It's gratifying that the response to this story has been so great, and that a couple of people even prefer it to A Union of Dragons. However, I should hasten to point out that popularity is no guarantee of publication. It depends on my muse and how far I am able to take the story.
It's also worth pointing out that I exploit Harry's below explanation for how time moves relative to the different universes. For a time, maybe a few years, Westeros and the Potterverse are in sync. In other words, the rate of time flowing between universes can change. Blame the way seasons work on Planetos if you want.
The scar on Arya's shoulder and the story behind it is something I made up for the story. It sounded like something Arya would do, DNA testing or wizard heritage testing would be viewed with scepticism, so a scar few people would know about, let alone the story behind it, felt like a more plausible identifying mark for the Starks to accept Arya's identity.
Anyway, hopefully, you'll see this as a full story. No guarantees, though...
PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
CHAPTER 2:
EXPLANATIONS
Harry Potter sighed quietly to himself as he and Arya sat in the room they had been brought to. Thankfully, it wasn't a jail cell in a dungeon, but it was clear that they were being confined here…though that wouldn't mean much if they really wanted to escape. Approaching Ned Stark had been a risk, admittedly, as their story was hard to believe. But Arya wanted to see her family so badly. And Harry wanted to indulge his girlfriend and, recently, lover.
To tell the truth, there was little left for him in Magical Britain. He'd gotten tired of the accolades showered on him and the other members of the Golden Quartet. Hell, even Ron was getting tired of it. But at the end of the day, after all was said and done, all that had changed was that Voldemort and a bunch of Purebloods wouldn't be troubling anyone anymore. The Ministry of Magic wanted him as their poster boy after so long spent as their whipping boy, and Harry and Arya decided to try and find a way back to her homeworld.
Arya, by her own reckoning, had ended up appearing outside the Rookery, the home of the Lovegoods, and indeed had lived with them, learning she had the ability to use magic. The first time Harry met Arya was on the Hogwarts Express, when she followed Ron into the compartment Harry was sitting in. She'd expressed mild curiosity about him, but the at-turns sullen and spirited girl kept to herself. In fact, it took a while for Arya Stark to open up to him. The turning point, as it had been with Hermione, had been their first Halloween, when Harry and Ron went to save Hermione from the troll…and Arya ended up having done half the job already, though at the cost of a concussion thanks to the belligerent troll. She had gone to talk to Hermione about Ron's insensitive comments, and ended up protecting the bushy-haired witch.
The quartet became friends, albeit somewhat fractious friends at times, usually with friction between Ron and Arya and, come second year, Arya and Ginny, the latter jealous of the attention Arya got from Harry. Both girls were equally fiery, even if only one was a redhead, but Arya had the temperament of a fighter for a long time.
What also took a long time was Arya convincing Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys that she came from another world, a world where seasons lasted for years, where the world was stuck in a medieval stasis worse than even wizarding society. Eventually, they learned the truth, especially after Dumbledore allowed them to borrow his Pensieve. And now, here he was, in Winterfell.
It took until the end of their third year for them to finally realise feelings that they had felt for each other for some time, feelings that went beyond mere friendship. It was these feelings that brought them together for the Yule Ball, that ensured Arya was at the bottom of the Black Lake during the Second Task. And it was these feelings that they finally admitted to each other during their time at 12 Grimmauld Place just before the debacle that was their fifth year.
The war had ended now, with Voldemort and his Horcruxes gone. But so were many others. Remus, Sirius, Tonks, their son Teddy and his namesake, George Weasley, Dumbledore, and so on. They were lauded as heroes, but Harry considered that cold comfort to the dead.
But Dumbledore had left one last gift behind. A ritual that, he hoped, would be able to take Arya home…and anyone else she cared to take with her. Hermione refined the ritual, and now, here they were.
The door opened, and a trio of people entered. Harry recognised the grim and grizzled features of Ned Stark, his expression pensive. The redhaired, dignified-looking woman was, at a guess, Arya's mother, Catelyn. Harry didn't recognise the old man in robes, and with a distinctive metallic chain draped around his shoulders, but his eyes burned with keen intelligence in an otherwise kindly face. And the two newcomers were staring at Arya in shock. "Impossible…" Catelyn murmured.
"My word," the old man said. "I can see why you called us, Lord Stark."
"It can't be…" Catelyn murmured.
"…Hello, Mother," Arya said softly. Then, tears began running from her eyes. "I…I'm so sorry, I…I don't hate you! I don't hate Sansa, I…"
Catelyn whirled on Ned. "What's the meaning of this?" she demanded. "If this is a jest, Ned, then I do not find it funny!"
