Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Game of Thrones or any of the characters mentioned in this work. They belong to people much smarter than I. All credit goes to them. I am only a fan who asked himself, What if ?

Chapter 6- Moat Cailin

It took 12 days to reach Moat Cailin. The journey through the Barrowlands was uneventful. The guards were surprised that there were no bandits on the road. Perhaps our party was too large for them to try their luck against. The Kingsroad was a simple dirt road. On average it was about four metres wide. It was in better condition than the road through the Wolfswood but there was a lot of work that needed to be done to bring it up to standard. The trees that are in the way would be easy to cut using magic. Large amounts of stone would be required for the road. The stone would need to be crushed and layered on the ground. That would prevent mud from forming on the road. There were also no spillways for excess water to drain of the road. The project handler would need to source both the stone and the labour before starting with the project but first, Moat Cailin had to be made liveable once again.

Prior to their arrival the British had officially elected Bill as the first Minister. Harry had been nominated but declined as he would not be able to manage the increased work load. He was already a very busy man with the responsibilities of more than two normal lords. It would have been ridiculous for him to take on more work. Bill was happy to ascend to the position. The work load would only really add up once the castle was completed and the city started being built.

The castle could be seen from a fair distance away. There were only three towers that remained upright and only one looked intact. There would be a lot of work that would need to be done to repair and rebuild the castle and the walls. There was a small group of people that lived around the Moat. Very few of them could read but those that did were shown the document that named us the Lords of these lands. Many recognised the sigil of the Starks and had no further complains. There was no castellan but there were a few guards. The current stables were barely adequate for the horses we travelled upon and the forge was too small. There was no kiln and very few wells that were in working condition. Most of them had collapsed or dried up. All of these small issues would need to be improved before any real work could begin on the walls or the roads.

The wooden keep seems to have been rotting away and the hall was dark, damp and drafty. The British initially took up residence in the Gatehouse Tower as it was the largest and most stable of the three towers. They would have to wait for the ships to arrive before starting to furnish it. They had used the time on hand to design plans for the castle, dock and town that would eventually be build. The was much work to do and very little time to do it. Thank God for magic.

After the primary inspection of the castle and surrounding area was completed Bill called for a meeting.

"We have completed the initial inspection of the castle and we have a lot of work to do. We need to decide how best to complete the work and who will work on which projects. We will also have to decide on how we will finance all the projects. Let us begin with the most urgent projects?" began Bill.

"The most important projects are the building of a dock so we can offload our possessions from the ships. Who would like to undertake this project?" asks Bill

Harry and Draco lift their hands. They were probably the best suited for this project. They had built the ships after all and knew what to do.

"Alright Harry and Draco will handle the dock. The next project is the repair and remodelling of the Gatehouse Tower. Roger and I have both deemed the other two towers as unsuitable. They are to be torn down and rebuilt. We will all need to reside in this tower for the time being. Who will work on this project?" asked Bill

Roger, Bill, Neville, and Hannah volunteered for this project.

"The other projects are less urgent. The most important thing remaining is to design the other towers and the buildings inside the fortress. We need to improve the other structures around the castle as well. The stables need to be repaired and extended. The wells that have caved in need to be closed or re-dug. We need to build wagons to transport our possessions from the ships." listed Bill looking around for volunteers.

"I will take care of the stables. We have to house the Hippogriffs and winged horses their as well." said Luna.

"I will draw the design for the other towers but will need to speak with everyone about what buildings we need and how much space to allocate for each building." volunteered Susan. Her skill in design and drawing was unmatched by anyone else from the group.

"That leaves the other smaller projects to Daphne, Ginny, Tracy, Astoria and Fleur. Are there any other urgent projects to do? "Asked Bill.

It seemed no one else could think of anything at the moment so Bill carried on.

"Now we have to decide how to finance all the projects. Does anyone have any ideas?" He asked.

"It would make logical sense to split all the costs incurred for the rebuilding of the castle and the other buildings. Split the total cost seven ways for the seven noble families." suggested Astoria.

"I agree that the cost should be split but it would be impractical to have each family pay their share for every expense. I suggest we create an expense fund. Someone should be placed in charge of the fund. Preferably Bill as he is Minister." said Neville.

