A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

Jingle Bell!

Bilbo had just put on his napkin and sprinkled some salt on the fried fish when the doorbell rang.

"I'll open the door."

Aaron got up and walked towards the door. When the door opened, he saw a gleaming light bulb... or rather, a bald head illuminated by candlelight.

This middle-aged man was a little taller than Bilbo, and he didn't have pointed ears or thick-soled feet, so he was initially judged to be a dwarf.

When the dwarf saw Aaron, he was surprised for a moment before bowing respectfully. "Dvalin, at your service."

Aaron: ......

what's the situation?

Is this dwarf etiquette? But isn't "ready to be ordered around" an exaggeration?

“Uh…wait a minute.” Aaron turned around. “Mr. Baggins, do you know a dwarf named Devalin?”

Bilbo walked to the door, looked the travel-worn Dvalin up and down, and his expression became somewhat strange.

"do we know each other?"

“I don’t know him,” Dvalin said directly, then walked into Bag End on his own.

“Bilbo, I personally think that letting strangers into your home is a hasty decision.”

"I think so too, but you opened the door."

Aaron's lips twitched slightly. That makes so much sense. I was speechless.

"Where is it, young man? This way?" Dvalin asked as he took off his cloak.

"Where is what?" Bilbo asked, puzzled.

“Dinner,” Dvalin tossed the cloak to Bilbo. “He said there will be food, and plenty.”

"He said?" Bilbo looked bewildered. "Who said that?"

“It’s obvious it’s Gandalf without even guessing.” Aaron pointed to the door, which now had a pattern flashing blue light. “That’s probably the mark.”

Upon hearing this, Bilbo blinked. "Why did he do that?"

"Is this what you're having for dinner?" came Dvalin's gruff voice from inside the house. "I'm starving, so I won't stand on ceremony."

“I don’t know why he did it, but I know that robbers won’t tell you before they rob your house.”

By the time the two reached the table, Bilbo's fish had already been half-eaten by Dvalin, who had even devoured the side dishes.

As soon as he put his eyes on the plate opposite him, Aaron immediately sat back down and casually stabbed his dinner with his fork.

Dwarin felt embarrassed to fight with a child for food, so he picked up the half-eaten fish and bit off the head in one bite.

"This is delicious, is there any more?"

"What?" Bilbo was stunned for a moment before realizing that the other person hadn't eaten enough. "Yes."

He took a plate full of bread from another table, but in that instant, he inexplicably kept one for himself.

"Please help yourself."

Dwarin was not polite at all, grabbing bread and stuffing it into his mouth, leaving crumbs all over the ground.

“I just didn’t expect to have visitors,” Bilbo said.

"Then you'd better be prepared," Aaron said with some reluctance. "Do you remember what Gandalf said?"

'I'm looking for partners to embark on an adventure with,' 'I'm going to inform the others.'

If I'm not mistaken, a lot of people will be coming over tonight, and your house will be very lively.

And after Mr. Dwarin came in, he said: He said there would be plenty of food here.

It's not hard to tell that these people probably came hungry.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the doorbell rang again.

Bilbo was a little confused. Opening the door seemed inappropriate, but not opening it...

Dwarin glanced sideways at Bilbo. "The doorbell is ringing."

Gulu!

It seems even more inappropriate not to open the door.

Bilbo swallowed hard and gave Aaron a pleading look.

He didn't know why he would ask a teenager for help, but he was truly at a loss.

"Don't look at me like that. It's your turn to open the door now." Aaron gestured for him to enter. "If only you had listened to my advice and gone out to hide for a couple of days earlier, you would have been fine. But now you have no choice but to open the door."

Bilbo nodded somewhat dejectedly and walked towards the door again.

“Kid,” Dwarin said, looking at Aaron, “I need to confirm your name.”

“Gaius, Aaron Gaius.” Aaron calmly ate his dinner. “Remember this name; it will leave a legend in this world.”

"Ha!" Dvalin's lips curled into an approving smile. "I'll be waiting."

