Chapter Summary: In which Harry is reborn as a dwarf before Smaug enters the mountain. (Harry/Bilbo/Thorin)

"Harry! Thank goodness you're here!"

"What? Is something wrong?"

Bilbo tugged Harry over to the door, marveling over being able to pull Harry anywhere when the man was a dwarf and weighed a lot more than any hobbit did. "See here! Gandalf came and left a mark! A mark! On our door!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, his bead clinking in his long, black hair. Bilbo looked at him, watched as Harry traced the rune with a finger. The only time that Bilbo had asked Harry what the bead meant, the dwarf had gone quiet and said that it was from a lover in Erebor. A lover who he knew had died when the dragon had arrived. Bilbo hadn't spoken of the bead again.

"There's magic in this rune," Harry murmured, rubbing a soot covered finger over his brow. His sword was at his back and the clothes that he had left this morning in were soot stained, courtesy of working the only forge in the Shire. "Otherwise, it means burglar. Did you rob another hobbit's hole while I was gone today?"

Bilbo spluttered. "Who do you take me for? I am not a thief!"

Harry laughed quietly, tipped Bilbo's chin up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I never thought you were, Bilbo. What did Gandalf want, other than to place a rune?"

Bilbo glared at him. Harry smiled softly.

"So it is a dwarven rune."

"It is."

"Gandalf said something about an adventure."

"An adventure, hmm? Didn't your mother go on an adventure?" Harry asked, as Bilbo opened the door in front of them.

"Belladonna Took went on many adventures," Bilbo muttered, wrinkling his nose. "I am not going on adventures. This is my home."

"You are half Took, you know? Besides, I would accompany you," Harry offered, peeling off his sword and leaving it by the door. Bilbo had always insisted on that. No weapons were to be taken farther into the hobbit hole. Wands were a whole different story, being as they were small and very rarely, dirty.

"You're used to going on adventures," Bilbo retorted, going over to check on dinner. The fish that he had bought this afternoon was fresh and cooking, almost ready. "Being reborn and all that. Bit of nasty business I say."

Harry snorted,. "It gave me you."

Bilbo felt his cheeks redden and Harry winked at him before walking further into their hobbit hole. Harry had his own room of course, one that had been spelled into existence along with a few other certain special rooms but he usually spent the night with Bilbo.

Bilbo sighed and walked into the kitchen, putting the two fish he had bought this morning on the stove. The smell of cooking fish and potatoes soon filled the air as darkness swept through the Shire, the sounds of hobbits going back to their homes after a day's work or leisure.

Harry ventured back into the kitchen after cleaning, his face clean of dirt or soot. He still smelled faintly of the smithy he operated but that was under the smell of freshly cleaned dwarf and magic. It was a faint scent of a storm that always made Bilbo relax, knowing that Harry wasn't too far off.

"Dinner's on," Bilbo called out, as he slipped the three fish onto separate plates, one fish for him and two for Harry. He yelped out as arms came around him and a chin made itself at home on his shoulder.

"Smells good," Harry whispered, pressing a kiss to his throat. "Thanks."

Bilbo shuddered, his heart jolting in his chest, and turned around in Harry's arms to glare at him. He hadn't even heard him come into the kitchen, let alone up to his back.

"You are miserable in the kitchen," Bilbo muttered, shrugging as he caught Harry's eyes. He noticed the heat in them and ignored it, feeling the butterflies in his chest flutter.

"I would take offense but aye, you know me."

Bilbo nodded and Harry backed up, helping him to set the table and put the plates out.

"No fauntling around here gets treated that horribly," Bilbo argued, crossing his arms as they set down to dinner. "We all make sure of that."

Harry grinned lightly and cut into his fish, letting out a deep sigh at the taste. He had two different braids in his hair this evening, both framing his face. His green eyes were lit with contentment even as his thoughts went to his past and then turned back to the present at the knock on the door.

Bilbo blinked at the noise and he met Harry's eyes.

"Are we expecting someone?" Harry questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Bilbo saw his wand slip itself into his hand and then shook his head. "I don't think so. That wizard isn't in the Shire anymore. I asked around."

Harry snorted. "I can't feel any other magic around here or at least magic that's not my own. Moony and Padfoot are out hunting so that's… You want me to answer it?"

"No! It would be rude to not answer the door," Bilbo argued, his eyes narrowing before he sighed. "I am the owner of this smial anyway."

Harry smiled lightly and nodded. "Call if it's Lobelia. I can get rid of her."

Bilbo's lips twitched up as he remembered a few of Harry's ways to get rid of the noisy woman. "I don't think she ever rightly recovered from that scare, Harry."

"She stole from you!"

"I wasn't disagreeing with you," Bilbo whispered, grinning a little, before getting up, smoothing a hand down his robe and walking to the door. "She needs to learn that she shan't be getting this Bag End."

