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Chapter 16 - An Unexpected Comfort

The next day, the weather turned for the worst. Cold wind cut through the air and brought dark rain clouds. The rain begun soaking the company of sixteen, dripping off the leaves through the shelter of the arched trees hanging over the road. The dwarves were protected from most of it under their thick traveling cloaks, while Bilbo's clothes had already completely soaked through. The rain slid off of Hermione's leather vest but her arms, legs and face were soaked to the bone. Long strands of hair had come loose from the braid and were sticking to her face distorting her vision a little. Hermione thought back to how she ended up on this particular horse today.

…

"Good morning Hermione," Bilbo mumbled through a yawn. He still wasn't used to the dawn starts but he managed to mount his horse with ease, with a little unknown assistance from Hermione's wand. "Who will you be riding with today then?" Secretly hoping that today would be the day she rode with him. He could only imagine how the time would fly talking to her all day. He had so much to ask her about her world. Her hesitancy to talk about it only made him more curious.

"I don't know, although I did hear Kili & Fili bickering over whose turn it was," she sighed, a little annoyed at being passed around like a toy. She watched as some of the dwarves mounted their horses, just standing there waiting for the first one to hoist her onto their horse with their superior dwarf strength. Fili and Kili began to approach her on horseback their bickering over her getting louder and louder. But before either of them could reach out and grab her, she felt herself raised off the ground and gently placed in front of a dwarf. It couldn't have been anyone she had already ridden with because they had all been a bit rough when it came to lifting and placing her on the horse, not intentionally, of course, but this dwarf was strong enough to ease her up and place her gently on their horse. She looked around at the other dwarves, a few were watching from their horses ready to go, with shocked expression. Hermione tried to figure out whose horse she was on but not all the dwarves had mounted their horses yet so she was finding it difficult.

"I warned you that I would remove Lady Granger from your presence if you continued on with this behaviour." Thorin's deep voice behind her spoke firmly. Hermione hadn't realised that he meant she would ride with him if the boys continued. Hermione opened her mouth to ask if he would prefer she ride with another dwarf that wasn't Fili or Kili but Thorin's strong left arm came around her middle holding her securely in place before he urged his horse to move out. Thorin held the reins with only his right hand which was currently resting on her mid to lower thigh as they followed the road. Hermione didn't know how she felt about this contact. Fili and Kili only rested their heads on her shoulder, in fact so had Balin, although a little less affectionately, more out of convenience. But all the dwarves she had ridden with so far had just held their arms by her sides holding the reins so she wouldn't slip of the horse but still leaving her room to move. Whereas Thorin's hold held her firmly in place, as his left hand rested in the curve of her waist, Hermione felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. Not a feeling of discomfort, but whatever this foreign feeling was she didn't mind it at all. She actually found his strong hold on her comforting, she felt quite safe. After about ten minutes of sitting with her back straight, not sure whether it would be alright with Thorin if she leaned against him like she did with the others, she very slowly relaxed her muscles starting in her neck, then across her shoulders and down her spine until she was pressed against his solid form. As she did so, Thorin adjusted slightly to the movement, slackening the hold of his arm and rather than holding her in place he rested it against her comfortably, though he kept his back straight, head held high as he lead the group farther into the wild.

…

"Mr Gandalf, can you do something about this deluge?" Dori called from the back of the line.

"It is raining Master Dori and it will continue to rain until the rain is done." Gandalf stated, "If you want to change the weather of the world you should find yourself another wizard."

"Are there other wizards?" Bilbo asked, "…in Middle Earth." He quickly added looking in the direction of Hermione.

"Yes, five to be exact. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards ..." Gandalf paused a moment, "You know I've quite forgotten their names. And the fifth would be Radagast the Brown."

"What kind of wizard is he? A great one or ... is he more like you?" Bilbo asked unaware that he had just indirectly insult the wizard next to him.

"I think he is great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to other people and keeps a watchful eye over the abundant forests to the east." Gandalf looked down from his horse and smiled at Bilbo. "And a good thing to," he looked towards Hermione, "as always evil will look to spread in this world."

"Hermione," came the simultaneous whinging of Fili and Kili, "Can you do anything about this rain?"

"Yes, but not today." Hermione stated not offering to do anything about it because even if she did shield them from the rain they were already soaked, and blocking the rain but not warming them would put them at risk of catching a cold. "Besides none of you trust me or my magic so why would I even bother." No-one spoke after that, each of the sceptical dwarves mulled over her statement.

