AUTHOR NOTE: I am a Heinlein fan (as if my screen name wasn't a clue. Robert A. Heinlein and Mota is from the book Sixth Column) so there are some pretty blatant references in here. As usual I own none of the trademarked concepts involved. I disavow any knowledge of anything. This is a brief look at a far future where an immortal Harry gets a visit.
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minerdude: Yeah Harry Seven with his cat Hecate. Traveling the multiverse to put right what once went wrong. Getting his shirt torn in as many fights as possible...
N0wa5t3r: You're welcome. I don't mind spaghetti but this was like four dimensional spaghetti.
OfficerDonNZ: yep the Slide by Slide was conceived after watching a Stargate SG-1 marathon and the tinges of the Quantum leap memories. So any resemblance is intentional in that regards at least. Beyond that well who knows. As for that particular world. Yeah it went sort of a mirror mirror style history.
Jadesabrexiv: He's married to three Luna variants. You know he is going to be learning some very interesting things. I am not sure if I'll do an anthology of episodes or a large multi chapter story but I do have a few things kinda kicking around in the dark shadows of the brain. I am leaning towards the anthology idea.
============-Story begins-==========
Twenty year old Harry Potter woke up and tended to his morning needs. He cleaned and was sitting down to breakfast when he turned the music player on. An ancient Beatles tune began to warble about Yellow Submarines. Sighing he looked around the room as he came slowly awake and ready to start his day.
Taking his second cup of coffee out onto the balcony he looked across his estate. The greenery that stretched until the crystalline aluminum dome that was the only protection from the harsh northern pole of the planet Mars. He looked up and saw the edge of the orbital ring that had been constructed a century ago in the early days of colonization and recently rendered obsolete by the Hyperspace Granger Gates his wife had developed.
Hermione Potter nee Granger glided onto the balcony to stand beside him. "Good morning dear. I see that you've had the required amount of coffee to be a functional human again."
"Yes and if you remind me what day it is I will not be happy."
"Harry. The representative will be coming today no matter what so I might as well say it."
Sighing at the world Harry shrugged, "Go ahead."
"Happy Birthday my dear."
"Yeah the 450th anniversary of my 20th birthday." he said turning to the ghost standing beside him.
Hermione sighed and shook her head at her living husband. "I know. I'm sorry if I could kill you I would. But we've been all through that."
"So when is the representative coming again?"
"0900 E-time" She said, "Plenty of time to do your morning brooding."
He did not even argue with her as he sat looking out across the years and not the local scenery.
==xxx====xxxx===xx
A few minutes before 0900 a chime sounded and the voice of Luna Lovegood rang out through the house. "Incoming shuttle requesting docking clearance."
Hermione answered since Harry was frowning. "Clearance granted. Tell them to use docking port 2."
"Affirmative Hermione."
"I still don't know why I let you convince me to program that stupid AI to sound like Luna."
"Because you are borderline sociopathic as it is and need all the reminders of the good times as we can give you."
"Alright. I'll be in the office when they get here."
"Well hopefully it'll be a nice cute blonde or, maybe a brunette." She chuckled as she turned to glide to the entrance.
"You know it wouldn't matter. I have only ever wanted one woman."
"Yes and you had me for a hundred and five years before I died a very happy and loved woman with kids and grand-kids. But I've been dead for almost 400 years dammit. You could have gotten laid at least once during that time. There was that little brown haired girl on Luna City a century back. She was practically begging you to take her to bed."
"She was Neville's grand-daughter."
"Great grand-daughter. And SO?"
"I'll be in the office."
"Fine. Just practice being politer than you were last year."
He grumbled something under his breath and stomped down the corridor.
===xxxxx=====xxx====xx
Once the lock had cycled and the elevator opened a medium height slender female with a coppery brown complexion, wide almond shaped eyes and long raven black hair strode out. Hermione observed she was wearing sandals, a mini-skirt that was arguably larger than a belt, and a transparent mesh halter with several pockets.
"Well that's certainly not subtle."
"Excuse me Mrs Potter?"
"Your outfit. Before you try and seduce him I want to warn you he hasn't in four centuries succumbed to anyone else. Maybe you'll be the lucky one."
"Uh this is just what is in style in Utopia Planitia ma'am."
"Oh damn. Well you can still try to seduce him if you'd like."
"Thank you. I'm Miranda Spurling."
"Hermione Potter I would shake your hand but, hopefully you've been briefed."
