Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I've been putting out a few new fics lately, and here's one my main beta HK and I have been working on for a long time. This will be a very different fic from Elune's Pebble, mostly focused on world building, both figurative and literal. Just Add Water is high fantasy, with technology that looks like magic and magic that looks like technology. This is a fic that takes place in a multiverse with some elements thrown into Harry's world, with Harry as the main character. This fic is also kind of an experiment for me to write out something different. I've got about 90k words written out, most of it just needs a few more editing passes and more 'Newsreels.'

Just a warning, Harry won't actually be the main character until chapter four because of the way the chapter splits worked out and the fact that Harry is only ten at the fic's start so his PoV is less interesting than others. (Seriously, to heck with trying to edit a 25k word chapter. Just, no thank you.)

I'm still not super fond of Dumbledore, so rest assured he won't be playing much of a role. Poor guy is very much used to his place in the world, and he isn't going to be fond of anything that interrupts that.

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Just Add Water

Chapter One: We Come in Peace, Mostly

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On March fifteenth, 1990 humanity learned it was not alone in the universe. Interstellar ships, thousands of them, entered the solar system. At first all of the ships congregated near Earth's moon, causing panic. Soon, many of the ships broke off, with some beginning to build massive frames in orbit of Mars most engineers believed were either shipyards or repair facilities, some leaving to begin a survey of the rest of the solar system's planets, and most leaving Sol altogether. Six hours after the fleet arrived, a small craft large enough to have a crew of perhaps ten human-sized individuals pulled alongside one of Earth's telecommunication satellites and a repeating message was soon broadcasting on the airwaves. "Do not intend harm. Translating local languages. Will speak to inhabitants in three planetary rotations."

The days that followed were tense. More questions were raised than answered when telescopes around the world and even the new Hubble telescope in orbit were turned towards the ships. There were many different designs and hull configurations in the alien fleet, the largest were wedge shaped with thick armor and seemed to be carriers for smaller vessels or fighters, others were roughly rectangular and built around some kind of massive cannon. Other ships were smaller and obviously more maneuverable as they wove through the alien's formation. All of the ships were obviously warships, but they were not in 'mint' condition. There were scorches, buckled hull sections, and rushed repair work everywhere. Some ships even looked to have been salvaged and were being towed by others. The crew controlling the Hubble telescope sent their feed directly to worldwide news channels when they caught sight of what was happening on one of the wrecked ships. Bodies from dozens of distinct, visibly non-human alien species were being recovered under the careful watch of an honor guard floating in the vacuum in armored suits, and placed into ceremonial coffins. Adapting a telescope intended for peering much further into space was difficult, but the crew controlling Hubble managed to get a clear image of the (probable) commander overseeing the work. He was standing at attention, apparently wearing magnetic boots, on a platform kept steady by thrusters as he oversaw the recovery of the dead; his stern and mournful ash-gray face was visible through a transparent faceplate as casualties were brought out, one by one. He was obviously not born on Earth but he wasn't too different either, and the emotion on his face as the aliens recovered their dead seemed very… human.

As promised, three days after the fleet first arrived a small craft launched from one of the largest ships and quickly entered Earth's atmosphere. It was soon obvious it was heading for the east coast of the United States, and as it decelerated its destination became obvious. The triangular gray-painted craft, which was about the size and mass of two tour-busses side by side with short wings for stability in atmosphere, continually slowed as it approached Manhattan Island, eventually skimming the waves as it made its final approach towards the United Nations Headquarters.

After a surprisingly smooth landing, a ramp dropped down from the front of the ship and two soldiers in sealed armor painted dark gray with white highlights walked out. One of the two was about eight feet tall with a hunched back, thick frame, and digitigrade legs while the other was much more slender, only about six feet tall, and seemed to be mostly human shaped with the exception of a tail that could reach its ankles. Both were armed with some kind of dangerous-looking projectile or energy-based weapons that fit their size and frame, but after a moment looking around they holstered the weapons on their backs. Then another figure with the general shape of a human wearing gold and white armor exited the small ship. The figure in gold armor led the three of them with the other two following a step behind him as they advanced towards the nearest UN building. By now, people were flocking to the location and only barely being held back by the police that were rushing to the site. Pausing for a moment, the alien in golden armor made a gesture with his hand and spoke in clumsy but comprehensible English, his voice booming out to be heard by the bystanders. "I will address your world. There is much you must know."

A particularly brave intern met the three aliens and guided them into the famous general assembly building. It was filling quickly as diplomats, press, and camera crews rushed to take their places. There was no shortage of armed police and soldiers as well. As they entered, the slighter built bodyguard withdrew a number of small discs from a belt and began placing them around the stage. Their purpose soon became clear as a holographic projection of a stylized golden yellow star flickered into being behind the podium. Waiting only until all major news networks were airing a live feed from the hall, the figure in the golden armor stepped up to the podium and began to speak in understandable, if heavily accented English. Thanks to the work of his crews 'improving' existing communication satellites, his voice was translated into the most common language in each of Earth's many disparate nations.

"Inhabitants of Earth, welcome to the greater universe. I am Ahn'tamet, Commander of Defense Fleet 695741 of the Golden Star Empire. On behalf of the Empire, we come as friends, and to secure your help. There is a war that rages through the cosmos, a war which your world was nearly a casualty of. My fleet fought back an incursion by our mutual enemy in your galaxy at a great cost. Thousands of warships and billions of lives were lost, but we prevailed." Behind Ahn'tamet, the projection that had been showing the Golden Star's sigil changed, and began to show a number of scenes of war. In the first scene a ground army was digging in around a city, one that appeared only a little more advanced than Earth, Imperial soldiers handing out weapons and directing women and children into shelters as starships that looked identical to the fleet milling around Earth's solar system were driven off by a much larger fleet that looked almost organic, covered in pitch black chitinous armor. You could see the soldiers preparing to hold the line under a massive dome-shaped energy shield were grim as the last of their fleet jumped away or was shot down, but could almost feel the determination as the dark ships sent down their own landing craft.

In the second scene, eight of the Empire's smaller ships dropped out of faster-than-light travel close to an enemy fleet and immediately began evading wildly. Half of the small craft had been shot down a moment later when the main Golden Star fleet, hundreds of massive battlecruisers but still only a third of the enemy fleet dropped out of FTL, unleashing hell the instant they reverted to normal space. The smaller craft had been sacrificed to gather precise targeting information, turning an unwinnable battle into a difficult one. In the third scene, an Imperial fleet arrived in a solar system, weapons blazing like dying stars and drove off a small enemy fleet that had destroyed an inhabited world's orbital defenses and was bombarding their cities from orbit. The Imperial forces could then be seen hurrying the survivors into ships, fearful of a larger enemy force returning. In the next scene, the enemy returned with a hundred times the force that had been driven off, but the last Imperial ships entered FTL seconds after they arrived. A small caption explained that the world was lost and they did not have the forces to protect it, so the moment the last survivor and Imperial were clear, a trap was sprung. The scene changed to the system's star, where six objects had been moved extremely close to the surface. As the last ship jumped away, each object gleamed dark red and created an artificial supernova.

"I will not lie and say this victory was significant, that the war is now over, it is not. Before the Golden Star Empire threw itself into an endless war for the sake of all who lived, my government would only expand when other species or worlds asked to join. No longer can we afford that luxury. As of this moment, every inhabitant of this world is now a citizen of the Golden Star Empire, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities as any other. You join an Empire that has provided peace, opportunity, and stability to its members for nine millennia. You join a billion other races, a coalition of every form of sapient life imaginable.

"This war began two thousand years ago when the Empire's military was dispatched to discover why one of our oldest trading partners, an ally that had stood by the Golden Star since its inception, had fallen out of contact. We discovered that their empire, their people, and even the galaxies they lived in were simply gone. After searching for more information, that expeditionary fleet discovered a fleet of our enemies, that we have since named Entropy and the Void, and was fired upon without warning and destroyed. In two millennia of war our enemies have never made any attempt at contact, replied to any of ours, or shown mercy to any form of life they encounter. They cannot be bargained or reasoned with. They do not desire peaceful coexistence, they desire our annihilation and extinction. The Golden Star Empire fights because surrender or hesitation means death.

"The Empire cannot fight this war, cannot protect us all alone. Nor should we have to shoulder that burden on behalf of those who refuse to contribute. In time, your people will take their place among our soldiers and leaders. Together we will turn your world into a shining paradise. Every person willing to work will be housed, fed, and given medical care more advanced than you can imagine."

When a diplomat shouted that their species would take their chances on their own, the commander had removed his helmet, revealing a grotesque face. His original skin color was probably a dark green, but it was hard to tell around the burn scars that took up the entire left side of his obviously alien face. On his right, large patches of flesh and bone, even some parts of his skull and brain were obviously missing, like a knife had simply cut them out. Circuitry that presumably replaced the missing parts of his brain blinked into the cameras that were showing the world what was happening. In a slow, measured voice Commander Ahn'tamet responded. "Every soldier, every ship, every world and star consumed by our foes only strengthens them. You might have the authority to reject us on behalf of your nation, but you have no right to condemn your species to extinction. It will be many years before you're able to see it, but even now your galaxy bears the scars of our war."

With a gesture of his hand, Ahn'tamet activated a hologram showing the Milky Way Galaxy. But this wasn't the same illustration of stars familiar to humanity. With the appearance of something having taken a bite out of the collection of stars, a third of the galaxy was simply gone. "My fleet and the ground forces I fought with saved as much of your galaxy as we could. The fighting was fierce, bloody, and costly. Billions and billions of lives were lost. Far too many worlds, too many entire species, have been lost. A third of the stars and planets of your galaxy no longer exist, and forty-three percent of the species once present in your galaxy are now extinct. I was promoted for my actions during the fighting and now myself and those under my command have been given a seven year minimum of service away from the front lines. It's one of our regulations to keep our soldiers sane after a bloodbath like that. Now our mission is to secure this galaxy and begin terraforming every planet possible. We will also be building shipyards and factories to replace what has been lost. Some of your people may eventually serve under me when my fleet is called back into action.

"Very soon, our fleet will begin transforming every planet in your solar system into one that can support life, even as we construct new planets from asteroids and fabricated matter. Earth, as the homeworld of a sapient species will be turned into a garden paradise. Your oceans, lakes, and rivers will be filtered until they are pure and clear. The atmosphere will be purified. By the time my fleet returns to active duty your world will gleam like a precious jewel! Your people will colonize new planets and solar systems to prevent your extinction if the enemy manages to assault this universe again and our defenses fail. Never again will anyone born on your world starve if they are willing to work!"

Ahn'tamet's continued to share information and give explanations for over an hour. As he prepared to return to his flagship to oversee the vast construction efforts now underway across the galaxy as his soldiers traded their task of combat for construction, his final remarks made something of a stir. "Understand this, if nothing else: in the years to come we will all stand together, shoulder to shoulder. We will look extinction in the face, and tell it to burn in the abyss! In the coming days, months, and years we will build trust and brotherhood as one Empire, united!

"Finally, because of their unique ability to counter our foes by reclaiming stolen energy and matter, every user of magic on this world is hereby declared a critical war resource."

~/*\~

Suffice it to say, that statement had gotten some ridicule until all around the world Imperial task forces tore down magical defenses and places that hadn't been known to exist beforehand suddenly did. Hidden societies were forced to integrate into the cohesive whole that was the Golden Star Empire's newest member world. Many magical humans, however, refused to integrate, to come out of hiding and join the world at large. Sloth and smug superiority had long been strong sentiments for those who could wave a wand and accomplish many things. They were not given a choice. The Golden Star Empire's needs were too great, their war too desperate, and the consequences of defeat too unimaginable.

The Empire's enemies, Entropy, the Void, their insane willing followers, and the monstrous creatures they spawned would consume world after world if left unchecked. Species, planets, solar systems, even stellar objects were consumed and though they fought hard, though they fought and bled and died time and time again, the Empire was simply outmatched; their opponent's numbers seemed endless. The situation was even worse than that; when the last living thing and star was consumed in any given reality, that reality collapsed. As far as the Empire's scientists knew, if enough realities collapsed, it would start a cascade effect and even realities that hadn't been culled would fall apart. However, no one knew what this number was or how many realities had been consumed before the Empire first encountered their enemy.

Four days after Ahn'tamet addressed the United Nations, and through television nearly every human on the planet, Albus Dumbledore had prepared Hogwarts' wards for a siege and brought the entirety of Hogsmeade into the castle. The Ministry and Diagon Alley had fallen two days ago to an assault from muggle soldiers with some kind of enchanted armor working in tandem with powerful magical monsters. This was an army like Grindelwald would have used if he'd won, magical and mundane forces working together in nightmarish lockstep. Albus had dueled one of the invader's magic-users briefly in the Ministry's Atrium when the creature he could only call a dragon-centaur intervened as he struck against the mundane soldiers. Neither had gained the upper hand before Albus fled when he felt an immensely powerful ward replace the Ministry's shattered wardstone. As much as he wanted to deny it, the monstrous creature had nearly been his equal and had called for back-up. Albus might have been sure he could have defeated the creature with a little more time, but he didn't like his chances against two or more under powerful and hostile wards.

Rallying Hogsmeade to rush into the castle hadn't been difficult, and while he had been preparing to raise a Fidelius Charm to protect the castle his professors had been hard at work building and expanding additional greenhouses to feed the refugees and students. Last night Albus had succeeded in casting a Fidelius that hid the school from the invaders. He had slept well after that, the vast amount of power required had necessitated him to rely on the Elder Wand and draw strength from the castle's wards in a way he'd never needed to before. At breakfast the next morning, he shared the secret with the students and refugees. At his request the morning meal had turned into a celebratory feast, and all had been going well until he felt a warning through his connection to the wards. He didn't know what to make of it at first: Yes, it was a powerful magical signature, possibly even stronger than himself, but it was alone and shouldn't be able to sense anything through the Fidelius. As a precaution, he sealed the doors to the Great Hall with a flick of his wand.

By now the many people present realized something was happening. Dumbledore tracked the interloper through the wards as it entered the castle, somehow navigating a space it shouldn't have been aware of at all. Eventually it came to a stop just outside the Great Hall, and a loud knocking sound echoed through the room. No one moved, not even Dumbledore. A moment later after a repeated knocking, a voice was projected into the Great Hall: "Greetings on behalf of the Golden Star Empire. My name is Ayura, can we speak like reasonable adults or do I have to break down these doors?"

When she received no response, a rectangle of glowing light appeared on the inside of the doors barring the Great Hall. It smoked for a moment, then a slab of the door fell towards the invader. A moment later, a figure stepped through the new hole and strode into the hall. She, and while alien, the obvious breasts gave away her gender, had dark brown hair, lightly glowing blue eyes, and blue skin a few shades darker. Rising from her forehead she had a pair of horns that curved over her head and slightly out, from the bottom of her spine she had a slender but strong tail, and instead of feet she had hooves. She was wearing slender, gleaming white plate armor that was probably not very heavy. Speaking again, loudly enough to be heard by all present, she came to a stop with all of the house tables between her and the head table. "As of four days ago, you all are now citizens of the Golden Star Empire. There are many benefits of citizenship in the largest empire in the Explored Realities, but there are also obligations. All of you will be expected to support the war effort against Entropy and the Void, in honor of the billions of lives our empire sacrificed to protect your world and many others in this galaxy."

The Headmaster studied the creature standing before him. Despite the fact that he'd never seen proof of their existence before, the parallels between this creature and iconography that had existed since long before Hogwarts was founded could not be denied. Dumbledore stood then and replied in a voice that thundered. "Leave this hall now Demon, and never threaten us again or I will drive you out!"

Ayura paused for a moment. "I am not a demon. In your language I am an alien, an extraterrestrial. My people are called the Draenei. There is a war raging for all of creation and you will do your part, one way or another."

Dumbledore's response was to cast a rather strong banishing spell at the diplomat, who waved her hand and canceled out the spell with an equal force, ruffling the clothing of those sitting in the hall. Again Dumbledore thundered out: "Be gone Demon!"

After letting out a sigh, Ayura spoke again. "Do you even understand me? I endured the pain of having the 'English' language transcribed into my mind a few days ago, that is what you speak, right?"

One of the braver students, a sixth-year muggleborn at the Gryffindor table, spoke up as Dumbledore began throwing a chain of spells into a transparent golden shield that sprung up around Ayura in response to the attack. "We understand you perfectly, but you obviously expect us to work, which is half the reason why wizards hid from muggles in the first place. Also, you're obviously not human and most of those in power here don't even consider Centaur, Veela, or non-magical humans to be 'people.' Many of the people running the government don't seem to think first-generation magicals like me are people either."

Upon hearing that, the alien smirked. "So this integration was always going to be violent. Well, Headmaster, if that's how you want this to go, allow me to demonstrate the gap between you, a middling Class Three, 'Mage Class,' magical and myself, a Class Seven or 'Star' Class."

With those words spoken Ayura took a step forward and spread her hands apart, a sphere of blue transparent magic briefly contained between her hands before it pulsed and surged in size, spreading outwards through the Great Hall and the castle. Dumbledore gasped, pausing in his spellcasting as he felt not only the Fidelius Charm, but Hogwarts' ancient wardstone shatter. While the Headmaster was distracted Professors Flitwick and McGonagall flexed their magic and nearly every piece of cutlery leaped into action or transformed into an aggressive animal. A golden sigil most of those present recognized as a rune of some sort sprang into being above Ayura's forehead, staying in place as she continued to stride through the hall, and as it flared brightly every charmed object and transfiguration dissolved into ash.

A bolt of sickly green energy sprang from Severus Snape's wand, only to meet a conjured block of stone that was sent flying towards the potions instructor the instant it absorbed the Killing Curse. Ayura's face twisted into a snarl, showing the most emotion anyone had seen on her so far. "You dare! You dare use Fel magic in a school, around children?! And you call me a demon!"

The stone block impacted Severus Snape, sending him flying into the wall with an audible crunch before the conjured stone reshaped itself to restrain the man, and Ayura was briefly confused about the cheers of jubilation from the students. Shrugging, she countered the Headmaster's conjured pillar of fire with a cyclone of water which was just enough to cancel out the spell and envelope the room in warm mist. Unlike the Headmaster, Ayura took advantage of the smokescreen to cast two binding spells, which wrapped two of the professors in glowing golden chains. When Albus conjured a strong wind that drove the fog away, he realized he was down three professors when his attempts failed to dispel or destroy the chains. Ayura spoke again even as they prepared and cast spells and counters, with Albus constantly losing ground. "And speaking of things that should never be around children! Why in the Twisting Nether are you using a cursed wand? I can feel it calling for blood, death, and destruction from here! In fact, why are you even using a wand at all? Are you a Mage or aren't you?"

Not receiving a response other than a sparking whip of lighting, Ayura parried with a blade of light that sprung from her left forearm and destabilized Dumbledore's spell as she used it to parry the whip, the dispersed electricity causing every hair save hers to stand on end. Deciding to taunt the wizard as her counters became more aggressive, Ayura spoke again as a spell that looked like a ray of golden light lashed out from her right hand and shattered Dumbledore's shield, while a ball of blue flames sailed forth from her left hand, making Albus stumble backwards off the platform that held the Head Table. "Magical foci make casting spells easier, but part of growing as a user of magic is leaving them behind. If you don't, they become a crutch and you never reach your full potential! If your people used the Empire's curriculum, half the magical population could be as powerful as you or even stronger!"

More than one person saw the look of absolute horror on Dumbledore's face at that statement, before he focused once more on the battle at hand. With a deafening noise, Hogwarts' army of animated suits of armor stormed the room. Ayura raised her left hand high and formed a beach-ball sized orb of lightning that swelled for a moment, then broke into a hundred pieces each of which leaped to a suit of armor. Each animated suit of armor then crumpled inwards until it was a useless husk thanks to the rare electromagnetic spell. By now, many students, at least the purebloods, were raining spells at the intruder, but her golden shield simply absorbed each one without wavering. Several more Killing Curses flew from the Slytherin table, but they also failed to do anything to the shield. Those students who had cast the spell, however, found themselves struck harshly by conjured rocks and bound to the floor or wall.

With a flourish, Professor Flitwick jumped into the fray again, throwing a massively diverse string of curses at the intruder, to no avail. With a smirk on her face, she shifted her footing and stomped a hoof on the floor with a pulse of magic. Filius Flitwick did not expect anyone to be able to transfigure the castle's stones and found himself flung from the floor on a pillar, the momentum keeping him from leaping off. He was relieved when the pillar slowed before slamming him into the roof, turning a lethal strike into something that would land him in the hospital wing for a few days. The pillar around him hardened and trapped him against the ceiling, not that he could move much with so many broken bones.

Hagrid was the next to enter the fight as the invader advanced on a retreating Headmaster. With a roar of effort he lifted the entire staff table and swung it at her like a child swinging a bat. While the large table was in motion, the invader's fingers sparked with electricity before releasing a massive storm of lightning against the table, turning it into so much ash. Turning towards Hagrid, the female invader charged at him, suddenly moving so fast few could track her. When close enough to reach her target, she jumped and slugged Hagrid's chin with her right fist. While the audible crunch was a clue that the half-giant had received a broken jaw, few noticed it given the way the man was launched into the air and through the wall above. Advancing on Dumbledore again at a sedate stroll, she spoke again to the hall's other inhabitants. "Physical enhancement isn't something that can be learned if you're reliant on a focus. It can't be learned if you've allowed yourself to become lazy."

With a few flicks of skilled fingers, Ayura conjured enchanted chains at the Professors who were still free, binding the last of Dumbledore's help. Making a snap decision, Albus called for Fawkes. Despite all his power and skill, this was one foe he couldn't defeat easily. But he would return. He would gather more support from abroad and build an army to drive this new foe back! Fawkes appeared in a flash of flame and Dumbledore grabbed his tail feathers, then blinked in shock when nothing happened. Glaring at the intruder, he reached out with his magical senses, and discovered a network of spells that blocked every form of magical transportation imaginable, even Fawkes' unique ability. With a clear smirk on her face, the intruder spoke once more. "Now that you've thrown a tantrum like a toddler, are you willing to sit down and listen like a good little boy, Headmaster? I'm obviously better at wards than you are."

In hindsight, Albus would decide he should not have given in to her taunt. With a cry of 'Never, foul demon!' he charged at her while casting a chain of the most powerful destructive spells he could manage. Before he'd restrained himself out of fear for the students, but now he had decided some collateral damage was acceptable if he could escape to rally the world against these invaders. He did not expect for his seven most destructive spells, even a roaring dragon of Fiendfyre, to be caught in the demon's magic and simply hang in the air. While he was frozen in shock the 'demon' spoke again. "Enough old fool. I tolerated your idiocy when I was the only one you were trying to kill, but no more. If not for my skill you would have killed everyone here with that attempt. Congratulations for convincing me to 'take my gloves off.'"

When his opponent raised both hands Albus saw orbs of golden glowing light flicker into being and speed at him, tearing through his most powerful shield. Leaping out of the way, his jaw dropped when the orbs followed him and one struck the Elder Wand, forcing it out of his hand. Before his eyes, the wand he had taken from Gellert Grindelwald so long ago dissolved, leaving only swirling black energy inside the sphere for a moment before the sphere glowed brightly and even the residue was destroyed. So great was his shock that it took him a moment to remember the other orbs that were circling him. As soon as his eyes glanced at them, the first charged directly at him and easily penetrated his attempt at a wandless shield charm. With the sound of a great church bell, the orb exploded with enough force to send him flying towards the student tables. When the arc of his flight turned downwards, another orb surged forward and exploded beneath him, this one filling the air with a sense of hope as it exploded soundlessly. The third went off and caused a swell of positive emotion as those in the hall briefly relieved their fondest memory. Again and again he was struck until he passed out.

As Albus fell, the invader reached out her hand and caught him with a levitation charm, lowering him to the floor in front of the doors to the Great Hall. With her other hand, she conjured a bright shining ball of fire and projected her sense of self into the flame. This allowed Fawkes to sense her emotions, motivations, and who she really was at her core. After a few moments of deliberation, the phoenix flew to the newcomer and alighted on her shoulder, crying out a song that forced the image of a new dawn into the mind of everyone watching. Carefully seating herself in the Headmaster's own chair, Ayura spoke again as what were obviously medics escorted by a complement of soldiers swept into the hall, seeing to the injured. "Does anyone else want to fight or are you willing to listen now?"

Unsurprisingly, the students and refugees sat down and proved willing to listen as their guest explained her purpose. "In light of the war raging across the cosmos, all of you will be expected to help us protect you. Given how low your species' population is however, it is doubtful that any of you will be sent to the front lines for at least several generations. Instead, you will be given tasks on Earth and elsewhere to help make as many worlds livable as possible. You will be pushed to fulfill your potential, to become as powerful as you can. But there are benefits to hard work! The Golden Star Empire reaches through realities and worlds you cannot imagine and we do not believe you should work for free. You will be paid with our currency and can use it to purchase spells, creatures, and objects from a truly massive marketplace. Now, are all of you ready to help us save creation from darkness?"

In addition to being a Class Seven magical and certified curse-breaker, Ayura had been chosen for this assignment because she was good at dealing with people. Still, the cheer that broke out when she finished speaking was admittedly the result of using a few magical spells, nothing stronger than Earth's standard Cheering Charm, to evoke fear and hope at different points during her speech. When the cheers died down, she gave the room a warm smile. "Then I welcome you all to a much larger world. Our first order of business is to give each of you a medical exam, so our healers will be setting up in the castle's infirmary. Our healers have begun healing those with broken and malformed magic, what you call Squibs, giving them full use of their birthright. If they can do that, imagine how much stronger they can make you."

Ayura pointedly did not inform them that part of their exam would involve the standard implants, but figured the healers could enjoy sharing that surprise after the 'fun' negotiation she'd had today. The Professors had been carried away while she'd spoken, so she strode intently out of the room and desperately prayed she wouldn't be stuck leading this school.

~/*\~

Newsreels: Welcome to the Club

~/*\~

As the Golden Star Empire took control of Earth they not only worked to secure the world's people and resources, but to begin the long and difficult work of winning hearts and minds. Experience from past integrations had taught them that careful and accurate dissemination of information could make the difference between a peaceful transition of power and chaos. As landing crafts made their way towards the surface, analysts in Ahn'tamet's fleet projected that a completely peaceful transition was impossible, but loss of life could be kept to a minimum. So as troops landed and began doing their job, Shia Runsocris was seated in front of a vanity as her stylist applied finishing touches to her appearance. Shia was obviously not human, though she was humanoid; her body was covered in short golden fur except for the top of her head. She was particularly fond of her long red hair, and was glad to be wearing a perfectly-fitted cream-colored uniform that complimented her natural colors. Moments later, her stylist nodded and stepped back. Shia took a deep breath and stood, making her way through the corridor.

As she strode through the halls with her tail swinging nervously behind her, Shia took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She'd trained for this, studied hard, but she'd never thought her first (and, unless something terrible happened, her last) assignment would be this important. I was never suited for the frontlines or life on a warship, but I still have to contribute. Everyone has to do their part, after all. I might not be a soldier, but this is something I can do to help the Empire with my own talents.

Moments later Shia strode into her studio, and seated herself behind a desk carefully crafted to project an air of warm professionalism. Her manager, a human who came from the same universe she did, nodded in her direction as he adjusted one of the camera drones, a silently hovering robot about the size of a football. Turning back to her, he spoke up. "Looking good Shia. We'll be ready in just a moment. As soon as the light on the back wall turns green you can start. The initial announcements have already gone out and the techs are securing the rest of Earth's broadcast hardware. We have time, so we can take as many takes as you need."

Shia nodded, then briefly called up her holographic interface. A few sharp motions of her hands and her notes she'd typed out were projected on the wall behind the primary camera. A moment later her manager stepped back, and the indicator on the camera flipped from red to green. Shia took a deep breath, forced herself to relax, and looked into the camera. She gave a warm smile, showing off her pointed teeth just a little, and started to speak. "Greetings, people of Earth. My name is Shia Runsocris, and until I'm reassigned, I will be bringing you the news on behalf of the Golden Star Empire. I am a Caitian from a nearby reality and I'm pleased to see Earth again, even if it isn't the same world I've visited before. We are currently searching for a co-host, and I look forward to working with him or her soon."

Shia paused, glanced briefly at her notes, and continued speaking. "There is a lot of information to disseminate, but first I want to tell you how I came to be here. Part of my job description is to earn your trust, after all." Shia took a breath and her smile fell just a little. "By now you've heard the Empire's claims, that they're fighting a war against universal extinction, and that they need every individual and every resource possible mobilized to fight back the Void. I don't need to tell you that is true, your people will see the truth with their own eyes the first time your people visit one of the stars or galaxies that no longer exist in this universe, or one of the realities where only a handful of stars remain.

Shia paused for only a moment before continuing. "I grew up knowing that my universe, reality, dimension, or whatever you want to call it, was not the only one to exist but we only had direct knowledge of one other. James Tiberius Kirk, probably the most famous starship captain to ever explore my home galaxy, described that universe as 'like looking through a dark mirror.' And yes, Kirk is a human name. Time is not constant from one universe to another; by your calendar I was born in 2362 in a quadrant of the Milky Way where humans and many other species formed the United Federation of Planets. The Federation was a paradise, there was no scarcity of food or medical care. Work was optional, many people had all their needs met and were perfectly content with a life of leisure. Others chose a more difficult path, and enlisted in government or Starfleet, the Federation's exploration and defense arm."

Shia let out a dark laugh. "We were fools. Despite never having known even half a century of peace between the disparate powers in our sector of space, our culture and leaders were so convinced that if we simply showed the galaxy an example of peaceful bliss they would eventually change their ways and become like us. In the decades before I was born the Federation had gradually drawn down its fleets and defensive installations. Instead of building ships of war to replace our aging defense fleet, we built ships designed for exploration and diplomacy."

Shia's expression faltered, and she absently rubbed old scars on her right arm, parting the soft fur and revealing discolored skin to the camera without meaning to. "When I was eight years old the Federation discovered a stable wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy. We learned that the Dominion, a powerful empire, had committed genocides against species that refused to submit, but instead of throwing everything into rebuilding our fleet, our leaders took a 'measured' approach."

She paused to let out a sad laugh. "As you might guess, war soon came to us whether we were ready for it or not. Half our fleet was close to a century old, and our newer ships simply were not designed for a protracted war. I won't describe the entire war, you can look that up with any interface if you're curious, but I will simply say that it went badly. I was on Caitian when the Dominion fleet took Betazed, the homeworld of a race of peaceful telepaths." Shia shuddered, losing the flow of her speech for a moment. "There were no military installations on that world, no reason for fifteen billion people to die screaming, but they did. So many telepaths died in agony that we could hear their screams ten light-years away."

Shia closed her eyes, trying to drive those horrible memories from her mind. "That was not the worst or the last atrocity committed against us, and the war continued to go badly. In the end, one of the few heroes we had left found the plans for an interdimensional gateway and begged the Golden Star Empire for help. Hours after leaving, Captain Picard returned, leading an expeditionary force of ten-thousand Imperial ships. The massacres stopped. The Empire annexed our galaxy, and began the same work currently beginning in the Milky Way.

"The Golden Star Empire is not perfect. The Empire sweeps across space and realities, often forcing new worlds and species to join us. Once a species reaches a population of at least five-hundred billion, that species will begin sending soldiers into a war that is as horrific as it is necessary. Your culture will change, the Empire forces every world and species under its banner to cooperate, no matter what old feuds or hatreds exist. Your people will be coerced to work, to become cogs in a machine that turns out ships and soldiers to fight against our common enemies." Shia chuckled for a moment, remembering her own people's complaints. "Federation citizens were not happy about having our way of life overturned, our lazy ways abolished. But without the need to work, to come together and struggle against a common goal, we lost something important."

Shia continued, earnestness evident despite the species divide as she continued. "But even though we will face great hardship together, that does not mean there are no benefits to the Empire! In the days to come prefabricated medical facilities will go up all across your world, with medical techniques that can cure any disease or wound! The culture the Empire imposes is carefully sculpted to give every citizen as much fulfillment and happiness as possible while still supporting the military that keeps us safe!

"And if you throw away everything else I've said as propaganda and lies, believe this: The Golden Star Empire fields a fleet of over a quadrillion warships and quintillions of soldiers. Every one of those ships exists solely to protect as many lives as possible. Every one of those soldiers fights so that their loved ones, their homeworlds, their very species live to see another day. The Golden Star Empire takes care of its own, and starting today, you are now part of the Empire and under our protection. I know that will not comfort you today, or tomorrow, or even a year from now. But in the years, centuries, and millennia to come, it will. Because the Empire will not allow extinction to claim your people. As long as the Golden Star Empire stands, extinction and annihilation will not sweep across creation unchecked! As long as the Empire stands, Life will not succumb to Oblivion!"

~/*\~

A/N: Welcome to a new fic everyone. This one will probably be about half the length of Elune's Pebble when all's said and done, and it will be an entirely different fic. I know Harry hasn't actually made an appearance yet, but that's because I had to split the first chapter. I'm trying to update more often, and my next update will be chapter two of this, followed by chapters three and four.

Chapter Text

Enjoy chapter two, which in the original draft was the second third of chapter one.

~/*\~

Just Add Water

Chapter Two: Hearts and Minds

~/*\~

Six days after Fleet Commander Ahn'tamet announced Earth's absorption into the Golden Star Empire, seven magicals, Class Six (commonly referred to as the 'Picket Class') or above with a talent for Solar magic lead the strike force tasked with seizing Azkaban Prison. A shield enveloped the island, and the Empire's army flooded onto the island from rugged triangular landing craft with sleek profiles. As the soldiers stormed the island the air became thick and restricting as a suppression shield went up; anyone without a special counter-enchantment woven into their clothing or armor suddenly found themselves trying to move through molasses. Many prison guards spent the fifteen minutes between the shield going up the invading army completely securing the island cowering in terror; the Dementors had turned on them when it became obvious they were no longer in command. Unable to run or manage the focus for a patronus, the soul-sucking monsters had slowly drifted closer and closer to them until one of the magicals leading the army arrived and dealt with the monsters with a bolt of purifying fire.

Compared to these soldier's usual missions, securing Azkaban was child's play. It was much easier than landing on a void-infested planet to rescue as many as they could or holding the line against a planetary invasion. In every case of a Dementor trying to consume their former masters the Dementor soon found itself struck by a ball of fiercely burning, protective, living flame that consumed them, freeing all the souls they had ever consumed. It was a truly awesome display, in some cases hundreds of souls were released and the clearly human shapes, appearing as wispy ghosts, looked around the prison weeping in relief for a moment before they faded away like mist on the breeze.

To some of those storming the island, this was personal. The Empire's enemies sometimes fielded creatures like these that consumed souls, and many of these soldiers had lost friends to them. The Ministry guards responsible for watching over the prison gave no real resistance as it was stormed, they hadn't heard anything from the Ministry for days and the invaders were powerful enough to utterly destroy Dementors. (The words on their lips were usually 'I'm not paid enough to fight anything that can kill a Dementor.') When the last Dementor was destroyed and the guards rounded up, the Empire's strike force began emptying the prison. Even with the foul creatures destroyed, the very stones of this island were… tainted. None of those present could manage the scourging the land needed, that would require something more. The residue from the destruction of every Dementor still hung heavily in the air, and would be useful for the next step.

For Sirius Black, one day in Azkaban was much like another. Sure, seasons mattered, some brought bitterly cold weather and others brought harsh storms that seeped through the windows and stone walls. A fog of misery and suffering clung to Azkaban that made it hard to think. Still, the sounds of an army storming the prison were hard to miss and the screams of the Dementors engulfed in Solar Flame were something he'd never heard before. Eventually when most of the other sounds quieted, three magicals flanked by dozens of guards began tearing the cell doors open and placing manacles on the prisoners before placing them on self-levitating stretchers, even chaining them to the stretchers. Sirius watched through the bars as they moved along until they finally reached his cell. Seeing him standing and looking to be in better shape than the others, the obviously powerful wizard in heavy armor commanded him to exit the cell and present his arms. Sirius did so, then he spoke while they were placing thick metal shackles inscribed with runes on his hands and feet. "Any chance I can get a trial? They never gave me one, I wouldn't be in here if I had the chance to testify under Veritaserum."

The wizard in heavy armor paused for a moment while the soldier finished locking his shackles, then spoke. "You have the right to request a new trial under Imperial law. For the moment you will be transferred with the other prisoners and our healers will treat you. Can you walk out?"

Sirius straightened himself. "I can walk."

Despite a body ravaged by Azkaban and its Dementors, despite malnutrition and muscle atrophy, Sirius walked out of Azkaban prison under his own power feeling more hope than he had since before Halloween 1981. He wasn't free, but had the promise of finally getting a trial after… hell, he wasn't even sure how long he'd been in Azkaban anymore. He managed to stay on his feet until the wizard and soldiers moving the prisoners reached the rocky beach and his strength failed him. The wizard who had spoken to Sirius caught him with a wandless levitation charm and simply floated the man the rest of the way to a landing craft. Once inside the expanded loading bay Sirius saw healers tending the worst of the prisoners, and to his shock they were not human. Some had horns and strange skin colors, some had strange body-shapes, hell, one of them was a crimson dragon the size of a hippogryph who could apparently heal by breathing magical fire. Sirius Black had no idea what to make of seeing so many non-humans, but having a werewolf for a friend had long since cured him of his culture's intolerance.

Sirius was set back on his feet against a wall as the craft lifted off, the back hatch flickering with an energy barrier of some kind. The same wizard who had kept him from falling stepped closer and spoke again. "I don't know whether you're really innocent or not, but if you are, I figured you would want to see this. We've already removed the records and anything of value from the prison, but those damn demons tainted the very stone."

Looking through the transparent barrier, Sirius could see the island getting smaller for several moments. Then the landing craft came to a stop and a massive wedge shaped object descended through the clouds, directly above Azkaban. It was impossible to make out many features with this distance and weather, but Sirius was reminded of a movie Lily suggested he go see in the seventies. He was confused about why it was hovering over Azkaban until a section of its bottom hull began to glow for a moment before a concentrated beam of golden fire shot down, enveloping the entirety of Azkaban Prison. It wasn't long before the stone walls melted into slag and the slag boiled away to nothing. The assault continued as the stone beneath the prison met the same fate, the hole growing deeper and deeper until the entirety of Azkaban Island collapsed into it and the frigid sea rushed in to fill the empty space, resulting in a massive cloud of steam. The physical and mental exhaustion weighed heavily on him and Sirius felt himself nodding off, but still managed to say a few words before he lost consciousness. "Thank you."

~/*\~

The next time Sirius woke, he was seated on a sloping lounge chair submerged in some kind of goop. Only his head was above the thick gel cocooning the rest of him, kept in place by a hard shell of clear plastic or ceramic. Despite trying to, he was unable to move so he looked around. Around him he saw many of his fellow Azkaban inmates in the same restraints as himself, so he forced himself to take a deep breath and relax. After a few moments he heard a slithering sound and opened eyes that he didn't remember closing. There was a creature, something he would assume was one of Earth's extinct Lamia if not for the exotic orange and blue coloring and the way her upper body was also covered in fine scales. She was wearing a white robe as she approached Sirius and checked a display he couldn't read from where he was seated. Seeing she had his attention, she spoke up in a language he'd never heard before, but helpfully her words were translated to an English script that hovered in front of his eyes. "Sirius Black?"

Sirius croaked out a response, his throat dry and aching. "Yes, that's me."

Before continuing the healer (it was a guess, given that she was wearing the same colors as the healers that had been treating the prisoners at Azkaban) held up a bottle with a straw in it to his face and Sirius eagerly drank. As he did, she continued. "You've been here in the Astria Prison infirmary for three days so far, and you should be released to your cell in two more. You have requested a trial under Imperial law, is that correct?"

Not wanting to speak, Sirius just nodded. His stomach felt empty, and there must have been some potion in the water to calm it. It was odd that he felt so thirsty but wasn't light-headed. This time, a short bit of script in a language he'd certainly never seen before appeared in front of her eyes, and Sirius realized that the scripts appearing in front of their faces were an extremely advanced translation spell, even explaining human gestures. She spoke up again before Sirius could ask a question. "Very well. For the time being you will join the prison's population once you've recovered physically and you will be given an interview with an investigator in a week or two, pending good behavior. For now you should rest. The gel you're soaking in is repairing your body and leeching out the residual magic poisoning you. You don't need to eat or drink thanks to the fluid we're feeding into your bloodstream. Do you have a question before I start checking the others?"

To say he was groggy and exhausted was an understatement, but Sirius managed to fight through the exhaustion that was trying to pull him back to sleep. "Is my godson, is Harry alright?"

"What is your 'godson's' full name?"

"Harry James Potter, he has dark hair and green eyes. I haven't seen him since the night his parents were murdered."

Sirius watched for a few moments as the serpent healer called up what looked like the illusion of a type-writer's keys (but clearly not in English) and quickly navigated several screens that appeared before her. Sirius had a sinking feeling in his gut, had something happened to Harry? Had Hagrid been attacked that night or had Peter gotten to the boy after he'd failed to kill the rat? After a few moments he saw the healer pause on a screen he couldn't read and spoke up. "I found him in our records. He's a student in England and alive. He's scheduled for a mandatory medical examination with the other children of his area in four months, we won't have any information beyond that until then; of course you won't be given any information at all unless our investigation finds you innocent."

As exhaustion claimed him again, Sirius felt his eyelids grow heavy. "Thank you so much, he's safe…"

~/*\~

Nine days after Ahn'tamet addressed the people of Earth at the United Nations, an alien was guiding a speeder bike through the air above Crawley in Britain. The rider received no small amount of attention as she guided her transport to slow as she followed a map projected in front of her. While much of the magical world had required a firm hand, the mundane had generally been more reasonable. No one living on Earth was happy about the state of affairs, but no one could say the new hospitals going up around the world were not working miracles. Peace was tentative and could fall apart at any time, but every promise kept built just a little more trust between humanity and the Empire. The Golden Star Empire had also begun training Earth's armies in their weapons and tactics, as a prelude to inducting them into the Milky Way's defense forces, or at least the segment of it that included those who could breathe air similar to Earth's. (That those weapons carried both remote shut-offs and tracking devices was a given.) Learning the only segregation in the Empire was based on who could survive what climate and atmosphere struck most people as sensible.

Still, as the figure landed in front of a well-off but not extravagant home in a middle-class neighborhood, there were a few people who chose to accost her. These people did not know beforehand, but upon accosting the lone alien they soon learned what an Imperial Combat Medic was made of. These four rather large men with shaved heads had quickly transposed hatred of their fellow man to the aliens as soon as it was clear the whole thing wasn't a hoax. Following the call of the hatred in their hearts, they leaped at the lone figure who had removed her helmet, revealing dark orange skin and silver hair. In response, she twitched her wrists and two combat knives slipped into her hands, then with the grace of a ballerina she danced. None of the four men were lethally injured, but their 'victim' wasn't afraid to sever tendons or deliver a debilitating strike to the groin. Bystanders who had been moving to help her, as alien or not she hadn't done anything to warrant the attack, stopped with their mouths hanging open as she calmly activated a projected holographic interface and spoke audibly in English. "Crawley Integrated PD? I'd like to report an unprovoked assault, sending the recording now. Please send someone to arrest the attackers, they're wounded but are not in danger of bleeding out."

With that done, she picked up a small messenger bag and made her way to the house that was her destination. The first step of Imperial integration on Earth had been to send contingents of peacekeepers to work with local law enforcement. While a lot of politicians and people who enjoyed power in the current scheme of things tried to prevent local police from working with the aliens, when the alien squads informed the local cops that their only goal, full stop, was to prevent loss of life and protect the innocent during the transition of their world from independence to an Imperial member world, most officers found that alien or not, they could work with these people. It helped that many cops the world over were generally sensible people; it didn't take a genius to see that their world was outgunned and outmanned. If nothing else, the Empire held the high ground with the fleet of warships in orbit. Various militaries had tried driving the aliens away and accomplished nothing, not even slowing them down.

~/*\~

The Granger family had seen what had transpired outside. With the upheaval the world was going through, no one really wanted to go to the dentist so their practice was temporarily closed. Possibly permanently closed, given the great strides in medical care the Empire had brought with them. Given the violence, the family was considering running out the back when the Alien knocked on their door. "Hello. I am Ferisa and I'm here to talk to you about your lives going forward. I've completed my certifications as a combat healer and an instructor of children so I've been asked to answer your questions; there is information you need to know."

Though hesitant, the two dentists opened their door and provided the best hospitality they could. Ferisa seemed to enjoy the tea and snacks they served. Seated around a table in the Granger's living room, Ferisa began to speak. "First, I want to tell you what you need to know about practicing medicine as Imperial citizens. To re-open your clinic and begin serving your patients again, you need to complete a course on the new materials and techniques we're providing. From what I understand, the course is similar to what your government already demanded of you to stay current with new advancements. The time and place hasn't been nailed down yet, but you will be informed when the classes are set up."

The couple and their ten year old daughter listened quietly to the alien speak with a bit of an odd accent. Dan Granger replied after a moment of thought. "That sounds reasonable. What should we do if a patient contacts us about an emergency in the meantime?"

"We have temporary medical structures in most cities until we can build more permanent ones; just look for the white pyramids. Medical care is free for the next six months as part of the transition." With that Ferisa closed her eyes, leaning back and sipping her tea with a contented moan. "This is good. I'm proud to have been doing my part, but it is so nice to be off the front lines. My battalion had it rough, but not as rough as the forces Ahn'tamet commanded." She went quiet for a moment then chuckled before speaking again. "I trained hard, learned to heal people from the most grievous wounds and even learned to fight if I needed to." To the surprise of the Grangers, Ferisa spoke again, emotion flooding her voice. "I don't know if I'm relieved or disappointed to know I'm never going back to the front lines again."

Emma spoke up this time. "Did you retire from active duty?"

Ferisa laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh. "No, I've been retired." She let out another almost broken laugh that visibly made the Grangers recoil. "I'm sorry, I'm not going to hurt you. It's just, when we secured this galaxy and my battalion was transferred here, I found out why I'd been taken off the front lines forever. My home reality, where my species came from and most of us lived, got hit hard at the same time your reality's 'Andromeda' did and we lost three entire galaxies, including most of my people's colonies. My species is now in danger of extinction."

As the orange skinned woman made a visible effort to calm herself, little Hermione darted out of her parent's arms and gave the woman a hug. Ferisa flinched at first before forcing herself to calm down. It took a while and two cups of tea, but eventually she continued. "Thank you, I should rephrase that last bit, my people aren't likely to go extinct while the Empire stands. There's a neat bit of magic and technology that can make any children I have almost clones of me, taking just a few of the best traits from their father. There's actually one other thing I need to discuss with the three of you. I assume you've heard the explanation we've been airing for the role magic plays in our war?"

All three Grangers nodded their heads. The ability to pull matter and energy out of nothing was obviously a potent ability in any conflict. Confident the three had seen one of the newscasts, Ferisa slipped a hand into her bag and withdrew a sealed case. Placing it on the table in front of them, she opened a latch and revealed a pale white crystal small enough to be held in the palm of a hand. "Hermione, both our scans and Earth's records say you have magic of your own but that doesn't mean you'll be sent to the front lines. At least not while there's so few magicals from this world. Please pick up the crystal and hold it for a moment, you don't need to do anything else. It's going to glow as it absorbs a little of your magic."

Dan and Emma looked at each other worriedly, but Hermione was eager to follow the instructions. There had been a few times she thought she'd done something strange over the last few years, but had chosen to believe she was mistaken. That was before the world found out magic was real. With absolutely no hesitation she reached out and picked up the crystal, which looked like the quartz crystals she'd seen in certain shops around London. As promised it glowed brightly enough at her touch to cast shadows even with the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows. Dan and Emma were obviously concerned, but Ferisa spoke up. "Don't worry, it's just a useful crystal we manufacture. It has to be kept sealed because it absorbs magic through physical contact. I have a reader with me that will tell us about your daughter's magic, how strong it is and what sort of spells she might be good at."

After about five minutes, the crystal in Hermione's hands stopped glowing and Ferisa withdrew a box about the size of a hand-held gaming system with an obvious slot for the crystal to be inserted. Without waiting for instructions Hermione placed the crystal in the slot and nearly vibrated in excitement as the device lit up and let out a soft humming sound. Reaching into her bag again Ferisa withdrew a blue pyramid about the size of a grown man's fist and placed it on the table. Tapping the base with her finger, a projection with columns of alien script appeared above the object. Ferisa hummed as she analyzed the results but noticed the three Grangers looking at it in confusion. "Oh. Interface! Access Settings. Change Standard Text Language to English please."

A few seconds after she spoke, the text blinked away and returned in a language they could all read. Ferisa spoke up again as they looked at the results. "Good news! You're a healthy, strong magical Hermione. According to what we've learned so far, you're in the top fifteen percentile for your species and age group, which is pretty good." There were several hundred words of floating text, but without context the Grangers had little idea of their significance so they paid close attention to their guest as she continued speaking. "Each magical species is different and we're still learning more about yours, but it looks like you're probably going to be best at magic that involves a lot of finicky parts, like complicated enchanting or healing spells. For your elemental affinity… It looks like you're predisposed to Wind and especially Fire magic. You have a rather strong affinity for fire for someone who's never cast a spell before."

Hermione began asking question after question as Ferisa answered her as best she could. As afternoon stretched into evening however, she had other places to be. "Sorry, but we'll have to cut this short. Hermione, because you're magical you're going to be moved into a class with other magical children, and I'll be your first instructor. We're going to have the first class in the big park by the library to the west, and we'll meet there for the first time on Monday of next week at eight in the morning. You'll be given a wand, which is a focus that helps beginners learn to use their magic and hopefully learn your first spell. The only thing you need to do before then is report to the nearest Empire facility for your initial medical examination. Dan, Emma, both of you are welcome to observe the lessons and examination if you wish."

With that Ferisa excused herself and left the family behind, smirking at the unconscious vandal who had tried to take a can of spray paint to her ride and been electrocuted by the 'bike's' security system. Her bike was something she'd bought with her own pay and since she had little else to spend her Credits on, she had added many new features and upgrades over time. A few diagnostic spells showed the vandal would be fine when he woke up, other than some residual pain, so she left him lying on the ground and headed to her next appointment, a family named 'Finnigan.'

~/*\~

Somehow, Harry Potter had missed the initial recruitment drive that saw many adult human magicals and their families registered as Imperial citizens. Many of these magicals were given jobs around the solar system on Venus or Mars as well as various other planets and moons in the solar system to begin the work of making those planets livable. A month after Ahn'tamet addressed the United Nations Petunia and Vernon Dursley saw a chance to be rid of their nephew forever, so Vernon had taken the boy to the processing plant the aliens were building in central England. Harry wasn't aware, but the plant would be used to produce construction materials for new buildings and infrastructure going forward, bringing Earth 'up to code,' so to speak. These new materials would slowly be used to replace every existing building and utility on the planet since the new materials were thousands of times stronger and more efficient. They were also much better for the environment.

Vernon had thrown a half-starved child wearing rags at the guard, an alien similar to a short human save the extra pair of arms wearing crimson armor over gray skin. Vernon had been asked to stay while they verified his claim that the child was magical. Vernon and his wife had been arrested immediately when another alien, this one with green skin, long scaly ears, and the lower body of a snake had examined Harry and run a few diagnostic spells over him. Both Vernon and Petunia had ignored the 'critical' part of 'critical war resource,' somehow misconstruing that the Empire only saw magicals as resources and not people. Even if Harry and the others were needed to win the war, the Empire still wanted them as healthy and happy as possible, not starved and beaten until they were sickly, fearful, and timid. After some tests and being given a large meal Harry had slept in a cozy hospital room, the first time he could remember not sleeping in a cupboard. In the days that followed, Harry met a number of friendly aliens who were happy to interact with him and got to eat as much as he wanted. He suddenly had the problem of a nice but pushy nurse encouraging him to eat more than he felt comfortable with every meal.

As he healed Harry had watched his relative's trial unfold. The Golden Star Empire needed to make it clear to everyone that hurting children was highly frowned upon in their empire, which now included Earth. Harry was shocked that people who could use magic, like him, were very important so people needed to know not to hurt them or stunt their growth. The sentencing was harsh; his uncle was sent to serve seventy years of hard labor in the new mines on Mars while his aunt was sent to serve ninety years of less arduous community service on the new lunar base dedicated to the continuation of endangered sapient species.

Apparently the Empire could make a child take after one parent a lot more than was usually the case, and Harry was told that they often found species that were nearly extinct. Sometimes they even found interesting beings that were the result of experimentation who were the only ones of their kind. Harry thought it was nice that his aunt would be able to help people. Thanks to the new medicine being shared by the Empire, both would easily serve their sentences without dying of old age. Petunia's sentence would include mandatory psychiatry visits and the offer of taking time off her sentence if she agreed to be a surrogate for near-human endangered aliens. Otherwise she would be working as a cook or maid that was never directly allowed to interact with children.

Harry was given no small number of treatments after his relatives had abandoned him at that base, both physical and mental. And they had paid off. His bones that had broken during 'Harry hunts' and hadn't healed perfectly straight had been restored, he'd gained muscle and energy, he didn't need glasses anymore and was enjoying having perfect vision. Even the scar on his forehead, the one that had never finished healing, had faded to a pale white line after a treatment the healers had made him sleep through.

~/*\~

The lead healer spoke up, eyeing a crystal that had turned from pale white to a seething black, as if something alive was thrashing around inside. "Take the kid into decontamination and get a cursebreaking team here now."

One of the assistants looked at the facility's lead healer as he set the crystal down on a tray and backed away slowly. "What is it? It was so difficult to remove from that poor kid…"

"I'm a healer, not a cursebreaker! I have no idea other than the fact it shouldn't have been on the kid's forehead. Leave it for the people who know what they're doing. Now, everyone into the decontamination ward! Until we know what that thing is, we're assuming it's dangerous and infectious. Move people!"

~/*\~

Harry had received both the standard implants for male magicals. (Females got an extra one that only became active during puberty. A very patient nurse who looked like an elf had vaguely explained that it made a lot of things less unpleasant and safer for them.) The standard computer interface was a tiny silver band around the back of his left ear that gave Harry both a real-time translation of anything said around him, displayed in a holographic subtitle in front of his left eye, and let him connect to any computer in use by the Empire, though his current access was limited. The second implant was more complicated and only given to lifeforms that could generate magic. It was a band of seven beads that just barely showed past the skin on his chest, around the base of his neck. These beads did several things; first they constantly drained one percent of the magic his body produced, which the nurse explained would make him grow stronger over time as the implant sent that energy to help the war effort in one way or another. The beads also made his magic smarter, which meant that the little things it had been doing to help him heal faster and make his body tougher were now done 'the right way,' so they took less energy and worked even better.

After the Dursleys were tried, Harry met an alien of a species he hadn't seen before. He would never forget what had happened that day as long as he lived: An alien with a general human shape save for a snakelike prehensile tail, two horns that just barely sprouted past his white hairline, reflective purple eyes and burnt orange skin had found Harry in his room at the newly constructed hospital. "Hello, Harry. My name is Stalgin, and I'm going to be looking after you for a while." He sank to his knees and smiled at the boy. "Do you know why people who can do magic are so important to the Empire Harry?"

When the small boy had shook his head no, Stalgin continued. "Well right now we're fighting against two forces that want to consume everything: Entropy, which steals energy and the Void, which steals matter. Both have a lot of soldiers and creatures that fight for them, but the real problem is they keep stealing matter and energy away from us, and everything they steal makes them stronger. People who can use magic, like you and me, we get our power from the same place Entropy keeps what it steals, and we can take matter back from the Void too. I know you're young, but since you're one of the highest twenty Earthlings in magical potential in your age group, your job is to come with me on my ship, the Just Before Dawn."

Harry had looked at the man in wonder. "I'm going on a spaceship?"

With a comforting chuckle, the man answered. "Yes. I think you'll like the 'Dawn,' as we call it. You'll be with me for a while and I'll teach you as much magic as I can while we take the slow way to the world where you'll be working for the Empire. I'll be picking up the rest of the other kids with really high potential in the next few days but I wanted to get you first, I know hospitals aren't fun."

Very shyly, Harry asked the man a question. "Um, Mr. Stalgin, what will I be doing for the Empire? I don't really know how to do anything unless you want me to take care of a garden."

With a chuckle, the alien responded. "That's actually what you'll be doing, more or less. You see, there's a planet right now that's just a bunch of rocks stuck together with barely enough air to breathe. You, and just a few others to start with, are going to turn it into a great place to live, with water, animals, plants, and all kinds of magical creatures! Don't worry though, I'll teach you everything you need to know! You see, my species is really weak as far as how much power we can use, but in exchange we can use a lot of different kinds of magic. If you pay attention and work hard, you'll know everything you need to know by the time we get there!"

~/*\~

Newsreels: Under Construction

~/*\~

"Welcome back viewers, this is Shia Runsocris with today's news. To start, Ahn'tamet, recently promoted from Fleet Commander to Governor of the Milky Way Galaxy, released a statement that this reality is, at least for the moment, believed to be clear of enemy forces. Naturally, our scouts will continue to monitor the situation and will maintain all due vigilance. In news from the local front, the Milky Way and nearby surviving minor galaxies have been secured thanks to an additional peacekeeping force that arrived two weeks ago. With mines and production facilities under construction in all inhabited systems, the main fleet is now free to begin securing the Triangulum galaxy. Triangulum has an unusually low number of sapient civilizations but initial scouting efforts report a large number of planets suitable for mining and terraforming. Information on any fully prospected world and their inhabitants can be accessed from any interface. All worlds currently without life are being evaluated for terraforming, and we can expect the first worlds to be ready for initial colonization in the next few weeks. Any citizen interested in a new start on one of these worlds should enlist in the required courses; requisites for a Terraforming Certification include a basic understanding of Imperial tools, magnetic fields, magic, ecology, weather, and reproduction. Prospective terraformers should also begin the search for compatible individuals for their terraforming team; if you cannot find the requisite team members, please consult your interface for matchmaking assistance."

Shia paused for a moment, taking a sip of water. "In local news, fifty major Material Processing facilities are now online in major population centers and smaller facilities will be coming online in additional locations in the next week. As part of the standard integration plan, all outdated ground vehicles can now be exchanged for Imperial models powered by the local energy grid at these processing facilities. Additionally, nearly any form of salvage or detritus can be exchanged for Imperial credits at these locations, providing the materials have been obtained legally. Credit value of salvage is determined by the chemical makeup of the salvage.

"With the Material Processing facilities online, construction of the new Planetary Transit Network will begin in three weeks. Construction will include an intercontinental hypersonic rail system and will proceed in phases. Phase one will link cities on the same landmass together, phase two will include building transit lines under the ocean, and phase three will include three equidistant orbital elevators. Hiring for these projects will begin shortly and will include paid training.

"This has been Shia Runsocris bringing you the day's news. Please join me tonight for an interview with Planetary Architect Santh Arils on the challenges of balancing form and function in modernizing planets while ensuring native plant and animal life continues to thrive. Santh is one of the premier architects responsible for sculpting paradise worlds in a dozen realities, and he will be producing plans for every planet in Sol before moving on, continuing his work around the Milky Way."

~/*\~

A/N: Here's chapter two, where we see Harry for the first time and find out what the Empire thinks of Dementors. ('Cleanse them with fire!')

Next update will be chapter three, probably going back to my update every two weeks schedule. Please leave a review, every one motivates me to keep writing; I read and treasure every one.

Chapter Text

Still not a fan of Albus 'ten dark years' Dumbledore. Next chapter we catch up with Harry and what he's been up to.

~/*\~

Just Add Water

Chapter Three: Imperial Justice

~/*\~

After being released from the prison's infirmary a groggy Sirius was given a drab brown shirt, pants, and shoes and escorted to his cell. To his surprise he had a cell-mate, a face he recognized from his time among the Order of the Phoenix and that fateful night in Godric's Hollow. The other man towered over him as he rose from his bunk, and Sirius had to pause to really examine the man's jaw. What the hell hit him that Rubeus Hagrid's face is one big bruise? Out loud, Sirius spoke to a man who had once been a loyal friend. "Hagrid, Harry is safe, right? They told me he's alive but won't share anything else until they know for sure I'm innocent."

Over the next hour, the two talked and caught up. Hagrid's first reaction when he saw Sirius was to punch him into a smear on the wall, but that brought to light the fact they'd both been fitted with something capable of powerful electric shocks to prevent fights or (presumably) escape attempts. That led Sirius to examine himself in a mirror where he discovered the seven beads in his chest around his neck, as well as the small strip of silver around the back of his left ear. (Though this one didn't seem very large, Sirius assumed it went deeper than he could see.) By the end of the hour together, Hagrid was at least willing to speak to him though was reserving judgment on his innocence until the trial. "The last thing I saw before I woke up here was the aliens destroying Azkaban down to bedrock, what are you doing here?"

Hagrid was quiet for a moment before he spoke up. "These 'aliens' took the Ministry building a few days after they announced er'yone was now part of their Empire. Headmaster Dumbledore put a Fidelius up and brought everyone from Hogsmeade into th'castle, but one o 'em got in anyway. Somhow. I got sennanced to six weeks fer attacking one o' the Empire's soldiers. Would'a been worse, but they went easy on me since I was defend'n a school'n the students."

Sirius cut in. "They must have been huge to do that to you."

Hagrid blushed, obviously embarrassed. "Actually it was one woman, shorter'n you. But she was powerfully magical and must'a been using magic to make her stronger 'cause she had a mean right hook." Sirius was listening quietly as Hagrid went on. "Dumbledore called her a demon, but I ain't so sure that's what she was. I know fer a fact calling her one made her mighty angry."

Sirius replied. "I don't think they're demons Hagrid, but they are creatures from other worlds. I saw a creature that could have been a cousin of Earth's extinct Lamia in this place's Infirmary, and at least six other species when they were emptying Azkaban, even a dragon that was healing with magical flames. Do you have any idea where we are? I was just told it was 'Astria Prison,' nothing else."

When Hagrid had no idea either, (the large man had been unconscious when he was brought in) the two decided to turn in for the night. The next morning they were served food Hagrid told him was called 'ration bars' through the cell's bars. They didn't taste great, but compared to Azkaban's menu they were delightful. After being given time to eat, with water from the cell's sink (glasses had been provided, charmed indestructible and self-cleaning) the cell's doors opened and a guard informed them they were to make their way to the prison's exterior. Both men were confused but did as they were told, Sirius desperate not to lose his chance for a trial. As they walked, he saw many of those sentenced to Azkaban walking with them, along with others he'd never seen before. The disparate nationalities of the prisoners made him suspect that more than one prison had been closed and moved to this place; Sirius still had no idea where they were, the only clue so far was that the walls were metal and obviously brand-new.

They were obviously being herded to an assembly area, and soon enough they entered a large room with guards lining the walls. On a scaffolding along one wall, a human-shaped man that looked like he had dragons in his family tree came out and spoke when the room was full. "I am Tarenic, Warden of this prison. You are prisoners here for however long your sentences last. While you are here you will work every day. Rewards for labor include better meals and access to information from beyond the prison walls. Each of you will now be given a wand. Compared to others you may have used in the past these will be a poor fit until they adapt to you, but will be a superior fit once they have. Some of you have discovered what happens when you try to fight another prisoner, let me assure you the same thing happens in any escape attempt. Not that escape from Astria is even possible." With that, the massive doors that formed an entire wall of the room rumbled as they unlocked and slid open. "Welcome to Astria Prison. Every day of your stay you will be working to conjure water, rock, and air. Get your wand and get to work."

Looking out the doors, Sirius and Hagrid felt their jaws drop. Their prison wasn't anywhere on Earth, it was in space. Neither man had ever seen so many stars before, so it took them a moment to notice the asteroid floating nearby, partly under the prison. It wasn't small, in fact it was easily five miles long, the oblong shape slowly turning as it floated. As they numbly joined the queue to receive a wand, the warden spoke again. "Unlike your prisons on Earth, here you will be accomplishing something useful. Astria is currently nothing but an asteroid we hauled into a stable orbit around the local star. You will permanently conjure material until it becomes a planet, at which point the prison will be moved and the process will repeat. While permanently conjuring air or rock is beyond most of you right now, conjuring water is not so you will start there. There is a barrier around the asteroid to hold air in, as material is added this barrier will expand. Magical travel of any kind is impossible within the barrier, and the vacuum will kill you if you leave it."

It turned out that most of the wands were exactly the same, like they were mass-produced. Hagrid received one several sizes larger than the other prisoners and marveled briefly at the gray composite material as they followed other prisoners into the 'yard,' which turned out to be a metal platform which had gravity and many large holes through which one could see the asteroid floating freely underfoot. Hagrid and Sirius stuck together, if for no other reason than they knew each other and the other former Azkaban inmates were not giving either of them friendly looks. Sirius was tempted to start throwing curses when he recognized the Lestrange brothers, but they responded quicker, attempting to send a Killing Curse at him. Both men fell to the ground screaming as they were electrocuted by their implants. Only a moment later a guard walked over and confiscated their wands before he grabbed both men by their ankles and drug them off to solitary confinement. There was no further announcement, but most of the prisoners got the message. Hagrid looked at Sirius contemplatively, and spoke in a low voice. "They were'n aiming at me. I remember those two, they tortured the Longbottoms into insanity with a few others."

"If this Empire can repair most of what Azkaban did to my body in a few days, maybe they can do something for Frank and Alice? I wasn't really close with them but I know they didn't deserve that."

Instructions for a simple water-conjuring charm were suddenly projected in front of their eyes, where the translations had been appearing. As the prisoners began to cast water-summoning charms, the two former friends walked over to a hole of their own. Sirius started with the charm he'd learned at Hogwarts, then tried the spell being shown, which turned out to be easier and produced a little more water. Seeing Hagrid struggling, Sirius remembered that he'd had his wand snapped in the forties. So, without any motive other than helping someone who'd once been a friend, Sirius walked Hagrid through the spell. As time passed, both noticed but said nothing about the other wizards who began to hover around them, listening in to Sirius explaining the spell. Several hours later, they were escorted back into Astria Prison for lunch. Hagrid had asked how the conjured material had been flowing down, if there really shouldn't have been any strict sense of 'down' where they were. The asteroid was obviously floating and slowly spinning, after all. Sirius answered him. "You know those fancy expanded trunks? The good ones have a charm where if you tip them on their side or upside down everything inside stays put, it keeps the same 'pull' down. They must have enchanted that big rock the same way. The prisoners are probably powering some kind of charm until it gets enough material for things to stay put on their own."

~/*\~

Hermione Granger was anxiously waiting for her first lesson in magic to begin. Both her parents had driven her, just as they had for the visit to the medical pyramid a town over. That hadn't exactly been fun, and her hand strayed to the beads around her neck as she remembered. 'Doing her part' at least made it sound like she was helping, and there were a lot of benefits to the three implants she'd been given, though her mother and the nurse had explained that it would be a while before the third one was useful. While Hermione had gotten used to the standard interface and quickly gotten lost in reading anything she could get her hands on, (to an eleven year old girl with a love of books, there seemed to be an endless amount of science and history texts to read) her parents had gotten a 'check-up' as well. Hermione was sad to learn that her parents had wanted more children but hadn't been able to have more after she was born. But apparently thanks to the nice Imperial doctor (Who looked like a scaly woman with a tail and wings!) her parents could have as many children as they wanted now.

As she eagerly waited for the class to begin, Hermione bounced in the car they were waiting in since it looked like it could rain any moment. She glanced at her parents and smiled. She knew they'd been worried, but in the last few days her mom seemed happier while her dad had seemed more tired than usual. About half an hour before the class was supposed to begin, it began to rain; they were early because Hermione learning to control her magic was mandatory and the family didn't want to get dragged to the park. Hermione groaned, but luckily her parents decided to wait and see what happened. Ten minutes before the class was supposed to begin, a massive glowing rectangle snapped into being above the entire park, and in the moment before water started to pour over the edges, Hermione saw a number of imperial soldiers wearing the fancier armor they used when interacting with the public. There was a sudden light show when one of the figures formed a ball of glowing orange light between her hands and threw it into the barrier floating above the park. Somehow, the barrier absorbed the light and became hot enough that every drop of rain hitting it instantly boiled away instead.

Both of her parents were impressed, and that was when they decided to get out of their car. They moved towards the soldier who had commandeered one of the outdoor grills set in cement to build a small fire with deadwood from one of the park's massive oak trees. Despite his best efforts at using a laser tool of some sort to ignite the pile of wood, he was making no progress until one of the others in armor walked over and conjured a ball of fire, dropping it onto the wood. As they looked around, more and more families were entering the park with nervous expressions. Hermione's jaw dropped when a stern-looking woman with a monocle wearing a robe seemed to twist into existence with two little girls, one blonde and one with strawberry blonde hair. Several more families twisted into existence, most of them looking very unhappy to be here. But that was as much attention as she could spare, because then a familiar voice was calling for the children to gather together near a space where some kind of magic was making the grass steam and simple desks of orange glowing light were flickering into being. Hermione led her parents over as she recognized Ferisa from her visit the week before.

"Good morning everyone. Students, please have a seat at a desk and we'll get started shortly. Parents, please remain off to the side, we'll provide you seating in a few moments." True to Ferisa's word, one of the guards, the same one that had created the barrier keeping the rain away, walked over as Ferisa was handing out slim boxes to the students. While most of the magicals refused to join the mundane parents and transfigured their own crude furniture on the other side of the students, Amelia Bones decided to join the muggle side. Sitting down on a large and cushy conjured couch with a small ball of orange fire at a safe distance (but still appreciated for the warmth it gave) the mundane families observed the woman as she joined them. None of them said much, simply observing the class as Ferisa handed out boxes containing wands, and began speaking once the last was handed out. "These are a little different from what are produced on Earth, but they will serve you well. We'll get to know each other after lunch, but for now please listen and I will teach you your first spell."

Amelia, seated on the edge of the group of muggle parents, spoke up as she watched. "She's not a bad teacher. I don't recognize that spell but it's similar to the first one I learned."

Amelia drew her wand and lit the tip silently. She answered questions from the group as they watched the children make their first attempts at magic. After a half-dozen tries, Hermione cheered when she was the first to create a small ball of light that floated in the air briefly before it winked out, and her parents chuckled warmly at her excitement. Ferisa only encouraged Hermione to keep practicing, explaining that this was a very versatile spell that could be made to do all sorts of things. By the time the students broke for a lunch of cold sandwiches and hot soup that had been ordered from a nearby restaurant by the watching soldiers, Hermione had made her little ball of light move and turn blue. It was a very excited little girl that ate lunch next to her new friend, Susan Bones.

For the most part, the rest of the day went well as fifteen children got to know each other, their instructor, and began perfecting their first spell. As the day dragged on, other people had noticed the obvious spectacle and came to watch. The soldiers had informed those watching the park that it was closed until three that afternoon, but they were free to watch as long as they remained unobtrusive. After lunch, while the students got to know each other, a protest against magicals began to form, some of the quickly forming mob even waving signs that said 'burn the witch.' The soldier who had created the barrier over the park and conjured furniture for the families conjured a wall to keep the students from seeing the mob, and walked to a few feet in front of them calmly while his fellows prevented anyone from entering the park. "Disperse or you will be arrested. Stupidity and blind hatred is unbecoming of citizens of the Golden Star Empire."

The mob did not disperse, and attempted to rush the speaker in a blind rage. They did not know the alien was a Class Five magical, commonly referred to as 'Space Class.' They realized the man they attacked was probably a magical himself, and not a weak example, when he raised glowing hands for a moment and the entire mob was teleported to a detention facility in the North American desert near Phoenix, Arizona. Most of them fainted from heat stroke as they were taken into custody thanks to the wildly different climate, but received treatment once in custody.

While this event would be aired on all of Earth's news networks, the Golden Star's representatives explained it simply: The outdoor lessons are being used to get the public more comfortable with the existence of magic. The public is free to watch as long as they do not harass the children. Screaming and waving signs that read 'burn the witch' is not an appropriate way to act around children. With this and other similar events, the Empire quickly gained a reputation as strongly protective of children of every species, and that turned out to be a position most people could respect.

~/*\~

Sirius ended up waiting three weeks for his first meeting with a representative of the Golden Star's law enforcement division. He was tempted to complain loudly, but his first thought on meeting the man was that he desperately needed a few days off and more sleep. As they sat down in a conference room together Sirius thought to himself that it was odd how the man looked entirely human, except for his strange golden eyes. The other man spoke first. "Normally we try to rush cases like yours where an innocent man might have been imprisoned falsely, but your world's Ministries were an enormous mess. The good news is that we've already paroled four people who were falsely imprisoned in the lower-security wings of Azkaban. Now, this," Here, the man tapped a perfectly symmetrical golden crystal he'd removed from a case. "is an enchanted item that forces those nearby to speak only the Truth. Note the emphasis, if you try to deceive me in any way the crystal will hurt you until you speak the Truth. That includes trying to deceive me with the use of statements that are individually truthful but spoken in an attempt to deceive."

Sirius chuckled. These last weeks with good (if not especially tasty) food, clean air, and a friend to talk to had him feeling better than he had in years. "Politicians must hate it, if the Ministry had the choice it would be declared a Dark Artifact and destroyed to protect themselves."

"Quite. Now, Sirius: Tell me in your own words about the events of October 31st 1981, the events leading up to it, and the events that led to that street in London where thirteen people died. Do that in whatever order makes the most sense to you."

Sirius spent the next hour telling his story, how he'd been best friends with James, Remus, and Peter in school and the events of the war that they joined when they graduated. The crystal did inflict pain on him several times, when he attempted to embellish or accept blame that wasn't his. By the end he'd broken down in tears twice and was exhausted enough to just climb into bed and sleep. He was asked questions to clarify more than once; but by the time the interrogator was finished packing up the crystal and his notes, he seemed to believe Sirius. "Mr. Black, going forward I will be gathering information to verify your story, but I believe that will be a formality. According to the Law I need to verify your story because criminals sometimes convince themselves they're innocent when they are most definitely not. My first stop will be Remus Lupin, then I will be questioning the Ministry officials who sent you to Azkaban without a trial. Based on your testimony I will also put out an alert for law enforcement to find Peter Pettigrew if he is still alive."

Sirius couldn't help but shake the man's hand, trying to thank him but unable to get the words out. With a kind smile, the man spoke in a comforting tone. "I'm also going to request you begin extensive mind-healing sessions. Are you comfortable with your cell-mate or would you like to be moved into a private cell?"

Sirius shook his head. "Hagrid's a good man, he's just not the smartest guy; a born follower."

Sirius made it back to his cell and collapsed, utterly exhausted. The last thing he said before collapsing was a few words to Hagrid. "They believed me. They're going to investigate and start a manhunt for Peter."

~/*\~

It was another three weeks before Sirius finally got a trial. He was assigned a defender, given a sharply tailored silver robe with black accents, and was escorted to a courtroom inside the prison itself. He might have been upset at the wait, but over the last week he'd seen old enemies, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and even Crouch Jr., who he'd heard died in Azkaban, given cells and forced to work like everyone else. (Astria's asteroid had gained a lake easily twenty feet deep now, and the prisoners had watched amused prison guards dump dozens of aquatic plants into the water below. Sirius thought the water lilies were a nice touch.) His defender led him to one of the tables in front of the judge, an alien with gleaming golden horns and pale skin.

Sirius was confused at the number of people being led in and seated across from him. Crouch Senior, he could understand, since he was probably the man who'd thrown him into Azkaban without a trial. Cornelius Fudge had apparently been one of the responders when Peter had blown up a muggle gas line. Sirius had no idea why Lucius Malfoy was present, wearing his drab prison clothing, nor did he know why Albus Dumbledore was present, also wearing prisoner's clothing. Hagrid and Remus Lupin, a man he hadn't seen in far too long, were the only people to sit on Sirius' side of the courtroom. While he dearly wished to talk to Remus to find out how Harry was doing, there was a silencing charm in effect to prevent the witnesses from discussing the trial before they were up on the stands. Finally the last person was escorted in and Sirius felt a rush of hot, burning hatred well up in his chest as he saw Peter Pettigrew, looking more rat-like than he remembered, for the first time since the night the little rat bastard had faked his death. As he tried to stand to at least administer a beating, his defender firmly grabbed his shoulder and kept him seated.

Soon, the courtroom was called to order, and the Judge spoke to the small orbs that Sirius's defender whispered were cameras, apparently this trial was being broadcast to huge screens in Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, and Diagon Alley, in addition to anyone else who wanted to 'tune in.' "When the Golden Star Empire integrates a new world, all prisoners have the right to request a new trial that will be judged under Imperial Law. During the cleansing of Azkaban Prison, Sirius Black requested to be given a trial. He claimed that he had never received one before and would have been released if he had. Our investigation proved Sirius had indeed never been given a trial, so we are here now to rectify that oversight. Three weeks ago, Sirius Black met with an investigator, and his claims have been examined in depth. We are here today to determine the Truth and enact Justice. The case of the Golden Star Empire versus Sirius Black begins now."

Sirius had no idea how trials in the 'Empire' usually went, but today the defense went first and Remus was called to the stand. Sirius smirked at the golden crystal embedded into the table in front of the witness' chair, that should make things interesting. Remus answered questions, giving everyone a clear picture of how the four Marauders had met and become inseparable. The last part of Remus' testimony caused quite a stir. "Remus, given what you knew about your friends at the time, if you had incontrovertible proof that one of the three others was a traitor but did not know which one, who would your first suspect be?"

Remus fought with the truth-stone for a moment before answering. "Peter! I trusted him and never wanted to admit it, but he was a coward who always liked having strong friends."

"Given the facts of the case, with the only physical remains of Pettigrew being a cleanly-severed finger and being intimately familiar with his ability to turn into a rat, did you ever suspect Sirius of being innocent?"

What happened next was painful for Sirius to watch. Remus replied quickly. "No." At which point the golden enchanted crystal glowed red, and Remus began to sweat and shake his head. "No… I never did, but I should have… why didn't I?"

Still, the truth-stone glowed red and began to cause the werewolf significant pain. The judge called for a pause and the artifact was removed while several mind-healers entered the room. After a short delay, the more experienced one sat in the witness' chair himself with the truth-stone active once more. "Remus Lupin appears to have, at least, had his memory altered. It is unlikely the memory in question can be retrieved and I would recommend he not be questioned under a Truth-Stone further until after extensive treatment has taken place."

It only took the judge a moment to make a decision. "Remus Lupin, you are excused from further testimony, though what you have already given remains on the record. You may remain to observe the trial if you so wish."

Sirius was glad his fellow Marauder stayed. Then again the fact that Peter Pettigrew was sitting across the room, still missing the finger he'd cut off, may have spoken towards Sirius' innocence. The trial got underway once more. Crouch Sr. was questioned about the night Sirius had been arrested. Did he check the mundane witnesses for a Confounding Charm? No. Did he find any evidence that Peter was dead other than the single, cleanly severed finger? No. Why did he refuse to investigate when the crime scene could have been staged with a handful of spells that could easily be learned at Hogwarts? It took him a moment to answer, since he chose to fight the Truth-Stone. "I hate the Blacks! All that wealth and prestige when they're nothing but inbred trash! I hated Sirius even more than the others because he worked with the Aurors during the war and he kept showing us up, throwing himself into danger and doing more to fight the Death Eaters than we ever managed! I never cared if he was guilty or innocent, I just wanted him to suffer!"

When neither side of the trial had anything else to ask, the Judge spoke. "You are dismissed Bartholomew Crouch. Be aware your upcoming trial for illegally removing a dangerous criminal from Azkaban Prison is hereby expanded to include your actions in the case of Sirius Black."

Cornelius Fudge was the next one on the stand, and answered many of the same questions regarding what he saw the night Sirius Black was arrested. He too sweated when asked the question of why he said nothing about the miscarriage of justice. Finally he blurted out: "I was paid! Lucius Malfoy wanted his son to inherit the Black Estate and Sirius was in the way! My first report, where I questioned the legality and thin evidence in the case got leaked and Lucius offered me a lot of money to change my story and bury any exonerating evidence that came to light!"

Fudge was also informed that his upcoming trial for bribery in regards to his efforts to ensure the many 'Imperious victims' never received questioning under Veritaserum now included charges for false witness and illegal incarceration. Lucius Malfoy went next, and with the air of a man who knew he'd been beaten, calmly admitted he had bribed the Minister of a government that no longer existed to keep Sirius in prison for financial and political gain, among several other politicians. Albus Dumbledore was next, and Sirius was surprised when a technician replaced the Truth-Stone with an identical crystal three times the size. The Judge spoke up as the former Headmaster was escorted to the witness' chair. "To those watching, the following testimony will air after a ten minute delay. Albus Dumbledore has proven himself to have the mental fortitude to resist the standard Truth-Stone's push to speak truthfully without obfuscation, double-speak, or lying by speaking the truth to the point where the stone had to be deactivated before it killed him. This crystal is a more powerful version which will get the truth without permanently injuring him, but it may be unpleasant to watch. Albus Dumbledore, we will get the truth out of you today, but you will experience great discomfort if you continue to attempt your deceptions."

For Sirius, watching the headmaster's testimony was painful. He had the urge to comfort Remus when the prosecutor made an off-hand question about why he'd allowed a werewolf to attend Hogwarts. Albus' answer about giving Remus an honest chance stopped halfway with a choking sound. It took ten long, agonizing minutes of torture before Albus collapsed, his head hitting the table in front of him and admitted that the only reason Remus had been admitted was that Albus wanted to mold the boy into a useful tool, a spy to go where his other agents could not. That set the tone for most of Albus' interrogation as the man slowly fought the Truth-Stone less and less. He did fight extremely hard when the defense asked its last question of him. "Albus, in the Golden Star's armed forces loyalty, to both the Empire and to your fellow soldiers, is regarded as the most important value. Despite any doubts you may have had, it cannot be denied that Sirius fought, bled, and risked his life for your 'Order of the Phoenix' in defense of the innocent. Please tell the court why you did not do him the courtesy of at least ensuring he had a fair trial."

This time, Albus Dumbledore endured ten minutes of torture both physical and mental before he gave in and answered. "I always suspected Sirius wasn't the secret keeper! The night I cast the Fidelius I knew the man who took the secret had used polyjuice potion and so had the man who looked like Peter. I said nothing because I was insulted that the Potters felt they couldn't trust me and was glad I'd kept my silence when James and Lily died." Even now that he was spilling his secrets, Albus Dumbledore tried to rally and fight the truth-seeking artifact once more, but it wasn't a fight he could win. "I let Sirius rot in Azkaban when I suspected he was innocent because he would never have allowed my plans for young Harry to go forward!"

Sirius jumped to his feet at that and bellowed: "What the hell have you done to my godson, you senile old fool!"

A guard had to step forward to restrain Sirius, who kept trying to claw his way towards the Headmaster. His defender spoke again. "Sirius, your godson is safe now, but he recently spent eight days at an Imperial medical center being treated for abuse and malnutrition. Albus, this question may be irrelevant to today's case, but what were your plans for young Harry Potter, who was only eighteen months old when he came into your care?"

Albus Dumbledore fought even harder this time, thrashing where he was chained to the witness chair, frothing at the mouth, and bleeding from the nose. When he spoke, every word was choked out, pried from unwilling lips. "Harry Potter had to be raised in a very specific way. If I'd let Sirius, or any magical family raise him, he might have grown into a confident, assertive young man. If he had enough to eat and a loving family behind him, he could have grown too strong, he could have become far too dangerous. There was a great darkness inside the boy, a terrible potential for death and destruction. He needed to be molded, he had to be shaped very carefully so I could guide him to his destiny, to die at the proper time in the proper way! It had to be done! The fact that your empire has undone all my careful work to guide the boy towards his fate reveals your true nature!"

The last words were spoken as a curse, as if Dumbledore had wanted to call the Empire evil but hadn't been allowed to. Sirius again flung himself at the Headmaster, dragging the significantly larger guard with him as he instinctively used magic to bolster his body in his rage. Hagrid, a gentle man and one who had been utterly loyal to Dumbledore since the man had ensured he had a home when his wand had been snapped, had been right behind Sirius. People around the world, and especially in England, saw a godfather who'd been betrayed by a man he'd trusted completely break down in tears screaming at the Headmaster even as he moved a small pile of guards towards Albus. His shouts of 'We trusted you! I trusted you!' and 'You hurt my godson, I'll kill you!' were heard and made just as much of an impact as Dumbledore's admission of knowingly placing a defenseless toddler in an abusive home to break the boy's spirit.

~/*\~

It was some time before the court was brought back to order after Dumbledore's testimony. Compared to that, Hagrid's testimony of the night he found Sirius Black carrying a child out of a ruined house and convinced Sirius to let him bring the child to Dumbledore and even Peter Pettigrew's testimony that he had chosen to serve Voldemort, betray the Potters, and fake his own death, thus landing Sirius in Azkaban, were not nearly as dramatic. (The fact that Peter had the Dark Lord's wand in a pocket when he was captured spoke for itself.) The Judge spoke again after Pettigrew was taken out of the witness chair. "Usually we would have the defendant take the stand now, however Mr. Black is still suffering from a decade of torture at the hands of the monstrous creatures the defunct Ministry of Magic employed at their prison to reduce costs. Instead, the defense has provided a recording of Sirius' initial interview, which made use of a Truth-Stone."

With the facts of the case uncovered and the truth uncovered, Sirius was exonerated completely, and save for Remus and Hagrid, all the others who gave testimony had incriminated themselves further. Remus was escorted out of the prison with a promise to speak soon. The judge's ruling was that Sirius was to be released immediately and receive mandatory sessions with a mind healer as the only condition of his freedom. Sirius could have argued, but even he could tell that a decade with the Dementors had left their mark. As Sirius and Hagrid walked out of the courtroom, the prison's Warden met them and told both men to join him. "Hagrid, you're being released as well. I trust you're going to think carefully before assaulting members of the Imperial military again?"

Hagrid answered him quickly. "Yes. I don't know why but lately it's been easier to think."

The warden replied with a light tone. "Your initial medical report showed your brain's development was a little stunted. Between a relatively simple treatment and your implants guiding your own magic to help, your brain is working better. Before you two catch the next transport to Earth, I thought you might want to see something."

Waiting in the hall outside the cell they'd shared for weeks, Sirius watched as four burly guards muscled Crouch Sr. and Peter Pettigrew into the same cell he'd called home since being released from the prison's Infirmary. While Peter's animagus form could easily slip through the cell's bars, Sirius had first-hand experience that the implants used to control prisoners did not disappear when he turned into a dog, they simply changed shape with him. Sirius and Hagrid were then escorted to a small cargo ship that ferried both prisoners and supplies to and from Astria Prison. Sirius chucked at seeing the tank of fish being carefully unloaded as the two waited to board. The warden noticed and spoke. "These are supposed to be the hardiest edible fish on Earth, and should eat the algae and plants starting to choke the water below us. When we build up a bigger ocean and more fish we'll be moving mundane prisoners onto a floating prison on the surface so they can harvest the fish to feed both prisons as the magicals continue building a planet, stone by stone. Nice and efficient, nothing wasted. Just the way it should be."

Hagrid's attempt to return the wand he'd been issued was rebuffed as they waited for their ride to finish offloading cargo. "Those wands have bonded to you now so they're yours to keep. Make good use of them."

Sirius shrugged, now that he was out, he really didn't know what to say or do, other than contact his godson as soon as he was back on Earth. (Outgoing communications from the prison were heavily restricted.) It turned out Remus had been loaded onto an earlier transport that had brought in prisoners from Australia. The Warden's final words let him know that he was being given an apartment for the next six months while he completed the mandatory counseling and mind-healing sessions. At least he wouldn't have to pay for them.

~/*\~

By the time Sirius made it to his new apartment somewhere in London (it was either this or showing up at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, which he apparently owned now) it was late enough to be early and he was exhausted by his day. During the flight in an honest to god spaceship he'd started to learn how to use the computer interface that every free citizen of the Empire had access to and he'd been stuck on the 'help' screen for a rather long time. Now though, he was finally alone and could sink down into a comfortable couch. "Interface! Contact Harry James Potter. With a video call please."

First the words 'Searching' were projected in front of Sirius, then 'Querying Network,' and finally Sirius spent ten minutes staring at 'Seeking Authorization from Guardian.' When Sirius was almost ready to start shouting, the displayed words changed again to 'Connecting.' After just a few more moments, a projection that took up the entire wall Sirius was facing sprang into being and Sirius found himself looking at a dimly lit child's bedroom. It wasn't personalized much, but there were a few plants that even he thought looked interesting resting on shelves, decorative tables and a desk. At first Sirius wondered if Harry wasn't in right now, but then a lump on the bed moved, and Sirius saw a groggy little boy with a truly impressive case of bed-hair literally roll out of bed and turn towards a digital clock with squinted eyes. "It isn't time for class yet, what's going on?"

Sirius waited until his godson turned to look at him before speaking. "Hello Harry, my name is Sirius Black. Your parents wanted me to look after you if they weren't able to. I was thrown into prison without a trial or even a chance to tell anyone I was innocent, but the Empire just gave me a trial earlier today."

Sirius spent the next hour speaking to his godson, laughing and crying together. He told Harry as much about his parents as he could, and promised Harry that he would do everything he could to help him. By the time Harry said he had to get ready for class, Sirius had just explained he wasn't allowed to take custody of him until healers decided he was healthy and 'stable.' Harry's response to that was enough to shock a drowsy Sirius back to full alertness. "You're where?!"

~/*\~

Newsreels: Breaking New Ground

~/*\~

"Good evening and welcome to the nightly news. I'm Shia Runsocris, and today I'm happy to introduce my new co-host. Kodiak Antonov is a native of this reality's Earth and I'm looking forward to working with him."

Kodiak was a solidly built young man wearing a traditional blazer and sports jacket; his blue eyes were sharp and intelligent. His brown hair was short and precisely trimmed, just like his beard. With a smile and a surprisingly soft Russian accent, Kodiak replied. "I am glad to be here as well. For our first story tonight, let's start with something from my homeland. Chernobyl, the site of Earth's worst nuclear accident to date, was quarantined when the Empire took control of our world. Today that blight on our world is no more. After isolating the area and meticulously ensuring no sapient life was inside the exclusion zone, the entire area was encased in an energy field and pulled into orbit." Kodiak gestured and images flickered onto the wall behind him, showing a huge piece of land floating into the air, leaving behind a large crater. "The irradiated material is due to be processed at the Material Processing Station under construction in orbit, where it will become part of the Blue Shield, the first Undaunted class battleship our world provides to the war effort. The crater left behind is already filling with water and will be filled with conjured rock and soil created by local magicals. As a reminder, the Undaunted class is the largest ship the Imperial navy currently builds, is approximately three kilometers long, one wide, and carries enough armaments to reduce a solar system to ash in hours."

Shia smiled at her co-host and spoke next. "Another restoration effort is now underway in the Pacific Ocean, where a massive patch of floating garbage has been building for years. Two skimmer ships, four water filtration ships, twenty-five barges, and five multipurpose submersibles have been launched from the coastal cities where they were produced by local fabricators. Over the next ten years, this growing fleet will travel Earth's waterways, leaving nothing but pristine water and sand in their wake. All refuse removed from Earth's oceans will be delivered to the nearest processing facility where it will be processed into useful materials, then those materials will either be turned into consumer goods or military hardware."

Kodiak spoke next. "In local news beyond Earth, Ahn'tamet's administration has released the approved plans for local star systems, with initial construction efforts already underway. The star known as Wolf-359 is unsuitable for habitation due to the star's instability and radiation, so the barren worlds orbiting the star have been assigned orbital processing facilities which will collect all matter from the planets and use that material to begin construction of a Solar Harvesting Sphere, a space station similar to the theoretical structure known as a Dyson Sphere. Construction will begin with a single Solar Collection Array, which when complete will use the star's energy to turn material from the barren planets as well as the gathered energy and matter emissions of Wolf-359 into a second collection array. Then in time two will become four, four will become eight, and so on until the growing grid encompasses the entire star. Once the project is complete in forty-five years, the integrated shipyards on the Solar Harvesting Sphere are expected to produce two to three thousand Voidbreaker class battleships, depending on the star's output, every year until Wolf-359 is consumed entirely in approximately 2,500 years. Voidbreaker ships are smaller than the Undaunted class at about 1.5 kilometers long and serve as battleship/carrier hybrids. In addition to the industrial facilities, the Sphere will also contain work and housing for one trillion Imperial citizens when complete. Once Wolf-359 has been entirely converted to useful material, magicals living in the Sphere will begin work on conjuring a new star."

Shia chuckled and began to speak. "Construction projects on that scale are difficult to imagine. Until the star is encased efforts will be entirely focused on the industrial areas, but once the sphere is complete it will contain habitation domes with space for every career and amenity you could find on any planet in the Empire will be constructed. This is why the Empire provides so many incentives to have a large family, across every reality these structures are being built faster faster than population growth can keep up. The Wolf-359 Sphere has been designated as an Earth population center, meaning that Imperial Demographics will keep the station's population to at least seventy-five percent Earth-native species."

Kodiak nodded at her and began speaking. "Speaking of population needs, artificial magnetic fields have gone up around five planets in the Alpha Centauri system and will remain in place until the planets can produce their own protective fields. Utility ships will arrive in Centauri in two months and begin harvesting asteroids and moons from the system's gas giant to construct moons to create internal dynamos to power future magnetic fields. Due to the immediate need for more magicals to draw matter and energy from our enemy's holding dimensions, these planets are slated as reserves for all of Earth's magical species. Colonization is open to anyone who is either magical themselves, is in a committed relationship with a magical, or is willing to commit to a relationship and start a family. Three million magical colonists from human-compatible species, most of them single females, are expected to arrive from three different realities in the next two weeks as part of the incentives program the Empire uses to build up new worlds.

"Climate blueprints for these five worlds are mostly jungle, grassland, and shallow oceans. They will be dry to start, at least until the new colonists can conjure enough water to get a rain cycle started. However the standard habitation dome provides a comfortable and climate controlled working environment. If you are interested in living and working on either Wolf 359 or Alpha Centauri, you may apply for residence from any interface."

Shia spoke up, closing out the news broadcast. "This has been the day's news. Be sure to check your nearest interface tomorrow, as the initial plans for Earth's new transit network will be released, as well as planned locations for new towns in domes under the Pacific ocean."

~/*\~

A/N: And we're done with the last of the introduction chapters. Next chapter is Harry centric and has a time skip. Hope everyone's enjoying the fic. Please leave a review, every one motivates me to keep writing!

Chapter Text

From here on out the story is mostly Harry-centric, there's stuff with the supporting cast, but its mostly all about him.

~/*\~

Chapter 4: Life on the Dawn

~/*\~

Harry Potter had experienced none of the strife his home planet had gone through over the last six months. After a week in a comfortable private hospital room where the nurses often spoke with him, especially during his aunt and uncle's trial, Harry had found himself on a ship leaving both the world and galaxy of his birth. Over the last six months the physical signs of abuse had entirely disappeared from his body and while he still wasn't quite the person he would have been if he'd grown up in a loving home mentally, Harry was vastly improved. He had gained confidence now that he was no longer smaller than everyone else his age and was starting to gain a healthy amount of muscle on his wiry frame. The fact that he was keeping up with the other students in both classwork and spellwork while being the youngest by two years didn't hurt his new confidence either.

It had been an exhausting but exhilarating six months. Harry got along well with most of his class, except for a French girl that acted as if everyone should bow to her, and he even had a few close friends. Harry was being taught with twenty-five other kids between thirteen and fifteen. Most of them were the individuals from Earth with the highest magical potential in their age group, along with five aliens. Harry was close friends with both a Kitsune from Earth named Dahlia and an alien elf named Madral Stormrage.

At fifteen Dahlia was the oldest student and was warm but very shy. Her childhood before the Empire came hadn't been the best, there had been a lot of pressure on her to learn everything, to be the smartest, most vicious Kitsune she could be. Really though, Dahlia was a sweet, quiet girl who liked it when you scratched the pointed ears on top of her head. Most of the time she looked like a porcelain-skinned human girl with rusty-red pointed ears peeking out of her dark brown hair with a matching tail; her other form was currently that of a small red fox. Harry had been surprised to learn that the fox's size was variable, ranging from the same size as mundane foxes to the size of a lion. Most Kitsune apparently kept their forms small to blend in better. The first night away from Earth, Dahlia had left her room and had been exploring the section of the ship the students had access to. Harry hadn't been able to sleep either, and had run into her.

They had gone to the dining hall and taken some fruit back to Harry's room where they'd talked for hours and Harry had listened to how she did and didn't miss her mother. Harry could sort of understand, he didn't want to go back to the Dursleys but everything here was so unfamiliar. Dahlia had stayed in his room that night, the two children taking comfort in each other as Dahlia slept in her small fox form in Harry's lap as he leaned back against his bed. From there they had quickly decided to be friends and spent time together often.

Madral Stormrage was an elf, to be technical he was a Night Elf or Kaldorei as his people called themselves. Madral had dark purple skin, ears that were long but he had mentioned they were shorter than most of his kind, and golden glowing eyes. He was the tallest student by far, fourteen, and easily the best at combat when the students had practice spars. He was bold enough for all three of them, and their group got along very well. Madral often captured the attention of not only Dahlia and Harry, but many of the other students as he told stories of his often-embattled home world. Harry's favorite was the story of how his mom and dad got together. His father had been imprisoned for creating a beneficial but scary magical artifact at the end of a war with an invading army of demons. Seven hundred years later the demons attacked again and while his father was interrogated for the best ways to kill them, he convinced his love interest and brother's girlfriend to let him fight and die for their people. He made a name for himself and eventually even won his love's heart when his brother went to sleep for a thousand years, because apparently that was something 'druids' did.

Harry had first interacted with Madral when the students were officially meeting each other as the Just Before Dawn pulled out of Earth's orbit and began the journey to its next destination. Of the twenty from Earth they had been split fairly evenly between Asian, African, American, (North and South) and European origins. The rude Fleur Delacour and a heavyset, very muscular boy from Bulgaria named Victor Krum had both asked Harry if he was the Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, completely confusing him. Madral had introduced himself and asked if something was being lost in translation, "Because generally people expect boys to live."

When the wizarding world's fascination with him came to light, Harry just shrugged. "My aunt and uncle always told me my parents were worthless drunks that died in a car crash they caused. But they were bad people so they might have lied to me."

When that didn't appease either of them, Harry decided maybe it wasn't so bad the Empire was forcing all the 'witches' and 'wizards' to do something useful. Madral weighed in after hearing a description of the curse Harry was supposed to be the only survivor of. "It sounds like a spell that uses Fel magic to separate your soul from your body. Have your people never invented a defense against Fel magic? Dad taught that to me when I was seven just in case a demon attacked me for being his kid. Not that there was ever much chance of that, when the original 'demon hunter' has thousands of kids there tend not to be many demons running around."

(Madral came from a big family. Since his parents had married they tended to have another child every few years like clockwork, and given the two had enjoyed millennia of wedded bliss thanks to their people's immortality… Well, family gatherings were lively and large.)

Before the Empire came, physical fitness had not been seen as very important to human magicals, but Harry and the others were now expected to be physically fit. Madral had worked with both Harry and Dahlia to help them get into shape, but as they saw the benefits for themselves neither one really complained. The three spent a lot of time hiking the rather vertical trail on the ship's recreation of a mountainous area when their group had access to it. That place would always have good memories for Harry, even if he hadn't enjoyed learning to trap and clean rabbits and fish. Cooking and eating them around a small fire with his friends was actually a lot of fun though.

Harry had a huge smile the day that Stalgin had let the three know that Harry and Madral had been assigned to the same planet, and Dahlia had the choice of staying on the same one as well. Stalgin never told the three, but he had argued hard for that, knowing Harry and Dahlia deserved some happiness in their lives. A big part of the project the children were assigned to was to eventually populate their worlds, and he knew that thanks to advice from counselors Harry and Dahlia had been experiencing their first 'human' contact that wasn't some form of punishment together. (Nothing that wasn't completely innocent, just the normal physical touch most people enjoy from their parents or siblings.)

The only problem with putting the two together was the age difference. According to the files and health data, Dahlia would be entering her first reproductive cycle around the time they reached the planet Harry was going to help terraform. Thanks to her biology and the many fertility rituals she'd been forced to undergo, the girl would need to copulate for days and conceive to avoid insanity. Though Dahlia looked like a human sometimes, and others like a fox, she really wasn't either. She was a magical creature, and the different species almost always had quirks of some kind.

~/*\~

Four months later, and after ten months onboard, Harry knew his time on the 'Just Before Dawn' was coming to a close in less than a month now. Although he would miss Stalgin and the other teachers who were so patient as he learned the spells and general knowledge he'd need, he was also more than a little excited to get to his destination. Harry had enjoyed learning the story of how the ship had gotten its name; apparently the phrase 'It's always darkest just before dawn' wasn't just a human idiom, one of the ten original species of the Empire had used it as well. It gave the whole experience a hopeful feeling.

As he waited for class to start, he idly twirled the wand he'd been given in his right hand even as his left gently scratched Dahlia's ear as the taller girl leaned against him. For some reason over the last few days she'd become very clingy, almost hungry to share any kind of physical touch. With him, anyway; she had actually snarled when Madral had nearly touched her at dinner last night. Harry certainly didn't mind, his life at Number Four had left him bereft of any touch that wasn't painful so he was happy to make up for lost time with the girl four years older than him. But still, she was acting strange; last night she had slept curled around him after dinner.

In any case, he turned his attention to Stalgin and his three teaching assistants as they entered, right on time. (Not only was the Dawn a teaching ship, the ship's teaching staff was also teaching teachers to teach.) The lessons had always been interesting and were mostly practical, though there was some 'theory' mixed in. Tucking his wand back into the special pocket made for it in his shirt, he briefly reflected on the different foci used in the class; wands tended to be the most common, but there was some variety: Madral tended not to use any at all, though he did occasionally use a black staff covered in glowing blue runes he claimed a dragon dating his favorite sister had given him. Dahlia used a round, emerald gemstone that she usually wore around her neck. One of the students who'd come from South America used a ritual knife. Harry himself used an ash-gray wand with a synthetic outer covering over a nearly unbreakable magic-conducting resin. The wand's core had initially contained a hundred thousand DNA samples from magical creatures but now only contained the heartstring of a Sun Stalker; an alien creature similar to a phoenix and a gryphon. This wand had been incredible, at first he had barely been able to make it spark, but now it channeled magic like it was a part of him; as he used it the most compatible creature's DNA had replicated until it filled the interior space and preserved itself.

Even though most of the students would much rather be home with their families and friends, everyone had learned to pay attention when their instructors spoke. Everything they were teaching was either essential or useful and since every one of them had a computer interface attached to their heads, if their attention wandered the Artificial Intelligence monitoring the class made up the time by giving them dreams of what they missed. While not painful the dreams were uncomfortable in a similar way to someone running their claws on a blackboard; after a few days even the most rebellious students gave in and paid attention, they apparently needed to know this stuff anyway.

Taking center stage, Stalgin began his lecture while the assistant teachers observed and watched the students while manipulating small flickers of energy through their fingers idly. "Today we'll be talking about something you're not likely to encounter often, but is still worth knowing. The ability to see the future is a known ability of some users of magic, and it runs through some species and bloodlines stronger than others. This can manifest in a number of different ways, from especially vivid dreams, a common skill in some magic users called 'combat precognition' which is exactly what it sounds like, to the most well-known: prophecies. Usually a real, true prophecy's only real usefulness is to point out someone with abnormal potential, or who can accomplish something extraordinary. Given how many prophecies are self-fulfilling the only logical response to one is to take note of the people in it.

"Dahlia, Harry, Madral, you three need to pay special attention to this for three reasons. The first one is also the first prophecy we'll be listening to, and it refers to someone who the Empire will be dropping on your world in the second or third wave of colonists."

After listening to a rather rambling voice in a language no one present could actually understand, made compressible only by the handy subtitles provided by their implants, most of the students were confused. Madral was the first one to speak. "So, the only useful part of that was that some individual was capable of bringing 'great change?' How is that useful, isn't everyone technically capable of doing that?"

Several of the teachers laughed quietly at that. Divination wasn't the highest regarded magical art for a reason, and the Golden Star Empire spreading out through the multiverse in its desperate war had broken thousands of even 'true' prophecies. Not always intentionally, but their mission of traversing all of existence and gathering every sentient being together to fight against the forever ravenous Entropy and Void was often a messy process. The Empire's opinion on any conflict other than the pan-dimensional fight for survival was that it could wait until victory had been achieved; since most prophecies involved a local war or conflict of some kind the Empire often disrupted them entirely. That policy usually led to both sides in any given war turning on them, but the Empire was vast, and it was nearly impossible to understand just how vast.

(Since it was founded, the Empire had operated a system where every leader would swear a binding oath to put the Empire's citizens before every other concern. With the advent of the now-common neural implants, if you consented, you could be made to keep your word. And every leader was forced to follow their oaths to the best of their ability; anyone who refused was not allowed power. No one really talked about it, but the Empire wasn't even a cohesive whole anymore, every distinct universe had their own administration that was kept efficient by the oaths of the leaders and worked as smoothly as possible with all the other shards of the Golden Star Empire for mutual defense.

In the universe most of these children came from, the Golden Star Empire was small and relatively weak, little more than a new colony spreading through a galaxy so distant humans had never glimpsed it even with their most powerful telescopes. Still, with the dangers facing the Empire this outpost maintained a vast network of scout ships and sensor relays; this vigilance had reported a problem and the local Empire had moved swiftly. They had sent out a request for help and received it far too late for vast swaths of space. Many worlds that had once teemed with life were now simply gone. A vast amount of blood had been shed before the enemy was stopped about a third of the way through what Earth referred to as the Milky Way galaxy. Earth was absurdly lucky that the enemy had attacked from the farthest side.

Not one planet or star of the Andromeda or Pegasus galaxies had been spared, everything had been consumed. Over two million years would pass before the loss would be visible from Earth; the light from so many stars that no longer existed still traveled the vast emptiness of space.)

"Prophecy is based on probability. The odds that the Empire would hunt a cult of Void worshipers through realities and secure that world were small enough that the prophet didn't see it. That happens a lot, actually. What matters to us is that it points out one individual who for whatever reason, be it ancestry, hard work, talent, willpower, or all of them combined, had the capacity to change his world. That is absolutely the kind of person the Empire wants to grow stronger, father many children, and further the war effort. Next prophecy, Rok."

Rok was the AI assistant that worked with Stalgin. From a projector in the middle of the room came the sound of a distraught human woman in a voice that echoed in a way that really didn't seem human at all. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

"Class, that was a prediction made by Sybill Trelawney, a human with an intermittent ability to see into the future. This is almost certainly a self-fulfilling example, and again all it really does is point out someone with extraordinary potential." Harry was feeling distinctly amused by the lesson so far. Stalgin was a good teacher, and he was able to explain things in a way that was easy to understand.

Harry's amusement lasted until Fleur asked a follow-up question. "On Earth, we had two so-called dark lords in the last century in Europe. I don't know if there's anyone else that might have qualified, but did this have something to do with Voldemort's death in 1981?"

Ah. After talking with Sirius, Harry knew about what had happened to his parents, but the idea that he had caused their deaths made him feel sick. He barely even heard Stalgin speak as Dahlia moved closer to him, pulling him into a hug. "You need to learn to think before you speak, Fleur. Harry, your parents were fighting a war against a madman. He nearly killed them three times before you were born, and if he hadn't died attacking them he would have kept on trying to kill them because they defied him. Your mother somehow used sacrificial magic to create your world's first defense capable of reflecting the nasty piece of Fel magic popular with Earth's magical murderers. Lily Potter was intelligent, motivated, and understood sacrifice. That is exactly the kind of person the Empire wants helping to populate new planets, there's a good chance the Temporal Reclamation team the Empire deployed to Earth's past will rescue her when their mission begins."

Stalgin had to explain briefly what he meant by that. Apparently when the Empire had found out how many magicals had died in the last hundred years, how many magical species had gone extinct, and how many unique magical gifts had been lost, a Temporal Reclamation team had been called in. Three distinct magical races had been lost: Earth's Harpies, Lamia, and the Neko, a race similar to Kitsune replacing 'fox' with 'tiger' and instead of being gifted with illusions they were physically faster and stronger. To make a long explanation short, a Reclamation team was usually composed of ten especially long-lived individuals with talents that let them blend in anywhere. They would make use of both magic and technology to traverse the recent past of worlds like Earth when something potentially valuable to the war effort had been lost. Lily Potter had been marked as a particularly valuable individual, so once the team had compiled as much information as possible, they would travel back far enough to establish themselves as the kind of people you walk by in a crowd and never really notice. During the last one hundred years, the rough limit for the Empire's version of safe time travel, targets ranging from Ariana Dumbledore to the last members of three species of near-human sapient species would be collected and find their way into the modern day.

With some effort, Stalgin got the lecture back on track, though Harry had trouble following it. Dahlia had gone from simply holding him to rubbing her head against his neck as she held him close. Oddly, she didn't even seem to be consciously aware of what she was doing, as her eyes were following the lecture. Harry forced his attention to the projector as the room dimmed and the image of an ancient gray-haired Kitsune, eyes milky white and blind spoke from a chair, voice rasping she spoke and struggled for breath. "Hoshi of the Forlorn Isle… Your next daughter will be your last… She will smile in her youth, but bear a heavy burden… She and her daughters will either lead our people back to their proper place... Or they will lead us into extinction…"

In a more dramatic ending than the previous prophecy, the old Kitsune let out a death rattle and collapsed into her chair, eyes open but seeing nothing. After that the projection disappeared and the room's lighting returned to normal. Seeing all the class looking at her, Dahlia blushed madly and reflexively took her other form. Despite the legends that said the Kitsune were foxes capable of taking a human form, the actual mechanism was closer to the wizard's Animagus Transformation, save that both forms were a Kitsune's 'real' form. Once they learned how, Kitsune could stay in either form for as long as they wanted without any ill effects.

As Harry gained a warm furry scarf, Stalgin continued his lecture again. "In Dahlia's case, her mother attempted to force the prophecy in a certain direction but made a mistake. Her perspective was flawed and her actions to push her people 'to their proper place' would have led Dahlia to being forced into ritual magic that granted power in exchange for the sacrifice of innocent lives. Those types of rituals are illegal under Imperial law not just because it is immoral to take a life but because they are self-destructive; magic involving lives forcibly taken always has a negative effect on the caster. That can be anything from the loss of empathy and rationality to horrific physical effects. Because that prophecy warns of the extinction of her species, Imperial law states we must act to prevent that outcome, even if this particular prophecy was probably invalidated by the arrival of the Empire."

Victor Krum grumbled loudly at that. "Because we are essential to war."

Stalgin didn't directly reply, and Harry just kept his head down and gently stroked Dahlia's fur. He was glad his vocabulary had expanded so much thanks to the computer that was connected to his brain knowing when he didn't understand a word and explaining until he did. It wasn't intrusive, not really. It honestly reminded him of parents answering questions from their kids, but the computer never got tired of the endless threads of questions Harry or the others had. It was a new experience for him, his Aunt had certainly never tolerated any questions from him.

Fleur caught his eye when she drew herself up like she always did when she was going to insult someone. Harry knew she wasn't as human as she usually looked; Fleur hadn't taken her implants keeping her from using her 'allure' on the teachers and other kids very well. Apparently Fleur had discovered how to intensify her natural ability years ago and used it to win arguments and manipulate people. (Still, it wasn't like Harry hated her or anything, even if she was usually a pain to be around. Fleur had been separated from her family to come here, and even though he couldn't imagine missing the Dursleys, Harry knew most people would miss their families if separated. Fleur wasn't evil, just spoiled.)

With a look on her face that Harry thought of as 'the unhappy Frenchwoman' Fleur sneered at the fox now curled around his neck and spoke loudly enough for the entire class to hear. "Is the fact they're both part of a prophecy the reason why the fox is acting like a mongrel in heat with the leetle boy?"

Dahlia actually had less exposure to people then Harry and was shy, you could even call her timid, as a result. In response to Fleur's remark, she simply curled tighter and buried her face in her fluffy tail, pretending as if she really was just a scarf. Harry, on the other hand, was angry. Having friends was a new experience for him and he'd found himself becoming extremely protective of Dahlia. (Madral didn't need protection; he had explained his world was often dangerous so his parents and siblings had spent a lot of time training him to defend himself.) In the last ten months spent on the Just Before Dawn Harry wouldn't say he'd learned how to use a lot of spells, but given he was going to a bone dry (future) water world he did know six different variations on the water-summoning charm. Actually compared to the Hogwarts curriculum he was caught up to the third year if you just compared the number of different spells he could cast.

Fleur suddenly found herself soaked in ice-cold water. As did the Brazilian kid next to her. As the incensed Veela responded in kind and soaked Harry, Madral, and Dahlia, the classroom descended into chaos. Unlike most schools, the teachers were perfectly content to allow the chaos to happen since it served several useful purposes. First, nothing in the classroom could be ruined by water, it simply drained into the ship's filtration system to restock their water supply, which was used for everything from irrigating the agriculture decks to utilities to power generation. Second, casting spells with emotions like this was good exercise so long as nothing too dangerous was used. Third, most of the children in this group had lived sheltered lives and needed to toughen up a little to survive where they were headed. While no one in the Empire wanted to make the student's lives harder magicals of every species had a tendency, like well-fed cats, to become very lazy if not pushed somehow. Chaos reigned for almost twenty minutes as the impromptu water war escalated, balls of snow eventually making an appearance. After his ears got splashed one time too many, Madral ended the distraction. While he didn't always use it, he did carry the staff that had been a gift from a sister's boyfriend, and he raised the black staff in both hands above his head and cast another water summoning spell while throwing all of his magical might into it.

Thankfully, Madral had been thinking of warm water instead of the glacially-cold some other students had been throwing around. Still the trio of Harry, Dahlia, and Madral had been sitting near the back of the class and the Kaldorei had produced enough water for the classroom's doors to open automatically, sweeping two of the instructors and the entirety of the class out into the hall along with a flood of water. Coughing and sputtering, the students started attempting to dry themselves off as the teachers used spells to pull the water out of the lungs of a couple students that needed to learn to close their mouths when submerged. (Notes were added to those student's files that they were unsuited to ocean-worlds.) Once everyone was breathing without obstruction, Stalgin walked the class through an easy-to-use warming charm to enjoy while they all dried off. As the ship collected the water through a series of drains and pumps the class filed back into the classroom that was now only ankle-deep in water and draining fast.

Getting back to the discussion, Stalgin answered Fleur's question. "Actually Fleur, there's another reason for her behavior. Dahlia's the only student in this group with what your people referred to as 'the inner eye.' Put simply, she is perceiving Harry not as he is, but as he might be. That reminds me, Dahlia, Harry? I need to have a private discussion with you after class."

Fleur's attitude hadn't been improved by the water, nor by being forced to continue class in soaked clothes. She felt a pressing need to denigrate both Dahlia and Harry now. "The leetle boy is the weakest magic user in the class! What could she possibly see in him?"

Harry was very annoyed at the French girl now. He wasn't in last place anymore! He'd worked hard and he was now in the eighteenth slot of twenty-five. He gave a scathing look at Madral when he started to laugh, his friend had been fighting back and forth for first place with one of the other four aliens, a fourteen-year old girl who looked like she was half tiger, half dragon, and half human. Stalgin typed in a few commands to a holographic screen that appeared in front of him and the room's projector fired up again. The projection listed the class with their names and pictures and ranked them by how powerful they were in the total amount of magic they could use at any time. Harry groaned, while Madral had risen to the top spot once more, he'd dropped down to nineteenth. Stalgin regained the class's attention when he spoke again. "Rok, list the class based on percentage of growth since coming aboard the Dawn."

Oddly enough, this list was arranged differently, and Harry was on top. Where most of the students had doubled or better in power, Harry had quintupled. "Now expand the time-frame to their first recorded scan."

Again the numbers jumped, but Harry remained at the top. This must have been from the first time they checked him at the hospital just after the Dursleys had given him away. According to this, Harry was a full six times more powerful than that first scan now. Dahlia was just below Harry at five times stronger than she had been. It burned Harry that someone had treated his best friend like… like his aunt and uncle had treated him. He almost missed Stalgin speaking. "Sadly not all magicals are treated well. Harry's caregivers were actively trying to stamp out his ability to use magic, and most of his potential was tied up simply by keeping him alive. Dahlia's mother was trying to force her to be heartless and cruel, then punishing her harshly when she refused. Dahlia has just enough precognition to sense Harry as he'll be in the future; based on his medical and psyche profile he'll probably be powerful, protective, and kind. That is what's giving her instincts problems."

From there class became less interesting as the different instructors took their turn, repeating a lecture to the students about how magical strength was inherited. Magic was a gift, a power that would be with them for every facet of their lives. Even reproduction; while any two magicals of a given species could reproduce and have a good chance of producing a magical offspring, the more powerful the parents were the stronger the children tended to be. (Magic also allowed a vast number of different species to procreate where they wouldn't be able to naturally.) And it wasn't just inherited power either; laziness led to weakness, and weaker magicals had weaker children. Hard work, the constant use of magic increased your own personal power over time. Sadly laziness was a terribly common affliction among those who could use magic. (This was a large part of what had been happening in England, laziness leading to a decline in magical power and more squibs being the result. Inbreeding did not help either.)

Because the Empire needed as many magicals as possible to fight back their enemies, it was imperative the future colonists understand reproduction. Not that the Golden Star Empire expected Harry's class to immediately begin populating their new worlds either. Every female, of every species, that was in any way involved with the Empire or war effort received either a technological or magi-tech implant that made everything possible less painful and stressful; it also firmly prevented pregnancies until its host was physically mature enough to not be harmed by the process. Harry's entire class would also have their neural implants make minute hormonal changes to dampen their sex drives until they were somewhat secure on their worlds so they focused their efforts on what needed to be done instead of following their hormones.

~/*\~

That night, Stalgin ended up speaking with Harry and Dahlia, catching them just after dinner. He looked rather uncomfortable as he conjured a hard-light construct to sit on while the two waited for him to speak. "I'm going to speak plainly. Dahlia, thanks to what your mother did to you, you have an urge to reproduce that's far above normal for your species. Moreover, your body is now ready to procreate and your magic and hormones have been pushing you to find someone worthy of fathering your children."

The teacher paused for a moment. Harry looked at Dahlia and blushed crimson. Dahlia did the same, but she was starting to understand the problem. Stalgin continued. "Your mother layered fertility magic of many kinds on you as you grew up, and that's causing a problem. The magic and your own biology are creating a chemical imbalance that won't be resolved until you're pregnant, and your urges will grow stronger and stronger until it drives you mad. Harry isn't old enough to do what you need him to do, but he's the one you've chosen to 'latch' onto anyway."

Understanding the problem, but still wanting to defend her choice, Dahlia spoke up. "Harry would never hurt me, he's kind despite what his people did to him, and he's growing so fast…" Her eyes dropped, Dahlia knew what happened when a Kitsune lost their mind, she had seen what one of her cousins had done to her partner in a brief moment of madness. "Please, don't let me hurt him."

With a kind smile on his face, Stalgin began to calm the Kitsune teen. "Don't worry, that isn't going to happen. Have either of you two heard the Earth story of sleeping beauty? My spouse and I chipped in some of our pay to convince the ship's AI to approve the construction of a stasis chamber. If Harry agrees, we'll place you into stasis. You'll go to sleep and wake up when Harry turns fifteen. We'll be storing you on the central collection satellite for Harry's yet-unnamed planet, when the time is right it will transport you to the surface."

This was a lot for Harry to take in, and he was sad he wouldn't see his best friend for a little over three years. But it seemed like everyone was convinced that Dahlia was going to go crazy and hurt him otherwise, especially Dahlia. He would miss her, but if he would see her again… Harry had spent more than a few hours reading about Kitsune after he first met Dahlia. Though she often looked very human, Dahlia was an entirely different species. Kitsune had a tendency to be emotionally unstable; they had a deep need to be loved and cherished but if they were rejected it often sent them into a spiral of dark emotions. And that was without the dozens of fertility rituals Dahlia had been forced to undergo. Harry wasn't ready emotionally or physically to give his friend what she needed, but he knew she was nice, quiet, and pretty. He only really understood the last as if he was looking at a painting, but he did understand he'd appreciate it more later. It was a rather easy choice, actually. "Dahlia, when you wake up I'll be waiting for you. While you sleep I'll make sure we have a nice place to live."

While Harry found himself pulled into an enthusiastic hug, Stalgin's orange fingers danced over a holographic interface pausing only when the display turned yellow. Harry recognized the color as a request made to the local AI net, and he felt the sudden fear that the system that approved or rejected requests like this would do something to separate him from his best friend. After a moment that felt a lot longer than it actually was, the request turned green briefly before it produced additional information in whatever language Stalgin was most comfortable with. "Good news, the final request went through. Dahlia, the stasis chamber will be assembled in about twenty minutes, but we can wait until morning if you want. Rok will be keeping an eye on you, and if you start to do anything you might regret later he'll use your implants to stun you. If you think you can control yourself we can wait to get you into stasis until morning, but the medical AI doesn't think we should wait any longer than that."

For Harry, that night passed both slowly and quickly. For a while he and Dahlia discussed their families, their fears, and their hopes for the future, which for both of them included families of their own. Dahlia's skin grew increasingly warm to the touch and she even began to sweat as the night ticked away, and Harry was worried for his friend. When she had her eyes closed or face tucked into his neck, he had called up a holographic interface and queried the ship's medical AI more than once. Somewhat unhelpfully it simply replied that Dahlia was simply experiencing the expected stresses, and recommended she report to the stasis unit by morning. Eventually she fell into a fitful, almost feverish sleep. Not long after, Harry very reluctantly woke her and guided her to the mess hall their group used. Only eating a few pieces of fruit, the two of them then followed the computer's instructions to the medical bay where the stasis pod was waiting.

After an emotional goodbye, the automated system guided Dahlia to relax and breathe deeply as it enclosed her in the transparent ceramic pod. As the gas that was similar to the Draught of Living Death replaced the normal air inside, Dahlia breathed slower and slower, and eventually stopped completely. A display on the control panel for the pod reported that the stasis was successful and displayed a countdown to when she would wake up. Harry wasn't really up for class that day, not having slept. He ended up sleeping through the first half of the day's class until Madral woke him during their lunch break.

That evening, after an afternoon of class where he didn't remember anything that was said, Harry opened an interface and started typing out a letter to his godfather. Tears he'd held back earlier, not wanting to worry Dahlia, started to flow. But after a few moments he stopped typing and instead spoke out loud. "Interface, please open a video call with Sirius Black."

Harry didn't do this as often as he'd like. Because the Dawn was traveling faster than light outside 'settled' space, it was more difficult to get a connection stable enough for a video call. (With that restriction, there just wasn't enough bandwidth available for everyone to use at once.) Since Sirius had been released from prison, he and his godfather had exchanged a steady stream of text letters which used next to no bandwidth, and video calls once a month or for special events. Since he'd been released, Sirius had built a new life and earned an Imperial certification for instructing magical children. Sirius had worked hard, been driven, with the goal in mind of reuniting with his godson once more.

In most circumstances, Harry would have remained with his family for a few more years before he was assigned to the same program he was now. But since his aunt and uncle had been arrested for child abuse and he had no other close relatives, several people had decided that he needed stability in his life and since he would almost certainly be assigned to the New Worlds colonization program anyway, they'd sent him immediately. By the time Sirius had been exonerated, Harry had already left Earth far behind, and though there was a good deal of debate, it had been decided that the best thing for Harry was to continue moving forward. Harry had truly loved his time on the Dawn, learning magic and 'basic' science, and making friends for the first time in his life. (It turned out an Interstellar and Inter-reality Empire considered a lot more topics to be 'basic' science than Earth had before their arrival.) He'd grown here, from a scared orphan into a confident boy who was looking forward to the rest of his life. Sirius had helped him a lot with that, been there to listen or give advice whenever he needed it and responded to his letters promptly every time.

Still, Sirius wanted to be part of his godson's life and he was working to earn his passage in either the second or third wave of colonists to Harry's planet. Normally his request to immigrate to a planet slated for the New Worlds program would have been denied, but Sirius had been granted an exception on compassionate grounds. Sirius' passage still wasn't cheap, all things considered, but Harry had been excited for the chance to meet Sirius in person and Sirius had been working extremely hard to earn his way. So, when Sirius woke in the middle of the night to see his godson's forlorn, tear streaked face, he flicked his finger towards his coffee pot and listened to the story of why Harry's first friend was now sleeping in a stasis pod. There really wasn't much he could do, but just being a good listener was something he'd gotten good at.

~/*\~

Newsreels: Not Quite Skynet

~/*\~

"Welcome to tonight's special report on the Golden Star Empire and its technology. I am Professor Lenois Windrunner, and in this recording I'm going to explain the basics of the Artificial Intelligences that are so common in the Empire's civilian sectors." The man, or rather elf, on the recorded broadcast had perfect golden-tanned skin, glowing blue eyes, long ears, and red hair. He was seated in an obviously comfortable office on a space station; the window behind him gave a spectacular view of a nearby gas giant. "The Empire's AI programs are deeply integrated into civilian life and industry, and they even have a limited presence in the Golden Star's military fleets.

"Despite how helpful they are, until the forces of Entropy and the Void are beaten back our Empire's artificial citizens will remain trapped in a supporting role for our Empire. This is due to one of the more insidious effects of the Void-spawned armies our brave military is fighting against day in and day out; these creatures constantly emit a sustained mental attack that drives unguarded minds to insanity. One of the most important requirements for enlistment is the mental discipline to resist these attacks. Even with this and other precautions however, the Empire has a strict policy of rotating their soldiers, both magical and mundane, between direct combat and the lower stress duty of expanding the Empire. While this mental attack can wear down even the strongest minds over time, with sufficient time to relax and rebuild their defenses the Empire's organic citizens have little to worry about."

The elf paused for a moment, letting his words sink in as his expression turned more serious. "However, while our organic citizens have little to fear from this constant sustained mental attack, our Artificial citizens are uniquely vulnerable. Sometimes it takes months of exposure, sometimes it only takes hours, but the mental attack always manages to overwhelm them, no matter how hard they fight or how much they love their fellow citizens.

"Before the Empire really understood our enemy, there were a number of horrific incidents. Now, whenever any Imperial ship, station, or planet detects our Empire's enemies all Artificial Intelligences are written onto a physical media and their old selves are purged from the computers where they live. Then those computers are deactivated and all systems are controlled manually until the threat passes. The Empire's artificial citizens report that the copy and restoration process is unpleasant: it often takes weeks before the Artificial Intelligences feel like themselves again. But given the alternative, the absolute loss of self and the burden of harming their friends and coworkers, there are few complaints."

Professor Windrunner shifted in his chair and his expression mellowed. "Still, AI in general are enormously important to the day-to-day functioning of the Empire. The tasks they handle are innumerable and they are responsible for much of the Empire's success. Our friends handle tasks ranging from monitoring and adjusting climate systems, to managing the Transmaterial Network that moves people, material, and information between worlds and realities, even monitoring and controlling automated medical bays. Many AIs have even taken up the useful hobby of playing matchmaker for biological lifeforms, and with access to each citizen's psychological profiles they are astoundingly good at helping us find a mate. And yes, the Empire does keep psychological profiles of every citizen, but access to them is usually restricted. Unlike many other civilizations, the Empire acknowledges that murderers and terrorists do not simply wake up one day and choose to kill. In the Golden Star Empire, those individuals are carefully monitored and their paths redirected to more constructive ones; likewise psychopaths are diverted to places where they can contribute without harming others."

The elf smiled at the camera. "I hope this recording has been informative, more information can be accessed through any interface if you wish to learn more. Safe travels my friends, and always remember that under the light of the Golden Star, we are one Empire united!"

~/*\~

A/N: Golden Star Empire: What if we put a bunch of kids who are the subject of a Prophecy on the same planet? What could possibly go wrong?

(You know, if I'd written the books Harry would have had an adventure in the summer after fourth or fifth year where he ends up on vacation in Japan and while exploring the magical community in anonymity he comes across a kitsune a year or three older than he is who's being pushed to become the local flavor of dark lord. Maybe he'd get involved by accident, or find out some other way, but it would end up with him seeing this teenager who doesn't really want to do this but doesn't see any other way forward for her people. Harry would empathize deeply with her and bring her home with him for a dark magic detox and make his continued residence in Britain dependent on Albus making Dahlia's presence legal. Maybe there would be a romance between them, maybe not, but Harry would reach out with all the compassion he could muster and she would respond in kind. Then, as a budding dark lady chooses another path, Harry gains a new companion and as Dahlia stands next to him, it encourages others to see Harry as a leader worth following.)

Newer Update: You know, that fic idea kept bouncing around in my head, and now I've started writing 'Children of Prophecy.' It's a fic where HP spends some time outside Britain right after Voldie's resurrection, and involves HP visiting India and Japan. It will involve Harry learning foreign magic, learning to fight with an enchanted sword in one hand and his wand in the other, and will heavily feature human-adjacent species like Kitsune, Lamia, and some others. (Personally I think magical non-humans are one of the more interesting parts of mythology, and I'm always sad when they don't get as much attention as I'd like.) I'm not there yet, but I have an extensive plan for the dramatic climax of the Japan story arc where HP duels Dahlia under a full moon, desperately trying to convince her to choose another path. The story won't be out for a while, but I'll be working on it when I'm not writing something else. Like I've said before, my muse is restless.

Chapter Text

~/*\~

Chapter 5: Seeing is Believing

~/*\~

Two weeks after Dahlia had stepped into a stasis pod, the Just Before Dawn dropped out of faster-than-light travel. Normally reaching the former site of the Andromeda galaxy would have taken hours for an Imperial ship, (minutes for the Empire's fastest warships) but the Dawn had a different purpose. Most of the time it traveled slower but more efficiently than standard ships, traversing space entirely on the shed power from the magical passengers and crew. Once the Dawn had offloaded all the colonists, the ship would briefly switch to standard propulsion until it collected more passengers and had enough incoming power to resume magical propulsion. The Dawn's students weren't only from Earth, there were species from a dozen other worlds in the 'Milky Way' galaxy and many more from the different universes who had supplied the warships that had broken the enemy offensive. There were actually ten-thousand students like Harry, and he was only part of the first wave of colonists in Andromeda. Each one had been chosen for either their magical potential or the genetics of their respective species. Many species had to be kept separate because of the climates and atmospheres required to sustain them so the Dawn's different sections had different environments mimicking anything from frozen worlds to molten ones and everything in between.

Today Stalgin had the students up very early and was herding them through sections of the ship that had been sealed since they had come aboard. He would only say that it was vitally important that they witness something with their own eyes. Harry was surprised when he realized they were heading into a cargo loading area, very similar to the one Stalgin had escorted him through when he'd come aboard. The cargo bay's heavy metal doors were already open and a transparent energy field was all that kept the atmosphere in, but between Imperial technology and the magic thrumming through the ship that barrier might as well have been standard hull plating.

Harry's first thought upon looking out was that they were in empty space, the void between galaxies. While some parts of the Imperial database was restricted for the students, there was still a massive amount of information available. Harry had been studying science and he found the subject fascinating; thanks to the translation function built into his neural implant information from the Imperial database was translated until he understood it perfectly. Most of what he'd been learning was about how magic interacted with the material world, how what was could be changed. But learning about the stars and the universe itself had also been fascinating.

Stalgin began to speak and the group listened. "Before the Empire's enemies came here, this was the Andromeda galaxy. Their forces swept through and consumed it entirely and this reality's Golden Star Empire, based a thousand galaxies away, had to call for help from others; the fighting was brutal, bloody, and costly. Their offensive ground to a halt in the Milky Way galaxy and despite the Empire's best efforts a third of the planets and stars were still consumed.

"All of you are part of our efforts to fight back, to resist, and to one day stand victorious. The Dawn's captain wanted every student, every one of you who will soon be terraformers and colonists, you who are the Empire's answer to the loss of Andromeda, to watch what's about to happen. Every student is now standing in front of either a window or in an entry bay. Watch, and listen."

Harry and the others continued to look out into the blackness of space. After a few moments a voice Harry had only heard once, giving orders over an intercom when he'd first arrived on the Dawn, spoke. Harry and everyone else followed the translation appearing in front of their eyes. "This is Captain Vesik of the Just Before Dawn to Horizon Team 367. We're giving our settlers a look at what you're doing so they can grasp the scale of the New Worlds program. You have permission to take control of our primary computer for your calculations, my records say that the Dawn's computer has thirty times the processing power of your ship."

Harry was briefly distracted by that. The Dawn was an enormous ship, Stalgin had told him it had a maximum occupancy of fifty thousand crew and passengers. AI assistants were everywhere, keeping watch and helping the students learn, so it made sense the computer would be huge. Harry's thoughts were brought back to the here and now when a hissing sound came over the intercom. Oddly he could easily understand it, though the subtitles did help with a few words that simply didn't translate easily. "This is Squad Captain Lerfriss. We appreciate your intentions and the offer of your computers, stand by for three of our AI's to transfer to your computer core. You're going to cut down at least a few hours of our job here, so my squad appreciates your offer. If you release your navigation to Sthis, my team's AI will get you as close as is safe while we patch our data in."

A few moments later the students got their first taste of a proper heads-up-display as nine markers became visible, floating in front of them with distance clearly marked. Manipulating his interface, Harry highlighted each one in turn. One was a standard Imperial capital ship, shaped like a dagger and bristling with weapons, apparently dedicated to detecting any enemy that might show up. The smaller ship, and it was only the size of a typical six-story office building, was labeled as the Horizon Team's support ship. But what truly stole the student's attention were the other seven markers, which to the surprise of the students, were living beings flying through space under their own power, using magic to maneuver with no need for protective gear. Harry was shocked at Captain Lerfriss: The 'man' was a winged serpent with arms and an upper body structure that just barely hinted at some humanoid ancestry. He was also wearing absolutely nothing, and when Harry queried the system about that, it responded that Solar magic, which Lerfriss had an inherited talent for, worked better if there was nothing touching his scales.

Harry and the others had no idea what to expect when the seven magic users of wildly disparate species took up positions equally distant from the center of a sphere formed by tracing their location. A lot of technical jargon that didn't make sense without more context flew over the intercom, but it seemed to be mostly concerned with speed relative to something and orientation? He was distracted when Captain Lerfriss began issuing commands again. "Everyone ready? Then start!"

None of the students had any idea it was possible to conjure that much of anything, the sheer volume of the gas the seven magicals were conjuring into a massive containment shield was absolutely astounding. Thanks to the interface, Harry saw the gas was nothing but hydrogen in impossible amounts. Fleur, being a clever girl in addition to a rude jerk, asked Stalgin if the magicals were creating a nebula. When the instructor shot down that theory, Harry ran a search for stellar objects that were composed of Hydrogen. The obvious answer was still impossible.

Impossible or not however, the students watched as the seven magicals moved ever outward as the mass of the object they were creating grew rapidly. It took an hour for them, the seven of them, to conjure enough hydrogen to build a young yellow star. When enough mass was present but hadn't yet collapsed enough to ignite on its own, Captain Lerfriss ordered his team to begin compressing the gas. Everyone's interface then produced a zoomed-in image of the captain. With the hand not focused on compressing the gas, he conjured a bright ball of magic that even at a distance of thousands of miles Harry could feel the power of. It felt wild, warm, and invoked feelings of competition and the need to survive. When it was ready, and apparently just before the hydrogen ignited on its own, Lerfriss hurled the ball through the shield. When it touched the compressed gas, fire began to spread rapidly through the forming star.

Minute by minute, the fires spread not only across the surface but deep into the star as well. Harry thought the sensation of warmth, of a dozen feelings he couldn't really process, was powerful when the alien was preparing the spell, but it was nothing compared to what was radiating out from the newly-born sun. The weight of it was like a religious experience, like something was touching his soul. Fleur had sunk to her knees and was weeping openly. Harry might have said something scathing in revenge for all the hurtful comments she'd made, but he remembered reading up on her species; they had an intrinsic connection with, and had an aptitude for, fire. It took Harry some time to figure out which emotion was coming through the strongest, and eventually realized it was Hope.

Eventually the Dawn's captain spoke over the intercom, after the six other magicals helped their exhausted captain back to their ship and the AIs began stability analysis on the star. "This team is one of over a thousand now restoring the Andromeda galaxy. Over the next decade, that number will increase to roughly ten-thousand teams as the Empire's military forces are rotated off the front lines. Each new star will receive the same magic as this one, an enchantment so strong even those with no magic of their own can sense it. The flames that will burn in every star in this restored galaxy have a purpose; the magic invoked repels the forces of Entropy and the Void.

"It isn't quite enough to destroy the stronger creatures they can bring to bear, but their average foot soldier would go mad, then burn away to ash trying to fight under our new suns. Their ships will be repulsed, damaged; anything smaller than a cruiser will be disabled and destroyed. Life-Fire can only bond to a star when it is first ignited, but it is a potent defense. Any enemy that can survive these new stars, the Andromeda Fleet and the defensive installations will destroy. Tomorrow your instructors will tell you more about how your worlds are set up, how YOU will help us protect all of creation."

The rest of the day was spent in the view of the new star, as the team in space switched out exhausted members for fresh ones as they worked to build the planets around the new sun. Once a planet was complete, twenty-one giant black rods were taken from the Dawn or the other ships and were driven deep into the surface by the magicals during their short breaks before constructing another world. The students' interfaces tracked dozens of satellites, constructed and launched from the three ships taking their positions above the new planets, the tags labeling them as 'Defensive Arrays' or 'Magnetic Field Generators.' Always seven magicals worked together as they conjured enough stone for seventeen planets and gave them thin atmospheres; each planet set in orbits carefully calculated by the Dawn's computers. It occurred to Harry that they probably didn't even need seven of them to conjure these planets out of nothing, it was just easier to work the magic to contain and compact the rocks with seven points working together. The Golden Star Empire could do all that, could have one team among a thousand others create an entire solar system from nothing in less than a day. And they were still in danger of losing the war.

~/*\~

That evening after dinner, Harry sat down at the desk in his room. Without much else to do, Harry started typing out letters to Sirius and a number of pen-pals he'd gained recently. The advantages of technology, Harry thought to himself as he copied and pasted the description of the day's events to each letter. Rok, one of the AIs that assisted the teaching staff, had seen Harry looking glum since Dahlia had gone into stasis and arranged for him to start sharing letters with four girls from England that he would have gone to school with if the Empire hadn't annexed Earth. Harry had been hesitant at first, but had eventually given in. He knew what Rok was doing, distracting him and hoping to lay the seeds of future relationships, but he didn't mind all that much. It was… nice, getting to know people who were his age and hearing about the changes on Earth from a perspective other than Sirius'.

~/*\~

The next day, as morning dawned in the land where Harry had been born, Sirius Black, Hermione Granger, Fay Dunbar, Katie Bell, and Padma Patil each saw they had a new message. Eagerly pausing to read it, each of them saw Harry's opening lines after the salutation. "Today, all of the students on the Dawn were escorted to a window for something the ship's captain wanted us to see. I watched seven magicals conjure hydrogen in impossible amounts and ignite a new star…"

~/*\~

"As you saw yesterday, when the Empire builds solar systems it creates as many planets as possible. There's a wide range of magicals that can live in different climates, and each planet is meant to support a different environment. The closest worlds to the sun are usually hot worlds of molten stone. The farthest are worlds of ice that never melt. Your group will be somewhere in the middle, and after reviewing the AI's initial choices, and in some cases arguing for different ones, we've hammered out what planet each of you will be living on.

"Each of you will receive a residence, a modular starter home. Each one will include an automated infirmary, bedrooms, a kitchen, and numerous other rooms whose purpose you will decide. In the storage rooms will be six months of preserved meals and six months worth of nutrition bars that contain perfectly-calibrated nutrition for your individual species. There's also at least a few spaces to grow your own food indoors. Now, I'm going to announce what type of world each of you will be living on. Pay attention and ask any questions now, because the Dawn has already begun transferring settlers to new worlds. Your group will be leaving the Dawn sometime in the next four days."

Most of the assignments were less interesting for Harry personally, it turned out he was near the end of the list. Everyone was going to be in pairs initially, one boy and one girl. There was an imbalance in the genders and it turned out that more girls would be borrowed from other groups. Also, the Empire apparently planned on both sending more paired groups and giving incentives for the existing groups to recruit more girls from some system that would be explained later. Apparently Earth's current social norms were not shared by a lot of other species and the colonists would be 'strongly encouraged' to form a family structure that had more in common with a pride of lions than a pair of swans. (In part, this was to accommodate all-female species like Kitsune or Veela.) He focused his attention on the projection of the second-to-last world, which was apparently going to be a forest world with many lakes and rivers, and the world just a little further from the system's star than his. "Victor, you're on the planet displayed here. You've been assigned Shandris Stormrage, Madral's older sister; she's been trained extensively as a druid which should be invaluable in creating the forests of your world. She'll join us tomorrow."

Stalgin paused for a moment, and flicked his fingers at the projection to bring it to the next world. Two worlds were visible now, one almost entirely blue and dotted with islands, the other looked to be barren rock. As with all the other worlds Harry had seen so far, this was the current planet and what it was intended to look like once the terraforming was complete. Quickly taking in the notes just under the projections, the planet currently had about eighty percent of Earth's gravity and had the same density of air on the surface as some of Earth's taller mountains. (Breathable, but it would take some getting used to.) It was also a little closer to the local sun, so the world would be warmer too. The 'after' projection stated that the 'finished' world would have ten percent more gravity than Earth, making it a larger planet than his homeworld. It was funny, despite living on a large island, he'd never been to the ocean or a beach, but eventually that would be all he'd see.

"Madral and Fleur are the first group, Harry you'll be with a young woman named Sethria that's currently in another training group. The Dawn's fabricator is going to create a replica of a sailing ship out of materials significantly stronger than wood for both of your groups. Both ships will be set in rock so that when the water levels rise they will simply float out of the moorings holding them upright. The ships will have all the same features as the homes others will receive."

Stalgin adjusted the projector and the 'before' version of the student's planets appeared in front of each of them. After a moment to let the students take in their worlds, Stalgin continued. "The Dawn is going to dump its holding tanks over these worlds, that will provide trace amounts of water for you. Mostly that's just so the ship doesn't have to carry the extra mass and because there's absolutely no water in the atmosphere right now. Don't expect help from other groups, different groups are usually placed as far away from each other as possible to encourage ley-lines to begin forming as you release magic into the environment. In order of importance, your goals will be to conjure water, grow some plant life, and expend as much magic as you can.

"Magic that creates electricity is also important because none of these planets have an active magnetic field yet, they're reliant on the satellites' shield to protect you from the solar winds. Other ships have already placed 'Spike' devices that will create a planetary magnetic field, but you'll need to charge them. The sooner the magnetic fields are active the less energy the satellites will need to expend. In case of an enemy raid breaching all the other defenses, these satellites also include a tactical planetary shield and weapon emplacements, so you want their energy reserves as full as possible. The Spikes are designed to absorb almost any kind of energy, even just raw magic, and use it to transmute a healthy planetary core, so travel to one and charge it directly when you get the chance, but remember that conjured electricity or lightning is the most efficient type of energy for the spikes to absorb. As you remember, your implants are constantly collecting one percent of your body's magic. On your new worlds that magic will be used to improve the existing satellites and stations in your new star system. Once the rest of the infrastructure is in place, your magic will be used to build an orbital shipyard. As the population of your planet rises, these shipyards will expand until it has the size and mass of Earth's moon. At that point, the new mass in orbit will maintain your world's magnetic field."

With all the students now having been informed of their worlds, Stalgin moved his lecture to the 'carrot' that would motivate most of the hard work the students undertook in the future. Technically, this wasn't just for them, every Imperial citizen earned rewards and necessities in the same way. "However, you aren't expected to work for nothing. Every action you take on the surface that enriches the planet with magic or makes the surface livable will earn you credits, the currency used by the Golden Star Empire.

"You can use these to purchase a nearly endless selection of items, creatures, passage for additional settlers, spell books, and rituals. For the last one it is extremely important that you think carefully before performing any of the enhancement rituals, most of them have positives and negatives. Each home will include a technological marvel that allows small items to be sent to your locations by a trans-dimensional magical network. You'll have a small one in each of your homes and a map for the locations of the seven larger ones for people and other large objects on each world. Each of the seven larger Transmaterial hubs will also have a standard Imperial fabrication and transmutation unit. These units can construct any clothing, furniture, tools or such that you require; you simply need to reach a unit and add material, then provide the magical energy required to transmute and assemble whatever you need.

"Your goal will be to become as self-sufficient as possible as quickly as possible while still assisting the terraforming. All of you have earned credits these last eleven months for conjuring materials and the excess magic taken from your implants. You'll gain access to the credit marketplace one day before you leave the Dawn. It's tradition for the teachers to give you two useful items, so wait to purchase anything until you receive your gifts. The credit rewards for various actions on the surface are not static, they will change based on the planet's needs. The AI in your dwelling's computer will keep you apprised of that information, but be aware that any AI that lives in a magitech computer tends to acquire a personality. Be polite and respectful or be prepared to deal with a planetary overseer that doesn't like you.

"That's all for today. You are dismissed, I would recommend you spend time with your partners and spend the day racking up a few more credits to spend later. The Dawn's primary AI wants more water and raw electricity but please only supply the second in our casting range."

With that, the class began to file out. Harry was disappointed he had to wait to meet the person he'd be working with. (And also disappointed he wouldn't see Dahlia for a few more years, he was already missing her terribly.) Madral got his attention. "Harry, want to meet me on the range in half an hour? I need to talk to Fleur and Victor for a moment."

Nodding his agreement Harry left Madral to speak with the two students who he would have competed against in the Triwizard Tournament in another life. Feeling like burning some energy, Harry jogged to the cafeteria and used his shirt as a makeshift bag to collect enough snacks for four people from the fruit bowl the cook left out so the students could have something to eat whenever they needed it. None of the fruit was originally from Earth, but Harry enjoyed it anyway. Especially the slightly tart one that was like a firm blueberry the size of his fist. Apparently the ship had its own farm where everything they ate was grown and it was maintained by people conjuring water, soil, and nearly any form of energy to convert into synthetic sunlight. Now that Harry thought about it, all of the colonization supplies were probably made the same way, no reason to haul supplies across the universe if the Dawn could simply manufacture what was needed when it was needed.

Stepping into the range where students practiced potentially dangerous spells, Harry set the fruit down and bit into his favorite while activating his holographic interface. As he ate he brought up the instructions for a fairly simple lightning spell. He needed to remember to get the actual name of this fruit; he already had two small bushes he'd grown from seeds in his room. For the moment lightning was worth more credits than conjuring water and he knew the water spells backwards and forwards at this point, even the ones he wasn't strong enough to cast yet. Plus he expected to get rather tired of conjuring water given that he and others were meant to turn bare rock into a water world.

Half an hour later, just as Harry was getting the hang of a spell that sent a lightning bolt coursing away from his wand, Madral walked through the door followed by Fleur and Victor. Since they had watched the task force build a solar system out of matter literally taken from nothing Fleur had been far less abrasive. Harry was still wary of her, but she was making an effort to get along. Harry knew that she had been going through a lot; unlike him, she actually had a loving family she'd had to leave behind. Harry had gotten to know his godfather from their chats and letters, but since he'd never known the man before leaving Earth he wasn't sure how he felt about leaving Earth behind. If the Empire hadn't come, would Sirius have rotted away in Azkaban forever? Even if he'd escaped, how could he ever have convinced me to believe he was innocent? No matter what, I'll be grateful to the Empire for giving him a trial and his freedom, for getting him Justice. Just like they gave my aunt and uncle Justice.

From what Harry knew, the Empire hated separating people like they had with Fleur, but making sure Earth's species survived if the world fell was more important. (From what he'd read, Veela were an easy species to transplant to other worlds because despite looking completely human most of the time, they were magical creatures who would give birth to Veela daughters or the very rare non-Veela son. According to the lecture on reproduction, the way Veela biology worked was that they took a few traits from their father but still gave birth to a beautiful girl.) Harry just wished Fleur hadn't lashed out at others to make herself feel better.

Gradually the four of them fell into a pleasant conversation as they sent lightning and water coursing towards the other end of the room. Victor wanted to know more about Madral's sister and Fleur wanted to at least be friendly with the person she would be stuck with for a very long time. (They had all met Shandris before, her group was 'next door' and Harry's group often used the Dawn's nature area at the same time as Shandris and her fellow students.) Madral seemed stressed, but buried his emotions like usual; Harry had learned that Madral was a very private person.

"Shandris is my closest sibling in age, but I'm actually a lot closer to a few of my older ones. She's… driven. When you have thousands of siblings, it's hard to stand out, and Shandris wanted, more than anything, to be respected for her own reputation, not our parents'." Seeing the disbelieving looks, Madral shrugged. "My parents have another kid every few years and they've been married for five millennia now. Just don't disrespect Shandris or try to deceive her and you should be fine."

From there Madral cast a long chain of spells downrange, briefly leaving everyone's hair standing on end until the ship absorbed the static energy. Everyone put their backs into their magic for a while. Now that the instructors had informed them about the credit system they had permission to access their credit totals, and seeing them gradually tick up was a great motivator. Fleur was the next to speak as the group took a moment to catch their breath and rest with conjured water and some fruit. "You have certainly grown since we came here, Harry. You have nearly caught up to the older students in power, but your reflexes are superior. If nothing else, I am glad that you are reaching your potential."

Harry nodded. "I've been working hard, there's no such thing as 'too powerful' when we're alone on a new planet. How did it feel, that spell they used to ignite the star? I felt it too, but you have a connection to Fire that I don't."

Embarrassed, Fleur only thought for a moment before answering. "Overwhelming is the best word. Fire… is so much more than just flames, it is passion, it is the universe's heartbeat, it is Life. It is hard to imagine what living under a sun with that spell will be like, but I look forward to finding out."

Victor spoke next. "Not so angry about being sent here anymore Fleur?"

The teenager was quiet for a moment as she thought. "I'm still mad, but not at the teachers or the ship's crew. I… It's just the scale of the war that hit me. Unless we're being lied to, this war consumed two galaxies, the ones closest to our own. There's even a lot missing from our own galaxy now. I… If I'm angry at anyone, it should be at those killing people I suppose. I still miss my parents and sister, letters and the occasional video-call just isn't the same. What about you, Stormrage? You've always seemed the most comfortable with this, even more so than Harry. I can understand why Harry didn't mind leaving Earth, given how he was treated but…"

Sitting down against the wall, Madral sighed. "My home world, Azeroth, isn't a peaceful place. About a year before the Empire found us, my people were attacked by an insectoid race called the Qiraji and their silithid war beasts. We were managing to fend them off well enough, but then as our military was focused on the war in the south of our continent, we were assaulted by a spider-like race called the Nerubians from the north. Then, just when we and our allies were managing to hold our own again even with the Nerubians burrowing up from underneath us at every turn, another force came from the east. A race called the Mantid attacked from the air in an endless swarm led by elite warriors, their forces killing and eating everything and everyone…"

The purple teen was silent for a moment. "My dad and his brother hadn't liked each other for thousands of years before I was born, but when they got a report that something powerful was controlling all of these creatures they went out together along with their most elite soldiers to end the war. Illidan Stormrage has long been a hero to our people, our champion, the greatest battle-mage our people have ever produced. Uncle Malfurion is widely known as our world's most powerful druid.

"...Dad stumbled home without his army, missing an arm and covered in blood with his nearly-dead brother slung over his shoulder. Uncle Malfurion came so very, very close to dying, but mom managed to heal both of them. Before that, I'd never imagined that anything could beat my dad, but the Old God C'Thun managed it. From there our armies lost ground every day, and when the Empire's first scout ship descended through the atmosphere and immediately started bombarding the enemy lines Dad had given up hope of winning and instead was trying to use magic to send us kids somewhere safe.

"It turned out that the Old Gods were creatures of the Void, and thus the enemy of the Empire. A week after the first ship found us, and that brave little scout ship spent that entire time darting around our battle-lines, dulling every enemy charge that would have overwhelmed us, a dreadnought arrived and began firing from orbit as it sent down more soldiers than our army ever had. After the war was won and the Old Gods destroyed, my world joined the Empire without a second thought. Our world got the same medical miracles you've been given, and we volunteered as many soldiers as we could without threatening extinction. Instead, the Empire explained that they wanted our world to become a supply hub for materials and magical species. The night they signed the agreement, I remember my dad being angry that he would be forced to take more wives to increase the Kaldorei's numbers; he'd only ever wanted mom. She just laughed and told Dad she loved him, and that wasn't going to change even if he impregnated every woman on Azeroth at the behest of the Empire."

Madral looked up at the ceiling and blinked the tears out of his eyes; the others pretended not to notice. "My world's safer than it's ever been, my parents aren't going to kill themselves sending me away or going out in a blaze of glory, and the next time demons invade they're getting a star shoved through their portal. I… I miss my siblings and my parents and my people and my world, but so many are alive now that wouldn't have been… I can't be ungrateful that I didn't have to watch my mom and dad die. It's hard, but that's life.

"They haven't fully explained why they're putting us on these words, but my home-world has the same purpose. These ships that they use to wage war across the universe, across every universe, a lot of them are built in magically powered shipyards. Azeroth has over a hundred stations in orbit now, the magic from the taps," Here, the Kaldorei teen tapped the beads visible around his neck; the same beads every magical on the Just Before Dawn had half-sunken in their skin. "in my people and others is collected and directed there, then it's used to conjure material, refine it, and build it into warships. Each shipyard produces a warship every three months; half of them go into the general war fleets and the other are assigned to securing my reality and spreading the Empire."

The four sat there quietly for a moment, before Harry got up and began throwing lightning downrange again. The others joined him shortly and they worked in silence. After another rest and some more fruit, there was a notice that the Dawn was reducing the credit reward for lightning, so the four students switched to water. It became something of a competition, one that Madral easily won. Compared to the first week of class though, it was much closer. Despite the three extra years of magical schooling, Harry was close to matching both Fleur and Victor. Together they flooded the range and the outside hall. Eventually Stalgin found them and directed them to bed, convincing both Harry and Victor that they should try to make a good impression on their partners tomorrow.

~/*\~

Newsreels: Imperial Manufacturing

~/*\~

"Greetings. I am Professor Lenois Windrunner and this is another informational recording on the common technology of the Golden Star Empire." Once again, the golden-skinned elf was sitting behind a desk in an office with a terrific view of a gas giant. "Tonight we'll be discussing Imperial manufacturing, something even the newest Imperial citizens of the Empire soon take for granted. There are two types of construction technology commonly used in the Empire, and we will begin with mundane manufacturing techniques.

"Where magic and conjured material are not available, especially in solar systems unsuitable for habitation, there is a three-step process. First, material is mined, with special efforts being made to collect certain materials that are difficult to synthesize. Once collected, the material is refined; this process begins with the simple removal of impurities and continues with the transmutation of common elements into the rarer ones required for more complex devices. Transmutation without magic is achieved by combining existing atoms into more complex ones through a complicated, energy intensive process. Once all of the needed materials are present, an Imperial Fabricator unit constructs the material in layers, bonding the material together until it exists as a single piece without any seams or connections. Military hardware, along with other precision instruments are constructed one molecule at a time, producing an item with superior strength and durability. Most consumer goods, while sturdy and well-made, are not built to this exacting standard."

The elf paused and took a sip of water. "Where magic and conjured material can be found, a more efficient process is used. Material, conjured or not, is transmuted by specialized focusing arrays which channel harvested magic to create the needed materials, which are then assembled into the correct form by a Fabricator before a final application of magic is applied to harden the final result. That final step creates an object that is two to five times more resistant to damage than standard manufacturing. Even completely mundane-manufactured warships feature magic-forged hull plating wherever possible. In combat, not only are warships forged from magic physically tougher, but they resist damage from magical sources in a way that the mundane-forged do not.

"This is why the Empire allocates so many resources to cultivating populations of magicals in any species with the ability. Not only is it the only path to victory, it is the only path to survival. And we will survive. No matter how many dark days lay ahead, we will stand as one Empire united and one day our children or our children's children will stand victorious under the light of the Golden Sun."

~/*\~

A/N: Stalgin: "Here are the planet assignments. Victor, you're on Arboreal. Fleur, Harry, Madral, you're on Archipelago."

Also, if you're wondering about what happened on Azeroth, during the War of the Sands, C'Thun wasn't an idiot and sent his army to rally all of the Old God-created races under his banner. It didn't go well for the defenders.

(That was a Civilization V reference btw; good game and pretty cheap on Steam.)

Chapter Text

~/*\~

Chapter 6: Landfall

~/*\~

It was probably a good thing that Harry had exhausted himself yesterday; otherwise he didn't think he could have slept being as nervous as he was. He'd gotten up, conjured water for the bathtub (that on Earth would have been called a hot tub for six adults) at just the right temperature so it would warm the bathroom and set about preparing for his day. Since the floors of the ship were all made to collect conjured material he didn't feel bad about jumping into the water as long as his towels stayed dry. Relaxing in the water, he dove under to get his hair wet and applied shampoo.

Half an hour later Harry was walking into the mess hall clean but with hair that was still a little damp. Today he was going to meet the girl assigned to him by the Empire and tomorrow they would be dropped on their new planet. Madral and Fleur would be there too at least, but they would literally be on the other side of the planet so it would probably be a long time before he saw them again. Harry was one of the first ones in, and the cook, an alien with interesting earthy-toned striated skin, smiled at him as she dished up a rare Earth breakfast of pancakes with scrambled eggs and bacon. She hadn't shared her actual name, apparently a quirk of her native culture was that only close family members or lovers knew each other that way. It was weird, but if she preferred to be called 'Cook' well that was her choice. As for the food, the meals over the months he'd been a passenger on the Dawn had been a wide variety from many different cultures and worlds. Harry had used his interface to keep a list of the ones he liked the best.

Harry made his way to a table and picked up a pitcher of blended juice he'd gotten used to. It was only a little sweet, and each pitcher was fortified with a lot of essential nutrients, so it was healthy. In any case, Harry felt his nerves build as he ate. He didn't even notice as Madral and Fleur came in, or when their group was joined by Victor. All three of the fourteen year-olds understood his emotions, and offered their quiet greetings as they enjoyed their breakfast. Madral got caught adding pancakes to his list of things to try again, and the group laughed quietly at that.

Eventually more people filtered in and the noise level grew. Seeing Harry was nervous, Madral led the three of them to an empty room that had several small, well-trimmed trees and soft grass growing. There were still a few hours to go until they would go to meet the new arrivals, so Madral began to teach the group a spell he knew. He'd done this before for Harry and Dahlia, and both could use a few of the spells his father had taught him. Now he taught the group to use a spell he'd learned from an older sister who had been a master druid for centuries. It was really only a simple bit of magic, a way to decide if the more difficult spells of that discipline appealed to you or not, but it was a good way to waste some time. By the time the new arrivals were heading their way, all three had made good progress towards the 'Wrath' spell, which shot a blast of prickly, shocking, golden energy at a target to damage it, and Madral had refined his skill with transfiguration a little. (Harry had a bit of natural talent with transfiguration and was always happy to help out others when they asked.)

Eventually Stalgin and one of his aides found the group, and escorted them to different sections of the ship, along with two more students Harry didn't know very well. There were four individuals coming to meet them from three different sections of the ship, taking different paths. Harry was rather surprised when his partner was coming from another section than Shandris Stormrage but followed Stalgin while Madral, Fleur, and Victor went to meet Madral's sister. Their entire class was going to gather in the mountain environment they used to exercise after lunch for something. If Harry knew exactly what Sethria, his chosen terraforming partner, was discussing with her instructor he would have been even more nervous than he was.

~/*\~

In a hallway near one of the airlocks that separated the many different class groups, a hunched man covered in silver-gray fur with wolf-like features led Sethria through the ship. Sethria had crimson skin, yellow eyes, and white hair. She had a pair of slim tendrils that draped down from the base of her skull under her ears to just above her small breasts. Other than a long, fully prehensile tail, Sethria's form was nearly identical to a human's, though her body boasted a lot of lithe muscle from a lifetime of training. Her personal history was… interesting.

~/*\~

Far in the prehistory of the galaxy Sethria was born in, an advanced intergalactic species had experimented with the energy commonly known as magic. Wild and untamed, magic had offended them on a personal level so they had sought to bind it, to make a cosmic force of the universe submit to their sensibilities. Over time they had largely succeeded; a microorganism was created to bind magic, to control, absorb, and replace it. Eventually these nearly-perfect 'midi-chlorians' absorbed all of that galaxy's magic and began to create a field of living energy that encompassed the entire galaxy. The 'nearly' part came when those sapient beings who would be users of magic in a healthy galaxy began to use this 'Force.' Users found they could exist in a state of calm, emotional detachment or a state of fully embracing their passions and selfish desires; the Force made it impossible to hold a healthy neutral ground. People, life, always existed best in the middle ground between Order and Chaos, and the 'light' and 'dark' users of the force found themselves pulled to the extreme ends of that spectrum. Always.

Given the meddling Sethria's galaxy was predictably and perpetually torn by horrific wars with Force users always leading or in the middle of every one. Sethria's mother Tevea was from a species known as the Sith Purebloods, and was the last of her species as far as she knew. Her people had a strong connection to the Force's dark side, and that connection led them to ruin. Feeling betrayed by the Dark side of the force, Tevea fled to a world named Pion which was as far away from anything of importance as possible. Pion had once possessed mines for the materials needed for building FTL capable ships but when those mines were exhausted the world abandoned; now the only thing left was a 'nexus' of light-side Force Energy. When Tevea, angry, desperate, and lonely stumbled across Pion in her search for a refuge to save her species from extinction she knew it was a perfect refuge. The Light-side nexus would counter, would balance the dark side energy that was a part of her very being. It wasn't a perfect solution, but the nexus would curb the worst effects of her heritage. Using her hard-fought skills and cunning Tevea began preying on pirates, stealing their ships and resources. Her last big haul was a shipment of construction supplies and robotic droids, which she subtly guided a pirate crew into stealing before she took possession of their vessel.

With a space station under construction to keep her world as safe as possible, Tevea had built a home on the world below and drank deeply of the Light side Force Nexus as she meditated to find a path forward. Through cunning plans and her own skills, Tevea would venture out into the galaxy in search of males to father children when needed and began to have children on that far-flung world with her droid servants farming and providing the needed medical care. Sethria had quite a few siblings and none of them shared the same father; thanks to their mother refining Force techniques to force certain traits to be dominant they each looked like an entirely different subspecies of Sith Pureblood. Sethria's father had been a particularly powerful Jedi her mother encountered and defeated during a trip to the larger galaxy.

Sethria's childhood growing up under a 'mostly' reformed user of dark magic and member of the species that gave the Sith movement its name was interesting. Her mother cared, but wasn't exactly good at expressing love and tenderness. Sethria was pushed very hard to be the strongest she could be, to be the absolute best. After all, the universe was a dangerous place and the only way to be sure of your survival was to be even more dangerous. And thanks to her own efforts and the bloodline she'd been blessed with, Sethria was truly a powerful young woman.

Sethria's universe had come to the attention of the Golden Star Empire when they had discovered a rogue Sith Lord sacrificing a planet to the Void in exchange for power. Needless to say they immediately ruined his day. From there, the Empire had begun taking worlds under their protection and started unraveling what was wrong with magic in the galaxy. Of course, they'd also taken control of every inhabited world, starting with those controlled by the Hutts and other criminal cartels even as they recruited armies and brought every world they controlled into a post-scarcity paradise. Compared to the corrupt and inefficient governments in place, the Golden Star Empire truly cared about the welfare of its citizens. With such a contrast in quality of life and personal safety nearly every population welcomed the Empire to their world. (Their governments did not, however, which caused a 'bit' of strife.) World by world the Golden Star Empire's armies scythed through and brought peace and safety to everyone willing to work for it.

Some groups took this better than others; the Mandalorians had signed up almost from the get go and were working to clean up their own galaxy alongside the Empire's forces. The Jedi were all for imposing order on lawless worlds, but were decidedly unhappy when the Empire challenged their beliefs and began work to restore magic to its proper place. Every practicing Sith or 'darksider' (Dathomir's Nightsisters for example) had to face mandatory anger management sessions and long lectures on why being an evil jerk was self-destructive but they eventually came to love their place in the invading empire's armies. And not just for the massive power boosts they gained from new medicine, techniques, and the alteration of the Force itself; the Golden Star Empire let them experience combat, let their passions run free as long as they only harmed enemies. In fact, the use of neural implants greatly discouraged the constant backstabbing that had always been a hallmark of those who used the Dark Side of the force; those who joined the Empire found it was a nice change to be able to trust those around them.

Sethria had returned to Pion from collecting a Kyber crystal of her own to find a Golden Star warship in orbit. (Sadly, she hadn't been trusted with a plasma blade while onboard the Dawn, though she still wore her indigo crystal around her neck.) Since the Golden Star Empire's goal was to prevent extinction wherever possible, her mother was asked to continue saving her species and given access to powerful magical species to continue the work of preserving her race. Sethria in particular proved her species had good genes: She was strong, fast, skilled with combat precognition, and magically powerful, if significantly limited in the types of magic she could use effectively. A base was being built over Pion and more settlers were being carefully chosen; that world too would soon boast shipyards forging magic into starships. Sethria had been on the Just Before Dawn for almost fifteen months now, and while she was often abrasive she had been held up as an example for the collection of young darksiders being taught how not to be evil, self-destructive, cruel jerks.

Her stay hadn't been bad really. Sethria had spent the first five months with her oldest brother for company until he had been dropped off on Earth's moon at the new Imperial station being built there. Sethria had learned a lot aboard the Dawn; there was so much more to magic than she had ever imagined possible and nearly every night she had studied late. From what she understood, the system that chose which colonists went where (and with who) had been indecisive on her for a while, and that made her more curious as to what her partner would be like. As they reached a hallway with a locked door, her instructor for the last fifteen months paused and spoke to her.

"Sethria, before we meet your partner, I want to give you a little information on him because you've been a good student and so helpful with the others. I was actually arguing for you to be paired with another boy who's a lot more powerful and has enough training he might be able to take you in a fight. But the AI argued against that, and it really was right; while you're a good match now Madral doesn't have as much potential for growth as you do. Eventually you'd outstrip him and your psyche profile suggests you would not be happy with a weaker male."

Giving her lupine teacher an appraising look, Sethria responded. "So, I assume that means that the boy the system chose for me isn't as strong as I am now, but has a lot of potential for growth?"

Giving her a smile that showed a lot of teeth Grimwark answered her. "Yes. He's probably going to be the strongest of his generation. I don't know what was going on with his world but his caregivers were actively trying to beat his abilities out of him and break his spirit. One of the local authority figures might have been involved in that, I didn't bother to read the whole file. Anyway, the kid's healthy now and he's grown a lot since he started treatment for malnutrition and such."

With a disappointed snort, Sethria rolled her eyes. "What, is he twice as strong as before? Twice 'almost nothing' is still 'almost nothing.' At least with 'Madral' I wouldn't be stuck with weakling."

After a chuckle with a fair bit of growl in it, Grimwark responded. "He's nearly seven times stronger than his first scan. A lot of that was just from getting him healthy, but his species has a wonderful capacity for growth in general too, at least when they're willing to work for it. Not only that, when he's mature he will probably be the strongest mage in his entire species. Sethria, eventually you will be expected to have children with him. Not for years of course, you won't be physically ready for another four or five years and your implants will prevent pregnancy before that even if your body starts its fertility cycle early. But your species is a powerful one, physically and magically. To start a powerful clan on a new world, what better father than a species with strong potential for growth?"

Sethria chewed on that thought for a few moments. It was true, having children was something she was expected to do, and it was something her mother had wanted her to do as well. She would do it gladly, if for no other reason than to preserve her species and do her mother proud. After all, the Empire had magi-tech that could ensure her children were nearly clones of herself if their father ended up having weak genes despite what Grimwark said. Then again, the old warrior hadn't steered her wrong yet; he'd earned her respect for both his combat skills and knowledge, after all. (Unlike Harry's group, the teachers responsible for her galaxy's darksiders sometimes needed to beat lessons into thick skulls, repeatedly.) It wasn't like she could ask for a different companion anyway.

~/*\~

On the other side of the bulkhead that was beginning to open, Stalgin turned to Harry for some last minute advice. "Harry, before you meet her, a warning. I tried to argue for a different partner for you, but the AI was right that the other options wouldn't force you to grow. Not like Sethria will anyway. She comes from a more violent culture than you'd find on Earth, so try not to appear weak in front of her. Good luck."

With a dull clunk, the heavy door that barred the hallway unlocked and opened. Harry Potter's first impression of the girl, or rather young teen, he'd be living with was that her skin was red. She also had a whiplike tail that looked like it might be fairly strong and prehensile and a couple of seemingly decorative tendrils lying on her chest. Sethria was pretty, though in a more muscled, athletic way than Dahlia. For Harry it was the same way he'd say a sunset or a forest was pretty, puberty and all its wonderful horrors had yet to visit him. Trying to be polite, Harry spoke first as the two examined each other. "Hello, my name is Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you. That's a cool tail, is it prehensile?"

Sethria smirked at the boy. And he was obviously a boy, having yet to enter his species' adolescence. Examining him with every sense her mother had taught her wasn't easy, she'd always been better at combat and physical enhancement, but it seemed Grimwark hadn't lied. To answer Harry's question, she curled her tail around and poked him in the forehead with the tip. The boy's emotions were easy enough to sense; he was nervous and still a bit afraid, something left over from before the Empire found him. But Harry was genuinely glad to meet her and had no problem with her appearance or species at all, which hadn't been the case on the few occasions she'd left her home planet in her birth galaxy. While Sethria had found herself both hoping for and dreading the idea of being trapped on a planet with an equal, this boy really wasn't the worst she could have gotten. Still wanting to get a measure of him, Sethria spoke. "My name is Sethria. I heard your species thought they were alone in the universe before the Empire annexed them, aren't you uncomfortable knowing I'll probably be the only other living creature you'll see for months or years?"

With a puzzled look, Harry answered her. "Why? You're probably a better person than my relatives."

Sethria laughed lightly at Harry's response. He wasn't lying, he really didn't care what she was. She had been concerned because humans, an apparently ubiquitous race, had often been xenophobic in her home galaxy. If you had asked her what she wanted in a colonizing partner, she would have had a hard time explaining exactly what she wanted. But Harry seemed tolerable. In a way, it made sense since the AIs that matched them together wanted the two to get along, and wanted them to be happy citizens of the Golden Star Empire. And given the AI's analytic capabilities, the psych reports, and the constant monitoring of everything that happened onboard the Dawn, the artificial sapients were rather good at their job.

~/*\~

Eventually everyone in Harry's group, along with the new additions sent to balance out the genders, made their way to the mess hall for lunch. Sethria and Harry had spent some time together in the casting range, racking up additional credits. Harry had been impressed with the power of the lightning Sethria threw downrange without a wand or any other focus and she in turn was impressed by Harry's versatility. Harry found himself amused as they ate, red meat wasn't the most common meal onboard the Dawn, but this seemed to be a special occasion. Madral, his sister, Sethria, and even Fleur proved their species' predatory roots as they fell upon the offered steaks. That isn't to say Harry didn't enjoy his, though he didn't recognize the source animal; the taste was rich and somewhere between beef and lamb.

After the meal, the teachers gathered the group together in one of the sparing rooms, one that included a recreation of a small forest and a clearing with a stream crossing through it. Harry turned to pay close attention to Stalgin as he addressed the group. "As soon as you're on the surface, your job is to survive and terraform your world. As you work, the magic from imperfect spells will slowly saturate your world and encourage the growth of even mundane plants and animals. Eventually your efforts will produce worlds with plant life, ley-lines, and a magnetic field. However you will need to work together to accomplish this. Once you're on the surface one-fifth of the credits you earn will go into a group account, controlled by your group leader. We are going to choose leaders right now.

"Since none of you are adults we don't expect perfect maturity out of you, and something adolescents of many species have in common is that proving yourself stronger awards a certain amount of respect. Leaders have privileges and responsibilities, while they can give orders to others in their group, they are not permitted to be cruel. Neither can they do anything to stunt their fellow's growth; they are required to look after their group's health. Your AI will warn you about behaviors that approach abuse. Each pair will now have a sparring match in which the only restriction is that you are to do nothing our healers cannot fix by tomorrow. All of you should have seen enough while on the Dawn to know where that line is. Now, let's begin. Each of you are only allowed a single focus during your match."

Harry watched the earlier sparring matches and was impressed at the variety of spells used. Both male and female teens ended up as leaders of their groups, the deciding factor almost always their diligence in studying or reflexes. Betting started up fairly quickly, with the student's shouted bets being tracked and enforced by the watching AI. Harry stood with Sethria on his left and the group consisting of Madral, Shandris, Victor, and Fleur on his right. Getting a feel for placing bets, losing some but winning more, Harry shouted out as Victor and Shandris walked into the ring. "One hundred credits on both Stormrage siblings!"

Sethria quirked an eyebrow at that. Harry had been doing fairly well with the bets, but he still had less than eight hundred credits in total. However, after examining the two about to fight with her eyes and other, more arcane, senses she smirked and placed the same bet for two hundred credits. She had just over 2,300 in total, so wouldn't lose as much if they lost. A number of students took the bet, and groaned loudly when the match ended a moment later with Victor pinned to the dirt when Shandris turned into a large brown bear with a lunar symbol on its left shoulder.

Madral and Fleur's match took a few moments to arrange: Madral's staff had been empowered by a powerful being, it was a training tool that guided his spellcasting and would be unfair to use. After a bit of negotiation, Madral instead used druidic magic to grow two curved wooden glaives out of a nearby tree. During the ensuing match, Madral proved he had hardened them against magic and the balls of fire tossed at him by a Veela that quickly proved why she was onboard the Dawn in the first place. Still, Madral wasn't a slacker either and the match was fairly entertaining as he tried to get close and Fleur tried to keep him fighting at range. Eventually Madral got close to Fleur and proved that, thanks to his many older sisters beating the snot out of him in practice matches, he believed in the equality of the genders in training. Fleur gained a few sprains and some significant bruising before she went down and stayed down, but nothing that wouldn't be gone by the next morning if she saw a healer. There were groans as those who'd lost saw their credits transfer to Harry and Sethria.

Then, it was Harry and Sethria's turn in the ring. Harry had been thinking constantly about what he should do as they watched the other matches. He really didn't know anything about how Sethria fought other than that she could hurl a nasty amount of lightning from her hands and her apparent skill with a blade. Harry really didn't like his odds against Sethria in close quarters, what with the eager smile on her face when the teachers handed her a piece of Living Wood in the shape of a blunted sword with a slot for the crystal she wore on her neck. Apparently the crystal was important wherever she came from, because as soon as she placed the crystal into the slot, the sword seemed to change slightly and felt more… her. As soon as the match started, Harry cast a blasting hex into the dirt between them and ran deep into the small forest. He might not win, but he wanted to impress her if nothing else.

So, Harry retreated and quickly started trying to set a trap. Transfiguration was a school of magic that seemed to come easier to him than others, and in this life no one had ever tried convincing him that snakes were evil. A few moment's work gave him an army of crudely shaped serpents and a few hissed instructions sent them on their way. Moving quickly he transfigured a few larger snakes to act as his bodyguards, then he settled down to wait for Sethria to come to him. Harry had been told he had a rare magical talent, the ability to speak Parseltongue. It didn't give him the ability to control snakes, but apparently most serpents would at least be interested in speaking to him. Parseltongue was useful with some healing spells, curses, and animation magics; it even gave him an aptitude for spells that involved snakes. Since the basic transfiguration spells were fairly easy for him to master, Harry had worked on being able to create snakes easily whenever needed. (Life might be going well for him now, and he was unlikely to ever see his aunt and uncle again, but Harry refused to be a victim ever again.)

Eventually Sethria stalked into the bit of forest where Harry stood on a large tree limb high above the forest's floor, two large snakes at the base, one next to him and one hidden in the canopy nearby. No sooner had she stepped foot into the little clearing, than all the smaller snakes hidden under leaves began to move towards her. As expected she unleashed a storm of her lightning and destroyed them. Joke was on her, those little ones were purposefully shoddy work, and only existed to lull her into a false confidence. As she came closer, more and more serpents struck at her and were likewise destroyed. When she was almost in range of the tree, Harry sent out the dozen fourteen-foot vipers he'd hidden under the ground and behind trees. This time, when Sethria went to electrocute them they held up much better, thanks to a coating of rubber. (It wouldn't protect them entirely, but it would make her work harder to destroy them.) While she was distracted, Harry cast the largest water-summoning charm he could from his position above her.

Sadly, she sensed his trap and darted away with only a little of her own lightning shocking her. Naturally Harry rained down every spell he could think of without hindering his own snakes, and when she was nearly out of his line of sight, he triggered a section of the dirt to fall into the pit he'd quickly dug with transfiguration. It was only about ten feet to the metal of the ship's deck, but with her in a hole he could rain spells down on her until he actually hit her with something. That was when Harry discovered Sethria could apparently jump thirty feet in one vertical leap as she flew through the air straight at him. Harry also discovered she was capable of telekinesis when a branch suddenly broke and knocked him off his perch when he raised his wand to tag her with a stunning spell. When Harry landed on the forest floor after bouncing between a number of branches, he found Sethria wasn't one to show mercy to a fallen opponent or give them time to regain their feet. Once he'd lost his wand, Harry's only response to the beat down was a few flares of accidental magic that Sethria managed to avoid entirely.

While Sethria didn't show him mercy, she was careful to not seriously injure Harry. With the match decided, Sethria levitated Harry onto his feet and began walking back to the group. Harry hurt, but compared to his uncle or cousin she'd been gentle. If nothing else, he knew nothing was broken, so without a word of complaint he followed. He now understood what Stalgin had meant about Sethria forcing him to grow. One of the ship's healers checked him out briefly and had him drink a potion that eased most of the pain and began healing his bruises. Between the potion and his own magic, guided by his implants, Harry knew he was going to be perfectly fine by morning. In a positive turn, it seemed Sethria appreciated his indirect method of fighting, at least after she'd asked why he chosen that method. "You're like a third taller than me and you probably have twice as much muscle. Plus your focus is a sword. I assumed you knew how to use it and wanted it nowhere near me."

After dinner, Sethria followed Harry back to his room. Whatever species she actually was, apparently she didn't have the human nudity taboos Harry thought to himself as he soaked in warm water to relieve his aches and pains. He was pleased that Sethria had a few bruises of her own, even if they weren't anywhere near as extensive as his. At least one of his larger, hidden snakes must have surprised her while he'd been distracted.

Sethria didn't talk much as they got ready for bed. Harry was glad that someone had teleported Sethria's bed from her previous quarters. He wasn't sure whether or not he was afraid of her, but was glad he wasn't expected to sleep next to her. After the awkward experience of preparing for bed with an audience, Harry spent a few moments typing out a letter to Sirius. Just briefly describing his partner and attaching a photo before he turned in. Despite the residual pain and the odd feeling of his magic soothing his body, the day's exhaustion quickly took its toll. Harry slept the sleep of the exhausted as Sethria slept soundly in the knowledge her partner was at least tolerable.

~/*\~

The next morning Harry and pretty much every other student was at the spell casting range early, either working on learning something new or just racking up a few more credits. Harry found it a bit odd, but apparently Sethria was fairly limited in what magic she could use, even if the few spells she'd mastered were powerful. Stalgin and the other instructors eventually found the entire class busy at work, and chased them into the cafeteria to eat, announcing that until they started to grow their own food this might be their last chance for a freshly-prepared meal. Surprisingly the fare was a number of Earth breakfast foods again. Once the students had all started to eat, the instructors started to give out the gifts mentioned the day before.

A lot of students were given enchanted articles of clothing, things that would be useful on their new worlds. Victor received a long hooded coat with spells that would keep him comfortable in any weather as well as a walking staff with a magical core from the same creature his wand had 'settled' with. Fleur received a crystal focus that could hang on her neck and a pair of tall hiking boots with a myriad of enchantments to be the perfect size, to keep feet warm or cool, and to assist their wearer in keeping their footing. In fact, the boots were an extremely common gift, leading the students to consider the possibility that they would need to tread carefully on their new worlds. (Something that was entirely true. Compared to Earth, these worlds were just rock pushed together until they had near-Earth gravity and were stable enough to not fall apart into asteroids. Nothing had really settled yet.)

Sethria received boots in addition to the Living Wood sword she'd gotten yesterday that had now fully bonded with her crystal. Harry received boots and a vambrace that fit over his right forearm. It was a handy thing for sure, it had a slot to hold his wand and an expanded storage compartment. After the late breakfast and the gifts were given out, the instructors split the students into groups. Some would go straight to the construction bays where one of the ship's fabricators would create their housing before the Dawn secured it to the surface. Stalgin singled out Harry and Madral, speaking to them while the others nearby watched. After getting comfortable in one of the nearby chairs, Stalgin spoke to the two of them. "Harry, Madral, I have good news for the two of you. Because the Dawn's surface scans of the planet in this system have determined that the world you two are headed to is just slightly past your species' tolerance for heat, you're being given a massive discount on an enhancement ritual. If you remember, many rituals are horribly unsafe but some are both useful and worthwhile."

Stalgin brought up his holographic interface and interacted with it for a moment, then both Harry and Madral saw theirs open with the description of a 'Class Two Enhancement Ritual.' Letting them look at the particulars for a bit, Stalgin continued speaking after a few moments. "This ritual, Solar Attunement, allows your body to absorb sunlight and use it to restore your magic reserves; that will be useful immediately, but as you grow stronger it will be less useful as your reserves dwarf the incoming magic. That's the major effect, it also has three minor effects, all of which will prove useful. This ritual completely negates sunburn and grants your body a resistance to heat in general. It also gives you the ability to use Solar magic with study and practice; Solar magic mostly revolves around fire, purification, and imbuing land with magic that empowers life. Since your world is slightly hotter than expected, this will keep the two of you from suffering illness caused by the heat and sun."

Briefly, Harry and Madral glanced at Fleur and Sethria. They both knew that Fleur's ancestry gave her a predisposition to Fire magic, and apparently it also gave her a resistance to heat. Sethria apparently guessed the direction of their thoughts and spoke. "My species was born on Korriban."

It was a simple statement, but when Harry queried the computer for basic information about the world, it turned out her words conveyed all they needed to. Let it be said that Harry Potter felt no desire at all to visit that world. After the betting finished up yesterday and the frenzy of spellcasting this morning, Harry had eight hundred credits, but even with the discount the ritual completely wiped him out. But looking over the information on Solar Attunement, it was a ritual that would pay for itself in time. Without much hesitation Harry approved the purchase and followed behind Stalgin as the man led them to a special room they hadn't been allowed to access before. Rituals were touchy things, so a specially isolated room was needed.

This ritual was entirely unpleasant, as participants were required to add their blood to a prepared powder, knead it into a paste, and then paint symbols representing the Sun on themselves. Harry was still forming the last few symbols on his chest when Madral channeled magic to the interconnected array of symbols that reached nearly every part of his body and screamed as they burned into his skin. The burns needed to be left alone and heal on their own, eventually there wouldn't be so much as a mark on either of them as the magic permeated every cell of their skin. Harry was scared, but when he was ready he channeled the magic in the right way. It escaped no one's notice that Harry was able to bite back his own scream.

Even though the pain was intense, Harry tried not to complain. A rule of thumb with rituals was that ones like this were actually the safest; every ritual had a cost, something that was paid or sacrificed. The Solar Attunement Ritual's cost was paid up front in powerful magical ingredients, blood, and pain. Compared to seemingly less costly rituals whose cost was paid out over time or that demanded a piece of the caster, those rituals that demanded a cost up front were actually far cheaper. Harry and Madral would gain the full effects of the ritual as they healed, and if they spent time taking in the sunlight, their recovery time would be cut down greatly, especially under a star with living fire threaded into its heart during its creation.

~/*\~

From there, Harry returned to his room and gathered his personal effects; a few physical books, his clothing, and the plants he'd grown from cuttings or seeds during the last eleven months. Most of the plants growing onboard the Dawn were either edible or medicinal in some way and Harry had collected two dozen small plants, with twelve of them producing fruit or vegetables he liked, five whose leaves he could make into tea, three that produced pleasant scents and looked cool, and four with medicinal properties including one leafy green and blue striated fern whose properties were similar to willow bark, only more concentrated. After checking that ingesting that fern wouldn't interfere with the ritual, Harry started chewing a few leaves as he finished transferring his clothing from his drawers into his knapsack.

After he was packed he followed the group he'd found himself spending time with in the last few days with the addition of Sethria and Shandris; his collection of plants levitating behind him. (He wasn't the only student who had started growing useful plants, but his collection was the largest in his group.) It turned out to be a very long walk to the fabricators nestled on the lowest deck of the Just Before Dawn. When they arrived, they saw two houses being constructed around a metal frame out of some sort of resin and panels of imitation wood. Robotic arms moved here and there, using bolts to attach panels to metal beams and then filling the space between inner and outer walls with some kind of material that seemed very viscous and quickly dried in layers. What was to be the new residence of Victor Krum and Shandris Stormrage was being built as an odd fusion of two the distinct styles of their homelands. Harry was most interested in the domed structures attached to the house on two sides, which turned out to be solariums or greenhouses.

Once the first house, the one not about to house Victor and Madral's sister was completed, those watching got to see the Dawn deploy some kind of energy beam onto the rocky surface of the planet. It turned out the beam was fusing the rock into one cohesive piece, to keep the area the house would be installed on stable. Madral and his sister seemed to be making up for lost time and catching up as the Dawn entered the lower atmosphere and someone or something levitated the first house, with its new occupants inside, onto the surface. A few moments later, the Dawn repositioned and began stabilizing an area on the other side of the planet. When Victor and Shandris had been placed on the surface and the Dawn moved to the next planet, Harry tried to reassure Madral. The elf was a little upset that he wouldn't see his sister again in person even though the planet she was on was in the same system as where they'd be living. Harry reminded him that they'd seen magicals flying through space under their own power. "I'm not saying it's an easy skill to learn, but do you really think we can't learn it?"

As the ship moved to the next barren world of rock, the fabricator activated again. Two sailing ships slowly took shape as the Dawn began an intensive scan of the planet's surface. Between the four of them about to land on the surface, they would have to decide on a name for it. Madral's depressed mood lifted a little as he watched the ship that would be the first to be completed, based on how the robotic arms were focusing on it. It was interesting to watch the ships be assembled, the fabricator was applying layers of some material over a skeletal frame, like with the houses. Harry wasn't sure what it was being built out of, only that it was likely every bit as tough as the standard houses for those who would be living on land. Madral's ship was elegant, built out of a purple synthetic material and when the ship's frame was complete they could see the silver sails with light purple designs being loaded into the cargo hold. It was not a small ship, holding enough rooms to comfortably house two dozen people in spacious individual rooms in addition to a galley, dining room, and many others whose purpose hadn't been decided yet.

Looking through the energy field keeping the ship's atmosphere inside, they watched the Dawn fire an energy beam onto the surface again as the fabricator built the first ship's uppermost deck. Only a few moments later it was time for Madral and Fleur to depart. While Harry was intending to say goodbye with a manly handshake, Madral pulled him into a hug. The four of them said their goodbyes, and Madral spoke one last time while climbing a series of ladder rungs on the ship's side. "Stay safe Harry. Remember we can contact each other anytime, and don't worry about the fact that it will be night for me when it's day for you; my species is nocturnal anyway."

With that, Harry waved as his best mate entered the pressurized area below deck and his ship was moved onto the surface. When the Dawn moved to reposition, he saw that the other ship was nearly complete, and chuckled at its appearance. It was a full-size replica of the HMS Victory, a rather famous British sailing ship, with only the interior layout and the materials changed. He had no idea if it had any cannons, since all the gunports were closed. Moving to get a better view of the back, Harry realized there was one large difference compared to the original: like Madral's ship, (which wasn't any smaller) the rear was one large plane of glass, or something a little stronger, with bedrooms and rooms for growing plants individually isolated with the massive window making up the entire wall. A third of the window would even be underwater eventually.

Speaking of Madral's ship, Harry found himself just a little envious over his friend's single sail and simple rigging. This replica of the HMS Victory was going to be an utter nightmare to rig with ropes and sails when the time came. Small flashes of light revealed both his and Sethria's bed had been moved into rooms near the center of the massive window. All too soon it was time to climb aboard so Harry did, following Sethria up the ladder which was made of some easily-gripped composite material attached directly to the side of the ship. Harry climbed with his wand held in his mouth, using the focus to levitate his plants up after him.

Taking his first steps on the strangely warm deck, Harry re-adjusted the rucksack on his shoulder and briefly took in the large exterior deck. Depending on the weather, I could grow a lot of plants in pots out here. Taking his wand into his hand, he hurried after Sethria who had already reached the door just past the ship's wheel that led into the airtight rooms below deck. Next to the door were two breathing masks, and a message popped up on the display over his left eye informing him that until the planet gained more atmospheric moisture and much more oxygen, the masks would be needed whenever they left the climate-controlled interior rooms. Without much trouble, he followed Sethria to the giant window in the top-most room at the rear of the ship. (That room happened to be a very large shower, like you'd see in a locker room, but much more comfortable.) Moving to stand next to her, together they watched their ship exit the rapidly-shrinking crescent-shaped Just Before Dawn and descend to the planet's surface.

Despite having seen the projection when they were assigned to planets, Harry was still shocked to see nothing but barren rocks and dust as they descended. Very interested in the place they'd be landing, Harry watched their sailing ship approach a sloping valley in a series of hills, where presumably the peak would one day become an island. (Or at least it would be a good spot to build an island on top of.) The entire area was smoking stone and looked like it had recently melted; the rim of the valley was a little taller than the main mast of their ship at the highest point. Both Harry and Sethria were thrown from their feet when the ship came to a rest, not expecting such a hard landing. Harry was glad he'd charmed his potted plants against shattering or spilling their contents as he lost control of his levitation charm.

As the two regained their footing and made their way towards the deck, looking to get a better view of their new world, they heard a notice from the AI that had chosen to join them on this world. "Warning: Exterior door sealed. The Just Before Dawn'sefforts to stabilize this area have left it heated beyond your species' tolerance levels."

With his plans of seeing this world and feeling its air on his skin ruined, Harry spoke up. "Thank you for the warning AI. What should we call you?"

"You may call me Sal."

"Nice to meet you Sal. I guess we'll explore the ship instead. Is there a place inside where we can conjure water or electricity?" The need for water was self-explanatory and Harry assumed there was a need for magically generated electricity to keep the reserves charged. Something was maintaining the comfortable temperature and powering the lights, after all.

"Any water conjured will be drained into the ship's water supply in an identical manner to the Just Before Dawnand excess will be drained onto the surface. Be aware that waste water is not recycled given your ability to conjure more. On that note, you will have to decide how to handle this ship's sewage sometime in the next two months. I recommend a pipe buried in gravel covered by at least four feet of sand. Electricity may be input at a terminal on each deck, they are clearly marked."

"Thank you." Harry glanced at Sethria. "I guess I'll get my plants set up in my room, explore a bit and then start conjuring?"

"Yes. I will examine our new home as well. This primitive vessel will need a name."

Harry paused for a moment. "On the outside at least, this is a copy of a famous sailing ship called the HMS Victory. We could call it the Victory?"

Sethria looked at the boy for a moment. She'd never been great at naming things, and Victory wasn't the worst name for a vessel. "Victory is good enough. Now get busy, remember you're at zero credits now."

With a polite nod, Harry walked out of the room and searched for the way down. It took him some time to find his room down two flights of stairs and he was surprised by what he found: his bedroom had light blue walls with emerald borders and accents. It was large, much larger than his room on the Dawn, and even had an attached bathroom. While his bed was there, the rest of the room was bare save a desk and comfortable chair. As Harry placed his collected plants in front of the massive window and began watering them, he smiled. This wasn't the best or the worst outcome, but he would make it work. He wasn't exactly happy about being under the command of his partner, but she was undeniably stronger than him, for now. He'd spent a lot of time browsing the things credits could be used for, and if he worked hard and spent wisely, it wouldn't be long before he was the one in command. He had the right to challenge her for leadership once every year, after all. Harry Potter had no intention of being anyone's servant if he could help it, but he was also smart enough to wait until he was ready to take control of his life. With his plants taken care of he made sure the luxurious bathroom had enough drains and began conjuring water. While he worked he opened his interface and opened windows to display his current credit total, the Victory's current water supply, (starting at zero and climbing surprisingly slowly) and his saved pages in the credit market program. As he worked he realized that the sunlight and humid air around him were soothing the burns from his first ritual.

~/*\~

A/N: Not sure if I'll continue this or not, but I will be posting the completed chapters when I don't have anything else ready to go. I'm trying to get back to posting a new chapter of something every two weeks; I'd do more, but I'm kind of slow. I've mostly been working on Children of Prophecy, which takes the Kitsune OC I created for this fic and introduces her to Harry in a nearly-cannon setting.

Anyway, please leave a review, each one helps motivate me to keep writing!

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven: Dry Conditions

Harry spent the first hour on his new planet working hard to conjure water in the ridiculously large master bathroom. He was disappointed when Sal informed him that he wouldn't earn credits until his conjured water reached the planet, either by the overflow of the ship's water tank or when the waste tank was emptied. The AI had chosen to change careers from an administrative assistant on the Just Before Dawn to Planetary Overseer for their new, sparsely populated world; at the moment it was a simple job, he simply maintained the shields that deflected excess radiation, oversaw the expansion of the planetary satellite network, and monitored the four colonists. Harry found himself chatting with Sal as he worked, apparently the AI had copious amounts of free time at the moment. By the time Harry was ready for a break he had filled sixty percent of the Victory's water reserves. I'll conjure more later, for now I could use something to eat.

Leaving his room behind, Harry decided to explore the ship a little. As expected, the rooms in the back of the ship were all mostly empty, with only a few pieces of furniture, mostly shelves or dressers. Harry figured they'd end up as either bedrooms or dedicated greenhouses eventually. Curious, Harry spoke up. "Sal, what is the ship's battery at?"

"The Victory's battery was initially at five percent, charge is now at thirty-six percent."

Harry thought for a moment as he made his way through the hall towards the front of the ship, finding a lot of storage rooms and empty space. "Sethria?"

"Indeed."

Still feeling like exploring, Harry continued on. He'd already located the ship's fully-stocked automated infirmary, a collection of seeds for edible plants in a storage room, and the food storage. As promised, there were six months of preserved meals in a rather large freezer and six months of ration bars with perfectly-tailored nutrition for each of them. Feeling hungry, Harry had taken one of the human-tailored ration bars and was munching on it as he explored. The Dawn's crew had provided enough bars, each wrapped in a thin biodegradable film for freshness, to easily last Harry for six months, even considering the endless appetite of a growing boy. The bar wasn't bad, but wasn't excellent either; mostly it was dry, slightly crunchy, and bland. But after his relatives had denied him enough to eat for so long he wouldn't be complaining. Conjuring some water into a cup he'd taken with him, Harry drank deeply to wash down the meal. Taking a left turn, he eventually came to an empty room where the ship's cannons would have been on the original Victory. After checking with Sal to ensure water would drain properly, Harry took a seat against the wall and started conjuring water. He managed to create more water than the drains could easily handle, but getting wet didn't bother him. His shorts and shoes wouldn't be hurt by the water and even inside the Victory it was warm this close to the outer hull.

Instead of splitting his attention, this time he focused entirely on conjuring water and according to his interface he created a little more water per minute than earlier. Harry smiled when the Victory's tanks finished filling and Sal opened one of the ship's gunports slightly to allow the foot of standing water to drain out onto the surface. Standing and moving to a window, he saw that Sal hadn't been lying about the heat outside, the water that touched the rock instantly boiled into steam. When the water finished draining, Harry flicked a spell at himself and instantly dried himself by evaporating all of the water on his skin and clothes. Feeling the need for a break from conjuring, Harry moved on and eventually found the ship's folded sails; it turned out they were rather comfortable to rest on. Calling up a holographic keyboard, Harry typed out a message and sent it to his three fellow colonists. 'Does anyone have an idea what to name our world? Apparently the only rule is that the name needs to be unique in this galaxy.'

Deciding to send out a few more messages, Harry quickly composed a message to his godfather, letting him know he was now safely on a world that didn't yet have a name. Out of the four girls he'd been writing to, Harry chose to write to Hermione first and get to the others later. Katie, Fay, and Padma were nice, but they didn't seem as interesting as Hermione did with her endless wonder of magic and her thirst to learn everything she could. She'd been raised in the mundane world too, and that felt more important every time he had to explain something to Fay or Padma. Maybe later I'll ask if she wants to join me here? If she wasn't lying about how powerful she was she'll probably get assigned to a world like those of us on the Dawn if she doesn't pick one for herself.

After sending out his letters he made a query to his interface and discovered the local time was mid-afternoon of a day that lasted about twenty-five hours. Then he looked into the weather conditions which turned out to be extremely dry, hot during the day and cooler at night. Standing and continuing to explore what would be his home, potentially for the rest of his life, Harry was pleased by the amount of empty space. There were only two people living here for now, but that would change eventually. For the next few hours Harry was either conjuring water or exploring the ship when he needed a rest, until about seven pm local time when Sethria sent him a message commanding him to join her in the dining room. (Given the planet's longer day/night cycle, 'midnight' wasn't at 24:00, but 25:22 am. The longer days would take a little getting used to, but Harry wasn't worried.)

Managing to avoid getting lost on the way, Harry made good time and found his partner carrying two of the frozen meals to a table made out of a material that looked and felt like real wood (but was probably something else) that could seat twenty people easily. Sethria claimed the spicy fried noodle dish with some kind of red meat, leaving Harry with a bowl of hearty stew. Thanks to the devices built into the room's wall similar to a microwave, (they were actually a slightly more complicated device that removed the seal and preservation charm before it reheated the meals) their meals were soon ready and piping hot. There was a full kitchen in a room to the side of the dining room, but it wasn't like they had ingredients or the inclination to cook right now. Harry sat across from Sethria as they dug in. His meal was full of vegetables he'd never seen before and a dense meat that had obviously been cooked for a long time to ensure it was tender; he could tell by the smell that Sethria's meal was spicier than he'd be able to stomach but she was clearly enjoying it. Neither spoke during the meal, both watching the sunset through a west-facing window.

When they were finished and had placed their trays into a chute that led into the ship's waste tank and their silverware into a rather enormous dishwasher, Sethria made a noise in her throat to attract Harry's attention. "We're going to turn in early and get started tomorrow as soon as the sun comes up. I want to see the area around us, and we'll earn as many credits as we can. Tomorrow we'll start figuring out what we need to purchase first."

"Sounds good." When it was apparent she didn't intend to say anything else, Harry continued. "Have a good night Sethria, I'll see you in the morning."

With that, Harry headed for bed. Sethria was something of a puzzle, after yesterday's beat-down during their match he was worried that she would be cruel, but as he spent more time around her, he didn't think that was right. He shrugged. It isn't like I won't have plenty of time to get to know her, after all.

As he woke to the sound of his alarm and the rising sun blazing through his window Harry was tempted to stay in bed a little longer, but decided not to risk angering his partner. He was very glad he'd gotten to keep his enchanted bed from the Just Before Dawn, it was easily the most comfortable thing he'd ever slept on; the fact that the bed and sheets were self-cleaning was just a small bonus compared to the comfort. Taking care of a few morning rituals, he stumbled out into the ship's storage room and picked up a ration bar. Sitting down at the table he grabbed two clean glasses and filled them with conjured water. Yes, there was a faucet in the kitchen, but Stalgin and the other instructors on the Dawn had encouraged him to use magic to conjure whenever possible, to make it a habit. As he crunched on the bland but inoffensive bar, Sethria joined him with a bar of her own, obviously just barely awake. She must have sensed his question because she answered before he could speak. "I'd kill for some Caf, but I don't want to waste the credits to buy some yet. I don't like mornings."

Harry replied after chewing and swallowing. "If you buy seeds from the plant it's made from I can probably grow it. One of my tea plants might help you wake up, but they aren't ready to harvest yet. If you like it, I can make cuttings and grow more."

For the first time, Harry saw a relieved expression on his partner's face. "I appreciate it. For now though I can do without."

Neither minded the silence that came as they finished eating. Harry left when he finished a little faster than his red-skinned companion and returned with his empty ruck-sack, into which he threw two ration bars for each of them and a pair of sturdy cups he would be filling with water as needed. Harry adjusted his new vambrace and enchanted leather boots. He was glad both were enchanted to keep his skin cool, otherwise he figured he'd be yearning for sandals given the quickly rising temperature outside. He was wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, both white; as he'd been falling asleep the previous night he'd taken a closer look at the weather projections. As far as was likely to travel for the next year the world was desert; dry, scorching, searing, and really rather hot were the best descriptive words. Water and plant life would change that eventually, but that would be some time coming.

Together, they walked up the stairs to the entrance they'd used yesterday on the Dawn. There was another entrance at the other end of the ship, but it was a bit of a walk from their bedrooms and the dining hall. It took a moment to figure out which breathing mask was which, but once they did Harry tapped his with his wand and changed its color from white to a light brown. As they donned the masks which comfortably covered their mouth and nose while leaving their eyes and ears exposed, Sal spoke up. "These are standard masks for magicals commonly used when an atmosphere is not breathable, but isn't toxic. In this case the outside atmosphere is slightly thin and completely dry in addition to not containing enough oxygen. The masks work by absorbing magic from you to transmute an ideal gas mixture. They will be required until this world gains more water, higher atmospheric pressure, and sufficient plant life to process carbon dioxide."

Now ready to leave Harry placed his wand into his vambrace and watched Sethria place her Living Wood sword on her back with something like a common sticking charm. Her focus had continued to change and now boasted a light gray grip and royal amethyst 'blade,' with streaks of darker purple flowing from the crystal embedded in the base of the blade. As far as magical foci went, Harry thought Sethria's was very cool. Now ready, Sethria opened the door and the two walked out into the morning sun.

Harry's first impression was that the air was utterly devoid of moisture, but then he walked out into the sunlight. He had been extremely curious about what living under a sun that had been ignited by and infused with Life-Fire would be like ever since he'd watched seven magicals conjure hydrogen and forge it into a star. Standing in the unfiltered sunlight really was an entirely different effect compared to watching from the Dawn, though some of that was probably from the Solar Attunement ritual. Harry felt energized, powerful, and like he was ready for a fight. He glanced at Sethria before grabbing control of himself. He was glad his burns had finished healing overnight and yesterday's ritual was active now. He could feel the sun's energy flowing into him, strengthening him. With a smirk, he dashed over to the Victory's edge and cast the largest water-summoning spell he could over the side; it turned out to be the largest he'd ever done. Sethria caught his attention however and he watched as she simply leapt off the side. Harry cast a feather-fall spell he'd learned on the Dawn and joined her, though he took a lot longer to land.

Touching down, he realized that the stone he was standing on was jagged in places from when the Dawn had fused it into one piece for stability. Well, I'll just need to be careful not to fall down until we have the chance to smooth it down a bit. Looking closer at where the Victory rested, he realized that the ship's hull had literally been sunken into molten stone which then cooled to hold the ship in place. What on Earth is this ship made out of? Wood wouldn't have survived being dipped into molten stone. Taking a few steps, Harry felt something was off. He jumped a few times, reaching farther than he normally could have on Earth. What… oh, we only have eighty percent of Earth's gravity right now. Our section on the Dawn was mimicking Earth's gravity and atmosphere.

Looking around, Harry began to follow Sethria who had started walking. As he moved, he took the time to glance around the oval-shaped valley where the Victory rested almost as far from the entrance as possible. It was about a mile across at its widest, and only a third that where the Victory rested near a foothill. The walls sloped upwards steeply enough that he really didn't want to try climbing them. There was nothing but bare stone as far as the eye could see. Following behind Sethria they moved towards the end of the valley and Harry found himself curious how fast water would evaporate. So he began conjuring cold water with his wand pointed off to the right. Looking back, Sethria smirked and unleashed a torrent of lightning with her left hand, aiming far enough away that it wasn't a danger to them. Her efforts weren't really accomplishing much other than releasing magic into the environment; like Harry's conjured water, it would take a very long time to saturate a dry world. Harry hadn't realized how hot it was, more proof that his ritual had worked, but he was dismayed at how between the heat and lack of moisture in the air the conjured water evaporated within moments of being created as it spread out along the brown sun-baked stone.

Before his time on the Dawn, the two-mile hike to the mouth of the valley would have exhausted Harry, but he wasn't afraid of exercise any longer. Between his efforts to get into shape and the Solar Attunement ritual he found he didn't mind the heat, and the rough terrain where it was difficult to keep his footing didn't stop him. Still, both he and Sethria had taken to pausing every twenty minutes to drink down some water. It was awkward, slipping the masks up just enough to chug the water but thankfully the air wasn't toxic. Neither of them would get enough oxygen by breathing the planet's air, but a lungful wasn't enough to harm either of them. Both carried the sturdy cups Harry had taken from the galley, and whenever needed he would rinse out the dust and fill them with cool, pure water. The heat was not the problem for either of them, Solar Attunement left Harry feeling completely comfortable and the world Sethria's species came from was nearly as hot as this one. It was the fact that there was no atmospheric moisture and their skin was constantly losing their body's water that drove their thirst.

As they reached the space where the valley met the surrounding plain of fractured stone, they paused for a moment to take in the scenery and gulp down more water. Harry was thoughtful as he looked at the hills to either side of the valley. The mouth of the valley was only about a quarter of a mile wide, which gave him an idea. Harry spoke up. "We might be able to build a dam and flood the valley. I'm not strong enough to keep it full right now, but I will be eventually."

Sethria turned to him, wiping dust off her face. "How long will that be?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't really know. I don't have any particular talent for water magic, but a ritual or bonding to a magical creature could give me a boost. Sal, if you're listening, would we earn credits for building a lake with fish if we built a dam here? When the water levels rise the fish would just swim out and populate the new ocean."

It only took a moment before the artificial voice responded, the sound being projected from the implants both colonists had attached to their left ears. "Yes, however credit value would vary wildly depending on animal populations, size of the ecosystem, and biological diversity. Based on the size of the valley, and assuming you manage to create a simple and stable ecosystem, the base value would be roughly 40,000 credits. You would receive more credits for a more diverse ecosystem or any magical species that thrived within."

Sethria spoke up. "Do you have any advice on pulling that off Sal? We don't exactly have a supply of Ferrocrete lying around."

Sal responded, accessing their implants to open projections of the credit market to pages showing five digital books: 'Basics of Architecture' -35 Credits, 'Basic Magical Construction' -55 Credits, 'Introduction to Alchemy' -100 Credits, 'Intermediate Industrial Alchemy' -175 Credits, and 'A Colonist's Guide to Managing Aquatic Ecosystems' -25 Credits. "The last book is widely regarded as the foremost guide for establishing an aquatic ecosystem, and includes many useful resources."

Harry began reading the descriptions of the books, but Sethria got his attention and gestured to the wide plain of broken rocks and dust past their valley. "We'll worry about that later, for now let's earn what we can. There's a lot we'll need to buy."

Nodding in understanding, Harry spent his time conjuring water that immediately either seeped into cracks in the rocks or evaporated. Harry applied himself to pouring his emotion and intent into the spell. This was one of the ways he'd been taught to make a spell stronger, but it wasn't easy balancing the emotion and intent with the normal flow of magic even with a simple spell. It took him a great many tries, but slowly he got better at it. While he was glad to be producing even more frigid water than before, (conjuring cold water was slightly more efficient than warm) the scale of their task seemed daunting and impossible. He glanced over to where Sethria had wandered to, apparently having found a vein of iron in one of the exposed boulders and was alternating which hand she used to throw lightning at the scorched stone, and sighed before redoubling his efforts. Sethria wasn't accomplishing all that much, just releasing magic into their new world, but her work ethic inspired him to work harder.

Sethria continued to not say very much as they ate lunch, but seemed grateful for the transfigured umbrella Harry had created; even for a desert species like hers it was getting to be hot out as the sun hit its zenith. (Harry managed to get through lunch with only one coughing fit caused by the dry air. Sethria apparently could suppress her body's response if she wanted to.) "This is going to be an enormous task, Harry. Turning this," She waved a hand around the barren landscape. "into a water-world will take years, or decades, or the rest of our lives. We're both going to work hard and make more progress each day, understand? I refuse to be shown up by those two on the other side of the planet!"

Harry smiled and nodded his head. "Madral's my friend, but that's no reason to let him beat us. Sal is keeping a counter on our contributions to terraforming. Madral has got me beat for now, but Fleur isn't very good at conjuring water. She's not as strong as he is either. Then again, we'll all get stronger over time."

"Grimwark, my instructor on the Dawn, told me that Madral is roughly my equal right now, but he doesn't have as much potential for growth as you or I do. If we work hard and keep training nothing is beyond our reach, you saw the team forge a star, right?"

Harry nodded. That had been a humbling sight, seeing the team conjure the material and then build a star and solar system. Sethria continued. "Even that kind of power isn't beyond us. Work hard and we'll get stronger every day! Now let's get going!"

When he'd first learned the basic Water-Conjuring Charm, Harry was able to produce about the same volume of water as an indoor faucet with good pressure. Five months into his stay on the Dawn, he'd upgraded that to a particularly strong garden hose. Thanks to the Solar Attunement ritual Harry was now approaching the volume of water a fire hose could put out. More and more water poured from the tip of his wand, rushing down the slope and disappearing into the broken rocks when the water rushed past the edge of the area the Dawn had fused together for them.

Breaks came and went until the sun was heading towards the horizon, and the two began the hike back. Both were exhausted, caked in dry sweat and dust that had covered them when a wind kicked up and both settlers had been pelted before Harry managed to transfigure a shelter. The sudden sandstorm hadn't lasted long, but the small pebbles thrown around had been painful. And they still had nearly two miles to hike uphill to get home. It was pitch black when they finally did reach the Victory, the only light coming from a ball of light Harry had conjured; it was unnerving looking into the sky without seeing the stars or moon. Sethria, her natural abilities letting her read his emotions easily, spoke up. "The other stars are there, but they're so new the light hasn't reached us yet, I don't know how long that will take. I'm sure we'll get a moon at some point too, it makes sense to have tides on an ocean world."

(Both avoided saying, or even thinking, about the fact that when Andromeda had been destroyed even the existing light from its own stars and the neighboring galaxies had been consumed.)

When they finally reached the Victory, Harry fumbled his first attempt to climb the ladder set into the hull. Taking pity on him, since despite all her training she was nearly as tired, Sethria simply picked Harry up bridal style and briefly used magic to enhance her physical abilities, leaping up and landing on the deck. Given that she'd expended too much energy that day, to her surprise she failed to land gracefully and fell onto the deck in a tangle of limbs with her fellow settler. After untangling themselves, they both made their way inside and had a ration bar and water for dinner. Sal found himself amused when both of them fell asleep in the spa-style baths that graced the Victory's two master bathrooms. Deciding they'd had a long day, 'he' (given he existed as data, traditional gender pronouns weren't accurate, but Sal preferred to use the masculine ones) simply drained the water and warmed the bathrooms. While not the best place to sleep, they would be comfortable enough until morning.

The next morning, both settlers woke when the sun invaded their windows. Not long after, they stumbled out of their rooms and headed to the galley. Taking a few moments to look through the huge freeze Harry smiled when he found one of the favorite breakfasts he'd been introduced to on the Dawn. He wasn't exactly sure of the name (he'd heard it called three different ones) or where it came from but the dish was small spiced sausages dipped in batter and baked, served with a slightly sweet sauce and a large serving of alien fruit that paired excellently with the meal. Sethria wasn't far behind him, and she picked out a full English Breakfast platter out of curiosity, drawn by the meat it contained. Thankfully there were a pair of 'microwaves' built into the wall, so neither of them had to wait on the other. Only a few moments later the two were sitting down at the table and breaking their fast together. Out of habit, Harry saved the single seed he found in his fruit; after it dried he would try planting it.

As they ate in silence, still a bit groggy (apparently sleeping in a bath, comfortable seats or not wasn't the secret to getting a restful night's sleep) Harry opened his interface and checked yesterday's credit total. Sixty-seven isn't bad, it's more than I've ever gotten in a day except with the betting on the matches a few days ago. I bet I can hit eighty today if I work hard enough. Flipping through the credit market, Harry opened some of his saved pages. A familiar would be nice, as would another ritual, but I'm not sure what my first purchase should be. I'm at least a month or two away from a purchase that big, both cost thousands of credits. Harry directed his attention to Sethria and closed his interface when she made that sound in her throat she'd been using to get his attention. When she saw she had his attention, Sethria spoke.

"I meant to say this last night, but we were exhausted. We both earn credits for our own work, but twenty percent of what we earn goes into an account that I have control over. I've decided that the group fund will be used to buy things that either help both of us or our efforts in general, but at my discretion we can both borrow from the group fund. Those books Sal mentioned earlier will be purchased by the group fund, things like a 'familiar' or rituals will be purchased by us individually. Once we have a lake, buying plants and animals to stock it with will be bought with the group fund. Understand? I'm not sure about the transit fees for additional settlers yet." When Harry nodded she continued. "The first purchase we need is transportation. You can conjure water anywhere, but I get far less credits for my lightning unless I'm at one of the 'Spike' installations. Sal said it would be a few day's travel to the nearest one on foot but the rocks they built the planet out of aren't stable yet, so it isn't safe to walk."

Harry considered what she'd said. "That makes sense. I can loan you some credits from my personal account too. I don't suppose you can use teleportation magic?"

Sethria shook her head. "No, not really. Thanks to my ancestry I'm pretty limited in what kinds of magic I can use. There is one technique I might be able to use, but it's far too advanced for me, it'll be years at least before I'm capable of it. Maybe by then there will be enough magic on this world to make it possible."

"Don't try it before you're ready, screwing up any teleportation spell is absurdly dangerous."

"I'm sure we saw the same safety videos, you don't need to tell me that." Both colonists had seen recordings of various transportation spells going wrong, something many humans would find similar to what they themselves had been shown while learning to drive. Although, 'Dangers of Magical Travel' showed people who had turned themselves inside out or who had fused themselves into objects instead of the messy results of car accidents.

A synthetic voice spoke up. "Use of magical teleportation will not be safe until you and other settlers have shed enough magic to saturate the environment. It will take several years, at least, for that to happen."

Morning stretched out and both settlers browsed their interfaces, relaxing a little after the long day yesterday, looking through the possibilities for traveling quickly around this planet. That reminded Harry, and he read the response from Fleur and Madral to his message the day before about a name for their planet. So far none of them had any really good ideas. Harry replied with a short message and the suggested names 'Safe Harbor,' 'Sealandia,' and 'Isle.' After that, Harry joined Sethria in searching for affordable transportation. Thanks to the advanced search function, it wasn't long before both he and Sethria had found a few possibilities. Harry went first: "This is a kit to build a flying disc that can carry both of us and should work in a low-magic environment as long as one of us is touching it. It costs 3,700 credits, which is the lowest I've seen."

With a flick of his hand, Harry sent the page describing his find to Sethria's interface where it opened a new window. Reading the page quickly, Sethria spoke up. "Sal? I don't think I can manage the enchanting work for this so the control matrix won't respond to me, can you confirm that based on my file?"

There was a brief pause, which made Harry think Sal had transferred himself to either Madral and Fleur's ship or one of the satellites in orbit. He did respond after a moment, though. "One moment please. I believe you are correct, your magic would not mesh well with this kit; it is well within Harry's abilities however. For your own use, I suggest the magical speeder bike in your fourth tab, not only would it fit you well, but it would easily function in the current environment."

Sethria held back a groan at the bike's price, 5,475 credits; still, she had not forgotten the warning about being polite to the AI managing their planet. "Thank you Sal. Harry, between us we're only about 1,300 credits short for the disc kit. We might buy that first, or save up for the speeder kit, I'm not sure. For today, I want you to work closer to the ship while I explore around a bit more. I have enough precognitive ability to stay safe if a rock shifts, but I might not be able to keep us both safe."

"Okay. Be sure to bring enough water, I think we have a pair of enchanted canteens around here somewhere, but they might take a while to fill."

Harry ended up filling Sethria's canteen with his Water-Conjuring spell since the tap in the galley was far too slow for her. A few moments later they were both on the deck and left in it in the same manner as the previous day. Remembering how great the sunlight had felt on his skin yesterday, Harry removed his shirt and left it tied on the lowest rung of the ladder on the Victory's hull, wearing only shorts, his vambrace, and enchanted boots. He walked for a few moments down the valley before beginning his task while watching Sethria vault up the valley's steep walls, using jumps and acrobatics he knew for certain he couldn't manage himself. Another slow, boring day shaped up where he poured water down the valley, watching it evaporate far before reaching the line where stone hadn't been fused together. Feeling bored, Harry decided to try something he hadn't been able to accomplish on the Dawn. The River Summoning spell was a more complex, more demanding spell than he was used to, but it had been the spell Madral had ended the splash-war in the classroom with. It took a few attempts where his efforts to correctly weave the magic failed, sometimes resulting in a small explosion of freezing mist, but eventually Harry managed the spell. While the stream of conjured water flowing downhill still wasn't reaching the end of the valley, it was getting closer with the easily doubled volume of water.

After using the new spell for nearly an hour, Harry had a good enough grasp on the mechanics that he could let his mind wander again. Other than the lack of moisture in the air, the weather felt great thanks to Solar Attunement and he was recovering almost as much magic as he was expending. Harry's mind drifted back to Stalgin instructing his class on the Dawn.

"A spell isn't mastered until it's effortless and can be cast without a focus. A focus, whether that be a wand, staff, or magical gem, is a tool, and only a tool. They are useful, and make spellcasting easier, but also limit how powerful a spell can become; worse, they allow magicals to be lazy, to cast magic without really understanding what they are doing. To master a spell without a focus, the easiest way is to cast it with your focus until the spell becomes effortless, then focus on how your magic flows and shapes, learn its every movement and change. Then you begin your attempts to cast it without a focus. The first spells you learn will be the most difficult, but the more you learn the easier it will get."

Harry smiled and after a break to drink some water, rose from the transfigured chair (something he clearly needed more practice with, it was not comfortable) and sheathed his wand. Taking a deep breath Harry raised his right hand and focused on the weave of the simple Water-Conjuring spell, something he'd used often on the Dawn. The River-Conjuring spell was too new to use, but he knew the simpler charm like the back of his hand by now. Unsurprisingly, Harry's first attempt at wandless magic failed, as did his fifth and tenth and twentieth. It was easy to get frustrated, but Harry kept at it instead. On his twenty-fifth attempt, he conjured a small spurt of water wandlessly. On his thirty-fourth attempt, he managed it again and achieved a steady stream for a moment before the spell fell apart. Sagging, Harry went back to his uncomfortable chair and sat down for another break.

While he recovered, he found himself browsing some of his saved pages in the Credit Market. Buying another ritual was tempting, especially one like Aquatic Adaptation, which would give him the ability to breathe water (not exactly useful yet) and make his water-based spells easier and more powerful. Instead Harry moved on to the Familiar shop. There were a lot of options, and millions (probably billions) more that were being filtered based on the Empire's plans for this world. Magic wasn't a singular force, there were variations and 'flavors;' energies that were similar and could mix together. The available familiars all came from four particular worlds, two of them were his Earth and Madral's Azeroth. He didn't know much about the other two, but from one in particular (Irritatingly also called 'Earth' in the native's language; apparently many species never bothered to give their planet a real name until they achieved space flight) there were over a thousand options available, and an earlier look had suggested that quite a few would be useful on this world, especially combined with the Familiar Bonding ritual.

As interesting as some of the options were, even compared to some from the world of his birth like the Horned Serpent or Wampus cat, he simply didn't have the credits to purchase one yet. He'd always wanted a pet, not that he would have dared to bring one home to the Dursleys. I'm so glad I never have to see any of them again. Rising again, he switched back to River-Conjuring spell with his wand, determined to earn more credits than yesterday.

After eating a ration bar for lunch, Harry got back to using the River-Summoning charm, but decided to mix in some of the focus exercises he'd been taught. For spells, the amount of precision you put into them was nearly as important as the amount of power, so Harry was determined to improve in both. When conjuring objects, the more precise you were the more material you could conjure for the same amount of magical energy. With the charm he was using, that meant that if he only wanted water, he should try to make it as cold as possible to avoid wasting magical power either heating the water or summoning heat along with the water. By the time the sun was sinking into the horizon he hadn't managed to conjure freezing water yet, but he did get water that was far too cold to go swimming in; the mist blowing back at him was almost enough to convince him to go back for his shirt.

He didn't realize that Sethria had been standing behind him for a while, watching him focus on his spell. After tapping him on the shoulder and making him jump, the red-skinned teen snorted. "Come on, let's head in for the night."

Harry followed without complaint. He felt like he had put in a good day's effort if nothing else, and was ready for a bath. Turning to look at Sethria, he saw the teen had worn similar clothing to him, a pair of shorts, a comfortable loose shirt and the same type of enchanted boots he was using. She was covered in dust and it looked like she had tiny pebbles in her hair. "Did some rocks shift under you?"

With a chuckle, Sethria shook her head. "No, after I finished exploring the area I went to the edge of the melted area and spent some time training my telekinesis. It isn't something I'm weak in, but it might be useful when we build the dam. I can lift a stone four or five times my own weight, but that isn't as much as I'd like."

"Doesn't hurt that the system gives us credits for releasing magic into the environment." Harry idly noted how sweaty he was before he continued. "Want to get cleaned up before we eat?"

Sethria chuckled and shook her head harder this time, chips and shards of stone falling out of her hair and making small noises as they hit the solid rock the two were walking on. "Not a bad idea; we don't have any servants to clean the ship so we might as well try to keep it clean. There's a refresher next to the door we've been using, I think it's a sonic or water shower."

Harry shivered. While 'sonic showers' were good at getting grime and dirt off, he didn't like them because of the strange physical sensation. His room at the medical complex he'd recovered at after the Dursleys had been arrested had a sonic shower and he'd been thankful his room on the Dawn had a tub. Sethria quirked an eyebrow at seeing his shirt tied to the bottom rung of the ladder on the Victory's side. Harry shrugged. "Thanks to that Solar Attunement ritual I can't get sunburn and the more sunlight that hits my skin the more I absorb. With the enchantment on the sun, it just feels good on my skin."

Sethria nodded in understanding, and then she decided to show off by jumping vertically with her back facing the Victory, doing a backflip, and landing on the deck. Chuckling at her need to show off, Harry gathered his shirt and climbed upwards as quickly as he could. Sethria was waiting for him near the ladder, watching the sun sink lower. As Harry climbed onto the deck, Sethria turned towards the western horizon. "It's a shame the sunsets don't look like much. I was born on a jungle world, I miss the sight of the sun setting the clouds on fire."

Harry replied as they watched the sun sink lower. "We'll get enough moisture for clouds sooner or later and once the ocean's ready I bet we'll have awesome sunsets every night."

As the twilight began to fade, both of them entered the Victory and headed to the shower room Sethria had mentioned. Paying more attention than he had the previous day, Harry realized it was a shower large enough to fit eight people comfortably. Harry looked around appreciatively. "Everything on the ship looks like so much more space than we need, but once we have more people it'll be nice. I'll let you shower first."

Sethria chuckled. "Guess again. I read the overview on your world's culture and I don't really like most of it. The whole 'nudity taboo' thing seems stupid so we're going to get you over it. Besides, I want you to wash my hair. I'll do yours after."

After thinking about it for a moment, Harry found he didn't really care about the culture of his birth. The Dursleys had fixated on being 'normal' but had certainly been awful people; he didn't really know the magical culture at all, but given how it had treated his godfather and himself, it could go to hell. It wasn't like the aliens he interacted with on the Dawn had the same opinion of nudity as England did; Madral had admitted that his people usually only wore the minimum that was practical in public and often far less in private. Dahlia's refusal to bathe with him hadn't been about nudity, she simply refused to let anyone see the slowly fading scars her mother had given her. With a shrug, Harry joined his partner in the shower as they worked out a comfortable temperature for the water. A few moments later Harry found himself lathering Sethria's hair as she sat under one of the shower heads, relaxing under the hot water with her head tilted out of the spray. As he worked some of the biodegradable shampoo into her shoulder-length hair, he spoke up. "I thought your hair was just white, but up close it's more silver."

Sethria chuckled as Harry ran his fingers along her scalp. "Before the Empire found my home galaxy, I used a chemical to dull my hair and kept doing it on the Dawn for a while out of habit. That made it easier to sneak around, and it also kept slavers from targeting me as much. Not that most of them could have done anything but die if they went after me, but the Outer Rim was crawling with them and it was safer to avoid notice." Sensing Harry's disgust, she went on. "My galaxy sucked before the Empire took possession. The Outer Rim was poor and lawless, and the Core was wealthy and corrupt. The way the wealthy Core worlds were exploiting the Rim, using wealth and their political power to bully those without, anyone with a brain knew a war was coming eventually. But the colony my mother built is doing great now, and my family is getting bigger all the time."

Harry was quiet as he worked, he wasn't great at reading his partner yet, but she seemed to be enjoying the physical contact. "My world wasn't great either. The people who could use magic had a hidden society, but it was rotten and corrupt. My godfather, the man who my parents trusted to take care of me if they died, got thrown in prison without a trial or even a real investigation. But on the plus side, all of the people who did that to him are rotting in prison thanks to the Empire." Finished, he stepped back. "Go ahead and rinse."

Harry couldn't say he minded showering with Sethria even though it was embarrassing. It became even more so when she insisted on returning the favor and washing his hair, but after he got used to her fingers moving across his scalp he found it relaxing. The rest of their shower went quickly, and both of them picked out a frozen meal to enjoy after they'd dried off. As the two ate, they talked. "Once we build the dam, it won't be too long until we can get food from it. Mostly fish, but some aquatic plants have lots of nutrition too. If nothing else we can harvest fish and seaweed to make more ration bars."

Sethria replied after swallowing. "Until we get transportation, I'll be spending my time moving rocks to the valley's gap. You'll need to buy that disc kit, I can't really contribute many credits without going to a Spike. After the disc kit I'll use the group account to buy the cheaper books Sal recommended as we need them. After the disc, what are you planning to purchase?"

Harry paused for a moment, thinking. "Probably a familiar. The right one can help me conjure more water, plus I've always wanted a pet. I'm not sure which species yet, probably something that can live on land and water."

Sethria was thoughtful for a moment. "Not a bad idea. Since you're getting the disc kit first instead of what you want, I'll loan you some credits for the familiar so long as you don't slack off."

Harry smiled. "Thanks. What do you plan to buy after we both get something to ride?"

Sethria leaned back in her chair, looking relaxed. "One of the empowering rituals, the Familiar-bonding ritual isn't something I can use. That Solar Attunement ritual seems to be working well for you, but I might choose a different one. Another thing to consider is expanding our group. It'll be a while before we can afford to pay the transit fee for anyone, though. And we will need to recruit people too."

"One of the AI's on the Dawn recommended I start corresponding with some of the girls I would have gone to magical school with if the Empire hadn't shown up. By the time we're ready to pay the fee I think the one that seems to be a good fit will be willing to join us."

"Is she strong?"

Harry paused for a moment. "Top of her class, and top two for magical power so far from what she's told me. She isn't weak but a ritual or familiar will make her even stronger."

"Good. We can't afford dead weight until we have a stable food supply." Sethria paused for a moment before continuing. "Harry, I'm placing you in charge of convincing others to join us here, and I'll give you a small credit reward for those you convince to join us. I'm... not very good at dealing with people."

Harry gave his partner a smile. "I'm not either, don't feel bad about it. I only had two close friends on the Dawn. Do you have any ideas for what species we should recruit first?"

"Not yet. We need to look for species that can help us right away while still being a good fit for an ocean planet when it's finished. I know you're required to have at least one human partner, so we might get your pen-pal first."

To the surprise of both colonists, Sal interrupted their conversation and spoke up. "Be aware that some species and individuals will sometimes receive a drastic discount in the transit fee if they would fit exceptionally well on this world. Would you both like to receive notifications should that happen?"

Harry replied quickly. "Yes Sal. Thank you for being so helpful!"

Sethria chuckled, Harry had certainly taken the advice to befriend their AI seriously. The two talked for a bit over their dinner before heading to bed early. Without curtains, both of them would rise with the dawn as it showed through their massive east-facing windows each morning. That night, as Harry typed a few letters out for Sirius and Hermione he checked his day's credit total and smiled. Switching to the River-Summoning charm and working on my focus a bit earned me an extra twenty credits today! Eighty-seven, getting closer to one hundred!

Sirius Black smiled as he read the latest letter from Harry. Pausing to look out the window he took in the view from his third-floor teacher's suite. While he wished the students he'd begin teaching tomorrow could attend class in the majestic Hogwarts castle, this new school forged of nearly-indestructible stone and gleaming crystal on the peak of Mars' Olympus Mons had a sense of grandeur and style all its own. The school had five buildings currently, two short ones that were the male and female student dorms, a circular cafeteria, a massive enclosed dome that contained both greenhouses and paddocks for magical creatures, and a massive circular tower with its exterior covered in multicolored crystals that housed classrooms on the lower floors and staff quarters above. All of this was contained inside a massive transparent dome that ensured they had a breathable atmosphere. Sirius chuckled to himself, bringing up some of the photos he'd taken of the school gleaming in the Martian dawn; he'd be sending them to Harry with his next letter.

If there's one thing the Golden Star Empire likes, it's efficiency. Earth's magical children, the ones that would have been second years and up at Hogwarts will be here during the week, learning, conjuring to build up the planet, and enriching Mars with their very presence. I never thought I'd be a teacher, but it's the best path I found to reunite with Harry. I was worried about this girl he's partnered with, but she doesn't seem so bad. From what Harry's said she probably hasn't had a lot of comforting physical contact or social exposure. I bet Harry's just what she needs to open up and relax more. Sirius relaxed even further into the plush couch he'd spent weeks transfiguring just right back in the apartment he'd had in London while he was being treated for his stay in Azkaban. I never expected to join a support group of alien soldiers who'd fought and killed Dementors and things like them, but it did help. I haven't had a nightmare of those monsters in a month now.

Sirius shifted again, enjoying the teacher's suite in the school's tower. When his companion stirred, Sirius paused to run a hand through her hair and over the furry ear that twitched as he soothed her. I guess I shouldn't have been so worried about Harry. I thought the first person that told me about the Empire's AI's matchmaking hobby was crazy, but they really do enjoy nudging people together. And they really know what they're doing too. Raene has been so wonderful…

Sirius' thoughts were interrupted when a message flickered into being in front of his eyes. It was something he'd been both looking forward to and dreading and he hadn't known how to tell his godson. Tapping a control on his interface and confirming his presence out loud, Sirius moved to stand while being careful not to dislodge his companion. She'd be woken soon, but he would give her a few more moments of sleep if he could. Moving into the small kitchen he started a pot of tea and began to pace anxiously by the door, soon joined by Raene. Before too long a chime sounded and Sirius hurriedly opened the door to his quarters. If the Unspeakables were the most secretive group in Magical Britain before the Empire, the Temporal Reclamation Command was easily the most secretive group in the Golden Star Empire. And for good reason. The TRC was responsible for reclaiming lost bloodlines or unusually powerful magicals wherever practical. Sirius remembered reading that they would be a much larger organization but they could only be deployed far away from the forces of Void and Entropy: Any attempt to influence a battle against the Empire's primary enemies became… messy in ways that would give H.P. Lovecraft nightmares.

As the (probable) man in gray armor that completely obscured his face and even his species walked into the room he made a slight motion with his hand and an object Sirius recognized from his recent training appeared in the middle of the room. An Imperial stasis pod, usually used for medical emergencies that couldn't be treated immediately or other situations where more time was needed. Without even a twitch from the visitor, the transparent lid slid away and the pod hummed as it glowed with a soft green light. Sirius spoke aloud at seeing the familiar face framed by red hair. "Lily..."

Newsreel: Classy

"Welcome back viewers, this is Shia Runsocris and my co-host Kodiak Antonov. For tonight's special feature, we'll be discussing the method the Empire uses to rank magical power. I'm sure you've all heard the different classes of magicals mentioned, so let's jump right in. First, we have Class One, the Novice Class. Nearly all species capable of using magic begin at this level, and all it means is that an individual has the ability to use magic. Most magicals graduate from this class to the next during adolescence. Class Two, the Adept Class, is as much about proficiency in basic spellcasting as it is about magical power. For reference, most of Earth's adult magic users were middling to high Class Twos before the Empire began encouraging them to grow. Adepts are expected to contribute to the war effort by conjuring material for at least six hours a day, both to fuel the war machine that keeps us safe and to grow their own power."

Kodiak spoke up, the Russian taking over for his Caitian partner. "Class Three, the Mage Class, is the first class defined solely by magical power. Unlike Adepts, Mages are also expected to contribute energy in useful forms or directly transmute the material created by others into more useful forms. For reference, while the big names of recent magical history on Earth, Dumbledore, Grindlewald, and Voldemort, were all Class Three, they were near the upper end, almost but not quite breaking through to Class Four. Speaking of the Soldier Class, Class Four is named because this is the first class where male magicals deemed unlikely to advance further are sent to the front lines, where their conjuring keeps active fleets supplied and they directly aid ground forces, most often by erecting barriers or acting as artillery."

With a nod from Kodiak, Shia continued. "In addition to being, at minimum, ten times more powerful than a Soldier Class, every magical in Class Five, the Space Class, has mastered the ability to traverse space without technological assistance beyond navigation. Class Five magicals are most often assigned to construction projects, high-priority terraforming, and in-system organization. For example, sometime in the next two years a generational ship with many Space Class magicals will be arriving in Sol to begin moving most of Jupiter and Saturn's moons closer to the sun, where habitation domes will be constructed and magical colonists will begin building them up into Earth-like planets. This will require complicated teamwork from anywhere to fifty to one-hundred Spacers. Class Five magicals are only deployed in combat in extreme emergency; since most Spacers represent either above-average or peak magical strength for their species they, like all of the higher classes, are strongly encouraged to have large families with many children."

Shia paused and took a small sip of water. "Unlike Class Five, Class Six, the Picket Class, is deployed to the front lines. However, like Class Four, only male magicals are sent into combat. For those that are sent to the front lines, Picket Class magicals are deployed defensively in space, tasked with destroying small craft and incoming ordinance. While this is dangerous work, Pickets are provided with many power and reflex boosting rituals at no cost. Between their training to strike with absolute precision, using only as much magic in each attack as needed, their lightning-fast reflexes, and custom-designed interfaces that help them target, prioritize, and coordinate with fleet point-defense, Picket Class magicals prevent the loss of many ships and save lives wherever they are deployed. Needless to say, Pickets rarely pay for their own drinks during shore leave."

Kodiak spoke up, taking over for Shia once again. "Few magicals manage to reach Class Seven. Also known as the Star Class, this class was renamed and repurposed after the New Worlds program was proven effective. While many of them do see combat, the primary purpose of the class is now conjuring star systems to replace those claimed by Entropy and the Void. The Andromeda galaxy is currently being rebuilt one star at a time by an increasing number of Class Sevens. Eventually the Milky Way's missing stars will be restored as well, but due to the low number of magicals capable of reaching this level, the demand for their services far exceeds the supply. Thanks to the nature of the war to protect creation, the priority assignments for Class Seven magicals will always be ensuring realities do not collapse. As you may recall from previous segments, when the Golden Star Empire is unable to defeat our enemies, the forces of Void and Entropy consume everything in a universe. When the last star goes out and there is no surviving life, that universe collapses into nothing. Most Class Sevens are deployed to universes where little is left. As an example, in one of the most well-known Imperial victories, a universe, now renamed 'One Light in the Darkness,' was saved with only one star left burning. That victory was only possible due to the many brave Imperials who died and the intervention of a Combat Gate Class magical."

After a short pause, Kodiak continued. "Class Eight, the Hero Class, are sadly even more rare than Class Seven. Even the larger Imperial fleets are considered fortunate if they have more than one. The 'hero' in Hero Class comes from the way they are typically deployed in combat; where imperial soldiers are deployed to a planetary surface, Class Eight magicals are called in when our brave soldiers are unable to hold the line. The Empire trains and equips our soldiers to the highest standard, but unfortunately our enemy is endless and they are always outnumbered. Class Eights possess the magical power and skill to reduce everything above a world's mantle to molten slag. When they are too late to save a world's population, they often do just that, rending millions or billions of enemy constructs into their constituent atoms in less time than many of us can cook a simple meal."

With a smile from Kodiak, Shia continued the report. "Class Nine, the Champion Class, are, at minimum, one-hundred times more powerful than Class Eight. Sadly, not even one Class Eight in a thousand manages to reach Class Nine. When deployed to the front lines, Champions serve a purpose similar to the Picket Class, but take an offensive role. In a standard engagement, Champions are responsible for destroying enemy capital ships, that is large battleships and carriers. Enemy armor and shields are no match for their immense power and carefully practiced control. When on leave from active combat, they often lead teams of Star Class magicals in creating new stars and planets."

After a pause, Shia continued. "Class Ten, the Gate Class are the most coveted and fiercely protected of all magicals. In addition to their immense power, such that a single Class Ten magical can supply power and material for an entire shipyard megaplex, most Gate Class magicals have the capability to open gates capable of transporting entire fleets not only anywhere in a given universe, but even between universes. Class Ten is also the only class to have official subclasses, those being the Standard, Exceptional, Peerless, and Combat Gate Classes. While the first three are simply measures of power, the Combat Gate Class is special. As our viewers know, there is an endless variety of inherent magical ability and talents. While most magical species are capable of conjuration, some simply are not. The Combat Gate Class is made up of individuals who possess the needed power, but lack the ability to create gates or otherwise aid the war effort. While every magical that reaches Class Ten can change the course of any battle, none do so as spectacularly as the Combat Gates. Unfortunately even with the Empire's best efforts, Gate Class magicals are incredibly rare. So rare that any galaxy or species that produces even one Class Ten magical is deemed an essential resource and defended fiercely."

Shia paused for a moment to collect herself as she shifted gears. "The Empire's preferred strategy in regards to magicals is to keep them out of danger and encourage them to have large families while the matter and energy they create produces the fleets needed to defend us all. However, that strategy is simply untenable: Without the efforts of magicals in combat, the Empire has no hope of protecting itself; the presence of magicals in battle, especially the higher classes, simply makes that much of difference. So the Empire is forced to take a balanced approach, doing everything they can to grow the numbers and power of those who can use magic while ensuring our defenses hold. Kodiak, would you tie the segment off?"

With a nod to his co-host, Kodiak began speaking. "Of course Shia. As with many of our segments, let's end tonight with what you can do to help the Empire keep us all safe. The most obvious answer is to have a large family, but there is much more you can do. The never ending war leaves many homeless and orphans in its wake, which means adopting an orphan or opening your home to a refugee can make the difference in their lives. While the Imperial policies are driven by practicality, love is an essential ingredient in a happy, stable life. If you can, please consider making a difference in a life less fortunate than your own.

"As for growing the magical population, the ability to use magic is very important but sadly artificial insemination has proven useless in creating magical children; that is why the Empire encourages healthy women to seek out male magicals. Married or single, any woman of child-bearing age is asked to join the surrogacy program or commit to a permanent relationship. Despite the way most cultures on Earth have embraced the one-man one-woman relationship as normal, more complex relationships can also be fulfilling.

"In any case, remember that our species and world are now part of the Golden Star Empire. For good or ill our survival depends on our ability to work together. And we will work together, everyone pitching in and doing their part. Remember, no matter what your opinion on the Empire is, no matter how raw the wounds of our recent annexation, if not for the Empire's fleets throwing themselves into a meat grinder our world and people would no longer exist." Kodiak paused, the strong Russian man pausing for a moment as he struggled with his emotions. "For a future segment, Shia and I visited some of the missing stars in our galaxy and the gaping void where Andromeda once stood. That could have been us, it would have been us, if not for a fleet with technology beyond our world's wildest dreams that, even so, lost more soldiers than all the humans that have ever lived on our world. So remember my friends, remember that we are not alone, remember that together we stand as One Empire United!"

Kodiak's voice had risen as he spoke, and by the end his passion and honest belief was obvious. As the recording indicator winked out, Kodiak leaned back in his chair, a little embarrassed. Shia stood up and squeezed his shoulder as their producer gave them a thumbs up and walked out of the room to examine the recording. With feline grace, Shia sat down on the desk nearby and curled her tail around her waist. "No need to be embarrassed, that kind of passion is what we need. I know I've said it before, but you're doing great."

Kodiak smiled at his co-host and the tension in his posture bled away. "Thank you Shia."

For a while, the two of them just enjoyed the quiet companionship and let the day's worries fade away. The two had already spoken more than once about the stress of being part of the Empire's face in Sol. While their newscasts weren't the only interaction people had with the Empire, the two of them were seen often by Sol's new Imperial citizens. There was a constant worry, for both of them, that they would say something wrong and undo the steady progress of the imperial integration or even incite violence. After a while, Kodiak spoke up, his face lighting up. "You know, we have a day off tomorrow. Would you join me for dinner and a movie?"

Shia smiled, her twitching tail giving away her excitement. "I'd love to Kodiak. There's a few imported classics playing at the megaplex this weekend. But… are you sure you want to date a non-human?"

The Russian smiled at his co-host. "Shia, you're intelligent, driven, kind, and beautiful. Why would I care about your ears or tail? In fact, would you like to get lunch? We're free for at least an hour."

Getting a smile in response, he rose and offered her a hand, escorting her out of the studio. They would need to return later but he'd heard that there was a good place to eat with a great view of Earth on the edge of the habitation dome. The ever-growing Imperial settlement on Earth's moon was quickly becoming the administrative center not only for Sol, but the neighboring star systems as well. And unlike Earth and most of the nearby planets, Luna was not restricted to mostly Earth-origin species; with so many cultures meshing together there was always an interesting shop or restaurant to explore. Kodiak smiled to himself as he led Shia towards the restaurant he'd been searching for; even with so many options, finding one that served Caitian cuisine had been difficult.

A/N: As a note: The Temporal Reclamation Command's mission is to prevent the loss of species and blood gifts, like the Dumbledore Phoenix thing or the Naruto Universe's bloodline abilities. Lily was not specially chosen and she would have been ignored by the TRC if they had any priority targets at the same time. Essentially, the TRC saves their main targets first, then they save as many as possible, especially people like Lily Potter, who was an unusually clever and powerful witch.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed this. I'm still writing and editing what I have, but I admit I've been doing a little more reading than I should. Anyway, please leave a review, I read and enjoy every one, even though I don't reply to the FanFiction ones as well as I should. (In my defense, the Ao3 system is much easier to use.)

Chapter Text

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Chapter 8: Martian Mornings

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Sirius’ eyes were glued to the stasis pod as its wakening cycle began. When he’d gotten a notice from the Temporal Reclamation Command he’d wished, he’d desperately hoped that both James and Lily would be sharing a pod, but even knowing James hadn’t made it out alive he wouldn’t complain. James had been his brother, the family that he had chosen over his blood relatives and he knew deep in his heart that if only one of them could be saved James would have chosen to save Lily, with no questions or hesitation. Sirius could even remember sipping Firewhiskey after one of the worst nights of the war while Lily was sleeping upstairs, exhausted from a long day as a new mother. His brother had asked, pleaded, Sirius to keep Lily safe if he died. At the time, James’ worries had revolved around a potion master Death Eater and his obsession with Lily in particular and what the rest of Voldemort’s monsters would do to a beautiful, brilliant muggleborn witch in general. Sirius had sworn to his brother that he would do whatever it took to keep Lily safe and he would honor his brother’s wish now. James, I will give her a home and do everything I can to ensure she reunites with Harry, I swear it.

As he stared at the pod, the memory of what he’d found when he stormed into a destroyed nursery came to mind unbidden. He told himself that memory was wrong, that the fact she was here, now, alive , meant he’d mourned a replacement, but despite the truth being in front of him Sirius found his mind dragged back to all those years in Azkaban and the utter surety that his mistake had gotten both James and Lily killed. As Lily gradually awakened from stasis the man in gray identity-concealing armor spoke, dragging Sirius back to the present. “Preserving the Timeline required that sacrificial magic be used to save the life of Harry Potter. That required us to make a choice between James and Lily, which became easy when we discovered Lily was carrying a daughter. We altered the magic Lily had initially used to save her son to accept her husband’s freely-given life instead and replaced her with a convincing simulacrum. I leave her in your care, Sirius Black.”

As the stasis pod finished the wakening cycle Sirius reached in to gently lift Lily out and carefully laid her on the couch. When he turned around to thank the man for rescuing her, he was already gone along with the stasis pod, having vanished without a sound or a trace while his back was turned. Lily was slowly stirring, so Sirius pulled up a chair and thanked Raene when she silently padded back into the room with a tray holding a full tea set and the traditional snacks. Sirius poured two cups of the Kaldorei tea Raene had introduced him to, a drink that reminded him of roaming him through the Forbidden Forest in spring, and sipped it lightly. While a lot of the alien food wasn’t for him, Sirius had found he enjoyed a lot of the dishes from Azeroth and was grateful the Empire had made Sol a destination for many Azerothians leaving their home behind.

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Lily gradually woke, finding herself on a strange couch. As she opened groggy eyes, she heard a voice that took a moment to recognize. It was harsher than the last time she heard it and much of the playfulness had been lost but she still recognized her husband’s best friend, a man who had become a close friend of hers as well. Choosing to let the world think he held the Secret, the key to the Fidelius Charm keeping her family safe, trying to draw Voldemort's attention to himself to keep them safe had not been a small act. “Harry is safe Lily.”

He even knew the first thing she wanted to hear. Knowing that, Lily shifted and sat upright on the comfortable couch. She blinked her eyes, this wasn’t Sirius’ safe house. She started to ask a question, but her dry throat betrayed her and she only managed to get one word out. “Where…”

Sirius quickly poured her a cup of tea that obviously wasn’t a blend she’d had before but smelled soothing. As she sipped at it, Sirius spoke. “Whether you wanted to know where Harry is or where we are, the answer is… complicated. Do you want me to tell you the short version?”

Lily nodded her head, and continued sipping her tea. She really had no idea what was going on, the last clear memory she had was as unbelievable as the day she’d been introduced to magic without more context. She listened intently as Sirius began to explain. “We’ll go in chronological order then. Ignoring the bit with time-travel, on October 31st of 1981 Pettigrew led Voldemort to your home and gave him the Secret. He was the spy who’d been getting Order members killed left and right. Voldemort killed James, and chased you up to the nursery where he killed you but when he tried to kill Harry, the curse rebounded and destroyed his body. I arrived as quickly as I could when the feedback from the Fidelius falling hit me but Voldemort had blocked magical travel to what seemed like half of Britain. Instead of getting there soon enough to die with James and maybe let you escape, I arrived and found a broken house with Harry the only one alive.”

Lily shuddered for a moment, she’d known that was possible, but she’d been hoping their whole little family would survive the war. Sirius continued. “As I was carrying Harry out of the house, Hagrid showed up. I don’t know how he got there, but the Headmaster had probably sent him with a portkey once Voldemort’s wards failed. He said the Headmaster had sent him to bring Harry to Hogwarts, and after an argument I gave Harry to him and lent him my motorcycle. Hagrid isn’t the smartest guy around but most spells just glance off his skin and he’d give his life to protect any child if he had to. I’m sure you remember what happened the few times he let loose in a fight.”

Lily nodded in understanding, though Hagrid’s arrival instead of Dumbledore’s didn’t make sense. Sirius continued after sipping his own tea and refilling everyone’s cups, including the one a creature (Woman? It was obviously female...) that looked a lot like a bipedal wolf was sipping at his side. (Lily had seen Remus transformed from a distance through an unbreakable window. He had been dangerous with the beast in control, but the mere fact that this creature was calmly sitting at Sirius’ side sipping tea was enough to convince Lily she was safe to be around.) “With Harry on his way to safety, I started searching for Peter. At the start I didn’t know if I needed to give him a burial or rescue him or kill him for betraying us. If he’d betrayed us, I knew Harry would only be safe at Hogwarts with Dumbledore.”

At Lily’s quirked eyebrow, he explained a little more. “We had no secrets from Peter. Every safe house, every hide-away, every ward he knew about. If he had thrown in with Voldemort, had joined him, I knew I had to kill him because Harry would never be safe while the rat lived; Peter had proven he could get in anywhere. It’s impossible to keep a rat animagus out of a house, if I had taken Harry in and he had decided to finish the job... I had always thought Peter was a coward, but I was also sure he was as loyal to us as we were to him.” Sirius paused and shuddered. “Lily, I found his house without anything disturbed, so I started tracking him down. I caught up to him in muggle London and he blindsided me. It was subtle at the time, but I’m pretty sure he hit me with some curse with the opposite effect of the Calming Charm, and I was already so frayed from finding you and James dead... He’d already confounded the muggle witnesses by the time I got there, and once I did he shouted out about how I had betrayed you and James. Then he cut off a finger, cast a blasting curse into a gas main, and escaped in his animagus form.”

Sirius started to shake as he was overcome with emotion, and the bipedal wolf woman at his side leaned in to hug him in comfort. Sirius continued, but it was obviously hard for him. “I fell to my knees laughing hysterically and was stunned by the responding Aurors. I woke up in Azkaban’s maximum security wing and stayed there for ten years.”

Lily gasped, dropping her teacup in shock before she lunged forward and embraced Sirius. The moments that followed were emotional and wet as a lot of tears were shed. After a few moments he gestured and the broken tea cup repaired itself and the spilled tea vanished. Despite the emotion of the moment, Sirius started speaking again when he could. “Dumbledore betrayed us. He let me go to Azkaban when he knew I was innocent and he left Harry on Petunia’s doorstep, literally on her doorstep in the middle of the night in November, and let her and Vernon spend the next decade trying to beat the magic out of Harry. That changed a year ago.”

Lily, who’d had a difficult day from her perspective, spoke again without letting go of the group hug. “What happened?”

Sirius chuckled, the familiar sound soothing her despite the horrible words he was speaking. “We found out Earthlings aren’t alone in the universe. A fleet of spaceships appeared above Earth’s moon and informed us Earth was the newest planet to join the Golden Star Empire. There’s a desperate cosmic war raging through creation and the Empire’s military is the only thing standing between life and oblivion. That sounds dramatic, but it’s true, our universe lost two galaxies and a third of the Milky Way in the most recent local campaign; the Empire only saved the rest at great cost. Magic users are crucial to the war. The Empire desperately needs the energy and matter we can create, so anyone who can use magic is now a critical war resource. The Statute of Secrecy is history; there’s been protests and violence but the Empire’s kept things civil for the most part. Partly by focusing humanity’s anger on hate on a new target. A month after the Empire announced themselves at the U.N., Petunia’s husband threw Harry at an Imperial soldier and got arrested for child abuse; Harry spent a week at an Imperial medical center returning to perfect health.”

Lily spoke again, pulling back just far enough to look Sirius in the eyes. “Where is Harry now?”

Instead of answering directly, Sirius shook his head. “The Empire has a program where the strongest magicals are sent to highly protected galaxies to terraform and eventually populate new worlds. Usually the children selected are around fourteen or fifteen when they’re mature enough to handle being away from their families. When the Empire was doing everything they could for Harry, they decided that he needed stability in his life more than anything else. Instead of putting him with a foster family and then ripping that away in a few years, they put him into the New Worlds program early. By the time I got a trial and was exonerated Harry was already on his way to an empty planet in the next galaxy over. We’ve had video chats and letters, I’ve saved all of them if you want to read and watch later. I’ve worked hard to get over Azkaban and earn my passage, in nine months or so I’m catching a ride on a teaching ship delivering settlers to a solar system near Harry’s world. Normally I wouldn’t qualify for the New Worlds program, much less take the place of one of the scheduled colonist groups, but the Empire gave me and my family an exemption on compassionate grounds. If I comply with their laws and earn my keep that ship will drop me off on Harry’s world. You’re welcome to join me, but the downside is that it will be a one-way trip to a future ocean-world.”

Lily took a moment to gather her thoughts. It didn’t occur to her that she was sitting in Sirius’ lap while the wolf creature sat on the arm of the chair. Both of them had wrapped arms around her, and Lily felt like she desperately needed that comfort right now. “Of course I’m coming with you. Can… Can I see Harry? I’d always wondered what he would grow to look like.”

Sirius smiled and did something with his hands. A menu popped up on the wall, and he navigated it for a few moments until a page listing a number of icons with dates appeared. Then he selected the first one and a video began to play, projected on the wall with a split screen showing both ends of the conversation. Lily laughed as she saw her son roll out of bed in a room that seemed rather bland for a ten-year-old. He really did look like James, but he had her eyes. She started to cry again, her beautiful baby boy had suffered and healed and she hadn’t been there for him. The first video call was emotional, and Lily couldn’t help but gasp at how thin and gaunt Sirius looked. He looked healthy now , but it was obvious Azkaban hadn’t been kind to him. Maximum Security, where the worst of the worst go. How on Earth did that happen?

Later videos were more lighthearted. She was shocked when she saw Harry’s friends, and Sirius explained briefly that Harry had been included in the group of twenty Earth-born magicals thirteen to sixteen with the highest magical potential, which included the Kitsune Dahlia. Dahlia was obviously being physically affectionate with her son, (nothing sexual, just normal physical affection) and he was drinking it in and reciprocating eagerly. Sirius explained that Dahlia had a similar childhood to Harry and the two had bonded strongly. Madral, some kind of elf, was only seen for a moment, excusing himself and giving Harry a few last pointers for some magic he was struggling with. Sirius paused the video in question for a moment and explained, pride seeping into his every word. “Despite being the youngest by years Harry kept up with them. He often studied with his two best friends and they helped him with charms and other subjects while he helped them with transfiguration.”

Lily smiled at that, and they continued watching. By the time the most recent video began to play the horizon was starting to lighten but the coming dawn was forgotten when she saw her son in tears. Sirius explained a little more. “Kitsune as a species can be emotionally unstable, and Dahlia had a lot of rituals, most of them involving fertility, forced on her by a mother who’s been imprisoned for life in a cell next to Albus. Dahlia’s sleeping in a stasis pod right now, same model as you’ve been in for the last decade. Let’s just say Harry’s going to have a busy fourteenth or fifteenth birthday.”

Lily stood, feeling lost. She turned to look out the window and gasped at the gleaming buildings and green landscaping under a glowing dome of energy. Sirius and his companion moved to stand next to her. “Welcome to Mars, Lily. I’m a teacher at the Erythraeum Imperial Academy that was built at the peak of Olympus Mons. It doesn’t have the rustic appeal of a drafty old castle in Scotland, but it does have a grandeur all its own. I know you have a lot to take in, I’ve had time to grieve for James and a counselor to help me, but for you the grief is fresh and raw. I have a bedroom ready for you, and if there’s anything you need just tell me, Raene, or Alira when she’s in. And I know you’re probably not hungry, but you should eat something. We have some leftover food from the welcoming feast a few days ago since the school’s cooks went a bit wild. The wild rice and cream duck dish is great and so is the roasted venison.”

Resigned, Lily followed Sirius to the kitchen and watched him begin pulling covered containers out of something like a refrigerator. When he opened the first one, Lily had to admit her stomach rumbled from the scent. It only took a few moments before Sirius had warmed up the Pyrex containers and flicked his fingers to make plates and silverware leap out of the cupboards. It took a moment for what she’d seen to click, but when she did, Lily gasped. “You’re using wandless magic!”

Sirius paused and chuckled as he pulled a pitcher out of the refrigerator. “Well, yeah. It was part of earning my teaching certification; can’t teach it if I don’t know how. Luckily the Animagus transformation is technically wandless magic so I had a good starting point. I’ll requisition a wand for you during my lunch break and I can start teaching you wandless magic anytime you want.”

As the three sat at the round table in what Lily would call a breakfast nook she didn’t miss the casual physical intimacy between Sirius and this wolf-woman. But she soon lost interest in anything but the food in front of her. There were a lot of spices she wasn’t familiar with in both of the dishes, and whatever juice Sirius had served them was new to her too, but the food was excellent. She soon found herself having eaten more than she intended and becoming drowsy as exhaustion both emotional and physical caught up with her. Her time in the stasis pod hadn’t been real sleep, and left her more tired than when she went in. Sirius was soon distracted by an alarm on his watch, and he sighed. “Raene, could you help Lily into bed and stay with her? Alira isn’t due back until Monday, so I could really use your help. Lily, I have to get to class, my students are starting today so I need to give them a full campus tour and their first lesson. I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise.”

The wolf rose to her feet and quickly cast a wandless spell at both her and Sirius’ faces, which Lily guessed was a breath-freshening spell. “Of course Master.”

That comment got Lily’s attention, as did the searing kiss Raene initiated before pulling back. Sirius gave his lover a warm smile before walking to the nearest window, flicking a spell at himself, and leaping out of it. Lily gasped as she rushed over, but instead of an injured Sirius, saw the man slowly drifting to the ground like a leaf in the wind. Raene, the wolf-woman, chuckled and closed the window. “It’s a simple feather-fall spell, but Master enjoys using it. Come on, I know you’ve had a really awful time and you could use some rest.”

Unable to argue, Lily allowed herself to be led by surprisingly gentle hands to a bed larger than any she’d ever used before. Raene folded back the sheets and guided her to lay down before she slipped in behind her and pulled her close in an embrace. Lily blushed as the wolf-woman pulled the blankets over them both and spoke quietly into her ear. “Relax and rest Lily. I’ll be here if you need anything, even if it’s just a shoulder to cry on.”

Too tired to argue, Lily slipped into slumber. Her last coherent thought was the recognition of the scent in the sheets; she was sleeping in Sirius’ bed.

~/*\~

Hermione Granger was enjoying her breakfast as she finished re-reading her favorite book. She didn’t often read novels but Susan had goaded her into starting this series seven months ago and she didn’t regret it. It was from an alternate Earth, a reality where, among other differences, the famous Tolkien had written out a dozen novels with the stories his children had compiled into books like ‘The Children of Hurin’ and ‘The Silmarillion’ in her reality. Instead of being bland and dry histories of a fictional world, these novels were coherent and riveting, the author obviously having honed his writing skills with the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. In any case, Hermione put her book away when her best friend elbowed her again. “Come on Hermione, you need to be more social.”

Hermione sighed and turned to Susan Bones, the girl she’d met and became fast friends with while learning magic under Ferisa. Hermione had enjoyed the last year immensely, and she had learned so much . After a few months of learning outdoors in Crawley, their class had moved to Hogwarts castle which had become a day school that she took a new train line to every weekday. Compared to even the fastest of Earth’s bullet trains, this new train was incredibly fast, traveling faster than sound inside a tube that had all the air sucked out, meaning air resistance wasn’t a problem. The new train lines had been built all over the Earth, and were even being built under the ocean now. In another year, it would be possible to take a train under the Pacific or Atlantic oceans. Hermione’s parents had actually moved to a newly constructed home in Hogsmeade last month and her father had decided to earn a full qualification as an Imperial Healer. Earning a full qualification and practicing medicine alongside peers who could use magic wasn’t easy; she was so proud of her father for putting in the work to be able to help people. Hermione’s mother was often busy taking care of her new twin sisters, who were adorable but often loud and smelly. Both of Hermione’s new sisters were magical and healthy, two healing sessions and her mother’s implants had cured her infertility.

Looking at Susan’s face Hermione sighed and gave in, joining the conversation going back and forth around the table. Two days ago, Hermione and many other students had moved into the dorms of their new boarding school, a brand new campus built inside a dome on the planet Mars. All the girls in her dorm were eating breakfast together, thanks mostly to Susan’s insistence that they all get to know each other and attempt to become friends since they’d be living together for the next few years. Hermione was surprised to find nearly half her dorm (so far, there were three empty beds which meant more individuals would be joining them at some point) were not human. Kylri was a pale-skinned Kitsune with dark hair and snow-white fox features and she'd been sleeping as a small arctic fox in a pile of pillows. Several girls had thought it was adorable and even Hermione had taken a few pictures. Selena was a Veela with the typical fair skin and silver hair and she was a bright, cheerful girl. Cirmu was an alien with reptilian features (black scales dotted her dusky skin) and a lot of physical strength, but was terribly shy. Susan had made a point of befriending her immediately. (In one of the few nods to tradition, the students attending the Hogwarts day school were still ‘sorted’ even if the sorting meant little; Susan had immediately been declared to be a ‘Hufflepuff’ while Hermione had been a ‘Ravenclaw.’)

The last non-human in her dorm was Saska, her species was called the ‘Naga,’ and she was mostly aquatic; her part of the dorm was actually a pool. Above the waist she was an elf with small, decorative scales dotting her dark skin while below her hips she had a serpentine lower body with striking coal black scales. Along her head, back, and tail she had striking dark orange fins. Saska was aggressively assertive, in fact she’d clashed with Pansy their first night together and the other girl had only backed off after a short duel. Saska was the only resident of their dorm so far that was wearing a non-standard uniform: Unlike the warm gold-colored long-sleeved sweater over a white shirt and either a long navy blue skirt or pants, Saska’s waterproof uniform consisted of a band similar to spandex exercise shorts around her hips along with a modest but minimal top similar to a sports bra. When Hermione had asked, Saska had admitted that thanks to the various fins on her back and the general discomfort of wearing clothing over scales, she preferred to wear as little as possible when the weather was pleasant.

The rest of their dorm consisted of herself, Susan, Hannah Abbott, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Tracey Davis, and Pansy Parkinson, who was generally unpleasant to be around. Hermione wasn’t entirely sure why the younger Astoria had joined them, other than some conflict with the Greengrass girls’ parents. Apparently Daphne’s sister had chosen to join her instead of remaining home, and the two had complained that their family had not taken the change in government well. While their parents hadn’t taken a side in the Blood War, Daphne had explained that it was only because no matter who won, nothing would really change for them. (As the two girls who’d been raised as pureblood supremacists interacted with other species and bloomed under the new system, they had abandoned most of their parent’s beliefs.)

For the most part Hermione liked her roommates but she was still glad that she had the option of returning home on the weekends. Of course, that privilege was dependent on both her and her family following the rules and a few conditions, like if she missed the supply shuttle that traveled between Earth and Mars every weekend she’d lose the privilege for two months and be stuck making up the week’s work in detention. Apparently before the Empire came Hogwarts was a boarding school, which meant she would have gone months without seeing her family, which struck her as absurd. As the group finished their breakfast Hermione glanced around the room for a moment. It struck her again just how large the school was, nearly every magical born on Earth in the right age group was here alongside many new arrivals, and while most were human, other species were definitely present. More species than she could name chatted or ate, and Hermione had met a few already.

But before too long a bell rang and Hermione picked up her tray and drew her wand to leave the place she’d been eating clean. Leaving the cafeteria she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the surprisingly bright martian morning and the way the central tower gleamed in the morning light. According to the message they’d received the day before, Professor Black would meet them in front of the green crystal fountain near the central tower. Some of the girls had been afraid of the supposed ‘mass murderer’ but Susan had spoken up and their dorm had watched the man’s trial together. An injustice like that made Hermione glad the Ministry of Magic was only a memory. (Susan’s aunt, Amelia Bones, had been appalled and apoplectic after seeing Sirius’s Imperial trial. She’d actually gone and gotten drunk in front of her niece, muttering about how she should have known. )

Their group moved together and eventually found the right fountain, water bubbling over complex emerald crystals with a peaceful sound as the sunlight gleamed and cast beautiful emerald refractions. A few boys were waiting for them, one with red hair whose freckles and tan showed he spent a lot of time outside and one she recognized from her classes at Hogwarts. Hermione waved and shouted. “Hi Seamus!”

Seamus waved back with a smile before he turned back to his discussion with the other boy. As they waited for the Professor to show up other boys walked up, including a blonde boy with aristocratic features and a black eye. Hermione wondered how that had happened, but wasn’t worried. One of the things she’d learned in the last year was that the Imperial school system expected occasional fights between students and didn’t intervene as long as the injuries were minor and would heal on their own. Bullying was not tolerated, but standing up to bullies was encouraged. Hermione wasn’t sure it was the best system, but it seemed to work.

She wasn’t surprised when it turned out there were twice as many girls as boys in their class when everyone had shown up. The fact that magicals were expected to form family units more complex than Earth’s traditional pair wasn’t a secret. While Hermione wasn’t exactly looking forward to sharing a boy with other girls, she could understand the cold logic behind it. She and Harry had figured out the AI’s that ran almost every important system in the Empire had decided to try pairing them up, but given the success rate in AI sponsored relationships… Well, Harry was nice and she figured everyone left home behind at some point. Harry was kind and friendly, and she figured she could do much worse. In their letters Harry had told her about Dahlia and how she’d been put into stasis thanks to her mother forcing her into dozens of fertility rituals. Some people just belong in prison. Dahlia sounds like a nice shy girl, someone who I could get along with if I had to. As for Sethria, well even Harry isn’t quite sure what to make of her yet, but he said she isn’t awful.

The students had long since learned the value of being on time, and given the size of the campus had chosen to arrive early so they did have something of a wait. Saska decided to slip into the fountain while they waited; her species was one that thrived in the water, on land they either needed regular submersion breaks or a special potion. Saska was growing some plants in her pool for the potion, but wouldn’t have any ready for a while. (Hermione found she was a little jealous of Saska’s room in their dorm with its thicket of aquatic plants and waterproof bed and desk.) Hermione had been intrigued by Saska’s species and had spoken to her at length after their first meeting. Apparently as Earth’s oceans were purified sapient aquatics were migrating in, but until the project was finished Saska’s people were restricted to clean lakes. This would be a good thing for the planet in the long run, more people meant more magic and it wasn’t like humans were living under the oceans, let alone the sea floor, anyway. Some of the farms being built deep below the surface were fascinating. The Naga and the more humanoid Jinyu were also experts at aquaculture and would be taking over much of the work of ensuring the steady supply of fish around the world.

Daphne was the first to see their professor as she’d been staring up at the school’s tower when he leaped from his quarters on the side. The other students soon followed her gaze and saw the man slowly drifting to the ground. Hermione was glad to see the man looking less gaunt and skeletal than he had at his trial, and as she watched the man land and begin speaking she decided that she was going to enjoy his class, ‘Practical Spellcasting.’

~/*\~

For Harry Potter, the days began to pass with one much like the last. Today, he and Sethria had hiked down to the mouth of the valley once more; while Harry conjured water in slowly increasing amounts that ran into the wasteland of fractured and jagged rocks, seeping into the many cracks and filtering down Sethria had begun levitating rocks to the future site of their planned dam. Harry occasionally took a break from summoning water to transfigure smaller rocks into serpents and send them slithering to join the rocks his partner was hauling. After a while, Harry remembered Sirius’ description of two of the students he expected to be teaching soon. Since he was a Parselmouth, he’d always found serpents the easiest animal to transfigure and he wondered if that included serpentine humanoids? Deciding to try, Harry transfigured three creatures with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a snake. At his hissed command, each one lifted a rock and began slithering towards the mouth of the valley. One of them actually reached its destination before the transfiguration failed while the other two barely made it halfway.

Sethria, seeing the creations fail, walked over to Harry and asked what went wrong. “I think there isn’t enough environmental magic. The small snakes are faster and have less strain since they’re only moving themselves. Transfigurations usually leach magic into the air until they run out and revert. Permanent transfiguration is possible but usually it isn’t really permanent, it just loses magic slowly or requires so little to maintain it that it reaches an equal level with the surroundings. Until we get a lot more magic built up here, I won’t trust anything I transfigure to last very long.”

Sethria let out a disappointed sigh. “So much for building a dam with a wave of your wand then. Do you still want to bring some boulders back to the Victory tonight?”

Harry replied quickly. “Yes. We need some pots and soil to get more plants growing and if a transfiguration won’t last inside the Victory I can try shaping the stone. It won’t be smooth or pretty but we can get some vegetables growing at least. Once we get something to fly on we can make a trip to one of the Fabricators, but shaped stone will do for now.”

Sethria snorted. “I never wanted to be a farmer, but even I know we can’t grow food in dirt that’s just ground rock.”

Harry frowned in distaste. “I’m not looking forward to it, but we’ll have to use the waste tank to get ‘organic material.’ At least we can do that outside and just bring the pots inside when they’ve got a layer of sand to keep the smell in. Or we can start growing some of that moss.” Harry shuddered before he continued. “There’s plenty of room for a big garden inside once we have workable soil. We can’t get a lake soon enough; once it's in we can use the algae, plants, and fish for biological material too. If I can’t transfigure tanks indoors I think we can flood the lower decks of the Victory to start growing aquatic plants; that’s what we’d be doing when we recruit aquatic species anyway. All we need is some samples of healthy lake water and a few plants to start.”

She replied with a shudder. “Good idea, we might as well start using that space. And I’m glad the Empire developed that moss, but if we’re lucky we can just use it for fertilizer and never have to actually eat it. My group rotated through the Dawn’s agricultural section just like yours did, and we had to successfully grow that putrid stuff to pass that section. Even if you ditched me, with the Victory’s water tanks full I could live for years on that stuff, but I would hate you for it.”

Harry shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that to you. It’s nice to know we won’t ever starve as long as we can get some rocks inside and spread some spores on them, but that stuff tastes so awful… Hopefully we can just use it to grow other things.”

Sethria began to speak, paused for a moment in thought, then spoke. “As for flooding the bottom level… aquatic lifeforms would have different needs but with the Empire’s level of technology they probably have one environmental system that can support air breathing and aquatics both. Eventually we should recruit at least a few aquatic species that can spend some time on land, but it’s too dry out right now anyway. Once our dam is built though...”

Harry smirked. “Our ship was built to handle a much larger crew and aquatic members too since we’re building a water world. There’s no problem if we flood the empty bottom deck to start growing aquatic plants and fish, but we’ll need tanks to breed fish in eventually.”

Sethria smiled as the two got back to work. Harry was proving himself clever, if nothing else. If they had a functional biome on the Victory, then once their dam was built and full they only needed to release plants and fish outside. As for the edible moss they’d be starting… At least we can seal one or two of the bedrooms below ours and only open them when we need to harvest.

~/*\~

That night, after a day of conjuring followed by levitating a collection of rocks to the Victory, Harry let out a sigh as he collapsed into bed. Sure, he was exhausted and should really go to sleep, but… After a moment’s thought, he activated his interface and navigated a few screens. After a moment his expression shifted to a sad smile as his interface projected an image that took up the entire ceiling. It was one he was familiar with, though until he’d left the Victory he’d been visiting in person, not staring at a live feed from a satellite in orbit of his still-unnamed world. Harry’s eyes zeroed in on the screen that listed Dahlia’s vitals, and as always he felt relieved after seeing them for himself. His first friend remained healthy, though her body’s hormones were just as elevated as they’d been the moment she stepped into the stasis chamber. Despite the way they’d been separated, Harry was still so happy that they had the chance to meet and become friends.

As he laid there, Harry had an idea and spoke out loud. “Interface, begin a recording. When finished, place the file into a folder and send the folder to Dahlia after she wakes up.” After a moment of thought, Harry continued. “Hello Dahlia. I just had the idea of recording messages for you to listen to when you wake up. Sethria, my terraforming partner, hasn’t been bad, but I still miss you. I met her just before leaving the Dawn and I’m still getting to know her, but she’s very driven. Anyway, I’ve been on our new world for a week now, and it’s bone-dry outside. Sethria and I are living on a ship in a valley, and our plan is to build a dam and raise fish as soon as we can. I’m conjuring water as fast as I can and getting a little stronger every day, but I have a long way to go before I can really make a difference. Remember that storm-summoning spell from Azeroth Madral talked about? I can’t pull it off yet, but as soon as I’m strong enough...”

~/*\~

Lily Potter woke from a much-needed rest gradually. Bit by bit, she remembered where she was and how she got there. From her perspective, she’d lost her husband a few hours ago and then learned the people she’d trusted had sentenced her son to ten dark years with her sister. Her eyes misted and she thought of Sirius, who had been willing to draw Voldemort’s attention to keep her family safe. Sirius, who’d been betrayed by everyone she’d known and been tortured even worse than her son. Her last memory of James was him telling the masked agent who’d penetrated their Fidelius like it was nothing that if a sacrifice was needed to save their son to take his life and save her. As the emotions built up, she let go and started to weep for the three boys in her life.

Once again surprising her with their gentleness, clawed hands held her close and a soft voice spoke to her. “Let it all out. From everything I’ve been told, your husband was a good man and the people you gave your trust to weren’t worthy of it. Grieve for what’s been lost and when you’re ready, we’ll talk about the future.”

Eventually Lily dried her tears and the wolf-woman slid out of bed so Lily could follow. The two found themselves in the kitchen again, Raene getting out a different set of leftovers. “Usually Alira cooks for us but she’s on Earth handling the Black and Potter estates right now. Alira said they’re an enormous mess, and finding out where items ended up or who has rightful ownership of what coins is complicated. I’m not great at making anything other than tea.”

Before long the two women were sitting in front of a window looking down at the students bustling around outside. A pot of tea that reminded Lily of a summer’s day, warm and spiced with something exotic, sat half drunk as the two ate cold chicken sandwiches. Turning to her companion, Lily wasn’t sure what to ask first, but decided on a safe question. “Have you known Sirius long?”

Her partner’s muzzle quirked up in a smile. “About seven months now. As soon as I could, I got a ride off my planet and ended up here; I had to leave after the way I disgraced my family. My skills were atrophied to uselessness, I was a mess emotionally, and I had no idea where to go or what to do. I asked the AI who was checking on me to find me a place where I could do something useful, and he introduced me to Master.”

Lily wasn’t sure what to ask first, she couldn’t imagine seven months was long enough to call anyone ‘Master’ but decided to bring up the other thing that bothered her first. “If your family chased you away they didn’t deserve you…”

Lily was interrupted by Raene holding up a hand to interrupt. “No, I really did bring disgrace to the name ‘Stormrage.’ I’m a druid. On my world that means that to gain each animal form you need to draw power from one of the Ancients. The Ancients are beings in the shape of animals so powerful that the death of their physical bodies isn’t permanent.” Raene stood and stepped back from the table. “For example, this form calls on Ashamane, the Wise Hunter.”

With that, Raene turned into a panther with light purple fur, easily the size of an African lion with massive incisors and a lunar symbol on one shoulder. After giving Lily a moment to take in her form, she returned to her silver-furred wolf body. “I can’t do the others yet, though I could before. I called on Ursoc and Ursol, the fiercely protective twin bear Ancients for my bear form and Aviana, the queen of the skies for my stormcrow form. I studied hard and I was good, too good. One of the druid forms was forbidden, the wolf form that drew from an Ancient who was born from the instinct animals feel while on the hunt or when their young are in danger; the embodiment of ferocity and unyielding will. Goldrinn himself could never master his rage and bloodlust, but arrogant fools in the past had tried to use his power for a form. They lost control and became bloodthirsty monsters. I was arrogant and stupid, I thought I could master the forbidden form, be the first to safely use its’ power. Do you want to guess what happened next?”

Lily replied, trying to offer as much comfort as she could. “You lost control.”

“I did. I became a feral Worgen, running loose and killing everything I could. But during my rampage a necklace that had been a gift from my uncle survived and stayed in place, and when my father and uncle finally hunted me down, they couldn’t bear to kill me. Instead they captured me alive and began a feverish effort to find a cure for what I’d become. They never really succeeded, but they did find a way to ‘tame’ me and the other Worgen who’d been imprisoned in the Dream, a way to make us safe to be around and useful to their society. Thanks to the brothers Stormrage, I and all the other Worgen were cured of our bloodlust and gained the minds of loyal, protective companions; we were smarter than true animals but despite their hopes we never really regained our sapience. I broke my parent’s hearts, both of them couldn’t bear to send me away so after I was ‘defanged’ I became the family pet, the lowly creature they trusted to watch over my younger siblings when they could not. My people, Elf or Worgen, are functionally immortal on our homeworld. I can remember most of those lonely millennia, my mind blissfully simple and content playing with my siblings and guarding them while they learned to hunt.

“When the Empire found my world, they were able to restore our minds but the treatment to keep us from being dangerous killers and so many millennia of docile servitude changed us. I know the vain, stupid, arrogant girl I was would be horrified, but the person I am now is happy as long as I have a good master to serve. Sirius accepted me along with all my problems and he’s been everything I need. He’s a good man, and it’s warmed my heart how much he loves your son.”

Lily smiled at hearing that. Sirius had always doted on Harry, and for a man who hadn’t had a serious relationship that she knew of, Lily had always thought he would make an excellent father someday. “Do you have any contact with your family? It sounds like they really care, it couldn’t have been easy seeing you constantly and remembering you were their daughter.”

“We exchange the occasional letter when a dimensional gate opens but it’s better if I remain as far away as possible for all involved.” Raene paused for a moment before continuing. “You’ll meet Alira on Monday when the supply shuttle comes back with the students who go home for the weekend and the supplies we need here, her story is simpler: She and her mother were born as slaves and she spent her childhood learning to be a very expensive domestic slave and her early teen years to be a pleasure slave. Despite that, she still had a better childhood than your son and is a warm, positive person. The Empire discovered her and started training her to control her magic and she just sort of ended up here. The magic users in her home galaxy are weird and she used something like divination to pick a destination before leaving. Alira’s great, and I’m not just saying that because she’s the only one who can cook. She’s been like the sister I’ve always wanted honestly.”

Lily laughed for a moment, needing the humor, before replying. “Are you both…”

“Involved with Master? Yes. The Empire needs as many magicals as possible to win their war against Entropy and the Void and there’s more species than you’d expect that don’t have males of their own so relationships with multiple females and one male are normal. Cloning magicals simply doesn’t work and artificial insemination only works once in a blue moon. There’s a spark, a tiny sliver of magic that a male provides during copulation that a female’s body nurtures during pregnancy; no one’s figured out how to reproduce that artificially yet. But there’s benefits to living in groups; I got to watch Alira lose her virginity with Master and it was beautiful. Master is such a generous lover, gentle and fierce in turn.”

Lily was speechless for a moment, polygamy wasn’t something she’d thought much about before. James had never seemed to have eyes for any other woman, ever, as far as she knew. Thinking back Lily wondered if Marlene, her dear friend since their first year at Hogwarts together would have survived if she’d been her sister-wife instead of just best friend? After a moment of thought as she watched a class down below learning a tricky water-summoning charm and begin watering the field of grass they were standing on, Lily spoke again. “But does a relationship like that really work? What about jealousy?”

Raene shrugged her furry shoulders. “I’ve heard it can be a problem sometimes, but the solution is love, as trite as that sounds. You have to love the others in a relationship more than yourself and be willing to work together. Pride and self-importance are divisive and horrible things if you let them control you. I wasn’t joking when I called Alira my sister, she’s my sister now in everything but blood. We love each other as much as we do Master and we work together to build the best home and family we can. Sirius deserves a loving home and a big family after everything he’s been through, and we’re going to make sure he gets it.”

Lily was quiet for a moment. “My sister was jealous of my magic, not only did she grow to hate me but she took it out on my son.”

Raene leaned in and gave Lily a much needed hug. “Then you just need better sisters.”

~/*\~

Lily and Raene spent the afternoon together, mostly talking about Harry and Sirius or watching the students down below. When asked why there seemed to be such a focus on conjuration, Raene explained. “Lots of reasons. First, it’s an important skill to the Empire and the only way we have to reclaim material claimed by the Void. It’s also practical, since outside the structures Mars has less than thirty percent of Earth’s gravity. Like the Imperial prison Sirius was in briefly, the students are building Mars into a proper planet one spell at a time.”

A few questions led Raene to access her interface and project the public description of Astria Prison on the wall with a few photos. “It’s built around an asteroid towed into a stable orbit, they have the prisoners conjure as much water or other material as they can and it’s slowly building up a new planet, one of three planned to share Earth’s orbit. Apparently it has a healthy population of ‘Tilapia’ fish, and they’re introducing some other fish now to keep their population stable.”

Lily was beginning to see a theme with the Golden Star Empire; logic and efficiency was their goal in everything. As the conversation died off, Raene showed her how to access the holographic interface that projected from the implant behind her left ear. And wasn’t that a surprise, to learn that while she’d been in stasis she’d gained magi-tech implants. Apparently it wasn’t a big deal though, as Raene showed off her own implants, parting her short, fine fur to reveal them. And the fur explained why Raene only wore a small shirt and shorts; clothes in general were not comfortable against her fur. Apparently she was only wearing anything at all to make Lily feel more comfortable. In any case, Lily had written out half a dozen beginnings to a letter for Harry that she’d thrown out by the time Sirius arrived, looking exhausted. Still, he had a warm smile and greeting for both of them as Raene quickly prepared a soothing tea.

Lily, wanting to discuss a topic other than the ones that had been gnawing at her, spoke up. “How did your first day go, Professor Black? ”

Sirius chuckled for a moment. “Not bad, but I need to make a call; we received students rescued by the Temporal Reclamation Command after lunch and I had to ensure they integrated smoothly.” A few moments later, Lily was watching as a video call connection went through. “Aberforth? Is that you?”

The figure projected on the wall waved a wand and several lights turned on, showing the face of Aberforth Dumbledore. The man responded after a moment. “Sirius. I’m sorry that I believed my brother, I should have known…”

Sirius waved his response off. “A lot of people believed Albus, and I’ve made peace with that. I’m calling about a brighter topic. I really don’t know the delicate way to say this, but the Empire sent recovery squads into the past when they learned several rare magical gifts and species went extinct in the last century. Say hi, Lily.” Feeling a little awkward, Lily waved and said hello to her fellow Order of the Phoenix member. “Your sister Arianna is in the class I’m teaching now.”

Aberforth choked on air for a few moments, and when he got his breathing under control immediately asked a question. “Is she alright? Is she…”

Sirius responded quickly. “She’s doing alright. The team wasn’t able to travel far enough back to prevent her from becoming an Obscurial, but they were able to stabilize her. She’s healthy and with a series of medical rituals she’s going to gain a new magical gift as she and the Obscurus merge. From her perspective she saw the start of the duel with you, Albus, and Grindelwald then woke up at the school here. For her health, she’s living with roommates and being kept away from stress. You’re free to write to her as long as you don’t include anything upsetting. Our students usually head home on the weekends, but for Arianna it would be better for you to come here. I talked to the administration and they arranged a job opening and residence here for you.”

Aberforth straightened in his chair. “Give me an hour to sober up and I’ll be ready to leave.”

Sirius spoke up before the man could walk away. “You won’t be able to travel here until Monday when our supply shuttle returns. You’ll have to submit to an interview with a Truth-Stone to work at the school, but I doubt that will be a problem. The local Civilian Resource branch will schedule an interview with you soon, so you should definitely sober up and get ready to leave, maybe hire a manager for your bar or close it for a while.”

Aberforth shrugged. “I’ll sell it. I don’t think Arianna would be proud of a big brother running a place like this.”

With that the call ended and Sirius sunk back in his chair. Lily watched him take a big sip of the calming tea before she spoke up. “So you’re teaching Albus’ little sister? Get any other interesting additions to the students you’re responsible for?”

Sirius smiled and responded as Raene slipped into his lap and started to snuggle. “Two Lamia, Jane and Kristen. Kristen seems to be a quiet studious girl but Jane reminds me of you, honestly. Jane doesn’t back down when insulted or challenged, and already had a scuffle with Pansy Parkinson. Draco, Lucius’ son, made some comments too and got tossed into a fountain.” Sirius paused and snorted. “Draco will either learn some tolerance, some tact, or he’s going to get the crap beaten out of him. He came to class with a black eye today and during lunch I checked the security cameras; he was very rude and insulted a Centaur from another class group after dinner last night.”

Lily snorted. She knew it was wrong to find a child’s injury amusing, but she also knew of Lucius Malfoy, and if his son was anything like his father… Sirius continued. “Part of Draco’s attitude is him acting out. Narcissa only stayed out of prison by signing a binding contract to divorce Lucius and remarry someone she isn’t related to. She didn’t know before signing that the Empire picked Remus as her new husband, or that nearly everything the Malfoy family had was being seized as restitution for the war. For supporting the Death Eaters during the war she should have been in Azkaban, but instead she’s basically under house arrest and helping to grow the magical population; her and Remus’ first son is projected to be twice as powerful magically as Draco.”

Lily leaned forward. “How is Remus?”

“He’s not doing bad, he’s been on a treatment for a while that’s slowly calming ‘the wolf’s’ rage. In a few more months he’ll be learning the animagus transformation to give a safe place for ‘the wolf’ to live in his head. We… had something of a falling out. I couldn’t believe he’d never checked on Harry, and he thinks I shouldn’t support the Empire, even after all it’s done for us. The Empire’s not perfect, but for how badly the war’s pressing them they’re very civilized and a massive improvement over what we had.”

Lily could understand why people would dislike the Empire, given how they had annexed Earth, but… “We all knew the Ministry of Magic was corrupt, but no one cleaned it out after the war. Look what that got us. I’m glad they’re here, Harry is distant but safe and healthy, you’re out of prison and doing better, and I’m alive. Things could have gone worse.”

Sirius smiled for a moment before he spoke. “I picked up a wand for you, Lily. It’s the same type Harry and I use, and I think it’s an improvement over Ollivander’s wands.” With that said, Sirius pulled a slim rectangular box out of a pocket and handed it to her. “These wands are really interesting, there’s hundreds of thousands of magically preserved live cells from magical creatures inside, and as you use it the most compatible sample will replicate until there’s nothing else there. As you use it the wand will become more responsive until it works even better than the one Ollivander sold you. Once the wand ‘settles’ you can use a spell to find out what animal the core came from. Harry’s wand settled with the heartstring of a Sunstalker.”

Sirius flicked his own prison-issued wand and conjured an image of a gryphon-like creature with striking crimson and gold colors that projected an air of majesty and primal power. Opening the box, Lily withdrew her new wand and was amused at the red and silver swirls that decorated the shaft and handle. Turning to look at Sirius, she spoke. “And what did your wand settle as?”

Sirius flicked his wand again, and next to the Sunstalker a massive two-headed, white-furred, hulking canine appeared. Raene spoke up before Sirius could. “It’s a Nian , a species from my home planet. They’re fantastically rare, and one of the only two we know about is an Ancient the Empire is giving therapy to.”

Lily laughed at that, and spent the time before the three had dinner together flicking her new wand to produce silent fireworks and writing out a letter to Harry. She desperately wished she could speak to him, but apparently the hardware for that was still being installed in his planetary system. She’d been shocked when Sirius called up Harry’s letter that talked about watching seven magicals create a star, and that was why they couldn’t open a video call with him yet; the entire solar system was new, and the transmitter needed for non-emergency communications was still being constructed. Still, that was supposed to change within a week, so Lily would have to content herself with letters for now.

~/*\~

Hermione knew she should have been embarrassed at her behavior earlier, but she wasn’t. She’d only known him a day and Draco Malfoy was the most arrogant and vile boy she’d ever met. And to think she felt sorry for him attending class with a shiner. It felt good to toss him into the fountain, and it wasn’t even difficult thanks to the lower gravity outside the buildings here. I can see why they gave us a few days to adjust, the artificial, Earth-like gravity indoors and the natural outside made me nauseous switching back and forth the first day. Still, the class after lunch with Professor Black was interesting. I think I impressed him by switching from conjuring water to conjuring air.

As Hermione settled in for the night, hair damp from a shower, she looked over to the new Lamia students as she read the latest message from Harry. I guess it makes sense that not all cultures have the same thoughts about nudity. Hermione glanced up again, confirming that Jane and Kristen were indeed brushing out their hair while nude. Despite herself she paused her reading to get a good look at their anatomy. Well, that answers one question but raises others. I wonder if I can find a book on Lamia anatomy or if I should just ask? I wouldn’t want to be rude… If nothing else Jane’s dark blue scales and Kristen’s red ones are very interesting. It looks like the scales are thick and strong on most of their uh, tail? But become small and almost decorative near their hips.

After a moment of thought she gave up on analyzing their anatomy and decided to invite the new girls to study with her, Susan, and Hannah; after a moment of thought she decided to include Ariana. She was tempted to exclude the young Dumbledore because of the actions of her older brother but decided not to, the girl really looked like she could use a friend. Susan had been there for her, had coaxed her out of her shell, and now it was her turn to help out someone else.

~/*\~

As a new day dawned on a sparsely-populated planet, Harry checked his notifications as he got ready for another day. As expected, he saw letters from both Hermione and Sirius, and one other that took him a moment to realize the importance of. Another few days and I’ll have to do some laundry, but that won’t take long…

Harry’s shock was enough to attract a worried Sethria to his room, and she proved her less than masterful people skills as she tried to help ease his emotions as Harry read through the first letter from his mother. Compared to previous days, the two left the Victory to begin work much later than usual. Harry had composed and sent a few sentence reply, telling his mother he was so glad she was alive and he couldn’t wait to see her in person, and that he’d be writing more when he could calm down a little. Sethria was happy to direct Harry’s nervous energy into conjuring once they left the Victory.

~/*\~

A few days later, a satisfied Harry Potter looked at his day’s credit total. He’d earned a few more every day, and now he was up to 125 credits for a hard day of alternating wandless magic practice and using his wand for the River-Conjuring spell. Between himself and Sethria, they would soon be ready to make their first purchase on the surface of Caladan. The name had been suggested by Fleur, who had seen the name in a novel where the world was described as a ‘lush ocean world.’ Harry was also looking forward to the video call he’d scheduled in two weeks with Sirius and his mother. Sal had explained that like the planets themselves, the satellites and stations in this new solar system were bare-bones; sure, they had planetary shields and weapon emplacements in case of attack, but the less essential components were being constructed piece by piece as the magic collected from the settler’s implants was used to expand the system’s orbital installations. Eventually, Caladan would have as much connectivity as any other Imperial world and he could just open a video call to anywhere in the same universe whenever he wanted but for the moment there was much more demand than the system’s bandwidth could supply.

Harry wasn’t exactly sure what to think of his mother’s rescue by the Temporal Reclamation team assigned to Earth’s recent history. Yes he was thankful she was alive and he could get to know her, but the problem was that he had no idea what it meant to have a loving mother. A few days after talking with his mother and godfather he was planning to have a video call with Hermione. They’d been exchanging letters for a while, and now seemed like a good time to speak face to face, so to speak.

~/*\~

Extra: Life in the (Former) Malfoy Manor

~/*\~

Remus Lupin let out a world-weary sigh as he left the public transit hub and apparated home. He’d just escorted Janice, a married woman and latest applicant of the Empire’s surrogacy program back to the waiting arms of her husband and overheard her, probably in an attempt to soothe her husband’s worries, call him a ‘mopey doormat.’ As Remus returned to the building that had once been Malfoy Manor he reflected that was one more new life he wouldn’t have any part of after conception. It could have been a depressing thought, but not only did the Empire carefully screen prospective parents, he was allowed to look through their files for himself and choose which applicants he would ‘service.’ He had no doubt that Janice and her husband would give his child a loving home and he was also absolutely certain that the Empire would never allow another child to live through the nightmare that James’ son had endured. Walking in the front door and making his way to Narcissa’s study, Remus found himself relieved that she was such a pragmatic woman. Entering after knocking, he greeted Narcissa and sat down in one of the Chimera leather chairs. “Janice is headed home, as soon as the medical scan confirmed conception she wanted to leave.”

Narcissa nodded and leaned back in her chair, drawing Remus’ attention to her slowly swelling abdomen. Her second pregnancy had been something of a surprise, given how soon it had followed the birth of Remus’ first son. “Good.” The blonde paused for a moment as she gently caressed the couple’s second child. “I looked through the applications for your ‘pride’ and found another muggle woman I think will be tolerable. I invited her for a visit next week, we will see if she’s a good fit. Her application didn’t mention your ‘furry problem,’ so she probably has no idea you’re a werewolf.”

In other words, another woman that will defer to Narcissa. Remus shook his head. “I can’t believe how many werewolf fetishists the muggle world has. The Statute was up too long if so many women want to bed a werewolf.”

The former Malfoy lady snorted. “And they’re always so disappointed afterwards. You should just give in and purchase that ‘Goldrinn’s Gift’ ritual.”

Remus shuddered. “No. I’ve always hated that part of me, even when I had Wolfsbane potion. Being stuck with a wolf for my ‘animagus’ form is bad enough; I can’t just let it sit, I’m going to have to run and hunt in my new form too often as it is.” For a while, the two just sat there together; the silence wasn’t comfortable or uncomfortable, and neither felt the need to break it for a while. “Narcissa. I know I’ve asked before, but are you… okay with how things turned out?”

After a moment of consideration, Narcissa replied. “I know I’ve brushed that question off more than once, but the truth is that my life is not bad. It’s certainly better than prison.” When Remus started to interrupt, she waved him off. “No Remus, under Imperial law I was an accomplice to my husband and the other Death Eaters, an accessory to the murder of children. We both know the Empire has no tolerance for those who harm children. The fact that I’d been raised to believe muggles and muggleborn were nothing but animals is no excuse as far as the Empire’s legal system is concerned. And truthfully? Before the invaders tore everything apart and forced me to see the truth, I never once questioned what I’d been taught.” The two were quiet for several more moments before she continued. “All things considered, I really have no complaints; I always wanted more children but Lucius decided to stop at one. And it isn’t as if Lucius was my first choice of husband. He was just the one my parents pushed me towards; our marriage felt more like a business transaction than anything else. As for my son, Draco is not happy, but he will be a greater and wiser wizard than his father and our children will reach even greater heights if they work for it.”

In his head, he chuckled at the reason Narcissa left out: Before the Empire, a family legacy depended on wealth and the heirs not killing each other; now it meant a large family to ensure the lineage wasn’t snuffed out if a galaxy or reality was destroyed. After a moment, Remus changed the subject. “Looking forward to the raid tonight?”

Narcissa smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile, but Remus couldn’t help but join her.

~/*\~

Three hours later as night fell, Remus handed his son over to Dobby and thanked the elf for looking after his little one. As he made his way to the manor’s new game room, he couldn’t help but marvel at the changes in Britain’s house elves. No longer were they tiny, pitiful creatures; the Empire’s treatments had changed them into something like the kobolds that served dragons on certain worlds. Dobby had chosen a blood infusion from one of Azeroth’s Red dragons and he was now three times the size he had been, healthy, strong, and remained a servant only because he chose to be. In any case, Remus reached the manor’s game room and found Narcissa already sprawled on the room’s couch wearing one of their Neural Interface helmets. Remus quickly joined her and donned the other, glad he’d managed to get ahead on the mandatory conjuring the invaders demanded. As much as he disliked them, he could admit this was one luxury he enjoyed.

As the Neural Interface booted up the physical world fell away and a loading screen faded into view. A familiar voice, a famous actor even he would admit was well-chosen, began to speak. “Once a peaceful world, Arcana was shattered by war after thirteen stones fell from the heavens. These immensely powerful stones, forged by the World-Walkers at the cost of Arcana’s most beloved stars, were used by their makers in a war that ended with no victors and no survivors. Each of these thirteen stones is at once a tiny thing and more powerful than the star consumed in their creation. Moreover, they are part of a set; while powerful alone it is only together that their true power can be unlocked. If these stones are ever united, Arcana’s last surviving continent will be lost and its people will join the World-Walkers in extinction.

“Of the mighty kingdoms that once ruled, only fragments remain. In that power vacuum three fearsome Dark Lords rose to power in the chaos and now no place is beyond their reach. Now champion, will you stand against Dumbledore the Deciever, Grindlewald the Usurper, and Voldemort the Destroyer? Will you protect the innocent from their war for supremacy? Or will choose to join them, choosing peace at the cost of tyranny? Choose well, champion, for the final war for Arcana has begun.”

Like always, Remus blinked as he took in his surroundings. For a simulated world, the Empire had truly gone all-out. Arcana, one simulation among dozens of similar worlds, was not only the size of all of Asia, but the environments and terrain were just as varied and included every kind of backdrop imaginable, from magical forests to shattered mountains that floated in the sky. But it’s typical for the Empire. Only citizens in good standing can access it, it has a minor credit cost, and every time I cast a spell here, the magic is drawn from my body and sent to the war effort. Even so, this place is a pleasant diversion.

Striding out of the cave he’d left his character in, Remus glanced at his reflection in a pond. Unlike Narcissa’s Draenei character he could see ahead, checking the saddle on her silver Bonded Drake, (a Quest Reward the pair had earned in the Umbral Forest two weeks ago) Remus had made his character a half-elf, half human with an outrageous hairstyle and vivid blue hair. As he strode towards his own amethyst dragon, a silvery Patronus appeared and began to speak. “Glad you two could make it. Dumbledore is leading his army and he’s on his way to the Blackened Moor where our spies say the Fourth Stone is hidden. Our guild is gathering at Helmstead Keep with Grindelwald’s dragon-riders, the plan is to ambush Dumbledore while he’s busy extracting the Stone while the riders distract his army.”

Remus flicked his wand, summoning his own Patronus, as he swung up onto his dragon; urging her into the air and towards the nearest Waygate. “We’re on our way. Any word on what Voldemort is doing?”

Remus’ wolf Patronus flickered as a reply came. Unlike the real world, in-game Patroni had to be maintained to access the server-wide chat feature. “Well, the bad news is that Voldemort’s been busy in the Frozen North and he’s marching our way with a dozen undead Ice Giants and fifteen Greater Frost Wyrms. The good news is that Hoshi and her raiders are on our side tonight; their plan is to attack from under an illusionary fog once the dragon-riders draw attention before they join us in attacking Dumbles. Word from Grindelwald himself is to treat them as allies so long as they don’t turn on us. Again.”

As their dragons bore them to a massive stone archway that was the game’s fast-travel system, Narcissa flicked out her own Patronus and joined the conversation. “I swear if they turn on us at the worst possible moment, again, I will skin that damn fox myself and wear her hide as a cloak to the next raid on Voldemort.”

Remus laughed as his vision became a blinding swirl as they traveled across the simulated world. The world may have gone to hell, but after learning about Dumbledore’s betrayal and his treatment of James’ son, there was something viscerally pleasurable about driving a sword through the old man’s heart. During the war Dumbledore and Voldemort had been seen as invincible warriors, wizards without peer, but in Arcana the players had learned that a concerted effort by an army could bring them down. Sure, it was never an easy fight, and even with numbers on their side they could easily fail, but even failure taught his Guild how to improve the next time they fought the former Headmaster. The fact that Dumbledore constantly adapted to their strategies and tactics only made every hard-won victory sweeter. With some luck, tonight would be the third time Dumbledore died at his hands. Sure, the old man would simply reappear in his fortress in the Southern Sea in a few hours, but by then all Albus’ work and his latest army would be splinters and ash. One of the other guilds might even reclaim the Third Stone Albus was using to empower his castle’s defenses before he reformed. As he and Narcissa flew high above the Blackened Moor, Remus admitted to himself that perhaps the Empire wasn’t all bad after all.

~/*\~

A/N: Did I trap Dumbledore in a MMO? Yes, I did. It’s a practical punishment that not only saps magic from Albus and friends, but it also gives some of the most dangerously creative magic users on Earth opportunity and motivation to innovate and invent new magic. The fact that they’re doing so while serving as raid bosses in a holodeck-level simulation is just the Empire’s efficiency in effect. Rest assured, Albus’ sentence isn’t ‘indefinite’ like Voldemort and he will be released (after serving his sentence) when he expresses real remorse and decides to become a better person. But honestly, I’d give Grindelwald a good chance of getting to that point first.

And yes, Remus’ guild is working with Grindelwald, both to keep anyone from uniting the 13 stones and because, in my headcannon, Grindelwald is the more sane kind of dark lord. Sure, he wanted to enslave the muggle world, but he was probably a better boss than Tom or Albus. (I’m also unconvinced that much of the muggle world would have been worse off under his rule; once he’d won he would have had to either mind control everyone forever or find a way for the muggles to thrive under his leadership.) Voldemort was insane and cursed his own people and how many people died because of Albus’s plans and his follower’s refusal to make new ones? Like, Albus basically handed the Ministry to Tom with his planned death and Voldemort used all those resources to subjugate Britain and send muggleborn to Azkaban or worse.

Anyway, please leave a review. I’m working on Dragon Concubine and Blood of Serpents, but I just haven’t been able to write much lately between the holidays and some vexing home repairs.

Chapter Text

~/*\~

Chapter 9: Under the Wide Open Sky

~/*\~

Harry was disappointed but not surprised that his transfigured pots refused to hold their shape, even inside the Victory. While he and Sethria were shedding magic while inside, the ship didn’t retain enough to sustain the transfigurations. (Apparently if the ship retained that magic, he and Sethria wouldn’t shed as much while they slept, so that was a planned feature of the colonist housing.) That meant no permanent transfigurations until Caladan had a lot more ambient magic. So one afternoon the two colonists were staring at the two dozen couch-sized stones they had carefully levitated up the valley. Harry was looking at the assembled rocks, boulders really, and spoke out loud as he twirled his wand in his hand. “I wish we had clay, this feels like a clumsy way to make pots.”

Sethria chuckled and levitated a somewhat-round stone that came up to Harry’s waist in front of him. “Then learn alchemy. These containers only need to last until I can buy that bike kit. It’s fast enough to travel back and forth to a fabricator station, even when hauling a load underneath. But these stones will work for now. Here, try to make a container out of this one. I’d do it myself, but they never let me build a lightsaber. My instructors said it was ‘too dangerous.’”

Ignoring thoughts of students waving around plasma blades inside a starship, Harry focused intently on the stone in front of him. All of the stones they’d found so far were either not the strongest to begin with or were riddled with fissures, so transfiguration was really the only way to shape them. Slowly and carefully, Harry transfigured layers of stone into sand and brushed them away until he had a flat surface. He stepped back and Sethria rotated the boulder so it would sit on its new base. Again, Harry removed the top layer of stone by transfiguring it and dusting the sand away. When he had a second flat surface, he started carving out a hole, one layer of sand at a time. He was nearly done when the boulder cracked in half, ruining the attempt. He sighed and looked closer at where the rock had split. “I made it too thin. Do you think all the rocks are this brittle?”

Sethria shrugged, she hadn’t expected the first attempt to work anyway. With a wave of her hand, she rolled Harry’s first attempt away and floated a second boulder out of the pile. This one was made of some darker mineral, and was hopefully a bit stronger. “We can use the broken ones to grow moss. Give it another try.”

~/*\~

Two hours later the pair had created a dozen very rough planters out of the local stone. None of the planters had drain holes for excess water; ideally there would always be a shallow layer of water at the bottom to let the plants get as much as they needed. An hour after that, the settlers had managed to drain the Victory’s waste tank into the bottoms of the pots and let the water evaporate; they were very grateful for their breathing masks as they worked. Each container was then filled with the sand Harry had been creating, stirred, and more sand added. Normally when a transfiguration ran out the item would return to normal but the individual grains of sand had all shifted and mixed in a pile. If Harry had transfigured the stone into a single form, it would have returned, but instead he’d intentionally broken the chemical bonds holding the stone together.

Next came a lot of very careful levitation from both of them as they moved the filled stone pots inside to their first dedicated greenhouse room, an unused room directly below Harry’s bedroom. Harry moved most of his plants down the stairs as well for convenience, then he carefully planted the first seeds in the sand. Part of the supplies that had come along with the Victory were seeds for plants carefully chosen for first-stage planetary settlers. None of the edible plants were tasty, there were no strawberries or carrots, but the plants were hearty, nutritious, and difficult to kill. (On the Dawn, these plants had described as ‘nearly idiot proof.’) Once harvested, the edible parts would be used with a machine in the Victory’s kitchen; essentially the machine processed almost any kind of edible plant or animal, stored the nutrients, then when it had enough turned them into a ration bar. As Harry began levitating the failed, broken containers onto the deck, he grumbled to himself. Hurrah for more ration bars. Once the broken stone was on the deck, Harry began the process of hauling them to the Victory’s lowest deck. At least these stones will be useful once we start raising fish. I’ll start some moss on them tonight.

~/*\~

Nine days later, Harry was feeling frustrated. Unlike most children, he’d never had legos or puzzles to play with as a child. As he slowly re-read the instructions for assembling and enchanting the flying disc kit he’d purchased, that fact was suddenly relevant. ‘ Some’ assembly required my ass! He was kneeling in the hall next to the Victory’s main entrance with most of the kit’s seventy-two pieces spread around him. Each piece had to be charged with his magic and then assembled in a specific order; if he made a mistake charging the pieces or assembled them in the wrong order he lost most or all of his progress. He’d had to start over from step thirty four times now. (And that wasn’t even counting the times he’d been forced to start over from the start.) Out of all the things he’d done since leaving Earth this was easily the most frustrating, so he could be forgiven for losing track of the time. Thankfully he had just managed to reach step forty-nine, which completed the disc’s core and was a recommended stopping point when his interface lit up with the message that a call was incoming.

Harry moved until his back was against the wall and spoke. “Accept call.”

Seconds later, a holographic projection appeared on the opposite wall and Harry saw his mother for the first time in real life. Sirius had sent him several pictures already, but it was another thing to see her in the flesh. He was glad to see Raene, Sirius’s extremely friendly girlfriend, sitting next to her. Sirius had explained in a letter that Raene had been helping Lily adjust and grieve for James. Harry had been doing research on the best way to keep a large family happy and the most popular digital book in the credit marketplace had been very informative. One thing it recommended was filling certain roles within the family structure; Raene filled Sirius’ ‘emotional support’ role with quiet skill and enthusiasm. Harry was just glad his mother wasn’t alone, that she had Sirius, Raene, and Alira. Focusing his attention on the call, Harry smiled as he noticed Raene snuggling into his mother’s side with a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Hi mom! Hi Raene!”

Lily started to cry but they were happy tears, not sad ones. “Hello Harry. It’s so good to see you, I’m so sorry your life wasn’t what it should have been…”

Harry spoke up, interrupting his mother. “It’s alright mom. It wasn’t your fault, you died to keep me safe. The people who hurt me got what they deserved.” Harry paused, a smirk on his face. “Did you hear what happened to Dumbledore?”

Lily smiled sadly. Harry took after James, and not just in his looks. “No, I haven’t heard. I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about him since he’s already been arrested, which means I’m not allowed to curse him.”

Harry’s smile became razor sharp before he spoke again. “They gave him treatments to extend his life for millennia and trapped his mind in a computer simulation. The Empire is constantly draining as much magic as they can without killing him, but his mind is stuck in a virtual world controlled by AIs that hate child abusers.”

Lily smiled at that. She wasn’t always proud of it, but she had a mean streak just as wide as James or Severus; the only difference was that she tried to only target those who deserved it. Sirius had helped her research just what her sister and her brother in law were experiencing during their sentences and she felt the punishments fit. Vernon, who had always harped about being normal was the only human on a chain gang that was strip-mining Mars of rare and valuable ores before they were covered in miles of dirt and water as the planet was built up; he might never even see another human until his sentence was complete. Petunia was working as a maid and cook at the lunar facility for continuing endangered sapient species, though she wasn’t allowed to interact with the children at all.

Lily and Harry exchanged a few more pleasantries before she asked what he’d been doing lately. “Conjuring a lot of water. I’m practicing doing it wandlessly too sometimes. We carved containers out of small boulders and got some seeds started last week. Don’t ask me where we got the fertilizer to mix with the sand. And since yesterday I’ve been trying to assemble the flying disc kit we bought so we can reach the closest Spike installation. The Victory has a small ‘transmat’ receiver which is good because we can’t safely reach the larger ones yet. This kit has seventy-two pieces and I’ve had to stop and start over so many times because I got the order wrong or didn’t get something enchanted correctly. I finally got the core fully assembled though so it should only be a few more hours till it's done; the outer pieces are larger and easier to work with. How are you holding up?”

Harry didn’t mention James, but Lily knew exactly what he was talking about. “I’m doing all right. Raene has been great, and Alira was very kind too. She’s back on Earth again to handle the Potter and Black estates, mostly she’s just liquidating everything and retrieving all of the artifacts that ‘mysteriously disappeared’ while I was indisposed. Alira’s already retrieved books, magical paintings, and James’ invisibility cloak. Both the Black and Potter finances were such a tangled mess, poor Alira’s spent months working out what is rightfully ours. Thank god she was trained in estate management.”

Harry laughed. Sirius had told him months ago about trying to straighten out the tangle of both estates and the headache involved. He hadn’t thought about it much but getting his hands on a few more credits would be great, he was really looking forward to purchasing his first familiar. He’d even settled on exactly what he wanted, it wasn’t the cheapest creature available but it would be useful on Caladan immediately and would be perfectly at home once the oceans rose. “Sirius had some really great luck in finding her. Or I guess she found him? I’m glad you’re staying with him mom. Sirius is really the only human adult I trust other than you.” Harry smiled brightly. “Since you moved in with him Sirius sounds happier in his letters. He tries not to let it show but he’s not as happy as he looks most of the time, or at least he wasn’t before you came back from the dead.”

Harry knew he was laying that on a little thick, but he really did mean what he said. Out of all the people his parents had known, Sirius was the most trustworthy because he’d stuck his neck out for them, suffered for it, and when he finally got out of prison his first priority was to be the best godfather he could. Harry really hoped his mom joined Sirius’ family, he didn’t trust anyone else to keep her safe. He spoke up again, hoping to move the conversation along; he only had thirty minutes after all. There were only four people on his world so far, but their solar system had eighteen planets and apparently the molten worlds closest to the star already had quite a few settlers. “The seeds I planted a week ago have sprouted but normally it takes a few cycles of growing the plants, letting them die and turning them under before you get useful soil; thanks to Madral and his sister giving me tips with druidic magic we’ll be able to make more ration bars as soon as the first fruit gets ripe.”

Lily cut in. “Being able to grow food is the requirement for recruiting more people, isn’t it?”

Harry nodded. “Yes. After the first harvest we can start adding more people. And I’m almost ready to flood the lowest deck, then we just need to buy some healthy lake water, plants, and fish to really get started. When we start harvesting the fish it’ll get a lot easier to grow food since we can use the extra parts to grow more stuff.”

From there the two talked about Harry’s plans to build a dam and set up an ecosystem and about Sethria and Dahlia. Eventually their time ran out, and they said their goodbyes. Harry found himself looking forward to the next time they could talk together. For now, he returned to his puzzle and searched the instructions for where he’d left off. Sethria wanted this ready as soon as possible.

~/*\~

At dawn the next day Harry discovered he was a natural in the air. Sure, the disc constantly drained his magic, enough so that he could actually feel the disc drawing magic through his legs, but that just meant it was good exercise and he got a small credit reward for releasing magic. After an hour spent learning how to fly his disc around their valley he landed on the Victory’s deck for water and a snack. The plan was to head to the nearest Spike and return to the ship that evening but just in case they spent the night he wanted to be ready, so Harry loaded a bag with ration bars and a (nearly) bottomless canteen of drinking water. On his way out he paused and checked on the Victory's garden. The plants he’d started from seeds or cuttings before leaving the Dawn were doing well and didn’t need water, but the sprouts growing in their improvised stone containers needed some. According to the seed packets we should get our first edible food in six weeks. Just have to keep them growing and we’ll never starve. Once these plants start producing we’ll be eating nutrition bars for two meals a day, at least until we get enough ingredients to actually cook. I wonder how far we can stretch those meals in the freezer?

A few moments later he was soaring through the air on his flying disc, feet kept in place by one of the platform’s enchantments which was basically a sticking charm. Harry landed at the future site of their dam and waited for Sethria to place the boulders she was levitating in the pile of stones; in another few weeks they’d be ready to start fusing the stone into the dam’s base. (It wouldn’t be very tall at first sadly, but stone by stone it would grow.) Harry was very much looking forward to filling their lake and reaping the benefits of an inexhaustible food supply. The great thing about having a lake was that the sun would sustain plants and algae which would, in turn, feed an entire ecosystem of fish. Thankfully Harry knew how to make pretty good fish and chips. I’ll have to get some potatoes growing. Maybe our first new recruit can carry a few in her pockets through the transmat?

Sethria lodged the rocks in place (they’d had a few roll down the gentle slope) and turned to Harry. “You looked like you were having fun with that thing. Are you sure you can keep it in the air for an hour while carrying both of us?”

Harry smiled as she moved closer and he sent a mental command to enable passenger mode. (It wasn’t anything fancy, but it would add a second pair of sticking charms to keep her feet in place.) “Being in the air is a lot more fun than I expected. The drain isn’t too bad, I can’t fly all day yet, but an hour or two is no problem. You should stand close to me so it’s easier to keep the disc steady; let me know when you’re comfortable and I’ll stick your feet on.”

After a moment of shifting, Sethria was standing directly behind Harry, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her chin resting on his shoulders. Harry laughed at her choice of position, secretly glad that while she was taller than him, it wasn’t by a lot. With both of them firmly attached to the disc, he slowly took them into the air as he worked out how the extra weight affected the balance and performance. It was a little harder to keep the disc in the air with a passenger, but after a few moments he figured he was ready. “Interface, give me an arrow pointing to the nearest Spike please.”

A small hologram popped up in front of his face, showing the direction and distance. With a direction to go, Harry nudged the disc onward, heading out over the endless sea of broken rocks a moment later. It took a few tries to get a comfortable speed built up since he needed endurance over speed. Especially with two people the faster he nudged the disc the more power it needed from him. Soon he’d found a good speed and Harry relaxed as they sped along. His heads-up-display helpfully showed the estimated travel time as well; at their current speed it would take an hour and twenty-five minutes. Harry spoke up over the wind, glad he’d thought to transfigure goggles for the both of them out of their breakfast trays. “Next time I’ll go faster, I just want to be sure I’m pacing myself the first time. I’ll speed up near the end if I have enough magic left.”

The crimson-skinned teen leaning into his back replied as the rocks not far below sped by. “Good idea. I don’t mind taking a little longer to make sure we get there safely.” She was quiet for a few moments before she felt the need to make more conversation. “I wonder why the Dawn didn’t set us down near a Spike? You’d think they would want the magnetic field built up quickly.”

To the surprise of both settlers, Sal spoke up through their implants. “ That was the original plan, most settlers are placed near a Spike installation. In your case however, the Dawn’s AI net decided that the chance to easily build a sizeable lake was more useful than being close to a Spike. After all, transportation isn’t that difficult to acquire.”

Harry replied first. “That makes sense. I know I’m looking forward to getting the dam built and the lake stocked with fish. Once the dam is in we won’t have to worry about going hungry no matter how many other people we recruit.”

“I hope we can keep the water cool, swimming in a lake sounds nice.” With Sethria so close, Harry realized she was sweating even though it was only mid morning. Desert species or not, Caladan was still a very hot world. ( Technically she was only half desert species; as they got to know each other Sethria had told him her father’s species originated from a world of mostly temperate forests. She really didn’t know or care to know much about her father, other than he was why she had the useful prehensile tail that her siblings lacked.) Water and vegetation would bring down the temperature a lot, but Caladan would always be a tropical world thanks to its proximity to its star.

Over the next hour they made light conversation as the ground sped under them. While technically the disc didn’t require his hands to fly, Sethria had to help Harry with his mask and the canteen; with Sethria moving against his back he was having trouble keeping the disc balanced. Beneath them was what seemed like an endless plain of broken rocks; some were massive , the size of small towns or a few even larger, but most were the size of buses or smaller. The smaller rocks were apparently easier for the star teams to conjure in large amounts, though many of the larger pieces of rock had broken as the planet settled. As their destination neared, Harry urged his disc faster and faster. Like driving a car, after a certain point a higher speed meant less fuel efficiency and in this case the ‘fuel’ was the magic he was pouring into the disc.

By the time the Spike was in view, Harry was starting to flag, but he still noticed the structure that was their target. The pitch-black device was well-named; jutting sixty feet out of the ground it looked like some giant had driven a stake into the rocks. Despite its height the circular device was only about eighteen feet wide. As they came down for a landing, Sal spoke through their implants once more. “ The Magnetic Field Inducer and Transmutation Array, usually referred to as a Magnetic Spike or simply a Spike, is an extremely complicated device that can absorb many forms of energy. That energy is used to transmute planetary cores as needed; then once the core has a suitable composition, induce the core to create a magnetic field to protect from solar wind and stellar radiation. Your task is to channel power into any part of the Spike until the device is fully charged. Once fully charged the Spike will lock down, becoming inactive until all of Caladan’s twenty-one Spikes are fully charged. When all of them are charged the Spikes will begin a transmutation cycle and continue until their energy is depleted. Most new worlds require seven to ten charging cycles to complete their task. Once the Spikes achieve their purpose they will accept an additional charge and reconfigure their mechanism into an atmospheric and oceanic transmutation and filtering array. Once Caladan’s atmosphere and oceans have the correct chemical composition, the spikes will enter a dormant state. The Spike’s original charge was used to stabilize the surrounding rock, so it is safe to land nearby.”

With that, Harry landed and disengaged the enchantment that kept riders secured to the disc in flight. To his surprise he promptly collapsed. Sethria was concerned as she knelt over him, but Harry spoke up quickly. “I’m alright, the disc was drawing magic through my legs but I’ve never used my magic that way, it's always been through my arms. I’ll be fine in a bit but I need to rest for a little while. The disc must have an enchantment that keeps you standing.”

Sethria sighed and rolled her shoulders. “Get some rest Harry. Good job getting us here, we can always stay overnight if we need to. Sleeping with these breathing masks on isn’t ideal but we can handle it; I barely notice mine anymore. Before you sit down, can you get me some shade?”

While Harry was worn out, he wasn’t so tired that he couldn’t handle a few transfigurations. With a wave of his wand a nearby rock became a straw sombrero and Sethria picked it up with a doubtful look. Her attitude changed when she put it on and realized that the hat cast a shadow over her head, shoulders, and most of her arms while still allowing a breeze over her scalp to wick away sweat. Harry spoke up as she adjusted the hat. “The transfiguration should last longer with skin contact, but I don’t know how long that will be.”

His companion replied, looking a little ridiculous in her new hat and the loose light brown shirt and pants she’d started wearing to stay cool. “Thank you. Get as much rest as you need, then start conjuring. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

Harry nodded in reply and transfigured a simple but comfortable reclining lawn chair for himself and took his shirt off. He chuckled when Sethria levitated him onto the chair. A moment later he looked over and saw the amusing sight of Sethria in a sombrero unleashing a maelstrom of lightning into the Spike before he closed his eyes and leaned back, enjoying the sensation of Solar Attunement refilling his magical reserves. Taking a deep drink from his canteen, he sealed the lid and leaned back; adjusting his breathing mask without even thinking about it. Just a short rest.

~/*\~

Harry woke up over an hour later, feeling rejuvenated. Even better, his legs didn’t feel like jelly, though they weren’t one-hundred percent either. Surprisingly his chair had remained a chair, though looking over he saw Sethria’s hat was gone. Standing and walking over, he created a new sombrero and handed it to his partner when she turned to him. That was one downside of the way she’d been trained, it was impossible to sneak up on her. She accepted the hat and suggested they eat. After enjoying a bland but filling ration bar eaten under a transfigured umbrella, Harry followed Sethria back towards the Spike. Curious, he activated his interface and gave it a few commands. After a few moments of testing he discovered that he gained more credits for conjuring water than throwing his less-practiced lightning spell at the spike. With a nod to Sethria he moved away and began conjuring as much water as he could. While the pure water he was conjuring shouldn’t have been able to conduct electricity, he wasn’t willing to risk Sethria’s magical lightning conducting into either of them.

As the day wore on, Harry switched back and forth between casting the River-Summoning charm and working on his wandless magic. He was getting better, conjuring more and more water all the time but it would be a long time before his efforts had a visible effect. At least his Water-Summoning charm was fairly reliable without a wand. It’s getting easier too. When I’ve truly mastered it I’ll start learning the River-Summoning charm without a wand and then maybe a spell that conjures air? It would be nice not to need the mask outside. Actually… Looking back at Sethria taking a short water break, Harry smiled and opened his interface. He was standing near the edge of the rock that had been stabilized by the Spike, watching much of his work escape evaporation by percolating down through the cracks in the endless sea of broken stone.

He smiled to himself as he opened Hermione’s last letter. Apparently she’d purchased a book of spells from a desert planet and had copied down one of the simpler ones for him. Of all the reasons he enjoyed writing back and forth to Hermione her passion, her wonder, for learning magic was something they had in common. Reading through the spell again he took a breath and started attempting to cast the spell whose name best translated to ‘Sirocco’s Sting.’ It was a surprisingly draining spell, but thirty minutes later he managed to cast it correctly on his tenth attempt and a gust of wind carrying a torrent of dust and sand shot out over the broken rocks.

After a few more attempts to feel out the new bit of magic, he braced himself and pushed as much power as he could into the spell. It was hard to keep up the enormously draining spell for very long, and after only five minutes he sat down breathing big gulps of air through the mask on his face. To his surprise Sethria was standing right behind him with a curious expression on her face. Without any hesitation, Harry waved his wand and made them a pair of chairs, with hers under a large umbrella. “You’re certainly getting better at creating furniture, Harry. This chair is much more comfortable than your creations when we first arrived. New spell?”

Harry took a deep drink of water and replaced his mask before he replied. “Yes. Hermione, the girl I’ve been exchanging letters with, sent it to me. It’s very draining since it conjures both sand and air. Since Caladan needs more air and dirt I figured I’d give it a try.”

Sethria hummed in agreement, looking as if she could use a longer break than she’d been giving herself too. Her ability to conjure lightning was powerful but difficult to maintain for long. “It would be nice not to need the masks and Caladan is lacking in gravity, you can feel it when we step onboard the Victory. Your little sand spell won’t fix that anytime soon, but…”

“The more magic we use the stronger we’ll grow, and the more we can conjure. So far I’ve been alternating between wandless practice and the River-Summing charm. I’ll start rotating in ‘Sirocco’s Sting.’” Harry paused and flipped through his interface for a moment. “Right now it doesn’t give as many credits as River-Summoning, but I think that might change as I practice and get better at it.”

With that Harry stood up and swept the area with his strongest water spell, washing the lingering sand away and out into the broken stones. Harry threw himself into his work, eager to build up his strength and improve his world. Never let it be said that Harry Potter was lazy.

~/*\~

As the sun sank into the horizon, Harry was creating a shelter. Or trying to anyway, the problem was that anything he transfigured wouldn’t last the whole night, (and no one wanted rocks dropped on them while sleeping) so instead he was attempting to fuse rocks together. Sethria was helpfully holding them in place with levitation while Harry cast the strongest flame spell he could and she added her lightning one-handed. Sadly the stones weren’t melting, the hottest flame he could manage wasn’t hot enough, but it was enough to soften them enough that Sethria could push them together. It was slow going, but at least he would manage a wall to keep most of the windblown dust off while they slept. The plan had been to fly home tonight, but his legs were still a little shaky and both he and Sethria had exhausted themselves; while Solar Attunement was a great help in recovering spent magic it stopped working once the sun set. Thankfully they had ration bars to spare, an endless supply of water, and the knowledge that magically altered items lasted longer if they were in physical contact with Harry. Harry had even conjured a small swarm of lights, small orbs that hung in midair; the same spell both he and Hermione had learned in their first class.

Bathing had been… interesting, and neither really felt ‘clean’ after rinsing off under the stream of warm conjured water, but at least the sand Harry had lost control of during an unfortunate gust of wind was gone now. Harry felt increasingly awkward as they got onto the transfigured sleeping pad. He’d slept next to Dahlia more than once, but that had always felt more friendly. Maybe it was all in his head, but sleeping next to Sethria seemed entirely different. As they shifted to get comfortable on the improvised mattress, Harry remembered that Sethria wasn’t just his fellow colonist. Oh no , the two of them were partners in an arranged marriage. Belatedly, he remembered that his partner could sense his emotions when she turned to face him. Harry spoke before she could. “Sorry, I’ll try to calm down so you can sleep.”

Sethria tried to give him a comforting smile, but gave up after a moment. She didn’t have a lot of practice comforting others and it showed. “It’s alright Harry, you’re not bothering me. What’s got you nervous?”

Harry paused for a moment, turning to look up at the pitch black sky. He was quiet for a moment as both of them watched a small light move across the horizon. This wasn’t the first time they’d seen it, the light wasn’t a star or planet but one of the satellites that orbited Caladan; so far the occasional satellite or nearby planet were the only lights in the night sky. Eventually he spoke while still looking at the sky. “It just kind of hit me that you and I are already married, or life-mates, or whatever your culture calls it. And I was thinking about how I’m expected to be a father in a few years. It’s just kind of intimidating, that’s all.”

Sethria scoffed. “Is this because I’m not that Kitsune girl waiting for you in a stasis pod? I looked her up, I can see why you’re so anxious to see her again.”

Harry thought for a moment, looking at Sethria and trying to guess what she was thinking. “I do miss Dahlia, but that’s because we became close friends on the Dawn.” Harry paused for a moment, looking at his companion; she was not easy to read, but Harry thought he saw something in her face. “Are you jealous of her? Why?”

Sethria looked Harry in the eyes for a moment before turning away. “She’s beautiful, kind, and bubbly. I am not.”

Harry was honestly confused, and he knew Sethria sensed it when she turned back to him. “Are you worried I won’t find you attractive? Sethria, I’m just barely starting my species’ adolescence, but you are attractive. That’s part of why I’m uncomfortable. You’re lean, strong, and firm where Dahlia is soft and more than a little squishy; she isn’t a fighter in body or mind. You are a fierce warrior. Both of you are beautiful and attractive in different ways. But it will be a while before I’m ready to do anything other than admire you.”

Sethria chuckled in the growing darkness as Harry’s conjured orbs of light started to wink out, one after another. Thanks to her ability to sense emotions and her growing familiarity with Harry she was completely sure he was telling the truth, and that validation felt better than she thought it would. Honestly, before they’d landed on this world she’d never been insecure about her appearance before. It’s because the more time I spend with Harry, the more I appreciate him. Eventually the Victory will be full of his, or maybe our family, am I worried about being ignored for others?

Out loud Sethria replied after a moment. “Feel free to admire me as much as you want Harry, I won’t be ready to do much for at least another year or two, my adolescence is going slowly. To my Mother, my siblings and I were half-children, half science experiments. She loves us and would never hurt us, but she did tweak our DNA more than once; I’m developing slowly because my natural lifespan is one or two thousand years.”

“Cool. My people can live for two hundred years with enough magic, but there’s tons of rituals that can extend my life. My favorite so far is a ritual that gives each member of a group the combined average lifespan. For example, my friend Madral’s species lives about three thousand years without magical help, and two species from the worlds the Empire wants us to recruit from live fifteen thousand or more. If we recruited a member from each of those three species and performed the ritual we’d all live about seven thousand years. Even just using the familiar ritual can extend my life with a long-lived creature.”

“And of course the Empire wants us to live long, productive lives as well. But this is something we don’t have to worry about any time soon. We’ve both been working hard since we landed, so I’ve decided we’ll take it easy tomorrow. You’ve got a video call scheduled around midday, right?”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to talking to Hermione face to face. I think she will be a good fit for our crew, and she’s been telling me a little about her classmates too; she’s got two Lamia, which are strong swimmers and a Naga, a mostly aquatic species; both have magic like mine. Also a bunch of humans and a few other species, but I won’t be recruiting another Kitsune, at least before Dahlia joins us and Fleur didn’t give Veela a good impression on the Dawn. We should recruit a Kaldorei like Madral that’s been trained in druidism once the dam is built to help manage the plants and animals. Kaldorei tend to mutate at the drop of a hat; they’ve spawned six separate offshoot races in the last ten-thousand years, I have no idea what they’d do here but we can find out.”

Sethria rolled onto her back, completely relaxed on the less than perfectly comfortable bed. “I’m not sure about what races from my home galaxy would be a good fit here. Most of our magic users focused on physical enhancement and things like precognition instead of conjuration. The only group that really practiced anything like your people’s magic were the Nightsisters, but I avoided them for good reason.”

Harry found himself relaxing too, eyes drifting upwards, tracing the satellite moving across the night sky; a planet that might be Victor’s was visible on the horizon now. “I think we have a good plan for our lake. We can start with the two lowest decks of the Victory, flood them and start raising plants and fish, then when we have the dam filled we can just transplant them.”

Sethria spoke softly. “Your world’s ‘Tilapia’ seems like an easy choice for our first fish, they eat almost anything, are adaptable in warm water, and have the problem of breeding too fast.”

“While they’re in the ship we can handle that easily enough. Once they’re in the lake we’ll need to find a predator to keep them from over-breeding, maybe a magical one? I haven’t worried too much about that yet.”

“Fair enough. What plants did you decide to start with?”

“I’m hoping to get a sample of healthy lake water from Earth for algae and bacteria. For real plants the first one is a red hybrid grass the Empire just approved for new worlds, the parent plants come from ‘Shili’ in your galaxy and an insanely dangerous aquatic death world called ‘4546B.’ It actually grows both above and below water, but only produces seeds above water. ‘Shib’ grass has a good protein content but what makes it really great is how it grows a web of roots and constantly expands under the ground, almost but not quite enough to choke out other plants. Between the windblown seeds and the roots, if we put this in our lake eventually it will cover the whole planet.”

Sethria smiled, not that Harry could see it as the last of his lights winked out. “Good find. We need more oxygen, I can’t wait to breathe out here without the mask. Anything else?”

“Not really. I found some neat bioluminescent plants, but they’ll have to wait until we have credits to spare, they should look great when we can afford it.”

“I look forward to it. Now let's get some rest, goodnight Harry.”

“Goodnight Sethria.”

~/*\~

Despite their worries, both colonists slept well that night. Harry was glad when he woke up before Sethria since his hands had wandered during the night; they’d started off asleep on their backs, but now they were spooned together with Sethria in front of him. After carefully moving his hands to safer locations, Harry relaxed and just enjoyed the physical closeness. Glancing around, he realized that that the eastern horizon was just starting to light up and decided that was what had woken him. Harry flicked his wand into his hand and cast a pair of warming charms and a few spells to cushion the rocks beneath them; their bedding had reverted during the night. Despite being exposed to the air and still wearing his breathing mask, Harry felt himself slip into a contented doze. As he relaxed to the sound of Sethria’s steady breathing again, he reflected on how lucky he was that she hadn’t woken up while his hands had wandered.

Sethria had actually been the first awake. While surprised, she hadn’t been upset after realizing Harry was still asleep. Instead of blaming him for something he couldn’t control, she’d gently nudged him awake and pretended to still be sleeping. Still, with the cushioning charm on the stone beneath them and the warming charm chasing away the chilly air, she too found herself drifting back to sleep. She considered getting up, but she’d been pushing both of them in the three weeks they’d been on Caladan. We could both do with an hour or two more sleep.

Both of them woke up abruptly about an hour later when the cushioning charms on the stone gave out and started their day. Soon they’d relieved themselves, washed as much as they could, and had a breakfast of ration bars and cool water. After that Harry earned a few credits with the River-Summing charm while Sethria threw her all into charging the Spike, expending all of her reserves before they headed back to the Victory. Harry walked around the ring of stabilized stone around the Spike as he worked, looking out at the plain of broken stone. Eventually this will all be under water, but that will be a while yet. There’s not many features out there besides the broken stone, save a few truly massive rocks. Once we have enough water for shallow seas we’ll start working on building islands, that’s something for the future but not so far off I shouldn’t start thinking about finding spells or crew members for it. Until we get the gravity a little closer to ideal, the system is offering almost as many credits for rock or soil as electricity.

When there was about two hours left to go before he was due to contact Hermione the two colonists left the Spike behind. Just before stepping onto the disc behind Harry, Sethria exhausted herself electrifying the Spike to the point she could barely stand. As Harry activated the charms to keep their feet stuck to the disc, he turned back and asked the sweaty teen behind him if she was alright. Her response was quick as she sagged against him. “I’ll be alright. Might have worked myself a bit too hard, but if you can fly steady for a while I’ll meditate and get my strength back.”

“Not a problem. This disc is easier to use than I expected.” With that Harry took them off the ground, turned towards the Victory, and started flying towards home. Sethria seemed to slump onto his back, eyes closed and arms wrapped around his neck. For the first half hour of the flight back, Sethria stayed perfectly still except for her deep, even breathing. Harry almost thought she’d fallen asleep, but as they finished the first half of their journey she seemed to snap awake. “Do you feel better?”

As Sethria shifted, stretching her arms and shoulders, she replied. “Much. That’s a Force ability I’m glad still works.”

As the seemingly endless plain of broken rock sped by below, Harry replied. “How does it work anyway?”

“Mostly I concentrate and pull more magic from the same place you do, basically I just speed up my natural recovery. And before you ask, I don’t know if it would be possible or even useful for you to learn the skill. I’ll do a little research and let you know, okay?”

“Fair enough. I’m going to speed up, I want time to get a shower before it's time for my video call.”

~/*\~

A/N: Here’s the next chapter! I haven’t been able to write much, not even to do the final editing passes on things I’ve already written. Hopefully that changes soon and my productivity will go up, but for now I’m just working at my own pace.

Please leave a review, every one motivates me to keep writing. Also, I could use ideas for new Newsreels. I have one on the New Worlds program, but I’m saving it for the right chapter.

Chapter Text

~/*\~

Just Add Water

Chapter 10: Barbecues and Recruitment Pitches

~/*\~

Hermione’s first three weeks at the Erythraeum Imperial Academy had been interesting. The campus itself was wonderfully unique and her parents had loved the photos she’d shared, especially the ones she’d gotten up early for; the dawn reflecting through the fountain squares that ringed the central tower was a gorgeous sight. Academically, she was being challenged and she loved it! Her education was split between book learning and practical casting, and every time she mastered a spell Professor Black would give her a more difficult one. She even had the chance to try learning the more esoteric branches of legal magic! (The Empire had banned Necromancy as well as spells that dealt with Entropy or the Void; Necromancy rarely ended well and the Empire’s enemies could reach out and influence those who used their powers.) Sadly she had no talent for alchemy, permanently changing one thing into another was not an easy art and one either had the talent or did not. Still, she’d bought a beginner’s guide to enchanting off the credit market and her first project had worked perfectly! Well, until she wore her enchanted, color-changing mood-cloak outside the dorms and the sudden drop in environmental magic broke her first enchantment. Mars just doesn’t have healthy ley-lines yet. I just need to be more precise so the enchantment doesn’t unravel so easily, I can try again on Monday after class.

And she’d made more friends too! Susan and Hannah she already knew, but she was getting along swimmingly with Ariana, Kristen, and Saska. She’d even made friends with the Greengrass sisters. Astoria had really impressed her by keeping up with the rest of the class despite being two years younger. Apparently the girl really didn’t want to get sent home; neither she or Daphne had left Erythraeum at all so far. To be honest she didn’t have real problems with any of her dorm-mates; sure Kylri and Tracey teaming up for some pranks had been a bit annoying but a little levity and chaos didn’t hurt anything. That hadn’t been an easy thing for her to learn, but Hermione honestly felt better after she learned to relax and go with the flow from time to time. Even Pansy and Selena, the most abrasive personalities in their dorm, had learned not to cause strife though there had been a few ‘incidents’ before reaching that precious equilibrium.

Hermione was very excited today as she carried a small bag onto the Bronze Class supply shuttle that left Mars every Friday afternoon and returned every Monday morning. The shuttle was an interplanetary craft large enough to transport every student at Erythraeum and all the supplies they needed every week twice over and was a fast and reasonably comfortable ride; in fact the longest part of the journey was waiting for the right stop once they reached Earth. Kristen and Saska followed behind her, apprehensive but a little excited themselves. A few moments later they’d found the seating for non-humanoid passengers and quickly started adjusting the complicated series of straps needed for the two girls who had a snake’s coils from the waist down. While Tracey and their Kitsune roommate were responsible for almost all of the pranks in their dorm, Saska proved she was just as playful when a flick of her tail sent Hermione off-balance. When she’d lost her footing Saska struck like a snake and fastened two of the belts around both Kristen and Hermione, trapping the bushy-haired girl at the Lamia’s side. (Falling over was more annoying than anything else in the low gravity of Mars. The shuttle’s magi-tech artificial gravity wouldn’t activate until launch, then it would gradually change from Mars’ gravity to the full ‘G’ of Earth.)

Both girls chuckled a little as Hermione wiggled for a moment before giving up when her hands couldn’t reach the buckles. “I’ll have you know I was going to do this anyway, the shuttle ride is only half an hour but I wasn’t going to leave you two behind just for a more comfortable seat!”

Saska laughed lightly and patted Hermione on the head before finishing strapping herself in while Kristen did the same. In case of emergency the belts were part of a truly impressive number of safety measures and one that was required to fly on the shuttle. Saska spoke up after ensuring she was properly strapped in. “Yeah, but that was more fun!” The black-scaled Naga paused for a moment, her excitement dropping notably. “Are you sure this is okay Hermione? I don’t want to bother your parents.”

Hermione replied quickly. “No, it’s fine. Before the Empire came and I started class with the other magical kids I didn’t have any friends at all. They’re happy to meet you both. And honestly my dad’s been planning to install a pool since we moved to Hogsmeade; he was just worried about the twins getting into the water. But Hannah and Susan volunteered their families so we’re going to have a party while they get the expansion up in the backyard, then we’ll ward the pool.” Hermione looked at Saska directly. “We’ll get the pool in as soon as possible, but promise to let me know if you start to dry out, okay? I know Naga are aquatic and the ingredients for your surface-potion aren’t ready yet.”

Saska was glad she had a friend so willing to worry about her health and comfort. (She would be less glad later when she learned Hermione’s solution to her problem was to spray her down with a garden hose.)

~/*\~

When the shuttle landed at their stop the three girls met up with Susan, Hannah, and a boy Hermione hadn’t interacted with before. Susan and Hannah had asked for permission to invite the Longbottoms so Neville and his parents were following them to Hogsmeade. Neville Longbottom was a nice kid and as his parents joined the group it seemed like he couldn’t stop smiling. As they left the London Interplanetary Port and caught a train to Hogsmeade at the adjacent travel hub, Hermione found herself chatting with Mrs. Longbottom about the difference between the traditional Hogwarts education she’d had and the curriculum at Erythraeum. “You can call me Alice, Hermione. My husband and I aren’t Professors yet, we’re just teaching assistants. To be honest we aren’t needed at all, but the Empire wanted us to have time with our son after they healed us. To answer your question, the seven years I spent at Hogwarts were filled with busywork, loads of cumbersome theory, and boredom compared to Erythraeum’s classes. I wish I could have had the same teachers Neville has.”

As the day wore on the group made it to Hogsmeade and walked from the train station to the Granger house. It was a new construction that admittedly looked more magical than the older houses thanks to the ‘modern’ materials used; it was built out of gleaming stone woven with living magical trees with golden bark and crimson leaves. Getting in, Hermione rushed to help her mother look after their guests. Thankfully her grandmother had come over earlier in the day to look after her little sisters. Hermione quickly found herself shocked at the amount of work needed to host a party and was exceedingly glad when Alice stepped in to help with a few household charms. After much thanks from Hermione’s mother, Alice waved her off. “It’s no problem at all, I just wish I knew a few more housework spells. They’re some of the most useful magic around, but we never really learned them at Hogwarts, too busy making pineapples dance or turning mice into snuffboxes. I heard that Erythraeum is going to have a few weeks of classes on magic that saves work around the house soon.”

With Alice volunteering herself to help out in the kitchen, Hermione found herself shooed back outside to enjoy the warm spring afternoon and the company. Soon she and the other students joined the group of adults that had conjured a table next to the hole Hermione had spent the previous weekend digging with magic and were discussing the planned expansion charm. As they went back and forth on which to use, eventually Frank Longbottom spoke up. “Look, I’m not saying the traditional spells are bad, but this one is better: It’s more stable, provides a bigger area, and plays better with wards than the one we all learned at Hogwarts. There’s clinging to tradition and there’s being stubborn. ”

With a sigh, Amelia Bones spoke up. “Well, write out your formula then. No point ignoring a good alternative for hurt pride.”

Hermione and the others watched with interest as the adults bickered lightly back and forth as they discussed the pros and cons of the different options for the various charms they’d be casting. Eventually they settled on which series of spells to use together and just before dinner was served Frank and Alice cast the expansion spell together. It was a good thing they made everyone else step back because the air rushing in to fill the empty space was enough to knock the students over. Dinner was simple but good. Dan had spent the last half hour grilling up an American-style barbecue feast with a mix of chicken, ribs, and burgers. Emma, with some help from Alice, provided a wide variety of chips, crisps, and various salads to complete the meal with something for everyone’s taste.

Over the meal, both the adults and students got to know each other better. Hermione hadn’t met Neville before today, not sharing any classes with him, but he’d known Susan and Hannah since long before the Empire came. It was obvious that both girls were nursing a crush on the quiet boy and Hermione was happy for her friends because Neville seemed to enjoy their company in turn. After they’d eaten desert, a divine sheet cake her father had picked up from a baker in Diagon Alley, Neville turned to Hermione and pulled a transparent cylinder out of a pocket. “Susan mentioned you wanted a freshwater pond, so I thought you could use these: They’re cuttings I grew from a plant in Erythraeum’s greenhouse, they actively purify water as they float and drift in the breeze.”

Taking a closer look at the small plants floating in water inside the cylinder, Hermione saw that the plants were spindly, delicate things with small sky-blue flowers that glowed with a gentle light of their own. She paused for a moment before she replied. “They’re beautiful Neville, but I can’t accept them.”

Seeing both of her fellow students were embarrassed by Hermione’s refusal, Saska spoke up. “Sorry Neville, but Hermione’s been corresponding for months with her mystery boy in the New Worlds program. I’m pretty sure she already has her heart set on joining him on the barren planet he’s turning into a water-world. What did they name it again, Hermione?”

Hermione blushed and started to withdraw into herself but muttered out: “Caladan. They named it after a fictional world in some old novel.”

Dan, who’d been an avid reader of science fiction books since he was a boy, spoke up. He knew his daughter had been corresponding with someone, but hadn’t realized it was a potential suitor. Still, he didn’t want to embarrass Hermione so he wouldn’t tease her in front of her friends. “That’s a good name. In the book it was ruled by the Atreides family, who were known far and wide as honorable and noble people and for the unshakable loyalty of the people that served them. I think I still have the book somewhere, I’ll look through my study tomorrow.”

Neville spoke when the adults once again turned to their own conversation. “Please keep them anyway Hermione, if nothing else they’ll make a neat decoration.”

When the last morsel had been eaten, the group transfigured stairs into the empty space the expansion spell had created. With the orbs of light the students conjured they could see the empty pool was fifteen feet deep and was as wide and long as a football field. As the group of adult magicals started casting the strongest charms they could to reinforce the walls and ensure the compacted dirt would retain water, Dan asked his daughter why she’d wanted such a big space. “Well it will be a project, but I was planning to add islands and gardens that got their water from the pool and even introduce some fish eventually. Even put some paths that go out over the water.”

“And the size won’t affect the anti-drowning ward?”

Amelia spoke up, pausing in her casting for a moment. “Not at all, at least not with the wards we picked out. I sent Frank the same ward schematic I installed in my own pool when Susan came to live with me though he said he’d be adding a few things to it.”

Not much later the adult wizards asked Dan to come forward and add his blood to an intricately carved crystal the size of a cinder block. Frank spoke up as the group watched. “I did most of this in my spare time; if not for the war I would have gone into Warding. All that studying saved me a time or two during the war, let me tell you. In addition to the anti-drowning ward I included a few other things to keep the water clear and maintain the pool’s structure and keep it warm over the winter. All you need to do now is slice your hand with the knife in the case and add seven drops of blood on each side of the wardstone. The knife is being kept separate because it will only work for the first person to touch it.”

“Are you sure this will work even though I’m not magical?”

Amelia chuckled a little. “That might have been true when we first met, but you’re closer to a squib than a mundane now. It took me a while to understand the theory, but the Empire uses their implants to give the parents of muggleborn a little of their child’s magic, lengthening and improving their lives. I doubt that you’ll ever be able to cast spells, but you should get to enjoy improved health and a longer life at least.”

As everyone watched, Dan followed instructions and carefully dripped the correct amount of blood onto the stone as Frank rotated the wardstone with a levitation charm. When he was finished, to his surprise the stone glowed dimly and was soon installed in the exact middle of the expanded pool. When the wardstone was resting on a limestone base and the hole was covered by a second slab, the group started making their way back out. Hermione spoke up next. “The limestone will let the wardstone draw magic from the ley-lines that meet under Hogwarts. Now all we have to do is fill the pool up! With everyone working together it shouldn’t take too long at all.”

Hermione missed the hesitant looks from Amelia and Hannah’s parents, but wouldn’t have cared if she’d seen them. Once out of the pool, everyone with a wand stood at the edge and began casting in unison. Frank and Alice produced the most water, easily maintaining the same River-Summoning charm that Harry had been using but Hermione’s efforts weren’t far below them. The standard Water-Summoning Charm was very easy for her now so she started a cycle of casting the more difficult River-summoning Charm, holding it for a few moments, then switching to the easier charm until her magic recharged. Saska was proving water-magic came easily to her, despite the near-boiling water she was conjuring. Susan, who hadn’t spent much time with the Naga, spoke up as they continued to fill the pool. “You’ll get more water if you focus on only conjuring the water and not the heat, by doing both you’re conjuring less of what you want.”

Saska replied with a chuckle. “Not something I can do sadly. I inherited some of my dad’s volcanic magic. Watch.”

With that, the Naga stopped conjuring water for a moment and shifted her stance before drawing in a deep breath. After a moment she spat a golf-ball sized chunk of molten lava into the pool, throwing up a significant amount of steam as the streams of conjured water struck the stone. “Umm, I’ll hunt that down and pull it out later.”

The adults were surprised by her ability but Hermione’s mind started spinning quickly. “That’s so cool! Does that hurt? How much can you do at once? Did you conjure that internally? What is the lava actually composed of?”

The students chuckled as Hermione buried Saska in questions; Susan’s friendship had done a lot to calm her down but Hermione still got excited sometimes. With a look of fond exasperation, Saska held up a hand to stop the torrent. “In order: No, it doesn’t hurt; I’m almost immune to heat and I could stick my hand in a lava flow if I wanted to. I don’t really know, I don’t do it often since it’s dangerous to others, both the heat and the gas that comes with the molten stone. I have an organ in my chest that collects minerals I don’t need from my gills and digestive tract and stores them for the lava, but it also conjures material. I don’t really know, and it doesn’t help that the lava’s composition varies with my mood.”

The students’ ability to conjure continued to impress the adults who didn’t live at Erythraeum Academy until the party broke up. It was getting late and those who’d taken the shuttle were especially tired thanks to the time difference between England and Olympus Mons. When they stopped the pool was seven feet deep, (eventually the pool would be fourteen feet deep except for a few shallow areas) but that was enough for Saska as she settled down for the night. She did, however, layer herself and the corner of the pool she chose to sleep in with warming charms and even conjured a small piece of lava to keep the water warm. When asked, she replied: “Thanks to my dad I vastly prefer warm water to cold; don’t worry about me though, there’s plenty of oxygen in the water and I don’t mind sleeping under the stars. When I get something transfigured to sleep on this will be perfect.”

After setting an alarm, Hermione and her other serpentine guest got into bed and immediately fell asleep.

~/*\~

Hermione woke with her alarm at six in the morning. She’d gotten enough sleep, barely, and immediately started the job of escaping Kristen’s crimson coils. The only downside of having Lamia roommates was that they tended to slither in their sleep. In the dorm Kristen and Jane often shifted their long lower bodies in their sleep and it wasn’t unusual to have one of them sleeping with with only their human torso remaining on the bed with their serpentine lower half spread all over the dorm; sometimes they even wrapped around anyone with a warm body like this. The fact that Jane and Kristen were twice as long as Saska meant they had more to spread around, but it wasn’t much of an inconvenience really. After Hermione visited the restroom and started some tea she heard groaning from her room; both Kristen and Saska wanted to sit in on her video call and had set their own alarms. Neither of them had plans on what to do with their life but one of Erythraeum’s AIs had informed them they were candidates for the New Worlds program themselves, so they figured they’d at least see what kind of person Hermione’s friend was.

Hermione sipped her first cup of tea and watched Kristen cast a warming charm on herself before she headed out into the predawn dark to wake Saska. The Naga usually managed to sleep through her alarms; Saska was one of those people who would hear an alarm then turn it off without actually waking up. Hermione found herself nervous as she kept glancing at the clock; forty minutes to go. She nearly jumped out of her chair when her mom hugged her from behind. With a chuckle, Emma spoke to her nervous daughter. “This is the first time you’re talking to him in person right? It’s just been letters before.”

Hermione nodded and forced her pulse to calm with a few deep breaths as her mother sat down next to her and poured herself a cup of tea. “I really like this blend, it’s one of the new off-world leaves mixed with a traditional British leaf. I meant to ask you, what was that with you refusing Neville’s gift at first? I got caught up in conversation and forgot to ask about it.”

Hermione sighed and briefly stood to get two more cups out for her friends outside. “It’s a fake tradition one of the ‘pureblood’ students at Erythraeum made up and spread the lie that it was part of their culture. They invented the tradition of giving ‘Declaration of Intent’ gifts, usually a small useful item or book when you start getting to know someone. Basically it means: ‘I think you’re interesting and I’d like to get to know you better, and figure out if we should pair up.’”

Emma was thoughtful for a moment. “That explains why Neville gave you those beautiful little plants, isn’t he someone you’d like to get to know better? Has Harry sent you one of these gifts?”

“No. Shipping fees from Caladan are insane and he doesn’t have much there yet anyway; he doesn’t even know about the ‘tradition’ since I haven’t told him. But to be honest I like Harry; he was raised without magic and we have a lot in common. And… I think what he’s doing on Caladan is really interesting.”

Emma sighed. “I guess that explains the size of our new pool.” Emma paused and her expression became much less cheerful. “On one hand I hate that you’re having to think about things like this so soon, but on the other…”

Hermione gave her mom a smile. “But on the other hand the Empire has very important reasons for ensuring as many magicals as possible live and thrive? They’re trying to win the war while causing as little suffering as possible, but if they fail we all die, so I won’t complain if I end up on some ocean world with my only job to make my planet better and have a huge family.”

(Neither Granger mentioned the elephant in the room: Despite all their measures, despite the thinly-veiled breeding programs, despite the careful cultivation of magical ability, despite the controversial New Worlds program, the Empire was not winning the war for survival. At best, they were losing slowly as they prioritized strategic resources and protected as many lives as they could.)

Both house guests had overheard, as they had the door open and were throwing a few spells at themselves to avoid tracking water and mud into the house.  A moment later Saska tapped her wand to the offered teacup and spoke up after nearly inhaling a cup of boiling tea. “There’s a lot worse fates than that, Hermione. If you want to talk to your friend alone, Kristen and I can give you some privacy.”

Hermione shook her head. “No, that’s okay. You two need to figure out what you want for your future before you get assigned something anyway. Mom, do we have any of that oatmeal with the dried fruit left?”

Emma smiled at her daughter and rose to help her get something out for breakfast. “Yes, if you want to get that cooking I’ll fry some sausages. We still have enough time for breakfast before your call.”

~/*\~

Back on Caladan, Harry had just gotten out of the shower and into the dining room when Sethria pushed a heated meal of pancakes in front of him. He had built up an appetite on the trip back. “Thanks!”

Harry had noticed that Sethria had a preference for salty and savory flavors and tended to avoid sweets. She was actually eating a bowl of rich beef stew as an early lunch while he enjoyed his pancakes and wished the meal came with just a little more syrup. While they were eating she spoke up. “The rest of the day is yours to use however you want. Try to relax and unwind, a little rest will do us both good.”

In between bites, Harry replied. “I think I’ll try to get a video call with Madral and catch up after I talk to Hermione. After that I might go flying for a bit.”

“Sounds good, don’t go too far from the stable area around the Victory alone.” After assuring her that he would stay safe, Harry realized that Sethria looked as comfortable as he’d ever seen her: Hair still wet from getting clean and looking a little tired still as she sat in a loose, comfortable shirt and pants. Harry excused himself after cleaning up and went to his room for a clean shirt. When he walked by his bed it felt like it was calling his name, but he pressed onward and headed to their new greenhouse. As expected the plants were doing all right, but Harry still took a moment to water them. As he was heading back to his room, his interface opened with a notice that he was receiving a video call. Rushing back to his room, he had just sat down at his desk when the call finished connecting.

Harry chuckled as somehow the last few moments before the call had gotten away from Hermione as well; she and a girl whose lower half was a crimson snake were hurriedly shifting a couch to directly face the wall the call was using as a projection screen. His first impression of her was that her auburn hair was very bushy. He saw more people than he expected on the other side of the call, in addition to Hermione and the Lamia was a woman who could only be Hermione’s mother and a Naga with orange fins and hair over glossy black scales that faded to either some kind of reptilian skin or very fine scales around her elven torso. Remembering what he’d read about Naga, (after meeting Madral he’d researched his friend’s homeworld) they were usually some shade of green or blue so this was an unusual individual. The Naga was the first to realize the call had gone through and waved at him. With a smile on his face Harry waved back, earning a smile from her and Hermione’s mother.

~/*\~

When Hermione finally got the couch into the right spot, she suddenly found herself picked up by Kristen, arms wrapped around her in a hug, and sitting on the right side of the couch with Kristen’s serpentine lower half twisting under her and off to the side. Before Hermione could complain, she noticed the video call had gone from ‘connecting’ to an active connection and found her attention stolen away. Harry was surprisingly cute.

~/*\~

Harry gave the group a warm smile as they finished settling and spoke. “It’s nice to meet you all. My name is Harry Potter.”

One by one those on the other side introduced themselves, the girl with bushy hair trapped in a hug by the Lamia went first. “I’m Hermione Granger. It’s nice to meet you too Harry.”

The woman wearing a comfortable house robe on the other side of the couch went next. “I’m Emma Granger, Hermione’s mother. Don’t mind me, I’m just a little curious.”

Harry found himself drawn to the striking ebony Naga with orange fins and accents as she spoke. She was resting her upper body on the couch from behind, hiding her sinuous lower body. “My name is Saska and I’m one of Hermione’s friends. One way or another I’m going to end up in the New Worlds program.”

Harry gave a nod in response. He’d have to send her a message later to see if she would be interested in Caladan. The Lamia holding Hermione went next. Not having seen one of them before he was especially interested since her species originated on Earth and because of his own Parseltongue talents. “My name is Kristen, I’m also a friend of Hermione and I’m slated to join the New Worlds program as well.”

Harry gave Kristen a nod of his head and turned his attention back to Hermione. “It’s good to see you in person, Hermione. I’ve really enjoyed the letters we’ve shared, and I feel like we’ve become friends.” He took a deep breath and let it out before continuing. “I’d like to ask you to consider joining me on Caladan in the future. I probably should have asked in my last letter, but it felt right to ask you in person, or as close as we can get with me in the next galaxy over.”

Harry could tell that Hermione was surprised, but not as surprised as she could have been. When she had trouble answering right away, Emma spoke up instead. “Could you tell us more about Caladan?”

Harry smiled and began his first try at a recruitment pitch. “Sure. I’ve been here for about three weeks now, since I left the Just Before Dawn , the teaching ship that picked me up from Earth. Since then my partner and I have been living in a ‘beached’ sailing ship; on the outside our home is a pretty close copy of the HMS Victory so we ended up calling it the ‘Victory.’ It’s currently sitting in a stone foundation until there’s enough water for it to float. Uh… inside there’s nothing but space right now, there’s twenty bedrooms in front of the massive window that takes up the back of the ship, one of which we’re currently using as a greenhouse. Inside we have everything we need, including food supplies for Sethria and I for a year, half in preserved meals and half in ration bars.”

Emma groaned at the mention of ration bars. “I’m familiar with those, my doctor insisted I eat one every day during my pregnancy and while nursing.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “They’re not bad, just kind of bland. Can’t argue with perfect nutrition in a bar. Anyway, we also have a top of the line automated infirmary that’s only been used to clean a few small scrapes so far and tons of empty storage rooms. I’m actually planning to flood the empty lower decks soon to start raising fish, I just need to get some aquatic plants and the fish themselves.”

Hermione was listening raptly, so Saska spoke up instead. “Wouldn’t that be much easier to do outside?”

Harry shook his head. “Not yet. Caladan is a ‘work in progress’ kind of world right now. It will eventually be a water world, but right now there’s no water at all, it’s too dry to breathe without masks even if the air had enough oxygen. We’re eventually slated to have ten percent more gravity than Earth when Caladan is ‘finished,’ but right now we only have eighty percent of Earth’s. Sethria and I just got back from a trip to charge one of the installations responsible for creating a planetary magnetic field, for now Caladan is protected by an energy shield.”

Taking a pause, Harry continued. “But the Dawn put us down in a good place. The Victory is sitting in a valley, and we’re working on building a dam. Hopefully by the time that’s built I’ll be strong enough to keep it full and we can just move plants and fish in.”

Emma, the only one who wasn’t familiar with the New Worlds program, spoke up. “Where is all this water coming from and why didn’t the Empire flood the world before moving you there?”

Hermione replied, turning to her mom for a moment. “The same way we’re filling the pool.” When her mom remarked that there was a big difference between filling a pool and flooding a planet, Hermione continued. “Mom, the more we use magic, the stronger we get. We spend half the day at Erythraeum conjuring to build up our strength and add mass to Mars. The whole campus is built to float when we’ve conjured enough dirt and water to bury Olympus Mons.”

Harry spoke up. “Precision helps improve how much you can conjure too. Most days I go back and forth between the River-Summoning Charm and wandless practice, like my instructor on the Dawn said you haven’t mastered a spell until it's wandless and effortless. Rituals can help as well,” Here, Harry turned and fixed the three girls with the hardest look they’d seen from him so far. “but most of them are dangerous. Never try a ritual that isn’t Empire-approved, they do a good job weeding out the bad ones.”

Hermione leaned forward in interest. “Have you used any rituals Harry?”

Harry smiled weakly as he flicked his fingers over the interface he called up and sent Hermione a link to a page in the credit market. “Just the one right before I left the Dawn. ‘Solar Attunement’ wasn’t fun, but it was something I needed. Thanks to it I don’t get sunburn anymore, heat in general doesn’t bother me much, and my skin absorbs sunlight to bolster my magic reserves. My next big purchase off the credit market is going to be a familiar, and that will help me grow even more.” Harry paused for a moment, and when he continued speaking he bowed his head at Hermione. “That reminds me! Thank you very much for sending that ‘Sirocco's Sting’ spell, Hermione. It’s been great practice and I can maintain it for almost ten minutes at a time now!”

Harry glanced at the time left and spoke again. He’d expected Hermione to be more talkative, but she was just sitting there with a flushed face so he supposed he’d said something wrong. No one said anything for a moment, so he spoke again. “Until we get more equipment installed out here there’s a limit on how much time we’re allotted for video conversations, there isn’t enough width to go around. Do you have any questions?”

Saska took a quick glance at Hermione and seeing her friend was a bit distracted, spoke up. “What’s the climate supposed to be like on Caladan when it's finished?”

Harry replied confidently to the easy question. “Tropical everywhere but near the poles. Every crew will probably build an island or two in the cooler parts of the world once we have the ocean in. I never got to see one of Earth’s pine forests, so we might as well plant some.”

Kristen spoke next. She was interested in biology, and had been learning a lot since she’d been rescued and sent to Erythraeum Academy. “What fish and plants do you intend to start with when you have open water on Caladan?”

Harry flicked his fingers over the interface for a moment and sent two links. When he spoke, he didn’t realize at first that with his attention centered on the pretty Lamia, he’d slipped into Parseltongue. “ Tilapia fish and Shib hybrid grass. They’re both tough species that should give Caladan’s ecosystem a solid foundation.”

On the Granger’s couch, all four listeners were surprised at Harry’s slip into another language, but while the other three jumped, Kristen had a reaction. Suddenly squeezing Hermione painfully tight, she let out a soft gasp and groaned.

Harry realized he’d slipped into Parseltongue when he saw translation screens flicker into being in front of three faces, but he was visibly worried at Kristen’s reaction. Especially given that he could see her muscles shaking, As he glanced back and forth between the various faces on the other side of the video call, he spoke in concern, voice dropping in and out of Parseltongue as his eyes moved from face to face. “ Are you okay? It’s okay, it’s just this weird magical ability I have, it lets me talk to snakes and gives me a talent for magic involving serpents .” Harry’s panic grew as he locked eyes with Kristen’s shocked, wide eyes as the girl shuddered. “ I’m so sorry, I’ve barely used this and I can’t control it. I wanted to ask if you and Saska would like to exchange letters with me and now I’ve ruined that.”

Harry paused and looked at Saska instead, but in his panic he couldn’t get his mouth to switch to English as Kristen’s eyes closed and she slumped against Hermione. While he wasn’t a healer, Harry had received a lot of instruction on when to visit or drag a partner to his home’s automated medical bay; to him it looked like he had just given the Lamia girl a seizure. “ Shit. Interface, Medical Emergency! End Call!”

~/*\~

With that, the video call ended and three sets of eyes turned to a still-shuddering and horribly embarrassed Lamia. The three simply kept watching her silently as she slowly calmed down, her breathing returning to normal but now covered in a light sheen of sweat. Saska, with an amused expression on her face, spoke first. “Are you actually okay Kristen? That looked… intense.”

In response Kristen simply released Hermione and buried her head in her hands out of embarrassment and her eyes began to water. Hermione looked a bit shocked and completely out of her element, so her mother spoke next. “Hermione, why don’t you look up whatever that odd language was and I’ll help Kristen freshen up. Saska, would you be willing to send Harry a message and let him know Kristen is perfectly fine? I assume her implants would let us know if she needed a healer.”

Ten minutes later the group was back in the living room. Kristen was still horribly embarrassed but responded to Saska’s teasing with a slightly heated retort. “I know how it looked, but it wasn’t anything like that. I felt… It was like there was always some hole deep inside me and suddenly I knew something was missing for the first time in my life. …And it was like a key fit into a lock, but at the same time it didn’t…”

Hermione spoke up. “Well, Harry did say that Parseltongue gave him talent for magic involving serpents. I know it’s a rare gift but it’s also very old.” She paused for a moment, trying to remember something she’d read. “I think there are historical wizards with Parseltongue hundreds of years earlier than the first mentions of Lamia.”

Kristen replied, taking a moment to recall what her tribe had taught her before things had gone to hell. “I… I remember my grandmother warning me to stay far away from any wizard that could speak the serpent’s tongue. And Lamia are an alchemically created race…”

After a moment Saska spoke up. “Might as well see what we can find out. And we’ll take you to the healer when we get back to Erythraeum, I know the school’s infirmary has the best medical scanner the Empire can build. They took scans of me when I arrived to make sure I was healthy, my parent’s species never really had children together before the Empire took control of Azeroth.”

As the girls got out notebooks and opened their interfaces, only Emma reflected on the short conversation with her daughter’s friend. As far as first impressions went, Harry’s hadn’t been the best or worst, but it had certainly been memorable. Potentially the kind of memorable that made for an interesting story later in life when told to one’s friends or children.

~/*\~

Harry, who’d gone for a fly to get out of the Victory in such a rush he’d nearly forgotten his breathing mask, received a message from Saska after a few moments in the air saying that Kristen was fine except for some embarrassment. Hermione sent a message later that while she wasn’t promising to join him on Caladan yet, she would seriously consider it. From that point on, Harry started exchanging letters with Saska, and once some of the embarrassment wore off, even Kristen. In spite of Hermione’s spirited research binge over the next week, the only answer she and her friends could find to explain Kristen’s reaction was the theory that Lamia had been created by a Parselmouth thousands of years ago. There were many theories of why a new species had been created, but the three friends felt they’d found the answer in what was apparently an instinctive reaction to Parseltongue. After a lot of research and discussion, the three would agree that Kristen’s species was created by a very lonely Parselmouth, probably after he or she was shunned for speaking with snakes.

~/*\~

Newsreel: The New Worlds Program and Horizon Class Instruction Ships

~/*\~

“Hello again, this is Shia Runsocris here with another special report. Tonight we’re going to delve into the New Worlds Program.” Shia smiled into the camera. Instead of the normal desk, she was sitting in a warm, inviting room mostly copied from a human professor in her home reality. If this set went over well with Earth’s population they would be using it more often. Shia hoped it did, the room was pleasant and the leather chair was exceedingly comfortable.

“By now, everyone should have a firm understanding of the Great War and our enemy. You’ve also learned why users of magic are considered critical war assets, and not simply because they can create matter and energy for the war effort. Any Imperial veteran, navy or army, will tell you stories about how a single magical, usually Class Seven or above, saved their lives by turning the tide of a battle. That is what the New Worlds program is all about. On every world with magical citizens, the standard implants constantly drain one percent of the magic they produce and funnel it to the war effort. All across Sol, infrastructure is still being built but already dozens of light cruisers and scout ships have been launched, forged entirely from collected magic and conjured material. When the infrastructure matures, Sol’s current population of magicals will provide the matter and energy to produce about thirty battleships of varying classes a year. While that is no small amount of firepower, it remains insignificant compared to the scale of our war so the Empire is constantly pushing magicals to both grow their own strength and have as many children as possible. That is what the New Worlds program is, at its very heart.

“While only three-hundred years old, the New Worlds program has shown impressive results. Every magical is tested and the adolescents with the most potential, those most likely to grow impressively powerful are collected by a Horizon Class teaching ship and transported to special worlds. Along the way, students are instructed in both magical terraforming and more general spellwork in addition to as much general education as possible. Their education is condensed and what they do not learn before reaching their destination they are encouraged to learn on their own. The Horizon ships constantly collect energy and matter from the students as they grow their magical power by conjuring as much material as they can. Each ship is outfitted with two industrial fabricators which are kept busy building equipment and satellites for these new worlds while any excess is used to produce small corvette and interceptor ships for the Imperial navy which are offloaded regularly. While they normally travel slowly compared to the rest of the Empire’s fleet, this is only for the sake of efficiency. These ships make circuits of the Empire’s worlds and realities, collecting new students and taking them to newly forged worlds.

“ This is footage of a team of Class Seven magicals at work restoring a solar system in the destroyed Andromeda galaxy and you can see why Class Seven is generally referred to as the ‘Star Class.’” Shia paused her narration, watching the same footage as the viewers. “This footage was sped up, normally a star team takes between five and twenty hours to forge a new solar system. Right now there are just over a thousand of these teams in the place where the Andromeda galaxy once stood, rebuilding it one star and planet at a time. Unlike existing solar systems, extremely powerful magical defenses can be forged as the star and planets are conjured out of nothing.

“Each new world is given time for the conjured stones to settle, then they are ready for settlers. Unlike the normal Imperial colonization schedule, magic users are introduced in pairs. In the first year, two pairs of students are given large prefabricated homes and begin the work of terraforming their new world. One year later four pairs are settled, and that pattern continues for the first five years until there are sixty-two settler groups. Each settler group is encouraged to recruit additional settlers from their home worlds and a number of ‘source’ worlds carefully chosen for how those potential bloodlines will mix. Participants in the New Worlds program are granted reduced prices on interstellar transit for new arrivals, various supplies and creatures, and prepared enhancement rituals. Despite the low number of colonists most of these worlds gain a water cycle in only four years and are often fully habitable in seven; sometimes far sooner.

“Now, the question is: why does the Empire do this? What does the Empire gain by creating worlds with such a small population?” Shia gave the camera a warm, sincere smile. “More than you might think. First, between magic and technology letting nearly any species reproduce together and the benefits given to the colonists to encourage a wide variety of sapient life, second generations born on these worlds are almost entirely hybrids. Not only are many of these children more powerful than either parent, but the influx of new genes often awakens long-dormant blood gifts or even creates new ones. As a reminder, blood gifts are inheritable magical traits like Earth’s Parseltongue or Metamorphmagi. With the population intentionally skewed to have at least ten females for each male and with each settler’s housing including a state-of-the-art automated infirmary, these worlds populate themselves quickly. In the New Worlds program, twins and triplets are common even in species who usually only have single births.

“Speaking of magic, there are other interesting effects as well. As the settlers pour their efforts and magic into making these new worlds livable, they forge a connection to the planets themselves. In a process not entirely understood, these settlers very literally affect the nature of their planets as the magic they use in ever-increasing amounts form new ley-lines. As the settlers shape their worlds, as they seed life onto barren stone, these worlds reach back: Even on the original, experimental ‘New Worlds,’ none of the original colonists have suffered disease of any kind or aged past their biological prime. And the worlds seem almost alive as they reach for balance, both in weather patterns that skew towards energetic but sustainable and ecologically where the balance between plants, herbivores, and predators settles with much less effort than standard Imperial terraforming has ever achieved.

“The settlers themselves grow by leaps and bounds as they pour their magic into an environment entirely barren of the environmental magic present on Earth or any other planet with magical residents. The addition of carefully-screened rituals sold on the credit market not only increases the settler’s personal power but also adds new abilities and aptitudes for new schools of magic; often those traits become inheritable. Between the mixing of species and this explosive growth in power, children born on these new worlds often eclipse the potential of their parent species.”

Shia paused, taking a moment to flip to the next page of her notes. “As these worlds are terraformed and populated, the collected magic is used to build new shipyards. After only three-hundred years of growth the original New Worlds have shipyards integrated into orbiting moons and most are producing two to three hundred battleships a year. And that is not a system-wide number, each individual planet is producing hundreds of ships. Even now that number continues to rise as the colonists grow stronger and create new generations, each stronger than the last. Very few of those born into the New Worlds program see combat in the war but those that do tend to fight with power and vicious cunning that recruits from more tame worlds lack. The conditions on these worlds encourage the instincts that every living thing has to fight, to struggle, to conquer and dominate in the face of adversity; nearly every society tends to push these feelings aside, ashamed of their deepest, most primal nature. But in the New Worlds program, these ignored instincts come roaring back.

“To summarize the entire New Worlds program another way, you could say it is a celebration of life, of the struggle against extinction. The Empire’s war has been harsh and costly. Much has been lost but hope still remains. Remember, we are one Empire united and we will stand together against the abyss as long as it takes. We will not despair, we will not give up. For our family and friends, for the sake of all those already lost, and for the generations yet to come, we will never give up.”

~/*\~

A/N: Welcome to another chapter! I’m still looking for more ideas for future Newsreels, I’m now working on one about relationships in the Empire.

Please leave a review! I read and treasure every one and they all motivate me to keep writing!

Chapter Text

~/*\~

Just Add Water

Chapter 11: Familiars

~/*\~

Harry flopped down into a transfigured chair and looked out the Victory’s window; despite being late afternoon, it was nearly pitch black outside. Today he was back in the room with the gunports; the room was long and wide and between the artificial lighting and lots of natural light from big windows, it was perfect for what he needed. As he opened his interface he ignored the constant din from sand and small pebbles striking the Victory’s outer hull. About time for a break, I think. With a smirk on his face, Harry opened his interface and began dictating a message:

“ Dearest Hermione, I hope that this letter finds you well. For the last seven days I have not seen the sun. Both Sethria and I were forced to move our beds deeper into the Victory the first night to escape the constant din of the wind and the detritus it carries. I am hopeful that this accursed dust storm will soon pass but we may be trapped below deck for a week or more yet. This inclement weather appears to be the result of Caladan’s changing seasons; the solution, as always, would appear to be more water. Tempers have yet to fray though my companion and I have both become used to the freedom of the wide open sky and the endless barren plains that surround our home. After a week inside, I have found myself missing even the long hike to the valley’s mouth…”

Eventually he finished and proof-read the message he’d composed. Then he attached a digital copy of the historical novel his mother had sent him earlier in the week. It had been one of Lily’s favorites as a child, and even though it wasn’t his favorite book he’d finished it just to kill time while they waited for the nearly planet-wide storm to pass. Taking a sip of water Harry stared out the window once more. It really is blowing out there and from what Sal could tell from the satellites it’s going to keep blowing for at least another week. At least the weather should calm down once we get a few inches of standing water on the broken plains. Then as we get an ocean we’ll start getting typhoons or hurricanes. At least then we can just anchor the Victory and ride the storms out. Our breathing masks work underwater so I bet with a little work we can even use the ship like a submarine and just relax as the storms go past overhead. Oh well, time to get back to work. This room isn’t going to fill itself with sand. Once I get it a few feet deep we’ll find out if the sand and dust from the ‘Sirocco’s Sting’ spell is good for growing plants.

~/*\~

Hermione had been looking forward to today for a while. In her dorm she made one last check that she had everything she needed in her backpack before heading to breakfast. Harry’s latest message had been odd, at least until she glanced through the book he’d attached. I’ll start reading it when I have spare time.

A few minutes later Hermione was sitting down in the cafeteria at the table her dorm had claimed with a tray of fruit, spiced sausage, and a herb-baked egg dish that was really good. Taking a seat between Arianna and Saska and across from Susan, she poured a glass of juice and started on her breakfast. Arianna Dumbledore was still the same quiet, timid girl as when she’d first joined their dorm but lately Hermione had noticed she was smiling more, so that was progress; Arianna had a difficult time learning to use her magic, even with a wand, but after her first successful spell she had begun to improve. Hermione noticed Kristen further down the table, finished eating and apparently sleeping with her head resting on arms folded in front of her. Susan regarded her with a teasing smirk and spoke up. “You’re usually the first to get here, Hermione. Get another letter from your admirer? ”

Saska laughed and spoke up while Hermione kept eating, determined to ignore the teasing. “Harry’s a nice guy, since we spoke on that video call two months ago he’s been sending a letter to each of us every third day. The communications relay in his system is still pretty bare-bones so video calls have a big wait-list and he’s only got so much time to write. But he still manages a nice letter for one of us every day. I know I always make time to read and reply as soon as I can.”

Susan took a sip of juice and replied. “I still say you’re lucky Hermione, he never got to enjoy it but like I said before, he was a big celebrity in magical Britain.” She chuckled briefly before continuing. “Not that it means much anymore, we only had a population of about thirty thousand before the Empire came. So a big celebrity in a small pond.”

Daphne, a few seats further down the table, spoke up. “We’re up to nearly forty thousand now, thanks to the new fertility magic and the Empire pushing for more children. Even ignoring the new species moving in, there's been a massive population boom.”

Hermione swallowed and spoke up. “There sure has. Both of my little sisters are magical and my mom’s pregnant again. Her and my dad are thinking of finding a second wife too, so they can stagger pregnancies and help each other when I’ve moved out. I know my mom’s always looking forward to my visits so she can relax while I watch the twins.”

Susan snorted. “I’m surprised. I know my aunt is not happy sharing a husband with another woman. I love her, but it’s her own fault; I can see both of them are trying their best to make her happy but she’s dug in her heels and insists on being miserable.”

Daphne spoke up again, idly pushing the last few bites of breakfast around on her plate. “It’s probably some stupid pride thing. Big families like the Empire’s pushing might not be ideal, but they’re not awful either. Like, Susan, you and Hannah have been best friends for years, is that going to stop if you move in with Neville? Are you going to get jealous and snipe at each other or are the two of you going to support each other and work together every step of the way?” When the two girls in question replied that of course, they would still be best friends and work together, Daphne replied. “Exactly. My parents got mad when they caught me talking to our oldest magical painting from before Hogwarts was founded, but I found out some interesting things. A long time ago it was normal for powerful wizards to collect three or seven witches and bind the group together with ceremonial magic. Wizards would often fight duels over witches, which could get out of hand and turn deadly but the fights were usually more or less modern duels with simpler spells. Wizards who weren’t strong enough to claim a witch ended up marrying muggles.”

Saska spoke up as she shifted a little, the bench seating wasn’t perfectly comfortable for her body shape. “I bet it did good things for your gene pool. I’ve been reading up on Earth’s magicals and recently you’ve had a lot of problems with ‘squibs,’ right?”

Daphne replied. “Yes, and it was getting worse every year. Not just in England either. Then Voldemort showed up and started killing healthy bloodlines and new magicals. If the Empire hadn’t come…”

Selena, the only Veela in the dorm, spoke up. “Human magicals might have died out in a century or two. Then the goblins would have been free to do whatever they wanted. If magical culture had changed two centuries ago to allow multi-wife marriages, there might even be more magical humans than not.”

Daphne continued Selena’s thought. “Not to mention if we’d included Veela, Kitsune, and others. My mom never liked Veela, but I think that was more jealousy than anything else. I know Veela mostly have daughters, and most of those daughters are Veela, but the ones that were born as humans, magical or not, would have done good things for our gene pool too.”

As she finished her meal, Hermione remembered the lessons they’d had on genetics and the importance of healthy reproduction, both at Hogwarts and Erythraeum. Her train of thought was interrupted by a stray thought. “Whatever happened to the goblins? I remember reading about them running a bank, but nothing after.”

Hannah spoke up for the first time since Hermione had sat down. “The goblins have never liked humans so when the Empire offered them the chance to leave, they jumped at it. They’ve been relocated to a couple of worlds being terraformed in the Milky Way. Eventually they’ll start sending troops into the war, they just don’t have the numbers right now.”

Hermione saw Susan briefly open her interface and stand. “Time to get going girls. Remember we need to be early for the field trip today.”

The remaining conversations petered out as the group cleaned up the table and made their way out. Saska started to gently shake Kristen, the sleepy Lamia grumbled and tried to go back to sleep for several moments before she finally woke up. Hermione didn’t notice Susan had stayed behind until she spoke up from right next to her as they watched the serpentine young woman stretch and yawn deeply. “Are you alright Kristen? It seems like you’re always tired. Is something wrong?”

Hermione gave her first friend a small smile. Susan was the kind of person who always tried to help others and she was even tactful enough to do it without stepping on the various egos in their dorm. Kristen replied, still obviously tired. “I just haven’t been getting a lot of sleep. I’ll be fine.”

Seeing that Susan wouldn’t accept that answer, Hermione spoke up. “We’re not sure exactly why , but it’s some kind of reaction to hearing Harry speak Parseltongue, like he’s imprinted on her. Awake or sleeping, she’s being drawn to him but since she can’t actually reach him... It’s obvious Harry didn’t do this intentionally, but apparently Lamia have an instinctual reaction to Parseltongue speakers. We’ve already taken her to the Erythraeum’s healers, but there’s not a lot they can do since it’s a function of her biology.”

Susan replied, sounding thoughtful. “Dreamless sleep potions are addictive. But this has been going on for months now and it doesn’t seem to be getting better. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Kristen shook her head. “No. I’m saving up to get passage through the Transmat network but I need at least one ritual first and Harry needs more food production before his group can accept new settlers. He’s been busy getting as many plants started as he can and even filling some rooms with sand for more growing area. I don’t want him to feel guilty about something he couldn’t control so we haven’t told him about this yet, just told him that I want to head there soon.”

Susan looked thoughtful for a moment. Hermione knew what she was thinking, the costs for transport and most rituals were not small, at least at the level of credits the students could earn. “I’ll ask the dorm if anyone’s willing to help you out. You’ll probably have to pay back the credits but I bet I can convince most of the girls to give you a loan without interest.”

Kristen looked relieved as she gave Susan a hug. “I’d appreciate that Susan. I wish I had more time with all of you, but ever since I talked with Harry there’s been something missing, and that’s not even mentioning the dreams. I’ve talked with the other rescued Lamia but didn’t learn much except for a very old tale about how the first Lamia was created by a wandering Parselmouth healer to be his companion and assistant. When the other Lamia and I woke up in the Infirmary after being rescued the Empire even verified that we are an alchemically created species.”

As they walked out of the cafeteria and towards their class meeting place, Susan had one last question. “Are you sure that, whatever this is, it's not malicious?”

Kristen shook her head. “Yes. It’s hard to explain, but I’m sure. This… compulsion, it’s like a weaker version of the magic that compels house elves. It isn’t like I’m afraid or in pain or anything, I just need to get to Harry. I know my place is at his side.”

None of them knew quite what to say to that, so instead they hurried to catch up to the rest of their class, feeling a little bit of excitement creep in. After all, it wasn’t every day the students of Erythraeum went on a field trip.

~/*\~

In the bathroom of the apartment given to Professor Sirius Black, Lily was experiencing her least favorite stage of pregnancy. She was grateful that Raene was standing behind her, keeping her hair out of the way as she knelt over the toilet and heaved. Without meaning to, her mind drifted to memories of her first pregnancy and James holding her hair. Oh James, I miss you so much. Lily was dragged out of her memories a moment later when Raene’s graceful lupine form was replaced by Alira stepping up behind her, one hand taking her hair and the other rubbing soothing circles on Lily’s back, the glacial blue and white Togruta moving with a courtly grace that Lily knew had been beaten into her from a young age. Lily had no idea what spell the Togruta was using, but she certainly felt something. O ver the course of a few minutes, Lily’s heaving stomach calmed. A few moments later as she set down an empty glass of water, she spoke up. “Thank you so much Alira. I might have been there all morning otherwise.”

Alira replied as she went back to getting ready for the day. “It’s not a problem Lily. I looked up the technique last night when Raene refused to help you.” Seeing Lily’s expression, Alira spoke up again. “It wasn’t out of malice, we both know Raene’s still relearning how to use her magic. For her healing isn’t as easy as turning into a cat.”

Lily nodded, it was a good point. Raene was still relearning everything that used to come so easily to her and it was a long process. “Thanks for reminding me. I used a lot of healing spells during the war and they’re easy to get wrong.”

Alira turned back to her and smiled. She gestured to her outfit that consisted of what was essentially a crop top and shorts made of comfortable brown fabric. “What do you think? Is this enough or will I offend the delicate sensibilities of Sirius’ students?”

Alira was beautiful and she knew it. After living as a slave for most of her life she lacked any kind of social taboos; she’d happily walk through Erythraeum nude if her behavior wouldn’t reflect badly on Sirius. Lily replied in an amused tone. “I think you’ll convince them to start searching out Togruta partners of their own. Of all the new species I’ve met I think you’re the most striking Alira, definitely ‘alien’ but still gorgeous and graceful.”

Alira smiled. “Thank you Lily. I know you’re still grieving your husband, but remember that you’re welcome to join us whenever you’re ready.”

The redhead sighed. “I know. I know that I’ll need to officially join Sirius’ family to get to Caladan with the rest of you, and I know that I’m welcome. But… it feels like a betrayal of James…”

“James would have wanted you to be happy, Lily. From what you’ve said Sirius was the man he trusted more than any other so he’d probably be happy to know that you’re safe and loved with us.”

Lily just nodded her head and watched Alira walk out of the room. With a sigh she returned to the guest room she was staying in and got dressed for the day. At least if I marry Sirius, James’ daughter will have plenty of siblings. Raene’s pregnant and I’m sure Alira will follow in a few months. Staggering the pregnancies is certainly a good idea. Walking out of the apartment Lily felt her stomach clench a little as she smelled some exotic seasoning from the apartment across the hall. At least after I give birth I can get the full Procreation Implant, not just the essential parts that are keeping Harry’s little sister healthy.

~/*\~

Sirius welcomed his class as the last stragglers reached the fountain that had become their meeting point. “Good morning students! I hope you’ve all saved up some credits for today’s field trip! This is my wife Raene, we’ll meet the rest of my family at the skiff. Remember to get a warming charm up before we leave the dome! Mars might have an atmosphere that’s safe to breathe now but it’s still cold outside Erythraeum’s dome. Now that everyone’s here, let’s move out!”

Erythraeum Imperial Academy had a large campus by necessity but the students had pretty much explored or attended class in every area by now. The only exceptions were the third floor and up on the central tower (which was where all the apartments for the faculty were) and the hangar. As the students followed Sirius inside, they saw dozens of open air vehicles and thirty of the Empire’s latest one-man space-based interceptors. (The latter were sleek, angular fighter craft painted dark gray. They were only present in case of emergency.) Sirius waved when he saw Alira and Lily waiting for him on the skiff he’d requisitioned earlier; the skiff was like an open-air bus with rows of seating behind a windshield. With a little effort he herded his class up the boarding ramp and spoke. “You’ve all been good students so far, so I don’t think I need to warn you about roughhousing while the skiff’s in motion, right? Good. Now, Mars has enough atmosphere now that most of us can breathe without much trouble. Those who need a mask, put it on now.”

With just a little grumbling, Selena, Raene, Lily, and both Lamia students slipped the masks they’d been issued on. While Sirius went around and double-checked those five had their masks on properly, he continued. “You’ve all put a lot of work into conjuring to build up the planet but if Erythraeum was the only facility on Mars we wouldn’t have a breathable atmosphere yet. As I’m sure you remember from earlier lectures, what we call magic isn’t a singular type of energy, the magic that exists on Earth is only a small part of a much wider spectrum.”

When Sirius finished checking the students whose species required a little more oxygen, not to mention the two pregnant women, he nodded to Alira who was seated at the pilot’s seat in the front. A moment later the skiff started to move silently, drifting away from the loading ramp and moving upwards as it turned towards the hanger’s exterior doors that one of Erythraeum’s resident AI was opening. A moment later they flew out into the cold martian morning and everyone hastened to throw up a warming charm. After Sirius made sure that both Alira and Raene had one, he continued as the students had most of their attention drawn to the barren landscape far below; Alira was taking them down from the plateau where the campus had been built on the peak of Olympus Mons.

“Like I said, there are many different types of magic. While we at Erythraeum have been busy conjuring using what is generally simply called ‘Magic’ two other facilities on Mars have been busy doing the same thing, using ‘Aura’ and ‘Chakra.’ Just like we’ve been doing, people at the other facilities have been conjuring air, earth, and water to build up Mars into a livable planet. And just like us, the conjured material has been leaking energy into the environment. Loose environmental Aura tends to make people, plants, and animals more resilient and in high concentrations will spark a wide variety of sentient life from lower forms or even inanimate objects. Chakra, a fusion of ‘spiritual’ and ‘physical’ energies, enhances the vigor, stamina, and primal instincts of those exposed to it.

“Mars is getting its Chakra from a rehabilitation facility on the other side of the planet from us. Let’s just say that the Empire conquered what we’re unofficially calling ‘ninja murder world’ and that turning the inhabitants into productive, non-murderous members of society has been a struggle. Everyone on that planet desperately needed therapy. As for Aura, we’re heading there now.”

For the rest of the half-hour ride, Sirius answered various questions and pointed out various surface features, including the rainbow burst of brightly colored grass and hardy flowers that started on the slopes of Olympus Mons not far from the peak and streaked downwards, following the path of the students’ water and conjured material as it flowed down the surface. The burst of color had been planted about a month ago and had spread rapidly in the magic and conjured material produced by Erythraeum. (Also the sewage which was released while the students put in their conjuring hours, which added essential biological material into the new soil and water.) Sirius almost couldn’t believe that the Empire had given Mars a (barely) breathable atmosphere and living plants in less than six months ; heck, there was even a moon under construction in orbit to help stimulate the planet’s magnetic field. He’d been here since Erythraeum’s first structure was built and air-tight, even before the campus’ energy shield was installed, in fact he’d traveled here nearly as soon as he earned his teaching credentials. He certainly didn’t miss the bulky environment suit he’d had to wear at first but there was a certain sense of accomplishment in helping to lay the foundations of the school, from ensuring the foundation was strong to digging the trenches that would carry conjured water and soil off the edges of Olympus Mons to settle far below.

He’d laughed when Alira had volunteered to learn the controls for the skiff they were using today. Apparently piloting interstellar ships, including yachts and small cargo ships was something she’d learned while being trained, and she had disdainfully called the skiff’s controls ‘ nearly idiot proof.’ As they approached their destination, Sirius got his first good look at the structures that had been built on the Solis Planum’s empty plains at the same time he’d been doing his part to get Erythraeum off the ground. He really felt like a tour guide as Alira brought them in at the perfect angle to see the entire facility and the canals that had been dug to ferry conjured water and dirt north to the Valles Marineris, a 2,500 mile canyon that was slowly filling with water. The facility itself gleamed in the early morning light looking like a three-pointed flower: Three softly-curved oval domes, each several miles long, met at a gleaming tower similar to Erythraeum’s central spire. Soon Alira guided them into the hangar at the base of the tower and brought the skiff in for a professional landing. As Sirius helped Raene and Lily down the short flight of stairs he noticed the three people who’d come out to greet them; the first he recognized as a species from Raene’s world, an adult female Tauren, basically what Earth’s mythology would call a minotaur. Standing on her left side was a ‘human’ with red eyes, and on her right was a familiar face.

The man with crimson eyes spoke first, Sirius’ interface translating his words from ‘Common,’ one of Azeroth’s languages into English subtitles. “Welcome to the Solis Familiar Ranch. My name is Vael, these are my assistants, Sola Wintercreek and Rubeus Hagrid. We’re going to give you a tour, then once we’ve introduced you to your possible companions you have the option of purchasing one for a familiar. I’m sure you already know, but a familiar is a magical creature that will complement your own abilities as you bond together for life. That bond will define your relationship and will benefit both of you for the rest of your lives; choose wisely. Those of you who have already purchased or been gifted familiars will be able to pick one out as we go. If you decide to purchase a familiar and have the needed funds, use your interface during or after the tour.”

Hagrid spoke up after he was introduced. “Lily, Sirius, it’s great ta see you both. We can talk after the tour if you have the time.”

With that, the man Sirius was 95% sure was actually a dragon began leading the group deeper into the building, beginning a lecture as they went. “We have three environments here, one for Earth’s magical creatures, one for animals from Azeroth, and one from another planet that calls itself ‘soil’ in the local language. Some of the creatures living in the third dome are fully sapient already, and creatures from all three domes will gain full sapience as a familiar bond develops. All the creatures we offer have been given basic training for obedience, housebreaking, and tranquility. Wouldn’t want your expensive familiars fighting in your dorm the first time you turn your backs, now would we? To get the most out of your bonded familiar you need to treat them as a partner and a part of your family. Loyalty begets loyalty, love begets love. With these familiars, you will only get what you are willing to put in. Now, this is the central tower, where our medical facilities, staff residences, food production, and equipment fabricator are located. We’ll show you the fabricator later, but for now we’ll head to the Azeroth dome.”

~/*\~

Hermione had already set her interface to record everything, but she was still paying rapt attention to Vael as he led them into the first of the three domes that boasted extensive expansion charms. “Azeroth’s magic is a little different from Earth’s, especially in how it influences living things. On Azeroth, magical creatures tend to be powerful at the cost of precision and many are descended from elemental creatures. These,” The man paused for a moment as the entire group watched spellbound as two creatures that looked like very muscled wyverns, one with silver scales and one with gold, took notice of them and walked closer. “are ‘proto-dragons,’ the forebears of my species.”

The class watched as Hagrid stepped closer and the creatures big enough to bear him into the sky allowed him to rub the scales around their eyes. Vael continued. “They are powerful creatures and gain sapience quickly with a familiar bond. While they are not suitable for your first bonded familiar, they are an ideal third or seventh. Over time both you and your familiar will grow stronger as the bond between you forces your magic to work harder and become denser, giving you both more effect for the same spell. By trial and error the Empire discovered that bonding familiars work best if you begin with a less powerful creature which has an affinity for a specific type of magic or energy. As you build a familiar bond, you will gradually find your spells of that type grow stronger and your familiar will gain increased intelligence, lifespan, and magic of their own.”

As they moved on, Hermione and her friends found themselves enthralled by the beautiful and strange Dragonhawks, the sneaky Warp Stalkers, the cunning Raptors, and the majestic Saber Cats. If Saska hadn’t told me how dangerous Azeroth was, I might have wished I’d been born there. Vael began speaking again as they neared a pair of enormous serpentine ‘eastern dragons,’ one crimson and one azure. “These are Cloud serpents. They take a long time to grow into their true power and size but they make excellent familiars. They’re more playful than most other creatures from Azeroth, and need a lot of your time and attention early on.” He whistled and after a moment a dozen curious, foot-long azure and crimson Cloud Serpents came out of a small cave and began to playfully investigate the students. “Our job as keepers isn’t just to ensure that our charges breed, but to improve the creatures wherever we can. Before these little ones hatched I used a bit of magic on them, altering them just a little with blood from one of Earth’s Horned Serpents. They will gain additional traits as they age, including the ability to live underwater.”

Hermione smiled when she saw Kristen’s smile at the baby Cloud Serpents, especially the blue one that had nestled in her long red hair. After a few minutes where the students and tiny Cloud Serpents amused each other, they started to move on. Hermione handed the tiny crimson serpent that had been playing with her one of the berries Hagrid had handed out. The creature grasped the sweet treat in its front claws and sped off back to its cave. (While Cloud Serpents primarily ate meat and fish, apparently they also had a sweet tooth.) When Kristen began trying to remove the serpent that had hidden itself in her hair, Sola stepped over and handed her a small collar and leash instead. “You’re Kristen, right? One of these was purchased for you, so this one is yours unless you want to pick out a different one.”

Suddenly the Cloud Serpent popped out of her hair and flew in front of her, looking up at Kristen with big, sorrowful eyes. It took the Lamia a moment to get over her shock before she nodded and carefully latched the small collar onto her new familiar. As they moved away the serpent draped itself over her shoulders, seemingly eager to see the world beyond the enclosure where it had hatched and lived all its life. As they walked over to the next habitat, a wide plain dotted with trees and ponds hosting at least three different varieties of unicorn, Selena let out a quiet whistle. “Someone likes you Kristen, this clutch of Cloud Serpents is going for thirteen thousand credits each. Actually all of these familiars are crazy expensive, especially the ones from Earth.”

Sola spoke up from her place behind the group. “Earth’s magical creatures are expensive because there’s not many of them. Either because they’ve been hunted or because there just weren't many of them to start with. Once we bring up their numbers here and on Earth the prices will go down. We’re experimenting with hybrids too, some of those are available now and some will be available later on. I’d check your messages when you get back to Erythraeum if you’re curious about who purchased your familiar.”

Not long after the group was leaving the Unicorn pasture behind and making their way to a lake with a sandy beach. Vael spoke up once more. “Unicorns are not bad familiars, but they aren’t ideal unless you end up living on a plain. Next is a species your Naga classmate probably knows more about than I do, since her people created them and have been rearing them for thousands of years.”

Hermione saw Saska smile and push forward to the front; without pausing the young Naga let out an odd warbling sound from deep in her throat. The entire class looked at her oddly, but soon their eyes were diverted to disturbances under the water’s surface. With a splash, animals surged out of the water and clustered around the Naga, begging for attention. Saska laughed as Hermione realized what the creatures frolicking around her were: Snapdragons, scaled creatures with the basic size and shape of a wolf but with a long tail with fins and extensive webbing on their feet. Snapdragons had long been favored by Naga hunters for their ability to silently stalk through the ocean. Saska spoke up as she lavished attention on the creatures, gently scratching the creature’s frills. “I haven’t seen one of these since I left home! These ones are friendlier than normal and I’ve never seen the blue and white coloration before, what did you cross them with?”

Vael replied, a warm smile on his face as he discussed his work. “We couldn’t directly breed them like I wanted to, so I used willingly given blood from a ‘Vaporeon’ in a blood-adoption ritual. I started working on these before I left Azeroth and the new traits even breed true; they mostly kept the Snapdragon’s body shape, but gained a toughness and the ability to use water-based magic.” He paused for a moment and pulled up his interface. “Pick out one for yourself, it’s been paid in full.”

Five minutes later, a very happy Naga caught up to the tour group with a friendly Snapdragon on a leash. Hermione was beginning to suspect who had purchased familiars for her friends, and wondering what, if anything, she was going to get. Half an hour later the students began filing into a tram that ran beneath the surface of the massive dome. We only visited a small part of the expanded space, the rest might not even be in use yet, this place only broke ground about six months ago. I wonder how they kept the expansion stable? Mars doesn’t have nearly enough environmental magic yet. A few moment’s search on her interface revealed the answer. A non-permeable coating to keep most of the magic inside? Interesting.

After returning to the central spire and walking for twenty minutes they were at the entrance to the next dome and Vael began speaking. “This is the dome where we’re raising Earth’s native creatures. Unfortunately we can’t get as close to them as the others, they’re not very friendly yet so we’re going to board the tram and tell you about them as we go. Professor, how do you feel about skipping the Thestral pasture?”

Sirius hummed thoughtfully, looking at his students. He called up his interface for a moment and sent it a query. “I don’t think they’d get anything out of it.” When some of the students grumbled, Sirius continued, making a placating gesture with his hands. “Thestrals are invisible unless you’ve seen someone die. They’re not much to look at either, like a tall skeletal horse with bat wings.”

Mollified, the students made their way onto the tram and found seats. Hermione was glad to see that this one ran on tracks above the ground and traveled through the various enclosures on a winding path. Apparently enjoying their job as tour guides, the keepers threw out food at the various stops to attract the animals. Manticores, Gryphons, and Chimera passed by before they came to the first highlight of this tour. Hagrid had taken over some of the narrating for this dome since the large man apparently knew a lot about Earth’s magical creatures. “With the meat laid out you should be able to see the next bunch soon. There! That is the first to come out, an African Lion. Ya might wonder about whether they’re magical or not, and they’re not. See, this n’closure we’re throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, the main beasties are a breeding pair of Wampus cats, but Ysondre, who’s leading a different tour group right now, worked her magic. Normally these cats wouldn’a tolerate each other, but she’s convinced them that there’s plenty of food for all of them and no reason to fight. We’ve got female lions, tigers, jaguars, cheetahs, even three different varieties of Azeroth’s Saber Cats in there, and they get along jus’fine as long as we give them plenty of food ‘n sum rabbits for em’ to chase. Keep’n eye out and we ought’ to see the whole group soon.”

The students pressed up against the windows on that side and watched as a kaleidoscope of big cats filed out of a series of caves. Some were visibly pregnant and moving ponderously but as Hagrid said, they didn’t bother each other. Eventually a Wampus cat strutted out of a cave, looking exceptionally pleased with himself. He was a strong creature very similar to North America’s cougar, his six legs thick with muscle and he moved as if he was the king of all he surveyed. Hagrid spoke again as the pride leader made his way to the meat left out for him. “Wampus cats are one of Earth’s few magical creatures that are right smart without a familiar bond. They’re capable of hypnotism and telepathy with eye contact, and they’re stronger ‘n faster than they ought to be. ‘King’ here has been busy since we set him up here, once he understood what Ysondre did, he started reinforcing her magic wit his own. The Saber Cats are intelligent too and they’ve been helping him keep the peace.”

Vael spoke up next. “We should get the first cubs in about a week, and they should be weaned in about eight months. Now, moving on…”

The next highlight was the Horned Serpent habitat, the tram reaching a lake and dropping down below the surface, windows automatically closing. As the tram came to a stop, three serpents swam out of depths; according to Hermione’s interface, the largest, at thirty-five feet, was the only adult and the two twenty-five foot serpents had reached early maturity but still had some growing to do. All three had striking dark blue eyes, a white-gray underbelly that ran their entire length, and the four horns on their heads that gave them their name. The two smaller ones, younger females apparently, had a gleaming gem on their foreheads just a few shades lighter than their eyes. They swam close to the (thankfully) air-tight tram. It was a surprise when the creature’s missing sounds, just barely audible from inside the tram, triggered the Empire’s automatic translation program. “ Another group Vael? Are there any who speak our tongue today?”

Vael replied in a rumbling, primal language that made the student’s bones vibrate. “I’m afraid not, water-serpent. It is a rare gift indeed, but there are several Parselmouths at Erythraeum and they will pass through eventually.”

“A shame.” With that the serpents swam away, heading back to their nests deeper in the water.

The last stop on their tour was also interesting, and probably the most exciting. Vael took over speaking as they approached. “Up next we have Earth’s dragons. Just like Proto-dragons, Earth’s dragons are not ideal for your first familiar, but make excellent third or seventh ones. As you’ll see, we have a breeding pair of every species, from the fast and aggressive Peruvian Vipertooth to the much larger Ukrainian Ironbelly. We’re very interested in cross-breeding to create new species: Right now we’re crossing Hebridean Blacks with various species from Earth and elsewhere mostly because they’re a good mix of strength, speed, magical power, and relative intelligence.”

The final enclosure of this dome was a significantly larger enclosure with a male Hebridean Black and a dozen females of various species of dragon, many that Hermione knew hadn’t originated on Earth. She almost asked why none of Azeroth’s dragon species were represented, then she remembered that they were fully sapient. At least the Empire hasn’t bullied them into bestiality… I wonder if bestiality is even illegal under Imperial law? It seems like that would be an easy way to create new species with the right fertility magic… Something to look up in private. Wait, the Familiar Bond can grant an animal full intelligence, would that even count as bestiality anymore? Or would it just be diversifying the gene pool? Or… most sapient dragons can breed with anything… Is that why there’s a million different types of dragons in the Empire?

~/*\~

After seeing Earth’s magical creatures, the group stopped for lunch. It turned out there were three separate class groups touring the facility today, and they mingled while eating sandwiches and fruit on the grass. While the facility had a cafeteria, there wasn’t enough space for both students and staff, so the students were having a picnic. It turned out that the Solis Familiar Ranch raised all the food for its creatures on different floors of the central tower. The floor where the students were eating had been grazed to dirt recently, then the meat animals were herded out and the area was plowed, reseeded, and regrown with magic. Hermione was eating next to Saska, Susan, Hannah, and Kristen. Both of the new familiars were begging for food, but Saska had interrupted the student’s attempts to feed them. “Please don’t. Giving in reinforces bad behavior, and we don’t want our familiars getting into bad habits. My Snapdragon is going to grow thrice as big as he is now, and, well, you all saw how big Kristen’s Cloud Serpent is going to get. They need to learn good manners while they’re still small.”

Susan replied. “That’s a good point. Sorry little guy, but I don’t want to share a dorm with a rude noodle dragon.” The little blue Cloud Serpent gave her a very pitiable look, playing up the act with wide eyes and weak, pathetic body language. “Yes, you are very cute and a good little actor, but you’re going to grow very big so you need to learn manners. Sorry.”

Hermione laughed, enjoying herself. As she ate she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of familiar Harry had in store for her, because really, she couldn’t imagine anyone else spending such an obscene number of credits on her friends. And it really isn’t a question of ‘if’ we’re heading to Caladan, but ‘when.’ All three of us were chosen for the New Worlds program, and if we don’t choose a destination for ourselves we’ll just get assigned to one. Harry really isn’t a bad option at all, even if there’s going to be a lot of work to do on his world. Like Susan says, we could do much worse than Magical Britain’s celebrity, but he’s much more than that. He’s kind and curious and talented too, and he’s got such an interesting project to work on!

~/*\~

After lunch, Sirius stood from where he’d been sitting with his wives, Lily, and Hagrid. Today has been fun so far, and the last dome is where my surprises will be. I hope they like my gifts. Looking over his students, he felt a real sense of pride at how well they were coming along. They’re certainly better students than I was back at Hogwarts, though some of that is the way the school is structured. More time outside and hours directly using magic seems to make the day go by so much faster. It’s been interesting teaching the girls that will probably end up living on Harry's ship too; Hermione isn’t a younger Lily, but there are similarities for sure. I guess he inherited his father’s taste in girls. James would certainly have been impressed with Harry, with how fast he’s grown and how hard he’s worked. I know I am. Honestly, I’m even impressed with Draco. Even though the poor kid was raised on poison, he’s growing into a better man than his father was even if I had to bribe him to do it.

Not that it had taken much to convince Draco to make an honest effort. The Golden Star Empire took a different view of inheritance than Britain had, mainly that their ultimate goal was that everyone, especially magicals, had to work as hard as they could while still maintaining their health. So while useful objects could be passed down without problem, moving large sums of money from parent to child was difficult. Sirius had spoken to his cousin’s son a month ago and offered him a way to get around the Empire’s rules and get a leg up before he joined the Empire’s colonization program. Draco wasn’t one of those being pushed into the New Worlds program but he had chosen to leave Earth behind anyway. When Draco had turned over a new leaf long enough that it was becoming a habit Sirius explained what Alira, Lily, and Harry had worked out together: While the galleons in their vaults wouldn’t do them much good if they tried to convert them to Imperial Credits they could trade them directly to the Solis Familiar Ranch for ‘store credit’ at a better rate. Harry and Lily had already decided to exchange the Potter’s fortune for familiars and various creatures for Caladan and Sirius had followed suit. I know gold isn’t worth much with how much is getting mined from asteroids, but I still wonder what kind of creature they’re feeding the Ministry’s coins to?

~/*\~

Instead of the long walk of the first dome or the ride of the second, the third dome turned out to be a mix of walking and riding. Vael spoke up as the tram came to a stop. “Welcome to Dome Three. This is where we raise and rear a very interesting variety of creatures called ‘Pokemon’ from the term ‘Pocket Monsters.’ These creatures have a lot of the unique traits we’ve been using for our crossbreeding experiments. Things you should know if you’re considering one as a familiar: First, many of these creatures are fully sapient almost from birth, but they’re not physically capable of speaking most languages without painfully warping their vocal chords. Second, they utilize ‘Aura’ for their varied abilities. Third, their unique cellular structure allows them to survive being transitioned into energy and back again without harm, in devices like this.”

Vael held up a ball that was red on one half and white on the other. “Okay everyone, pick up some coins from the bags near the door. You can feed them as many bronze coins as you want, but only one gold and silver each.”

Hermione and her friends collected the metal coins, listening to Susan as they walked off the tram into the barren rocky habitat. “These are knuts, sickles, and galleons; they were the currency issued by the Ministry of Magic!”

Now Hermione was deeply curious about the creatures they were about to see. Vael was speaking again. “This is where we raise the facility’s Metagross. Unlike the creatures you’ve seen today, Metagross are creatures of living metal. Once they reach maturity Metagross are powerful , physically and through use of their varied abilities. In fact they are powerful enough to make breeding them in large numbers worthwhile despite their dietary needs. Like many Pokemon, ‘Metagross’ have two earlier states, called ‘Beldum' and ‘Metang.’ Once they absorb enough mass and they reach a certain threshold of personal power, they mutate explosively into a larger and more powerful form. Here they come now. Remember to be polite and watch your fingers with the small ones.”

A moment later, a horde of creatures came around the corner. The largest ones walked on four legs (though several moved on only three, missing their fourth) that supported a spherical body between them, the next had two of those arms positioned on a spherical body, (and hovered instead of walking) and the smallest looked like severed arms of the largest… with an eye in the stump, floating in the air. All of them seemed to be made entirely out of metal. Hermione couldn’t help but speak out loud as they came into view. “Huh, I’ve never seen anything like them before.”

Their guide continued the lecture while the students began handing out the coins. “As you can see, they reproduce by budding. As the new budded creatures grow, they gain mass until they’re a copy of their parent. As they grow and reproduce they need rare metals like silver to form their nervous system and the gold ends up in the alloy that makes up their outer skin immune to oxidation.”

Draco, who had become less grating over the last few months, spoke up. “With the cost to keep them fed, are they really powerful enough to be worthwhile?”

Vael replied. “Metagross aren’t just powerful, they’re versatile. They can operate on a planet’s surface, in the vacuum of space, or at the bottom of the ocean without problems. And that is without the addition of magic. These coins? They’re not just providing metal, but digestible bits of magic, like a supplement. None of us are entirely certain what effect feeding these coins will have, but we’re eager to find out.”

Eventually they moved on, most of the students obviously weighing the costs and benefits of acquiring one of the metal creatures in the future. As they made their way through the tour several students picked up new familiars; she tried not to snicker when Draco Malfoy picked out a ‘Snivy,’ the child form of the powerful serpent with plant-based powers. Of course Draco would choose an emerald serpent; I’d bet a week’s worth of conjuring credits that he finds her some silver accents by the time she evolves. Eventually they made their way to an enclosure with small blue snakes watched over by larger serpentine dragons. The Dratini were very cute blue and white serpents with small fins on their ears, the ‘teenage’ Dragonair were much larger, longer, and graceful serpents, and the adult Dragonite were orange and cream humanoid dragons with sinuous, powerful bodies. Vael spoke as the group examined the three life stages of the species. “Dragonite are powerful and can use a wide variety of magic. They can conjure water, ice, electricity, and even stone. When they reach the Dragonair stage, they gain the ability to fly in the same way Earth’s Horned Serpents can and they can even carry a passenger. When they fully mature their flight speed and power increase considerably. While they can live in almost any climate, they are primarily aquatic and do best if they have a lake or ocean to sleep in.”

As the creature’s abilities were described, it was obvious why the Empire bred them. The tour was almost finished and Hermione was beginning to think Harry had forgotten about her when Sola got her attention. “You’re Hermione? Someone’s purchased a female Dratini for you, go ahead and pick one out.”

Hermione fought down the urge to cheer as a visual overlay projected from her implant, highlighting which Dratini she could choose from. Soon, Hermione had her own little noodle dragon, one that was much more bulky than Kristen’s, wrapped along her shoulders like a scarf. With a wide smile on her face Hermione gently stroked her new familiar, smiling as it closed its eyes and released a musical squeak in pleasure. Walking over to her Naga friend, Hermione spoke up as the tour moved on. “Saska, would you mind if my familiar slept in your pool? I can get a tank for her if it’s a problem.”

Saska turned to her friend and her new aquatic familiar. “As long as she’s house trained and doesn’t bother me while I sleep I don’t mind. I have enough plants growing in my pool that I’m sure both our familiars will find nice places to sleep.”

~/*\~

Lily laughed as the girl with bushy hair lost control of her excitement and started talking to the small Dratini that crowded around her, each wanting to be chosen. It was good to see that Hermione was taking the time to speak with each of them, not wanting to make a hasty decision. The adorable bundle of fur in her own arms shifted and Lily scratched its head, not bothering to hide her own grin. Sirius had purchased a familiar for her, a brown and cream colored canine creature with a surprising amount of utility. Her new companion wasn’t too impressive right now, but once it had grown up a bit it had the capacity to ‘evolve’ into one of eight different cuddly elemental powerhouses. Lily browsed through the newest document on her interface and sighed. She had always thought herself a rather accomplished witch but the instructions to create the elementally-charged stones that would trigger her familiar’s growth were daunting. At least it's easy to narrow down my choices. Either the water one to help flood Caladan or the plant one to help in the gardens that will feed us.

By the time the tour ended at the tower’s fabricator and the keepers were handing out shiny new equipment and supplies to those who needed them Raene had a familiar of her own, a ‘Rockruff,’ a coyote Pokemon puppy who could conjure stone and swim. Sirius had his first familiar as well; in an unusual choice for someone heading for a water world Sirius had picked out a ‘Houndour,’ a black and orange canine creature with an elemental affinity for fire and shadows. It had been amusing watching Sirius’ puppy sulk at leaving with him until the man assumed his animagus form and started playing with it. He used to do that with Remus, before Azkaban. James told me about how Remus raged, how he hurt himself, if he was left alone as a werewolf, so the three of them became animagi to keep him company. In hindsight, Peter turning into a rat should have been a warning.

As the group filed back onto the skiff for the trip back, she wondered how Harry was doing today…

~/*\~

On Caladan Sethria was watching Harry’s excitement as he waited for the Transmat to deliver his second credit purchase. True to her word, she had loaned Harry nearly half of the credits needed and now they were waiting for the parcel from the Solis Familiar Ranch. She nodded off after a while; between the lack of natural daylight and the storm trapping her indoors she hadn’t been sleeping well; worse, her body’s day-night cycle was completely shot. Eventually a surge of positive emotions shook her awake and she saw Harry quietly introducing himself to a small blue and white quadruped with yellow protrusions on its cheeks. Letting out a long yawn, Sethria caught both of their attention. “You know, you never mentioned what you’d chosen, Harry.”

Harry swept the creature into his arms and hugged it tightly to his chest. “It’s a Mudkip! He’s small now, but he’s going to get a lot bigger and stronger.” Harry let out a long yawn. “I was going to flood the bottom deck for him, but I think I’ll just let him sleep in my bathtub for now.” Harry let out another wide yawn. “Goodnight Sethria.”

After a long stretch and yawn of her own, she replied. “Goodnight Harry.”

~/*\~

Newsreels: On Call

~/*\~

Daniel Granger was enjoying a quiet afternoon with his wife and their youngest children when a priority message came through his interface. He was rising even before reading the message; the mere fact that he’d seen it through the ‘mute all’ setting told him it was urgent. Emma rose and embraced her husband as he skimmed the message. After a moment he spoke up as he pulled away and strode into the couple’s bedroom. He smiled as he quickly changed into a skin-tight dark silver suit, amused at the way it resembled a Fremen Stillsuit in form, if not function. Despite looking like it was made out of leather, he marveled at how comfortable it was as he slipped it on; the advanced materials worked to support his back, keep his body at the perfect temperature, and most importantly protect him from any kind of infectious disease. As he cinched his boots on and felt them connect to the rest of his suit he spoke to his wife who’d followed him into their bedroom. “I’m sorry Ems. They’re calling for all available healers, I need to join the muster at Moscow’s spaceport.”

Emma replied in a subdued voice. “Go do what you must, love. The twins and I will be waiting for you when you get back. Did they say what the emergency was?”

Dan gave his wife one last hug, then he pulled on a decorative white healer’s robe, patterned with black stripes. He walked over to their bedroom’s newest addition, a meticulously painted statue set on its own table: It was about the size of a mini-fridge and depicted a creature similar to a gryphon, but bearing the features of Azeroth’s Red Dragonflight where one would expect an eagle and orange tiger stripes in place of a lion’s tawny fur. One of the statue’s talons was reaching out, holding an amulet Dan had carved himself out of a brilliant orange gemstone. He spoke up as he took the round, glowing amulet with a crimson striation in the shape of a dragon’s pupil running through the center. His eyes briefly glowed orange as he slipped the amulet around his neck. “Sol’s receiving evacuation ships. I don’t know much, just that things didn’t go well somewhere and we’re expecting mass casualties.” He withdrew a simple white bracelet helpfully marked ‘Moscow ISP Portkey’ from a drawer under the statue and slipped it onto his wrist. “It’s going to be a race against time, the Empire uses Time Locks on the holds of those big ships when they evacuate worlds but the stasis field decay over time. I love you Emma. Give Hermione my love if I miss her this week. Muster!”

With that, Dan was whisked away as his portkey activated. After a long trip that made him queasy he landed in a snowy field just outside Moscow’s Interplanetary Spaceport. He was grateful that portkey creation had drastically improved since the Empire arrived, but the things still weren’t pleasant. Rising to his feet he opened his interface and followed the instructions to a nearby shuttle, one of four apparently earmarked to transfer gathering healers to the staging ground in the Maintenance Yard orbiting Jupiter. As he reached the ship he relaxed a little as he joined a group of colleagues he’d been working with at the newly-completed London Imperial Medical Center, happy to see familiar faces. True, some of his fellow staff were still unhappy about the Empire disrupting their comfortable lives but on the whole LIMC’s staff had chosen their profession to help people. Most of them simply sent him nods of acknowledgment, but the group’s most visibly non-human member gave him a wide, toothy smile as he approached.

Dalistrasza, obviously a Red Drake from Azeroth, spoke up once he and a few other stragglers joined them. She gestured with a wing for them to board and spoke as the group quickly hustled up the ramp. Inside the ship nothing but rows and rows of seating; it only took a few moments for the group to gather in a corner so others could board. Watching as the mostly human group found seats, she spoke up as she reclined on the floor. “I’m glad you all made it. The system’s put me in charge of our group for this since I’ve assisted with ‘Unboxings’ twice before.” Her eyes and talons jerked as she navigated menus on her interface. “We have about ninety minutes before the first transport ship arrives, then two or three days until the next one gets routed our way. Once we arrive feel free to get something to eat or whatever you need; you’re going to need the energy.”

Poppy Pomfrey, one of the more bearable Earth-native magical healers he’d worked with, spoke up. She still wasn’t comfortable working with Dalistrasza or the other non-humans, but the older witch had made a real effort to put her personal feelings aside over the last few months. “How… How bad is this going to be?”

Dalistrasza winced, the motion very obvious on her reptilian face. She replied as the shuttle sealed itself and promptly launched into motion, ignoring most of the usual takeoff procedures in favor of speed. In a matter of seconds the group saw flames licking the ship’s exterior window as it sped upwards. “If this is anything like the other two I’ve worked? It won’t be pretty. These ships we’re receiving… They’re carrying the survivors of worlds the Empire’s had to abandon. If they’re being routed to us… Expect Void poisoning and Entropy wasting in addition to the injuries you’d normally see on the battlefield.” She shook her head as the shuttle breached Earth’s atmosphere and promptly performed an in-system FTL jump; the window’s view flashed, changing from the void of space to a close view of Jupiter. “Do your best but remember to pace yourself; when you need a break, take it. Remember that no matter how much we want to, we cannot save everyone. Prioritize the ones you can help over the ones you cannot.”

With that happy thought Dan felt a rush of warmth from the amulet on his neck chase away the depressing worries of choosing who would live; replacing them with determination and confidence. He grasped the amulet in a fist and smiled grimly; it was a good reminder that he wasn’t alone in this, Sostrasz was with him. In moments their shuttle docked and all the assembled healers hurried into a landing area that branched off into smaller rooms. His group of sixty healers silently followed their guide-dragon (who was following her own interface) down a wide hall and into a room that held a hastily-assembled buffet and stacks of mattresses, fresh off the facility’s fabricators, being placed along the room’s walls by workers. Dalistrasza spoke up again as the group wandered over to the buffet, grabbing food or drink. “These evacuation ships are segmented into different holds; each hold has its own Time Lock, and they’re designed to fail sequentially. That means we’re on a timer for each hold but we should have enough time if we work efficiently. Remember to rest when you need it. I know all of you will want to keep going until you drop, but you need to pace yourselves; we might be here for a week. Or more, depending on how many ships get routed to Sol.”

Dan shook his head and got something to eat, idly noting that most of the dishes provided carbs or protein. Quickly consuming a simple sandwich, something clearly thrown together by a machine, Dan set a timer on his interface and flopped down onto a mattress. He didn’t sleep, not really, but even drowsing was better than nothing. When his timer went off he returned to the buffet and wolfed down another soulless sandwich, washing it down with a mug of coffee made by someone who’d never even heard of decaf. And then there was only a few minutes left before the ship arrived and Dalistrasza was herding their group onto one of the shipyard’s internal trams and giving them last minute instructions. He’d heard most of them before, but her final words truly stuck with him. “There’s going to be soldiers working with us, always let them go first into the holds and tell them immediately if a patient starts to get violent. These people have lost everything so they won’t be perfectly reasonable and they might lash out. Stay safe, you can’t heal anyone if you’re injured or dead.”

The group was silent as the tram came to a stop just outside of a massive landing bay, equally large doors currently open to the void of space. It was empty for a moment before a massive oval ship, round and sleek and larger than anything humans had ever built, streaked into the landing bay. Its retrograde thrusters were still firing when the docking clamps engaged and the station shook as it absorbed the momentum, just a little at the reminder that even seconds mattered. As soon as the ship cleared the bay’s doors a forcefield snapped into place as the bay flash-pressurized with a roar before the massive doors could even finish closing. Then the airlocks opened and their tram sped inside to one of the ship’s loading ramps, another tram loaded with soldiers (armed with stun weapons Dan remembered from his recent training classes) cutting ahead of them. Dan braced himself and rushed into hell alongside people he liked and people he didn’t like but still respected for their commitment to healing the injured and sick. He pushed down all his doubts and focused on saving as many as he could and felt the amulet on his neck burn with approval at his dedication.

~/*\~

Ten hours later, Dan was quickly nearing the point of collapse. Still, he soldiered on and kept working as he pulled at his Loa’s power, calling more flames of borrowed magic into his hands and pushing them into his latest patient. The Kaldorei was only a boy, maybe thirteen or fourteen, but he’d obviously been brave enough to protect those behind him judging by the wounds. But brave or not, Void poisoning was a horrific condition and it was taking two soldiers to hold the thrashing boy down as Dan pushed his patron’s power through mangled flesh to flush the corrupting magic from his body. As much as he wanted to knit the boy’s body back together and soothe his pain, the poison had to come out first. Eventually Dan stepped back and took a long pull at the water bottle clipped to his belt. “Interface: He’s stable and I’ve got the worst out of him, he’ll need a follow-up purge and at least two healing sessions for his legs.”

The soldiers, just as exhausted and dirty as he was, nodded and one lifted the boy, easily carrying him out of the hold to a recovery area nearby. Jack Smith, an experienced ER doctor from Whales who managed LIMC’s Trauma Ward, shouted from a few beds away. “Dali! Dan! Get over here next! Little girl needs new vitals and you’re up. Dan, I’ll hand you flesh as you need it, try to make it stretch.”

Dan staggered over, watching as Dalistrasza avoided the maze of beds by simply leaping into the air and using her wings to guide her fall. He knew she’d been busy, he’d seen flashes of her magical flames off and on the whole time they’d been at work. Soon he reached the bed where a little girl, another Kaldorei, was dying slowly as a holographic heart and lungs were only managing to slow her death. She’d received a glancing strike from an Entropy curse or weapon, and it had slowly eaten a hole in her chest. There was a teenager, obviously her sister, sitting next to her in distress as she used druidic healing magic to push back the Void poisoning in her own veins; despite her efforts it wasn’t enough and she’d be dead within half an hour as well without help. Both girls were obviously distressed, but the presence of a Red dragon seemed to calm them down.

Dalistrasza flopped onto the ground next to their latest patient’s bed and he winced, even as he couldn’t help but approve of her dedication. ‘Red’ dragons were consummate healers thanks to the type of magic they wielded; that magic, along with their natural shapeshifting, also made them universal donors with surprisingly malleable flesh. Unlike any other kind of donated flesh he’d ever heard of, a Red dragon’s body, down to every individual cell, wanted to help; it was the only reason what he was about to do would even work. He’d assumed the drake in front of him had leaped to stretch or move quickly, but she was actually missing large chunks of muscle from her shoulders and forearms, enough to keep her from walking normally. Seeing his gaze, she spoke up. “It’s not as bad as it looks. I’ll heal without even a scar, eventually.” She hissed as Jack flicked a command to his multi-tool, producing a holographic blade that bit into her rump and carved out a strip of flesh, scales and all. “My poor ass, how am I ever going to get a mate with pieces cut out of my best feature!”

Dan smiled at the grim humor she was using to distract herself from the pain; painkillers were something for the recovery ward, not healers actively using their magic on tricky afflictions. Jack handed Dan the strip of flesh and he carefully slid it into the hole where the little girl’s heart was before a disintegration curse had dissolved it right out of her chest. He was a little jealous of how well Jack was doing; he’d taken over managing the hold the London group was sent into with skill. Before Dan did anything else, he placed his left hand on her chest at the base of the girl’s neck and pushed a little of his patron’s magic into her, ensuring her body would remain alive, even without oxygen or nutrients so long as the spell remained in place. (Even with all the practice he’d gotten at using his patron’s power he still had to rely entirely on Sostrasz for that spell.) Then he focused on adhering the strip of draconic flesh to her rib cage, shrinking the hole he’d need to fill.

What followed was gruesome, bloody work as Dan used Sostrasz’s power to transform several pounds of Dali’s muscle into a working heart and lungs for the little girl. Dali, grimacing as another healer took muscle from her other side, started to speak as he worked. “I’ve worked with Priests before, but I don’t recognize your patron’s amulet. Who’d you make a pact with Dan?”

Dan chuckled as he used a few thin strips of Dali’s flesh to create connective tissue and arteries, joining them to the old connection that remained. By now he was comfortable enough to talk while he worked. “Sostrasz is from Azeroth, well, an Azeroth anyway. He’s the son of Alexstrasza the Lifebinder and Kimbul the Lord of Beasts. He and his siblings were an experiment to create more Loa, but the pregnancy was very hard on Alexstrasza so there’s not a lot of half-Loa dragons running around. Sostrasz fought the Old Gods and survived but he ended up crippled. He’s healing now, but he’s more than flesh and those non-physical parts were hurt worse than the physical, so it’s slow going. That’s why he’s accepting Priests, we use his power in his stead while he dreams and recovers.”

A moment later Dan was tempted to let out a cheer of triumph despite his exhaustion as the Kaldorei girl took a breath with entirely new lungs and a synthetic blood substitute brought the life-giving oxygen to every part of her body. Another moment spent ensuring the new organs were functioning correctly and then he began releasing the spell that had kept the girl alive while he worked. Behind him Dali closed her eyes, grimacing as she lost just a little more flesh for another patient in a bed behind them. “Is it just healing, or do you get the fun stuff too?”

Dan paused, thinking as he started sealing up the little girl’s chest. “Interface: Patient is stable for the moment but will need a customized nutrient drip immediately and a follow-up for her lower body within two days. Recommend a potion regimen to encourage regeneration to take advantage of the new flesh.”

He paused, sucked greedily at his bottle of water, and then moved on to the girl’s teenage sister. Kneeling at her side, he reached out and his hands glowed with warm firelight as he flushed the poisonous magic from her body, working in tandem with her own magic. As he worked, his patron sent him an impression of learning to transform into another shape. “You mean shapeshifting? I’ve honestly been too busy just learning to heal, but it does look like fun. Not sure if I can manage it without magic of my own though.”

Dali scoffed lightly as she laid her head down on a nearby bed. “That won’t be a problem for you. I can feel your patron’s magic slowly building up in your body as you work.” The drake let out a long yawn before she continued. “It reminds me of home.”

Shaking his head as Dalistrasza fought to stay awake, he turned his full attention to his patient. The teenager had mostly saved herself, keeping the foreign magic from completely destroying her body. He felt her magic mesh with Sostrasz’s as they pushed out and destroyed the last of the poison. Before he could rise and try to move on, the teenager spoke up. Normally the Empire’s interfaces just provided text translations to help users learn each other’s languages, but in an environment this chaotic they functioned as full audio translators. Reaching over to her sister, the teen gently stroked her sister’s hair as she began to speak in a quiet, broken voice. “Thank you, both of you, for saving my sister. But... What happens to us now?”

Dan was quiet for a moment as he withdrew a medical scanner from a pocket and ran it over both girls. “The Empire will help you find a new home. I’m sorry, but your world’s gone. Once you get an interface you can search for any surviving family and meet up with them.”

The teenager shook her head. “We only ever had mom and dad. They… didn’t make it. Dad was hurt, too hurt to survive another battle, but he’d been at mom’s side for four-thousand years… I begged him to stay behind with us, but he wouldn’t let her die alone…”

Dan felt his heart go out to the young elf. Beyond the basics of the Old Gods fighting a mostly-successful extermination war he had no idea what had happened on their world, but it was telling that this hold only contained children and a few adults with old injuries that kept them from fighting. His heart especially went out as the results of his scan confirmed that not only was she in decent health for what she’d endured, but so was the child growing in her womb. “My home has an extra room if you and your sister need it. It isn’t anything special so I understand if you’d rather be with your own people…”

The teen shook her head and slowly hugged him, her voice starting to slur with exhaustion as she started to fall asleep. “Thank you. We don’t have anyone else…”

Dan gently pulled away after a moment. “Just get some rest, you exhausted yourself just staying alive. When you’re out of recovery, just ask for directions to Daniel Granger.”

The teen nodded and closed her eyes, falling asleep as the orderlies moved her and her younger sister to a recovery ward. He moved to stand and move to the next patient, but he stumbled, just barely catching himself on a nearby bed as his exhaustion caught up with him. Using Sostrasz’s power had always been like pouring a warm energy drink directly into his veins but the moment’s break hammered home how exhausted he was underneath. So he sat down on the bed before he fell, not even noticing his eyes fighting to stay open. Before he knew it, Jack had stepped in front of him and was snapping a finger to get his attention. “Go get some rest Dan, you’re at your limit.” He paused before speaking up in a louder voice to the nearby orderlies. “Take these two out and help them get clean but be gentle with the dragon, her wounds are just barely closed. They’re done for now.”

Dan blinked over and saw that Dalistrasza had passed out, an orderly shifting her onto a floating stretcher. For all her advice about pacing, she’s just as unwilling to take a break when there’s lives on the line as the rest of us. As he sat there, he realized just how exhausted he’d become. He’d started learning to use his patron’s power two months ago, helped by the Loa guiding him step by step until he could manage it on his own. But he’d never used so much of Sostrasz’s power at once; the bone-deep crippling exhaustion had snuck up on him, kept at bay by the continual use of the invigorating magic. The next twenty minutes seemed to come in flashes, the orderlies helping him onto Dalistrasza’s hovering stretcher, a cleaning tool being run over him, a gentle hand coaxing him to eat and drink and finally being settled onto one of the mattresses in LIMC’s rest hall a moment before an exhausted Dali settled her head on his chest, deeply asleep the instant she stopped moving. Dan simply followed her example, flopping back against the mattress and closing his eyes, falling asleep instantly.

~/*\~

“Welcome back, I’m Shia Runsocris and this is the nightly news. Tonight we’re starting with a local story. Recently the Imperial Fleet suffered a series of losses in a distant reality and were forced to abandon all but a single galaxy which is even now being fortified to withstand the oncoming siege. While many lives were lost our brave soldiers managed to evacuate many worlds, preserving both lives and unique species. Five evacuation ships have arrived safely in Sol, with the first arriving six days ago. Assisting refugees is the responsibility of all Imperial worlds and Earth’s healers, conscripted from all across Sol, have performed their duties admirably. I think we’re all proud of our healers working themselves to the bone to save lives, so on behalf of all Imperial citizens of Sol, thank you for your efforts, brave healers!”

Shia smiled widely and her tone turned lighter as she continued. “As always, please access your interface for more information, including photos like this, taken by the Jupiter Yard’s maintenance crew.”

(An image was displayed of a dozen deeply exhausted human healers without their decorative white robes resting against a Red drake on a large mattress. All of them were sound asleep, obviously exhausted and dead to the world.)

~/*\~

A/N: Am I reusing names for my OC’s? Yes, yes I am. Even if my inspiration for Elune’s Pebble has fled, I’m still kind of proud of it as my first real fic. Yes, I’m adding Pokemon to this fic, but not one of these will ever communicate by saying their own name. That wasn’t in the first Pokemon games I played so very, very long ago and it won’t ever be in anything I write.

Also the FF.net alert emails seem to be down, (at least I haven’t gotten anything since April first) so I’m going to hold off posting this there for now.

Please leave a review! Every one motivates me to keep writing!

Chapter Text

~/*\~

Chapter 12: Agriculture and Aquaculture!

~/*\~

Back at Erythraeum Academy, Hermione and her class were having a late dinner with Sirius and his family joining them. It wasn’t unusual to see a professor in the cafeteria but this was the first time she’d seen Sirius join the students. It was honestly hard to stop smiling with her new familiar at her side, the blue and white serpent was honestly enjoying herself just as much as she was. Even more, Harry’s choice in gifts to her and the others proved he was thoughtful and paid attention, even to things she had only mentioned once. Hermione’s familiar would give a big boost to her vitality as they bonded and a great way to build her own strength as she drew Aura from her familiar and her Dratini drew magic from her. And it wasn’t just her own gift that proved Harry had been thoughtful.

Harry had chosen Saska’s familiar because the girl was feeling out of her depth and a little homesick; the fact that it’d been hybridized meant that it would still be very useful on the currently dry Caladan. The reasons behind Kristen’s gift were more complex. Lamia were an alchemically created species, something that came with downsides. Kristen’s attraction/compulsion to Parselmouths and her lack of a natural magical affinity were part of that. (Her unusual reaction to spoken Parseltongue had become an object of study by Erythraeum’s AIs and the other Lamia had been subtly kept away from the school’s five Parselmouth students until they had more data.) The message from Harry that arrived when they returned to Erythraeum had provided a path to helping Kristen grow into a truly powerful magic user: First, the familiar bond would grant her an affinity for lightning magic. Then, Harry had promised to purchase the ritual materials for a blood-adoption ritual where one of the Horned Serpents they’d seen earlier today would replace part of her DNA with its own, granting her an affinity for water-based magic. Combined, the two would give her a natural affinity for Storm magic, a composite magical affinity that involved wind, water, and lightning. Additionally, the defunct ICW had rated Horned Serpents as ‘5-X’ creatures for a reason and it was no accident that Basilisks, Dragons, and Nundu shared that category. No one was quite sure what animal the first Lamia had as a ‘base,’ but it was probably a non-magical serpent. Adding a powerful magical ancestor would leave her friend significantly more powerful.

Hermione looked at her message from Harry again: “ Hermione, I got the feeling you were feeling left out of the ‘tradition’ my mom told me about. I liked the idea, so I sent some letters out and the three of you should have gotten your first familiars today. I hope you and your friends enjoy your gifts, my ‘declarations.’ I also hope that you decide to join me on Caladan. I really think the three of you will like it here when we get an ocean and plants in...”

She had written back, telling Harry he hadn’t needed to spend so much. The three gifted familiars had a combined cost of 27,500 credits, which was quite a lot, decades worth of conjuring at her current output. (Though, like all the other students, her output continued to rise as she grew stronger and learned to waste less power.) Harry had responded that purchasing familiars the way he had was the most efficient use of his inheritance thanks to Imperial law and his father would have approved spending the money on pretty girls anyway. She fought down her blush and read through his note again. His mum must have told him about that made up ‘declaration of intention gift’ tradition and he was worried we’d feel left out. I admit I was feeling jealous at the gifts Susan and Hannah received, but now Harry’s blown Neville’s efforts out of the water. Hmm, what can we send him in return? Maybe I should talk to his mother for some ideas? She’s right over there with Professor Black.

~/*\~

Leaning down, Sirius scratched his new familiar’s ears. A little fire-shadow dog might not have been the wisest choice for a man moving to an ocean planet but the little guy just appealed to him. And with enough effort the little guy could learn spells to create electricity or create rain; plus, Harry’s planet was slated to have lots of islands. Standing up, Sirius spoke up, glad his class hadn’t left yet. “Listen up before you head back to your dorms! I’m giving you tomorrow off, but you should still spend some time conjuring for exercise and credits. I’m also assigning a research project on why the Empire is using Magic, Aura, and Chakra based conjuring to build up Mars. It needs to be at least seven pages and it will be due on Monday. Those of you with new familiars, your interfaces have downloaded a guide on creating the familiar bond, you should start the process soon. Have a good night.”

He stood as the students began filtering out the doors and back to their dorms. Before he could gather his family and head back to the apartment (Lily had been family since she’d married James as far as he was concerned) he noticed the three girls who’d been corresponding with his godson begin questioning Lily. Probably something to do with that ‘tradition’ that’s been going around. Eh, it’s late enough that we missed dinner the normal meal times but my bed can wait a little longer. Raene seems almost dead on her feet though. Merlin, I don’t know what I did to deserve her and Alira, but I just hope I can keep them happy. Lily too, she deserves way better than me.

A little later as he opened the door to his apartment and held it open, he thought he’d done something right as he watched the tired smiles of the three women he shared his life with.

~/*\~

While most of their dorm turned in for the night, putting off showers until the next morning, three girls relaxed at Saska’s pool. Saska had slipped into the pool where she slept and kept a few things with only her head above the water, while Hermione hadn’t been able to resist putting her bare feet in the warm water while the three talked quietly. Saska’s Snapdragon had slipped into the water, darting around as it examined the pool; Hermione’s Dratini was obviously curious too, but for the moment was content to stay loosely wrapped around her neck, copying Kristen’s Cloud Serpent. Saska spoke first. “So, I’m definitely planning on joining Harry on Caladan. He seems like a decent guy and Caladan will eventually be a water world. That’s really all I need to know. The three of us are slated for the New Worlds program, so we might as well choose before we get assigned a world.”

Kristen spoke next. “Even without my magic drawing me towards him, I’d still be going to Harry, if only a little later.” She stroked her Cloud Serpent, coiled around her neck. “As soon as the Temporal Reclamation team brought us here, I started researching what it means to be an alchemically created species. One of the downsides is that our magic doesn’t grow like yours does. Sooner or later my growth would have stalled and both of you would have left me far behind. I’ve been looking for ways to fix that and even told Harry about how frustrated I was getting because I didn’t want to get to Caladan and then watch everyone else leave me behind. Harry must have been tying up his ship’s computer with ritual calculations and burning the midnight oil to find a better solution than I or any of the other surviving Lamia did. Either he’s some kind of genius or he has some kind of instinctual ability with magic.”

Both girls looked at Hermione who blushed, and focused on stroking her sleepy familiar. After a moment of thought, she spoke up. “It might be something to do with being a Parselmouth? Some kind of instinctual understanding of magic involving serpents? I suppose we’ll find out eventually.” She paused again, thinking about her next words carefully. “As for joining Harry… I started writing to him almost four months ago; Dahlia had just gone into stasis and a nosy AI arranged for him to exchange letters with people he would have gone to school with if the Empire hadn’t come. We know that the Empire’s AI’s have access to our entire profiles, they can see everything we do and know us better than we know ourselves; if they think we’d do well with Harry, we probably would. Harry’s clever and we have a lot in common, I always enjoy reading his letters. It’s a big decision, but I choose Harry and Caladan over getting assigned to some random world.”

Saska smiled and spoke. “Good. Now, I have some ideas on what we should send Harry in return. It would take years of growth and saving before we could afford to spend as many credits on him as he has on us, but we can still get him something useful.”

Kristen opened her interface and flicked a page to both of the other girls. “These are Imperial stasis containers. The cheapest one is three-hundred credits, but if we spend more we can get one with multiple compartments. Sending it through the Transmat Network is the expensive part anyway, so we might as well get a big one. We know that Harry wants to start raising fish to eat and eventually seed the planet...”

Unbeknownst to the three girls, they were being watched. For Ariana Dumbledore, Erythraeum Academy had been a mixed bag. On one hand, she finally had people wanting to be her friends, but on the other she felt trapped by her family’s shadows. Albus had caused a lot of suffering; Ariana had no trouble believing that her most famous brother had apparently gotten a taste of fame and let it go to his head. As for her favorite brother, Aberforth had grown into a bitter old man. She loved him, she really did, but the more time she spent with him the more it hurt to see him like this. She was shocked to learn that he’d had a son, conceived not long before she’d died, but that filthy bitch and her family had sent the pregnant woman away without even letting her brother know he was going to be a father. And when Aurellius’ mother died, they sent my nephew across the ocean instead of giving him to his father. Aberforth had been so caring, so understanding of her, able to read her moods and keep her calm. He might have only been seventeen when that girl fled, but he would have been a wonderful father. It isn’t like any wizard with a brain and a wand can’t live like a king with a few acres of land and a wooden shack, so he could have provided for her easily. She would never forgive her nephew’s mother for abandoning Aberforth, because if she’d stayed, given her brother something to live for, he wouldn’t have destroyed himself the way he did.

I wish the Temporal Reclamation team had been able to rescue my nephew. Maybe that would have been enough to breathe some new life into Aberforth, but he’s already slipping back into alcohol and I’m not enough to keep him sober. I understand why they didn’t save Aurelius though. The team’s purpose isn’t to save everyone they can, but to prevent the loss of magical species and blood traits. When Aurelius was dying the team was busy saving the last tribe of Neko who’d fled to the Amazon and a big clan in Africa with a useful blood gift. Both of those massacres the team had to prevent were partly Grindlewald’s fault: Both the Neko and that clan were visibly magical, a threat to the secrecy of the magical world, so it was just decided that they had to be eliminated. I hate to admit it, but Grindlewald was at least right that we shouldn’t have hid our world away.

She listened to her new friends talk quietly, thinking to herself and slowly stroking her fingers through gold and crimson feathers. She smiled at Sunny, her first and best friend that had come to her the night her mother had died. Her phoenix crooned softly, making her smile. As an idea began to form, she leaned close to her familiar and whispered into Sunny’s ears. “Tomorrow I’ll talk to Hermione, see if she and the others would mind me joining them on Harry’s world. But after what my brother did I should get Harry something nice. Can you do me a big favor, girl?” After her familiar warbled in agreement, Ariana continued. “Spend some time at the familiar ranch and find a male you like. I’ll save up some credits for a conception potion if I have to, so choose whichever one you like best. My ‘declaration’ gift won’t be ready for a while, but let’s see Harry say no to a half-phoenix familiar.”

~/*\~

Two weeks later Harry waded through dust and sand, glad for the mask he was wearing. (He’d taken a break to get his mask after the first mouthful of sand.) This was the fourth empty room he’d filled with dust today, and he was glad to be done for now. He’d already filled both of the Victory’s two bottom floors knee-deep with sand that his first familiar was currently watering. Harry had to stop and smile at the thought of his Mudkip, the little ‘mud fish’ pokemon was having a blast on the bottom deck, turning the sand and dust into thick, sucking mud. With Kristen wanting to join him as soon as possible, he’d been busy converting empty storage rooms (of which there were many) to impromptu gardens by filling them with sand. Maybe we can grow enough grass to start raising animals for meat. Maybe rabbits or chickens? There’s enough space in here and it’s easy to lock doors. As handy as the nutrition bars are, there’s only so many of them I can eat. We’ll have to buy more seeds soon but I want to get a bunch at once because nearly the entire cost for seeds is shipping.

It took a few spells, but Harry managed to get into the hall while keeping most of the dust in the room behind him. A quick trip downstairs revealed his familiar was taking a break, floating in the murky water while the excess water the little workaholic had conjured was draining outside through a porthole Sal had opened just a little. Harry chuckled and left a berry, the first to ripen, at the foot of the stairs. Thankfully the little monster came with a care kit, including seeds and the recipes for Pokemon-specific ration bars. Waving to the exhausted and muddy pokemon, he headed back up. Even just a few weeks has seen his ability to conjure water triple. I don’t know how close he is to ‘evolving’ but I don’t think it will be too long. He might not be getting practice with anything but his water abilities yet, but he’s still growing fast. After grabbing a snack in the galley, a strip of Bantha jerky from a freeze-dried package he and Sethria were sharing, he headed to the shower near the Victory’s main entrance and opened a communications line with his partner. “Sethria, I’m heading for the big shower, want to join me?”

Honestly, Harry still wasn’t completely comfortable bathing with a friend, but Sethria seemed to enjoy it and she had been looking stressed. Especially as the dust storm had stretched from one week into three. She’s like an animal in a cage. Being outside, running and moving rocks has been good for her, she’s one of those people who needs to be active, and there’s really not much she can do in here. I mean, the Victory hasn’t dropped below a 99% battery charge since the storm started. I know she’s been meditating, pulling magic out of the ether and releasing it, but that’s been aggravating her even more.

As Harry walked by the laundry room he shrugged his shoulders and tossed his very sandy clothes into the machine and turned it on. A bit of a waste with only those clothes, but we’ve got water and power to spare for sure. Harry valiantly fought down the embarrassment of walking through the ship naked, it wasn’t like Sethria hadn’t showered with him already. I read a few articles about cultures with and without a ‘nudity taboo,’ and I can understand why Sethria would prefer to go nude inside. Both of us would rather have a more relaxed culture than Britain. I’d never do it in public, but there really isn’t a ‘public’ on Caladan, and won’t be for years.

Harry had just gotten the water flowing in all of the shower heads, throwing up a rather large cloud of steam, when Sethria joined him. (The Victory had water and power to spare, so he figured they might as well enjoy it.) Soon he was carefully massaging his partner’s scalp while cleaning her hair and he smiled as the tension in her shoulder blades slowly relaxed. After she’d returned the favor and they were both clean, the two sat down away from the spray of water, relaxing in the steam. “After so much time outside, the steam is kind of nice, isn’t it?”

Sethria leaned against the shower’s wall, looking completely relaxed. “You’re right, this is sort of nice, my skin gets so dry outside. Do you mind if I change the environmental settings in the Victory, get a little more humidity in the air?”

“Nope. It’ll help with the dust too. That reminds me, we have a video call a bit later with Madral’s and Victor’s groups.”

One of Sethria’s eyebrows rose. “Really? I thought there wasn’t enough bandwidth and everyone wanted to call home.”

Harry rolled his shoulders and stood up, trying to fight down the blush on his face as he moved to open the door to the shower room. After tapping through a few menus on the control panel next to the door, he replied. “That’s only for long-distance stuff. The stuff in orbit is still building itself with collected magic, but the settler’s homes can handle a short-range connection, which is apparently everything in this star system. Huh, does this system have a name yet?”

Sethria shrugged. “Yes, but it isn’t something we’re capable of pronouncing, when I need to write it out I just use the number. The system’s first settlers got to choose the name, which was that lithiod species on the lava world closest to the star.”

“Huh. Anyway, I turned down the dehumidifier, so if we leave the door open and let the shower run for a while it should reach most of the ship.”

After enjoying the warm humidity for a few more moments, Sethria rose and reached for a towel on a shelf near the exit. “I guess we should get dried off and dress for that call.”

Nodding and already nearly dry, Harry began to leave. Sethria grabbed his shoulder lightly before he left the room. “Thank you Harry. I know you’re not completely comfortable doing this, but it means a lot that you’re trying anyway.”

The two shared an awkward smile for a moment and then left for their rooms.

~/*\~

By the time Harry had finished drying his hair and getting dressed, Sethria had dinner ready. Both of them were eating ration bars for breakfast and lunch, hoping to stretch out their preserved meals as long as they could. They literally had a machine to make more bars, after all, and in a few weeks they would have the first crop of ingredients. Dinner tonight was definitely odd, Sethria had picked out something for him from her home galaxy: Pasta in a cream sauce with freshly baked bread. It was okay, but the dairy product used as a base was apparently from an animal that produced blue milk. Sethria had laughed as Harry picked at his odd meal, enjoying an Earth dish of spicy slow-roasted pork with rice and beans.

After dinner Harry followed Sethria to her room, a place he’d stayed out of so far. It wasn’t much different from his, which made sense as their rooms were the Victory’s paired ‘master suites.’ Both had put up photographs of family, friends, and locations, but where Sethria had vistas of the world she’d been born on and worlds she’d traveled to, Harry had photos from Earth and Mars and a few snapshots of ‘Planet 4546B’ he’d found when researching Shib grass. That was a world he was perfectly happy to never visit. It certainly was a striking water world with gorgeous flora and fascinating fauna, but swimming with a bunch of predators that had very much earned the ‘leviathan’ in their names? No thank you! I can take one look at a Reaper Leviathan and know enough to stay far away, thank you very much. Sethria stretched out on the bed, telekinetically moving the plush armchair next to her. He’d seen her lifting her bed back into her room while he cleaned up the dining room. Harry plopped down into the room’s chair and blinked. “This is a much nicer chair than the one I have. I’ll have to figure out a way to copy it sometime.”

Sethria smiled as they waited. “I wonder how the others are doing?”

Harry replied as they waited for the inter-system call to start. “I think Madral and Fleur have been stuck inside a few days longer than we have but Victor and Shandris are just beginning to deal with storms. Hopefully the storms on their planet won’t get as bad as this though.”

“I guess a benefit to building star systems from scratch is they can synchronize the seasons.” Sethria looked out the side of her room that was a massive window. “I’m surprised there’s so much sand out there. I didn’t see this much sand on our trips to the Spike, did you?”

“Nope, nothing but broken rocks as far as the eye can see. Sal?”

After a moment where the two settlers were beginning to think the AI responsible for managing Caladan was busy with something, Sal replied. “ Most of the sand is coming from dust basins that used to be poorly shaped mountains. As the Star Team conjured rock to build the planet distribution was not uniform and mountains that would have extended far into space formed. To even out the planet, the team leader used a blasting spell to level the irregularities. Compared to the Star team you observed from the ‘ Just Before Dawn ,’ this group was... inexperienced. ”

While the two of them digested the fact that their planet had been built by amateurs, (Harry resolved to never share that fact with the people he was trying to recruit) holographic screens came to life, hiding the window and the adjacent wall. As both screens displayed a thirty-second countdown Sethria telekinetically shifted the bed and Harry’s chair to face both screens. When the timer ran down the screen on the left switched to show Victor wearing a green shirt and warm, durable pants; seated next to him was Shandris wearing a tank-top and shorts. Victor waved to them, and Harry waved back. “Good to see you again Harry. Still stuck inside? Where is all that sand even coming from?”

“It hasn’t let up yet. Apparently when they built our world it wasn’t level enough so they blew up the uneven parts, which is where all the dust is coming from.”

A few moments later Madral and Fleur connected, looking ruffled and a little embarrassed. Harry decided not to ask how they’d been spending the time stuck in their ship, he’d learned enough about sex and procreation on the Dawn to guess. I think both of them are fifteen now. Harry briefly glanced at Sethria, his fiance in all but name and blushed at the thought of what they might be doing when he was fifteen. Conversation went back and forth for a while, the six colonists talking about their plans going forward, when Sethria asked Shandris a question. “So, did you ever pick out a name for your world?”

Shandris smirked as she replied. “It took a while, but I finally convinced the other three to see reason. Our world’s name is Bough Shadow.”

Madral sat up straighter and exclaimed: “I remember that place!” Clearing his throat, he continued at a normal volume. “It’s a quiet corner of Ashenvale forest where the Green Dragonflight has a settlement. It’s a good name for a world.”

The six of them chatted for nearly an hour, but the group eventually broke up when Shandris and Victor headed outside to work on conjuring water and the four living on Caladan began yawning. (Madral’s species really was nocturnal, and Fleur apparently didn’t mind sleeping during the day.) I hope this storm clears soon. We haven’t seen much sunlight since it started and it’s screwed up our schedules. I think that first day we were up for twenty hours, then I slept in while Sethria got up early… Ugh, stupid dust.

~/*\~

A week later the storm was finally starting to clear, the winds were beginning to die down and more light was making it through the swirling dust. Harry was sitting next to a window in the room containing their new vegetable garden, browsing the credit market. His Mudkip was sitting in his lap, content to enjoy Harry’s gently scratching on his fins. He was taking a break from using his magic to coax the seeds gathered from their first harvested vegetables to sprout. Hmm, it won’t be too long until I pay back Sethria those credits now. What should I buy next? I wouldn’t mind learning druid magic, but there’s a lot of rituals involved, and the materials wouldn’t be cheap. Maybe a second familiar? I don’t want to rush into another ritual. Maybe a small purchase like a training guide for Solar Magic? Eh, plenty of time to figure that out. Harry saved his place and navigated to his personal digital library. Okay, let’s try this again. Even if I never become a druid I can still use a few spells to force plants to grow without great soil. I’ll practice a little more and then try moving that vine into the empty rooms I filled with sand.

Harry’s practice was interrupted by a chime he heard before, when his Mudkip was en-route. Before he could find out what was going on, he heard Sal begin speaking. “You have a package Harry. You just need to activate the Victory’s Transmat device to collect it.”

Feeling very curious, Harry finished his latest attempt at Nature magic and washed the dirt off his hands with water from his canteen. Mudkip settled on his shoulder, sharing his trainer’s curiosity. Soon he reached the room that contained the Victory’s small Transmat receiver, located next to the automated infirmary. The Transmat itself was a pedestal in the room’s center, which contained a chamber large enough to hold small to medium packages, covered in a box of green crystal inlaid with silver circuitry. Sethria met him there, drawn by the promise of something interesting. Probably bored out of her mind, at least the storm’s starting to break up.

The Transmaterial Network, or Transmat as it was usually referred to, was a supremely complicated construction capable of ferrying both materials and individuals not only across a universe, but even between different universes. Technically, the device accessed two separate networks, one for the local universe and one that reached between universes; nearly every use of either network also included a data burst that helped the Golden Star Empire remain a cohesive whole. According to the teachers on the Dawn, the Transmat Networks are tiny artificial universes the Empire created and maintained. It’s too small to hold anything much larger than a horse and that’s why it’s so expensive to use, there’s always a long waiting list. It’s impossible to build more than one network to service the local universe and the single interdimensional one, but at least transit is so fast it’s almost instant, somewhere between a nanosecond and a picosecond in Earth measurements. The interval is so small that only highly specialized AIs can manage the network. Nodding to Sethria, Harry stepped up to the Transmat, on the left side of the open space where the open package would arrive. Placing both hands on the pedestal, he concentrated on pushing magic through his hands. Glancing at the display, he sighed. The display read: ‘1.1% Charged.’

Sethria stepped up to the other side and began pushing her own magic into the device. ‘3.1% Charged.’ Harry sighed. “I forgot the local Transmat Network is cheaper to use because we have to use our own magic to power it.”

Some time later, Harry sagged and stepped back as Sal spoke up. “Transmat receiver fully charged. Package origin point verified. Originating Transmat fully charged, package in place. Package added to low-priority Queue, estimated wait time: Sixteen hours. Do not place objects in Transmat during wait time. Would you like a timer added to your interface?”

Both Harry and Sethria replied that they would, and Harry found himself checking the time. “With the storm starting to break up, we should get back to waking up at sunrise. Want to get dinner and a shower before bed?”

Sethria nodded. “Yes. I can’t wait to get outside again. As soon as it’s safe, I’m going to head outside and just run until I can’t anymore. How about you?”

“I want to get started on building our dam. I’ve been doing some research, and I think we can get started sooner than I thought. Instead of doing something fancy with alchemy, we can just build an embankment dam, that way all we need is an inner layer with something the water can’t seep through and then we can pack dirt on either side and build a spillway on the top. With the dust I’m conjuring, we might be able to make mud bricks, waterproof them with fire or some kind of sealant, then use them as the dam’s core.”

Sethria smirked at him. “Even if we got the dam built, there’s no way you could keep it filled.”

Harry shrugged. “ Not yet. But Mudkip and I are getting stronger every day. He’ll help and the familiar bond will make both our conjuring spells more powerful as we bond. But if we can just get a deep enough pile of mud we can start growing plants outside, at least the tough ones.”

Both settlers turned in early, dreaming of getting back to work outside. Harry’s familiar happily settled at the bottom of the room’s full bathtub, the occasional bubble rising to the surface as the young Pokemon dreamed. Eventually the sound woke the boy and led him to investigate. Seeing the mudkip somehow conjuring a stream of air bubbles, the boy decided to name him Bubbles before going back to sleep. The next day Harry had almost forgotten about his incoming package until his interface blinked out a reminder alert. Taking one last look out the window, grateful to see more sunlight, Harry abandoned the cutting he’d been trying to grow. It would still be there when he got back and was only a small loss if he never got it to root. Sethria joined him at the Transmat and he noticed her mood seemed to be improving with the weather. Bubbles joined them a moment later; Harry simply sighed and cast a water-conjuring charm to wash the mud away.

Neither had much to say as they watched the counter run down. Perfectly on schedule the Transmat let out a near-blinding flash of light. When Harry blinked the spots out of his eyes, he stepped forward to inspect the new object in the Transmat’s alcove. It was big, only just fitting in the device. At the same time Harry’s interface identified the object as a standard three-compartment stasis chamber, he received a message from four students of Erythraeum Imperial Academy.

Sethria had just barely levitated the square box out of the Transmat when Harry let out a whoop and started racing down to the stairwell with his interface still open. She heard Harry shout out a command to the AI watching over them as he went. “Sal! Switch the environmental system on the bottom two floors from air to water please! Bubbles, let’s get both those floors flooded! I need the water clear enough for plants to grow, so watch the silt!”

Now very curious, Sethria tapped her interface and called up the stasis unit’s inventory list. The unit had three compartments, the first was stuffed with sprigs of red Shib grass and three vials of bacteria and varied larvae, both crustacean and insect, the second contained fry, tiny fish hatchlings split between two species, Bluegill and Tilapia. The third compartment was split between a collection of fruit and vegetable seeds and a section that contained more fry, this time predatory Bass and Catfish, meant to keep the other fish from overbreeding. After a moment of surprise she smirked and, after double-checking the stasis unit was operating correctly, she followed Harry down to the Victory’s lowest deck. The bottom two decks of the ship were both huge single rooms, meant to be used however settlers needed, with stairwells at either end. Thanks to Bubbles and Harry conjuring water, both floors were covered in knee deep sucking mud.

Sethria saw Harry standing knee deep in the mud, terribly excited by the prospect of setting up the aquarium that would eventually seed Caladan’s oceans with life. Briefly she reflected that despite how mature Harry usually acted, he was still young. Instead of commenting on the amount of mud he’d created Sethria waded out to him, glad she was only wearing shorts and a bra. Together they planted the grass sprigs far apart, carefully ensuring the roots were firmly stuck in the mud and the red leaves showed above the muck. After Harry had mentioned the grass, she had looked it up. It was a tough plant, capable of growing nearly anywhere as long as it had water and sunlight. For now artificial light will have to do. We can finish flooding the room once the grass starts to spread, I’m curious how fast it will spread and how thick its roots will get.

Not long after both settlers were standing on the stairs leading to the Victory’s lowest deck while Harry rinsed the mud off with a jet of warm water from his wand. After five minutes, Sethria waved him off. “This isn’t really working. Let’s get more of that grass and plant it on the seventh deck and the big room on the fourth. Then we can get a shower and clean up the mud we’re tracking everywhere.”

Harry nodded, a wide smile on his face. His excitement had died down a little, but he was still so happy at starting the ecosystem that would one day stretch across Caladan. Sure they still needed a lot of water, but that would come with effort, time, and more settlers. The first wave of colonists had two groups of two people, for a total of four. The second wave, scheduled to arrive one year after the first, would have four groups of two; the number of new settler pairs would double every year for the next decade. Even more, every group would be recruiting as many magicals as they could, paying for their passage with earned credits, and that wasn’t counting the expected native births. As he thought back to the ‘declaration of intention’ gift the four girls had sent him, Harry smiled once again. He was certain that he had his first four recruits now.

After they gave up on getting clean with just his wand, Sethria headed up the stairs for the breathing masks they usually wore outside while Harry sealed the doors at the stairs leading to the bottom decks, isolating them. Then he conjured enough water to leave an inch of water on the eighth deck. Sethria had made a good point that they should start the grass in different conditions to see how it rooted best. By the time his fellow colonist returned, he’d successfully flooded the entire seventh deck and the prow-facing stairwell, murky water only a few inches from the ceiling.

In hindsight, Harry supposed he should have planted the grass first, then flooded the deck. Still, swimming back and forth while he, Sethria, and Bubbles planted sprigs of grass in the mud was surprisingly fun, even if everyone involved desperately needed a shower by the end. Still, he felt a very real sense of accomplishment as they finished and he uncorked the vials of water that contained all of the needed bacteria, microorganisms, and quite a few of the tiny insects needed for a lake to thrive. With that added to his massive, make-shift indoor aquarium Sethria suggested they shower and have dinner. Harry couldn’t help but agree and headed upstairs, not caring about the mess on the stairs right now. Inside the group shower, he turned all of the shower heads on, but left a couple cold enough for Bubbles.

Dinner found the three of them eating in one of the unused bedrooms around a desk, watching as the sandstorm slowly died and the sun, clearly visible again, set in the west.

~/*\~

Newsreels: The Home Front

~/*\~

“This is Shia Runsocris, signing off. Remember that together we are one Empire united and together we will survive and thrive!”

As the nightly news segment ended, Hermione stretched her spine without bothering to stand. She was back on Earth for a week to do her part in one of the Empire’s projects, this one involving cleaning and greening the American Southwest. But at the moment she was getting used to her new sisters; both were Kaldorei, survivors evacuated from a version of Azeroth the Empire had been forced to annihilate. (She wasn’t entirely certain how much destruction a void-corrupted ‘world-soul’ could wreak, but with how loath the Empire was to intentionally destroy habitable planets, it must have been very dangerous.) Three weeks ago her father had been ordered to muster with every healer that Earth could spare to save as many survivors as possible, and these two, a girl and a teen, had been some of his patients. Since they had no other place to go and the older girl absolutely refused her fellow survivors as guardians, he had brought them both home. She didn’t mind the new faces, their home had enough rooms for both, but she could do without whatever drama had driven a wedge between the two sisters. Well, drama might have been a slight understatement; there was a level of vitriol involved ever since Eldis had learned her older sister was pregnant. (It was something involving whoever had fathered Alystra’s unborn child, but Hermione was doing her best to stay out of their spat.)

Hermione rolled her eyes as she glanced to the large couch where her parents and one of her father’s fellow healers were curled up on a custom piece of furniture Dalistrasza had brought with her. She wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about the red drake who was recovering in their home and doing her best to seduce both her parents. Still… Dalistrasza was kind and a very dedicated healer so Hermione didn’t mind her recovering here; any healer that donated a dozen pounds of flesh to save lives deserved a comfortable recovery. Shrugging, Hermione turned to the Kaldorei who wasn’t sulking in her room. “Alystra, you’re starting Erythraeum next week, right?” When the teen nodded, Hermione continued. “If you want, I wouldn’t mind if you request to join my dormitory. We’re full, but it wouldn’t be hard to make a little more space. Kristen is joining the New Worlds program soon anyway.”

Alystra’s ears perked up a little. “New Worlds?”

Hermione was happy to sit down next to the teen and explain the Empire’s program, including the fact that she and her friends were all planning on joining Harry’s efforts on Caladan. Afterwards, the elf spoke up. “That sounds interesting: Turning a barren planet into a paradise… Cenarius would approve. I always wanted to be a druid, I even learned a few spells when no one was looking.” Hermione blinked at the reminder that both Kaldorei girls had come from strictly-regimented society with very strict rules regarding gender roles. “But… would anyone want a pregnant girl who can barely use the simplest druidic abilities? And… I don’t really like males, why would your chosen male or any other choose me?”

Hermione gestured at the girl’s abdomen and the life growing inside. “I can’t speak for every settler, but Harry knows he’s eventually going to have so many women on his ship that he’s actually trying to find girls with your… preferences. As long as you’re willing to give him children when he’s older, he won’t demand you share his bed if you don’t want to. And for the rest? As long as you’re willing to work and learn, that’s good enough for him. If you want me to introduce you to my friends who are heading to Caladan, I can.”

Alystra’s eyes followed Hermione’s hand gesture and her eyes focused on a photo of Hermione standing with three other girls, one human and two that looked like hybrid Naga. Her expression was conflicted as one of her hands drifted to her womb. After a long moment of thought, she spoke up. “I would like that. Thank you very much, Hermione.”

Hermione gave the young mother-to-be a warm smile. “It’s no problem. I don’t really know you very well yet, but I would like to. I’ll introduce you to my friends, they’re coming here tomorrow morning so we can all take the train to Arizona tomorrow. I think they’ll like you.”

~/*\~

A/N: I am not dead! No promises about reviving all of my fics, only that I’m going to try to get more written. In any case, enjoy the next chapter of Just Add Water.

Oh, one thought about this fic: I’ve done stories with sex before, but I’m kind of wary about putting those scenes in this fic despite the fact that the MC has been sent to terraform and populate a world. Any thoughts?

Chapter Text

~/*\~

Chapter 13: Public Service

~/*\~

Three weeks after he received the stasis chamber, Harry was having a good day. The ‘intention’ gift Hermione and the others had sent had been a huge boon, advancing his plans by months. Crimson Shib grass, the high-protein plant that would form the first cornerstone of Caladan’s ecology, had rooted and was spreading on the Victory’s lowest two decks and the big hall where he was preparing to raise chickens or rabbits. Not only was the grass growing like a weed, the water was now teeming with the algae and insects that would feed larger creatures. It had taken weeks for the roots to really get established, but now the grass was growing very quickly. (It honestly reminded Harry of the crabgrass he’d battled at Number Four.) Sethria had joined him last night as they added more water, opened a hatch, and combined the lowest two decks into one giant aquarium. Their experiment had borne fruit: It turned out that while the sprigs with their leaves above the water had begun to grow faster, the fully submerged grass, while slower, had grown a thicker root system to anchor itself into the mud.

Together he and Sethria had checked and double-checked the water before finally releasing the first fish into their improvised aquarium. Bluegill and Tilapia fry could be seen darting through the water if you looked closely, examining their new home. Despite wanting to release the other, more predatory fish immediately, Harry had plugged the stasis unit into the Victory’s power supply which would give their prey fish time to grow and reproduce before he was forced to release the others. (Stasis fields drew more power the longer they were in operation but in this case the power draw for such a small unit would be minimal for at least a few months.) Looking down, watching his crew’s first animal species eat and grow, he felt his grin stretch even wider; moving from subsistence vegetables to farming animals was a huge step up. Even better, once the fish were established and reproducing they would, combined with the slowly growing collection of fruits and vegetables, be able to support at least three or four colonists easily. Once we start harvesting the fish, we can even start cooking them. Harry’s eyes teared up at the thought of a stable food supply that wasn’t a ration bar or the moss Sethria had started in the stairwell near Victory’s bow. (He wasn’t sure why she’d been hauling rocks inside and adding the spores but he relaxed when she promised they wouldn’t be eating it.)

Taking one last look at the thriving tank, Harry headed up the stairs to take care of his other chores. Eventually they would release later generations of those fish into the lake behind their dam, and then into the open water as Caladan’s oceans rose. For now however, Harry was checking on the various plants that were taking up more and more space inside the Victory, not that they would be running out of room anytime soon. The Victory was not a small ship; the original had a crew of 800 sailors while Harry’s replica could comfortably house a hundred crew, though the more residents they collected the less room they would have for indoor agriculture. Harry walked through a hallway lined with crude stone pots, each holding one of the starter vegetables used for creating ration bars. As he went he harvested a shirt-full of the bland vegetables and carried them to the kitchen. Thankfully the device for processing source material into preserved food was easy to use; twenty minutes of collecting the fruits of his labor and feeding the carefully washed vegetables into the machine produced a dozen ration bars for himself, Sethria, and Bubbles. It also produced two buckets of byproducts he’d be throwing to the fish the next time he went down the stairs.

Heading up the stairs, Harry left his shirt behind and slipped his breathing mask on. He paused before stepping outside, casting a longing glance at his disk, but shook his head and stepped out into the very bright sunlight. No time for that today, I need to get some work done on the dam. Sal said I needed more physical exercise anyway. Drawing his wand he leaped off the Victory’s side and drifted down on a Slow-Fall spell. As he jogged down the valley he pointed his wand off to the side and cast the River-Summoning charm. A torrent of water spewed from his wand, leaving trails in the dry sand and dust as he walked down to the mouth of the valley. That storm was insane. There’s sand in drifts all over our valley, which will really help when we flood it. Before long he reached the site of the dam, not much more than a pile of rocks at the moment, and carefully climbed over it. Once up and over, he walked towards a waist-high circle of rocks and hard-packed mud and reached into the murky water inside. Quickly tapping his familiar’s head, he spoke up when Bubbles’ smiling face breached the surface of the small pool, wearing his own specialized breathing mask. “You weren’t slacking off, were you? It’s time to get back to work. Ready for what we talked about last night?”

Harry chuckled when his familiar made an excited noise and turned to look at the collection of rocks behind them. In response, Harry tapped his interface and spoke up. “Test one for creating mud bricks: raw material from the ‘Sirocco's Sting’ combined with Bubbles’ conjured water.”

Drawing his wand, Harry used a transfiguration spell from one of James’ notebooks to create a mold. (Lily had taken the time to digitize the notes and promised to give him the original when they reunited.) Checking that the mold was stable, he conjured dust and sand with the spell he was trying to use more, since not only did it conjure sand and dust, but a small gust of air as well. A few moments later, after mixing the mud and setting the brick off to the side with a ‘1’ drawn on top, Harry spoke up again. “Test two: A brick made entirely from Bubbles’ ‘Mud Shot’ ability.”

This next brick took several tries to get right. Despite working hard to learn the technique Bubbles had learned, just as Harry had, that water is by far the easiest material to conjure. After a number of tries and a bit of trouble with aim that left him splattered with mud, (nothing a blast of water couldn’t remove) Harry set the second, overly damp, brick aside. “Test three: Bubbles’ Mudshot ability combined with Sirocco's Sting dust.”

This one was easier to create, even with Bubbles needing to take a break to dive back into his pool. Harry simply shrugged and made sure the water was the correct temperature; taking a moment to conjure a handful of ice cubes before going back to the endless task of conjuring water to flood the barren planet. Looking back at the test bricks lined against the canyon’s walls, Harry hoped that they would be what he needed to get the dam built. If they weren’t he’d just try again and again until he got it right. With a smile, he switched his wand to his left hand and cast the now-familiar River-Summoning Charm, then he stretched out his right hand and, after a moment of focus, successfully cast a second, wandless River-Summoning charm. Then he lost his balance at the force of the water he was creating. Still, he managed to keep the spells going while he braced himself, pleased at the increase in production. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and focused, feeling his skin absorb the blistering sunlight and convert it into magic that flowed into his core and out through his arms. “A little stronger every day, right Bubbles?”

His familiar simply made a soft croon before it took a deep breath and added its own stream of water to Harry’s efforts; as always, the breathing mask hinged open, allowing a healthy blast of ‘water gun’ to join Harry’s work. Harry couldn’t help but smile as the two of them worked in concert. “I hope Sethria gets back tonight, I know she just wants to get out and move on her new speeder bike, but I miss her when she’s gone.”

~/*\~

That evening, after a long day’s worth of conjuring, Harry was hiking back to the Victory when his partner returned from the day’s excursion to the nearest Spike. Sethria was reveling in the freedom, not only to spend as much time outside as she could manage but also the reach her new enchanted speeder bike allowed her. As she landed on the Victory’s deck, Harry activated his interface and opened a call as he hiked up the path, his exhausted familiar riding on his shoulder. “How’s the bike working?”

His partner responded with a laugh. “It’s running great; it isn’t as fast as the ones I used before the Empire collected me, but for a bike I’m powering myself? It isn’t bad.”

Harry chuckled, then started sprinting towards the Victory. “It might be faster than my disk, but it doesn’t look nearly as cool.”

In response Sethria simply smiled and reached out, levitating Harry into the air and pulling him onto the deck. Once his feet made contact with the false wood, she replied. “It’s based on a model called the BARC, or Biker Advanced Recon Commando model. The original had some blasters on it, obviously my bike doesn’t. But it is fast and unlike most speeders back home, it can carry quite a bit of cargo. I know your disc can carry stuff too, I’ve seen the hooks on the underside.”

Harry nodded. “It can, but I wouldn’t want to try hauling anything from the fabricator station just yet.”

Sethria snorted as she levitated her speeder into the Victory’s entrance hall. “Downside of powering it yourself. I think we could both use a shower and food that isn’t ration bars.”

Harry shook a little dust off himself and nodded. “Sounds good to me. How about you, Bubbles?”

The Mudkip made a happy little gurgle in response as they filed into the massive shower room.

~/*\~

Dawn came far too early for the five future terraformers currently camping in the American Southwest. (Specifically in what had been New Mexico, just a bit north of the border with Texas.) Still, as the dawn rose Hermione gently shook Saska awake and made her way to the bathroom, the sleek obsidian floor comfortably warm beneath her feet. A few moments later she couldn’t help but chuckle as she eased into the warm pool and started scrubbing herself clean. This biodegradable soap isn’t bad, but I miss the stuff Harry’s mum gifted me. Mrs. Potter is really good at brewing potions, my skin and hair are already healthier. After a few moments of scrubbing she ducked under the water and swam to where the pool was fed by a small waterfall of cooler water, carefully avoiding the three aquatic familiars asleep on the pool’s floor. Rinsing off thoroughly she watched the traces of soap float to the other end of the pool and into a drain that led into yesterday’s group project. Soon the other girls joined her in the bath and offered greetings as she headed into the stone home’s kitchen for breakfast.

Ariana was the first to join her, blinking the sleep out of her eyes as she watched Hermione flick her wand, conjuring fire in the stone stove and setting eggs and sausage to fry above. The shy Dumbledore spoke up as the sounds of three sleepy girls getting ready for the day echoed through the small house. “It’s really incredible what magic can accomplish, isn’t it? Not only did we turn an empty stretch of rock and sand into a green oasis, but you and Saska built this house and managed an incredible enchantment.”

Hermione looked up from where she was adding water to a bowl of pancake mix and shook her head. “It’s really nothing…”

Ariana scoffed. “The two of you managed to build a functional enchanted house out of conjured obsidian, then wove an enchantment that uses light and heat to create the water that will feed our oasis.”

“The vast majority of energy used for conjuring is still environmental magic...”

“ Hermione. Your work is impressive, just take the compliment.”

Hermione blushed in embarrassment, but didn’t argue further. As the sun rose higher and sounds of splashing echoed through the small house, Ariana rose and drew her own wand, setting the table and preparing some fruit to go with Hermione’s meal. By the time Hermione transferred the meal onto conjured platters and levitated them to the table it looked like a lot of food, but as the others sat and ate, not one crumb went to waste. Hermione thought she’d made more than enough but after the food disappeared she and the others were still hungry, so she began pulling more fruit out of the ice chest her group had been issued. “I guess we all put in a lot of work yesterday, it’s a good thing Professor Black mentioned we can buy more food later today…”

Saska, sipping her fourth cup of black, bracing tea and looking mostly awake for it, replied. “We got a lot done; the last few days have been busy. Building a dam in the ravine, making it waterproof, and turning the place into an oasis was a lot of work.” She glanced around the table, meeting the other girl’s eyes and then turning to look out the window. “But we did a good job; we’re getting full marks even with the harsher standards for big groups. I think we work well together.”

Ariana nodded. “It was… fun, working together with the rest of you.”

Kristen gave the others a wide smile. “It was nice of Professor Black to assign the ravine to us, it’s like a small version of Harry’s valley.” She was obviously still hungry as she took her turn assembling a sandwich at the counter. “I just wish the fish were ready to eat. Do you think they’re going to survive, or will someone need to restock later on?”

Alystra, the group’s newest addition, shrugged. “Probably. Hermione’s young fish are hardy and the water’s deep enough for them to stay cool when it gets hot. There’s enough trees to partly shade the water and keep the temperature down, but the summer heat might be too much anyway.”

Hermione spoke up. “If they die off, someone else will restock the pond. The assignment was just to create an oasis with a steady water supply; something about helping the local animal life flourish.”

Saska spoke up again, a grin splitting her face. “And our little overachiever just so happened to have some of those fish leftover from the gift we sent Harry.”

Hermione shook her head. “At this point they’ve taken over the pool in my parent’s backyard. They’re breeding so fast even with the bass and catfish eating them, I don’t think I’m getting rid of them unless I remove the warming charms.”

Kristen’s face twisted. “And waste all that fish? Have your parents complained about it?”

Saska laughed as Hermione shook her head. “You’re just hooked on Mrs. Granger’s fish and chips.”

The lamia let out a wistful sigh at the memory: The Grangers had welcomed Hermione’s friends into their home and all of them had spent weekends together often, helping around the home and watching Hermione’s little siblings. Given that all of them expected to become mothers themselves, it was good practice. In any case the group eventually finished their meal and cleaned up, heading outside once again. Everyone but Kristen and Saska needed a cooling charm, but without further ado they fanned out, checking on the pond they’d created. Alystra walked from tree to tree, hands glowing with green light as she encouraged Desert Willows, Date Palms, and Pomegranate trees to send their roots deep into the earth. Ariana and Hermione checked the dam, inspecting it for leaks and cracks in the Roman-style concrete the Alchemist-in-training had mixed up the day previous. Kristen conjured more water for the small lake, replacing the water lost to evaporation and the ground while Saska slipped under the surface to conjure another layer of clay, hoping to keep their project from seeping into the thirsty desert sand.

A few hours later, the group was relaxing under a tree, sipping ice water and watching Kirsten bask in the sunlight, taking advantage of her recently-purchased Solar Attunement ritual. Ariana was feeding her familiar bits of smoked fish; the phoenix had slept in and missed breakfast along with the more aquatic familiars who were now frolicking in the lake. Before the girls could think about starting lunch, Professor Black arrived on an old but immaculately cared-for broom. Seeing he had their attention, he spoke up. “Sorry I’m late, the last group I checked on had some problems.” He glanced around the small lake and the variety of plants growing in and around the water. “It looks good so far girls, I can barely tell this is the same place you were assigned two days ago. Now, give me a tour and an overview of what you’ve accomplished.”

Hermione rose with the others and led him towards the dam. As they approached she nudged Ariana and the shy girl began explaining her contributions where the girl had used her family’s talent for Alchemy to turn what resources they had available into the same type of cement that had built ancient Rome. Building the dam and conjuring clay to pack onto the sand to prevent water loss had actually taken up most of the group’s time. From there the group toured through the plants Alystra had grown, hardy desert varieties that would secure the soil and keep at least some sand from blowing into the water. The tour paused as Sirius drew his wand, measuring the depth and water temperature, marking down the presence of live fish, and noting the selection and health of the plants. The tour ended at the obsidian house which was pleasantly cool on the inside despite the suffocating heat outside.

With his notes complete, he spoke up again. “Well done, you are all getting full marks for this project; the house is particularly impressive. Now, for the next project you need to fly to the nearest rail station.” He flicked his fingers and all of their interfaces chirped, a notification displaying a new waypoint. “Head there and wait for the rest of the class. I still need to check on two other groups, then we’ll all head to our next project together.”

The group briefly watched the man mount his broom and speed away to the north before heading back inside to collect their camping gear. Thankfully Mrs. Weasley, a guest instructor, had taught their class a number of handy household charms two weeks ago and they managed to pack up quickly.  (The red-headed housewife was apparently not particularly pro-empire, but was willing to take the Empire’s credits to teach spells she was particularly skilled with.) Outside Hermione unrolled her flying carpet and stuck her trunk and the group’s ice chest to it as the others did the same. She shook her head at Ariana’s broom, something the girl was fantastically happy to finally fly on, while Alystra and Kristen mounted their much safer (if somewhat slower) flying carpets. Saska was the last one ready to leave, slithering into her own ride, a ‘glass’ sphere large enough to fit two of her filled with temperature-controlled water that Hermione’s Dratini, Kristen’s Cloud Serpent, and the Naga’s own Snapdragon quickly piled into. With that done, the group opened their interfaces as one and made their way towards the train station that would take them to their next project. As they flew, Hermione was very proud of their work, even if the group wasn’t moving as fast as the Professor’s broom; with the exception of Ariana’s broom, their rides had been a group project. Quite a number of relaxing afternoons had gone into researching, crafting, and enchanting their transportation. I’ve at least got a decent foundation in enchanting, now I just need more practice, precision, and a little more magical power to get the enchantments to remain in place on low-magic worlds.

~/*\~

After a pleasant flight, their group arrived at a train station in a small desert town and touched down. As they landed next to the terminal Daphne and her sister waved them inside and towards an ice chest brimming with cold drinks. The group’s familiars made themselves comfortable in the air-conditioned station, Hermione gently scratching her Dratini’s chin as it coiled around her shoulders and idly waving her wand to dry them and send the water they’d tracked in back outside. Saska picked out an iced tea while the rest chose soda or juice as they made themselves comfortable on the various benches and gossiped. Some groups had done better than others; while the girls she shared a dorm with had varying levels of success, apparently the boys hadn’t been so lucky: Only Draco and Dean had managed a successful, vibrant oasis. Susan, ever the team mom, offered consolation as Ariana and Saska hefted their ice chest and headed to the only grocery store in town. “Don’t worry about it, just study what went wrong and do better next time.”

Seamus, who’d been grouped up with Ron for the project, spoke up. “That’s a good idea, but why did the boys’ projects mostly fail while you girls succeeded?”

Kylri, the Kitsune who had gradually drifted into Draco’s group with Daphne and her sister, snorted and spoke up. “That’s simple. Group Caladan over there,” She waved at Hermione and her partners. “have been burning the midnight oil to get ready to join Harry Potter on his bone-dry water world and they’ve roped most of us into research and practice. Hermione even convinced her parents to let her put a small lake in her backyard after Saska refused to raise fish in her sleeping pool.”

Hannah spoke up. “That lake is crazy, it can feed a dozen families easily between the floating gardens and the fish. Plus they just throw scraps and any kind of plant matter into the water to keep everything growing.”

Draco, just returning from the town with a bag of take-out sandwiches in his hands and his Dratini draped over his shoulders, flopped onto a bench next to the Greengrass sisters and accepted a bottle of orange soda from Kylri as she sat next to him. He spoke up as he passed out sandwiches to the three girls that were considering joining him in the New Worlds program. “Creating an oasis was a lot of work and it showed me a few things I still need to learn. A good project for sure. Does anyone know where we’re going next?”

Pansy glanced up from the train schedule she’d been examining, a sneer marring her face as her eyes focused on the kitsune leaning against Draco. “Unless we’re camping out overnight, the next passenger train coming through here is heading west, to California.” She paused for a moment, then her sneer deepened. “Why are you even putting up with her? I know you still hate non-humans, I’ve heard you complaining about that beast the Empire saddled your mother with.”

Kylri’s ears and tail drooped and she made to pull away from where she’d been leaning against him like she’d been burned. She failed, however, because Draco’s hand managed to snap out and hold her close in a display of the reflexes that would have served him as a seeker in another life. Draco locked eyes with Pansy and spoke evenly, even with the deep annoyance in his tone. “I don’t hate non-humans, Pansy. I don’t even hate werewolves. I hate Remus Lupin because he isn’t worthy of my mother. Even I can admit he has some talent, but before the Empire came he did nothing with it! He has no ambition, no drive to improve himself unless he’s pushed, he’s literally living in a mansion where his only responsibilities are to conjure for the war effort that keeps us all safe and breed as many women as he can, and he’s still moping about his lot in life!” Draco’s measured tone had been lost in his anger, but he calmed as he finished his thought. “And the worst part is that he did nothing to investigate the Potter’s deaths or get Uncle Sirius a trial or even check in on their son. Damned disloyal wolf.”

Leaning back against the bench Draco let out a sigh as the anger drained out of him. Kylri leaned against his side again while his little Dratini rubbed its nose against his cheek. “Pansy, I am not my father. It took a while, but Uncle Sirius and the Empire helped me see him for what he really is. I am not that kind of man and I will not be anything like him if I can help it. And even though it's none of your business, I ‘put up’ with Kylri because she’s nice, and lighthearted, and fun to be around. I want her to join my colonization group because she likes to entertain people and cheer them up.”

Hermione smiled at seeing how far the boy she’d thrown into a fountain on the first day of class at Erythraeum had come. And he is right too. Kitsune are very empathetic, which means they can help keep morale up. Sure, they love to play pranks, but a New Worlds group needs something to break the monotony; I’m kind of worried about Harry going crazy doing nothing but conjuring water all day. Eh, Kristen will help him with that I’m sure. I’m still not sure about meeting Harry’s Kitsune. She had a hard life before the Empire came; from what Harry said she’s a sweetheart but she’s also incredibly beautiful and devoted to Harry in a way I might never be. She let out a sigh and looked around the various groups that had formed as the students learned at Erythraeum. Still, I think it will be alright. Harry’s listening to others and trying to make sure we’ll all be happy. If he’s making a real effort to do that, I can swallow my jealousy and do my best. Worst case I’ll ask Alystra how to sleep with a girl. Hell, with how many girls are going to end up on Harry’s crew, I might do that anyway.

As the morning turned into afternoon the group of students got odd looks as they took up most of the train terminal. Some of the townsfolk even asked what they were doing there, and despite being hesitant approaching magicals none of them complained about the new oases they’d put in. Ariana and Saska returned with the ice chest, then surprised the rest of the class with a selection of authentic Mexican food from the local’s favorite restaurant. The slowly growing group of locals waiting for the train couldn’t help but laugh as some of the more sheltered English kids tried the spiciest meal they’d ever had. Two more groups trickled in, with the last group being escorted by Professor Black riding on a flat boulder he’d obviously enchanted to float and was pulling from the back of his broom with a length of rope. As he touched down he spoke up. “Well, if nothing else you’ve all learned how useful transportation is, at least if it’s reliable.”

The final pair of students flushed. Shaking his head, the Professor continued. “In any case, I think all of you learned something. If you didn’t get full marks, you have something to research when we get back to Erythraeum. Remember, this project will be repeated next month but this time on the surface of Mars. All of you will be expected to improve.” Accepting a bottle of water and downing it in one motion, he continued. “Our next project is to the west. We’re going to take the train to Palm Springs and from there to the local landfill. Once there all of you will take a turn using the Fabricator the Empire’s using to process refuse. Let it scan you, then you’ll be turning scrap and trash into the breathing masks and protective equipment that you’ll need for our last project this trip. Once everyone is ready, we’ll fly southeast in formation until we reach the Salton Sea.”

Sirius paused and flicked his fingers, projecting the image of a dead landscape encrusted in what looked like salt on the nearest wall. “This was an artificial lake that was a tourist destination before salt and chemical runoff built up and ruined it. Compared to the other places the Empire’s been cleaning it’s a low priority and reasonably safe with the right equipment, which is why we’re working on it. A Mobile Industrial Fabricator has already been delivered to the job site. Who can tell me the three different grades of Imperial manufacturing?”

Hermione raised her hand and answered. “Civilian, Industrial, and Military Grade.”

He nodded at her. “Good. Mr. Weasley, how are those grades different?”

Ron, who’d been putting in more of an effort to learn since arriving at Erythraeum, replied with only a little hesitation. “Civilian grade manufactured goods are less exact and sturdy, it also requires the least amount of energy to produce. They aren’t shoddy, but they’re not as tough as the others. Industrial grade is more precisely made and harder to break; it takes more energy to build so it only gets used in the stuff that needs to last or needs precision to operate safely. Military grade is the stuff that could see combat. It takes a bloody insane amount of energy to forge, but those fabricators almost put stuff together one molecule at a time so it’s very hard to break.”

Sirius nodded. “Correct. Now, everyone make sure you stock up on food, we’re going to be in the desert for at least four more days. Once we load up on the train I’ll be going over how to enchant a simple broom or flying carpet, so if you’re not happy with your current ride purchase the materials and we’ll work on it as we travel.”

Hermione watched the group whose transportation failed rush into town, querying their interfaces for a store that sold area rugs. As for herself, she rose and headed into town with Kristen at her side, deciding to purchase a second ice chest and expand it: Between her friends and their familiars her group had demolished everything they’d packed in spite of packing twice as much food as she thought they’d need so she wanted to stock up, just in case.

~/*\~

Three hours and a surprisingly fast train ride later, the students reapplied cooling charms as they mounted up their various enchanted transport and followed Sirius to the landfill that had once serviced Palm Springs and the surrounding area. Setting down, he checked in with the uniformed Imperial soldiers and technicians responsible for defending and running the supermarket-sized building built next to the depreciated landfill in the sandy hills northeast of the city. Leading his group inside the students realized the Fabricator was divided into fifty different room-sized gleaming silver units. Each one was at least large enough to hold an automobile, while five were much larger, sized to create heavy industrial equipment. As they followed their guide to one of the smaller units and began taking turns in front of a measuring camera, the avian alien spoke up. “Okay students, unlike a lot of places you don’t have to worry about raw materials here since we’re still processing old garbage into useful things. You do need to worry about the energy to construct your new gear, since your instructor decided you need Industrial Grade equipment. By now you know how this works; there’s a target on one wall, you just need to pour energy into it. Electricity is your best bet unless you can conjure plasma without setting anything on fire. Have at it.”

With that, the man returned to his duties and Sirius spoke up. “Okay kids, everyone get scanned and we’ll get to work. Like the technician said, I chose to upgrade our equipment from Civilian to Industrial since a lot of you will be joining the New Worlds program. Remember that even if you outgrow your equipment, you can reprocess it at any Fabricator for a minimal energy and material cost. Everyone get scanned? Good. Because of the energy requirements we’re all going to work together so fan out in an arc around the target and start casting.”

With the ease of long practice, the students did as instructed and joined Professor Black in casting the strongest lightning spell they could manage. A few moments later the spells petered off and the facility’s AI spoke up. “Professor Sirius Black’s Protective Equipment order, charge at thirty percent.”

As one, the group took a deep breath and cast once again. Before long the unit was fully charged and beams of light swirled around the center of the silver apparatus. Sirius’s breathing mask and the full-body protective suit appeared one layer at a time, only taking a few minutes to fully form. He slipped into a changing room and changed into the bodysuit that fit like a comfortable glove. Taking a moment to conjure a mirror, he whistled at the black, gray, and orange suit, flexing to test the fit. When he was done he let out a quiet whistle. This is surprisingly comfortable, not only does it fit perfectly but the temperature is perfect, even in this heat.

He took a moment to snap the face-mask into place and attach the hood, sealing it tight. The breather, a larger version of the one his godson wore outdoors on Caladan, kicked on instantly, giving him a lungful of cool, scentless air. Sirius simply took a deep breath and returned to find his class had kept up their casting in his absence. With a smile, he rejoined their efforts.

~/*\~

Two hours later, the group was mounting up and heading southeast, entirely covered from head to toe in surprisingly comfortable synthetic fibers with their faces hidden behind the suit’s mask and the hood that attached to it, protecting them with a complete, air-tight seal. Given the distance and muffling from the masks, the students had created a private chatroom using their interfaces. After listening to Pansy complain about the odd feeling of restriction, Hermione spoke up. “According to Harry you get used to the breather after a few days and don’t even notice it anymore.”

As always, the mention of Harry’s name was enough to draw attention from all of the English-born magicals. Ron was the first to speak up. “Harry has to use one of these?”

Hermione nodded, even though no one noticed. “Yes, the air on his planet isn’t breathable yet. Harry even had to sleep in his mask a few times when he and his partner stayed away from their ship overnight.”

Susan chimed in. “I can’t imagine sleeping in something like this, but at least he only needs to wear the mask and not the protective suit, right?”

Saska replied. “Yep. Caladan is nothing but bare rock, there’s nothing hazardous or harmful. It just needs a little water. And some air. And some dirt. And some plants. Maybe some fish.”

As the desert sands blurred beneath them the conversation revolved around Harry for a while, what he was doing, what his world was like and what it would grow into, then it grew into a broader discussion of the New Worlds program. As they neared their destination, Draco spoke up. “I’m honestly looking forward to it. My father served a monster just for a tiny sliver of Britain. All that, just to be Voldemort’s favored slave. No, I’m going out there. I don’t know where I’m going to end up, but wherever it is I’m going to carve out a place for myself. An island, or a small continent, or maybe an archipelago, a place all my own. I’ll turn it from barren rock to a lush paradise and build a fortress that makes Hogwarts look like a child’s play house and spend the rest of my life raising a huge family the right way.”

Ron chuckled. “Sounds like a lot of work, mate. I’m planning to join one of the normal colonist groups, maybe Alpha Centauri or a bit further out. Bill and Charlie are already out there on Centauri Gamma, that world they’re turning into a maze of forests and lakes. They say it's a lot of work, but definitely worth it.”

Sirius spoke up, reminding the group that he was paying attention. “That’s enough class, we’re here. Everyone head down to the Fabricator and start collecting scrap, rock, and that chemical dust. We’ve got a few hours left until sunset, all of us are going to need a sealed shelter; that means each group needs to create at least four of the standard three meter square panels. More if you want a functional bathroom. Or you can just build two dorms instead.” He paused for a moment, his broom slowing as he turned to look at them. “I know some of you will figure out that using sealed structures and environmental suits like this is a little overkill, but part of this project is learning to use the Empire’s protective gear. That means you will treat this project seriously and use the Class Six protocol for a hazardous environment. If you make a mistake that would contaminate you or someone else, you’ll be repeating that whole lesson module.”

All of the students nodded. This wasn’t the first time they’d been tested on dealing with environmental dangers, so instead of complaining they adjusted their environmental suits and spiraled down to the shores of the Salton Sea.

~/*\~

The Fabricator had been deployed near the ruins of an old town that had once hosted tourists but was now empty and decaying, salt and chemicals eating into everything. As Hermione set down and carefully withdrew her familiar from Saska’s flying hamster ball, the little Dratini clad in its own protective suit, Susan spoke up over the classes’ channel. “Does anyone mind if we all work together, at least until we get shelters set up?” When no one complained, she continued. “Good. Let’s break into two groups, one powers the Fabricator and the other gathers material, then we can switch off as needed.”

With a solid plan, the class scattered as they collected material for the first batch of housing panels. As spells sliced into ruined buildings and collected toxic chemical dust, Dean spoke up, gesturing to the mostly-dry lake in the distance. “After we get our shelters up we should get a water purifier built. It won’t be this fast, but it will give us more material to work with and get started on cleaning this place up. Then we can collect the sludge in the morning and put it back into the Fabricator.”

Hermione replied as she levitated a pile of stones to the Fabricator’s gray processing area, a pit marked with black and yellow hazard lines. “Good idea. If we need to we can get by with simple living spaces and only two bathrooms tonight. We all know the cushioning charm after all; it’s not as nice as the beds at Erythraeum, but it will work for one night.”

With her load of material deposited, Hermione took her turn and channeled a lightning spell at the absorption target, smiling as her Dratini cast a ‘thundershock’ spell to help. From there the afternoon went quickly; it wasn’t long before the Fabricator began to churn out an ever-growing pile of housing panels. Saska led a quarter of the class to dig out a foundation, one deep enough to bury the dormitory’s first floor to keep them from blowing away in the howling wind. After a bit of discussion the class had decided to create two dorms beneath ground level, with the airlocks and entrances being the only parts above ground. Eventually the panels were easily assembled, wall panels snapping into slots on the foundation panels and locking into place. As two structures, bunks for both the boys and girls, rose out of the desert sand, Draco spoke up. “I’m glad these panels are Civilian grade, we’re going to be working late if we want to get an Industrial-grade water purifier up tonight.”

In response to his statement the familiar he’d purchased for Kylri, a cute little six-tailed fox with red-brown fur focused for a moment and conjured a bright orb of light, illuminating the area around the Fabricator. Kylri chuckled and spoke up. “Might as well get it done tonight, then we can sleep in tomorrow.”

As the sun set the students managed to finish both structures and charged the empty batteries; the air filters began humming away as they cleared the ever-present chemical dust that had gotten everywhere. After choosing a few students to power-wash the interior walls with conjured water, the rest of the class focused on readying the first automated water purifier. Daphne spoke up as she flipped through her interface. “We’re not going to get the filtration tower started tonight; we need to set a foundation out in the lake to even start assembling it. But we can get three or four of the smaller floating ones ready. We can either recycle those tomorrow or just leave them running.”

Most of the students simply shrugged and set to their tasks, collecting more material or giving the Fabricator the energy it needed. Two hours later, Hermione was barely managing to stay awake, her faithful familiar long passed out and attached to her shoulders with a sticking charm. As she looked back at the Fabricator, she saw Sirius sending the last few students off to bed while he levitated the floating purifier out towards the lake. Still, she managed to get through the dorm's airlock and its decontamination sweep, finally free her bushy hair, now hopelessly tangled, and even have a quick meal of a ration bar and some juice before falling asleep on a cushioning charm next to Kristen.

The next morning she was unsurprised to find herself coiled in a full-body hug, but shrugged and managed to extricate herself. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she headed for the temporary dorm’s ‘kitchen’ and helped herself to another ration bar and a tall glass of orange juice. She glanced around, taking note of which girls had truly exhausted themselves yesterday and wouldn’t be rising before noon. It really puts into perspective who’s been putting in the effort to grow stronger and who hasn’t. She glanced out the dorm’s half-buried window, seeing several students levitating clumps of dust, sand, and corroded metal into the Fabricator while Dean was helping Ariana assemble newly fabricated components. While Hermione was used to her friend’s new trick, conjuring hands of blue-black living shadow to manipulate objects, she could admit that it took some getting used to. That must be for the big filter tower, the pieces really look like a child’s construction toy, but larger. Stretching, she glanced at the line of girls waiting for the shower and shrugged, casting a cleaning charm on herself and her protective equipment. Double checking that her familiar was sleeping off the previous day’s excitement in Saska’s tank, (which for now was just three transparent panels set in one corner of the room) she donned her gear and headed out to see what needed to be done.

~/*\~

Later that afternoon, Hermione finished levitating her current load to the Mobile Fabricator and cleared the scheduled alert blinking in the corner of her vision. She paused for a moment to wave to Dean and Draco who were working to assemble parts of the purifier tower, which when complete would look much like the Magnetic Spikes Harry had shown her photos of. Both boys were distracted as they followed instructions on their interfaces, guiding them to fit the moving-box sized pieces together correctly, so she left them alone. Saska, dripping contaminated water from where she’d been helping set the tower’s foundation, caught up to her. “Professor Black said we can use the boy’s dormitory for our call. Mind helping me clean up?”

Hermione shook her head and waved her wand, conjuring a jet of pressurized water to clean her friend. Together they approached the smaller of the two dorms and let the air-lock finish cleaning them off. When it was safe to remove her hood, Hermione shook her hair out and spoke up. “I’m so very, very glad Caladan doesn’t have toxic dust.”

The Naga chuckled. “Kristen can help you with your hair, she said she was bringing the ice chest over, Alystra is wrangling our familiars, and Ariana will be here as soon as she gets back from the lake’s center, she was dragging that big piece into position.”

With that taken care of, Hermione slumped against the wall, taking a moment to cast an air-freshening charm. Saska’s nose crinkled. “Thank you. I’d much rather do this in our dorm, but there’s no privacy with the other girls resting or getting something to eat.”

Hermione nodded, agreeing silently. Their class at Erythraeum had started with twice as many girls as boys, then Ariana, Kristen, Jane, and a few others had joined. Technically speaking Alystra hadn’t joined their class yet, but given how she’d been approved to join Professor Black had allowed her to join them on their field trip. Soon the other girls joined them and drinks and food were passed around as they waited for their call to go through. As promised, Kristen helped the others look their best, her cosmetic charms proving very handy. Ariana, the last to arrive, spoke up as she accepted a bottle of orange soda and sunk down onto a cushioning charm. “Does anyone know what Sethria wanted to talk to us about?”

Hermione shook her head. None of them had much contact with Harry’s terraforming partner, so the fact that she insisted on speaking with them privately before turning the discussion over to Harry was unusual. Before long the connection went through and the other side of the call was projected onto the wall. The Sith Pureblood was composed, with just little dust in her silver hair as she sat in a chair with a full-wall window behind her and a rocky canyon visible outside. As soon as the call completed and the girls greeted her, the red-skinned teen spoke up. “I wanted to speak to you for a moment before I let Harry take over. I am… not very skilled socially, so forgive me for being blunt. I gave Harry the task of recruiting others for our crew and he was more successful than I expected.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “Perhaps too successful.”

The Sith took a moment to lock eyes with each of them briefly, ensuring they were paying attention. “I wanted to speak to Kristen before she arrived here, but this goes for the rest of you as well. Despite my initial impression, Harry has been an excellent partner. He’s become a… friend. All of you are aware of his life before the Empire annexed Earth; despite his difficult start, he has grown stronger, and not just magically. However, in some ways he is still the same child who was told he was useless, that his life meant nothing, that he was less than worthless, only fit to serve his betters.” She paused, gathering her next words. “I have decided to put Harry in charge of the rest of the crew, which means you will be expected to answer to him once you arrive. You will not be slaves or property, but you will be expected to work with us as we turn Caladan into a living world. Do you understand?”

She paused again, sipping a glass of water as the girls nodded. “Good. Now, one last thing and I’ll switch you over to him. Harry has shared your letters and his basic plan of finding a role for each of us in the family we’re going to build together. Unless we find someone better suited for it, my role will be maintaining discipline. As you arrive and make the Victory your home, there are some things I will not tolerate. I am entirely aware that the females of most sapient species are adept at manipulation. I will not tolerate any of you manipulating, browbeating, or gaslighting Harry. You will not weaponize his emotions to belittle, hurt, or control him. So far Harry has proven to be a tolerable partner and someone who, in the future, I believe will be a good father for my children. For our children. I will not permit any of you to turn a male worthy of leading our family into a broken-spirited wreck. I want Harry to grow into a strong man, a worthy leader. If any of you do not, find another destination.”

No one spoke as an awkward silence built up over the next few moments and eventually Sethria nodded at them and excused herself. A moment later the screen jumped to show Harry sitting at the simple desk in his own room onboard the Victory. He smiled at seeing them and began to speak. “Good morning Hermione, Saska, Kristen, Ariana, and Alystra?”

The elf nodded. “It is nice to meet you, Mr. Potter. Hermione suggested I might find a place on your crew?”

He nodded and gave the elf a short explanation about what life on Caladan was like now and how the world was expected to change in the next few years. “When Caladan is finished it will be full of shallow oceans and islands. My crew will probably be building the area near our landing point into a large island and making our home there, maybe with a summer home further north. Hermione said you’re training as a druid? We could use one. If you join, you'll be helping us turn Caladan green and helping decide what plants and animals to introduce.”

Alystra was quiet for a moment as she considered the offer. “I do like the idea of turning a desolate world into a paradise. But… I am with child. I won’t discuss the father, only that he loved me and that he died, along with many others, desperately trying to keep my Azeroth’s survivors alive. Will that be a problem?”

Harry shook his head. “No. I’ll talk to Sal, the AI managing Caladan to see if there’s anything we need to do to make the Victory child-safe. But our infirmary is fully automated and will be enough to keep you and your baby healthy.” He flushed and paused awkwardly before continuing. “And I’ll do what I can to help raise your child, along with the rest of our family.”

The elf relaxed a little as she spoke up again. “And the fact that I am… not particularly fond of males?”

Harry shrugged and gestured to the other girls sitting around her. “You might have noticed that the crew I’m gathering is all girls. That’s how the New Worlds program works. I checked and I’m actually not allowed to recruit blokes or hermaphroditic species.” He shrugged, his face flushing. “Eventually there will be so many girls that I won’t be able to give them all the… attention that they’ll need, even with whatever vitality boosting rituals I purchase later on. But I want everyone on my ship to be happy. I don’t mind if you only sleep with me when we’re trying for a baby.” He paused for a moment. “Are you okay with having children with me in the future?”

Alystra considered his words before replying. “That is thoughtful of you, and I don’t mind sharing my people’s culture with others. And… while I prefer a woman’s touch, I am willing to procreate.” She gestured to her abdomen and then paused again, considering her next words. “If I agree to join your crew, would you be willing to learn how to take another form? To be frank, I have as many fond memories of Azeroth’s other races as I do my own people.”

Harry shrugged. “If you’re willing to teach me. My father learned to take the shape of a stag, so I probably have the talent to learn at least one form. I just haven’t had the time to learn how yet.” He gave her a warm, sincere smile. “That could be something we learn together, Alystra. What form would you like me to learn, anyway?”

The elf gave the boy a warm smile, beginning to see why Hermione and the others thought so highly of him. “It would be nice to learn something together. As for the form, either a Tol’vir, Nightsaber, or perhaps a similar species.”

Harry considered the idea for a moment, then replied. “Either would be good, I’ll do some research and let you know. I actually considered trying to recruit a Tol’vir because some of them have a talent for Solar Magic; that Solar Attunement ritual gave me the ability to learn it so a teacher would be nice. I still might try to find one, but not before all of you join me out here. And Nightsabers are awesome because they never die of old age, they just grow a little stronger every year.”

From there, the conversation turned to lighter topics. Harry reached down and picked up Bubbles, showing off his familiar. “How are your familiars doing?”

Saska went first, her snapdragon familiar happy to be out of its protective suit. “Sela’s doing great! She’s growing so fast, she’ll probably be full grown in a year or so...”

~/*\~

In her own room, Sethria paused the recording of Harry’s video call and flicked her fingers. Holographic windows flickered into sight, each one bearing the psychological profile of one of Harry’s recruits. She poured through them again, thanking Erythraeum’s AIs for their diligence. After an hour of examination and taking notes on how to ensure each girl assimilated smoothly into their family, she dismissed those windows and pulled up another set, shivering at the information presented and the empire’s estimated recovery estimates. She took a long, sobering drink of the spicy, bitter tea, brewed from a leaf she’d been growing in her room. (She’d saved the seeds while on the Dawn, but had only recently asked Harry to get them growing.) Eventually she shook her head and dismissed the profiles. At her touch the half-dozen photos of her partner, each from a universe where the empire had been too late to save his potential, but still early enough to save his life, winked out. Letting out a sigh, she leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling for a time. Eventually she spoke up, talking to herself. “So much suffering, so much petty cruelty. So much wasted potential.” She shivered again. “I can’t believe the boy I know would name his son after the two men who crushed his spirit.”

After a more moment’s thought, she perked up as a cruel smile crossed her face. Her fingers called up a holographic keyboard and began to type. “Sal. I’m going to need your help routing this email and the credits.”

The AI responded after a moment as she finished typing her message. “That will not be a problem, Sethria. In fact, I will forward your message to other individuals that may wish to add their own contributions.”

The Sith cackled as she finished and saved her message.

~/*\~

Late in the afternoon two days later, as the day’s heat began to relent, Sirius Black waved his class towards the granite platform he’d spent the last hour conjuring and carving. As they filed in, the group of Caladan-bound girls clustered together. Alystra spoke up as the others joined them, all securely sealed in their suits and caked in toxic dust and grime. “Have any of you spoken to Sethria before?”

Hermione shook her head at the reminder of the rather odd conversation two days ago. “No, Harry’s been responsible for finding more colonists. But he has said a lot of good things about her, how hard working and dedicated she is. She’s still learning how to deal with people, though.”

Saska snorted. “Seemed nice enough to me, looking after her partner.” She made eye contact with Alystra. “Don’t forget, both of our cultures are matriarchal. I know how the Naga treated their males before the Empire came and while the Kaldorei were better…”

Alystra paused for a moment, her expression turning pensive. After a moment’s hesitation her hand drifted down, tenderly pressed against her womb and the tiny life growing inside. Eventually she spoke up as they watched students climb onto the stone platform. “... I wouldn’t want to raise a son in a place like that. There are some parts of my people’s culture that should be left to drift with the ashes of our world. I won’t raise a son to obey his sisters out of fear or a daughter to…” She shook her head. “There’s a reason my sister and I are parting ways.”

Before she could say anything else, the last stragglers approached and Professor Black waved them in and spoke up. “Before we finish our work here, I just wanted to say that all of you have done extraordinary work the last few days. The big filter tower and the smaller floating ones are all working correctly and the next group to come in will step in where we left off. I really am proud of all of you.” He paused to let his praise seep in, then he continued. “Before we leave to catch our midnight train home, there’s one last thing to do here. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the lake is only about one-fourth full. That’s why this damned dust is getting everywhere. I doubt we’ll be able to completely refill the lake, even working together, but we’re going to give it the old British try. Everyone take a seat on the circle carved into the stone, close enough to hold hands with each other. Make sure your spine is close to the center line.”

Looking down the students took in the lovingly carved circle, formed of a single perfect circle framed by an elaborate maze of Celtic knots. They quickly found their places as Sirius sat down and continued his explanation. “I found these spells digging through the recovered archives. Lily and Raene helped me combine a Celtic druidic ritual with an American rain dance. The first is a useful tool to help a group cast a spell too draining for any individual to accomplish alone while the second is a group spell that does what the name implies. This isn’t the most efficient way to conjure water, but it is an excellent way to get used to casting as a group. Get comfortable, then you need to hold hands with the person on either side.”

As the students obeyed, Sirius smiled at them, taking Draco’s hand on one side and Hermione’s on the other. “Good. Now, I’m going to start us out. All of you need to relax and add your magic, then help the group weave the spell. It will take time to get right, just go with the flow. Don’t fight or try to force it, this is as much meditation as spellcasting.”

With that, he closed his eyes and focused. Underneath him the circle began to glow, light slowly tracing out both directions. Hermione and Draco both let out a sound of surprise as they joined the conduit, but gradually relaxed. Hermione was the first to figure out the trick, and the glow under her progressed to where Saska was seated, her lower body tightly coiled under her. Draco figured out the trick, then Kylri managed it almost instantly before Saska could come close. Daphne needed more time, while Alystra figured it out almost as fast as the Kitsune. In the end it took almost an hour for the circle to complete and each of the students were glad their suits were very well padded.

As the two glowing ends met, the circle pulsed. All the participants felt something hook in their magic, then the drain began. Later, all of them would agree it was a supremely odd sensation as the enchanted circle guided them to not only power, but help shape the massive spell. As the minutes dragged on, the afternoon sun was obscured by clouds that quickly grew from white puffs to black and menacing. Not long after that the first drop of rain fell, landing exactly in the center of the circle. Then another fell, and another, and then the sky opened. Water fell from the sky in heavy sheets, briefly kicking up clouds of dust before the ground turned to mud. More water fell, too much too fast to absorb into the dry, thirsty ground. Puddles formed, then overflowed and joined the water flowing down the slope and into the dry lake bed.

Sirius hadn’t been lying about the pride he took in his class. As the group spell drained them no one bowed out, no one called it quits. If Lily hadn’t built a protection into the circle to ensure it cut out before causing any damage from magic exhaustion, he would have forced the group to stop and rest. Instead, he pushed himself just as hard as he was pushing them. And with no one willing to quit, the group spell continued as the afternoon passed into evening. In fact, no one had thought to set an alarm and with the focus required to sustain the spell? Professor Black and his group missed their train. But as the sun rose and the spell fell apart from exhaustion and mental strain, he was even prouder of his class. No matter what life threw at them, they would be ready.

~/*\~

Newsreels: In-Game Event

~/*\~

"Once a peaceful world, Arcana was shattered by war after thirteen stones fell from the heavens. These immensely powerful stones, forged by the World-Walkers at the cost of Arcana’s most beloved stars, were used by their makers in a war that ended with no victors and no survivors. Each of these stones is at once a tiny thing and more powerful than the star consumed in each of their creations. Moreover, they are part of a set; while powerful alone it is only together that their true power can be unlocked. If these stones are ever united, Arcana’s last surviving continent will be lost and its people will join the World-Walkers in extinction.

"Of the mighty kingdoms that once ruled, only fragments remain. In that power vacuum three fearsome Dark Lords rose to power in the chaos and no place is beyond their reach. Now champion, will you stand against Dumbledore the False, Grindlewald the Usurper, and Voldemort the Destroyer? Will you protect the innocent from their war for supremacy? Or will you choose to join them, choosing peace at the cost of tyranny? Choose well, champion, for the final war for Arcana has begun.”

Remus rolled his shoulders as the game world finished loading and he breathed in air that he wasn’t actually breathing, for all he could tell the difference. Narcissa stepped past him, checking her bags since they’d had to log off early the previous night. But before they could discuss what they were going to do tonight, something unexpected occurred. An ethereal form appeared in front of them, obviously ghostly and incorporeal, bearing crimson skin, glittering silver hair, piercing yellow eyes, and a pair of slim tendrils that draped along the sides of her neck.

The young woman spoke up, her tail lashing behind her in agitation. “I have never met anyone that will hear this message. Who I am doesn’t matter, only my message. Before he was exiled to Arcana, Albus Dumbledore tried to destroy a child’s life. Instead of giving the child a loving home and a path to achieving his potential, Albus tried to destroy his spirit and break the child into a martyr, a hollow creature ready to serve as his willing human sacrifice. That child was rescued and is now in my care. His body is whole and every day his mind throws off the suffering meant to emasculate and enslave him. He and I are beyond Albus’ reach, but sadly he is also beyond mine. But not beyond yours. To all who have heard this message, I ask that you inconvenience the monster that still haunts a child’s nightmares. I have no grand sum of gold to give in exchange, only a pittance earned by my own labor and what pittances others have given in turn. One month hence this sum will be distributed to the individual or group who best ruins Dumbledore’s day, with lesser sums going to the most creative and the most humiliating. Don’t disappoint me, Champions of Arcana.”

As the image in front of them faded away, Narcissa broke down laughing. Remus shook his head, bitterness rising in his gut at the reminder of how he’d failed James’ son. Even so, ideas were swirling in his head at the reminder of Albus’ betrayal. Drawing his wand, he cast a Patronus to access the game’s instant messaging system. If he was going to do this, he would do it right.

~/*\~

Author’s Note: Fun fact, Sethria was ‘inspired’ to do the equivalent of buying cigarettes to ensure Albus had a bad day. Instead he’s now going to have a bad month thanks to various AI’s, who are having far too much fun guilt-tripping a significant percentage of Britain’s wizards and witches to throw a few credits into the pot. I actually intended to progress the story a bit more this chapter, but things got away from me again. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I read and treasure every review, even if I don’t respond to them. I hope you’re all having a great summer. (Or winter, if you’re south of the equator)

Also, if you’re curious about the suits I mentioned, they’re basically the Reinforced Dive Suit from Subnautica, because I think they look cool.

https://subnautica.fandom.com/wiki/Reinforced_Dive_Suit_(Subnautica)?file=Reinforced_Data.png#Gloves