A/N: Loosely follows the life of Henry the Young King and his wife Queen Margaret of Hungary and Croatia. All of the main characters (Prince Henry, Princess Margaret, Sir William Marshal, Lord Robert "Rob" FitzWilliam, and King Henry II) are real people in history who lived in the 1100's. This is my twist on the Weasley family origins and I consider this story to be a companion novella to the Ginny Weasley series I'm currently writing. Much of what happens in this story will be relevant to Ginny's story during the time Prisoner of Azkaban is set in HP canon.
History, Legend, Myth, and Curse
Chapter One: Sir William "Wyn" Marshal
"Wyn, are we really allowed to compete this time?" Prince Henry turned his big blue eyes upon his tutor, who last year had become a knight in his own right.
Wyn smiled at the young prince. "Your father says if you are old enough to wield a wand, you are old enough to wield a sword in combat," he replied. In his excitement, Henry missed the slight look of apprehension on Wyn's face.
At just sixteen years old, Wyn was charged with the well-being of the heir to the English throne. Now, a year later, his charges had expanded to include any of the royal family and wealthy noble boys who began to show signs of magic.
"You received your wand a full year younger than we are now," complained Prince Henry's cousin, Robert. "When do we get ours? Tomorrow? The next day? After the tournament? When?"
Wyn rolled his eyes. Robert FitzWilliam often recounted to anyone who would listen that Prince Henry and himself were equally related to their shared great-grandfather, King Henry I. Though Prince Henry was through a legitimate line and Robert was not.
It was true though. Wyn Marshal had been whisked away to Ollivanders on his eleventh birthday and later studied magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had studied directly under the founders Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw along with various other alumni who came back to teach after learning their own fields more in depth.
Wyn had missed out on studying under Salazar Slytherin himself, who'd already left the school after falling out with the other founders. He nevertheless had been placed in the Serpent Master's House during the Sorting Ceremony. Sometimes Wyn wondered, if Slytherin had still been teaching, would he have nurtured Wyn's knack for turning charms into jinxes? It was the only thing he was truly naturally talented at. Professor Hufflepuff always gave Wyn a frown when he'd entertained his fellow classmates with trip jinxes and body-binds. Professor Ravenclaw acknowledged his creativity but subtly pushed him towards other areas of study, every one of which he excelled in after much effort in study. It was Professor Gryffindor though, who had really taken Wyn under his wing.
Knowing many students came from noble families, Professor Gryffindor spent much of his time outside the classroom teaching young nobles the art of swordsmanship and of being knightly. He did this for both boys and girls, and didn't limit the extracurricular to only the nobles, but invited any student who wished to learn to attend.
Wyn had soon become so proficient at both his studies and his swordsmanship that Professor Gryffindor honored him as his First Squire and Apparated him to a few tournaments during his last year at Hogwarts. When a royal call for a knight who was also skilled in magic came not long before graduation, Professor Gryffindor put Wyn's name forward as a candidate to tutor and protect the Crown Prince.
Robert broke the silence again when the roof tops and the turrets of the palace in London came into view, "I can see it! We'll go to straight to the Wizardry, right? I want to see the goblins in Gringotts and then visit Mr. Ollivander. I want a wand like you've got Wyn. I want it as soon as we get there."
Wyn groaned inwardly at Robert's customary incessant demands whenever their retinue approached another city where a tournament was being held. "You want a wand? Like this one?" Wyn pulled out his wand to show it to Robert, Prince Henry and the others looking on with interest. Wyn's wand was unusual in that it had a bend in it. It was more like a knobby shepherd's hook than a decorated stave like most of his classmates had possessed.
Robert's eyes grew very envious as they always did when Wyn pulled out his wand to make camp, light fires, or any other task normally done by servants. "Mr. Ollivander says the wand chooses the wizard you know, it might be that one doesn't choose you at all," said Wyn teasingly.
"I'll buy one anyway. Any wand can work for any wizard, that's what that wizard we stayed with in Paris said. He said a great wizard can make any wand do his bidding," said Robert triumphantly.
"Fancy yourself a great wizard then?" asked Wyn, "Did that wizard in Paris teach you any spells?"
"No. That's your job."
"You're right. It is." Wyn flicked his wand in Robert's direction and muttered an incantation.
Robert tried to dodge but Wyn's aim was true. When Robert tried to tell him off for using magic on him no sound escaped his lips.