Bilbo's smile lasted until he opened his door and discovered another dwarf on the doorstep. The man on the other side of the door was definitely not familiar to him, all gruff, bald and intimidating. Not in the way that Harry was quietly intimidating when the situation called for it, but physically. Bilbo didn't want to meet this dwarf in a back alley in Bree, that's what he meant.

"Can I help you?" Bilbo questioned faintly.

"Dwalin, at your service."

Bilbo raised an eyebrow, still not recognizing the dwarf or his name.

"He said there would be food."

Dwalin stepped in and walked past him with a loud few thumps, his boots getting dirt on the floor and his weapons jingling. Bilbo let out a quiet noise of surprise, closed the door and raced after the unfamiliar dwarf.

"Excuse me, I don't think we've met," Bilbo said, taking care to not raise his voice.

"We haven't," Dwalin remarked, looking at him strangely. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"The food."

"Oh, uh… this way," Bilbo said even as he wondered what was going on. Had Harry met another dwarf? But if that was the case, he would have told Bilbo about it and certainly would have told him if he had invited the dwarf home for dinner. He was too busy wondering what was going on not to notice that he bumped into Dwalin.

He stumbled directly into the sturdy wall of dwarf, yelping and rubbing his scalp even as he peered around at Harry. His friend who had gone quiet and pale, his green eyes wide, a fork halfway to his mouth.

"Dwalin?" Harry echoed, his voice faint and so much emotion in it. Bilbo's heart stopped at seeing Harry like this, memories flashing in his mind of how he had met the dwarf.

"Harry?"

Harry stood up, causing his chair to scrape against the floor. Bilbo winced at the sight and watched as Harry took a step around the table and walked over to stop in front of Dwalin, his mouth opening and closing.

"You're alive," Harry whispered, his eyes moving to the door and then back to Dwalin. "How are you here?"

"You're alive," Dwalin muttered, his eyes widening too. "We all thought you were dead."

Bilbo looked between the two dwarves, his eyes widening as they continued to stare at each other. Harry was the one to close the distance to Dwalin and hit his skull against Dwalin's and Bilbo winced at the sight.

"I'm alive," Harry remarked, after pulling away and looking Dwalin over. He turned to Bilbo, his green eyes narrowing in thought. "We?"

"Balin and I. Thorin too. He was right-"

"Thorin?" Harry repeated, his skin losing color and his eyes widening again. He looked like he had just been hit in the gut, like he had taken a wound, an invisible one. Bilbo looked at Harry and then at Dwalin, digging his hands into his pockets. "Thorin's… alive?"

"Aye, he is."

Harry let out a strangled noise. "Thorin's alive."

Dwalin nodded and turned to look at the table, sniffed the air before smiling appreciatively. "Dinner."

"Dwalin… What's going on here?" Harry finally asked, color coming back to his face as Dwalin moved to sit down at the table. "Why are you here? How… how you are alive? How is Thorin alive? And where have you been all this time?"

"We've been in the Blue Hills," Dwalin remarked, digging into Harry's plate of fish. Bilbo breathed out a sigh of relief that it wasn't his plate and caught Harry's eyes.

"Harry?"

"Bilbo…" Harry trailed off, shaking his head in what looked like disbelief. His left hand had gone to the bead in his hair, rubbing it slightly. "Thorin… is the dwarf I believed dead."

Bilbo blinked and stared at him, his heart feeling like it was jumping into his throat. "What's going on here?"

"Aye, that's what I want to know too," Dwalin offered, looking between them. "How'd you end up in the Shire?"

"Uh… it's a long story," Harry answered, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Dwalin… You can't be the only dwarf coming here."

Dwalin grinned and shook his head.

"Where one dwarf comes, there are probably more on the way," Harry muttered, walking over to Bilbo's side and tugging him into their sitting room. Bilbo sat down on his chair and stared at Harry, as the dwarf pulled his chair over to face him.

"Dwalin… is one of the dwarves I knew… before Smaug came," Harry started, his eyes narrowed. "He was friends with the Prince and introduced me."

"What did you mean when you said that there are other dwarves on the way? And what does your bead mean?"

"Gandalf's coming this morning and Dwalin's arrival-"

Another knock on the door interrupted Harry's explanation and Bilbo's eyes narrowed. Harry sighed, reaching out to entwine their fingers. "We'd best get ready for more dwarves, Bilbo."

"But I don't want more dwarves here. I'm fine with just you."

Harry's lips twitched up into a slight grin as he stood up. Bilbo stood up too, on shaky legs, and Harry reached out for him, tugging him into a heady kiss, warm and wet and reassuring and Bilbo whined, arching into him. Harry pulled away, mischief in his eyes, and Bilbo groaned even as he went to open the door again.

