Just Add Water

by Tendragos

For Harry Potter, the day aliens annexed Earth was the best day of his life. From unwanted orphan to Mage in training, his journey has led him here, to a world as blank as a white canvas, ready to be shaped and nurtured into a vibrant, thriving ecosystem. The first problem? For an ocean world, it's a little dry.

8. Chapter 8: Martian Mornings

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Chapter 8: Martian Mornings

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Sirius' eyes were glued to the stasis pod as its wakening cycle began. When he'd gotten a notice from the Temporal Reclamation Command he'd wished, he'd desperately hoped that both James and Lily would be sharing a pod, but even knowing James hadn't made it out alive he wouldn't complain. James had been his brother, the family that he had chosen over his blood relatives and he knew deep in his heart that if only one of them could be saved James would have chosen to save Lily, with no questions or hesitation. Sirius could even remember sipping Firewhiskey after one of the worst nights of the war while Lily was sleeping upstairs, exhausted from a long day as a new mother. His brother had asked, pleaded, Sirius to keep Lily safe if he died. At the time, James' worries had revolved around a potion master Death Eater and his obsession with Lily in particular and what the rest of Voldemort's monsters would do to a beautiful, brilliant muggleborn witch in general. Sirius had sworn to his brother that he would do whatever it took to keep Lily safe and he would honor his brother's wish now. James, I will give her a home and do everything I can to ensure she reunites with Harry, I swear it.

As he stared at the pod, the memory of what he'd found when he stormed into a destroyed nursery came to mind unbidden. He told himself that memory was wrong, that the fact she was here, now, alive, meant he'd mourned a replacement, but despite the truth being in front of him Sirius found his mind dragged back to all those years in Azkaban and the utter surety that his mistake had gotten both James and Lily killed. As Lily gradually awakened from stasis the man in gray identity-concealing armor spoke, dragging Sirius back to the present. "Preserving the Timeline required that sacrificial magic be used to save the life of Harry Potter. That required us to make a choice between James and Lily, which became easy when we discovered Lily was carrying a daughter. We altered the magic Lily had initially used to save her son to accept her husband's freely-given life instead and replaced her with a convincing simulacrum. I leave her in your care, Sirius Black."

As the stasis pod finished the wakening cycle Sirius reached in to gently lift Lily out and carefully laid her on the couch. When he turned around to thank the man for rescuing her, he was already gone along with the stasis pod, having vanished without a sound or a trace while his back was turned. Lily was slowly stirring, so Sirius pulled up a chair and thanked Raene when she silently padded back into the room with a tray holding a full tea set and the traditional snacks. Sirius poured two cups of the Kaldorei tea Raene had introduced him to, a drink that reminded him of roaming him through the Forbidden Forest in spring, and sipped it lightly. While a lot of the alien food wasn't for him, Sirius had found he enjoyed a lot of the dishes from Azeroth and was grateful the Empire had made Sol a destination for many Azerothians leaving their home behind.

~/*\~

Lily gradually woke, finding herself on a strange couch. As she opened groggy eyes, she heard a voice that took a moment to recognize. It was harsher than the last time she heard it and much of the playfulness had been lost but she still recognized her husband's best friend, a man who had become a close friend of hers as well. Choosing to let the world think he held the Secret, the key to the Fidelius Charm keeping her family safe, trying to draw Voldemort's attention to himself to keep them safe had not been a small act. "Harry is safe Lily."

He even knew the first thing she wanted to hear. Knowing that, Lily shifted and sat upright on the comfortable couch. She blinked her eyes, this wasn't Sirius' safe house. She started to ask a question, but her dry throat betrayed her and she only managed to get one word out. "Where…"

Sirius quickly poured her a cup of tea that obviously wasn't a blend she'd had before but smelled soothing. As she sipped at it, Sirius spoke. "Whether you wanted to know where Harry is or where we are, the answer is… complicated. Do you want me to tell you the short version?"

Lily nodded her head, and continued sipping her tea. She really had no idea what was going on, the last clear memory she had was as unbelievable as the day she'd been introduced to magic without more context. She listened intently as Sirius began to explain. "We'll go in chronological order then. Ignoring the bit with time-travel, on October 31st of 1981 Pettigrew led Voldemort to your home and gave him the Secret. He was the spy who'd been getting Order members killed left and right. Voldemort killed James, and chased you up to the nursery where he killed you but when he tried to kill Harry, the curse rebounded and destroyed his body. I arrived as quickly as I could when the feedback from the Fidelius falling hit me but Voldemort had blocked magical travel to what seemed like half of Britain. Instead of getting there soon enough to die with James and maybe let you escape, I arrived and found a broken house with Harry the only one alive."

Lily shuddered for a moment, she'd known that was possible, but she'd been hoping their whole little family would survive the war. Sirius continued. "As I was carrying Harry out of the house, Hagrid showed up. I don't know how he got there, but the Headmaster had probably sent him with a portkey once Voldemort's wards failed. He said the Headmaster had sent him to bring Harry to Hogwarts, and after an argument I gave Harry to him and lent him my motorcycle. Hagrid isn't the smartest guy around but most spells just glance off his skin and he'd give his life to protect any child if he had to. I'm sure you remember what happened the few times he let loose in a fight."

Lily nodded in understanding, though Hagrid's arrival instead of Dumbledore's didn't make sense. Sirius continued after sipping his own tea and refilling everyone's cups, including the one a creature (Woman? It was obviously female...) that looked a lot like a bipedal wolf was sipping at his side. (Lily had seen Remus transformed from a distance through an unbreakable window. He had been dangerous with the beast in control, but the mere fact that this creature was calmly sitting at Sirius' side sipping tea was enough to convince Lily she was safe to be around.) "With Harry on his way to safety, I started searching for Peter. At the start I didn't know if I needed to give him a burial or rescue him or kill him for betraying us. If he'd betrayed us, I knew Harry would only be safe at Hogwarts with Dumbledore."

At Lily's quirked eyebrow, he explained a little more. "We had no secrets from Peter. Every safe house, every hide-away, every ward he knew about. If he had thrown in with Voldemort, had joined him, I knew I had to kill him because Harry would never be safe while the rat lived; Peter had proven he could get in anywhere. It's impossible to keep a rat animagus out of a house, if I had taken Harry in and he had decided to finish the job... I had always thought Peter was a coward, but I was also sure he was as loyal to us as we were to him." Sirius paused and shuddered. "Lily, I found his house without anything disturbed, so I started tracking him down. I caught up to him in muggle London and he blindsided me. It was subtle at the time, but I'm pretty sure he hit me with some curse with the opposite effect of the Calming Charm, and I was already so frayed from finding you and James dead... He'd already confounded the muggle witnesses by the time I got there, and once I did he shouted out about how I had betrayed you and James. Then he cut off a finger, cast a blasting curse into a gas main, and escaped in his animagus form."

Sirius started to shake as he was overcome with emotion, and the bipedal wolf woman at his side leaned in to hug him in comfort. Sirius continued, but it was obviously hard for him. "I fell to my knees laughing hysterically and was stunned by the responding Aurors. I woke up in Azkaban's maximum security wing and stayed there for ten years."