They each decided that from now on they would give her magic a chance, still taking caution, but allowing her to openly display her abilities.

"Oh but Hermione," they started to whinge again in unison, which with a swift flick of her wand, she put an end to it, silencing them. They opened and closed their mouths like fish but not a single sound came out. The other dwarves looked on in shock except for Gloin, who burst out laughing.

"I'm already beginning to like your magic if it can shut those two up." Gloin bellowed from the back of the company, still laughing away, as he couldn't stand the whinging that these two dwarves carried on with.

Hermione couldn't hold back the shiver that ran through her body any longer, although this shiver was not just the rain's fault. Hermione was seeing flashes of the war as Gandalf spoke of darkness. She didn't want to be noticed by Thorin as he wasn't in a good mood, since the rain started he had snapped at anyone who addressed him in any way. But unfortunately, having her back pressed against him, Thorin did notice and to Hermione's complete shock and gratitude Thorin drew his coat around her, encompassing her in his body heat. Hermione allowed herself to find comfort from her thoughts in Thorin's warmth. The warmth surprised Hermione, she hadn't realised that under the leather there was an inner lining of soft, heat retaining fur. Hermione made a mental note to transfigure the lining of her vest into fur. Thorin had the hood of his cloak up over his head to protect against the rain, and as he saw the rain still falling on Hermione's face, slowly and as subtly as he could, Thorin leaned forward until his chin was resting gently on top of her head providing shelter for her but also a feeling of comfort for himself, a feeling he had long forgotten.

…

A branch snapped to the left of the company, all looked around cautiously examining their surroundings trying to determine if there was any threat present. They stopped riding, silent as the grave, as they drew their swords. Hermione already had her wand out the moment the branch snapped, unsilencing the Durin brothers, in case they were ambushed.

Bilbo was looking around nervously, as he had no form of protection and even if he did he would have no idea how to protect himself, but after a few minutes of not being ambushed, Thorin silently gestured for them to move on. Slowly a few of the dwarves began to mutter amongst themselves through the sheets of rain.

"I'm rather disappointed some orcs didn't jump out of the shadows, I could do with freshening up on my skills." Nori called to Dori, who just huffed at his brother's recklessness.

"Orcs." Bilbo exclaimed, Hermione felt Thorin's entire body clench at the word. "You don't think we'll cross paths with any dangerous creatures, do you Gandalf?"

"We may and we may not." Gandalf said offhandedly, knowing that if he was honest with the hobbit that it was likely that they would cross paths with one or two wild creatures, poor Bilbo would worry himself sick.

"Why, you worried about having to kill, hobbit?" Dwalin called back to the hobbit, still thinking the wild was no place for gentle folk, like their hobbit.

"Kill! I'm not going to have to murder am I?" Hermione could hear the distress in the hobbit's voice, and felt sorry that he may lose that innocence of having never claimed a life. None of the dwarves answered him, which only caused fear and worry to consume Bilbo's mind.

"When the time comes dear Bilbo, you will have to learn to defend yourself, but until then, be on your guard and if we do come across any trouble stay close to any of us, we will all protect you." Some of the dwarves looked disgruntled and mortified at Gandalf's words. Some even began to protest until Hermione's voice rose above them all.

"It is our duty as part of the company to protect one another." She didn't need to turn around to see the beaten looks on the dwarves' faces, she knew that that would stump them.

Discovering that he was free to use his voice once more, Kili called out to Hermione in his most manly voice hoping to get a rise out of his brother who seemed quite attached to their witch already. "You can stay close to me, Lady Hermione, so we may protect you too." Before he could look over at Fili's reactions, Hermione's laughter filled the air for a moment, before she got a hold of herself. Trying to suppress her amusement she shouted, so they could hear her as she was unable to turn and face then in Thorin's hold.

"My dear Kili, I am perfectly capable of defending myself. If you are looking to be the hero to save a damsel in distress, I hate to disappoint, but you've got the wrong woman."

The majority of the dwarves started chuckling. Thorin looked over to see his nephews' mouths opening and closing like before, and even he found himself chuckling at the fact that Kili had been stumped, not an easy feat. Hermione, chuckling under her breath, smiled as she felt Thorin's chest rumble against her back. The leader's amusement was heard by the others, which surprised them as he never laughed and it was rare to see him smile, so for the dwarves to hear his laughter, it was truly special, especially for Balin who dropped his head to hide his watery eyes. Balin, in all the years since Erebor was taken, could count the amount of times Thorin had smiled on his fingers. Hearing his chuckle brought back memories of a time of joy and prosperity in Thorin's life, where smiling and laughing was not so rare.

