Chapter 40: The magical magnifier

The magical fire burned brightly boosting the intensity of heat, reflecting his will. Harry stood over the melting pot where his refining charms were doing their work by removing all impurities from the molten glass. It took him only some ten minutes to finally pull off what he was hoping to build. Harry carefully lowered the glass piece into the equipment and sealed it under several layers of protective charms. After making sure all the charms were binding properly, he activated the runes he had painstakingly carved all over the equipment. Fine squiggly lines lit up with a green hue as the runes were charged with his magic.

Harry smiled and took a moment to pat himself on his back for a job well done. Sitting before him on his work desk was the most advanced magical magnifier this world has ever known. The Department of Mysteries used to study magical maladies like dragon pox and other diseases unique to wizardkind using this device. The Unspeakables adapted it by reversing the spell chains used in magical telescopes.

Speaking of telescopes, he was planning to create one to make accurate star charts and planetary alignments as soon as possible. Now that he has access to dragon bones and unicorn horns, there were some mild rituals that he could design and use in the near future. Some selective wards and spells also depend on the alignments of celestial bodies.

For example, the Portkey charm was heavily dependent on the position of the Moon, Sun and Mercury. It was from this system the muggle Romans adopted Mercury as their god of travellers. Rituals, ward schemes, potions and some select spells require the cooperation of planetary bodies and stars. Without knowing the orbits of neighbouring planets, moons, the sun and the stars which influence this planet, much of Harry's knowledge would be useless. This lack of information was also one of the major reasons why he was not comfortable experimenting with apparition.

All of that could be taken care of in time. It was only a matter of time for Harry to set up a proper telescope and trace out the system of planets, moons and other celestial bodies closer to the sun.

He double-checked the magnifier one last time before he brought up Aemon Targaryen's blood sample. Placing a drop of blood on a glass slide, he used the magical magnifier on the blood. Looking through the charmed glass of the magnifier Harry was able to take a good look at the famed dragon blood of Valyria. The two glass pieces on both ends of the scope of the magnifier worked in tandem to decipher the secrets behind the specimen.

At first, Harry saw nothing out of the ordinary in the blood. He could see the red and white blood cells. On magnifying further he could get a more clear picture of many disc-shaped platelets.

Nothing was amiss.

Harry twisted the small knob on the magnifier's side which activated a cluster of runes that activated what the Department of Mysteries called the Mage Sight. Once the Mage Sight was activated the image shifted in the magnifier. The red and white blood cells were no longer in their normal colour scheme. The red blood cells were now as black as night and the white blood cells took on an amethyst hue.

'Definitely the telltale signs of an inherited blood ritual.' Harry thought, completely fascinated by this latest find.

He was suitably impressed by whatever blood-binding ritual the Valyrians used. After all, Valyria has been dead for almost 400 years. So, it was a surprise to find the effects of the blood ritual remained visible after so long. Unless of course the Targaryens were somehow secretly doing complimentary rituals and refining the blood magic embedded in their bloodline after Aenar's exile from Valyria. Whatever the case, Harry was sure the Targaryens lost their magical knowledge after the Dance robbed them of their dragons. In any case, he was quite impressed to see the remnants of the blood-binding ritual last for this long.

The blood magic lay dormant in Aemon Targaryen's blood which made Harry curious about Jon. Jon was the first Valyrian with Stark blood in his veins. Well, first that he knows for sure.

'Perhaps, I should take a sample from Jon and do a comparative study.' he thought, before going back to studying the blood sample of Maester Aemon.

The Valyrians believed their bloodline became strong through incestuous couples. The fact that the Valyrian houses have lasted as long as they did without any deformities did make Harry sit up and take interest in their blood. The Pureblood families of the wizarding world had many magical traits inherited from their ancestors. Those gifts eroded over time because of inbreeding. The fact that the Valyrians managed to hold on to their gifts even after inbreeding to the extent that they did was truly fascinating to Harry. Interestingly enough, the Targaryens seem to have lost their ability to hatch dragons after they married outside their family. Either the Targaryens lost the knowledge or they lost their magic.

Harry was interested to find out more details from the blood sample. However, his inquiry into the blood sample was put on hold as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." he said, looking up from the magnifier as the door to his lab swung open.

