Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or The Last Kingdom. 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: By this point Harry is in his thirties, but being a wizard, well, he doesn't exactly look it. Strong magic causes longevity of life. I don't think JKR ever definitively said it in the books, but it did seem to be implied.

Note: A short chapter this time, but that is by design. The next chapter features the meeting with Alfrid and I expect it to be quite intense. There was not another good point to end this chapter so here we are.

Chapter Five - An Unfortunate Meeting

"So let me get this straight," Harry cheerfully said as he rode at Ragnar's side down the road, "We're just gonna stroll on up to Beodericeswordie, knock on the door, demand to see Ubba, and denounce one of his closest and most important allies to his face?"

"Yes." The big redhead said simply.

"And you expect that to go over well, do you?"

"Yes." He repeated.

"All because Ubba is going to value honor and truth over his current necessities?"

"Yes."

"Are you planning to carry on any of these conversational points with more than a one word response?"

"No."

"Well you're no fun. Hold that thought." Harry slowed his mount and came into line with Uhtred. "Since the old line of questioning sucked, how about this one. What exactly happened with you and Brida the other night?"

The former lordling tucked his chin into his chest to try and hide the slow grin spreading over his face. It didn't work. "We… decided to hump."

The young man jumped at the sudden appearance of a large hand on his shoulder. He turned and beheld his father, who had fallen back as well to join in the teasing. "More than that I imagine, eh boy?" He bumped into him lightly, "I saw your smile back at our hall. You connected on a deep level."

"Y-Yes, we did. I think. I've never felt that way before."

"Better than your own hand?" Harry teased before laughing uproariously, soon to be joined by Ragnar who slapped his son heartily on the back. "Easy, lad, we are only having a bit of fun. It's nice to have some revelry after a battle."

"Agreed, even if it was too one sided to be fun." Harry nodded. "Speaking of, and I'm just spitballing here, why don't we pop over to Hogwarts, grab some reinforcements, and approach Ubba from a position of strength?"

"Because we want to reason with him, Harry, not intimidate or threaten him. Bringing an army to his doorstep would only make our situation worse." The redhead shrugged, "It would not do to burn any bridges unnecessarily." At his brother's sudden smirk he hastily added, "I do not mean for us to literally burn any bridges either."

"Aw!"

"Grow up, brother. Powerful skalds should not be seen to whine like children." Ragnar grinned. "Now keep your eyes on the road."

"Uh, Father?" Uhtred asked.

"Yes, Uhtred?"

"If we know that Kjartan sent Sven and those men to kill us, then would it not be a good idea for us to just go and kill him? Perhaps we could bring his head to Ubba to show that we have handled the immediate problem and want justice for the instigator? One less problem to deal with, you know?"

The older men shared a knowing look before Harry offered, "We have thought of that already. First, a fortress is no easy thing to take, even with my magic. It would take time to gage his numbers, find the weak points in the walls and buildings, and assemble the men to take him head on."

"You are a powerful skald though, so couldn't you defeat him and his men yourself?"

That actually stumped the wizard for a moment. "Honestly, now that I think about it… no."

"No?"

"No. A wizard is an excellent force multiplier, there is no doubt of that, but our worst enemy in the world is a large force singularly focused on us. Given enough time, sure I could destroy all of Kjartan's men, but that would, as I said, take time; and while I'm doing that all it would take is one man coming into my blind spot and putting an arrow through my throat or head to make all my work for naught."

"It does not matter either way." Ragnar huffed as he twirled the end of his braided beard through his fingers as he always did in deep thought. "If we bring the bastard with us in chains, he will claim that we attacked him first, and Guthrum will no doubt back up his claims. Our one advantage here is that no one from the attack lives to tell of its failure. We must be swift now and surely the truth will win out."

