Ok kids, I own nothing but the 'magination, as so many people say just playing in the sandbox.

Not enough Potter and Andromeda cross overs so here goes also not sure how the commonwealth calendar works in with our own so bear with a little creative licence.

Long lived Promises

Chapter one

Time gets away

Harry was having a bad day. First the damn Nietzscheans sprung that attack and then Rhade betrayed them, all because of the damn Magog, and if that wasn't bad enough the black hole had caught them. Not that the black hole bothered Harry all that much, or maybe all too much. Some 3000 years ago when Harry had mastered the deathly hallows, he didn't realise he had mastered Death himself. Death happened to be very fond of Harry and wasn't allowing Harry to pass on the hallows so that he could pass on. However, being the Master of Death had some nice perks, well, nice for the first 3 hours or so. Everything dies, even time, and after all isn't a black hole the epitome of Death? Maybe it wasn't his mastery of the hallows that put him in this condition, thinking back, it was probably that promise he made 'Mione on her deathbed. For Harry Potter, third in command of the Andromeda Ascent, Master of the Hallows, Boy-Who-Lived, was still awake and aware even though the Andromeda was caught in the black hole's gravitational pull. It was going to be a very long 300 years.

The Harper family has almost always been possessed of great intelligence and either red or frizzy hair. These traits found in most Harpers were said to be passed down from a time before Earth had even realised that real space travel was possible. The other trait specific to the Harper line, was the voice. As far back as anyone could remember, the voice had been there is the back of the mind of the eldest Harper, passing down through the generations. The voice was the Harper family's good luck charm, it warned of danger, of nearing Magog or Nietzscheans. It pointed out escape routes, best ways to create an ambush, everything the last three Harper's needed to survive in a war zone, until one day Seamus Harper was the last one left, and the voice passed from his Magog infested cousin to him. For 3 years Harper ignored the voice, only heeding it in emergencies, blaming the voice in his head for the impregnation of his cousins.

It was an ordinary day for Seamus, get up, scrounge some food, bypass Nietzschean patrols and get back to relative safety, when the voice popped up.

"Seamus, I'm sorry about your cousins. I was distracted and I let you down, I let 'Mione down. I know you won't forgive me, but I promise I won't let anything happen to you. You have my full and complete attention."

"What the hell do you mean you were distracted? You're supposed to be our good luck charm you should have warned them about the Magog!" Seamus screamed back at the voice.

The voice came back in a soft tone, "Shay, I'm not all there, did you think I was just a voice? I'm as real and as physical as you are, and I currently two galaxies away fighting for my existence. As much as I would like to think I'm not all powerful."

"Your real? And who the Hell is 'Mione?" was Harper's startled reply.

"Mione is the reason I'm in your head. You could say I'm the last of my kind, and about 3000 years or so ago, my best friend was dying while I still looked like I was 25, we were the same age, but she was dying from old age. It was cruel and unfair that I stayed the same all those years. She made me promise, the keep her family safe when she was gone. I had thought the promise was only for her children through to her great children, who had just been born. It took me years to realise, that my promise had bound me to anyone who was descended from her. At one point I thought her family line would over run the world, the way that ginger hair was spreading, but eventually, after all this time, you Seamus are the last of her line, and I will give my all to see you safe." The voice grew softer and softer til it was only a whisper.

"So, what's this fight for your existence thing happening and who the hell are you?"

The voice laughed, "Who am I? There was a time when everyone on Earth knew my name, but since then I have had so many. You can call me…Grimm, yes I think that sounds alright considering my past profession. As to the fight, well I'm currently stuck. My body is stuck in a time dilation field, while a small part of my mind is with you, the rest is fighting off a very lonely woman, who doesn't take no for an answer, I'd say yes, but dying isn't an option. She's been trying to suck out my soul for the last 290 years."

Seamus sat in silence, thinking over the conversation with his not so imaginary friend. It seemed plausible, after all, Grimm never said he was human, he'd have to be something Harper had never heard about to have a life span that long. What the hell, the voice, with the exception of his cousins, had never steered his family wrong yet.

So the next few years passed and Seamus and Grimm, talked more often, Grimm would tell him tales from when he was young, of 60 foot snakes and racing dragons, of red heads taking over the world, to the inauguration of the Commonwealth to the Nietzschean ambush that had led to the fall of a dream. It was being fed these tales of space in particular that Seamus was hooked on. With on Grimm as his remaining friend, Seamus left for space, to get away from Earth and all the painful memories.

