Words of Warning and Farewell
Chapter 16
Words of Warning and Farewell
The King and his company stayed at Winterfell for five more days before it was time for them to return to King’s Landing, followed by Lord Stark and a third of his house.
Harry sorted through his things as he packed up his trunk and bags, thinking over the events of the last few days. Turns out, after a conversation with Arya and Sansa, then another with Lord Stark, he was leaving with them for King’s Landing.
With the hasty departer of Hermione and then Robb, there were some changes to their plans. Bran would be staying at Winterfell as House Stark’s heir with Lady Catelyn. Somehow, despite her previous fury, this news had cheered her a bit, though not enough to rescind her earlier declaration of Harry’s banishment. From what it looked like, Ned had had some severe words with her about how she had conducted herself and he ordered that Bran was the heir and had the final say of all matters involving the North’s care and she was to advise him and nothing more. He told the same thing to his son and all their bannermen being left behind.
Once Robb returned to Winterfell after escorting Hermione down south, he would take Brann’s place and the boy would be sent down to King’s Landing to join his father and become a knight as originally planned.
As it turned out, Harry didn’t need to ask if Lord Stark would be alright with him joining their procession. While he and the other men had been looking for Robb, Sansa and Arya had been given the task of entertaining the king and his family, since there was no hunt with no Stark escort to guide them, after all. So, the two girls along with little Rickon decided to entertain their guests with several of the board games and toys that Harry had designed and crafted himself.
The royal children and the queen’s own brothers had been so taken by the novelties, that the Stark girls had sought Harry out to tell him the news right after he had left Theon’s room. He was told that they were especially fond of chess, cribbage, and go. And little Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella so dearly loved the building blocks and animal toys that Rickon had, that they made requests for similar toys themselves. When Lord Stark heard the news from King Robert’s own mouth, it seemed like the decision to have Harry join them had been made before it could even be suggested.
Now it was essentially a royal order, and Harry would be coming along with them whether he liked it or not. However, he wasn’t sure if he would become a knight with this turn of events as they only seemed to want his company for the handicrafts he could produce. He wondered if it was at all possible for him to do both, if he could use his skills at whittling as more of a hobby, or maybe after he had gotten his knighthood, he could also be a carpenter. He disliked having to choose one over the other since he liked both equally.
Either way, knight or carpenter, he was going south.
He pondered such things and what he would bring with him as he packed up his room. He and Hermione had already managed a Capacious Extremis spell, advanced as it was, on some small bags in the interest of reducing the number of things they would need to carry while traveling. However, now that their plans had changed, Harry would need to put up the appearance of needing several containers of things to keep suspicions to a minimum while he was traveling with so many strangers. His satchel, which held the spell in the first place, would only be used for his wand and little else. Even now, he needed to be mindful about how he would organize his things, trying to utilize the little space he had to work with in the best way possible.
The majority of his belongings, like his tools, nicknacks, and the projects he had yet to finish would occupy the lowest part of his trunk and would be divided by a false bottom while the top would be taken up by most of his apparel. The rest, which were more essential like everyday clothing and toiletries, would be carried in two separate bags and would be easier to access while they were on the road.
He looked at the bar of soap and jars of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and toothpaste that he’d been gifted by Hermione and sighed. Out of everything they had lost when they had fallen into this primitive world, Hermione lamented the loss of her daily showers second only to her loss of magic. Her access to the more refined toiletries found from the general store was a major issue for her. The soaps provided here lacked the gentle properties they were both used to, since their primary ingredient was often lye. With nothing else to do, she had set out to make her own. The result had borne sweet fruit which she was more than happy to share with Harry. She had provided him full new jars before leaving on her journey and even gave him the recipes alongside them. Now, it looked like he would need to start making them himself. The sight of the little booklet containing the concoctions reminded him of the letter she had left him, still resting on his side-table unopened.
