AN: I don't own either Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. JK Rowling and GRR Martin have the honor of those.

"Cousin! Let's play tag!"

Harry flinched, his heart racing, as he fled the garden, dropping the gardening tools that his aunt had given him. He saw Dudley and his friends start to run before speeding up, wishing that something would take him out of Dudley's reach. He hated their game of 'Harry hunting' and his aunt and uncle did nothing to stop it.

Dudley had changed tactics when Harry had turned 7, had deemed him ready to play tag. But Harry had known better. His aunt and uncle didn't care about him already. They always took Dudley's side of all arguments, always looked at him in suspicion. And Harry didn't know what had caused that. He knew that his parents had died in a car crash but that was normal for people, right? People dying in car crashes was normal, he thought.

"Potter! Come on! We just want to play!"

It was a dark, mid evening in the winter and Dudley and his friends had just come home from school. Harry had of course run home to avoid seeing either his cousin or Piers. Fat rain drops started to fall and Harry winced, peering down at his shabby hand-me down clothes. If it started to rain further or faster, he would be soaked in no time. He turned down an alley that was a few minutes from his house, looking behind him to check how much distance was between him and his pursuers, not even noticing the abrupt change in scenery.

Jaime had just finished his weapons training for the day.. Ser Benedict Broom, their master at arms had praised him this afternoon for his footwork and had said he would become a great swordsman. He hadn't stopped grinning, a wide smile on his face, as he tried to find his twin sister. He knew she was somewhere down where the lions were kept as they had dared each other to touch the animals though Jaime had to pull Cersei back when she actually did.

He rounded the corner when someone barreled right into him. Whoever ran into him caused them both to fall and Jaime landed on his back with the other boy on top of him. They landed with a soft thump onto stone floor and Jaime heard his wooden practice sword thunk onto the floor beside him. Jaime took a second to catch his breath, a yell on the tip of his tongue, when he really took in the boy.

The boy who had run into him had rather long black hair that was unkempt, wild and green eyes that were almost glowing. There was a scar on his forehead, one that looked like the lightning bolts that sometimes came with summer storms. The boy's clothes looked to be too big for him, the strange looking leggings were ripped and torn and the… tunic was weird, the sleeves only going down to the boy's shoulders. And Jaime had never seen him before in either Casterly Rock or Lannisport.

"Who are you?" Jaime asked, more than a little glad that his sister wasn't here. She would have been yelling at what was most likely a child of one of the servants running into them.

The boy's green eyes were wide but he hurriedly scrambled up and off Jaime, even reaching out a hand to help him up. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you, I swear! It was… Wait."

"How come I've never seen you before?" Jaime questioned, taking the boy's hand and felt the calluses on the boy's left palm as he pulled him up.

The boy's eyes were still wide and growing bigger by the minute as he looked around, taking in his surroundings. "Where am I?"

Jaime narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms, trying to be intimidating like his father.

The boy shuddered, breathing heavily, and then looked behind him, appearing to be ignoring Jaime for the moment. Jaime stared and reached out to turn the boy around back to face him, grasping the other boy's shoulder and yanking him.

The boy blinked at the sudden movement, looked Jaime over and sighed in what looked like relief. "You're not… I'm Harry Potter. Who are you?"

"I'm not who? And what were you running from?"

"You're not my cousin," Harry answered hesitantly. "What is this place?"

"I'm Jaime Lannister, I'm seven, and this is Casterly Rock." Jaime raised an eyebrow, letting his arms drop down to his sides. "How'd you get here anyway?"

Harry shook his head, his breathing finally calming down. "I don't know. What's a Casterly Rock?"

Jaime snorted, deciding to forgo seeing his sister and grabbing the boy's hand and tugging him in the other direction. "Come on. I'll show you."

"Wait! Jaime!"

"You'll love it. Trust me."

Harry narrowed his eyes then nodded, keeping up easily enough with Jaime as they ran. Jaime led the other boy up several sets of stairs, passing servants and Cersei's septa and mother's ladies and finally ran into his own rooms. He had a good enough view of the ocean and Lannisport in his rooms, with the balcony door already open from when he had left it this morning.

Harry gasped at the sight as Jaime tugged him over to the edge of the balcony.

"It's not as great as father's but…"

"It's beautiful," Harry whispered, his hand slipping out of Jaime's as he walked over to sit. It was almost like the other boy was mesmerized by the sight of the ocean, like he had never seen it before. It was midday so the sun was halfway into the sky, lighting up everything from the ocean to the towers of Lannisport a few miles away.

"Have you seen the ocean before?" Jaime asked, tilting his head in confusion. Everyone he had ever met had seen the ocean's waters before…

"No. My… aunt and uncle don't like me enough to take me on their vacations," Harry murmured, not even looking back at Jaime. "Do you see this everyday?"

