The Witch & The Dragon ‖ HOTD × HP

Chapter #18 - The Common Folk's New Admiration

Present Time

Red Keep, King's Landing

Dahlia's chambers still carried the sharp scent of ink and hot tea when her council gathered around the table. Maps of King's Landing lay unfurled across the wood, crowded with markers and quills. The morning sun slanted through the high windows, gleaming off Valyrian steel and stacks of parchment — a war council disguised as diplomacy in a foreing land.

Dahlia stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, fury simmering beneath her calm expression.

"I swear, if that lecherous old man so much as meddles again in Valyria's affairs, I'll split his face open," she muttered, pacing."I'll make him swallow his teeth with my own fists. I'll give him such a beating that his gods—if he even believes in them—won't even recognize him." Dahlia snapped, pacing the chamber like coiled wire. "Otto Hightower thinks himself the puppeteer of this realm — but I won't dance for him."

"Calm down, Dahlia." Narcissa sighed elegantly, folding her arms, looking at Dahlia with calculated calmness. "No one can force you into a marriage, Dahlia. Not even the Hand of the King. His laws stop at the waters of Valyria, and he knows it."

Sirius leaned back in his chair with a wolfish grin. "If he tries, I'll give him a friendly reminder of that — perhaps by introducing his skull to the nearest wall, or maybe removing his spine from the meat sack that is his body may do the trick."

Remus groaned quietly. "You can't solve political strife with blunt force, or murder for that matter, Sirius."

"I can try," Sirius shot back.

"Dahlia, I know you're only just meeting your mother, your siblings, your grandfather — perhaps even your father," Narcissa said, turning to her with a cool, measured look. "But we mustn't lose sight of what's happening beneath the surface. There are too many things that don't add up."

"The fires of hell may drag me down with Walburga Black right now, but Cissy is right," Sirius agreed abruptly, startling the room with the bluntness of it.

"Walburga herself will be the one to drag you down for those words," Remus muttered, half-scold, half-amused.

"Shut it!" Sirius shot Remus a sharp look and then fixed Dahlia with something like steel. "We must probe and investigate — in the castle and beyond it. Never forget: an empire's greatest weapon, after coin, is its people."

Snape's voice cut in like the flick of a blade. "Violence may be satisfying, but strategy endures. The Hand's strength lies in his manipulation of perception — both the court's and the people's."

That made Dahlia pause. She turned toward him. "The common people?"

He inclined his head. "Indeed. Every nobleman wants to rule from above. But the clever ones," — his black eyes gleamed — "rule from beneath. The whispers, the rumors, the fear... it all feeds his power."

Dahlia glanced toward the map. "Then that's where we start — from beneath. Exhume the deficiencies, every little secret, every unfair transaction, every dirty deal made behind the back of the King."

Hermione leaned forward, her voice measured but intent. "You mean to walk among the common people? You sure that's a good idea?" She clasped her hands together over the table, looking at Dahlia with a worried expression. "You can't just walk among them like you are little Johnny from up the street! Something can happen to you, you are a queen, remember?"