A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"This is absolutely spectacular!" Bilbo rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“I’ve seen something even more spectacular.” Aaron was also somewhat shocked; the dwarves’ wealth was almost as much as his family’s treasury.

No wonder Smaug occupied Irubor; dragons love shiny things. With so much gold openly displayed here, it would be unreasonable not to rob you.

"Can the compass find the Arkenstone?" Bilbo asked in a low voice.

Aaron glanced at the motionless pointer, then at the golden ocean below, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

"The direction is clear, but there are too many gold coins down there. We estimate we'll have to dig them out."

"Phew!" Bilbo took a deep breath. "Let's go down first and talk about it then!"

Aaron didn't object; one always has to take the first step.

But as soon as the two took their first step, the gold coins beneath their feet began to slide down with a whoosh.

"Damn it!" Aaron said speechlessly, "I probably wouldn't even need to dig out the gem to wake it up."

Shhh!

Bilbo immediately made a shushing gesture, pointing to the compass needle, signaling Aaron to concentrate on digging for treasure and not to speak.

Aaron shrugged and walked forward following the pointer.

The two slowly walked to the center of the main hall, preparing to climb over a mountain of gold coins that was more than ten meters high.

But then, gold coins several meters away began to slide down with a whooshing sound. Seeing this, Aaron immediately grabbed Bilbo and hid behind a pillar.

"what happened?"

Aaron bent down gently and picked up a golden mirror, using its reflection to let Bilbo see a huge dragon's eye.

Bilbo's heart raced, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Smaug, it's at home."

Aaron nodded, intending to go around in another direction, since moving under the dragon's nose could easily give him a heart attack.

But as soon as he turned around, the gold coins on the other side started to slide down with a clatter.

Aaron gasped and quickly hid back inside.

Bilbo stared blankly as he spread his arms wide, silently comparing his size to Smaug's, before humbly crouching down.

“At least fifty meters,” Aaron said with a grin. “It’s bigger than any dragon I’ve ever seen. I would be no match for it in a head-on fight.”

The sound of gold coins sliding down rang out, and a pile of gold coins slowly slid down from the upper side to their feet.

His cold, vertical pupils suddenly snapped open, scanning everything within his field of vision.

Bilbo was so startled he almost fell over, but Aaron caught him in time to prevent him from being exposed.

The enormous dragon head slowly rose from the gold coin, followed by heavy breathing. Smaug seemed to have sensed the presence of a living person, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Aaron and Bilbo exchanged a glance. One cast an illusion spell on himself, while the other decisively put on a magic ring and became invisible.

“Alright, thief.” Smaug looked at the pillar, his nostrils twitching slightly. “I can smell you, I can hear you breathing, I can feel your presence.”

Where are you? Where are you?

As the enormous dragon head approached, Bilbo became extremely nervous and ran away as fast as he could.

Aaron didn't hesitate and ran in a different direction.

Although Smaug couldn't see the two people, he could determine their approximate location by the sound of their footsteps.

"Come out! Don't be shy, show yourself!" Smaug teased as he moved toward Bilbo. "You're a bit strange, it's something you're carrying."

It is made of gold, but it is even more precious.

Bilbo was drenched in cold sweat. Smaug's words had left him in a daze, and the terrifying Mystic Eye flashed through his mind. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had taken off his ring, and then he saw the dragon head right in front of him.

"You're here! Thief in the shadows."

"And the other one? Aren't they going to show their face?"

Aaron inwardly scoffed upon hearing this.

You think I'll just leave because you tell me to? That would be incredibly humiliating.

"Aren't you coming out?" Smaug sneered, sniffing Aaron's scent as he chased after him. "I'm very familiar with the scent of humans. Do you think you can hide from me?"

But you're special; you can hide your tracks even without the One Ring.

Smaug's pupils were fixed on the top of a pile of gold coins, as if to confirm that Aaron was there.

It took a deep breath, a hint of surprise flashing in its dragon eyes, "Who are you? Why do you have the aura of one of our own?"

"Unbelievable, there are other dragons in Middle-earth besides me."

similar?

Aaron was stunned for a moment, then he was shocked by Smaug's sense of smell.

He and Abe had been separated for more than half a year, but he could still smell it.

"answer the questions."

Smaug slammed down with his claw, and a shower of gold coins and gems fell like raindrops.

