Shoals of Dust

by Luminous Beginnings

Tides of light have stolen him from where he belongs. Alone, he must stand and fight, in a galaxy where he stands as the last of his kind. The burden placed upon his shoulders is of the hero he replaced. Now he waits until he can hand this burden back.

4. An Awakening

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect. If I owned the former, half the time would be spent as the mother of all Thresher Maw, battling hordes of Reapers. And if I owned the latter, there would have been a VS round between Blast-Ended Skrewts and Snorcacks.

Chapter 4 - An Awakening

Harry Potter found himself in a position that he never expected to be in. Working with a bunch of aliens, plus from the sounds of it a very subversive group of humans, to prevent the abduction of the human race by other aliens. Technically, I suppose I'm not working with any of them yet, but I'm pretty sure it will only be a matter of time. And he had thought that the magical world had shown him everything.

In retrospect, he should have expected to be proven wrong.

Now, he was walking back two of said aliens to see if the rest of their squad had survived. Although, to say they were walking would have been a misnomer for him and his human partner. The two aliens were trotting along at a rather steady gait. In order to match that, he and Jacob had to break out into a near full out run. He tried to shout at the leader of the two between drawing breaths. "Tali, must you… run so… fast?"

The quarian threw a look back at him. Although it was hard to tell, he was sure that she was laughing behind that mask. "Sorry, I forget how slow humans can be at times. I figure we can slow a bit, as I finally got in contact with the squad."

Breathing a sigh of relief that they had slowed down a little bit, Harry replied. "That's good. Did they hold up alright?"

She nodded to him. "From the sounds of it, they did. Only a few more injuries. The shuttle is gone though… No idea what we should do now."

Pulling up beside the two quarians, Jacob turned to her. "Ma'am, we could offer you a ride out of here. Our shuttle has enough room for all your people. It would be cramped, but we could get you off world."

All eyes on her, Tali just shook her head. "No thank you Jacob. As much as I appreciate your help, and Harry's, I don't believe that I could take up the offer for the others. I don't trust Cerberus at all. And the rest of us, even less."

Jacob just shrugged as they turned the corner, crossing another courtyard. "Believe me, I know. But with all due respect, what do you expect to happen if the Alliance finds you here? They've gotten enough flak about sacrificing the fleet to save the other races. There are a lot of humans who think that they're putting alien concerns over human."

"Including Cerberus." Her voice was sharp, but any harshness fell as her shoulder's sagged. "But you're right. We couldn't get the any Migrant Fleet vessels here soon enough. And if we take a ship here, it will be noticed sooner or later." She sighed. "Which means that the only option is to work with you." She suddenly spun around, prodding Jacob with one finger. "There better be no funny business on your end, though."

Jacob held his arms up in surrender. "Trust me, there won't be." Quietly, he pointed out, "Besides, I know there is a doctor on board the nearest Cerberus base who has experience with quarians. Maybe she can help patch you up."

Tali gave him an odd look. "A Cerberus doctor with experience treating quarians? This is getting rather suspicious. How'd you manage to recruit her? And why?"

Jacob scratched the back of his head. "Not easily. And I'm not really supposed to tell…" Receiving no rejoinder, but just narrow eyes, he continued, "But considering who you are, I suppose you should know. She was recruited along with a bunch of other people in preparation for the second phase of Lazarus Project."

Harry gave him a gimlet eye. "Isn't that the project where you… recruited me in?" He ignored the confused looks from the quarians, saying, "I highly doubt that your Illusive Man bothered to assemble a whole boatload of people for my sake."

Jacob just shook his head. "No, you weren't. Although under the auspices of the Lazarus cell, you were brought here by the Faustus Project instead. Remember?"

Grinning sheepishly, Harry nodded. "Yeah, I do now. Sorry, I just had to clarify."

By this point, Tali was gazing back and forth between the two, as the group had come to a halt. "Would you please explain to the quarians here that don't know what you're talking about?"

Glancing at each other, Harry took the lead. "They're codenamed based on human stories. Faust was the story of a many summoning the devil to make a deal with it, at the cost of his soul." Harry blinked, then looked at Jacob, his tone dry. "Funnily enough, I'm the devil in that set up. Maybe I should ask your boss for his soul then."

Nonplussed at Harry, Jacob just said, "I hope you're joking about that… aren't you?"

Harry just nodded shortly. "I am. But it's no laughing matter. There are magics that involve manipulating the soul… And very few are remotely good for the soul in question." Harry looked into the distance. "Trust me on that."

Tali's voice was filled with confusion. "Ok, that did not help in the slightest. But I suppose I shouldn't have expected a straight answer from the likes of you two." At the silence that followed, she just huffed and crossed her arms. "Well? What about the other project?"

Somewhat nervously, Jacob glanced on towards the nearby gate. "Frankly ma'am, we need to get going. We've been standing here long enough. We can explain later."

Huffing, she grabbed Veetor by the shoulder and ushered him on. "I can see that you don't want to tell. But remember, I'll hold you to that." With that, she stormed off towards the gate.

