Hello everyone.
I am glad that you like the first chapter and I realize that I didn't show much, but there was a reason for it.
I just didn't have a clue where I really want to go with it. Don't get me wrong, I know what I was aiming for, but I didn't know how to do it. Now though I decided on the plot and I can continue writing. There are still things that I need to work on but now I at least have a base for it.
Warpwind - I have no idea what do you mean.
g2g - This chapter should answer your questions and I hope that you will like what I prepared.
If you have any ideas for this story, let me know.
REVISITED: 09.07.2020. Holy shit... I really made a lot of mistakes back then huh? Anyway, I tried to fix most of the worst ones and I hope that I succeeded. Later today I will go through chapter 3 and maybe even check the 4th one.
Enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 2. Adapting
The moment Harry blacked out, he felt memories going through his mind. He didn't catch them all, but he managed to see some.
A four-year-old boy was running through the house. His shining violet eyes watched everything around him. He quickly hid behind his mother's bed and hoped that no one would find him.
His hopes were for naught as after a minute his mother came through the door and watched him with some amusement. She was beautiful. Her long white hair looked as exotic as ever and she had the same violet eyes as her son. She wore a simple dress that was popular through all of Myr.
The woman shook her head and asked with some tiredness in her voice, "Really Harry, again? I told you multiple times to wait until the food be will be ready."
The boy stood up and chirped at his mother, "Sorry mother, I was hungry."
His mother giggled at his antics and scooped him up in her arms, "Alright, dear. Let's go it is almost ready. Then we will go for a walk, what do you think?"
Harry looked up at his mother with his big shining violet eyes and grinned widely...
Harry got pulled out from the memory and was a little surprised that the kid was also named Harry. At least it would be easier to adapt if he didn't need to use a new name. The wizard then felt another pull and let himself go into another memory.
This time a six-year-old boy sat with his mother by the table. They both were eating dinner, but the boy looked like he wanted to ask something.
The mother saw his hesitation and asked, "Harry. What is troubling you? You know that you can tell your mother everything."
Harry looked up from his food but the woman could see that he was still uncertain and maybe even a little bit scared. Finally, after a long pause, he spoke up, "Mother, where is my father? You never told me about him."
The woman widened her eyes a little but then she released a deep sigh, "What brought this on? And why now?" she inquired.
The boy looked down at his hands and said quietly, "When we were walking through the city I saw a few families together and I couldn't help but think about my own father. I never asked anything because I thought that maybe you will tell me, but I would like to know something about him."
The mother frowned and walked to her son. She then took his hands in hers and said slowly, "Harry... know that I and your father loved each other very much and he loved you even more. He always tried to help everyone around him, but it finally came back to him and he died before you were born. I am sorry that you will never meet him, but remember that he loved you."
Harry saw some tear coming from his mother's eyes so he got up, hugged her tightly, and murmured, "Thank you, mom...
The wizard again got pulled out and if he was conscious he would frown. Next life and he again didn't have one parent. He would continue his thought but another memory came.
The white-haired boy looked now a bit older when he along with his mother sat on a rock near the port of Myr. The woman always took her son there so they could watch the ships come and go.
Finally, the boy broke the silence, "Mom what do people mean when they say I look like someone of Valyria descent?"
His mother looked at him and smiled lightly, "It means exactly that. We both have ancestors from Valyria. An ancient land that has fallen quite some time ago. The Valyrians were known for their great beauty and possessed physical features not seen among other peoples of the world. Typically, they were very fair-skinned, with silver hair and violet or deep blue eyes. That's why we are noticed much easier even though our hair is more of a white color due to mixing our blood with people outside Valyria."
Harry looked at his mother with excitement shining through his eyes, "Does it mean that we belong to some noble house?"
The white-haired female laughed at her son's eagerness, "I don't know about us, but my grandmother belonged to one. She then broke off from it and had a family on her own. From what I know we are the last unofficial members of this house."
"What was the house called mother?"
The woman shook her head and answered, "This is a story for another day. When you will be a little older I will tell you."
