Chapter 6: All That Glitters Part 3

The next couple of weeks passed quickly for Harry. Smaug and he were slowly getting to know one another again. It wasn’t perfect. They disagreed on a lot of things but they didn’t matter in the long run. They got through them, and their relationship was growing stronger all the time.

Harry was also pleased to find that the more time he spent around the gold the more desensitized he became to it. He no longer felt the urge to go out and acquire more gold. There was plenty of gold to satisfy his primal urge right here. The downside was that he was getting slightly attached to the gold he now had. It worried him slightly. But it was something that he would worry more about later on when he actually would have to give it up.

Harry had also been trying to practice the ability of dream seeing, and to his and Smaug’s amazement it was working. In the vaguest sense of the word. The sights that he saw were nowhere near as long or as clear as his first sighting of Smaug. Harry focused on trying to see Fili and Kili. The images were blurry, and were just brief flashes of sound and color. At the very least he knew they were all right, and still making their way towards the mountain.

He’d seen Fili and Kili fighting trolls. The same trolls he had faced himself. He saw them being chased by orcs and then them enjoying a meal in Rivendell. He saw flashes of them walking through endless valleys.

During the times they weren’t sleeping, Smaug was teaching Harry all about dragons. It was nice to learn more about dragons from an actual dragon. Lord Elrond had tried his best to help him but he wasn’t a firedrake. Smaug was more than capable of teaching Harry about everything he wanted to know.

The two of them hunted, and played mock battles on the land and sky. Smaug wanted to teach him how to protect himself by learning how to fight. There weren’t many things that could harm a dragon but they both agreed that whoever had taken Harry originally was still out there somewhere, waiting for the chance to get their hands on Harry once more. So Harry learned how to better control his fire. To breathe it longer and hotter. Dragon fire could destroy anything. Or nearly everything. According to Smaug there was only one thing in all of Middle Earth that dragon fire could not destroy.

This had prompted Smaug telling him all about the One Ring and Sauron. Ori had mentioned it to Harry before but the two of them had mainly focused Harry’s education on dwarfish history. The war with Sauron had been analliance between Men and Elves.

After some reluctance Smaug also told Harry about his biological mother, Ancia. There wasn’t a lot to tell of course, and it only confirmed what Harry had already known about her. She’d abandoned Harry to Smaug without looking back. She was dead now. Smaug didn’t know how. Dragons couldn’t die of old age so she had to have been slain, either by another dragon or by some other race. Harry did feel a small pang that he would never get the chance to confront his biological mother. But other than that he didn’t feel any regret of her passing.

Smaug had also been reluctant to actually call Harry, Harry at first. It was understandable, Smaug had given him the name Ancal. It was the way he thought of Harry when he was remembering him. But Smaug did try to respect his wishes adn call him Harry, he just wasn’t always successful. Honestly Harry didn’t mind it so much.

The time ticked by. Harry was enjoying his bonding time alone with Smaug but he was anxious for the moment when the dwarves would finally arrive. The following confrontation was bound to be catastrophic.

With Smaug so much more active the people living in Laketown were bound to notice eventually. Not to mention the addition of another dragon in the area. When Harry and Smaug took to the air for their mock air battles the sounds of their roars and the flames they produced were sure to not go unnoticed by the town of Men.

Smaug didn’t like the people of Laketown but he didn’t seem all too concerned with keeping a low profile from them. After all the people of Laketown hadn’t been brave enough to dare to approach the mountain even when it was believed Smaug may have been dead.

“The last lord of Dale, Girion shot me with a black arrow. It hit me in the chest and knocked one of my scales free,” Smaug admitted to him, showing Harry the location of the missing scale.

Harry had been asking him about his own version of events of the day he took Erebor.

“Black arrow?” Harry frowned, trying to remember if that had been mentioned in the texts he and Ori had read.

“It is one of the few metals capable of piercing the hide of a dragon besides the claws of another firedrake. There aren’t any more of them left. It is good thing for I do not have to worry about you being hit. Nor myself, for if another black arrow were to pierce me in the same place I would be slain,” Smaug looked aghast to admit such a thing.

