The Sorcerer King - Chapter 9

AN: Hey guys.

No excuses this time. I just wanted to be lazy for a couple of months after returning home.

Didn't work, didn't write, just enjoyed the fact that I live near the beach and spent my time recharging from the nightmare that was half of this year.

I also had to put a few things in order since I was away from home for so long. Including some new neighbor that was stealing my power directly from my solar panels.

Guy managed to connect a cable to my system, and had been stealing my power for most of the time I was down south and my girl never realized it.

It's been solved now, and I'm also mentally recharged. So, we are back to the regular schedule from now on.

But seeing is believing so don't take my word for it. Wait for a couple of weeks and see if I'm serious or not.

Hope you guys enjoy this one.

Chapter 9

"And how can you explain the acts performed by the red priests, or some septons?" Maegelle asked, looking directly at Daphne's portrait.

Harry, Maegelle and the portraits of Hermione and Daphne were having their usual late-night talk.

Ever since Maegelle arrived, a couple of months ago, they got into this habit. The septa, as she insisted on being called whenever Harry called her a princess, had a boundless curiosity that Harry really admired.

It reminded him of a young Luna. Sure, when asked to point out an intelligent person, with a highly inquisitive mind, most people of his generation would point at Hermione. But Harry knew his late wife better than anyone, Hermione could be a bit stubborn, if something couldn't be scientifically explained Hermione wouldn't believe it.

Luna, on the other hand, would believe pretty much anything told to her. Most would call her naïve, and Harry would agree if that statement was said about Luna in their Hogwarts days. But as she grew up, Luna changed a lot without losing the core of what made her the wonderful person she is.

As an adult, Luna still believed in many things that Hermione dismissed, but she was willing to dismiss it as fake after she exhausted every avenue of research.

That was the big difference between then. If you didn't present solid evidence right at the start, Hermione would dismiss whatever it was that you wanted researched, be it a previously unheard-of animal, or a revolutionary new magical theory. Not considering it even worth the time to research.

If Luna wasn't so focused on animals, she could probably had made some truly groundbreaking research, just because she was willing to work on ideas that others dismissed as fake or unworthy of the time it would take to work it out.

Maegelle had that same boundless curiosity, the same mindset of 'everything is worth looking into until you prove it wrong'. It reminded Harry painfully of his friend.

"Magic." Daphne explained simply. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that gods don't exist. I'm a portrait, I can't exactly experience it, but Harry has told us about the vast consciousness he can feel whenever he connects to the weirwood trees. What I'm saying is that gods might not exist naturally in the world."

"Exactly!" Hermione interjected. "If a god needs worship, or grows more powerful through it, then it is possible that said god was only created through the worship of their followers."

"In our homeland we call it a chicken and egg situation. What came first, the chicken, or the egg?" Harry added, and he almost laughed at the confused look Maegelle gave him.

"To be fair, it should be chicken or chicken eggs. Almost every animal reproduces through eggs, so obviously eggs came before chickens." Hermione added.

"Now you're just being pedantic." Daphne said, making Hermione pout at her.

"I guess it makes sense." Maegelle said in a low tone, interrupting the argument that was about to start between Hermione and Daphne. "Not the chicken thing, the gods thing." She explained.

That was another thing that Harry really liked about Maegelle. She was a religious person that didn't get defensive when her religion was challenged. Although, to be fair, she wasn't exactly religious, she was forced to join the faith by her father as a symbol of peace after the faith rebelled against the king's father King Aenys.

She even confessed that she still secretly prayed to the fourteen gods of Valyria, as did most of her family.

"How exactly did we end up discussing religion?" Harry asked. He remembered the night starting with discussions about the disaster that was the first attempt of the shipbuilders at a Victory-class ship.

Turns out there was a major difference between building braavosi war galleys, and building a proper full-rigged ship of the line. The ship came out a barely floatable mess, the main issues being the rigging and the rudder.

Harry's solution to this was to send Sirius to look for experienced shipbuilders from other places, hoping that combining the knowledge of various cultures could be the answer he needed to make his ship plan work.