Jacob muttered under his breath. "Definitely more feisty than the reports implied."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You know of her?"

He nodded as the two hurried to catch up to the running quarians. "Yes, I do. She was one of Commander Shepard's squad mates, two years ago. Since we were working on him, we kept files on her." He looked at the distant aliens. "Definitely changed from what they said."

Understanding dawned on Harry. "So that's why you don't want to tell her. You're afraid she'll flip out?"

"Yes, I think so. Unless we had a Shepard here, or at least see what we're doing… I think she would freak, to put it lightly."

Shooting him a look, Harry said, "You know, I think you're mad for what you're trying to do. Much less the other quarians."

Jacob just scoffed under his breath, "Sometimes, I think we are too."

By this point, the pair had come up to their two quarians, huddled up in one of the pods. Tali had begun talking to one of the other quarians, whom was holding his side. Harry and Jacob quickly made their way to hearing distance, where the other quarian was gesturing wildly. "-mechs got us while we were still loading the shuttle. Most of us were able to get away, but…"

"But what?" Tali threw her hands up in the air. "You said on the radio that everything was find. Who was it? Prazza?"

The first quarian just nodded. "Yes, it was. He was the on who covered the wounded while we moved. But with the two YMIRs on him…"

Tali had frozen in mid gesture, but eventually relaxed, arms drooping. "Stubborn bosh'tet. He just ran out and started engaging them, didn't he?" At the quarians nod, she sighed. "Damn it. As much of an idiot he was, I suppose I can't say he lacked for courage. Come on, show me him."

At that, Tali and Veetor followed the other quarian into one of the pods. Concernedly, Harry glanced at Jacob, saying, "Should we follow them?"

Jacob just shrugged in return. "Probably. But it's you're call. We need to wait until they're ready to go anyways."

Nodding, Harry followed them inside. Ducking into the low light, he found himself facing a guard with his assault rife out, but not pointed at him. At spotting the two humans, said guard turned to the back of the pod and called out, "Ma'am, those two humans from earlier are here. Should I let them pass?"

After a few seconds, Tali called back, "Yes, Kul, they can come back. They've been straight with me so far."

The other quarian just nodded. "Yes, ma'am." At that, he stepped aside, letting Harry and Jacob by. The pair hurried through, finding Tali and the first quarian with her. Another lay partially obscured on a table. Cautiously, Harry walked over to them, taking care not to disturb the two in the slightest. Before he could see the other quarian, Tali spoke. "I know you're there, no use being quiet. Prazza's almost gone; he took too much fire."

Harry stared at the back of her head, surprised at the apathetic tone. "Are you sure there's nothing that you can do?"

She just shrugged, barely acknowledging him. "Not really. He took a ton of rounds to his gut, messed him up real bad. Those YMIR mechs don't mess around." She looked down, eyes boring into a spec on the side of the table. "We did what we could with medigel, though there was major damage to his organs. Even if there wasn't, so much of his interior was exposed to the air, he'll probably succumb to the infection soon."

At this, Prazza coughed and actually managed to turn his head. Two eyes shined up at Harry, lacking the raging animosity that lingered in them earlier. "Heh, it doesn't matter. I would rather die from my wounds on the field than from an infection in the ward…" He coughed again, wheezing in another breath. "But your concern is… appreciated, Cerberus."

The other quarian took the lull in the conversation to speak up. "It's a wonder that he lasted as long as he has. But all we can do now is make him as comfortable as he can be, before…"

A silence fell over them, with the quarians turning back to observe their wounded. Well, I don't know what medigel is, nor about why an infection is that dangerous… They wouldn't crop up fast enough, at least I don't think… Who knows? I can still help him, I think. Placing his hand on Tali's shoulder, he matched her sudden glare, simply saying "Trust me on this." Eventually receiving a reluctant nod, he moved her to the side, looking down at Prazza.

The quarian's body was a mess, with torn suit patches surrounding wounds that had been clogged with a kind of goo. However, blood had began to leak from around the many entry wounds, shades darker than what he was used to seeing. Looking in the quarian's eyes, he asked, "I can do something that might help you. I don't know if it will work. If it does, you'll be fine. If not, you're no worse off than you were before. Will you let me try?"

Prazza looked up at him, eyes still holding the barest of suspicion, before he turned away. "Do it."

Harry nodded to him, before withdrawing his wand. Ignoring the questions that began to inundate him, he focused on the body. Raising his wand, he breathed in deeply, before exhaling. Reparo homo.

White light began to flow out of the tip of the wand, sinking into the chest of the alien before him. It slowly began to spread, filling in each and every wound. Prazza arced his back as the magic began to do its duty. Yet, something was pushing back, something inside did not want the magic. The spreading of the light eventually slowed, then stopped.

This spell was a unique spell as it relied on one thing, power. While there are many other spells that could quickly and efficiently close wounds, knit together muscle, and reassemble destroyed organs, those took time and study, as well as a degree of finesse. This spell, this spell was different. It didn't matter how much medical acumen you had, nor how skilled you were in wand waving. It only depended on how much pure magical energy you poured in. It was horribly inefficient, and healed poorly for how much energy you poured in. Yet it was simple, effective, and it always got the job done.

