Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She supposed it was ironic that the last thing she saw as Lily Potter was green and the first thing she saw as Lilian Tully was green as well.

For when Lily did open her eyes she couldn't help but be assaulted by the barrage of emerald colors and shades all around her. It wasn't until later when she realized that she was standing near a window being held in the arms of someone that she was looking at forests, green grasses and vermillion waters.

Where on earth am I? she thought to herself. And what did that bastard at the desk behind the pile of books do to me?

She blinked again and squinted, looking about to see where she was and if it had all been a rather disturbing dream.

Her first sensation was that it was very warm where she was and for a moment she imagined herself to be sitting before the fire with James in Godric's Hollow having fallen asleep and just now awakened.

The arms that were holding her weren't those of James however and it was with a delayed reaction that Lily realized she was lying on her back with the arms of another wrapped around her. One arm was supporting her back and head and the other was supporting her side and making sure she didn't fall from the height she was obviously resting at.

Lily blinked again and then grimaced when she looked around again to see that there was nothing that looked familiar. Aside what turned out to be a fireplace on the far right side of the room and a bed that was just opposite it, the chamber itself was sparsely decorated. One large wardrobe and a desk completed the décor and the floor were made of stone. The walls were a dark grey stone as well making Lily think she was in some sort of castle.

Castles were nothing new to her and for a moment she wondered if she were back at Hogwarts if she wasn't at Godric's Hollow.

The room certainly didn't look like anything in Gryffindor tower however and it was with a certain degree of sadness that the red head was forced to conclude that she was nowhere familiar and thus it hadn't been a dream.

That bastard really was real, she thought to herself. I was dead then….dead and I'm never going back.

A sudden wave of grief overtook her then and tears filled her eyes that she wanted desperately to wipe away.

"Don't cry little one."

At the sound of the strange but gentle voice, Lily looked up to find herself staring into a pair of brilliant blue eyes.

She narrowed her gaze slightly and was surprised to see that she was gazing into the face of a beautiful woman with bright hair and fair skin. There were lines in her face but there was still a youthful glow about her and for a moment Lily wondered if she was a child again in the arms of her mother Rose Evans.

A second glance told her that this was not in fact true as her mother had had green eyes not blue.

No….this was not her mother returned to her. This was someone else.

Where am I? Lily thought again.

"Welcome to the world little one," the red haired woman said again. Her hair was a brilliant scarlet and fanned out behind her like a crimson halo. Her blue eyes were kind and though she was not Rose Evans, Lily did feel some comfort at seeing that this woman cared for her.

"My name is Minisa," the woman went on. "I'm your mother. And it is such an honor to meet you."

Her mother?

Lily hesitantly raised one of her hands and looked at it before letting out a startled cry that came out sounding somewhat babyish.

This shouldn't be possible.

She was a child, a baby no less and was being held by her new mother.

After a moment, the words of Death in the chamber came back to her and she gritted her teeth in horror, realizing all he had said was coming to pass.

I think you'll do nicely in this world…you're bound to shake things up there Lady Lilian.

Oh merlin….is this the world he was talking about?

It didn't take the scarlet haired witch who had been the tops in almost all of her classes but potions long to figure out that she had landed in some bizarre version of back to the future where she was now in a very different world.

And to make matters worse, she was a baby again.

"Don't worry little one," Minisa replied. "I'm going to take care of you. You are the third daughter of House Tully. I know Hoster was hoping for a son as he has no heir yet but as long as you are healthy, I do not care. You are my daughter and you are a part of House Tully."

Perhaps I should begin calling you Lilian Tully…yes that will do nicely. It has a nice ring to it.

He's done it, Lily thought to herself. I'm in a different life with a different name and a different family. I'll never see James or Harry, or Sev or Sirius or Remus or Professor Dumbledore ever again. It's all gone.

Tears filled her eyes once more and she left out a sob that sounded even higher pitched in her new child's voice.

"Hush now, it's alright," Minisa crooned. "You're safe and you're with me. There is nothing to fear. No one is going to harm you."

Someone already has.

To distract herself from her grief and tears, Lily looked around turned her head towards the brightness and was able to look out the window.

Down below she could see a courtyard in which horsemen and stable hands and grooms were hurrying about. There was the faint sound of shouting and Lily could see people in armor to a long wall with a wooden gate and a far green country dotted with river beyond.

He's sent me back to the Middle Ages, she realized with a start. Why on earth would be send me here?

