1. Delta Vega

_**A/N: Hey, so this is a Star Trek and Harry Potter Crossover. I hope you like it. Fem!Harry is very OOC and the others probably as well, please don't flame me.**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.**_

"Speaking."

_Thinking_

"_Talking telepathically."_

* * *

I sat down in the shuttle that would bring me to the Starfleet outpost on Delta Vega, looking at the man across from me. He was taller than me (which isn't all that difficult since I was barely over five feet), handsome with ginger hair, dark green eyes and a face that looked like it was used to smiling and laughing.

"Ye bein' 'transferred' too, lass?" The man asked with a thick Scottish accent that sent a pleasant shiver down my spine when he called me 'lass'.

I smiled at him and nodded, extending my hand for him to shake.

"Amaryllis Potter." I introduced myself. "Call me Amy."

He shook my hand, smiling back.

"Montgomery Scott. Me friends call me Scotty."

The shuttle started.

"So… why ye bein' transferred, lass?" Scotty asked.

"I asked to be stationed in a remote area." I replied softly. "Due to the circumstances that led to my parents' deaths when I was fifteen months old and some… attacks on the boarding school I attended I have become rather well-known in some circles and want to escape that. You?"

"I had a little debate with my instructor on the issue relativistic physics and how it pertains ta subspace travel. He seemed ta think that the range of transporting somethin' like… like a grapefruit was limited to about 100 miles. I told him that I could not only beam a grapefruit from one planet to the adjacent planet in the same system – which is easy, by the way – I could do it with a life-form. So I tested it on Admiral Archer's prize beagle."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess: The dog hasn't reappeared yet." I said in amusement.

"I do feel guilty about that." Scotty said.

We fell into a companionable silence and soon arrived on Delta Vega which was basically a huge icy wasteland. We entered the outpost and found… not much. Many things were broken but that would at least give us something to do while we were here. The outpost was dirty, water was dripping in and the thick steel walls didn't keep most of the cold out. I pulled my coat (made of dragon hide padded with yeti fur) closer around me.

"I'm glad I thought to bring Firewhiskey." I muttered.

After we were done exploring the outpost we sat down in the main room.

"I think we need to fix the heating first thing." I said, leaning back in my seat. "I can repair the walls and ceilings so we don't have water dripping in all the time."

I bent down and pulled a bottle of Old Odgen's Finest out of my (magically extended) bag and poured a shot for Scotty.

"Try it." I said. "The name will explain itself."

Scotty sniffed the whiskey with suspicion clear on his face before downing it in one go. He coughed, wheezed… and held the glass out for more. To his surprise I pulled two real whiskey glasses out of my bag and filled them with the beverage, giving one to Scotty.

"Cheers." I said with a smile.

Scotty clinked his glass against mine.

"I think this is the beginnin' of a wonderful friendship, lass." He grinned.

* * *

Over the next few days we worked on the heating and the walls and ceiling to make at least part of the outpost liveable. It was the part with our bedrooms. I managed to fix the furniture there so we had a living room, a bathroom and a working kitchen too. After a week we were done with this task. While the rest of the outpost was still in the same shape as we had found it our living part was almost cosy. We sat across from each other in the living room for a drink before bed as usual when Scotty sat his glass aside. I couldn't deny that I was attracted to the Scotsman. He was funny, intelligent and handsome. He leaned forward.

"I'd like ta try somethin'." He murmured before he tenderly touched my jaw and tilted my chin up.

He pressed his lips against mine and I could feel bolts of electricity run through my body. I put my glass down on the table, happily responding to the kiss and he sat back, pulling me on top of him so I was straddling his lap.

"I've been waitin' to do this since you boarded that shuttle." He whispered into my ear while he was trailing kisses along my jaw.

I gasped as a jolt of pleasure surged through me when he lightly pressed one of his hands into my lower back. His other hand trailed to the back of my head and pulled my hair out of the usual messy bun only to tangle in it as he deepened the kiss.

"Yer drivin' me crazy, lass." His voice was husky with lust, the hand that had been in my hair trailing down my neck.

My hips started grinding onto him on their own accord while heat pooled between my legs. I could feel him harden against me and moaned. His lips trailed down my neck, sucking lightly on the skin over my jugular artery.

"Bedroom, now!" I gasped out.

"Which one?" He breathed.

"Don't care!"

Scotty stood up and I wrapped my legs around his hips. I was pleasantly surprised when he could hold me up without a problem. My hands trailed from his shoulders down his arms and I couldn't help the additional rush of arousal when I felt the defined muscles under his shirt. He managed to open the door to his bedroom while still holding me up with one hand under my ass. The door snapped closed after he gave it a sharp kick and he gently put me down on the bed. He knelt down in front of me and I pushed myself up to my knees too. His touches were slower now as he gripped the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. For a moment I cursed the cold on the planet more than usual because it meant that we had to shed more layers of clothes before we could get shit down. We undressed each other, trading kisses here and there until we were finally completely naked. Scotty hesitated.

"If ye want me to stop, lass, just say it." He told me softly. "I won't push ye to do somethin' ye're not ready for."

I just smiled at him, took his hand and placed it on one of my breasts.

"I'm yours." I breathed.

My magic was squirming and rolling inside me and I knew that it was binding me to Scotty. He followed my request and started to stroke and massage my breasts tenderly while he laid me down on my back.

"Ye're so beautiful." He murmured, his hands exploring every nook and cranny of my petite form.

I silently admired his toned body. Of course he had to be toned, being part of Starfleet and all. I had gone through the physical training myself. I spread my legs for him and he looked at me, wordlessly asking for permission. I gave him a small nod, readying myself for the penetration. I was a little nervous because this was my first time but Scotty was so gentle and allowed me to stop him any time. He positioned himself and slowly entered me, giving my walls enough time to adjust to his considerable size. I was breathing hard, both in pleasure and pain. He stopped, waiting for me to give him a sign that he could move. I sat up and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Mmmm, ye fit me like a glove, lass."

"Move." I breathed just before I pressed my lips to his again, opening them.

His tongue darted into my mouth while he started his slow, gentle and deep thrusts. We were lost in a haze of ecstasy, moving with each other as my magic invisibly enveloped us, forging a bond between us. Moans and groans filled the room and I felt the pit of my stomach tighten as I neared orgasm. My walls pulsed around Scotty as I let out a scream of his name, coming for the first time in my life. Scotty was soon after, holding me as close as humanly possible and growling lowly as his seed filled me. We clung to each other for about a minute, gasping for breath before he pulled out of me. I winced slightly and Scotty frowned, looking down on his cock and seeing blood. He caressed my face, lying down next to me. He propped himself up on one elbow and pulled the covers over us.

