Tyrion, II

The road south was a long one, but that gave the mind of Tyrion time aplenty to be filled with plots and schemes, and to learn more about his new companions. As it stood, they were riding in the open, so he would focus only on the latter.

"Tell me, Lord Harry, have you ever seen a dragon, perchance?" asked Tyrion, eager to learn more about his friend's so-called 'Wizarding World'.

"Are you asking about real dragons, or Targaryens?"

"The real thing, of course. Targaryens in and of themselves are nothing special; their hair of a lighter hue than that of my family and their eyes are purple, but other than that there is nothing remarkable about their physical appearance. Dragons, on the other hand, are fabled beasts. Ask any peasant boy or girl and they will all tell you the same thing: they wish to see a dragon, perhaps one being slain by a gallant knight atop a white steed. The fantasies of many have not changed since the time of Aegon's Conquest," said Tyrion. "Then again, lords and ladies are no different from the smallfolk. I myself have dreamed of dragons all my life."

"You aren't the only one," Jon interjected, guiding his horse alongside them. "Robb and I used to pretend we were slaying dragons in the yard at Winterfell back when we were boys. I would be Urrax and he would be Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, although he only had a wooden buckler."

"And he didn't stab you in the eye with his spear either," said Tyrion. "Yes, I can tell that he did not."

"A spear wouldn't do much good against a mighty beast like Balerion the Black Dread," Eddard offered. "Perhaps you could blind him in one eye, but that good eye would follow you until the edge of the world in order to see you die in retribution. I feel that the tale of Serwyn has been aggrandised into myth."

"Tell that to the Dornish, Lord Stark," said Tyrion with a toothy grin. "They used guerrilla tactics to fight against Aegon and managed to slay both Meraxes and Rhaenys herself by firing a scorpion bolt through the dragon's eye."

"There is a difference between a spear thrust from an ordinary man and an iron scorpion bolt shot with pinpoint accuracy, Lannister," Eddard argued. "The force behind the attacks cannot be compared."

"I bow to your superior knowledge of warfare," Tyrion announced, giving a brief bow. Ned ignored him. "In any case, I believe we have gone off-topic. Come, Harry: are there dragons where there are wizards?"

"Hundreds," Harry admitted. "They aren't domesticated animals, even with magic to assist us, but we keep them on special reserves where they can roam free without terrorising people. A friend of mine worked as a dragon handler several years back, before the reserve was targeted by Voldemort. That mad bastard set dozens of the things free over the countryside after smashing up their eggs, which set them into a killing frenzy. We lost over a hundred men and women trying to contain that threat, and the dragons themselves were mostly destroyed. It was only one of many reserves, but Charlie told me it was a hell of a loss. Still, no choice – smashing a dragon's eggs and then setting it free is akin to opening a henhouse door and just throwing the fucking fox inside. Bedlam."

Tyrion found that remarkable. To hear the young wizard speak of such things in so casual a manner... sometimes Tyrion thought that he was having a bizarre dream, but no dream could ever last for such a long time, except in death, and he was fairly sure that he wasn't dead. Death wouldn't regale him with thoughts of dragons yet also have his sister in a close proximity. Such good and evil could not work together, not even in the afterlife. Or mayhaps it was simply evil to poison his wine by having Cersei exist in the first place.

"Were you there when this incident took place?" Tyrion asked, not noting the shocked looks of Lord Stark and Jon Snow-Stark.

"I killed one of them myself," Harry said, looking solemn. "Tough old girl. I'd dealt with it once before, when I was fourteen years old. I tried to calm her down, but I think seeing me made things worse, given the previous encounter. She came straight at me, so I hit her between the eyes with a few choice curses, although I got lucky with the killing blow. A dozen others were cursing her from the sides, so she was weakened from their spellfire. Voldemort had lured me there by appearing in the open, you see – that would be why he targeted the reserve in the first place. It was a very dangerous trap and I fell for it because I wanted to keep a friend safe."

"He aimed to sow anarchy," Tyrion murmured, thinking of how a man could cause such chaos if he were in control of all his mental faculties. Perhaps he could not and this Lord Voldemort had slipped into the territory of the Mad King himself long ago. Tyrion could tell, although his friend might not admit it, that Harry was wary of his enemy's power. 'Frightened' was not a good word to use – it did not seem as if anything frightened Harry, as such – but he showed a healthy amount of caution.

