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Shadows of the Past	By : LadyLaran Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Het - Male/Female Views: 12317 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Disclaimer – We do not own “Harry Potter,” “the Silmarillion,” and “the Hobbit.” We don't make any money for this story.

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Author’s Notes: Rogercat and I apologize for the length of time it’s taken to get this chapter out. Between work and other issues, we’ve not had time to get together online to resume production of future chapters for this story. We truly hope everyone is staying safe, healthy, and taking care of yourselves during these difficult times.

Disclaimer: We do not own “Harry Potter” or “the Hobbit.” We certainly don’t make money from this story!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Celebration and Crafting

They spent some time in quiet tranquility, and Fili had placed the bracelet around her upper arm. She’d blushed again, loving the gorgeous work of art he had crafted for her, and Hari found that her hand would go to it to brush against the piece of jewelry. She had a feeling that it would become a habit over the next few days and honestly, she didn’t mind it as she knew this was a symbol of how her dear friend felt about her.

The couple entered Beorn’s home, and Kili’s keen eyes quickly spotted the courtship braid in her hair. The archer set up a loud cheer, and Acacia spyed the plaited lock of hair next. The hobbit hurried to her friend, hugging her joyfully as she spoke words of congratulations.

Apparently, once it was noticed by the other dwarves, Dori and surprisingly, Dwalin, had a silent argument at the cooking area about what kind of food they would cook to celebrate this special occasion. A courtship was a huge event among the dwarves, especially those when a member of the royal family was involved, and there was no doubt that Dis would have one of the happiest days of her widowhood at learning that her eldest now had a chosen girl.

Thorin went to Hari, giving her a gentle hug and resting his forehead against hers in a manner that she remembered seeing during her time as Celebrimbor. His voice was quiet when he spoke to her, carrying pride and joy in the deep tones.

“I am both happy and humbled that you have accepted my sister-son’s courtship,” the king-in-exile told her. “I wish joy for you as you both walk this path, and I know that the courtship will be something that will strengthen your bond by the time you are betrothed and then wed.”

“Thank you, Thorin. That means so much to me,” the witch said to him, fighting back tears at the sincerity she could sense.

He smiled, an unrestrained one that was rare to see, and the older dwarf continued.

“Also, if you ever need help or someone to talk to outside of my cousins, come and speak with me,” Thorin said to her. “I don’t know how much you remember of dwarven courtship so we’ll all be happy to guide you through it.”

“Me too,” Acacia chirped from where she’d given Fili a huge hug. “It can be a bit bewildering at times.”

One of the mysterious ways of the dwarrow, as viewed by other people, was how many rituals there seemed to be in their lifestyle. Birth, coming of age, marriage, and death would be a big deal in anyone’s life, but for the dwarrow, courtship, and marriage were among the most sacred events in their lives. With a low amount of dwarrowdams born in comparison to the birthrate of their brothers, they saw nothing strange in that their Maker had given some of them a male spouse to wed. After all, even if there were not going to be children resulting from such a marriage, it still meant a happy event.

When Hari had first heard of this in her past life, she had actually celebrated it privately. Elves weren’t as closed minded as many thought, but it was still strange to see two males espoused to one another. She remembered having been drawn to the male gender back then but had kept it quiet, preferring to focus on crafting instead of relationships. The witch did recall having had feelings for the dwarf who had worked alongside her but had smothered them as best as she could due to the life span problem. Despite the confidence needed to rule, she remembered feeling inadequate in regards to thinking she could be her dearest friend’s One.

She wasn’t too worried about this lifetime as being magical meant she’d have a longer than normal lifespan than other humans here did. Truthfully, she was just grateful to have this chance and her smile showed that she was happy with all of this.

The skin-changer entered the main room, yawning a bit, and he stared in confusion at the group for several long moments before Acacia explained the cause for the excitement. Beorn gave a slow grin, making the features change from grim to warm and happy.

“A courtship,” he said in his deep voice. “Well then, we shall have to celebrate it properly.”

With that, he spoke to his animals and all of them began rushing about to prepare a small feast to celebrate this happy event. Dwalin and Dori just smiled, grateful to have someone else who agreed on their thoughts regarding food for the celebration.

