Harry Potter opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by total darkness. The last thing he could remember was walking into the Forbidden Forest and letting Voldemort hit him with a killing curse. So how did I end up here? He wondered.
Peering into the blackness, he tried to catch a glimpse of something he recognized. Some shape or figure amidst the void. It took a second for everything to finally catch up with him, but when it did, he couldn't help but just stop and stare as he truly processed what had happened to him. Of course. I'm dead, and this must be the afterlife. Somehow, that thought seemed to ground him, comfort him before he could even begin to panic. It was quiet here, even peaceful, once you got used to it. There are worse places to spend eternity, he mused. No more pain, no more suffering, just a peaceful silence
Without any way to track the time, he didn't know how long he sat there, just enjoying the calm after months of overwhelming fear and sadness. He never got hungry, he never slept, he just reflected on his life and those still living. But after days had passed, or maybe even months, he noticed a change in the world around him. Cold had seeped into the room and something twitched in the darkness. He could feel it brushing up against him and before he could even react, it had wrapped itself around him. Squeezing and pulling him, until he lost what little sense of direction he still had. It felt far too much like he was being dragged through a straw and he couldn't help it, he screamed. All he could think about was botched apparitions and splinching accidents and he panicked.
When everything had finally stopped, he found himself squinting against a blurry light as he greedily gulped mouthfuls of air. He barely even noticed that something soft was wiping at his face and wrapping around him. He was too focused on breathing again to really think properly. Thankfully, his vision cleared moments later, and he was able to see his surroundings once again. Right away he realized there was a figure resting in front of him. It was clearly a woman, and she looked completely exhausted. Sweat covered her face and chest, and she was leaning heavily onto the pillows beside her, but she was smiling, and for some reason she looked at him with love and joy clear in her eyes. "Hello there sweetling, you're even more beautiful than I expected."
He didn't recognize the girl at all, and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed with her staring at him like that. He looked down, trying to ignore the blush he felt on his cheeks while he struggled to think of something to say. It was only then that he finally realized something was wrong. His hands were far smaller than they should be, and he felt his jaw drop when he realized they were literally baby-sized. "What the hell?" Or that's what he tried to say, the sounds that left his mouth were more gurgles and noise than actual words.
Someone picked him up and placed him in the woman's arms. He was still too shocked to really complain, and only let out another little gurgle in response. "He is healthy and strong my lady, what do you wish to name him?" The attendant asked, warmth and happiness clear in her voice.
The woman holding him just kissed his forehead and ran a finger along his nose. After a moment she said, "Jasper- his name will be Jasper Arryn, after my uncle. It's a strong name and Jon would appreciate it, I'm sure."
The attendant smiled at her and nodded her head several times in agreement. "I'm sure Lord Arryn will love it my lady. They were very close when he was still alive."
Harry focused on his breathing, trying his best to calm himself before he passed out. I'm a baby. I'm a freaking baby! What am I going to do? Where am I? Why am I here?
His new mother pulled him against her breast as she cooed in his ear. The warmth and closeness eased his rising panic and he melted into her arms. Suddenly he felt rather tired, emotionally and physically he was spent, and he realized there was no point in fighting whatever this was. Letting out a long sigh, he decided he would figure everything out tomorrow. He cuddled into the woman and couldn't help the small smile forming on his lips. Maybe this isn't so bad after all, he thought to himself sleepily.
o-O-o
This place he was born into seemed to be stuck in the medieval era, and his first thought was that he had gone back in time. There was, of course, the small chance that he was born into a magical household. As Wizards were generally very ignorant of the advancements in the muggle world. But this didn't seem to be the case at all, and he hadn't seen any sign of magic since his "arrival." No, the clothes matched, the language matched, and the lack of plumbing and running water definitely matched. His exploration was rather limited though, as this body didn't really allow for him to move about on his own, much to his dismay. Not that his caregivers allowed him to really test his limits anyway.
While he may be stuck in the body of a newborn, that didn't mean he was particularly comfortable relying on others for something as simple as a nappie change or, merlin forbid, a feeding. He yearned for independence and put all his willpower into being able to walk and communicate, no matter what his minders thought.
