Chapter Text
Harry eyed the ritual circle carefully, triple checking every line of chalk for faults or mistakes. There was simply no room for error with what he was attempting, even the slightest misstep and he could be atomized in an instant. Breathing through his nose, he began to chant the words that he had spent weeks memorizing. They were meaningless to him, but each word was filled with power and magic, and he continued chanting until the chalk glowed a bright blue and the air began to ripple around him.
He smiled tiredly, exhaustion finally catching up to him after days of sleepless nights. Slipping on a pack he turned to the room’s only other occupant. “It’s time Teddy,” he whispered quietly.
The child merely nodded, padding over to him and gripping his waist tightly. Harry hated putting him at risk like this, it went against everything he believed in as a guardian. As a father. But he was out of options now, he knew that with grim certainty.
If they stayed, he might as well be writing the boy’s death sentence. And if they tried to hide overseas or even with the muggles, it was only a matter of time before they were found again. No ward was completely impenetrable, the war had made that abundantly clear. And these wizards had already proven to have connections on both sides of the magical divide. Twice now, they had barely made it away from those bloody Purists. And there were more than a dozen close calls before that. But after they had started targeting his friends, his family, he knew he was out of time. One by one people were being tortured and killed, and he wasn’t about to risk losing Teddy to those bastards too. For better or worse, this is the only way.
He grabbed a portkey from his pocket and hoped he had made the right decision.
o-O-o
Harry pulled Teddy against his chest, ignoring the sudden rush of light and sound as he waited for the dizziness to pass. Portkeys were always an uncomfortable form of travel, but this time it was actually painful. It felt like someone had taken a hot poker and decided to stab him with it, repeatedly. He bit his lip and tried to ignore the way his body was practically screaming at him, forcing himself to focus on the little boy instead.
"Are you okay Ted?" He whispered softly, subtly checking Teddy over for any new bumps or bruises.
The little boy nodded tiredly, but quickly winced and squeezed his eyes shut again. “I’m okay, Dad, I just feel really dizzy right now."
Harry rubbed a few small circles into the boy’s back, swallowing back the sudden wave of pain and nausea even that small amount of movement caused. “We’ll be home soon, I promise. Once we get there, you can lay in bed for as long as you want. Just remember, Nana might be a little confused before we explain everything to her.”
For the first time since they arrived Harry really took in his surroundings. Rather than the familiar cobblestone pathway he was expecting, he was in some sort of conference room. An oddly dressed group of people were all standing on one side of the room, staring at him from across a table. It took him a second, but he recognized the costumes from one of the sci fi shows he used to watch with Hermione. This must be the muggle side of London, probably a convention or something, he mused.
His head was starting to pound, and his throat burned incessantly, but he paid them no mind. Quickly pulling his face into a smile before he moved to address the strangers. “What’s with all the costumes, is this some sort of con? Sorry for just barging in on you, but we got a little lost.” He could feel Teddy tugging on his sleeve, so he picked him up and rested him against his hip. He was a little too big for it now, but he appreciated Teddy pulling their attention away from their rather sudden arrival.
“He hasn’t been feeling well, and we were just looking for the loo. The outfits are a bit of a surprise, but I have to admit, a rather pleasant one. I mean the detail is just incredible!” He shifted so he could get a closer look at the combadges and their various rank pips. He felt his brows raise when he realized they were made out of real gold. That had to take a lot of skill to carve out those designs, not to mention time, he mused. Nodding to himself he added, “You all must have put a tremendous amount of work into those costumes. I never really got into cosplay myself, but I really respect the dedication that goes into it.”
The burning was overwhelming now, every word he spoke only making his throat feel even more raw. He just kept smiling though. The pain meant that he was still alive, that this insane plan had worked. He had clearly ended up somewhere, the question was just when and where that was. He took a deep breath and willed his body to relax, pushing all his pain and tiredness to the back of his mind. The room had only one exit, and no windows. He saw some papers and scattered electronics on the table, but there were no cameras visible. Good, we can just pop out of here if things get tricky.
