Rhaegar burrowed into Harry's arms, concentrating on vanishing his wings again, and with a light ruffling sound, they vanished. He heard Harry inhale sharply then Rhaegar felt the other man wrap his arms further around him, loosely but protectively. Rhaegar felt even more tears pool in his eyes, his body quivering with exhaustion and hunger and embarrassment. His father would have never let him cry like this before him, would have yelled at him that Targaryens were strong, were proud.

"It is okay to cry," Harry whispered, his hands rubbing soothing circles on Rhaegar's back. "You… You were tortured and kept in prison for 15 years. It's a miracle you survived."

His breath hitched at the gentle voice and he pulled away, feeling Harry's hands disappear. "I was close to death many times. I think I remember Maester Pycelle healing me."

Harry's eyes narrowed, his nose wrinkling in disgust. "Rhaegar, Lord Stark was talking about putting you on the throne."

Rhaegar froze, his heart skipping a beat. "Now?"

"Not now," Harry said, shaking his head. "We will need to remove the Lannisters and possibly the Baratheons but we will have a lot of support from various houses."

"I do not…"

"Think about it? Lord Stark would not pressure you into it, not now. I would not pressure you into it."

Rhaegar stared at Harry, seeing his green eyes soften in concern.

"I will."

"Good. I think I hear everyone going down for dinner. Let's join the Starks."

"Do I need a disguise?" Rhaegar asked, taking Harry's hand as the other man helped him up.

"No. We need to firmly prove you are alive."


Ned stood in front of the weirwood tree in the godswood, his thoughts scattered enough that he did not hear Cat walk up to him.

"We will be indebted to Ser Potter," Catelyn remarked, her hand going to entwine with his. "For bringing you back alive."

"We do not know for certain that Prince Joffrey would have had me killed," Ned spoke, turning to look at her.

Catelyn raised an eyebrow, turned to look at the weirwood tree then turned back to him. "Ser Potter seemed to think so. The Starks… None of your family ever came back when they left to go south. I almost lost you, Ned."

He sighed and pulled her in for a hug, thinking of the prince that they were hosting right now in Winterfell. "Cat…"

"Yes?"

"Jon…"

Catelyn's eyes narrowed but she didn't interrupt him.

"He is not my bastard."

Catelyn blinked. "Then whose child is he?"

"Jon is my sister's child," Ned offered wearily, pulling his cloak tighter around him.

"Lyanna's? But…" Catelyn trailed off, staring at him briefly before looking back at the keep. Ned watched as she paled, thinking through what he told her. "Jon is Rhaegar Targaryen's son."

"He is."

"The rumors said that he was Ashara's…" Catelyn whispered, her eyes widening. "Jon would be the heir to the throne."

Ned blinked and looked in the direction of the north, of where the Wall was. "Yes, he would be, wouldn't he?"

"Do you know if Rhaegar… and Lyanna wed?"

Ned shook his head. "I will ask it of him. Rhaegar and Ser Potter plan on going to the Wall tomorrow to see Jon and Maester Aemon. I will tell Rhaegar over dinner."

"Our children will hear it too," Catelyn said, stepping even closer to Ned to ward off the chill in the air.


Harry stepped through the door to the dining hall in the keep, looking over the assembled Stark household. The only Stark bannermen that had arrived today were Lord Bolton, Lord Tallhart and Lord Cerwyn, who were all camped outside of Winterfell. There was to be a feast when every lord was in residence but not tonight. The only people around the table were the Starks and their direwolves at their feet.

Harry and Rhaegar had checked on the dragons in the few minutes before dinner, seeing to it that they were fed and content in the godswood. They had left the dragons sleeping in a pile, Zeus even slightly snoring.

Lord Stark was sitting at the head of the table and Lady Catelyn was sitting to his right, whispering to Ned about how glad she was to see him. Robb, Theon, Sansa, Arya, Rickon were spread around the table, talking amongst each other about the dragons. When Harry and Rhaegar entered though, the Starks all went silent. Harry could even hear Sansa gasp at the sight that they made, or well, at the sight that Rhaegar made.