On the first night they had spent out of Winterfell, Harry had woven a piece of magic to ensure they would not be eavesdropped upon, and then talked with the three about the possibility of Voldemort being in cahoots with Lord Tywin, a thought which had surprised Tyrion himself. He did not think that his father, as cruel and cunning as he could be, would side with such a man of evil, not unless he had been tricked by some spell or enchantment. When Harry pointed out that Tywin had orchestrated the deaths of Rhaenys and Aegon and caused the sack of King's Landing itself, Tyrion had grown worried. He then recalled everything that his dear father had done to hurt him over the years, thoughts which naturally sat at the back of his mind, but one question was of paramount importance.

"What could my father hope to gain from aligning himself with such a man as this fugitive?" he had asked. Lord Tywin had power aplenty, power that he had amassed without the help of others.

"Complete control over the lords of other houses," came the answer, but not from Harry. Ned Stark had told him that, showing his utter contempt for Tyrion's father, not that he himself felt any differently.

"It may not even be of his own volition," Harry added. "If Voldemort has used the imperius curse on Lord Tywin, he will have a puppet that can dance to the tune of war, unleashing his army across the land at a moment's notice. I must admit that I don't know what game Voldemort is playing; control of a Muggle army doesn't keep him safe from me, and he knows that. That is why, if it is true, I suspect he's looking to take control of the entire nation and rule, much as he wanted to do the same back home."

Tyrion was not amused by the possibility that his family was now under the control of a man with the power to wipe out all of Westeros. He was less amused when he realised that the same father was little better, although Lord Tywin was not one to dabble in sorcery. He thrived on industry and state-of-the-art training for his armies, which allocated them a degree of professionalism that none of the other great houses could boast. It was true that Lord Tywin had built the Lannister name into something great, something that the annals of history would remember a thousand years from now, but he was nothing in comparison to Lord Voldemort, if Harry was to be believed. And Tyrion saw no reason to distrust the man.

"Then why has he not taken control of the king?" Tyrion asked.

"He's probably afraid of putting himself in the spotlight before my group and I have been dealt with. Either that, or he's just decided to run away and bide his time."

"In the what?"

"In the centre of attention," Harry corrected. "When we reach the capital all of us need to act like normal. Don't draw any unnecessary attention, except for what we've talked about."

"Why don't you simply remove our memories of you, as you did my brother?" Tyrion wondered. He had been meaning to ask this for a while. "That way, you could sneak around the city and accomplish what you need to, then restore our minds to normal afterwards."

"Because I don't know how to restore memories, but Voldemort does," said Harry. "And even if I did remove them, his Legillimency is so powerful it can detect deleted memories, so it wouldn't make any difference. At least this way, you'll know what to expect. Voldemort could be disguised as another, but I have ways to detect that. He could be invisible but again, I can see through the deception if I get lucky."

"Describe this 'Scorched Earth' plan to me again," Jon requested. Tyrion knew that he had difficulty in understand what exactly it entailed, owing to the fact that it relied solely on Harry's magic.

"It's pretty simple. Voldemort and I share a mental connection, one that both of us is now able to block, which I'm doing. If it comes to the point where I can't figure out how to find him, I'm going to access the connection and throw all of my power into attacking his shields. That should be enough to get a brief glimpse of his location if I catch him unawares. The downside is that he'll know where I am too. That's why it's a last resort," Harry explained.

In truth, Tyrion did not like the sound of this Mummer's farce. He gave to Harry his full support, and would aid him in the war to come if indeed it came to war, but the idea of two, all-powerful magical beings fighting one another in the capital did not strike him as a pleasant one. He knew that Harry would avoid causing any collateral damage, but Voldemort would not. Thousands of lives would be at risk. Moreover, the idea that Voldemort could take control of an entire army by warping the mind of its lord was frightening.

Tyrion began to think about his role in the distant future. If Harry won, there would be a grand rebuilding job to undergo, and that could be the perfect time for others to strike at the crown, whether it was his father, the Targaryen exiles, the Martell powerhouse or any other ambitious parties. They would all have to tread carefully when basked in the shadow of such threats, although it was difficult for Tyrion to imagine fighting against other Lannisters, his father and sister notwithstanding. Jaime would inevitably take the other side of the field, and Tyrion would never want to plot against his own brother, or worse.

