How could it have gone so wrong?
One second ago, Arabella was practicing a complex spell of her own creation. Her first spell to be precise. She wanted to create a spell that would make floo powder obsolete, much like apparition. Her wish was for the spell to create a door that could be opened to go wherever the caster wanted.
She had studied the theory of spell creation countless times. However, despite her friend's warnings, she didn't think she needed to practice creating more simple spells first before going for one of such high complexity. She was, after all, the brightest student to ever step on Hogwarts since Hermione Granger. Professor McGonagall had said it herself. She didn't need to practice on simple stuff. This project was going to be her masterpiece, her graduation project, no less. Her last triumph before leaving her dear Hogwarts behind.
She was still wondering which part of her spell went wrong when she was expelled from the energy vortex that had spirited her away from her dorm in the Slytherin common room. The first thing that came into her mind was that it was colder than expected for Scotland in late spring.
Much colder.
At first, she looked at her reflection on the lake. Her features had remained unaltered. Long, straight dark hair, blue eyes, sharp features and quite the feminine curves on her 17 year old body. Her uniform also seemed intact.
Then she looked around to see a white tree with red leaves. The crimson colour of the leaves reminded her of blood, while the white bark was almost as smooth and pristine as ivory. It had a strange beauty to it, one that seemed all too familiar. She could sense the magic coming from it and as she approached to examine it in detail, she saw the carved face crying a red sap.
No, it couldn't be, could it?
There was only one place this type of three could exist. At least that she knew. But this place didn't exist on Earth. Well, at least not in physical form. She was very far away from Scotland or Hogwarts for that matter.
She was in Westeros, the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. She had read some of the books, the first three to be precise and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, looking around, she could see where she was. She was in the Godswood. She was in Winterfell. The important thing to know now was when. And how she'd get back to the real world. That too.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a cold breeze passed through her cloak and made her grab it tightly to offer some modicum of protection. She got a jolt of relief when she noticed her wand was inside it and even more when she saw it was intact. Aspen wood and a core of dragon heartstrings. A very powerful wand indeed. She had been ecstatic when she'd held it for the first time.
Then she was shaken from her daydreams by the voice of a child.
"Who are you?" said the girl in a defiant tone, but Arabella could see she was afraid and trying to mask it "Where did you come from? How did you do that? Did the Old Gods send you?"
"Old Gods?" she paused for a moment "No, I wasn't sent here by the Old Gods. Not that I know of, at least. And, I'm Arabella, pleased to meet you, young…?"
"I'm Arya Stark" the girl answered before pressing the question again "How did you do that? I was here alone in one moment and in the next this… this… thing opened and you were spit out of it before it closed. Right in front of the Weirwood tree"
"I… I don't know how I did that" she sighed, defeated and with her pride struck "I was making a spell and it failed so now I'm here"
"So you're a Sorcerer?" gasped Arya, who was unsure whether she should be afraid or amazed by the figure standing before her, one that didn't seem to be much older than her brother Rob.
Arabella thought before replying. Sorcerers weren't really well liked in Westeros. Revealing the truth to her might cause unwanted complications. Still, knowing what she did from the books, she believed Arya was a good girl and she wouldn't do anything to harm her.
"Yes, something like that" she reapplied.
"Wooow, that's so cool" she said before asking again "you said your spell failed… what were you trying to do?"
"To put it simply, I was trying to make a spell that could take me anywhere I wanted. It's enough to say that it didn't really work as intended. I didn't really expect to end up here."
Arya looked at her as if she was examining a rare specimen of some kind of animal. She inspected her uniform, her cloak and eventually found the symbol embroidered near her chest.
"Is that the sigil of your House?" she asked, pointing to the snake coat of arms.
Once again, the witch had to think thoroughly before answering. It would take too long to explain to Arya what Hogwarts and Earth were and that she was a book character. She obviously wouldn't believe it. On the other hand, saying that she was a noblewoman was not that far fetched. She wasn't wearing bad clothes and she had had etiquette lessons, which she could only hope would help her mingle with the nobility. Not to mention that being noble opened several doors in Westeros.
"Yes, that's the Snake of House Slytherin. I'm Arabella Slytherin" she lied with a smile.
Their conversation was interrupted by a stern yet loving voice.
"There you are, Arya" said a man in his forties, well trimmed beard, shoulder-length hair, well dressed and with a big cloak hanging from his shoulders "Your mother is looking all over Winterfell for you. I was fortunate to find you here as a came to pray"
He stopped when he saw Arabella.
"Who are you?" asked the man, looking at her with suspicion.
Before she could answer, Arya's excitement was faster.
"Father, this is Arabella of House Slytherin. I don't know where it's from, but she says it's not from here. Maybe it's from the South? Also, she's a sorcerer!! I saw her doing magic myself."
Father… that could only mean one thing.
