This chapter is for LadyDunla, who gave me the last extra motivation to get this chapter out! You are the best!

I'm sorry to everyone for taking so long to write this chapter. I had writer's block but, I think I worked through it pretty well! Hopefully you all like it :). I should mention that school is going crazy right now and won't be able to write another chapter for a while. And now... time to get back to homework! (I just want to sleeeeeeppppp!)

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except for Roger, Arianna and Isabella- They're all mine!

Thank you to all my viewers, reviewers, followers and favorites! You guys are the greatest!

Chapter 14: Titles and House Elves

It should be noted that while the girls did introduce the dwarves to Roger, did explain he was a house elf and did tell the story of how they had become friends, there was one thing that they didn't do.

They didn't answer Ori's question about what exactly a house elf was.

Which, looking back on it now, probably would have helped the company more than the stories of mischief the three told.

If they were absolutely honest with themselves, the girls would realize that they themselves barely understood exactly what made a house elf, a house elf. For the tiny beings were more than the creatures that picked up your messes, that cooked for you, or cared for your family.

They kept your secrets, helped raise your children, and loved you more than you loved yourself (as long as you treated them properly of course). They would even die protecting you or believe in your ideals well beyond your own lifespan.

None of the company knew this however, and so the first morning with the house elf passed in ignorance.

Roger did not know what Mister Bombur was doing. Didn't Mister Bombur know that that was Roger's job? And there! Misters Fili and Kili were gathering wood!

No no no- Roger is a bad elf!

"Be still little one." Dwalin was watching, concern on his face as the tiny creature clutched his ears and shook his head, wide eyes filling with tears. When those eyes turned up to meet Dwalin's, the large dwarf felt a jolt of compassion pass through his body.

What had made the little thing so upset?

Having decided to voice his thoughts aloud, Dwalin was shocked by his answer.

"Roger is a Bad Elf; he should be taking care of everyone. Instead he sits here." The tattooed dwarf wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to the elf referring to himself in the third person all the time. Then he realized that the elf was upset that he wasn't helping.

Well, we may be able to make use of him yet.

"Well if that's all lad, then you can do as much as you want when we stop for dinner. I'll let Bombur and the others know."

Dwalin couldn't deny the spark of pride he felt at seeing the elf's eyes light up.

"Oh thank you sir! You are a Great and Noble dwarf!" the tiny thing cried before running off to Arianna and Isabella. Dwalin could hear the elf's high-pitched voice explain to the girls about what the "Great and Noble Dwalin" had promised. And if he straightened his back just a little bit more at the house elf's name for him, well...

He'd never admit to anything.

After lunch, Dwalin once again carried the now-happy creature on his bag. The girls had decided to walk up with Thorin however, and they appeared to be in the middle of a serious conversation. Dwalin really wanted to casually walk faster and hear what it was they were discussing and as he was about to put his plan in motion, he realized that he wasn't walking by himself anymore.

And from the sounds of it, he hadn't been for a few minutes.

"So that's why you can only refer to him as 'Thorin the Most Majestic and Magnanimous'."

Crap. Shite. Buggering bloody Drake and Dragon.

"Kili! Fili! What are you telling the house elf?" Dwalin whipped his head back and forth, from one innocent face to the other.

"We are just informing our new friend on the proper way to refer to Uncle Thorin, oh Great and Noble Dwalin." Fili replied before both brothers let out evil giggles and ran to the back of the group.

"Elf, you will not refer to Thorin in such a manner. You may call him 'Your Majesty' if you wish, but none of this Majestic and Magnanimous business." Dwalin growled out, thinking that he had handled the situation quite well and that the elf would clearly realize the boys were just being boys.

That is, until he felt a little hand pat the top of his head and the elf's squeaky voice reply.

"It's alright Great and Noble Dwalin, the Incredibly Handsome Kili and Extremely Intelligent and Better-Looking Fili explained the situation to Roger. I will of course continue to address The Most Majestic and Magnanimous Thorin in the manner which he deserves, even though you are all unable to properly say the words. Don't worry, Roger will say them for you Great and Noble Dwalin."

What?! That's not what… just… What?!

Dwalin always knew that the largest argument of his life would involve an elf. He just didn't expect to be carrying said elf and be placated by the creature as he soundly lost all at the same time.

Next time, Thorin can carry the damn thing.

Isabella left Arianna and Thorin, allowing the two to speak alone. They had spent the past two hours telling Thorin as much as they knew about Voldemort: his various tactics, past deeds and anything else that came to mind. Now however, she could tell that they wanted some alone time.

Well, maybe wanted was the wrong word but, only because they didn't know that they wanted alone time. Isabella knew that Arianna needed some time alone with Thorin though, if only because Isabella knew that she needed some time with Kili.

She also knew that the information they had just given Thorin might have been a bit much for the moment. The dwarf king had paid close attention the whole time though- it's hard to be distracted from the conversation that might be giving you pointers on how to keep your people from being killed by a narcissistic egomaniac.

