of the treasure."
Bard asked, "Why would you do this? You owe us no loyalty."
Bilbo frowned at him, "I'm not doing it for you. I know that Dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult. And suspicious and secretive with the worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they are also brave and kind and loyal to a fault. I've grown very fond of them, and I will save them if I can. But Thorin values this stone above all else. In exchange for its return, I believe he will give you what you were owed. There will be no need for war."
Haldir did smile at this, it was the kindest words he had ever heard of dwarves and he admired this halfling's love for his friends.
Thranduil shook his head, "Obstinate, you don't know them as I do. They will not bend for reason or threat."
Luna, the petite young woman, threw the sack that smelled of potatoes and fish she was carrying over her shoulder, directly at the elven king.
Haldir could only gape as the King had just enough time to brace before the sack hit him and a sparkle of light came out the top of the sack as Thranduil's legs hit his chair and he sat back hard and awkwardly.
The sparkle came from white gemstones.
Luna put her hands on her hips and said in an authoritative tone, "Those are mine to give. And I give them to you in the understanding that when morning comes you and your people will be gone from this place."
Thranduil held the sack awkwardly, looking up at her bewildered as he asked, "Why?"
Gandalf began to speak, but Luna held up a slight hand, silencing the wizard as she said, "Because Erebor is home of the dwarves and the treasure inside of it is meaningless, just as your purpose here, King Thranduil, is purposeless. No one should die for nothing."
Haldir was rather sure, in all the many ages he had seen pass, he had never met this girl's likeness.
Gandalf finally spoke, "There are other enemies—"
"More dwarves are coming, they can handle it," Luna said.
"No they can't."
She spun on the wizard, "Did you know about the entwives?"
Haldir felt his eyes go wide. The randomness of the topic raised every elf's interest who was present.
"The ents have long been searching for their entwives," Gandalf the Grey began.
"Well, I found them," Luna said. She turned back to the King, "And Legolas left to go get the ents so they could be united because I needed to help with Smaug."
Thranduil looked at her utterly bewildered, "My son-"
"Yes," she said sharply, "Your son, who is being useful, unlike you. So why don't you go take your shiny army home, and follow your son's example by doing something meaningful. Like getting rid of evil spiders, for instance."
Haldir had to bite his cheek, he was thousands of years old, but this was going to be one of his most treasured memories. One he imagined he would be just as eager to share with Lady Galadriel and her Lord as the twins would be for recounting this story to their father, Elrond.
Thranduil's gaze flicked to them and he seemed to remember that he had an audience for this.
"You dare to question-" he began drawing himself up.
"I dare to hope that you will leave now that you have nothing to fight for," Luna interrupted him. "Unless you would like to continue to illustrate to me how the wisdom of the elves is as inferior as that of men."
Haldir flinched a bit at the venom in those words. He glanced at Bard, but he didn't seem upset with her, more suspicious of the king if anything.
"I feel like I have missed much," Gandalf said lightly into the heavy quiet.
Luna turned on her heel, Bilbo catching her hand as they made to leave without another word.
Haldir asked benignly, "What just happened?"
Gandalf, who had been briefly lost in thought, looked up sharply, "We can't let them leave—"
There was a pounding of hooves by their tent and Gandalf cut himself off as Elledan, the older twin, bowed his head, "She took my horse again, didn't she?"
"Again?" Haldir asked.
Elrohir's smile was downright gleeful as his brother sighed in defeat.
The next morning hailed a new dawn, and Luna felt gittered. The need to run was growing ever harder to withstand.
The elves had departed from Dale, but she worried over Gandalf's words.
War seemed to be in the wind, despite the brightness of the sun. She could almost hear it in the chatter between the crows that returned in greater numbers to the mountain.
Gandalf, Bard, the twins, and Elledan perched back atop Nhile, and another fair elf that didn't quite look like any of the others she had met thus far.
Bard called up to them as she, Bilbo, and the dwarves gathered above the barricade, "We've come to tell you payment of your debt has been offered and accepted."
Thorin sneered down at them, "What payment? I gave you nothing. You have nothing."
His sickness was growing worse.
Bard took out the Arkenstone from his coat and held it up, "We have this."
Kili exclaimed, "They have the Arkenstone. Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the king."
Bard replied, "The King may have it, with our good will." Before putting the Arkenstone back in his inner pocket, "But first he must honor his word."
Thorin roared, "They're taking us for fools. This is a ruse, and a filthy lie. The Arkenstone is in this Mountain, it is a trick!"
Bilbo stepped forward, "I-it's no trick. The stone is real. I gave it to them."