You're bound to shake things up there.

So he did this for his own amusement, she thought to herself. The cruel bastard did this for his own fun and spite. But then I shouldn't really expect a primordial creature to have a sense of humor. He has no emotions.

The ache in her heart was acute then and she realized for the first time in a long time that she was well and truly alone.

Unbidden tears dripped down her face and suddenly a hand came out of nowhere and gently wiped them away.

"Don't cry my beautiful girl," Minisa said gently. "Your father is going to be here to see you soon. I sent his brother after him, thank goodness Brynden was here at the time. He should be here soon. He didn't want to go away with me being pregnant and all, but insisted. I love your father but he has a tendency to hover about far too much."

In a way, this reminded Lily of the way her father often was when Rose Evans was sick. He would stand by and hover about and hover about and hover about until her other mother was fed up and sent him out to perform some household chore.

Despite her grief, it was somewhat comforting to know that this was still the same here.

Just then a horn blew and there was the sound of distant shouting.

"Oh," Minisa said suddenly and her beautiful face lit up with joy. "I think your father is returning little one."

Lily tried to turn her head to see out the window but could see nothing more than a column of mounted soldiers coming through the gates.

Was her new father amongst them?

Merlin this was strange.

A few minutes later, there was the sound of footsteps and shouts in the hall and then a tentative knock on the door.

"Come," Minisa called softly.

It was all but wrenched open and then a deep voice answered that of her new mothers. "Minisa? Oh thanks the gods, there you are! Are you alright? Should you be standing up right now?"

"Hoster my love, calm yourself," Minisa soothed him, placing a hand against the side of his face. "I am alright. Maester Vyman said I am in good health and that it is all right if I am up and walking around so long as I do not tire myself out."

Hoster nodded but still appeared concerned.

It was then that he caught sight of Lily.

"Is this?" he asked in a quiet voice but didn't finish.

"Come meet your new daughter my love," Minisa replied taking his hand. "I've already named her. Lilian Tully."

Just as he said it would be.

A man came into view and the first thing Lily noticed about him were his auburn curls and deep sky blue eyes. He had fair skin like her new mother and his face was deeply lined as well. But there were enough around his eyes to make Lily think that he smiled a lot.

There were no flecks of grey in his hair and he still appeared a young man.

"Another daughter my love?" he asked but there was amusement in his voice. "I'm beginning to think you're making a habit out of this."

"It takes two to make a child my love," Minisa replied cheekily. "I could just as soon as say you like having daughters."

"I must be with the three you've given me," the man replied but his tone was entirely affectionate. "I'm going to need to begin thinking of marriage alliances now if this keeps up."

"You old fool," Minisa replied laughing taking hold of his hand. "Must you always exaggerate? Come, hold your daughter."

There was a sudden transfer of weight and Lily looked up to see the man in much more detail looming above her. He was very handsome and she wondered if this was what her features were going to look like in this world.

"Hello there little one," he whispered and she almost wanted to smile at his deep and rumbling voice. It would be perfect to fall asleep to. It was similar to her father Paul Evans' voice and she imagined that this was how he would have sounded if he were reading a story to Harry.

She blinked slightly and took a deep breath, ensuring that tears didn't fill her eyes again.

"Look at her eyes my love," the man called Hoster said a moment later. "Both Catelyn and Lysa have sky blue eyes like mine, but the babe…"

"What about the babe Hoster?" Minisa asked moving away from the fire and back towards the window where her husband stood.

"Her eyes….I've seen this same stone in the river beds sometimes. They're like the aqua quartzes that are sometimes found there, a perfect shade of blue and green. They almost look otherworldly."

"Hmm, than our daughter will be very beautiful," Minisa replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Aye, she will and I will need to keep away the fights that will no doubt be waged for her hand," Hoster replied dryly.

"There is still much time before that happens my love."

"Indeed, you named her you said?"

"I did. I chose the name Lilian, Lily for short. I've always loved the flower and they are so common in the Riverlands. You've also named both Catelyn and Lysa my love, this time it's my turn."

Hoster smiled at her and then inclined his head. "Very well my life and since this this the first child you have named and I have named the last two, you may name the next one as well."

"Well how gracious of you," Minisa said with a smile. "I'll be sure to remember that when the next child we are blessed with is a son."

