The Hobbit and Harry Potter are not mine. I make no money from this... I apologise if the format is still weird for this. I keep redoing it, but it seems to make no difference. I do have another copy of this on AO3, under the same username and title. If the story ends up with smut in it, that's where that will be posted.

Bilbo Baggins was an ordinary hobbit in many ways; he was small, enjoyed a good meal and wasn't fond of adventures. Okay, so he was a wizard, but that wasn't entirely unheard of for a hobbit. The fact there were less than 10 hobbits in the whole of Hogwarts did not make Bilbo any more unusual than the muggle hobbits he had thus far been raised around.

In his sixth year at Hogwarts, Bilbo had very much learnt to adapt to being a magical hobbit. His cousin Frodo was one as well, so when they went home to the Shire during the holidays, he wasn't alone in being viewed as a bit odd.

Frodo was in his fifth year, along with Samwise Gamgee and Meriadoc Brandybuck. Another one of his cousins, Peregrin Took was also in Hogwarts, in his fourth year. Merry and Pippin were both in Gryffindor so they were only seen during meal times (although the results of their pranks could often be heard at various points during any given week at some point in the castle).

Frodo and Sam, like Bilbo, were in Hufflepuff. They could often be found near the greenhouses, Sam happily helping Professor Radagast, with Frodo relaxed in whatever warm spot he could find.

Bilbo, however, preferred to curl up with a book in front of the common room fire. He was often joined by Ori, another sixth year Hufflepuff. Ori was a dwarf, the younger brother of Dori and Nori, who were both seventh years. Dori was a Ravenclaw whose birthday was in September, just after the school year had started, and Nori was a Gryffindor who was born in July, just before they broke up for the summer holidays. Bilbo knew all about them because Ori talked about his family a lot. Bilbo didn't really discuss his.

His mother, Belladonna Baggins (nee Took) and his father, Bungo Baggins had both been muggle hobbits. His father had died when Bilbo had been 5 years old, and his mother had followed a year later. Their son had been raised by Drogo Baggins and Primula Baggins (nee Brandybuck), so Bilbo was used to Frodo disappearing off outside to read a book in the company of Samwise Gamgee without a word.

Of course, a lot of the other students didn't really understand hobbit families. Trying to explain that a lot of families had at least 5 children and that most of the hobbits in the Shire were actually related in some way, was actually more difficult than it needed to be.

Ori had tried to listen once, when they had first discussed their families in their first year at Hogwarts, but Ori had looked so confused that Bilbo now tended to avoid talking about his.

Of course, Bilbo didn't actually mind listening to Ori talk about his family. Ori and his brothers were part of The Company. Thorin Oakenshield and his close group of dwarrow friends were called The Company. There were only 12 of them, and excluding Ori, were all in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

They were all in their sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts, and Bilbo had always been quietly impressed. Naturally, he wanted nothing to do with them really, because they always seemed to get into trouble, but it seemed so interesting. Still, even though he was Ori's friend, Bilbo had always been totally ignored by the Dwarves. Bilbo was unsure if it was because he was a hobbit, who often went unnoticed by other races, or because he was a Hufflepuff, and viewed as not as brave, smart or evil as other people and therefore weak (a phrase he had heard bandied about, unfortunately).

Of course, this all changed one afternoon in spring, when Professor Thranduil announced they were going to be looking after salamanders for the rest of the school year and he was going to choose the pairs that everyone worked in. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had Care of Magical Creatures together, so although Bilbo edged over to stand beside Ori, he naturally got partnered up with Thorin.

He watched as Fili and Kili (a pair of dwarrow twins who were part of The Company) were split up. The blond got put with Ori, the other with Éomer (another Hufflepuff). There were a few other members of The Company in their class, but Bilbo couldn't remember their names; he was too busy worrying about how he was going to pass this class when it would involve team work with a dwarf who was glaring daggers at him. He sighed and looked wistfully over at his friend.

"I have adapted the way the salamander flames work." Their professor informed them, tilting his head slightly as he looked at them with his usual blank expression. "Once one salamander is born of the flames, you will not have any more. You simply need to care for your creature and keep the flame burning. Any questions?"

One of the dwarves raised his hand.

"Yes, Bombur?"

"How often do we need to check on it?" The large dwarf looked worried already.

"I would suggest every six hours, but only up and until curfew. I will keep your charms going after then, but if I need to make adjustments overnight, it will be reflected in your marks."

"What do they eat?" asked Déagol, his hand raised as he smiled gently at the elven teacher.

"I suggest you pick up a book and find that out. I expect you all to have your flames going and salamanders alive by this time next week. You have until the end of class to ask me any questions." Professor Thranduil informed them, before turning and heading over to his moose.

"Umm… how do you want to do this?" Stuttered Bilbo nervously.

"Do you know the charm required for keeping the flame going?"

"I've done it before, but not for very long." He said, softly.

"Then we shall have to work on that. I'm not putting all the effort into this." Thorin replied, scowling down at the hobbit. "I'll meet you after dinner outside the great hall and we can start practising."

Bilbo cringed and nodded his head. After dinner he liked to relax and wind down before bed, maybe get a bit of homework done. He had a feeling that spending time with Thorin would not be relaxing.

The dwarf in question turned and headed over to his friend (Dwalin, was it? Bilbo could never remember all the names of the people in his classes). He went and sat down on a soft patch of glass, lying back and enjoying the warmth of the sun. He would head to the library with Ori later, but they didn't hang out if he was with the other dwarves. He wasn't one of them.