Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Games of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire.
Here we are at last, I have been so excited about this story and finally get to share it with you. It will probably be shorter than my last one but we shall see.
I hope you all enjoy it and so here we go...
Chapter 1 – A New Life
Godric's Hollow, 31stOctober 1981…
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! GO! RUN! I'll hold him off." James Potter yelled to his dearly beloved wife as Voldemort came through the door. His ugly face thankfully hidden by a hood so at least he did not have to look at it although he thought seething there was no way to hide that foul stink.
He was terrified as the truth dawned on him that Peter had betrayed them, cursing himself for switching to that little rat rather than sticking with Sirius who he knew in his heart would rather have died than give them up. But he had no time to think about that as his house was now being invaded by the worst Dark Wizard in decades and his trusty wand was now out of reach on the sofa nearby. Without even thinking he dived for it just as a green blast hit the spot where he had just been, calling on his old Quidditch reflexed to duck and roll in time to avoid it while getting close enough to grab his wand and rather than waste time and energy with shield, disarming charms or stunners like Dumbledore would have told them to do, James shot a powerful blasting hex straight at the dark lord who easily batted it aside but James using what little cover he had in the living room started doing his utmost most to buy Lily and Harry time to escape.
Just keep going! James thought as sweat rolled down his brow with the physical and magic exhaustion of trying to keep up with Voldemort who was just deflecting all his spells away in the hope that maybe...just maybe he might buy time for his wife and son to get away.
That was the only thing on his mind when he finally ran out of cover and had nowhere to go as the green light of the killing curse lit up his vision, that and one last prayer to whoever might be listening.
Please let them be okay, please let Harry and Lily be okay.
-x-
The Riverlands/Vale Border, 93 Years After the Conquest…
Lady Claudia Peverell screamed with her long and hard labour, it had been taxing on both her body and her spirit but finally she heard the words that she had been begging to hear for hours.
"Here he is my lady, a son." The midwife said and carefully cut the cord before wrapping her young charge in a warm blanket and handing him to his mother. The sweat covered her brow as she looked down at her newborn son, a beaming smile on her face as she looked down at the small figure not able to believe he was actually here...all the pain of hours past forgotten.
Unknown to her, the baby in her arms had the mind of a fully grown man and his first thought as he realised his situation was…
'OH SHIT!'
A Few Years Later...
James frowned as he struggled to get a book from the high shelf, still not used to his reduced height despite being stuck as a child again...being five year old again. Having to be breastfed, he shuddered at the thought of it and then having to learn to walk again that made him grit his teeth in annoyance. It had been the most trying times of his life.
His first thoughts had been to try and get back to Harry and Lily only for that dream to die when he had realised that wherever he was it not the world he had come from, nothing here was familiar. Not places, not the history nothing, even the level of technology of the muggles here was different, he growing up a pureblood had little exposure to such things but since meeting Lily he had seen the great strides that they had made in science with electricity, TV, movies and more than people in his world could barely comprehend.
But here was living in the dark ages he fumed, never having imagined how much he took for granted living on Earth in the 20th century. Everything was so much more difficult not to mention how fragmented things were here, the country was divided into smaller kingdoms that were themselves broken up into domains held by certain families or houses that called themselves lords who themselves were governed by Great Houses who ruled over that particular region, then the great houses were ruled over a by a king. The law was barbaric and often favoured the elite with no protection for those unfortunates who were born poor, punishments were brutal and harsh.
Thankfully he still had his magic and had been born into House Peverell, his eyes going to the banner that hung on the nearby wall. The house's flag had a silver background and a blue shield on which the symbol of the Deadly Hallows had been sewn.
Their hidden magic had allowed them to have hot water whenever they wanted and heating too, also helping grow food at a faster rate so they never went hungry.
The name of course had confused him at first, the legend of the Deadly Hallows was obscure but famous enough for James to know about it, whether there was any connection to the Peverells from his world or not he didn't know but as he finally with the help of a stool got the book he had been looking for he hoped to find answers.
The History of House Peverell.
He had never been much of reader, he often preferred being outside and doing something physical rather than sitting and pouring over paperwork but he needed to know all he could, so with effort he carried the heavy book wishing once more that he had his grown up body to a nearby table where he opened the book and sat down to start reading.
The origin of House Peverell had been lost although a man baring that name had established a village near the God's Eye, a very large lake and had set up several potteries which had led some to mockingly refer to them as 'The Potters'. That nearly made James laugh but he focused on reading more of their history.
After the establishment of the village the family had somehow developed the ability to perform magic and over the years had worked to improve their powers, Ignotus Peverell after the death of his brothers in their magical experiments had invented the Invisibility Cloak and several different types of grapes and fruits to sell. His son had taken those grapes and used them to make champagne and sold it across the country to make a large fortune.
Following generations had continued these trades and added to them, creating medicines as well as beauty products, breeding stronger and faster horses/hawks/hounds as well as high quality smithing. These allowed the family to become wealthy and grow in strength but when the Andals came his new family had become known for something all together different James thought with a grimace as he read about those events.