In other words, perfect for one Harry Potter.

Yet, something inside the quarian wanted to resist the spell. It pushed out wards, rejecting the magic as it would reject a bad organ. The man's will was strong. Suicidally strong. Yet Harry's was stronger. He slowly forced the body to accept it, pushing more and more magic energy to make it acceptable. The glow started to spread once more, seeping under the seams of the environmental suit. Eventually, it reached the helmet, covering the face of the quarian as his eyes became lost in healing light. Seconds passed by, as the magic seeped through the body, searching and destroying every last infection. Repairing every single deficiency and injury there was to be found.

But there are a near infinite number of things that could always be better about a person, alien or human. And before the spell could fix it all, something else happened.

Harry's magic ran out.

In the blink of an eye all the light withdrew back into Harry's wand. Prazza slowly slumped back to the table, his breathing hurried but unhindered. Harry teetered precariously, wand coming loose and slipping to the floor. Nearly drunkenly, he spoke, "J..Jacob? I think I'm going to need a… a nap. Somebody catch me?"

The pod turned black, and Harry fell to his knees. He slowly toppled over, before spotting two pinpricks of light in the darkness. Then, a rushing sound enveloped him as the darkness overcame the light.

-oo-

A glimmer of light shined in the dark. No more than a pinprick in the distance, it slowly became brighter and brighter. The golden hue of the light was very familiar. A snitch? Here? Maybe it all has been a dream. It hovered just out of focus, and his arms simply refused to reach up and grasp it. Slowly, one of Harry's hands began to respond, inching closer to the golden light.

"Ah, I see you're awake. Welcome back, Mr. Potter."

Harry stopped at the words, before blinking rapidly. The world swam back into focus, the golden light revealing it to be instead the orange glow of an omnitool. Its user, an older lady, was tapping a few buttons on it as she stood over him. Shaking her head, she looked down at the wizard. "I'm surprised Mr. Potter. It's not too often that I'm shown something new. If it wasn't for the word of Tali'Zorah, I would have thought that you were doing something rather illicit."

His wits coming back together, Harry raised a hand to his head. Rubbing said cranium, he eyed the woman. "If you say so… But where am I?" He looked around, taking in the sterile white and gray room. I've got a sudden bad feeling about this.

Almost sensing his fears, the woman gave him a small grin. "You're in the med bay on the Normandy, Mr. Potter." At the ensuing groan, her smile broadened even farther. "As such, it has been my pleasure to run a battery of tests on you. However, there's not much I can find wrong with you, besides the fact that you're tired."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, magic exhaustion does that to you…" Lying there for a few seconds, his eyes widened when he remembered exactly why he was magically exhausted. "Wait, what happened to the other quarians? And Tali, and Jacob?"

The doctor laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Mr. Potter, they are all well." Pausing to reconsider the statement, she rectified, "For most senses of the word, at least. The quarians are doing well enough for being stuck on a Cerberus vessel at the moment. Although, I've got a few others in here for observation." At that, she waved a hand towards the back, where a few more bodysuit-clad forms lay resting.

Eyes narrowing, at the word Cerberus, Harry probed a bit more. "Another Cerberus ship? Have I been out that long?"

"About three hours, give or take the time it took to get you here." She pressed a few more keys on her omnitool, raising his bed slightly. "From the stories I've heard in the meantime, it was quite a feat for Mr. Taylor to get the quarians to cooperate. Fortunately, having so many wounded, and no shuttle available, there wasn't too much of an argument." Raising the tool to do another scan over Harry, she kept speaking. "It helped a lot when Tali found out that I was the one taking care of the wounded."

Harry cocked his head. "Why is that, Madam…?"

Snapping out of her mutterings, she looked back at Harry. "Oh, sorry, Mr. Potter. I'm Dr. Chakwas. Former Alliance Medical doctor, served with Commander Shepard for his last tour of duty, as it were… Although I suppose that doesn't mean much to you, does it?"

He shrugged. "Not particularly." Staring at the wall as she continued testing, he asked, "But I do know a little about Shepard. You said you served with him though?" He turned his head back, tilting it quizzically.

Noticing his look, she chuckled to herself. "Not in that way, Mr. Potter. I'm much too old to be out on the battlefield, and I never had the taste for it. No, I'm much happier here patching the heroes who do the hard work back together." Lowering her eyes to her notes, she continued, "Speaking of patching up, what exactly did you do to yourself, Mr. Potter? I've never seen a case quite like this. While you were completely exhausted, my scans indicated that you were perfectly fine at the same time. It's hard to describe, as the only close thing that would be a biotic after he expends a lot of his energy. But even then, they would be starving…"

Seeing that the doctor was going to continue to ramble on, Harry held a hand up to stop her. "I understand, Mada- Doctor. I'm probably just experiencing magical exhaustion." Reaching out with his magic, he felt his wands lying nearby. Taking care, he summoned the two and held them in his hand. "Rather, I was. Still not quite up to snuff."