Thankfully, his efforts paid off, and he was soon able to shock both his tutors and nannies with his rapid development and understanding of the world around him. He was already walking within ten months and speaking in full sentences by the time he turned two, with his reading and writing progressing even faster. Apparently, the Maesters (The group of scholars that served as his tutors) had initiates all over the continent, and they had never heard of someone mastering speech that quickly, nevermind written language on top of it.
He felt like Hermione, constantly reading everything he could get his hands on and badgering everyone around him with questions. He even begged Maester Colemon to send for more books from his order's headquarters, the Citadel. Something his mother Rowena teased him about mercilessly when she heard of it.
But it was through these books that he learned he was no longer in Britain, or even on Earth for that matter. He was in Westeros, a land steeped in magic and bloodshed and ruled from an iron throne. While there were several kingdoms in Westeros, they all fell under the control of the Crown, which had been tied to House Targaryen since its founding. Jasper had already known that his family lived in the Vale, one of the more Northern kingdoms, so it didn't take him long to figure out the rest. What truly shocked him though, was that his father was considered the ruler of the entire kingdom. While he wasn't a king, he was considered a "Lord Paramount," which was the highest tier of nobility below the king. Apparently, House Arryn had been ruling the Vale since the time of the First Men, well before Aegon's conquest and the subsequent unification of Westeros.
It was a daunting thought when he realized that he would have to one day take over for his father. But he refused to hide from his heritage or his responsibilities. The Vale was his home, and it was his family that the people turned to for guidance and leadership, he couldn't just ignore that. He spent months studying maps, local history, and everything else he could get his hands on. He knew he wasn't going to step into the role for years, decades even, but he swore he'd be prepared for when it happened.
Amidst all this research, he also started exploring how to harness his magic, which he thankfully still had. Every night he would practice for hours at a time, trying to build up his reserves so he could cast at least a couple spells in succession. Without a wand, casting took a lot more power, and unfortunately his core just wasn't developed enough for that yet. No matter how hard he tried, he seemed to have very little success when it came to wandless casting.
Thankfully, Hermione had taught him runes while they were on the hunt, and those usually didn't require much magic to power them. He wasn't NEWT level or anything, but he knew enough to strengthen things and ward them. With enough time you could do nearly anything with runes, assuming you knew the symbols and how to properly layer them.
It was for this reason that he delved deeply into the magical history of Vale. After years of having magic, he couldn't convince himself to just wait until he was older. Magic was a part of him, and he'd be damned if the most of it he could accomplish was an unstable levitation charm. For now, he would try to focus on what he could do. Which meant learning more runes, experimenting with various arrays, and perhaps even learning how to craft a wand.
The House of Royce as it turned out, was a prolific user of runes, many of which dated back to the First Men and some of the earliest recorded uses of magic in Westeros. House Tollett and House Donnerly also had a history of rune use, although to a much lesser extent. While none of the books went on to describe how to make any arrays, they did describe several that had been discovered around Vale. Apparently, a number of tombs and meeting places had been warded during the Andal Invasion. The wealth of knowledge and history covered in his family's library was simply astounding, but his progress had slowed considerably due to the Citadel's restrictive nature regarding anything magical. He was confident that with a bit more research he would be able to start practicing runic arrays based on the language of the First Men. He had already started deciphering the majority of their words and symbols, it was just the more esoteric runes that were giving him trouble.
As an unexpected bonus, his research led him to a fascinating exposition on skinchanging, the ability to enter the mind of an animal and control its actions. It sounded suspiciously like some form of legilimency mixed with familiar bonds, but it never really mentioned the specific magic involved. Perhaps he would run some experiments in the future, should he ever find himself a familiar. Being able to see through Hedwig's eyes, feel the world from her perspective, that was something he would have given anything to do in his old life.
o-O-o
As the years went by, he found himself feeling less like Harry Potter and more like Jasper Arryn. While he never forgot his past, he had largely moved on from it, and did his best to find peace over the many regrets he had over that life. He had long since come to accept his place here, and for the first time in many years he felt like he truly belonged.