No one was surprised when Acacia and Hari were sent to wash themselves up in one of the smaller rooms as the menfolk knew they would want to look as nice as possible for their little celebration. This was a legitimate reason to be extra clean and dress in their finest clothes that they had brought along on the journey. Neither had brought anything too fancy, just simple dresses that would handle being in a pack for a considerable length of time.

Acacia’s dress was made from a gorgeous dark blue cotton fabric that had the stars of Durin around the hem of the gown and edges of the flowing sleeves. There was a stomacher of matching blue that was embroidered at the edges with Thorin’s seal at strategic places. She’d protested once during the fitting process, saying she felt like she’d been claimed by an owner, but Dis had said that this was another method of protection until the wedding and coronation. Once she’d understood that, Acacia had not protested it when other outfits had been done in a similar way.

Hari’s dress was crafted in a more elvish fashion and made from a soft green fabric that flowed freely to her feet. There was gold embroidery at places, embellishing the gown with flowers that matched her mother’s name. For some reason, one of the elvish maids, who had helped her pack, had snuck it into the leather pack she kept her belongings in. She’d been both amused and frustrated when she’d found it after leaving Rivendell but was grateful for it now.

When the pair emerged into the large living area, both Thorin and Fili were struck silent by the sight of the beautiful maidens before them. Even the company and Beorn were quiet for several moments, and the skin-changer smiled.

“It has been quite a long time since such radiance has blessed my halls,” he said, coming towards them.

Both women blushed, and Acacia was the one who sank into a curtsy first before addressing their host.

“Thank you for your kind words, Master Beorn,” she said with a gentle smile. “It feels nice being able to dress up a bit after weeks of wearing travel clothing.”

“I cannot imagine how that must feel,” he admitted, still smiling. “But it brightens my halls to see such finery.”

With those words, Acacia made a mental note to ensure Beorn was invited to the wedding between her and Thorin as well as Fili and Hari. He deserved the chance to enjoy himself, especially after opening his home to the company, and his kindness certainly allowed for a chance at merrymaking in a new fashion.

“We are grateful we could brighten your halls,” she answered, smile gaining in warmth.

The skin-changer beamed, then nodded as he guided the two ladies to the table. It was obvious this had made him happy, and both were glad to see it. Who knew how long it was since something like this had been celebrated around him? Living alone was never pleasant for anyone who had lost family or kin. Both women understood the pain of being alone, and they were pleased they could do something to ease it for their new friend.

He escorted them to the table, helping them to sit beside their loved ones, and the animals brought out platters of delicious grains, roasted vegetables with lovely sauces, and plenty of bread with honey.

Fili and Thorin were both very devoted to the needs of their lasses, ensuring they had the choicest bits of everything they could want. It was rare they had the opportunity to be able to devote themselves to their care since the journey had kept their attention focused more on their safety instead of the needs or wants of the ones they were to join their lives to.

During the meal, Hari took the chance to ask Beorn if he had any large carpets around in the store rooms. She explained quickly that she had a possible idea in how to cross Mirkwood without needing to actually enter the forest, something that hopefully would help them gain more time and avoid trouble for the Company. Beorn promised to show her later the next morning, since the feast was not the best time for serious topics.

When questioned, the witch just smiled and diverted the conversation to something else. The last thing she wanted was to cause the joy to be shadowed by the potential problems the next leg of their journey could cause. Hari made her plans and enjoyed herself for the evening, hoping Beorn would be able to help her out in regards to her schemes.

After all, as the witch had realized, there was a high risk that they could actually get lost in Mirkwood, which in turn would waste valuable time trying to find the right path again. It would also a chance that they could be captured by the Elves as intruders, if something happened to draw unwanted attention. Of course, it was only logical that a scout out on guard duty might spot them and report it to king Thranduil, and if they were caught and imprisoned, it would be bad if they lost the chance to arrive to Erebor before Durin’s Day to find the keyhole. Waiting a whole year would ruin a lot of plans and draw unwanted attention. There was also a vague premonition that she would not want her path to cross with that of Oropher’s son, not after everything she’d heard from her friends in the company as well as in Imladris. Hari had learned to follow those premonitions, and she just hoped that their host would have what was needed so she could try to ensure the safety of her soon to be new family as they headed out on this next part of the journey.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Sure enough when she checked the morning after the feast, it did turn out that Beorn had at least four large carpets, made by his female relatives so long ago before they were captured by the orcs. Using her magic to reinforce the thread, Hari sewed the carpets together into one huge one, ensuring the thread was sewn back and forth twice to ensure that they would hold together under massive weight. Dori and Acacia helped with the sewing whenever they could, not quite sure how this would help with their journey, but everyone had faith that the witch would be able to get this working.

