Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or the Hobbit. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: Apologies for the wait on this one. I had three midterms that required my full attention, but I'm back now and ready to rock.

Chapter Seven - Goblin Town And A Skin Changer

The departure from Rivendell had passed with little fanfare. They'd stayed two days more, during which Harry had sparred further with Elrond and Galadriel had discussed in depth with Luna the merits of Snorcack breeding in the wild versus controlled captivity. The ancient elf was so taken with the couple that she had even invited them both to visit the forests of Lorien on the promise that she had a few creatures in her possession that greatly resembled luna's description of the fluffy horned beasts. Galadriel was also apparently very interested in the prospect of magi-zoology, a study she herself had never engaged in before, and Luna was only too happy, in her words, 'to have an incredibly beautiful student.'. The golden haired vision of beauty laughed out loud at that descriptor and promised an exploratory expedition should they visit.

Needless to say Harry had received a migraine inducing slew of requests from his wife to make sure such a visit happened in the immediate future after this quest was done. Never one to deny his wife anything, he'd agreed.

Thorin, when told the contents of the White Council meeting, had been notably annoyed at the prospect of losing his brother to elves and sorcerers in the middle of a quest, but Gandalf had convinced him it was necessary. Somehow.

When the two days were over, and they were all resupplied, the company took their leave. By then Saruman and Galadriel had left to pursue their own tasks, so Elrond saw them off with a company of his own soldiers to show respect to a departing monarch in the making. Thorin being Thorin, he didn't even look back. So Harry did it for him, creating vast rainbow colored fireworks and waving profusely just to annoy his brother a little more before returning to the road.

Along the way however, Gandalf rode up next to him. "I've been meaning to talk to you, Master Potter. Your casual displays of magic… could you perhaps tone them down?"

Harry blinked, surprised. "Why-ever would I want to do that?"

"We wizards try to only use our gifts when the need is necessary, as a last resort you see. It is our belief that if the people of this land become too used to the sight of magic, they'll rely on and expect it to solve all of their problems instead of learning to rely on themselves."

"Well, sucks to suck there Gandalf. I'm a wizard, I'm proud of it, and I like using my abilities. If you and yours want to hold back then it is your prerogative, but please don't presume to tell me how to live my life. Enough people have tried to do that over the years already." Having said his piece, Harry heeled his horse and cantered up to the front of the line to get near Thorin. Meanwhile Gandalf groaned anew. Why did the boy have to be so difficult? And why did he feel the need to expect a new prank in his future growing?

For another week they marched on with relatively few difficulties. At night Harry communed with the creatures of darkness. Bats, birds, and wolves, and learned that while several warg scout groups were in the area, none had yet picked up their current trail. The grey wizard thought those ingenious runes probably played a large role in that.

Then they came to the mountains. Sure there were other paths to take, but Gandalf, acting as their guide, claimed that there was no shorter path available and that to deviate would take too long. Harry and Balin had argued that the paths would be too treacherous for the horses and ponies, but when the old man refused to offer council on another course Harry had grumbled and transfigured the beasts into marbles that he promptly placed in his apparently depthless pockets.

Looking Gandalf in the eyes he said, "Living creatures hate being transfigured in this way, old man. When your horse tries to chomp your bits off the next time you move to mount him, remember that."

So it was that they began their trek up into the heights of the world and made to cross them. They should have known it would not be so easy. Initially, great storms buffeted them with wind, lightning, and rain, as if the weather itself was trying to toss them off the high cliffs, but a quick use of his vampiric power and Harry had the skies cleared up. Sadly, all that did was remove any obstruction they had to the awesome sight of stone giants, literally tearing themselves off of the cliff faces, and engaging in deadly battle that rocked the earth and scattered stone and rock all around them and the paths. More than one loose stone came down to nail them in the heads. It did not escape the eyes of any that not a one landed on a contrite looking grey wizard.