"Were ye a virgin, lass?" He asked softly.

I nodded, slightly ashamed.

"Thank you." He whispered. "That is the greatest gift ye could have ever given me, lass. I love you."

"I love you too."

We kissed and I fell asleep, securely held in Scotty's strong arms.

* * *

Over the next days and weeks my relationship with Scotty deepened and I was seriously considering telling him about magic. He was already a little suspicious about my bag and took to calling me Mary Poppins from time to time. I just fondly rolled my eyes and gave him a small peck on the lips whenever he did that. Three months had passed since our arrival. We had much spare time on Delta Vega and worked on fixing most of the broken things there to keep ourselves occupied with something that wasn't sex. I had put one of my favourite songs on and was working on a broken shuttle, quietly singing the lyrics of the song and swaying my hips in the rhythm.

_Look in the __mirror__ and tell me, just what you see  
What have the years of your life __taught__ you to be  
Innocence dyin' in so many ways  
Things that you dream of are lost, lost in the haze  
_

'Hold On' by Kansas. I simply loved Kansas. The lyrics were deep and the music was beautiful.

_Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause it's __closer__ than you think  
And you're __standing__ on the brink  
Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause there's something on the way  
Your tomorrow's not the same as today_

_Don__'t you recall what you felt when you weren't alone  
Someone who stood by your side, a __face__ you have known  
Where do you run when it's too much to bear  
Who do you turn to in need when nobody's there_

Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause it's closer than you think  
And you're standing on the brink  
Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause there's something on the way  
Your tomorrow's not the same as today

My thoughts strayed back to the Final Battle, to everyone who'd died that day and how much we all lost despite the fact that Voldemort was defeated.

_Outside your door he is waiting, waiting for you  
Sooner or later you know, he's got to come through  
No hesitation and no __holding__ back  
Let it all go and you'll know, you're on the right track_

I had thought that I couldn't heal after everything that had happened but then I had met Scotty. A smile tugged on my lips at the thought of the Scottish engineer. And speak of the devil he wrapped his arms around my waist and turned me around so I was facing him. Without a word he started to dance with me. A waltz surprisingly enough but then again the rhythm of the song was just right.

_Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause it's closer than you think  
And you're standing on the brink  
Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause there's something on the way  
Your tomorrow's not the same_

_Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause it's closer than you think_  
_And you're standing on the brink_  
_Hold on, baby hold on, 'cause there's something on the way_  
_Your tomorrow's not the same_

_Hold on_

At the last line Scotty dipped me low and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. We straightened and I smiled.

"Where did that come from?" I asked, brushing a stray strand of hair out of my face.

"Can't a man dance with his beautiful girlfriend every now and then?"

"Well, when you put it that way…" I smiled, standing on my tiptoes to kiss my boyfriend.

He smiled against my lips and pulled me closer with his hands on my hips. His thumbs caressed my hipbones in small circles. We parted and he still had that smile on his face.

"I love ye, lass." He said softly. "Never doubt that."

"I love you too. And it wouldn't cross my mind to ever doubt you."

Scotty pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and started wiping at my face.

"You got machine oil all over yer face."

I laughed and swatted his hand away.

"Until a few minutes ago I was hanging over a shuttle engine." I replied. "I think I'm allowed to have a little oil on my face."

"I like that. Black suits ye."

I grinned and leaned closer to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, tucking my head under his chin. After about a minute he pulled away and picked me up bridal style, causing me to let out a surprised squeal.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"We're going to get the oil off ye, lass."

His grin turned mischievous.

"Do you want to join me in the shower?" I asked as Scotty easily carried me to the living quarters and put me down on my feet in the bathroom we had fixed right after the heating.

"Wouldnae say no ta that."

We undressed and stepped into the shower (a real water shower, not one of those weird sonic things). I turned the water on and we kissed. I shuddered under the touches of his rough engineer's hands. Scotty pressed me against the wall of the shower and I wrapped my legs around his hips. The warm water flowed over us and made our movements together slick and caused them to make wet smacking sounds. I moaned as he sucked on the sweet spot under my right ear.

"Mark me." I gasped. "Mark me as yours."

His lips trailed down my neck and stopped on my shoulder, his teeth lightly grazing my skin before he took a bit of it and worked it between them, hard enough to leave a mark but not bleed. I moaned, enjoying the feeling of being marked by the man I loved. I wanted to be his and his alone. After we had both climaxed we helped each other to clean off and dry. We stood there for a few moments, closely embracing, skin on skin, just listening to each other's heartbeat and breath. That was the moment I decided to tell Scotty about magic, about the War and Voldemort. I looked up into his soft grey eyes and smiled.

"Scotty… I have to tell you something." I started. "But we better get dressed before because it's kind of a long story."

Scotty's eyes turned curious and he nodded, letting go of me so we could get dressed. After that we sat down in our living room. I was sitting stiffly, my hands folded in my lap. I knew it would destroy me if Scotty rejected me but then I would just need to pick the pieces of myself up and move on. I took a deep breath, deciding to do it like a band aid: rip it off fast to get it out of the way.

"Magic is real." I said and quickly continued to keep Scotty from interrupting. "I'm speaking about wand-waving, broom-riding, cauldron-stirring witches and wizards, Scotty. Unicorns, dragons, leprechauns, hell, even merpeople are real."

Scotty blinked and leaned forward, putting a hand on my forehead.

"Have ye caught yerself some virus, lass?" He asked worriedly. "The cold here must be takin' a toll on yer brain."

I softly pulled his hand away.

"I'm perfectly healthy and sane, Scotty. Remember my bag? It's magically extended on the inside. I can even show you some magic if you want."

I pulled my phoenix wand out of my sleeve and pointed it at a book on the coffee table. Waving it in the unforgettable 'swish and flick' motion I intoned the incantation.

"_Wingardium Leviosa._"

The book started hovering about a foot in the air. Scotty's eyes bulged and he waved his hands around the book, trying to find cords or anything that would hold the book up. I ended the spell and waved my wand in a more complicated pattern, easily turning the book into a puppy and back.

"Alright, I believe the magic thing. Why didn't ye tell me sooner?"

There was hurt on Scotty's voice and I hung my head in shame.

"The main reason is a very old law in the magical community. It's called the International Statute of Secrecy of the Wizarding World and was signed by the International Confederation of Wizards in 1662. The second one is that I grew up in an environment that hated anything out of the ordinary. Being a witch and a genius is pretty much out of the ordinary. I grew up thinking of myself as a worthless freak and feared that you would reject me."

