Chapter 8 - No Kneeling Required

Harry had Tormund lead them, walking through the Wildling encampment which allowed them passage. The group of men and Ygritte caused waves of chatter throughout the gathered forces of the North, even some calling out to Tormund in the Old Tongue. Their passing had a wake of people following them as they made their way to Mance's tent.

"Having flashbacks are ye, Jon Snow?" Ygritte asked him, finally calm again after the displays of magic that had thrown her off her confident personality.

Jon felt a small smirk cross his lips, "Aye, I suppose I am, though I am not in black furs this time."

"Now you put on some strange brown leathers, but if you think that makes you look like less of a crow, then I say you know nothing, Jon Snow."

He laughed, her jabs had started as an annoyance, a frustration even. But how could he feel anything besides amusement or contentment at her playful tone? After all, she said those words while she was screaming his name in pleasure. The image of her thighs around his head would forever remain burned in his mind.

"I know some things."

She hit his arm lightly, "Aye, I supposed you do, at that."

Tormund turned to Harry, "Hadrian, was it?"

"That's right, are we there?" Harry nodded to a taller tent that stood like a grey-covered circus tent.

"Aye, that's his tent," Tormund said. Harry thought he was going to offer advice, but Tormund didn't say anything else.

They entered the tent, the guards moving back at the presence of Tormund.

Mance was finishing his breakfast with a few other rough northerners around a table. He did a double-take at the sight of Tormund entering.

"It seems you climbed down the wrong side," Mance said, causing a few laughs.

Tormund snorted, "I made it over, but no one else as far as I know."

"The crow?"

Jon stepped from behind the big man, Ygritte following, "Things have changed it seems."

Mance finished his most recent bite as he put a hard roll of bread back down on the table. It was then that the two glowing green eyes met his. Mance gave Harry a once over, noticing the dark green leather armor and billowing black combat robes that moved in some unfelt wind. Behind him was a man in a snarling dog helmet, towering over people, even Tormund.

Mance just turned back to Tormund with an eyebrow raised, "More Crows?"

Tormund shrugged, "He's a magic man. With an offer."

A man dressed in various bones all over his furs snorted but was cut off from talking as Mance clarified.

"An offer? An offer to kneel?"

Tormund turned to Harry.

"Mance Rayder, is it?"

"Who is asking?"

"Hadrian Peverell, Wizard. I do have an offer, but I am not a king and I don't give two shits if you kneel or not," Harry said. It would be weird for him, coming from Earth, where kneeling hadn't been a thing for many, many years.

Mance looked back at Tormund who just stared at him before speaking, "You have an offer, that doesn't involve kneeling...and yet, it involves all of these free folk here?"

"Would you just like me to tell you what I am offering...or do you just want to keep guessing?" Harry said, smirk firmly in place.

The man in bones finally spoke, "Another fool-kneeler from the south then? I should just kill you now and be done with it."

Harry turned and looked at the fat man in bone armor, "You speak for him?"

He stepped up to Harry, "I speak as much as I want to you fucking coward. You are just another pretty crow aren't you, dressed in all black?"

"I am no crow, I don't work for anyone, I am merely here with an offer. And if you don't like it then you can just stay here in the frost and snow, waiting to be devoured by the White Walkers," Harry replied.

"Ah, but you are a coward then? Not denying it?"

"Get out of my face, or I will kill you," Harry said, the tone of the room immediately changed at his words.

The Lord of Bones scoffed poking Harry with his staff, "You won't do shit, you fuckin coward!"

"You don't want to cross him, Lord of Bones, he killed men with just his eyes," Ygritte said.

"Shut up crow fucker," He said, only glancing at Ygritte as he insulted her. "You were a traitor as soon as you opened your legs."

"Get out of my face, this is the last time that I will tell you," Harry said, ignoring the jabs at Jon and Ygritte.

The Lord of Bones squared up to Harry who counted 5 seconds in his head. Harry did a partial Animagus transformation, turning his eyes into those of a basilisk. The Lord of Bones dropped like the pile of bones he was wearing. Harry stepped over his corpse and summoned a chair at the table where Mance still sat.

The silence in the room was potent. Harry sighed casually and had a couple of drinking glasses appear on the table with a wave of his hand. He pulled a bottle of Ogden's Fire Whiskey from his Moleskin Pouch.

He poured a finger for himself and offered the same for Mance. The hardened leader of the Free Folk glanced at the still form of the Lord of Bones but nodded at Harry's offer.

