This is a quick, short one-shot that happens in the middle of the chapter "Blunt the Knives," about when Lori first meets Gandalf in Bag End. This is a special treat for you, generously asked by our good friend KathyG.
There was previously an alternate version, but due to editing the whole story, I decided to delete it and replace it with the fixed-version while getting the chapter index in order to match with the Archives. Sorry for the confusion! I liked the first title better, so I kept it:)
As Dwalin, Balin, Fili, and Kili were setting up the tables in the hallway, Lori had heard the commotion from the front door and ran across the sitting room to check it out. Her mouth dropped open when she saw her brother and sister meeting eight more dwarves standing in a thick group at the front door, all bowing, saying their names, and chanting "At your service!" as formally as saying, "Nice to meet you!" They also added "Milady!" to her sister, Maia.
Lori felt her heart jump excitedly. She hoped they would call her that, too.
More dwarves. More fun. She muffled a squeal into her teddy bear.
"Oh, uh, nice to meet y'all!" said Maia, forcing a nervous smile. "I'm Maia, and this is my brother, Kyle!"
"Oh, aye, Kyle Ditto," grinned the dwarf wearing a large floppy hat, nodding. "The one who cushioned our landing! Much obliged!" Kyle opened his mouth, and the dwarves started laughing loudly at his expression and Maia covered a snigger. Lori laughed. Ditto? Where did that come from?
Someone that sounded like Kili in the other room shouted, "Oi! Over here! Give us a hand!" and the dwarves heartily moved to meet the others, coming either straight down the hallway or in the sitting room where Lori backed up to make room. Over their heads, Lori's eyes widened and her mouth gaped when she saw a tall, gray fellow standing at the front door, greeting Kyle and Maia with merry smile. He had gray long-robes, a long gray beard, and pointed hat, while holding a staff that was curled liked a root at the end.
A real, live wizard! She was about to scurry over when the new dwarves blocked the path while on the way to meet their friends. The one with the floppy hat and funny goatee smiled down at her, "Well, hello there! Who're you, little one with the bear?"
"I'm Lori, Lori Dainson, and this is Teddy!" she said, and then gave a deep, dramatic bow, squeaked loudly, "At your service!"
"Ah, Dainson! I see now! Bofur, at yours!" The hatted fellow bowed back. Lori loved watched the flaps of the hat move at each jerk of his head. She wondered if it would fit her.
An extremely large, fat dwarf with a thick, ginger, braided loop of a beard stepped forward and bowed in a deep voice, "Bombur, at your service!" while another dwarf with a messy black beard and crazed eyes sided with him and bowed with a slow, grunting noise that sounded like "Bi-furrrr." Lori gasped when she saw something embedded in his forehead.
"Is that an axe?" she blurted out. Bombur nodded, while Bifur tilted his head at her with that eccentric gaze that made her shiver a little. "Is he okay?"
"Our cousin here will be fine," Bofur waved if off and patted Bifur on the back affectionately. "The injury is years old, affecting his speech and a quarter portion of his mind, but all the above, he's good with bairns. Just don't touch the axe, and he's your friend." Bifur grinned down at her along with his cousin, and Lori smiled nervously back.
She was then introduced to "Dori!", "Nori!", and "Ori!", who were clearly all brothers by the same pointed looks in their facials and similar braiding styles, but at the same time very different in personality and age. Dori was clearly the oldest, his silver hair tied back tightly into a bun and a beard concealed into a tiny clasp, but he had a broad muscular frame, a cute button nose, and twinkly blue eyes as well as daintily, polite voice.
Nori, the second oldest, was interesting to look at, having his ginger hair and beard both styled like the upper tips of a starfish, his nose pointed and his hazel-green eyes gleaming slyly like that of a vixen, but he did not appear wicked. Sly maybe, but in the fun sort of way that clearly opposed his older brother, Dori.
It was Ori who Lori felt the most comfortable with, being clearly the youngest by many years with a youthful, freckled face hidden under a short, wispy beard and cropped, mousy hair that reminded Lori of a muffin top. He had twinkly brown eyes and a shy smile, wearing a long sweater and knitted gloves.
"My names rhymes with y'all!" cheered Lori, bouncing up and down.
Then finally, she was introduced to the elder dwarves, Oin and Gloin, who were also brothers. Oin looked much older than Gloin with his long gray hair and beard, wrinkly face, and owl eyes that were clearly sharper than his hearing, because he had to hold up a trumpet to his ear while Lori had to shout her name a third time for him to hear. He had smalls sacks on his belt and he carried a long staff.
