The Witch's Destiny || Thranduil

Chapter II

After dinner, Violet was sat in the kitchen with the dwarves, getting to know the few that were in there. They trusted Gandalf, so they knew they could trust her, but dwarves were a secretive people, and she knew they needed to get to know her on a personal level. She opened up about her qualifications, telling them about her brother, Tom Riddle, and Hogwarts. She didn't bother mentioning her childhood. She wanted to keep some things private still, and there wasn't a dwarf who thought to ask.

"So, you're telling me that you have a small wooden stick that can do magic? Why isn't it big like Gandalf's?" Dwalin asked her, looking more relaxed than he had sitting beside her in the dining room.

"Two different kinds of wizards," she replied, "We come from the same source, the Valar, but in different ways and we're supposed to be the protectors of Earth."

"Well, some of you aren't doing a great job," Bofur said to her.

"Yes, well, thankfully, some of us are," she said, "That's my job. I'm an auror, or magical law enforcement. It's like your soldiers or guards. Though, I took some time off to be here. Thankfully that wasn't difficult either, as my twin brother is the head of the department. Thank Merlin for nepotism!"

The dwarves laughed at her joke, and she smiled proudly. Slowly, one by one she was winning them over. It would take some time for their full trust, but they were letting their guard down a little because of her own openness. Classic textbook methods for the win, she thought.

"Can you show us a spell, then?" Bofur asked, being brave enough to want to see it for himself. The other dwarves looked both intrigued and frightened. Without a word, Violet did the levitating spell and lifted a bottle of wine from behind him.

"Excuse me. That is a doily, not a dishcloth," Bilbo said, snatching the object out of Nori's hand as they walked in. He saw the bottle of wine and snatched that out of the air too. "And that is a very vintage bottle of wine!"

"But it's full of holes!" Bofur said, looking confused about the piece of cloth.

"And I had a perfectly good grip on it, Mr. Baggins," Violet said.

"It's supposed to look like that. It's crochet," Bilbo said, before turning to Violet, "Well, you do until you drop the very old and nice bottle of wine!"

"Oh, and a wonderful game it is too! If you've got the balls for it!" Bofur said, and all the dwarves laughed together. Bilbo looked ready to combust as he sat the wine back on the shelf and walked over to the other side of the room before setting the doily on a shelf.

"Bebother and confusticate these dwarves!" Bilbo said, clenching his fists in front of him. Gandalf ducked under the doorway of the kitchen, before coming into the room. He had a faux concerned look on his face and clutched a mug of ale in his right hand.

"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf smiled at Bilbo amusingly with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. Violet stood up and walked beside Gandalf.

"Now, now, Mithrandir, you know what on earth is the matter with him," she said teasingly, jabbing an elbow lightly into his side. Bilbo ignored her comment, keeping his eyes on Gandalf. He hadn't warmed up to her any more than he had the dwarves. However, she couldn't blame him. They were intruding on his home for Merlin's sake!

"I'm surrounded by dwarves," Bilbo said, clearly exasperated by the day, "What are they doing here?"

"Oh, they're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them," Gandalf replied. Violet nodded, pointing her thumb at the wizard.

"I don't want to get used to them!" Bilbo said firmly. As they began walking out, she followed them, wanting to know where this was going. "Look at the state of my kitchen! There's mud trod into the carpet. They-- They've pillaged the pantry. I'm not even gonna tell you what they've done in the bathroom. They've all but destroyed the plumbing. I don't understand what they're doing in my house!"