March 5, 2212
SSV light cruiser Perdita
En route to Sol
Harry Potter, 47 years old, graced with titles such as the Boy-Who-Lived, Tri-Wizard Champion, insane attention seeking brat, hero of the Reaper War leaned back in his chair with an age worn book in his lap as the bright azure flame of EEZO FTL travel passes by the window bathing the darkened room in flickering blue light and looks at his reflection in the window as he watches the universe pass by.
Bright green eyes, once the color of the killing curse now darkened with age and the shadows of war look back at him from the faint reflection as he study's his reflection eyes passing over each scar as he remembers how he got each one. From the burn marks on his face where he was clipped by Harbingers cannon during the battle of earth, to the faint circular spot on his arm where the basilisk bit him all those years ago in the Chamber of Secrets.
He pulls his eyes from his reflection and looks down at the old well thumbed book and the faded cover that still proclaims it as a copy of 'Hogwarts: a History' and slowly opens it looking longingly at the first page where in round childish script was written "Property of Hermione J. Granger, Witch" a smile on his face as he looks at faded muggle photograph not much older than the book glued to the inside cover of Hermione and her parents that was taken in America when she visited distant family a couple of months before she found out she was a witch.
He flips through to book coming to the section detailing the Hogwarts express and reads through it while he remembers his first encounter with his bushy-haired, bucktoothed, bookworm best friend.
"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..." He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. "Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway He had just raised his 'wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. "We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. "Er - all right." He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you. She said all this very fast. Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. "I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. "Harry Potter," said Harry.
He reaches up and wipes away the tears forming in his eyes as he thinks back to those times when they were just starting out, still innocent and carefree not knowing that scabbers was really a Death Eater that had betrayed his parents, not knowing that Voldemort was still alive with his horcruxes or that the Weasleys would go so far to keep him under control. He tilts his head back listing to the gentle hum of the EEZO core using his hyper advanced occlumancy to recall the obliviated memories recovered when he found the sorting hat during one of his jaunts into the ruins of the Department of Mysteries.
A 14 year old Harry exits the portrait to the common Gryffindor nervously wiping his hands on his trousers running right into the number one person he was looking for. He dusts off his robe and helps Hermione off the floor and picks up the books that were knocked on the floor, straighten up to hand them back to her looking into those soft brown eyes, "s-sorry 'mione, I-I wasn't looking where I was going" he said with a blush as she grabs the books from him "that's fine harry I wasn't either" she said looking back at him noticing the blush. Harry looked at her taking in her appearance from the slightly to large front teeth to the untamable bushy hair thinking back on the purpose for looking for her he gathered up his nerves and blurted out his question " Hermione I was wondering if you would do me the honor of going to the Yule ball with me?" he asked feeling a massive weight fall off his shoulders unaware that a long term compulsion charm placed by Molly 3 years ago broke. Hermione looked at the massively blushing harry while a momentary look of across her face as she too felt the same pressure break as she quickly agreed. They hugged for a bit unaware that Ron had come up behind them with a furious look on his face as he had seen the entire exchange between them. "So potter you think you can still my girl? I don't think so." He whispers to himself as he comes up behind them and obliviates both of them recasting the compulsion charm
His eyes tear back up as he goes through dozens of memories like that. Catching Ginny brewing illegal potions, being dosed with potions, kissing Hermione, even holding hands with her. Ron, Molly, and Ginny had gone to massive length to keep them apart
He comes out of his brooding thoughts as the door to the starboard viewing room opens letting in a familiar hooded figure. "So I see you managed to pull yourself away from the greybox for now eh?" he asks as he puts the book on the table beside him and turns to watch as Kasumi moves to the couch propping her feet up on the crystal table "I spend as much time with the thing as you do with the old book of yours so I wouldn't be complaining if I was you" "I guess that's a sign we spend too much time focusing on the past I guess. We both miss our loved ones so much we would rather live in the past then the now" he says as he gently lays a hand on the book "considering the condition of the now I don't blame you honestly, hell the bloody reapers won so it's not like there's anything left." She says as she gets up and goes over to the mini bar grabbing a couple of cans of cheap beer "we did what we can to help the Raloi defeat the reapers when they come back around, even going as far as wiping out the Yahg so not everything is hopeless if this fails" he says with a wave of his hand summoning the can of beer.
"Well I just came by to tell you where entering Sol in 2 hours after that where find out if where going to be able to carry out your little plan." She says as she walks out the door leaving harry to his contemplations