Scotty tilted my head back up, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Lass… Amy, I wouldn't – couldn't ever reject ye. I love ye."

I swallowed, feeling tears prick at my eyes.

"Really?"

"Really really. From the first moment I saw you on that shuttle with yer black hair and emerald eyes. Ye… _enchanted_ me."

I laughed at the last sentence.

"So… you don't mind that I'm a witch?"

"As long as you don't turn me into a toad we're fine." Scotty joked.

"Well, I should warn you: I'm the last descendant of several old and rich families. My full title is Lady Amaryllis Lillian Potter, Lady Potter of the Courageous and Honourable House of Potter, Lady Black of the most Ancient and Noble House of Black, and Lady Merlin of Avalon."

I carefully left my title as Mistress of Death out of the equation, afraid that it might drive Scotty away.

"Merlin was real." He deadpanned.

"Yup." I replied, popping the 'p'. "I'm his very great granddaughter and the only one able to allow anyone to set foot on Avalon, an island in the south pacific. I'm going to visit it someday. But…"

"But?"

"I told you that my parents were murdered when I was fifteen months old, right? Well, about fifty years ago a wizard went dark, rising to power and calling himself Lord Voldemort. There are three types of blood-status in the magical community: pureblood, halfblood and muggleborn. Muggle is what we call a non-magical person. A pureblood is a magical person born from magical parents who had both magical parents themselves. That's the usual definition. But there are pureblood supremacists who think that having one muggle in the bloodline makes one 'impure'. A halfblood is a magical person born from one pureblood and one muggle or muggleborn. And a muggleborn is the first magical person in a family. Anyway. Voldemort thought purebloods to be superior to everyone else. He said that humanity should be ruled by pureblooded wizards. Many old pureblood lines followed that. Muggles and muggleborns were no more than filthy animals in their eyes." I explained. "Ironically enough Voldemort himself was halfblood. His father was a muggle and his mother a pureblood witch. My father came from one of the few old lines that didn't follow Voldemort, causing them to be called 'blood traitors'. At Hogwarts – the magical school he went to – he met three boys who would become his best friends: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. And he met a talented young muggleborn by the name of Lily Evans – my mother. They got married right out of school and joined the fight against Voldemort. They faced him three times before I was born. Then a prophecy was made around the time of my birth."

I took a deep breath before reciting the words that had destroyed my life and burned themselves into my memory.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark her as his equal, but she will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..._"

I paused for a moment.

"Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the 'Light side' helped my parents to hide. They used a spell called the Fidelius Charm. It hides a secret in a living person, the so-called Secret-Keeper. My parents wanted to make Sirius who was my dad's best friend and my godfather Secret-Keeper but he denied on the grounds that he was the obvious choice. Instead they made Peter their Secret-Keeper. Peter was weak, nobody would expect him to be the Secret-Keeper while Sirius pretended to be the one. That way he wouldn't be able to give our location away, even under torture. But Peter was a traitor. He told Voldemort where we were and on Halloween night after I turned one he came to our house."

I swallowed around the lump forming in my throat and got aware that Scotty was tightly holding my hand.

"Tell it in yer own time, lass." He said softly.

I took another deep breath.

"My dad told mum to get me and flee while he held him off. If dad had his wand with him he could have held him off but… he didn't have it. Voldemort killed dad and went upstairs to the nursery where mum had tried to block the door. She stood in front of me, refusing to step aside. He would have spared her but she begged him to take her instead of me. So he killed mum too. Then he turned his wand on me. What he didn't know was that my mum's sacrifice had cast a powerful and ancient spell over me. So when he tied to kill me with the death curse it rebounded on him, leaving him to flee the house as a wraith. He had split his soul to seven pieces to become immortal and that backfired on him now. I was sent to live with my aunt and her family. Like I told you they hate everything out of the ordinary. My childhood there was… unpleasant. At eleven I came to Hogwarts, found friends and felt… at home. My potions teacher, Snape, always found excuses to punish me because he had wanted my mother and to him I was the embodiment of what he was denied when my mother married my father. Anyway. All you need to know about my school years is that I never got a peaceful year, my life was in danger at least once every year, the magical press went from worshipping me to pulling me through the dirt to worshipping me again to proclaim me the Undesirable No. 1 to eventually worship me again. I got manipulated, framed, lied about. My godfather was killed, Dumbledore was killed. The year that should have been my last year of schooling was – at least to me – a very Guerrilla-like war that ended in the Final Battle at Hogwarts. Most of the fighters from our side were only seventeen and many died. Then I faced him for the last time after I had destroyed his soul pieces. In the end… he died. And I lived. People expected me to be married to some pureblood heir and have my first child by the time I was nineteen."

"So ye joined Starfleet as a huge 'in your face'!" Scotty laughed.

I laughed.

"That was not the only reason. I told you, I'm a genius. I needed something to occupy my mind with and I have always loved complicated machines. And I wanted to escape the hero worship."

"Who'd have thought my lass was a hero." Scotty smiled and kissed me again.

* * *

That evening we were lying on our stomachs in bed cuddling.

"Could ye read ta me, lass?" Scotty asked suddenly.

I eyed him in surprise.

"Why?"

"'Cause ye got the most beautiful voice I know."

I smiled and kissed Scotty.

"What should I read? Or can I sing too?"

"Do whatever ye want, lass, as long as I can hear yer voice."

I took a deep breath, cleared my throat and wetted my lips before I started to sing a song that was partly Gaelic and partly English.

_Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin  
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin  
Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom_

_Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin_  
_Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin_  
_Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom_  
_Is go dtí tú mo mhuirnín slán_

_I wish I was on __yonder__ hill  
'Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill  
And every tear would turn a mill_

_I'll __sell__ my rod, I'll sell my reel  
I'll sell my only __spinning__ wheel  
To __buy__ my love a sword of steel_

_Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin  
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin  
Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom  
Is go dtí tú mo mhuirnín slán  
__  
I'll __dye__ my petticoats, I'll dye them red  
And __round the world__ I'll beg for bread  
Until my __parents__ shall wish me dead_

_Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin  
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin  
Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom  
Is go dtí tú mo mhuirnín slán_

_Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin_  
_Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin_  
_Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom_

_Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin_  
_Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin_  
_Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom_  
_Is go dtí tú mo mhuirnín slán_

I looked over at Scotty who had closed his eyes in bliss and opened them again, looking at me.

"Didn't know ye could pronounce Gaelic, lass."