House Peverell was of the First Men and proud of it, the Old Gods were worshipped on their lands and that had offended the zealous Seven Worshippers who had come in force to make them convert or die. Many fleeing the fanatical Andals had taken refuge at Peverell Village and with the growing threat and easily available labour the village had been quickly expanded into a wooden walled town. A man named Godric had stepped forward and led the defence of their settlement with a sword crafted by the best smiths in the settlement and enchanted by the Peverells.
There was an image of the man called Godric in the book and James honestly blinked in surprise as he looked exactly like the Godric Gryffindor of his world with a tall and muscular body and a thick beard of dark red hair. He even had the same taste in clothes and in his hand the sword he was wielding looked exactly like the mythical Sword of Gryffindor.
While shaken at the similarities James read on, Godric and the Peverells had fought off several Andal Invasions including one by the infamous Erreg the Kinslayer slaughtering several Andal 'heroes' before killing Ser Luceon Templeton a favoured knight of King Artys I Arryn, this had prompted Arryn to try his own luck against them but despite his famed cunning Artys was defeated and captured by Godric. Publicly tortured to death the Andals had finally lost heart and had left them alone after that and Artys' family in the Vale, a nearby region had been forced to deal with an uprising of the First Men houses they had conquered which had gone on for years until it was sorted with a treaty. Still the area was full of tension between the Old Gods worshipping First Men and the Seven worshipping Andal houses.
In honour of his achievement Peverell Village had been renamed Godric's Hollow in his honour and expanded into a proper town with stone walls and a modest keep, their lands had expanded to cover much of the surrounding area and the entire God's Eye. Godric had taken the Peverell's only daughter as his wife and adopted their name, forever establishing them as formidable warriors and a family not to be crossed. They had set up wards to protect the magical creatures living on the island in the God's Eye from the Andals and even started trading with their would be conquerors. The Peverells had later added the blue shield to their banner to honour the occasion and changed their family's words from 'Only the bold triumph' to 'Ambition without wisdom is the province of fools'.
James put the book down for a moment to take a breath, the names of both places and people, the magic and history it all sounded like an echo of his world and far too much to be a simple coincidence. He wondered if people from his world had come before and influenced events but couldn't be sure, so he put those thoughts aside and came to more recent history.
Things had gone well for the Peverells until a century and half ago, a new Lord Peverell named Amadan had come to power and was very wasteful and extravagant, claiming to be a King however this came at the same time that the Hoares from the Iron Islands had been invading the area. He had foolishly rode out to negotiate but been killed during the meeting. His mismanagement of the household and a bad harvest had left them without the men to defend their home so his sister the new Lady Peverell had managed to hide the family's treasured relics including the Invisibility Cloak and Godric's sword along with the family's wealth in the deep vaults far underneath Godric's Hollow before setting a trap.
The moment the Hoares had tried to take possession of the castle and town it had burnt down, killing many of the invaders while the Peverells and their people fled to a smaller castle a previous lord had won in a bet called Hogwarts on the border with the Vale. They had carried on their industries as best they could and had discovered an iron mine allowing them to trade with the Hill tribes of the Vale for steel and later with First Men Vale Houses.
This had been the time that the Andal Vale Houses had tried to take their revenge for their slaying of Artys Arryn so many years ago, massing an army that had tried to attack them but with some assistance from the Hill Tribes they had managed to defeat it. The leader of the attacking army Lord Corbray had been taken alive and subjected to the same treatment as the late king he had been trying avenge. That action had ended any retribution against them and since then things had been quiet but it had also delivered them a new ancestral weapon in Lady Forlornwhich had been taken from Lord Corbrey when he was captured.
They had been heartbroken to see the monstrosity Harrenhal erected where their beautiful town had been but there had been nothing they could do, the Hoares had been too strong...until the Targaryens had arrived.
Forty years after they had lost Godric's Hollow Aegon Targaryen and his sisters had begun their invasion of Westeros with dragons, Harrenhal had been burned for the defiance of the Hoares and its ruin had been awarded to one of his men while the area was reorganised into what was now called the Riverlands. A curse however had been left for anyone who tried to settle on the site (another little revenge the Peverells had left behind) and no family ever lasted once they had taken ownership of the castle.
The Peverells had tried several times over the last century to get their land back but it had always been given to others who soon fell victim to the curse. It was currently owned by House Strong.
James sighed as he closed the book, it was certainly a violent and difficult place Westeros he thought and ruled by a royal family that controlled dragons somehow and more worryingly to him at least kept marrying their own relatives to keep their bloodline pure. That honestly scared James as he had seen what continuous inbreeding could do with the magical pureblood families back home; birth rates lowered, increased chance of disorders, reduced intelligence, high infant death rate, reduced magical ability, serious health problems and of course increased chance of madness in a family that could control dragons. Already signs of it had shown themselves in House Targaryen which showed no sign of abandoning this trend, James thanked the gods that the Potters had always married outside of the norm where possible usually with half-bloods or even muggleborns which might have reduced their standing in Pureblood society but had enabled them to stave off any of the effects inbreeding had inflicted on other families and keep or even increase their own magical potential. The Peverells likewise did the same keeping their bloodline fresh.