“Why not put something else in its place just for an added bit of protection?” Harry wanted to know.

“I suppose I could try. I just haven’t found a need to protect myself. Nothing would be foolish enough to attempt to harm me,” Smaug boasted.

“True, but isn’t it better to be prepared?” Harry asked, he couldn’t help the slight pang of worry he felt at Smaug’s potential vulnerability. It was just his need to protect the people that he cared about.

“I suppose I could try,” Smaug said, when he realized that Harry was actually worried about him.

“Good,” Harry nodded, feeling relieved.

///

Harry was woken one night by a nightmare. Or what he hoped had been a nightmare.

“What’s wrong, my drakeling?” Smaug asked, instantly alert.

“Just a dream, I think,” Harry replied, his mind still a little scrambled from the frantic quality of the dream.

“Perhaps you were Seeing?” Smaug pointed out.

“I hope not,” Harry shuddered.

“What did you see?” Smaug shifted around to face Harry.

“I saw Fili and Kili—”

“Your dwarf friends?” Smaug cut in.

“Yes, I saw them in a flaming tree being attacked by orcs and wargs,” Harry explained, still gripped by the terror he had felt in seeing his friends in such a predicament.

“You saw this clearly?” Smaug frowned.

“Yeah, the first clear image I’ve gotten since I saw you. But I wasn’t even trying to see anything for once. Do you think what I saw was real or a dream?” Harry wanted confirmation.

“Do you normally have dreams that vivid?” Smaug pointed out.

“No, the only dreams I’ve ever had like that turned out to be real,” Harry muttered, remembering the strange dreams he’d had back at the beginning of his fourth year at Hogwarts but had turned out to be Voldemort.

“Then what you saw must have been real,” Smaug shrugged simply.

“I was hoping that it wasn’t. Thorin was attacked by this massive orc with a spiked hand, and Fili and Kili were about to fall to their deaths,” Harry panicked.

“If we’re lucky they did,” Smaug muttered.

Harry whirled on Smaug, and loosed a snarl. “Don’t say that!”

“It was only a jest. I wouldn’t truly wish them dead for your sake,” Smaug sighed.

“They’re my friends. They protected me, gave me a place to stay when I was lost and confused in Middle Earth,” Harry growled, still upset.

He’d been willing to put with Smaug’s attitude at first. But by now he’d been hoping that Smaug would have come around by now.

“I know these dwarves mean something to you. I suppose I just dislike sharing your affections and loyalty,” Smaug admitted.

“They’re my friends, and you’re my father. It’s different the way I feel about you,” Harry explained patiently.

Emotions definitely weren’t Smaug’s strong suit. Dragons didn’t do heartwarming little moments or generally have warm feelings in general.

“I suppose you’ll want to go looking for your friends,” Smaug sighed.

“Yes, I do,” Harry nodded.

“Sleep through the rest of the night. Maybe it will provide you with answers with where you will need to fly,” Smaug suggested.

He was right. If Harry didn’t know where he was going it wouldn’t matter if he left right away. It would be better if he knew the direction he should be going before he went flying off. Besides he couldn’t stop whatever was happening. His vision was happening right as he was watching. There was no way Harry could have reached Fili and Kili in time to catch them before they fell to their deaths. He could only have faith that they would all right until he could find them.

“I’ll stay for the night,” Harry agreed.

Smaug sighed in relief, and the two of them settled down to sleep once more.

It was difficult for Harry to actually fall back to sleep. His mind was churning with worries about Fili, Kili, and the rest of the dwarves’ fates. He tried his best to shake it off. His dwarves were made of stronger stuff. It would take more than that to stop them. Or at least that’s what he kept telling himself.

As he drifted off to sleep his mind brought him across sprawling hills and thick forests. He saw his dwarves flying through the sky on the backs of giant eagles. As soon as he saw that they were all safe the vision drifted away into normal dreams.

The next morning he awoke feeling much better than when he had gone to sleep that night.

“They’re all right, they escaped on the backs of giant eagles,” Harry explained.

