Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or The Wheel of Time. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: I just want to take a moment to say how relieved I was at the universally positive response to my siege in the last chapter. Whenever one goes that far off the canon in a story it can be more than a little nerve wracking, but I was really happy with how it turned out and I am more glad than you can know that you all were too.

Note: Apologies for the wait on this one. I got caught up in some new ideas (like my HP/Hobbit crossover) and the uptick in studying for this university semester. But I'm back, and I'm ready to keep working on this piece.

Note: Just a reminder that just because one of my stories lies dormant for a while it does not mean it is abandoned. Sometimes the muse takes a different direction and I need to follow it for a while. Others the next idea for a chapter doesn't feel fully formed and I'd rather wait than give a bad result. I've done it before and am in no hurry to do it again.

Part Seven - The Siege Ends

One hour later on the dot Hadrian, Logain, Nynaeve, and Moiraine stood on the same bridge awaiting the document's return. The amyrlin was only a few minutes behind them with the rest of her retinue.

She held the contract out for them to see, and with a wave of his hand Hadrian was holding it himself once more. He took a moment to read through it before nodding. "You and the ajah heads signed for your members in perpetuity. Fantastic."

"So the barrier will come down?" Siuane clarified.

"Yes. Stand back please. This will take a minute or two." When the women had complied Hadrian leveled his hands on the flames and concentrated. For several moments nothing happened, but then the more keen eyed amongst the aes sedai took notice that the flickers at the top of the flame barrier were no longer rising straight up. They were angled towards their jailor. Soon enough the others noticed too; the barrier was flowing away from the city and returning to its castor. The whole process took about eight minutes, and by the end the writhing sphere of angry looking flames were held in the man's hand. He looked intently into its depths and a moment later it almost seemed to begin eating itself until nothing at all remained.

Before any words could be said on either side of the divide, a pair of red sisters screamed, "Now!" and out of the crowd a dozen flashes of lightning shot out at the blacksmith at once, impacting with a crack of thunder. The result… was not what anyone expected.

When the dust cleared, Hadrian stood tall, and twelve sisters of the tower lay dead upon the ground, their bodies smoking. Eight reds, two greens, one blue, and one grey. Everyone stared aghast at the sight as both the amyrlin and blacksmith palmed their faces.

"Did none of you explain what this document actually said to your sisters?" Hadrian demanded.

"We… informed the hall that attacking you was forbidden by tower decree." Siuane answered. "These sisters acted without our knowledge or direction." She had seen the section that said any acts of aggression would be responded to in kind, but she had not foreseen anything so dramatic. She thought that document was just a regular treaty, and that it would be up to them to maintain it. Not whatever this was!

Seeing the fearful confusion, Hadrian pocketed the page and explained, "What you signed was a magical contract. As the representatives and head of your organization you pledged to meet my demands and do me and mine no harm. More specifically you agreed that all harm attempted to me and mine by your sisters would be returned threefold. You see the result there don't you."

"B-But those women did not sign it." one of the ajah heads interrupted.

"It does not matter. As I just said, you basically signed for all of your sisters as their leaders. And you aes sedai chose them yourselves which gave them your magical voice. They tried to kill me so they died. Any others that attempt the same will meet a similar fate. Now if you'll excuse me, I have places to be."

So shocked were the aes sedai over everything they had just learned, that none noticed the small arrow appearing in his hand as he brushed past them all with Nynaeve and Logain at his side to enter the city. By then none even considered the possibility of trying to stop them again.

Siuane regained her faculties first and was quick to notice the new blue sister standing at her side.

"Greetings mother." Moiraine smiled tiredly at the woman that had once been her lover.

"Moiraine, you have a lot of explaining to do." Siuane was barely holding her anger in check. Her experiences of the last several weeks had certainly left their mark.

"Then dismiss the sisters and let us speak in your office. I don't imagine Hadrian will have much use for me for a while yet."

The two of them made it to said office in record time. Each huffing for breath in a very undignified fashion, but glad to be free of the angry stares being sent their way by many of their sisters.

"Alright, ye old sea snake," Siuane groused as she fell into the seat behind her great desk, "explain yourself."

So she did. Moiraine told her amyrlin everything that had happened to her up to that point, leaving out only the history of the man she was starting to develop feelings for as she had promised she would. "So that is it, mother."