Their gentle back and forth was somewhat calming to Lily. It wasn't as if she had room to freak out right now. She was a baby and would be allowed time to grow up and adjust to the changes that had taken place.

A part of her didn't think she ever would, but it didn't seem as if she had a choice.

The bitter sweet feeling of finality that came over her again at that moment was one of deep grief and bitter acceptance.

It was all over, Harry was gone, James was gone and her friends were gone. Everything she knew was gone and she was being asked to start over with all of her old memories.

She had been a wife, she had been a mother, she had been a brilliant student and Head Girl in her final year and she had been a devoted member of the Order.

But now none of those things mattered.

No one but her would ever know about them and no one would ever understand here in this medieval society of what she had gone through.

A second later as she lay in Hoster Tully's arms, trying to process everything that had happened, did Lily realize that if she was back in this medieval society no one here was likely to know about her magic.

She could still feel it burning inside of her like a fire that refused to go out but she had to steel herself for calm.

The Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch trials that had been taught to her in Binns history of magic classes came to the fore of her mind and she imagined being burned at the stake for her abilities.

Maybe that was why purebloods hated Muggleborns so much when I was in school. Muggles did terrible things to magical people because they were seen as different. Some purebloods were probably still sore about that. I don't agree with their reaction to it, but I can somehow understand it better now. But now that I am a magical living with muggles…I can't reveal my magic now. What if there's no magical school here that can help me control the bursts that might happen. I don't even have a wand anymore to practice with!

Just then she remembered death breaking her wand in half and then taking the magic that jumped into his hand from it and sending it right to her core.

She felt a sudden relief at the possible implications.

Maybe that means that I can perform magic wandlessly now and I don't need the core of a wand to align with my core.

That was some comfort at least.

There was also a new way of life that she would have to get used to. This seemed to be a medieval society where people rode horses and wore armor and carried sword and fought wars.

She had gone back in time to a place that was far less advanced for women and the weak than the society she had come from.

And that sort of distinction would not stand for Lily.

This was going to be a long life if she didn't get a few things straight right now.

"She certainly is beautiful isn't she?" Hoster murmured and Minisa hummed her agreement. "The most beautiful daughter of House Tully I dare say."

"Now, now my love. All of our children are beautiful."

"Hoster, I meant that in jest, of course they are."

The man looked around the room and frowned. "Where are Catelyn and Lysa?"

"In my solar," Minisa replied. "I wanted them to stay there with the maids until I called for them and when Lilian was born, I was so focused on her that I forgot about it."

Despite her best efforts, Lily could feel her eyes beginning to droop then. She wanted to curse and rage at her infant's body which grew tired easily.

She didn't want to sleep, she wanted to think dammit! There was so much to do, so much to work through and so much to plan for!

She had accepted that she was dead, she was even beginning to accept that this wasn't some bizarre dream and she was in fact a baby again in a strange medieval world.

But she needed to process all of this, she needed to figure out what she was going to do with regards to her magic, and her new status.

What she seemed to know so far was that it appeared as if she had been born into a wealthy family if the enormous castle courtyard she had seen was any indication.

She was still a red head it seemed, her parents appeared kind and she had two older sisters.

Oh and her name was now Lilian Tully….how had she forgotten that?

Her eyes drooped even lower and she wanted to scream and rage against the lack of energy she was having.

Merlin, was I really this tired when I was a baby? Was I really this useless? How am I going to figure out what I am going to do if all my body wants to do is eat and sleep all the time?!

"She appears to be getting tired my love," Hoster replied.

"Give her to me then, she has just come into the world. That is a tiring thing," Minisa replied and the hands beneath her once again changed.

The fair haired woman looked back down at her new daughter once more and smiled before looking up at Hoster again.

"Perhaps you could go and bring the girls now my love. Lilian seems quiet enough, perhaps they would like to see their new sister?"

"As you wish."

There was the sound of retreating footsteps and while Lily tried to keep her eyes open to notice the new sight and smells around her and to plan…she couldn't fight the warmth from the fire place or her new mother's arms that were lulling her into the gentle embrace of slumber.

Oh well, was her last thought before her eyes closed. At least this time when I wake up again, it won't be much of a shock.

That was what she thought.

Ω

Lily awoke to giggles.

"She's red mama," said a babyish voice and Lily opened her eyes to see she was once more lying on her back and looking straight up at the rafters in the wooden ceiling.

Two faces were peering down at her. They were two little girls, one of whom looked three and the other appeared to be two.

