Visitor 44

Hello all! Well, I finally got around to writing more... I hope that the next chapter won't take this long to write. Also, I realised last night, when I looked over my somewhat-planned-out timeline of this story that the end of Part II is approaching! There's only a few chapters left before Part III will start! -and honestly i have absolutely no idea how long that one will be-
I'm currently in Japan, my school started yesterday, so hopefully I'll fall into a proper rhythm soon. I've been quite busy as of lately to make sure all paperwork was in order, as even now I'm here there doesn't seem to be an end to it... Add to that the fact that i have to get up at 4am to be able to speak to my girlfriend.. urgh, what is life. But I'll try to make time to write so I won't disappoint my lovely readers!

Enjoy


The newspapers had delivered the news of Dumbledore's demise before the teachers had done so, which was not very appreciated by student and parents alike. Hermione pretended to be as shocked as everyone, having heard the news before from her Lord, but she simply didn't have enough time to spend too much of a thought at it. Next week was a Hogsmeade weekend, and she sincerely hoped that they would let the students go, as a second letter of her Lord had arrived yesterday, an 'invitation' to escape the castle coming Saturday to accompany him to Gringotts.

The order had surprised her greatly; she had not expected him to have time to get involved in the issue personally with everything that had to fill the man's agenda. Nonetheless, she was very glad for it. That would hopefully be the last convincement the Goblins needed about whether she had spoken the truth or not. And perhaps it would get Rita off her high horse too…

Speaking of Rita, she had seen quite little of the woman. At first she had constantly hung around, but she seemed to find it bothersome to spend so much time in her bug form, and she could hardly ever change because of others being around. Instead, Rita was buzzing around Britain, establishing contacts and stirring things up wherever she came. Hermione had to admit that she… missed the woman. For all their fighting, Rita had provided a challenge to her intelligence, a sharp tongue that could withstand her own wit. If Hermione wouldn't have had been so busy all of the time, life might have seemed incredibly dull without the other being around all of a sudden.

Now Hermione had sent in her last report, she suddenly found herself with a few days in which there was little to do but homework and lessons, and when she finally found that she had finished all of that, there was suddenly completely nothing to do. The feeling was so foreign after weeks of non-stop working that it disoriented her. The first thing she had done, of course, was sleep, but ever since this morning there had been a feeling of restlessness, the result of a mind that suddenly had no challenge anymore after such a long time of continuous effort.

Hermione got up abruptly, not able to sit still any longer. It was past curfew already, but she could be bothered no longer by such trivial rules. Besides, the teachers were far too busy trying to sort out the mess Dumbledore had left with his death to bother patrolling the halls now, and the Prefects who were on duty had taken to sitting in their common rooms to calm down the frightened children in ht years below them who couldn't sleep now the Hogwarts staff clearly wasn't capable of defending them. It would only be a matter or time before a new headmaster or mistress was appointed, but Dumbledore's death had made many finally aware of how real this war was.

She wondered when the first owls would arrive, bringing people the news of their parents who wanted them gone from Hogwarts, which was now not as safe as everyone had always believed. If the dark army would march against them, the staff wouldn't stand a chance. Hermione wasn't concerned however, she knew that Voldemort cared too much about Hogwarts to see it destroyed, and that he preferred to take it over from the inside instead over starting a war on these grounds.

She stalked through the dark hallways, having gotten used to them after being a prefect for half a year, and the portraits didn't bother her anymore as they couldn't know she wasn't on duty. Not knowing what she was searching for exactly, Hermione just let her feet carry her to where they would take her.

In no time, she ended up at the library, not very surprised when seeing where she was. She smiled at the familiar sight of the books that greeted her, the dusty tomes her best friends now Ron and Harry were not at Hogwarts anymore. Rita was also here sometimes but Hermione couldn't really count the woman as a friend…

Her fingers glided over the leather spines, not searching for anything in particular, but just liking the feeling of it beneath her finger tips. Suddenly she jerked up however, when hearing soft voices coming from somewhere in the heart of the library. She snuck closer, ducking her head and careful to not make any sort of noise.

"- is safe?" a faint voice asked, and she identified it as male despite how high it was.

"It's the middle of the night, of course it's safe here," another grumbled, also male.