Lily gasped, dropping her teacup in shock before she lunged forward and embraced Sirius. The moments that followed were emotional and wet as a lot of tears were shed. After a few moments he gestured and the broken tea cup repaired itself and the spilled tea vanished. Despite the emotion of the moment, Sirius started speaking again when he could. "Dumbledore betrayed us. He let me go to Azkaban when he knew I was innocent and he left Harry on Petunia's doorstep, literally on her doorstep in the middle of the night in November, and let her and Vernon spend the next decade trying to beat the magic out of Harry. That changed a year ago."

Lily, who'd had a difficult day from her perspective, spoke again without letting go of the group hug. "What happened?"

Sirius chuckled, the familiar sound soothing her despite the horrible words he was speaking. "We found out Earthlings aren't alone in the universe. A fleet of spaceships appeared above Earth's moon and informed us Earth was the newest planet to join the Golden Star Empire. There's a desperate cosmic war raging through creation and the Empire's military is the only thing standing between life and oblivion. That sounds dramatic, but it's true, our universe lost two galaxies and a third of the Milky Way in the most recent local campaign; the Empire only saved the rest at great cost. Magic users are crucial to the war. The Empire desperately needs the energy and matter we can create, so anyone who can use magic is now a critical war resource. The Statute of Secrecy is history; there's been protests and violence but the Empire's kept things civil for the most part. Partly by focusing humanity's anger on hate on a new target. A month after the Empire announced themselves at the U.N., Petunia's husband threw Harry at an Imperial soldier and got arrested for child abuse; Harry spent a week at an Imperial medical center returning to perfect health."

Lily spoke again, pulling back just far enough to look Sirius in the eyes. "Where is Harry now?"

Instead of answering directly, Sirius shook his head. "The Empire has a program where the strongest magicals are sent to highly protected galaxies to terraform and eventually populate new worlds. Usually the children selected are around fourteen or fifteen when they're mature enough to handle being away from their families. When the Empire was doing everything they could for Harry, they decided that he needed stability in his life more than anything else. Instead of putting him with a foster family and then ripping that away in a few years, they put him into the New Worlds program early. By the time I got a trial and was exonerated Harry was already on his way to an empty planet in the next galaxy over. We've had video chats and letters, I've saved all of them if you want to read and watch later. I've worked hard to get over Azkaban and earn my passage, in nine months or so I'm catching a ride on a teaching ship delivering settlers to a solar system near Harry's world. Normally I wouldn't qualify for the New Worlds program, much less take the place of one of the scheduled colonist groups, but the Empire gave me and my family an exemption on compassionate grounds. If I comply with their laws and earn my keep that ship will drop me off on Harry's world. You're welcome to join me, but the downside is that it will be a one-way trip to a future ocean-world."

Lily took a moment to gather her thoughts. It didn't occur to her that she was sitting in Sirius' lap while the wolf creature sat on the arm of the chair. Both of them had wrapped arms around her, and Lily felt like she desperately needed that comfort right now. "Of course I'm coming with you. Can… Can I see Harry? I'd always wondered what he would grow to look like."

Sirius smiled and did something with his hands. A menu popped up on the wall, and he navigated it for a few moments until a page listing a number of icons with dates appeared. Then he selected the first one and a video began to play, projected on the wall with a split screen showing both ends of the conversation. Lily laughed as she saw her son roll out of bed in a room that seemed rather bland for a ten-year-old. He really did look like James, but he had her eyes. She started to cry again, her beautiful baby boy had suffered and healed and she hadn't been there for him. The first video call was emotional, and Lily couldn't help but gasp at how thin and gaunt Sirius looked. He looked healthy now, but it was obvious Azkaban hadn't been kind to him. Maximum Security, where the worst of the worst go. How on Earth did that happen?

Later videos were more lighthearted. She was shocked when she saw Harry's friends, and Sirius explained briefly that Harry had been included in the group of twenty Earth-born magicals thirteen to sixteen with the highest magical potential, which included the Kitsune Dahlia. Dahlia was obviously being physically affectionate with her son, (nothing sexual, just normal physical affection) and he was drinking it in and reciprocating eagerly. Sirius explained that Dahlia had a similar childhood to Harry and the two had bonded strongly. Madral, some kind of elf, was only seen for a moment, excusing himself and giving Harry a few last pointers for some magic he was struggling with. Sirius paused the video in question for a moment and explained, pride seeping into his every word. "Despite being the youngest by years Harry kept up with them. He often studied with his two best friends and they helped him with charms and other subjects while he helped them with transfiguration."

Lily smiled at that, and they continued watching. By the time the most recent video began to play the horizon was starting to lighten but the coming dawn was forgotten when she saw her son in tears. Sirius explained a little more. "Kitsune as a species can be emotionally unstable, and Dahlia had a lot of rituals, most of them involving fertility, forced on her by a mother who's been imprisoned for life in a cell next to Albus. Dahlia's sleeping in a stasis pod right now, same model as you've been in for the last decade. Let's just say Harry's going to have a busy fourteenth or fifteenth birthday."

Lily stood, feeling lost. She turned to look out the window and gasped at the gleaming buildings and green landscaping under a glowing dome of energy. Sirius and his companion moved to stand next to her. "Welcome to Mars, Lily. I'm a teacher at the Erythraeum Imperial Academy that was built at the peak of Olympus Mons. It doesn't have the rustic appeal of a drafty old castle in Scotland, but it does have a grandeur all its own. I know you have a lot to take in, I've had time to grieve for James and a counselor to help me, but for you the grief is fresh and raw. I have a bedroom ready for you, and if there's anything you need just tell me, Raene, or Alira when she's in. And I know you're probably not hungry, but you should eat something. We have some leftover food from the welcoming feast a few days ago since the school's cooks went a bit wild. The wild rice and cream duck dish is great and so is the roasted venison."

Resigned, Lily followed Sirius to the kitchen and watched him begin pulling covered containers out of something like a refrigerator. When he opened the first one, Lily had to admit her stomach rumbled from the scent. It only took a few moments before Sirius had warmed up the Pyrex containers and flicked his fingers to make plates and silverware leap out of the cupboards. It took a moment for what she'd seen to click, but when she did, Lily gasped. "You're using wandless magic!"

Sirius paused and chuckled as he pulled a pitcher out of the refrigerator. "Well, yeah. It was part of earning my teaching certification; can't teach it if I don't know how. Luckily the Animagus transformation is technically wandless magic so I had a good starting point. I'll requisition a wand for you during my lunch break and I can start teaching you wandless magic anytime you want."

As the three sat at the round table in what Lily would call a breakfast nook she didn't miss the casual physical intimacy between Sirius and this wolf-woman. But she soon lost interest in anything but the food in front of her. There were a lot of spices she wasn't familiar with in both of the dishes, and whatever juice Sirius had served them was new to her too, but the food was excellent. She soon found herself having eaten more than she intended and becoming drowsy as exhaustion both emotional and physical caught up with her. Her time in the stasis pod hadn't been real sleep, and left her more tired than when she went in. Sirius was soon distracted by an alarm on his watch, and he sighed. "Raene, could you help Lily into bed and stay with her? Alira isn't due back until Monday, so I could really use your help. Lily, I have to get to class, my students are starting today so I need to give them a full campus tour and their first lesson. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise."

The wolf rose to her feet and quickly cast a wandless spell at both her and Sirius' faces, which Lily guessed was a breath-freshening spell. "Of course Master."