Their faces were still childish looking but the older one had sky blue eyes just like Minisa and a bright smile on her face.

The younger one looked a little confused but Lily couldn't fault a child who was physical and mentally two for wondering about the strange appearance of a baby.

"Yes sweetling," came the voice of Minisa. "Most babies are red after they are born. The color will fade soon enough."

"She has pretty eyes Mama," the older girl said again and Lily did her best to smile up at her.

She seemed nice.

"Yes Cat she does. And you'll need to protect her. She's your youngest sister and you need to watch out for her. Do you understand?"

"Yes mama," the little girl called Cat replied and Lily felt herself relax a little. If this was her older sister, she certainly seemed a lot nicer than Petunia. Petunia had been consumed by a bitter jealousy and deep resentment of Lily because of her magic and as soon as the red head had met Severus, their relationship had never been the same.

Despite how bad their relationship had become, Lily had still loved her sister and had been sad at the way things had ended between them.

Perhaps this girl named Cat would be a better way to repair that bond. Maybe this would be her second chance at having a sister.

"What's her name Mama?" the younger girl asked in a babyish voice that was much more muddled than Cat's was.

"Her name is Lilian Lysa," Minisa replied. "But you can call her Lily for sort. Lilian is a bit of a mouthful right now."

"Lily," Cat said thoughtfully as if she were testing how the words sounded on her tongue. "I like it."

"I do too," Minisa replied with amusement. "So does your father. And do you remember our house words Cat?"

"Family, Duty, Honor," the little red head replied proudly.

"That's right," Minisa replied as she sat next to the new babe on the bed. She appeared pleased. "And as your grow up, those words will mean more to you as it comes along. You'll need to teach them to Lily too. She's going to need to know them and to memorize them and to keep them in her heart. We are a family, so duty and honor will always come first. Never forget that."

Lily was listening carefully to the words of her new mother and unknown to her, some of the tension in her heart had eased at hearing those words.

She would learn all about the great houses and their words later, but the concept of those three things was important to know and to her, it already endeared House Tully to her.

She would only realize how much later in life.

Minisa Tully was a little worried however as she sat there in her bed watching her two young daughters look down at their younger sister.

While she was grateful for all of her children, she was beginning to become a little worried that she hadn't produced an heir for Hoster as yet.

He had been a wonderful husband and loved all of his children but she often wondered about her ability to carry on the Tully line.

Catelyn and Lysa had been such darlings thus far and she could see Lilian being the same with the sparkle in her blue green eyes, but she needed a son.

If only the realm could accept a woman as an heir to the seat of power. They have made it work in Dorne, so why on earth can they not do it here?

Some may have called this forward thinking but Minisa Whent didn't think so.

She had always been very conscious of her duty when she was wed to Hoster Tully and hadn't lost sight of the fact that she had a responsibility to bear him sons and carry on the Tully line.

And she was beginning to become worries that it wouldn't happen.

Patience Min, she thought to herself. It will all be in the gods good timing. There is a reason for everything they do isn't there?

She wanted to believe that was true, and really had no other choice to believe otherwise.

Vyman had examined her and proclaimed that she was in perfect health after the birth of her child and she was still able to carry and bear more.

But when?

I just need to keep on trying. Hoster has always loved children and he loves the girls with all of his heart. He will love Lilian as well. And I will give him a son. I don't care how long it takes.

Ω

Four years later….

It was odd to be a child again.

Lily's memories of being four in her first life were very fuzzy and so there weren't many memorable experiences she could point to clearly.

As Lilian Tully however, she remembered every major moment that had happened since she opened her eyes in Minisa Whent's arms.

Other than her appearance, which was only slightly altered…everything was incredibly different.

The medievalist society she had been born into was in fact part of a land called Westeros, The land was made of seven major kingdoms and inhabited by seven different houses who ruled these different areas.

Her family, the Tullys were the Lords Paramount of the Trident and principle rulers of the Riverlands in Westeros.

Her father's realm stretched from the borders of the Vale to the edge of the Westerlands and was an enormous territory as far as she knew.

As soon as she could walk, Lily had been shown around the keep of Riverrun, her new home and had noted the position of the library so she could go there are often as she was and get some more knowledge about this new world she was living in.

Lily had always been a voracious reader and the only answers she was going to get in order to survive in this place were in that library.