"I speak it fluently." I replied. "My transfiguration teacher is Scottish. I had nothing to do over Christmas break so I asked her if she could teach me. You should have seen her face when I started handing in assignments in Gaelic. And my charms teacher Professor Flitwick burst out laughing and told me I should have been an eagle, not a lion, after Professor McGonagall told him how fast I had learned it."

"Eagle? Lion?"

"Oh, yes, you see, upon arrival at Hogwarts the new students get sorted into one of the four houses. They are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, each one after one of the four founders of Hogwarts." I explained, snuggling into Scotty's side. "Gryffindor for the brave, Hufflepuff for the loyal and hard working, Ravenclaw for the smart and Slytherin for the cunning. The students of the houses are often called with the animal on the crest of their house. Gryffindor is a lion, Hufflepuff a badger, Ravenclaw an eagle and Slytherin a snake. You wouldn't believe the rivalries between the houses."

I shook my head, remembering more than one wrestling match between Gryffindors and Slytherins.

"You need to understand that I was the 'Golden Girl', the epitome of Light, so when I came into Gryffindor it wasn't a big surprise for anyone. But the Slytherins – most of them are pureblood, by the way – are kind of the mortal enemies of Gryffindor. So of course about the entire house Slytherin hated me. That many of them were children of Voldemort's followers – the Death Eaters – only fanned the fire."

Scotty pulled me closer to him and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"It's in the past, lass." He told me. "Here and now ye're a Starfleet officer, a brilliant engineer and most importantly ye make yer own decisions."

"Scotty…" I hesitated. Did I really want to tell Scotty about the bond? That it would kill me if it was rejected?

"Yes?"

I took a calming breath.

"Back during our first time my magic… responded to my feelings and… bound me to you." I confessed, waving my hand to reveal the bond of what looked like swirling gold dust but was really pure magic coming from the centre of my chest and going halfway to Scotty's.

Scotty blinked and reached out to touch the golden mist. It swirled around his hand, as if greeting him.

"At the moment the bond is one-sided. You can embrace or reject it." I explained. "If you embrace it we will have a mental and emotional connection. We would be able to feel if the other is in distress, pain panic, or happiness. Over time we could maybe even communicate telepathically. But it wouldn't flood our minds unless we concentrate on it."

I left the other possibility out of my explanation so Scotty wouldn't feel like he had to accept the bond. He was still watching the magic swirl around his hand with fascination.

"How…" He cleared his throat and I understood.

"Speak after me." I instructed. "I, Montgomery Scott"

"I, Montgomery Scott"

"hereby accept to be bonded"

"hereby accept to be bonded"

"to Amaryllis Lillian Potter"

"to Amaryllis Lillian Potter"

"in heart, mind, and soul"

"in heart, mind and soul"

"until the end of eternity."

"until the end of eternity."

I could hear the slightly nervous tone in Scotty's voice as he repeated the last words. I cleared my throat.

"I, Amaryllis Lillian Potter, hereby accept to be bonded to Montgomery Scott in heart, mind, and soul until the end of eternity."

The bond stretched and connected with the centre of Scotty's chest. Immediately I could feel the connection in the back of my mind, Scotty's fascination, love, nervousness. I looked at Scotty who blinked.

"I can really feel it." He said astonished.

"Over time the connection will grow stronger and we will be able to communicate with each other over the bond."

Scotty took a deep breath and smiled at me.

"I'm yours." I whispered.

"Lass?"

"Hmm?"

"What would have happened if I rejected the bond?"

"The backlash of the magic retreating would have killed me. I didn't want you to feel like you had to accept it."

The golden swirl slowly faded but the connection was still there. Scotty wrapped his arms around me and rolled over so I was lying on top of him. One of his hands was slowly carding through my long black hair, the other was rubbing small circles on my lower back.

"Lass, I…" He hesitated and jumped out of bed, walking over to the drawer and rummaging through it.

With a triumphant shout he came back and pulled me into a standing position, before going down on one knee.

"Amy, ye're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Ye're intelligent, strong, and funny. Yer eyes outshine all the stars out there." He opened the small velvet box he had retrieved from the drawer to reveal a gold ring with a diamond. "_An mbeidh__tú ag pósadh __liom__?_" (1)

I blinked tears away.

"_Is ea__._" (2) I whispered.

Scotty slipped the ring onto my left ring finger and kissed my hand before standing up and pulling me into a loving embrace. I didn't care that we were in only our sleepwear. We kissed again and slipped back into bed together. I felt so save in Scotty's arms, as if nothing could harm me. Right before I fell asleep I remembered that Scotty hadn't seen my scars from the War and Vernon's beatings yet because I always concealed them with glamours. With my last conscious thought I dropped them, knowing that Scotty wouldn't see the scars until we woke up.

* * *

I woke up to Scotty's rough, calloused fingers gingerly tracing some of my scars. I blinked and looked at my lover.

"Where did those come from?"

"From the War, from my uncle's beatings, from whatever trouble I got into every year." I replied. "I had them concealed by glamour charms. I thought that now I came clean about magic and we're engaged and all I could show them to you."

"Yer... uncle's beatings?" There was anger in Scotty's voice.

"I don't want to talk about that."

"Okay, but if ye need someone to talk to..."

"Thank you."

I cuddled closer to him and took a deep breath of his scent that was a mixture of machine oil and manly musk.

"Come on, lass, we need to get up." Scotty said and I groaned.

It was just so comfortable to lie curled up next to him with his warm embrace around me! Nevertheless we got out of bed and dressed. I went back to the shuttle, working on the transporters.

* * *

That was how the next weeks and months passed with Scotty and me working on broken things to pass the time. Every now and then I would give him and Keenser small demonstrations of my magic. I contacted Ron, Hermione and Andy with the charmed mirrors we had made to keep in touch and told them that I was engaged. One time when I had just showed Scotty and Keenser my patronus I mentioned animagi and that I had the ability to turn into three different animals: a griffin, a raven and a black cat.

"I can prove it." I said and shifted into my griffin form.

My body was that of a strong pitch black lioness with shining black wings that had a slight green shimmer on the feathers and an eagle's head with feathers that had the same colour as the ones on my wings. My eyes were as green as always and a small white mark on my forehead showed my lightning-bolt scar. I was about as big as an average earth horse. Scotty stared and took a small step towards me.

"_I'm still myself."_ I told him through our connection that had grown strong enough for articulated communication.

My tail twitched and I walked closer to him, my paws making no sounds. I ruffled my wings ever-so-slightly and cocked my head at him. He smiled and hesitantly patted the side of my feathered neck, right above the border were feathers went on to fur.

