Jasper wasn't sure how he felt about his encounter with the three-eyed raven. While he liked knowing other wizards existed in Westeros, he was still pretty pissed about the mind probe. He was fairly certain the raven was either some kind of projection-based magic or an animagus form, but it was this "find me beyond the wall" crap that was really getting on his nerves. The Wall was over three hundred miles long, and this guy just expects him to find some special tree that could be literally anywhere beyond it? It felt too much like Dumbledore saying, "I believe in you Harry," and then having him scavenge all of Britain for horcruxes with no idea on where they might be. The senile old fool.

No, if he wanted to talk to him, he could do it here, in the Eyrie. He refused to go on some asinine scavenger hunt over a conversation. That bird came all this way deliver a message, it could just as easily come back and talk to him. If he knew to expect the probe, he could shield most of his thoughts and memories while still maintaining a conversation. He doubted it would hold up to any kind of serious assault, but he could just as easily kill the bird and break the connection.

He didn't completely ignore the message either and started researching the North and the land beyond the Wall. It was said that the Children fled there after the Andal Invasion, and it was one of the few places where magical creatures could still be found. He wondered if that's why the wizard was there, and if it had anything to do with the weirwoods and the latent magic they produced. When the Andals invaded Westeros, they started chopping weirwoods down wherever they could find them. By the end of the conquest, the Riverlands were the only "southern" region to still have any, and it was only in small numbers. The North however, managed to repel the Andals and the weirwoods there were left untouched.

The existence of other magicals made him want to start crafting a wand. While he had no real experience making one, he knew the general concept. Wood shaped into the form of a wand with a magical core placed in the center. Weirwood was the obvious choice for the shell and getting it would be easy. It was the core that would be the problem. He couldn't just leave the Eyrie and head North to start hunting magical creatures. He would practice carving for now and sort out the rest as opportunities arose.

In the meantime, he moved to expand the godswood in the Eyrie and start the construction of at least one glass house within its borders. The appearance of the wizard didn't bode well for Jasper, and he wanted to minimize what needed to be ferried into the castle, should something come of it. They already had goats and chickens, so hopefully soon, only the more luxurious foods would still need to be brought in. He considered adding wards to the castle as well, but he doubted he had enough power to cover the entire mountain. Even if he did, anti-apparition wards would only stop someone from entering the castle's perimeter, but that didn't stop someone from going nearby and just using a broom or magical creature to close the distance. If he had more wizards with him or he could use magic more openly, then perhaps he would have. But ultimately, he decided against it, as it wouldn't be effective enough to be worth all the time and effort involved.

o-O-o

While his father had yet to reach Dorne, a raven arrived with a letter from Sunspear. After Clegane and Lorch had died, their roles in the sacking became common knowledge. The Martells were grateful that Elia and her children had received justice, even if it wasn't sanctioned by the King. They never said it outright, but it was clear they knew he had a role in their deaths. His father's loyalty to the King was unquestionable, but Jasper had never sworn fealty or even fought in the war. His ties to Robert were few and strained at best.

When Jon's letter finally arrived, Jasper wasn't really surprised that it said Dorne had bent the knee to the Iron Throne, and actually formed an alliance with Vale. Both the Greyjoys and Lannisters had betrayed them, and their history with the Reach was colored with bloodshed. Vale however, had already supported Dorne and they had considerable influence with the new regime. Apparently, most of Dorne's demands had been the Lannisters paying for the transport and funeral of Elia and her children, along with a public apology for Elia's death from both the Lannisters and the Crown. The Lannisters had little support in the new regime, and it was an easy thing for Jon to agree to. In order to help promote their new alliance, Prince (The Dornish equivalent to Lord Paramount) Doran Martell's two eldest nieces would be fostering in the Eyrie. While they were bastards, Jon was reluctantly willing to ignore it because he knew they were viewed differently in dornish society. The girls themselves were already quite infamous in Dorne, and the local nobility tended to call them "Sand Snakes," at least behind closed doors. Although Jasper still wasn't sure how that came about.

o-O-o

Storms had been raging along the coast for nearly a week now. Several ships had been run ashore and supposedly; the majority of the Loyalist fleet had been destroyed while sitting in port. Robert's brother Stannis was already preparing a fleet to siege Dragonstone, the last of the Targaryen strongholds in Westeros. Queen Rhaella had died giving birth to a daughter, and now all that remained of the Targaryen dynasty was the babe and her brother.

Jasper had received several reports of sightings of a Targaryen ship that had crashed along the shore. The storm made it too dangerous for anyone to investigate more closely, so Jasper decided to look into it himself. He may not be Harry Potter anymore, but he couldn't just sit by and let people suffer needlessly.

