Wizard and dwarf crept along the silent corridors of the library together, one holding out a lit candle while the other cast a wary eye over his surroundings. Fili hadn't let his guard down since he had fallen into that portal in Goblin town away from the company and landed here. He had no idea how the rest of them had fared, including his brother and uncle, which scared him more than he would admit. Everything here was so similar and yet so very different that it made him wonder just how far he was from home.
James concentrated on the wand in front of him, making sure to follow the faint light it was emitting. He had done a 'Point Me – Erebor' spell and hoped for the best. He knew he had heard that name some when before, but for the life of him he could not remember when or where!
Suddenly, the light made a sharp right turn around a corner and came to a stop at a tall bookcase. Once of the slightly larger tomes there was glowing gold. The shelf looked like it hadn't been used in a long time; a layer of dust covered the shelves and books on it.
"Children's stories" whispered James fondly.
"Sorry?!" exclaimed Fili disbelievingly.
"This bookcase contains all the children's stories that my family own. Some have been passed down through generations. I wasn't interested in a lot of them but my mum loves reading. She always used to mention a book called 'the Hobbit' and the adventure to reclaim Erebor. Accio 'the Hobbit'." The book which had a golden glow to it flew off the shelf into James' hands.
"The Hobbit? But that's…" started Fili, but James cut him off.
"I need to know where you were before you fell through that portal" said James. "Time travel is a dangerous thing and if I screw up your future because I messed up the laws of time or something, people will not be happy with me."
"I was on a journey with twelve dwarves, a wizard and a hobbit" said Fili, staring at the book in James' hands. "We were captured by goblins in a place called Goblin town."
"And down, down to Goblin town…." James murmured.
"How could you possibly know something that's happening right now?" said Fili angrily.
"I'm sorry" said James, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I know this all seems confusing and horrible but you can't read this book; if you read your own future you would be in terrible danger! Just give me an hour to read this and then I promise I will tell you everything I can. I've never read this book before you see. I've only heard snippets from my mum."
There was silence for a few moments, but eventually Fili relented. James lit the fire and sat down in a comfy armchair to read, while Fili took the one opposite him and brought out his pipe.
"Mum's gonna think I've been smoking" mumbled James under his breath.
"What was that?" said Fili.
"Oh nothing, nothing" said James. And with that, the two settled into a comfortable, if not slightly anxious wait.