Chapter Twenty-Eight
**Hermione's POV**
Hermione was just watching from the sidelines for now, keeping an eye on everything taking place to ensure everyone's safety. She knew there was a complication coming in a few days that she would need to take care of, and it was starting to really piss her off. All of these distractions were keeping her from finding the truth of this world, this one would only create more problems for the future, she was sure of it.
She noticed as Lady Stark walked up to Jon and started speaking. "It's good to see you Jon," the words coming out almost as a whisper, raw with emotion. Jon for his part looked taken aback for a moment, never before having this reception from the woman in front of him. He looked he dead in the eyes for but a moment, before shifting his focus toward the floor, the movement looking practiced, almost instinctive in its motion.
Lady Stark gently stopped his head from lowering further and raised his chin with tears in her eyes. "My husband raised a fine young man, you don't lower your eyes for anyone again," she sniffled a bit before continuing, "know that I am proud of you and the man you have become despite me, and I am sorry for how I have treated you over the years. I have no right to ask it of you, all I can do is beg your forgiveness and hope it's not too late to be the mother to you that you have always deserved."
She finished and slowly lowered her hand, tears filling her eyes as she excused herself. Dany gave Ser Jorah a look pity and tears forming in her our eyes at the moment, and with a nod of his head he went to keep the older woman company and safe.
Jon just stood wide eyed, mouth half agape, not quite understanding what had just happened, or why now of all times something like this would happen. Hermione kept her eyes moving across the room scanning reactions and getting a feel for reaction of the room, watching the crowd of men filing in and being directed to seats as their weapons simply vanished from existence once they crossed into the room's threshold. Only Ser Barristan, a handful of the Wildlings as well as Hermione's personal Dothraki guards and she supposed *Rakharo* remained armed in the hall. (Rakharo having poked a joke at Hermione's expense earlier in the day)
Not a word was spoken except for Dany explaining Jon's origins to the poor lad, quietly and carefully. Hermione watched the shock register on faces around the room as it seemed to click for one man after another.
The largest reaction came from a very old man being helped into the hall by a rather rotund individual, with a patchy beard and a youthful open face. Following close behind them was a young Wildling girl carrying a baby, who seemed to coo quite happily at the rather fat and friendly young man beside her. The old man started breaking down in tears the moment his identity became known, shocking everyone present. He was also the other reason the location spell had been acting strangely Hermione sighed to herself finally understanding the problem. The magic from the Wall itself had been interfering, causing the spell to bounce, because there was more than one person with her bloodline left alive even with the small gap between them in terms of relations.
At this point Hermione dropped the paralysis spell and many of the men looked visibly relieved to be able to move again. They were warned however, clearly and without room for misunderstanding, that the next person to attack or even step so much as one foot out of line would not get off with a simple timeout, but something more...permanent. The warning landed, several men went very still all over again, this time entirely of their own accord.
The man who had earlier identified himself as Ser Alliser had a dead look in his eyes, as if someone had just walked over his grave and done something either gross or entirely unspeakable on it just to rub it in thoroughly.
Hermione chose this moment to stand, and begin addressing everyone as now even those left on the wall were brought in.
The moment she did, all movement in the room ceased entirely. Dany smiled having expected this and stepped back, pulling an even more flabbergasted Jon gently to the side toward the old man, who had tears still fresh in his eyes as he embraced both Dany and Jon like a drowning man clinging to a life raft with renewed and surprising strength, his eyes fogged over from over reading in low light, Hermione would help him later she thought.
Hermione walked into the center of the room and did a slow turn, looking at every man present. Few could meet her eyes. Fear was evident on most faces, some a mix of lust and fear, and some even flinched when her attention landed on them, Hermione made note of each of their faces and their reactions to her, then she began to speak.
"Men of the Night's Watch, you have failed in your duties," she said loudly and without preamble.
Some visibly flinched as if struck, some looked ready to respond in anger or indignation, that was until she gave them a look of such clear and impatient annoyance that the words died before they reached anyone's lips.
"Your oath." She raised her wand and began to write the words in the air, each letter appearing in beautifully written golden glowing script that hung steady in the space above them all.
*"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."*
She recited every word perfectly, putting just the right weight and reflection on each line to illuminate the importance of what they had all sworn.
"Let's dissect it, shall we, and see exactly where you all went wrong."
She began to pace slowly, her wand moving as she underlined sections of the glowing text as she spoke.
"The first two lines, obviously a lifelong commitment, as are the next two — which is precisely why the Targaryen's copied this structure when forming their own Kingsguard, for what it's worth. Then comes *I shall wear no crowns and win no glory; I shall live and die at my post. * Meaning you are not an army created to attack anyone. You were created to defend something, and someone. Then *live and die at my post* — also self-evident, as desertion is a grave offence anywhere you care to travel it seems."
She paused, letting the room catch up to her.