Rowena was the mother he always imagined Lily would be. Kind yet firm, she was constantly encouraging him to do his best in his studies, and she never gave an inch during an argument. Yet she was always there when he got sad or when he got restless. She would play with him or read with him; she even sang him to sleep numerous times. He knew he shouldn't need these things, but he couldn't bring himself to ask her to stop, so he just guiltily soaked up her attention. His father was much more distant though, and while he still cared about Jasper, he rarely showed it. Much of his focus was instead on his two wards, Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon. The few moments he did spend with Jasper were awkward and cold. They never just talked or even played, everything always turned into a lesson with him. Jasper felt like he had no real relationship with his father, and it bothered him immensely. But for the first time he could remember he had his mother, and that was enough for him.
However, a little after his ninth birthday, something happened that would change his life forever. Jon found out that Robert managed to have a bastard child with a commoner in Vale, and the babe had already lived to become a toddler. He was furious and immediately started making arrangements to leave her in the care of one of his vassals, something he felt Robert should have done the moment she was born. Rowena argued against this fiercely though, and she pleaded with Jon to let her raise the child in the Eyrie with Jasper. She had desperately wanted more children but hadn't been able to have any after he was born.
It was the only time Jasper could remember her openly disagreeing about anything, and this led to a tense week of heavy arguments between his parents. Eventually, Jon gave in to his wife's demands, and Rowena was able to formally adopt Robert's daughter, Mya Stone. Legally, this was essentially the same as a regular ward. She didn't get any new titles, nor would she be able to inherit anything upon Jon or Rowena's death. It was more of a public statement that, bastard or not, she was now a daughter of House Arryn and was due the honor and respect associated with that position.
o-O-o
In his past life, Jasper suffered years of abuse from his relatives. This was something that affected him deeply and made him desperate for any kind of family and acceptance. So, when Mya came to the Eyrie, he couldn't help but feel drawn to her. After years of being alone, he finally had a chance at having a sibling. When she started following him around, constantly badgering him to talk with her or show her things, he was grateful for the excuse to connect with her. Somehow, this soon devolved into bouts of "adventure," and she started talking him into exploring the grounds with her or playing with her. On a more notable occasion, she even convinced him to sneak her into the stables so she could meet the ponies. She was four years younger than him, but she was tenacious and extremely curious.
It was because of this constant shadowing that he wasn't really surprised when she confronted him about his magic. At five, she may be young, but she was very intelligent. She had caught him conjuring things when he thought he was alone.
He swore her to secrecy and explained that he had magic and that it frightened most people because it was different. She had found it fascinating and instantly demanded he "make some flowers" because the Eyrie had only grass for a garden. While it took some leg-work, conjured plants can't bear fruit after all, he managed to make his sister happy. He had seeds from Highgarden sent through raven and planted them in the castle's garden, then he used magic to rapidly speed up their growth rate. Within two weeks of her demand, the garden was full of roses, apple trees, and even some blueberry bushes. Mya was ecstatic and thought he was the coolest brother ever, a fact she began to frequently remind him of, much to his delight.
However, what he forgot to anticipate was how everyone would react to their rather sudden appearance. Most people took it as a sign from the Seven, which was helped by the fact that there were only seven trees, and they were planted in the shape of a star. Not to mention that the "garden" was actually a failed godswood, and hardly anything was able to grow there in the past. Some inner-Marauder part of his old life surged forth and he felt the need for a prank.
Jasper planted a weirwood seed right in the center of the "star," and while he left the apples trees untouched, he added some oaks, willows, and birch trees scattered around the godswood. He hid everything behind a few wards and illusions and then used magic to accelerate their growth as well.
When he finally dropped the barriers, everyone was shocked to see the changes in the godswood, but it was the weirwood tree that garnered most of the attention. It had a full bloom of red leaves sitting on its branches and a face was already carved into its trunk. No one knew what to believe at that point. Some said it was the Old Gods and Seven fighting for control of the Eyrie, while others said it was the Old Gods restoring what was already theirs.