“Who are you and how did you get in here? Are you working with the Vidiians?” The voice was sharp and laced with anger. Something tickled at the back of his memory, some word or phrase, but he couldn’t quite place it. He hadn’t watched the show in ages, but he was sure the voice sounded remarkably similar to the real Captain Janeway. Whoever she was, she managed to match the pitch and tone perfectly. Kudos to staying in character mystery woman, he thought to himself silently.
Teddy shifted in his arms, a pout already clear on his face. “You can play with them later Da. I just wanna go home, and you know Nana doesn’t like it when we’re late.”
It was such a small thing, so simple, really. But it made Harry finally relax for the first time since he started that crazy ritual. Leave it to Teddy to be totally unphased by everything going on around him. Harry just gave the little boy a fond smile and raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, no need to pull out the big guns. Let’s get out of here and then we’ll pop on over.” He looked back up, over to the group. “I’m sorry, I’d love to stay and chat, but we really do need to go. It’s been a pleasure, and good luck with everything.” He gave a little wave and and started to move towards the doors, barely making it two steps before the shouting started up again.
“Computer, seal the doors in this room! Sir, you have five seconds to give me an explanation before I’m calling security.”
There was a faint set of beeps before the buttons by the door turned red, accompanied by a feminine voice coming over the intercom giving a brief report. “Doors sealed.”
Harry just stopped and stared at the door, eyeing it critically even if he couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from his chest. It was like he had stepped right inside some Hollywood drama, and he felt almost giddy at the prospect. He didn’t dare move towards the door and ruin the moment, not quite sure if it had truly locked or not. “I love the dedication!” He turned to Teddy and grinned, whispering in his ear, “Let’s play along Teddy, just this once.” He tapped the necklace on the boy’s chest, a small little emergency portkey set to take them to Nana Tonks’ house. With a wink and slight pulse of magic, he loudly announced to the room, “Scotty, two to beam up.”
The necklace glowed blue, and he could feel them both start twist into disapparition, but it lasted only for a moment. Suddenly, it felt like they had hit some kind of wall and they bounced backwards, landing in a heap on the floor. He could hear Teddy whispering frantically about the portkey not working, his little body working itself into a panic. Distantly, through the fog of pain and dizziness, he could hear one of the supposed cosplayers muttering about an attempted site to site transport.
He grimaced, pulling himself up. Wards. Wards meant wizards. He started reaching into his jacket, for the wand he should have had out from the start, when he saw one of the wizards pull something from their side. A prop? A wand? He couldn’t be sure, and he didn’t want to find out. “Teddy, get down!” He kicked a chair towards the group even as he twisted, hoping to dodge whatever spell was sure to come his way. His opponent was faster though, and before he could move more than a handswidth, a pulse of energy had already struck him in the shoulder, dragging him into darkness.
o-O-o
Janeway grimaced, watching as the child ran to his father and started screaming. She could have sworn she saw the tips of the boy’s hair turn green, but she must have just missed the odd hairstyle when they first arrived.
“Was that really necessary Tuvok?” She muttered, side-eyeing her companion.
“He appeared to be reaching for a weapon, Captain. Besides, he is merely stunned.”
She sighed, “Next time, try to be more diplomatic. I’d rather not increase tensions with every disgruntled alien we come across.”
“Of course Captain, but I stand by the fact that he was reaching for something. He may appear unassuming, but he already revealed he was capable of bypassing at least some of our defenses. I determined the level of risk warranted my response.”
She clicked her tongue but held back any further rebuke. He wasn’t wrong in his assessment, but that didn’t mean this couldn’t have been resolved with words rather than phasers. “We’ll continue this discussion later. I have a feeling we’ll need to review our first contact procedures a little more closely.” Pushing past Tuvok, she scooted down next to the boy, palm up. “It’s okay, I promise. He’s only been stunned. But just to be safe, we'll take your father to sickbay, our doctor can look him over for any injuries there. - In the meantime, you can tell me just what exactly you two are doing on my ship.”
Teddy glared at her, pushing her hand away. “I’m staying with my dad! You stunned him for no reason, trapped us here! When my Nana finds out what you did, there will be consequences for this. You can’t just go around attacking people.”
She mused that was probably more the child having a healthy respect for his grandmother rather than an actual threat to the ship. Regardless, she tucked the information into the back of her mind and nodded for Tuvok to start carrying the man. He had already signaled they weren’t registering any hidden weapons, and walking would give her some time to talk with the boy. Hopefully the boy could help shed some light on how they got here.
