Disclaimer: I do not own or claim the ownership of any of the below characters. This is pure fanfiction.

Chapter 3

Winterfell, 289 AC, Robb's POV

As the days went by, bannermen of the north and under the Starks gathered. The bannerman along with the lords of House Glover, Mormont and Umber assembled in Winterfell.

House Glover of Deepwood Motte was a noble house from the Wolfswood in the North of Westeros. Their ancient seat, a wooden castle, was Deepwood Motte. Their sigil, a silver armored fist on a scarlet red background. Galbart Glover had arrived with a thousand men. Lord Galbart was a steady and loyal man, and served as a loyal vassal to the Starks. He was a hardened warrior and he seemed very tactful.

House Mormont ruled Bear Island. House Mormont's sigil showed a rampant black bear on a white field, surrounded by a green escutcheon. Jorah Mormont, the son of Jeor Mormont had arrived at Winterfell with over 400 men. Bear Island was a gift to the Mormonts from the Starks after King Rodrik Stark had wrestled and won the rights to the island from the Ironborn. Perpetually loyal as vassals, the Mormonts of Bear Island were tough hardened warriors. Jorah Mormont seemed a joyful young man and was deferred to my father as well as to Harry.

House Umber of Last Hearth guarded the northern areas of the region, north of which lay castle black. Lord Jon Umber or rather known as 'Greatjon' for his hulking figure was a beast of a man. Towering over the rest, his laughter would boom on the halls and sometimes his loud gasps and laughs would startle the serving people at Winterfell. He had brought a thousand men with him. The Umber sigil was a roaring giant, brown-haired and wearing a skin, with broken silver chains, on flame-red.

These were the loyal bannermen of his father, Robb thought solemnly as he saw the last group of people who had assembled. The Winter Wolves. The commander of the wolves, Cregan was an unassuming figure. But his commands and his directions were obeyed by the wolves without a question. Cregan had arrived and had knelt and pledged his oath to my father to serve the Starks in perpetuity. My father had accepted graciously.

Robb had read the reports of the patrols and the stories from the merchants and the smallfolk in the taverns. The Winter Wolves would patrol the harsh North, surviving their patrols mostly foraging and hunting as they would often patrol the barren lands and rarely would they patrol around the populous places. They hunted thieves, outlaws and bandits. Many merchants had been saved from being looted and worse, as well as villagers and peasants while travelling the roads. Many a lord had been thankful to his father, he had read their letters, thanking his father and his brother, for their establishment of this order. The 'wolves' as Harry would refer to them, has tales and songs written about them.

What was once a group of men his brother had scoured from villages with promises of a better life which he did provide, soon enough, with the fame of the wolves and their tales of bravery led many men to Winterfell to join the ranks of the order. Harry had refused to take in people of noble birth, stating that it would cause undue tensions with the house if they lost their sons in the service of the realm and their father was also well inclined to agree with Harry.

Robb was looking onto the Map on Winterfell in his study. Harry had told him that he had a thousand and two hundred men provided to Robb to bolster the western coast. Robb looked at the reports as he saw that another six hundred wolves were patrolling the North. As he delved deeper, he saw that Harry had these wolves patrolling most of the villages and holdfasts of the North presumably to deter any bandit, outlaw or wildling raids.

Their western coasts however, would be stretched too thin if he proceeded to send large patrols to fortify the coasts. He had read that the Ironborn were notorious for smaller raids and diverting main armies and making skirmishing attacks to enter the villages and holdings to rape, raid and pillage. He read the reports on the wolves again. The wolves were excellent hunters and foragers. They were swift and hardy men, able to travel long distances. They would be the most excellent scouts in a war with their capabilities.

Robb started to formulate a plan. Instead of sending out large patrols, he thought of breaking patrols between 30 - 50. This would give him enough patrols to protect and throw off any attack from the Ironborn. He would reinforce the guard on the villages on the western shore. He could stop any attack if they raided the villages, or any place with large numbers, but unsuspecting farmers could be attacked and brutalised by the Ironborn. He looked at the map again thinking as he looked at the stationed patrols on his map.

Robb felt angry. These Ironborn would attack the villages of the North, looting, raiding, raping with impunity. They harmed and slaughtered people who did not harm them. He shook his head, he was not thinking clearly, he thought. He needed to use the wolves to hunt these scum. He thought more as he read the reports on the Winter Wolves. He stayed up late that night, working and perfecting his plans.

The following morning he was up and ready, a little excited and nervous about his plan as he had made this one all on his own for the first time. Today was when his father and brother were leaving. He wanted to tell them of his plans. He wanted to know if Harry and his father approved of his plans. As he walked to the castle courtyard, he saw his father dressed in his armour and his cloak, with the greatsword Ice hung across his back. He saw his brother Harry wearing armor which was a strange amalgamation of leather, chainmail and steel plate. They were dyed black as his swords were hung across his back. As I approached them, I heard them talking.