"I suppose it has been a while since I've had southern whiskey," Mance mused.

"It's not from the south," Harry said.

"Everything is south," Mance said.

"0 for 2 now," Harry said taking a sip.

He held back the inevitable flame belch and waited for Mance to have his first sip. The man drank it down and frowned at the crystal glass, "That is something else..." He burped and was shocked to see a small ball of flame leave his mouth.

He turned and stared at Harry, who just smirked and released his ball of fire with a shrug, "Magic whiskey."

Mance had a full-body snort in reply, "Tell me what your offer entails then."

"It's quite simple really, I offer a means of magical transportation for every last man, woman, child, warg, giant, and anyone else that wishes to go, to a different continent. Of course, there will be some conditions upon arrival."

"Like kneeling?"

"Not like kneeling, no. I don't really care about your fixation with kneeling. I am speaking of something more practical."

"Then what is the catch?"

"You and 5 thousand men will act as governor and a garrison of guards to be trained, running a city until the conflict with the White Walkers is at an end. You will do so as a part of the Dragon Queen's future empire, though as I said, I don't give two shits if you kneel or not. 10 thousand others will be turned into an army that will fight for her for the same period of 5 years. You will rule the city I have in mind with respect and honor for its inhabitants, and the rest of your people will be free to go wherever from there," Harry said.

"The Dragon Queen? You are serious?"

"I am. Look at your options, assault the wall, be wiped out by southern armies as they head north, and they are headed north. Jon's brother here has 10,000 heavy cavalry that will be at the wall around the same time as your initial attack, along with another force that is currently headed to the eastern shores, they will ride your people down like grass with 7,500 heavy horsemen. Even with 100 giants, you can't stand against a trained army of horsemen.

"I will also be there to stop your people from joining the undead, with endless amounts of cursed fire. The final option is where I prevent you from joining the White Walkers with the very same cursed fire. Seriously though, you should choose to work as a leader and give a life of peace to almost all of those under you. You won't be a king, but a city leader, under the Dragon Queen."

They all looked at Harry like he was a madman.

"The Dragon Queen is across the Narrow Sea," Mance replied.

"Yes, and?"

"Let me get this straight, I work as a city governor while 15,000 become soldiers and guards?"

Harry nodded, "For five years, with requirements of training and such, of course. They will all be paid, as will you and whoever accepts. Your army currently consists of a little over 100,000, plus another 20-30 thousand children, elderly, and the like, correct?"

Mance nodded.

"So I require only 15% of the people you would wish to send to their deaths against the Wall. The army of undead only gains what doesn't actually make it off of this continent, meaning I will have to put your men down while they are alive, or later when they are dead."

Mance's stoic visage cracked for the first time, his frustration at the helplessness of the situation. He didn't respond for nearly 3 minutes, before finally looking around at the people he was in charge of. The people he promised to help. Representatives from the Thenns, the Hornfoots, the Ice-river clans, and even the cave people all stared back awaiting his decision.

He looked back at this crazy mage and shook his head, "What would you do if you were in my position?"

"I would ensure that the capability was there, first and foremost. Can I deliver on the promise? Then I would ensure that the agreement was held with good faith, checks and balances," Harry said.

"And how should I check that you are being 'good faith,' as you say it?"

"Well, that is why we have a contract, and also why I took your lieutenant here...Mr. Giantsbane I believe, on a little teleportation trip. I proved to one of your top lieutenants that I have the means to do what I say. The second part of that is the contract that I require you and your lieutenants to sign because I will also be signing it along with the Dragon Queen. It doesn't just protect the Queen and me from treachery, it also protects you from me and her...and her dragons. Do you understand?" Harry explained.

Mance looked to Tormund, a question in his gaze.

"He fucking popped us right on top of the Wall...like we hadn't just been climbing for hours a few days before," Tormund shook his head. "Craziest shit I have ever seen."

Some other clan leader spoke up, "What makes you think we need training? That we can't fight?"

Harry burst out laughing, "I didn't mean that you are bad fighters individually, but you are a terrible excuse for an army. That is why we are having this conversation."

The man immediately took offense and grabbed a weapon but Harry just waved his hand and silently cast a Petrificus Totalus, keeping him standing though, he continued, "Look, it's a simple fact, none of you know how to fight as a larger force or me threatening you with 7,500 cavalry, a united and cohesive force, against a mob of 100,000 wouldn't be an actual threat. Are you following?"

