This Dream's On Me

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Part 1
Chapter 1

Fili, son of Dis and would-be crown prince of Erebor, was a tad confused. He'd had dreams before, sure, but never one like this.

Slowly sitting up, the blond dwarf proceeded to look around the forest clearing he'd found himself in after falling asleep, dressed in nothing but his usual sleeping clothes. He'd never seen a forest quite like it, the trees were different than the ones that surrounded the blue mountains. Those had just been trees, but these seemed somewhat ominous, stranger than what he'd ever seen. There was just an air about this forest, and Fili wished desperately that his trusted dual swords were by his side, and maybe some clothes, for the air was nipping somewhat vicious between the layers of his thin sleeping clothes.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, he was dressed fully, as if he had been heading out for a hunting trip, with the familiar weight of all his weapons strapped in their usual places. Pulling one sword free of his shoulder, Fili levelled it into a rest position, ready for anything that could come at him. Whilst a part of him registered that this was a dream and nothing could truly hurt him, it didn't stop him from arming himself. Uncle Thorin had taught him that much. It didn't seem right, to be slowly making his way through the undergrowth without Kili by his side, ready with his bow for any threats at long distance. He felt almost vulnerable, having never been out on his own before. Not like this.

"What are you doing here?"

Fili leapt a foot in the air, spinning on his heels as his sword twisted to point at the source of the question.

A girl stared back at him, sat down against the base of a tree trunk, legs tucked up to her chest and green eyes focused upon his form.

Fili stalled for a second, taking in the sight before him. She was dressed unlike anyone he'd ever seen before, in a long dark cloak that didn't look anywhere near as warm as his furs, with even stranger clothing beneath. Was this female wearing trousers? And what was resting on the bridge of her nose? Some metal framework holding two round lenses of glass. What purpose did they serve? How had his brain even managed to think up such a creature? She was certainly no dwarf, that was evident from the lack of a beard, but she didn't appear to be any taller than him. Perhaps somewhat the same height. An inch or two shorter? It was hard to tell with her sat down as she was.

"I am dreaming, my lady."

The girl blinked those emeralds that stared up at him from behind the large round framework that perched upon her nose. They were rather pretty to look at, Fili supposed, having never seen eyes so green before in his life.

"I'm dreaming as well. As if it's not bad enough I've got Voldemort running riot in my head it looks like I've got another guest." She stood then, pushing up with her hands on her knees, moving slowly until she was stood before him. He'd been right in his guess, the girl was two inches shorter than what he was, but so evidentially not a dwarf he didn't know how so was so small. He'd never seen such a creature before in his life. He was fascinated.

"Fili, son of Dis, at your service my lady."

The girl blinked again, head cocking slightly to a side as she stared back at him. So his greeting was not common amongst her race then? She looked like a child of man, but a little too short for that... Not that he'd seen many men, and there was no way she was an elf. No matter how leafy green her eyes.

"Erm, Harry Potter. Nice to meet you Fili." So she had a title like Uncle Thorin did then? But what would have gotten her the title Potter? Unless it was family thing, like with the men...

"Am I truly dreaming you up?" It seemed rather spectacular a dream if so, he'd never had one with such detail, such colour before. He could not have made up the young woman before him, surely? There was too much about her that he did not recognise.

"I don't think so. There's a lot of magic about dreams, but I didn't pay too much attention to it in class. I know I'm real, so if you think you are, then maybe you are. What are you?" The girl, Harry, suddenly reddened, looking away from him for the first time. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking. You don't look, well, like a wizard."

Ah, here was something he understood, at last.

"You are correct Lady Potter, a wizard I am not. I am a dwarf. Never met a wizard before."

"A dwarf? I didn't know those existed... And how have you not met a wizard before, there's loads of us?"

Not as far as Fili was aware. There were five roaming about Middle Earth, and he'd not met one of them.

And wait a second, us?

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They walked through the trees, talking as they went. Fili learnt that they were in a place called 'The Forbidden Forest', a location that rested outside of the Lady Harry's school. Apparently, he wasn't even dreaming of Middle Earth, instead he was in what Harry insisted to be 'Regular Earth', in which there were no dwarves at all. There were goblins, but they ran the bank -and how strange a thought was that- and were apparently quite civilized beings. And the magic, there were wizard and witches in abundance here, learning at this 'Hogwarts' that was nearby.

And the Lady Harry was one of them, learning the noble art of magic.

It was very interesting, and Harry seemed to open up slightly as they spoke. She liked her Defence lessons, which was apparently all about applying magic in combat. She disliked potions, but that was more due to aprevious teacher than anything else. It was only facts, not too much personal information on the dark haired woman that walked beside him, but he felt obliged to open up a bit to her also.

He told her that he was a warrior of his race, that he'd been trained to fight with swords from childhood. Harry had admitted she'd only used a sword once, an enchanted one that could answer her call when she needed it and was now coated in the most deadly poison in her world. She admitted to having no siblings, and after a bit of prodding, that she was an orphan. Fili had spoke of his father's death, which had come about not long after Kili's birth. He spoke of watching his Uncle stepping up to become the main father figure in their lives. He could tell that Harry knew he adored Uncle Thorin, if the wishful smile on her face was any indication. He spoke of Kili and his love for archery, how skilled he was with a bow.

Harry showed him some magic, simple things like making a twig turn into a needle, or blowing up a tree with a blasting curse. That second one was very impressive, Kili would have like it, both the idea and watching the magic.

They spoke for hours over simple, little things. Favourite food, what they enjoyed doing, the differences in their world. They never grew too personal. But Fili liked it. Having someone to talk to about nonsense things who clearly wouldn't judge him. Who didn't know he was a prince.

"Lady Harry, I think I'm waking up," he finally murmured, frowning as he did so.

Harry looked back at him -and what a strange name she had- with her lips turning down at the corners ever so slightly.

"That's disappointing. You're the nicest guest I've had in my head so far. I think... I wouldn't mind it should you found your way back."

He didn't get a chance to answer her.

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Instead, he woke up to Kili's grinning face, eyebrows wiggling and asking 'who's this Lady Harry?'.

He'd snorted, muttering he couldn't remember the dream.

But he could. And he rather hoped he'd manage to go back.

Even if she wasn't real, that didn't mean that dream hadn't been pleasant enough.

So, I found this floating around in my files -I must have wrote it when I was fairly sleep deprived because the file says it's not more than two months old but I can't remember it at all- and I quite liked it, so I though I'd put it up to tide people over till my deadlines have passed (a week to go by the way, then I'm free to start writing again)

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Preview of the next chapter

By some miracle, Fili found his way back to Harry's dreams every night for the next week. And the week after that. And the week after that. It'd been a month now since he'd started stumbling into the girl's dreams. A month of them talking, chatting between one another as Harry led him on a tour of Hogwarts grounds. The castle, if made somewhat larger by the distinct lack of other students, was magnificent. The stair cases moved, hell, the ceiling in the main hall was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Not that he'd be telling Uncle Thorin that. No doubt the dwarf would insist upon drawing up the grand halls of Erebor and then get furious when it didn't come out right because his Uncle couldn't draw for rocks, never-mind use the ability persuade someone else of his point.

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So, thoughts on this?
Harry won't be popping up into Fili's world for a while; this is just after Dumble's died by the way.

Tsume
xxx