The voice unmistakably belonged to professor Sameer. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see more in the darkness of the library, glad for the maze of books that hid her from view but annoyed at that she couldn't pinpoint where exactly the voices came from. She didn't want to turn a corner and suddenly run into them. She cursed herself for not being able yet to do nonverbal spells perfectly, or else she could have found out where they were by a point-me spell. Instead, she pressed her ear against a nearby bookcase to hear if it came from behind there or somewhere else.

"I'm not so sure," yet another man replied, and while Hermione had not heard him speak many times, the caretaker's gruff voice wasn't one someone forgot easily. She wondered as to what his real name was… She had heard Harry refer to him as Eyolf, but once she'd she'd seen him on the map and his name had been Arve Greyhunter, while Dumbledore had introduced him as Mr Senka, by which he was known amongst students. She would just assume the map was right… "My instincts are telling me that something is wrong…"

"Aren't you just being paranoid? Assassins are-"

She heard someone hiss to shut the other up, and silence fell over the library once more as she held her breath and hoped they could not hear the loud beating of her heart. "You fool," Greyhunter spoke, his voice so low that she had to strain her ears to hear him. "Don't speak of such things… now.. Homenum revelio!"

Hermione squeaked as a second later, someone stood behind her, holding her in a chokehold, lips at her ear telling her not to move. Instead, she elbowed backwards and slipped free as the man howled out in pain, only to be blocked by another who grabbed her forearms and twisted her around so she couldn't use her knees to do the same.

"Student out of bed?" the man with the soft, somewhat high voice said, and she suddenly recognised him as professor Ambrosius.

"Let her go, that's Granger… she's on our side and He has personally spoken to her before. She's a friend of Harry Potter," professor Sameer interrupted, and Hermione rubbed her wrists as she was released. "But that doesn't mean she should be out of bed, ten points from Gryffindor for sneaking about after curfew," the man continued, breaking off her weak 'thank you.'

"So, what's going on?" she asked. "And before you say it's none of my business, if it concerns the Dark, it concerns me." She folded her arms over her chest, glaring at the men. "Although I didn't know that you were dark professor," she told her new Herbology teacher, who gave her a smirk back. Fuck, she should really make up her mind about who she was going to fall for because damn was that smirk sexy. Hermione turned away, her cheeks stained with a blush before she let thoughts of Ron fill her mind, before thoughts of Rita suddenly pushed those away. She sighed heavily, unaware of the three men giving her confused looks.

"Right, Ms Granger… Dumbledore appointed me, but unbeknownst to him, I have always been an avid supporter of the Dark Lord. I was just careful to not show it and he was enthusiastic enough about my knowledge of magical flora to hire me without digging too deeply into my records. I believe that we are slowly starting to form a majority here in Hogwarts since the light teachers keep getting themselves killed off in battle," he remarked dryly. "It's a pity that the divination teacher became that damned centaur… one of the only centaurs who liked Dumbledore and his ideas. I honestly don't know if he got kicked in the head when he was still a foal but I suspect that might be the only thing that could have him believing Dumbledore's ideas were good."

Hermione giggled at that, a far too girlish giggle that had last left her lips when she'd had the hots for Krum. Well fuck life. She wasn't even sure about her own feelings for a certain reporter and now she was swooning at someone else? This was turning far too quickly in a teen drama to her taste. Perhaps she should just embrace the life of an old spinster and be happy with that. All of this was far too confusing.

"But we were talking business… We all received a message from the Dark Lord, stating what is to be done next and we were discussing it," professor Ambrosius spoke, on which Eyolf hissed.

"What did I tell you to not speak about such important things without silencing spells?"

"I thought you'd put them up the moment after you said that," Ambrosius replied, annoyed. The assassin cursed and withdrew a stubby wand from his pocket.

"If it wasn't for the incompetence of the people around me I wouldn't even have to carry this. In fact, I shouldn't carry it because the rest of the staff thinks I'm a squib!" he glared at the other two men. Ambrosius threw him an annoyed, yet slightly uncomfortable look, while Sameer seemed completely unfazed.

"I very much doubt the rest of the staff will have time to monitor you," the caramel-skinned man spoke calmly. "The headmaster just died, they have more on their minds."

"Is it clear who will be the next headmaster?" Hermione asked. "McGonagall or… "

"Most likely Minerva, yes, unless for some reason she were to refuse the position herself, which I doubt, or be killed in the next battle. Personally I hope she will die as Hogwarts will continue as before, with Dumbledore's ideas as long as she is still here. She was a devoted, if perhaps misguided follower of the Light after all. I'm not sure to what extent she knew of and agreed with Dumbledore's schemes but…"

"Who is with us of the staff now?" the girl asked.

