One week later.
From his tower, Harry watched the workers begin laying the railway tracks.
He noticed that the soldiers on the walls constantly watched them, apparently confused by what they were doing.
The farmers near the castle also cast curious glances at them, unable to understand what they were building.
Everyone tried to ask, but no one really knew what those two lines of metal were for. Even so, many considered them a waste.
That much metal could have been used to make countless weapons and tools.
When they learned it was Harry's project, their curiosity only grew, to the point where everyone tried to get the answer out of him.
Since he was quite approachable, the guards often felt comfortable enough to ask him, but Harry simply told them it was a secret.
Theon was particularly persistent. Harry assumed he had said a little too much by claiming he knew.
Unfortunately for everyone who was curious, Harry said nothing, and before long the workers disappeared into the distance, leaving behind nothing but gleaming steel rails.
At the same time, another group of workers began building two roofed platforms alongside the tracks, which only made everyone even more suspicious.
Over the course of a year, the interest gradually faded, and people slowly grew accustomed to them.
Fortunately, there were no incidents, nor did anyone attempt to damage the tracks.
Now that a year had passed, Harry wanted to see how the railway construction was progressing.
Using Hedwig as his eyes, he flew along the railway, watching the tracks stretch toward the horizon.
The line was almost complete. A few crews still had to connect sections of track that did not fit together perfectly, requiring custom-length rails, but it was something they had anticipated and did not affect the overall progress.
During the past year, Harry had tried to take things a little more slowly. Even so, whenever he grew bored, he couldn't help experimenting with potions or spells.
Sometimes he would ride through the Wolfswood with Arya, or play cyvasse with Sansa, which was essentially chess, only with somewhat different rules.
She wasn't very good at it, but Harry tried to encourage her with small prizes so she would want to keep playing.
His routine, however, was interrupted by the arrival of a woman and a bear.
After barely exchanging greetings, he was quickly dragged to the training yard.
"Come on, this time I'll beat you," Dacey said, looking at Harry with a smile.
"I don't like using the word impossible, but it's getting pretty close," Harry teased, his green eyes filled with amusement.
Dacey merely made a mocking face as she tightened her grip on the morningstar, her eyes carefully watching Harry.
Both took small steps, circling each other and testing one another, as though the moment either of them made a mistake, they would immediately lunge forward.
"If all you want is to look at me, we don't have to fight," Dacey said after several seconds.
"You're the one who challenged me. You arrived several days before everyone else," Harry replied, refusing to fall for her provocation.
"And here I was about to tell you we could bathe together again if all you wanted was to look at me," Dacey teased, noticing him blink for an instant as his gaze wandered around to see who might have heard her.
At that very moment, she lunged at Harry with all her strength. His expression turned to surprise for an instant before he moved his sword to block.
A loud metallic clang echoed through the training yard as both of them froze.
Dacey grimaced as the vibration shot through her hands, nearly making her drop her weapon.
"You're cheating," Dacey muttered under her breath, suppressing a groan of pain.
"And you have the nerve to say that?" Harry replied speechlessly as he forced her backward.
Dacey took a couple of steps back while looking at him.
"You know exactly what I mean. It felt like I hit a rock," Dacey complained.
"That has nothing to do with magic. I'm just very strong. How about this? I'll fight with only one hand," Harry said as he shifted his sword to one hand and held it effortlessly.
The curve of his lips as he looked at her was incredibly irritating.
Dacey glared at Harry before charging toward him. Her body moved as fast as it could, her foot came to an abrupt stop as she twisted her waist, and her hands gripped the morningstar tightly as it crashed against Harry's sword.
Her eyes narrowed as she felt Harry's arm barely tremble.
The corners of Harry's lips curled upward before he suddenly withdrew all his strength and released his sword, quickly grabbing her wrist while his other arm swiftly wrapped around her waist.
"I'm not ten years old anymore," Harry said, looking her in the eyes.
Dacey struggled in his arms until her cheeks turned red. Powerless, she could only lower the morningstar along with Harry's hand.
He truly wasn't ten years old anymore. Their heights were almost the same, and the thick arm wrapped around her wouldn't let her move.
"So? It looks like we have an audience now," Dacey said as she looked at Harry, her eyes unable to help but wander as they found themselves so close.
"So it seems. By the way, I win again," Harry said, gently pinching her waist before letting her go.