Siuane was quiet for several moments, simply tapping her fingers along the wood of her desk. Slowly sorting through the multitude of questions swirling along her mind. She settled on one rather quickly. "So this man, this Hadrian… you have gotten close to him?"

"As close as one can I imagine. He's a rather private person all things considered, but there is a… bond between us. I don't think either of us truly understands it yet but we mean to explore it."

"Hm." The amyrlin didn't particularly like the sound of that. "He's dangerous, Moiraine. That bastard held us hostage! Us! Aes sedai of the tower! Not since the time of Artur Hawkwing has one been so bold. Even when the Aiel attacked we were not their true target!"

Clearly uncomfortable, the blue sister said, "That attitude is not one you're going to want to hold if you speak to him again. The typical superior attitude of aes sedai greatly offends him. He knows that 'aes sedai' means 'servants of all', and to his mind the tower has not acted in that mandate for a very long time."

"Explain."

"Hadrian believes the sisters of the tower were meant to aid the world, but we have transitioned to a place of controlling it. He has referenced our habit of bullying monarchs into doing what we want with their domains and forcing peasants to fall in line when we need things."

"We only make them do what is necessary!" Siuane exploded. "Who knows what chaos could be unleashed if those rulers were allowed to just do as they chose."

"But that is his point. We 'make' them do things. He has a very dim view of those that control others and subvert free will."

"You can't stay around someone like this, Moiraine. If he hates aes sedai then you could be in danger."

"He does not hate me." The brunette blushed lightly as she remembered the feeling of the man's hand in her own. So strong and sure. "I believe he rather fancies me. Also, I'm the only link to the tower he will accept. If I leave his side no other aes sedai will ever be allowed near him. As long as I stay with him I can try to thaw his frigid relationship with the tower. If nothing else I'm a voice of reason and pipe-line for discourse between you and him."

"You think I'll have reason to talk to him that often?"

"You did agree to give him all the men you find who can channel, and if your goal is still the safety of this world then he is the best contact you could wish for. The things I've seen him do… do not make a bigger enemy of him than you already have. I beg you. We both know the Last Battle is coming and we will need him."

Siuane studied her friend with the experience of long years together and said, "There is something you aren't telling me."

"Many things I imagine. Hadrian has a lot of secrets."

"Something not related to Hadrian." The amyrlin tilted her head and studied the dark haired woman further as things clicked into place. "Perhaps someone that travels with him?"

Moiraine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she answered, "That is another reason I must carry on with him. It's his wife."

"His wife?"

"Nynaeve Luhan, the Wisdom from the same village as the Dragon. She's powerful Siuane. So, so, powerful. To my senses she seems the strongest channeler in perhaps the last thousand years."

The amyrlin shuddered, knowing full well that her closest friend would not exaggerate something like this in a moment so serious. "Then why are you not with them right now convincing her that it is for her own good as well as the world's that she attend the tower for training?"

"Because she is just as distrusting of our sisterhood as her husband. She will never willingly attend our training, and he will never allow her to stay here where he can not protect her. But if I travel with them I can build better ties to Hadrian as well as teach Nynaeve how to channel properly. She too will be needed before the end, I am sure of it."

"I don't like this, Moiraine. I don't like this one bit… But I trust you." She looked the shorter woman in the eyes, "You truly believe that it is your fate to follow this man, and that in doing so you will be serving the Light to prepare for the Last Battle?"

"I do. And the Dragon will need his protection. The lad is too young and foolhardy to lead men yet."

"So you did find him." Siuane breathed. "Who was it?"

Any response the blue sister would have given was cut off abruptly when the balcony door crashed open, revealing a floating Hadrian, his legs shrouded in black mist.

He took one look at Moiraine and said, "I've found them. Are you coming?"

"Y-You can fly!" Siuane was flabbergasted at the sight before her.

"Amongst other things, yes. But I was not speaking to you." He looked back at his aes sedai, "I ask again, are you coming?"

"Of course. I'll meet you on the balcony." He nodded and floated back outside, leaving Moiraine to say her farewells. "If you have need of me, send a raven and I will respond. From Hadrian's side I will continue to serve this world better than I ever could within these walls."

"You are absolutely sure about this?"

"I am." She walked around the desk to embrace her old lover, sensing in her heart that they would not meet again for some time. "Goodbye, mother."

"Goodbye, daughter." The two held their embrace for a few seconds more, and then Moiraine was gone, and Siuane Sanche was left alone to wonder how things in her city and the world had devolved to this point.