And so one night when the entirety of the keep was silent and the only sound was the crackling of the fire in Lily's room, the four year old slipped out of her bed and darted to the door.

Her own chambers in Riverrun were much larger than the dorm she had shared with her fellow Gryffindors at Hogwarts. There was a large cherry wood bed to one side of the room with a blazing fire just across from it. The floor were made of hewn stone and there was a large bear skin rug upon the floor that was big enough for Lily to lie down upon it and wrap herself up in the fur like a burrito.

There were two large windows on either side of the fire place that went almost from floor to ceiling. The window seats in them were large enough to sit on and Lily had placed a handful of comfortable cushions upon them so they would be perfect for reading.

But she hadn't had a lot of time to do that because her mother watched her like a hawk. Perhaps it was because she was the youngest child and had more growing up to do, but Minisa rarely let Lily out of her sight.

The small red head really didn't understand why though. She hadn't been sick as a child, she was even keeled and tempered, she didn't even really cry for anything.

Perhaps that was why Minisa always watched her. Because she was so quiet, perhaps the Lady of Riverrun didn't want her to be a simpleton and so watched her constantly to make sure that this was not so.

When Lily came to that conclusion, she had wanted to laugh and then to weep. Her mother didn't understand that she was so quiet because she was still grieving for all that she had lost.

Four years had passed since she opened her eyes in this world and she didn't think she would ever completely heal from the absence of Harry and James and all of her friends in her life.

She had left behind unfinished business and been killed in the prime of her life by a power hungry mad man who was more animal than human.

Her only consolation that she had learned before Death had sent her here was that Harry had lived.

As long as he was alright, she could go on.

The pain had dulled, but not the memory and so she would often spend long hours thinking about her husband and son, not really talking to anyone or spending time with her sisters.

In some ways, Lily was so afraid of her relationship with them turning out like how it had with Petunia that she wasn't willing to put in the effort to really try.

She knew this and it hurt her, but she was terrified that if Cat or Lysa learned about her magic, they would shun her like Petunia had.

And so that was why she was quiet and kept to herself.

The presence of her younger brother Edmure in the keep who had been born two years after she was turned out to be a welcome surprise.

All of the riverlords rejoiced for the Trident had an heir and now Minisa could breathe easy, knowing that she had done her duty to Hoster and provided him with a son.

Lily had never had a brother before and so she was fascinated about this new departure from her old world.

Edmure was a small round pink little thing when he was born and she had had the loudest lungs of any child Lily had ever heard before…even Harry.

He had the blue eyes and auburn locks that were so characteristic of a Tully. And he was not a silent baby.

Maester Vyman made a quiet jape about how the heir to Riverrun was the loudest baby he had ever heard in all of his service to the Tullys. Lily had been the only one to hear it and had chuckled at the time.

Privately she agreed and wondered if her parents before had ever complained about how loud she had been as a baby.

She had a few dim memories of looking at pictures with Rose Evans from when she had been brought home from the hospital. And every single one of them she had had her mouth open in a silent cry.

Merlin, I imagine that I was like how Ed is now.

Strangely enough, Lily couldn't bring herself to say his full name. Edmure was such a strange name, why not Edward or Edmund?

But then it was a strange time that she was living in and a strange place as well where nothing seemed to be as it actually was and she would need to accept that in order to not fall into a dark hole of depression as she had been close to doing a few times.

Every time she was tempted to give herself over to sadness and grief in the last few years, something had come along to pull her out of it. Whether that was hew new siblings or the lessons she was learning from Maester Vyman or time spent with her new mother, there was always a situation in which Lily was not left on her own for too long.

And she wasn't certain if she should be annoyed or grateful for that.

But as it stood, she still knew all too little about this world she was living in….this Westeros and she had a burning desire to know more so her time as Lilian Tully wouldn't feel like an out of body experience and more like a life that she had been given.

As painful as it was and as heartbreaking as it was, Harry and James weren't coming back and it had been four years since she had last seen them.

She could imagine James telling her not to wallow in grief. He had hated to see her sad and had always done his utmost to cheer her up.

And even though she hadn't known Harry for that long, she could sense that he wouldn't want her to be sad either.

He was alive and that was enough to know for now.

She hoped he was safe and happy, wherever he was. Sirius would look after him no doubt. And Remus too.

She hoped that when he grew older he would be able to forgive her for leaving him.

All of this passed through Lily's mind as she stood at the door of her chambers, waiting to see if everything was silent in the hall before she slipped out.