The boy frowned but accepted the answer as there was no arguing with his mother...
Noble houses? It stank of the same pure-blood bullshit from his last life. Ah well, he would need to see for himself how the things work here. Then he felt the pull again, but this time it was much stronger.
An eight-year-old boy sat by the bed. On it laid the white-haired woman, but this time her face looked sickly and one could see some sweat on her forehead. The boy had a few tears running down his face and all the while he was clutching his mother's hand like it was the most precious thing in the world.
The woman smiled sadly and said in a hoarse tone, "Harry, look at me... I know that it hurts, but you need to be strong. I don't want to leave you, but the disease won't stop. I am sorry dear, but you need to listen to me, there are a few important things that I need to tell you before I go."
Harry released a few sobs, "You can't leave me, mother. I don't want to be alone."
She gave his hand a squeeze to get his attention, "I know son and I would love to stay with you but we can't always have what we want... Now listen carefully. When I am gone you will need to be careful. No one can know that you live alone or someone will catch you and brand you as a slave. Remember to always lock the house even when you are inside. Never show your face to anyone, wear cloaks when you go outside. Anyone who remembered you will forget after some time if they won't see you.
We have got enough money to last you for a few years, but you will still need to be careful while managing it. Next, I wrote a letter for a situation like that, it will explain your ancestry and a few other things," she coughed a few times before continuing, "Read it and be safe dear. The world is a cruel place and you need to be smart to survive."
With that, she closed her eyes and after a moment her breathing stopped. The boy's cries intensified as he wept for his lost mother...
Of course, it would be too good to have at least one parent alive... and now he got placed into the poor lad's body. Death was really playing with him. Fortunately this time no more memories came and Harry felt himself wake up.
With a groan, Harry opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the same plain room so no one was in the house. The headache was still killing him but he would need to deal with it. Sometime soon he would try to use occlumency to sort through all of the memories in his head. Luckily the defensive mind magic was still working properly even if his mind was a mess.
Harry also couldn't help but wonder why Death decided to put him in this kid's body as from what he could see, Harry was still pretty small. At this moment he noticed a small source of light next to him and when it disappeared he saw a small note.
The kid would be dead in the next month, so I decided that it would be funny to see what you would do in his situation.
Avid fan of your life, Death.
PS: I gave you something so you could remember your past life. You will discover it in time. Oh, and expect quite a surprise later in your life, I can't wait for your reaction.
Harry's eyebrow twitched a little at the signature, but he calmed himself down and took a few deep breaths. There was no point in arguing with all-powerful deity. Still from what the memories told him, Harry wouldn't have an easy life in the near future. And it was supposed to be a new chance at life? He could at least pray that magic wouldn't be too hard to use, even if he needed to relearn everything from the ground.
Just another completely normal adventure in his life.
He would probably kick and scream about his situation when he was younger but with time Harry realized that nothing was ever normal with him. It was better to go with the flow than fight it, he tried many times and it never worked out. Plus normal was overrated anyway.
He released a deep sigh and stood up from his bed. Time to see how much time passed since the last memory. He slowly walked to the mirror that was hanging on the wall and looked at himself.
He still looked like an eight-year-old. His white hair was cut short and his new eyes were of a very deep violet color. He would miss his old eyes as they always were the only thing that connected him to his mother. Guess he would need to get used to them. His new mother was right when she said that people of Valyria descent are fair-skinned. As he was still young, Harry could not tell how his build would look in the future. For now, he was quite lean, even though he could see that he was a little bit taller than normal kids his age and it probably came from his father.
Harry ran a hand through his now tameable white hair and made his way into the kitchen area where his mother hid the letter. It took him some time to find it as he still didn't have all the knowledge of the previous occupant of this body.
Finally, he found it and after he sat down by the table, he opened it and read. It was written in a different language but somehow Harry could read it without any problems.
Dear Harry,
I wrote this letter with hopes that I will never need to use it, but the illness is getting worse and worse. There is a chance that maybe someone could help me but I am sure that they would take all of our money for it and I can not let it happen.