"Lord Stark" Arabella said, using only the Surname not to draw attention to the fact that she knew him, and curtsied as if she was speaking with Queen Elizabeth II herself "It is an honor to make your acquaintance. As your daughter said, I'm Arabella Slytherin."
And she meant it. Eddard Stark was one of her favorite characters and his death had impacted her greatly when she had read it. Seeing him in person was very cool, to say the least.
"I apologize if my daughter disturbed your prayers, My Lady."
"Not at all, My Lord, it was a pleasure for me to meet young Lady Arya. Besides, I don't pray to the Old Gods. I hope my presence here didn't offend you."
"So you're from the South? I must apologize, My Lady, but I've never heard of your House. Do you worship the New Gods? And, if you don't pray to the Old Gods, why are you here in the Godswood? I'm not offended, but I want to know your reasons for being here." he eyed her even more suspiciously.
Once again, before she could spawn a half truth, Arya was faster.
"She appeared out of thin air, father! I was hiding from mom here and out of nowhere something opened near the Weirwood Tree and spit her out. She said it was a spell gone wrong."
Eddard's hand instinctively rested on the pommel of his sword, ready to draw at any moment. Arabella gulped down as she noticed the motion of his arm.
"Is it true? I find it hard to believe what my daughter said about you being a Sorcerer, My Lady. Are you?"
She didn't know what to say. On the one hand she felt fear for what he could do to her if she told him the truth. On the other hand, there was little she could say to excuse herself. She was after all dressed in a completely foreign way to any standard of Westerosi fashion. It's not like she could pass as a local.
"It is true" she finally sighed "But I swear to you, My Lord, that I mean no harm to your family or the North. I know magic is not well seen in Westeros, especially because of blood sacrifices. However, where I'm from, it is very common and our powers don't require any form of sacrifice, we are born with it. If it pleases you, My Lord, I can show you. I know several harmless spells that can prove my point "
"Please! Please! Please!" jumped Arya in excitement "father, please let her show us magic."
"Fine" Lord Stark sighed "You may show her one thing, but know that I'll be watching closely"
Arabella smiled and pulled her wand from her sleeve, raised it above her chest and said
"Lumus"
As soon as the words were uttered, the tip of her wand glew with a potent light. Were it not for the daylight, Lord Eddard was sure it could light up several meters ahead of her.
"Nox" said Arabella as the light disappeared from the wand and she tucked it back in.
"That was… AMAZING!" screamed Arya in joy "Wait until Bran gets to see this! He'll go insane. And John! Oh, John needs to see this soo much!"
"That's enough Arya" said Eddard gently "Lady Slytherin was kind enough to show you one of her skills, don't bother her further. Thank her for her kindness and go back to the Castle. And… not a word about what you saw here. Not to Bran, John and especially not to you Mom. Do you understand? "
"I do, father" said Arya slightly irritated "It will be our secret"
"Yes it will," he said, stroking her hair before motioning towards Arabella.
"Oh yes" said Arya "Thank you very much, Lady Arabella"
"Anytime" she smiled as the girl trailed off. She soon noticed that Lord Eddard was still standing there, his eyes fixed on her.
"As I've said before, My Lady, I have never before heard of your House and, given your particular talents, I'm sure you're not from the South of Westeros. They take to sorcery even less kindly than in the North. Are you from Essos?"
"No, My Lord. I'm not from this place you call Essos, nor do I know where I am now" she lied skillfully "I'm from another continent altogether. We natives call it Europe, but I couldn't possibly tell you in which direction it is from here, for I don't know. I would wager far enough since my magic is so outlandish here."
"Indeed, you're likely very far away from home" Eddard thought about it "You're in the continent of Westeros. More precisely, in Winterfell, the center of the Northernmost Kingdom of Westeros and part of the Seven Kingdoms under the rule of King Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. I'm Eddard Stark, Lord Paramount of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Do these names sound at all familiar to you, My Lady?"
"Unfortunately no, My Lord" she lied again, since these names meant quite a lot to her and helped her define roughly when she was. Given Arya's size and apparent age, it couldn't be that far from the events of the main series. "We have a Monarchy in the lands where I'm from but I've never heard of your King. I apologize"
"There's no need to apologize. It just confirms how remote our lands are from one another" he said when he noticed she was shivering from the cold. Upon closer inspection he saw that her clothes were utterly inappropriate for the northern weather as well as being rather outlandish
"Lady Slytherin, I can see you're unprepared for the Northern Summer. I'd offer you to stay as a guest in Winterfell, but before that, you must swear that you will keep your sorcery to yourself while under my roof and that you will not do anything to harm my people"
"I swear, Lord Stark" said Arabella "I'm grateful for your hospitality"
"Very well" he said before motioning for her to follow him "Please come with me so we can get you warm. In the meanwhile, we can talk more about why you ended up here and what are your goals here"