"I agree with the idea of a collective fund but there is a conflict of interest if Bill were to be placed in charged. It would be better if someone not from the noble families is placed in charge. We can decide on who when everyone else arrives on the ships." said Tracy

"OK, does anyone have any problems with creating a collective fund?" asked Bill. No one replied.

"Roger, how much do you think the rebuilding will cost?" asked Bill.

"I don't have an accurate estimate yet. I don't know the cost of a shipment of lumber or how much stone we would need to build the towers and buildings. I would need to consult a final design and know the cost for each of the necessary materials." replied Roger.

"If we can't determine the final cost then I propose each family make an initial deposit into the fund. If more funds are required than we can make further contributions." suggested Harry.

"Agreed, but how much will we have to pay?" asked Susan.

"Let us start with an initial contribution of 20 000 gold dragons per family. Do we have any objections?" asked Bill. His question was met with silence once again.

"We now have to determine how we will split the tribute we have to pay to Lord Stark. The contract states that we need to pay 250 000 gold dragons as well as rebuild the Kingsroad until Winterfell."

"I would like to speak on this matter. As I will be personally responsible for the rebuilding of the Kingsroad I would like House Davis' share of the tribute to be reduced. House Davis will in return cover the entire cost of the Kingsroad project in return."

"I believe that is fair. Do we have any objections to reduce House Davis' share of the tribute?" asked Bill

"How much will it be reduced by?" asked Daphne

"I propose that the six other families share be 40 000 gold dragons. The remaining 10 000 and the cost of the Kingsroad project will be paid by House Davis. Do we have any other proposals?" Said Bill.

After waiting for any proposals Bill ended the meeting and everyone left for a night of sleep.

In just over a week the wizards had done a lot of work. Harry and Draco had taken brooms and flown over the tributaries to the North-West of the castle to find the best place to dock the ships. They had selected a tributary that ended about 5 kilometres north of the castle. This is where they would build the dock for their ships. They set about cutting down all the trees in the vicinity of the Moat and what trees they could cut down from the swamps south of the castle. They eventually had enough wood to build a small dock that had two piers from which they could access the ships and offload their cargo. The wooden piers were only meant to be used temporarily until enough stone could be collected to replace the wooden piers with stone.

The work on the Gatehouse Tower had been completed. The structure was reinforced, the empty spaces and crevices in the walls were filled, the floors were smoothened and the rotting stairs were replaced. The smaller projects were either complete or nearing completion.

8 days after the British arrived at Moat Cailin, a patronus arrived from Seamus. His silver badger informed them that the ships were about a day away from the castle. They needed to be guided towards the dock as they had no idea where it was. Draco flew out to meet the ships and provided Seamus with a map towards the dock and explained to him how they would offload the cargo. The next day the ships had all docked successfully. They did not have enough space in the Gatehouse Tower yet to store everything on board and so the majority of their possessions would remain on the ships until they had enough space to store their possessions.

Over the course of the next three months the wizards set about rebuilding their castle to their specifications.

Natalie Macdonald was placed in charge of the rebuilding fund and it was then decided to make the position permanent. She was now the treasurer of the castle. She was the first appointment to the castle management after Bill. She was placed in charge of all the financial matters of the castle.

The rebuilding continued and focused mainly on the castle towers. The design had been drawn by Susan but everyone had made suggestions and worked together on a final plan. The design was simple. There would be 8 towers in total. Four on the Northern Side and four on the Southern side. The curtain wall would cover the perimeter of the castle. There was no need for towers on the eastern or western sides as the swamp made entrance through those sides impossible. The towers would be built behind the wall and would be connecting to each other by bridges. The curtain wall was designed to be three metres thick and ten metres tall.

The now refurbished Gatehouse Tower was now the residence of Houses Potter, Black and Greengrass. The Drunkard's Tower and Children's Tower were broken down and in their places two new towers were constructed. The Weasleys and Davis families were to take up residence in these towers. While these three towers were constructed from the materials in and around Moat Cailin, they were in need of much more building materials to construct the remaining five. Luckily their Maester had arrived 2 months into their occupation of the castle with many ravens.

Maester Loren was a diminutive, middle aged man. He had forged his links in mathematics, history, ravenry and healing. With his help the British were able to order shipments of lumber from both House Mormont and House Glover. Three captains and their crews were hired from Lord Manderly to sail the ships from House Davis and House Weasley to Bear Island and Deepwood Motte to collect the shipments of lumber they ordered. The Maverick would be travelling to the Stony Shore to load stone for the curtain wall and the remaining towers. They had also contacted Lord Manderly to collect stone and limestone dug up from his silver mines. Regular trips were made with the winged horse carriages to collect the materials form the Manderly mines.