"Us three, obviously, and Snape… Some were not in the Order and I suspect both Aurora… well I suppose you know her as professor Sinistra, I'll use their surnames. Sinistra and Babbling at least lean towards supporting the dark. Both of them keep to themselves during meetings and in the castle and have never participated in Dumbledore's slander of the dark, and even spoken up against him a few times. Perhaps Vector would not be against the dark either, but I she keeps to herself, her books and numbers a lot. I can't get a clear view of her. All in all, the only ones left who support Dumbledore's ideals are Flitwick, McGonagall, Hooch, Firenze, Hagrid, Burbage, Madame Pinch and Madame Pomfrey. Grubby-Plank too, maybe, but she's only a substitute for when Hagrid is unavailable. And then there's Binns but he doesn't care about anything but goblin and giant wars," he concluded.

"Actually Madame Pomfrey is kind of okay with the dark," Hermione shrugged. "She likes Harry. Ron and I kidnapped her a while back because he didn't want another healer. I think the Dark Lord is afraid of her. Professor Vector actually spoke out against the dark in class a few times, sadly. She admires the Dark Lord for his genius but is against his ideas. And for professor Burbage… she might be convinced when she sees that Muggles will actually benefit a lot from this too."

At least Eyolf did not seem convinced, but the other two watched her with thoughtful expressions. "Maybe," Sameer finally said, "And I'm glad for the information on the nurse and Vector. It helps give us a clearer view about our situation and where we stand. So, five dark for certain, six light, one neutral and three undecided?"

"Basically. I'll report it to the Dark Lord, although it may be information he is already aware of. Now, Granger, you had better hurry to bed again. There's nothing you can currently help us with," the assassin told her, his eyes narrowing. She decided that she did not like the man at all. She crossed her arms. "Oh, really? I do happen to know the Dark lord personally, and the task he gave me is nearly complete."

"After which you will receive the one you really wanted, with which you'll be quite busy enough," Eyolf retorted. She gaped at him before closing her mouth with a 'clack'. "I'm a trained spy, don't think I'm a fool."

"Why did you attack me?"

"I saw someone move, I hardly stopped to identify you before restraining you, that would have been wasting precious time. I would have let you go once I had…" Hermione wasn't convinced, she thought it far more likely that he would have forced her out of the library or killed her on the spot. "But that was not the issue we were talking of. You stick to your own missions and let us do ours."

Hermione looked at the other two men for silent support, and felt an unreasonable sense of betrayal when she only got two blank stares. "Fine," she snapped. Urgh, why were men such assholes… she turned around abruptly, not feeling like doing anything anymore, and snuck back to Gryffindor tower, nearly shrieking when she opened the drapes around her bed only to find someone already there. "Rita!" she hissed, half-angry, half-relieved.

Getting no answer, Hermione tentatively touched the woman's shoulder, and Rita mumbled something before snuggling deeper into the pillow. Hermione released a suffering sigh and climbed in bed, magically shutting the drapes again. She'd deal with the woman in the morning.


"Harry! There he is…"

"Our favourite angsty teen!"

Harry closed his eyes briefly and sent a prayer for patience to above before he turned around to face two identical grins. Surprisingly enough, they weren't the only ones there. Charlie and Mr Weasley stood slightly behind them, one at ease and one clearly wishing to be somewhere else. Harry knew though that even if Mr Weasley had agreed to stay Neutral, Marvolo wanted him under constant surveillance, which meant that if he had to go anywhere, he'd have to go with one of his children that were trusted by the Dark.

Harry smile faltered when he saw that the twins weren't quite as identical as they had been before. "What happened?" he asked one of them, eyeing the bandage around the other's head.

"Oh, you know, my ear got blown off. Smashing curse, that was. Also, now people can finally keep us apart! George here, in case you didn't know. Of course you didn't know." George said cheerfully. At least I won't have to worry about Bill trying to convince me to pierce my ears anymore!"

"It's not something to joke about boys," Mr Weasley said in a tired voice.

"Look on the bright side, he still has a nose!" Fred threw in. A dry cough sounded from the doorway and the grins immediately faltered. "Not… Not that not having a nose isn't sexy, My Lord," Fred hastened to say.