That comment got Lily's attention, as did the searing kiss Raene initiated before pulling back. Sirius gave his lover a warm smile before walking to the nearest window, flicking a spell at himself, and leaping out of it. Lily gasped as she rushed over, but instead of an injured Sirius, saw the man slowly drifting to the ground like a leaf in the wind. Raene, the wolf-woman, chuckled and closed the window. "It's a simple feather-fall spell, but Master enjoys using it. Come on, I know you've had a really awful time and you could use some rest."

Unable to argue, Lily allowed herself to be led by surprisingly gentle hands to a bed larger than any she'd ever used before. Raene folded back the sheets and guided her to lay down before she slipped in behind her and pulled her close in an embrace. Lily blushed as the wolf-woman pulled the blankets over them both and spoke quietly into her ear. "Relax and rest Lily. I'll be here if you need anything, even if it's just a shoulder to cry on."

Too tired to argue, Lily slipped into slumber. Her last coherent thought was the recognition of the scent in the sheets; she was sleeping in Sirius' bed.

~/*\~

Hermione Granger was enjoying her breakfast as she finished re-reading her favorite book. She didn't often read novels but Susan had goaded her into starting this series seven months ago and she didn't regret it. It was from an alternate Earth, a reality where, among other differences, the famous Tolkien had written out a dozen novels with the stories his children had compiled into books like 'The Children of Hurin' and 'The Silmarillion' in her reality. Instead of being bland and dry histories of a fictional world, these novels were coherent and riveting, the author obviously having honed his writing skills with the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. In any case, Hermione put her book away when her best friend elbowed her again. "Come on Hermione, you need to be more social."

Hermione sighed and turned to Susan Bones, the girl she'd met and became fast friends with while learning magic under Ferisa. Hermione had enjoyed the last year immensely, and she had learned so much. After a few months of learning outdoors in Crawley, their class had moved to Hogwarts castle which had become a day school that she took a new train line to every weekday. Compared to even the fastest of Earth's bullet trains, this new train was incredibly fast, traveling faster than sound inside a tube that had all the air sucked out, meaning air resistance wasn't a problem. The new train lines had been built all over the Earth, and were even being built under the ocean now. In another year, it would be possible to take a train under the Pacific or Atlantic oceans. Hermione's parents had actually moved to a newly constructed home in Hogsmeade last month and her father had decided to earn a full qualification as an Imperial Healer. Earning a full qualification and practicing medicine alongside peers who could use magic wasn't easy; she was so proud of her father for putting in the work to be able to help people. Hermione's mother was often busy taking care of her new twin sisters, who were adorable but often loud and smelly. Both of Hermione's new sisters were magical and healthy, two healing sessions and her mother's implants had cured her infertility.

Looking at Susan's face Hermione sighed and gave in, joining the conversation going back and forth around the table. Two days ago, Hermione and many other students had moved into the dorms of their new boarding school, a brand new campus built inside a dome on the planet Mars. All the girls in her dorm were eating breakfast together, thanks mostly to Susan's insistence that they all get to know each other and attempt to become friends since they'd be living together for the next few years. Hermione was surprised to find nearly half her dorm (so far, there were three empty beds which meant more individuals would be joining them at some point) were not human. Kylri was a pale-skinned Kitsune with dark hair and snow-white fox features and she'd been sleeping as a small arctic fox in a pile of pillows. Several girls had thought it was adorable and even Hermione had taken a few pictures. Selena was a Veela with the typical fair skin and silver hair and she was a bright, cheerful girl. Cirmu was an alien with reptilian features (black scales dotted her dusky skin) and a lot of physical strength, but was terribly shy. Susan had made a point of befriending her immediately. (In one of the few nods to tradition, the students attending the Hogwarts day school were still 'sorted' even if the sorting meant little; Susan had immediately been declared to be a 'Hufflepuff' while Hermione had been a 'Ravenclaw.')

The last non-human in her dorm was Saska, her species was called the 'Naga,' and she was mostly aquatic; her part of the dorm was actually a pool. Above the waist she was an elf with small, decorative scales dotting her dark skin while below her hips she had a serpentine lower body with striking coal black scales. Along her head, back, and tail she had striking dark orange fins. Saska was aggressively assertive, in fact she'd clashed with Pansy their first night together and the other girl had only backed off after a short duel. Saska was the only resident of their dorm so far that was wearing a non-standard uniform: Unlike the warm gold-colored long-sleeved sweater over a white shirt and either a long navy blue skirt or pants, Saska's waterproof uniform consisted of a band similar to spandex exercise shorts around her hips along with a modest but minimal top similar to a sports bra. When Hermione had asked, Saska had admitted that thanks to the various fins on her back and the general discomfort of wearing clothing over scales, she preferred to wear as little as possible when the weather was pleasant.

The rest of their dorm consisted of herself, Susan, Hannah Abbott, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Tracey Davis, and Pansy Parkinson, who was generally unpleasant to be around. Hermione wasn't entirely sure why the younger Astoria had joined them, other than some conflict with the Greengrass girls' parents. Apparently Daphne's sister had chosen to join her instead of remaining home, and the two had complained that their family had not taken the change in government well. While their parents hadn't taken a side in the Blood War, Daphne had explained that it was only because no matter who won, nothing would really change for them. (As the two girls who'd been raised as pureblood supremacists interacted with other species and bloomed under the new system, they had abandoned most of their parent's beliefs.)

For the most part Hermione liked her roommates but she was still glad that she had the option of returning home on the weekends. Of course, that privilege was dependent on both her and her family following the rules and a few conditions, like if she missed the supply shuttle that traveled between Earth and Mars every weekend she'd lose the privilege for two months and be stuck making up the week's work in detention. Apparently before the Empire came Hogwarts was a boarding school, which meant she would have gone months without seeing her family, which struck her as absurd. As the group finished their breakfast Hermione glanced around the room for a moment. It struck her again just how large the school was, nearly every magical born on Earth in the right age group was here alongside many new arrivals, and while most were human, other species were definitely present. More species than she could name chatted or ate, and Hermione had met a few already.

But before too long a bell rang and Hermione picked up her tray and drew her wand to leave the place she'd been eating clean. Leaving the cafeteria she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the surprisingly bright martian morning and the way the central tower gleamed in the morning light. According to the message they'd received the day before, Professor Black would meet them in front of the green crystal fountain near the central tower. Some of the girls had been afraid of the supposed 'mass murderer' but Susan had spoken up and their dorm had watched the man's trial together. An injustice like that made Hermione glad the Ministry of Magic was only a memory. (Susan's aunt, Amelia Bones, had been appalled and apoplectic after seeing Sirius's Imperial trial. She'd actually gone and gotten drunk in front of her niece, muttering about how she should have known.)

Their group moved together and eventually found the right fountain, water bubbling over complex emerald crystals with a peaceful sound as the sunlight gleamed and cast beautiful emerald refractions. A few boys were waiting for them, one with red hair whose freckles and tan showed he spent a lot of time outside and one she recognized from her classes at Hogwarts. Hermione waved and shouted. "Hi Seamus!"

Seamus waved back with a smile before he turned back to his discussion with the other boy. As they waited for the Professor to show up other boys walked up, including a blonde boy with aristocratic features and a black eye. Hermione wondered how that had happened, but wasn't worried. One of the things she'd learned in the last year was that the Imperial school system expected occasional fights between students and didn't intervene as long as the injuries were minor and would heal on their own. Bullying was not tolerated, but standing up to bullies was encouraged. Hermione wasn't sure it was the best system, but it seemed to work.