"Yes you died in the year 2103. Due to Mr Potter's immortality you chose to manifest as a ghost and remain with him. The two of you have maintained minimal contact with the greater world since then, with multiple suicide attempts of greater and greater complexity having been attempted by him. A century ago the United Worlds received an ultimatum from him to limit contact to only once a year on his birthday or he would as he said build a ship and set off for the horizon. Since then a representative has come to collect the various papers the two of your have produced as well as to invite him to return to social contact."
"Pretty much. Sounds like you got it right. Okay well let's get this started. He seems to be in a really fine funk today but he hasn't bitten anyone yet." Hermione said turning to lead the way.
"Were you joking about giving me permission to seduce him?"
"I'm a ghost having a love life is a bit complicated."
"I am not into necrophilia so have not attempted it. One of my friends at University has had relations with a ghost off and on for the last year. She says it is something you have to get used to but is worth it."
"You don't sound like you believe that." Hermione laughed.
"No offense ma'am but I do prefer my partners to be a bit warmer than room temperature. Even if they have developed spells to permit physical interaction."
"Yeah I know Harry did that about 250 years ago."
"Oh. I suppose that makes sense that he would have done so. I was not aware of that though."
Hermione shrugged her translucent shoulders.
"Um. Before we go in. May I ask you something that may be personal?"
"I suppose. I've heard all of them so far."
"What happened to him?"
Hermione chuckled, "Could you be a bit more specific? That questions covers a wide swath of things."
"True. What happened to cause him to stop aging?"
"I don't know. He doesn't know. When we finally realized it, I was in my 50s and had started going gray, getting crows feet you know the routine and he was still beautiful, young and healthy. We ran tests, mundane and magical. I called in Luna, Padma, anyone I could think of. None of us could come up with definite reasons why. He had a prophecy about him, he was the master of death having reunited the three Hallows, he had a phoenix cry into his wounds once mixing with the basilisk venom. He was hit by the killing curse twice. Take your pick. Just one day he stopped aging and the rest of the world went on."
"Oh."
"Yeah, just don't pity him okay. He gets rather grumpy about that."
"I don't pity him. I feel sad for him. All of his friends are gone and he sits here hiding from the world. He may not have died but he has stopped living."
Hermione reached out to pat the girl on the arm but stopped, "You're the first one I think that has understood that."
"So what happened to the others. I read the histories but that was so long ago. I had volunteered for this to have the opportunity to perhaps talk with the only people alive from that time."
"Well to give you the cliff notes version. Luna was the last one out of our little group aside from me to go. She and I argued over who would stay and take care of Harry but I bullied and cajoled her into crossing over to be with Neville and her family. Ginny and Draco had a good life but they never really reconciled with Harry. Ron got killed on an auror patrol by Nott and Harry ended him with full measure. He had left a couple kids with Lavender which Harry made sure she got Ron's insurance and death benefits, plus a little more he secretly slid to her. All in all we lived, and had a life. Not much historic about it."
"If you say so ma'am."
====xxxx=====xxx
"Harry dear. This is Miranda Spurling. She's this year's representative."
"Whoa. They sent a kid!" He exclaimed turning around.
"I am 22 years old Mr Potter. I have a full charms mastery and am working on my techno-thaumic operations mastery now."
"Still. Thanks for the view but maybe you should put those away."
She looked down and frowned, "They are away."
"Harry dear. Its the current fashion. The domes are climate controlled so clothes are kinda for decoration I guess its that point in the fashion cycle."
"Generally speaking. My girlfriend wears little more than body paint. While my boyfriend wears a kilt."
"Great. Okay well you got the briefing for me?"
"Yes sir. Here it is." She said reaching into one of the pockets of her halter vest and pulling a large folder out of it. "Although I do not understand why you prefer to read this in hard-copy format."
"Call me a traditionalist." he grunted looking at the papers.
Hermione smiled politely then glided over to a nearby chair and at least floated mostly on the cushions. "Go ahead and take a seat. He doesn't bite. Much."
"How unfortunate. I don't mind some biting." She said in a teasing tone.
"If you're trying to seduce me, entice me or otherwise get me to want to have sex with you just stop it."
"Why?"
"Excuse me?" He said setting the folder down.
"Am I that ugly sir?"
Harry looked embarrassed. "Uh no."
"Are you physically incapable of performing the act? I do not mind as there are alternatives to penetration."
"No I can do it just fine. God its like talking to Luna all over again."
"As she is one of my ancestors I will take that as a compliment."
Harry set the folder carefully down and looked at the girl. "Luna was.."
"One of my ancestors. I am descended from her daughter Celeste."
"Celeste? Oh. Wow." Harry smiled remembering the small bright blue eyed girl with the raven hair.
