A/N: This is where the fic begins ot align with events from the Star Trek Voyager canon. Though of course, this is a crossover, so it wont always go like the canon in later chaps.
2371, Deep Space 9...
"Wow! I knew that Deep Space 9 had a reputation for commerce and interspecies travel because of the wormhole, but its quite another thing to see in person!" Kim enthused.
Harry couldn't help the fond look that he shot his friend as the new Operations Officer for Voyager turned his head this way and that, eyes wide. It reminded him of another life, long ago, when a young boy stepped through a wall of moving bricks and into his own alien (figurative) place of commerce.
Potato, sensing his turn in mood, hissed at him concernedly. Harry just patted the slight lump under his blue and black uniform.
"Well, after two and a half standard weeks on board a Tellurite cargo ship, I am quite looking forward to stretching my legs and see what the station has to offer!" Harry declared briskly, rubbing his hands together and jiggling the plump pouch filled with gold pressed latenum. Harry had very much enjoyed the many games of Dom Chat back home over the years that it had taken for him to amass his small fortune.
Kim shot him a bland look, "Its not like you stayed cooped up in our quarters, I know damn well you space walked during that stop over at Dudlos 6."
"Just because my constitution isn't so delicate to have my head stuck in the bathroom..." Harry sniffed.
Kim shot him an incredulous look, "Dyspnea is common side effect of being in the presence of Tellurites' for a prolonged period..." he exclaimed, "its perfectly natural!"
Harry just rolled his eyes, and after separating a bit of funds and slapping them into Kim's hands, he said briskly, "go on then Mr. Sensitive Constitution, go have some fun, I'm going to go take advantage of the famous Quark Holosuites before we have to leave."
Kim grumbled under his breath, but meandered towards the bar once they arrived at Quark's. Harry noticed that his friend was near by several federation officers amongst the clientele, so he felt safe in leaving his friend for an hour or two.
Harry grabbed a nearby Ferengi, waved a bit of latinum under his bulbous nose, and soon has his program, though he was warned that they weren't liable in case of injury and death, and that he would have to pay extra for the cleaning bill.
Harry rubbed his hands together, tossed a few more strips at the Ferengi and was soon led up to the best of the holosuites, program clutched in his hands. if this program was as good as he hoped it was, he might just fork out an extra strip to keep it permanently to add to his...collection.
ooo ooo ooo
A few hour later Harry Potter stumbled out of the Holosuite, satisfied indeed, and tossing his newly acquired holochip happily as he meandered through the nearly empty corridors of Voyager.
Certainly, it was busy in other sections of the ship, but most of the crew not needed were taking advantage of what leave they could before leaving for their mission.
Harry had to admit, he had not thought that the first person he would bump into on board the ship would be his new captain and an old friend.
"Oof!" the creaky old man grunted as the two of them collided into each other turning a blind corner.
Harry rubbed his nose, damn old guy had a really bony collar bone...then the old man exclaimed as a short woman with hair pulled into a bun on her head, uniform and pips indicating that this must be Captain Janeway, who was assisting the revered personage to his feet, "Good grief! It's you!"
Harry's face suddenly split into a smile and with cheerful abandon, pulled the crotchety old retired doctor into a hug, "Bones you crusty old curmudgeon! Merlin's Harry balls its been ages! You look...alive."
Dr. McCoy, or Bones, snorted "and you look the same stowaway that you did when I met you."
"Now, Now Bones," Harry chided, winking with a finger on his lips, "Don't go airing our glorious first meeting, let it be a surprise for the Captain...oh wait a moment," Harry paused and stood at attention, shooting of a salute, "Greetings Sir, I am Ensign Harry Potter, Science Officer and one of your new Xenobiologists, reporting for duty."
"At ease Ensign...though I think that won't be to hard for you," the Captain said drolly.
"You nailed the head on that one," Bones muttered to himself, then to Harry "I didn't believe that damn Hobgoblin in his last communication that you had actually decided to join Starfleet, did you finally tire of tormenting the Vulcans and catting with random Klingons?"
"Now, Now Bones," Harry chided with a grin, "You know I don't kiss and tell," Harry winked, "Though I wouldn't mind going down memory lane with an old friend over a bottle of...well," Harry coughed awkwardly, remembering that they had his superior officer in their presence, "The good ol' true blue."
Bones' eyes lit, "Really? what year?"
"Oh, I think its the '45?" Harry scratched his head.
Bones rubbed his knarled hands eagerly, "You may be a troublemaking tomcat, but you somehow always seem to have the good stuff."
