One month later.
Harry was sitting at the top of his tower as he watched Daenerys avoid his gaze with some embarrassment.
Setting aside the glass spheres he had been experimenting with, he turned and looked at her.
"So, you want to know if I would help you reclaim the throne," Harry said, looking at her with some amusement.
Daenerys nodded timidly, not knowing what Harry was thinking.
"First, let me ask you something. Why do you want the throne?" Harry said, gesturing with his hand and causing a chair to move behind Daenerys.
"Uh, well, it's my birthright," Daenerys said unconsciously as she took a seat.
"You're wrong about that. I thought we'd already been over this. If the Targaryen dynasty still existed and someone who shouldn't be on the throne were sitting on it, for example an uncle or a cousin, then that would be true, but we both know the Targaryen dynasty no longer exists," Harry said, gently shaking his head.
"Robert is on the throne by right of conquest, just as the Targaryens came to Westeros and conquered the kingdoms 300 years ago."
"It's fine if you use that slogan to rally men, but if you actually believe it, then you have a problem."
"The throne belongs only to whoever conquers it," Harry said, looking at her seriously.
"But they were the ones who attacked my family and took the throne from us," Daenerys said, trying to justify herself.
"Let's ignore whether there was a reason or not. Your family threatened the entire continent with dragons and forced them to kneel, which also happened to my house. I could say that your family stole the throne that belonged to me," Harry said, looking at her.
"It's fine if you want a throne, but don't fool yourself by saying you deserve it," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
Daenerys remained silent, somewhat shaken by Harry's arguments.
"I... would just like to do what you do. I feel like it's a good purpose, and I want the way people look at you and talk about you. I want that," Daenerys said, biting her lip and clutching her clothes as she looked at Harry.
"You want validation. I suppose it's because no one has ever given it to you," Harry said without softening his words.
Daenerys visibly shrank back. She couldn't help thinking that Harry was being particularly harsh with his comments.
"I'm a wizard, Daenerys. Even if your desire to help people is noble, you're not going to become me just because you want to. You have no power, you have no experience ruling or dealing with nobles, you have no followers. I don't see how you could conquer a piece of land and rule it," Harry said, laying out the harsh reality before her.
"I helped you and brought you here because I felt sorry for the future you would have had there. There's a great distance between that and helping you conquer the throne."
"I like you, Daenerys. I really care about you, but I don't owe you anything. No one in the world owes you anything. When you understand that, you'll be able to see things more clearly," Harry said, looking at her seriously, not stopping even when he saw the unshed tears in her eyes.
Daenerys had grown up with her brother's fanciful stories, and sometimes she had rather questionable ideas or ways of seeing the world. First, he had to try to correct that.
The tears she had been holding back finally rolled down her cheeks, and she felt completely helpless.
She had thought Harry would help her. She had thought that perhaps she could marry Harry in exchange for his help.
Lying on her bed, she couldn't even remember exactly how she had left Harry's room.
Every word Harry had said echoed loudly in her mind, and it hurt because she couldn't find a way to deny any of it.
She had no one in the world, no strength of her own, no exceptional intelligence, and no followers. Wanting to be queen really was a fantasy.
She had thought that perhaps her beauty would make Harry accept her request. She had fantasized several times that they would marry and rule Westeros together.
But her beauty didn't seem to be enough.
She supposed that even if she had let her brother sell her, her beauty wouldn't have been enough either.
Getting out of bed and looking at herself in the mirror, Daenerys removed the necklace that hadn't left her neck since the first time she put it on.
Her hair immediately turned platinum white and her eyes purple.
She remembered that a woman had once told her that beauty was a woman's greatest weapon, and that she would probably grow up to be the most beautiful of all.
Touching her face, she also thought she was very beautiful, but beauty didn't seem to be enough.
She needed strength, intelligence, and followers, but to get those things she needed help, and as Harry had said, he didn't owe her anything.
For a moment, her gaze returned to her reflection. If her beauty was one of the few things she had, perhaps she could use it. She could offer to become Harry's woman and, with his help, try again in a few years.