"Yeah. What do you mean, your aunt and uncle don't like you enough?"

"They just don't. My cousin… He was the one I was running from when I ran into you," Harry answered quietly. Jaime walked over to sit down by Harry, glancing at the other boy curiously. "They think I'm some sort of freak."

"Well, you look normal."

Harry laughed and turned to look at Jaime, his lips twitching up into a tentative grin. "Thanks."

"No problem."

They sat there for what felt like an hour past the noon bell. Normally, Jaime would have gotten up and moved, preferring to run and play with swords than sit still for even a few minutes. Cersei was better at sitting still than him but now… sitting next to Harry was fine. He even felt calm, watching the ocean with the other boy.

The next thing he heard was his mother clearing her throat. Jaime turned and stood up, seeing his sister in the hallway behind her. Harry stood up too, quicker than he did, and spooked, like he expected to get punished for something. Jaime took a step closer to his new friend and slipped his hand into Harry's. "Mother?"

Lady Joanna smiled at him then gestured to the boy next to him. They could both see Harry's eyes widen tremendously as he stared at Joanna. Her spring dress was beautiful and Jaime had always enjoyed hearing his father compliment his mother on her clothes. Next to her, Harry looked to be an orphan ironborn or a child of a servant or one of the smallfolk. "Who is this?"

"Mother, this is Harry Potter. He ran into me an hour ago and I wanted to show him the ocean."

Joanna walked over to them and knelt down, tilting Harry's chin up when the boy continued to stare at the floor. "Are you okay, dear?"

"I'm lost. One minute I was at… near my home and the next I'm here with Jaime," Harry replied, shuffling his feet. Both Jaime and his mother started when Harry's stomach growled. Harry's cheeks reddened and he stiffened. "Am I in trouble?"

Joanna smiled softly, her long blond hair tied back. "No, sweetheart. It sounds like you're hungry though? Would you like something to eat while Jaime's father and I locate your family?"

"I… You wouldn't mind?" Harry asked, looking between Jaime and Lady Joanna with wide eyes.

"Of course not," Joanna remarked quietly. "Come. We shall see if we can rouse the cooks for a late snack."

Harry's eyes widened and he nodded eagerly, yelping a little when Joanna reached out and scooped him up.

"Are you hurt, little one?" Joanna questioned, hearing Jaime and Cersei follow her.

"No," Harry whispered, burrowing into her arms. "I… my cousin did punch me in the chest yesterday. Does that count?"

Jaime exchanged bewildered looks with Cersei though her eyes had narrowed.

"You usually meet me in the dungeons after training," Cersei murmured. "Or I meet you there if we trade places."

"I got sidetracked, sister," Jaime grumbled, smiling up at Harry as his head poked out over their mother's shoulder. He hoped that his new friend wasn't too badly hurt. He knew chest injuries could hurt badly but Harry hadn't seemed too out of breath when they had run up to his rooms. Harry returned the smile though his eyes were dull, expressionless as though he thought he was about to…

"Mother, nothing will happen to him, right?" Jaime asked, as they followed her to Tywin's solar.

"No. We will see what your father can get out of the lords of the West but Harry doesn't look like he's from the Westerlands," Joanna remarked, knocking on the door.

"Come in."

Joanna pushed the door open and walked right up to Lord Tywin's desk. "Husband, our son found a stray."

Lord Tywin peered up at Joanna, his eyes lighting up at seeing her then widening at the boy in her arms. "Jaime?"

"He ran into me, father," Jaime explained.

"I don't know how I got here," Harry spoke, turning around in Joanna's arms to face their father.

Tywin blinked, his green eyes narrow. "You look like a Stark though you have our eyes. Do you know which house you're from?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know, sir. What's a Stark?"

"Starks live in the North," Jaime explained, trying to be helpful. "Their sigil is the direwolf. Stuffy old people, if you ask me."

Harry nodded, smiling at Jaime's words. "But the direwolf sounds awesome! What's your sigil? And what's a sigil in the first place?"

Lady Joanna grinned. "A sigil or banner proclaims what house a person is from. Ours is the lion."

"Oooh. The lion's awesome too! It's the one that roars?"

Jaime grinned. "Those are our house words. Here Me Roar."

"I want to be a lion!"

"House Lannister is the overlord then?"

Maester Creylen nodded, looking over the boy who Jaime had found. Lord Tywin had decreed that the boy, Harry, could stay with them until they found his parents but it had been a week without word. Ravens had been sent out to the surrounding castles and their lords, asking if they had a missing son. Bannermen had also gone out to see if any of the smallfolk were missing a child.

No word had come. Lord Tywin was close to sending a raven to the north, to ask if they were missing a child. The boy, Harry, was awfully quiet around adults but around Jaime? They got along wonderfully, with Jaime making Harry laugh a lot.