You need it more than me and after your father's death, we lived on what he and I gathered before you were born. I know that you are probably angry at me, but son you need to understand that if we lost our wealth then they would take us as slaves and I won't allow my child into such position. Your father would do the same and I will gladly make this sacrifice.
Now, you deserve that I finally tell you about your father. We meet a few years before you were born in Pentos. My own mother just died and I didn't know what to do. I almost got caught by some slavers when your father rescued me. He kept me company for the next few days and then he helped me travel to Myr.
One thing led to another and we both settled here. Your father mostly took a job as a merchant and I sometimes helped him. Then during my pregnancy, he died and I almost lost my will to live. You, my dear, was the only reason why I could keep on living.
Your father never spoke much about his origin, but I know that he is from Westeros and was a part of a smaller noble house in the North.
There is also the matter of our ancestry. Like I told you earlier, we are unofficial members of an extinct house. You see my Grandmother was a child of Daemon I Blackfyre. She knew that after the First Blackfyre Rebellion there was no point in staying with her family so she escaped without anyone noticing and created her own family away from people who could harm them.
She explained a few things about our original family to my father who then passed some of his knowledge onto me. I would do the same, but it will be better if you discover everything on your own. Just remember one thing. Even if the Blackfyre didn't leave a good impression on the world, they are still our ancestors so the least we can do is honor them.
There is also one more important thing you need to know. Sometime after my grandmother settled down with her own family, she got visited by Aegor Rivers, Daemon half-brother. She was scared that maybe he came after her in the name of her late father, but Aegor quickly explained his reasons.
He decided that if my grandmother was the only one who managed to live a normal life then maybe it should be her who will keep the only thing that represents house Blackfyre. He gave it to her and she never saw him again.
His gift is hidden in our basement behind the bookshelf. As long as it is in our family we have the right to Blackfyre name. Of course, you need to keep quiet about your ancestry until you will be able to defend yourself.
There are more things that I would love to tell you my son, but a letter can only do so much. So I will leave you with my last few words.
Live your life, be happy, but also careful, the world around us is not a nice place and you will need to always watch your back.
I love you, Mother.
If Harry wanted to be honest, he didn't know what to think of this letter. He could respect the sacrifice the mother made, but what eight-year-old would be able to take care of himself when he was sheltered his whole life. From what he saw from the memories, this world was at the stage of medieval age or even worst, so Harry was no longer surprised that the child wouldn't last too long.
Harry then decided that he might as well check what was this gift his new mother wrote about. He quickly made his way to the basement and saw the pretty big bookshelf. Fortunately, there wasn't much on it so after a few minutes of hard work Harry managed to pull the shelf from the wall.
Behind it was a small hollowed-out hole in the wall. Harry then put his hand in it and pulled whatever was in there out. It was something pretty long covered in a sheet. The white-haired boy quickly tore the sheet apart and finally saw what was inside.
It was definitely not something that the wizard would expect. Well, he probably should have, but no one could blame him as to why someone would leave a sword there. It was hand-and-a-half longsword with a beautiful handle and a ruby at the pommel. The head of a dragon rested on each of the ends of the guard. The metal of which the blade was made surprised Harry a bit as he could see a ripple pattern all along the blade. The next surprise came when the boy took the blade in his hands. As an eight-year-old, it should be a lot harder to wield the blade, but Harry could lift it with both hands without bigger problems.
Then he noticed a small note in the sheets. Harry put the sword away and read it.
Blackfyre, one of the most famous Valyrian steel swords. Once wielded by Aegon the Conqueror and then it provided a name for House Blackfyre.
Harry then had a few flashes of memories and the knowledge of what Valyrian steel was, came to him. It would be really useful to have a blade that was lighter, sharper, and stronger. Especially if combat in this world really was mostly about melee. Harry would need to learn how to wield it, but he had time plus he still needed to see how magic was working.