She wasn't surprised when it turned out there were twice as many girls as boys in their class when everyone had shown up. The fact that magicals were expected to form family units more complex than Earth's traditional pair wasn't a secret. While Hermione wasn't exactly looking forward to sharing a boy with other girls, she could understand the cold logic behind it. She and Harry had figured out the AI's that ran almost every important system in the Empire had decided to try pairing them up, but given the success rate in AI sponsored relationships… Well, Harry was nice and she figured everyone left home behind at some point. Harry was kind and friendly, and she figured she could do much worse. In their letters Harry had told her about Dahlia and how she'd been put into stasis thanks to her mother forcing her into dozens of fertility rituals. Some people just belong in prison. Dahlia sounds like a nice shy girl, someone who I could get along with if I had to. As for Sethria, well even Harry isn't quite sure what to make of her yet, but he said she isn't awful.

The students had long since learned the value of being on time, and given the size of the campus had chosen to arrive early so they did have something of a wait. Saska decided to slip into the fountain while they waited; her species was one that thrived in the water, on land they either needed regular submersion breaks or a special potion. Saska was growing some plants in her pool for the potion, but wouldn't have any ready for a while. (Hermione found she was a little jealous of Saska's room in their dorm with its thicket of aquatic plants and waterproof bed and desk.) Hermione had been intrigued by Saska's species and had spoken to her at length after their first meeting. Apparently as Earth's oceans were purified sapient aquatics were migrating in, but until the project was finished Saska's people were restricted to clean lakes. This would be a good thing for the planet in the long run, more people meant more magic and it wasn't like humans were living under the oceans, let alone the sea floor, anyway. Some of the farms being built deep below the surface were fascinating. The Naga and the more humanoid Jinyu were also experts at aquaculture and would be taking over much of the work of ensuring the steady supply of fish around the world.

Daphne was the first to see their professor as she'd been staring up at the school's tower when he leaped from his quarters on the side. The other students soon followed her gaze and saw the man slowly drifting to the ground. Hermione was glad to see the man looking less gaunt and skeletal than he had at his trial, and as she watched the man land and begin speaking she decided that she was going to enjoy his class, 'Practical Spellcasting.'

~/*\~

For Harry Potter, the days began to pass with one much like the last. Today, he and Sethria had hiked down to the mouth of the valley once more; while Harry conjured water in slowly increasing amounts that ran into the wasteland of fractured and jagged rocks, seeping into the many cracks and filtering down Sethria had begun levitating rocks to the future site of their planned dam. Harry occasionally took a break from summoning water to transfigure smaller rocks into serpents and send them slithering to join the rocks his partner was hauling. After a while, Harry remembered Sirius' description of two of the students he expected to be teaching soon. Since he was a Parselmouth, he'd always found serpents the easiest animal to transfigure and he wondered if that included serpentine humanoids? Deciding to try, Harry transfigured three creatures with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a snake. At his hissed command, each one lifted a rock and began slithering towards the mouth of the valley. One of them actually reached its destination before the transfiguration failed while the other two barely made it halfway.

Sethria, seeing the creations fail, walked over to Harry and asked what went wrong. "I think there isn't enough environmental magic. The small snakes are faster and have less strain since they're only moving themselves. Transfigurations usually leach magic into the air until they run out and revert. Permanent transfiguration is possible but usually it isn't really permanent, it just loses magic slowly or requires so little to maintain it that it reaches an equal level with the surroundings. Until we get a lot more magic built up here, I won't trust anything I transfigure to last very long."

Sethria let out a disappointed sigh. "So much for building a dam with a wave of your wand then. Do you still want to bring some boulders back to the Victory tonight?"

Harry replied quickly. "Yes. We need some pots and soil to get more plants growing and if a transfiguration won't last inside the Victory I can try shaping the stone. It won't be smooth or pretty but we can get some vegetables growing at least. Once we get something to fly on we can make a trip to one of the Fabricators, but shaped stone will do for now."

Sethria snorted. "I never wanted to be a farmer, but even I know we can't grow food in dirt that's just ground rock."

Harry frowned in distaste. "I'm not looking forward to it, but we'll have to use the waste tank to get 'organic material.' At least we can do that outside and just bring the pots inside when they've got a layer of sand to keep the smell in. Or we can start growing some of that moss." Harry shuddered before he continued. "There's plenty of room for a big garden inside once we have workable soil. We can't get a lake soon enough; once it's in we can use the algae, plants, and fish for biological material too. If I can't transfigure tanks indoors I think we can flood the lower decks of the Victory to start growing aquatic plants; that's what we'd be doing when we recruit aquatic species anyway. All we need is some samples of healthy lake water and a few plants to start."

She replied with a shudder. "Good idea, we might as well start using that space. And I'm glad the Empire developed that moss, but if we're lucky we can just use it for fertilizer and never have to actually eat it. My group rotated through the Dawn's agricultural section just like yours did, and we had to successfully grow that putrid stuff to pass that section. Even if you ditched me, with the Victory's water tanks full I could live for years on that stuff, but I would hate you for it."

Harry shook his head. "I wouldn't do that to you. It's nice to know we won't ever starve as long as we can get some rocks inside and spread some spores on them, but that stuff tastes so awful… Hopefully we can just use it to grow other things."

Sethria began to speak, paused for a moment in thought, then spoke. "As for flooding the bottom level… aquatic lifeforms would have different needs but with the Empire's level of technology they probably have one environmental system that can support air breathing and aquatics both. Eventually we should recruit at least a few aquatic species that can spend some time on land, but it's too dry out right now anyway. Once our dam is built though..."

Harry smirked. "Our ship was built to handle a much larger crew and aquatic members too since we're building a water world. There's no problem if we flood the empty bottom deck to start growing aquatic plants and fish, but we'll need tanks to breed fish in eventually."

Sethria smiled as the two got back to work. Harry was proving himself clever, if nothing else. If they had a functional biome on the Victory, then once their dam was built and full they only needed to release plants and fish outside. As for the edible moss they'd be starting… At least we can seal one or two of the bedrooms below ours and only open them when we need to harvest.

~/*\~

That night, after a day of conjuring followed by levitating a collection of rocks to the Victory, Harry let out a sigh as he collapsed into bed. Sure, he was exhausted and should really go to sleep, but… After a moment's thought, he activated his interface and navigated a few screens. After a moment his expression shifted to a sad smile as his interface projected an image that took up the entire ceiling. It was one he was familiar with, though until he'd left the Victory he'd been visiting in person, not staring at a live feed from a satellite in orbit of his still-unnamed world. Harry's eyes zeroed in on the screen that listed Dahlia's vitals, and as always he felt relieved after seeing them for himself. His first friend remained healthy, though her body's hormones were just as elevated as they'd been the moment she stepped into the stasis chamber. Despite the way they'd been separated, Harry was still so happy that they had the chance to meet and become friends.