It seemed as if the only time she would be able to go to the library was when it was night in Riverrun and all was silent.

She hated her nurse who watched her like a hawk as if Lily was a born klutz who was going to trip and fall at any moment.

She didn't know why Minisa had picked that woman to keep an eye on her. A septa, or a female priest would be appointed to her when she grew older but Lily was doing her best not to think about that right now.

The religion in Westeros was bloody strange.

The magical world in England didn't have a religion and though she had gone to church a few times with her parents before Hogwarts, she could hardly be called devout.

But here, the faith of the Seven was something that was routinely practiced in the southern half of Westeros.

In the north, the religion was quite different and they adhered more to the worship of what was known as the old gods and praying in godswoods rather than in a sept.

The sept in Riverrun was rather large and almost everyone in the keep prayed there at some time or another.

Lily was a little unnerved how deep the faith ran her and it served as an added incentive to keep her magic hidden. There was no telling how the people here in Westeros would take the idea of a major lord having magic.

At best she would be labelled as a heretic and at worst religious people would begin calling for her head.

She needed to keep it to herself, at least for right now.

Right now the two people in the keep she had a feeling she could trust absolutely were Catelyn and Maester Vyman.

It was odd that she now felt comfortable enough to trust her older sister with her secrets, but Lily didn't want to burden the six year old with something as big as magic.

There would be time for that later.

The reason she trued Vyman as much as she did was because of the fact that the man had told her that there was once a time when magic was all over Westeros. Then the glass candles in Oldtown had been lit and the dragons had roamed the land.

But the dragons were gone and the candles had been cold for a very long time.

However, his belief in the idea that magic might one day make a return to Westeros was not lost on Lily and so she had a feeling that when the time came, Vyman would be one of the first people she would tell about who she was.

In the meantime, she pressed her ear against the door and was rewarded with nothing but silence.

Steeling over to her bedside table, Lily too up the candle that was resting on the surface of it and stole out of her chambers into the darkened halls.

Other than a very faint light coming from the windows down the sides of the corridors, everything was pitch black.

Lily shivered slightly and tightened her grip on the candle holder. Riverrun had a habit of being rather cold at night. There was no magical insulation in this keep and the stone floors were always cold.

Even though she had put on her robe, Lily had cast a warming charm on herself for good measure as she stole down the hall.

She had memorized the route to the library ever since she had been able to get up and walk a few years earlier.

It was time to get some answers.

She was a silent shadow on the doors she passed, her little candle casting just enough light for the four year old to see by.

She turned a few corners but not long after, Lily came within the doors of the library and breathed a sigh of relief.

Not wasting a second, she pushed open the tall wooden doors and stole into the cool quiet.

At Hogwarts, the library had always been her favorite place. As she entered the calm silence, the smell of books and parchment assaulted her and the red head unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lumos," she whispered and the room was suddenly ten times brighter than it already was.

Her candle hadn't done much to brighten up the space and she knew she would need to illuminate it much more if she was going to read anything.

The library itself was enormous and was easily as large was the one at Hogwarts. The moment she entered the door she was presented with tall shelves of books upon books upon books.

Because the Lumos charm was so bright she was able to hurry in and spy a table right away before going straight to it.

One good thing that she had discovered in the last few years with the Tullys was the fact that Death had somehow given her wandless magic.

That was why he had broken her wand in half and sent its core right at her. Because of the added bonus of the wands core and her own core aligned already inside of her, Lily had no more need of a device to channel her magic.

And that was extremely helpful as it cancelled out the bursts of accidental magic she might have had if she didn't have a wand.

I suppose it's the one thing that I can thank that bastard for.

She set the candle down on the table and immediately hurried to the stacks looking for history books, books on ancestry and basically anything that she could find which told her more about the world she was living in.

Thankfully she only had to levitate a few down from the shelves and placed them on the table as they were too heavy to carry.

From there, Lily sat down on the chair and busied herself with reading.

Needless to say she was amazed at what she found.

She read all about the Children of the Forest and the great land bridge from whence the First Men came, how the two waged war on each other and finally came to some sort of peace agreement.

She read about the peoples from the hills of Andalos and how they sailed across the sea bringing their religion and their weapons with them, conquering all of the first men save the north and slaughtering the Children of the Forest wherever they could find them.