Several soldiers were watching them with knowing smiles. The gossip would surely spread throughout the castle before long.
Coming back to her senses, Dacey snorted as she roughly pulled her wrist free and gently rubbed it. Watching Harry turn his back to crouch down and pick up his sword, she truly felt the urge to throw herself at him.
"I have work to do. Want to come with me?" Harry asked, lightly shaking the dirt that had stuck to his sword.
"Sure," Dacey replied after a second of silence.
A few days later, the rest of the group arrived, and after more than a year, they were finally reunited.
Harry, who was busy overseeing the completion of the railway, truly didn't have time to attend to them, so he left them at Winterfell while he rode Ater north.
After Harry explained the situation, they all decided to stay and wait until he was free.
Unlike Harry, who now had almost complete control over the affairs of the North, they were still quite free and had no responsibilities beyond learning and training.
Once again, it took Harry less than a day to reach the mining town. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know whether Philip had come up with a name for it.
Philip was already waiting for him and immediately led him behind the forge, where several steel plates had been stacked.
Looking over the pieces, Harry reached out and felt their hardness. Some were not perfectly rectangular and had small imperfections.
He didn't mind too much. After all, he intended to shape and join them with magic.
Harry began with the base, shaping the steel into the form he had in mind, connecting the wheels to the connecting rods and the cylinder, along with countless other small but necessary details.
Working upward from the cylinder, he shaped the pipes and the smokestack before resting for half a day.
Once the magic in that area had recovered, he continued until it was depleted again, always leaving his body's own reserves untouched.
Day after day, the train took on more and more shape, and soon it would race across the North at full speed.
After another day of work.
The two of them returned to the communal hall, where Harry simply took a break.
Philip was still astonished by the almost divine creations Harry had just completed.
The way the metal moved as though it were water was incredible. His hands couldn't help reaching out to touch it, as if making sure it truly was steel.
Seeing him so fascinated by magic, Harry deliberately changed the subject.
"By the way, have you thought of a name for the town?" Harry asked.
"What about Steam Town?" Philip said after remaining silent for a while.
Harry thought about it for a moment before nodding with a smile. Like the city that had created the world's first steam train, it was a fitting name.
Harry spent nearly a week assembling the train. The last piece was shaped and fused onto the massive black locomotive. This time, not only was Philip excited—even Harry was eager to test it.
There were still the carriages to build, however, both freight and passenger.
After thinking for a moment, Harry quickly sent a letter to Winterfell, telling his father that everything was ready and that, if they wished, he could bring the entire family to see it.
He also mentioned that if the heirs wished to come, they were welcome to join them.
He knew it would take them a little over a week to arrive, since they wouldn't be riding as fast while bringing a carriage.
Even so, that gave him enough time.
The train had not originally been designed for passengers. It had been built for freight.
So, for the time being, he built only a single passenger carriage, with the rest being freight cars.
Materials had to be transported south to continue construction toward Moat Cailin.
Since he also planned to rebuild Moat Cailin, all the stone from the mountains would be needed, and the train could easily carry dozens of tons.
Doing the same thing with wagons would have been terribly slow and expensive.
It would also be useful for transporting food from Winterfell to the new Steam Town.
Gathering steel plates together, Harry used Reparo to fuse them before attaching the wheels, shaping the coupling system, and adding the brakes.
It took Harry more than a week to finish the six carriages.
Harry made the single passenger carriage quite nice, leaving a narrow aisle down the middle with seats on either side.
He also installed handrails on the ceiling so that at least two people could stand on each side of the aisle.
It could seat one hundred people, and including those standing, around one hundred and thirty could travel comfortably.
That was more than enough for the time being.
The five freight cars would be loaded with coal, timber, stone, and stacked railway rails.
The locomotive was placed onto the tracks with the help of several horses, as were the carriages, although they were considerably lighter.
Thus, the gigantic black locomotive stood at Steam Town's railway station.
A monster of steel and steam unlike anything anyone in that world had ever seen.
Harry and Philip carried out a few simple operational tests, filling the water tank, lighting the boiler, and setting the pistons in motion without turning the wheels.
A loud, piercing whistle burst from the smokestack, releasing steam and pressure.
And of course, several people had to be taught how to operate the train.
Several more days were spent testing and training, moving the train forward and backward little by little.