The thought of muggleborns brought a sudden pang to his heart as Lily crossed his mind again, the love of his life. He only hoped she had managed to make it out with Harry, that they had both had a long and happy life without him because he seriously doubted he'd be able to get back to them without some kind of miracle.
"James! What are you doing?" A female voice said with surprise at the doorway.
James turned to see his mother in this world looking at him with a smile, she did in some ways remind him of his other mother Dorea even looked like her but she wasn't her he thought with sadness. Claudia Peverell had been born into lower branch of House Royce, a leading First Men house in the Vale who were friendly with the Peverells and James honestly despite being a grown man in a child's body felt a bit intimidated in her presence. He quickly tried to make up an excuse before giving an abridged version of the truth.
"Just learning the history of the family." He said sweetly with a smile that he had used several times on Professor McGonagall during his school days, unfortunately it had about as much effect on Claudia as it did on McGonagall and she continued to look at him with a little bit of suspicion but then smiled and took the book, placing it back on the shelf.
-x-
Maidenpool, the Riverlands...
A few months later James was still no closer to figuring what the hell he was going to do, his father in this world had recent started to teach him swordsmanship and given him a wand, he was more comfortable with the latter than the former and impressed his 'father' with how well he did with magic and only then James realised that he now had to learn to use the sword just as well, cursing his own lack of thought as he was drilled for hours and hours in the technique. He was still too small to manage a normal sword so he was using a wooden training sword, while many didn't start training that early the Peverells did so by the time they were men they had mastered the sword.
That was one of the reason he had been brought to this 'tourney' by his father, to see men fight although it was all staged. It was quite a sight as knights and squires rushed around getting ready for all the different competitions like the joust, melee and archery contest. James had seen bigger and certainly more organised things back on Earth, but still he thought it had a certain something about it and he certainly could enjoy the excitement in the air, reminded him of the times he and his fellow marauders had been preparing their pranks at school he thought with a grin.
His father told him quietly as they walked through the sea of tents.
"We Peverells don't bother with displays like this." He whispered in James's ear with a slight edge of disgust. "We keep our skills hidden until we can surprise our enemies with them. This is also a chance to learn how they fight so you have an advantage in future battles."
"Yes father." James said quietly, his excitement now slightly muted as the grim reality encroached again. Then his father drew his attention to the stands were nobles would watch the events.
"There are the other Riverland families."
James looked up at the stands, not really caring abut who might be sitting there..then he saw the section that held House Strong, the current rulers of Harrenhal and a family that had been haunted by his family's curse. James had some sympathy for them, they had not deserved the misfortune that had been forced on them. They had lost so many sons and daughters, aunts and uncles and so on that now there was now after a fire only seven members of the family left; Lord Lyonel Strong & his wife, his sons Harwin & Larys, Ser Simon Strong Lyonel's uncle and Lyonel's two daughters Petunia and…
James stopped still as he focused on one particular member of the family, the youngest daughter. She was only young about his physical age but what drew his attention was her thick and dark red hair, her clear skin and her startling almond shaped green eyes. She looked so much like a younger version of Lily he was struck dumb for a moment, then almost like she could feel his gaze the girl turned and saw him staring. Their eyes connected and the girl's eyes widened in complete shock and then smiled with familiarity.
Lily, James thought with shock and his heart thundering in his chest, its you.
James wanted to run to her immediately but realised given where they were it was unlikely he would be able to meet her unsupervised, he quickly followed his father trying to figure a way to get to Lily when he felt someone walk into him.
"Sorry." He said at the same time as whoever it was he had walked into. Looking James saw it was a boy about his age and judging from the rags he wore a member of the common-folk, a name James preferred to calling people peasants or muggles as both were something of an insult. He had dark shaggy hair, was tall for his age, luminous grey eyes and despite his shabby state held himself with the air of an aristocrat, more so than James himself. For the second time in about as many minutes James felt surprised.
"Sirius!" James said with a smile as he realised that his best friend was here too. Sirius looked amazed too and grabbed him in a hug.
"James!" His grey eyes now bright with the same amusement that they had been a school, hugging the best friend he had never thought he'd ever see again.
"JAMES!" A stern voice saying and James instantly grimaced as he realised that his father had noticed what they were doing and now stormed over to them. James felt instantly worried, he had only just got Sirius back and despite being better to those that lived on their land the Peverells still acted like nobles. Sirius might be in real trouble for just bumping into him even if it was an accident so before his father could reach them James thinking quickly rushed over and said quietly.
"He has magic father, I was checking."
That did stop his father for a moment, magical potential was rare in Westeros thanks largely to the Andals either killing those that showed even the smallest signs of it or driving them into hiding. The Peverells were probably one of the few to be able use magic with any proficiency and if they found genuine magic users which was very rare they often brought them into their service...sometimes even married them. Sirius would be the first they'd discovered in twenty years.
His father looked at Sirius intently while Sirius stared back without flinching, something that made James worry that his father might see this as an insult. However when Sirius bowed it seemed enough to satisfy his father and he said.
