What’s that? Oh, quite so. Even flesh-eating dragons have a mind and heart. Yes. Me, I question. I seek. I have doubts. Unlike the Dark Lord. Also unlike Fingon the Valiant. Come here. See how they operate. See the Dark Lord? Wise, I will admit. He uses his tools well - his own intelligence, for one. And his enemies' stupidity, for another. But he trusts too much in himself. Just like the dark elf - Calaquendë, was he? Some light. He had neither the fair hair nor the innocence to show for it. That dark elf-king, he was strong. I will admit that also. His sword did not tire. But he did. Oh, yes, he did. Fingon the Valiant was a moth, and fire his undoing.

But I didn't tell him that when we met. They call me a deceiver, but I'm more truthful than they are. You see that, don't you? You see what they really are? Confident and ignorant. Self-deception, it is all self-deception! Can you blame me? It takes a mortal to understand the futility of it all. A woman, too. You'll see, presently. There's a little girl that just passed me by. Sad, but very pretty. Well, shall I tell you what she'll do? Let me whisper - no, I won't singe your ear, I only do that when I'm angry or hurt - alright. Here it is. She's going to marry her brother. Ah, but did I tell her that? I did not. Simply scared her a little. And now to wait.

Why, you ask? Because one must never play all one's cards at once. You understand, don't you? Even when one is eager - so eager - one must conceal, one must wait. Test the waters, as it were. As I did with the moth-king. Yes, that was painful, he had a heavy hand, very heavy, my dear. But I fire-danced with Fingon. And he gave away all his secrets, but I told him none of mine. Isn't that a valuable sort of trait to have? To step forward - step forward - then step sideways - that's right - and backwards, pretend to be hypnotised and defeated. When it's really the opposite. Back again. Now sidestep - this way and forward, forward, closer, closer, closer - exactly. Oh, you people. You fall for it every time.

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A/N: For Mouse, who asked for it. And yes, yes, the title is the Hogwarts motto. I don't know if it's pig-Latin or wot. "Let sleeping dragons lie".