Disclaimer: I don't own the Mass Effect trilogy or the Harry Potter series, each belongs to their respective owners and I do not profit from this in any way. I do, however, own all original characters and places. I don't own, The Dawn Attack by Brain, nor Hammer Head by Dale Brown. I'm just using them a bit.

Title: Fallen Star

Author: Torulfr

Summary: Shepard had expected his afterlife to be a peaceful place, but it that was not what he found. Instead, he awoke in a dark room surrounded by strangers, stuck in a teenager's body, in 1994 and told that magic exists. Can Shepard learn how to survive as fate throws him into the thick of things? Slash.

A/N: Hello everyone. Well, here is the second chapter, but I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed.

Enjoy!

Chapter 02: Fireflies

Most of the Ministry officials had filed out of the room and Ms Bones, Dumbledore and Snape were waiting for Mr Weasley outside while Amelia and Kingsley remained with Shepard. The Unspeakable went to sit next to the teenager again, smiling at him.

Shepard sat there for a moment and just let his mind go blank. It hurt too much for him to think at the moment. Amelia watched him carefully, as did Kingsley. It was then, that she noticed the tags around Shepard's neck.

"So," she started, "Tim tells me you are or were a commander in the Marines." She waited for Shepard to say something, but he remained silent. "You know, I would love to take you out to a shooting range some time and see if you keep those pretty stars and stripes."

Shepard frowned at her. "I thought you were a witch."

"I am," Amelia said. "I'm a muggleborn, a witch or wizard born to muggles, non-magical folk. My dad and granddad were both in the military. Granpaps fought in World War II in the Royal Air Force and Paps as a paratrooper with the American Army in Vietnam."

Shepard was about to ask her something when his omni-tool started to make a small blinking orb on his hand. A message. It should have been impossible, he was 192 years in the past. The logical part of his mind told him that he must have received the message just before he died.

With shaking fingers, he opened the voice message.

"Shepard." It was Kaidan's voice. "Shepard, you did it! We just got the call from Hackett. All the Reapers just dropped dead. You do know that people will love you now, but give it a few months and they'll start pointing fingers at you because of all the damage."

Shepard smiled. It was good to hear Kaidan laugh.

"By the way," Kaidan said in a seductive manner, "I found something under the bed a few nights ago. It was by accident I swear, but I still want to see you get down on one knee and all that. Just come home Shep."

Shepard closed his eyes and wrapped a hand around his tags. He knew there were other people in the room, but he couldn't care less. Just come home Shep. Home. The Normandy, Kaidan, they were his home. He opened his hand and saw a sterling silver cross and a white gold ring peeking out from behind the dog tags. He couldn't go home.

Amelia had watched with rapt attention, fascinated by that orange glove and the boy himself. She almost gasped when she saw the ring and cross resting in Shepard's palm.

"Well, that had to be one of sexist voices I have ever heard," Amelia said with a suggestive wag of her eyebrows.

"And who has first place?" Shepard asking jokingly.

Amelia blushed for a moment, before smiling. "A lady has her secrets. Who was that?"

Shepard's smile dropped immediately now that he was reminded of the message he had just listened to. "That was Kaidan. Major Kaidan Alenko."

"Major? You aim high, don't you?"

Shepard felt a small smile tug at his lips. "He was a lieutenant when I first met him six years ago. He rose in rank while I was… away."

"You were 31 before you came here, right?" Amelia asked. "What did you do with your life, apart from what you've told Tim and Madam Bones."

"I had a long, crammed life; let's see, I just about died twice. Fun times."

Amelia was staring to think that sarcasm was part of the wall Shepard was building around himself. She also got a feeling that what he just said was the dumbed down, nutshell version and it only made her all the more curious. "Fine, it's a touchy subject. How about you tell me how that orange thing of yours works."

"This?" Shepard made a motion with his left and the omni-tool lit up again. "It's all just projected from a band I wear round my wrist. It runs on its own batteries and a computer chip."

Amelia stared at Shepard's wrist. "If it runs on electronics, it should have blown up the moment you were spat out of the Veil!"

"Uh… why?"