It took a few days to reach their destination, and along the way they saw plenty of evidence of the great army's passing. Desolated towns, burned churches, scattered townsfolk, and finally the camp followers as they reached the walls of the city. The families, armorers, and whores were performing their usual duties while the warriors sacked the city inside. Uhtred had asked why they didn't just apparate there immediately as they did when traveling to Hogwarts, and had seemed put off by Harry's answer that since he'd never been to the city before, he couldn't just appear there. Out of curiosity the wizard had attempted to apparate to some other places he'd been to in his old timeline and found the experience to be… a mixed bag. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Some of the places he'd known before were simply changed so much that he couldn't form an accurate image in his mind any more.

The soldiers at the gate tried to stop them from entry, but the moment Ragnar gave them his patented 'keep doing what you're doing and I'll send you to meet your ancestors' stare they stepped aside. It was a small matter from there to find a place to house their horses and then locate their quarry. Apparently the leaders of the army were enjoying some sport with the current lord of the city in the citadel. No one made to stop them inside as these men were all familiar enough with Ragnar to know he was Ubba's friend.

They found the big blonde in the meeting hall, launching arrows at a rather thin looking man who was tied to a central pillar. A tapestry of Saint Sebastian hanging up in the rafters told Harry exactly what the warlord was up to with the act. Guthrum was also present, and staring at the approaching group with open shock. It looked like he had indeed been involved after all as no innocent man would be so shocked to see a friend alive, minus reason to believe otherwise.

"Ubba!" Ragnar's words caught the man's attention just as he was firing his latest shot, and instead of hitting the body as intended, the tip went straight through their captive's right eye. The disappointment of such a quick kill fled easily though as the big man beheld the equally large dark haired man.

"Ragnar!" At once the men embraced before separating easily. "What brings you here? I thought you were too busy with your new lands to join the army?"

"I was, until I was attacked."

"Attacked?"

"Yes. Not four nights ago a fully armed and equipped raiding party trespassed on my lands and attempted to burn my hall and family from within. We have evidence that it was sent by Kjartan with the full support of Lord Aeflric in Bebbanburg and," He turned and pointed at the black armored man against the wall, "of Jarl Guthrum."

All merriment left his friend's face as he turned to stare at his campaign partner. "Is this true, Guthrum?"

Proving contrary to all of the expectations of his accusers, the warlord told the truth. "Of course it is true. It was necessary."

Ubba was aghast at those words, his jaw opening and closing soundlessly for several moments before getting out, "How could you do this? Ragnar is our friend! He stood beside us proudly in the shield wall!"

Guthrum stared his partner down, not an ounce of regret showing on his features. "Which is why I left you out of the plan. You could not ever harm a friend, even when it needs to happen. Look around you, Ubba. Look at what we have achieved in this campaign of ours. Great things have happened and greater still are on the way. Events that will put our names in the memory of history for centuries to come. But that does not 'just' happen. It takes weapons, it takes blood, and it takes men. But men need to eat, and Ragnar currently has the most fertile farmable land of any of our earls."

Ubba seemed confused as to the problem that posed. "Then we simply purchase his crops from him."

"And pay our soldiers with what? The gold we spend is gold that does not keep our swords and spears happy. If it helps, Snorri agreed with the plan."

"H-He did? He knew?" The blonde couldn't believe his personal seer had not informed him of such treachery being planned beneath his nose. It was starting to make him question whether the small man truly was as loyal as he claimed.

"Of course he knew." Guthrum nodded. "Like you, I choose to seek the guidance of the gods when I am conflicted. When I told him of my plans he said he saw a fox chewing off a wounded leg three nights before. It was a sign from above that we needed to cut off a problematic limb to save the rest of our body."

Having heard enough, Ragnar said, "Ubba, I came here because I need your support to call out Guthrum to a Holmgang."

That floored both of the Jarls in equal measure. "A… A holmgang?" Ubba gasped. "Ragnar, do you know what you are suggesting?"

The other man gave his ascent. "As his equal you can approve it for me. He and I fight as equals and if I win then honor is assuaged, he is dead, and the attack on my family is avenged."

"But that is not all, is it?" Guthrum grinned darkly. "You kill me and my army disbands. They will not follow some parsley replacement Ubba might put in my place. So how about it, Ubba? You've planned this march for years now. Are you ready to lose half your army, horses, and supplies just to aid one friend? Is his honor worth the loss of all of your hopes and dreams?"