"That is a variation of the Freezing Charm," Wyn said in a mock instructional tone to Prince Henry and the rest of the boys. "I froze his voice so that he is still able to breathe and move but no sound can be uttered."
Prince Henry looked admonishingly at his cousin Robert, "I'm excited too Rob, but being pleasant gets you much farther along with people than being rude." Robert looked daggers at Wyn who had stopped the retinue for the day now that London was within sight. Robert dismounted from his dapple gray and stalked away to begin setting up his own tent, without the aid of Wyn's magic.
Prince Henry trotted his horse next to Wyn's, who was now approaching the pack horses the retinue ponied, "I know Robert was being obtuse," he began, and then he looked Wyn directly in the eye, "but I would like to see his voice restored before nightfall."
It caught Wyn off guard every time the Prince used that tone of voice and mannerism. Henry was usually very genial and one could easily forget he was the Heir. "I understand, Your Highness." Prince Henry stayed for only a moment longer, and then his usual easy smile returned just before he turned his bay mare towards the grassy meadow where she could forage for the night with the rest of the horses.
Robert may have earned his way into their retinue by displaying magic at a young age, but it was his friendship with Prince Henry that kept him around. If Wyn had had it his way, Robert would have been shipped off to Hogwarts months ago.
Unfortunately, if Robert went to Hogwarts, Prince Henry would demand to go as well, and the King did not want his Heir to attend a "magic school" outside of his own country and so demanded Prince Henry have an appropriate royal tutor who was also knowledgeable in magic. To keep the Crown Prince company, the King ordered any boys of the members of court who also showed signs of magic to also become part of the retinue. Robert was petulant to be sure, but he was the Prince's best friend and closest ally.
The next day Wyn woke them at dawn and they prepared to enter London. It was the first time the retinue had returned since their initial departure weeks after the King first found out his Heir was born with the gift of magic.
It was customary to send high born children with the gift away from the public eye and rarely was it the eldest son who was gifted. There was always rumors that there had been magic users born into the King's family in generations past, but they had never ascended the throne and the line of succession had never been in question. The King never thought much of it and Prince Henry had been named his successor long before that fateful day the boy had saved his new hunting dog he'd received for his eleventh name day from a fall down a steep cliff.
Now it was too late to change the line of succession. The King did the only thing he could think of short notice: send the boy away. Keep him moving, have him spend very little time in one place, and hopefully no one will realize what he is capable of. Sir "Wyn" Marshal participated in tournaments alone initially with the boys in the retinue serving as squires and posing as servants or scribes.
Wyn looked around and made sure they didn't leave anything behind and then rode to the front where the Prince was waiting. So far the plan was working well. The boys were a boisterous bunch, but there had been no slips, no magical incidents, nothing to cover up. Wyn made sure to instruct them in swordsmanship in the mornings and evenings and the constant traveling from tournament to tournament kept them physically and mentally exhausted.
All of that was about to change though. Now that the first year of the tour was over, the boys were going to get their wands and they were to begin formal training in wizardry. Wyn's workload was going to double and Merlin knows how many fold the chances of an incident were going to increase.
They neared the gates to the city by mid-morning and with the Crown Prince in tow, their retinue was bumped to the front of the line. Wyn gave them the necessary papers but there was almost no need as there was already a welcoming delegation waiting for them.
After the necessary formalities, Prince Henry looked at Wyn with hopeful eyes. Wyn sighed, "Yes, we're going straight to the Wizardry."
The Wizardry was the small section of every major city that catered directly to witches and wizards. They were usually in small, unobtrusive streets away from the main hustle and bustle but still close enough to be within walking distance of the city center. Though they were welcome, Muggles weren't usually found near the Wizardry as many of them either didn't believe in magic and didn't want to associate with those who did, or they did believe and wanted nothing to do with magic users period. The Muggles who did do business in the Wizardry however, usually made quite the profit.
Wyn made arrangements with the stables and the retinue dropped off their horses. Then they all took in the wonders around them as they made their way to what was easily the largest building within the Wizardry, Gringotts.
Even Robert stared quietly at the goblins who were casually counting more gold and precious stones than he'd ever seen in once place. Once again Wyn presented the appropriate paperwork and received wizard coins in the names of each of the boys in the retinue. Then they were off to the one place Prince Henry and Robert talked about most of all during the quiet nights at camp: Ollivanders.
The Ollivanders were one of the oldest wizarding families in all of the known great island and possibly in all of Europe. They proudly boasted their wand making talents for the past, at least, seven hundred years. If the King was going to have a wizard for a son and Heir, he was going to make sure that his son and Heir got the best wizarding tools available and even he had heard of the Ollivander family.