"Because!" Amelia ran a hand through her hair. "That's just what happens when anything electronic is around or comes into contact with magic. Boom." She imitated an explosion with puffed out cheeks. "The only way this tool thing of yours can be work is if it's enchanted somehow."

"I don't think it's enchanted," Shepard said with an eyebrow raised. He had to admit, she was doing a fantastic job at keeping mind distracted from the message. "Tali would have picked up on that every time she changed over the chips and whatnot into this bracelet casing."

"Why do you say that?" Kingsley asked.

Shepard looked at him. He had forgotten the man was even there. "I've had this casing since I was thirteen, my mother gave it to me and said I should never get a new one, just change over the software inside. See," he lifted his arm, "it's got my initials on it - T.L.S."

Amelia sat there with her arms crossed over her chest and a contemplative look on her face. "Ok, I won't say anything if Kings and you don't. The last thing we need is the Ministry getting wind of this."

Both Kingsley and Shepard nodded in consent.

"Great!" Amelia exclaimed with a large smile. "Now, what's up with all your squinting?"

Shepard didn't even notice he was squinting. He wanted to say his amp was acting up, but he didn't want to want to explain all that at the moment, and coupled with the fact that anything electronic short circuits near magic, he was rather uneasy about there being an amp in the back of his head. "Headache."

The door opened and a balding, red-haired man walked in with a smile on his face. "You must be Shepard."

Shepard nodded, looking at the seemingly friendly man sceptically. "Yes sir."

Timothy walked in and gave Shepard and Amelia a tired smile. "Shepard, this is Mr Weasley. He's agreed to open up his home to you until Professor Snape can prove he is your legal guardian."

Mr Weasley smiled again. "Well, is there anything you want to know before we head over to the Burrow?"

Shepard looked from Mr Weasley, over to Timothy, then Amelia. He liked the two Unspeakables. "Will I still be able to see Amelia and Timothy after this?"

Amelia laughed suddenly and loudly. "You fell out the Veil kid. Tim is going to use you as his pet project from now on. Besides, I still want to see which one of us has the better aim, so of course you'll be seeing us."

"If you really want to, I'm sure it will be fine if Mr O'Hara and Ms Leighton come over for dinner tonight," Mr Weasley said kindly.

Timothy immediately began to protest. "Uh… it's really not-"

"Of course we'd love to come! Homemade food beats takeout!" Amelia said happily, interrupting the older Unspeakable. "C'mon Worthy, I know you've been living off of takeout for the last few months."

Timothy glared at the witch then gave a sigh of resignation. "Thanks Mr Weasley. Will it be ok if Shepard stays with you for the rest of the afternoon. Amelia and I have… research to finish."

"No problem, no problem at all," Mr Weasley said with a smile. "He can even help me with my work."

Shepard stood, zipping up his under armour suit and looked down at his armour scattered about on the floor. Something warm suddenly landed on his shoulders. He looked up and saw Amelia put her black robe, cloak thing on his shoulders.

"Can't have people gawking at you now can we?" she asked playfully.

"Thanks," Shepard said softly. He wasn't used to people, total strangers being this kind to him. No, they always wanted something or expected something great from Commander Shepard, so he was never just himself, just Shepard.

Amelia hugged him and Timothy laid an assuring hand on his shoulder and took all of Shepard's armour before they left him with Mr Weasley.

Mr Weasley smiled and motioned towards the door. "When we get to my office, I'll show you my secret stash of sweets, and let you have some of the muggle clothing we have in storage."

Shepard nodded and followed the man to the elevators. He hugged the robe to his body and let out a heavy sigh. The elevator ride was interesting to say the least. A lot of colourful people got in and out of the elevator, including woman with pink hair and a portly man carrying a box with smoke rising from the air holes. Shepard unconsciously inched closer to the back and behind Mr Weasley. He was completely out of his element here.

Magic, witches, wizards, a secret world and who knew what else. Even though Shepard often went to sleep asking himself why he didn't just take up a peaceful life in the colonies, he now just wanted his old life back, filled with husks, rouge Spectres and aliens back. It was what he was familiar with. But, one thing was the same, everyone always wanted something. They always did. With complete honesty, the only person that had never wanted anything of him was Kasumi and Ashley. Hell, even Tali, Kaidan and Joker had used him to some extent for their own personal gain. He just needed to figure out what Mr Weasley was getting out of this.

