The wolf and the lioness - The ember of hope. (Patreon)

Aegon Targaryen, #12 Grimmauld Place – London

His finger was raised while pointing toward the practice dummy that the curious elf, Kreacher, had summoned for him.

It was a curious and interesting artifact, evidently magical, it moved on its own and could even conjure curious but weak magical shields.

From the tip of his fingers, a powerful magical lightning bolt emerged, destroying the shield and splitting the dummy in half, at the same time that the artifact itself was thrown several meters through the air and impacted against the magical defenses of the room, causing the entire house to tremble.

An instant later, the practice dummy repaired itself on its own, a magic that truly interested Aegon in learning.

This place…was a source of knowledge, and although the dependence they had on their foci made Aemon frown, he could admit that they were quite clever in the way they applied magic.

Much more refined and elegant, although less powerful.

This world was far more civilized and less brutal than Westeros or Tamriel and the magic also reflected the change.

After the four hours in the tailor shop and Bellatrix’s far from subtle insinuations, Aegon had spent the rest of the afternoon in the bookstore, literally spending a bloody fortune expanding his collection. During the evening Narcissa had returned to her own home, promising that she would return the next day with her daughter, Aegon's cousin, Bellatrix excused herself saying she had certain preparations to make, departing an hour later while making the same promise, to return the following day.

Leaving Aegon alone with Sirius and the beautiful redhead.

Lady Lily, a beautiful woman with a tragic past, something that was evident even if he did not know the details.

-A knut for your thoughts?- said a soft feminine voice from the entrance of the room, observing him curiously.

Aegon looked toward Lady Lily, who stood with her arms crossed beneath her chest, accentuating her generous breasts beneath her elegant black robe that embraced her figure like a glove.

Aegon looked her up and down for an instant before focusing on those beautiful green eyes and replying.

-I am making the preliminary calculations to build the megascope- he said calmly, making a titanic effort not to focus his gaze upon Lily’s exquisite breasts.

Although to be fair, it seemed that the redhead desired to attract his attention, and difficult as it was to believe, excluding his beloved wife, Lily Evans was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman he had met in his life, it was as if…magic itself had blessed her somehow.

Lily simply nodded with a sigh before closing the doors with an elegant movement of her wand and focusing her gaze filled with conflicting emotions upon Aegon.

-I know our brief conversation in Diagon Alley left you with doubts and it is time for me to answer them- said the redhead, conjuring a chair and sitting down elegantly, legs together in a posture that betrayed nobility before Aegon’s trained eyes.

Lily inhaled deeply, evidently gathering courage to begin speaking, her gaze lost and her hands trembling.

Aegon frowned and, unable to explain why, took the redhead’s hands with the vague hope of giving her some comfort, even if only in silence.

The gesture caught Lily by surprise, who looked at him with uncertainty before smiling sadly.

-I…I was married, a long time ago- she began, and it was as if a dam had broken.

Aegon did not speak, he simply squeezed the trembling hands firmly and listened, as Lady Lily explained that she once carried the name Potter, married to Lord James and with a son named Harry.

The redhead’s eyes shone at the memory of her son.

-He was…a wonderful child, very cheerful and happy, a natural flyer like his father and quite mischievous, my little one- she said while tears ran down her face.

-But then…SHE appeared, Voldemort, the thing you fought at the school, a powerful dark witch…she murdered James and I…I had everything prepared to await death, I had…I had a ritual, ancient and powerful magic, which required a great sacrifice to activate-

Aegon interrupted cautiously.

-Your own life, you expected this Dark Lady to kill you and in doing so, feed the ritual in order to save Harry-

Aegon’s conclusion caused Lily to nod distractedly, her face twisted in deep pain.

-The Dark Lady removed me from the way, but she did not take my life, she merely caused me to lose consciousness, and when I awoke…my beloved son…was…was…-

Lily could not continue, she simply broke into tears, incapable of speaking further while clinging to Aegon with all her strength, like a powerful pillar.

-Sometime later, the dark bitch attacked another family close to us, the Longbottoms, murdering Frank and Alice, who had performed the same ritual as us, Neville survived and the sorceress lost her power and her body-

Aegon simply placed his hand upon the woman’s back, offering comfort.

-Why are you telling me this? It is evident that this is quite difficult for you- said the young dragon delicately, causing Lily to look at him, naked hope in her gaze that nearly broke his heart.

-My son…my son is gone, the Potter family disappeared with him and my husband…but…your presence here fills me with hope, and if…and if there were a Harry out there, one where his Lily succeeded where I failed, one who needs a mother…I…- Lily could not continue, simply finding refuge against Aegon’s chest, who had understood the request instantly.

And he found himself conflicted.

He felt empathy for Lily, a woman who had lost absolutely everything…clinging to the last light of hope that Aegon represented.