Fili plopped down to sit beside his beloved, watching her as she worked. His curiosity was on fire now, and he simply had to ask.

“Why are you making a large carpet?”

“You know how I told you about brooms flying,” she asked, not pausing in her work.

“I remember that,” he answered, then blinked. “Wait, carpets flew too in your old world?”

Hari laughed softly as she kept on sewing, answering the stunned question with a mirth filled voice.

“Better for families traveling with children,” she told him. “Portkeys and apparition can be too risky with young ones so the carpets were the better choice. Unfortunately, the government where I lived didn’t agree and banned them, forcing families to use the Night Bus. I wouldn’t go on that bloody thing again if you paid me, much less put my own child on it. Reckless driver and nothing done for safety at all.”

Fili’s eyes widened a moment at the thought of children, which Hari didn’t notice, and he swallowed twice to get the lump out of his throat. He rather liked the idea of having bairns with her and hoped that things worked out where they could have a family in the future.

“Why did they ban them?”

“Popular explanation is that the charms for them were too erratic and unstable,” she said. “Hermione and I figured the broom companies were threatened by the possibility of competition and did their best to get the carpets banned from England, despite them being common in other countries whose cultures would be somewhat similar to the East here in Middle-earth. Rather stupid if you ask me because it’s not as if they were coming up with ideas for family brooms.”

“That does seem a rather idiotic excuse,” he said. “Do you think there’s any truth to the charms being erratic or unstable?”

“I never had time to do too much research into it,” Hari admitted. “I learned the charms for a class project, and the spells stayed with me. It might be better with runes steadying it, but my rune crafting didn’t go very far due to being moved from England to here. What I did find interesting was that when my memories began surfacing as Celebrimbor, the dwarven runes are actually nearly spot on with the Viking runes.”

“That’s a group of people in your old home, right?” he asked, getting comfortable.

Knowing he would find this of interest, Hari began telling him of the Viking people she had studied in history. She knew the blood thirsty adventurers would intrigue her dwarrow and soon, she had a group of them around her as she worked and wove her tales.

“Sounds like a time that was reasonably safer for their women than later eras, especially if the Vikings born with magic were very powerful and their ladies could rise to a strong social position as priestess. At least, I think that may be something our own priests may like to hear.”

“They weren’t just priestesses,” Hari said, sharing information she had learned before everything had gone so wrong. “Shortly before I came here, archaeologists uncovered the grave of a warrior who turned out to be a female. The Vikings permitted their women to fight alongside their men, and it seems reasonable to me since the stories of the Valkyries speak of great battles.”

“Our dams fight alongside the males,” Fili shared. “They are trained alongside of us when we’re taught weapons and self defense as pebbles, even if they may not be allowed out in big battles in fear of losing them because they already are so rarely born. People won’t see them as something other than a simple dwarf so it’s best they know how to fight too.”

She nodded, looking sad.

“I hope that once Erebor is reclaimed, people will look on dwarrow differently. I know the elves in Ost-in-Edhil viewed the Longbeard clan as wonderful people and great friends as well as allies. Not once did they try to paint them as guilty as the other elvish societies involved with the Nauglamir.”

“It was an elven King that started that chaos, right? Someone from a hidden Kingdom, I believe,” Ori asked.

“King Thingol of Doriath in the First Age, yes. The story is linked to the famed love tale of the elvish maid Luthien and her mortal lover, Beren, his prospective son-in-law to be precise. The cause of his death was more or less the very bride price he had requested of Beren for the hand of Luthien. The Nauglamir was not part of the bride price, but rumour has it that Thingol, in his pride and arrogance as one of the First Children of Eru, refused to give the agreed payment and had the nerve to insult Aulë about creating his Stone Children.”

Fili coughed loudly in shock as he nearly choked on the smoke from his pipe. Kili good naturedly thumped his brother on the back as Hari spoke.