“Yes, I saw,” Smaug nodded.

“You checked up on them?” Harry asked in amazement.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to settle down until you knew the dwarves were safe,” Smaug rolled his eyes.

“Thank you,” Harry nudged Smaug in affection.

“Will you still fly to meet them?” Smaug asked.

“I don’t know. They’re safe for now, and I don’t want to interfere with their quest unless I have to,” Harry said.

“I think this is a wise choice. The dwarves have crossed over the Misty Mountains. They are much closer than they were before, which may explain why you were able to see them more clearly. You will be able to keep a better eye on them, and then if they are in trouble you will have a shorter distance to travel to reach them,” Smaug offered.

“You’re being surprisingly all right with this,” Harry commented.

“I have simply accepted the inevitable. You are my son. You are stubborn and do what you wish no matter what I say. I told you before; I will not lose you again, my son. I may not like your attachment to the dwarves but I know better than to try and dissuade you from going after your friends. The only time I would stop you if there was a true chance of you being in danger. I will let no harm come to you, Harry,” Smaug promised.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Thank you…sire.”

Smaug’s eyes widened. In the months that they had spent together, Harry had yet to call him sire again after that first time.

Smaug nuzzled him. “Let us go flying.”

Harry was only too quick to agree. There was nothing he liked more than the chance to fly.

Over the next couple of weeks Harry kept a close eye on his dwarves whenever he slept. The closer the dwarves got to the mountain the easier it became for Harry to keep an eye on them. He could watch them for longer stretches with clearer details.

Keeping a closer eye on them meant that he now knew that the dwarves had made their way into the Woodland Realm. The only time he almost went after his dwarves was when he realized they had been thrown in the dungeons of the Mirkwood Elves.

Once again Smaug had cautioned him not to just fly off. Elves were not something to take lightly especially within the boarders of their own kingdom. Smaug had made him wait to see what would happen. The Mirkwood wasn’t that far away from the mountain. It would take Harry less than a day to fly there if he really needed to come to their rescue.

Harry waited a week with the dwarves in the dungeons of Mirkwood. Both he and Smaug had finally decided that the King of the Mirkwood wasn’t going to free them, and the dwarves weren’t going to escape. Harry was preparing to make the journey the next morning after a good night’s sleep. However, that night in his dreams he saw the dwarves’ grand escape down the river.

It would have been amusing if Kili hadn’t been shot. Harry was worried about him. He had woken up from his dreams with the dwarves in fish barrels on the way to Laketown.

“I’m going down to Laketown to meet them,” Harry told Smaug.

Smaug sighed, “If you must.”

“I must,” Harry insisted.

“Very well, I assume you will be taking your human form?” Smaug questioned.

Harry nodded his agreement. This would be the first time Smaug would see him as a human. Harry had spent his months with Smaug completely in his dragon form. Unlike in his human form, he didn’t feel the urge to shift back to his human self. It would have been slightly worrying if he didn’t feel so absolutely comfortable with himself.

“Then you must be extra cautious. You are weaker in your human form, more open to threats,” Smaug fretted.

“I’ll be fine. I survived this long as a human. And I’m not just a human. I’m a wizard. I’ve got my magic to protect me,” Harry assured Smaug.

“Very well, however the moment you are in danger I will swoop down on that town of miserable Lake Men and burn them all,” Smaug swore.

Harry sighed. He was just going to have to accept his father was extremely violent and overprotective. Not necessarily the best of combinations.

“I’ll be fine. Now are you ready to see me change?” Harry asked.

He wasn’t sure how Smaug would take it, seeing him as a human.

“I suppose,” Smaug agreed, eyeing him warily.

Harry closed his eyes and willed his body to change. For a moment nothing happened, and Harry panicked. Had he spent too long in dragon form? Would he be able to change back? Eventually, slowly, his muscles began to shift and twist. His body shrunk and his wings, tail, and scales disappeared. Once it was all over, he felt slightly nauseous. His body shuddered and he felt strangely weak.