"Sir?"
"Oh sorry. I kinda flashed back to the past. We never told anyone but I was Celeste's father."
"I thought Luna Lovegood married Neville Longbottom?"
"She did. Nev was my blood brother and we shared, everything." Harry said with a amused air.
"Everything?"
Hermione chuckled from her seat, "Yeah Everything."
"Oh. I did not think that sort of behavior became socially acceptable until the mid part of the twenty first century?"
"It didn't. It started to among the magicals then the Statute of Secrecy fell and we had all that to go through. Then the rebuilding and well things sorted themselves out pretty well."
"You discovered your immortality and began to retreat from society until Hermione died and you began to try to kill yourself. Is it true you took a ship and dove into the sun?"
"Yeah. All I got was a stupid sunburn. Literally. Took me forever to swim out of the atmosphere and apporate out of there."
She looked surprised. "Oh."
He shrugged, " I went a bit crazy with Grief. I have tried 689 different methods of suicide. I just cannot die."
"690 dear."
"I told you that one was an accident. I honestly thought I had a parachute when I jumped out of the shuttle."
"Okay sure."
Miranda looked at Harry, "Oh okay sir."
"Harry my name is Harry."
"Yes Harry."
He studied the papers while she sat quietly. Hermione had grown used to not talking to people much over the centuries so she sat quietly watching the girl. Seeing the flickering of a retinal implant she slid over to beside her so she could speak softly.
"So what are you looking at?"
"I was looking up the history files as well as my own family history. There is no mention of her being Harry's daughter anywhere."
"Sometimes a woman takes her secrets to the grave. Does it really matter?"
"No I suppose not. However he is rather old fashioned so it might limit the opportunity to seduce him."
"Oh so now you're embracing that idea?" Hermione smiled.
"After meeting him in person the idea is a lot more palatable. His holos do not quite do him justice."
"There is something to be said about in the flesh." Hermione sighed.
"This Howard Foundation? They've been researching extending human lifespans?"
"Yes. They discovered after the secrecy act fell that those with magical bloodlines, even if they did not manifest magic themselves, lived on average at least two to three decades longer than those who did not. The thaumic energies imbued into the cellular structure had been altering and protecting the individual. They had been researching if there was a physical process or organ responsible or if it was simply a matter of the person being lucky enough to be chosen by magic. Also they paid volunteers to breed with magicals and those with magical bloodlines to see if there was a resulting increase in human lifespans. I am a Howard family member as is my girlfriend and boyfriend."
"Oh and for what purpose?"
"If you will look at the phase two Outbound Flight project the first Interstellar Vessel is being constructed in the Ceres Shipyard. Due to the limits of the speed of light, unless either of you have managed to transcend that, it will require multiple generations to reach its destination of Alpha Centauri. The longer the generations of the passengers the more of the original crew will arrive."
"Okay. That sounds interesting. And this is a recruitment offer?" He said holding up a sheet of paper from the back of the folder.
"Yes. I volunteered to speak with you as I felt I might be able to convince you to join us. Not only for your immortality but your knowledge and skills. Plus that of your wife. Traveling to a new star system to establish a colony would be quite the adventure."
Harry seemed to be thinking about it. He had an expression of excitement and interest he hadn't in a long time. Hermione could tell.
"And uh. What role would I play in this?"
"Well senior advisor to the colony, chief educator, historian, honored elder. Plus you would have the pick of any female you wished to breed with as we would all be honored to be your partner."
Harry laughed, "Uh yeah that's." Blushing he looked at Hermione for help.
"You have to understand that aside from myself, and Luna, Harry has never been with any other female. No matter how much I tried to encourage him after I died."
"Oh. I would be willing to have sexual relations with you. It would be an honor."
Harry tabled that, "How many people are going to be in this colony?"
"The ship is being designed to have a full capacity of 2500 persons as it is a hollowed out asteroid. The launch crew size will only be 1200 though with a 55% female 45% male ratio. The necromantic portion of the crew will be allocated according to how many volunteers. Although your wife would of course receive special consideration. If she chooses."
"Heaven might have some interesting people but until they have Harry Potter I'm staying by his side." Hermione said.
"You know it has been awhile since I felt like I was doing anything new or exciting."
"Well there was that year you sat in your chair on the deck and didn't move. The moss you grew was rather exciting."
Harry grinned then picked Miranda up in a bridal carry heading for the bedroom. "Look out universe Harry Potter is back!"
"About damn time." Hermione muttered heading for the AI control suite to begin making preparations to transfer the systems into crystal transfer units.