All the rest of the Stark family plus Maester Luwin and Theon had received similar notes, along with little enchanted pins that were meant to protect them. From the weight of Harry’s own note, he hadn’t received a pin himself, maybe because Hermione didn’t think he needed her protection. Either way, for some reason, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to open and read it. Her betrayal stung him worse than anything he could remember, and the knowledge that he could almost understand why, didn’t help with that.
He picked it up and held it for a moment, debating what he would do with it. Part of him wanted to read it and another part of him wanted to burn it up without so much as opening it. A bigger part of him knew he couldn’t read it, at least not right now, so he merely packed it up with the rest of his things just as it was. Maybe when the sting wore off, he would be able to read her final message to him, but not today, not now. It hurt too much.
When his things were packed and he was ready to go, he let the servants carry it all down to the courtyard before taking one final look at the room that had been his for two and a half years. It looked so empty without his things. The broom that had been his first prototype at a flying apparatus was still stuck firmly on the ceiling and he wondered about the next occupant and their response to the odd decor. With an amused chuckle, he bid it goodbye, wondering if there would ever come a day when he would see any of it again.
The castle was a buzz of activity as everyone prepared for the large departure of people.
When it was time for their farewells, he visited Bran and Rickon first. The two boys hugged him, crying together about how much they would miss him and he assured them both that he would miss them also. He even had goodbye gifts for them. Their tears dried at the mention of presents, because they knew from experience that Harry always gave the best toys. For Bran, he gave him a special puzzle box that was quite possibly one of Harry's best creations, if he could say so himself. Once the boy was able to solve it, there would be revealed a surprise for him. The boy looked delighted by the intrigue and immediately began to study the various levers, wheels, and buttons on it. For little Rickon he gave the boy a box of little toy people. Their designs were simplified and generic, inspired by the old plastic toys Mrs. Figg let him play with when his was little while she looked after him for the Dursleys. These had specific features that he fashioned to resemble the members of the Stark household. Rickon recognized everyone inside, calling them by name as he pointed at each one in turn. There was Papa, Mama, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Theon, Jon, Harry, Hermione, Luwin, and Rickon himself, who was the smallest one inside.
“So, you don’t forget about us,” Harry explained. Rickon smiled, promising he wouldn’t as he held the little dolls close to him. Bran promised as well and they all shared another tearful hug with each other.
Next, Harry went to Luwin’s torrent. The old man didn’t have just farewells for him, but warnings, too.
“You have a difficult road ahead of you, Harry,” Luwin explained.
“We all have difficult roads ahead,” Harry countered, but he had a feeling that’s not what the maester had meant.
“I’m not talking about your imparting journey,” Luwin said, confirming the boy’s suspicions. “You will be going to King’s Landing, now. A place swarming with spies and informants of all kinds for all the people who may hold any position of power in that place. You are a wizard, Harry. Capable of remarkable things. You must hide your abilities even more adamantly while there. If people knew of even a fraction of what you are capable of, you would find yourself in danger around every corner. Some will think they can use you for their own benefit while many more would try to eliminate you out of fear.”
“I understand the risks. It’s not so different from how Hermione and I were raised, after all.” Lord Eddard had already had a similar conversation with him about all this.
The queen and her brood were especially dangerous and Harry was not to underestimate any of them.
“I advise you to take your cues from Lord Eddard and Jory as much as you can, though I have a feeling, you will still gain much interest in court, however unintended it is.”
“I promise to behave myself, Maester Luwin,” Harry vowed, though even he wasn’t too certain how well he would manage to keep it. After that, they said goodbye and the boy left to find his other friends.
He said his farewells to the staff and then to Jon and Theon when they met him in the yard, where the first again asked him to watch out for his sisters and lord father down south and to be careful himself. Harry nodded and told them both to do the same, taking the moment to hug them and wish them luck.
Jon was mounting his own steed and would part with their procession a little down the road. Lord Stark wanted to use the time to speak with him before they separated, though.
Harry rode with Arya and Sansa while their wolves followed behind them. The royal family had their wheelhouse, though King Robert would be riding on horseback and once Jon had set off for the Wall, he and Lord Stark rode ahead of the rest, leaving the procession behind while they cantered freely forward as friends.