"Now, here we are," Mr Weasley said and nudged Shepard out the elevator and down a narrow corridor, with dozens of flying paper planes whizzing past overhead.

Mr Weasley opened a door and motioned for Shepard to follow. The room was filled all kinds of different paraphernalia; telephones, books, radios, magazines, cooldrink cans, batteries and a large assortment of plugs, with a desk near the back stacked with paperwork.

"What do you think?" Mr Weasley asked as he closed the door behind him. "Quite remarkable isn't it?"

Shepard didn't know how to respond to that. Most of the stuff to his mind were beyond ancient. He wondered how much Ms Bones and Timothy had told the man, because when he grew up, there were no plugs or telephones, everything was wireless, sleek, fast and accessible through an omni-tool.

"Now, I know some of this will be as strange to you as they are to me," Mr weasley said, taking boxes off of an old couch and dumping them on the floor. "I know you come from the future, Madam Bones told me that much."

Shepard attempted to smile, but it turned out as a half assed, lopsided grin instead. He sat down on the couch while Mr Weasley fumbled around with things at his desk. With nothing better to do, Shepard peered down into the box that Mr Weasley had put on the floor. It was filled with books.

"Ah, here we go!" Mr Weasley said excitedly. "I'll be right back with some clothes for, but mind they won't fit all that well."

"It's fine sir."

Shepard picked up the first book he could get his hands on as soon as Mr Weasley left. Electricity for Dummies. Well, he supposed it made sense. Why would wizards use electricity if they had magic, a clean, sustainable source of energy? He smiled and put the book down and picked up another one. Plumbing Made Easy for the D.I.Y. Man. It was equally useless to him. He knew how both electricity and plumbing worked – to an extent. He continued picking his way through the box, finding books on various subjects, from chemistry to cooking.

When the door opened, it creaked and sent Shepard jumping. He had unconsciously reached to his pistol but found nothing. Mr Weasley came in with an armful of clothes.

"Try these on, they should fit alright." Mr Wealsey handed the bundle of clothes over.

Shepard set the clothes down on the couch and sorted through them carefully. He pulled out a night robe and frowned. "Mr Weasley, sir?"

"Yes?"

"This is a night robe," Shepard said gingerly. HE wanted to change and then sleep peacefully. "You don't wear this in public."

"Really?" Mr Weasley asked with a wide-eyed face. "I thought it was a winter cloak."

Shepard didn't comment on that and picked up the next item of clothing – a somewhat large white tank top. That would fit. Next was a pair of baggy, grey sweatpants. Great, he was going to spend the rest of the day looking like a hobo.

"Um…"

Mr Weasley looked up from his desk and with a flick of his wand, a curtain appeared, dividing the room. Shepard quickly changed, and finished by pulling on a pair of takkies and hanging his dog tags over his tank top.

"Thanks, Mr Wealsey," Shepard said, and the curtain disappeared.

"Now, I see you've gotten into the book box," Mr Weasley said without looking up from his paperwork.

"Sorry sir, I was just curious, I'll put them all back."

"Nonsense! Feel free to look around. You have a better head for this stuff than I do." Mr Weasley looked up with a smile. "Maybe you can explain how plugs work when the get to the Burrow."

Shepard nodded, sat down and continued digging through the box. Printed books were rare in the future, since everything was available digitally, through the extranet. He found a small book, with a dark, faded cover of a soldier and the title: The Dawn Attack near the bottom of the box. He turned over the book and read the description. It was a World War II fiction novel. That immediately picked his interest. He sat back and started reading. When he saw the publication date, in his mind he calculated that the book was over a hundred years old, but then remembered that he himself was actually 192 years in the past.

Mr Wealsey was about his office, doing this and that and often out to see someone or some other. Shepard hardly noticed. The book had really reeled him in. He was drawing up on the last ninety pages of the book when Mr Weasley came back in and clapped his hands together, making Shepard jump slightly, He had never been this skittish before, not after the first week after the raid on Mindoir.