Finally, the wizard decided to start preparations. His new mother was right about one thing, he was completely alone in a new world so it wouldn't be easy. That was why Harry spent the next few hours gathering all of the money and any valuable things in the basement. He then hid most of it in the hole along with the sword. Harry also checked his mother's bedroom to see if he needed to deal with the body, but thankfully it was gone. He didn't know how, but it was probably one of the rare moments when Death decided to help him.
Next, Harry ate some food that he found in the house, and then he decided to use occlumency to sort through all of his new memories. It would be helpful to know everything about this world that the boy knew.
It took him some time, but before the sun went down he managed to get through every new memory. It was a bit confusing to have two sets of memories, but Harry should be able to adapt after some time.
He discovered that he was in Myr, one of the Free-cities in Essos. There was also some information on other cities and even a few things on Westeros, but it wasn't much. Still, from what he could see this was not a new chance at life, but more like a survival test. This world was even more backward than British Wizarding World and that was saying something. Even slavery was a normal thing in Essos. Harry would really need to be careful and let his Slytherin side work. For now, he was defenseless and he didn't see it changing anytime soon.
He would practice his magic and maybe even see if there was something that could help him learn how to wield a sword, but for now, he was too tired and it was time to go to sleep.
Harry woke up the next day feeling quite refreshed, he ate some breakfast, changed his clothes and then he realized something very important. There were no showers in this world...
If Hermione heard the string of curses that Harry released after realizing this fact, he would get a nice tongue lashing. He shuddered at the thought.
Harry didn't think about hygiene yesterday as he was still dealing with everything, but now it could become a problem for someone who was used to a lot better technology than here. Fortunately, he found out in his new memories that there were public bathhouses he could use after paying a fee. It should be enough until Harry managed to summon water with magic.
When he finished with everything in the house, he took one of the cloaks with a hood and put it on. It was a good time as any to see the city for himself. He might have the memories, but it was not the same. So without wasting any more time Harry took some money and walked out of the house.
The first thing he noticed was the increased heat coming from the sun. He already noticed it yesterday, but only now he could feel the rays of the sun on him. For a guy who lived his whole life in Britain, the increased heat was not welcome change. Luckily his new body was used to the heat, hopefully, Harry would do the same in time.
Next, Harry locked the doors behind him and went in the direction of the market area. From what he gathered from the memories it was where the public bath was located. Along the way there Harry observed the people around him. The number of slaves left Harry surprised for a moment, but he quickly got over it and continued moving.
He also saw some guards doing patrols and a few people that looked like nobles. He didn't stop to observe them too much as to not attract any attention to himself.
Finally, after a few minutes of walking, he got to the bathhouse and paid for the entrance. It was not too cheap so he would need to limit his trips here. Surprisingly everything in there was of good quality and Harry quickly realized that no one other than nobles was probably using those places. He would need to think of other ways to keep his hygiene.
After he finished bathing, Harry stopped by some stands with food and bought a few things that would last him for a longer time time. Then he went back to his house and decided that it was a good time as any to try and see how magic worked in this world.
Every witch a wizard could feel their magic when they used spells, it helped them to learn how to control it. The control then was used with non-verbal casting and sometimes when a wizard/witch was powerful, in non-wandless magic. From what Death said, Harry should be able to use wandless magic easier, but control would be harder.
During the war against the blood purists, Harry could use a few spells wandless like Lumos, summoning or banishing. It wasn't much, but they helped when someone managed to disarm him. Now he would try to use the experience and at least summon a small light.
Magic was mostly about intent and will. A wand helped with focus but it was possible to do magic without it if one had enough skill and power. So Harry focused with all his mind on creating a ball of light in his hand and willed it to happen.
The effect was instant but very surprising. Instead of a small ball of light appearing above his hand, the light absorbed his entire hand and the intensity changed every second before the light completely disappeared.
Harry sat there shocked. When Death told him that the magic here was wilder, he didn't expect this. He really would need to work hard on figuring out a way to use this type of magic. He could feel it fighting him when he tried to control it, so maybe going another way around it was a better idea.
Harry sighed and decided to try a few different things. He spent a few next hours on it and after he noticed that it was getting dark he stopped his tests. From what he noticed, the magic was a lot easier to summon without a wand, but it was almost impossible to control in the way that the spells from his old world did. He got a few ideas about what to do from here but for now, he was too tired.