"I have a nose," Marvolo bit out, and irritation flowed through the link, making Harry wince before his lover shot him an apologetic look and the emotions calmed somewhat. "It's just flat," the man muttered, almost sulkily, making Harry smile. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to collect our little brother. He's needed in the shop."
"Yeah, the puking pastilles don't sell nearly as well… "
"Ron isn't there anymore to test them on in public as free publicity you see."
"He was also handy to test love potions on."
"I mean, the potions really had to be extremely strong,"
"If we wanted a girl to fall for him."

Harry laughed. It was so typical for the Twins to use their poor brother like that. Harry had honestly no clue how Ron and Ginny had survived past their fifth birthday with everything the Twins got up to and the pranks they pulled. Somehow, it made him feel a little better about not having had brothers. On the other hand, he'd much rather preferred his hair being turned green than being beaten up by Dudley's gang…

"Don't be mean," Harry said, shaking his head, also to clear it of the depressing thoughts. "And also, Ron has been promoted. He'll be far too busy to return to the shop, sorry. It's been kind of a fast development." There was no little amount of pride in his voice. He really liked that Ron had finally found a place where he seemed to be happy. He knew that it had bothered his friend a lot that he didn't seem to be able to do anything useful, so hopefully this would cheer him up.

Also, it was good to have Ron back in the house. Marvolo had decided that, if Ron was going to be his main strategist, he should be available at all times, and had once more offered him a place in the manor. This time Ron's room was a lot further from theirs than previously the case, after shocking the poor boy horribly a few times when they just about could not make it to their room in the heat of the moment and snogged in the corridor.

"Promoted? Our little brother?" George asked with curiousity. "To what, head poison-taster?"
"We all know he'd love that job…"
"Free food, high risk."

Harry sighed, his fun mood fading as he narrowed his eyes on them. "Head-strategist, actually. And oh, don't give me those surprised looks, you all know that Ron's brilliant at that. Give him some credit for once yeah? I know, I know, he's your little brother and you love teasing him and yes he has some annoying habits but he's not a kid anymore, and I am proud to have my best friend once again at my side, fighting for what we all believe in, doing something he's insanely good at."

They fell quiet, one of the Twins shuffling his feet, both looking ashamed. "I'm glad," Mr Weasley said simply, a slight smile playing around his lips. "I'm afraid Ron always felt… under-appreciated in our family. I tried to make time for him but we had little in common regarding hobbies and interests. I am still not sure about where I stand… you killed my wife, the love of my life and the mother of my children and while I understand why you did so, I will never forgive that… But I know where Ron stands, I know where Charlie and my Twins stand… and I see them happy here, appreciated, loved, and I am proud of that they found their hard-fought place in this world." He turned to his children, who were looking at him as if seeing him for the first time, and harry was severely impressed. Arthur had always been quiet, never quite speaking out his own opinion, which had constantly been overshadowed and overruled by Molly's.

"Dad… Thank you," Charlie finally managed to say, his voice trembling with emotion. These past months… I knew that I was doing the right thing, but still a voice in my head kept nagging me about how this was not what you'd have wanted me to do. How I was betraying my family… I had virtually no news from this world except for mom's letter, so I had no idea that George, Fred and Ron had joined the dark… What about the others actually? I'm sure Percy is still being a Ministry-prat, but what about Bill and Ginny?"

"Ginny is at Hogwarts, oblivious to everything going on, hopefully," Harry responded. "She'd better concentrate on schoolwork… I mean, Ron participating in the war, okay, but Ginny?"

"You, dear friend,"
"Have clearly never seen her duelling." The Twins said, shaking their heads.
"She's badass. Real badass."

Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't know… I've always kind of tried to avoid her ever since she got here because the stalking became too creepy. Remember the Harry-club she and Creevey had set up with their highest goal of the day to get a picture of me? And after her crush died down the habit stuck I guess. Apart from sometimes seeing her in the common room I hardly interacted with her. She's hardly the first one I'd go sharing war-plans with, even if she's your sister."

"Harry-club?" Marvolo asked, acid lacing his voice.

"Yeah basically they were my biggest fans and wanted autographs and pictures, and Lockhart didn't do much to make it better. And then I had to save her from the bloody chamber because of your Basilisk and H- cursed diary… I'm actually surprised that her fangirl-tendencies died down after, I had expected them to increase."

~Maybe she'd noticed you staring at a certain young me for far too long before saving her?~ his lover hissed, smirking.