As he laid there, Harry had an idea and spoke out loud. "Interface, begin a recording. When finished, place the file into a folder and send the folder to Dahlia after she wakes up." After a moment of thought, Harry continued. "Hello Dahlia. I just had the idea of recording messages for you to listen to when you wake up. Sethria, my terraforming partner, hasn't been bad, but I still miss you. I met her just before leaving the Dawn and I'm still getting to know her, but she's very driven. Anyway, I've been on our new world for a week now, and it's bone-dry outside. Sethria and I are living on a ship in a valley, and our plan is to build a dam and raise fish as soon as we can. I'm conjuring water as fast as I can and getting a little stronger every day, but I have a long way to go before I can really make a difference. Remember that storm-summoning spell from Azeroth Madral talked about? I can't pull it off yet, but as soon as I'm strong enough..."

~/*\~

Lily Potter woke from a much-needed rest gradually. Bit by bit, she remembered where she was and how she got there. From her perspective, she'd lost her husband a few hours ago and then learned the people she'd trusted had sentenced her son to ten dark years with her sister. Her eyes misted and she thought of Sirius, who had been willing to draw Voldemort's attention to keep her family safe. Sirius, who'd been betrayed by everyone she'd known and been tortured even worse than her son. Her last memory of James was him telling the masked agent who'd penetrated their Fidelius like it was nothing that if a sacrifice was needed to save their son to take his life and save her. As the emotions built up, she let go and started to weep for the three boys in her life.

Once again surprising her with their gentleness, clawed hands held her close and a soft voice spoke to her. "Let it all out. From everything I've been told, your husband was a good man and the people you gave your trust to weren't worthy of it. Grieve for what's been lost and when you're ready, we'll talk about the future."

Eventually Lily dried her tears and the wolf-woman slid out of bed so Lily could follow. The two found themselves in the kitchen again, Raene getting out a different set of leftovers. "Usually Alira cooks for us but she's on Earth handling the Black and Potter estates right now. Alira said they're an enormous mess, and finding out where items ended up or who has rightful ownership of what coins is complicated. I'm not great at making anything other than tea."

Before long the two women were sitting in front of a window looking down at the students bustling around outside. A pot of tea that reminded Lily of a summer's day, warm and spiced with something exotic, sat half drunk as the two ate cold chicken sandwiches. Turning to her companion, Lily wasn't sure what to ask first, but decided on a safe question. "Have you known Sirius long?"

Her partner's muzzle quirked up in a smile. "About seven months now. As soon as I could, I got a ride off my planet and ended up here; I had to leave after the way I disgraced my family. My skills were atrophied to uselessness, I was a mess emotionally, and I had no idea where to go or what to do. I asked the AI who was checking on me to find me a place where I could do something useful, and he introduced me to Master."

Lily wasn't sure what to ask first, she couldn't imagine seven months was long enough to call anyone 'Master' but decided to bring up the other thing that bothered her first. "If your family chased you away they didn't deserve you…"

Lily was interrupted by Raene holding up a hand to interrupt. "No, I really did bring disgrace to the name 'Stormrage.' I'm a druid. On my world that means that to gain each animal form you need to draw power from one of the Ancients. The Ancients are beings in the shape of animals so powerful that the death of their physical bodies isn't permanent." Raene stood and stepped back from the table. "For example, this form calls on Ashamane, the Wise Hunter."

With that, Raene turned into a panther with light purple fur, easily the size of an African lion with massive incisors and a lunar symbol on one shoulder. After giving Lily a moment to take in her form, she returned to her silver-furred wolf body. "I can't do the others yet, though I could before. I called on Ursoc and Ursol, the fiercely protective twin bear Ancients for my bear form and Aviana, the queen of the skies for my stormcrow form. I studied hard and I was good, too good. One of the druid forms was forbidden, the wolf form that drew from an Ancient who was born from the instinct animals feel while on the hunt or when their young are in danger; the embodiment of ferocity and unyielding will. Goldrinn himself could never master his rage and bloodlust, but arrogant fools in the past had tried to use his power for a form. They lost control and became bloodthirsty monsters. I was arrogant and stupid, I thought I could master the forbidden form, be the first to safely use its' power. Do you want to guess what happened next?"

Lily replied, trying to offer as much comfort as she could. "You lost control."

"I did. I became a feral Worgen, running loose and killing everything I could. But during my rampage a necklace that had been a gift from my uncle survived and stayed in place, and when my father and uncle finally hunted me down, they couldn't bear to kill me. Instead they captured me alive and began a feverish effort to find a cure for what I'd become. They never really succeeded, but they did find a way to 'tame' me and the other Worgen who'd been imprisoned in the Dream, a way to make us safe to be around and useful to their society. Thanks to the brothers Stormrage, I and all the other Worgen were cured of our bloodlust and gained the minds of loyal, protective companions; we were smarter than true animals but despite their hopes we never really regained our sapience. I broke my parent's hearts, both of them couldn't bear to send me away so after I was 'defanged' I became the family pet, the lowly creature they trusted to watch over my younger siblings when they could not. My people, Elf or Worgen, are functionally immortal on our homeworld. I can remember most of those lonely millennia, my mind blissfully simple and content playing with my siblings and guarding them while they learned to hunt.

"When the Empire found my world, they were able to restore our minds but the treatment to keep us from being dangerous killers and so many millennia of docile servitude changed us. I know the vain, stupid, arrogant girl I was would be horrified, but the person I am now is happy as long as I have a good master to serve. Sirius accepted me along with all my problems and he's been everything I need. He's a good man, and it's warmed my heart how much he loves your son."

Lily smiled at hearing that. Sirius had always doted on Harry, and for a man who hadn't had a serious relationship that she knew of, Lily had always thought he would make an excellent father someday. "Do you have any contact with your family? It sounds like they really care, it couldn't have been easy seeing you constantly and remembering you were their daughter."

"We exchange the occasional letter when a dimensional gate opens but it's better if I remain as far away as possible for all involved." Raene paused for a moment before continuing. "You'll meet Alira on Monday when the supply shuttle comes back with the students who go home for the weekend and the supplies we need here, her story is simpler: She and her mother were born as slaves and she spent her childhood learning to be a very expensive domestic slave and her early teen years to be a pleasure slave. Despite that, she still had a better childhood than your son and is a warm, positive person. The Empire discovered her and started training her to control her magic and she just sort of ended up here. The magic users in her home galaxy are weird and she used something like divination to pick a destination before leaving. Alira's great, and I'm not just saying that because she's the only one who can cook. She's been like the sister I've always wanted honestly."

Lily laughed for a moment, needing the humor, before replying. "Are you both…"

"Involved with Master? Yes. The Empire needs as many magicals as possible to win their war against Entropy and the Void and there's more species than you'd expect that don't have males of their own so relationships with multiple females and one male are normal. Cloning magicals simply doesn't work and artificial insemination only works once in a blue moon. There's a spark, a tiny sliver of magic that a male provides during copulation that a female's body nurtures during pregnancy; no one's figured out how to reproduce that artificially yet. But there's benefits to living in groups; I got to watch Alira lose her virginity with Master and it was beautiful. Master is such a generous lover, gentle and fierce in turn."

Lily was speechless for a moment, polygamy wasn't something she'd thought much about before. James had never seemed to have eyes for any other woman, ever, as far as she knew. Thinking back Lily wondered if Marlene, her dear friend since their first year at Hogwarts together would have survived if she'd been her sister-wife instead of just best friend? After a moment of thought as she watched a class down below learning a tricky water-summoning charm and begin watering the field of grass they were standing on, Lily spoke again. "But does a relationship like that really work? What about jealousy?"

