The following day, everyone woke up in good spirits. Almost without realizing it, they had grown much closer after fighting together and sharing stories about themselves.
After a good meal, they decided to set off.
Everyone carried a long coil of rope slung over their shoulders as they made their way through the swamp.
Aside from Harry, everyone eyed every log floating in the water suspiciously, giving them as wide a berth as possible whenever they passed one.
They still thought trying to capture one of those things alive was madness, but they were willing to follow Harry.
Heading in a different direction than the day before, the group advanced for nearly half an hour before Harry raised his hand.
Everyone immediately came to a stop, and this time Theon didn't need to be told anything, immediately pulling out his bow.
"Listen. I'll go for its mouth and wrap it shut so it can't open it," Harry whispered.
After examining the lizard-lion's anatomy, he had realized that, just like the crocodiles from his previous world, it possessed incredible biting strength, but the muscles used to open its jaws were pitifully weak.
"While I distract it, get your loops ready and throw them around its legs. Once they're in place, pull at the same time so I can sedate it," Harry said, his gaze sweeping across the group.
Everyone nodded seriously, knowing Harry was taking by far the greatest risk. Standing beside those jaws was like dancing with death.
Giving Theon a signal, he immediately nocked an arrow and fired it at the log Harry had pointed out.
With a deafening roar, the battle began. As Harry charged toward the lizard-lion, the others spread out around it, preparing their ropes to bind its legs.
The lizard-lion immediately lunged at Harry, its jaws snapping shut with incredible speed straight toward his torso, and Harry had no doubt that if it had connected, he would have been torn apart.
Harry quickly dodged to the side before throwing himself onto its snout, using his legs to keep its jaws closed.
His hands didn't remain idle, quickly wrapping the rope around its snout.
The lizard-lion shook its head violently, trying to throw Harry off and force its jaws open. Harry's hands slipped before he could tie the knot, and feeling himself about to fall, he quickly murmured a spell, causing the rope to tighten around its snout and knot itself.
Harry immediately let go and was thrown away by the momentum.
"Hey! What happened?" Harry asked, looking at his companions, who hadn't done their part.
"Well... seeing you jump onto its snout was a little shocking," Smalljon admitted as he gripped the rope, unwilling to admit he'd lost his nerve.
Everyone gave Harry a slight nod.
Harry shook his head and turned his attention back to the lizard-lion. It had grown tired of thrashing its head around, and realizing it still couldn't open its mouth, it tried to lift one of its forelegs to scratch at the rope.
Everyone focused on its legs. With every step it took, one of them quickly cast a loop toward a leg, only to miss again and again.
Harry continued dodging the creature's charges while preventing it from tearing the rope off its snout with its forelegs.
Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that Smalljon had managed to get his loop around one of its legs. The others kept trying until, little by little, they succeeded as well.
"On my signal!" Harry shouted as he rolled across the ground to avoid a headbutt and grabbed the rope with Jon's group. Being the youngest, Harry was worried they wouldn't have enough strength.
"Now!" Harry shouted before pulling with all his strength.
The ropes went taut and groaned as the lizard-lion's legs were forced apart.
Deep furrows were carved through the mud as its legs slid outward.
The creature's enormous body crashed heavily into the swamp.
Its head thrashed desperately as it tried in vain to get back to its feet.
Harry immediately released the rope and sprinted toward its head. Pulling the potion from inside his tunic, he quickly uncorked it and poured the liquid between its teeth.
Suddenly, his hand jerked violently as one of the creature's legs managed to pull back.
Turning his head, he quickly saw Jon, Benfred, and Roger with flushed faces, doing everything they could to keep pulling on the rope.
Paying them no mind, Harry swiftly muttered a spell before guiding the liquid directly down the creature's throat.
The lizard-lion rapidly began to lose its strength. Only then did everyone finally release the ropes with a sigh before dropping heavily to the ground.
Almost all of them stared at their hands, sore from pulling so hard.
"That could've gone a lot smoother," Harry said as he looked at his useless followers.
"Forgive us for having survival instincts," Dacey said, rolling her eyes. She still found it hard to believe she had just watched Harry throw himself at the creature's snout. She was certain no one would believe her if she told the story.
"Sorry, I couldn't hold the rope any longer," Jon said, looking at Harry. His hands were still throbbing.
"It's alright. That thing was incredibly strong," Benfred said with a shrug.