The King insisted on paying for the wands for all of the boys in the retinue. Their excitement was building, and even Wyn was starting to feel excited himself for them and at the same time, the time he dreaded most was coming. Wyn had no idea how he was going to keep the boys from having accidents in front of Muggles now that they were going to be armed with wands. For the sake of Prince Henry however, he kept a smile on his face and his spirits up.
Prince Henry and Robert went into the little wand shop first. Robert came out minutes later, new wand in hand, smug smile stretching broadly across his face. "See, Wyn? A wand picked me after all!"
Wyn shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Where's Prince Henry?"
"He's still in there, Mr. Ollivander asked to send in the next boy while Henry tries the stack in front of him."
One by one the other boys went in and came out and still no Prince Henry. Wyn began to peek inside to make sure the Prince was okay every time the door opened. Finally, Prince Henry was the last. Wyn put Robert in charge of the retinue waiting outside and entered the wand shop. It was bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, though that could be magic mused Wyn.
"Is everything all right?" Wyn asked to both the Prince and to Mr. Ollivander.
The Prince's face looked frustrated, and it was Mr. Ollivander who answered, "We have gone through every domestic wand here and we are now trying the exotics," he said simply.
"Exotics?" asked Wyn. This was news to him, he didn't know much about wand lore, but he knew it was a core from a magical animal inserted into a thin tree branch.
"These wand woods come from distant lands, some of the lands not even known to Muggles yet. Many of their cores are from magical creatures I've only seen once, while collecting the core!" Mr. Ollivander seemed quite excited.
"Shouldn't the Crown Prince have a wand from his own land? The land he's the future king of?" asked Wyn worriedly. He didn't want to explain this to the King.
"The wand chooses the wizard, that much we know," was Mr. Ollivander's only reply.
Then it happened, Prince Henry picked up a wand and immediately a plume of red and gold sparks shot out of it. The Prince's face lit up and he cried out in delight. Robert, who had been listening at the door yelled in celebration as well and Wyn could hear the uproar from outside.
"Redwood, 10¼ inches, sturdy, and the core is a forelock hair from a hippocampus," said Mr. Ollivander in a near whisper. "The wood naturally contains no flammable pitch or resin and traditionally redwood wands imbue similar fire-proofing protection for its owner."
"The core is from a sea-creature?" asked Wyn skeptically. He didn't know anyone at Hogwarts with a wand core from a sea-creature.
"Redwoods are coastal trees," was the only answer Wyn received, but he noticed Mr. Ollivander had a searching look on his face while his gaze darted back and forth between the wand and Prince Henry.
"Is there something else?" Wyn pushed.
Mr. Ollivander tore his gaze from the Prince and his new wand, "Redwood wands are coveted for the good fortune they bring their owners. However, it is the wand that is most often attracted to an owner with an uncanny ability to always land on their feet in the face of catastrophe." He took a step closer to Wyn and out of earshot of the Prince as he whispered, "I fear Prince Henry may have more than his fair share…." with a meaningful look at Wyn he let his words trail off.
Wyn didn't like where Mr. Ollivander's thoughts seemed to be headed and quickly herded the Prince and the rest of the boys out of the Wizardry after paying for the wands.
Trying to change his train of thought, Wyn asked Prince Henry, "Are you excited to see your family again?"
Before the Prince could reply Robert interrupted, "I bet he's excited to see his wife!" This was met with many snickers from the rest of the boys in the retinue.
In an effort to seize early control of certain disputed castles, the King had Prince Henry marry his betrothed at the very tender age of five. She had only been two at the time and then she had been whisked away to live quietly away from court.
The other boys, still awaiting matches to be made for them, used this as a great source of torture for Prince Henry as boys do, often resulting in inappropriate jeering. Usually Prince Henry let their taunting go and ignored it with only the smallest amount of annoyance.
It appeared though, that Prince Henry had had quite enough of their banter. He stopped the retinue on their way to the castle, "I don't believe it's proper to speak in such a way about Princess Margaret, your future queen." All the boys, even Robert, looked down in shame. Not once had Prince Henry addressed them like this all at the same time before, certainly not in any sort of rebuking manner.
For the second time in as many days, the Prince used his serious voice and rank to command the attention of his future subjects. It was apparent to Wyn, that the Prince was just as nervous about seeing his family again as Wyn was about reporting to them.