"I can feel magic, very strong magic. Those that follow the Seven will kill you if they should learn you have it. Serve House Peverell and you will learn to not only control it, but have a safe place to stay and raise a family." His father looked as hard as stone when saying those words and a shiver passed through him but Sirius thankfully swallowed his own arrogance and said.
"Yes my lord."
James's father nodded in acceptance, meaning to get a magical contract guaranteeing his loyalty later and led the pair to their tent. Once inside and sure that his father could not overhear James turned to Sirius and gave him another hug.
"James! How are you here? I woke up after dying in a mill as a newborn baby." Sirius said as he hugged him back. James nodded.
"I was the same, born into House Peverell and I think I saw Lily earlier. Sirius, what happened after the night I...died?"
"That's a question I would like answering too." A higher than normal but familiar voice said from the entrance of the tent, James and Sirius turned and saw Lily standing there with a rough looking stick in her hand. She saw them staring at it and she shrugged. "A crude wand I crafted from a Weirwood stick and dittany. Not very reliable but it does the job."
James however rushed over and grabbed her in a fiercely tight hug as his heart beat painfully in his chest as he held her and she held him back. They stayed like that for a long while before turning to Sirius with pleading looks.
"Tell me our boy survived? That he grew up with you just like we planned?" Lily asked desperately and as he was stared at Sirius lost his smile.
"Harry survived, but I didn't get to raise him."
"WHAT!" Lily shouted while James just fumed and Sirius explained how he had been framed by Peter and locked in Azkaban for most of their son's life while he was raised in the abusive home of the Dursleys. That he had died defending Harry who from all accounts was a far more well-adjusted boy than could be expected given the environment he had grown up in went some way towards earning forgiveness in their eyes for not being there in their son's life.
"Well what do we do now? I mean we can't get back to our own world and we're still children." James said, not at all happy about the situation but was so happy to hear that his son might yet have lived to have a life of his own and that he had his wife and best friend back.
"Well I can't stay with the Strongs forever." Lily said with a scowl. "The entire family is miserable as hell and even though this Petunia isn't the sister I had before she is just as much of a hateful shrew. I mean she is so bitter and angry no man wants to court her and to top it off my father wants to marry me off to one of the Brackens!" Lily said with anger, her green eyes blazing.
"What!" James said with anger, disgusted at the idea of someone else lusting after his wife just like Snivellus all over again. They might only be children in this world and not legally married here but in his mind she was still his wife. Lily then however suddenly blinked like an expected thought had just popped into his head, she turned to him and asked.
"Would your parents be willing to have me when we get older?" She asked and that left James and Sirius dumbfounded for a moment before she sighed and explained. "If I eloped with you then it would get me out of marrying the Bracken arsehole. Would they be willing to take the risk?"
James thought for a moment, smiling a little that she was willing to go this far to be with him and begin a life together again but like she asked would his parents permit it? Giving it a few moments he gave his answer.
"As you have magic...yes I think they would risk it. Not to mention a chance to get the ancestral Peverell lands back should be an extra enticement." James said and Lily laughed, surprising them both before Sirius asked.
"What's so funny?" Lily took a moment to calm herself down before answering.
"Oh they'll get them back alright if you marry me. With Petunia being such a hateful shrew and my brothers being idiots, Harwin just wants to fight and is obsessed with joining the Kingsguard and Larys is lame in body and mind. The only hope for the family is me." She said with a devilishly smirk that they both knew a plan was evolving in her mind.
"James?" A voice interrupted their private discussion and he realised that his father was coming back, Lily reacted quickly and gave him a brief kiss on the lips telling him "Trust me" before rushing away leaving him and Sirius a bit confused but far more hopeful than when they had arrived here.
Hogwarts, the Vale/Riverlands border…Years Later…
It was dusk, the sun was setting and James stared mournfully out of the window in the direction of Harrenhal, it had been years now since he saw Lily and despite his pestering his 'parents' had refused to go to any events where he might see her. His heart ached for her but he had not heard a word from her, he was starting to become worried that something had happened to her, maybe the curse or worse in his mind she was being married off to another man. A comforting hand on his shoulder tried to offer reassurance.
"She'll be okay James, you know Lily. If there's anyone that can take care of herself its her." Sirius told him with a smile, looking far better in the simple but sturdy leather clothes he had been given. They both had just turned sixteen and so legally they were now men, having finally left childhood behind and now become teenagers. Finally having some of his old height back was a major relief, also for Sirius and both of them had after a lot of practice and effort become fairly good with a sword.
Their favoured weapon/tool of choice though was their wands, at the age of ten they had been shown the process to make them and crafted new wands for themselves. Their prior training in the other world had seen them called prodigies by Lord and Lady Peverell as they had mastered their use quickly.
Still despite his best friend's words James could not get his worries out of his mind, he was actually thinking of leaving and going to Harrenhal to rescue her himself I mean he thought to himself he was a Marauder, an auror, he had survived an encounter with Voldemort three time before finally getting killed he was not going to let some jumped up prick stop him from getting to his wife he fumed.
He was just planning to get his horse saddled when his mother appeared at the door looking annoyed.