"Then I shall leave you two to catch up with each other," the Captain finally said, "I shall come by to accompany you later back to the station Ambassador...and Ensign, while I suspect there is a fascinating story behind how you two know each other, that comradery better not extend to needing the Ambassador emergency beamed back to his quarters on board his ship because he couldn't walk, nor yourself unable to attend to your station, Is that clear?"
"Yes sir," Harry snapped straight smartly.
When the woman was gone, Harry settled Bones' arm in his, despite the man's protest about not needing any help, Harry's response was that he just wanted to be on the arm of a handsomest man on the ship.
"I'd believe that if it weren't for the fact that we both know that you don't care one whit what someone looks like," Bones grumped dryly, "just so long as their humanoid enough to have compatible equipment...then again, you might consider anything else a challenge..." his voice trailed off, but did go along with it anyway.
Harry just smiled.
ooo ooo ooo
Harry Kim let out a breath of relief when he spotted the familiar head of messy black hair a few people ahead of him in the line queuing up in front of the replicators in the Mess.
Kim ordered his egg salad sandwich and waved Potter over. Harry grimaced at his tray, a large sloppy looking veggie burger, his friend must be feeling nostalgic, he wondered what brought that on? Though he supposed that they were heading out on their first mission, that was bound to illicit some strong emotions.
"Hey Kimmy, how was your first day out of Drydock?" Potter chirped cheerfully.
"I told you to not call me that," Harry blushed, then he sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose, "You smell like...Is that Alcohol!? Potter! We're on duty!"
"Oh, relax your pretty head Kim, you know I'm a functioning alcoholic, Merlin how do you think I got through Quantum Mechanics?"
"You barely passed Quantum Mechanics!" Harry groaned, "and you threw up in the last guest speaker's shuttle!"
Potter waved his hand dismissively, "That LeForge was completely understanding..."
Kim shot Potter a sour look, "only because there was an outbreak of Andorran Mauve Fever on Campus and he totally bought your outright like you...you pickled fiend!"
Potter had the audacity to break out into peals of laughter, drawing a few looks and raised eyebrows. Harry sighed, why did he bother? he grabbed his giggling friend and dragged him over to the one table without anyone except a tall sandy haired man in the red uniform of bridge crew, eating Tomato soup with a glum look on his face. This man was Tom Paris, semi ex-con and guide through the badlands for their mission to extract an undercover officer in the Maquis, who had failed to check in.
Tom shot Harry a droll look full of expectation as the two men sat across from him.
"So, Harry, I'm sure by now the others have given you the sordid details of my background story."
Harry studied the man for a quiet and serious moment before he said soberly "...son of a prominent Starfleet admiral, dishonorably discharged from Starfleet and later joined the Maquis before being captured and serving time at the Federation Penal Settlement in New Zealand...did you really try to cover up your involvement in the deaths of those officers on Caldik Prime? ."
Tom shrugged, "yeah."
Harry studied the other man for a moment, then his eyes trailed to Potter who was eyeing Tom up for completely different reasons, like he was trying to remember something even as he dipped a piece of his Veggie burger in his cup of extra stiff ractajino.
What was it about him attracting friends of a questionable nature to his person?
He sighed internally but asked, "So why did you confess then? Was it because you...regretted what happened?"
Tom snorted, amused by the rather naive and very Starfleet question, before he answered glibly, "Yeah Harry, the ghosts of those three dead officers came to me in the middle of the night and taught me the true meaning of Christmas" he rolled his eyes, before getting up to leave, only to stop when he felt a restraining hand on his arm. (1)
Harry very seriously said, "Well, whatever your reasons, and whatever you've done aside, I don't let other's opinions tell me who can or cannot be my friend."
Tom stared at Harry for a moment, then the smallest of smiles quirked his lips, "ok then, if that's how it is...lets go see the bridge, I'm tired o eating anyway," tom stared down at his tray with a lip curl, "4 different kinds in the replicator and they still can't get it right!"
The three men, Harry dragging Potter with them after introducing the two of them (Tom was vastly amused by the twin names) who still looked deep in thought, deposited their refuse in another replicator to dematerialize, and meandered out of the Mess and made their way towards the bridge, where the group would separate to take their stations, and Potter would return to his quarters to sleep off his entertaining the important ambassador. Potter wouldn't be starting his shift for another few shifts yet, not too much urgency for a reptilian Xenobiologist for this mission.
Before they did though, Potter suddenly exclaimed "Ah ha!" causing the other two men to jump in the Turbolift.