Gloin had a thick ginger mane of hair and beard that practically covered a mean-looking face, making it hard to tell whether he was smiling or frowning, but his voice sounded gravelly like his every word came out with a growl, much like Dwalin's. Though it made Lori feel a little intimidated, she relaxed when Gloin actually patted her on the head gently and called her lass. It wasn't the "milady" Lori wanted, but she beamed inside all the same and decided to give Gloin a chance, knowing this must be his mild side. Maybe in time, she will give Dwalin and Bifur that same chance.
When they were called out again from the dining room, the dwarves quickly scuttled over to start helping with the furniture. Some were already digging into the pantry, while others started grabbing the chairs.
Shuffling Teddy in her arms, Lori was in the dining room with them, watching the scattered commotion around her in amazement. She wondered how many dwarves there were. Like Snow White and the seven dwarves! When she turned around, she saw the wizard hang his hat and staff on the peg near the front door, before he bent over and started walking through the sitting room to join the group.
He's just like Merlin in King Arthur! And Dumbledore from Harry Potter! Her mind squealed so excitedly that it escaped her lips as she scattered around the passing bodies of the dwarves and stopped in front of the tall old man, who was surprised by her sudden appearance.
When she was close to him, the air suddenly buzzed like a set of sound waves, sending vibrations through her bones and frenzy under her skin. It caught her by surprise, but thrilled even more.
"Excuse me, mister, are you a real, live wizard?" she asked him with wide brown eyes.
The old man smiled down at the tiny human child and chuckled, while before bending down near her level to meet her eyes. "Indeed I am," he said. "Most mistake me as a vagabond or salesman at first glance, but not you. What made you guess?"
Excited by her correct answer, Lori pointed down the hallway. "You put your hat and big staff near the front door. Daddy told me stories that have wizards in 'em all the time! He said that some are called Istari, but I don't know why!"
"Ah, that is correct my dear! Your father is wise indeed." His gray eyes quickly observed her. "You must be with Miss Maia and Master Kyle. Their sister, I take it?"
Still smiling wide, Lori nodded.
"Well, that is splendid to know! There is most certainly a beautiful resemblance there! Allow me to introduce myself." He bowed his head to her. "My name is Gandalf. Gandalf the Gray. What is your name, child?"
Lori smiled wider. "I'm Lori," she said cheerfully. She held up her bear. "This is Teddy! He's one of my bestest friends ever!"
Gandalf nodded, eyes twinkling in instant adoration. "Well, he's quite a handsome fellow. It is a pleasure to meet you both." As he said this, he hid the fact that he too felt something stir within this little girl, as it did from the elder one and the boy. Something very strong and powerful, vibrating from their presence like some very deep magic.
But this little girl's mystical presence was even more powerful than Maia and Kyle Dainson put together. There were few left in Middle Earth that Gandalf knew that carried such a powerful impression, those with the Light of the Eldar and others (like himself) who were Maiar that had taken mortal forms. The one thing they all had in common was that a deep magic took place. Something connected very close to the works of the Valar.
"Are ya gonna eat with us?" asked Lori.
"I certainly am."
"Yay!" With that, Lori leapt forward and hugged him tightly around the waist, her cheeks pink with excitement. "I can't believe you're a real, live wizard! Like with magic and all!" Lori squealed, biting in her palm. "Like in King Arthur!"
Though having no clue of what or who that was, Gandalf laughed as the little girl hugged him and blinked when the chattering of the dwarves shuffling around brought him back to the present. "Ah, yes, better make sure everyone is present," he muttered, before pulling away from Lori and putting a hand around her tiny shoulders, telling her up close, "We best continue to help these fine dwarves, and I believe we are going to need more plates, my dear. These dwarves can sometimes forget to limit their portions. But a few at a time, if you would please?"
Still smiling, Lori nodded, causing Gandalf to laugh. "Okay, Mr. Gandalf!" she squeaked, before putting her teddy bear on a nearby chair and running back into the pantry to fetch some plates, trying to avoid the trampling footsteps of the dwarves. In her mind, Lori was still screaming with excitement.
She still can't believe she met a real, live wizard! She even felt it in the air around him. He must be really that powerful! Or was that it was like around all wizards? She didn't know, since she never actually met one before. She wondered if Harry Potter, Dumbledore, or Merlin are the same way.