"And off we go!" Mr Weasley exclaimed happily. He gathered some papers into a bag and then waited at the door. "Oh, you can take the book and others with you; it's all just gibberish to me anyway."

Shepard tucked the book and another titled: Hammer Head under his arm and scooped up his under suit and Amelia's robe as well. He was on his way to the door when something caught his eye. He quickly grabbed it and folded it into the robes. He quietly followed Mr Weasley until they reached a large open room filled with witches and wizards. He didn't say anything, just kept his head down and followed Mr Wealsey as closely as he could. He looked up when they stopped at what seemed to be a large fireplace.

"We'll be travelling via Floo, so just stand in there next to me and stay still. It may make you feel a bit queasy," Mr Wealsey said.

Shepard did as he was told. Mr Weasley stepped in next to him, holding some powder in his hand.

"The Burrow!"

Shepard was about to panic when green flames blossomed out of thin air, but before he could do anything, a great pulling, and swishing sensation passed over him and in an instant, it was gone again. He stomach churned, even thought it was empty. It took him a moment to open his eyes and see himself in an entirely different fireplace, looking into a kitchen.

Mr Weasley put a gentle hand on Shepard's shoulder and nudged him forward. A red-haired, portly woman came up to Shepard and enveloped him a hug. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't used to people just hugging him, let alone a complete stranger. It wasn't as if he could just shove the woman off, who he assumed was Mr Weasley's wife, and so he just stood there, waiting for her to let him go.

"Oh, I didn't even introduce myself, I'm Molly Wealsey," she said, letting Shepard go and holding him at arm's length to inspect him. "Much too skinny. What's your name dear?"

"Shepard Shepard, ma'am."

Mrs Weasley smiled. "You can call me Mrs Weasley, 'ma'am' makes me feel older than I am."

Shepard didn't know what to do. He wasn't very experienced at dealing with older women, much less a civilian woman who had no military background whatsoever. For a moment, he remembered Ashley. He hadn't been to her grave yet, and now he never would. He wished he could have met her sisters, because from all the stories Ashley had told about them, they sounded like great women, understanding too.

"Molly, don't be too hard on the boy, he's new to all this," Mr Weasley said as he stepped out of the fireplace and hung his cloak over the back of a chair. "You did get my letter yes?"

"Of course," Mrs Weasley said briskly. "Is it wise to let Severus get the boy? I mean, we have the extra room, he could always stay here!"

Shepard frowned. Was everyone just going to talk about his life like he had no say in anything? Perhaps that was what Mr Weasley was getting out of this, a charity case. He reasoned that that was why he liked Amelia and Timothy, they treated him like an adult and not just in a parenting way, but as the 32 year old he felt and they didn't want anything. A spike of pain rang in his head. It was worse than before, so he couldn't help but frown all the more, close his eyes and put the heel of his palm to his temple.

"I'm sure Severus is more than capable of looking after Shepard. Besides, if he is the boy's legal guardian, there is nothing we can do about it," Mr Weasley said in factual voice. "Now, there must be some of twins' clothes that will fit him better than what he has on now."

With that, Mrs Weasley let the subject slide and left the kitchen. Shepard stared after her and then looked back to Mr Weasley. The man smiled and waved to one of the chairs. He noticed that there were eight chairs, instead of the usual six or four. He sat down in a chair near Mr Weasley at the head of the table.

"Sorry, Molly can be a bit much sometimes," Mr Weasley said apologetically. "Were you an only child growing up?"

Shepard nodded, not really feeling up to conversation.

"Oh dear."

Shepard didn't know if that was said out of concern or just to get him to say something, but he couldn't help but ask. "What?"

"We have seven children, of which four are still living with us now."