"James, you have a visitor in the hall." She said sternly and he blinked in surprise before a hopeful thought came into his mind, was it Lily? he thought desperately and rushed out of the room to small hall where they met their people and discussed business with visitors. His heart beating wildly in his chest he arrived in the hall and saw with a massive smile breaking out on his face as much to his relief...there she was.
She looked different now of course, her hair had darkened a bit, she was taller and her figure had filled out showing the delicious curves that had attracted most of the male population at school but it was her...Lily. She too smiled at the sight of him and rushed over, jumping straight into his arms and pressing her mouth to his. They lost themselves in that second kiss they had shared in sixteen years and Sirius just looked on with a wistful smile, wishing he had managed to find a connection/a love as strong as theirs. James' parents meanwhile looked on annoyed but also a bit intrigued at her presence as of course they knew full well who she was and wondered what the hell she was doing here with their son since as far as they knew they had never met.
When they finally stopped kissing to breathe they realised for the first time that they had an audience and turned to face his parents, Lily feeling an incredibly strong sense of deja vu as for the second time she was meeting her prospective in-laws. She quickly freed herself from James' arms much to his disappointment and curtsied to Lord and Lady Peverell.
"My lord and lady, I apologize but this is the first time your son and I have been able to meet since we began our secret correspondence." Lily said with a smile which only made them frown more but a look of intrigue appeared on his mother's face as Lily continued. "I am in desperate need of help."
"Our help? You have a considerable army and fortune of your own Lady Strong." His father said with a look of disbelief. "Why would House Strong need our help?"
"It is not House Strong that asks for help but me, you see my parents, uncles and siblings have suffered a terrible accident. This morning the roof of the hall they were taking their breakfast in collapsed and they were all killed, I was only spared by being late to rise and with my older brother Harwin sworn to the Kingsguard he cannot inherit our seat. I have managed to keep the deaths of my family hidden for now but it is only a matter of time before the news gets out and I have every single family in the Riverlands and elsewhere circling to steal my lands from me. So I have come to you in the hopes that you might help me hold on to Harrenhal." She said with a pleading look in her eyes.
Sirius meanwhile watched from the side and became suspicious by some elements of her story, that a roof collapse had taken out all her family when she had been sleeping in. He knew that at the school Hogwarts and afterwards Lily had always been an early riser, never sleeping in even when she could have and more than that the roof collapse had taken out all those that might have stopped her and James getting back together. Sirius liked Lily, she was a vivacious girl with a great deal of wit and charm who somehow probably had more common sense than all of the Marauders put together and was firm in her moral principles. If she and James had not been meant for each other he would have pursued her himself...but he thought with caution she did have a vicious streak in her.
When Snape had called her a Mudblood she had broken any contact with him and rejected every attempt of reconciliation and her acid tongue had more than once reduced others to tears, she was selective when it came to giving others second chances and when facing Death Eaters she often used spells that caused a great deal of pain or caused injuries to that effect, killing them most of the time (which he agreed with given all they had done to others) and only capturing those that might have value. He looked at her as she talked and wondered if that accident had really been an accident at all?
He kept those thoughts to himself though as despite his suspicions James loved her and he had no desire to cause a rift between them. James's parents looked interested though as finally the opportunity that they had been waiting for, that their family had been hoping for over the last near century and a half. To get their old lands back, it was not the same as it had been but at last the chance to restore their family to status and influence.
"We will provide our men and do our utmost to secure Harrenhal and your inheritance...on the condition." Lord Peverell said sternly, looking rather like Charlus Potter in the other world for a moment. "You must marry our son."
Lily momentarily looked offended and then upset before bowing her head as if in resignation after a few moments and said with a sad voice.
"Fine."
However the moment James's parents could not see her Lily turned to him and James, giving them a devilish smirk.
James just stared in delighted awe while Sirius gulped slightly afraid, this woman was really something else he thought with a shake of the head.
-x-
Harrenhal, the Next Day...
A long column of men in armour marched from Hogwarts, arriving at the gates of the ridiculously large castle and through its open gates, at the head of the column James rode his horse with Sirius and Lily at his side. Never had James been glad to be brought up a pureblood before but thanks to that and old traditions he had been brought up riding horses, Sirius likewise being from House Black had grown up learning how to ride horses so he knew how to handle them safely.
Lily on the other hand looked very uncomfortable since she was still in a dress and the uncomfortable jostling of the mare she was riding really irritated her, not to mention when they arrived in the bleak and grim courtyard of the Harrenhal she tried to dismount on her own and nearly fallen off, Lily glared at James and Sirius who dismounted effortlessly and smirked at her position. James finally came to her rescue and helped her off the horse. She glared at them both when they looked ready to laugh in front of anyone and her fierce temper which they both remembered stopping them in their tracks. Whatever she might have said was stopped by the sight of the castle's nervous looking steward Leonard rushing out to meet them followed by the captain of the guard.
"Lady Strong, the most terrible thing has happened!" He said going straight to her, ignoring James and Sirius completely. "Maester Lucas wrote to other Riverlands houses telling them of your family's accident in hopes for a reward in delivering the castle to them. We only caught him after he sent the ravens." He told her looking very sorry.