Sirius traveled by portkey all over the world, but he was only able to hire people from Elyria, in slaver's bay, and Koj, in the summer isles, which is apparently Sirius' favorite place in the entire world.

Harry easily understood why when he heard about the priestesses of love, and how sex is considered a 'holy skill' and a way of worshiping the gods.

The swan ships of Koj were quite similar to mid-17th century galleons. So, Harry was hoping that the experience from the first attempt combined with those new experts would be enough to build his flagship.

"We started talking about the new sept you built for Maegelle." Hermione answered.

Right, that was what started the talk about religion.

Maegelle deciding to stay was quite surprising. Harry was expecting her to deliver her message and then return home, but she asked him for his hospitality, and Harry was quite happy to give it.

Many would expect for a princess to take said hospitality and basically freeload out of it, but Maegelle decided she wanted to work. She helped Harry with his paperwork, taught children how to read, and many other small things that helped out massively with running the two villages.

But her main work was still her work as a septa.

There weren't many people in the village that worshiped the seven, but there were still enough to fill up a small sept. So, taking that into consideration, Harry decided to build a sept for them and asked Maegelle to take charge of it. So, the building that was quickly becoming known as the 'sept beyond the wall' was built. It wasn't that large, the size of it comparable to a small church, but it was still built in a similar style to the great cathedrals of old.

Alright, so maybe Harry was lying to himself. He didn't care about the few people that worshiped the seven having a place to pray, he just wanted a church to go with the aesthetic of the Georgian and neo-gothic architecture of the town.

The fact that Maegelle was in charge of the sept was a benefit as well, since she was quite unorthodox compared to other septas and septons. Her sermons were quite good in Harry's opinion, focusing on teaching virtues like diligence and charity, and more importantly, respect for other religions and magic.

Harry knew this would end up becoming a problem someday. He was basically doing a Henry VIII. He would never allow the high septon to have any power over his people, so he was basically creating a 'church of Avalon', which would understandably be less than well received by the starry sept. To this, Harry only had two things to say.

Fuck the faith of the seven and fuck the high septon.

If his people still wanted to pray to the seven, then they could at least learn to live with other faiths, and they would be required to learn to live with magic. There was no way Harry would allow witch hunts to happen in his kingdom.

"I really wish I had a frame in the room when the high septon receives Maegelle's letter. The look on his face should be quite funny." Daphne snickered, probably thinking about some of the most zealous priests learning about a church built using magic.

"I don't think he would care that much, after all, he did ask me to seduce Harry." Maegelle pointed out, giving Harry a smirk and batting her lashes at him, making the portraits of his wives laugh as Harry rolled his eyes.

"I don't think the catholic church ever asked one of their nuns to seduce someone, even in the late 15th and early 16th century, when there were some… questionable popes." Hermione said, and Harry was pretty sure he was the only one that could hear the hidden disgust in her voice. Hermione got quite good at hiding her emotions as they got older.

"Well, I'm sure Maegelle would love to have a handsome bloke like me." Harry joked, earning a laugh from the silver-haired purple-eyed woman.

"I'm not sure my sister would like that. Viserra is quite famous for her refusal to share her toys." Maegelle said, laughed as Harry groaned a little.

He really should've thought more before revealing his full knowledge to Maegelle. As he got to know her and they grew closer, Harry started to feel guilty about his initial use of legilimency. Sure, he had started to use it a little bit on everyone these days, there was just too many people he interacted with, and quite a few of them would be able to kill him in a moment of distraction, not to mention the infamous faceless men. Harry had never met anyone from the order of assassins, but Sirius had cautioned him to be careful of them, their disguises were quite similar to a metamorphmagus, perfect looks and voice, and undetectable by any magical means.

Still, despite his use of legilimency for security reasons, he still felt wrong using it on friends, and Maegelle was quickly becoming one.

So, Harry confessed to her last week. Not his use of legilimency on her, but his full knowledge of what was happening south of the wall, the true reason for her visit and the 'mission' the high septon had given her. And Maegelle immediately realized how he had that information.

Thankfully she wasn't mad about it. She even agreed that it was a good idea, to the consternation of Hermione, that was still a little annoyed with Harry for his constant use of legilimency.