Forgoing even taking off his clothes, Harry laid down on his bed and went to sleep.
The next day Harry again ate breakfast and changed into new clothes. Then he decided that it would be good to gather more information about this new world. The previous occupant of this body didn't care about such things and his mother taught him what he needed. For Harry it wouldn't be enough, he needed to know how this world worked. From history, technology to the political side of this land.
The more new knowledge, the easier it would be for him to adapt. If he wanted to have a somehow happy life here, then education would be the most important... Well maybe apart from learning how to fight.
So with the plan made, Harry searched through the entire house for any books that could be useful. He didn't find much, there were only a few books on Essos. He also found a scroll with the map of the entire continent with Westeros added to it. It looked really interesting and Harry couldn't wait to find out more about those places.
Then he decided to go into the city and find someplace where he could buy some more books or find a library if such things even existed here. It took him some time to find someone willing to sell books on both Essos and Westeros. He mostly bought books on history as it was the most important subject for him now. Harry wanted to know more about the Blackfyre's so he also searched for a book on Westerosi houses. It all cost him some money to buy, but it would definitely be worth it.
He tried to find information about Valyria but was unsuccessful, hopefully, there would be something on it in the books that he already bought.
Finally, he came back home and began reading. It would be better if he started with books and then moved on onto magic training as it was more tiring. Harry spent the next few hours reading about Essos in general and got to know a few interesting facts.
The continent was huge and it was not even fully mapped. This intrigued Harry as maybe sometime in the future he would try to discover what laid beyond the known lands.
The Nine Free Cities were former colonies of the Valyrian Freehold before its fall, well except Bravoss as it was formed by refugees fleeing slavery in Valyria. This was one of the few mentions of Valyria he found and it was always said something about the Fall.
There were also mentions of Dothraki a race of nomadic horse-mounted warriors. Most of the book described them as barbarians, but Harry would like to see them for himself before drawing any conclusions.
Of course, he also found out that in Essos slavery was widespread throughout the continent. It would be easier to list the few places in Essos where slavery was not practiced like Bravos. Harry didn't like it, but there was not much an eight-year-old could do. Maybe in the future... but for now, it was not possible.
At the end of the book, he finally found some more information about Valyria, it wasn't much but he discovered that it was said Valyrians could use magic and had their own dragons. Now, this was a surprise as no one in the wizarding world could control a dragon. Subdue them, yes, but control?
Thanks to this bit of knowledge Harry decided he would need to find information that mentioned anything about supernatural creatures or magic. It could be useful in his training and it was good to know what to expect in this new world.
When Harry finished reading, he moved onto magic practice. He would probably keep this routine for the next few weeks until he was sure that he could defend himself. There was also the matter of sword fighting, but Harry couldn't think of any idea how to train without a teacher. Guess he would need to be on a lookout for someone who wouldn't try anything against him and would teach him.
Harry then fell into his routine and before he noticed a month passed since he arrived in this world. There were a few notable events that happened during this time. The wizard mostly stayed in his home, only going out when he needed to buy food or take a bath. During one of his walks, he was a witness to the cruelty of this land. He saw a slave master kill his subjects because they were to slow in their task.
Harry really wanted to kill the bastard back then, but he knew that it would be stupid and cause his own death. There were a few more events like this and Harry finally realized that this world was much different than his previous one. While people in the wizarding world might have been bigots, the didn't kill people outright in the public while others watched. Well, maybe Voldemort and his death eaters would do it, but that was not the point.
The point was that Harry could easily say that the rule of survival of the fittest or the wealthiest applied to this world perfectly. It was cruel, but this was how the world worked here and Harry would need to adapt if he wanted to survive. Luckily the war against the blood purists changed Harry a bit so it was a bit easier to deal with the change.
Of course, this was not the only thing Harry did during this month. No, he continued his education and slowly knew more and more about these lands and their history. He was still searching for more information about magic and dragons, but he had time.