"Ye're beautiful." He said softly.

I kneeled down.

"_You want to go flying a round?" _I asked. _"Climb up. Just don't pull out any feathers, please."_

Scotty blinked before slowly getting on my back and slinging his arms around my neck. I calmly walked out of our outpost and then took off in a run, spreading my wings. A strong jump and a few quick flaps of my wings had both of us in the air. I enjoyed the feeling of wind on my face and under my wings, flapping them every now and then to keep my height or change direction. After a few minutes Scotty's grip around my neck loosened and he straightened, his hands loosely on the border between feathers and fur.

"_Spread your arms. I won't drop you."_ I said with a mental smile.

A moment of hesitation then I felt Scotty straighten fully and spread his arms.

"Woohooo!" He shouted at the same time as I let out a loud caw.

I started a slow descend in a wide spiral and landed nearly soundless on the snow. I carried Scotty back inside and lied down, allowing him to climb off my back before I shifted back to my human form. Scotty was grinning like a maniac and pulled me close to him.

"Yer amazin', lass." He whispered and kissed my crown.

"You're not so bad." I replied and pecked him on the lips.

* * *

It was six months after our arrival on Delta Vega. I was working on yet another machine when I heard one door of the outpost open. I frowned and checked if Scotty had been there but he was still relaxing in the main room of the outpost. A minute later I heard his familiar brogue.

"What?"

There was a pause.

"Ye realise how unacceptable this is?"

I chose to go see who was visiting and walked into the main room. Scotty was sitting in his chair with his feet propped up on the table, glaring at two men – an elder Vulcan and a young human. I quickly walked over to them and pecked Scotty on the lips before sitting down on the table. The young man seemed confused while the Vulcan's eyes flitted from Scotty to me and back as if he recognized us.

"Fascinating." He said.

"What?" The young man asked.

"Okay, I'm sure ye're just doin' yer job" Scotty continued. "but could ye not have come a wee bit sooner? Six months we've been here, livin' off Starfleet protein nibs and the promise of a good meal! One cannae live off love and air alone, however delicious that love might be." He added, lightly pinching my hip and I squealed in surprise.

The young man's face turned more confused with every second while the Vulcan just allowed Scotty to rant as he flung said protein nibs in the direction of our visitors.

"And I know exactly what's going on here, okay? Punishment, isn't it? Ongoin'. For somethin' that was clearly an accident."

"You are Montgomery Scott." The Vulcan stated slowly, turning his gaze on me. "And Lady Amaryllis Lillian Potter."

I slipped my phoenix wand out of my sleeve and gripped it tightly. If the Vulcan noticed he didn't say anything.

"You know them?" The young man asked.

"Aye, that's us. Ye're in the right place." Mr. Scott replied. "Unless there're other hardworking, equally starved Starfleet officers around."

"Me." Keenser spoke up.

"Get aff! Shut up!" Scotty shouted. "Ye don't eat anythin'! Ye can eat, like, a bean, and ye're done. I'm talking about _food_. _Real food_. But ye're here now, so thank you. Where is it?"

He rose from his seat, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"You are, in fact, the Mr. Scott who postulated the theory of transwarp beaming." The Vulcan said evenly.

"That's what I'm talking about." Scotty replied, sitting down on another chair. "How do ye think I wound up here? I had a little debate with my instructor on the issue of relativistic physics and how it pertains to subspace travel. He seemed to think that the range of transportin' something' like a grapefruit was limited to about 100 miles. I told him that I could not only beam a grapefruit from one planet to the adjacent planet in the same system – which is easy, by the way – I could do it with a life-form. So I tested it on Admiral Archer's prize beagle."

He toasted at our guests with one of the metal mugs we had standing around before taking a swig.

"I know that dog. What happened to it?" The young man asked.

"I'll tell ye when it reappears." My fiancé replied, sounding a bit like the twins when they were caught by Mrs. Weasley. "I don't know. I do feel guilty about that."

"What if I told you that your transwarp theory was correct, that it is indeed possible to beam onto a ship that is travelling at warp speed?" The Vulcan asked.

"I think if such an equation had been discovered we'd have heard about it. We may be far away from earth but as you seem to know _exactly_ who and what I am you should know that I have my methods of keeping in contact." I interjected.

"The reason you haven't heard of it, Lady Potter, is because Mr. Scott hasn't discovered it yet."

Scotty and I rose from our positions. I made sure to stand close to him.

"…Are ye from the future?" Scotty asked, unconsciously slinging one arm around my waist.

"Yeah, _he_ is." The young man explained gesturing to the Vulcan. "I'm not."

"Well, that's brilliant. Do they still have sandwiches there?"

I shook my head as Scotty asked that, knowing how hungry he really was. After my years with the Dursleys where I had been given just enough food so I wouldn't starve to death I didn't really know what hunger felt like any more. I knew it wasn't healthy but I couldn't get myself to feel hungry.

After our guests who had introduced themselves as Spock (the Vulcan) and James T. Kirk ("Call me Jim.") had explained everything to us we led them to the shuttle I had been working on.

"Well, she's a wee bit dodgy." Scotty explained. "Shield emitters are totally banjaxed, as well as a few other things. On youse go." We walked around the shuttle. "So the _Enterprise_ has had its maiden voyage, has it? She is one well-endowed lady. I'd like to get my hands on her ample nacelles, if ye'll pardon the engineering parlance. – Although there's no one more beautiful than my lass." He added with a glance at me.

I gave him a sweet smile as we boarded the shuttle. Inside Spock sat down, typing something into the transporter controls.

My fiancé leaned against the railings next to him.

"Except, the thing is, even if I believed ye, right, where ye're from, what I've done – which I don't, by the way – ye're still talkin' about beamin' aboard the _Enterprise_ while she's travellin' faster than light without a proper receivin' pad."

He rose and walked around to see Keenser sitting on an iron beam that was part of the transporter pad.

"Get off there! It's not a climbin' frame."

"The notion of transwarp beamin' is like tryin' to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet whilst wearin' a blindfold, ridin' a horse."

He leaned over Spock's shoulder to look at the screen.

"What's that?"

"Your equation for achieving transwarp beaming." Spock explained, before rising from his seat.

Scotty sat down in his place.

"Get out of it." He muttered, staring at the screen. "Imagine that! It never occurred to me to think of space as the thing that was movin'."

I leaned over him and kissed him.