However, she quickly shook her head.
Val and Dacey had told her a lot about Harry, enough for her to conclude that he would probably reject her.
Not only would he reject her, he would probably be disappointed in her. Wasn't he the one who had saved her from a similar situation? It would be ridiculous to escape from that only to willingly put herself in practically the same situation.
No, first she had to figure out what she could do on her own.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Daenerys looked at her reflection again with a firmer expression. The easy path was completely out of the question.
….
Harry entered a fairly peaceful period of his life. He experimented with potions or magic, trained his body, and took Nyx and Fenrir out for walks.
His son grew every day, as did the volume of his crying.
Despite that, they were the most relaxing months he'd had in a long time. The Wall was calm, and the Free Folk had settled quite well at Sea Dragon Point.
Then came his sixteenth birthday, which was also the day he would be named Lord Stark.
It was a major event in the North.
The ceremony was quite solemn. Winterfell's old throne room filled with nobles.
His father was the one who finally named him Lord Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North before handing him Ice.
Harry sat on the throne while everyone bent a knee, expressing their loyalty.
It was a little uncomfortable to simply remain silent while everyone else knelt, but he understood that it was part of the ceremony.
His mother shed a few tears of pride while his father simply looked at him with a smile.
At some point, he had become quite popular. All the Lords wanted to talk to him about grain, livestock, the train, and the tools and weapons produced in Steam Town.
Succession usually only took place upon the death of the Lord.
Perhaps not everyone would be willing to serve a new Lord after having strengthened their ties with the previous one, especially if they were unsure of the heir's abilities.
But Harry's case was different. The entire North praised his name.
The abundance the North now enjoyed was something unheard of even in ancient tales.
For many in the North, food and a warm home had been constant uncertainties before Harry appeared.
All the Lords came to Winterfell, along with common people who simply wanted to be there that day.
Regardless of what each Lord might think, Harry's rise was inevitable.
The entire town seemed to sink into celebration. The meat, wine, and laughter didn't seem to stop even after three days.
In his new solar, Harry looked at the sword of the House, Ice. It was very large, as wide as a palm and almost as long as a man.
Extending his hand, he picked it up easily. It wasn't only because of his strength; made entirely of Valyrian steel, it was incredibly light, but deadly sharp.
Running his hand over the blade, he smiled, thinking that he could make some improvements to it now that it was his.
"I wonder what it would feel like if you caressed my skin that gently," Val said, playing with a few strands of her blonde hair.
"If I treated you that gently, you might get bored," Harry said, turning to look at her as she sat on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, her eyes carrying that mischievous look they usually had.
Val laughed as she stood up and approached the large wooden desk, patting it a couple of times.
"It looks pretty sturdy," Val said, raising an eyebrow with a smile.
Harry laughed before pulling Val into his arms and kissing the top of her blonde head.
"Go and get Arya, Sansa, and Daenerys," Harry said, looking at her.
"Can't we break the place in first?" Val said, looking at Harry flirtatiously.
"Go quickly," Harry said, slapping her butt before ignoring her.
Val complained before leaving the solar in search of the girls.
Harry looked at the closed door with a slight smile before taking three branches from his chest and laying them out on the desk.
Since his failed attempt to create a wand, he had experimented and played around quite a bit with a single goal.
To create a functional wand.
He hadn't succeeded.
But he had managed to create something that could be useful to his sisters.
He called it a Training Wand.
Unlike a normal wand, which amplified your focus and the power of your spells, this one only increased your focus.
This made it easier to cast spells without making them more powerful.
Each one was bone-white, made from Aricano wood, with a crimson core made from its sap.
It had all started a few months ago. Arya had told him that she had dreamed she was Nymeria.
After asking her for more details, he realized that it was exactly what had happened to him with Hedwig.
Not only Arya, but Sansa, Bran, and even Jon had experienced similar dreams, as he discovered after asking them.
None of them had taken it seriously, and aside from Arya, the others wouldn't even have mentioned it if Harry hadn't asked them, thinking it was just a silly dream, but this truly surprised Harry.