Lily gritted her teeth as she knew that now the news had gotten out every single family in the Riverlands and beyond that wanted her family's castle would be knocking on their door, she was a woman and therefore a second class citizen a fact that drove her near mad with fury sometimes. Thank her stars that her only remaining relative was her brother who as he was sworn to the Kingsguard could not inherit. Technically the law was on her side but when had that stopped anyone before she fumed.
"Then it is lucky myself and my new husband have brought reinforcements. I will write to Lord Tully to inform him of the situation." She said and the look of shock on the steward's face was enough to lighten the moment, James and Sirius sniggered at his face while Lily smirked quickly before turning to them and saying.
"Haven't you got to get set up? We may have a siege coming." That stopped them both immediately and they got to work. While Hogwarts could only only manage an army of around two thousand men, they had been bolstered by a number of the smaller Vale Hill Tribes that they frequently traded with. Many counted them as friends and for some it was a chance to settle somewhere rather than be absorbed by the larger tribes or slaughtered by the Andals Knights. With the Strong's own army which Lily now commanded they had enough to hold the walls, until the Tullys arrived to handle the situation. Given she was the only child of the last lord with no uncles or cousins it would be dangerous for them to award the castle to anyone else as it would make a precedent that the line of succession might be ignored and the Targaryens were unlikely to get involved.
-x-
James meanwhile was looking at the monstrosity of a castle and honestly even the other world's Hogwarts had been half the size of this thing. It was far too big to properly live in or pay for the maintenance and general upkeep even if you ruled a kingdom, as the ruined and abandoned towers and buildings within the large walls had already suffered damage as well as general wear and tear. Hiring enough soldiers and servants likewise to cover the entire place would be horribly expensive.
His own family though had different plans for this place he thought looking with true and happy anticipation, they were going to tear it down stone by stone leaving only the outer curtain walls intact using stone from the castle to repair them where needed, while in the inside the town of Godric's Hallow would be recreated as there was certainly enough space inside for a decent sized town and a reasonable sized keep once all the towers, inner walls and other buildings were demolished and the stone recycled to safe money on materials.
All the industries that they had been forced to abandon or reduce their output could at last be put back to full strength. The wines and fruits they had been famous for sold once more, high quality smithing, medicines and beauty products not to mention the breeding of the horses, hounds and hawks that had once been the best in Westeros. They could have a far bigger army and more land to produce more food, this really was all they had hoped for since losing the original town all those years ago. He honestly excited although in some corner of his mind felt that it was not really his story, he was here and in the centre and it was sweetened by the fact he could at last live with his wife again and start their lives over even if it was in a primitive world.
The only sore part which did steal the smile away from him was that their son could not be here with them. He saw Lily smiling sadly at him and knew that she was thinking the exact same thing, she came over and took his hand, squeezing it and he squeezed back.
At least they thought they were finally together again.
The first to show up and try to claim Harrenhal arrived only a short two days later, a small group of knights and common-folk belonging to House Cox who marched straight up to the large gatehouse which remained firmly closed. Lily and James stood on the top of the gatehouse and looked down at the Knight of House Cox Ser Myles not a lord since they had no noble title, he in turn looked up at them and demanded.
"OPEN YOUR GATES! HOUSE COX IS LAYING CLAIM TO THIS CASTLE!" Ser Myles yelled but James yelled back.
"GO GET YOURSELF FUCKED!"
The knight immediately bristled at the insult and Lily while smirking at that asked more politely.
"By what right do you claim this castle? I am a Strong and you are a Cox knight without even a noble title." She said not shouting but loud enough to be heard, causing the knight to swell up like an overly ripe fruit. Despite having a small holding and ruling over it for quite a few years House Cox had never been granted a noble title so they could not call themselves lords, only knights. They had made many attempts to advance their standing but they were considered a third rate family and little more than peasants that had got above themselves. Ser Myles then screamed back infuriated.
"MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A STRONG! I AM A MAN THAT MAKES ME THE NEW LORD HERE!" He screamed with his face becoming very deep purple, that brought a bemused smile to both James and Lily as they knew that was a completely fantasy.
"NO STRONG WOULD EVER BE SEEN DEAD MARRIED TO A COX! EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS A NO NAME WHORE!" Lily shouted to make sure everyone heard, the men on the walls around her and James laughed loudly at the words. That only made Ser Myles more angry but before he could scream back a response, Sirius quickly appeared at their side and threw a large bucket of something straight on Ser Myles. The man and his men were certainly startled which only got worse when Sirius told them what it was that he had just dumped on him.
"OH DEAR! IT SEEMS I ACCIDENTALLY THREW THAT BUCKET OF PISS FROM THE CELLS ON SER MYLES!"
That really got the Peverell and Strong soldiers, not to mention the Vale tribesmen going and they began to laugh and laugh, clinging to each other to stay upright and Ser Myles screamed in indignation and disgust before going off to clean himself up and set up camp.