Raising an eyebrow at his display, Chakwas just sighed and looked at him. "Three years ago, that would have surprised me, but now… Well, I've come to expect everything. But still, that was impressive. Much more controlled than biotics." She glanced down, a bit of a frown marring her face. "Although, I'm still not too sure on how much I believe this whole magic story."

Harry smiled to himself. "Trust me, it was hard to believe when I learned about it. You're taking it better than most. I'm just surprised that my kind seems to have disappeared, especially after such progress."

"Indeed." Curiosity was showing in her eyes, but she turned away. "As much as I would like to chat, Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I need to be keeping an eye on the other patients. Quarians have very… temperament immune systems at times."

Nodding in understanding, he waited a few moments, still getting his bearings together. Eventually, he called out, "Is it alright if I leave? You didn't mention that there was anything wrong with me…"

She sighed, back still to him. "No, I did not find anything in particular. And while I loathe doing so, I've no real reason to keep you here. Just no strenuous activity. Whatever your exhaustion is doing, it did affect your musculature."

Well, that sounds familiar. Maybe I should make a plaque for one of the beds, just in case? Grinning at her, he slid out of the bed, at the same time slipping his wands in a pocket. "Yes ma'am, will do. Just fair warning though, knowing my history, we'll probably seeing a lot of each other."

A somewhat wistful smile graced her face. "If you're anything like Shepard, I believe it. Good day, Mr. Potter."

Turning and walking up to the door, he placed his still gloved right hand on the hologram. Five seconds later, he did so again. Another five seconds later, he sighed, and placed his left one upon it. The hologram whirred and the door slid open. As he walked out, he stared down at the gloved hand. I wonder why it suddenly decided to stop working. Perhaps my magic just didn't want to cooperate with it? It didn't seem that complex… Well, I'll just get it looked at.

Taking a few steps forward, he looked around, before dropping his head. "Great, I have no clue where exactly I am. Or where to go for that matter. What to do…" Before he picked a random hallway to walk down, a voice sounded above him.

"Excuse me Mr. Potter, but I the Illusive Man has requested that you speak with him on the Command Deck. Take the hallway in front of you and then a right towards the elevator in order to proceed."

Blinking, Harry just looked around. If this was at Hogwarts, I would have expected a ghost. But here…? "Who is there? And what are you?"

The voice spoke again. "I am EDI, the Electronic Warfare AI that has been assigned to this vessel."

An AI? Could she mean…? Granted, I don't know much about robots and droids and such, but still… "So, that means you're robot? The ship?"

The electronic voice issued from the speakers again, the tone tinged with something odd. "Neither, Mr. Potter. I am built into the ship, but I am as much the ship as the pilot is. Less, even, as I have no control over any of the ship's activities. As I said, I am primarily here for electronic warfare purposes."

Shrugging to himself, Harry started walking forwards. Not that I really know what that means, maybe something to do with hacking computers? Maybe enemy computers? Considering how much they depend on electronics now, that wouldn't be such a bad idea. As he reached the elevator, which turned out to be barely ten steps from where he started, he asked as it slowly came towards his deck. "Well, EDI, just out of curiosity, where is Jacob at? Or the quarians?"

After a few moments, she replied. "Operative Taylor is on the Command Deck, in the armory. He is busy sorting out various armaments and munitions in preparation for our departure. As for the quarians, they are on the Hanger deck. Or rather, they were. Ms. Zorah was on this deck earlier, observing her squad mates' recovery. She headed back soon after."

"Roger that." Turning back, he stared at the elevator. After a minute, it finally arrived. Walking in, he couldn't help but mutter about how people in the future can't even get elevators to work right. Scanning the buttons, he wondered if he should speak to the quarians first. Considering the way the hated Cerberus, maybe they'd like to put their own two cents in. It didn't help that the voice in the back of his head was telling him he just didn't want to deal with that man right now. Especially what he's cost me, even if it's the right way to do.

Making up his mind, he pressed the bottom hologram. Before it began moving, EDI's voice chimed in again. "Mr. Potter, the comm room in which the Illusive Man is contacting you is above us. Shouldn't you be heading to speak to him first?"

He just looked towards the ceiling. "Did he request I contact him immediately?"

"Not in so many words, Mr. Potter…"

Harry shrugged. "Well, he can wait a bit longer. Besides, if you know why I'm here, you can understand why I am not quite willing to talk to him yet."

There was no response from the computer, but the elevator began descending. "Understood, Mr. Potter."

-oo-

Stepping out of the elevator, Harry found himself in a cavernous space filled with crates and other storage units. Seeing nothing else, he skirted around the room until he found the remainder of the quarian squad, bandied about a shuttle and another vehicle. Pondering how to approach them, he stood there for a while. Before he could say anything though, their purple leader spotted him.

