Harry Potter and the Dwarves of Erebor

Chapter 28 Protective Aunt

The dinner was absolutely lovely, everything went off without a hitch, well, except that Dis took it upon herself to embarrass Kili to no end with all her stories about the things he did as a Dwarfling. By the time Dis was through, Kili was bright red, Tauriel was giggling and Haraldur had nearly fallen out of his chair twice laughing so hard. But in the end it was worth it, Tauriel got more insight into what type of Dwarf Kili was.

After Dis had thoroughly embarrassed Kili, they talked about he and Tauriel courting and eventually marrying. As they made plans for a wedding, Haraldur started falling asleep, so Dis took the boy to his room and put him to bed. When she came back they moved to the parlor where she sat across from Thorin. She gave him a questioning look.

"Alright, now that my nephew has gone to bed, Thorin, I want to know what he meant when he said he never had a nice aunt before."

Thorin sighed, "Sister, not much is known of the life that Haraldur had before we found him, he will not speak of it. But what we did learn is truly horrific, from what we gathered his parents were killed when he was an infant, and he was sent off to live with an aunt and uncle that abused him. The lad was starved and whipped, He has whip marks on his back. Made to cook for them and punished when he did it wrong."

"He has burn marks on his hands from where he was punished for burning dinner," Fili tells his mother.

"He was terrified we would beat him if he asked questions. When he told us he was a wizard he thought for sure we would be angry. From what I can gather that is the reason he was treated so terribly. Whoever had him was afraid of his magic."

Dis was seething with anger, how could Dwarves treat a Dwarfling like that? Children were so precious, it was unheard of for someone to do such a thing to a child.

"Thorin, I want them hunted down and brought to justice."

"That will not be necessary, Haraldur told us when we found him that they were dead. They and everyone he had ever cared for had died a shortly before I found him."

"Good, I assume you plan on officially adopting him?"

"Aye, after my coronation. I shall have Balin draw up the proper papers. Of course, Fili will continue to be my heir."

"I agree with you, Thorin, but Haraldur will still need to be educated as a prince of Erebor. I will teach him myself, it's obvious he's a bright lad and should learn quickly."

"Aye, he definitely needs an education, his relatives taught him nothing and gave him nothing. Dis, the boy had never even had a proper pair of Dwarven boots before."

"What cruel people," Dis exclaimed.

They continued to talk into the night until Dis decided that she was going to bed. When everyone had left, Thorin went to check on Haraldur. He peeked into the bedroom and found the boy fast asleep. Thorin smiled at the sight, he quietly closed the door and went to bed.

The next day the family had breakfast together, including Tauriel. Dis was determined that Tauriel felt welcomed as she was positive that it was only a matter of time for her and Kili to get married. When Haraldur saw Tauriel walk in with Kili, he ran up to her and hugged her leg tightly.

"I am so glad you are having breakfast with us, Tauriel."

She smiled down at the Dwarfling, "As am I, sweetling."

Haraldur started pulling Tauriel towards the table, "Sit by me, Tauriel."

Tauriel laughed, "As you wish, little one."

Kili frowned as he watched Haraldur pull Tauriel away from him. Thorin pats him on the back.

"Do not fret, Nephew, Haraldur does not have a crush on Tauriel. She has always been kind to him and has cared for him. He considers her his sister, if not mother."