‧ [Chapter 2] ‧
"Intriguing isn't it? This will be where we begin," said the man, pointing at one the furthest castle in the north, Winterfell.
Harry looked at what seemed to be one of the furthest castles in the North or even all of Westeros. The castle looked massive, or at least by the young boy's standards. The walls looked massive and impenetrable. A small town was built at the foot of it, probably by people seeking protection from such a powerful Lord and fortress.
"Why them specifically? Why any other family?" asked Harry.
"Good question young man. Never be afraid to ask them. There are many of them but I will keep it short. First of all, I want you to become a true warrior and not some fancy bullshit knight like some in the southern kingdoms. Harsh lives made harsh men, which is perfect for you to start," explained Kalvyn.
Harry nodded at that, wanting to learn. He made a promise to himself right there and then, to become the most ferocious warrior the North has ever seen. He watched as Kalvyn raised his hand to magically pull up the trunk on the table. The man indicated to the raven-haired boy to approach.
"What is it?" asked Harry once he was beside the purple-eyed man.
"This here Harry is my second gift to you. This is a lot like a classic magical trunk in your world. However, is bound to you and you only. It will be able to follow you for the rest of your existence. The next part that I will explain to you is very important, so listen up."
Harry nodded once again, eager to learn more. He looked forward to going inside said trunk that was the same size as his Hogwarts'.
"Once you are inside the worlds you will be in, you will get some... objectives, shall we say. You will not know of them until you accomplish them. Depending on what you accomplish, the trunk will receive upgrades."
"Upgrades? What kind of upgrades are we talking about?"
"That is for me to know and you to discover, my young friend," said Kalvyn with a smirk. "I won't make it easy on you, even if I am here to help you. Speaking of easy; this version of Westeros will not have the full threat this world. I will keep those for another time."
"What do you mean another time? I can return to Westeros later?" said a very surprised Harry.
"Of course you will. You can see those different worlds as a... super realistic simulation. Everything will feel real, everyone will be as unique in their world as they are in yours. Later, if you so choose and I find you worthy of it, you will be able to return to live another life elsewhere as someone else. Any other questions?
"Many but to be honest, I really want to start!" said Harry with an almost childish excitement.
Kalvyn chuckled at his enthusiasm. "This is a very good sign, Harry," he said with a pat on the young wizard's shoulder. "The trunk is linked to your mind, you can call for it whenever you want. Just please be careful not to be seen with it, unless you trust the person. Now, if you wish to start your first adventure, say out loud: Winterfell, 275 AC. Good luck, Mister Potter."
"Thank you Kalvyn," said Harry, shaking his hand. Harry backed up a couple of paces, mentally telling the trunk to disappear. Hedwig, ever the loyal companion, went to her master's shoulder. When he felt ready, the young wizard took in a deep breath.
"Winterfell, 275 AC!" said the raven-haired boy aloud.
And all he saw was black.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Harry suddenly opened his eyes, feeling something wet and warm on his face. He saw a small puppy licking his face while he was spread on the cold ground. The puppy was pure white with golden eyes. Exactly like... "Hedwig!?" sputtered the young wizard.
"Yes, master!" Look at what this two-legged has done to me! I AM A FOUR LEGGED!" scream mentally the now quadruped. "I'm an abomination! Where are my perfect feathers? I cannot fly anymore!" whined Hedwig.
"I think you are very much still beautiful girl," said Harry kindly. "Your fur is still as white as the snow. You can blend in with the surroundings. And your eyes are an amazing striking gold! I think you are a dog or maybe a wolf."
Hedwig made a vomiting noise at that. "This is only for you master, that I will accept this indignation. Where are we?"
Looking at his surroundings, Harry saw that he was in the middle of a forest. It was clearly winter, as they were in the middle of a massive snowstorm. The young wizard couldn't even see more than a dozen meters in any direction. As the wind flew in his face, the raven-haired boy started to feel the harsh cold.
"Come on Hedwig, let's find some shelter before we froze to death," said Harry as he was starting to feel the cold. He was still in his overgrown t-shirt and jeans from his cousin Dudley.
"Yes master, "yipped Hedwig.