After the many years of relationship with Daphne, and fighting a war, both Hermione and Harry became a little more willing to use some… questionable methods. Still, Harry was willing to go a lot further than Hermione was.

There was a reason the hat wanted to put him in Slytherin after all. His relationship with Daphne just allowed Harry to let his Slytherin side out to play every once in a while.

"I'm still not sure about going along with your mother's scheme. I'm not exactly looking forward to trapping myself with a betrothal to a teenage Daphne. I can't deal with her smug looks like I use to." Harry joked.

"Hey!" Daphne said, pouting a little, earning a laugh from the others.

And, from Maegelle's memories, that was exactly what her sister, Viserra, was. A younger version of Daphne.

Harry would only really get to know, and fall in love, with Daphne a few years later, but he still remembered a thirteen-year-old Daphne. Just because he didn't interact with her at the time, it didn't mean that Harry knew nothing about her. He had always been an observant person, and keeping an eye on the Slytherins was a matter of survival at the time.

Thirteen-year-old Daphne was insufferable smug and extremely vain. Every once in a while, hints of the good person she was showed through, mainly when she was with her sister, Astoria.

One of the main things that helped Harry not push her away when Daphne approached him was the fact that she never treated muggleborns and half-bloods differently. She was dismissive with everyone. It wasn't a surprise some called her the ice queen of Slytherin in their younger days.

After getting to know her, Harry realized that Daphne wasn't really some 'enlightened' Slytherin, one of the few Slytherins that didn't see muggles, muggleborns and half-bloods as bellow her.

No. Young Daphne treated everyone equally because she saw everyone but her best friend, Tracy, and her sister, Astoria, as bellow her, including the other purebloods. It took her father joining the death eaters and becoming a true threat to Daphne, Astoria and their mother for Daphne to change.

Harry guessed the decision was easy enough for Daphne to make. It was better to let go of her narcissism and seek the help of others, than be sold out to some old death eater to be 'entertainment' for a few years before being killed off.

From what he saw in Maegelle's memories, Viserra was the same way. A literal spoiled princess. He imagined it would take a similar, life changing event, for Viserra to change for the better.

So, Harry wasn't exactly sold on the idea of saddling himself with that headache. He was too old to be dealing with a spoiled princess. Even if he could see the political benefits, and could understand the wants of the queen, Alysanne.

She was an old woman that had already lost three of her children, she was terrified of losing any more. And her assumption wasn't wrong. Harry would, and was certainly more than capable of, protecting his future wife, and her family. But, while he could understand her, it wasn't enough to change his mind.

"I agree. Teenage Daphne was annoying." Hermione added.

"Like you can talk about being annoying, miss bookworm. How many times did madam Pince thought about cursing you just to get you to stop asking her about every single book in the library?" Daphne clapped back with a smirk.

Harry never thought about it, but madam Pince probably did want to curse Hermione.

"Besides, you two need to stop being hypocrites." Daphne added, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. "Don't look at me like that, we both know you just don't want to be betrothed." She added, giving Harry the look that he always called the 'you're an idiot' look.

"She's thirteen!" Harry complained.

Alright. So, maybe his real reason for not wanting anything to do with Viserra was her age, but he did believe he was more than justified in it. Sure, quite a few purebloods had betrothals and arranged marriages. But Harry still felt weird even thinking about.

"Don't lie to me Harry, we both know you could never do it, and you still can't to do it, even if I'm a portrait now. What both you and Hermione really have a problem with is the betrothal." Daphne scolded him, making Harry groan a little.

Daphne could always read him even better than Hermione.

"Daph, we were raised in muggle society. Betrothals are not something we are used to." Hermione said in a hard tone, falling back into the familiar pattern of defending Harry, just like he had always defended her.

"You can't lie to me either, Hermione. You two had no issue planning the betrothal of our kids to Neville's. Harry just doesn't like the idea of doing it to himself." Daphne countered in that dismissive tone that helped her earn her Hogwarts nickname.

"Daph, That's enough!" Hermione yelled when she saw the look on Harry's face.