Thorin turned to face him and Luna had never seen such an ugly expression on any of the dwarves before that moment.
"You?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.
Bilbo nodded, "I took it as my fourteenth share."
Thorin bared his blocky teeth, "You would steal from me?"
Bilbo shook his head, backpedaling a bit, "Steal from you? No, no. I may be a burglar, but I like to think I'm an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."
Thorin snarled, "Against your claim?" before he chuckled, which unnerved Luna worse than anything. "Your claim? You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!"
Bilbo seemed to deflate, and Luna wondered if any of the dwarves understood just how much Bilbo valued their opinion of him, "I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to, but…"
Thorin asked sharply, "But what, thief?"
"You are changed, Thorin. The Dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word, would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin."
"Do not speak to me of loyalty." He motioned to the company, "Throw him from the rampart!"
Luna was as shocked as any of them.
"Did you hear me!" Thorin raved, and grabbed Kili who fought him.
"No!" he yelled.
"Fine, I'll do it myself!"
A roll of panic went through them and Fili and Bofur tried to hold Thorin back but he easily shrugged them off.
Luna stepped in front of the hobbit and said coolly, "I think not, King of Broken Promises."
Thorin looked at her angrily and the other dwarves stood by anxiously, "He's the thief."
"He is the only reason you got this far, Thorin."
"We returned to Erebor because it was meant to be, it was our birthright," he declared.
"So treasure is worth more to you than honour, than friendship, than family," she gestured to Fili and Kili, "worth more than your people."
"He is not one of us!" Thorin raged .
"Like hell he isn't!" she yelled back, "You said after the dragon was defeated you would send Bilbo and I home back to the shire. You promised those men who you endangered by waking a fire-drake that you would give them some portion of the gold so they might rebuild their homes in Dale. You promised to keep Bilbo and I safe from Smaug himself. It is you who are the liar, an honourless fraud, a dwarf who may have a golden crown, but who is no true king."
"You know nothing!"
"I know war marches down on us," she roared back, her heart twisting, she never yelled at anyone but here she was, yelling at two kings in less than two days. "I sent the woodland elves away. I took your payment, that I never asked for, that I gave to them so they wouldn't be the ones to hurt you. But they are not the only ones who will fall upon Erebor. Is the dwarf on the road more honourable than the dwarf who stands on a mountain of dragon treasure!?"
He blinked at her.
She stepped forward, grabbed his hand, put it to her throat where the necklace he had put on her still sat, and leaned herself over the edge of the barricade, "If you throw Bilbo over the rampart, you'll have to drop me first."
The other dwarves exclaimed.
Sanity returned in a rush to his face and he pulled his hand away from her throat and pulled her into a hug. His big shoulders shook as he apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
He looked up over her shoulder, "Bilbo, I'm sorry—"
Bilbo ran at them, hugging them both, and soon the entire company was in a massive bear hug, with Thorin, Bilbo, and Luna at their centre.
When they parted, Thorin called down to Bard, "I accept your terms."
Bard chucked the stone up the wall in what Luna thought was quite an impressive toss.
Thorin caught it, paused to admire it for a moment, before handing it to Luna, "You are right, little one, this stone, no more than this crown, is what made or makes me a king."
She took it, and what was left of her magic from Exile she used to transfigure the stone into glass, the last of it seeping away from her into the stone as it appeared to ice over, the flickering light inside of it going still.
Luna then dropped it, all the dwarves' heads followed it as it fell, and it shattered at their feet in a million pieces.
There was another silence.
Balin asked, "Really, Lassie?"
Luna nodded, "It's cursed, no matter how pretty it is, curses are meant to be broken."
The company stared at her in bemused confusion.
Thorin, still shaking his head, said, "Speaking of which, let's break down this wall."
Not an hour later they heard a horn blow as Thorin's cousin joined them with an army, which was fortunate because not an hour after that, as Luna had feared, the battle began as goblins came like a black hord from the opposing hillcrest.
Haldir found himself instructed by both the wizard and Elrond's sons to protect Luna and the halfling when the barricade came down and battle broke out in the valley.
He directed the two small figures up the mountain and he shot down anything that tried to follow them.
"I don't think we were formally introduced," Luna asked as they bunkered down on a ledge.
Haldir, keeping his attention split on anything trying to climb after them and frequently recounting his arrows as things indeed tried to follow, introduced himself, "Haldir, from Lothlórien."
"I'm Luna Lovegood, and this is Bilbo Baggins of Bag End," she said. "You're not like the other elves I've met. You… you seem more full of light."
He shot her a smile, "I'm a High Elf."