Harry started to walk in the first direction his instinct was telling him, the North.
:-[T.A.B]-:
The young man didn't know how long he had been walking. The forest seemed never-ending. Hedwig wasn't used to her new form to properly sniff their way out, so he could rely on her at the moment. Harry was starting to lose any feeling in his toes and fingers. Hypothermia was certainly in his future, even if he survived the storm. Why Kalvyn had dropped him in the middle of nowhere?
"Master, I smell people not far," said suddenly Hedwig. "I smell other types of four-legged, I can't say what though, sorry master", apologized the pup.
"I-I-It's not p-problem, girl," reassured the young wizard. The harsh storm was now rapidly making me lose more and more sense. Soon, he would fall to the ground and simply die. Kalvyn was going to be pissed.
Even with the wind howling like a raging beast and snow hurling all around him, Harry manage to see the group of horsemen appear from the storm. The young man froze in place. Those men wore steel armor with massive fur capes. The horses themselves looked massive and not to be messed with.
"What do we do Master? I'm ready to fight but you are exhausted," said Hedwig as she was getting into an attack position despite not being taller than Harry's knees.
"Lord Stark! He's here! We've found him!" Said one of the men as the young wizard fell to the ground.
"By the Old Gods, the boy is about to freeze to death!" Exclaimed the one who seems to be Lord Stark. The man was the tallest of the group. The sword he wore on his back was so massive that Harry wondered how he could wield it in battle.
"He even had a small pup with him, Lord Stark. Without a doubt, it is a sign from the Old Gods. " muttered one of his men.
But Lord Stark wasn't paying any attention to his men. He quickly got down from his horse to put his cape on the boy whose lips were turning blue. He took the boy in his arms while the small pup barked at him.
"I do not know if you can understand my dog, but if you can, follow us to our camp. We will take care of you both at camp." He said. Without waiting for an answer, he got back on his horse and rode north.
"Follow us Hedwig, but don't growl at them." said mentally an exhausted Harry.
"Yes master," said the pup who started running after Lord Stark.
The other Northmen did not need any command from their Lord. They stayed close to him at all times, as it was their oath. The road to Winterfell was going to be hard due to one of the hardest winter storms in recent memory.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Harry Potter slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, trying to make his vision adjust to the darkness of the room. Only a couple of candles provided some light. The bed was very comfortable, which the young man was thankful for. Sensing unusual weight on his legs, Harry looked up and saw Hedwig peacefully sleeping. He also saw the small nightstand which had both candles.
His movement woke up the small puppy that started wagging her tail happily.
"Master! You're finally awake. I've been waiting for days!" said an excited pup.
"Days!? I have been sleeping for days?"
"Yes, Master Harry. I think your magic needs to be regained. Since we are linked together, I was able to sense it. Your magic protected you during the storm, which is still happening by the way. An old man, Maester Walys, took care of you for the first days and they let you sleep after. Only servants come and go now to feed you." She explained.
Harry nodded at Hedwig before getting up. The stone floor was strangely feeling warm to the touch. He looked for his glasses but couldn't find them. However, he realized that his vision was perfect.
"Where's my wand? asked mentally, Harry.
"I think two-legged Kalvyn did not send it with us. You are going to have to learn magic without it. We only have the magical trunk remember."
As soon as Harry thought about the trunk, said trunk appeared with no sound. Now that he was alone, he took the time to inspect it more. It was a deep black made of wood. The metal, making the details around it, was made of a metal Harry never saw before. It was a dark shade of metal with an even darker shade on the inside. The crest, which was also the trunk's lock, was a beautifully craft 'P'. The wizard opened it and saw stairs going down.
"What do you say, Hedwig? Ready to go see what's inside?" said the teen.
"No master. This is early morning and the servants always come to see you at this time. We should wait until tonight when we know for sure we will be alone."said Hedwig sagely.
As if on cue, the door opened, revealing a male servant. He was in his twenties, in a trimmed brown goatee with short hair of the same color. He wore a simple tunic made of wool. He seemed very surprised when he saw Harry out of bed.