Harry took control of his magic before he destroyed even more of the room, but his momentary lapse in control was still enough to knock around a lot of the furniture. His wild magic causing an effect similar to an earthquake in the room, and utterly terrifying Maegelle, who had never seen it happen.

He didn't like remembering the day of the attack, and the last conversation he had with his wives while they were still alive was certainly enough to do it.

"I'm sorry, love." Daphne said in a soft tone.

"Thank you, I'm fine now." Harry lied.

His good mood was gone, and he was pretty sure both his wives and Maegelle knew he was lying, but thankfully no one brought it up. He could see that Maegelle was extremely curious. Maybe he would tell her the full story one day, but not now. Talking about it was still too painful.

"Well, tell me a bit more about your sister, Maegelle. Harry has been alone for too long now. I want to know if she's good enough for my husband." Hermione said, lifting the awkward silence.

Harry gave her a nod and a small, shy smile. Leave it to Hermione to always have his back, even after death.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Harry, we are approaching King's landing." Sirius said through the mirror.

Harry could see the beautiful blue sky behind his godfather and his ridiculous 'pirate hat'. Sirius liked to dress up as a pirate whenever he was commanding a ship, and Harry wasn't able to change his mind for this trip, no matter how many times he tried.

"I'll be out soon." Harry responded, earning a nod from Sirius as he turned off the mirror.

He looked around his cabin with a smile. It took 4 tries for the shipbuilders to finish a victory-class ship that was good enough for a flagship and royal transport. Thankfully, magic could be used to accelerate the process, so it only took a few months, instead of the almost decade it would normally take.

His new ship, the HMS Lily, named after his mother, was a beauty. It wasn't exactly the same as the HMS Victory, but it was still quite similar, at least on the outside. On the inside, the ship was completely different, a lot of it changed by magic.

The first major change was the weaponry. Harry had decided long ago that he wasn't going to introduce gunpowder to this world, and he stuck to his decision, and that meant he needed to find a replacement for the guns the ship would need.

His replacement were 80 scorpions, similar to the ones that were reportedly used as anti-dragon weaponry. These scorpions would shoot bolts that Harry enchanted to explode on contact.

It was fun to see the look on Sirius' face when Harry told him this idea.

It wasn't exactly easy to make said weapons. Harry had to personally enchant every single bolt, so it wouldn't be practical to arm every single one of their ships this way. He didn't want to spend every single day enchanting bolts. Not to mention the scorpions, which were a whole different issue.

Harry understood the basic concept behind the ancient artillery piece, but understanding the concept and actually building one are entirely different things. In the end, Harry had to ask Sirius to channel his inner 007 and steal one of the old scorpions that still survived in Lys.

Some of those scorpions were hundreds of years old, and had already proven they could take down a dragon, so they were perfect for what Harry wanted. If it was good enough to shoot a dragon out of the sky, it was good enough for a ship.

Once they had a working model, it was easy to replicate it. That, together with the bolts Harry enchanted to explode on contact, was more than enough as a weapon for his ships.

Sure, it wouldn't be the main weapon his ships would use in the future. Harry didn't want to spend the rest of his days enchanting the ammunition necessary for a full navy. But a couple of ships would have those scorpions. His flagship and the lead ship of each squadron.

That being said, while the HMS Lily was the most well-armed ship in the world, it was also his personal ship, and as such it had a level of comfort that would be considered good even in a 21th century luxury yacht.

Harry walked to his wardrobe and put on his best formal robes, preparing himself for the meeting. Maegelle spoke highly of her parents, and even Sirius said that Jaehaerys and Alysanne were 'good people', but Harry still wanted to see for himself.

He silently complained once more about his inability to make another frame for Daphne's portrait in time to install it on the ship, he could've really used her help right now. Sure, he wasn't as naïve as he was in his youth, but Harry still didn't enjoy the kind of politics he would inevitably encounter in the southern capital.

Granted, he could just say 'fuck it' and leave whenever he wanted. It wasn't like they could stop him. But that would come with problems that he just didn't want to deal with. Monarchies weren't as common anymore back on Earth, and even the ones that existed, like the UK, didn't have the same amount of power that the Iron Throne had over their population.