It was a long journey ahead of them. The whole length of Westeros was approximately five thousand miles long. From Winterfell to King’s Landing, without taking a ship there, it was roughly one thousand five hundred miles and traveling there on horseback was expected to last at least a month.
They started every morning at dawn. Sansa got tired of horseback easily and often preferred to ride in one of the carts. Arya, though, bounded forward on her horse, excited to be traveling and invited Harry to come with her as she raced along to enjoy the scenery and the journey, pointing out haunted holdfasts and new plants she had never seen before. He would admit, while he was always polite to Sansa, he definitely preferred Arya’s company as she was adventurous and much more interested in the people they traveled with.
At night, Harry would sit by the fire and calmly carve out a new wooden creation. He seemed to be marking the days with each carving he finished. His satchel was becoming quite full with toys, bowls, spoons, and other odds and ends that he had whittled into existence and even managed to sell a decent amount of them.
While each day was interesting and enjoyable for the most part, he was glad it was essentially uneventful. Not accidents thus far, except once when one of the horsemen injured his leg and commissioned Harry to make a walking stick for him. The boy had obliged and carved him out a handsome one with a detailed ornament of a ram’s head on the handle.
It sparked the interest of the princes and princess as they were reminded that he had made the toys and games they had been so fond of in Winterfell. When they came calling for their own wood carvings, he had nearly jolted when the three children approached him to see his wares.
Princess Marcella had fallen madly in love with his collection of handmade spoons whose handles were designed with vines and leaves and stems of flowers. She had gotten particularly fond of one with the stem and blossom of an orchid and had purchased it with great delight. The last he heard about it, the princess never ate a meal without her new utensil present with her.
Prince Tommen had asked if Harry would make him a toy elephant, one of the exotic creatures the boy had heard about in stories. Much to his delight, Harry had merely reached into his bag and pulled out two that were already made; an adult and a baby. They were simplified in design compared to his other works yet still charming in their own way. The prince had been positively thrilled and paid Harry twelve pennies for them.
Prince Joffrey had ordered (not asked) to see more samples of his work, claiming it was to gain an idea of what his skill level was. Harry didn’t appreciate his tone but couldn’t exactly refuse him outright.
He showed him what he had: a ladle that looked like a tree trunk with its roots wrapped around the basin, a lidded bowl that looked precisely like an enlarged acorn, various hair ornaments and combs, the many animals and magical beasts he had made so far, and some experimental carvings of decorative floral and Celtic patterns.
Joffrey did his best to look unimpressed by it all. While he turned over a carving of an owl, a replica of Harry’s old snowy owl Hedwig, the prince’s expression remained indifferent during his snobbish examination.
“Are these really your best?”
“Until I make more and outdo myself,” Harry told him.
In the end Joffrey refused all of them and decided then and there that he needed a specially commissioned chess set for himself. He seemed to have been inspired by the set that Lord Eddard had and went into excruciating detail about how the pieces were to be designed from the board down to the pawns. One side would have black stags and the other would have gold lions and the board was to sport his own personal sigil. Humoring his demands, Harry pulled out his journal and began to sketch out some sample designs, explaining he could use a light-yellow wood for the lions and a darker wood for the stags. Joffrey leaned over his shoulder the whole time he was drawing, making frequent critiques, and micromanaging every little detail. Harry grew rapidly irritated of him, but held his tongue all during the interaction. He informed the prince that due to his specifications he would need to wait till after they reached King’s Landing, as he required a workstation and his heavier tools which weren’t easily accessible to him while they were traveling, especially when designing the board.
The prince huffed, but agreed to wait, just the same. Harry gave him a quote and explained he would need half of the payment upfront to acquire proper materials and cover the cost of his labor. In response, the prince decided that he would only pay once they were in King’s Landing, and Harry had begun his order. The wizard decided to just agree, knowing there would be no use trying to argue with the royal boy.
With that looming over him, he secretly hoped their journey would last for many more days.