"It seems the good care of Maester Walys did work. Lord Stark will be pleased to hear it. He inquired about your state every day since your arrival. One of the servants changes your clothes while you were sleeping. I'm sorry to say that your old possessions were destroyed by the storm."
Harry looked down and indeed saw that he had new clothes. Sheep's wool for the tunic and the pants, linen for the undergarments. I saw the boots by the door which looked made of leather. The young man's stomach suddenly growled, which made the servant chuckle.
"I'll come back with proper food for you to break your fast from the kitchen. In the meantime, please stay inside this room for your own safety. If you need anything else, you may call for Ser Rodrik here."
The man called Rodrik nodded at Harry neither without a word nor with a smile. He had brown shoulder-length hair and a mutton chop beard. He was dressed the same way the other guard beside him, in full armor except for the fur cape.
"Thank you, sir. I'll wait here" said Harry.
"I'm no Ser lad, merely a servant to Lord Stark, his family, and to Winterfell. I bid you good day." Said the servant before taking his leave.
Harry was left alone. Around fifteen minutes later, the same servant came back with a plate of food. Not having eaten anything solid in the last few days, his stomach gave him the authority to devour his meal.
"Lord Rickard will see you in an hour. I will come and get you to him then. Eat well lad." the servant said before leaving again.
It took less than ten minutes for Harry to finish his food. He decided to use his newfound time to get inside his trunk, which appeared immediately. Opening the top, the young went down the stairs. Hedwig followed him closely.
"Hedwig, do you see what I see?" said aloud Harry.
"If you mean that everything around us is made of stone while we are in a trunk, yes I see what you see Master."
"That is so strange." he simply said.
Once he arrived at a door, he remarked the same 'P' crest on the trunk. Inside the room, he saw that it was pretty simple. The walls and roof were made of rectangular black and grey stones. The floor, however, was made of pure white marble. They were no furniture.
"That is the first thing I need to do, Hedwig. Since I can't transport a literal bed or other kind of furniture from the outside to here, I am going to learn how to make my own." Promise to himself the young raven-haired boy.
"You're right Master. Your training will be hard. In the meantime, this room can easily serve as a training room." Said Hedwig while sitting next to him. "We can also use it to store food and other supplies since the trunk doesn't weigh anything."
"Good thinking girl," said Harry as the pup started wagging her tail. "The potential of this trunk is amazing. Kalvyn also said that once we accomplish some objectives, the room will get some upgrades. Anyway, there isn't much to do for now here. Let's come back tonight to start our training on wandless magic."
The loss of his wand was huge. He knew wandless magic was possible, having seen Professor Dumbledore do it multiple times. He also knew that the Seven years at Hogwarts did not all manage to accomplish this feat. Even so, the vast majority of wizards preferred the use of a wand. However, Harry would use this massive opportunity. He would probably spend a decade in Westeros which only meant a couple of minutes in the real world.
When Harry got out of the trunk, he decided to put on his new boots, wanting to get used to it as fast as possible. He wondered why and most importantly, how Lord Stark knew where to find him. He would have to ask him.
"Everything will be fine Master. I can sense no ill intention from those two-legged. They even let me here with you without too much growling. I like to growl! I find that it is very effective to get what I want."
:-[T.A.B]-:
A knock made Harry look at the door. When he opened it, he saw the same servant as earlier. He saluted him with a nod.
"I hope you are ready lad, Lord Stark wants to see you as soon as possible in his private solar. Please follow me. Your... wolf may come with you as per our Lord's wishes." The servant said before indicating to Harry and the two guards at his door to follow him.
As the young wizard did, he saw a young girl, around six or seven years old. She was hiding half of her face in the corner of the corridor, watching him with great curiosity. Harry could see her long brown hair and grey eyes. She quickly ran away, giggling madly like a girl her age usually does, making Harry chuckle to himself.
The more the young man and the servant approach the solar, the more Harry could see tapestries upon the wall. They were very made and showed different battles the Starks fought over the ages.
When they arrived at Lord Stark's solar, four guards armed to the teeth were standing at the door. Without saying anything, the guard closer to the door opened it to speak with the person inside.
"My Lord, the boy is here."
"Very well. Let him in." Said a grave voice.