Title: Fifty Years and a Few More

Category: Crossover, pre!Hobbit/post!Harry Potter
Subcategory: Oneshot/Drabble series

Prompt: Star
Summary: Harry finds a shiny rock filled with starlight and decides to be a good guy. The Ministry aren't impressed but the Dwarves like him now, so things could be worse.
Warnings: Things and stuff and whut?

I don't own the Hobbit, nor do I own Harry Potter. I'm just playing in the sandbox and making a big old mess.

000

It was just a routine raid on the Midnight Black Market. Anything from illegally enchanted ferrets to muggleborn children being sold in and out of the country as slaves, sex toys, or potion ingredients, could be found in the Midnight Market.

So when Harry found what was unmistakably the missing Dwarven Crown Jewel, he wasn't surprised so much as annoyed.

Because his Superior Officer would have his nutsack for a hat if he didn't turn it over to the Wizengmot immediately so they could force through those highly suspect trade agreements they had been haggling with for the last four hundred years. Dwarves were nothing if not stubborn, and they still refused to meet the terms. But if they threw this glowing rock into the mix, well, it could go one of two ways: The Dwarves would crumble and the Wizengmot would get the terms they liked, which put the Dwarves in a bad position. Or, the Dwarves would get pissed off to the point where they declared war upon Wizards, and that wouldn't end well for anyone.

Harry stuffed the stone into his back pocket, and once the raid was done booked a week off on holiday.

His boss was in such a good mood he even approved it.

000

Taking Teddy to see the last great Dwarf Kingdom was his excuse for visiting. He knew Dwarves looked well on children, regardless of their species (it was the only way Lockheart managed to hire a few of the down on their luck bar-crawlers from Knockturn Alley), and Harry wanted his godson to be tolerant of all peoples. The three year old did love the old muggle tales about supernatural beings. He was quite disappointed when Kreacher wasn't like the elves in his books, though he did try to get the old elf into archery, but he for all that he did so when ordered, he did it with such ill-grace that Teddy stopped asking within a week and bugged Harry about it instead. Dwarves, Harry imagined, would sooth that disappointment. They were very much like the tales.

The Mountain itself was unplottable, hidden from Muggles in northern Europe, it was quite a cold place, so he felt absolutely no remorse in bundling the both of them up in heavy cloaks – which weren't good enough he learned as soon as he got there. A quick hunt through the magic quarter, and Harry settled for a Russian coat lined with fur, it was quite nice. But Teddy, curse his sharp eyesight, had spotted a Dwarvish made coat that matched one of the pictures in his favourite story books, possessing shoulders that were probably a foot wider on both sides than he was around the middle, and promptly fallen in love with it. Harry hadn't the heart to turn him down so he ended up shelling out a fair bit of gold for his godson who huddled into the massive fluffy thing gleefully, sleeves extending down over his little hands as he tottered ahead of him into the great stone city.

And then tripped on the hem and fell face first down on the ground with a oomph.

Harry could have done without the water-works, but none of the onlookers could deny the incident wasn't adorable in its own way if the coos from the Dwarrowdams, and the amused chortles of the Dwarf men was any indication as Harry carefully scooped his wailing three year old catastrophe up into his arms. Just as clumsy as his mother, this one.

They booked into one of the Inns on the mid-levels, not far from the market and spent the first few days exploring happily. Harry sitting them both down whenever one of the elderly Dwarves appeared to tell stories to the younger at the back of the market place next to the baker's stall. They became pretty well known to the parents amongst the mountain who seemed thoroughly approving of Harry's determination to introduce Teddy to as many different cultures as possible. Teddy made several friends while Harry very delicately made inquiries further and further up the mountain onto who was in charge, or at least willing to an informal meeting.

By the end of his week with the Dwarves, he finally got the meeting he wanted.

The Dwarf he spoke to, a cheerful, if tired looking Dwarrow with a thick red beard turning grey here and there who called himself Gandin, apparently his family line had called this Mountain home since time beyond memory and History known to wizard kind.

Making sure Teddy was happily distracted in the corner with a few animated toys, Harry threw up a privacy ward and set the shiny rock onto the table.

"Knowing what I do about my Ministry, I figured it was best to return this discreetly. It was seized by my team during a raid on the Midnight Black Market in Bavaria," he explained as the old Dwarf gaped and reached out with trembling fingers to the stone.

"This... is the – it has been stolen, for centuries, from my very ancestor's tomb where he sleeps even now," he breathed as he gently took the stone up as if it were made of the most delicate spun sugar.