The decision was made…although the solution would not be simple at all.

-It will not be easy- he said cautiously, hesitation visible upon his face while wondering if giving hope to this woman was truly the correct thing to do.

But the moment he saw her beautiful face illuminated by hope…all doubts vanished.

-What do you need? I have gold, all of the Potter gold, all the knowledge, anything just say it- said the redhead desperately.

Aegon took her by the shoulders, a gesture that silenced her instantly and caused a faint blush to appear upon her cheeks.

-First…we must explore the dimensional spiral, the turning point appears to be the attack on Godric’s Hollow, it is a good starting point- said the young dragon while walking toward the center of the room with Lily following behind him anxiously.

-We will not be able to make contact or perform a jump, for that I would require the presence of my wife or one of my experimental rituals, but…we may take a small glimpse-

Aegon looked toward Lily and ordered.

-I will require your blood, a couple of drops will suffice-

And Lily did not hesitate, offering her hand to Aegon, her face filled with determination.

The young dragon took her hand with extreme delicacy, noticing how the redhead trembled the moment Aegon touched her, although he did not pay much attention to it at this moment, and made a small and precise cut with his magic, levitating three drops of blood from Lily’s hand and beginning to prepare the spell.

And due to the complexity of it, Aegon had to use all of his concentration, as well as the Elder Speech that Ciri had taught him a couple of years ago.

“O dhaoine vaen vaer, gwynbleid vaén aen lunedh troide naevde, aep va failte meigh’r hen Iorveth. Vaedh hen, given vae saor, ess’taen cathair vae lorg aen caillte.”

The result was instantaneous, reality itself within the room seemed to stretch and distort, Lily looked around herself in a state of shock while an enormous jade-green spiral emerged from Aegon’s hand, and one by one, several spirals of light began to emerge and spread throughout the room.

-What is this magic?- whispered the redheaded woman, looking toward the various spirals with fascination.

And Aegon answered calmly.

-This is an arcane projection of the multiverse spiral, all the universes that exist, existed, or will exist, millions of dimensions and in one of them, my wife is there and probably what you seek as well- said the young dragon solemnly, concentrated on tracing Lily’s blood.

It was a very tricky process.

-I found you- he said with certainty while focusing on a minuscule part of the enormous spiral, where to the redhead’s surprise, at least a hundred spirals appeared, all projecting particular images.

Some did not catch her attention in the slightest, many were of herself, but she was focused completely on only one thing.

Her beloved son.

Aegon continued moving through the spiral while Lily observed, dying of envy, as many of the Lilys within the dimensional spiral had their families complete.

James and her, happily married, Harry present and even more children, living a happy and peaceful life.

A cruel reflection of what could have been and had been denied to her.

-This appears to be more complicated than it seems- said Aegon with evident fatigue in his gaze, causing Lily to look at him with concern, although she said nothing, being honest she did not want Aegon to stop.

Even if it was selfish…

However, the universes continued passing and in none of them did he find what he was searching for, and little by little, Lily began falling into desperation.

-Please, I know you are there, please- she begged, her gaze filled with desperation and hope.

And then…it happened.

One particular universe, showing a small and lonely child, very young, perhaps around five years old, with messy black hair and emerald eyes, wearing patched glasses and clothes that evidently did not belong to him.

He appeared to be locked inside a cupboard, curled into a tiny bed while crying softly.

And Lily knew it instantly…this child…was Harry, the Harry of the Lily who succeeded where she could not.

The Harry who became the Boy Who Lived.

However, Lily did not feel happiness or relief, but rather profound sadness and desperation upon observing the state he was in.

Harry, her son…was crying, tears falling bitterly down his little face, filling Lily with anguish.

However, to the redhead’s despair, the vortex containing the image of her son disappeared, at the same moment Aegon dropped to his knees on the floor, panting and evidently exhausted.

-Damn, that was more difficult than I expected- he whispered, taking quite some time to recover his breath.

Lily returned to reality and ran toward the young man, kneeling beside him and wrapping him in her arms.

-Are you alright? Do you need anything?- asked the redhead without conviction, her mind focused completely on the image of her son.

A son who, apparently, needed a mother.

-Yes, I am alright, I only need…to rest for a moment- he said with a sigh while standing up and breathing deeply.

The redhead bit her lip while looking at the handsome young man with veiled desperation, pleading with her gaze.

-You found him…you found Harry- said Lily with happiness, tears falling down her face filled with determination.

Aegon merely grimaced at the hope upon the woman’s face and answered.

-Finding him was the simple part of the operation my Lady, with the megascope I will be able to contact my wife, but the amount of energy required to perform a dimensional jump is…absurd, it will take months or years of preparation, unless…- said Aegon while beginning to formulate a plan within his privileged and brilliant mind.