Hadrian was holding Moiraine bridal style as they soared over the vast city of Tar Valon and loving every minute of it. He'd never really considered how different another woman could feel in his arms, but Moiraine was something else. Soft where Nynaeve was hard, reserved where she was expressive, and… bigger in certain areas. A fact that became apparent the harder she held onto him.

A few "Point me" spells later and he ended up hovering two hundred feet over a very particular inn. "We're here."

Being very careful not to shake herself too much, Moiraine looked down at the Light's Blessing Inn. Flight was a unique experience, one that she had never experienced before, and she wasn't sure what to think about it. On the one hand it was the single most exhilarating experience of her life, but on the other she was absolutely terrified of falling!

"G-Good. Is Nynaeve already there?"

"She's rounding them all up in one room so we can just land on a balcony. Hold on tight."

With a completely dignified yelp, the aes sedai braced herself and clung on for dear life as the new man in her life carried her down onto one of the many balconies on the third floor of the structure. As he set her down the balcony door burst open and a very worried Lan Mandragoran pulled his bonded aes sedai aside and performed a rapid check of her person. Much to her embarrassment. When he was finally sure she was alright he gave the blacksmith a grudging nod and pulled them both inside. They were met with the worried visages of Perrin, Rand, and Egwene as they stared down at a nearly comatose Matt laid out on one of the beds. His half closed eyes were red, fevered, and a thin coating of sweat lay plastered across his wane features. Nynaeve was in the corner mixing up a salve.

"What is wrong with the boy?" Moiraine breezed into the room and placed a cool hand on Matt's head, displacing a worried Rand in the process.

The red haired young man answered after a quick glance to his friends. Weaving a tale of adventure and survival wherein he and Matt travelled for weeks across the land, singing, playing the flute, and working odd jobs for meals all the while avoiding dark friends and growing sourer of mood and spirit until finally they reached Tar Valon and Matt straight up collapsed. The temporary starvation as a result of the siege had not helped things.

Then Perrin looked up at his pseudo big brother with eyes remarkably turned golden, and gave his tale of woe. A story that involved a strange communion with wolves, a wild man in the forest, an unfortunate brush with the White Cloaks, and Egwene flirting with a Tinker boy in his caravan. Rand was very much unhappy to hear that one. Though Hadrian was quite fascinated by the woodsman, Elias.

By the time he was done with the tale, Moiraine was finishing her examination and moving to inspect the strange knife in Matt's hands. Odd that, who put a knife in a sick man's hand? As her fingers reached to remove it from his death grip several things happened at once. First, the young gambler's eyes shot open with iris's black as night. Second, almost as if it had a mind of its own the blade carved an arc through the air toward the aes sedai's throat. Third, Hadrian bound each limb to the bed with instantly conjured chains. The dagger halted its trajectory a mere inch from Moiraine's throat.

Instead of fear, when motion started once more for everyone else, the aes sedai stared on with rage. "You stupid, stupid, boy." In a flash Moiraine snatched at the one power and focused on the blade that had almost taken her life before her new partner had saved her.

The weapon was evil, pure, unadulterated, evil. A black space in the void of the Wheel of Time that sucked in all light that surrounded it. Raising her hands, Moiraine began to test the air, finding dark tendrils of energy trailing from the dagger's hilt into Matt's hand and down beneath his skin.

As he raged, howled, and threatened in equal measure all who were present, Hadrian moved up next to her, watching as her face grew progressively grimmer.

"There's a presence inside it isn't there?" He asked. "It's slowly taking him over."

"From the looks of things it has been working at it since we lost the boys in Shadar Logoth." Moiraine's hands dropped back to her sides, her inspection completed. "How could you tell?"

Cognizant of all the people present he leaned in next to her ear and whispered, "Voldemort had knowledge of such items. I recognized the signs."

Matching his tone the aes sedai said, "Did that monster pass on anything that could help you break the hold the dagger has on him? I can remove the possession but to completely free him of the weapon would require a circle of sisters and I don't believe either of us thinks exposing our group to the Tower a great plan at the moment."

"Even if that was your original plan?"

"I admitted that was poorly thought out, now do you have anything or not?"

"Aye. I can remove the link, hypothetically."

"Hypothetically?"

"Will there still be a link if the dagger no longer exists?"

Moiraine was silent for several moments before she whispered with a touch of a purr, "You know, when you say things like that I start to realize why Nynaeve fell for you."