"Bahrain, at your service."

A white-haired, white-bearded dwarf stood at the doorway. He was quite old, but he was still vigorous and looked remarkably energetic.

"Good evening," Bilbo said.

“Yes, it’s very good.” Bahrain looked up at the night sky. “Although I think it will rain.”

"Am I late?"

"Uh...you're the second one here."

“That means you’re not late.” Bahrain walked into Bag End and saw Dwarin eating. He laughed heartily. “Good evening, brother.”

Dwarin laughed when he saw his old acquaintance, "Good heavens, you're even fatter and shorter than the last time we met."

“He’ll only get fatter, not shorter,” Bahrain laughed. “He’s still smarter than you.”

The two exchanged friendly glances, then bumped their heads together on the forehead as they got closer, and then laughed in unison. This was probably a special way for friends to communicate.

"I'm sorry, I apologize, I didn't mean to bother you."

But haven't you come to the wrong place?

“Sigh!” Aaron sighed. “Bilbo, unless you tear down your door right now, they’ve come to the right place.”

Bilbo pursed his lips, unsure of what to say.

Dwarin and Bahrain, two old friends, chatted familiarly, but their conversation eventually led them to the kitchen.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"not yet."

"what is this?"

"I don't know, it's cheese, but it turned blue and was covered in mold."

......

When Bilbo saw them unscrew his barrel, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. "It's not that I'm unhospitable; hobbits are all very hospitable, but I want to get to know my guests first."

Actually, I don't know you at all. I don't want to be rude, but I must say... I'm sorry.

The two dwarves, who had been chatting away and ignoring Bilbo, fell silent and stared at him.

“I accept your apology.” Bahrain nodded with a smile, then looked at Dewarin, “Pour me a full glass of wine, don’t be stingy.”

Just then, the doorbell rang again.

Aaron put down his knife and fork. "I'll open the door for you this time!"

"Oh! Thank you." Bilbo really needed to calm down and didn't want to be stimulated by anything else.

The door opened, and two younger dwarves stood outside, but compared to the previous two, they brought a much heavier companion.

"Fili."

"Qili"

"At your service."

"Welcome, please come in."

“You must be Mr. Gaius,” Kili said with some curiosity. “Gandalf didn’t tell us your age, which is quite surprising.”

Aaron's lips twitched slightly. He had thought that only Bilbo had been dragged into the adventure, but he hadn't expected that Gandalf would still include him.

Damn it, that's going too far! Even though I have amnesia, you still won't let me go.

“Yes, it’s me, Aaron Gaius.” Aaron forced a smile. “If I may ask, what is that old codger Gandalf’s—no, what is his plan?”

“He’ll tell you when he gets here,” Philip said. “Is Mr. Baggins here?”

"He is hosting Dwarin and Bahrain."

"Thank goodness, it seems we're not late." Qi Li walked into the room, slightly excited, and casually slung the weapons he had brought over onto Aaron's shoulder.

Philip took the sword off his back and placed it in Aaron's hand. "Be careful, I just had it sharpened."

Aaron raised an eyebrow and pulled the sword a few inches out. "Wow, the quality is alright, but the person you hired isn't very professional. There's a really, really small nick on the blade of this sword."

"You understand this?" Philip asked, somewhat surprised.

“My ancestors were blacksmiths.” Aaron smiled as he sheathed his sword. “I suggest you get a better one. This nick may seem harmless, but it will be a fatal flaw against a sharper weapon.”

Upon hearing this, Philip nodded silently.

It's not that he doesn't want to change; the truth is he doesn't have the money.

"Don't step on it, that's my mother's daughter's trunk." Bilbo walked over and stopped Kili from using his mother's trunk to wipe the mud off his shoes.

"Philip, Kiri, come quick and help!"

Devalin grabbed Chili's arm and pulled him toward the restaurant, with Fili following behind.

Instead of catching up, the four dwarfs tidied up the room.

"Put this in the hallway so everyone can come in," the elder from Bahrain instructed.