We are mere tools of almighty forces and great powers that exceed our comprehension, he thought. Oftentimes a man may offer such words to the gods, but they applied double again to the Lords Harry and Voldemort, owing to the fact that Tyrion knew the two of them actually existed.

He sighed and tightened his grip upon the reins. Winter was truly coming, as Lord Eddard might say, only now it would bring a greater reign of death than even the cold might imagine. The smallfolk would receive the brunt of the trouble. Where came war followed rape, looting and other acts of barbarism. Tyrion would never forget that his family had caused such things to occur in the past, although he bore no responsibility for any of the incidents. The only things he had ever done for the Lannister name were bring hatred with his birth and then shit-stir, quite literally.

Suddenly, Harry snapped his fingers in front of Tyrion's face, who blinked.

"Apologies, I appear to have dazed off," he admitted. "What can I help you with, Harry?"

"Are you feeling okay?" Harry asked, eyeing him carefully.

"Never better," Tyrion said cheerfully. "A mite apprehensive about the task at hand, but thinking on its success and what comes after. I'm trying to put my 'fighting boots' on, as it were."

"I see," said Harry. "In any case, I just asked where you went after I told you the truth in Winterfell's godswood. You told me you were going to the brothel, but Joy said that you didn't visit after that first day in Winterfell."

"Ah, I decided to get drunk instead of finding a whore," Tyrion grinned. He had weighed up the pros and cons of both, but ultimately decided that drinking himself into a stupor might help to forget what he had considered a lucid dream. He had been wrong. "I believe I spent the night in one of the stables."

"I only hope you didn't confuse the word 'horse' with 'whore'," Harry said with amusement.

"Please do not put that image in my head," Eddard said, looking appalled. He was a stoic man for the most part and he didn't seem to enjoy the majority of Tyrion's jokes, but Tyrion knew it would only be a matter of time until he was converted. He just had to keep at it.

That night, the convoy stopped outside a small town with a hearty inn. The innkeeper and his wife were only too happy to serve the king himself, just as they had on the road north, although their pantry was now stretched to its limit by the sheer number of mouths to feed. Tyrion sat and watched Joffrey as he ate; the prince was not touching his food and was taking the chance to run his mouth off to Cersei. Again, the topic seemed to be the Starks, which had been the norm ever since their departure.

"First they insult me by stealing away my bride, and then they refuse to send any of their children to court except a bastard," he spat. "A bunch of primitive savages, the lot of them. Father should have asked grandfather to retake his position as Hand instead of a lord of mud and twigs. What have the Starks got to offer anyone but their thoughts on summer snows?"

Cersei shot her son a warning look, but nobody else had heard his words. Tyrion thought that was to the better, given Harry's devotion to House Stark and Eddard's to his children. The king himself would not have been pleased by the insult towards his new Hand. The two of them were eating together, whilst Harry was not present. Tyrion suspected that he was spending time with Joy.

"Tell me, Jon Stark, why has Harry brought a whore with him?" asked Tyrion. True, he had been adamant that Joy was not a whore, but Tyrion did not know what else she could be, hence the question.

"I have no idea," Jon said simply.

"Hmm. If he truly wishes to give her a better life than whoring, perhaps he should have told her to stay at Winterfell and train as a serving lady, rather than take her into this nest of vipers. She won't be safe. None of us will be."

Jon shifted uncomfortably. "It makes me feel uneasy too, Tyrion. I've known Harry for a while now, and it seems as if there are two sides to him. On the one hand, he wants to protect everybody, even if it means putting himself at risk. On the other, he's bloodthirsty. I don't think that... well..."

"He's entirely stable," Tyrion finished, and Jon gave a slow nod. "I can't help but agree with you. It seems as if he's wound as tightly as a spring and that the slightest act of harm against those he cares for will unleash him. For how long has he been fighting this Lord Voldemort?"

"Years," said Jon. "He's lost friends and family to the man, including his parents when he was scarcely a year old. He hasn't given us many more details than that, but I can tell it got no better over the rest of his life."