Finally, they chanced upon a cave eight miles in to take shelter from the shaking earth and immediately set about making camp. Nothing could fight forever, not even stone giants, so they figured a day or two of rest there could harm nothing.

A short time later and the fire was lit, the runes laid out, and a nice ham hock was roasting on a spit. Pipes were smoked, ale distributed, the meal served, and Bilbo regaled them all with stories of the Shire and Middle Earth's history. The little one was a surprisingly knowledgeable fellow, and a natural born storyteller. He'd even admitted at the end, through a heavily blushing face, that he intended to write a book about this current adventure once he got home.

This idea was met with great merriment, support, and more than one demand to be portrayed as devilishly handsome and capable with a blade. Bilbo had stuttered that he'd do his best. Especially when faced with the fang filled grin of the vampire. Though he'd never say it out loud for how much he really did like the man, Darktide still frightened him on occasion and he had no wish to earn his ire.

It was as they moved to sleep for the night that disaster chose to strike. Dwalin was on watch, but his eyes, naturally, were locked on the mouth of the cave, the only actual entrance or exit to their refuge. So it was he didn't notice the grooves and lines appearing in the floor until the click of a mechanical latch toned in the air. A sound that a trained dwarf could never mistake for anything else.

"Trap!" he called, relying on years of combat, training, and knowledge, to rouse the others to full wakefulness, and it worked. The company shot to their feet with hands on weapons… only for the floor to literally open up beneath them. With fresh shouts of surprise they fell deep into the depths, bouncing off loose stones, sliding on smoothed expanses and curves, and finally landing in a jumbled heap atop some kind of wooden bowl contraption.

As everyone groaned and checked themselves for injuries, Harry spoke up with the thoughts that were on all of their minds. "Where the hell are we and how the fuck did we survive that fall without injury? I mean, it wouldn't hurt me really but the rest of you?"

The first answer was provided seconds later as murderous howls pitched through the air and across the small wooden bridge before them a hoard of goblins started charging at their perceived prey.

The vampire contemptuously waved a hand, alighting the bridge before them in flame as he rose to his feet, his red eyes glowing and a murderous smile on his face. Then he began a low chuckle under his breath.

Seeing this Bilbo felt the need to ask, "Uh, why is Master Potter laughing?"

Stepping to his feet with sword drawn and a matching smile on his own face, Thorin said, "Because we are in the caverns of the earth where light does not reach." Harry's chuckle turned into a dark laugh.

Balin joined his prince with a great axe and added, "And we are facing an apparent army of goblins." The laugh turned into a bellow of mirth promising murder for all present.

Drawing his twin hammers Dwalin finished, "And Harry really, really, hates goblins." The bellow turned into a cavernous screech and all at once the vast cavern was filled with thousands of chittering bats arriving through all the connecting tunnel mouths as they drove through the approaching army in a wave of destruction, death, and noise. When it all fell silent again, the goblins ahead were gone, as was Harry, and the path was clear.

"Come on," Thorin intoned, "My brother has dealt with these vermin but he cannot be everywhere at once and who knows what we might face going forward. We must find an exit as soon as possible."

By unspoken agreement the warriors and Gandalf took point and Bilbo, as the least martially inclined, carried the supplies behind them. So focused on their forward movement was the group, and so trusting were they that their skilled burglar would keep up, that no one took notice when the hobbit tripped on one of the many goblin corpses arms and carried by the weight of all the bags, fell off the bridge into the abyss.

There was no way up so the company ran deeper, following the tracks of wooden scaffolding where they could, and hopping over obstructions when necessary. In spite of their short stature they made surprisingly good time, most likely due to the fact that dwarves were natural sprinters when the need was there. From time to time the air above them was filled with the chittering of passing bats on the hunt for more prey, and they attributed this to the lack of opponents they faced.