Bilbo was shaking at her side as he peered around the side of the ledge, "Are we winning?"
Haldir glanced down at the valley, "I believe so."
"Where are Elrohir and Elledan?" Luna asked.
"With Thorin Oakenshield."
"Oh good," Bilbo said, "Elves and dwarves working together, that will no doubt make Thorin happy."
Haldir couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
But Luna snorted with laughter which made Haldir smile, and despite his peril his heart sang at her nearness.
He knew that for his people, when an elf found his other half, that they would simply know, and in that moment he did. At her side, Haldir knew that this was his other half that he had been waiting all the long years for, the part of him that had sent him wandering through the world in hopes that he would find someone who would keep him from journeying across the sea.
In that moment, he was so blindly happy that he nearly forgot that she was not an elf. That she was a Daughter of Man, and thus, she was mortal.
Nearly.
Luna was happy when Gandalf joined them on their stakeout.
"I bring more arrows, Haldir," the wizard said.
Luna and Bilbo cheered as Haldir took the quivers with a grateful nod then went back to sniping off bad guys.
She and Bilbo had been keeping a tally of Haldir's kills that pretty much equaled his arrows. Bilbo was counting heart and centre shots while Luna counted headshots.
Luna had a higher count despite some of the monsters having helmets.
Gandalf, who looked rather worn out, took out his pipe and settled in to watch the end of the battle.
It was over far sooner than Luna expected.
Haldir squinted, "The King and your company look safe," he told them, "as are Elrond's sons."
Gandalf breathed out a sigh of relief, "Good, Elrond is a good friend of mine, I would not wish upon him any more heartbreak."
A great cry went out from the valley from the dwarves, a cry of fear, as they pointed and raised weapons to the sky.
They all spun to see as a white dragon descended from the clouds.
Luna grabbed Haldir's hand before he could reach for an arrow, "No, wait she's my friend."
The elf who looked and felt so different to her, familiar in ways she could not describe, looked down at her with wide eyes, "She?"
Ithilwen landed on the side of the mountain beside them. She was a large dragon, but not as large as Smaug.
"Ithilwen!" Luna greeted, hugging her snout.
"I thought I told you to stay in the Shire," the dragon spoke for the four of them to hear.
Gandalf had his staff up but his hat had fallen off on the downdraft from her wings.
"You said I needed to go East if I wanted answers," Luna said, pulling back to meet her opal gaze.
"And did you find those answers, Little Moon?" the dragon asked.
"Yes, and I discovered that Smaug was your father. That your egg was stolen by men from your parents and that's why Smaug came South. I'm sorry that happened to you Ithilwen, that you had to live in exile, and that you never got to meet him. He asked me to tell you that he is very proud of you."
Ithilwen paused, then nuzzled Luna, "It is alright, Moon Child, this was how it was meant to be." She peered at Gandalf, "I defeated the evil in the North, and I will continue to protect it. Tell all to stay away from our territory."
Gandalf merely bowed his head.
Ithilwen lowered her gaze to look at Bilbo, "You're the troublesome one, but, I suppose, necessary."
Bilbo didn't move, just stared up at the dragon that was probably closer to him than even Smaug had gotten.
Finally, the white dragon turned on Haldir and breathed in his scent.
Haldir stood very still.
Ithilwen bared her teeth at him, "Take care of this one, she is the greatest treasure."
Haldir followed Gandalf's example and bowed.
Luna hugged the dragon again, "You stay safe and be happy."
Ithilwen laughed, nuzzled her back before pulling away for a final time, "Till we meet again, Child of the Moon."
With several beats of her large snow-white wings, she launched off the mountain back up towards the clouds.
Bilbo fainted, Luna dropped to her knees to catch him.
She smiled up at Gandalf, "Guess we end this journey as we began it, huh."
The wizard just shook his head.
It took many retellings for the story to stick that Luna had charmed the second dragon.
No one used the term dragonol aside from the company, but trick one dragon, charm or scare off a second, and suddenly she was known as the Dragon Expert.
Haldir believed Gandalf when he said that if it hadn't been for the dragon, Ithilwen, the dwarves would have been slaughtered by the second wave of dark forces from the North he saw coming. The single army of dwarves without the Woodland elves would not have been enough.
And yet, thanks to the actions of this one Daughter of Man, the tides of all their fates, perhaps the fate of Middle Earth had been completely altered.
It was Elrohir who spotted Haldir's heart when Luna was speaking with the hobbit.
"Bilbo, I was wondering, may I return home with you to the Shire?"
The halfling's expression was full of joy, as he exclaimed, "Of course! But I thought you were looking for your family in the East?"