The heavy topic didn't come without its repercussions however, and Isabella felt herself once again dragged down by the situation. Her previous doubts started creeping in, thoughts that had plagued her ever since they decided to stay at Hogwarts to finish their last year.

Isabella would be lying if she said that her relationship, or lack thereof, with her mother didn't affect her view of herself. Most of the time she covered her insecurities with her mischief and wit, but last year she knew that it had been time to grow up. So she shoved the Isabella that loved to laugh and torment old caretakers into a box and created the New her hair cut channeled New Isabella, giving her face a harsher edge which just seemed so fitting.

19 years old and trying to save a world she didn't even know existed until 2 years ago. And now… now she and Arianna were fighting with those who were even younger than her because the adults couldn't figure out how to get their shit together, while at the same time trying to get Thorin and his people their home back. Most of the time it was just overwhelming and the girl often wondered how they were going to survive the confrontation that was surely to come.

Seeing Kili though had brought the Old Isabella back. Somehow he made her feel like anything was possible- that this was just the next prank, the next act of mischief waiting to happen.

And right now, she needed to be near him, so that he can tell her that the world isn't as big as it seems and that it's not all on her shoulders.

Kili was still laughing over the argument between the red-faced Dwalin and the calm Roger when Isabella fell into step next to him. He took one look at her too-strained-smile and sad eyes before making a small hand motion to Fili that clearly was asking for some alone time.

Fili cast a worried look over at the solemn girl before mumbling something about "Balin" and "fish".

Kili made a mental note to pester his older brother about his lame excuses later. He was a Durin for Mahal's sake, surely he could come up with something better than "fish".

Right now however, he had a witch to cheer up.

"What is wrong my Azinlaz? Did Uncle say something to upset you?"

Isabella gave him a small smile and shook her head. "No, but I believe we may have upset him. Arianna and I were talking about Voldemort and things that he's done before. Thorin thought that the information would help him anticipate any moves the thing might make. And we discussed possible locations for the twin arch. Basically, we talked about a whole lot of nothing and got no where."

Kili didn't like the hint of defeat in her voice or the heavy sigh that followed her statement. He grabbed her hand and squeezed, making her stop and look at him.

"Remember when you jumped in front of that warg?" At Isabella's shy nod, he continued. "In that moment, I saw the true you and I want you to know, that you are beautiful, strong and a fighter. I believe that you can do anything my Azinlaz. Never doubt yourself and don't ever give up."

Isabella felt a tear slide down her cheek at his words and Kili reached up a hand to brush it away.

"Thank you." Isabella's voice came out as barely a whisper but Kili heard it anyway. Deciding that it was time to lighten the mood, Kili's face broke into a smile.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Fili and I hid at least 10 frogs in Uncle Thorin's bed?"

Isabella's delighted laugh echoed around the clearing they were now passing through, Kili's animated voice telling her of Thorin's less-than-pleased reaction while his hand still gripped hers in it's comforting grasp.

They made camp early that evening, with Gandalf promising that they would reach his friend's house about midmorning the next day. The minute it became apparent to Roger that they were settling in for the night, the house elf was off like a shot.

The dwarves and hobbit stood around in shock, more from the fact that the house elf kept disappearing from sight with a pop and then reappearing just as suddenly (and noisily) with armfuls of wood. They also were unable to prevent their shock when, with a sudden snap of his fingers, Roger had a merry fire crackling at the logs, as if it had been burning for ages.

The girls felt 14 pairs of eyes on them as they moved to the fire to sit down as the house elf rushed to his sack to unpack what was left of the food from that day. Smirking, Arianna turned back to the still amazed dwarves and hobbit (Gandalf kept acting like he had experienced this all the time, the old liar) and raised an eyebrow. Isabella was the one that spoke however.

"Sit down. Dwalin, you did tell him that he could do as much as he wanted when we stopped for dinner. He's a house elf for Merlin's sake, what did you all expect? Oh! That reminds me- Roger, you're forbidden from punishing yourself. Understand?"

Roger had stopped at Isabella's command, his green eyes wide as he looked between the two girls, who both wore stern expressions. Quickly, he gave the girls a slight nod before continuing to unpack and warm up the food.

Bilbo, who had started to shuffle towards the fire with the group of dwarves, sat down across from the girls with a confused and worried look.

"Why would you need to say that to him?"

Arianna poked at the fire with a stick before sharing a look with Isabella.

Do you want to explain? her eyes asked.

Isabella gave a minute shake of her head. Arianna sighed before beginning to explain more about the curious little creatures.

"House elves live to please and take such pride and joy in caring for their wizard families, so much so in fact that if they ever feel as if they have failed them, they will punish themselves. Many pure blood families take advantage of their house elves, either by making them live in terrible conditions or making sure they punish themselves for things that shouldn't even warrant a punishment. Perhaps the worst punish for a house elf though, is to be given clothes."