His eyes lit up in interest as Mance Rayder stepped into his lab.

"Sorry for the tardiness lad. I was busy securing the provisions for our journey." said Mance, carefully walking between two large tables filled to the brim with steaming pots and kettles.

At one point, Mance would have marvelled at the fact that he was seeing fires burning brightly atop a wooden table without damaging the wood. But after everything he saw and heard in his latest journey to Skane with the young Stark, he knew anything was possible when it comes to magic.

"So, you are leaving then." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, trust me I'd prefer to stay. But, the Lord Commander sees no reason to extend our stay now that the matters pertaining to the Gift are resolved to his satisfaction." said Mance, taking a whiff out of an aromatic leaf he found on one of the tables.

"I heard Lord Commander Mormont managed to keep the dominion of Brandon's Gift for the Night's Watch." Harry commented, putting the blood samples under preservation charms and walking around his workstation.

"Not all of it. There are castles left unattended by the Night's Watch. The status of these castles and the lands attached to them remains unresolved."

Harry shrugged disinterestedly while eyeing Mance Rayder closely.

"I heard from a Black brother that you were born on the other side of the Wall."

"'Tis no secret." Mance shrugged.

However, Harry noticed the subtle shift in Mance Rayder's demeanour. The man suddenly became on guard and his eyes crinkled along the edges.

"Do you keep contact with the Wildlings?" Harry asked tilting his head to the side.

"Oh, yes. Unfortunately, those who come in contact with me rarely live to tell the tale." said Mance, his sharp brown eyes trained steadily on Harry's grey eyes.

Harry broke off the eye contact and sighed.

"Well, that's a shame. Should you somehow come to establish better contact with the wildlings in the future…" Harry fished out a small wooden box from his pocket and gave it to Mance Rayder. "…this will serve you well."

Mance caught the wooden box in his palm. To his surprise, it was the magic box that can find the north.

"You saw what we found in Skane. Something far worse is stirring beyond the Wall." Harry said grimly. "When the time comes I hope it'll serve you well."

Mance looked at the compass and the lad who gave him the magic box.

"What exactly are you asking me to do lad?" Mance asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry smiled.

"The dead are gathering beyond the Wall. The living is their enemy, all the living."

Mance eyed the young Stark boy trying hard to understand what made the lad so different.

"You are one strange child." Mance settled on saying, abandoning his attempts to wrap his head around the strangeness hanging around the young Stark.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

XXXXXXX

Harry noted the sadness in Jon's eyes who was watching uncle Benjen disappear down the Kingsroad further north.

"'Tis not fair uncle Benjen has to go away." Jon mumbled sadly.

Harry patted Jon on his back.

"He'll be fine. He is a Stark."

"He doesn't belong there with those people." said Jon, a sniffle escaping his mouth.

One of the useful consequences of their journey to the Wall was that Jon no longer held the Night's Watch in high regard. In the past, Jon always wanted to follow their uncle in becoming a ranger of the Night's Watch. But, having seen the true state of the Night's Watch it was safe to say all the appeal Jon had built around the ancient order guarding the Wall has dipped several notches.

"If you are planning to stand there and brood all day I'll have your hair turn pink again." Harry threatened.

Jon was jolted out of the stupor and proceeded to follow Harry to the training yard.

In the training yard, Harry was expecting the usual. With Ser Rodrik returning from the south Harry was expecting more gruelling training sessions but strangely enough, there was no one in the yard except for Theon Greyjoy and a few guards.

"Huh! Where did everyone go?" Jon asked.

"I don't know. Let's ask him." Harry said, moving towards Theon who was practising in the archery range.

"Theon." Harry called, approaching the Greyjoy heir.

Harry got the feeling that Theon Greyjoy was not particularly fond of being stuck in Winterfell. It was quite understandable considering the Greyjoy heir was more of a hostage than a ward. The reputation of the Ironborn among the Northerners was also a hurdle for Theon. The people of Winterfell were wary of Theon and saw him as an ill omen. This left the Greyjoy heir in a peculiar position. At least, Robb seems to have taken a genuine liking to Theon and has tried to make the kid feel more welcome in the castle.