"We need to keep an eye on him," Tyrion said, feeling queasy. "I hate the thought of it, but we need to be careful that he doesn't lose control and go on a rampage. Nobody would be able to stop him, and the likes of Joffrey are apt to set him off with ease. I get the feeling that he brought Joy with him so that he has somebody to confide in. It's a common mistake that I also made."

"Why is it a mistake?" Jon asked.

"Whether she is a whore or not, she was trained to entice and seduce. Whores are good at talking, at saying things they believe that men want to hear. I hope she truly is grateful and not playing with him, or else it shan't end well for any of us. From experience, I can tell that he's looking for comfort, although I can't be certain as to why." Tyrion tried not to think of Tysha, to no avail. He recalled her dark hair and slender build, her soft eyes and softer voice. She even looked a little like Joy. He thought of her singing 'The Seasons of My Love' and would have cried had he been alone, as he were oft to do when thinking of Tysha. Instead, his brow furrowed and his mood darkened in the place of sorrow.

Love is the death of duty, he thought. Even I, the lowest of the Lannisters, have a duty to my family. Atop that I have the duty to kill my father, and I won't allow any love I have for Jaime or anybody else to overrule that duty. He will die.

"A Lannister always pays his debts," Tyrion mumbled into his wine.

Jon was about to ask what he meant, but before he could there was a shattering of silverware and an instant hush in the tavern. The prince had thrown his plate into the wall and jumped to his feet, and now he was glaring at Jon himself.

"I don't recall giving you permission to dine in my presence, bastard," he growled, although Tyrion knew he had seen Jon before that moment. Was the little shit drunk? Surely even Cersei had more sense than to allow that. She knew full well what Joffrey was capable of when sober.

Tyrion could see the anger in Jon's face and made to calm him, but Jon reacted first.

"Forgive me, my lord, but I am no bastard. I am Jon Stark of Winterfell, heir to Sea Dragon Point and to Lord Harry, of House Potter. Perhaps you will recall the ceremony in which I was legitimised, barely a week past?" His eyes bore into Joffrey as he spoke, filled with ill-disguised longing to kill.

"I am your prince, not your lord!" Joffrey screamed, jabbing a thumb in his own chest.

"And I am no bastard," Jon retorted, "my prince."

"Enough of this cock comparison!" King Robert roared from his place at the head of the table, before Joffrey could retaliate. "Ned, take your son away. I'll deal with mine as well." He gave Joffrey a furious look.

Eddard gave a bow and did as he was told, leading Jon out by the arm. Tyrion helped himself to another slice of beef and a helping of wine and then followed the two, trying not to grin as he thought about Joffrey dying. At the least, his prepubescent rage had been amusing to watch, although it was also a cause for concern. He ignored the look that The Hound gave him as he whistled nonchalantly; the man gave everybody glares of death, after all.

Tyrion timed his departure from the inn carefully. He had to wait a little while so that nobody would grow suspicious about his partnership with Lord Stark. There was already talk, and he wanted to avoid throwing fuel on the fire. The four of them needed to maintain cover, if possible. When he did eventually make it to Eddard's tent, Harry had returned and stood with his arms crossed as Eddard gave Jon a tongue-lashing.

"-and I told you not to provoke him! Remember what Harry told you about keeping a low profile!"

"Ned told me what happened," Harry said quietly, as the two stood outside in place of Eddard's guards. "Joffrey is going to be a problem."

"True, but we already knew that," said Tyrion. "Where were you, if I may ask?"

"Teaching Joy the basics of how to read and write."

Tyrion did not like that answer, but he held his tongue. After a few minutes, Eddard opened the flap to his tent and bade them come inside. When they were, Harry cast a spell to ensure their privacy would be kept.

"This was an unfortunate incident," Eddard said. "And it has made me realise something. Joffrey will not let Jon rest in peace after this, so I believe we should send Ghost back to Winterfell. The capital is no place for a direwolf in any case, but now it will be targeted by the prince out of spite."

"Ghost isn't here," Jon declared, sullen. He wasn't happy about what happened, but made no comment on the matter. "I told him to stay before we even left because I was afraid of something like this happening. Robb will take care of him."

"Smart thinking," Harry nodded. "He's safer at Winterfell with the others. As it stands, we have more cause to watch each other's backs now, so be extra careful."

"If we are any more careful we may have to walk back to back in the streets," Tyrion snorted, drinking the wine he had taken. He leaned against the tent as he did so. "We have guards, we have our wits and we have your power, so we're safer than even the king by this stage."