Potter pointed at Tom dramatically, "Your Owen's boy! the one that nearly drowned in Lake Tahoe!"
Tom grimaced, "So you know the Old man huh? and just so you know, I didn't almost drown, I bailed before the Shuttle sunk. So, let me guess, the esteemed Admiral Paris is a personal hero of yours? Where did you meet? at yet another mucky muck Starfleet brass convention?"
Harry suddenly choked as he realized exactly how Potter knew the admiral. Luckily for Harry, the turbolift opened onto the bustling bridge just as Potter, grinning madly, opened his mouth to explain. He hurriedly rushed Tom out, saying a hasty goodbye to a clearly amused Potter.
"What was that all about?" Tom asked, looking intrigued, and raised his eyebrows when Harry blushed bright red.
"Trust me Tom, you do not want to know, you...really don't want to know."
ooo ooo ooo
At some point when Harry Potter settled into the top bunk in their bedroom, falling into the bosom of slumber land, Voyager had pulled out of dock at DS9 and started their course to the Badlands. In fact, for most of the exciting happenings, Harry continued to snore happily.
Potato meanwhile had ventured for his own nap under Kim's pillow, body bulging with the recent meal of a whole turkey. The only disappointing thing was that it had not been alive before hand, coming from the replicator, but it would be a few months until the supply of rabbits Harry had brought aboard, currently sitting in a little pen in one of the labs, had bred enough to satisfy a more regular feeding schedule, though the chickens were coming along nicely, though no one was sure why the ensign had brought aboard so many, taking up half of a smaller unused cargo hold.
Still, Potato didn't mind, as she rather enjoyed the taste of turkey. Then, after some time had passed, not that a snake was overly aware of the human conception of it anyway, Potato was startled awake when the ship suddenly shook all around them. The snake only just managed to wrap himself around a bed post, hissing in alarm.
Unfortunately, Potato's glorious master and provider of fat rabbits and dead turkeys, was not blessed with Potatoes superior reflexes and glorious coils as the small human male was flung from his resting place with a startled grunt, tossed across the room where he smashed sickeningly into the wall. Potato recognized the tell-tale sound of crushed bones and the scent of death, while admittedly always pervaded her master, was much stronger.
Potato despaired, his beautiful master was dead! which was a real shame as there were so few, if any other two leggers that had the intelligence to speak like any sensible serpent.
Then suddenly, the body disappeared and his master was suddenly standing up. Oh...well, never mind then.
Apparently not for long as the careening out of control ship tossed him into another wall, there was another sickening crunch.
Poor Potato let out another melodramatic hiss of woe at the loss of his master so soon after getting him back.
Suddenly, looking quite aggravated, Potato's Master was on his feet again, trying to find a purchase.
This happened a few more times.
Toss! Crunch! Pop! -Alive! Toss! Crunch! Pop! -Alive!...
Eventually the ship finally stopped, Potato in a small space of time was now somewhat inured to the dramatic loss of her glorious master, and Harry popped back into existence without any Toss and Crunch to add to his Pop.
:Master?: the serpent questioned faintly, and gladly slithered up the offered naked arm until Potato was wrapped snuggly around Harry's bare neck, :What happened? I did not like it, and are you alive again for longer this time?:
"I guess that's one way of putting it," Harry grumbled, then put his fists on his bare hips and turned to an empty spot near a wall and began ranting, "What the hell?! Are you kidding me?! The very first mission!? Why didn't you warn me!? then Harry's face paled, "Merlin! Kim!"
Harry sprang from the room, grabbing a pair of casual grey jeans, replicated after his favorite piece of clothing from his 20th century days, he cussed, one pant leg on, as he soon forgot about his state of undress when he found the door controls unresponsive, and when he touched the metal, felt the distinctive heat of a likely raging inferno just outside.
Harry gritted his teeth, eyes swerving around the room until he spotted a small vent, revealed when the bookcase had fallen over in the ruckus.
It was small, but not to small for his particularly sized skinny arse, so after grabbing a few tools from the still miraculously standing side table, Harry removed the vent cover, relieved when Potato confirmed that the air smelled relatively clear. Harry pulled up the rest of his pants, zipped his fly and proclaimed, "Don't worry Kim, I'm coming," and crawled inside.
ooo ooo ooo
Harry was crawling around the Jefferies tubes for over an hour, having gotten lost quickly in the maze-like innards of the ship. The only one who was pleased by the entire scenario was Potato, who was slithering just ahead of him, exclaiming how useful these tunnels would be for traveling and hunting around the ship.