"Seven? That's…." He didn't know what to say. Four kids was expensive, hell, he knew one kid was expensive, but seven was completely excessive. He couldn't imagine having six other siblings, wait he could. The Normandy was like a large, inter-species family, with him as the oldest brother, Kaidan the boyfriend everyone liked, Jack and Miranda the brats you wish you weren't related to, Garrus the cool cousin you wish was your brother, Tali the quiet younger sibling that everyone loved, Thane the cool, mysterious uncle no-one talks about, Samara the all-knowing aunt, Grunt the spoilt baby of the family, Joker the laid back middle child, Liara the brainy turned beautiful cousin you never really noticed before and finally, Dr Chakwas as the mother of the horde. He didn't know where to put EDI though, what was she, the dog? No, that didn't seem right.

"Wow," was all Shepard could manage after he imaged what his crew would have looked like as an actual family, the kind you grew up with and couldn't exchange with a receipt.

Mr Weasley laughed. "You seemed like an only child."

"Why?"

"Just the way you were conscious of everything and what belonged to who. In a family as big as this, the saying is, 'what's yours is mine.' Bill, Charlie and Percy will be coming over in just over a month and a half, with Fred, George, Ron and Ginny coming home from school in a month."

"I think I've met Percy," Shepard said, thinking over to his first ride in the elevators. "Red hair, freckles, glasses, loves his job too much?"

Mr Weasley smiled. "Yes, that's Percy. I know that Molly meant well earlier, but if your father trusted Severus enough to make him your Godfather, then I support it. Besides, you seem like the type of person who will get along well with him."

Shepard sat there, wondering over the man he had seen briefly, dark, greasy hair, pale face, hard eyes and dark clothing. All of them were signs of a recluse person with interesting stories to tell. Those were usually the most interesting people in his opinion, well, if Kaidan and Thane were anything to by anyway.

"What does he do?" Shepard asked.

"He's the Potions Master at Hogwarts," Mr Weasley said. "One the most disliked and strictest teachers there. You'll have to learn to like the man, since you be living with him and see him at school."

"School?"

"Oh, we haven't told you have we?" Mr Weasley asked rhetorically. "I'm sure Severus will explain to you when he comes over for the weekend."

Mrs Weasley came in and put the clothes down in front of Shepard. "There you are dear. You're about as tall as the twins, so these should fit. The bathroom is up the stairs and to your left."

Shepard thanked her and put the books and Amelia's robe on the table. He followed her instructions, looking around as he went along. The house was crammed with things, but it didn't seem crowded, but actually quite homey and warm. He found the bathroom with ease and shrugged out of his current clothes and put on the new ones that fit a lot better. Shepard eyed the electric razor he had taken from Mr Weasley's office. He knew it wouldn't work in the house filled with magic, but he really wanted to use it. Perhaps he could ask Amelia to help him.

When Shepard went back to the kitchen, he saw pots, pans and other kitchenware flying about. He didn't scream, no, N7 soldiers did not scream, they stood frozen and stared.

"Don't worry," Mr Weasley said. "They won't do anything. Molly has complete control over them."

Shepard raised an eyebrow as a knife started peeling potatoes. What was wrong with using your hands? If all witches and wizards used magic for everything, then they would all be fat, lazy asses, but he knew that wasn't true from all the different people he had seen at the… what was it? The Ministry of Magic?

Shepard cautiously inched closer to the table and sat down. He picked up The Dawn Attack and started reading. He was well aware that both Mr and Mrs Weasley were watching him closely. Really, he was from the future, not an entirely different species. Once the book was finished, twenty minutes later, he put the book down.

"Well," Mr Weasley said, unsure of how to start the conversation. "What schooling did you have?"

Shepard frowned. That was a strange question. "Why ask that? You could ask me what the future's like or something like that. Why schooling?"

Mr Wealsey smiled. "I find muggle schooling fascinating, so I can only imagine what yours might be like."

"Ok then. I went to kindergarten, went on to primary school until seventh grade, learnt the basics of everything, English, Galactic Trade tongue, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth History, Galactic History. In high school, I did English, Mathematics, Galactic Trade and History, Biology, as well as Visual Art. After that… I went and did my Basic Training to become an Alliance Navy Marine."

"Interesting," Mr Weasley said, hanging off of the teenager's every word.

The fireplace suddenly roared with green flames and seconds later, Amelia and a clean-shaven Timothy stood there.