“My Chief of Security was a little overzealous, but he was just trying to protect the crew. We don’t know you, and we thought your father could have meant us harm.” She kept her voice calm and gentle, trying to sound reassuring when her entire body was on edge. If they could get in here, the Vidiians may not be far behind. Perhaps she should have bridge crew start rotating the shield’s harmonics, just to be safe.
The little boy scoffed, “My Da’s one of the nicest people in the world, and he never once threatened you. We were leaving, why would you bloody stun him? This is crazy and illegal!”
She just smiled, forcing her annoyance not to show on her face. “That may be so, but we don't know you. We just want to keep ourselves safe, and sometimes that means being overly cautious. I am sorry for what happened, and I promise that I will be having words with Lieutenant Tuvok later. I’m afraid we’re all just a little on edge, and your presence was rather unexpected. Now, who's Scotty, and where was your father trying to beam you to? Was it the asteroid, or do you have a ship nearby?”
He shook his head, exasperation written all over his face. "We were just trying to go home! There's no Scotty, no ship, it's just a phrase. And why would we even go to an asteroid? You can't keep any plants or animals there, we'd starve!"
Janeway decided not to get into a discussion on the complexities of living in space and just settled on watching him carefully. "Does your father have any contact with the Vidiians? Does he work for them?"
He frowned, and she didn't see any sense of recognition on his face. "What the heck is a Vidiian?"
They piled into the turbolift, Tuvok finally breaking his silence to order the computer to bring them down to deck 5. She handed the little boy a ‘pad, a picture of the Vidiians already sitting on the screen. “They are a species that suffers from a very serious illness, one that puts their bodies in a constant state of decay."
His eyes widened dramatically, and he nodded slightly. "Oh, the skinless people! Auntie flipped out when I watched that episode.” He sighed, “Of course he doesn’t work with them. They aren't exactly popping up wherever we go. Besides, even if he met one, Dad would never help someone attack other people!"
He gave a little half smile and handed the 'pad back. "Auntie was so mad when she saw them. Called them the stupidest society she ever came across. Why not just clone new body parts? If you know they’re gonna need to be replaced anyway, you wouldn’t care if they were susceptible to the disease, and you’d never have to harvest from other sentients! Or you could go all Matrix! Put your body into a pod that takes care of your medical needs, keeps you in a sort of medical stasis, and you just use VR technology to keep your society up and running. Reality is all based on your perspective anyway and living in a computer is certainly better than giving up all your morals!”
“An interesting theory, but they would first need to develop such technology. Not to mention, they may not have the means to keep a body in suspended animation, yet still allow the mind to be active.” Tuvok mentioned from beside them.
Teddy shook his head, “They have major medical advancements over nearly all other species outside of the Borg, at least in the Delta Quadrant. That aside, they said they were at this for like two thousand years. After a point it just becomes inexcusable, at least that’s what my auntie said.”
“Borg? Young man, did you just say Borg?” Janeway asked suddenly, her entire body had gone rigid.
He sighed; these people were crazy into this show. He would play along, as long as these wizards revived Dad. “Well yeah, they were a major part of the Quadrant. I think they covered something insane, like half the Delta Quadrant at one point. Even if they don’t have an active presence in all of it, they’ve catalogued it. I haven’t watched the show in months, but I remember that most people there are able to recognize a drone on sight. I mean isn’t Unimatrix Zero in the Delta Quadrant? You know, the Borg homeworld? Jeez, I can’t believe a Trek fan wouldn’t know that.”
Janeway tapped her combadge, “Janeway to Bridge, bring us up to red alert. We may have Borg in the area.” She looked at the boy, really looked at him. He seemed far too calm, like he wasn’t being held by strangers and his father wasn’t unconscious beside him.
“Did you say Borg, Captain?!” Ensign Kim’s voice practically screeched from her combadge.
“Yes, I want a full sweep of the system. Have the security teams begin handing out phasers. This is only a precaution at this point, but a necessary one. Even without the threat of Borg, we are still very near a Vidiian installation. And triple the rotation on the shield’s harmonics, pull power from engineering if you have to.”