The man didn't move as he was petrified, but Harry continued, "Good, so if you want me to save your people, and I mean all of the people of the North that have thrown themselves in under Mance's banner, then 10 thousand will be trained to fight as a cohesive unit while the other 5 thousand learn to become city guards.

"Recruiting you as a force is pointless if those standards aren't met. You will either move forward as a society, or you will become the undead slaves of the White Walkers. I don't care about your feelings, I don't care that you are offended when I say you aren't a real army. The truth is that you are a desperate people looking for someone to save you, or you are willing to send thousands to their deaths on the off chance some of you can make it past the wall. I am offering that chance," Harry said. He stood up and adjusted his robes.

"There really isn't a choice here, if you want to live you will sign the contract and you will follow through because the contract will be magically binding. I will follow through and offer passage back to the North in 5 years time for those who wish to return when the White Walker threat has been defeated," He finished. "Do you have any other questions?"

Mance kept his face stoic but inside he was boiling with frustration at the truths that were dropped, "Can I read it first?"

Harry smiled, "Of course." He summoned and scribed the contract he had in mind, signed in blood.

~~o0o~~

The contract was signed by Mance on behalf of the Free Folk and Harry went to build the first arch of the two-way portal he would connect to Slaver's Bay after he spoke to the Dragon Queen. There were a few reasons that Harry was confident that Daenerys would accept this deal that he was making.

The first reason is that she desperately needs people to fight, people to run things under her, and just more people in her court in general. Whether or not there were people worthy of being an advisor to her among the Free Folk was of secondary concern. It would still be better to have more people on her side, bound by contract or not.

The second was that forming a force out of the Free Folk would be easier than it seems. He could create a set of armor and duplicate it a thousand times for a relatively small amount of his magical pool. In a day Harry could easily arm and armor a few thousand people, enchantments included.

The hardest part would be finding competent people to train them. He could go to any major city to hire some retired soldiers to act as sergeants and drill instructors for the right price, however. That would be a job that many veterans can take pride in while making enough money to retire for only a bit of work.

The final reason is that this can only be a win for Daenerys. She would be saving over a hundred thousand people from a terrible fate, just by accepting them to her side of the world with a single signature. He hadn't known her for long, but he knew that she wanted to do good. She wanted to break the wheel of oppression and usher in a new age of prosperity.

The hardest hurdles to overcome after the transportation will be food supply, clashing cultures, and living space. Harry wasn't too worried about food, with magic he couldn't create meals, but he could duplicate them. He can also turn rocks into grains with a bit of permanent transfiguration, so that will be one of his first tasks upon reaching Slaver's Bay.

Clashing cultures would be dangerous in general but the people that live in Slaver's Bay will be primarily freed slaves who are in need of guidance and support. Harry was hoping that the ideas of freedom and living as they wanted from the Free Folk would bring a new path for those who had been walked all over by a slave society.

Finding enough living space will be a hurdle, but many of the Free Folk have already left their homes or are carrying the tents with them. It would be relatively easy to build enough housing, but the good thing is that sleeping outside would be a vacation for those who had to strive just to stay warm enough to live in the north.

With those things in mind, Harry got together the materials he would need to create the two portal arches. He found this portal spell within the Peverell Library, a series of runes around an arch that essentially builds a bridge across space to connect two points as long as they are on the same plane of existence.

This would mean that the energy for the enchantments wouldn't be focused on sending a hundred thousand people across the world and instead would have its energy focused on just maintaining the dimensional bridge, allowing any and all to cross it.

The portal would be a seamless transition that one just has to walk through to get across with no disorientating transitions like Apparation. He inspected the massive wildling encampment and found a good place against a rock wall to create the first portal arch.

He started by knocking down a couple of trees near a hard stone cliff to the eastern side of the camp, moving them out of the way of the approach. He did a bit of Transfiguration on the cliff and the walk up, creating a large pathway of solid rock capable of allowing the kind of weight giants and mammoths would apply to the ground.

He turned the face of the cliff into a smooth and flat surface, not that it was needed for the portal, but just to make it clean. The cliff was a solid line that went off to the north, wrapping around as it led up into mountains in the distance, but this spot had a nice gradual ramp to the portal, and it was made entirely of stone.

Harry outlined the arch in raised and smoothed stone exactly 20 meters wide. It came up to 30 meters where the arch crested. Pulling a few dozen magically-duplicated Valyrian steel ingots from his Moleskin Pouch, he transfigured them into a band of continuous magical steel that wrapped around the entire frame and the ground as well. This would hold the runes that would turn into the enchantments to build the bridge to the other portal.