They also had their first visitor from a noble house. Lord Harian Reed had made the trip north from The Neck to visit his new northern neighbours. The British hosted the Lord of Greywater Watch for one week before he returned to his home. He did express his amazement at the feats of magic and construction that the wizards had done. Lord's Talhart and Dustin had sent messengers with their greetings while the other noble houses had sent ravens. Lord Stark had sent ravens to brief the various noble houses about their arrival and status. He included in that message the news regarding the magical capabilities of the British. Many were eager to meet the new wizards of the North after news had reached them about the abilities these new lords possessed.

They now had house words to go along with their sigil. They had decided upon the phrase "Unity is Strength". Lord Stark had sent word to his bannerman and they had 150 more citizens that arrived at the castle. This greatly improved their workforce and the work started to speed up further.

They had accomplished much in just three months and were well on their way to fulfilling their end of the contract with Lord Rickard. The tribute that they owed Lord Stark was on its way to Winterfell under heavy guard. Lord Stark had sent Martyn Cassel which 150 guards to collect the gold. They had also begun sending gifts to the noble houses. These gifts included furniture, utensils, clothing, weapons and books. Each noble house also received a bottle of firewhiskey and butterbeer to sample. Hopefully many would take a liking to the drinks and order them once production began.

Bill and Roger had collected enough material to begin the work on the southern wall as well as the remaining five towers. They had been receiving regular shipments of lumber and stone from the Mormont's, Glovers and the Stony Shore. The southern wall had been collapsing over time and needed to be broken down. The existing foundation was dug up and work had begun on a new foundation. The stables were extended, the courtyard was paved with cobblestone and the many wells around the castle had been restored. There were plans to create a drainage system but that had not begun as yet.

There was more good news for the British. Draco and Astoria as well as Roger and Susan had announced that both couples were expecting their first child. They would be the first Westerosi born British. Andromeda and Maester Loren were both helping the first time mothers. The two had bonded and struck up a close friendship over their love and passion for healing. The Maester was scared of them for the first week of his stay and was only starting to become accepting of magic. Andromeda was introducing him to medicinal potions and modern methods of disease prevention, treatment and recovery. The locals had also become accustomed to magic being used around them. Many were fearful and some had even left the Moat in fear, but once the remaining residents realised that it would help them survive, they were happy to accept it. The important thing would be how the King and his advisors would react.

King's Landing

Lord Tywin Lannister was a rational man. Logic, reason and cunning were his greatest weapons. He was a decent swordsman and had fought in the War of the Ninepenny Kings. He was not a religious man by any means. Any hope he had in the gods had vanished after his wife, Joanna, died. Why could it not have been the monster that died instead. His position as Hand of the King was also becoming more and more irritating and burdensome.

The King was no longer the young man he befriended. It now seems that he takes pleasure in going against anything he does. Stupid fool, Tywin had been running Westeros for the last ten years. King in all but name. He knew it, the king knew it, and everyone else knew it as well. The other members of the small council had just arrived. The King and the Prince arrived last, surrounded by the Kingsguard, Sir Oswell Whent, Sir Gerold Hightower, Sir Barristan Selmy and Prince Lewyn Martell. The other three members were guarding the Queen who was pregnant. Hopefully this child will survive, unlike his/her deceased siblings. The royal family needed more living children. The small council rose as one and bowed to the King and Prince. "Let's get this over with, what is so important that the council can't take care of on its own? Surely the great lion of Lannister can solve the problems of the kingdom alone."

It was GrandMaester Pycelle that answered the king's question. "I have received a most troublesome raven from Winterfell sire."

"What is going on in that frozen wasteland now?" asked the King not in the least bit interested.

"Maester Walys reports that Lord Stark has been associating with fanatics. He says these fanatics are capable of performing magic. He claims they have bewitched Lord Stark into giving them a castle and a large amount of land along with a lordship. I did not believe it at first myself, but I have received confirmation from the Citadel that the Maester they sent on Lord Starks request confirms that these people are magical. He says that they have begun rebuilding the castle."

