Incendio

Ch.5 There and back again

"All right then Harry, you can let go," the dwarf mason called.

With a great sigh of relief Harry released the column and settled back onto all fours.

"I think Prince Fili may need you down in the eastern forge," a dwarf worker informed him, approaching him without any hesitation.

"Thank you, I'll head down there," Harry nodded his head towards the workers who all nodded their thanks back.

The past couple of months had certainly seen all of the dwarves come a long way to accepting Harry's and even Smaug's presence in the mountain. Of course most of the dwarves had personally seen Harry and Smaug fighting for them during the battle. Their willingness to come to their aid had gone a long way in gaining the dwarves' trust.

It also helped that the royal family so clearly trusted them.

Thorin never came out, and said that he forgave Harry but he treated Harry just as he had back in the Blue Mountains no matter what form he happened to be in at the time. The unspoken forgiveness was all that Harry could have asked for. The other dwarves in the Company likewise didn't treat Harry any differently than when they had thought him just an injured human boy.

Harry moved through the halls of Erebor smiling to himself to see just how much progress the dwarves had made in only three months. It was a hive of activity everywhere. Dwarves were hard at work repairing and rebuilding every inch of the once great mountain kingdom. More dwarves were arriving every day, and every dwarf that arrived was another worker determined to see their home restored to its former glory.

The City of Dale was likewise under construction. The trade agreement that had been set up between the dwarves and Men provided the once lake men with the proper funds to see their city rebuilt, and the dwarves with needed food and other resources.

Dis, once she had arrived, had been the one to see that trade agreement started. She had been key in calming Thorin's temper, and getting him to see that they needed the food, and other resources that Dale would be able to provide for him. It had been wonderful to see the dwarf woman again, and she had been just as happy to see all of them as well. It was also magnificent to see her boss around Smaug and Thorin alike.

Harry turned a corner only to see his father stalking towards him, his steps thundering against the stone.

"There you are. I want us to go hunting together. All of this banging and clanging is interfering with my sleep so I might as well go eat something," Smaug drawled as he approached Harry.

"I can't, I have to go help Fili where he's overseeing the rebuilding of one of the eastern forges," Harry explained.

"Are you still helping the dwarves?" Smaug demanded.

"Yes, you could help too you know. It would all probably go faster," Harry reminded him.

"I said I would help as long as Oakenshield paid me," Smaug drawled.

"And I told you there was no chance of you receiving payment, slug," Thorin growled appearing around a corner.

The dwarf king wasn't wearing any of his new finery. He was dressed in work clothes just as the other dwarves were. Thorin was working just as hard, if not harder to see the restoration of Erebor. Harry was fairly certain he didn't sleep enough, and spent long days working on repairs but at least he wasn't affected by the gold sickness.

"I told you to stop calling me, slug," Smaug growled.

Harry sighed. He was no longer worried that the two of them would kill each other, and he was fairly certain they got into these arguments more out of habit than any actual malice now.