Jasper just found it hilarious how far off everyone was. Old Gods or no, he still found himself drawn to the heart tree, fascinated by the magic he could feel flowing through the weirwood. Although he didn't pray there, he often came to sit beside it and feel the magic dancing just beneath its surface.
i {o,o}
i /) ')
i -"-"-
AN: For those who are curious, Rowena is an actual character in ASOIAF, she simply died before she could have any children. She was Jon's second wife as well as his cousin. (Lysa Tully was his third wife in cannon) Jasper is named after Jon's father, who is also a pre-existing character in ASOIAF. Also, please note that I'm American, and as such, I speak American English. I try to incorporate British slang and terms because Harry would think of things/speak in those terms. However, ultimately, I usually fall back on my native terms without noticing, and for that I apologize.
Notes. For those that know one 'verse, but not the other:
[1] For clarification, the Arryns are descended from Andals. I said that they had been ruling Vale since the time of the first men because they unified Vale while the first men were still a major population/force in Vale.
According the asoiaf wiki it is as follows:
"The Arryns are considered to come from the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility, which they say reaches back to Andalos and possibly Hugor of the Hill.
When King Robar II Royce began to unite the First Men and defeat some of the petty Andal kings during the Andal invasion, the Andals of the Vale united behind Ser Artys Arryn, the Falcon Knight, a native Valeman esteemed amongst his peers as the finest warrior of his day. Robar was slain in the Battle of the Seven Stars, possibly by Artys, and the First Men houses who remained bent the knee and swore fealty to Artys Arryn, the First of His Name, new-crowned King of Mountain and Vale. From that day, the Vale became known as the Vale of Arryn."
[2] Apparation is a spell that allows someone to teleport from one location to another. It requires the caster's focus to be maintained the entire time or you could suffer splinching, which is when you don't rematerialize with all your body parts. This form of magic is most often described as feeling like being squeezed through a straw, which is why Jasper thinks of it during his "re-birth."
[3] Maesters, sometimes referred to as "Knights of the mind," are a scholarly order that serve as advisors for nobility across all of Westeros. They are trained in many different fields, and often act as scientists and healers in between their more scholarly duties. Not all Maesters have the same depth of knowledge however, and the chains they wear indicate their field of study and expertise. Each link signifies ones proficiency in a field, and multiple links of the same material indicate a mastery.
[4] Jon is a Lord Paramount. All other Lords in Vale swear fealty to Jon, but he still swears fealty to the King of the Seven Kingdoms.
[5] NEWTs are the graduate level testing for Hogwarts, essentially your final grades for AP level courses.
[6] Layering is a term I made up to describe the process of how to build a runic array. Essentially, a runic array is a series of instructions that you want the magic to do under certain conditions. Layering is the way you guide the magic so that it follows the specific order you desire. This is through specifically carved/charged channels between each rune that direct the flow of magic so they don't all activate at once or out of sequence.
[7] Legilimency is the magical art of reading someone's mind, occlumency is the only known defense against this. Both have to be consciously maintained and take the castor's strength of will and focus to be effective. This means that a distracted castor would probably fail when using it, and that it cannot be constantly active.
[8] The Eyrie is the seat of House Arryn, it's an ancient castle in the Mountains of the Moon.
[9] The Faith of the Seven are the Westerosi equivalent of Christianity, only they believe there are seven separate aspects of God. Individual aspects are called faces, and they represent each of the roles God takes in his duties as the divine. Technically there is no specific gender for this deity, as it wears the faces of both a man and a woman depending on the role it is in. Thus, it is most frequently referred to as "the Seven Who Are One." While people pray to the individual faces, a seven-pointed star is the official icon worn by the Faith and its followers.
[10] A godswood is a small collection of trees that surround a heart tree, this is the primary place of worship for followers of the Old Gods. A religion centered around nature, followers believe that spirits or gods inhabit the rocks, streams, mountains, and forests that make up the world around them.
[11] Weirwood trees are considered sacred to the followers of the Old Gods, when one grows inside a godswood it is then referred to as a heart tree. Most weirwoods have faces carved into their trunks. This was done by the children of the forest in ancient days and is now done by local followers of the Old Gods.
Edited 5-20-22