I own nothing except bits of plot

Chapter One

Hermione Granger was a lot of things; smart, a book lover and over-achiever. She fought for her friends but hated fighting. She hated it because of situations just like the one she was currently in: her own wand scattered a few from her while someone else's wand was pointed at her neck.

And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Her life and others were in the hands of their captors and Harry's ability to stall enough for help to come. Hermione knew that the Death Eaters would kill them all even if Harry followed their demands and handed over the golden globe he was carrying. It wasn't her impending death that made the whole situation unbearable. It was the uselessness. She couldn't do a thing. She couldn't protect her friends and she certainly couldn't take away the guilt that Harry was undoubtedly feeling for putting his friends in harm's way.

Soft footsteps caught Hermione's attention and hope filled her; if Sirius was here surely that meant the Order wasn't too far behind?

As soon as Sirius punched Lucius Malfoy the rest of the Order showed up; different members freed the helpless students and distracted the Death Eaters holding them. Hermione was quick to grab her wand, shooting spell after spell at the masked wizards and witches. She could see Harry fighting alongside Sirius and Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny were being ushered by Remus to shelter.

"Hermione!" Ron shouted to her, waving his arms at her to join him.

Hermione hesitated, eyeing the quickest – and safest – route to Ron. Most of the duels were happening on the edges of the circular room. The centre of the circle was almost bare except for Sirius and Harry and the strange arch not too far from them. She figured it would be easy enough to get around them all and she knew she needed to get out of the way.

Taking a deep breath she began to run, dodging past the few hexes and stunners flying through the room. She could hear Bellatrix Lestrange cackling away as Tonks failed to catch her; Malfoy was throwing petulant insults at Sirius and Ron was still shouting at her, telling her to hurry up. If she hadn't been so out of breath she'd have told him to shut up but as it was she was a little busy trying not to get hit by some stray spell to worry.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bellatrix was suddenly in front of her, wand pointed straight at her.

Hermione raised her wand in time to counter block the array of jinxes being thrown at her. The death eater may have been insane but there was no denying how powerful she was. The force of her curses caused Hermione to continually step backwards. She was exhausted, physically and magically, by the time she realised Bellatrix had effectively herded her right in front of the archway. Before Hermione could react she sent a powerful stunner hitting her straight in the chest and that was all it took for her to stumble back into the arch.

She could see Ron diving for her and Harry's horrified face before she sank through veil and into darkness.

Hermione felt like she had been floating forever; she couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed. All that was around her was darkness; she could have sworn she could hear Harry and Ron calling for her. Suddenly the gentle floating turned into a free fall; she could feel her hair whipping around her face until she slammed into the ground.

She groaned and sat up slowly, blinking to adjust to the sudden light. She was lying in the middle of a dirt path, trees looming on either side of the track. She couldn't see past the thick greenery and determined she must be in some kind of forest but she had no idea where. Her head was pounding horribly and she wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep but the sound of chatter and hooves caught her attention. She scrambled to her feet, hissing when pain shot through her entire body. She looked around for her wand and snatched it once she'd found it not too far from where she had landed.

Hermione had been so focused on finding her wand she hadn't paid attention to how close the on-comers had gotten. She turned and almost barrelled straight into a man, or at least he looked like a man. He was a few inches taller than her with a long dark beard that had notable streaks of grey running through it. He was staring at her with hard blue eyes and dressed as if he had just come from a medieval fare.

His proximity startled her and she stumbled back a few steps. Nervously she tucked her hair back behind her ear not that it did much. She didn't need a mirror to know her brown hair was a tangled mess just like her clothes were torn and dirty.

"Lady." The man greeted her albeit with no hidden suspicion.

She couldn't help but blush and shuffle awkwardly, "Um, hello?"

An elderly man joined them and Hermione couldn't help but smile when he reminded her of Dumbledore but his presence made her look behind the strange man in front of her. She was definitely outnumbered and didn't know whether to hope for their help or to simply leave her where they found her.

"Are you lost?" The Dumbledore-look-a-like asked kindly, leaning on a wooden staff.

"Could you possibly tell me...where we are?" She asked shyly.

The younger man's eyes narrowed; Hermione couldn't tell if it was from annoyance or further suspicion. "We're just outside the Shire."

"Right." Hermione nodded like she knew what he was talking about. "And where's that?"

"If you follow this path..." The elderly man began.

Hermione interrupted, "No, the name of this world? Where we are?" She had never felt more ridiculous in her life.

In hindsight Hermione realised she probably shouldn't have said anything. It wasn't her brightest moment and having a very sharp sword being pointed at her would be a good lesson to never make that mistake again. Her hands shot up defensively despite wanting to reach for her wand; she couldn't risk them finding out she was a witch and have them try and kill her for it but she was in no shape to try and fight her way out of this mess even if she could.

"Who are you?" The man snarled, his sword pointed straight at her heart.

Hermione looked to the older man for help but he stared at her blankly. "Look, I know it's a little strange but I have no idea where I am." She indicated to her clothing. "Do I look like I'm from here?" She asked him, hoping desperately that being honest would help her out.

He eyed her and slowly lowered his sword. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm Hermione Granger." She answered quickly, not wanting his sword pointed at her again.

The man looked over to his companion and Hermione noticed the rest of the men on the horses watching closely to what was happening.

"We are in Middle Earth." The elder man told her when his companion made no move to inform her.

Hermione had expected to be in a different time but not a different world. A different time she could have dealt with after all she had read through the different periods of time during her holidays. A different world though? How could she possible survive it?

"Wait!" A cry came from the distance. All turned their attention to a small figure bolting towards them, a long piece of parchment clamped in his hand.

Hermione stared at the child running toward the group and was more than a little shocked to find it wasn't a child. While he was the size of a five year old he clearly showed aspects that of a thirty year old.

"I signed it!" He said breathlessly to the men on the horses with no small amount of triumph.

The company murmured to themselves while one took the offered parchment from the man-child. The elderly man, Hermione noted, looked relieved upon hearing the tiny man's exclamation but the other still had not taken his eyes from Hermione. The blatant staring and the arrival of the man-child frazzled Hermione's already panicked mind. It became too much for her – the physical, mental and emotional stress – until she couldn't focus on the world around her.

Thorin was watching the girl closely. Indeed she was dressed oddly, he could not deny it; dark grey cardigan and skirt that was far too short for a proper lady to be wearing. There was dirt smudged across her torso as if she had fallen onto the ground. Her clothes were torn in various places as if she had just been attacked.

He was not oblivious to the panic crossing her face; the girl had no concept of hiding her emotions but he still could not shake the feeling that something was not right. She seemed to have trouble identifying the hobbit; it had been his arrival that seemed to have been her breaking point. Thorin ignored his kin as they welcomed the company's burglar and watched as the colour drained from her face. That was all the warning he needed; he caught the girl seconds after her eyes fluttered closed and her body sagged.

He couldn't help but admire the beauty of the girl in his arms but her appearance did unsettle him. He could not think of other worlds that were not the one he was living in but her arrival left him with no choice. He did not have the time or luxury to be wondering about where she had come from or what her world was like. And yet it was no coincidence that they happened to find the girl right upon starting their quest.

"She will come with us until we know more." He informed the wizard, his voice leaving no room for argument though he knew he would not receive any.

A/N so this is my attempt at a Hobbit/Harry Potter cross over. It will follow bits of the movie but seeing as I'm only just reading the book I don't know whether things will change. Let me know what you think. This is a Hermione/Thorin story too...