"Don't worry Father, " Harry was reassuring my father, "We have enough wolves in the north to defend it. I have stationed and garrisoned patrols in all villages and holdfasts, just so that bandits or outlaws from the south do not get any ideas. Also Robb will be taking care of the western shore, trust me father, we can assure our bannermen that we have nothing to be afraid of." Harry saw me approach and smiled at me, "Robb, glad you are here. Please tell father that he is being too broody and severe.."

Robb wanted to laugh looking at the way dynamics of his father and brother. He shook his head and focused. "Harry," he said, "I made a few changes in the deployment of the patrols. I handed him the map where I had made the changes. Let me know if you think this would help."

Harry opened the scroll and saw the map. Robb could see Harry's eyes lighten up in recognition of what he had done. Harry looked up from the map, handed it to his father and winked and Robb.

Robb saw his father looking into the map with interest. His father's face was impassive as he read through the map. He finally looked up at Robb and saw several emotions flicker through his fathers eyes. Astonishment. Relief. Pride. Love. His father grasped his shoulder and told him with a smile. 'This looks excellent Robb. You are the protector of the North now. I wish you well.'

Robb solemnly grasped his fathers hand and said, "I wish you good fortune in the war." He repeated the same with his brother. Harry hugged him. As Robb returned the hug Robb mumbled so that only Harry could hear, "Stay safe and thank you, brother." Harry pulled back and smiled at me. I saw Jon standing at a distance waiting for his time to say farewell to Harry and father. I beckoned him as I saw Harry also do the same. As we barrelled into a three way hug, laughing, we made our vows to each other as brothers. Soon the time for farewells ended as Harry and my father, Lord Eddard Stark left for war leaving Robb to guard the North, his homeland.

Winterfell 289 AC Jon's POV

Jon saw his father and brother leave Winterfell with their bannermen. Robb was standing next to him, looking a little lost. He shook his head and looked at Jon and said, "I have the patrols drawn up. You have been to a few patrols in the last few moons. I want you to serve with Raymund, who will be the captain. Keep this map with you and study it as it will help you to understand how we will better defend the North."

Jon looked at the detailed map. There were to be units of three men scattered across as we could see all over the western coast. From Flint's Finger until Bear Island, the patrols were scattered. He could see patrols of thirty to fifty men were placed at strategic locations and the heaviest patrol would have only a hundred men with only 4 patrols being that large. The routes indicated that the larger patrols would be moving around constantly and be moved in with a moments notice to reinforce an area.

Jon looked more carefully as he saw the strategy that was outlined on the map. The three member units would act as scouts primarily. Upon scouting enemies, one of the members would ride to reinforce men to one of the larger patrols who would be at most 10 - 15 miles away. Until then, the 2 wolves would opt guerilla tactics and sow confusion amongst the Ironborn. If a greater force was seen which was unlikely, they would send a force of a hundred wolves to subdue the threat.

Jon had read that the ironborn preferred to band into smaller units after reaching the shore to raid and pillage. Putting patrols and setting up ambushes at strategic positions would help them immensely. He looked up at Robb.

Jon said, "Brother, this is quite detailed. Trade would not stop and the merchant caravans and villagers can travel safely even when the lords are not on their lands and most of the bannermen away."

Robb smiled and said, "Well I have to thank Harry for having the men to accomplish this. Also you ride out tomorrow. I would suggest you go to Stony Shore. I do not believe the Ironborn will sail much to the North. Sea Dragon Point would be another point to check, but you will be able to sight those ships if they haven't already sailed by. Good Luck Jon." he finished as he hugged his brother.

Jon hugged his brother back. As they parted, he saw Lady Catelyn approaching them. He bowed and left the courtyard, to pack his equipment. As he walked towards his room, unconsciously his thoughts were on Lady Catelyn.

Lady Catelyn had never rebuked him, told him off or raised a hand on him, not since the day many years ago. Jon could understand her attitude towards him but couldn't appreciate it nonetheless. She never outright spoke to Jon and Jon was fine with that. He saw Arya trying to sneak into his room as he got there.

Seeing Jon, Arya's face lit up as she babbled about all the things she had been doing. Jon listened on with a smile on his face as he started to pack his equipment. Seeing Jon gathering his equipment, Arya asked, "Where are you going?" her eyes wide and innocent.

Jon came upto Arya and kneeled in front of her as he said carefully, "Robb has asked me to patrol the North. I leave tomorrow." Arya looked at Jon, as she looked sad.

"Tell me, what's bothering you." Jon asked gently.