"Well, sometimes one has to think outside the box to solve a problem." I remarked. "It's like turning a worm into a lizard. Instead of concentrating on their similarities and making them bigger I had to remember that they were of two different classes of animals."

I looked at the transporter pad.

"We can only transport two people aboard the _Enterprise_." I murmured. "I'll stay here and leave my connection open for you."

Scotty turned to me.

"We'll pick ye up when we can, lass." He said softly before standing up. "Aye then, laddie. Live or die. Let's get this over with."

They took their positions on the pad and I stood close to Scotty who wrapped his arms around me.

"_Fan __sábháilte__._" I whispered. "_Níl mé ag iarraidh __a __bheith __ina __baintreach __roimh tá mé__fiú__pósta__._" (3)

He smiled softly and tilted my head up to look into my eyes.

"_Beidh mé ag teacht __ar ais__ar do shon__. __Fan __sábháilte__. __Is breá liom tú__._" (4)

We kissed and I stepped back, standing next to Spock. Jim leaned on the railings and looked at Spock.

"You know, coming back in time, changing history, that's cheating." He remarked.

"A trick I learned from an old friend." Spock raised his hand in the Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper."

With that they were beamed away. Almost immediately I felt a rush of panic from Scotty.

_ShitshitshitI'mgoingtodiebutmylassiswaitinformeshitshitshit_

I gulped, my heart was racing but I squashed it down to send a wave of calm to him. What felt like hours later I felt the sensation of falling and then the echo of pain that he must have been feeling. After that there was a rush of adrenaline as if he was being chased. I only now realised that I had gripped the railing next to me so hard that my knuckles turned white.

_"Please be alright and come back to me._" I thought before leaving the shuttle.

I went to Scotty's bedroom which we had shared ever since our first night and curled up on the bed that smelled so much like him. I tried to comfort myself, telling myself that he would be alright.

_"Whoa, angry Vulcans are scary!"_ Came a thought from Scotty and I breathed a sigh of relief.

_"You're alright."_ I thought.

_"'Course I am, lass, not gonna leave ye alone rotting on Delta Vega."_

I smiled to myself. Not long after that I got the faint buzzing of equations running through his head at lightning speed. After that for a while only tension.

"_Scotty, what's going on?"_

_"Jim and a younger version of Spock beamed onto the enemy ship. We're waitin' for them to call us."_

We fell silent and I was still worrying for him. I got a short burst of excitement and pride before there was tension again. Then there was panic, blind panic.

_"Scotty!"_

There was no response but the connection was still open so he wasn't dead or unconscious. After minutes of agonizing silence I finally heard him calling out.

_"Lass! I'm alright! We did it!"_

"_Thank god!"_

"_We're limpin' back to earth with the impulse engines 'cause we had to eject the Warp Core to get out of the pull of a black hole."_ Scotty explained. _"When we're near enough to Delta Vega I'm takin' a shuttle to get ye, lass."_

"_I'll be waiting."_

With that I let the connection be and fell asleep, mentally completely exhausted.

* * *

Three days later a shuttle landed and Scotty jumped out. I ran up to him and flung myself at him. He easily caught me and whirled me around.

"Ye act as if I'd been gone fer years, lass." He laughed softly.

"It felt like it." I murmured. "When we're back on earth you need to meet my family: The Weasleys, Andromeda Black – she was my godfather's favourite cousin and taught me how to act like a proper pureblood lady, and my godson Teddy."

We loaded our luggage into the shuttle and took our seats, Scotty as the pilot and I right next to him. We flew to the _Enterprise_ and I gaped at the beautiful ship.

"Welcome to the _Enterprise_." Scotty said as we landed in the shuttle bay.

We got out and were greeted by Jim and a Vulcan who must have been the young Spock.

"Welcome aboard the _Enterprise_." Jim said with grin. "This is my First Officer Spock. Spock, this is Mr. Scott's fiancée, Amaryllis Lillian Potter."

"Call me Amy." I replied with a smile.

"Well then, Amy, I think the best place for you would be in Engineering with Scotty, huh?"

"Thank you, Captain."

"Go get a red uniform."

I smiled and Scotty led me to a room full of uniforms. I gave the red dress an once-over and grabbed a men's uniform. Scotty shot me a questioning glance.

"Most of the magical world is stuck in the middle ages, Scotty." I explained while changing into the uniform. "And I don't like short dresses. Too revealing for my tastes."

Scotty just smiled and kissed me before leading me down to the engines. We worked alongside each other, our movements like a long-known dance. Because of our connection we knew exactly what the other was doing and could react accordingly. Over the weeks we needed back to earth I became friends with the Communications Officer Lieutenant Nyota Uhura.

* * *

When we got back to earth there were two services held: One for the billions of dead Vulcans and one for all the dead cadets and Starfleet officers. The _Enterprise_ was in dire need of repairs so we had a few weeks of shore leave. Just as I was about to leave the celebration of Jim's promotion to captain I was stopped by him.

"Amy!" He called out.

I turned around.

"Yes, Captain?"

"It's still Jim. Amy, what you said to the old Spock, about him knowing _what_ you are…"

"I'm sorry, Jim. That's highly classified." I replied softly. "I can't tell you unless it's absolutely necessary to ensure our survival."

"Does Scotty know?"

"Of course he knows what I am. We're engaged. Spouses are one of the exceptions. If you'll excuse me now, Captain, I have to be in England in six hours."

With that I walked out of the HQ and met up with Scotty. We had both been promoted to Lieutenant Commander. He smiled at me and offered me his arm.

"Shall we, m'lady?" He asked.

"Always." I replied, hooking my arm around his.

We walked in the direction of my San Francisco apartment.

"Lass?"

"Hmm?"

"How are we goin' to go to England?"

"You'll see."

I led him up into my apartment and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a simple grey t-shirt. I took a silver tin from the mantelpiece and opened it. Taking a bit of floo powder out I put the tin back on its place.

"Okay Scotty, hold on tight and try not to breathe too deeply. This is going to be nauseating and confusing but it's one of the fastest ways of travel I know." I explained.

Scotty slung his arms around me and I turned to the fireplace, throwing the floo powder into the fire.

"The Burrow!" I called out and dived into the fire.

* * *

_**So, first chapter down. I hope you liked it. Please review!**_

Translations:

(1) Will you marry me?

(2) Yes.

(3) Stay safe. I don't want to be a widow before I'm even married.

(4) I'll come back for you. Stay safe. I love you.