Harry shrugged a shoulder, "Now you can put it back. I don't really want relations between our people's to sour over, well, clearly it's important to you but, its value is lost on me I'm afraid," he admitted with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. A glowing rock was still a rock. The most valuable thing in his life was currently chewing on – something. "Teddy, stop – excuse me," he begged the Dwarf as he quickly rushed to the toddler and wrestled the odd object out of his mouth. He sighed upon realising it was his housekey, the hell had the cheeky little monster gotten hold of that? Smelling a tantrum from the little boy as he glared wetly up at his godfather for taking it away, Harry animated one of the little horse dolls and thoroughly distracted the little boy before returning to the table. "Sorry about that," he muttered, "Kids, they'll put anything in their mouths," he complained tossing his keys on the table with a sour expression.

The meeting ended with Gandin still not entirely sure what to make of Harry and almost weeping with a mix of frustration, confusion, and awe when the wizard awkwardly denied any reward. Repeatedly.

"You have no idea what this is, do you?" Gandin demanded helplessly, almost angrily, as he waved the rock around.

"One of your most precious crown jewels," Harry answered with a shrug as he picked up a grouchy Teddy who was getting tired and wriggly. "Look, I didn't return it for a reward. I just didn't want things between our peoples to get worse, which it would've if I'd handed it in like I should have. So, just keep it quiet, yeah? I could lose my job for this." He grimaced, he could actually be thrown into Azkaban for it these days. He had written those laws up himself and not really considered how the corrupt higher-ups would take to trying to abuse them.

The next morning, as he was packing their bags, a knock was heard upon his bedrooms door. Outside was Gandin.

"My brother wants to see you," he said by means of explanation.

And it wasn't long before Harry was stood in front of a very important looking Dwarf in thick, rich black furs, and gold jewellery, staring up at him with icy blue eyes under thickly braided chalk white and iron grey hair. Harry felt distinctly uncomfortable and underdressed in a pair of grotty grey jeans and one of his Weasley Christmas sweaters – complete with holes in the elbows because he wore them more than he technically should have. Teddy, hanging off his hand and pointing at the Dwarf, babbling away in a mix of English and toddler, caused smiles to crack on a few whiskered faces and managed to diffuse the tension as the Dwarf King, Harry managed to identify, waved away his guards.

"I don't know how I can thank you, Harry Potter, for the return of the Arkenstone," the King rumbled as a babbling Teddy stubbornly tugged his godfather over, the King smiling warmly at the little boy who latched his tiny pudgy hands onto the fine fur of his coat, making his adoptive father wince.

"Well, 'thank you' would be good enough, your Majesty," he admitted awkwardly as the King abruptly sat down, cross legged, and allowed Teddy to practically clamber over him. "Teddy, no! We don't pull hair!" he scolded immediately, spotting a pair of tiny hands reach for the King's braids. Teddy had nearly scalped Hermione in his fascination with her curly brown hair several months ago.

The King chuckled heartily, "He is fine. It will take more than these tiny fingers to tear the hair from my head," he assured the young father as he caught the lad's hands, tiny hands not quite large enough to wrap around his thick fingers. Feeling awkward still on his feet, Harry tentatively sat on the floor opposite as Teddy really did climb on top of the remarkably tolerant Dwarrow who grinned in amusement at the wince Harry gave when Teddy actually did use his hair to pull himself up. "Since you refuse all rewards and honours, requesting only that we keep your part in our most sacred treasure's return silent, there is little I can do. Save perhaps to give you this," he intoned as he reached into a pocket and withdrew a small silver hairclip. It was tarnished a little at the edges, and shaped like a bead.

He reached out and took Harry's unresisting right hand, setting the clip in his palm and curling his fingers over it with a few murmured words in his native tongue.

"This... is the bead of an Ancient King, his name lost to time. A King who held the Jewel most precious above all others. Since you will accept no reward from us, then perhaps, upon death, you will accept his thanks for this service. It will allow you to access Mahal's Halls, the ones he set aside for the Dwarves upon their deaths, should you so wish," the King explained as he withdrew from the young wizard who eyed the hair clip carefully.

"If it is so precious then shouldn't it remain - "

The Dwarf held a hand up to silence him, not even noticing Teddy tumbling from his shoulder to straddle his elbow with a giggle. He smiled at the young wizard, blue eyes crinkling, "You have returned that which is most precious to my people. This is the best we can do to return that which you have given us without expectation, or desire, for reward. Go, and take with you our thanks, and friendship from now until you return to the Song of Beginnings."

With nothing else to do, Harry thanked the King with no small amount of bewilderment.