From there, seven kingdoms emerged, the north, the Reach, the east, the west, the Stormlands, Dorne and the Riverlands.

She read about the freehold of Valyria across the sea and their wars with the Ghiscari people and how they and their dragons crushed their empire of old Ghis. She read about how the Doom was brought about this great and magically advanced civilization leaving only the small island of Dragonstone in the Narrow Sea in its wake where there were only a few survivors of the once great empire, the Targaryens.

And then she read about how Aegon and his sister wives Rhaenys and Visenya had come astride their three dragons and conquered all of Westeros. She read about how the dragons burned the last king of the Reach, Merne Gardener and his thousands of souls horrendously alive on the battlefield and how all of Westeros had surrendered to the might of the dragons.

The Tullys had really risen to prominence then, emerging from the shadow of Harren to serve the Targaryens and had been named the Lords Paramount of the Trident. After the lord of Harrenhal and all of his sons roasted alive within its walls, it served a monument to the rest of the world not to cross the Targaryens and their dragons.

The Tullys were the first to bend the knee.

Even though her ancestors here and had been spared the horror of a field of fire, Mern Gardener of the Reach and four thousand of his men had roasted alive inside their armor upon the battle field.

Seeing the carnage, King Loren Lannister of the Rock and Torrhen Stark of the north wisely bent the knee.

The dragons had ruled Westeros ever since.

Lily was both delighted and appalled by the rich history of Westeros as it seemed to be built on a lineage of blood since the days the first men had cross the land bridge to come to Westeros and waged war on the Children of the Forest.

Now that was something she was interested in.

The Isle of Faces, which happened to be located somewhere in the Riverlands was the place where a pact was forged between the Children and the First Men to end the fighting between them. In honor of it, a face was carved into the trunk of every tree in the island.

Rumor had it that the Children of the Forest and the fabled Green Men were still there, tending to and caring for the island.

The religion of the First Men was fascinating to Lily as it seemed much more mystical than those of the Andals who came with their weapons of steel from across the sea.

She also disliked the idea of prophecy which had led to the Andals conquest of the southern half of Westeros. Their seven faced god had told them to wage here and so they had, chasing the First Men of the south from their homes and driving them to extinction or into the mountains.

Her hands gripped the sides of the book when she read that passage so hard that she was afraid she had torn the page for a moment.

After some reasoning however, she calmed herself down.

One could hardly blame Lily for hating the idea of a prophecy however. It was a similar thing that had cost her life and James life and left Harry alone because a mad man had believed in it.

Said mad man had thus destroyed whatever future she and James and Harry might have had, so her dislike for the faith of the seven was acute and swift.

Lily had nothing against religion, she just disliked people who used it as an excuse to fight wars and kill people all for something of their own personal gain.

Thank goodness the Andals hadn't succeeded in subduing the north.

Her own family's reliance on religion was something that made her wary. She would need to temper that situation with common sense.

Catelyn who was seven at this time was already emulating their mother in everything Minisa did. She prayed with her in the Sept and Lily had also caught her older sister praying by herself when Minisa was pregnant with Edmure.

They had all prayed for an heir to Riverrun but while Lily had hoped, her older sister and mother seemed too caught on the Mother for fertility and a safe birth.

How much religion was a factor of the culture here was worrying to Lily.

But for the moment she only had concerns and no facts. So all she could do was wait and watch.

And perhaps study as well.

Because of the eidetic memory she had had at Hogwarts which enabled to get to the top of her class every school year, she had no problem remembering what she had studied.

In a way, Death had simply transported her brain and memories into the mind of a child and sent her to another world where she was going to have to learn and adjust.

Even though she was only four Lily knew that the one she lived in was as backwards as the Middle Ages and the pureblood society she had come from. She was no stranger to the idea of arranged marriages and dowries but here it was all about who had the most power and which matches would be most advantageous for the bride's family.

Her own mother in this world, Minisa Whent had had an arranged marriage to Hoster Tully and even though theirs had become one of love for which Lily was grateful as it made her adjustment easier, the idea was still a shocking one to her.

Having to come to terms with having people serve her was a big adjustment period as well. Her family never treated their servants unkindly, just the opposite in face. The Tullys were beloved for their acts of charity throughout the Riverlands both to the poor and to their bannermen who were as loyal to them as any of the bannermen of the north were to the Starks.

Lily was glad her new mother took such an interest in the poor and had made them loyal to her family.