Shouting "Harry," she waved him over to them. As he took a seat, he saw the other quarians eyeing him warily, but not with the hostility that many had been giving him, and Jacob, earlier. Can't blame them, really. They're in the lion's den, aren't they? They're still wary I might try something.

Finally breaking the ice, he turned towards their leader and asked, "So, Tali, how did things end up on the planet after I took a dirt-nap?"

Glancing at her squad, she just shook her head. "You might say we had a bit of an argument about where we'd go after. Most of the men wanted to take the shuttle and run. Your Mr. Taylor… Jacob, I mean, offered to shuttle us back to where we could get proper medical treatment, for you and for my injured. We didn't particularly want to head along, but he did point out that you sacrificed your… strength in order to heal Prazza. Whatever that was… And that you could have easily just left him to die."

Harry just looked down, scratching the back of his head. "I could have done that… but didn't I mention I have a saving people's thing? Besides," he turned and looked at the nearest bulkhead, staring at the sigil emblazoned upon it, "it's not like my current employers don't deserve a lot of what's coming for them, according to you."

Murmurs of assent rippled through the squad, but they remained quiet otherwise. "Yes, you did mention it a time or two. It's a bit hard to believe that one of you…" Tali stopped speaking, before looking away herself. "Well, considering that Dr. Chakwas is now one of you, and I know her well enough that she wouldn't do this without a good reason."

One of the others piped up, his semi-synthetic voice oddly higher, "So she decided to give it a chance. Not something that the rest of us would have done, but I suppose her old commander is influencing her."

Glowing eyes snapped around and met another glow. "And that is a bad thing?"

"Not at all, not at all. The quarian seemed to chuckle to himself. "Considering the stories you've told us, he is one of the best allies our kind could have."

Harry just nodded along, following their conversation. When neither of the two replied to the other, he coughed and spoke again. "So, how is Veetor doing? I didn't see him in the med bay, so I didn't know if you had him someplace else."

Tali reached behind her and thumped the bulkhead of the shuttle. "He's in there, asleep. After being awake for so long, he was about to pass out. It's why we're all here, and why Cel'Eb is keeping watch inside. Just in case."

Harry nodded towards her, eyes watching the shuttle. "That's a good idea. After all that he's seen… Well, it will be a long while before he'll be able to have a sound sleep, to put it nicely."

"Agreed." Tali sighed, before asking, "So, what was it that you did to him? That was more… magic?"

Seeing the curious looks he was getting, Harry just shrugged, trying to make it seem as no big deal. "Yeah, it was. Just like the whole conjuring rope out of thin air was magic."

The same quarian as earlier spoke up. "Conjuring ropes out of thin air? What madness is this? Are you sure he's not just a biotic with some really fancy slight of hand?"

Another aggravated sigh. "I'm quite sure, unless you're suggesting that this biotic who is not also has a super medigel that was able to heal Prazza so easily." Receiving no answer, she huffed behind her helmet. "Exactly. But even if you don't believe, I still want to hear."

Shrugging again, he said, "Well, I don't actually remember which spell I cast, so maybe you remember what I said?"

Tali just cocked her head. "You said something to the effect of Ripearoe Hoemoe. It didn't exactly translate, so I can't tell you what it means, if it means anything."

Understanding came to his eyes as she spoke. "Ah, I see. So it was that spell… Well, that was a bloody great idea." Seeing that they were waiting for him to continue, he did so. "Basically, I brute forced it, I believe. It's a spell to heal humans, as it literally means fix human. So on a quarian…"

Tali's eyes widened. "It wouldn't be nearly as effective as otherwise?"

Harry was about to agree, until something jogged in his memory. "Not quite… If I remember correctly, it shouldn't work on anyone who isn't a human. But I suppose that isn't really the case, is it?" Receiving just a snort in reply, he continued to muse. "I suppose that I never considered the healing a human part. I was too busy on trying to get him to heal. That's probably why it drained me so."

Looking a bit lost, Tali asked "So, what matters is the intent? Or is it another of your weird magic rules?"

"Well, I could believe that, if it wasn't for the fact that the spell matters too…" He shrugged. "All I can tell is that I forced a round peg through a square hole, and got it to fit."

Staring at him for a few minutes, Tali eventually just scoffed to herself. "Crazy humans… You know that doesn't make a lick of sense, don't you?"

Harry simply grinned. "I know. But remember what's the only logical thing about magic?" All he received in reply was a glare.

After a half minute of rather tense minute, she ventured out, "So, Harry, what is it that brings you down here to visit us?"

Shrugging noncommittally, Harry replied, "It was either this, or talk to the Illusive Man. Since Chakwas mentioned that you knew her, and reminded me what they did to you, thought it'd be better to come check. Besides," he grinned, "thought that you may want the chance to give a personal talking-to to their leader."

Tali stilled and looked at Harry, a gleam in her eyes. "Oh, that sounds like fun…" Her filtered voice growled, "Is he here in person? I'd like to do much more than simple conversation, though."

Note to self, never tick off the quarians. "I'm not quite sure if he is, but the first time he contacted me, it was through one of those holograms." He could almost see the pout that covered her face behind that opaque mask.