The winds were hellish, and he was sure this was some kind of hurricane. Magic lessened the effect, but the storm was still dangerous and powerful. He ran to the ship and made his way below deck, if there were any survivors, they would be riding out the storm there. Bodies littered the floor, but he could make out voices farther back. "I'm here to bring you all to safety, but we must hurry! Is anyone hurt?"

Out of the entire ship it seemed only a handful of people had survived. Just five men, a young woman, and a babe came out to meet him. The leader, an older man dressed in mail, stepped forward and spoke for the group. "My name is Ser Darry, and we would be grateful for the assistance. I think I speak for everyone when I say that our injuries can wait until we get out of here. I was worried we'd have to stay another night here." He turned to one of the other men, "Hammon, grab Viserys' body, we cannot leave it here."

In that moment everything clicked, and he suddenly realized who these passengers were. "I can give you shelter in Vale for as long as you like, but nothing more. I don't care about your cause or your claim towards the Iron Throne, all I care about is Vale. The war has gone on long enough and I refuse to push Westeros deeper into civil war over a baby's claims."

Everyone in the room tensed, but Ser Darry just sighed and nodded. "We were fleeing to Braavos when the storm threw us off course. I was already expecting for them to go into exile, and with Viserys dead, there is little hope we'd get any support. What is your name lad, you don't sound like you're one of the smallfolk. Are you the son of some minor Lord in the area?"

Jasper stood a little straighter and glared at the man. "My name is Jasper Arryn, heir to House Arryn and current Lord of the Eyrie."

o-O-o

Getting them to the Eyrie proved more troublesome than he anticipated. He had to slip each of them a portkey before obliviating them and compulsing them not to question how they arrived. They were soon convinced that a lack of food had made them delirious, and it actually took several days to get there. Viserys' body was sent to King's Landing where Robert was persuaded to give him a proper burial, surprisingly by Jon. He would lose too much standing with the other nobles if he didn't, not to mention reignite the tensions with the former Loyalists. Supposedly, Rhaella's daughter had drowned in the storm and the surviving babe was actually the bastard of Princess Elia's Handmaiden, Ashara Dayne. The young girl shared many features with the child, and it was easier to pass it off as hers, as she had sadly committed suicide when she had learned of her mistress' death.

The fiction currently being spun, was that Ser Darry had promised to watch over Ashara's daughter before he left with the Queen. Now that the royal family was dead, Jasper had agreed to make him part of his personal guard, so the knight could raise her in Vale. He named the child Daenerys, in honor of the princess that had been in his care. Jasper was sure that many people had their doubts, but no one openly questioned it. Vale's role in the rebellion was undeniable, and it was unlikely they'd harbor the former princess. The only people that knew of her true identity were Mya and Ser Lynderly, and they had long-since proven their loyalty to Jasper over his father.

While the world may view her as a bastard, Ser Darry had sworn to him that she would know her true heritage. He hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him, but he wouldn't deny her the knowledge or her birthright. She had no part in the war, and she deserved to make her own decisions on the matter.

i {o,o}
i /) ')
i -"-"-

AN: In Jon's eyes, all Tywin is really doing is taking responsibility or at least handling something his vassal did (Killing/raping hostages). As for Tywin, with Clegane dead he never has to say he ordered him to do anything, merely that his vassals did something without his say so. By not fighting the reparations to Dorne, that was his way of washing his hands of the matter. Also, in regard to the lack of wards for the Eyrie, this was not done without careful thought. However, Jasper is not an infinite well-spring of power and the amount of work and magic involved is insane. The castle is at a minimum, the size of Hogwarts and its grounds. If you've seen pictures, it literally covers the entire peak of the mountain, with several wings actually extending beyond and its lower levels going deep into the mountain, at least six stories down. Hogwarts was initially warded by a whole group of very powerful witches and wizards; he is just one person.

Notes. For those that know one 'verse, but not the other:

[1] An animagus is a wizard who can use magic to transform into an animal. The specific animal cannot be chosen, and is in fact determined by your personality and what you relate to most. This is achieved through long-term ritual magic and is quite difficult due to the complexity of the ritual itself.

[2] Portkeys are enchanted objects that teleport whoever is holding/wearing them to specific locations. While more controlled then apparition, these are restricted to pre-set locations. A portkey can only be loaded with a few separate locations simultaneously before the enchantments unravel and become useless.

[3] Legilimency is the magical art of reading someone's mind, occlumency is the only known defense against this. Both have to be consciously maintained and take the castor's strength of will and focus to be effective. This means that a distracted castor would probably fail when using it, and that it cannot be constantly active. (This explanation was already provided in Ch1, but I think some may still find it useful, so it was included here.)

Edited 10-31-21