AN: JK Rowling and Bioware made Harry Potter and Mass Effect respectively. Check out the source materials as thanks for their awesome works.

Summary of a conversation I had before writing this story:

Me-"I'm thinking about writing a fan fiction crossover with Mass Effect and Harry Potter."

Proofer- "Really, that sounds neat. You ramble on about story ideas often. About time you write it. How long will it be?"

Me- "Oh, I don't know. Probably only a few tens of of thousands of words all together. I don't expect it to really catch on, but it will be fun."

Now:

Proofer- "Hey, you're still writing the story and have barely scatched the surface of the events. How much longer will it go?"

Me- "Uh...maybe only a few hundreds of thousands of words..."

Proofer- "Well, do people like it at least. I know crossovers can have a hard time sometimes."

Me- "About that... the story broke the 1K mark last week on favorites."

Proofer- "Wait. What?"

So thanks to everyone that has been keeping up with the story. We went over the 1K hump on favorites which I honestly never expected to get close to. Everyone's encouragement has kept me motivated to keep writing. I am honestly so eager to get into the juicy Mass Effect 2 events as I am going to really start going off the path with Harry at that point and I am looking forward to writing some more original content. The events of ME1 are too critical to the story to skip or ignore, but I can't wait until I am past them.

As always- If you like the story please follow, favorite, review, and/or message me if you feel motivated.

CH 26

The lighting in the room slowly increased as the shutters to the window opened very slowly. They were timed to completely let light in over the course of fifteen minutes as well as the soft omni lighting increasing their intensity in sync with this. Harry's omni-tool started to softly vibrate and increased its strength the longer Harry lay in his bed. Finally, Harry forced himself up and turned off the complicated alarm on his omni-tool. Yawning he stared at the off-white ceiling above him. The omni-lighting cast a slight orange glow on the surface which was meant to simulate an early morning sunrise. It would change to white light in the next half hour. This was the first "night" that Harry had slept in his new housing unit and he enjoyed it so much he had troubled getting up. He had spent the last two days assembling the colony kit alongside some of the crew. Wrex and Ashley helped Harry unload several of the larger pieces of the housing unit and together they made quick work of assembling the easier sections. Garrus and Tali proved invaluable in wiring all of the electronics. Garrus almost leaped at the opportunity to "calibrate" something other than the Mako for once and Tali was interested mostly in Harry's new space. Everyone had handled the idea of Harry carrying around a portable subspace fairly well all things considered. Wrex went as far to say that he "had seen crazier things in the universe before". Harry almost asked him what he meant by that, but decided he didn't need another one of Wrex's big fish stories like the one about a thresher maw as big as a skyscraper. Harry was extending a lot of trust to the crew to show them the subspace, but they had gained a lot of that with him in the last few weeks. He knew none of them would betray him and it honestly didn't matter since no one could take it or access it without him.

Harry and Ashley had some fun hauling out the parts and pieces of the housing unit and attaching them to the outside. Harry would occasionally mess with Ashley by hitting her with a tickling hex once in a while when her back was turned. She had no clue that he was doing it, but Harry assumed she suspected him. One particularly strong hex caused her to giggle very effeminately and she turned around and glared daggers at everyone who held in their laughter. Wrex grumbled while doing his share of work, but Harry once thought he saw him grin in that slightly terrifying way krogans do. Dobby hovered around the group and detailed each step of construction as they needed it, even if they really didn't. More than once Harry saw Tali have to swat Dobby away like an annoying fly. The pieces of the housing unit were riveted on and occasionally spot welded with an omni-tool. All the electronics were pre-programmed and required Garrus and Tali to simply hook them up. Garrus was grinning like a loon with calibrating the solar units as well as Harry's air and water filtration. Discreetly, Harry filled up his water reservoir concealed underneath the housing unit with an overpowered aguamenti charm. Harry planned on introducing a large body of water somewhere on his new property once he had a good way to keep it from leaching too quickly into the ground. Since the soil was fairly loose and dry it would sponge away quickly if not handled well.

