Harry Potter and the Starship Enterprise

It was several weeks before they were able to go on the mission to find Sirius, mainly to accommodate Harry's school schedule and Starfleet missions. Meanwhile, Hermione spent much of her non-class time in the Hogwarts library researching ways to destroy Horcruxes and so far had found an old legend which said that the Sword of Gryffindor was permeated with basilisk venom, which was one of the things which could destroy Horcruxes. She had also found something in one of the books from the Restricted Section, another thing which could destroy Horcruxes--something called Fiendfyre, a type of magical fire. Harry couldn't help thinking that it sounded like an ideal thing to use. Hermione would have agreed ... except for the fact that once it was started, there was virtually no way to stop it.

Harry ended up having to agree with her, however reluctantly, and couldn't help wishing that he'd had the chance to speak with Dumbledore in more detail about his quest to discover the whereabouts of the Horcruxes. In fact, it wouldn't surprise him at all if the wise old wizard knew far more than he had ever been able to tell him. He even suspected that one of them might have had something to do with the injury to his right hand which had blackened it up to the elbow. Dumbledore had promised to tell him the story behind that, but for some inexplicable reason, he had never gotten around to it.

It was getting toward the end of October, the anniversary of James and Lily's death-- not something either Harry, Christine (or Remus, for that matter) was looking forward to--when the Enterprise finally began to make its way to Halka. The only good thing about the scheduling of the mission was the possibility they might get Sirius back. Kirk had authorised a week to search for Sirius, and upon learning what was necessary for possibly finding and rescuing him, left the technical details to Spock. Christine had been meaning to ask him about that for some time but had never had the chance. Now that they were finally heading for Halka, maybe she would be able to find out what else he had learned, if anything.

They arrived at "their" Halka some hours later and Spock had gone down to Engineering to work with Scotty on re-creating the ion storm which had originally put them into the Mirror Universe. Harry was hanging around Kirk and Christine on the Bridge, a mixture of nervousness and anticipation making them almost literal basket cases at the prospect of possibly finding Sirius alive and renewing acquaintances, in more ways than one.

He had brought his friends with him; unfortunately, since he was the only one with permission to go on the mission, they had to spend time in their rooms doing more research on Horcruxes. However, no one could refuse Harry's request that they accompany him, if only for moral support. Harry had reached for Christine's hand and was clutching it like a lifeline, his eyes fixed on the starfield on the viewscreen which periodically showed the upper quarter of the Halkan planetary disc.

A short time later, about fifteen minutes, the doors to the Bridge turbolift opened and Spock strode out. Christine was the only one who noticed, however. Harry's gaze was still fixed on the viewscreen, scarcely noticing when she released his hand and flexed her fingers, trying to regain feeling in her hand. It was for sure that he didn't know his own strength under stress; not that she could blame him.

"Well, what's the latest, Spock?" she finally said in a stage whisper.

"I have arranged with Mr. Scott to arrange the conditions to re-create the ion storm to get us into the Mirror Universe. In just a few moments, in fact, the ship will begin to shake and rock ... so I suggest we 'batten down the hatches,' as it were."

Kirk looked up and the two command officers exchanged apprehensive glances, remembering all too well what had happened the last time they had been here. Within half an hour the ship was shaking and rocking--so much so that everyone that was on their feet was hard-pressed to stay that way. Even Harry had somehow been shaken out of his trance-like state, once again taking his place next to Christine when the Captain gave Sulu command and motioned to Spock, Christine and Harry and the small group entered the turbolift in preparation for beaming down.

It was definitely dangerous to try to beam down during such a storm, but after learning they had crossed over into the parallel universe, it was only a matter of time until they were due to begin their mission.

Fortunately this time they managed to reach the planet this time, and the parallel-Halka was similar enough to the one in their own universe that Spock was able to find his way around quite easily. Christine knew Sirius's habits, as well as the fact he was an Animagus, so she kept a sharp lookout for either a big shaggy black dog rummaging around in trash bins around homes and businesses or a long-haired, bearded, skinny six-foot-two man doing the same. Harry had been offered an official Fleet jacket but that was as close as he could come to being in uniform.

In fact, Spock's research had unearthed the fact that civilians could go on away missions, but only with official Starfleet officers--so no regulations were being broken by allowing Harry to accompany them. Christine had also warned her godson that he had to follow both her and Spock's orders, or else he would be beamed back up to the ship and not allowed to accompany them on the mission and hopefully find Sirius.