Harry made a mental note to warn the Engineering staff ahead of time, so some poor sod didn't get the life scared out of them and kill his familiar with a sonic screwdriver or something.
Of course, just as he found an access hatch which lead presumably somewhere around the third or fourth deck that he was whisked away in a flash of pulsating light.
Harry blinked when he found himself crouching on all fours in the middle of an open field in front of a cozy looking farm that reminded him vaguely of a more structurally sound Burrow. Of Course, just to make it that much more awkward, The Captain literally stumbled on him, sending the two rolling out of the corn, to land in an undignified heap at the feet of the rest of the bedraggled and confused crewmen.
The two managed to detangle themselves, an Engineer helped the captain to her feet while Harry was offered a hand up by a Yeomen.
"Sorry sir," Harry apologized, "I didn't expect to end up in a cornfield."
"I think its safe to say that's a widely shared sentiment ensign," Janeway gave Harry a disproving frown, "just what were you doing before you were taken with the rest of us? Your out of uniform and half way out of cloths Ensign."
"I got lost in the tubes, and my uniform is currently buried with the rest of my stuff under a pile of other stuff," Harry scratched the back of his neck.
Then out of the gathered crowd, whom the captain had turned to address after that brief inappropriately attired distraction, Kim stumbled out, looking rumpled, but otherwise undamaged. Harry went over and pulled Kim, with out a word, into a crushing hug.
Kim knew it wasn't exactly appropriate, but he had learned over the years that his roommate was a tactile being, particularly with those he cared about, especially if he had been distressed in someway. Harry may know it was useless to struggle in these situations of course, but he also allowed it because maybe he had been worried about his friend to and was relieved to see him whole if embarrassed at his current attire.
They eventually did separate, Harry taking an extra tricorder from another officer, and soon the quick succession of facts that the crew was spread out on some sort of Holodeck inside a giant Space Array that was explained to Harry brought them 70,00 light years from the Alpha Quadrant using a Displacement Wave. Then after everyone was caught up on their current situation, a kindly grandmotherly sort of woman bustled from the farmhouse offering lemonade, greetings, but nothing much else. The were soon joined by the holographic neighbours, and the crew was dragged into a hoe down.
The core group around the captain eventually separated, while Harry and a few headed South to scan for any sort of possible way to breach the alien holodeck, and Kim and Tom leaving to scan for traces of a power source.
Harry and his group did find a few more stragglers, one of which was a rather green looking Lieutenant who had accidentally ended up a tree when he had been brought over, and the poor fellow was rather uneasy around heights. By the time Harry and the others managed to get the man down, the program around them began to disintegrate and they were all swept up into a purple light this time.
ooo ooo ooo
When Harry Potter came to, he was in some sort of long hallway filled with medical beds and he was naked but for some sort of thick black mesh cloth. The rest of the beds were unoccupied and there were two faces looking down at him. One was an old man with a banjo thrown over a shoulder, the other was of course, Death.
"My things have certainly been amusing since you were napping, though I must say its been awhile since I had the pleasure of retrieving the soul of one of his sort, I'm looking forward to the stimulating conversations one we are behind the veil.
This of course was not seen by the old man who, apparently, while just a hologram, represented an entity that was apparently close to dyeing, that and when death was amused, that meant that a lot of potential disasters had happened.
Harry's hand shot out and gripped the worn plaid collar of the old man's shirt, dragging the startled figure closer as he pulled himself upward. He winced at the pain in his belly, what the hell had happened to him?!
"Where in the hell is my crewmates? What the hell do you want you…you creaky avatar of protons?!"
"It had to be done you see," the old man muttered, "I am running out of time...I thought maybe at least two of them...maybe, but no, it was failure...I had hoped to repay my debt before..."
The senseless muttering tapered off and the man pulled himself from Harry's grasp as he began to pace, "I kept you because your body is somehow different from the others, stopped in time you see, I have not come across another like you, and even if the genetic modifications wouldn't hold, I had hoped to keep you on stand by just in case, but I have grown to weak to train you to take over, and now with the station under attack, I can't risk the technology falling into the wrong hands, your captain was also rather insistent that you be returned. I agree of course, I'm not a bad being, just..." the ramble trailed off.
"A dying one," Harry finished with a sigh, at the being's look he grunted, "I can literally see Death at your shoulder, its looking forward to a good long chat with you in the afterlife. The git was always fond of long lived beings."