"Father's gone, Harry's gone. Now you are going too." she huffed, looking adorably cute to Jon, as she huffily crossed her arms. "Noone tells me anything. I could not even say goodbye to Harry properly as I had to go for my lessons" she ranted, her face turning red as she seemed close to tears.

Jon took his little sister in his arms and hugged her. Arya was fighting her tears as she hugged her brother tight. "I don't want you to go." she mumbled.

Jon put his sister down and made her sit on his bed as he sat next to her. "Father and Harry have gone to war,'' he said softly, as he saw Arya's eyes widen. "I do want to go and not only because Robb told me to." he said, "We are at war and the Ironborn would harm our people if I do not go and try to help in the cause. We have to defend our land, our family." he finished. "You know why", he smiled. "When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies..."

"... But the pack survives" finished Arya. She proceeded to then hug her big brother as hard she could.

Jon once used to dream of his mother he thought as he hugged his sister, his mother coming to take him away and he would leave Winterfell, leave the scorn, the hate, the ridicule. Then everything changed. Now, as he looked down at his little sister who loved him with all her heart, he thought about Harry, his father, Robb, Sansa, Bran and the baby Rickon and even Lady Catelyn. He was home. Winterfell was his home. And he loved his family.

We would do anything to protect his family from harm.

Winterfell, 289 AC, Catelyn's POV

I saw with a heavy heart as my husband and second eldest left for war, the bane of humankind. I cursed Balon Greyjoy, for forcing the hand of Westeros to deal with the rebellion. With the burning of Lannisport, the Iron Fleet of the Ironborn was able to assault the western coast of the continent with impunity.

The ironborn were the most treacherous and vile of people. They reaved, raped and plundered and called it the Old Way. Although the raids of the ironborn had lowered after King Robert's Rebellion, Balon Greyjoy had clearly recalled his forces to consolidate his forces before declaring rebellion.

I did not know how long the war would go on for and if I would lose my family. I had learnt that my father was sending my brother as the lord of his host as the Riverlands forces marched to meet the King's host.

Many in the south tell tales of glory and riches in war. Lies and fanciful tales for fools. For only a bard can make a war seem glorious. War was chaos. No matter which King, lord or rebel courts war. No matter how justified the claim or obnoxious the reasons, the result remained the same. Innocents were slaughtered in the war.

Peaceful villages, where hard working farmers and peasants toiled hard, would be ravaged, their men slaughtered, their women raped and their children sold, captured or murdered in a brutal manner. For no fault of their own. Such was the way of the world.

I saw my eldest instructing 'Jon' as the boys then hugged and 'Jon' saw me, stiffened and left after bowing. I realised that even after all these years, while I had to manage to reign in my chagrin at the boy's baseborn status, I could not seem to trust him. I had heard too many a tale of a bastard usurping their rightful brothers or their heirs that it made me wary.

I was coming to realise that acting on prejudices could harm our family as I had seen how the three brothers had come to care for each other. I had not seen such a great bond amongst brothers that too when one of them was baseborn.

As Robb approached her, and they walked towards the hall together, her mind was on her son, the acting Lord of Winterfell.

Robb, while having favoured his Tully side physically, was the most who resembled their father in nature. Robb was honorable and just and took his duty to his family severely. He had dined with their bannermen and had spoken to all of them politely and lords happened to like him. 'Greatjon' Umber was very approving of Robb. I saw Robb instruct Maester Luwin to send a raven to Moat Cailin to inform the bannermen awaiting there that their Lord was on their way. He also instructed the Maester to pass on several points regarding patrols as Maester Luwin nodded and hurried away to send the raven.

As Robb kept administering his duties as lord, my mind again went back to my family. I thought of my husband, the Quiet Wolf as he was called. Ned and I were not two people who were meant to be married but we did for the sake of our families. After these many years, being the Lady of Winterfell, I had come to love my husband fiercely as I could. I prayed to the Old Gods that my son and husband were returned to me.

A mother does have their weaknesses. It is difficult for them to say no or cause unhappiness to their own children. And although I would never admit it if anyone were to accuse me of it, Harry was the one who was the closest to my heart. I had lost him once and I feared to lose him again. But I had come to know my son. They sang songs about the deed of the Black Wolf. Harry was a warrior and a saviour. Where in the south the knights squabbled and fought amongst themselves for fame and glory, my son would clear bandits camps and save villagers and merchants from certain plunder, torture or death.

Harry had also had successfully increased their wealth almost tenfold within these few years and he was just a boy of ten and four namedays, barely. She hoped for his bright future as she entered the Godswood to pray for her family. She made sure to pray for 'Jon' from that night.