He also managed to work out a way to use magic. Instead of trying to control it, Harry guided it. It required a lot more focus and power from the user, but at least now, Harry could use some magic without it blowing on him. He also found out what Death meant by giving him something to remember his old life. When he used magic his eyes color changed to his old emerald green.
With this method, Harry would be able to progress further and work his way to more powerful magic. Unfortunately, for now, it was not possible to use any of the spells that need precision and control. They just didn't work with the new method that Harry was using. Maybe someday he would recreate some of them.
As of now, Harry was sitting on his bed while absently throwing some kitchen knives at the wall. He began this practice when he was frustrated at not being able to find any way to learn how to wield a sword. His aim might not be the best, but it was a work in progress.
Putting the knife away Harry decided to go on a walk, it was getting quite late so there should be fewer people around who would be able to see him. He quickly put his cloak on and went out of the house.
While he was walking near the port, Harry saw a tall man fighting with four other people. When the man turned more in Harry's direction, the boy could see that he was thin and hard as a bone. He had black hair that fell over, black eyes, and had a stubble of a beard.
He was highly skilled with a sword as he almost without any problems defended from his attackers. Harry saw events like this happen a few times already, but now he was interested in the way the man fought. Most of the people who were attacked were quickly defeated and robbed of everything, but this man had a chance to win.
With a plan formed in his mind, Harry took hold of a few small stones with magic and threw them at the heads of the thugs. The effect was instant and both of them lost their footing and the black-haired male took this occasion and quickly killed the two. Then without any more problems, he dealt with the remaining two.
With that done the man looked around and called out, "Whoever thew the rocks come out!" He was speaking in what Harry recognized as the common tongue. Somehow it sounded like English and the wizard suspected that Death was behind it.
Harry then slowly came out from behind the wall he was hiding at. The man raised an eyebrow and said bluntly, "A kid? Damn me. And I thought that it was some woman who wanted to have me all to herself."
Harry's eye twitched under the hood, but he tried not to show it. The man then gave him a mocking bow and said, "Well thank ya kid. Name's Bronn and I probably could deal with them by myself. Now if you don't mind I will see what they got."
And then the now named Bronn without minding that Harry was watching him went to his fallen foes and searched them for anything valuable. Harry meanwhile had a mental brainstorm. What he would do could either backfire at him completely or help with his problem.
When Bronn finished looting the bodies, he turned back to Harry and said, "That would be it, if you don't mind I will be going. I need to find a place to sleep and maybe someone to warm my bed."
Harry ignored the last comment but decided to use the first one, "Wait, I can help you with that."
Bronn again looked at Harry curiously, "Yeah? How would you do that? Shouldn't you be with your parents, kid?"
The wizard was getting quite irritated at being called kid, but unfortunately, he was one, so he couldn't deny it. He then calmed himself and decided to take a leap of faith with this guy. He could always try and blast him with all the magic he got if something went wrong.
"I live by myself and have a lot of free space. I can see that you are a sellsword and in the exchange of providing you with a place to rest and some money I want something from you," Harry explained.
The man laughed loudly, "And what makes you think that I won't just kill you and take the money for myself?"
"Let's say that I don't have any other option with my current situation I need help."
Bronn then gained a serious look and inquired, "Alright kid, let's say that I will accept your offer. I am not one to refuse a free warm bed and money, but tell me what do you need from me."
Harry smiled lightly under the hood and replied, "I want you to teach me how to wield a sword."
The man was a little surprised at the request, but then he smirked, "A free bed and good money for teaching a brat how to fight? Count me in."
The wizard grinned as finally, something was going his way. Now he would need to make sure that Bronn didn't kill him in his sleep.
END
So there you go, guys. I hope that my idea to make Harry a Blackfyre is good. It will make the story interesting when others realize who he is.
I also showed the change to Harry's magic and how he can use it now. There will be a few more differences, but they will come in future chapters.
Now like almost every story it needs a pairing. I have no clue who to use, so you can give me your ideas.
If you got any questions, leave them in review or pm.
Chaos out.