Raene shrugged her furry shoulders. "I've heard it can be a problem sometimes, but the solution is love, as trite as that sounds. You have to love the others in a relationship more than yourself and be willing to work together. Pride and self-importance are divisive and horrible things if you let them control you. I wasn't joking when I called Alira my sister, she's my sister now in everything but blood. We love each other as much as we do Master and we work together to build the best home and family we can. Sirius deserves a loving home and a big family after everything he's been through, and we're going to make sure he gets it."

Lily was quiet for a moment. "My sister was jealous of my magic, not only did she grow to hate me but she took it out on my son."

Raene leaned in and gave Lily a much needed hug. "Then you just need better sisters."

~/*\~

Lily and Raene spent the afternoon together, mostly talking about Harry and Sirius or watching the students down below. When asked why there seemed to be such a focus on conjuration, Raene explained. "Lots of reasons. First, it's an important skill to the Empire and the only way we have to reclaim material claimed by the Void. It's also practical, since outside the structures Mars has less than thirty percent of Earth's gravity. Like the Imperial prison Sirius was in briefly, the students are building Mars into a proper planet one spell at a time."

A few questions led Raene to access her interface and project the public description of Astria Prison on the wall with a few photos. "It's built around an asteroid towed into a stable orbit, they have the prisoners conjure as much water or other material as they can and it's slowly building up a new planet, one of three planned to share Earth's orbit. Apparently it has a healthy population of 'Tilapia' fish, and they're introducing some other fish now to keep their population stable."

Lily was beginning to see a theme with the Golden Star Empire; logic and efficiency was their goal in everything. As the conversation died off, Raene showed her how to access the holographic interface that projected from the implant behind her left ear. And wasn't that a surprise, to learn that while she'd been in stasis she'd gained magi-tech implants. Apparently it wasn't a big deal though, as Raene showed off her own implants, parting her short, fine fur to reveal them. And the fur explained why Raene only wore a small shirt and shorts; clothes in general were not comfortable against her fur. Apparently she was only wearing anything at all to make Lily feel more comfortable. In any case, Lily had written out half a dozen beginnings to a letter for Harry that she'd thrown out by the time Sirius arrived, looking exhausted. Still, he had a warm smile and greeting for both of them as Raene quickly prepared a soothing tea.

Lily, wanting to discuss a topic other than the ones that had been gnawing at her, spoke up. "How did your first day go, Professor Black?"

Sirius chuckled for a moment. "Not bad, but I need to make a call; we received students rescued by the Temporal Reclamation Command after lunch and I had to ensure they integrated smoothly." A few moments later, Lily was watching as a video call connection went through. "Aberforth? Is that you?"

The figure projected on the wall waved a wand and several lights turned on, showing the face of Aberforth Dumbledore. The man responded after a moment. "Sirius. I'm sorry that I believed my brother, I should have known…"

Sirius waved his response off. "A lot of people believed Albus, and I've made peace with that. I'm calling about a brighter topic. I really don't know the delicate way to say this, but the Empire sent recovery squads into the past when they learned several rare magical gifts and species went extinct in the last century. Say hi, Lily." Feeling a little awkward, Lily waved and said hello to her fellow Order of the Phoenix member. "Your sister Arianna is in the class I'm teaching now."

Aberforth choked on air for a few moments, and when he got his breathing under control immediately asked a question. "Is she alright? Is she…"

Sirius responded quickly. "She's doing alright. The team wasn't able to travel far enough back to prevent her from becoming an Obscurial, but they were able to stabilize her. She's healthy and with a series of medical rituals she's going to gain a new magical gift as she and the Obscurus merge. From her perspective she saw the start of the duel with you, Albus, and Grindelwald then woke up at the school here. For her health, she's living with roommates and being kept away from stress. You're free to write to her as long as you don't include anything upsetting. Our students usually head home on the weekends, but for Arianna it would be better for you to come here. I talked to the administration and they arranged a job opening and residence here for you."

Aberforth straightened in his chair. "Give me an hour to sober up and I'll be ready to leave."

Sirius spoke up before the man could walk away. "You won't be able to travel here until Monday when our supply shuttle returns. You'll have to submit to an interview with a Truth-Stone to work at the school, but I doubt that will be a problem. The local Civilian Resource branch will schedule an interview with you soon, so you should definitely sober up and get ready to leave, maybe hire a manager for your bar or close it for a while."

Aberforth shrugged. "I'll sell it. I don't think Arianna would be proud of a big brother running a place like this."

With that the call ended and Sirius sunk back in his chair. Lily watched him take a big sip of the calming tea before she spoke up. "So you're teaching Albus' little sister? Get any other interesting additions to the students you're responsible for?"

Sirius smiled and responded as Raene slipped into his lap and started to snuggle. "Two Lamia, Jane and Kristen. Kristen seems to be a quiet studious girl but Jane reminds me of you, honestly. Jane doesn't back down when insulted or challenged, and already had a scuffle with Pansy Parkinson. Draco, Lucius' son, made some comments too and got tossed into a fountain." Sirius paused and snorted. "Draco will either learn some tolerance, some tact, or he's going to get the crap beaten out of him. He came to class with a black eye today and during lunch I checked the security cameras; he was very rude and insulted a Centaur from another class group after dinner last night."

Lily snorted. She knew it was wrong to find a child's injury amusing, but she also knew of Lucius Malfoy, and if his son was anything like his father… Sirius continued. "Part of Draco's attitude is him acting out. Narcissa only stayed out of prison by signing a binding contract to divorce Lucius and remarry someone she isn't related to. She didn't know before signing that the Empire picked Remus as her new husband, or that nearly everything the Malfoy family had was being seized as restitution for the war. For supporting the Death Eaters during the war she should have been in Azkaban, but instead she's basically under house arrest and helping to grow the magical population; her and Remus' first son is projected to be twice as powerful magically as Draco."

Lily leaned forward. "How is Remus?"

"He's not doing bad, he's been on a treatment for a while that's slowly calming 'the wolf's' rage. In a few more months he'll be learning the animagus transformation to give a safe place for 'the wolf' to live in his head. We… had something of a falling out. I couldn't believe he'd never checked on Harry, and he thinks I shouldn't support the Empire, even after all it's done for us. The Empire's not perfect, but for how badly the war's pressing them they're very civilized and a massive improvement over what we had."

Lily could understand why people would dislike the Empire, given how they had annexed Earth, but… "We all knew the Ministry of Magic was corrupt, but no one cleaned it out after the war. Look what that got us. I'm glad they're here, Harry is distant but safe and healthy, you're out of prison and doing better, and I'm alive. Things could have gone worse."

Sirius smiled for a moment before he spoke. "I picked up a wand for you, Lily. It's the same type Harry and I use, and I think it's an improvement over Ollivander's wands." With that said, Sirius pulled a slim rectangular box out of a pocket and handed it to her. "These wands are really interesting, there's hundreds of thousands of magically preserved live cells from magical creatures inside, and as you use it the most compatible sample will replicate until there's nothing else there. As you use it the wand will become more responsive until it works even better than the one Ollivander sold you. Once the wand 'settles' you can use a spell to find out what animal the core came from. Harry's wand settled with the heartstring of a Sunstalker."