He tried to leave then, but Teddy decided he very much liked the Dwarf King and hid himself under the Dwarrow's coat, said Dwarf laughing uproariously but doing absolutely nothing to help Harry get his godson out from under there. In the end, Harry remained in the Dwarf King's chambers for the rest of the day and struck an unexpected friendship with him, learning that his name was Radin, and then befriending his younger brother Gandin. Both of whom were apparently named for the very first wizards to ever walk the earth.

Harry did lose his job. One of his colleagues caught him pocketing the stone, and when the Ministry found out his boss hit the roof. There were a few calls for arrest and imprisonment in Azkaban, mostly from the Purebloods who sought to gain the most benefit from the disputed trade agreements, but the second the public found out just what their Boy Who Lived was being accused of that was that. The Ministry had to actually close down when a few came in and started a riot. Harry eventually had to beg Radin to hide him from them, at least until the chaos died down and he could actually leave without having spells flying this way and that over his head (possibly hitting Teddy in the process, which was unacceptable). He ended up having to hide significantly longer than anyone expected when the call to return to a monarchy was raised and his name, as the last Peverell, was suddenly being demanded to take the Ancient Throne – Throne of what Harry had no idea, he didn't even know Wizards had a monarchy! Harry stayed hiding within the Dwarf Kingdom until it was time for Teddy to go to school at eleven, and though they talked about it for a long time, eventually anywhere in England was vetoed. He went to Durmstrang instead, by his own choice. After all, with Viktor Krum's interest in his Alma Mater, their reputation for the Dark Arts died down, and now it was a very respectable learning establishment – with a strong Quidditch Presence as good seventh year players who showed the determination to go pro, often got recruited straight out of their final year for training camps.

Years down the line, he would laugh himself sick when Teddy, at twenty five, proposed to a stunned Radin who looked in askance at Harry who lifted his hands in surrender. He learned a long time ago not to get between his son and what he wanted. It took a further five years to talk the young metamorph out of it, but even then it was very clear that his feelings never really died down for the Dwarf King who was rapidly approaching the end of his life.

He was there with the rest of the Kingdom to mourn the passing of his dear friend, and hold his son as he cried himself hoarse as Radin's tomb was sealed in the depths of the Royal catacombs. He watched as his son became like a ghost in the following year as he mourned, and could do nothing but curse both his friend and his son for being as bad as each other.

Gandin's grandson through his daughter, Bombri, would inherit the Throne and while he and Harry got along well, no one could really replace Radin. Not even his brother.

Eventually, Harry went travelling, and dragged his son along with him. They went across the planet, exploring this and that. And eventually Teddy regained his spark and his love of life, he never stopped missing Radin, and had Harry been the romantic sort, he could have fancied Radin as Teddy's One, as the Dwarvish custom went. But while he made friends where-ever they walked, no one really caught his eye.

He caught someone else's though, most definitely. And she didn't let him escape.

Harry watched with something approaching terror and hilarity as Bill and Fleur's eldest daughter, Victoire, forced herself into their lives, and then into Teddy's heart, digging herself under his skin like a burr and refusing to let him pull her out no matter how short and irritable he got with her.

Harry wasn't surprised when they married. Or when Teddy came to him one morning hyperventilating about Victoire being pregnant. Or when he appeared begging Harry's help on how to deal with a small child.

He himself never did marry. No one really lit a fire in him but that was fine. He didn't need to. He had a good life, he laughed, loved, lived, cried, raged, mourned, and held the multitude of grand children, nieces and nephews, and godchildren he was blessed with, every single one of them. He saw education reforms, revolutions, witnessed the magical and the muggle worlds combine, he saw and served in wars, wrote books on whatever took his fancy, learned martial arts for the hell of it, had flings here and there with both men and women, with Vampires, Werewolves, Veela, Merfolk, he wasn't exactly discriminatory over what they were, merely who they were. He lived a good life, a long life, and if he retired into hermitage, well no one could say they didn't see it coming. Least of all his friends and family.

He was ninety five when some young pup, a Dark Magic Supremacist brat fed on the legends and ideology of the Death Eaters and the Neo-Nazis, thought to try his luck at killing The Harry Potter.

He didn't really stand a chance. Harry hadn't exactly gotten rusty over the years, not with the kind of 'adventures' he constantly got himself into.

The bomb the lad had strapped to his chest, just in case he lost, proved to be more effective anyway.

000

And that was when Harry woke up stark bollock naked in a field with a beard down to his asshole.

"Where the fuck am I? GEORGE!"

000

Of course he's going to blame George. Who else would do it? No one has the balls.