It would be difficult to ensure the other portal was precisely the same size...if he didn't have magic. He just summoned a second series of ingots and created the second portal arch, working on both of them simultaneously. The portals didn't have to be the same size, but doing anything else would distort the portal and compromise the stability of the dimensional bridge.

He finished the archways by transfiguring all of the required runes, a slow process that required a central governing node at the central tip of the arch, while the rest designated the parameters of the portal. He had to constantly check the notes he had prepared for this as he double and triple-checked the runes. In the end, it took nearly an hour and a half of work as Jon, Ygritte, and the Hound waited for him to finish.

Eventually, Mance came by to check the work, "This is it then?"

Harry finished the last adjustments and turned to view him and a squad's worth of Lieutenants and guards, "Aye, it is. I will just finish the one on the other side tomorrow, and you will be free to move everyone through. The portal will only stay active for 3 days before running out of power, I am sure you understand as to why I will not leave it open?"

Mance nodded, "Is that enough time?"

"Yes, easily half a million people could make it through here in that time frame, as long as you make a concerted effort to get everyone through."

"And what of those who have creatures that are adjusted to the cold weather? Will they have problems with acclimatization?"

"I have been thinking about that, and I plan on creating enough magical items to help them adjust, or at least feel comfortable in the heat. If you want to help with that, you could provide me a list of creatures that need to be kept cool and ensure that they cross the portal in groups. We have a lot of work to do, but I won't let them die from heat exhaustion or anything of the sort," Harry replied sincerely.

"I think that will earn you more respect than shoving us into the desert," Mance said, a slight smile on his lips showing he was jesting.

Harry laughed a bit, "I can understand that, but it is still better than joining those frozen fuckers, eh?"

Mance fully laughed along with Tormund who was listening behind him.

"What is next then?" Mance asked.

"Next you can start getting people together who want to join the army or the guard, prepare everyone to head through the portal, and be ready for tomorrow when it opens," Harry said. "There will be gates to more or less heard people into the groups of those who want to join either the guard or the army, making it easier to organize that many people."

Mance nodded, "I will get on that for now, as far as leading a city..."

"Don't worry about that for now, let's focus on getting everyone out of the path of the White Walkers. Is there anything else you need to get prepared?"

He shook his head, but held out his hand, "You might be the craziest son of a bitch I have ever seen, but you are saving my people...I can't say more than thank you."

Harry shook the proffered hand, "This benefits all of us, less undead to fight, more people to help the Dragon Queen, and you all get to live instead of being soul slaves to an undead monstrosity...It's a win/win all around."

"I guess we will see."

~~o0o~~

Harry turned to Jon and Ygritte, "Well Jon, you have a choice to make. I have just saved your Night's Watch from the ministrations of the Free Folk, but you have betrayed the oath you took while joining them. Don't get me wrong, the Night's Watch will soon be dismantled in favor of more organized and well-funded forces, but your choice remains. You can both come with me and I will ensure that you can help fight against the White Walkers properly."

Harry let the statement hang for a moment and continued, "Or you can head back to the Night's Watch, but Ygritte can't come with you, and you will likely be executed."

Jon sighed looking at Ygritte, but he saw the writing on the wall, "I will come with you and her, but I still want to fight the White Walkers."

Harry smiled, "Good, you will be more effective with me anyway, and I can pass you along to your brother once we find you some forces of your own to bring back and rebuild the fortifications along the Wall, yeah?"

Jon just raised his eyebrow, but someone was extremely happy he chose her over a bunch of crows.

Ygritte's smile was huge as she embraced Jon. The Hound scoffed at the affection shown and Harry just watched passively.

"Well then, off we go! Shimmer, would you mind taking us south of the Wall for a bit? I have to find someone before we head across the sea," Harry spoke out loud. The group of people with him looked around to see who he was speaking to, before remembering the beautiful phoenix, who once again appeared on Harry's shoulder in a burst of dark flames.

She twirled her way through a few beautiful notes, each one leaving its mark on the listening party. They were covered in flames before suddenly appearing in a grove of trees, a few days south of the wall.

The Hound spoke up, trying to hide his fear of the fire, "Why is it so much more smooth when she does it than you?"

Harry laughed, "She's just that much smoother at magical transportation than I am."

Shimmer chirped in delight at the comment, even showing some amusement.

"Yeah, yeah, you are so amazing you crazy bird," Harry said with a smile.