It was early in Seamus's career as engineer on the Eureka Maru that they went to a little known drift, looking for an environmental officer. Beka had decided that after Vexpac (?) had 'bought the farm' that a new officer was needed if only so the mistake wasn't made again. Harper took the time to explore the drift, for an out of the way place it had some high end stuff. Seamus was talking to Grimm about life on the Maru and how different it was to Earth. Grimm told him about the first drifts and how they started as little more that colonies of bigots, who thought they were better than the rest. Purebloods, Grimm had likened them to, though what a Pureblood was Seamus wasn't quite sure. It was as they were rounding the tiny garden, that Harper noticed a peculiar sight.

"Geez, Grimm, look at her! She's hot and…purple?" Harper trailed off, his weird metre finally overriding his hot babe metre.

"Purple? Tell me quickly what exactly does she look like?"

Harper looked the alien up and down before answering, "Well, she's purple, and has a tail, and I think she has a small tattoo on her shoulder."

There was no reply from Grimm. "Grimm, are you there? What's up? Do you know her, or I mean her Great grandmother, or something?"

"Sorry, no I'm fine. Shay, I just found you a new environmental officer. Okay, this is gonna sound weird but I need to go speak to her. You need to tell her this exactly. The one who danced among the stars, humbly requests the assistance of the Light Bearers. In good faith I ask this to free Death from the clutches of your twisted sister. I'll be waiting in the land of the Greek Forge God. Travel lightly and shine on the abyss. Ok tell her that exactly, if it's who I think it is I may finally be free. If not a nice cryptic message won't hurt anybody. Shay", Grimm sounded strained, "She knows what I'm up to, crap, I'm going to need all my focus to fend her off til help arrives. I'm sorry but you're going to on your own for a while, if that's who I hope it is, she'll look after you in my stead. Please give her that message exactly. Stay safe."

"Grimm? Grimm!" Harper called within his mind to no avail, for the first time in years Harper was along in his head. It seemed strange and empty, and very lonely now. Seamus found the whole thing to be confusing, how had the soul sucker found out, why not ask the purple girl if she was who Grimm thought she was, what was with all that formal crap and abyssal star dancing? Seamus made his way over to the purple alien, who finally looked up from the wilting flowers.

"Hello."

"Umm, hi… I've umm look this may sound weird but I have a message for you." The girl tilted her head and looked at Harper, "You don't look like my families normal contact."

"I'm not. The message might not even be for you, but you match the description, so bear with me, I really hope it is for you cause my friend needs help he's in trouble. From the sounds of it either you or someone from your family can help him. The one who star dances…no, the one who dances among the stars, no danced, sorry apparently it's very important that I say danced among the stars, sorry, humbly requests the assistance of the Light Bearers." At this the girl looked at him sharply reacting strongly to the title. Harper paused, before resuming, "In good faith I ask this to free Death from the clutches of your twisted sister. I'll be waiting in the land of the Greek Forge God. That's it, that's the message, is it you, can you help?" By now Harper was babbling like a fool, the lack of reassuring voice in the back of his mind unnerving to say the least.

Harper looked at the purple girl, who breathed in sharply. "Yes, I'm the one you're looking for. My name is Trance, Trance Gemini."

"Harper, Seamus, but call me Harper almost everyone does. So can you help him, can you help my friend?"

"Your friend, yes I see now 'Mione's child. He's still stuck, of course, I'll help, and did he say anything else?"

Harper thought for a second, "Only that if you were who he thought you were, he had found me an environmental officer, and someone to watch over me while he couldn't. The soul sucker stepped up her attack."

"Yes, the twisted sister can be quite persistent. Well, if I'm going to be your new enviro officer, I better meet the captain right?"

"Right," Seamus spluttered, "this way. The Eureka Maru is one of the best ships around. I should know I'm the engineer." Harper continued to babble on about the ship and its crew all the way back to the dock, where he introduced Trance to Beka, stating that she came recommended by a very old friend of Harper's. Beka wasn't too keen about a recommendation from someone she'd never heard from before, but there were no other candidates and they needed a fourth crewperson. And so, it was on a little drift tucked away in the middle of nowhere, that Trance Gemini joined the crew of the Maru and took over the position as Harper's watcher.