"The king is not a good example when you consider who he's married to," Harry pointed out. "No offence, Tyrion."

"None," said Tyrion, truly uncaring. "Cersei is a vicious cunt and I find myself surprised that she hasn't had Robert killed in all their years of marriage. I suppose she was waiting for Joffrey to come of age, but that she can tolerate him so much is unusual."

"I believe their marriage is loveless, not abusive," Eddard said in defence of his friend. "Although I understand that Robert has struck her once or twice when drunk."

"She deserves it," Tyrion shrugged.

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Maybe, but I don't condone his actions. I grew up in an abusive household after my parents were murdered. I can't wish that on anyone, except for people like Voldemort."

"Is she better than Voldemort?" Tyrion asked, genuinely unsure.

"Until she has children murdered, yes," Harry told him firmly. "Then again, who knows if she has or not."

"If her children are truly illegitimate, she may target Robert's bastards out of desperation," Tyrion pointed out.

The other three exchanged looks of shock; they hadn't thought of that. Each of them was probably wondering if the queen could be so cruel, but Tyrion knew that she was much, much worse. Cersei was the type of woman who had escaped the hierarchy of men in Westeros and had become just as cruel and twisted as the worst of them. That she was queen only added to the problem. She had more power than almost anyone, even if Robert did not love her.

"I may have to neutralise both of them," Harry said at last, tutting. "I was hoping to wait until King's Landing so I could target all of their conspirators together, but that may be too dangerous now. Doing this systematically would be a better option so that we don't find ourselves overwhelmed. What do you all think?"

Whatever any of them thought was pushed to the side as a voice suddenly appeared in the pavilion, one which was both hushed yet loud. It was the voice of a woman.

"Eddard Stark!"

"The mirror!" Harry said immediately, and Eddard scrambled to his cot. He rummaged through a pile of straw and then withdrew the handheld mirror that Harry had told them about. Tyrion was fascinated by how clear the glass was in comparison to any other mirror he had ever seen. Harry's world had some incredible magic and technology.

Lord Stark looked into the mirror and cleared his throat. Looking a little awkward, he said clearly: "Catelyn Stark!"

At once, an image of Catelyn's face and upper body appeared on the mirror, causing three of the tent's occupants to gaze in awe at the device. Harry smirked as he caught sight of their faces.

"You look like fish out of water," he snickered.

Shaking himself, Eddard looked to his wife. "Cat, what's happened?" he asked. The mirrors were only supposed to be used in the event of an emergency whilst they were on the road south.

"It's Bran!" she exclaimed, sounding frantic.

Tyrion saw the colour drain from Eddard's face. "Is he okay? Has his condition worsened again? Tell me!"

"He's safe, but someone tried to attack him," she said, sounding on the verge of tears.

Eddard let out a breath on hearing that his son was safe. "What happened, my love?" he asked, soft but firm.

"Hodor was bringing Bran his breakfast," Catelyn began. "I've been letting him rest longer so that he can gain his strength back. He found a strange man outside his bedroom, muttering about where the door was. He couldn't seem to move."

"My wards," Harry said, running a hand through his hair, not that he could have possibly made it any messier. "I designed them to trap any intruders where they stand."

"You have my thanks once again," she told Harry, sounding tearful. "Ned, the blade that the assassin carried... Maester Luwin and Mikken identified it as Valyrian Steel."

There was a collective intake of breath in the tent, and Harry spat: "Lannisters."

Tyrion was immediately on-guard and offered his hands to the air. "Lady Stark, I swear to you that I had no knowledge of this act. I shall do my best to help your husband bring the perpetrators to justice."

Catelyn gave him a stiff nod through the mirror, but said nothing. He could tell that she was unhappy with his involvement, even if Harry and Eddard had both agreed he was trustworthy. In a way, she reminded him of Cersei; he did not think she would ever target the innocent, but she seemed wildly protective of her children and untrusting of those she perceived, even mildly, to be a threat. That he was a Lannister earned him a touch of that suspicion.

"Everybody is safe," she assured them. "Hodor was frantic when he saw the blade and started shouting his own name until Robb came running. He captured the assassin and took him to the dungeon just a few minutes ago."