The old man, who introduced himself as the Caretaker, grimaced, confused. Harry waved it away, "never mind, just tell me where the crew is"
His answer was to be transported back into the Jefferies tubes where he had originally been taken, though at least he had his pants back. Harry cussed at the cramped space and hastily made his way towards to the hatch. Merlin, he was tired! the first damn peaceful time he had he was taking a nap!
ooo ooo ooo
By the time that Harry had made it out of the ship's bowls, the array had been destroyed and some attacking marauding locals called the Kazan had slunk away under the threat of Voyager's superior technology and Captain Janeway's willingness to use it.
Harry, because moments like this are apparently what he existed for apparently, had found himself falling out of a loosened vent after tumbling down an unexpected drop somewhere, and landed with a pained groan directly on the bridge.
"Ensign Potter," Captain Janeway said with a sigh, equal parts annoyed and relieved (she had worried that her lone officer stuck over there had not been returned and met with a fiery doom), "glad to see you in one piece, now get off my command chair and off my bridge and into uniform...after reporting to medical."
"Yes sir," Harry groaned with a cough, and limped off the bridge with a pained grimace.
The one drawback about the conditions of his immortality was that it only worked when he snuffed it. Any injury or germ that he got before hand however...yeah. He suffered like anyone else. it was times like this that he was glad he had time travelled all those decades ago. The medicine was certainly better...not that he enjoyed medical bays anymore then he had enjoyed any form of hospital in either dimension.
Harry was to busy nursing his bruised ribs and pride to see the recent additions on the Bridge in the way of the Maquis, nor the return of a familiar face.
When Harry got to Medical, not even the snarky balding holographic doctor could hold him back when he found Kim sitting up, covered in a thermal blanket on a biobed next to a Klingon woman he had never met before. Both looked worse for ware, both had odd patches of discoloured raised bumps here and there, particularly on their hands.
"Kimmy!" Harry exclaimed dramatically, flinging himself onto the other ensign, who wore an expression or resigned ire as he was pulled into a crushing hug. But despite his annoyed, "stop calling me that!" just like on the array, the hug lingered. Harry was surprised when he pulled back and found his friend's eyes suspiciously shiny.
Harry's face softened. A few officers on the way down had given him a bit of a recap on what he had missed (good grief he had been unconscious for days! and he could kill that dotty old Caretaker for kidnapping and making Kim sick!) the fact that the ship was indeed trapped 70, 00 light years from home as the Array, their only way back, was destroyed, and the Maquis were being integrated in with the crew, which should lead to some interesting times. But the fact that everyone on the ship was now stuck a life time away from those they cared about...
Harry climbed onto the biobed with Kim, ignoring the Doctor's exclamation, "This is medical bay not a slumber party!" and pulled Kim tight against him.
For Harry, while he did have friends back home, had long come to understand in his old age, that such things were transient. Certainly, he missed those he cared about when they were gone, but he had experienced it so often now, that he had started to become used to the sting. For Kim though, who'd never really experienced a major loss like Harry had so many times before, suddenly realizing that he may not see his family, friends, hell his fiancé ever again! the potency of that loss...Merlin.
The Klingon women in the biobed beside them looked the other way as Kim buried his face into the crook of Harry's shoulder, and Harry didn't complain about the pain in his ribs or how damp his skin became, or the sting of that dampness on his abrasions. He just held his friend, because right in that moment they were all they had to cling to.
Sometime after they had reported to thier duty stations, Ensign Harry Potter listened over the com as Janeway's voice full of surity adn fire filled the ship.
"We're alone in an uncharted part of the galaxy. We've already made some friends here, and some enemies. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face. But one thing is clear: both crews are going to have to work together if we're to survive. That's why Commander Chakotay and I have agreed that this should be one crew. A Starfleet crew. And as the only Starfleet vessel assigned to the Delta Quadrant, we'll continue to follow our directive to seek out new worlds and explore space. But our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds, it would take 75 years to reach the Federation. But I'm not willing to settle for that. There's another entity like the Caretaker out there somewhere who has the ability to get us there a lost faster. We'll be looking for her. And we'll be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts, or new technologies to help us. Somewhere along this journey, we'll find a way back." (1)
Harry had no doubt, this seemed like the kind of ship and the kind of crew that might just do that, but Harry suspected that it would be a very long, very perilous, and very interesting while.
ooo ooo ooo
A/N: (1) quoted lines from VOY season 1 ep 1.
Recommendation: "Family Guy Parody of Harry Potter - "Stewie Potter" Episode 1" created by patrick McCarthy on Youtube.