“We’ll never really know what caused the strife,” she continued. “All I know is that the Silmaril in that piece of jewelry caused friction where there had been none. It still makes no sense to me honestly.”

“Dwarrow are very proud of their craft,” Thorin rumbled from where he was sitting. “We view it as a tribute to our Maker since He taught us everything He knew in regards to craft and stone lore. To have such an item not paid for as per the agreement is an affront to us but also to our Maker.”

“I remember reading about this as a child when learning history,” Acacia shared from her position near Thorin. “I think that the thought that dwarrow are greedy is because most don’t know about the beliefs behind crafting.”

Balin nodded his head sagely, seeing where the hobbit was coming from with this.

“Our need to keep everything private and to ourselves comes back to haunt us when it comes to this particular tale,” he agreed.

“It may be time for the line of Durin to move past that habit,” Thorin stated, glad to see the others nod in agreement. “I believe we should be a bit more open to our allies so these misunderstandings will not happen again.”

“It was just the elves of Ost-in-Edhil that your people were friendly with, correct,” Hari asked, looking at the king-in-exile.

“It was,” he answered. “Truthfully, I think that if the former kings had reached out to other elvish communities, we might have had better support after everything became so dark. At least with Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel, Thranduil is a lost cause.”

To be fair from what Hari could remember, in Celebrimbor’s memories there had been rumours that Thranduil’s family had been among the survivors from Doriath, and having Thingol slain by dwarrow was pretty unlikely to create a positive image of the Stone Children.

“At least Elrond should be familiar with the friendship between Maedhros and King Azaghâl of Belegost; I can't imagine my past-life uncle refusing to talk about that dwarven king who was such a good friend and ally,” Hari said before finishing one seam. Although Fili was hopeless at sewing, he did make a gallant attempt to help a bit before he gave up.

“Might be something to look into once things settle down,” Acacia suggested, helping her friend with her project. “It would be an opportunity for Erebor to renew old alliances, even if it’s not with Mirkwood. While Rivendell is quite a distance away, Lothlorien is a potential ally and the two kingdoms share a bond through blood as Elrond was wed to the Lady’s daughter.”

“It is possible,” Thorin murmured. “It’ll be incredibly difficult though given everything; I am willing to try so long as it is not the tree-shagger that believes himself a king.”

“Why is that,” Ori asked. “The rulers of Lothlorien and Rivendell use the titles of lord and lady, but he calls himself a king. It doesn’t really make much sense to me.”

“I think it has something to do with the rings Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond possess,” the hobbit said, continuing when Hari nodded her agreement. “When the rings were given to them, the ruler of the Greenwood was either not considered or deemed unworthy. I think Cirdan was given the third, but I’m not certain who has it now. Either way, I think he felt slighted because he was not considered as one of the ring bearers.”

Hari’s voice was soft as she added to Acacia’s explanation.

“After I realized that Sauron had crafted the One Ring, I went to speak with my cousin in Lothlorien. After a lengthy discussion, we came to the agreement that the rings needed to be hidden, unused, and kept far away from each other. I left Nenya with her and gifted Narya and Vilya to Gil-galad. I think he chose the bearers before his death,” she told them. “I do believe Elrond is a wise choice as is Cirdan.”

“But it could give us a mess to deal with in Mirkwood,” Kili sighed, shaking his head. “I doubt he’s finally stopped feeling left out.”

“I am hoping that this will enable us to avoid Mirkwood,” Hari told him, gesturing at the carpet she was working on. At the younger prince’s confused look, she hurried to explain.

“I intend to make it a flying carpet so we will not need to walk on the ground. We would save a lot of time if we can just fly over the forest and rest in the treetops at night. Sure, that is going mean no campfire since I have not learned any spell to keep it floating in the air and there is the risk of the leaves catching fire from a spark, but if we pack the food wisely, we can afford a few cold meals.”

“Flying carpet,” the archer asked, curious as he had not been there for the discussion about objects that could be flown. “You can do that?”

“Like I said before, it’s not the most accepted mode of transportation back in my old life but it’ll work for us. We can handle heights; it is not like we haven’t already tested that on this journey already. Flying, I mean, on the eagles.”