That kind of power always brought a certain arrogance with it. Even the humbler monarchs still didn't like being ignored. Harry might not like politics, but even he knew that leaving midway through the negotiations would be a bad idea.

"Ready, girl?" Harry asked Hedwig on her perch once he finished dressing himself.

"Hoot, Hoot!"

"Let's go, then." Harry said, and Hedwig flew from her perch, landing on his shoulder.

Leaving his cabin, Harry walked towards the deck, where Sirius and Maegelle were already waiting for him.

"I guess this is it?" Harry asked, when he approached them, looking at the city as the men docked the ship.

The city of king's landing could best be described as a shithole with some nice places.

From the ship, Harry could already confidently state that the city smelled bad. It wasn't just the smell of the port, like any other city. What really made king's landing smell bad was the horrible sanitation standards that were readily visible.

According to both Sirius and Maegelle, the city had a major problem with waste management, a consequence of growing too quickly. And while Jaehaerys had been working to improve it since he rose to the throne, his efforts weren't having the massive impact he probably expected. And Harry could already place the blame on whoever was advising him.

Whoever advised Jaehaerys about the expansion of the sewers of the city was doing a horrible job. They were dumping the waste directly into the river, which meant that sure, the streets were probably clean, but the smell stayed with the river.

Anyone with half a brain knew that dumping untreated sewage into the river was a horrible idea. Not only would it pollute the environment, but it would also pollute the drinking water of the city.

Harry was already thinking of the quarantines he would have to implement if they did end up trading more with the southern capital. Cholera outbreaks must happen every other year in this shithole of a city.

But, while the sanitary conditions of the city were a nightmare for anyone raised in the 20th century, the city did have quite a few good points.

The port seemed just as busy as any major port on earth, which spoke well for the freedom of trade provided by the Iron Throne, and there were a few architectural marvels.

The Red Keep was a massive castle, quite a bit larger than Hogwarts, dominating the hill it stood on. It was an imposing fortress, clearly designed more with defense than beauty in mind. But it still had a sort of rustic charm to it, the red bricks drew the eye and its imposing presence was awe-inspiring.

Looking at the second of the three large hills that dominated the city, it soon became clear why the Red Keep was designed with defense in mind instead of beauty. Because the beauty was saved for the other major building that dominated the landscape.

The dragonpit was a truly cavernous building while still being absolutely gorgeous to look at. The building itself was reminiscent of the classical Greco-Roman style, like a larger version of the pantheon. Only this one was in black marble with gold veins running through it, instead of the traditional white marble used in the old days of Earth.

"Don't be so nervous Harry, I'm sure my sister will like you." Maegelle teased, drawing Harry away from his admiration of the city.

"How many times do I have to say that I'm not exactly comfortable with this, Maegelle." Harry answered in a tired tone, earning a snicker from both his godfather and his friend.

"What's the matter Harry? Not looking forward to seeing your future wife." Sirius added fuel to the fire.

"Shut up, Padfoot!"

"Alright, Alright. Being me now." Sirius said, earning a groan from both Harry and Maegelle. "The age difference is basically the same as the one between Moony and Dora, and you said they ended up together."

"A lot of people weren't exactly comfortable with that one either, Padfoot. Remus also didn't help his case with that pedo-stache of his. A lot of people said that just by looking at his face it should be obvious that Moony would end up marrying a girl that was born when he was already in Hogwarts."

"I remember when Lily called it a pedo-stache when he first showed up with it." Sirius said with a sad smile. "The point is, age isn't exactly the same for us magicals, much less for someone like you."

And that was true. If Harry ever decided to remarry, he obviously would give his new wife the elixir. Which would mean that a little over a decade would mean nothing to them. When one could live for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, a decade was a blink of an eye.

"I'm still uncomfortable with it." Harry said stubbornly.

"The great master Harry Potter be dragging his feet. Winky was promised babies when she bonded with the great master Harry Potter. Winky is still waiting for babies to take care of." Winky popped near them, just to go away again once she said what she wanted to say.

"See, even your crazy elves agree!" Sirius said in a triumphant tone, earning a scowl from Harry.

"Really should've brought Dobby." Harry commented under his breath.