Lady Joanna had given Harry a room right next to her son and had given Harry some clothes that no one was wearing. Now Harry looked more like a Lannister, dressed to Lord Tywin's approval. No stray orphan of theirs would look like one of the smallfolk.

"Where did you get that scar?" Jaime asked as they walked down into the Golden Gallery. Treasure was spread out over the ground, lasting for miles below Casterly Rock. Even the gold mines were above the gallery but Harry had wanted to see the place so Jaime was showing him around.

Harry shrugged, tracing a finger over the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "I don't know. Maybe I got it in the accident that killed my parents."

"Do you have any other scars?" Jaime questioned. "Do you remember the accident?"

"No. I just remember a flash of green and beyond that, someone named… Padfoot," Harry whispered, his eyes going wide at all the treasure down here, beneath the rock. "How many Lannister kings were there?"

"Several."

Harry snorted.

"And what kind of name is Padfoot?" Jaime said, raising an eyebrow.

Harry shook his head, looking around from ceiling to the ground, eying the glittering swords and ornaments. "I don't know. I'm only seven!"

"Jaime!"

He sat bolt upright, opening his drooping eyes to see Cersei on his bed. "What? Cersei, I was just falling asleep!"

"You've been spending more time with Harry. You've even been inviting him to learn swords with you. You used to do that with me!"

"Cersei, you're a girl! I can't bring you with me to learn!" Jaime retorted, glaring up at his twin sister. She narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms.

"You promised! You've been spending a lot more time with that new kid. It's like he's your new best friend!"

"He is my friend," Jaime muttered, keeping his voice low in case Harry was still awake in the rooms next to his. "He had never seen the ocean before he ran into me, Cersei!"

"He was probably trying to steal something from the castle," Cersei hissed. "I don't trust him!"

"Cersei, he's not from around here. He talks differently than we do!" Jaime thought about what Harry had said about his family. Or how Harry hadn't known a thing about houses or knights or anything that was even remotely familiar to Jaime. Harry had even said that where he had come from, the seasons didn't last for years.

"He's been taking away all the attention from us!" Cersei spoke, raising her voice and crossing her arms. "I'm suppose to be the center of the family, the future Lannister queen! Now everyone's talking about the orphan boy who's probably a son of one of the smallfolk."

"They'll find his home soon enough, Cersei! You don't have to make a big fuss about it!"

Cersei stared at him then got up off the bed and stalked off out of his room.

"What do you mean you've never ridden a horse before?" Jaime asked, as he led Harry over the stables a few days after Cersei had visited him in Jaime's room. He had avoided his sister since, choosing instead to show Harry around the castle. Since the ironborn had tried to invade last month, the twins were forbidden from leaving the castle but Jaime had found ways to.

"I've never been around horses," Harry answered, as they passed the stablemaster. "The only animals I've been around are my aunt's sister's dogs and those try to attack me. My aunt and uncle live in the city so we don't… I never get to go with them on vacation anyway."

Jaime nodded, already used to hearing Harry talk about his family. Though Harry had never said what had happened to his parents and had never said a word about his family to anyone else, seeming to trust Jaime more than anyone else.

"Well, I've ridden horses since I was 5," Jaime said, pointing to his pony. It was a gentle mare, used to Jaime by now. "And they won't attack you."

"They do have hooves," Harry grumbled but let Jaime lead him into the stables where they were met by the Master at Arms. "And they're bigger than us."

"There are war horses that are trained to attack," Jaime added, nudging Harry forward. "But they won't attack us. I promise."

"We're not going to war though. Jaime!"

A week and a half after Harry had appeared in Casterly Rock, Jaime was once again woken up in the middle of the night. The glow of the stars was visible even in Jaime's room and This time by Harry, who looked frightened, his skin was pale and his eyes were wide and he was shaking. He was wearing the set of nightclothes that Joanna had given him the night that he had arrived, a long, red, thin tunic that covered his torso and went all the way down to his knees.

"Harry?"

"I… had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you?"

"What's the password?"

Harry glared at him, crossing his arms.

Jaime laughed and patted the bed next to him. "At least you won't kick like my sister does."

"Cersei kicks?"

"Yeah."

Harry crawled into bed, seeming to burrow under the furs. Only his head was poking out, his eyes drawn with sleep. "Jaime, are you close with your sister?"

Jaime hesitated before nodding.

"She doesn't like me, does she? I overheard you two talking in your rooms two nights ago."

"Don't take it personal, Harry. She's… special."

Harry nodded, his eyes drooping closed.

"What was your nightmare?"

"It was… of a green light racing towards me," Harry said, wrinkling his nose. "It looked like the color of my eyes and then I heard an evil, dark cackle."

"Green fire?"