"Have you taken a life before Lady Hermione?" Bilbo questioned from the middle of the pack. Everyone sobered at the question. Thorin felt Hermione stiffen a little at the question before slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"Yes." She called just loud enough for them all to hear.

She was cornered. Five of them circling her. Her vision blurred and unable to focus on the voices that were suffocating her. Hermione had been dominating the battle field when they got the signal to pull back. That's when she noticed Ron had his back to a hooded figure who was raising their wand. She ran towards him as fast as her legs would carry her and managed to stand between him and the death eater but wasn't quick enough to raise her own wand and was crucio'd for who knows how long. Finally the searing pain stopped, but now she was surrounded, with no way out. Hermione looked around searching for a head of fiery red hair, hoping that he managed to get away safely. No stunners or simple curses could get her out of this mess. She knew what she had to do and she knew she would never be the same again. Moody's words filtered through her mind.

"If you want to save lives then you'll take them" growled Moody during one her their many private training sessions. The horror must have been evident on her face.

"Whose life is more important Granger?! If you don't kill them then they will kill you and all those you ever cared for!"

"Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe," Dumbledore sighed, turning to Hermione and giving her a sympathetic look, one she was soon to fully understand.

Finally the sounds around her drew her out of her thoughts, as they started to form words and then sentences,

"Well looky here boys, looks like we've cornered ourselves Potter's filthy mudblood. What to do with her?" The other hooded figure snigger at his words.

One of the figures to her left started to slowly edge closer.

"I say we have a little fun with her, you know, before we take her to the Dark Lord." His eyes raking over her body inch by inch, never had she felt so vulnerable and utterly violated in her life.

"Stay back! You have no idea what I'm capable of," Hermione barks out, her voice cracking ever so slightly from the fear of knowing what would come if she didn't do what needed to be done to survive.

Her wand was hidden but already trained on the man to her left. The man to her right makes his move, and she flicks her wand at him "Sectumsempra", a flash of orange flies over her shoulder to her left, "Confringo" the black-hooded figure exploded into flames screaming as he writhed on the ground in pain. The three in front all advance on her not bothering to assist their slowly dying comrades.

Their wands were at the ready but she was not the type to back down. She used Petrificus Totalus on one, sending it him into a full-body bind, crashing to the ground, but as she cast it the other two leapt for her. "Incarcerous" she called out in panic, binding one in ropes, as the only one left tackled her, pining her arms to the ground. She felt him press his body against hers, lowering his head until his mouth was against her ear. His hot breath crawled across her skin as he inhaled and exhaled, breathing her in. She could feel his lips moving, forming words, yet she could hear nothing but the silent ringing in her mind.

She knew she had one chance, could only cast one spell and she sent him flying. It was over in a matter of seconds, a sudden flash of green shot from Hermione's wand, leaving the hooded-figure lying lifeless in the dirt.

As she spoke those two words, she felt as if a wild beast was shredding her stomach, clawing it from the inside out. As the curse left her wand she felt as if ice was running through her veins shooting up her arms and into her chest, causing her heart to constrict with anguish. These two words had inevitably changed her. She could feel her youth and innocence fade ever so slightly as she uttered those two words. They left a bitter taste in her mouth. A taste that darkens even the purest of souls.

The image of his lifeless body and empty eyes burnt itself into her memory. There is no going back now. Hermione realised that there never was any chance of going back to normal at all. This was war, and even Hermione new that this was just a taste of what was yet to come.

…

Thorin could hear Hermione's breathing becoming more and more erratic, her body beginning to tense again.

"Lady Granger," Thorin whispered as his left arm, still around her middle, shook her a little, trying to bring her back from the depths of her mind. He heard her take a sharp breath as she shook her head, clearing it from the fog of memories and coming back to reality. She slumped back against Thorin again, letting out a sigh.

"Thank you." She whispered, so quietly that she was unsure he had heard her until his arm around her flexed slightly before relaxing again. Hermione understood that he was acknowledging that he had heard her, but to her it felt as though he was giving her a hug. She allowed herself to close her eyes, rain teeming down on them.

Thank you all for your continued support :D