A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

Thorin nodded and looked at the nine dwarves following him. "Let's split up and lure it to the furnace."

If everything is destined to be burned to ashes, then we will all go to the flames together.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

"As expected of the dwarf prince, it took immense courage to make this decision," Aaron clapped. "Thorin Oakenshield, you haven't disappointed me."

After saying this, Aaron took out the Arken Gem and used a levitation spell to levitate it in mid-air.

A milky white light illuminated the dimly lit guardhouse, and the dwarves gazed at the beautiful King's Gem with utmost reverence.

"The Arkenstone," Thorin murmured in disbelief. "You got it."

Aaron shrugged; he never said he hadn't received it.

"I think there's nothing that can boost morale better right now than this."

“There really aren’t any left.” Thorin excitedly stretched out his right hand, then awkwardly realized he couldn’t touch it.

Snapped!

Aaron snapped his fingers, and the Arken Gem fell into his hand.

"I'm sorry, I can't give it to you right now."

"Why?" Thorin glared at him. "It should have been mine in the first place."

“That’s right, the Arkenstone was originally yours.” Aaron didn’t deny it, but then changed the subject, “However, Smaug said the Arkenstone will devour your soul.”

"You believe the words of an evil dragon?"

“But you drew your sword against us for this stone.”

Thorin was speechless. He had indeed acted impulsively and shouldn't have drawn his sword against his friend.

However, the Arkenstone holds the status of the royal seal among the dwarves, as it relates to whether he can rightfully inherit the throne, and cannot be lost.

"If that's the reason, I apologize to you."

“It’s alright.” Bilbo smiled. “We understand how important the Arkenstone is to you, perhaps more important than your life.”

“But that’s precisely why we’re worried that you might become a different person because of this stone,” Aaron said earnestly.

His concerns were not unfounded. Thorin's stubbornness was rare in the world. A prince who had been down on his luck for half his life suddenly became a king with enormous wealth. His mindset might undergo a huge change, perhaps even more so than his grandfather Thorne.

“I won’t,” Thorin slowly shook his head. “I promise.”

Upon hearing this, Aaron hesitated for a moment before putting the Arken Gem into his pocket.

The others stared at his actions in astonishment, and Thorin felt betrayed.

The atmosphere has been built up to this point, shouldn't you hand over the gem to me, and then everyone work together to slay the dragon?

“I will give it to him, but only after it is safe,” Aaron said awkwardly. “After all, the next step is fraught with danger. If something happens to Thorin, I will give the stone to Kili.”

“Gaius,” Dvalin looked at him somewhat angrily, “this is inappropriate.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow and held the gem in front of Thoringen. "You make the decision."

Thorin reached out and touched the Arkenstone, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes. After a long silence, he looked solemnly at Aaron and said, "I'm entrusting it to you for safekeeping for now."

If I die, I will give myself to Phil; if Phil dies, I will take him back to Qili so that he can inherit the throne.

Bahrain, Dwarin, you…”

"No need to say anything more, Thorin." Balin smiled, feigning ease. "This old body of mine might die before you, but one thing remains unchanged: my loyalty to the King."

“That’s it, loyal king,” Dvalin said solemnly, and the others nodded silently.

Next, Thorin divided the team into four groups of three and left the guardhouse.

However, Aaron volunteered to act alone, secretly covering everyone's safe arrival at the furnace.

Thorin led Bilbo and Balin through the passage from the front, and as expected, they were discovered by Smaug.

"Run! Run! Run for your lives!"

You have nowhere to hide.

A neck tens of meters long emerged from the darkness, and a huge dragon head appeared before the group.

“Look behind you, little bug.”

The three dwarves shouted, drawing Smaug's attention, and Thorin and his companions seized the opportunity to slip into a doorway.

Smaug roared and pounced on the three dwarves.

"Hey! Over here!" Dwarin shouted, and seeing Smaug turn his gaze towards them, he immediately grabbed Fili and Nori and ran.

Just as Smaug was about to give chase, he saw two dwarves run past right under his nose.

Can this be tolerated?

A burst of fiery dragon breath forced the two to run for their lives, only managing to escape the raging flames by jumping into a cable car.

Seeing that no one was around, Smaug sniffed the air and followed Thorin Oakenshield in the direction he was going.

Thorin ran frantically through a wide corridor, not even noticing the entrance to the smelting chamber.

“Over here, Thorin!” Bilbo shouted.