“Ancal—Harry, are you all right,” Smaug’s worried face hovered over him.

Harry could better appreciate just how large Smaug actually was now that he was back in his human form.

“I’m fine,” Harry managed to croak out.

“I don’t want you to shift into your human form if it is going to cause such pain and weakness,” Smaug grumbled.

“This has never happened before. It must be because I was in my dragon form for so long. My body forgot how to shift,” Harry murmured.

He was just a tad frightened by the way his body almost didn’t want to change back.

“Of course it forgot. You’ve been forced into a form that is unnatural for you. Why would anyone want to be human when they can be a dragon instead?” Smaug quirked a scaly eyebrow him.

Obviously Smaug thought Harry was insane for wanting to return to a human form.

“I guess it’s just what I’m used to,” Harry sighed.

“You don’t have to take your human form anymore. There is no one forcing you,” Smaug rested his head beside Harry.

“I know, it’s just easier. The people of Laketown will probably be less prone to panic if I go as I am rather than in my true form,” Harry reasoned.

“This is true but I do not like you hiding what you truly are. I don’t like seeing you like this,” Smaug admitted.

“I know its difficult to understand but I grew up like this. I’m as comfortable like this as I am in my true form,” Harry told him firmly.

Smaug didn’t look happy about it but he nodded his understanding. “Give yourself a moment to regain your strength before you run off to Laketown.”

“I will,” Harry nodded.

Once the nausea had passed, Harry got dressed. He shouldered his pack and prepared to leave. He and Smaug made their way towards the entrance of the mountain.

“Be safe,” Smaug cautioned.

“I’ll be back before you know it, sire,” Harry reassured Smaug.

“You better be. I suppose I should prepare myself for an infestation of dwarves?” Smaug commented.

“Yes,” Harry chuckled.

Smaug let loose a put-upon sigh.

“I’ll see you soon,” Harry waved as he walked out the front door.

“Goodbye, my son,” Smaug replied.

Harry couldn’t help but note how forlorn he looked. A part of Smaug seemed to think that he was never coming back. Harry would just have to prove him wrong.

He turned to face the lake, and wondered how he was possibly going to explain things to the dwarves. They had undoubtedly already made their way into Laketown, and would be making their way across the lake soon enough. Harry would just have to make sure that he intercepted them before they got the chance to set sail.

Using his knowledge of transfiguration he fashioned himself a crude boat. It wasn’t anything fancy but hopefully it would last long enough for him to reach Laketown.

The trip across the lake was slow going for someone who was accustomed to flying. But eventually he reached his destination. He steered clear of the people and the docks. He got off the boat in a secluded location.

Now that he was here in Laketown he had no idea how he was supposed to go about finding the dwarves. He thought about just asking someone if they had seen dwarves. The people of Laketown didn’t seem like the friendliest bunch, and Harry didn’t see anyone who would be open to answering his questions.

Luckily he didn’t have to look very far. The dwarves found him.

“Harry.”

Harry turned at the sound of Kili’s voice, and there he was along with several other dwarves, and Bilbo. They all looked more than a little worse for wear but they were alive.

“Kili,” Harry grinned, and rushed over to the dwarves.

They were hiding behind one of the buildings.

“Harry, it is good to see you,” Thorin greeted.

“You too,” Harry smiled. “What are you doing?”

“The Lake Men aren’t willing to help us, so we’re filch some weapons before going into the mountain,” Kili explained.

“What are you doing here? How in the world did you beat us here?” Thorin questioned.

“It’s a rather long story…”

“Have you been up to the mountain yet? Did you speak with him?” Kili blurted out, vibrating in excitement.

“Speak with who? Why would Harry go up to the mountain without us?” Thorin growled.

“Well…” Harry was at a lost for words.

“Gentlemen, I don’t think is the place for this discussion,” Bilbo butted in.

The little hobbit seemed to have gained more confidence in himself during their journey.

“We’ll go back to Bard’s,” Thorin declared.

“What about the weapons?” Nori asked.

“They can wait. I want to hear my nephews’ and Harry’s explanation as to why he would be in the mountain, and who he could possibly be speaking to in there,” Thorin glared darkly between Harry and Kili.