Harry's new "villa" as Tali called it was sparsely furnished and only included his bed, locker, and chairs. He figured he would outfit it later as time progressed. He planned on setting up greenhouse later in order to clear out the storage unit. All in all, his little safe house was coming along. His next step would be to somehow establish a safe ecosystem in here and he would be set. He stepped out and walked into his personal shower in the bathroom. Here Harry had taken a risk and messed with expansion charms. He worried about the effect of strong magic on the tech in the house, but everything was working fine as far as he could see. What once was a small one by two meter bathroom with a shower stall and toilet was now a comfortable three by three meter bathroom. Harry debated on adding shelving to the room, but decided he didn't need to worry at the moment. Getting bathed, dried, and shaving, Harry went back to his bedroom and pulled out his work uniform for the day. He technically had the day off again as Shepard made everyone on the ground team take a break before they followed up on a lead that the Salarian councilor forwarded to them. He still helped Ashley with the repairs of the equipment as idle time had allowed for brooding about what all had occurred on Noveria. Shepard and Liara seemed to have the same problems as they both kept busy most of the time as well, despite the orders.

He stepped outside and was immediately assaulted by the uncomfortable horizon in his villa.

"First thing I am going to do is plant trees or something along the horizon and hide that." Harry thought to himself, making a mental note. Dobby chose that moment to pop up in front of him.

"Good morning, Master. I've finished last night's entries into your digital library." the floating orb said.

"Thank you, Dobby." Harry said, trying to step around his VI. Dobby moved to float in front of him again.

"I also observed a more efficient setting for your solar system, Master. I've taken the liberty of altering this. We've received an increase in efficiency of 0.005%."

"Thank you, Dobby." Harry said again.

"Master." Dobby said again.

"Yes, Dobby?" Harry asked with an annoyed tone.

"If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask." the little orb said as it disappeared.

Harry made his way towards the exit to his villa and stepped through the hole. On the other side he nearly tripped over someone lying on the floor near the entrance.

"What the…" Harry said as he regained his balance. He looked at who he tripped over and saw that it was Tori. She had been avoiding him for the past few days since their last talk on Noveria and Harry wasn't entirely upset at this fact. She was a nuisance at her best and an absolute annoyance most other days. Harry was about to say something until he realized that she was still asleep in her clothes on the floor.

"Had she slept here all night?" Harry wondered. He reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her.

"Tori...Tori, time to wake up." Harry said.

She slowly opened her eyes and Harry could see that they were red and irritated. Harry was worried that something was wrong with her.

"Hey, Tori. Is everything alright?" Harry asked.

She looked at him blearily before speaking.

"This form has too many needs. I do not like having to stop experiencing for it to function properly."

"You don't like sleep?" Harry said incredulously.

"No. I do not like sleep. When I do, I learn less." She said.

"So you fell asleep in front of my door?" Harry asked.

"I was waiting for you as I would speak with you." Tori said, sitting up finally.

"What about? I've noticed you avoiding me lately." Harry said.

"I was offended by your statements."

"About you acting normal?"

"No, about you comparing me to common flesh."

"It's OK, Tori, you behaving like a somewhat surly, but still otherwise normal asari is a good thing. You'll be able to blend in better."

She stared at the ground sullenly and did not answer Harry.

"She's showing a lot more emotion lately." Harry thought to himself.

"OK, Tori," Harry said. "What's bothering you really?"

She continued to stare at the floor in silence for a long time. Harry leaned against one of the nearby crates that he used for a wall and waited. He figured out a while back that silence was Tori's way of processing things. She did not feel the need to fill a silence just to keep a conversation comfortable.

"I…" Harry heard her begin to whisper. "I haven't been connected with the Old Growth since we left Feros." This statement stunned Harry and changed some assumptions he held about the asari.