	2. Meetings and Mission

_**A/N: OMG! I would have never thought of so much positive response! Thank you, all of you who has read, favourited, followed and reviewed. I love you and I hope you enjoy the next chapter. It's shorter than the last one.**_

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

"_Talking telepathically"_

"_talking patronus/intercom call/communicator on the other end/transmission from another ship_"

* * *

I turned to the fireplace and threw the floo powder into the fire.

"The Burrow!" I called out and dived into the flames.

I kept a tight hold on my fiancé while we whirled around through fireplace after fireplace until we came out of the fireplace in the living room of the Burrow. A quick wave of my wand and the ash disappeared from our clothes. I looked at Scotty as he coughed, his hands on his knees.

"Are you alright?"

"What in all the blazin' hells was that?"

"Travel through the Floo Network. I know it's unpleasant. But if you're going to marry me you're going to get the full magic experience."

I clapped his back and waited until he had his breathing under control. Then I turned to the Weasleys, Andy and Teddy who were standing there and looking at us. My ten-year-old godson was half-hiding behind Andy and peering at my fiancé. Scotty straightened under the stern gaze. I smiled and allowed myself to be pulled into a huge group hug. When they let me go I half-turned to Scotty.

"Everyone, this is Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer of the _USS Enterprise_ and my fiancé." I introduced. "Scotty, these are Molly and Arthur Weasley, their oldest son Bill and his wife Fleur with their daughter Victoire, their second son Charlie, their third son Percy with his wife Audrey and their twins Mary and Grace, the twins Fred and George with their wives Angelina and Alicia and their children Remus, Jasmine, Loki and Zoe, Ron with his wife and one of my best friends Hermione and their children Rose and Hugo, and Ginny with her husband Dean Thomas."

I gestured to each of them.

"And this is Lady Andromeda Black and her grandson Teddy Lupin who is also my godson."

Scotty blinked before shaking every hand that was extended towards him. Teddy needed a little prompting but seemed to start trusting him

"If you hurt Amy no one is ever going to find your body." George threatened.

"That girl saved my life." Fred added.

Scotty gulped a little and I slapped the twins upside the head.

"Don't scare him off!" I scolded.

Scotty slung his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side.

"I have ye now, lass, no way ta scare me off." He told me, placing a kiss on my cheek.

I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder. Mrs. Weasley ushered us to the kitchen and we sat down around the table. I laughed at the way Scotty's eyes almost came out of his skull when he saw the everyday-magic everyone performed.

"That's life in a magical family." I told him as we were eating. "They grew up with magic. You, Hermione and I are the only ones who didn't know about it from the day we were able to understand it. Muggleborns usually learn about magic when they get their first Hogwarts letter. Or a letter from another magic school for that matter."

"So…"

Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, Ginny, Hermione and basically every other woman around the table leaned forward, fixing me.

"When is the wedding?" Hermione asked.

"We don't know yet. I mean, we just got out of a crisis involving an angry time-travelling Romulan. As soon as the _Enterprise_ is repaired we're going to be sent off to another planet to explore." I replied with a shrug. "And knowing our captain I would bet all my money that we're going to stumble into yet another crisis pretty soon."

"Or it's just you attracting trouble like a magnet." Ron joked.

"Wouldn't surprise me really." I agreed dryly.

After a while I saw that Mr. Weasley seemed to be bursting with questions.

"Just ask, Mr. Weasley." I said with a smile. "Scotty is a genius engineer. I'm sure he won't mind."

Mr. Weasley leaned forward.

"Mr. Scott…"

"Call me Scotty." Scotty interrupted.

"Arthur then." Mr. Weasley said. "Scotty, what is the purpose of rubber ducks?"

I laughed at Scotty's expression.

"Uhhh… they're kid's toys for the bath."

Mr. Weasley continued to ask questions through the rest of dinner, proudly telling Scotty about his plug and battery collections. I had to grin at Scotty's expression of utter befuddlement at how oblivious the magical world was to technology. He turned to me.

"Is that a joke?" He asked. "Please tell me that's a joke."

"I'm afraid not." I replied. "This family is kind of up-to-date. Other pureblood families don't even know humans have been on the moon, let alone deep space. Technology that is higher advanced than late nineteenth century simply short-circuits in areas of high magical density."

"Late nineteenth century?"

Scotty was completely astonished.

"Victorian era." I clarified. "Hermione once showed me her Muggle Studies textbook. There was a picture of a typewriter as one of the biggest accomplishments in muggle technology."

"A typewriter? Seriously?"

I shrugged and leaned back as Mrs. Weasley waved her wand to make our plates pile themselves into the sink and start washing themselves.

"Hey Amy, up for a round of flying?" Bill asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" I asked back, rising from my seat.

I pulled my shrunk broom out of my pocket and enlarged it.

"Okay, ye weren't jokin' when ye said ye were a broom-ridin' witch." Scotty commented. "That's the sleekest broom I've ever seen."

"A Firebolt 2.0. The fastest broom on the market right now. Wanna come and take a look?"

"Wouldnae miss on that, lass."

We went outside. Bill, Charlie, the twins, Angelina, Alicia, Ron, and Ginny grabbed their brooms as well and we led my fiancé to the place where we had always practiced Quidditch during the summer breaks. Fred and George had bought a proper set of balls for the game about two years after the Final Battle.

"Okay." I said, looking around. "We're nine. How are we going to do it?"

"We should warm up first." Charlie suggested. "When was the last time you sat on a broom?"

"Before I went to Delta Vega but don't think that gives you an advantage, Weasley." I replied, quickly shooting up into the air.

I flew a few rounds around the field, accelerating my speed at a steady rate. Then I started to do some easy manoeuvres: Barrel-rolls, loopings, 180-degree turns. Then a Wronski-feint.

Bill let out a low whistle.

"Still as swift in the air as always, Amy."

I smiled and winked before landing again.

"Seriously, mate, why didn't you take the offer from the English National Team?" Ron asked.

"Even more fame? No thanks."

"Oh, Victor said he would be coming." Hermione threw in. "Then you'd be ten players."

"Hmm, five on five." Fred said.

"Two world-class Seekers." George agreed.

"Victor?" Scotty asked.

"Victor Krum, Seeker of the Bulgarian National Team and a good friend." I explained. "I'll explain Quidditch to you: First, there are normally seven players on each team and four balls in the game. The balls are the Quaffle, the Bludgers and the Snitch. Every team has three Chasers. They fly around with the Quaffle and try to throw it through one of the three goals that are rings on high poles. Each successful goal gets the team ten points. The Bludgers fly around and try to throw players off their brooms. That's what the two Beaters are there for: each of them has a bat that they use to hit the Bludgers in the direction of the other team. The Keeper guards the goals. And then there's the Seeker. The Seeker's sole task is to catch the Snitch. Catching the Snitch ends the game and gets the Seeker's team one hundred and fifty points which usually results in the win."