Harry's POV

They had marched the past few days, meeting the patrol at Cerwyn. They had proceeded towards Moat Cailin with not much of interest happening. They committed to a regular routine and travelled long distances to shorten their journey.

As he had his father rode together, suddenly Ned spoke, "I have been thinking about something since the time we left for Winterfell. I am trying to understand how you were able to deploy an additional 1500 men for Robb. Did you think we would need the men? How long ago did you realise this?"

Harry nodded looking at his father, "WIth the patrol reports from the last three years, we saw that there were some raids from the ironborn, but they were not coordinated assaults. Then the reavings stopped completely."

Ned nodded, motioning Harry to continue. "The wolves mentioned in their reports that they had seen the iron born ships, in increasing numbers, patrolling the Sunset sea and even travelling as far as to Bear Island."

Suddenly Ned understood, "You took that as a sign of them making note of the strategic points to invade or raid in the future. But how did you manage to get them trained so quickly?"

Harry said, "My investments in the merchant guilds have helped me gather a large portion of the funds. We have done very well and I have a hold in most of the merchant guilds in North, the Riverlands and the Crownlands. We will be possibly looking to trade in the future with Braavos."

He continued, "I increased the recruitment intake of recruits and through the merchant guilds across the realm that the Winter Wolves would be providing escorts, merchant guilds and caravans. The wolves had already developed a reputation of killing bandits with no mercy and were readily sought after. The fresh recruits went with a few older ones on several such missions and in three years..."

"You would have enough men." Ned finished. Harry grinned and nodded.

"You are thinking beyond this war." Ned surmised. Harry smiled. "There is no way this war ends in any way apart from the Greyjoys being torn apart. So we do fight and protect the North, but if we do not panic and keep your calm, our tactical advantage will beat them into submission. What I am interested in more is, how the rest of the world sees us father. "

"We shall talk on this later then", Ned nodded his head, and Harry agreed. Harry could groan. He was bored.

They reached Moat Cailin after a week and seeing the huge dilapidated structure, Harry was disappointed. The famed Moat Cailin which defended the North from the Andals was a broken tower now, a pale shade of its former glory. They were in a deplorable state and the entire structure was entirely too ruinous according to Harry.

The banners for Karstark, Bolton, Manderly, Cerwyn, Glover, Mormont, Hornwood, Dustin, Umber, Flint and Slate could be seen as well as the banner of the Starks.

His father had earlier informed the lords of the deployment of the Winter Wolves. Their bannermen were quite pleased with the defensive plan that Robb had planned. Harry saw all the lords appreciating and praising his father, but he did notice the leech lord looking at his father with calculating eyes and a touch of respect.

Roose Bolton was a severe man. He was cold and calculating and his responses were measured and accurate. Harry could see the distaste and disgust Roose felt for him in his eyes. He had read about the Red Kings and their flayed Stark-skinned cloaks. The man had murdered and hanged a peasant for not seeking his permission to marry and then had proceeded to force himself upon the struggling girl under the very tree he had hanged the man.

He had filled his seed inside the struggling girl who had borne him a bastard. Harry really felt like throwing up hearing the tales of the Leech lord.

He had a very bad feeling about Roose Bolton.

Stony Shore, 289 AC, Dunstan Drumms's POV

The longships had sailed to the North, where it had been decided they would land at Stony Shore. The 300 Ironborn under him would then split into smaller groups, reaving and plundering throughout the North.

The Iron Fleet had beautifully burned Lannisport. He heard that Euron Greyjoy had himself lit up the flagship of Tywin Lannister. Lord Drumm laughed. True to the words of their king, Westeros was ruled by a boorish king who found more pleasure in his wine and whores than his realm. Lord Drumm would reave and pillage the North and leave behind a legacy greater than the Red Kraken.

Lord Drumm wanted to capture some of the noble ladies and make them his salt wives. He loved it as he took them as he felt their disgust but unable to do anything as he took what he wanted.

He promised his reavers that they could take any woman as long as they could kill their men.

They soon neared the shore and disembarked. The few people of the North, peasant women and fishermen who were working near the shore were surrounded by the Ironborn. They tried to desperately escape but they found no way out. They men tried to fight as the Ironborn slaughtered them one by one. The men slaughtered, Lord Drumm proceeded to make salt wives of the captured women. The 300 Ironborn took the iron price from the captured women and by the time they left, there was only the broken dead bodies of the men and women whose faces told the excruciating moments they endured in their last moments.

As the Ironborn dispersed towards the mainland, they did not see a solitary figure moving faster than them towards a patrol of 50 wolves, not two miles away.

Author's Note: There you go the North has been attacked and Harry and Ned are away. How will Robb and Jon respond? Please do Review, Favourite and Follow if you like the fic. Until next time!