"Oh! I see. That bothers you, doesn't it?" Harry stated.

"Yes," she said. "On Feros, I could see and hear everything my roots touched. My consciousness was vast and I didn't need to concern myself with things of flesh."

"Here," she spat. "In this form, I do not feel anything outside of the urges of this body."

"Is that so bad, Tori?" Harry asked.

"Yes!" She yelled. "I…please… let me leave this ship soon. I need to experience the outside again."

Harry looked at her green eyes and saw the desperation behind them and he felt a sudden wave of pity for her. He didn't think of the effect that living on a ship would have on her. Harry saw that she seemed to have lost some weight lately too as the normally form fitting commando suit was now hanging loose in certain places.

"Tori," Harry said while bending over and pulling her up. "When was the last time you ate?"

"I last consumed sustenance approximately 34 hours ago. Why?" Tori asked.

Harry sighed, grabbed her hand, and started leading her towards the crew deck.

"Come on, Tori. We're going to go eat and you must start doing so at least three times between sleeping cycles." Harry said he drug Tori toward the elevator. Pressing the button for the crew deck, they began their slow ride up.

"I do not wish to waste time eating." Tori said. "I do not learn if I have to stop every time this form needs something."

"You can learn a lot at meal times." Harry said.

"Like what, Harry Potter?" Harry noticed she had learned how to say his name almost like a curse.

"Meals are the best time to watch others and their behaviors. You can also get people talking more if their content and eating. Try it sometime."

Tori's expression turned introspective and she looked down for a moment before responding.

"I will try and do as you suggest." Tori said as the reached the top and the elevator opened.

"Please," Harry said. "I would hate to see a pretty asari such as yourself waste away because they didn't eat."

"I am not a pretty asari!" Tori yelled.

"I don't know," Wrex said in his gruff voice from the dining table. "That green skin of yours gives you an exotic quality. I'm sure you'd be a popular dancer at Afterlife if you wanted."

Harry thought Wrex would burst into flames with the baleful look Tori shot his direction. Wrex merely chuckled and returned to eating a burnt hunk of flesh. Harry forced Tori into a nearby chair and walked over to the meal locker. He selected one of the dishes that he saw Liara eat often which consisted of some strange, blue pasta looking item covered in red fruits of some sort. It looked like a strange form of asari spaghetti. He tossed it into the microwave and grabbed a bottle of Nutreen. Taking out the dish, he set both items in front of Tori.

"If you eat up and play nice, I'll ask the Commander to allow you to go to the Citadel when we next stop there."

Tori's face took on an eager expression and she began eating her food. Harry nodded in satisfaction and walked over to the med bay to check on Kaidan. Harry had been trying to distract himself from his friend's situation during their journey lately, but he owed it to his friend to see how he was fairing. Kaidan was stable and awake some of the time, but he experienced pain in his legs unless kept under medication. As a result, he was asleep more often than not. Harry walked into the quiet, dimly lit room and saw Dr. Chakwas standing over Kaidan with her omni-tool. Kaidan once again was resting peacefully with his leg bandaged and propped up. In a chair nearby Shepard sat. She had her head leaned against a wall and looked to be sleeping.

"What a rough spot to be in." Dr. Chakwas said, looking over her shoulder at Harry.

"Who, Kaidan?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Dr. Chakwas said. "He too is in a rough spot, but I was speaking about our commander."

"What do you mean?"

"She loves him." Chakwas said bluntly. "But she's not allowed to love him. I've worked in the Alliance for a long time and seen many servicemen and women in their positions. It wouldn't be a problem if they were like you and Williams, but she's his commanding officer. Even your relationship is frowned upon, Potter, even if it's allowed."

"What can they do?" Harry asked as he looked at Shepard's face. Even in sleep she looked worried.

"Nothing, I'm afraid. Neither would be willing to leave the military and changing assignments would mean they would be separated. Shepard could give up her command, but Kaidan would never want that for her."