"Balin!"

"Harry! Dwalin!"

"I thought you were dead!"

"I'm not?"

Balin shook his head, smiling widely as he studied the dwarf he had become friends with. Harry grinned back and embraced him.

"Fili, at your service."

"Kili. You must be Mr Boggins."

Harry stared at the two young dwarves on the doorstep, took in their appearances and the bow and quiver of arrows on Kili's shoulder. Fili… looked familiar in the way that…

"No, no, it's Mr Baggins," Bilbo said, wariness in his voice and more than a little befuddlement.

"You're Dis' boys, aren't you?" Harry questioned quietly, his eyes narrowed.

Kili and Fili both went quiet at his words and they both studied the older dwarf intently.

"You know our mother?" Fili asked, crossing his arms.

"I know her, aye. What about Vili?"

Kili paled and Fili slowly shook his head.

"He died."

Harry sucked in a sharp breath before sighing. "I am sorry. Vili was the best archer that I had known. Is your uncle… Is he coming?"

"Of course he is! He's the one who called for us!" Kili exclaimed, stepping into the hobbit hole. "We're taking back Erebor!"

Harry blinked, his heart skipping a beat at the words, idly watching as both Kili and Fili walked past him. They handed their weapons to Bilbo, who had gone paler than he had.

"Bilbo, here, let me take the weapons," Harry murmured, already reaching out for Kili's bow, quiver, and Fili's weapons. Fili had certainly taken out several knives, more than he had ever seen on a dwarf before. He looked down at the weapons in his arms and threw them up in the air, drawing on some magic and sent them to where he kept his own weapons, down the hall and to the small room to the right.

"Thanks. Harry, what's going on? They're already going through the pantry and… and…"

"I'll make sure they won't take anything," Harry whispered, shuddering even as he replayed Dwalin and Kili's words in his mind. Thorin was alive. Prince Thorin was alive and now likely… Likely Thorin was king now. King of no mountain. "And we'll refill the pantry tomorrow. Next winter will be fine, Bilbo."

Bilbo nodded as Harry cupped his cheek, smoothing his thumb over his mouth.

"You loved… this Thorin, didn't you?"

"Aye. I did. But I love you too," Harry remarked quietly, seeing Bilbo swallow. "I think Gandalf's adventure was… I think they're planning on traveling back to Erebor."

Bilbo inhaled sharply and leaned into Harry's fingers. "But you said…"

"I know. I miss Erebor though," Harry said, hearing even more dwarves walk into the footpath of Bag End. "I miss its halls and its secret passage ways and… I didn't even know that Dwalin, let alone Thorin, were still alive."

"Does he have one of your beads?" Bilbo asked curiously.

"He does. I don't know…"

"If you're still wearing yours then I think he's probably still wearing his."

Harry raised an eyebrow and took in Bilbo's expression, seeing his steady eyes.

"You think? He was a prince before and now… he's probably a king. King's… usually need heirs," Harry muttered. "Though… Fili and Kili…"

"You know their father and mother?"

"Aye. I did. Dis. She's Thorin's sister. Not someone to be trifled with. She could Lobelia a run for her money."

Bilbo snorted and then another knock filled the air and he shrugged. Bilbo walked over to open the door, muttering about dwarves.

"I'm a dwarf," Harry whispered, even as six dwarves fell into their hobbit hole. Gandalf the Grey stood behind them as he bent down to look at them both.

"Yes, you're a dwarf. You're a tall dwarf is what you are," Bilbo retorted.

Harry paled and clutched his chest like he was in pain. "Oh, I'm wounded! Tall!"

Bilbo's lips twitched up into a smile even as he stared in bemusement at the assortment of strange dwarves. One even had an axe in his head. One was as fat as he had seen.

"Another dwarf?" Gandalf questioned, his eyes narrowing as he met Harry's eyes.

Harry raised an eyebrow even as he felt the foreign magic flow around the other man. Gandalf was tall, towering over him, and Harry continued to stare at the man, knowing him for a wizard, a potentially dangerous one at that.

"What's your name?" Gandalf asked, as the rest of the dwarves filed in, following their noses to the kitchen and the dining table. It sounded like they were already setting up places for… several more dwarves. Perhaps around 12. Harry watched as the dwarves padded through the hallways of Bag End, with Bilbo occasionally pacing behind them.

Thorin was not amongst them and Harry's heart continued to stutter and race at the mere mention of Thorin. The howl of Moony filled the air and then a loud growl followed it.

Bilbo shrugged it off as he looked at Harry, who shook his head.

"Are there wolves in the Shire?" One of the dwarves asked, looking around for his axe.

Dwalin caught Harry's eyes, raising an eyebrow.

"No. They're… They're friendly to our friends," Harry finally answered.