Oh sure, a stray goblin here or there jumped out in front of them and needed to be put down, even Harry couldn't find each and every one in such a large space, but no organized resistance met their path until eventually they found their way to what seemed to be a throne room. Or rather, what had been a throne room. The walls around them held countless carved stands, and the dais ahead held a mighty chair clearly meant for a ruler of some kind. The stands held only the ripped flesh of the fallen and the chair…. Harry sat upon it, his lips and chin covered in black blood as he bounced one of the biggest goblin heads any present had yet seen on his palm.

He saw his company and smiled as he tossed it at Thorin's feet. "Meet the goblin king, Thorin. Bastard claimed to be a king under the mountain. Only you have the honor of that title."

Thorin grinned manically at the head and promptly stomped on it with his heel before kicking it over the edge of the flooring into the nearest ravine. "My thanks to you, brother."

"None necessary, this was fun."

Staring at the near countless bloodstains around the chamber Gandalf gasped out, "You… did all this?"

"And more, but we really shouldn't wait here. I can here scratching along the inner walls of the ceiling. A lot of scratching. I can take on an army, but that sounds like an entire population. The ones I don't keep busy would flank around and come for you." He hopped off the chair and stepped into his usual place at Thorin's side. It didn't escape Gandalf's notice that the young man had not wiped the blood from his face, nor that none of the dwarves seemed to care.

'How often has he done something like this for them to be so used to it?' The old man wondered.

Regardless he agreed that it was best for all involved to be gone from that place and hurriedly ushered the others to increase their pace. Down they ran, over bridge, chasm, and subterranean mushroom field, ever further into the dark. Yet somehow, the air was becoming fresher the further they went until finally all man, or creature, made structure faded away and the company found themselves racing down a narrow tunnel through the stone that ended before an opening to a green field. Somehow they had raced from the peak of that mountain to the bottom and freedom lay just before them.

It was then that they finally realized that one of their number was in fact missing. "Hey, where's Bilbo?" Harry asked calmly, earning a collective bout of shouting, panic, and worried eye sweeps from the grey wizard.

This all continued until Harry's nose caught the familiar scent of Shire pipe weed, and with a start he turned to look at an empty plot of air. A second later Bilbo materialized, rapidly sticking his hand into a vest pocket. Was he trying to strike a heroic pose? And why did the vampire detect the scent of blood not so dissimilar to a hobbit's on the halfling's sheathed blade?

"H-Hi there." He waved jerkily, clearly nervous under the surprised eyes of so many. "I-I made it back. Rather harrowing the journey I just had was."

Gandalf pushed his way forward and ran his hands over the halfling for a few moment to make sure he was unharmed before saying, "We would be very glad to hear such a tale, Mr. Baggins, but first we must be off. I cannot believe no alarm was raised to Harry's carnage so we must mount up and away before reinforcements can arrive."

Bilbo quickly agreed to such a statement and all present quickly ran onto the green of the grass. Harry reanimated their horses and ponies, one of which dutifully bit the tip off of Gandalf's hat when he went to mount it, and with fresh commands to flee they rode off full tilt into the night with the vampire casting refreshment charms on the beasts to keep them from tiring.

It took an hour for the howls to start behind them, but each time they came close Harry conjured a wolfhound and stuck different rune stones to their backs and sent them running. Soon enough the howls would always fade off with their exit.

Seeing Gandalf's curiosity he said, "Loadstones. They serve as empty vessels and I filled them with our scent and sound. Those wargs will be following them all night."

"Ingenious." the grey wizard proclaimed. "Do you think you could teach this to the white council?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. "I could, but Thorin keeps advising me not to just give away my secrets. I'll probably just let Galadriel know how."

"Why just her?"

"Well I like her more than you guys, and Luna thinks she has a great ass."

"That is the Lady of Lorien you speak of!" Gandalf exclaimed, and his look of indignation would probably have been more effective had his head not been bobbing around with the motion of his horse.

"Yes, and she finds our attention flattering. She told us. Now shut up and focus on the road."

Gandalf clearly wanted to say more, probably something about how noticing the curvature of Galadriel's body was a sin of the highest variety, but in the end he seemed to decide that focusing ahead and keeping his horse from tripping on any wayward roots was more important.