Harry felt sadness for his two friends. They obviously cared for one another, but had everything to lose if they tried to pursue a chance at it. Harry did not envy either of them at the moment. He looked again at Kaidan's bandaged leg and back to Chakwas.

"Is he going to be alright?" Harry asked.

"Hard to say at this point. He's lost a lot of the muscle tissue to whatever it was you found down there. The venom those things used also did a number on other areas and chemically cauterized several square inches of his leg. As it stands, I cannot fix it and grafts would have a difficult job adhering to the damaged parts, if at all. You said your special talents couldn't fix the damage?"

Harry shook his head sadly. Dr. Chakwas had asked him before if he could do more than mend the break in the bone soon after they had stabilized his friend. Harry knew of possible solutions, but they required rare potion ingredients that were hard to come by in the past let alone now. He could mend cuts, breaks, burns, but he could not replace parts of the body that were completely missing like the muscle in Kaidan's leg. He was reminded of people like Mad-Eye that lost whole parts of his body that even magic couldn't mend. Harry found himself feeling frustrated at the limitations even his magic sometimes had. He could do so many wondrous things with it, but he could not help his friend here, now.

"Then he'll have to have cybernetic augmentations attached to the site. He's lucky that he's so valuable." Dr. Chakwas said.

"What do you mean?" Harry said curiously.

"Well he is a rare and valuable asset to the Alliance. He's not only a biotic, but he is a highly trained technical specialist. The Alliance will do anything to keep their more valuable soldiers in the fight and in the Alliance. Had he been a simple soldier or technician he would have been given an honorable discharge for medical reasons and likely he'd start at the bottom of the waitlist to get the augmentations."

"That sounds harsh." Harry said.

"It is what it is I'm afraid." Dr. Chakwas said solemnly. "Soldiers are easy to come by, but people that are valuable or they have invested a lot of resources in are the ones the Alliance wants to keep."

"What if he wanted to leave?" Harry asked. "You know, felt he was done with this life."

Dr. Chakwas stood silent for a moment and was seemingly lost in thought. After a moment she spoke with a speculative tone.

"I'd say they'd offer the person a lot of incentives to stay. If that failed they would likely make it difficult or impractical to leave."

"Meaning?"

"Well, not much use for biotics or soldiering in the civilian sector. You don't often see professional soldiers or biotics outside of the military or private military, do you? No, you'd be trading one for the other or wasting years of training and service by going into a whole new field."

"It sounds like they don't give you many other opportunities." Harry said.

"They can't afford to anymore I imagine. First Contact war changed a lot of attitudes about the military."

Harry nodded in agreement. He had learned that before the First Contact War the military was viewed as a launching ground for other careers or a way to pay for additional education. In some ways that remained true. Joker could likely get a piloting position anywhere with his skills, but people like Harry and Shepard had only been trained for combat. There was a lot more career military now than in the last century as people found themselves seemingly stuck in their positions. Harry now wondered how much pressure the Alliance would bring to bear on him if he ever decided to leave.

Harry noticed Shepard stirring in her chair and her eyes fluttered open. She sat up with a groan and placed a hand on her neck. A twist of her neck and a popping sound later she sighed and looked at Harry.

"Heh, sorry." She said. "Not very ladylike, is it?"

"Commander, I would like it very much if you slept in an actual bed for once." Dr. Chakwas said in a tone that reminded Harry a lot of Madam Pomfrey. "I don't want to have to set the bones in your neck because you slept in a poor position."

"Fine." Shepard said. "I will, but I'm up now so it doesn't matter. How is he?"

"The same as he was the last time you asked, Commander." Chakwas said.

Shepard looked to Harry and asked "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet," Harry said. "I just wanted to check on him first."

"Then let's grab something." Shepard said. Her smile seemed genuine, but her eyes were red and bloodshot.

"She must have not slept very well last night." Harry thought.

"Shepard." Harry started to say.