"Now, finally, we get to the actual meat of the oath." Her wand moved, underlining the final lines carefully. "I am the watcher on the *walls. * Walls, plural. In the old language they were very deliberate in making the distinction between singular and multiple Walls referring to an entire settlement of people and their fortifications. Then comes the part that everyone in this room and the world at large with a few exceptions seems to have entirely forgotten." She stopped walking the room and faced them fully. "*I am the shield that guards the REALMS of men. *" The word glowed brighter as she said it, she let the silence hold for a long moment.
"What is another word for realms? Anyone?"
No one said a word at first, so it was a surprise to everyone one when Ser Alliser raised his head and said one word before his eyes fogged over once again.
"Kingdoms."
Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Very good, which also tells us that the Night's Watch was always meant to be a kind of policing force, this is also further confirmed by the Giants as Giants have a very long memory. This policing force was to take no sides in the petty squabbles of lords, ladies, and certainly not kings or queens. But was meant to protect the small folk — as you refer to them, and to help uphold the law of the land, as well as deliver the Kings justice. At times perhaps even uphold it *against* a lord or lady, or even a king, if the need arose, to safeguard the Realms or the seven or in this case eight kingdoms from tyrants who would use their power to keep people down."
She turned and walked the length of the room again slowly, her movement graceful and impossible to ignore, the way the fabric seemed to flow like water as she moved, her voice steady and clear drawing everyone in.
"Nowhere is it written that you go to war with one of the realms you were supposed to be protecting. Instead, you kept out the ones deemed not civilized enough for your liking, trapped in an icy wasteland. Of course, they would flee and attack to survive. You would do exactly the same to protect your family, your friends, and the people you love." She stopped and looked toward the great doors. "Outside that Wall is not an army here to murder you all. It is people fleeing death, and hunger, and pain. How can you starve and beat a beast it's entire life and then be genuinely surprised when it bites you back one day?"
She looked around the hall one final time, the weight of her words had settled into the room and she could see it landing differently in different men. Some stared at the floor. Some stared at the golden letters still glowing above them. A few looked, for the first time in a long time, like men who had just remembered why they had come here in the first place.
"So as of this moment the Night's Watch is disbanded. With a wave of her hand the words written seemed to blow away in the breeze as everyone felt it differently, the oath it no longer exists, "and as far as I am concerned you are all free to go wherever you like."
She paused for only a moment before continuing her slow walk up and down the hall.
"You see, this was the last of the three Castles the Night's Watch still manned to receive my personal visit. One..." she let the pause do its work, "well, that one no longer exists, and the one you call East watch by the Sea...after giving the men there the same opportunity, many of them joined my servant's crew of rather enthusiastic swashbucklers sailing the great seas, fighting those who would harm the helpless, and actually doing what you were all always meant to do, being the unsung heroes the world truly needs."
She was walking back toward the table when she paused and looked back over her shoulder.
"When people talk about this age of change — and they will talk about it, I promise you that...but ask yourselves this, which side of history do you want to be remembered as standing on? Those who took from the innocent and chose to cause harm to others, or the side that chose to make a stand and say enough is enough, and that every person matters. It is up to you in the end; every man and woman must live with the decisions they make in life."
Then she sat down beside Dany and let the room breathe, letting these men make up their own minds about what they wished to do with what remained of their lives and their oaths.
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Mance sent word shortly after that the Wildlings were to simply pass through and make camp on The Gift, a large and generous plot of land given to the Night's Watch and not even used by them. Hermione just shook her head slowly in quiet disgust at the sheer waste of it. Every house in the North managed to create their own greenhouses and supplement their food through the long winters, and yet the only people in the entire North who genuinely needed it the most had never once thought to do it. The mind boggled, and the twitch in her eye was starting to get worse.
At that moment Winky arrived with a *POP* and informed Hermione that both younger Stark boys had been found. The youngest had just arrived at Meereen with his rather grumpy Wildling protector, and the older one who could not walk was just arriving at the gate here with a small group of companions, some of whom Winky had dealings with Hermione faintly remembered from that night she had followed Winky and found the Ent seed, but didn't let Winky know she knew of them she didn't want to hurt the elf's feelings after all.
Hermione told the room to talk amongst themselves about their next steps and decide whether they would take the offer of freedom or the alternative. She gave them a very slow and very deliberate smile at that point, not elaborating on what exactly the alternative would involve, but the smile itself promised quite thoroughly that it would not be pleasant.
Jon stayed, he was part of the Nights Watch after all, there was still much to discuss with him specifically, but Hermione felt it could wait just a bit longer, she didn't want to add even more to the poor man's plate. One by one the rest of the people Hermione came with filed out of the hall until Hermione was the last to leave with Dany waiting for her. She waved her hand as she crossed the threshold and the great doors swung closed quietly behind her.
She still had a great deal to get ready for.
She and Dany walked side by side out into the cold Northern air, and for a moment neither of them said anything at all.