She even wondered if, after dinner, she can ask him to do some magic.
When we go home, and Mommy wakes up, and Daddy comes home, I'm gonna tell 'em all about Gandalf the Gray! She could wait to tell them. That she met a real, live wizard!
With Balin's help, she collected a pile of plates in both arms, grunting from their weight, and started carrying them across the hallway.
"Lori, what are you doing?" It was Maia, suddenly appearing before her in disbelief.
"Helping," said Lori. "Balin says we're gonna have a feast since there's gonna be lots of dwarves! It'll be fun! Like Snow White!"
"It's Bilbo's food, L! You're supposed to be stopping them them, not helping!"
"But I don't wanna!" Lori whined, and then retreated into the dining room before Maia could stop her. She almost ran into Bombur, who was carrying three whole cheese blocks.
Lori's face was still hot with annoyance as she scampered around the trampling boots of the dwarves, struggling not to drop the plates until she reached the table. Why was Maia being so annoying? They were going to have a party with real, live dwarves and her big sister had to suddenly act all bossy? Parties were fun! And this party was going to be like in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Lori loved Snow White, even when a lot of other people didn't. She and Maia used to share that over the old Disney movie, but right now her big sister was too all grown up to remember.
Lori pouted at the thought. I'll show her!
Huffing from the weight of the plates, the table just at the level of her chin, she shifted them in one arm and began placing them on at a time on the table top. Behind her in the hallway, she could hear Bilbo's complaints and even Maia speaking out. Scooting on her tip toes, someone brushed past her suddenly, causing her to wobble on her balance and plop back on her bare heels, but she gasped when a plate started to fall...only when a gloved hand swooped down and caught it.
"Careful, little one!" said Gandalf, placing the plate back on the table. "You ought to carry less than what you have!"
Lori nodded, feeling better with the wizard giving her that funny look. "Okay," she said, and then hurried back to the pantry to follow his advice. They had a party to make up, and even Maia wasn't going to stop her!
Meanwhile, the gray wizard was still shaking his head in with silent laughter as he first arranged the utensils on the table. He still pondered on the strange Dainson siblings' supernatural frenzy, but kept it in mind to ponder over later. Right now, he had over…..how many dwarves now to list down?
"Excuse me, Mr. Gandalf?" Turning around, he looked down and found the silver-haired dwarf, Dori, holding a tea set on a tray, smiling politely. He poured a cup. "Would I tempt you with a cup of chamomile?"
"Oh, no thank you, Dori! A little red wine for me, I think," said Gandalf, as he stepped out into the hallway of dwarves coming back and forth from the pantry.
Gandalf's head brushed the chandelier when he came from the kitchen. Once he hastily steadied it, Fili and Kili passed by him with the barrel. "Ah, Fili, Kili," he greeted, and they smiled in returned. Then the wizard started counting all the dwarves passing around him, "Oin, Gloin! Dwalin, Balin! Bifur, Bofur, Bombur! Dori, Nori...ah, Ori!" he exclaimed as another young looking dwarf with short hair and a short beard wrestled with Bilbo over a basket full of tomatoes. Bilbo won, of course, and gave Ori a glare before walking away.
The axe-headed dwarf went up to Gandalf, grunting some foreign language to him while thumping his arm. Kyle had stopped trying to stall the dwarves and frowned at him weirdly, before exchanging glances with Maia.
"Yes, you're quite right, Bifur," agreed Gandalf, as the dwarf walked away. "Now, we appear to be one dwarf short," the wizard murmured to himself.
"He is late, is all," Dwalin spoke up, who was leaning casually against the wall with a pint of ale. "He traveled north to a meeting with our kin. He will come."
"There's more coming?" Kyle said in disbelief. "No offense, but we're kinda loaded."
"No, no, just the one," assured Gandalf, touching Kyle's shoulder, "and once he arrives, everything will be explained."
"Mr. Gandalf!" A muscular, gray-haired dwarf with hair and beard pulled into tight braids came up to the wizard. In his hand was a tiny glass of wine. "A little glass of red wine as requested. It's got a fruity bouque."
"Ah," Gandalf smiled and took the glass, raising it in salute, "Cheers!" He took one gulp and it was gone, but he seemed content with its fruity taste.
Lori is fun to write about. She is very small, but has a big heart. I adore little kids!