Aaron could no longer remain invisible, so he reluctantly dispelled the illusion spell.

"Still a child?" Smaug was even more surprised, staring at Aaron with a meaningful look. "How old are you?"

“Let’s say fourteen,” Aaron said neither humbly nor arrogantly, then slowly walked to Bilbo’s side. “I’m more curious about how old you are.”

“I don’t remember anything from the First Age until now,” Smaug said coldly. “Tell me about the other dragons now, and I might spare your life.”

"Ah this..."

“Speak,” Smaug’s voice rose a few decibels, “Who is it? Where is it?”

Aaron scratched his head sheepishly, "Abe should still be at my house. I've been raising it since it was born, so it should be almost three years old now!"

However, I'm not as big as you; I'm less than five meters tall now.

Upon hearing this, Smaug was so shocked that he was stunned for a moment and couldn't recover.

Bilbo was also dumbfounded, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Raising dragons? There's a limit to how much you can joke around!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Smaug roared furiously. "How could a noble dragon submit to mere humans?"

Aaron: ......

If we're really talking about lineage, even gods might not be as noble as me.

"Who knows?" Aaron said, feigning nonchalance. "Maybe it has something to do with personal charisma."

A sinister smile crept across Smaug's lips. "Charisma, huh?"

It doesn't matter; dead people don't have any appeal.

"Hey? You promised to spare my life!"

“Naive child.” Smaug opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of fangs.

“Naive children don’t get this far!” Aaron’s deep voice rang out, and Smaug, who had been about to devour him alive, abruptly stopped.

"Dragon Speaker?"

"Dragon language, the language of dragons." Bilbo stared at Aaron in astonishment. "You know... the language of dragons?"

"Otherwise, how can we raise dragons?" Ya Lunren said confidently.

“Hmph!” Smaug scoffed. “Leave this place before I change my mind; that’s the only mercy I can show you.”

Aaron yawned. "Sorry, I won't leave until I achieve my goal."

Chapter 264 After digging for treasure, of course you have to run away.

"What is your purpose?" Smaug asked, intrigued. "Tell me."

Aaron paused for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"Want your dragon's life?" I definitely can't say that, or we'll just break off all pretense of civility.

Want Arkenstone? You can't say that; it's like pulling teeth from a dragon's mouth.

Seemingly sensing Aaron's predicament, Bilbo immediately spoke up: "Smaug possesses unparalleled wealth. We merely wish to behold your majesty and see if you are as great as the ancient legends claim. We do not believe those stories..."

Before he could finish speaking, Smaug stepped out from the vast pile of gold coins, revealing his true form to the two men.

"What now?"

Bilbo stared at the enormous dragon body before him, which was tens of meters wide even without its wings. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he struggled to suppress the urge to faint as he exclaimed in a shaky voice, "It's true! Those stories and songs have not yet shown your ferocity, Smaug the dragon!"

"Yes! It's true." Aaron was somewhat shocked, wondering if his dragon cub would grow to be that big in the future, but at the same time he was also very happy, because Smaug's left chest did indeed have a small patch that was not covered by dragon scales, which was a fatal weakness.

"You flatter me well. Considering you came with the Dragon Speaker, I can spare your life."

“That’s great.” Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief, but Smaug’s next words made his heart leap into his throat.

“But I need you to answer a few questions,” Smaug sneered. “You are familiar with my name, but I have never smelled your scent before.”

Excuse my curiosity, but who are you? Where do you come from?

“Bilbo.” Aaron showed him the compass in his hand. The needle pointed in front of them, presumably because Smaug had brought the Arkenstone with him when he moved.

The two exchanged glances; Bilbo was tasked with stalling for time, while Aaron was responsible for finding the Arkenstone.

“I came from the foot of the mountain,” Bilbo said, trying to catch his breath. “I crossed thousands of mountains and valleys to get here.”

“Admirable.” Smaug circled Bilbo, and the golden torrent moved with him.

Aaron was saddened to find that the pointer had started to swing again, pointing towards Smaug's body.

Damn it, snatching food from a dragon's mouth, does it have to be this exciting?

What other titles do you have?

"I am... a lucky charm and a riddle maker."

“Keep the cute names.” Smaug pressed his face against Bilbo’s, his mouthful of fangs emitting a foul stench that made one want to vomit.