She could hear him gulp on the other end, “Understood Captain.”
“Janeway out,” she tapped her combadge, ending the conversation before turning back to the boy. “Now tell me everything you know about the Borg, The Vidiians, and Unimatrix Zero. You seem to know an awful lot about this for a child, not to mention out of place for a Human. Or are you really an energy being, sent to test me and my crew? I’ve heard all about the Q and their idea of fun.” Her voice was firm, and her face set in stone. Her people were trapped on the surface, in danger, and she was stuck dealing with this? Unacceptable.
He shook his head, “You guys are completely crazy. Star Trek isn’t real. Starfleet, Borg, aliens, they’re all made up! I’m nine and I know that. Just wake up my dad so we can go already!”
Tuvok raised an eyebrow, merely staring at the child. “It’s strange for you to know of the Borg yet deny their very existence as fiction. I assure you; they are real. You have referenced a “show” several times, and just now you mentioned “Star Trek.” Are you referring to some form of serial drama? And how does this relate to your knowledge of the Borg, and Starfleet for that matter.”
The little boy finally lost whatever control he had up to that point and just screamed in frustration.
Thankfully, it was at this time they had reached the sickbay. Janeway didn’t waste another second, quickly making a beeline for the nearest terminal to get another update from the bridge. Almost immediately, the boy caught sight of the Doctor coming out of one of the side rooms. He was clearly still upset, but he just eyed the hologram suspiciously, not daring to utter another word.
The Doctor didn’t even comment on the odd behavior. He merely examined him for injuries, determined he was fine and promptly ignored him. Quickly brushing past the child to move to the obviously injured adult, whom Tuvok was placing on one of the beds. “I’m assuming these two are the cause for the Red Alert, Captain? What happened, and who are they?”
The little boy merely huffed before tilting his head quizzically, scrunching up his little face in confusion. Discretely, at least by the boy’s standards, he started sniffing the air while he watched the Doctor hover over his father.
“The man is merely stunned, we thought it best to revive him here, in case he proved to be violent.” Tuvok said calmly, still observing the youngest of the group.
Said boy was actually beginning to slip into a panic. He had seen illusions before, knew they were quite possible. But usually, illusions didn’t have any substance to them. Sure, you could make them appear to interact with the world around them, but they were still just air, shaped to seem alive. But the problem was, he could feel him, touch him. Yet he wasn’t a person. He had no smell, no heat. It was incredibly difficult magic to make an illusion have proper substance, and not something you usually did for long periods of time. Dozens of tiny little details from his walk through the ship began to really stick out to him. This seemed far too complex for a bunch of wizards that were just trying to play some game.
He gasped, his thoughts grounding to a halt. Oh Merlin, what did Dad get us into?
He started digging around in his bag, reaching for the one thing he knew would help him sort out this mess. He felt his fingers brush against canvas and paint, and he carefully pulled it out. It was small, no bigger than 25cm by 20 cm, but it was beautiful, and it smelled like home. To those watching, it was merely an oil painting of a girl sitting in a cozy living room, long frizzy hair pulled out of her face while she read a book.
“Auntie!” The boy said, and then the strangest thing Tuvok had ever seen occurred. The girl in the painting moved, turning the page of her book, before she spoke. “I know Teddy, I was ignoring you. Do you know how long you’ve kept me in that bag? Weeks! When I see your father, we are having words, Young Man!”
“Auntie, please! Dad did something and now we’re in big trouble.”
She turned then, fully taking into the situation. “Theodore Lupin-Potter, you have ten seconds to tell me why I am surrounded by muggles and what your father did that was so serious that you’d break the Statue of Secrecy!”
i {o,o}
i /) ')
i -"-"-
AN: So, this is an idea I’ve been tooling around with for months, but I never really did more than notes on it because I kept changing it up. I finally settled on how I wanted it and I really enjoy how it’s turned out.
For anyone wondering, the painting is an 8”x10” – I know in the U.K. they use the metric system, so I converted it to that. On average, the smallest sized canvas you will find on a wall is 8”x10” and this is the largest size picture you’d find just sitting on a desk. – For a comparison, a standard sheet of printer paper is 8.5” x11”
Edited 2/26/2024