"It's not my jest if it is one at all," Ned said grimly. "Maester Luwin?"
The old man nodded, and gently came forward, gently touching the fabric of the snow jackets Harry and Arya were still wearing. "Curious fabric," he muttered. "I've never felt the like of it, let along heard anything like this."
"It's a type of plastic," Harry offered, as the Maester began examining Arya's face carefully. "I don't think you have such things here. Look, I know how this seems…but I promise you, no matter what, I mean the Starks no harm. If anything, I would help them where I could. It's why I brought Arya back here."
"I know what you're looking for, Maester Luwin," Arya said quietly, before she shrugged off her jacket, pulled down the collar of her hoodie, revealing a small scar on her shoulder. "Remember? When I was fooling around with a crossbow bolt while trying to wind up a crossbow? The bolt wasn't in the crossbow, thankfully, but when it suddenly fired, I panicked, and the bolt badly scratched me…"
"And I berated you for being so careless," Catelyn concluded, going over and looking at the scar. "Gods, Ned…it's the same scar! If this were an impostor…they're better versed in her history than most would be…"
Ned looked at the scar, and then at Arya. "Arya…"
"Father," Arya said, before looking at Catelyn. "Mother. I…" And suddenly, she was embraced by her parents, all three sobbing and weeping.
"I missed you," Ned groaned. "I missed you, Arya…" He and Catelyn repeated that, as a mantra, over and over, as if warding against the possibility that this was a cruel dream that they may yet wake up from.
Eventually, they broke away, and Catelyn asked the question that was on their minds. "But where have you been, Arya? And why are you now a woman grown?"
Harry cleared his throat. "Yeah, sorry about that. Look, it's a bit complicated, but it boils down to one thing. When Arya fell down that hole in the cave, she didn't die, but was transported to another world. The world I come from. For some weird reason, time moved faster in my world compared to yours. Roughly, anyway. Hermione said it has a badly fluctuating temporal gradient, really, something to do with how the seasons here work." On seeing their blank looks, he said, "Well, imagine time in your world being like a meandering river, with all sorts of bends and turns and all that, and time in my world being a road that follows the river from end to end, but in a straight line, with bridges across the river in parts. If you walk down the road at the same speed as the water goes down the river, you can actually overtake the water due to taking less distance to travel."
"…I see," Maester Luwin said, although it was clear he didn't quite get all of it, or else didn't quite believe it.
"Look, the upshot was that nine months here equalled nine years on my world. It may not be that way all the time, as the difference in the way time moves between worlds seems to change, but…that's how it is. I'm sorry Arya couldn't come back earlier. That's…partly my fault."
"Harry, it's not your fault a deranged warlock wanted you dead!" Arya retorted.
Harry then felt, very acutely, the attention of both Ned Stark and Catelyn Stark on him. "Explain," Ned said, his tone of voice making it very clear that it wasn't a request…
Even in abbreviated form, the explanation took quite some time. Especially once he got to the parts where he had to explain that he and Arya were in love. After all, they were protective parents, and despite Arya getting into a bad argument with Catelyn before she ended up on Earth, it was clear that time and tide had helped smooth things over for both of them. They didn't know him, and learning that he was a wizard from another world didn't help matters. Learning that their daughter could also use magic was a bit of a shock. As a demonstration, Harry and Arya used their Animagus forms…wolves. In fact, Direwolves.
Eventually, once they digested this, Ned, Catelyn, and Luwin looked at each other. Then, he said, "Cat…I think Maester Luwin and I have to talk about how we're going to deal with this. Do you mind if we…?"
"No, of course not," Catelyn said, shaking her head. "For me, it has only been nine months. For Arya, it has been nine years. For both of us, it has been too long."
Ned nodded, before he turned his gaze to Harry. "I will be back before long."
After they exited, Arya shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mother, I…"
"No. No, it was the anger of a young girl arguing with her mother," Catelyn said, her face having a sad smile. "It's fine. Because now that you're here, neither of us have cause to regret it for the rest of our lives. You're back, Arya, even if you are a woman grown now. And…Harry…he does treat you well?"
"Of course he does! I mean, we had a tendency to get embroiled in adventures, but…if there's one thing about Harry, it's that he's loyal to his friends. We've saved each other's lives many times over. On his world, he belongs to a family of minor nobility."
"Despite a name like Potter? I'm sorry if that sounds rude, Arya, I can tell how much you mean to each other, but…"
"It's the whole arranged marriages for political reasons, right?" Harry asked.