"Harrion. Jon." Theon nodded at them briefly before going back to nocking another arrow and taking aim.

"Where is everyone? I thought Ser Rodrik was supposed to be training us today." Harry asked.

"You haven't heard? House Lannister has arrived. Robb said something about giving them a magic sword." Theon said, shrugging his shoulders before releasing the arrow. The arrow thudded against the practice dummy far closer to the target mark.

"That's impressive." Harry praised.

"We should go. Lord and Lady Stark should be looking for you." Jon urged.

However, before they could go Theon spoke up.

"In the Iron Islands magic is seen as evil. The punishment for magic is death by drowning." said Theon.

Harry paused in his tracks as his mind conjured up horrific images of his lost homeland. The suffering and sacrifices his people endured because of muggles and their undying greed. Harry turned to look at Theon who slowly began to lose his smile and fear began to set in his eyes.

"Harry?" Jon shook him lightly.

It was only then he came to realize his magic was raging out of control. The old battle instincts he had long suppressed came out breaking the floodgates. The air around him was dead and becoming increasingly arduous to breathe.

"Harry he was just joking." Jon tried to console him.

'No. Greyjoy might have cushioned it as a joke but it is the truth.' Harry thought.

A few minutes later, Harry was toiling away in the forge taking in the full heat of the magical fire that was melting the metal ingots in the pot. His mood was not by any means in the positive range and his magic was reflective of that mood. The usual red and yellow flame he conjured with his wand was now bright blue with a white hue in between. The heat inside the forge was such that it became extremely difficult to breathe properly.

And yet, Kevan Lannister was braving the hostile atmosphere inside the forge and so was Domeric Bolton. The Bolton heir has been hanging around Winterfell like a Niffler looking for a treasure. He found it somewhat amusing that the strangely silent Lord of Dreadfort would have a talkative son like Domeric. In the short time he came to know about Domeric Bolton, Harry heard the long tale of how the kid was sent away from Dreadfort to stay as a cupbearer for Barbrey Dustin. Then there was the long story that led to squiring for Lord Horton Redfort.

Harry was really annoyed and not in the mood to entertain the kid but Kevan Lannister for some reason was interested in the kid. Or maybe, this Kevan Lannister was just humouring the kid. Either way, it was getting annoying.

"Lord Kevan. Do you have any colour preferences?" Harry asked, as he saw the molten metal was ready for spellforging techniques.

"You can add colour to the sword?" Kevan asked intrigued.

"Yes. If you want I can imbue House Lannister's colours into the sword.." Harry offered.

"That'd be most welcome." Kevan replied, after thinking it through in his mind.

Harry nodded before starting the chain of spells as the molten metal was poured into the open mould. As the metal refined under his spells and runes, he made some slight adjustments for the Lannister colours of red and gold to reflect on the blade.

When the forge finally became cold the sword was ready. The two faces of the blade dominated in golden colour with fine red lines running along its periphery. The classic ripple patterns were visible for those blessed with the eye for detail but the golden colour undoubtedly dominated the blade.

"What do you think?" Harry asked, picking up the blade after forcibly cooling it down to room temperature.

After a last-minute scrutiny, he handed over the blade to Ser Kevan.

The Lannister knight was left speechless and simply admired the sword presented to him for a period.

"It's simply marvellous." Kevan whispered, running his hands over the smooth periphery of the sword.

"Do you have a name for it?" Domeric Bolton asked, marvelling at the beauty of the blade.

"Not yet. The honour of naming it goes to my brother." said Ser Kevan.

Harry shrugged. His job ended with forging the sword. What happens from then on was not his concern.

While the Lannisters were celebrating and his father was busy procuring accommodations for their new guests, Harry was making plans of his own. He could not afford to let the castle's construction lag behind. The need for consolidating Sea Dragon Point was absolutely vital and a fleet capable of not just protecting the shores but also in offensive capabilities was warranted. He has an idea on speeding up the construction of the castle but that'd have to wait. He was not ready to use that trick up his sleeve without testing it on the ground.

Harry turned his eyes to the Burned Tower where crows have made a stable home for their kind.

"I suppose I can modify some of those Dwarven magic to restore the tower. That should be a good start." Harry muttered to himself, before going back to focusing on making more potions.