An ability like this manifested so easily in the Stark bloodline that it suggested a very strong magical lineage.
So he planned to start giving them magic lessons to see if they could learn.
As for why he had included Daenerys, he simply considered it a small experiment, although he feared she might suffer another blow if his sisters could use magic and she couldn't.
Val took quite a while to arrive with the three girls, who were confused by Harry's summons.
"Come, take a seat," Harry said, pointing to the comfortable sofa he had installed.
Harry tucked the three wands back inside his shirt and sat in the armchair across from them while Val sat on the armrest, extending her arm along the backrest.
Harry looked at Val in annoyance since she had ruined the atmosphere he was trying to create. Ignoring her, he took out the wand, catching the attention of the three girls.
"This is called a wand. Let's say it's a tool that makes it easier to cast spells," Harry said, looking at the three of them.
Daenerys and Arya already knew that he could use magic, so they simply nodded, unlike Sansa, who looked completely confused and thought they were playing a joke on her.
"Lumos," Harry said aloud as a small sphere of light formed at the tip of the wand.
"This is one of the simplest spells. Now I want you to try it. Any volunteers?" Harry said with a smile as he extended his hand with the wand.
Almost immediately, Arya lunged forward and grabbed his hand before taking the wand from him while smiling at him.
Daenerys opened her mouth before closing it again. In any case, it seemed that everyone would get a turn.
Sansa, on the other hand, still seemed to be in another world, her eyes following Harry's hand in complete amazement, unable to believe that the rumors were real.
She had seen her brother do incredible things, but she had never seen irrefutable proof like what she had just witnessed.
"Then you can try it," Harry said with a smile as he placed his hand on her little head.
"Remember what I told you back then. What's important is the intention you put into it. You have to be certain that you can do it," Harry said, looking into her eyes.
Arya took a deep breath and stared intently at the wand, almost as if she wanted to burn a hole through it, making Harry have to hold back his laughter.
"Lumos!" Arya shouted with all her strength, as if the louder she shouted, the better it would work.
To Harry's surprise, small sparks came out of the wand. Although this meant that the spell had failed, at least it was a start, proving that Arya did indeed have the ability.
Unlike Harry, Arya looked at the wand with disappointment before looking at Harry.
"It's all right, you just have to keep practicing. Sparks came out, see? That proves you have the ability. The first time you shot an arrow wasn't perfect either, was it?" Harry said with a smile.
Arya shook her head as her spirits improved, deciding to practice day and night.
"When you start feeling dizzy, stop," Harry said as if he could read her thoughts.
Seeing the way Arya was gripping the wand, it was clear that it would be difficult to take it away from her, so he simply pulled another Training Wand from his chest.
"Well?" Harry said, looking at Daenerys and Sansa.
Daenerys bit her lip before standing up and approaching Harry.
Taking the wand, her fingers traced its polished surface.
She was nervous but also somewhat embarrassed. Harry seemed to have given her this opportunity without asking for anything in return.
For the past few months, she had barely left the library, learning all kinds of things for the future.
Economics, administration, strategy—everything a good ruler could use.
Sometimes she even asked Harry or Maester Luwin about things she didn't understand.
Even so, she knew she lacked personal power.
It was said that the Targaryens had the blood of the dragon and that magic flowed through their bodies. Although she had believed it when she heard it from her brother, Daenerys hardly believed it anymore.
If that were true, would the Targaryens have fallen into such a precarious situation?
Even so, her eyes filled with determination and hope. If she proved that she could use magic, wouldn't that change her situation?
"Lumos," Daenerys said softly, her voice dignified. The tip of the wand lit up very faintly before fading away.
A broad smile appeared on Daenerys's face as her knuckles turned white from gripping the wand, her eyes lifting to meet Harry's with an intense gaze.
"Hmm, well done," Harry said, nodding, although Daenerys's gaze was a little frightening.
He couldn't help making mental notes about her. Not only did she seem to stimulate the dragon eggs, but she could also use magic. He still wasn't sure whether Daenerys was special or if it was her bloodline.