“Right, let’s go then,” Harry agreed.

Kili glanced nervously between his uncle and Harry.

Harry just smiled at his friend, thrilled to see him alive and well.

“How are you?” Harry asked as they made their way back to Bard’s house. Whoever he was.

“I’m good. I can’t wait to tell you all about our journey here. I got shot by an orc,” Kili added as if it was an afterthought.

“Are you all right?” Harry demanded.

“It was just in the leg. Dwarves are made of stronger stuff than that,” Kili brushed him off.

Harry wasn’t quite so convinced. Kili’s brow was sweaty, his skin had a slight pallor to it, and he was obviously having a difficult time staying upright. He was proven correct when, in the middle of telling him about the dwarves’ adventures, Kili fainted.

“Kili!” Thorin cried.

The dwarves all gathered around him.

“I’ll carry him, we should get him back to Oin. He’ll know what to do,” Harry scooped Kili up before anyone could protest.

They picked up their pace to get back to their destination as quickly as possible.

The home they came to was just as run down as the rest of the buildings in Laketown. It was a good deal warmer, and it was obvious that the owners did their best in making the small cramped space welcoming.

The other dwarves were all surprised to see Harry return with the rest of their party. Their focus quickly shifted to the sick Kili.

Oin wasted no time in checking Kili over, and quickly determined that Kili had been poisoned. At that moment Harry wished he knew more about healing magic or even knew more about potions. He felt utterly helpless seeing Kili unwell. Oin seemed equally helpless. The only he could do was clean the wound, and hope that Kili’s body would fight the poison.

Kili of course insisted on putting up a good front. He was smiling and laughing despite the obvious discomfort he was in.

“Now, that we are all here, perhaps you can start explaining, Harry,” Thorin said, bringing everyone’s attention back to Harry.

Harry looked over the familiar faces of the dwarves, and the unfamiliar faces of the three human children. They weren’t exactly children; the older girl and the boy couldn’t have been much younger than himself.

“Harry’s done nothing wrong, uncle,” Fili cut in.

“No, then why does he wear such a guilty expression on his face. Why does Kili ask him if he has been in the mountain and spoken to the one who lives there?” Thorin demanded.

“Let’s hear the lad out, Thorin,” Balin suggested, always the voice of reason.

“I would like to hear why you left my home when I asked you not to,” a voice growled.

They all turned to see the man in the doorway. The children all rushed to his side. This must have been their father, Bard.

“It is not your concern,” Dwalin growled.

“It is my concern when I have let you into my home, and around my children,” Bard growled back.

“We will be gone soon, as soon as we hear the account of our friend who is keeping secrets from us,” Thorin nodded towards Harry.

Bard looked a bit surprised to see him. “He is not the only one keeping secrets. I know who you really are.”

Thorin and Bard glared at one another. Harry sighed. He knew he would have to be the one to break the tension between the two.

“I was in the mountain,” Harry began, causing gasps from human and dwarf alike.

“There have been sightings, of another dragon,” Bard murmured staring at Harry.

That caused the dwarves’ chatter to grow even louder.

“Quiet! Speak, Harry,” Thorin demanded.

The dwarf king’s temper seemed to have grown even shorter during his journey.

“I was in the mountain, and I’ve spoken with Smaug—”

“You spoke to the beast and lived?” cried Dwalin.

Balin shushed him.

“Smaug let me live because he would never harm me. I’m his son, you see,” Harry admitted.

“Son?” Thorin stared at him uncomprehendingly.

It was a look that most of them wore on their faces. All besides Kili and Fili, of course, who already knew the truth of Harry’s nature.

“Yes, Smaug is my father. I’m a dragon. A dragon who can take the form of a human?” Harry explained.

“And all that time you lived with us, we gave you shelter, and you were a worm in disguise. A wolf in sheep’s clothing or a dragon in a man’s,” Thorin spat.

