Don't Panic: A Wizard's Guide to Westeros (HP × ASOIAF)

Don't Panic Ch2: Wilderness Wandering Walkabout

The two continued their experimentation, discovering that Transfiguration was largely unaffected and even slightly more potent in this world. Harry was relieved with that discovery, as this branch of magic could be invaluable in building sturdy shelters and temporary tools when needed. 

Dobby, too, found that his house-elf magic was mostly unaffected and even seemed to be stronger. He excitedly reported to Harry that he felt a welcoming sensation when casting spells, as if the magic in this land was embracing the elves specifically. 

As the night wore on, Harry and Dobby continued their magical exploration, sharing their findings and discussing the implications for their adventures. It was pleasing to know their magic would remain a powerful ally in this new world. They eventually found some rest, despite Harry still being on a bit of a high from discovering just how much more powerful his magic would be in this world. 

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Harry and the elves continued their exploration the next day, packing away the tent and heading out to seek either civilisation or some context as to where they are. 

The day wore on as they trudged through the snow, laying down hardening and grip spells on the snow ahead of them so they could walk along it like a rough road, and avoid sinking in to the deep windswept snow hills. The elves coming up behind would diligently cancel the spells and clean any evidence that they'd passed the area. It was tedious work. 

Harry did try using his trusty Firebolt again, but honestly found the extremity of the cold winds too much to stomach for any extended period. It was too much for both the broom, and for his own warming spells when moving at any speed. It did however give him the ability to scout the area from a higher vantage point, and give some sense of where they should go. Harry had them heading towards some mountains in the distance where he hoped to find running rivers, and by extension, hopefully people. 

Of course, even without the wind shear, Harry's broom wouldn't hold more than three people at a squeeze. Alas, asking the elves to get into a storage trunk for transportation in his pocket sounded tempting, but most were keen to join the exploration, so here they were, trudging onwards together. 

Through his tedium Harry's thoughts turned to the various other methods of magical transportation available to them. Or possibly available, they had yet to properly test any of them, and Harry was a tad nervous to try. 

Apparition, a common form of travel in the wizarding world, was one of the most useful, but had its own set of limitations. 

Honestly Harry was still shocked at the power of Apparition, even after all these years, the idea of instant teleportation was difficult to comprehend for a muggle raised. Apparition could be massively useful in any number of situations. With Harry's luck, he'd had to use it regularly, as an escape route both from angry purebloods, or from fanatical fans. It was unbeatable, except under anti-apparition wards. As a form of travel it was uncomfortable but massively cut down on travel time. And as a method of sneaking around it would also be immeasurably useful. 

However, apparition was not without its dangers and restrictions. One of the most significant limitations was that a witch or wizard could usually only Apparate to a location they had previously visited and had a good mental image of. This was to ensure a safe and accurate arrival, as attempting to Apparate to an unknown location could result in severe consequences, the worst of which was definitely being splinched. Harry shuddered at the thought. 

Splinching was a painful and dangerous side effect of unsuccessful Apparition, where a witch or wizard would leave a part of their body behind at their starting point, or become fused with an object at their destination. To avoid such risks, a clear and detailed mental image of the destination was essential. This mental image was a core part of the "Three D's" of Apparition: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation.