Chapter Text
“‘Arry!! ‘Old on! Please!”
Harry and Fleur were running out of time. The portkey was a trap, but instead of sending them into their enemies’ hands, it launched them through time and space. Fleur cast an advanced magical bubble around them as the portkey deposited them into a gaseous void. An eternal starry expanse surrounded them on all sides. There was no top or bottom. No North, no South, no East nor West. Just the emptiness of night and green billowy clouds swirling around the two of them.
Harry Potter had been injured badly and was bleeding profusely. His magic was holding him together as best as it could, but if he didn’t receive medical attention soon, he was going to die. He was going to die in the cold depths of space and then Fleur would die soon afterwards.
Fleur. They had met at Hogwarts when The Triwizard Tournament came to his campus during their respective final years in school. She had fallen in love with his strength, his character, and his power. He had fallen in love with her kindness, her magical competence, her territorial passion. Fleur had latched onto him and made it clear to all that he was hers and hers alone. Harry, who had been broken from an early age, and forced into the role of the load-bearing pillar upon which others could foist their weights and causes, was quite happy to have someone not only lessen that unnecessary burden but become a secondary source of strength in his life.
She had hoped that they would spend their lives together. She had dreamed they would be together forever. She hadn’t conceived that “forever” would be over in the next five minutes. It wasn’t bad enough that her love was dying in front of her eyes or the vacuum of space offered no possible hope, but that damned green energy that kept hitting them. No matter how hard she focused, it kept ignoring her magic and hitting herself and her beloved Harry.
With every discharge from the clouds around them, Harry was less human and more… metal? It was horrifying to watch her lover turn into something inhuman while she was forced to focus on the bubble around themselves. If she wavered for a moment, the vacuum would claim their air and he’d be dead instantly. Thankfully he was barely conscious. For she’d been hit multiple times as well and could only imagine what she’d been altered into as well.
This was not how it was supposed to be. Fleur’s head sagged as her strength began to leave her.
A reflective flash shined in the distance as something colossal approached the bubble at great speed.
“There’s what we’re looking for!”
“Rob! There are people in there.”
“H-how’d they get out here without space suits?”
“Oh no! Their vitals are falling.”
“Boo, I need a force field around them. Bo, I need you to fill it with air and keep a steady pressure inside.”
“You got it.”
“I’m on it.”
The robotic titan moved its hands around the two as an energy bubble formed around them. As the air filled the field, Fleur’s magical shield popped and Fleur went scrambling to Harry. As soon as she went to touch him, she recoiled her hand in terror. Her hand was no longer skin and muscle, but metal. She reached to her face and felt… albeit through a muted sense of touch… metallic cheeks, metallic forehead and metallic lips.
She collapsed onto Harry, her metal shell scraped lightly against the metal that was now covering his body. She attempted a wandless healing spell on Harry. His body relaxed, but to what state, she had no idea. Was he dead? Was he alive? Was he even human anymore? She closed her eyes and prayed they would wake from their nightmare.
“We need to get them back to my lab on Asteroid Alpha if we want to save them.” The giant robot’s engines in its legs roared into life as its hands cradled the stranded survivors.
As soon as the Orbots arrived at the secret military base, Harry was rushed into the Orbot Commander’s laboratory on a flat gurney. Once Rob and Ohno had their patient in place, several probes and analytical devices descended from the ceiling and began to scan Harry’s metamorphosed body.
Outside the laboratory, Fleur and the five Orbots were watching through an observation window. Fleur tried desperately to ignore her reflection. She had been transformed completely into something new but she didn’t have time to worry about it now. Harry was dying in front of her.
Around her, four robots were attempting to comfort her. The fifth was off sitting in a corner eating a hallway door he had recently pulled off its hinges.
“Please don’t worry.” The yellow female took Fleur’s hand, “Your friend is in good hands.”
“Y-yeah. Rob’s the best. He built all of us.” The blue, lanky male robot added sheepishly.
“Please. You must ‘elp ‘im. ‘E is everyzing to me. We were so close… so close.” Fleur was in emotional agony. She didn’t know where they were or who these “people” were. The only one who seemed human was the one they called, Rob. Should she break the statute of secrecy and explain everything? Would he die if she didn’t?
Inside the lab, Rob and Ohno were having difficulties with their patient.
“These scans aren’t making any sense. It seems his systems are working on a completely alien energy source. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
“Oh no, look! He has glasses.”
“Glasses on a robot? That’s a strange aesthetic choice.” Rob looked through the lenses, “These lenses are prescription lenses.”
“He must have been changed by the Emerald Nebula from a human into a robot like I was that one time.”
“I think you’re right, Ohno. Quick, bring his friend in here. If she was changed, too then we should be able to get the information we need to save him by studying her.”
Ohno saluted and ran out of the room as quickly as her little legs could take her. She returned shortly with Fleur in tow, while holding her hand. As soon as Ohno let go, Fleur straightened herself up.
Rob looked up at the pale blue robot with long, golden, metallic hair, “I need you to lie down on that table over there. If we study your structure, we should be able to get an idea of how to save your friend.”
Fleur nodded. She climbed on the top of the table he had gestured to. “We weren’t like zis when we arrived ‘ere. We were… eh”
“Human? We guessed that when we saw your friend’s glasses. Plus we’ve had previous encounters with the metamorphic and metaphysical properties of that nebula.”
Fleur kept quiet and hung her head in sadness. She was never fully human. She had been biologically compatible with humans, but what if, in this new form, she wasn’t compatible enough to save Harry, let alone be with him. She had no choice. Even if she did break the statute of secrecy, there’d be no time to explain it all before Harry died. All Fleur could do was close her eyes and pray for a miracle.
The machines above began to scan over her body. With everything else that had happened, Fleur couldn’t help but fall asleep to the rhythmic hums of the machinery around her.
Fleur’s eyes fluttered open and she saw a smiling face looking down at her. The face was sculpted of metal but she’d know those eyes and that unruly hair anywhere. He was holding her hand but it didn’t feel nearly as warm as it once did. However, it did… tingle?
“‘Arry… are we alive?”
“It seems so. Though I’m not sure how.”
“Hey everybody! They’re awake!”, the large red, gray and blue robot yelled out as he came charging into the room to check up on the two. A commotion began as the other five robots walked in along with their human companion.
It was a strange parade of metal creatures walking towards him. Harry didn’t feel any animosity from the group. It was more like a gathering of Weasleys come to make him feel at home, without the unifying red hair. The first one was tall, muscular with a red chest, blue waist and steel gray limbs. The next two were definitely more feminine - one yellow and white with a softer, petite look and the other was orange and white, more angular and statuesque. The next two were in conversation with themselves - one was tall, lanky, blue and gray and the other was stout, rotund and black and gray. The final two was a human male with blonde, curly hair, wire rim glasses, a half tucked-in shirt and a white lab coat and accompanied by a small, almost childlike robot the color of oxidized copper.
“Hiya doin’ pal. You had us worried for a moment.” The first one put his hand on Harry’s shoulder and gave it a comforting grip. Harry smiled up at the towering robot. He somewhat reminded Harry of Hagrid, only without the beard or rather any hair at all.
“I think we’re doing well. Are you the ones that saved us?”
“Well we’re… uhh… members of the Galactic Patrol.”
Harry knew that tone of voice. He had heard it and used it enough times himself. It was the unpracticed withholding of the full truth and the relieved inclusion of a half-truth that was close enough without actually lying. This group had a secret to keep, but it wasn’t by any means a malicious one. It didn’t separate them from him though, after all, Harry and Fleur had a secret of their own to keep.
“Allow me to make the introductions,” Rob asserted, “The big guy here is Tor. The ladies are Bo and Boo. The tall blue one is Bort and the shorter one chewing on the I Beam is Crunch. This is Ohno and I’m Rob.”
“It was Mighty Orbots that brought you here.” Bo said a little too proudly.
“And where ees ‘ere?” Fleur said as she sat up and let her legs dangle off the observation table.
“You’re on a Galactic Patrol space station near the nebula where we found you.” Rob said, pointedly, “but who are you and how did you two get out here? We didn’t find any wreckage of any ship and neither of you had a spacesuit.”
Fleur and Harry looked at each other, and without a word, Harry told Fleur that he would handle this part. She smiled as she never did like lying to people who were kind to her and wrapped her arms around Harry’s arm.
“We won’t be able to tell you much. Like you, we have secrets that we need to keep as well. For your sake as well as our own. My name is Harry and this is Fleur. Our presence in that area was a fluke. We don’t know how we got there exactly and I don’t know if we’ll find our way home.”
“Where is your home?”
“A small town named Godric’s Hollow in England on the planet, Earth.”
“We’re from Earth. In fact, Earth is the headquarters for the Galactic Patrol.”
“That’s impossible. Muh…” Harry cleared his throat quickly, “Humans have only ever been to the moon and that was back in the 60’s.”
“The sixties? What year was it before you came here?”
Harry turned his head slightly and recited slowly, “It’s the year 1999.”
The orbots gasped in shock, “Rob, they’re pre-space age.”
“Harry… the current year is 2259.”
The conversation was sidelined for a few hours while reality of Harry and Fleur’s situation soaked in. The Orbots were asked to take Harry and Fleur outside the lab for their equivalent of fresh air. Rob contacted Earth to confirm their claims.
“You’re sure about that, Rondu?”
“We’ve checked every database we have access to. There’s no record of a Godric’s Hollow anywhere in Earth’s history.”
“They said they had secrets to keep, but I can’t fathom a secret that could get two people out in the middle of a nebula light years away from any settled habitat and more than 200 years into the future.”
“Perhaps we’re not in their future. You said that you couldn’t recognize the energy in their systems. It’s possible whatever shunted them through time and space caused them to hop into our dimension. I want you to keep an eye on them. Help them as you need to, however they may truly be lost.”
The viewscreen on his computer desk went black. Rob sat back in his chair and pushed back on his chair. Was it possible? Years ago, the intergalactic crime syndicate, Shadow, had used pocket dimensions as weapons against planetary bases. It was certainly possible on a hypothetical level, but were these two really from an alternate dimension?
Outside, Harry was getting acquainted with the capabilities of his new body. Being a magical creature and familiar with the risks of transfiguration as well as having dear friend of his family being a werewolf he always knew changing forms was tricky and permanency was always a possibility. The first thing he needed to know was what limitations his body had. So far, he still had most humanoid functions: reflexes, articulation, muscle control. Harry decided not to test his magic quite yet. These people? robots? creatures? saved his and Fleur’s life. He didn’t want to get them into trouble by breaking the statute.
Harry went back to testing his abilities. Senses… Touch and smell was muted, taste was non-existent, eyesight was better - he no longer needed his glasses, hearing was about the same. Emotions… he looked over at Fleur and her smile made his heart soar. That part was perfect.
Fleur was talking with Bo and Boo. Fleur was unaccustomed to having female friends. Her allure, if it was still working, apparently wasn’t affecting her mechanical friends in the same way it did humans. She found Bo was more assertive and confident while Boo was more demure. Fleur found herself more relaxed and fit between the two perfectly. She just wish she could tell them everything. It would be so wonderful to have someone to confide in. Especially with everything she and Harry had been through together.
“How did you and Harry meet?”
“We met at an international sporting competition. I was chosen to represent my school. ‘Arry was not supposed to be competing, but ‘e got entered against ’is will.”
“How did that happen?”
“Zat ees a story for anozzer time and eet borders on ze secret zat we are not allowed to speak of. Suffice eet to say zat ‘Arry has enemies ‘oo want to see ‘im dead and ze competition eetself ees quite dangerous.”
“So what happened?”
“Well like most of ze school, I initially zought zat ‘Arry ‘ad cheated in order to get in ze contest. Zen I realized over time zat I was wrong. ‘Arry ees ze kindest, most compassionate and honorable man I ‘ave ever met.”
“How did he convince you?”
Fleur smiled and sighed lightly, “At first, eet was ‘ow ‘e stayed away from ze press. Someone who was fine wiz cheating to get into an event zat promises eternal fame to ze victor should want ‘is picture everywhere. Zen in ze second part of ze tournament, we ‘ad to save eizzer a family member or a friend. ‘Arry not only saved ‘is friend, but saved my sister as well.”
“No offense, but what kind of tournament puts your friends and family in danger like that?”
“Ze kind zat pushes you to ze limits. ‘Arry and I didn’t know eet, but our families were in no real danger. I couldn’t get to my sister, but ‘Arry…” Fleur looked in his direction with a deep longing, “‘E risked everyzing to save ‘er as well.” Fleur turned back to her new friends, “Eet was zen zat I decided zat I would stay by ‘is side forever.”
“Wow! How romantic.”
“What about ze two of you? ‘Ave eizzer of you found romance? Per’aps wizzin your team?”
Bo and Fleur both looked at Boo, who had the most immediate reaction to the question. She almost looked like she was going to blush, as if she were capable of such a thing.
“I don’t know. Tor is strong, but a little too arrogant. Crunch can be cute, but he’s more interested in food than… well…”
“I hang out with Bort a lot,” Bo began, allowing Boo a moment to collect herself, “but he’s just too indecisive. He’s supposed to be versatile, but that versatility also infected his personality to the point where he’s too dependent on anyone who’s more confident than he is.”
“So neizzer of you are interested in Robert?”
“Rob? We couldn’t. He built us… I mean, he’s wonderful and he’s always good to us.”
“Except that one time when…”
“Bo, you know he was under orders.”
Bo shrugged, “Besides, Rob only has eyes for Dia.”
“Who ees Dia?”
“Dia is the daughter of the head of the Galactic Patrol. She’s a good agent, but she’s awful to Rob.”
“‘E ees interested in a political relationship?”
“Not at all. He’s interested in her because she’s beautiful, compassionate and competent. However, her race sees relationships in a slightly different manner than humans do.”
Aliens? Fleur blinked and shook her head slightly. So much to unpack there. Best to consider them magical creatures and move on.
“‘Ow does Dia’s race recognize relationships?”
“The women there are traditionally conditioned by strong social pressure to seek a man with great power and status. When a woman finds a partner who meets their standards, they react by pressuring their potential mate into forming a permanent union… by any means required.”
“And by any means, you mean…”
“ANY means, legal or otherwise.”
“But zat means zat eef Dia ees not into Rob zen Dia’s standards would not be met and ‘e would be off ze ‘ook.”
Bo and Boo gave each other a nervous look.
Fleur’s eyes widened, “Rob does match ‘er status standards, doesn’t ‘e?”
Boo nodded sadly while Bo responded with a simple, “Yes. There’s no way he couldn’t.”
“Ees zat why you ‘ave your secret?”
Boo looked nervous while Bo answered, “You have to understand what a delicate situation this is. Rob’s been trying to date Dia by Earth standards while withholding his true status to break her of her upbringing.”
“It was her father’s idea.”, Boo interrupted.
“If Rob fails to maintain his secret around her or fails to get her to grow beyond her people’s social norms, and Dia loses control, she could put her career, her life and Rob’s life in jeopardy. It would cause an intragalactic political disaster.”
“However,” Boo added, “if he succeeds in breaking her conditioning, there’s no guarantee that she’ll accept him. For all his strengths and kindness, he’s incredibly awkward outside of his true environment. Personally, I think Rob can do better.”
“Would Dia respect anozzer woman’s claim on Rob?”
“There’s no way to tell. Legally, they’re supposed to, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Dia might kidnap Rob regardless and attempt to force him to change his mind.”
Fleur immediately got very concerned for Harry. Fleur understood territorial mating rituals better than most as well as the difficulties with controlling those instincts around others. Harry was never one to flaunt his celebrity status, but he wouldn’t hesitate to use the full extent of his powers to save someone without thinking twice. She would absolutely have to keep an eye out for this Dia woman or others like her. Especially if Harry decided to play his usual role of hero in front of her.
“Are zere ozzer alien races wiz ze same territorial values as Dia’s race?”
“Not many. Fortunately Dia’s race is the only one that has those social standards and is remotely compatible with Rob’s human biology and the women don’t travel outside their system often because of the legal restrictions put on their mating practices.”
“Go figure,” Bo interjected with a touch of snark, “they typically stick with their own when most legal systems outside their society frown upon things like kidnapping, torture and coercion.”
“So pal, without revealing everything, what can you tell us about your secret?” Tor asked Harry. The two were meandering through an artificial forest on the far side of the asteroid. Harry could see the environmental dome that covered the surface arching down towards the edge of the ground in the distance. Harry was enjoying trekking through some lush greenery without the need to watch out for various monstrous creatures. Bort had turned an all-terrain vehicle and was bouncing amongst the roots. Crunch was on the lookout for something to eat.
“It has to do with where Fleur and I come from and the source energy fields that Rob couldn’t identify. I’m sure a great deal has changed since our original time, but if we spill the beans, give away specifics and the law preventing us from doing so is still in place, then we’ll get arrested and you’ll all have your memories erased. I don’t know if the law is applicable or even enforceable out here in deep space. However, you seem like good people, so I’d rather not risk it until I know for sure.”
“That’s mighty decent of you, Harry.”
“Tor, is Harry with you?” Rob’s voice came over Tor’s communication device.
“Yeah, he’s right here. What’s up?”
“Could you bring him back to the lab? I’d like to discuss something with him and Fleur.”
“Back to the lab, guys! Harry, I don’t suppose you have flight circuits, do you?” Tor questioned as he lifted off the ground.
Flight? If only he had his broom. A flight would feel amazing right now. Harry imagined the wind in his hair and the incredible rush. Inside his cybernetic body, Harry felt his magical energies surge through his body and before he realized it, he was already 10 feet off the ground.
Harry panicked for the briefest of moments but then Tor made a mistake.
“Good for you, Harry. If you can keep up, we’ll race you back to the lab.” Crunch lifted off the ground to follow Tor and Bort turned into a drone and lifted himself out of the treetop canopy.
Harry’s eyes narrowed as a grin stretched across his metallic face. So that’s how it is? They wanted to pull the cork out of the bottle. Oh, why the hell not?
Harry rose above the trees and caught sight of the three in front flying towards the only building on this island in space. A small ripple of energy formed around him as he focused on the energy in and around him as he would if he was on his broom. He simply aimed his body in the direction he wanted to go and…
The green blur shot past the three orbots before they had a chance to process it.
“What was that?” Crunch blinked.
“I-I-I think that was Harry.” Bort stammered.
“Holy cow. The kid’s a natural. C’mon, we got a race to win.” Tor flew after Harry. Crunch nodded and followed suit.
Bort overthought the problem and turned into a CH-47 Chinook and took off after Harry, Tor and Crunch.
Bo and Boo had gotten the same message from Rob and Boo was carrying Fleur in a force bubble as the two flew back. Fleur saw Harry flying through the air towards the lab and being chased by a blue helicopter and two robots in pursuit.
Fleur facepalmed as she watched Harry, “Mon dieu, what ees zat idiot doing?”
The race between Bort and Harry was neck and neck as each pushed the other harder until they came up to Rob’s and Ohno’s location. Bort cut power so he could land and transform. Harry spun around in the air close to the ground until his legs pointed forward and he slowed down and set down gently a few feet in front of Rob. ‘Yup, just like a broom back home.’ Harry thought to himself.
As soon as Boo had released Fleur, she grabbed Harry and pulled him away from the others. “Just a moment. We’ll be back shortly.” Fleur laughed with a definite undertone of pure rage.
“‘Arry James Potter! ‘Ave you lost your good senses?!” Fleur growled as softly as she could. “You could ‘ave broken ze statute wiz zat stunt!”
“I doubt it. The robots here can fly as well and they each have incredible abilities as well. The only significant difference is that they don’t have a name to our energy source.”
“Harry Potter. Please! I almost lost you today. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”
“You didn’t lose me. You saved me. Twice.”
“‘Arry, promise me. Promise me you won’t reveal our secret until we know eet’s safe.”
Harry looked deep into Fleur’s eyes. Still sapphire blue, but instead of tiny bags of fluid, they were crystal orbs with tiny rotating mechanical parts. Her gaze held no less emotion than they had when they were biological. He sighed. There was nothing he could do, or would ever want to do, to see them express any measure of pain.
“I promise, Fleur. I love you so much.” Harry pulled Fleur in for an embrace and she pressed herself into him. She felt his power radiating from within him and allowed herself a moment to enjoy herself. She hadn’t given herself enough time to unpack everything. The far future. The war was over. Whoever won, they were no longer part of it. Harry was safe. They were safe. No longer flesh and blood, but safe.
Fleur pulled herself off of Harry and took him by his hand. With a smile, she led him back to the others.
“Anozzer universe? Ees zat possible?”
“There’s no record of Godric’s Hollow anywhere?”
“Nothing that we could find. A lot can change in two hundred years, but a whole city erased from any and all records? That’s highly unlikely.”
Harry was stuck. What if he was right? If there was no wizarding society back on earth, they’d have to start over from scratch. If there was anything, would they even be able to re-assimilate? Would they be accepted as mechanical beings in a magical world? Could they be accepted as magical beings in a futuristic society?
Rob picked up on Harry’s worry, “How do you two want to go forward? Do you want to continue the investigation? Or if you want to trust us, you could let us take a look at that energy source that’s powering the both of you. I’d love to learn more about it.”
Harry looked at Fleur. He had just promised her. She looked back at him with an almost defeated look on her face.
Tor broke the awkward silence, “Either way, we’ll stick by you until you get your answers.”
“That’s right. You won’t have to face this alone.” Boo added.
“I’d like to go back to earth and check out a couple of more leads. If we don’t find anything, we’ll tell you everything we know, and you can run your experiments.”
“I’ll get the Beam Car, Rob.” Ohno chimed in.
“Okay gang, let’s head back to earth. Harry and Fleur will be riding with us.”
Outside of Asteroid Alpha, amongst the other floating stellar debris, a large creature was observing them with great interest. The body was a gigantic black panther with demonic wings of pure black, but instead of a head, there sat an enormous, lidless eye. It gurgled angrily just before it raised its wings and flew away.