Another of the quarians interjected, "I will admit, this is rather odd. For being one of Cerberus, you're treating us rather nicely. Granted, nobody has done more than anything but cast a few looks at us, but still, it's rather odd." The other quarians merely nodded along with him.

Harry was quiet for a second, before offering, "True. But did Tali show you exactly why Veetor was holed up in that pod down on that planet?" At their hesitant affirmations, he continued. "That's the only reason I'm with them, is to stop that. Besides… I didn't exactly volunteer for this. I was shanghaied." At that, he finally stood up, stretching his arms out. "Well I think I need to head up and speak to him. Even if I rather wouldn't… You coming?"

Nodding and sliding to her feet, she began to walk over to the elevator. "Sure. It's not like they haven't bugged the ship enough to find out what we think about them already, so might as well say it to his face."

"Alright then, let's see what that man wants."

As the two left and proceeded to wait for the elevator to return to their floor, the other quarians looked at each other. "So, really believe what he's saying about that magic?"

"Not really. But Zorah pointed out, it's either that or a biotic that has access to some super medigel."

"Well, the humans did invent medigel in the first place. Who's to say that they hadn't improved it already?"

"It would be nice to believe that it's magic though. Maybe he could help us if it is."

"Maybe he could. But he's Cerberus. And besides, the only ones we can trust to help our people are ourselves. We don't have any biotics, so the only thing that is going to help defend us are our own sweat, tears, and bullets."

"Either way, I wish that we could not believe, if even for a little while, that there is no such thing as magic."

"I know Kul. I know."

-oo-

Finally situated in the elevator after waiting several minutes for it to arrive, the pair was slowly making its way back up. Harry found himself leaning on the back, watching the level indicator on the holographic buttons slowly ascend. Feeling eyes on the back of his head, he turned towards the watching Tali. "So, was there something you wanted to ask me?"

Suddenly averting her eyes at being caught, she shrugged, before stuttering out. "N-not really. I was just curious at what exactly you could do. I mean after seeing everything earlier today, I was wondering more you can do."

Harry stroked his chin. "Well, I could just say that it's magic, and leave it at that… But I'd rather not have to face you gun again so soon." Receiving a very satisfied chuckle, he just grinned. "What I used earlier in the mission were mostly Reductor Curses. It's a very standard spell; I learned it back when I was still in school."

Tali tilted her head curiously then. "That implies that you know better… spells. Keelah, I still can't believe I'm seriously discussing this. But in that case, why not use something more… Advanced, I suppose?"

He just shrugged in reply. "Why not? It worked on everything but those hulking big robots. I don't see a reason to break out bigger and flashier spells to for the basic enemies. As for the larger ones, I really didn't feel the need. They may have been large, but were pretty slow." His grin grew a bit wider. "Especially when you can apparate behind them and fire at their backside."

"Apparate? You mean that teleporting thing?" He nodded to her, and her eyes widened. "So you seriously mean that was teleporting? Not some weird biotic movement?"

At that, Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Weird biotic movement? That sounds like something you'd get after eating bad Mexican." He shivered. "The nightmares…"

She tilted her head. "Mexican?" Harry just shook his head, refusing to explain. "Ok… must be a weird Earth thing. But anyways, some biotics have the power to use their abilities to alter their own mass, and propel themselves at high velocity. It's the only explanation that I could think of. Unless you happen to be some sort of advanced human from the future."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Is being just a wizard truly that unbelievable? And besides, I told you, I retired nearly two hundred years ago." Her frustrated growl amused him even more. "If I remember correctly, there was principle saying that the simplest answer was the best."

She just glared at him. "Maybe there is a human one that says as such. I can't recall a quarian one in the same vein, however. Even if there was, saying that you are two hundred years old and still relatively young when humans only have a hundred and fifty year lifespan is hardly a simple answer." She tapped a finger on her mask. "Anyways, back on subject. I suppose a true analysis of what you could do would take quite a while to perform. Some of what you perform would be of great advantage to the fleet if replicated. Although, for magic, I expected it to be more impressive."

Harry just snorted. "Oh, magic can be flashy. I suppose I could have frozen them solid and shattered them. Or I could have used concentrated hellfire to burn them into ashes. Or a dozen more powerful and lethal curses. But I would prefer to use what's merely effective. And to cause as little collateral damage as possible. Just because it's not flashy doesn't mean it's magic."

Tali eventually nodded agreement and sighed. I suppose you're right. After all, quarians have been making do with whatever we have for the past three hundred years. It's not like we have the resources to be extravagant."

"Three hundred years?" Harry had his curiosity piqued now. Well, I suppose I do know virtually nothing about her race. Or any of them. Jacob only spent time talking about how to kill them. Mostly, at least.

Looking away, the quarian sighed. "I forget that you don't know about my species. You seem way too used to our presence already."

"I did say that I knew plenty of other species."

"Yet you also said that you never met another alien 'til today."

He nodded. "Yup."