Rhaegar made a striking picture, a cloak that was Targaryen red thrown over his shoulders and his silver hair spread out behind him, clean and smooth.

There were two place settings that were not in front of people, clearly set for them.

"Your Grace," Lord Eddard Stark spoke, standing up and dipping his head in a nod. "Please, sit and eat with us."

Harry stepped over and walked over to the table, sitting down in his customary spot, and glanced over at Rhaegar. He patted the seat next to him and watched as the dragon prince made his way over to the table, gracefully sitting down and facing the Starks with a weary expression on his face.

"I am grateful to you, Lord Stark," Rhaegar started, eying the Stark heir that was sitting across from him and the Greyjoy lad. Lady Sansa was staring at him, her eyes wide, with a look that was very familiar to Rhaegar, from times past. All of the ladies at court stared at him like that before Robert's Rebellion, before the tourney at Harrenhal. "For your hospitality."

Lord Stark nodded, his grey eyes assessing. "You are very welcome. However, I think Ser Potter would have put something together if Winterfell wasn't welcoming. His tent is quite something."

Harry snorted beside him. "I would have, Ned. I would have been heartbroken if you had shut us out of Winterfell a minute after arriving at the castle."

Rhaegar turned to look at Harry, raising an eyebrow. The relationship between Harry and Lord Stark was a rather odd one, familiar and teasing enough that Lord Eddard let the man use a nickname. "Have you really called your banners because you plan on sitting me on the throne?"

Robb's eyes widened and Theon's did too, as well as the ladies around the table.

"I have," Lord Stark replied. "My sister thought well of you, I think."

Rhaegar nodded, unsure what the Stark lord was getting at but he was more than willing to listen.

"You are going to the Wall tomorrow, are you not?" Lord Eddard asked, as they all started to eat. Servants carried in food, setting the different plates on the table before them.

"That is what I hope to do," Rhaegar answered, glancing to Harry as the other man pulled over a few plates of food and started to dish out food for him and for Rhaegar. He started to eat, his stomach growling with hunger, and only took small bites. Harry had told him to take it easy on food for the next few days, as his stomach wouldn't be up to eating rich foods or even a lot of food. "Whether by dragon or horse. I hope to see my great-great-great uncle."

"Rhaegar, drink this with your food," Harry whispered, drawing his attention.

Rhaegar watched as Harry pulled out a vial of something and handed it to him. The vial was of light blue glass and had liquid in it but he knew not what it was.

"It's… to make sure you're healthy," Harry explained, his green eyes looking him over. "You're thin and underweight. Drinking one of these with each meal for a fortnight will help that."

Rhaegar studied him then nodded, taking the vial from him and the plate of food as Harry handed it over. Rhaegar blinked and Harry's lips twitched up into a soft grin.

Lord Stark cleared his throat, loudly, drawing Rhaegar's attention away from Harry.

"Your Grace, what do you remember of the time before Robert…" Lord Stark trailed off, unease in his expression and voice. "Before Robert…"

"Killed him?"

Lord Eddard sighed at Harry's blunt statement, seeing the wizard grin. "Yes, Harry. What do you remember after Robert killed you?"

Rhaegar looked between the two men, seeing Lady Catelyn take in a sharp breath.

The Stark children were looking back and forth between their father and him and Harry, like they were watching a tourney.

"Lyanna and I… stayed at the Tower of Joy," Rhaegar offered. "I left her to go to war. Lyanna and her babe died a few weeks after the battle, if I understood you correctly."

"My aunt was pregnant?" Arya blurted out, drawing the adults attention to her and Robb, whose Tully blue eyes were wide.

"Jon…" Robb trailed off.

"Jon?" Rhaegar repeated.

"Robb?" Lord Stark asked, looking over at his eldest son.