"That's right. It's done now. We just have to get this thing out of the swamp," Harry said as he brushed the mud off his hands before removing the rope from the creature's snout.
"Let's hope your potion works," Smalljon said as he removed the ropes from its legs as well.
Everyone got to work, putting together an improvised stretcher.
"Ready? Now," Harry said as he lifted the creature with all his strength, the muscles in his arms swelling as he let out a low grunt.
Even then, carrying it was an enormous struggle. They managed only a few meters before they had to stop and catch their breath, while the terrain certainly didn't help, as their feet constantly sank into the mud.
Getting that thing out of the swamp was torture for everyone.
By the time they reached their camp, they all collapsed without the slightest desire to move.
For a moment, Harry wished he had simply used magic to levitate it out of the swamp, but his magic was his guarantee that everyone would make it back safely.
If another lizard-lion had appeared, being without magic would have been dangerous.
Shaking his head, Harry looked at the lizard-lion and realized they would have to get a wagon, otherwise there would be no way to transport it back to the North.
"Did anyone bring money?" Harry asked, looking at his companions.
In the end, they managed to gather a decent amount, and Harry sent half the group to the nearest settlement to buy a wagon.
With half the group gone, the rest stayed behind at camp, relaxing or heading to the river to wash the mud and sweat off after the exhausting day.
The following day, the others returned with a remarkably sturdy wagon, clearly strong enough to support both the creature and all of their baggage.
With tremendous effort, they managed to load the creature onto the wagon, after which the entire group hastily hitched the horses to it before setting off.
Unable to ride their horses, several of them, Harry included, had to travel in the wagon alongside the lizard-lion.
Ater, however, was incredibly strong, easily matching the pulling power of two or three horses.
Traveling at a much slower pace, it took the group nearly a month to return to Winterfell.
Harry didn't have to feed the lizard-lion. They were extremely resilient creatures that could go for long periods without eating, entering a kind of induced hibernation, so it required no food at all.
Still, they caused quite a stir in the Northern villages where they occasionally stopped to buy supplies.
When they reached Wintertown, the people cried out in astonishment at the sight of the enormous creature, and the commotion quickly drew even larger crowds.
Adults and children alike surrounded the wagon, curiously reaching out their hands toward the massive creature they believed to be dead.
No one stopped them. In fact, that was exactly what these heirs wanted.
Knowing it needed the proper publicity, Harry sat atop Ater for the entire little parade as they advanced through the town.
The people, of course, recognized Harry. The rumors about his journey with the other heirs had already spread throughout the North.
They all struck dignified poses atop the wagon, feeling proud as they basked in the astonished looks of the crowd.
They could already imagine their names echoing across the North once the stories spread.
When they reached Winterfell's great courtyard, Harry climbed down from Ater as several guards gathered around them.
"It's a lizard-lion!" one of the guards exclaimed in astonishment as he reached out a hand.
"It is. It was incredibly difficult to bring down," Theon said proudly as he sat atop the creature.
The other heirs looked at Theon with disdain, though deep down they all thought they had missed the opportunity to show off.
Their caution toward the creature had completely disappeared after they'd even slept on top of it.
All the commotion naturally drew the attention of Harry's family. His father was the first to come out, a faint smile appearing on his face when he saw his son return safe and sound.
Looking toward the massive creature, Ned immediately recognized it and approached, proud of his son's hunt.
He assumed Harry had brought it back to show it off, something rather unusual for him, and he almost let out a quiet chuckle, thinking that perhaps his son wasn't quite as mature as he seemed.
Catelyn was the next to emerge, her heart tightening at the thought of her son fighting such a monster.
Sansa reacted much the same way, not quite daring to come closer, unlike Arya, who immediately ran toward Harry.
"Pick me up," Arya said as she tugged on Harry's clothes, her eyes fixed on the creature.
"Of course," Harry said with a laugh as he helped her climb onto the lizard-lion.
She even bounced up and down a couple of times, as though testing whether it would wake up.
Harry let her play with a smile before walking over to his mother, kissing her on the cheek and embracing her.
"Harry, it must have been very dangerous," Catelyn said, frowning slightly as she looked at the creature's razor-sharp teeth.
"It's alright. I was careful," Harry replied with a smile before turning toward Sansa.