"Tell him that his father is proud of him," Eddard said, nodding. "I... I'm glad that all of you are safe. I must speak with the king about an incident that has just occurred – nothing serious, so do not worry – but I have an idea. Harry, could you-"

"No need to even ask," Harry nodded. He stood upright and shut his eyes, before nodding. "I'll return in the morning. Tell anyone who asks that I'm spending time with Joy. And keep an eye on her, please."

"I shall," Ned assured him. "Thank you."

With a crack like a whip, Harry vanished into thin air and Tyrion blinked.

Then he blinked again.

"Did that truly just happen?" he asked.

"It did," came Harry's voice from 'through' the mirror. He appeared beside Catelyn. "I forgot to tell the three of you that I have something to do, so I won't be back until noon or so tomorrow. Keep me excused."

After being assured that all of the Starks were safe, Tyrion left Eddard to speak with his wife and retired to his own quarters. He could not shake the feeling that someone was playing a very intricate game with the Starks and Lannisters, one separate to Harry's personal battle with Voldemort, and the thought made him most uneasy.

He did not yet know it, but when Harry returned on the morrow, he would bring with him news of a threat to rival even that of Lord Voldemort, and together they would have three separate battles to fight simultaneously.

:Author's Notes:

IMPORTANT: I now have a problem with this story. As book readers will know, there are questions about certain people and events occurring and we may not know the answers for quite a while. One of these questions is whether Young Griff is truly Aegon Targaryen or a Blackfyre pretender. I cannot know for certain until Martin releases The Winds of Winter, so I have to guess. Therefore, for majority rule, I am adding a poll to my profile page. It will remain there until the next chapter is released - VOTE, PLEASE! In order to please as many readers as possible, I want all of you to have a say on who Aegon will be in this story. The more votes the better, so that I don't decide to make the decision myself. Now, reviews...

"You'd think Harry would be revolted by Rhaegar throwing aside his wife and children to shag Lyanna."

He is disgusted. He just had no comment or thought on the matter because he is not surprised and was focusing on Jon's part in the tale.

"...honestly, your sparse updates are kinda making it hard to hold interest in the story..."

I do apologise for that. As I say on my profile page, I am busy with life. Trust me when I say that if this site paid and my job did not, I would be writing full-time and telling my bosses where to go. But needs must and a man's gotta eat, yo. If it would help, I can add a short recap to my profile page that I could update every so often as the story progresses, like a summary of key events. Tell me if that would help at all, please.

"Harry had better quickly come to understand, though, that the modern world and culture he came from developed over thousands of years and was paid for with an ocean of blood. Change is slow and incremental, trying to impose modern ideals on this world too fast is a recipe for chaos and instability that will lead to the deaths of a ridiculous number of people."

You and I agree on this, and so does Harry. He is an idealist, but he isn't going to throw the land into open rebellion by trying to alter their basic principles immediately. He knows, from experience with a corrupt Ministry and feckless 'commoners', that change takes time to implement.

"With your age range for Harry he's going to have issues either way. He's going to be unconfortable being with someone much more sexually experienced not to mention the emotional desensitization you get from being in relationships either many or long term and he's starting pretty late."

No, he isn't. He doesn't care one jot about sexual experience in a partner. He is simply not interested in casual sex himself, but is liberal enough to know that adults can make their own decisions.

"Why bring Joy along? It seemed so weird and ooc with cannon Harry and the one you've written even with emotional problems..."

Canon Harry is boring and predictable, and does not evolve throughout seven full books. Compare him with the likes of Tyrion and Dany and the results are appalling. Rowling doesn't do character development well for anybody, so taking him OOC in this story was my aim in order to make him somewhat interesting as a person. His actions were not OOC as per how I am writing him. His talk with Joy establishes that he is searching for something, perhaps someone, and he wants to keep her close in case she is that someone. More importantly, he wants the companionship before anything else. It's a risk, one that Tyrion recognises in this chapter out of his experiences with Tysha.

As a general point of note, this Harry has been through the ringer. I have more details to unveil with regards to who and what he has lost, but look to real war veterans suffering from PTSD as an example. It's a horrible thing, and it's what he has to fight against. He is no longer the boy and young man he was in canon.

Remember the poll, please! Give it a few hours if it hasn't appeared yet and then check again!

Oh, and Happy Halloween, folks!