"Clothes?" A deep voice from her side asked- Thorin had sat down next to her while she was speaking and was currently watching the tiny creature as it started to pass out food to all the dwarves. He nodded in thanks as the elf gave him a large plate of food before it moved on to serve Arianna and Isabella.

"Clothes. House elves wear a type of sack, you see. Some of them are old, dirty things that look like pillow cases but, many of the rich and old pure blood families have their elves wear uniforms, such as Roger's right now- although his shows that he's a Hogwarts elf."

"So did he always work at Hogwarts?" This time it was Ori who piped up.

Arianna actually didn't know the answer to that question but, she shook her head furiously, hoping that Ori would pick up on her sign of be quiet!

She and Isabella had never asked Roger that question, knowing that if he had had a family before Hogwarts, then it would have been a terrible thing to remind him of. House elves view being given clothes as a fate worse than death so the girls just avoided the subject entirely.

"Roger used to work for a family. But then Roger burned the Important Dinner and they gave Roger clothes! Roger is a BAD ELF! BAD ROGER!" Everyone jumped at Roger's shrill cry and self-loathing. The house elf had been giving Gandalf, who was farthest away from the fire and last to be served, his food when he started scolding himself and made a mad dash for the fire, his intent to burn himself in punishment clear on his little face.

Dwalin, alarmed by the tiny creature's determination to hurt himself, lunged forward and pulled the little thing on to his lap just before it reached the fire. Cradling the still frantic elf, Dwalin started speaking to it in a low voice, telling him that he wasn't a bad elf, that he was a very good elf.

Both the girls had jumped up upon seeing Roger start running for the fire and were now crowded around Dwalin, trying to take Roger from his arms so they too could comfort the elf.

Unfortunately, they had to settle for rubbing his head and back, as Dwalin's paternal instincts decided to show themselves in that moment. He effectively blocked the girls attempts to take the house elf away and even growled something at them is Khudzul- Arianna assumed it wasn't very polite.

Thorin and Balin exchanged glances and raised eyebrows at the tattooed dwarf's behavior.

Dwalin was furious. Yes, he had thought that the creature was a burden just this morning, but he had learned since then. But to think that the people that the house elf had cared for had thrown him aside like he was a piece of trash.

Dwalin knew how that had felt. Ever since the fall of Erebor, Men and Elves (well, Elves had looked at them that way even before the fall of Erebor) had looked at him, his Prince, and his kin in the exact same way.

No creature deserved that, especially not this tiny thing.

Eventually the tiny creature calmed down enough to look up at Dwalin and actually listen to what he was saying.

"The Great and Noble Dwalin doesn't think that Roger is bad?"

"None of us do Roger." Dwalin assured him. The elf peaked out from behind the dwarf's arms, giving the girls a small smile and then looked at all of the dwarves sitting around the campfire. Finally, his eyes settled on Thorin.

"Even Thorin the Most Majestic and Magnanimous?"

Everyone tried their hardest not to burst out into laughter at the sight of Thorin's shocked face- he and the girls had been in the middle of their conversation during Fili and Kili's mischief and the resulting argument between Dwalin and Roger. Somehow, through an amazing display of control, Thorin managed to school his look of shock into one of sincerity and nodded to the tiny thing.

Smiling brightly, Roger crawled out of Dwalin's lap and started piling some food onto a plate for himself (but not before looking around to make sure that everyone had enough food).

After everyone finished eating, Roger was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, the excitement from the day and the fact that he had been awake for half a day already back in Hogwarts catching up with him. Quietly, the girls and Bilbo gathered up the dishes and set off to clean them in the nearby stream.

Dwalin laid out his sleeping mat (it had somehow survived Goblin City) and watched as Roger sleepily curled up in the upper left corner of it. The rest of the dwarves either laid out sleeping mats or made beds out of handfuls of the long and sweet-smelling grass that surrounded them.

Thorin offered to take first watch, with Bofur taking second and Balin third.

That night, an amused Bofur (and Bilbo, who wouldn't admit that he was having difficulty sleeping without the warm comfort of the dwarf next to him) watched as Roger woke up and silently started cleaning Dwalin's weapons before moving around the circle of dwarves, cleaning and sharpening knives, axes, and swords whenever he believed it necessary. Finally he walked up to Bofur and Bilbo, politely requesting if he could tend to the dwarf's mattock and the hobbit's sword.

Smiling his "Bofur smile", the kindly dwarf handed his mattock over to the house elf while the hobbit kept wondering how the tiny thing could lift the dwarven weapons. Nevertheless, he handed over his tiny sword (or letter opener as Balin had called it) when Roger held out his hand for it.

His task finally completed, Roger sleepily walked over to Dwalin's bed roll and curled up on the snoring dwarf's chest, his head tucked down to his knees.

Azinlaz = Star

So what did everyone think? I couldn't help writing protective!Dwalin... I really couldn't. This ISN'T going to be a Roger/Dwalin story btw!

Please review and tell me what you think!