-Unless what? What do you need Aegon? Whatever it is…I will make it possible, you only need to say it- said the redhead with conviction and desperation in her gaze.

Aegon sighed and shaking his head, answered her.

-It is too soon for that, i don't want to give you false hope, I must contact Ciri before she does something foolish and perhaps…perhaps we may make the journey in only one or two years- he confessed, causing Lily’s face to fill with hope and determination.

-You will need help, I am entirely at your disposal Aegon, I will not argue and I will obey everything you order, just tell me what you need- said the redhead, causing the young dragon to look at her with a soft smile.

-For the moment, rest, tomorrow the materials arrive and I need to finish the calculations to begin calibrating the gems, an astral map would also be useful, someone with experience in the stars who can help me align the gems correctly- he confessed, causing Lily to nod calmly.

-Then I shall speak with Aurora…she is Hogwarts’ Astronomy professor-

-Perfect, Sirius will organize an official dinner to present me as the new Black Heir, apparently he is quite excited about the “prank” he will play on everyone, from what I know, many families accepted, you will be here- said Aegon calmly, causing Lily to look at him with surprise before making a slight expression of discomfort.

-I…would prefer not to be present, but…if it is what you want- said the woman with a heavy sigh.

Aegon nodded, he had a plan of action and Lily was a rather capable and powerful sorceress, with her help he could build the megascope in little time, perhaps a couple of months of hard work would suffice.

A couple of months without contacting his beloved wife, he thought with certain reluctance.

Not because he feared what Skyrim would do to the Ciri…

But rather what Ciri would do to Skyrim…

He prayed to Akatosh that his wife would be capable of behaving herself.

Although he did not have much hope.

Serana Volkihar, the Throat of the World – Skyrim

-Let me see if I understood correctly…- said the silver lioness, looking toward the imposing and ancient dragon with veiled murderous instinct.

-My beloved husband…was banished by a forbidden Thu’um…and you do not have the slightest idea where he is?- she asked, her expression furious while magic threatened to emerge from her hands.

The dragon, Paarthurnax, nodded calmly, apparently impressed with Ciri.

-Yes, the Thu’um that Alduin used is…a blasphemy, forbidden among the Dovah, not even the blessing of our father shall save him, he has broken the ancient laws and shall be punished…the prophecy, the one that foretold the destruction of Mundus has been completed, my elder brother shall slowly lose strength until he simply disappears-

That was good news, in Serana’s opinion, who truly did not wish to see the terrifying black beast again, which had escaped wounded and agonizing toward the east of Skyrim, destination unknown.

Ciri, however, looked like a lioness, furious and eager to tear the dragon’s throat out.

-I know my man is alive, and it is the only reason why I do not exterminate you this very instant, tell me…where was he banished to? Oblivion?- she asked, the threat in her voice more than evident.

Paarthurnax did not answer for a long moment, meditating on his response.

-No, Oblivion is tied to Mundus and therefore to the domain of the Aedra, the Dovahkiin could have returned quickly from that plane to ours…Alduin…opened a threshold within the eternal spiral…and cast your mate into a random world-

At those words, Ciri became completely paralyzed, looking toward Paarthurnax with a face full of fury, opening and closing her mouth in disbelief before sighing heavily.

-I…I see, then so be it- she said solemnly.

Serana recognized that look, it was the expression Ciri made when she was about to do something truly foolish.

Like using her powers to go after Jon, for example.

Something Serana would not allow, therefore stepping forward, she spoke.

-There is another way Ciri, you already know…our man’s plans- she said firmly, drawing the attention and curiosity of the beautiful princess.

-Jon spoke to me about his plans, about conquering Castle Volkihar, about using it as his base of operations, about the runic travel cluster and the Eye of Magnus as a source of power…if we complete his plans, we could use the castle to search for him without alerting your pursuers- said the vampire quickly, praying that Ciri would listen to her.

The silver lioness became thoughtful while slowly massaging her chin, lost within her thoughts.

-It is a solid plan- she answered after several minutes, her face filled with determination while she began issuing orders.

-I will speak with Elisif, we shall gather an army, Nords and Thalmor to besiege the castle and you…will help us- she said while pointing toward Paarthurnax, making it clear that it was not a request, but an order.

The ancient dragon laughed loudly while nodding and replying.

-Oh…you shall give powerful cubs to the Dovahkiin, I can see it, powerful Dovah in the flesh of men…builders of empires and conquerors hahaha I can barely wait- said the ancient dragon.

Ciri simply nodded before looking toward Serana once more.

-We shall contact all of our allies, the College of Winterhold and the Daggerfall Covenant, Elewen’s Thalmor, absolutely everyone, we shall exterminate your father and search for our man, no matter the cost- said the beautiful woman firmly.

Serana nodded with determination.

There was much to do.