For two days this carried on, with only minimal stops of a couple hours to handle their physical needs, eat, and apply some necessary healing balm to their bruised asses. Finally though, the sounds of pursuit fell away completely, and they were able to maintain a more sedate pace through the wilds. Although one thing still worried them. Harry's 'pets' had made note that the remnants of the goblin forces in the mountain had marched out of it and not returned. It seemed they too had come searching for the ones that had killed their leader. Though on foot it was not likely they would be caught.

On the whole, things were looking up for the company of Thorin Oakenshield. At least until their food started running out. It seemed that Bilbo had lost the majority of it in his fall. No one begrudged him however. They were just happy he'd made it back alive. The little one had earned a place in all of their hearts and regards.

"Oy, Gandalf?" Harry asked around the campfire two nights later. "Any thoughts on where we can resupply?"

The old man thought about it for a moment before a singular answer came to him. One he was none overly thrilled about. "There is a house another days ride into the forest. The owner may help us."

Harry raised a brow, "What's the catch?"

"I said he 'may' help us, but he may also kill us."

"Great." Harry's sarcasm was palpable. "Thoughts, Thorin?"

The stoic dwarven prince shook his head, "There are no other options that I can see. We need food and tack for ourselves and the horses or we'll not even make it to Mirkwood, let alone the Lonely Mountain. Lead the way, Gandalf."

So he did. Another day passed and just as the sun was beginning to set the visage of a lonely house amidst a meadow of meandering farm animals came into view. Unfortunately, the scenic vista was interrupted by the angered growls of a massive beast, rapidly growing louder, and closer.

"Run!" Gandalf shouted, and the urgency in his voice spurred them all into greater motion, pushing their mounts as hard as they could and rushing to the closed door of the home before slapping them all on their hindquarters to send the sprinting off to safety as they started pushing on the door with all of their bulk behind them, sadly to no effect.

When the tree line parted and a bear the size of a semi started charging at them Harry decided to forgo the normal method and simply cast an unlocking charm. The door flew open before them and they immediately snapped it closed after them with a couple of sticking charms added for good measure. A good thing too, as mere seconds after their entry a massive weight slammed into the portal with fresh growls serving as icing on the cake. Luckily that only lasted a short time before the beast seemed to find a better meal elsewhere and moved off.

"What was that?" Balin asked shakily as he took a seat on one of the oversized chairs at the table.

Taking a seat on another of the hand carved items, Gandalf replied, "That, was Beorn, our host. Sometimes he takes the form of a great big man, and others he is a massive bear. The bear is unpredictable but the man can be reasoned with."

"Let us hope so." Harry crossed his legs in front of the door to wait. "Though if not, I wouldn't say I'd be disappointed to try more 'unique' blood."

As the dwarves buzzed about, setting up sleeping matts and getting ready for the coming night, Gandalf found himself once more watching the young vampire. Sure he was a man grown, but to him everyone was rather young. It seemed the more he learned the more there was to know. Here he sat, claiming an interest in trying new blood, but it was clear to anyone with eyes that he really just wanted to serve as the first line of defense should their host prove hostile. Yes, Harry Darktide was interesting indeed.

All through the night, as the others slept in relative ease, the vampire kept his watch. Eyes closed, ears open, his mind filled with a 3D image of the land around him and all the things in it. He saw the horses and ponies, the surrounding fields, gardens, and mounds of chopped wood. Then he saw the bear. As before it was massive beyond reason, and it was stalking through the tall grass with more grace than any such creature should logically possess. The only saving grace was that it didn't appear to be stalking them. More so it seemed he was patrolling the grounds of his property.

On and on this went until the first rays of daylight hit, and along with them the shifting of their host. One moment he was that patrolling animal, and the next he was a man walking back to the house on two feet. Rising to his own, Harry unlocked the door and went out to meet him. He knew Gandalf wanted to handle introductions, but he'd felt Beorn moving towards the tool shed and the last thing he wanted was to confront a man of his size when he was armed.