The selected men were fascinated by the train's "magic." Philip had chosen them with great care.
Selecting men who were both loyal and intelligent.
Harry smiled, remembering how the idea had first come to him five years ago while riding on horseback. He felt quite satisfied to have finally brought it to life.
Leaving the train where it was, Harry returned to his room and rested. His family should arrive the following day, and then they would all depart aboard the train.
Soon, the North would witness something no kingdom in Westeros had ever imagined.
....
The following day, Harry dressed well and rode Ater along the Kingsroad. After only five minutes at Ater's speed, he spotted them.
More than a hundred riders on horseback with a carriage in the middle.
Harry had never really liked the carriages at the castle. In his opinion, they all looked like moving coffins or oversized chests.
Harry greeted the soldiers riding at the front, who immediately opened a path for him toward the center.
Along the way, he found his companions chatting among themselves as they rode. He couldn't help stopping to look at Uru.
The bear had grown considerably and was beginning to reach adulthood, standing almost as tall as Ater at the shoulder.
It was then that his eyes met those of its rider. Dacey's lips curved into a smile as she looked at him.
Harry unconsciously found himself smiling back as he gave her a slight nod.
"I'm going to speak with my father. We'll catch up later," Harry said, sweeping his gaze over everyone before riding deeper into the formation and taking his place beside his father.
"You brought a hundred soldiers. I told you not to bring so many people," Harry said with an ironic smile.
"Safety comes first. The entire Stark family is together right now. One mistake, and there won't be any chance to regret it," Ned said, looking at his son. In fact, if Harry hadn't insisted, he wouldn't have wanted everyone leaving the castle together in the first place.
"You're right," Harry said, not pursuing the matter any further.
It was just that the soldiers would probably have to ride back on their own. There was room to carry them, but not their horses.
"How was the journey?" Harry asked, looking at his father.
"Exhausting. Your mother and Sansa are in a bad mood. They've done nothing but think about the trip back," Ned said, shaking his head.
"They don't have to worry about the return journey. It'll be very short," Harry said with a quiet chuckle.
"I truly don't know what you're planning," Ned said with a faint smile. The man in charge of this entire area didn't answer to him, so he genuinely had no idea.
He only knew it was supposed to be a faster means of transportation, but Ned's knowledge limited him. How fast could it really be if it was still pulled by horses?
Almost twenty minutes later, the group finally arrived at the small town.
Harry opened the carriage door and helped his mother down, embracing her.
"Harry!" Catelyn said, slightly embarrassed to be lifted by her son in front of so many people.
"I'm glad you came. You won't regret it," Harry said with a smile.
All of Catelyn's bad mood seemed to vanish immediately as she looked at her son with a smile.
He also helped Sansa down, who kept looking around like a curious little bird.
Arya didn't need any help and jumped down on her own alongside her younger brothers, Bran and Rickon.
The horses were quickly taken care of by the stablehands before Harry gave his family and friends a tour of the growing town.
"At this hour, almost everyone is working in the mine, so the streets are a little quiet," Harry said as he noticed everyone looking at the few people passing by.
"There's the communal hall, the hospital, and over there is the most important part," Harry said, pointing into the distance.
"The brothel?" Theon's voice quickly asked from the back of the group.
Several people burst into laughter, only to be silenced by a single look from Catelyn.
"The forge. Tons of steel are produced there every day to continue the project," Harry said, ignoring Theon's joke.
In fact, there really was a brothel in the town. There was simply no way around it. The miners had money, and they had to spend it somewhere.
Drink and women were their favorite pastimes. Without either of them, they would probably rebel.
Heat and all sorts of unfamiliar sounds poured out of the forge, but Harry didn't take them inside because there really wasn't much to see.
"Do you want to eat something first, or go straight to the exciting part?" Harry asked as he turned to face the group.
"Let's go to the exciting part," Arya said immediately, answering before anyone else could.
Most of them agreed or simply didn't mind, so Harry smiled and led them toward a platform-like building with a wide staircase along one side.
"It's just like the building next to the castle," Sansa said softly, blushing a little when several people turned to look at her.
"That's right. It's necessary for boarding our new means of transportation," Harry said with a smile.
With the station before them, Harry turned around and smiled at everyone. He was a little excited to see how they would react once they laid eyes on it.
----
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