"She was unconscious, don't flatter yourself love. She probably just grew up, or fell in love with someone else. Why are we even having this conversation? Half her family is in the room and she's not even here. Fred, George, did you come here only for Ron or…"

"Ah, no, we also have furthered our idea with having electrical devices run on manipulated magic. We've been able to make the magic more refined so it also works on delicate devices like cellphones. We have not risked a computer yet but… it seems to work with the phone."

"So, it is indeed highly possible to have every Muggle device run on magic in the end instead of electricity?"

"Yes," Fred said, nodding his head feverously. "Absolutely, My Lord."

"Good… Very good, this will be a major point when we start speaking to the Muggle Government, right after the elections have been held. And Charlie? Why are you here? Are the dragons not happy with the current arrangement?"

"On the contrary, My Lord," Charlie said, bowing slightly. "I came here on their behalf to express their thanks. You have been most generous, allowing the dragons to camp on your grounds and in the forest. It is less ideal than the mountains were, but we would be too far away if we were needed, and as the Christmas holidays are over, we might have been discovered if we had waited too long. Several of the dragons can speak Parsel, however, or at least a dialect of it, and they said they would be honoured to converse with you."

"And how exactly are you aware of the dragon's exact wishes?" Marvolo asked curiously. Harry had to admit that he was burning to know as well. Could Charlie actually speak with dragons?

"Two of the herd can speak human tongue. One rudimentary, and she does not see the need in improving it, and then there is Xaphia, who is learning more every day. From what he told me, Norberta transferred her knowledge to him, and he picked up from there."

"Dragons speaking human tongue…" Marvolo muttered. "I haven't heard of such a thing in all my travels. "What language, Romanian?"

"English, actually. She was apparently raised at the grounds of Hogwarts and her keeper tried to teach her. She did not appreciate it much, but I am glad for it." Harry snorted at that. He could just about see Hagrid pointing repeatedly at things and pronouncing them slowly while the dragon looked at him with disinterest.

Hagrid? Marvolo asked incredulously, picking up his thoughts.

Yeah... always a soft spot for highly dangerous creatures… Follow the spiders and everything will be alright… sure.

I'm glad you followed the snakes in the end, Marvolo commented, throwing him an amused look. Then, he turned to Charlie once more. "Tell them I shall be there tomorrow. I have a busy schedule already today, and I would like to take my time for it. Fred, George, I want a detailed report of your findings. Charlie, give my best regards to the dragons. They have my full permission to hunt any game in the forest that hasn't run away yet, and if there is not enough, ask my house-elves for supplies."

"Thank you for your generosity and hospitality, My Lord," Charlie said, dipping his head before turning and striding towards the doors again, followed by his brothers. Arthur lingered behind for a moment, looking as if he had something to say. Harry cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

The man cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke: "I know the Order said awful things about you Harry, and I am ashamed to admit that I sometimes participated in their slander in the heat of the moment, feeling bitter about you leaving us. But I do not feel that anymore, for I now know that you did what you perceived as right, not just to spite the Order. I have often regarded you as a son whenever you stayed with us, and while I don't think you ever saw me as a father, I felt I was and I feel like I have failed you. Please let me make that up to you. You deserve people who care about you."

"I'm surrounded by people who care about me now," Harry smiled, wrapping an arm around Marvolo's waist. He felt smugness radiating from the other man and looked up to the face he'd come to love so much again, smiling before looking back at Mr Weasley. "But I wouldn't mind you being added to that group." The man beamed at him and tapped against the small, odd hat he was wearing that made him look like an oversized Muggle garden gnome, apart from a lack of fat and beard. Then, the man ran out of the door to catch up with his sons.

"So… busy schedule?" Harry inquired. "I didn't think you had anything planned for today?"

"I actually do, though they are no obligations. I just felt that… well, with everything going on, we have not had a moment of peace. Between preparations for war, battling, your hospitalisation and my talks with many members of the Weasley family we have not had any time to ourselves. In the face of more duties and battles, I wanted to have at least one relaxing day. I cannot take you out of the country this time, it would be far too dangerous to go abroad with the current state of things, but there are enough nice and quiet places in Britain." Harry beamed at him.

"Thank you! I feel as if we've hardly spent any time together at all these past weeks."

"Perhaps because we didn't," Marvolo answered regretfully. "And I hate to say it, but we probably won't in the next few weeks either. Not only are the elections coming, but a global war as well. I suspect we will both be busy… Which reminds me actually, how are your sessions with Narcissa going?"