“I didn’t mean to deceive you. I didn’t even know that Smaug was the one responsible for the loss of your home. When I found out I wanted to help you. It’s why I came here. Fili, Kili, and I thought I could perhaps change Smaug’s mind, and we could get you back your mountain without anyone’s death,” Harry pleaded.

“Fili and Kili knew?” Thorin turned to send dark looks towards his nephews.

Harry was so desperate for Thorin and the others to understand that accidentally let Fili and Kili’s involvement slip out.

“Yes, uncle, we did,” Fili declared proudly. “Harry told us everything. He’s our friend and he wants to help us.”

“Yeah, he was willing to fight his father for us if things didn’t go well. Obviously they have. Right, Harry, things did go well with your father?” Kili asked.

“Yes, Smaug would be willing to share the mountain. He just wants to hammer out the details with Thorin,” Harry figured a little white lie couldn’t hurt to relax everybody.

“Share the mountain?” Thorin demanded in a manner that scarily similar to Smaug’s.

“Yes,” Harry sighed and outlined the same idea he had to Smaug.

“You want me to give up half my rightful inheritance to a dragon?” Thorin snarled.

“We can always mind more once we have the mountain back, uncle,” Fili spoke up, supporting Harry’s idea.

“You would share your birthright with dragons?” Thorin glared at Fili.

“If it meant no one dies then yes,” Fili stood firmly, looking every inch the king he would some day become.

“Besides an alliance with dragons would mean no other kingdom would ever dare march on Erebor ever again,” Kili cheered.

“The lads have a point. If we can get Smaug’s word, the benefits of such an arrangement would far outweigh the negatives,” Balin murmured, nodding to himself while looking deep in thought.

“Does no one remember what that slug did to our people? Am I the only one who remembers our years of wandering?” Thorin cried, throwing up his hands.

“We remember laddie, but we’re tired of fighting. If Smaug’s willing to give up the mountain for half the gold why shouldn’t we take the offer that means no ones death,” Oin stated somberly.

“I’ll give up my portion to Smaug,” Bilbo piped up. “What would a hobbit need with so much gold anyway?”

“Me too, I’ll give up my part too,” Kili cried.

“Mine too,” Fili promised.

“If it means peace for our people. I give my share as well,” Balin said.

Oin, Bofur, and Ori also declared their intentions of giving up their portions. That meant more than half of the company would give up their share to Smaug.

Thorin looked like he was fuming but with more of than half of his company agreeing to give their shares away there wasn’t much he could do but listen.

“I want the Arkenstone in my half of the treasure hoard,” Thorin declared.

“All right,” Harry agreed.

Harry didn’t think that Smaug had any particular attachment to any one piece of the treasure.

Thorin looked a little mollified then.

“Tell your whole story, Harry,” Kili suddenly cut in.

Not seeing any reason not to, now that they had the more important matters out of the way, he did just that. The dwarves and the humans listened closely as he told them his life’s story. They all hung off his every word as he told them about his adventures at Hogwarts. It took him half the night to tell them his story all the way until just this moment.

Thorin and Dwalin listened with frowns on their faces but the others were thoroughly enchanted. Ori was scribbling furiously in an attempt to get down every word. Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about his life possibly becoming a book. He trusted Ori’s ability to present his life’s story in a decent light.

Once his tale was finished the others all agreed to come with him back up to the mountain with him in the morning. Bard offered no resistance. Smaug had been awake for months now, and he hadn’t bothered them. Harry also assured that there would be no reason for Smaug to bother them unless the Lake Men struck first. Bard was content with this. Harry even offered to talk to Smaug about letting the Men back into Dale.

Nothing was set in stone of course. It all hinged on Smaug’s reaction to the dwarves, and whether or not Thorin and Smaug uphold their ends of the bargain.

Harry could hope, and do all he could to ensure that things went smoothly. At least he knew he had Fili and Kili on his side. He also had a few other unexpected allies in Ori, Oin, Balin, and Bilbo.

Harry fell asleep that night worried about what the morning would bring. For tomorrow Thorin and Smaug would meet. Everything could go wonderfully or everything could burn right before his eyes.

Only time would tell.