He was shortly followed by other houses although they had the manners to not march up to the castle and demand it be given over to them, waiting for Lord Grover Tully to arrive so he could make a definitive judgement since the castle was in his kingdom. However rivalries within the various houses that made camp around Harrenhal only flared up worse with the prospect of such a prize. More than once from their spot of the walls they spotted brawls between different houses and more than a few duels breaking out.
When the trout banner of House Tully finally appeared it was a sigh of relief to everyone as at last they could finally get this matter settled, at the head on his horse was Lord Grover Tully who looked old already with a full beard of grey hair and wrinkles on his face. He rode up to the castle gates and said in a deep booming baritone.
"I Lord of the Riverlands demand entry to this castle."
Short and too the point indeed James and Lily thought as they shared a look before nodding agreement and the men at the gates opened the large doors and portcullis to allow Lord Tully inside, he and his party of knights rode in quickly and the portcullis was lowered again to make sure those like House Cox didn't get any ideas. Lily and James quickly rushed down the steps into the yard where Grover was being helped off his horse. Minding their manners the moment he turned to face them they gave him a curtsey or a bow respectively while he gruffly looked at them.
"Lady Strong, I am sorry for your loss. Lord Strong was one of my most respected vassals." Grover told them and inwardly James and Lily scoffed at that, knowing it was just something you said without any real meaning behind it. However Lily accepted it and inclined her head to Grover.
"It was a harsh shock Lord Tully, I have spent many hours praying the sept...apart from the time I have been with my new husband." She said reaching out her hand to James who took it without hesitation. Grover's eyes widened slightly at the sight, knowing the reputation of House Peverell and was instantly worried about having them as part of his rule. The Peverells were dangerous and he wasn't sure if he should allow this but the sight of the two of them together made him realise that it was a done deal and as his maester had told him before he had left Riverrun there was no other heir to Harrenhal, it belonged to Lady Lily Strong and...her husband.
So with a mounting sense of resignation he turned to James Peverell, knowing full well this was not going to go down well with his own vassals and asked.
"Well, will your family honour the laws of this land and swear fealty to House Tully? What are your plans for this place now that you have it?" He demanded sternly. James Peverell meanwhile just smirked with that damned twinkle in his eye until Lady Lily elbowed him in the side and he spoke.
"Of course Lord Tully, my family and I have no intention of breaking away from your rule. Instead we plan to devote our energies to demolishing Harrenhal and turning it into a new merchant town named after our original holding Godric's Hollow, we have several industries in mind that should make the town rich and prosperous." James Peverell said, not mentioning that they intended to use a bit of magic to speed up the process.
That did intrigue Grover, the idea of knocking down the ruin of a castle and making a much more manageable town honestly made a lot of sense to him. It would also he realised with slight interest be a boon for his house too as it would give him extra revenue in tax and more men to call on quickly in the event of war which given the Riverlands position between many kingdoms always hit them hardest. Losing the largest castle in Westeros would be a slight loss of status but the extra gold and security it could bring would be well worth it.
Before he could give his blessing to their plans or at least ask for more details, a rude voice spoke from the portcullis.
"I DEMAND ENTRANCE TO THIS CASTLE! LORD TULLY YOU CANNOT BE CONSIDERING GIVING THIS CASTLE TO THIS WHORE!" Ser Myles yelled towards them.
At the last word the air instantly became colder as all of them looked at the pissed off knight, Lily and Grover glared at the offender and Sirius who had been standing nearby went immediately with a furious look on his face to go over and remove the bastard's tongue when James gave him a look to say, no I will handle this. Sirius followed his best friend's lead and held back while James glared at Ser Myles and told him with a deadly anger barely controlled beneath the surface that promised something nasty was about to happen.
"That is the last time you shall insult my wife Ser Cox. I challenge you to a duel right here and now." James said and Lily rolled her eyes in exasperation while Sirius started smiling a massive grin, knowing his friend well enough to realise he had something nasty planned.
Ser Cox looked surprised and the complete stupidity in his expression honestly did him little favour but he quickly replied. "I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!" Thinking he could insult this upstart and reopen the issue of who would receive Harrenhal. With a nod to the men manning the portcullis it started to rise as James stalked forward and drew Lady Forlorn from his waist, Ser Myles suddenly realised that James had really meant the words 'right here and now' and he would have to fight without his full armour. He went to start stammering words but drew his sword as James came close enough to take a swipe that he narrowly dodged.
He swung his own sword but James easily parried the blow and delivered a hard kick to the man's knee, there was an audible crack as the knee caved in backwards. Myles howled in pain and fell back as his leg gave out from underneath him but James was not finished yet, kicking Myles' sword out of reach he drove Lady Forlorn straight into his cock. Myles howled even louder as blood stained the ground, he turned to the horrified Cox knights and said.
"It seems Ser Cox is in need of help, he might survive if you get him help straight away." James said with a sinister smirk on his face.
No one James thought insults my wife and gets away with it.
Pulling Lady Forlornfrom the ground he stepped back and allowed the knights to carry their leader off to get much needed medical attention, James then looked up to the horrified Riverlords that were watching, knowing with a smirk he had their full attention.