Answering in kind he said, "I have a lot more than that, just you wait. On three?"

She nodded and raised her hands once more. "One. Two. Three!" Her palms shot forward and a dome of golden light covered the bed ridden lad from head to toe with only his weapon hand free. An instant later her partner pushed past her and hovered his own palms to either side of the deadly instrument with a look of supreme concentration on his face. Then he started to step backward and to Moiraine's surprise the dagger followed, slipping through the grasping fingers of Matt Cauthon as if they were not even there.

As the blue sister worked to purge the lad of his invader, Hadrian carried on to the far corner of the room and sat cross-legged, the cursed blade still hovering between his hands. He could literally feel the evil coursing through it and trying to infect him regardless of the lack of actual contact. Well too bad, he'd dealt with far darker things than this.

"You are a soul of utter evil. Waste and degeneration incarnate. This world will be a far better place without you in it. Now perish and face eternity." So saying, the wizard focused all of his strength, will, and magic, onto the weapon and pushed through his mind an image of the sun in his hands. He smiled darkly as a crimson orb burst into being in his arms and it was followed by the spectral wail of a dying soul well on its way to its final destination. As the melted slags of metal fell to the floor before his knees, Hadrian couldn't help thinking that if Death was present he'd be thanking him for returning yet another soul that had managed to cheat him.

When he was sure nothing evil was going to rise from the remains he returned to Moiraine's side. Nynaeve was there as well, examining Matt for any signs of complications.

"How is he?"

His wife kept on for a few more minutes before nodding and returning to his side. She gestured the others forward and the downed member of the Emonds Fielders was quickly swarmed with worried friends. "He's weak, dehydrated, and one step short of starving, but that can all be attributed to his travels and enduring the siege. All things considered he's lucky to be alive, but at least he's stable. Given enough time and healing he should make a full recovery."

"How long?"

"For someone in this bad of shape? At least a month."

Sensing an opportunity to better the couple's view of her sisters, Moiraine spoke up, "The Tower has some of the best healers in the world in the Yellow Adjah. They could heal Matt in half that time. As long as the other boys aren't with him the rest of the group should be safe."

Hadrian frowned, "I don't know…"

"What's the alternative?"

"I could Apparate him back to Emonds Field and let Nynaeve's former teacher look after him." At the confused stare those words elicited he clarified, "Apparating is going from one place to another in a matter of seconds. Rapid transport."

Far from his expectations, Nynaeve chose to support Moiraine. "I think the Tower is the better option here. You told me once that apparation in subpar conditions can lead to splicing and body distortions. Matt is far from at his best at the moment so I don't know what that method would do to him. Furthermore, he would need round the clock care in Emonds Field and while she's still spry for her age, my teacher will be too busy with me gone to devote the time necessary to his care. I'd do it myself here, but I won't leave you, and I don't think a month here is likely for us."

Hadrian sighed. "No, you're right there. But we can't just leave him here, can we? With aes sedai?"

Having almost forgotten he was there, the blacksmith was rather startled when Logain stepped out from his guard position with Lan at the door to kneel before him. "My Lord, should you give the order I would be honored to stand guard for one of your companions. I am stronger than any individual aes sedai present save perhaps the amyrlin."

Hadrian looked to Moiraine, "Thoughts? This was your home after all."

"Well, I wasn't expecting to leave a male channeler with the lad, but it isn't the worst idea. Speaking form experience I'm not even sure if the amyrlin could match him one on one for sheer strength. After your demonstration with the contract no sister will actively try to touch him, and he can stand by and make sure any male channelers are treated well until you get back."

"I'm still not even sure where we're going." He groused. "You haven't said what the next destination is, Moiraine."

The black haired woman nodded, features growing solemn. "I know, and I appreciate the trust you are placing in me by letting me choose our course. Please believe that. I simply need a few days to figure a couple of things out and get things in line."

Looking over to the fussing young people, a slow smile, full of warmth, crossed the blacksmith's face. "A couple days with this lot, I think I can manage that."

Nynaeve placed a comforting hand on Moiraine's shoulder, "You have the trust of us both. We will wait for your destination."

In spite of herself, the blue sister was touched. They'd come a long way from the man who questioned her every word and act, and the woman that had slapped her face for her actions at the village fair. It had been a long time since she'd felt this accepted, this whole, and she meant not to lose that feeling any time soon.