Sirius flicked his own prison-issued wand and conjured an image of a gryphon-like creature with striking crimson and gold colors that projected an air of majesty and primal power. Opening the box, Lily withdrew her new wand and was amused at the red and silver swirls that decorated the shaft and handle. Turning to look at Sirius, she spoke. "And what did your wand settle as?"

Sirius flicked his wand again, and next to the Sunstalker a massive two-headed, white-furred, hulking canine appeared. Raene spoke up before Sirius could. "It's a Nian, a species from my home planet. They're fantastically rare, and one of the only two we know about is an Ancient the Empire is giving therapy to."

Lily laughed at that, and spent the time before the three had dinner together flicking her new wand to produce silent fireworks and writing out a letter to Harry. She desperately wished she could speak to him, but apparently the hardware for that was still being installed in his planetary system. She'd been shocked when Sirius called up Harry's letter that talked about watching seven magicals create a star, and that was why they couldn't open a video call with him yet; the entire solar system was new, and the transmitter needed for non-emergency communications was still being constructed. Still, that was supposed to change within a week, so Lily would have to content herself with letters for now.

~/*\~

Hermione knew she should have been embarrassed at her behavior earlier, but she wasn't. She'd only known him a day and Draco Malfoy was the most arrogant and vile boy she'd ever met. And to think she felt sorry for him attending class with a shiner. It felt good to toss him into the fountain, and it wasn't even difficult thanks to the lower gravity outside the buildings here. I can see why they gave us a few days to adjust, the artificial, Earth-like gravity indoors and the natural outside made me nauseous switching back and forth the first day. Still, the class after lunch with Professor Black was interesting. I think I impressed him by switching from conjuring water to conjuring air.

As Hermione settled in for the night, hair damp from a shower, she looked over to the new Lamia students as she read the latest message from Harry. I guess it makes sense that not all cultures have the same thoughts about nudity. Hermione glanced up again, confirming that Jane and Kristen were indeed brushing out their hair while nude. Despite herself she paused her reading to get a good look at their anatomy. Well, that answers one question but raises others. I wonder if I can find a book on Lamia anatomy or if I should just ask? I wouldn't want to be rude… If nothing else Jane's dark blue scales and Kristen's red ones are very interesting. It looks like the scales are thick and strong on most of their uh, tail? But become small and almost decorative near their hips.

After a moment of thought she gave up on analyzing their anatomy and decided to invite the new girls to study with her, Susan, and Hannah; after a moment of thought she decided to include Ariana. She was tempted to exclude the young Dumbledore because of the actions of her older brother but decided not to, the girl really looked like she could use a friend. Susan had been there for her, had coaxed her out of her shell, and now it was her turn to help out someone else.

~/*\~

As a new day dawned on a sparsely-populated planet, Harry checked his notifications as he got ready for another day. As expected, he saw letters from both Hermione and Sirius, and one other that took him a moment to realize the importance of. Another few days and I'll have to do some laundry, but that won't take long…

Harry's shock was enough to attract a worried Sethria to his room, and she proved her less than masterful people skills as she tried to help ease his emotions as Harry read through the first letter from his mother. Compared to previous days, the two left the Victory to begin work much later than usual. Harry had composed and sent a few sentence reply, telling his mother he was so glad she was alive and he couldn't wait to see her in person, and that he'd be writing more when he could calm down a little. Sethria was happy to direct Harry's nervous energy into conjuring once they left the Victory.

~/*\~

A few days later, a satisfied Harry Potter looked at his day's credit total. He'd earned a few more every day, and now he was up to 125 credits for a hard day of alternating wandless magic practice and using his wand for the River-Conjuring spell. Between himself and Sethria, they would soon be ready to make their first purchase on the surface of Caladan. The name had been suggested by Fleur, who had seen the name in a novel where the world was described as a 'lush ocean world.' Harry was also looking forward to the video call he'd scheduled in two weeks with Sirius and his mother. Sal had explained that like the planets themselves, the satellites and stations in this new solar system were bare-bones; sure, they had planetary shields and weapon emplacements in case of attack, but the less essential components were being constructed piece by piece as the magic collected from the settler's implants was used to expand the system's orbital installations. Eventually, Caladan would have as much connectivity as any other Imperial world and he could just open a video call to anywhere in the same universe whenever he wanted but for the moment there was much more demand than the system's bandwidth could supply.

Harry wasn't exactly sure what to think of his mother's rescue by the Temporal Reclamation team assigned to Earth's recent history. Yes he was thankful she was alive and he could get to know her, but the problem was that he had no idea what it meant to have a loving mother. A few days after talking with his mother and godfather he was planning to have a video call with Hermione. They'd been exchanging letters for a while, and now seemed like a good time to speak face to face, so to speak.

~/*\~

Extra: Life in the (Former) Malfoy Manor

~/*\~

Remus Lupin let out a world-weary sigh as he left the public transit hub and apparated home. He'd just escorted Janice, a married woman and latest applicant of the Empire's surrogacy program back to the waiting arms of her husband and overheard her, probably in an attempt to soothe her husband's worries, call him a 'mopey doormat.' As Remus returned to the building that had once been Malfoy Manor he reflected that was one more new life he wouldn't have any part of after conception. It could have been a depressing thought, but not only did the Empire carefully screen prospective parents, he was allowed to look through their files for himself and choose which applicants he would 'service.' He had no doubt that Janice and her husband would give his child a loving home and he was also absolutely certain that the Empire would never allow another child to live through the nightmare that James' son had endured. Walking in the front door and making his way to Narcissa's study, Remus found himself relieved that she was such a pragmatic woman. Entering after knocking, he greeted Narcissa and sat down in one of the Chimera leather chairs. "Janice is headed home, as soon as the medical scan confirmed conception she wanted to leave."

Narcissa nodded and leaned back in her chair, drawing Remus' attention to her slowly swelling abdomen. Her second pregnancy had been something of a surprise, given how soon it had followed the birth of Remus' first son. "Good." The blonde paused for a moment as she gently caressed the couple's second child. "I looked through the applications for your 'pride' and found another muggle woman I think will be tolerable. I invited her for a visit next week, we will see if she's a good fit. Her application didn't mention your 'furry problem,' so she probably has no idea you're a werewolf."

In other words, another woman that will defer to Narcissa. Remus shook his head. "I can't believe how many werewolf fetishists the muggle world has. The Statute was up too long if so many women want to bed a werewolf."

The former Malfoy lady snorted. "And they're always so disappointed afterwards. You should just give in and purchase that 'Goldrinn's Gift' ritual."

Remus shuddered. "No. I've always hated that part of me, even when I had Wolfsbane potion. Being stuck with a wolf for my 'animagus' form is bad enough; I can't just let it sit, I'm going to have to run and hunt in my new form too often as it is." For a while, the two just sat there together; the silence wasn't comfortable or uncomfortable, and neither felt the need to break it for a while. "Narcissa. I know I've asked before, but are you… okay with how things turned out?"

After a moment of consideration, Narcissa replied. "I know I've brushed that question off more than once, but the truth is that my life is not bad. It's certainly better than prison." When Remus started to interrupt, she waved him off. "No Remus, under Imperial law I was an accomplice to my husband and the other Death Eaters, an accessory to the murder of children. We both know the Empire has no tolerance for those who harm children. The fact that I'd been raised to believe muggles and muggleborn were nothing but animals is no excuse as far as the Empire's legal system is concerned. And truthfully? Before the invaders tore everything apart and forced me to see the truth, I never once questioned what I'd been taught." The two were quiet for several more moments before she continued. "All things considered, I really have no complaints; I always wanted more children but Lucius decided to stop at one. And it isn't as if Lucius was my first choice of husband. He was just the one my parents pushed me towards; our marriage felt more like a business transaction than anything else. As for my son, Draco is not happy, but he will be a greater and wiser wizard than his father and our children will reach even greater heights if they work for it."