"Well, I guess it is time." Maegelle said, distracting them as the men finally completed their job docking the ship.

They left the ship to see a large carriage waiting for them, with two dozen men in plate armor around it. The one in charge turned out to be one Ser Robin Shaw, who Maegelle greeted warmly. Judging by his white cloak the man was a member of the kingsguard.

They made their way quickly through the city, mostly in silence as the soon stopped at the courtyard of the red keep, near the doors to the throne room. Apparently, they wanted to do the whole court circus as soon as possible.

"And how should we introduce you, your grace?" A well-dressed man asked Harry. The man was the one in charge of announcing people to the court.

"Harry of house Potter, the master of death, the sword of Hogwarts, king of Avalon and lord of Camelot." Sirius responded before Harry could, as the man quickly bowed to them and left.

"What was that, Padfoot?" Harry demanded.

"There is a level of pageantry that is expected in these situations, Harry." Sirius said simply.

"I know that. But what is that with the weird titles? I know I don't like the whole master of death thing, and what about this Camelot stuff?"

"You gathered the three hallows, either directly or indirectly. You deserve the title. The sword of Hogwarts is obvious, you used the sword of Gryffindor in defense of the school. And the Camelot thing is your fault, you are the one that started it when you called the kingdom Avalon, I'm just continuing with the theme and naming the town Camelot." Sirius answered.

"We will talk about this later." Harry said and Sirius just shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess it is our turn." Sirius said, as Maegelle was introduced and walked inside the throne room.

"Sirius Black, the black sorcerer." Sirius walked into the room, leaving Harry alone for a few moments.

"His Grace, Harry of house Potter, the master of death, the sword of Hogwarts, king of Avalon and lord of Camelot."

Harry walked into the throne room, and his first impression was quite good. The room was not as opulent as the throne rooms of the monarchs of Earth at their worst, but it still commanded an air of respect. Granted, most of it came down to the iron monstrosity that these people called a throne.

The mass of swords fused together by dragon fire didn't exactly look pretty, but it was imposing in a way that a different throne could never be.

Harry walked forward, ignoring the muttering of the people around him, but he could imagine he was drawing the eye like nothing those people had ever seen. His robes were different to the clothes they were wearing, but the acromantula silk and the quality of magical manufacturing made it far better than anything even the richest of this land could buy.

Not to mention Hedwig, that was still perched on his shoulder. Apparently, the old girl wanted to make a scene.

As he approached the throne, Harry looked at the family gathered there as Maegelle gave him a smile and subtly nodded towards a younger girl to her right.

His first thought as he looked at the king on the throne was that they would have a hard time working with each other, and Harry would readily admit that the problems would be mostly his fault. The man looked familiar and entirely alien, with his greying silvery hair and purple eyes, but his whole demeanor screamed Dumbledore.

The same twinkle in his eyes, the same serene, grandfatherly smile of a man that would sacrifice anything and anyone if it benefited his vision of how things should be done.

Harry's studies in healing didn't really touch much on psychology, but he could still easily admit he wouldn't be able to entirely distance Jaehaerys from Dumbledore.

The older woman by his side, who Harry assumed was the queen, also reminded Harry of someone, but this one was someone that Harry had a lot of respect for, Andromeda. The woman had the same kind, but tired eyes that still held a hint of danger, reminding everyone that she was still a daughter of house Black, or in this case, Targaryen.

The queen's hair wasn't as grey as her husband's, denoting her younger age, but her purple eyes seemed older somehow. There was a tiredness to them that spoke of someone that was probably depressed and going through severe trauma. Harry could easily understand it as he heard of the many children the woman lost, the most recent one being only a couple of years ago.

To the left of the king was a man with lilac eyes and pale, white gold hair was holding the hand of a woman with dark eyes and black hair. Standing in front of them was a girl of about nine or ten, with black hair and lilac eyes.

By Maegelle's descriptions, Harry deduced that they were the crown prince, Aemon, his wife, Jocelyn, and their daughter, Rhaenys.

To the left of them was another man that looked almost like a twin of the other one. He was holding a boy of about three on his hands and in front of him was a plump boy of about seven. They all looked a bit nervous, as if they were worried about something.