"No… I don't know what it was except that it scared me."

"Well, if anyone wants to harm you, they'll have to get through hundreds of Father's guards and me," Jaime retorted, elbowing Harry. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Cersei, where are you taking me?" Harry murmured, running to keep up with her three days later. It was late morning and Jaime's sister had just come walking up to him and had started to pull him along with her. "I think Jaime's back that way!"

"If this is about seeing you draw a picture of you and Prince Rhaegar, I won't tell anyone!" Harry argued loudly. "I promise!"

"Shut up. That was not me, Harry. That was Queen Alysanne and King Jaehaerys," Cersei retorted, narrowing her eyes as she led him down to the dungeons and down to the lion pits. "Besides, Jaime wanted to meet us down by the lions."

Harry hesitated before following her, down the final set of stairs and through the door that led to the lion cells. He could already hear the growling coming from four lions and the scratching of claws on stone as the big cats paced. He shuddered as Cersei pushed him through the door and as he landed awkwardly on the stone floor of the dungeons, he tripped and came face to face with the one male lion in the closest cage.

He yelped and shakily stood up only to be pushed through the slender bars. He landed on his knees, right in the cage with the male lion. Harry took one look at the male lion, watched as it lazily stood up, and screamed.

Jaime was just walking back to his room when he heard the scream, his heart stopping for a moment, then he bolted. He ran back across the hall, down the stairs, running into his mother and father. Lady Joanna's green eyes were wide and Lord Tywin had his hand on the blade at his hip, followed by two guards.

"Jaime, isn't that-"

"It's Harry."

Jaime ran through the door that would take him down to the dungeons.

"It's not the ironborn?" Lady Joanna asked, looking behind them at Ser Benedict, their master at arms.

"They wouldn't be able to get this deep into the castle without us knowing about it, darling," Lord Tywin spoke.

Jaime ignored his father's words, taking the stone stairs three at a time before coming to the door that led to the dungeons. He pushed it open and worriedly glanced around, looking for Harry. His parents looked too and it was Lady Joanna's gasp that made Jaime turn to look at the cage with the male lion in it.

"Harry?"

Harry giggled as he stroked the mane of the male lion, turning to look at them. "He likes me!"

Jaime's eyes widened and he could see his father's eyes widen so much he thought they would fall out. The lion looked like it was leaning into Harry's hand, curled around the other boy protectively, and growling quietly towards them.

"Oh…" Lady Joanna trailed off, her eyes wide too.

"You did say you wanted to be a lion," Jaime spoke, grinning and holding out a hand for Harry as the other boy stepped out of the cage a few minutes later. Harry placed his palm in Jaime's as he tugged, helping him out. "This makes you half lion."

"But… Why? The lion's growling at you and your father and mother," Harry whispered, narrowing his eyes. "Why me?"

"How did you get in there in the first place?" Lady Joanna asked, kneeling down to be at their level. "That wasn't a good idea."

"I was pushed," Harry answered, looking at Jaime with a pointed look. One that said, we need to talk later. Jaime nodded and continued to hold onto Harry's hand, even though the other kid was out. Harry was still shaking somewhat, still full of the energy that had filled his body at first.

Now all the lions were looking at them, their predatory eyes staring at Harry with interest. Jaime though noticed that none of the lions looked at Harry as if he was prey.

"Pushed?" Joanna repeated, looking up at Tywin with a strange expression.

"Yeah."

"I think your sister lured me down there," Harry whispered, after dinner that night. They were just about to each go into their separate rooms, getting ready for bed. The night sky blanketed the rock and there was a slight chill in the halls, one thing that indicated winter was coming. Or so Maester Creylen had told them.

Jaime's eyes widened then he shook his head. "Surely not. Cersei wouldn't push you through the cage wall."

"I'm not saying she did but she did lure me down there. Must have been one of her friends that did," Harry said, yawning and covering his mouth as he did. Lady Joanna's manners had rubbed off on him throughout the past two weeks that he had been here and he idly wondered when and if he would go back to England. He had admitted to Jaime a few nights ago that he would rather stay here, stay where he was fed on a regular basis. "Though I don't think that either of them thought I would make friends with the lions."

Jaime laughed and shook his head. "No. I don't think anyone thought you would do that. No one's done that. Ever. I wonder if you're a warg."

"Warg?"

"It's a Northern concept," Jaime explained, yawning himself. "I don't know half of it but mayhap Father will know something or Maester Creylen."

Harry nodded and wished Jaime a good night before heading to bed.

He woke up back in his cupboard the next morning, his wooden practice sword on his belt and the nice clothes that Lady Joanna had given him still with him. Harry sighed, hearing Dudley walk down the hall upstairs then shed his nice clothes, pulling on the set that was under his mattress and left his practice sword under his bed too, before getting up.