"His hand… We were playing in the kitchen when we were younger, a lot younger," Robb spoke, staring right at Rhaegar now. "Jon's your son."

Rhaegar's heart skipped a beat, a choked breath leaving him at those words. "I… I have a son whose… Jon? Robert didn't find out?"

Lord Stark sighed but nodded. "Yes. You have a son. His name is Jon."

Rhaegar stood up, dropping his fork to the table with a loud clang. It was silent for a few minutes, the only noise was the loud breathing of the wolves under the table. Rhaegar's breathing was loud as he stared at Lord Stark then turned to Harry.

Harry raised an eyebrow but nodded, standing up too. "We can go now. He's at the Wall. Shouldn't take us too long if we travel by dragon."

"Harry…" Lord Stark trailed off.

"We'll be careful," Harry spoke, tugging his cloak tighter around himself and glancing at Rhaegar, who had already walked over to the doorway. "We'll say hi to your brother. Seems I need to postpone healing Bran though."

"I'll tell him," Robb offered, peering at Harry and Rhaegar. "Say hi to Jon for me?"

Harry grinned and nodded, walking over to stand beside Rhaegar. "Sorry for interrupting the meal."

"It's not a problem." Lord Eddard Stark exchanged glances with Catelyn before gesturing them out of the hall.


Harry summoned the things that he had left in his room, namely Gryffindor's sword and his trunk, which he miniaturized again and strapped to his waist. Harry led Rhaegar through the keep and out through the front, uncloaking the dragons on the way to the godswood.

Anubis and Zeus were already awake from their short nap, having sensed both Harry and Rhaegar's urgency. Hela was peering at them through the gate and Harry pushed her out of the way as they entered the godswood. Rhaegar rushed over to Zeus, lightly jumping up onto the dragon's back and whispering something to the creature.

Harry walked right over to Anubis, the dark blue dragon almost hidden under the night sky, before walking right up the dragon's wing and settling himself on the saddle that he had made.

"We go north," Harry murmured, patting Anubis on the neck and nodding to Rhaegar. "The dragons will know the way."

"How do I give them instructions?"

"You thinking about burning the Wall?"

"No," Rhaegar spoke, grabbing a hold of one of Zeus' spikes and grasping it tightly.

"They know Valyrian," Harry offered, shrugging. "If you need to, you can say the word for burn."

Rhaegar nodded and with that, Zeus took off running, the creature's wing limbs touching the ground lightly before the dragon jumped up into the sky. The trees in the godswood were buffeted by the strong winds made by dragon wings as the other two dragons took off too, Hela in the lead as always.

Harry could see people on the ground stopping what they were doing, gaping up at the dragons as they flew over the castle. The banners of House Bolton and House Cerwyn snapped and blew in the strong winds that followed them and horses whinnied in fright. He could see the banners of House Manderly in the distance to the south and the bears of House Mormont to the north east, indicated by many torches and the sounds of men marching to battle.

The moon lit their way as they flew north, passing Winterfell, and followed the kingsroad to the Wall. Hela flew amongst the clouds just a little ways above the two dragons with riders, flying loops and trying to nip Anubis' tail. Harry snorted and waved her off at her last pass, not wanting to experience dragon family drama when he was riding one.

They passed the tip of the wolfswood and flew into the lands of the New Gift, the lands of the Night's Watch four hours later. It was half past 11, the stars fully out and shining and the moon at its' brightest as they finally coasted over Moles Town, the lights and torches of Castle Black appearing on the horizon.

"He's at Castle Black!" Harry yelled over, seeing the moon shine over Zeus' golden scales and making the dragon shine. He conjured a witch light to shine the way, letting it hover between Anubis and Zeus but when he looked at Rhaegar, he could tell the man had no trouble seeing Harry in the dark. Rhaegar was looking right at him, his purple eyes narrowed in thought. "The castle due north."

Rhaegar nodded before urging Zeus onward.