For a moment all hung on a precipice, and then Ubba looked away from Ragnar with shame written clear across his features.

"Ubba?" The earl questioned.

"Ragnar, perhaps if we were to offer weregild to offset your expected losses after we take your land-"

"No." Guthrum nixed the idea. "Nothing revealed here today changes our need for Ragnar's lands, Ubba. Paying him? We already covered the fact that we cannot afford to part with our coin."

The blonde man visibly struggled with himself for ten whole seconds before letting out all the breath in his body in one deep sigh, a deep and mournful sound. One full of loss for what he knew he was destroying this day. One of the best friendships of his life. "Guards!" His call soon had twenty men in full chainmail with swords bared surrounding his guests.

Ragnar's face was grimm as he locked eyes with a man that had been as close as family to him once upon a time. "Is this truly what you want, old friend?"

"No. I want none of this." He answered despairingly, "Yet it is as it must be it seems. I have sacrificed too much already to turn back and I… I cannot jeopardize this campaign. Not even for friendship."

"Or honor." Harry added, smirking at the flinch his words elicited. "You think the gods will look favorably on this choice?"

"The gods will look favorably on the deeds I leave behind, and believe me when I say they will overshadow this, I am sure." The blonde didn't sound sure, but his resolve was clear to see regardless.

"Harry," Ragnar's gaze never left Ubba's, "take us home."

In an instant Harry latched his hands onto the shoulders of his brother and nephew and then they were gone, leaving the dual warlords shocked at their sudden absence.

Guthrum just had to ask, "Can your Skald do that?"

"No."

Ragnar's Hall

The trio arrived to many questions that the head of family quickly shushed. "We need to leave." He said simply. More questions, and again he shut them down. "Ubba and Guthrum want our lands and they will bring their soldiers to take it openly now that a stealthy approach has failed. We must gather the tenants and give them a choice. Leave with us, or stay and continue to work for them. As freemen it is their right to decide their own fate."

All was silent for a moment before Thyra asked, "But where would we go?"

"Wessex." Uhtred said after some thought. "Father Beocca told me to go there once. He said it was a safe place. It is the land where Alfrid currently rules."

"Hm, that works well for me, actually." Harry agreed. "It'll give me a chance to get close to him and by extension his children."

Sigrid said, "We'll need to offer him something."

"Me." Harry said firmly. At their shocked gazes he said, "I don't remember much of what I was taught, but Alfrid is remembered as a great man, one who valued knowledge. I can give that to him in spades."

"I can give him a path to the North." Uhtred added. "Bebbanburg would be a great boon to a man that is notorious for wanting to unite England."

"And I can tell him how best to fight the Danes." Ragnar rumbled. The thought clearly didn't sit well with him, but he knew the necessity they now faced. "They have made themselves my enemy as readily as his, and my vengeance can serve his needs."

Ravn, who until that point had remained silent, posed a question that had been on his mind for a while up to that point. "What of our home? Should we leave such a well fortified structure to Ubba and Guthrum? It would be of great worth with the defenses it holds."

Harry grinned, "That it would, if it were still here. Follow me." He led the family outside before shutting the door. At a wave of his hand a wheel of runes lit up on the surface of the portal and then he pressed three of them in a particular order. The structure rumbled for a few seconds before shrinking in on itself until it was the size of a toy car. From there the wizard simply picked it up and dropped it into one of his many pockets. Then in response to their shocked stares said, "I never planned to ever leave my home behind again. Now, let's go talk to the tenants."

In the end all of the families with warriors amongst them chose to follow their earl to new havens, nearly as incensed by the treachery faced by their lord as he was. The farmers, understandably, chose to stay with their land and no one begrudged them their decision overmuch. They'd put their hearts and souls into their profession after all.

So it was that Ragnar, Harry, and their family left their lands with a warband of seventy armed vikings and their families marching behind them, all on the way to Wessex.