The subject still required further observation.
He turned his gaze to Sansa, who had watched everything in silence.
"Do you want to try?" Harry asked, looking at Sansa.
"Why? I really don't understand any of this. Isn't magic something blasphemous and dangerous?" Sansa said, confused.
"According to the Septa?" Harry said in a clearly mocking tone.
"Magic is a valuable gift that few possess. You seem to have it. The dreams you have about Lady aren't dreams," Harry said, almost biting his tongue as he said the name of Sansa's wolf.
"It's just you looking through her eyes. Skinchanging is an ability that allows you to enter the minds of animals and even control them. The dreams are just signs that the ability is awakening," Harry said, watching her expression turn to one of amazement and disbelief.
"If you want, I can try to teach you. If you don't want to learn, that's fine too. It's your decision," Harry said, looking at her.
"I... have to think about it," Sansa said, feeling dizzy. Gripping her skirt, she stood up before running out of the room.
"How silly," Val said, looking speechless.
"That's Sansa," Arya said, nodding.
"Hey! No insults," Harry said, looking at them in disbelief, although if she weren't his beloved little sister, he would probably say the same thing.
Magic was something so many people longed for, and there she was, hesitating at the opportunity to learn.
Spoiled girl.
Shaking his head, Harry let it go. He could afford to spoil her.
"So, any questions?" Harry said, looking at them.
"Why don't you seem to use wands?" Daenerys asked curiously.
Arya nodded as she remembered it too and looked at Harry.
"Because I'm incredible," Harry said, giving them a smug smile.
He couldn't help bursting into laughter at their speechless expressions.
"Using magic without a wand is incredibly complex and requires great willpower and practice. You would probably give up before managing to cast even a simple Lumos," Harry said, raising his finger and making a ball of light appear.
"Lumos," Arya said, looking at her finger, but nothing happened.
"To cast a spell, what's important is intention or will. A wand amplifies these aspects, making it easier to cast the spell successfully. A wand also increases the power of spells, so it will be your lifelong companion. Of course, that isn't the case with yours, since it's only for learning."
"Saying the incantation also helps focus your intention. Once you have greater mastery, you won't even need to recite it," Harry said, demonstrating for them by raising his finger without saying anything, causing a small ball of light to appear.
"For now, take your wand and practice until you manage to form a ball of light and manipulate it in a basic way: make it move, go up, go down, follow you, and so on. Oh, and try not to let anyone see you," Harry said, looking at both girls.
Both nodded seriously, urging Harry with their gazes to finish talking so they could leave and practice.
Pursing his lips, Harry sent them both out of the solar.
Suddenly, Val reached out and slipped her hand inside Harry's shirt.
"Tell me, do you have a hole in your chest that I don't know about?" Val said jokingly, since Harry was always pulling random things from inside his shirt as if there were more space there than there appeared to be.
Laughing, Harry made his wand appear inside his shirt, feeling Val take it.
"Yours is a little different," Val said, looking at it.
"Bigger?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow with a smile.
"And thicker too," Val said, laughing.
"You know it well," Harry said with a laugh as he watched her handle his wand.
"Lumos," Val said, pointing the wand toward Harry's face.
Unfortunately, there weren't even any sparks. Harry didn't feel the slightest reaction from the wand either.
"Too bad," Val said without feeling too disappointed. Harry had already said that magic was a rare gift.
She easily consoled herself by thinking that Harry was her wand, allowing her to use whatever magic she wanted.
Harry showed a little sadness in his eyes but didn't let her see it, simply pulling her against his chest.
"I'm not sad, seriously. I'm not a child," Val said with a smile. She was already twenty years old, a full-fledged adult.
"Just so we're clear, I don't care whether you can use magic or not," Harry said, looking at her as he cradled her face in his hands.
"How cheesy," Val said with a soft laugh.
"Look who's talking," Harry said with a smile as he held her chin and kissed her.
"You know me, I prefer actions to words," Val said, sitting on Harry's lap with a seductive expression.
Harry smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist before they went on to christen the desk, just as she wanted.
----
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