"Come in dears, come in," Mrs Wealsey ushered.

"It smell delicious, Mrs Wealsey," Amelia commented upon stepping into the kitchen.

"Thanks for having us," Timothy said with a polite smile.

The two Unspeakables took a seat; with Amelia right next Shepard and Timothy across form him. Amelia immediately picked up the books and read the blurbs at the back of them.

"You a history buff?" Amelia asked jokingly.

Shepard smiled. Amelia seemed to have that effect on him. "Hardly, but if you ask me anything that happened in say… 100 and 190 years from now, I'm your man, but not anything as ancient as World War II."

Amelia mockingly gasped as if it was the scandal of the century. Timothy rolled his eyes and Mr and Mrs Easley looked very confused.

"Don't get the girl started, Shepard," Timothy said. "She'll talk you ear off about World War II until next year."

"Stop with the whole 'Shepard' thing," Amelia said with a slight scowl. "He's a teenage boy, not one of your Auror buddies."

"It's fine," Shepard said in a soft voice. "That's all anyone every called me that or Commander."

"That's exactly why he should stop," Amelia said pointedly, glaring at Timothy, who was lounging back with a cold Butterbeer in his hands.

Mrs Weasley put another bottle of Butterbeer down in front of Amelia and Shepard. He quietly took a sip, and found it to his liking. Dinner followed soon after, with Timothy and Amelia ignoring each other, talking to everyone else. Mr Weasley asked avidly about plugs and electricity, which Shepard explained to the best of his ability, based on his limited knowledge on the subject.

Once dinner was finished, Mr Wealsey and Timothy were busy with a Ministry related discussion and Mrs Weasley was busy in the kitchen. Shepard was standing by the back door, looking out. Amelia came up to him and practically shoved him out the door. She led him a little ways on until they both sat down on the cool grass.

"This is all insane," Shepard said quietly. He couldn't see Amelia, but he knew she was there.

"I know. That's how I saw everything when I first got my acceptance letter to Salem's. You get used to it."

Shepard was about to reply when small little greenish-yellow lights started flickering in the sky. He looked up at them with wide eyes as they danced around against the dark backdrop of the night sky.

"You've never seen fireflies before." Amelia stated rather than asked.

"No, I grew up in the colonies. No fireflies there."

Amelia scooted closer to Shepard and put an arm around his shoulders. "Well, they look magical, don't they?"

Shepard didn't answer her. He was too busy watching the fireflies.

"Think of the two of us as those fireflies," she said softly, "two ordinary people able to do unbelievable things. Thing is though, from the things I've heard from you, you were already a firefly before you came here. You've left people behind, important people and left things undone, but you have to think of the here and now. You saved the galaxy, kid! Magic can't get you a higher achievement than that, unless you happen to be Harry Potter."

Shepard reasoned that the last part was meant as a joke, but he didn't get it. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, thought about everything he had done in the last four years and just… let go. He began see himself a firefly, buzzing around. Yes, he had a new life, with new possibilities.

"Can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure."

Shepard took the razor he had stuffed into his jacket pocket and held it out. "Could you?"

Amelia smiled gently and cast a lumos spell, taking the razor in hand, testing it to see if it would work. It was weak, but it would do the trick. Without speaking, Shepard turned around and Amelia put the razor on full power and started shaving his hair off and into a standard military cut.

When it was done, the two of them stood, brushed off any stray locks of blonde hair off and headed back to the Burrow.

Right, that's the second chapter finished. I know it's a bit boring, but things will pick up from the next chapter. I also know that most of you won't know some of the words I've used, like takkies or colddrink cans. The former is what people called track shoes I think, and the latter is what is called soda cans overseas. I use South African English because I'm South African and can't be bothered to use American or UK English. Don't worry though, I won't use local lingo or Afrikaans, otherwise you'll have people saying 'Aweh, howzit my china?', 'Jou ma's 'n koeksister!' and my favourite, 'Eish!'

I'd love to know what you guys think of the story so far and constructive criticism is appreciated.

In the next chapter, Snape will make an appearance and Shepard will formally be introduced to the magical world.