In his head, he chuckled at the reason Narcissa left out: Before the Empire, a family legacy depended on wealth and the heirs not killing each other; now it meant a large family to ensure the lineage wasn't snuffed out if a galaxy or reality was destroyed. After a moment, Remus changed the subject. "Looking forward to the raid tonight?"

Narcissa smiled. It wasn't a nice smile, but Remus couldn't help but join her.

~/*\~

Three hours later as night fell, Remus handed his son over to Dobby and thanked the elf for looking after his little one. As he made his way to the manor's new game room, he couldn't help but marvel at the changes in Britain's house elves. No longer were they tiny, pitiful creatures; the Empire's treatments had changed them into something like the kobolds that served dragons on certain worlds. Dobby had chosen a blood infusion from one of Azeroth's Red dragons and he was now three times the size he had been, healthy, strong, and remained a servant only because he chose to be. In any case, Remus reached the manor's game room and found Narcissa already sprawled on the room's couch wearing one of their Neural Interface helmets. Remus quickly joined her and donned the other, glad he'd managed to get ahead on the mandatory conjuring the invaders demanded. As much as he disliked them, he could admit this was one luxury he enjoyed.

As the Neural Interface booted up the physical world fell away and a loading screen faded into view. A familiar voice, a famous actor even he would admit was well-chosen, began to speak. "Once a peaceful world, Arcana was shattered by war after thirteen stones fell from the heavens. These immensely powerful stones, forged by the World-Walkers at the cost of Arcana's most beloved stars, were used by their makers in a war that ended with no victors and no survivors. Each of these thirteen stones is at once a tiny thing and more powerful than the star consumed in their creation. Moreover, they are part of a set; while powerful alone it is only together that their true power can be unlocked. If these stones are ever united, Arcana's last surviving continent will be lost and its people will join the World-Walkers in extinction.

"Of the mighty kingdoms that once ruled, only fragments remain. In that power vacuum three fearsome Dark Lords rose to power in the chaos and now no place is beyond their reach. Now champion, will you stand against Dumbledore the Deciever, Grindlewald the Usurper, and Voldemort the Destroyer? Will you protect the innocent from their war for supremacy? Or will choose to join them, choosing peace at the cost of tyranny? Choose well, champion, for the final war for Arcana has begun."

Like always, Remus blinked as he took in his surroundings. For a simulated world, the Empire had truly gone all-out. Arcana, one simulation among dozens of similar worlds, was not only the size of all of Asia, but the environments and terrain were just as varied and included every kind of backdrop imaginable, from magical forests to shattered mountains that floated in the sky. But it's typical for the Empire. Only citizens in good standing can access it, it has a minor credit cost, and every time I cast a spell here, the magic is drawn from my body and sent to the war effort. Even so, this place is a pleasant diversion.

Striding out of the cave he'd left his character in, Remus glanced at his reflection in a pond. Unlike Narcissa's Draenei character he could see ahead, checking the saddle on her silver Bonded Drake, (a Quest Reward the pair had earned in the Umbral Forest two weeks ago) Remus had made his character a half-elf, half human with an outrageous hairstyle and vivid blue hair. As he strode towards his own amethyst dragon, a silvery Patronus appeared and began to speak. "Glad you two could make it. Dumbledore is leading his army and he's on his way to the Blackened Moor where our spies say the Fourth Stone is hidden. Our guild is gathering at Helmstead Keep with Grindelwald's dragon-riders, the plan is to ambush Dumbledore while he's busy extracting the Stone while the riders distract his army."

Remus flicked his wand, summoning his own Patronus, as he swung up onto his dragon; urging her into the air and towards the nearest Waygate. "We're on our way. Any word on what Voldemort is doing?"

Remus' wolf Patronus flickered as a reply came. Unlike the real world, in-game Patroni had to be maintained to access the server-wide chat feature. "Well, the bad news is that Voldemort's been busy in the Frozen North and he's marching our way with a dozen undead Ice Giants and fifteen Greater Frost Wyrms. The good news is that Hoshi and her raiders are on our side tonight; their plan is to attack from under an illusionary fog once the dragon-riders draw attention before they join us in attacking Dumbles. Word from Grindelwald himself is to treat them as allies so long as they don't turn on us. Again."

As their dragons bore them to a massive stone archway that was the game's fast-travel system, Narcissa flicked out her own Patronus and joined the conversation. "I swear if they turn on us at the worst possible moment, again, I will skin that damn fox myself and wear her hide as a cloak to the next raid on Voldemort."

Remus laughed as his vision became a blinding swirl as they traveled across the simulated world. The world may have gone to hell, but after learning about Dumbledore's betrayal and his treatment of James' son, there was something viscerally pleasurable about driving a sword through the old man's heart. During the war Dumbledore and Voldemort had been seen as invincible warriors, wizards without peer, but in Arcana the players had learned that a concerted effort by an army could bring them down. Sure, it was never an easy fight, and even with numbers on their side they could easily fail, but even failure taught his Guild how to improve the next time they fought the former Headmaster. The fact that Dumbledore constantly adapted to their strategies and tactics only made every hard-won victory sweeter. With some luck, tonight would be the third time Dumbledore died at his hands. Sure, the old man would simply reappear in his fortress in the Southern Sea in a few hours, but by then all Albus' work and his latest army would be splinters and ash. One of the other guilds might even reclaim the Third Stone Albus was using to empower his castle's defenses before he reformed. As he and Narcissa flew high above the Blackened Moor, Remus admitted to himself that perhaps the Empire wasn't all bad after all.

~/*\~

A/N: Did I trap Dumbledore in a MMO? Yes, I did. It's a practical punishment that not only saps magic from Albus and friends, but it also gives some of the most dangerously creative magic users on Earth opportunity and motivation to innovate and invent new magic. The fact that they're doing so while serving as raid bosses in a holodeck-level simulation is just the Empire's efficiency in effect. Rest assured, Albus' sentence isn't 'indefinite' like Voldemort and he will be released (after serving his sentence) when he expresses real remorse and decides to become a better person. But honestly, I'd give Grindelwald a good chance of getting to that point first.

And yes, Remus' guild is working with Grindelwald, both to keep anyone from uniting the 13 stones and because, in my headcannon, Grindelwald is the more sane kind of dark lord. Sure, he wanted to enslave the muggle world, but he was probably a better boss than Tom or Albus. (I'm also unconvinced that much of the muggle world would have been worse off under his rule; once he'd won he would have had to either mind control everyone forever or find a way for the muggles to thrive under his leadership.) Voldemort was insane and cursed his own people and how many people died because of Albus's plans and his follower's refusal to make new ones? Like, Albus basically handed the Ministry to Tom with his planned death and Voldemort used all those resources to subjugate Britain and send muggleborn to Azkaban or worse.

Anyway, please leave a review. I'm working on Dragon Concubine and Blood of Serpents, but I just haven't been able to write much lately between the holidays and some vexing home repairs.