"I know, Harry." Shepard said, seemingly reading his thoughts. "I'll get some actual rest tonight."

They walked out of the med bay before Shepard stopped Harry just outside the door. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "You know you're more valuable than just as a soldier, right?" She said.

"So you heard that?" Harry asked.

"Of course I did. You're not exactly subtle or quiet." She said.

"Thanks." Harry said. "As to your question, I don't know. It seems all I've ever been meant to do is fight the next bad guy."

Shepard was quiet for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. Harry could pick up a sense of warmth from her thoughts since Shepard looked him straight in the eye.

"I understand that." Shepard said solemnly. "I don't know what happened to you before getting picked up by the Alliance, but I can tell you've seen more than most soldiers ten years your senior. You seem to be constantly fighting something or someone."

"That's pretty accurate." Harry said. He thought how his life could be defined with who he was pitted against throughout his years.

"Once my family was killed," Shepard began. "I constantly looked for the chance to get back at the slavers that did it. I was stuck in a cycle looking for my next target and never finding satisfaction once I did. It wasn't about honor, or duty, or justice. It was about satisfying some loss or need I couldn't fulfill. A lot of soldiers like us feel this way, and most of them feel they can never leave this life because that's all they've ever known."

"You make it sound as if you've moved beyond this." Harry said.

"In a way I have." Shepard said. "I learned I must fight for something or for someone, and I don't mean just by following orders. I found that there is a lot wrong with this galaxy and I fight to fix what little I can. You need to find that something."

"That's...a lot to think about, Jane." Harry said.

"I know, Harry, but it is important. Promise me you'll think about it. If you don't find what it is, then promise me you'll quit this life and find that something elsewhere. I don't want to see you become some mercenary thug because violence becomes all you know."

"I will." Harry said, and he would too. He never had thought much beyond what was in front of him. Thinking about his future and desires was not something he had ever been encouraged to do growing up with the Dursleys and it showed in his Hogwarts years. He had intellect, but never pushed himself hard in his studies then. He could have made friendships with others, but settled for the few, however dear, that fell in his lap. With the threat of Voldemort hanging over his head, he never thought he would live beyond a few years anyhow. Sadly, he never carried the banner for a cause either. Aside from sticking up for Hermione on occasion, when had he ever pushed hard for muggleborn rights at Hogwarts or fought injustice there? The closest he got was the DA and that was mostly started in order to practice proper defense. Even in this future he took whatever opportunities that were put in front of him. He was stunned to realize how many of his decisions were usually the result of people pushing him in that direction.

"Can I determine the course of my own life at all?" Harry wondered to himself.

Harry looked back at Shepard and noticed that she was smiling.

"I can tell that you'll need some time to work it out." Shepard said. "You're an amazing soldier, Harry, but I want what's best for you. Truthfully, Alliance Command will be hesitant to let you go, but you need to do what is best for you if leaving is what you decide."

"Jane...Shepard...I wasn't thinking about leaving myself." Harry said.

"I know," She said. "But I want you to decide for yourself what is right. Not what others tell you is right."

Harry sometimes wondered if she could read minds, but knew it was just Shepard's ability to connect with others that allowed her to know what someone was thinking. Shepard left Harry and made her way over to the dining area of the crew deck and Harry noticed that Wrex and Tori were gone. In their places were Liara, Garrus, and Tali. They each had prepared themselves a meal and seemed to be chatting happily. Liara was the first to notice Shepard and she smiled at her as she approached. Harry noticed her fingering a chain around her neck and noticed the small ring looped around it. Tali looked over and saw Harry and waved to him.

"Harry." She said. "Tori insisted I tell you that she finished all of her food."

"That's good." Harry said.

Garrus smiled and leaned forward on the table before addressing Harry with a humorous tone. "I think she also mentioned that she would like a story before her nap time, Harry."

"Why don't you discuss the Mako's cannon settings with her?" Harry said. "She'll be out as soon as you say 'calibration' to her."