She huffed and then disappeared into his magic once again.

"I will be back in a few, then we will head across the Narrow Sea, sound good?"

The three people just looked at each other without emotion.

"Right, see ya soon!" Harry spun on his foot and disappeared to the outside of Castle Black. He spoke up, Death listening, "And you said he's in there?"

"Indeed," Death provided an image in his mind.

"Ah, thank you," Harry said, once again Apparating. He ensured that his displacement of air was silent, appearing in a dark room with an old man who was leaning on a table. A cold breeze fell in from the window, but he seemed to enjoy it.

"Good day, Maester Aemon Targaryen," Harry said.

He slightly startled the man, but he was blind so it wasn't surprising.

"Oh, I didn't hear anyone enter," He said.

"I just appeared, though I have an offer for you. If you are interested."

"An offer? For one as old as I? A deal with the deal, perhaps," He laughed at his joke.

"Yes, you see, there is someone out there who is of your blood, well several, but one specifically that could use your guidance," Harry said.

"My guidance you say?"

"Indeed, so to formally state the offer in which I am...well, offering, I would say this: In exchange for your service, I will heal your eyesight, but you will become a loyal advisor to the Dragon Queen, Daenerys Targaryen herself. You will offer your best attempt at guiding her as she comes into her role as a leader. The amount of time I require you to serve her will be up to 5 years," Harry said. "Is that acceptable?"

"I am unsure if I have 5 years remaining," Maester Aemon said, wheezing laughter leaving his lips.

"You will, I promise."

"And you will fix my gaze?"

"Indeed."

The man went silent for a while, pondering the offer, "Before I agree to anything, may I inquire as to who you are and how you intend to fix my old eyesight?"

"Ah, forgive my rudeness, I am Lord Hadrian Peverell, Wizard, and future ally to the Dragon Queen," Harry said, bowing regardless of the Maester's lack of sight.

"Wizard you say? Now that is quite a title."

"That isn't my title, more of an occupation these days."

"I see, and if you had a title, what would it be?"

Harry looked at the old man for a while, "Master of Death."

His blinded eyes opened wide, "Now that is a title I haven't heard before."

"Nor should you have. Also, you should know that the Night's Watch will soon be taken over by Robb Stark."

"I see...have we failed so thoroughly?"

"The Wall hasn't fallen."

He nodded with amusement, "I suppose that is true."

"Have you made a decision then?"

Maester Aemon nodded, gravely enough that Harry expected a no from him despite the nod, "I will do my best to help a fellow Targaryen if she will have me."

Harry smiled, "She will. Take my hand."

The two disappeared, in a soft crack, startling the trio that were waiting for him.

"Maester Aemon!" Jon said, surprised by his appearance.

"Jon Snow?"

"Ahh, you both know you are related, right? Great-great-uncle or something of the sort," Harry said with a smile.

He then let them reacquaint themselves while he slipped into his trunk to cure Maester Aemon's blindness. He was going to go through his medical supplies before Death laughed, "You have a Philosopher's Stone, do you not?"

"Ah, I suppose that would work better than a potions regimen," Harry said. He disappeared from his potions lab and went to his treasure hall, where the stone was kept.

Unlike the one that he hid from Voldemort all those years ago, this one was a perfect sphere, made by some distant Peverell. It had golden bands encasing it, allowing for built-in rituals to access the powers of the stone. He summoned a cup and activated the rune for the Elixir of Life. A golden liquid, looking like a sea of polished liquid gold, filled a shot glass-worth of the liquid into his summoned cup. Just enough for one dose.

Harry appeared next to his party and Maester Aemon, "Alright Maester, drink this, and do not spill a drop."

"What is that?" Jon asked.

Harry smiled, "The Elixir of Life, something I expect none of you to speak of."

A threat made by a wizard wasn't easily ignored.

Maester Aemon took the glass and downed the contents immediately, "Wow, that had to be the best-tasting drink I have ever had, the Elixir of..."

He was cut off as years of cold abuse while sitting at the Wall seemed to fall off of him. He immediately de-aged, back to a man who looked to be in his late 50s. His eyes cleared and he stood up on top of stronger legs than he had had for a long time. His hunch disappeared, arthritis going along with it and finally, his eyesight came back in full.

"Incredible," Jon said.

The Hound and Ygritte stared in shock but didn't speak.

He got a good look at Harry, "I see you are just as magically inclined as you say...I feel thirty years younger!"

Harry smiled, "I suppose you are."