"Harry, did you bring me a gift?" Sansa asked as she stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"If you want, I'll make you a beautiful dress out of its hide," Harry said with a mischievous smile after kissing her cheek, pointing toward the lizard-lion.
"How ugly," Sansa said with a laugh, covering her mouth.
"Harry, how did you kill it?" Bran asked as he walked over curiously, his large eyes filled with admiration.
"Oh? Who said it was dead? It's very much alive," Harry said as he crouched down and made a face, trying to scare him.
"I don't believe you," Bran replied, crossing his arms with a pout.
"Is it really alive?" Catelyn asked uncertainly as, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Arya trying to pry open the creature's eyelids.
"Mm. I put it to sleep with a drug. I needed it alive for something," Harry said with a nod as he looked at his mother.
It was then that he saw her turn pale.
"Arya, get down from there," Catelyn said, caught somewhere between anger and panic as she watched Arya seemingly trying to stick her fingers into the creature's nostrils.
"Is it safe?" Ned couldn't help asking as he watched his wife hurry over to the beast and, ignoring her own fear, lift Arya down.
"Don't worry, I even slept on top of it," Harry said as he stood up and gave his father a brief hug.
"How did things go with them?" Ned asked, looking toward the heirs, who were chatting animatedly among themselves, apparently still boasting to the guards.
"It went well. They all have their own quirks, but I like them, and I'm starting to think of them as friends," Harry replied softly.
"I'm going to take a bath," Harry said, gently patting his father on the back before heading into the castle.
He truly wanted to sink into a tub of hot water and not come out for at least half an hour.
And that was exactly what he did. Even as he could still hear the faint murmurs of people outside loudly talking about the lizard-lion, Harry leaned his head back as the weariness slowly left his body in the steaming bath.
Staring at the ceiling, he thought the journey hadn't been bad at all, and the corners of his lips curved upward slightly as he remembered all the foolish things they had done along the way.
It wasn't a bad feeling.
Just then, the door to the bathing room opened.
Opening his eyes slightly in confusion, he saw Dacey smiling as though she had found exactly what she had been looking for.
"They told me there wasn't much hot water left, so I figured we could share," Dacey said as she began undressing without even looking at him.
Harry neither said nor did anything to stop her. He knew Dacey well enough to understand that no matter how he tried to reason with her, she would somehow twist his words to her advantage.
Dacey smiled, clearly pleased that Harry hadn't thrown her out, even deliberately lifting one of her toned legs a little higher as she stepped into the tub.
Unashamedly revealing her naked body through the rising steam.
Harry wasn't shy either, calmly letting his gaze travel from her attractively toned legs to the apex of her thighs.
Her waist was slender, lined with a row of well-defined abs, while her breasts were modest in size but perfectly rounded from years of training.
Harry's heated gaze made the corners of Dacey's lips curl upward. It was obvious that Harry found her body attractive.
Dacey didn't push her luck too far, and instead of moving closer to Harry, she sat at the opposite end of the tub, leaving them facing one another.
"So, where are we traveling next?" Dacey asked as she comfortably closed her eyes.
Not entirely sure whether he felt disappointed or relieved at losing sight of her body, Harry looked at Dacey's shoulders and neck before shaking his head and closing his own eyes.
"Do you think I run a travel company? If you people don't leave soon, I'm throwing you out of Winterfell. I have things to do," Harry complained as strange feelings coursed through his young body.
Dacey didn't fully understand Harry's words. He always used incomprehensible metaphors, but she still understood that he wanted to send them away.
"You won't let me stay?" Dacey asked, her voice softer than usual.
"You'd be my biggest distraction," Harry replied without the slightest hesitation.
Dacey let out a sweet laugh. Even if he was going to send her away from Winterfell, she wasn't sad. Maybe in a few years, she'd finally succeed.
Her eyes looked tenderly at the young man who had amazed her from the very moment they first met.
He was the man she had chosen, and she definitely wasn't going to let him go. A wild smile spread across her face as she silently urged Harry to grow up quickly.
Without opening his eyes to meet Dacey's intense gaze, Harry tried to push those thoughts away.
He thought about the train.
The steel.
The mines.
The tunnels.
No.
He couldn't concentrate with Dacey there. In the end, after shooting her an exasperated glare, Harry stood up and climbed out first.
Dacey's lips curled into an amused smile as she noticed something truly interesting.
Her little Harry wasn't so little after all.
----
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