Harry shrugged. He had not made much progress, but then again, he'd only gone thrice as there had been so little time. The drawing was helping, he thought. Right before bed he always made a drawing while thinking of the Dursleys, and after the first initial violent drawings, it had gradually included darker colours. Narcissa thought he was going through the phases of his life with the Dursleys, first drawing out the most prominent, the violence, and now he was moving towards the depressions that followed. He had not had any more nightmares and bouts of illnesses, but he was not sure about whether or not it was because of the therapy or not. After all, before he had also sometimes gone weeks or months without any nightmares. Well, at least, even if he would have, Marvolo had made sure the whole house was covered in spells that prevented germs from entering.

"They're alright, I've only had three so far so there's not much to be said about it yet. I'll see. But so… taking me out again… a date?"

"If you want to word it like that," the man said nonchalantly, but Harry could feel he was pleased.

"You could try showing some more of the enthusiasm I know you're feeling, love. Where were you planning on taking me?"

"Depends on what sort of date you want."

Harry took a moment to think about it. Not being given any options was a bit annoying, so he decided to just fall back on his past experiences with dates… a great number of two."Hmm… I really loved it when you took me to Brazil and I learnt a lot about our history… can you take me someplace I'll learn more about magic while at the same time relaxing? Also, a romantic dinner is never unwelcome," Harry smirked. He had absolutely loved last time, which seemed ages away… He still remembered the man's joke about a proposal, and he rubbed the ring on his left hand gingerly, the silver shining.

"Getting demanding, love?" Marvolo chuckled, running his fingers through Harry's hair. "But I know just the place… I still needed to pay the dwarfs a visit to thank them for their help during the battle. We might as well make a trip out of it, their underground palaces are absolutely stunning, spreading out far under the moors."

"I find it funny that you deny having friends but are welcomed with open arms wherever we go in the non-human communities." The teen remarked, smiling. He had to admit that the idea of visiting the dwarfs was appealing though. Ever since his third year, Lupin had roused his interest for creatures and non-human beings. Their culture was bound to be interesting.

"They're acquaintances."

"I'm sure. When do you want to go?"

"Now, preferably. No need to pack clothes, they would be offended if you brought your own things, as it would show you don't trust their hospitality."

"Not even underwear?"

Marvolo chuckled and threw Harry a lecherous grin. "They don't wear underwear… and neither will you."

"So there's the real reason you're taking me there," the boy said, shaking his head. Marvolo seemed slightly disappointed that the comment hadn't thrown him off, but he was long used to Marvolo's perverted comments being thrown around to blush about them."You're horrible. Will the snakes come as well?"

"No, Nagini would only make constant remarks about eating the little furry people. They remind her of prey too much. Also, a short lesson in dwarf etiquette: praising someone's armor or weapons will always put you in good light, praising the other clan or even mentioning it in good light not so much. Don't be quiet, it is seen as being secretive so please be your Gryffindor self, and if someone whacks you, whack them back with just as much strength. Hmm... what else… during dinner only sit down when the rest does. Seats usually don't matter, but guests sometimes get appointed seats. Oh, and finish your first drink in one go, no matter what it is, the drinks after that don't matter."

Harry's head spun a bit from all that information, and he tried to tick it off of his fingers, hoping he would remember anything. "That was everything?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes. We don't exactly have time to give you a crash course in Dwarfish, and you won't be required to speak it."

"Won't a few phrases be handy? What's hello? Or sorry?" He could hardly arrive there looking like an idiot who had not even tried to learn a bit about them before intruding upon their home, expecting them to be able to all speak perfect English.

"Ta shiu cheet means well met. For 'sorry' there are two forms, depending on how polite you want to be. To a common dwarf, use s'treih lhiam, if you offend the king somehow or an elder, use s'olk lhiam. If you want to know the three forms of 'thank you' as well, ranked by politeness?"

"Erhm… You know what I'll just stick to English and won't speak a word Dwarfish, then I can't mess up politeness forms. It might offend them even more," He answered, foregoing his previous idea. The language sounded far complicated than he'd thought already, and he was not sure if he was even able to pronounce certain syllables correctly.

"Very wise. Let us go."

"Don't you need an invitation?"

Marvolo gave him an incredulous look. "Love, when do I ever need an invitation for anything?"


Next chapter: Dwarves, dragons and goblins... oh my, certainly a lot to be written. Also, Hermione seems to be rather confused over all her feelings... Being a teenage girl sucks.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Read and Review!
xx