"That's not an answer," Kili exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"It's the one you're going to get," Harry said, grinning a little. "Their den is in the little yard over there."

"Den?" Gandalf repeated.

"Aye. Den."

"They protect the Shire," Bilbo added, crossing his arms and glaring at the wizard. "You're the one who brought all these dwarves to my home."

"You need an adventure, dear Bilbo. And what better way to do it then in the company of dwarves?"

Bilbo spluttered and gestured to Harry. "I already have a dwarf!"

Harry grinned.

Harry sat in his chair, idly listening to the fire crackling in the fireplace and to the rowdy sounds of the dwarves singing. Bilbo flinched at a particularly loud word, his eyes wide, as he watched the rest of the dwarves clean up.

"They're throwing the plates," Bilbo muttered, grimacing. "Throwing them! You've never done that!"

"Well… I washed them with magic…" Harry offered, grinning a little at Bilbo's worry. "If anything breaks, I can repair it, Bilbo."

Bilbo turned to look at him and then sighed, standing up and hurrying over to watch. Harry stood up and followed too, watching as the 12 dwarves all cleaned up together, loud and boisterous.

Gandalf was just humming along quietly, smiling at everyone's antics.

The loud but solemn knocking drew everyone's attention and the dwarves went silent. Harry froze, turned towards the entry hall and followed Gandalf. Bilbo fell into step with him, looking at him in worry.

Gandalf opened the door and Harry's heart skipped a beat at the sight that met him. Thorin stood on the other side of the door, a blue cloak covering his broad shoulders and a braid or two in his hair and… Harry's bead in his hair.

Thorin waited on the doorstep, lifted his hand to knock again only for it to open. Gandalf stood in front of him and… He let out a strangled noise at the sight that met him, at seeing…

"Harry?"

"Thorin. It really is you," Harry whispered out, his arms by his sides, and his hair askew like it always was. Thorin gasped and his knees shook even as he stepped inside, his fingers turning inwards to form fists.

"I… I thought you were dead," Thorin murmured even as Harry yanked him right into a hug. He let out a raw noise and melted into the other dwarf's arms, feeling Harry's lips on his forehead. "I… How can this be?"

"Thorin."

He closed his eyes, memories flashing back through his mind of the last time he had seen Harry before Smaug had come to the mountain. Before his life had upended itself.

An arm curled around his neck and brought him closer as Harry leaned his forehead against his. "I'm alive."

"What happened?"

"Long story. What happened to you? And to your father and grandfather?"

Thorin groaned, his heart racing within his chest, even as he moved, tilting his head up to meet Harry's lips in a kiss. Harry let out a noise and kissed him, his hand curling around his neck like an anchor. Thorin sighed into the kiss even as Harry licked his way into his mouth, his every nerve alight with touch.

The low growls behind him jolted him into action as he pulled away, his hand going to his axe. He turned around only to see two big wargs behind him, ugly looking creatures looking at him. They were big, bigger than any warg he had ever seen. One was as white as the moon and the other grey-silver, with specks of black in its coat.

They both looked at him with gold eyes and he tightened his hand on his axe.

"Thorin, it's alright. They're friendly," Harry whispered, reaching out to place his hand on his. "Stay your blade. Moony, Padfoot, he's safe. Go bed down."

The white warg growled again before its eyes narrowed, turning around to trot over to the side yard. Thorin stared as the grey one followed and then turned to Harry, raising an eyebrow.

"They were injured," Harry retorted, shrugging. His eyes were soft and Thorin felt like he had come home, felt like a big weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"You are still taking in orphaned animals then."

Harry's lips twitched up into a small grin as he nodded. "Aye, I am. I didn't care that they were wargs. Thorin."

His heart skipped a beat at the heat in Harry's voice.

"You are King now, aren't you?" Harry questioned, stepping back so that Thorin could step into the home.

"I am. King of the Blue Hills," Thorin murmured, seeing Balin and Dwalin stand in the corner. Fili and Kili stood in the other corner, looking between him and Harry with wide eyes. He had told them a little of Harry but… less than he had told Dis. His sister had known Harry and had grieved when they couldn't find him and then later presumed him dead.

Harry looked at him and reached out to entwine their fingers, his eyes narrowing. "You're going to retake Erebor, aren't you?"

"Oin read something in a scroll. Smaug hasn't been seen in years."

Harry nodded idly, meeting his eyes. "Thorin… the burglar that Gandalf wanted you to meet…"

"I'm not a burglar!"

Thorin turned to look at the smaller hobbit, taking in his light brown hair that was all curls.

"Bilbo Baggins… meet Thorin, the rightful King of Erebor," Harry offered, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "Thorin… meet Bilbo Baggins."

AN: I just recently got sucked back into the Hobbit fandom so... yeah.