She smiled at him, "I did find my family, on the road East."
Thorin laughed at that, and the dwarves Fili and Kili hugged Luna who grinned at the affection being shown to her.
Haldir had to look away as his heart ached to join the merriment where he very much doubted his welcome. He turned back to watch her laugh and let the image and sound wash over him one last time, before ducking out into the night.
He didn't get far before Elrond's sons caught up to him. He tried to ignore them as he readied his horse for the ride back to Lothlórien where he had too long been away from.
"The look in your eyes, Haldir, brings Luthurian to mind," Elrohir teased in elvish.
Haldir shook his head, not at all in the mood as he returned in his own tongue that he knew none of the men, dwarves, or halflings would understand, "She is a child, and I wouldn't take that choice from her."
Elledan returned in the same dialect, his mother's tongue, "Your heart sings for her, does it not? Could you not make her happy? She is young, true, but men age—"
"Yes," he cut in, "They age. Do you think that's what I want? To watch her fade from the world?" Haldir's heart was in his throat as mere thought twisted a dagger through his chest, "And if my sentiments were returned? She would know that I would die with her. How could I ask anyone such a thing? No, there is a reason why we have so many stories and songs of human and elvish pairings despite their rarity."
Elledan raised a dark brow at him in question.
Haldir mounted his horse, and before taking off into the night, he answered, "They all end in tragedy."
Epilogue
Luna lived in the far corner of Bree, closest to the Old Forest. She visited Bilbo often in the first few years, living a humble quiet life. She finally reached her maturity, that slight bit of visible aging convincing a certain Gandalf the Grey that she was in fact just a rather special human.
Though Thorin himself rarely travelled so far West again, her adventures with Bilbo were not the last she saw of her dwarven company.
They, before the elves, before Gandalf, and before even the hobbits in the Shire, realized Luna was of Elvish birth. They accepted her whole-heartedly, her worst fears put to rest, and King Thorin Oakenshield declared Luna Lovegood his favourite elf of all time. Though rumours of her heritage never quite reached back to the ears of elves, seeing as the two peoples so rarely spoke to one another, and to the dwarves, Luna being an elf was the least notable thing about her and often left it out of any narrative that included her.
This is not to say that had Gandalf been paying closer attention, he wouldn't have realized that the hobbits referring to the elven maid, Luna Lovegood, went beyond flattery of her fair beauty. Of course in this time, Gandalf did seem to miss a great deal as he attempted to keep track of the larger happenings of the world.
For instance, Gandalf did not notice Saruman's betrayal. Although, this hardly can be blamed solely on Gandalf as no other who are accounted among the wise notice the waning of old alliances. Saruman the White, whose heart fell to darkness, which led the Valar seeking to even the scales. And from the Lands of Exile, beyond the veil of Death, the Valar created from Light another Istari, an angel, an addition to Maiar.
Harry James Potter died in the Lands of Exile, peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by family on his hundred and eleventh birthday.
He awoke in Middle Earth, his body old as all Maiar vessels are, but not without strength. He looked exactly as he had when Luna had last seen him, wild salt and pepper hair, and more smile lines than one could count.
He was known in the Shire as Harry the Black and Beardless.
She was there to greet him on the Shores of Lune, Hedwig had of course made sure she arrived on time to the correct location.
"Did you miss me?" Harry asked.
Luna proceeded to nearly hug the life back out of him.
From there, they set out in search of one adventure after the next. They began traveling all the Northernmost roads. Though the hobbits saw them less, and Gandalf would not meet them again until a certain council meeting, the pair became dear friends of Tom Bombidil, his wife Goldberry, Boern, the Ents and Entwives, and the dwarves.
Thorin became particularly close with Harry the Black.
Gandalf the Grey got it into his head that he was being jested with when he heard of Harry the Black, thinking there was no possible way for another Wizard in the world, especially considering none of the elves ever met him.
Regardless of the elves and the other wizards' lack of awareness, Luna and Harry the Black were well beloved by almost all who met them.
Their adventures are many, the roads they took were long, but no love in this world or the next ever endured as those between friends who know that much will change, yet their friendship will always remain.
Billy Boyd - "The Last Goodbye"
Many places I have been
Many sorrows I have seen
But I don't regret
Nor will I forget
All who took that road with me
To be continued...: The trilogy will be handled in four large pseudo-short stories in a similar style to this fic, featuring Harry The Black and Luna's adventures in Middle Earth. Until then I will leave it mark as complete, but I will post the sequel here, so be sure to favourite and follow. And please, please review if you enjoyed?