"Magic you say. What magic can they perform. Are they like the Warlocks of Qarth?" asked the King. Of course, he shows interest now. No doubt he hopes they might be able to hatch dragons for him. Idiotic fool.

"The ravens do not say, sire. Maester Walys reports that three of these people rebuilt a broken tower in Winterfell in under 20 minutes. He says that they can make things fly and control fire."

Tywin decides to get some useful information and asks. " Who are these people and where did they come from?" He looks at the Master of Whisperers and GrandMaester in the same gaze.

"Maester Walys says they claim to come from a land called Britain. Thus, they call themselves British. They are a combination of seven families. I do not believe that however. There is no recorded place called Britain anywhere in the known world."

Ignoring Pycelle's last comment he asks further, "You said they are busy rebuilding their castle. What castle has Lord Stark given them?"

"They have been granted Moat Caitlin. Lord Hand" replies Pycelle.

The council goes quiet at that statement. Moat Cailin is a formidable castle. An ideal chokepoint that has broken many armies in the past. Even in its dilapidated state it is still impenetrable from the south. The Andals found that out the hard way. A rebuilt Moat would greatly strengthen the North. All the kingdoms knew that the North never really took part in the affairs of the realm. Very rarely had any Northerner gotten involved in southern issues. Many Northerners resented that they had to answer to the Iron Throne having chosen to submit to the Targaryen Dragons rather than their riders. It seemed that Torrhen Stark preferred for his people to live rather than burn. Now there were no dragons to submit to. This was worrisome indeed.

"They cannot be allowed to rebuild that fortress." said the Master of ships. "They might be preparing to rebel against the throne."

"Lord Velaryon is correct. The Moat is the only way to enter the North. No army has ever crossed it. Everyone knows the story of the Andals. Only a fool would assault a garrisoned Moat Cailin." added the Master of laws.

"No southern army has conquered it. It is still vulnerable from the North." replied Lord Commander Hightower.

"My lords I think you are taking this too seriously. These people would not have enough money to rebuild a castle of that magnitude. The taxes we collect from the North are so minimal that it only just exceeds that of Gulltown. They cannot fund such a project without taking out many loans that they could never be able to repay. I believe this news to be exaggerated and do not think this is a threat." Added the Master of coin.

"How can we be sure that these people cannot afford it? We know very little about them. Maybe they can use their magic to help them. There is too much we don't know. What do you think Lord Hand?" asked Prince Rhaegar

"The Prince is correct. There is much we do not know. Lord Rykker see to it that we have continuous updates on the activates inside Winterfell and Moat Cailin. A rebuilt Moat Cailin would prove dangerous but it is not the only way to enter the North. The North has no warships and entrance is still possible by means of both the Sunset Sea and the Narrow Sea. The North is not a threat without two fleets to protect both its coasts. Not even House Manderly can afford to construct and maintain a navy. We shall gather more information before making any moves." replied Tywin

"Is there any way we can void Lord Starks decision to grant them the castle?" asked Pycelle to the Master of Laws. "Surely if the King commands it they would have no choice to obey."

"No. There is no law that would allow us to do that according to my knowledge. The Lord Paramount's control their kingdoms and have the right to do with the land they control as they wish, provided the laws of the King are not broken." replied the Master of Laws.

"If we were to do that we would most definitely be faced with rebellion. No, we cannot force Lord Stark to rescind his decision. Nor do we have enough cause to summon him to King's Landing to explain his decision. Perhaps we could summon the Lord of these British and have him swear fealty directly to the King." replied the Prince.

"Yes, Yes do that. I want to meet these magicians. Tell them to bring me any books they have on dragons. Maybe they can hatch some for me." said the King enthusiastically.

"At once my King. I shall send the raven immediately." replied Pycelle.

As the council chambers were emptied, Tywin pondered in the peace and quiet. Magicians in the North. This was going to become an issue with the King. Tywin doubted they could actually hatch dragons. Now that he thinks about it, that thought is worse than a northern rebellion. The king was already somewhat deranged. Tywin might have to even pray that the King never gains control of a dragon. That would be a disaster. At least the prince shows promise. Maybe he would request a betrothal between his daughter and the prince. He is due a reward for his years of loyal service. A royal grandson would be adequate reward for him. Hopefully the King will see the benefits this could have for the crown.