Catelyn shot him a look, before nodding. "Yes. Ned and I wed under such circumstances. I know not whether Arya told you of our history, but…"
"She did a little. She said something about you being once one of the Tullys, and that you were wed to your husband, Lord Stark, to join the Riverlands with the North, or something?"
"I see Septa Mordane and Maester Luwin's lessons didn't all go to waste," Catelyn said to Arya facetiously.
"I didn't mind some of the history lessons, and I paid attention to why they arrange marriages. I never said I liked it," Arya said.
Catelyn's sad smile returned. "Not all women involved do. Ned and I were lucky in that we grew to love each other, and that we got many wonderful children out of it. I…I find it appalling that…I never got to see you grow up, Arya…"
"…Sorry."
"No, no…I'm glad that you are here now," Catelyn said quietly. "Robb and Bran and Rickon, they'll be glad to have you back. And Sansa's been beside herself with remorse. And of course, it goes without saying that Jon missed you too."
"But…how are we going to explain this?" Arya asked, gesturing at her body.
"We'll find a way. The problem is not explaining your return to your brothers and sister, but to everyone else," Catelyn said. "You have been declared missing, presumed dead, and there is, of course, the difference in age. In fact, you are the very spitting image of your aunt Lyanna, before everything went wrong. And to think, you fought in a war between wizards…have you killed?"
"Quite a few," Arya said quietly. "They deserved it. They viewed those who didn't come from wizarding blood as being impure. They called me a filthy little Mudblood. Yes, I have killed. Whoever said that war and killing are glorious are idiots. It's not. Not by a long shot."
"No…no, it's not," Catelyn said softly. She looked at Harry. "And you couldn't keep her out of it?"
"…Catelyn Stark…have you ever been able to stop Arya from doing something when she's set her mind to it?" Harry asked.
"No," Catelyn said with a rueful smile. "No, I have not…"
"Telling family won't be a problem," Ned said, pacing his solar, while Maester Luwin looked on pensively. "However, telling others may be. We may have confirmed her identity, but others will claim otherwise, that we have gone insane."
Luwin cleared his throat. "There is a possibility, though it is rather distasteful. Given how strongly Arya resembles your late sister, it is clear she has Stark blood running through her. Perhaps we can claim that she is a child of one of your brothers? Conceived by either Brandon before the Mad King summoned him to King's Landing, or by Benjen before he took the Black."
"…As a trueborn, or as a bastard?" Ned asked.
"Sadly, in all likelihood, the latter, Lord Stark," Luwin said.
Ned grimaced at the thought. "Cat won't like this. She'll understand, but she won't like this. The problem is…what if Robert sees her?"
"That could indeed be a problem," Luwin said. "Given her strong resemblance to your sister…it wouldn't have been a problem had her age not changed so much…though it is unlikely that Robert would come North in the foreseeable future. Or that she would go to King's Landing. What do you think of their tale?"
"It's ridiculously fantastic…but you'd think that a lie would be more believable. But I also know my daughter. I can tell she's changed…but I know it's her. Having you check her, well, I needed to be sure. To be sure that I wasn't imagining things. And I wanted Cat to be there. What are your impressions of the Potter lad?"
"It's hard to consider his character on such short acquaintance, but he seems earnest, loyal, and determined. Arya would not let anyone into her heart that she didn't like, unless she was ensorcelled, but I would imagine that it would have to be a subtle sorcery to have few changes in behaviour…aside from, of course, those caused by age. If he has a glaring fault, it's that he does not seem to care about speaking with due deference to one's station."
"I didn't rebuke him on it because of our trying to determine whether that was Arya. And if he does come from another world, it would explain much. Their clothes, for example…I haven't seen fabric like it on those jackets. And those boots…not leather."
"No. And the clothing that seemed to be made out of normal cloth seemed to have an unusually fine weave. In any case, I'd suggest keeping an eye on him, but otherwise treating him as a guest. Indeed, while the Seven frown upon sorcery, a mage would be better to have on our side than not, especially one who has fought through a war. Then again, you saw his eyes. He is weary of war, Lord Stark. He is hoping to have a quiet life with Arya, I daresay."
"Maybe," Ned said quietly. "But winter is coming, as it always does. And peace doesn't last…"
CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:
So, Harry and Arya have convinced Ned, Cat and Luwin. And yes, the scar and how Arya got it was something I made up, to give Ned and Cat more of a reason to believe this is truly Arya. But you've got to say, having a crossbow accident sounds very much in character for Arya, doesn't it?
No numbered annotations this time.