Liara and Tali laughed at that and even Garrus chuckled.

"Are you joining us for breakfast, Harry?" Liara asked.

"Not this time. I'm going to keep doing some work on the 'villa'. I think I'll take something to go down there." Harry said and he grabbed out a box labeled "Steak and Potatoes" from the cabinet. Making a face that inspired laughter from the group; he went to the lift and went down a level. He was making his way towards the hidden corner near the weapons bench when he noticed Wrex standing near his armor locker. He must have not noticed Harry as he was absently staring at the ancestral armor they had recovered for him.

"Penny for your thoughts, Wrex?" Harry said.

"My translator didn't really come up with a good word for whatever a 'penny' is, but I assume it means a trifle." Wrex said, his left eye darting around to face Harry.

"It is close to what vrack meant before the credit was adopted by the krogan as currency." Harry said.

"Heh." Wrex chuckled. "You actually studied some of the krogan language? I thought you were just playing nice."

"To be honest I haven't been able to do as much as I would like. Not many useful guides that actually teach the language. I've had to just go off a direct word to word list on translator data Dobby was able to compile." Harry said.

"Makes sense." Wrex said, returning his gaze to the armor. "No real need to learn a language a dying race."

"You never told me what you were thinking about." Harry pointed out.

"Which person do you remember killing above all others?" Wrex asked, avoiding the question.

Harry remembered all of the faces of people he had to kill. It was a drawback of his Occlumency training. He made sure to separate the emotions from those particular memories. However, he never forgot his first kill.

"I had to kill a teacher when I was eleven years old. Complete accident and self-defense all at once. I've never forgotten the burning smell." Harry said.

"Did he deserve it?" Wrex asked.

"Who am I to say?" Harry said. "What matters is he's dead now."

"True. It wouldn't matter now." Wrex replied.

"You're avoiding my question Wrex." Harry said.

"I've been thinking about wasted time." Wrex said.

"Meaning?" Harry pressed.

"Well, mine, of course." Wrex said. "I gave up on my people so long ago and now I am wondering if it was worth it. Walking away, I mean."

"Why did you walk away?" Harry asked.

"Because I tried leading my people to a future once, but I eventually thought that there was nothing left to save." Wrex said. "I pushed us focus on breeding and rebuilding only to have my own father attempt to kill me and my clan because he wanted war. Had to stick a knife in him myself in that fight."

"I'm sorry." Harry said.

"Don't be." Wrex said. "He was a fool and like we've already said 'it doesn't matter now."

"So why worry about it all now?" Harry asked.

"Because I'm making a difference in this fight against Saren. I've been a mercenary for nothing but credits for so long that I've forgotten what it's like to have a real fight. I wonder if I could have been pushing my people forward this whole time if I hadn't left." Wrex slammed the locker door and punched it. A large dent was left in the door. Harry waved his hand over the door and the dent popped back out with a thud.

"Heh." Wrex chuckled again once the locker was back to normal. "You're pretty good at fixing things. Wish I had you around for some of my other bad moments."

"I can't fix everything." Harry said.

"Yeah." Wrex agreed, nodding his head. "No one can."

Harry looked Wrex in the eye. He had developed a basic enough grasp on the krogan language that he would attempt this. Searching the surface thoughts evoked a muddled mess of words that Harry had a hard time understanding.

"Rage. Loss...Future?" Harry was having a hard time understanding everything in his friends mind.

"Wrex, Shepard just gave me some good advice earlier." Harry said. "She said I needed to find my own reason to fight and not go after whatever fight's put in front of me. Perhaps you should do the same."

"Maybe." Wrex said. "Not much left to fight for on Tuchanka. Mostly a radioactive rock now."

"Yeah, but it's your radioactive rock." Harry said, punching Wrex in the arm. Harry immediately regretting this choice when Wrex returned the hit with a loud barking laugh.

"Ha ha. You're damn right it is."