She remembered all too well what big pranksters James, Sirius and company had been, and after speaking to Remus about the mis-adventures Harry and his friends had experienced, she knew that he was just as much of one as his father had been. He was a good kid at heart and didn't generally break rules except for a good reason, but she couldn't be sure how long he would behave this time, even with herself and Spock keeping an eye on him. Probably the only reason he had behaved this long was due to the fact that he wanted to be there when and if Sirius was found and couldn't afford to get in trouble.

It was nearly dark and they still hadn't found hide nor hair of Sirius. Both Christine and Harry had started the day with high hopes, but Spock soon voiced the possibility that Sirius wasn't in this universe or this planet. Neither of the others wanted to believe that, but after searching all day and finding nothing, they reluctantly had to admit the possibility that he might be right.

It was around six o'clock in the evening local time when the group approached a local restaurant for some dinner, both Harry and Christine's faces wearing looks of weariness, disappointment and sadness. They touched Spock and he vowed to do all he possibly could to find the person they were so eager to locate, whatever that entailed. "Do not despair, young Mr. Potter, Christine. I am ... fairly certain that we will find him eventually."

"Yeah, sure," Harry returned glumly, just picking at his food, even though Christine, who forced a smile in response to Spock's attempted reassurance, knew he was hungry. But his appetite was tempered by both his anticipation of possibly seeing Sirius alive again and the equal and sobering possibility that he was not here--either in this universe or on this planet.

It wasn't until they were ready to leave the restaurant that their luck changed.

They were heading back to their ground vehicle when they heard the noise of nearby trash bins being investigated and the occasional pleased growls of a large dog who had found a choice morsel of food which had been tossed away. Harry heard it first and insisted on investigating, finding a large, black shaggy dog rummaging into an overflowing trash can. He got as close as he dared--and when the dog looked at him and growled, Harry noted the unusual eye colouring--soft grey, which was most unusual for a dog. They usually had brown eyes ... and Sirius had grey eyes. He motioned Christine over after meeting her eyes and sharing unspoken, renewed hope that they just might have struck paydirt.

"Christine, do you think--?"

"Possible," she returned tentatively. "Sirius? Sirius, it's Christine ... and Harry. Can we speak to you?"

But the dog merely growled at them and disappeared. The light left Harry's eyes and his shoulders slumped. He had been so sure it was Sirius ... and Christine didn't look any happier. But just then she heard a voice she had never dreamed she'd ever hear again.

"Christine? How can it possibly be you?"

Just then, a skinny, long-haired, bearded man in ragged clothes approached them.

"Sirius? Oh, Sirius! It's so wonderful to see you again ... and Remus and Harry told me the truth of what happened. I'm so sorry I didn't have more faith in you. Can you ever forgive me?" Christine opened her arms and ran toward Sirius, who ran into hers and they embraced fiercely and kissed for a long time.

"Merlin's beard, Christine, I've missed you so much!"

It was several blissful moments later that the couple reluctantly separated and Harry and Sirius's eyes met. "Harry ..."

"Sirius," the young man returned shakily, tears of happiness filling his eyes as he walked over to his godfather and flung himself into his arms. "Oh, Sirius! Thank Merlin!" For a long time they embraced fiercely and both cried unashamedly on each other's shoulders. In spite of himself Spock couldn't help but allow himself a pleased smile. Their hunch had paid off, big-time, and he had been part of the team who had brought them back together after two years.

However, he and Christine had been dating, enough so that she trusted him enough to tell him of her one-time relationship with Sirius and her hope that they would eventually get back together--which didn't bode well for his own plans regarding her. Unfortunately, it was his own fault that he hadn't taken steps to make her his own a long time ago. In which case, he could only wish her ... them ... well. It was definitely about time something went well for young Harry as well, he had had such a difficult life, having had to grow up far faster than any child should have to, even in the wizarding world. Well, now his life would be a little easier now that the guilt that he had possibly been responsible for his godfather's supposed death had been eased, if not totally eradicated.

"How long have you been looking for me?" Sirius asked, one arm around Christine and the other around Harry, both of them reluctant to move from his side and their arms around him too. Spock was too preoccupied to hear their answer as they headed back to the beamdown point and once there, Spock would tell them of their successful mission.

Once they reached it, Spock flipped open his communicator--smiling inwardly at the happiness positively radiating from both Christine and Harry as they gazed upon Sirius--and said, "Spock here. Mission accomplished. We have located the person we have been searching for."

"Congratulations, Spock. Bring him here to my quarters; I'll contact young Harry's friends and have them here too. Kirk out."