Having servants and maids wait on her was an adjustment period but after taking a lot of time to think about it, Lily began to realize even as a four year old that life in Westeros could not be lived the same way as life at Hogwarts and she would just have to adjust.

In the meantime when she grew older, she wanted to participate in these acts of charity that her mother oversaw and earn the favor of the people as well.

She had always wanted to fight for the rights of those who didn't have any and she could still do that here.

Slaves however were banned in Westeros which was something she was very grateful to know. However, across the Narrow Sea in Westeros, slaves were an integral part of the economy which was beyond appalling to the youngest Tully daughter. She was almost glad that she didn't have full range of her linguistic ability yet or she would have cursed every slaver to the Seven Hells. At least the land she lived in wasn't so backwards that they had to rely on that horribly form of moneymaking.

There was so much to learn and so much history to uncover.

Lily continued reading for what seemed like hours and hours, making careful notes in the book she had brought with her and turning page after page in order to read more.

The red head didn't even realize that the night was slowly waning and the grey light of dawn in the east was becoming brighter until something happened to distract her.

She had become so engrossed in her reading that she wasn't aware of how fast the time had gone by until she heard the sound of a throat clearing in front of her.

Lily jumped and would have knocked the candle over in her surprise before cutting the lumos charm and looking up into the wide and surprised eyes of Maester Vyman.

She wanted to curse. What is he doing up this early? Everyone is supposed to still be in bed!

The maester blinked at the sudden lack of light and frowned. "What on earth are you doing in here my lady?"

Lily blinked and wondered if he was going to comment on the very bright light that her magic had caused before she realized he had asked her a question.

There was no point in lying then.

"Reading," Lily replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

The maester's eyes narrowed even further and then widened as he stepped forward and looked at the stack of books in front of her. "You read all of these Lady Lily?"

He was the one person that didn't call her by her full name and for that Lily was happy. He was one of her favorite people in the keep as he was a fountain of knowledge and had a wealth of patience for every question she asked.

Lily nodded and could feel the maester's calculating eyes on her.

"Why?" he asked.

Lily shrugged. "I like to read. And mother never lets me out of her sight during the day time so I waited until everyone was asleep and then came here to read."

She could feel the complete incredulousness from Vyman even here. "But to read all of this my lady at your age? Your sisters never did that."

Lily raised an eyebrow at the aging man. "Maybe I'm just more ambitious than they are."

To her surprise Vyman laughed. "Well I should say so. This is remarkable my lady. You have the makings of a prodigy indeed!"

No maester…I'm just a twenty one year old in a four year olds body.

The maester was eying the books she was reading with interest. "Am I correct in assuming that you don't want your mother to know about this Lady Lilian?"

Uh oh, full names.

"Yes please Maester Vyman," Lily replied.

Vyman nodded sharply. "Then I suggest we put all of the books back where they were found and if you want more knowledge after this….come to me and we can start there."

Lily looked at the maester for a long time before a small smile came over her face and she nodded.

There was a reason Vyman was one of her favorite people in the keep. "I will."

"Good, then lets put these books away and be off from here before the sun rises and your Lady mother has both of our heads."

Ω

A little boring I know, but it was sort of necessary to set up Lily's place in Riverrun. Vyman will be an important character as time goes on as well. Also, just a side note. It is surprising to me that some of my subscribers think that just because I am going to pair Lily with Robert, that automatically means he will be the same as he is in canon. Guys, this AU. Robert is going to be different. Not at first but knowing and loving Lily and her giving him her love is going to change him. So don't be so quick to say that Lily deserves better than Robert if you don't actually know how he is going to turn out. And for the record, the only bastards that Robert is going to have in this story are the ones he fathered before and during the Rebellion, the ones after aren't going to exist. I'm a little bewildered by the fact that some of you are saying you're not going to read this story just because of the pairing. To this I say, you do you but at the same time, don't be so quick to judge a story or a pairing for that matter only two chapters in. Nor for that matter would I keep Robert the exact same as he was in canon if I was going to pair him with Lily. I know she deserves better than canon Robert which is good because he's not going to be canon for very long. He'll still retain a bit of a rough around the edges personality and a blistering temper at times as well as an unhealthy obsession with war, but the drunken whore mongering Robert that we all know is going to be different. Just keep that in mind when you decide you don't want to read a story just because you don't like one of the characters in the main pairing. I know what I am doing. Don't forget to review and happy reading everyone!