"You know I'm only humoring you because you're insane."

Harry just shrugged. "Oh, trust me, I'm used to that." At that point, the doors on the elevator finally slid open. "And we're finally here. Either this thing is huge, or this is the slowest elevator I've ever been on." He stepped out, looking for the communication room. Realizing that it was the one straight in front of him, he walked forward, opening it up with his one operational glove.

Breaking the silence that had plagued them for the past minute, Tali asked, "Harry?" He turned to face her. "I understand why you feel you need to go through with this, but why work for Cerberus? Couldn't you go to the Alliance with this? Since you worked for them before…"

Harry shook his head. "I never worked for the Tali. I worked for the government, but never the Alliance. And I know bearcats. They never change, and they never will. If even a tenth of what they say is true, I have to go through with this." He looked her in the eyes. "Besides, you knew Dr. Chakwas, and she's working for them too. Would she have done that if she wasn't serious?"

Tali could only reply, "No. But still, it doesn't seem right, in either case. What are they up to, to go to all this effort?"

I forgot, she doesn't know about Shepard… Granted, I don't know much either. But it does look suspicious, I suppose. Especially if they served together… Maybe she's connecting the dots. "A really big something is what they're up to. I was their Plan B, after all. Which is why they kidnapped me."

"Kidnapped‽" Tali's eyes widened. "Wait, you said that you were shanghaied. What exactly does that mean? It doesn't really translate."

So that's why there wasn't much of a reaction. "Essentially, shanghaiing is when someone is kidnapped and impressed to serve on the crew of a ship. It felt particularly appropriate to use, in that case."

Still rather confused, she asked, "Then why are you helping them? Especially in that case?"

Harry sighed, his voice somewhat despondent. "Mostly because it's the right thing to do. For the sake of the people that were kidnapped, and the ones that might be kidnapped…" He trailed off. "And he has the only way I can get home."

At that, he entered the room and waited for something to happen. As it darkened and holograms began to appear, he walked further in, an irate quarian keeping right behind him.

-oo-

"Potter, good to see you back. Well done on Freedom's Progress. It was… Illuminating, seeing one of your kind in action."

The scratchy hologram stared at him, pointedly ignoring the presence of Tali'Zorah. "On the other hand, it was somewhat worrisome expending so much effort to keep that quarian alive. I didn't bring you in our time just to watch you sacrifice yourself to spare the life of one who obstructed you so vehemently."

Pressing his fingers into his temple, Harry slowly replied. "And? If you know anything about me from those books you discovered, you know exactly who I am. And I am not going to let someone up and die when I can do something about it."

The hologram leaned onto its hand, pointedly ignoring the death glare being sent his way. "I am quite aware, actually. It was part of why you were selected, after all. You are very similar to Shepard, both in combat effectiveness and… attitude." He paused, taking a drag from his cigarette. "To that end, I suppose it would have been expected. Ms. Zorah, when she has not been glaring or ranting at me, did provide us with her copy of the data. While there was nothing much of value to be learned, they did willing provide it. Quite unexpected in actuality."

At that, Tali had enough. "So, you'll insult my people and my squad in one breath, and then compliment us for our generosity in the next? What game are you playing at?"

"No game, Ms. Zorah." He finally turned to face her, his mechanical eyes whirring as he studied her. "Or rather, every game. Do I have any love for the quarians? No. Do I have any hate for them? No. Simply, I do not care."

She scoffed. "That much is obvious. Especially since you hijacked the Cyniad and used it to assault the Idenna. All so you could get your hands on one human biotic. What would you call that?"

His gaze met hers for a moment, before leaning back in his chair. "It was just bad business, Ms. Zorah. Something that I had invested in had gotten loose, and I wished to reap my investment. And I never proved of their methods, but only their intentions. It was… unnecessary for them to go to the lengths that they had."

Tali just crossed her arms and stared him down. "It certainly was. And considering the number of Cerberus cells we busted with Shepard two years ago, you've had plenty of other projects that go to those same lengths."

"Ms. Zorah, I will have you know that everything we do is for humanity's future. We take humanity's best and brightest, and give them the chance to shine. And unfortunately, some of those are not culled from society's best. So, unfortunately, we will have accidents. But even in these accidents, there is something to learn."

He turned away from the quarian before she could speak again, and focused on Harry. "Now, Mr. Potter, back to what we are here to discuss. The data provided both by Operative Taylor and Ms. Zorah both confirmed that an alien race is kidnapping, or killing our civilians. More importantly, they are the Collectors."

Tali's eyes widened momentarily, before speaking. "Collectors? Last I heard, they were nothing more than a myth. Showing up every few decades to do business with the Terminus Systems."

"Hardly myths Ms. Zorah." He took another drag from his cigarette. "The Collectors are quite really. Incidentally, you know of the quarian behind the crisis in the Migrant Fleet? He was exiled due to his attempts to sell quarians to the Collectors."

That would explain the name, wouldn't it? "So, why is this so notable? And was this one of the scenarios you expected?"