"Greetings." He walked with arms wide and hands clearly bared to the wary giant before him. Hm, between the height and massive beard, if he gained a couple hundred pounds he could be Hagrid's twin brother. "My name is Harry, and you are Beorn."

"Hgh." A ragged eyebrow stared him down from on high. "So it seems. What are you? Why are you here? Who else is in my house without permission?"

Harry thought over the reasonable questions and answered truthfully. "I'm a wizard, my company is seeking supplies to continue our journey, and my friends are in your house. Another wizard, a hobbit, and some dwarves. We would have asked your permission to lodge inside but at the time of our arrival you seemed very angry and were chasing us."

"I don't remember that."

"Do you remember much when you are a bear?"

Beorn huffed and crossed his arms. "Some."

"Well that's what happened weather you remember it or not. Now as I said, we wanted to resupply here and I don't expect anything for free, so I wanted to inquire about the payment."

"You have silver?" Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful. "This enough?"

"Aye. I have no use for the stuff myself, but some of the traveling traders will take it for new metal to forge more tools." He took the precious substance and shoved it into the pocket of his pants. "That'll buy you lodging and food for your journey. Have you ponies?"

"We do." A thought crossed the vampire's mind then. He'd never tasted the blood of a shifter before. "Hypothetically, if I wanted to taste your blood, what would it cost me?"

Beorn eyed his new guest warily, "My blood, why would you want that?"

"It's tasty for me and you'd likely be a delicacy. Don't worry, I won't take it from you without permission, but I have skills you might find useful."

Wariness transformed to interest and the bear-man said, "I've lived long enough to realize the world is full of many beneficial oddities. What can you offer?"

The vampire glanced around the scenic valley and said, "How about better protection for your animals? I can craft defensive runes around your home that'll hide all scent and sound from the outside while also alerting you directly to any incursions of those with ill intent. Interested?"

Beorn really was. In short order he'd displayed the boundary lines to his guest so he could place the obsidian stones, and then he got to carving. When he reached the last step he said, "For this portion I'll need your blood so I can tie you directly to the wards. I can collect payment right after if you like. That way it's only one wound."

"Hm." Beorn extended one finger and Harry promptly shoved one of his claws into its pad, earning a steady drip of life giving fluid in the process. A second later he pressed the wounded digit into stone and held it till it flashed blue, then he pulled it back and ran his tongue over the incision.

Time seemed to slow as Luna processed the new addition in his head. {Tastes like rum.} she noted.

Warmth radiated through his body starting in his head before descending into his hands and feet. "Luna, thoughts on what this does?"

{Give me a minute.} off tune yet oddly soothing humming filled his head (Luna's quirk when she was working something out) and then a lightbulb seemed to go off as excitement filled her voice and she said, {Master Vampires have dominion over the creatures of the night, and you've just ingested the blood of a shifter. Try turning into one!}

"How?"

{I don't know, think animally thoughts. Do it now!}

Muttering under his breath about pushy, yet adorable, blondes, Harry did just that, closing his eyes and imagining what it would be like to walk on four paws. To feel the earth move beneath his claws and the wind ruffle through his fur. When he opened his lids again he was a lot closer to the ground and the world looked much different.

Beorn was staring down at him with shock plain to see as he inquired, "Ah… was that supposed to happen?"

Focusing on what it was like to walk on two feet again Harry returned to normal and said, "Yeah. Turns out drinking from a shifter turned me into one. Thanks for that."

"Hm." The bear-man didn't really know what to say to that, so he just nodded gruffly, eyed the ward stone again, smiled, and led the blood drinker back to his home. He wasn't fond of guests on the best of days, but this one at least had earned his keep for a while. You couldn't put a price on peace of mind after all.

The very least he could do was feed, supply, and protect his company until they left his lands for good. Even if they were dwarves. At the worst he had a few hours of forced conversation and then he could return to the peace and silence of his home. He'd earned his solitude.