Since the carpet only needed one last piece sewn to the rest, it was clear that it would be finished within the next few days as she only had the rune work and spells to apply after the carpet was assembled.

“Where is that map of Middle-Earth? We need to guess the distance over Mirkwood for how long we might end up flying,” Thorin requested, getting the map from Balin and spreading it out over the grass.

While Hari sewed, the group looked at the map, trying to determine the best route to take. They wanted to move quickly but also ensure that they were safe while doing so. No one really knew what to expect in the forest; their host had not been very forthcoming in regards to the situation.

Balin frowned, looking over the routes they could take. One would take them too close to Gundabad, and the other would simply take too long. All three routes were dangerous, but it looked like the fastest would be the Elven Road through Mirkwood.

“I hope that carpet of yours works,” Balin told his little sister, troubled over the path they would have to take. “If we can avoid traveling in the forest as much as we can, it’d make things a lot easier for all of us.”

“That’s my hope,” Hari said with a smile, putting the finishing touches on it. “I’m hoping the spell work will hold.”

“If it doesn’t,” Thorin said. “At least it will have bought us time and safety. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into this.”

Her smile grew wider, and she nodded at him as she answered.

“You’re welcome,” she told him. “It’s been a while since I’ve done any crafting with needle and thread.”

“I will make sure your rooms have what you need for that as well as a personal forge in the smithing areas once Erebor is home again,” the king-in-exile told her.

To be honest, Hari thought some of her lacking skills with a needle and thread came from that in England, finished clothes were basically ready to buy in stores and it was the most elderly, former housewives who still sewed clothes at home. She could never remember seeing Petunia sew clothes, for example, and both her Muggle-school and Hogwarts only offered sewing as a hobby, not as a necessary skill to know.

“Do not let any of the tailors at home hearing that, they would be most offended at hearing of a culture where people do not buy their service anymore and sewing is a skill useful for healers as well,” Fili said, showing a small scar where Oin had sewn together a wound a few years back.

When Hari mentioned the idea of a sewing machine, Ori was quick to add to the discussion after realizing what it was she was talking about.

“Oh! That genius invention which our kin in the East created in the early Second Age! I have heard that it is an important part of a bride price there, to show a future husband’s hope of pleasing his wife by lessening the many hours spent on a sewing project!”

She tilted her head for a moment, thinking.

“How do you go about powering such a thing?”

“Foot pedal,” Dori answered. “It’s a cumbersome thing, but I imagine it can be useful for items that need to be produced in larger quantities. I prefer being able to embellish each item as needed.”

It took a moment, but she remembered seeing pictures of such devices while still in primary school. She didn’t mention it, but she just smiled at the idea.

“And it is still a much needed part of courtship to be able to present a possible wife a meal done by yourself? I remember that to be important, showing that the husband can both be a breadwinner and also able to cook food,” she asked.

“Oh yes, that is why so many of us are unnerved by the culture of men, in terms of that it is often the wives that cook the food, simply because they are so used to having so many females around. They seem to take it for granted, which can be a serious issue in bad situations. For example, what if the wife dies suddenly from illness and the daughters are too young to be safe around the fire? What if there are no unwed sisters to take over that duty while her widowed brother seeks for a new wife? Look at Kili, using a bow and arrows may not be that common among our race, but he can get a hare or bird even in a moment if the hunting traps have not caught anything. That shows that he is able to get his own food and has learned to cook it as well,” Thorin answered.

“Thorin has cooked several meals for me during our courtship,” Acacia said with a gentle smile. “My grandmother even taught him some Took recipes, and he makes those nearly as well as my grandmother or aunts do.”

The conversation went on from there, and Hari kept focusing on her task. There were other ideas racing through her brain, and one such idea was something she would work on later.

Author note: Given that flying carpets are known from “One Thousand and One Nights,” it would not be impossible for Hari to have read those Middle Eastern folk tales after starting to live with Sirius, or perhaps thought Hermione who is Muggle-born and does not have any fantasy-forbidding relatives. We both remembered reading about the discussion regarding flying carpets in the books and decided to apply it here. I think it helped a bit. We both thank all of you for being so patient with us and hope you’re staying safe and healthy! See you all next chapter! ~ Rogercat and Laran
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Shadows of the Past