He nodded shortly, before answering. "Indeed. And it is because that they usually operate covertly, taking a small number of samples with them. Twin krogan, oddly hued asari, turians with unusual crests. And now, humans." His hologram looked down, staring at an unseen object. "They have never taken in such large numbers though. They are up to something. But now that we know who are behind the attacks, we can take steps to stop them. Discover what they are attempting to do. And possibly even save the colonists."

That last sentence miffed Harry, who looked at the hologram with narrowed eyes. "In that order, then?"

The hologram folded his hands together. "Mr. Potter, I can understand your desire to save them. Realistically though, we have no reason to expect them to be alive by the time we discover the Collector's home. I hope they are, but for now I'm working with the assumption that they will not be."

Harry sighed. "Well, is there anything we can do? Or are we just waiting until they attack again?"

"For the moment? The latter. We cannot go blindly charging in. However, I have other teams working on this threat, in order to conclude it as soon as is humanely possible."

Tali chose that moment to opine, "Perhaps if you had other races to help you, it would be done faster."

The hologram cut its eyes over to her. "Perhaps. Or they may instead slow us down. Either way, we are working on it." It turned to Harry. "As for now, I need you, Mr. Potter, to take command of this vessel. There are a number of individuals to be recruited to help you on your cause. I've already forwarded a number of dossiers to Operative Taylor, who will act as your Executive Officer until Operative Lawson finishes her current duty."

Harry was bemused for a second. Blinking several times, he finally responded. "Wait. You want me to take over a ship? A space ship? I had never even left Earth less than twenty four hours ago, and now you want me in charge?"

A smirk came over the man's face. "In fact, I do. Just because you are… behind the times, doesn't mean you wouldn't be effective. Besides, you wouldn't have to handle any of the operations of the ship. We have the best pilots and engineering crews to take care of that." He paused, gauging Harry. "Unless, of course, you would prefer to be sent back? That was our deal, if you didn't think you were needed…"

Taking a moment to consider it, Harry slowly shook his head. I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't stay.

At that, the smirk grew just a tiny bit wider. "Good. Now, the only suggestions I will give you are this. Take the quarians back to their fleet, and begin searching for the people I have sought out for you. If they are not willing to let you into the fleet, find a compromise. As soon as Shepard has been revived, we will send word so that you can pick him up, from whence he will assume command, presuming nothing else changes in the meantime. Perhaps by the time this is over, you'll be able to return to your own time." Scanning the two in front of him, the hologram simply said, "Dismissed," and began to fade.

As light began to return to the room, Harry's thoughts were interrupted by his companion's synthesized voice. "What is going on here, Potter? Send back to your own time? As soon as Shepard is revived? Keelah, what is Cerberus doing?" She strode forward and jammed a finger into his chest. "I want answers, Potter. What exactly is going on with you, where you are from, and what all of this has to do with Shepard."

His own eyes widening, Harry held his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'll explain what I do know. It will take a while though. Quite a while."

Grabbing his robes, she dragged him over and forced him onto the coffee table. "When it comes to this, I have all the time in the fleet. Especially if Shepard is involved."

Well, look on the bright side old chap. At least she doesn't have her shotgun on her… Like I said it's a long story. But to start with me, I was born July 31, in the year 1981, in the United Kingdom."

The resulting silence from that statement was not the longest, nor the last. But silence was pretty much all Tali'Zorah had to say for the next hour.

And then, Harry decided to finally explain about Shepard.

The resulting explosion made him wonder if it had been a mistake.

A/N Howdy all! I'm back, with an update to one of the big three. Sorry it took so long, but this has been sitting around at 3k words for over a month now. I hate it when that happens. But now, I've got it all fixed up and shipshape, I hope. I feel that this is the best way to end this chapter, as I don't want to get into too long and technical discussions of the magic. Not yet, anyways. It would interrupt the story flow a bit much, this early. And I'd hate to get bogged down in semantics.

As for what I've been doing, it's been either ME3 (mostly the demo (Cel'Eb was my engineer before the reset, and this is the last you'll hear of her, as I no longer have her.)) and the game. Haven't beaten it yet, but I know the endings. Which is probably why I haven't beaten it yet. I kinda stopped caring about spoilers when I got trolled by Bioware with Tali's face, which fell firmly into the uncanny valley IMHO. In the meantime, I've posted two one-shots if you want to check them out. One is an ME one, and the other is Touhou. I've got another in the works with about 7k words, but idk when it'll be ready.

For Daemonwelsh, the oneshot you asked about cannot be posted, as I used second person (which I didn't know was not allowed), along with me violating another rule. Removing one of the aspects would ruin the story, and removing both would decimate it. So I removed it. I had posted it with another songfic (which was legal since the song used is from the Civil War, and is public domain) I might simply post the songs in the future, but the idea kinda burned me out.

That's all for now though. Probably one more slow chapter until the action begins to pick up again. As always, please read and review, and any critiquing is most welcome! And finally, an emoticon from my cat (who actually wrote this when she stepped on my computer.)

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