Harry looked again to the other side of the throne, were a girl of about four held the hand of the queen, and Maegelle stood near two others, a younger woman and a younger girl.

Looking at the younger woman, Harry imagined that she was around the age of majority in magical Britain, seventeen, or maybe a bit younger. Quite a few words came to mind as he looked at the young woman, the most common ones were voluptuous, seductive.

The woman had a figure that imagined was the dream of girls like Lavender back in his younger days. Large breasts and wide hips while still being thin. Her purple lipstick also made the smirk she was giving him downright sinful.

The younger girl, the one Maegelle pointed to earlier, also remembered Harry of some people he knew, which almost made Harry laugh as he realized who exactly it was.

The girl's flawless white skin and silver-gold hair reminded him Gabrielle Delacour, only her purple eyes were different to Gaby's blue ones, but her whole demeanor reminded him of a young Daphne. The same icy stare, the same dismissive posture as if everyone around was unworthy of being in her presence.

The reason he almost laugh was because he suddenly remembered the days after the war. Hermione and Daphne laughing as a young Gabrielle Delacour flirted shamelessly with him every chance she got. At the time it made in uncomfortable, but now it was a reminder of the good old days.

It was also quite funny thinking about the face Daphne's portrait would make when he tells her about the unholy mix of Gaby and her that exists in this world.

"King Harry." The king said from his throne, giving a slight nod to Harry.

"King Jaehaerys, Thank you for the hospitality." Harry responded, returning the nod.

"Share our bred and salt and be welcomed in king's landing. We look forward to discussing matters that will benefit both our kingdoms, as neighbors should." Jaehaerys said, as a man walked forward with bred and salt, the traditional symbol of guest rights in Westeros. Once Harry ate the bread and salt, Jaehaerys continued.

"My wife, Alysanne, and my daughter, Gael." He said, introducing the queen and the young girl holding her hand.

"Queen Alysanne, your grace and intelligence in spoken of even in my lands." Harry said, bowing slightly. He wouldn't bow to Jaehaerys, as it was a sign of submission, but bowing to his queen was just being a gentleman.

"My son and heir, Aemon, His wife, Jocelyn and my granddaughter Rhaenys." Jaehaerys continued.

"Prince Aemon, from what my people tell me, this kingdom is lucky to have an heir as capable as you." Harry complimented the heir, drawing on his inner Percy at his bootlicker best.

Percy might have been a bellend, but Harry could admit that the man was a skilled politician.

"My other son, Baelon, and my gran-" Jaehaerys was interrupted by a loud scream, a scream that Harry's vast experience in the war told him without a doubt was filled with pain.

"I apologize, king Harry. My daughter, Alyssa, Baelon's wife, is currently giving birth." Jaehaerys said. And before he continued Harry interrupted him.

"I'm an accomplished healer, King Jaehaerys, and as a healer, I would like to offer my help to the princess."

Despite his extensive research into healing magic after the war, Harry never took the healer oath. Even so, he still wanted to help. It seemed like things were going badly judging by the scream, and, as much as he had changed from his younger days, Harry still couldn't stop himself from helping someone in need.

"That won't be-" Jaehaerys started, but was interrupted by his queen.

"Can you truly help her?" Alysanne asked in a desperate tone. Harry could see that the woman was stopping herself from jumping him.

"I can." Harry said, and he could see the relief in the queen's face. "In fact. I Harry James Potter, do solemnly swear that if I'm allowed to help, I will do everything in my power to ensure that Alyssa Targaryen delivers her baby safely and survives childbirth. This I swear on my magic." Harry added, ignoring the sound of blades being drawn and the murmuring of the courtiers as the lightshow that usually came with a magical oath happened.

Healer oath or not, Harry would always help in a medical emergency if he could. That this also had the added benefit of endearing himself to his hosts was a nice bonus.

"What was that, king Harry?" Jaehaerys asked, showing himself to be far calmer than his kingsguard, who had drawn their blades when the lightshow happened.

"That was a magical oath, king Jaehaerys. If I lied, magic itself would have taken revenge, and, as I promised to do everything in my power to save the life of the princess, it means that magic would have taken my own life if I lied." Harry explained, enjoying how Jaehaerys eyes widened in surprise.