Harry did the same with Anubis, hoping that no one would shoot at them. Chances were that no one would see them but still… Harry sighed and placed his hand on Anubis' warm scales, the fire within the dragon warming him up in the cold air. It was lightly snowing, with little tufts of snow landing in his hair and on Anubis.

As they got within a mile of the castle, he heard a horn blow, signaling that someone had seen them. And then another blow of a horn. And another. Harry raised an eyebrow, knowing that three horn blows in the night's watch meant someone had seen the White Walkers. But… A fourth blow of a horn cut through the air as the dragons hovered above the gate. Perhaps that would a new tradition… Four horn blows means dragons… He snorted at the thought then urged Anubis to land before the gate.

Zeus did too, Rhaegar sliding off at the first moment to thump down on the ground. Hela landed behind the two dragons, peering around at their surroundings, before roaring and letting loose a jet of green flame into the air. Startled yells came from behind the gate and walls before Harry saw a few watchmen arrive on top of the gate, bows nocked and their eyes wide with fear.

"Why don't you let me do the talking?" Harry spoke, as he slid down from Anubis' back and stepped up beside the other man. "They know of me, not of you."

Rhaegar dipped his head in a nod and they waited.

The gate opened, letting them see Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and several men, their hands on their swords. A few held torches, lighting up the area. Jon was not in the group and nor was Ghost.

Jeor Mormont looked stricken, his eyes wide and his face pale. "Ser Potter… What is the meaning of this?"

"Have the new recruits already said their vows?" Harry asked idly, glancing at Rhaegar, who was eying the men at the gate.

"What…"

Zeus hissed low in his throat, his tail curling around his big body.

Every one of the Night's Watchmen in front of them jumped, taking a few feet back.

"They won't harm you," Harry spoke.

"No, the new recruits have not said their vows yet," Jeor Mormont remarked. "Does this… visit have something to do with one of them?"

"I would like to talk with Jon and perhaps Benjen too," Harry explained. "Are they in the castle?"

Lord Mormont glanced to the man beside him before looking right at the dragons. "Benjen Stark is missing and Jon is injured."

"Injured?" Rhaegar repeated faintly, drawing back his hood.

"Who…" Lord Mormont's eyes widened even more.

"Rhaegar Targaryen. How was Jon injured?"

"Rh- But how? We all thought you dead, Your Grace," Lord Jeor Mormont finally asked, after a few minutes of stunned silence.

"I was not."

"Is Jon okay?" Harry asked.

"His hand was severely burned," Lord Mormont explained. "Come in, gentlemen. Leave the dragons though."

Harry laughed under his breath before falling into line with Rhaegar as they followed the men into the castle. Hela, Anubis and Zeus all lay down in front of the gate, their long tails twitching around their bodies.

"Benjen is missing?" Harry asked, as Jeor led them into the keep. They stopped in the center, with everyone looking at them. "Where was he last seen?"

"He had gone out on a ranging and he hasn't come back," Jeor replied, gesturing up to the second floor of the barracks. "Jon's quarters are the second door to the last one. His wolf is standing guard. You should be able to get through."

"What happened, Lord Commander?" Harry asked, grabbing a hold of Rhaegar's arm to stop him. Rhaegar was trembling with the need to go see to his son but stopped when Harry touched him, inhaling softly, relaxing. "How did Jon…"

Lord Commander Jeor Mormont stared at him then at Rhaegar. "One of our dead men came back."

Harry blinked. "A man you thought dead came back through the door or…"

"He was dead. Jon's wolf found him. Dead and then he came back to life and tried to kill me."

Harry sucked in a sharp breath, rocking back on his heels. "Has this… been the only time this has happened?"

Lord Jeor Mormont glanced past the gate to where the dragons were. "We had a deserter a few months ago, before Lord Stark went south. You should ask him what the deserter said. You can ask Jon. He was there when the deserter was executed."

Harry nodded before grimacing. "Let me know if anything like this happens again. Or if I'm unreachable, let Lord Stark know."

Jeor Mormont nodded and gestured them up the stairs to Jon's room.