"The Peverells are back, we tolerate no bullshit or any threats to our family. Leave us alone and we will bring you no harm and may accept you as friends, cross us and remember what happened to Ser Cox over there."
The looks of complete fear in the other lords was a little surprising to him given it was one act of violence and a short speech, Lily was somewhat worried as she didn't want this to be the start of other houses joining up in fear of them so she quickly said in hopes of gaining some much needed allies.
"Lord Tully, I hope you will accept our hospitality tonight so we can discuss our plans for the future over dinner. Lord Blackwood, Lord Frey and Lord Mallister I wonder if you might join us?" She said with a smile and the three lords in question went from fearful to puzzled before Lord Blackwood said.
"We would be honoured, Lady Strong." Lily gracefully nodded and said.
"It is Lady Peverell now." James and her shared a look with Sirius, all of them now smiling as at last they were together and hopefully secure or they would be if she could convince three of the most powerful Riverlords and Lord Tully to be friends with them.
Underneath Harrenhal, some time later…
It had taken a long time for him to find the passage that his ancestors had collapsed a century ago but eventually he did and with some magic he managed to vanish the earth and restore the damaged supports. Making his way down he arrived at a large steel door with runic symbols around the edge, he carefully pricked his finger and placed it on the door, there was a slight burn as the steel absorbed the small droplets of blood and the runes glowed red briefly as it checked his blood to see if he was a Peverell and should be granted access otherwise it would activate several particularly nasty defences his ancestors had drawn up.
Eventually the large and heavy door began to move on its own and revealed a large chamber beyond, crystals began to light up with bluebell flames inside and illuminated the contents of the vault for the first time in over a century...large piles of gold and silver coins spread out across the room that was easily the length of a quidditch pitch. James was glad his ancestors had built the vault this deep underground as the Ironborn had never found it while building Harrenhal, this fortune would be extremely useful in the demolition and rebuilding work James realised.
But his attention was immediately drawn to the sword that was attached to one of the large pillars that held up the room and the cloak that was just beneath it. He walked over and felt the smooth simmering folds of a cloak that was as familiar to him as his own hand or face, memories of creeping around school late at night with his friends and all the pranks that they had pulled together. While he wished he had seen the truth about Peter sooner he was glad that it had brought Sirius and Remus into his life. He could not imagine what had possessed the Peverells to leave this here but choices made in the heat of the moment were rarely wise ones he thought sadly remembering that it had been a spur of the moment decision to replace Sirius with Peter after all.
Putting the cloak down he turned his attention to the sword on the pillar, he had seen the pictures of course and it was bigger than he had imagined. He carefully ran his hand along the cold and smooth metal before taking it down off the pillar, he nearly dropped it in surprise when the runes and red stones on the sword started to glow slightly at his touch. He suddenly then felt far more alert, his hearing sharpened as did his sight and smell, he honestly had no trouble lifting the sword like it weighed less than a feather.
Remarkable James thought as he gave it a swish through the air, truly remarkable.
-x-
Elsewhere at the same moment…
Lily and Sirius dug up a small stone that had been buried not far from the castle walls, it could easily have fit in the palm of her hands but the runes on it were responsible for the destruction of four houses that had tried to claim Harrenhal since it was built and would have taken House Hoare too if the Targaryens had gotten them first. She carefully began to disarm the runes one by one until finally it had been rendered a normal rock again.
"That should put an end to the Curse of Harrenhal." Lily said with a smile to Sirius who smiled back.
-x-
Harrowton, the same night…
Harrowton was a fairly large but unremarkable town that had been created by workers who had built Harrenhal and the town's population was very nervous at their new overlords as legends of the Peverells scared many of them especially those who worshipped regularly at the town's sept.
Many local septons and septas had come there that night to provide a combined front, hoping that they could make the new lords worship the Seven or at least allow it to continue to be worshipped in their lands. With Maegor's Law now in place they could not organise an army to force their conversion although history had proven that action never went well when it came to the Peverells.
They were deep in prayer asking the Seven who are One for guidance in dealing with House Peverell when suddenly the ground started to shake. They all looked up alarmed at the sudden earthquake in a place that to their knowledge had never experienced a tremor before the statues of the Seven started falling, many screamed as they were squashed beneath their weight and blood seeped into the ground, the survivors tried to make it to the exit when the stone doorway collapsed and crushed them, more blood spilled into the soil.
The town's inhabitants were woken by a strange sound but when the saw the Sept was the source they were both frightened and confused, the strange shaking had never been experienced by them before but it only seemed to be effecting the Sept. Moments later the stone building collapsed and before their very eyes a massive tree sprouted from the ground, surging upwards at great force till it towered over most of the houses. The sight of the bone white wooden trunk spreading up into the sky and then the mass of red leaves sprouting just as suddenly from white branches scared many but also mesmerised them too. But the last thing was what astonished them the most, in the thick and strong trunk, lines began carving themselves into the wood creating the image of a smiling face.
Well there you have it the first chapter of The Peverell Legacy, I have been eager to get this out and hope you all enjoyed it.
Please review and let me know what you think.
Next Chapter – Work on Harrenhal begins and the restoration of House Peverell with it