Chapter 186: Searching for White Walkers
Beyond the Wall, True North
POV of Domeric Bolton
Domeric was using the Valyrian Glass Candle at the moment.
He flew through the vast expanse of land, covered in forest and snow. He went as far west as he could but found nothing.
That was not out of the ordinary.
Bloodraven had told him only the White Walkers' general direction.
The last time Bloodraven tried to send his birds too close to the White Walkers to search for them, he got a headache that lasted for days.
He could tell that Bloodraven must have suffered a rather powerful backlash because the old man was far stronger in the mental department than he or even Dumbledore.
He supposed that being a Greenseer had its perks, even if the gift ultimately failed to give the Targaryen a decent life.
He came back from the west. It didn't take him long to do that, as he had not gone very far in the first place.
The more time passed, the more the magic in the True North acted against him. And the more it supported the White Walkers.
Maybe it was just because the decade-long summer was finally at a descent. Or perhaps it was the work of the White Walkers. Maybe living in the True North for a long time allowed them to corrode the magic to their own liking.
Whatever the reason, he couldn't look as far as he once did with the Valyrian Glass Candle anymore. Something that frustrated him to no end.
Once he came back, he centered himself and took a few deep breaths. Then went inside the Candle once again.
He flew slightly in the southwest direction this time. The session lasted 15 minutes as he flew over the True North in his ethereal body.
Then returned empty-handed, again.
He found nothing of interest aside from the scattered tribe of Weeper. To gather more food, Weeper had been forced to scatter his people some time ago.
Food was a scarce commodity in the True North. He was sure that Weeper would not have wanted to scatter his people, but without their food stock, he had to resort to this to prevent his people from starving and rebelling against him.
This posed a problem for Domeric. He needed to be careful, as the direction his group had been taking led them through the scattered people of Weeper. It would be a perilous thing if all of them didn't have their magical armor.
With a gasp, he came out of the Valyrian Glass Candle and took a few deep breaths, and clutched his head in slight pain as the effects of magical exhaustion hit him at once.
A pair of warm hands wrapped around him, and he let out a soft smile, even as he grimaced in pain.
"You overdid it again. Do you have a death wish or something?" Ygritte asked while she was lying his head down on her thighs. And started massaging his head.
Domeric took Ygritte's hand and kissed it gently.
"Where would I be without you?"
"In some other girl's lap, no doubt. That Dacey girl seems intent on sleeping with you."
He paused in his thoughts about ways to increase the range of the Valyrian Glass Candle and opened his eyes to look at Ygritte's frowning face.
"Are you jealous, Ygritte?" he asked.
Her frown deepened at that, and she nodded in confusion.
"I shouldn't be. In the True North, a man can take as much as he can keep. Powerful wargs are known to have multiple wives. So are some of the chieftains and powerful men. I never seriously thought about this before…. But I don't want to share you with anyone, Domeric. Even if it goes against the traditions of my people."
He lifted his head from her lap, sat down in front of her, and gave her a serious look.
"Know this, Ygritte. I'll never cheat on you. I'll never betray you, no matter what." He said, "It is possible that in the future you might not like me as much, in which case we can break up if you want. But I love you, and I have no intention of leaving you. And as long as we're together, you'll be my one and only, if that's what you want."
"Is this the place where I blush like a fair maiden and pretend to faint?" she asked, and he chuckled.
"No," he said, the earlier seriousness returning, "This is the part where you promise me the same thing."
Ygritte frowned at him. Probably not thinking that he would be so serious about this topic.
But he had been betrayed before. And he didn't want that to happen again.
When Ginny betrayed him, he had become a dour, cold, and pragmatic person.
Because of her betrayal, he had put all of his focus on his job, caring about nothing else.
In six months, he was the top auror, and by the end of the year, he was the Head Auror with the kill count of over 300 dark wizards and a dozen scars as proof.
And two years after becoming Head Auror, he took over the office as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
But he preferred being out in the field to sitting in an office, dealing with paperwork and politics. He had become head of the DMLE because he was tired of taking orders from others.
Taking orders from others wouldn't be a problem for him if the people giving them were competent and knowledgeable. Still, he had seen enough incompetent superiors and managers during his time as an Auror.
So he created a new title to handle the paperwork and run the office while he was in the field: Undersecretary of DMLE.
He then appointed a qualified person to this position.
After this, running the department had become relatively easy. He generally received briefings from the Undersecretary and reviewed and signed any important documents that needed his review.
Additionally, he was required to attend Wizegamot sessions as the head of the DMLE, but he was already attending those sessions as Lord Potter and Head Auror, so not much had changed.
That was pretty much his life after Ginny's betrayal. Just his job. That incident had really changed him, and in a way, cut him off from a large part of his life.
He was not sure how he would change again if he were betrayed yet another time.
And he was not sure he wanted to know that.
"But didn't I promise you that before? In our conversation about what our relationship was. Don't you remember… husband?" she said.
Domeric chuckled and said, "Of course I remember, my darling wife. But in relationships, sometimes things need to be repeated and verbalized. Just like saying 'I love you.'"
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Ch.187: Solution
Ch.188: Unexpected Delay