Thorin heard the sound and immediately realized what was happening, but before he could take a step, Smaug appeared at the end of the corridor, brewing his dragon breath.

Thorin silently calculated the distance, knowing he couldn't outrun Smaug's dragonfire. He told Bilbo to follow Balin and then turned and jumped into the mine.

Barely dodging the dragon's flames, Thorin continued to fall, clinging to the chair in the mine shaft.

Before he could recover, Smaug caught up with him. Its body was enormous, but just big enough to squeeze into the mine shaft.

Just as it was about to bite Thorin, Dvalin chopped down the corresponding minecart with his axe. Thorin, who was holding onto the seat, was quickly pulled up, barely escaping from the edge of the dragon's mouth.

Seeing this, Smaug turned around and bit the rope connecting to the seat as Thorin rose.

"Tsk! I have to admit that the dwarves' mining skills are truly exceptional." Aaron's voice came from the side. Turning his head, he saw Aaron sitting nonchalantly on another chair, leisurely swinging in the mine.

"Thorin, you look like you need some help!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Thorin roared.

“Alright.” Aaron held up his index finger at Smaug. “Crush to pieces.”

boom!

A pale red light shone on the dragon's mouth, and Smaug felt as if he had been pricked by a needle. He instinctively opened his mouth and placed Thorin on it.

Smaug didn't care, but looked at Aaron meaningfully, "Dragon Speaker, your magic is somewhat special, but unfortunately you are too weak."

"That's normal, after all, I'm only fourteen." Aaron smiled shyly. "If I were forty, I'd kill you in a heartbeat, believe it or not?"

“It’s a pity you won’t have that chance.” Smaug said, opening his mouth, his hot breath hitting you.

Aaron immediately stretched out his right hand, and an ice-blue intermediate magic circle appeared in front of him, from which a thick stream of water gushed out.

Water poured into Smaug's mouth before the flames could erupt, forcing the dragon's breath to stop, and Smaug was choked and spewed out a large amount of white steam.

"You deserve to die!" Smaug roared angrily, raising his claws to strike.

"Aaron!" Upon seeing this, Thorin and the others were filled with rage.

Swish!

The black and white vortex flashed by, and Aaron landed beside the group. "What do you want?"

"You, you, you..." Dwarin looked at Aaron, then glanced at Smaug below, his words tumbling out incoherently.

"Magic!" Aaron explained casually. "That's what makes it hard to understand."

"Instant teleportation magic." Thorin's eyes twitched slightly. He knew about wizards when he was a dwarf prince, but he had never heard of wizards possessing such incredible abilities.

Aaron: ......

"Few people can learn it, but I am a once-in-a-century genius in the Gaius family, so naturally I am a different story."

"Roar!" Smaug's roar echoed from the mine. "Where are you? Dragon Speaker, where are you?"

Upon hearing this, Thorin and the dwarves beside him looked at Aaron with complicated expressions. "You can speak dragon language?"

"Uh... it's always good to have more skills when you're out in the world!" Aaron said with an embarrassed smile.

“Gandalf has found us a great teammate,” Thorin exclaimed, then glanced at Smaug, who was still searching for people in the mine, and decisively pushed the crane next to him down.

The crane plummeted rapidly and soon struck Smaug in the neck.

"Let's hurry, we can't hold him off for long."

"Wait a moment." Aaron looked at the deep mine shaft and slowly waved his arm, a large ice-blue magic circle covering the top of the mine shaft.

Half a minute later, a huge block of ice fell from the magic circle and crashed straight into the depths of the mine.

boom!

The group clearly heard the sound of a heavy object striking their skull, followed by the dragon's furious roar.

"Why don't we throw a few more? Maybe we can kill it!" Philip said.

"Brother, there isn't enough time, and my magic isn't enough either."

As soon as he finished speaking, fierce flames surged up from the depths of the mine.

"Go, go quickly."

Thorin roared and led the group into the smelting chamber.

Everyone gathered here without exception, but they were all disappointed when they saw the cold furnace.

“This plan won’t work; the furnace is cold,” Dwarin said regretfully.

“He’s right, we don’t have fire to light the furnace,” Bahrain said bitterly.

"That's not necessarily true. I also know fire spells."

"The flames are blazing."

Aaron pointed to the furnace, and a ball of crimson flame fell into it.

Boom~Boom~Boom~

The first enormous furnace was successfully ignited, followed by the second, the third...