"Please, king Harry, follow me and I will lead you to my daughter." Alysanne said walking towards him and dragging him by the hand.

"Alysanne we-" Jaehaerys started, but was silenced by just a look from his wife.

"Mother, maybe we shou-" Baelon tried and also was silenced by just a look from his mother.

"I don't care about anything you have to say. I will do everything to save my daughter." Alysanne said, dragging Harry out of the throne room.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Pov – Viserra Targaryen

"So, that's the king beyond the wall?" Viserra asked, once they were finally out of the throne room.

Her father was quick enough to smooth things over and dismiss the court after her mother's major break of protocol, but Viserra could tell that he was furious. She could already imagine that they would end up having another one of their famed 'quarrels'.

She couldn't wait for it to happen.

She remembered their last fight, and how easy it was to get the things she wanted then.

'Father, mother said I can't do this. Can I do it?'

'Mother, father forbid me from doing this. Can I do it?'

Viserra knew exactly how to get anything she wanted, and more importantly, deserved.

"He is a good man. But one who also fought in a war for almost ten years and carries the scars from it." Maegelle said, followed by another scream from Alyssa.

"He is also quite handsome." Saera pointed out, making Viserra scowl at her annoying older sister.

"He is. I guess mother finally did something good for me." Viserra said smugly.

She overheard her mother talking about a betrothal with the sorcerer king beyond the wall, and although Viserra knew she deserved better than some king of a few villages beyond the wall, it was a good start.

What she deserved was to be queen of the whole world. Everyone always told her how she was the most beautiful woman in the world, the most beautiful to ever live. The goddesses themselves cried because they could never match her beauty. Viserra knew she deserved the world, but she was willing to work for it.

The man was a powerful and rich sorcerer, once she was his wife she could convince him to conquer the world for her.

And why wouldn't he listen to her. He would be lucky to have her as a wife. Sure, Maegelle said the man had two other wives before, powerful sorceresses themselves, but just the fact that they shared their husband meant that they were nothing compared to Viserra.

"For you, dear sister?" Saera asked.

"Of course. Mother obviously wants to bound him to our family. The best way to do it is a marriage to a princess, to me." Viserra responded her annoying sister with a smug look.

Saera always thought herself better than Viserra. She was a Targaryen, she was above other women, but that didn't mean that she was on the same level as Viserra.

"And why would he choose a child like you when he could have a grown woman like me?" Saera asked again with a little smirk.

"I just think that king Harry would prefer a pure maiden like me, instead of a… experienced woman like you, dear sister." Viserra said ruthlessly. She knew well enough of her sister's many visits to the street of silk with her friends Perianne and Alys, together with those three no-name knights.

It was just one of the many things she disliked about her sister. Saera might not be as beautiful as Viserra herself, but she was still a Targaryen, she shouldn't be frolicking around with unworthy men.

Lesser dragon she might be, but a griffin still wasn't worthy of her.

"I'm sure he would enjoy a experienced woman instead of a frigid little girl-" Saera started, but was interrupted by their older sister.

"Girls, enough!"

And that was why Maegelle was her favorite. She might play at septa, but she was still a dragon.

"Harry isn't exactly fond of talks about marriage right now. I still don't know the whole story, but from what I do know, he lost his wives to the war, and I suspect they were both with child at the time."

"Lost to the war?" Saera asked.

"They fought alongside him." Maegelle answered.

Viserra narrowed her eyes at the interest from Saera, and immediately decided that she would search for queen Visenya's journal for tips, and then ask her father to allow her to train with a blade. If the sorcerer liked his women to fight alongside him, she would work on it.

Because one thing was certain. A normal woman would never be competition to her, but, lesser dragon or not, Saera was the only one that could be a threat to her plans with the sorcerer.

AN 2: Harry arrives in king's landing at an interesting time, and canon is immediately derailed.

What he doesn't know is that two princesses have their eyes on him, and are already plotting ways to endear themselves to him.

Next chapter we get to know exactly what happened with Harry helping Alyssa give birth to Aegon.

I will see you guys in the next one.