When in doubt, jump in head first

16. Why must elven locks be magic-proof?

Laelynn held the piece of leather she used to tie her braid off, her ebony hair falling in her face. During her time in Middle Earth, it had grown from the bottom of her shoulders to her waist. She would have cut it long before now, except travelling with dwarves had made her disinclined to try: short hair or beard for a dwarf usually signified mourning, and Laelynn didn't want to deal with the pitying looks that would arise if she did.

She focused again on the band of leather, thought about how it felt in her hand, and tried again. "Wingardium Leviosa," she muttered. The strip of leather started to rise slowly above her palm. Laelynn grinned, before she her thoughts again travelled to the lesson where she'd learned the charm. How Hermione Granger had tried to help Ron Weasley with it, and how that had set off a chain of events culminating in Hermione becoming one of her brother's closest friends.

Of course, hanging out with Harry Potter, it became inevitable she'd pick up some of his views, and adding onto to her already-narrow views, Granger had become one of her worst tormentors.

The smack of the leather against the stone brought her out of her musings, and Laelynn sighed as once again her memories had caused her to lose focus. She turned her attention inwards, thought about locking the names 'Harry', 'Ron' and 'Hermione' in a tightly-sealed room, with all the memories that accompanied them, then thought about shrinking the key and pocketing it.

Laelynn opened her eyes and picked up the leather band, resting it on her palm again. She thought of the incantation, and was pleased when no memories drew her attention away.

Focusing back on the band, she was shocked to find it no longer resting on her palm, but hovering at eye-level. Well, it was as good a time as any to make a start on non-verbal spells.

Laelynn focused on the power of the spell, how it travelled away from her core and down though her arm. She thought about how it felt coming through her palm and could nearly see it supporting the band. Ever so slowly, she blocked the flow of power, like a dam in a river. The leather band started sinking slowly, coming to a stop and hovering just above her palm. Laelynn then held it for a minute more, before she cancelled the spell. The band softly dropped into her hand.

Looking up, she saw most of the dwarves were watching her practising, and softly smiled. They had been in the dungeons of the palace for two weeks now, and her practising her spells wandlessly was one of the only forms of entertainment.

Laelynn glanced at Óin and adopted a pleading expression when she saw his frown. He shook his head, arms crossed, and she sighed. Once she had started practising spells without a wand, Óin had immediately made her promise not to overexert herself. While Laelynn thought she was the one who would know her boundaries best, she had agreed in order to get him off her case.

Her only solace was that Wingardium Leviosa was the last charm she was had decided to attempt in her repertoire, due to the memories that came with it. Tomorrow, she'd try her hand at combining spells: there was something alluring about the idea of being able to hold a fireball (and throwing it, though that would come later).

As she started to braid her hair back, the other dwarves began to talk among themselves. "Wonder what time it is?" asked Bofur from around the corner, his voice carrying. Laelynn tied off her braid, and tried to discretely cast a Tempus charm. Óin's loud reprimand nearly drowned out Ori's despondent voice.

"We'll never reach the mountain, will we?" he asked. She frowned, though the prospect was looking more and more likely the longer they stayed.

"Not stuck in there you're not," said a new voice, and Laelynn spun her head round so fast her neck cricked. She took no notice of her discomfort, however, because there, standing in front of Thorin's cell, was a familiar hobbit, holding a familiar ring of keys.