AN : I had some time on hand, so an early update. Yipeee !
I want to make something clear at the beginning. A dominant theme of this story will be the psychological issues of bad parenting Harry has suffered through. You need to realize that this Harry has now been through a neglected childhood twice. A lot of issues are bound to come up.These will be the cornerstones of his character development.
Harry will, as a result, be more vulnerable than canon. I won't say anymore to prevent accidentally giving away spoilers but please don't flame me if the lead character doesn't develop like you expect him to. This is NOT a story of an overpowered mage who slays armies with a swipe of his left hand while fondling titties with his right. This is a story of an insecure, vulnerable, damaged protagonist fighting to shape the world the way he wants it to be.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and A song of Ice and Fire, both do not belong to me. I am just a lowly fanfic writer.
Chapter-3
Harry POV
Harry woke up just as the first shafts of sunlight broke over the horizon. His gaze fell on his naked bed companion. With the covers pulled down just enough to expose her perky breasts, Kara looked like a golden nymph. He tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear before cupping her soft cheeks. There was no denying his fondness of the girl.
He did realize that she was a liability. Sure, she was utterly devoted to him today. But what about when he had to take a highborn girl as his lady wife. He held no illusions about their relationship. Kara was a friend, a lover, but not a lady of a keep. His duty as the Heir to Storm's End and as the second prince meant he'd have to give up Kara sooner or later.
She knew too many of his secrets to just allow her to fall into the hands of someone like Varys or Littlefinger. The thought of someday having to tie up this loose end left a bitter taste in his mouth. He'd just have to find someway to keep her close. No point worrying over it now.
He slipped out of the comfort of the furs and reached for his bag. No point dallying anymore. He started on the task he had woken up early for.
Picking up a dagger, he pricked his thumb. Immediately, a thin stream of red blood started flowing out. He filled out a cup before tying a piece of linen to the wound.
Blood is a powerful magical conduit. Harry remembered that from his dreams. A few discussions with Maester Garrick told him that the first men used to sacrifice their enemies under the weirwood trees, letting their blood pour down on the roots. It seemed like the Northern practice of beheading people under weirwoods had an ulterior motive.
Harry was pretty sure the weirwood at Storm's End hadn't had a drink in atleast the last 3 centuries, since the time House Baratheon was established. Even before, it was unlikely as the Andals hated the barbaric ways of the North. If the weirwood was still powerful enough to let him use his magic, albeit stunted, he shuddered to think what he could do near a weirwood from a place like Winterfell.
Harry was still sore for losing the opportunity to travel to Winterfell with the royal family. Instead of inviting him on the trip, he received a letter from his father where he explained how he was planning to betroth Joffery to Ned Stark's daughter and how he believed that the animosity between the two brothers might cause an incident which would present Joffery in a negative light.
So while Joffery travelled halfway across the seven kingdoms, Harry was stuck with hosting Lord Rowan and fend off Mace Tyrell's invitations to Highgarden. Mathis Rowan spent the majority of his visit extolling on the beauty of the golden rose of the Reach in a poorly concealed attempt to have him betrothed to Margaery Tyrell. Having lost Joffery, the Tyrells seemed almost desperate to secure influence at court. Too bad they were barking up the wrong tree. They'd gain more influence through Tommen, despite the age difference.
With the blood prepared, Harry dipped his dagger in it before starting to etch Runes on the inside of his armour. Runes were the best magical tool he had access to right now. They were designed for wandless magic and didn't need active casting. He couldn't be very creative with them since his Runic knowledge was somewhat stunted. He cursed his past self for ignoring the subject when he was at that magical school, Castle Hogwarts.
"Is that blood ?" The scraping of his dagger against the platemail seemed to have woken up his companion.
"Uh Huh"
"Harry, you didn't sacrifice some virgin to perform this ritual, did you ?" Through the playful tone, he could detect a slight wariness in her words.
"What if I did, it's not like that puts you in any danger, does it ?" he joked back.
"True, my blood would be pretty much useless, but I'd rather not have to explain to the innkeeper what happened to his darling daughter. What are you drawing anyway ?"
"It's called magical Runes. It imparts certain properties to my armour for a certain time when I charge it with my magic. This top one is the ehwak rune. It grants strength and durability, the combination of tral rune inside Mohawk rune can make it featherlight for 5 minutes. This matrix here is a complex combination of Runes whose job is to capture an enemy's attention and distract them during a fight."
"That's it ? I thought you'd be spouting flames and blasting people just like the stories you told me. Compared to that, this seems like...parlour tricks." Kara seemed somewhat disappointed.
"Even a split second's advantage can mean the difference between life and death. I had to use this array on my practice mail to defeat Moore and earn my spurs. Besides, there are limits to what I can do with Runes. For real magic, I need a wand." Explaining magic to a muggle was pointless but he decided to indulge Kara anyway.
"A wand ? Like a piece of wood ? Should I fetch you some ? We are in the middle of a forest, you won't lack for wood." Kara questioned simply, making him facepalm.
"Just any wood won't do idiot. I am compatible with Holly. Besides, just wood isn't good for anything. I need a magical core. Dragon Heartstring, Tail hair of a Male Unicorn given freely, or a tail feather of a Phoenix are some of the common ones." Harry felt like he was speaking to an eleven year old who just received his Hogwarts letter.
"Well that's convenient. All dragons are dead, the only known unicorns seen were on the island of Skagosi cannibals far up north and what even is a Phoenix ?"
"An immortal fire bird that can heal any wound. Don't worry your pretty head too much over it Kara. Now let me concentrate because I need this armour prepared if I am to participate in the hand's tourney."
"Are you sure about that Harry ? You just became a knight. Tourneys are dangerous. Just look at what happened to lame Willas." Kara asked with concern coloring her voice.
"I need to do this Kara. I haven't even sent word of my arrival just so I could take them unaware. Even Mandon hasn't sent word of my knighthood to father yet. I need to prove myself to my father. He'll never respect me until I prove my worth through combat. I need to show my mother that Joffery will never be as good as me. Too long have I been sidelined. With this tourney, I will announce my entry in the game to the world." A low growl escaped his throat towards the end of his tirade.
"You don't need to prove anything to anyone Harry. They are blind if they can't see your worth. You should worry more about your life than how your parents see you. Atleast participate openly instead of this cloak and dagger stuff with being a mystery knight. Your status will mean no opponent tries anything underhanded against you. Being a mystery knight just adds to the already considerable risk !" Kara pleaded with him.
"No, the word will reach my mother and she'll put a stop to it. Mother won't stand for Joffery being shown up like this in front of Lords from half the realm. Besides, my magic will be sufficient to bridge the gulf between my skills and my opponents. My magic might seem like parlour tricks to you but I assure you it will be more than sufficient."
"But..."
"No more, I grow weary of this conversation. Go and rouse the men. We leave within an hour."
AN: Next chapter, the tourney, hopefully. Please rate and review. It helps me correct my mistakes.