Fred and George opened the box with the balls and Scotty recoiled slightly at the sight of the Bludgers that were desperately trying to get free. In that moment a new person entered the make-shift pitch. I recognized him and smiled.

"Hello." He said, his accent less thick than the last time I had seen him. "Back on the planet, Amy?"

"As you can see. Victor, this is Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer of the _USS Enterprise_ and my fiancé. Scotty, this is Victor Krum, the Seeker of the Bulgarian National Team and a good friend."

Both men shook hands.

"If you hurt Amy…" Victor threatened.

"Don't worry, we already told him that there isn't going to be body if he breaks her heart." Charlie said.

"Good."

"Now." I clapped my hands together. "Let's play Quidditch."

We quickly worked out who was going to play which position and the game started. It felt good to be playing again. Victor and I didn't really watch what was going on with the rest of the team, we concentrated on finding the Snitch. We would pass each other every now and then, exchanging a friendly nod before continuing on our search for the tiny gold ball. Then I saw it: It was fluttering just above one of the apple trees. I laid flat on my stomach on my broom, pushing it to its speed limit. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Victor chasing after me, quickly getting alongside me. We raced each other for the Snitch. Victor extended his hand… and I snatched it from him right before his fingers could close around it. We slowed down and I raised my fist with the fluttering Snitch in victory. Fred, Bill, Angelina, and Ginny cheered as Victor and I landed. We put the balls back in the box and Victor shook my hand. Scotty ran up to me.

"How is it possible for a broom to be that agile and fast?" He asked, eyeing my Firebolt. "I mean, it's a _broom_."

"Magic, Scotty, magic." I smiled and kissed him. "When you have grown up in a definitely non-magic environment you quickly learn not to question most things happening. Hogwarts for example is sentient. She's a very nice old lady. Well, magic itself is a tiny bit sentient for that matter."

We went back to the Burrow and bid our farewells with promises to visit whenever we were on the planet. Fleur, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and the others promised that they would start planning the wedding. I knew that resistance would be futile.

"We aren't going to use floo again?" Scotty's voice was nervous.

I smiled and shook my head.

"No. We're going to apparate to London, stay the night in one of my houses and take a shuttle to San Francisco tomorrow morning." I replied. "Hold on to me and don't panic. Apparition can be very nauseating the first few times."

I took Scotty's hand and turned on the spot, a picture of an alley near Grimmauld Place firm in my mind. As soon as we were in the almost suffocating darkness I could feel Scotty's hand clench around mine in panic. I gently squeezed it to show that everything was okay. Then we appeared in the alley that had been our destination and Scotty doubled over, gasping for breath, his hands on his knees. I quickly checked him over if he had splintered.

"Scotty, love, breathe." I urged him. "I know it's unpleasant. I'm just used to it."

"What the hell was that?"

"We basically squeezed ourselves through cracks in the space around us. It's really complicated and of course magic so I try not to question it too much."

I led him out onto Grimmauld place and came to stand in the middle of it. I stood on my tiptoes to whisper into my lover's ear.

"My house is Number 12 Grimmauld Place."

"But there's no… Oh."

I smirked as I remembered how I had first seen the house appear between numbers 11 and 13. I quickly led Scotty up the steps and into the house.

"Welcome to the ancestral home of the most Ancient and Noble House of Black." I told him with a smile.

Kreacher appeared in front of us with a loud _Crack!_ Scotty yelped and jumped back. Kreacher bowed so deep his nose touched the ground.

"Kreacher is very happy about the safe return of his Mistress." He said. "Shall Kreacher prepare refreshments for his Mistress and her guest?"

"Tea would be lovely, Kreacher, thank you." I replied. "This is Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer of the _USS Enterprise_ and my fiancé."

Kreacher bowed again for Scotty.

"Welcome future Master." He said. "Kreacher shall go and prepare tea."

With that he disappeared. I laughed at Scotty's puzzled expression.

"Kreacher is a house elf. I inherited him along with all the other worldly possessions of my godfather Sirius Black."

"Like a slave?"

"I know it looks like that but house elves are born to serve. He doesn't know anything else." I explained. "Being freed is the greatest dishonour imaginable to them. I think if I freed Kreacher it would kill him. He isn't the youngest anymore."

Scotty had a thoughtful expression on his face. I sighed and led him to the kitchen where Kreacher was busily preparing a tray for tea. When he was done he let it float off the counter behind him and turned to us.

"Where do you want to have your tea, Mistress?"

"We'll go to the salon." I replied, leading the way up.

Scotty stared at the tapestry with the family tree of the Blacks as we sat down. Kreacher let the tray land on the coffee table and vanished with another bow.

"There's something on your mind." I said softly.

"This… magic, it's a completely different world, lass." Scotty sighed. "I'm not sure I can handle that."

"I'm sorry, but it's part of the package. Magic is a vital part of me, it has been since I was born. You think about leaving me?"

"Never, lass!" He exclaimed. "I said magic was difficult to handle, not that I would leave ye! I love ye."

"You just need time to adjust." I guessed. "Being in the middle of the magical world is something else than my demonstrations back on Delta Vega."

Scotty nodded and I smiled softly.

"That's something every muggleborn goes through at the beginning of their schooling. You should have seen me back after I was told I am a witch. We'll take one step at a time so you can adjust to magic. I should warn you: It's very probable that any children we might have will be magical."

Scotty smiled and pulled me close. He buried his face in my hair and I could feel him taking a deep breath. I took his hand.

"Come on. One big advantage of being the Lady of an old pureblood line is the bloody brilliant master bedroom."

I led him up the stairs to the master bedroom that was dominated by a large four-poster bed. One wall was almost entirely made of a huge window, making the room much brighter than it had been when I had first inherited the house. Scotty whistled lowly.

"That's indeed a brilliant bedroom."

"Do you want to test how sturdy the bed is?" I murmured in a seductive purr, trailing my hand down his chest.

Scotty gently grabbed my hips.

"Let's see." He replied, pulling me into a heated, passionate kiss.

We stumbled back and fell onto the bed. Although I could have easily made our clothes disappear from our bodies and reappear in a corner of the room I didn't want to deprive Scotty of one of his favourite parts of our lovemaking. His hands trailed up under the hem of my shirt, softly caressing the skin just above the waistband of my jeans. I shivered, goosebumps quickly rising on my body at the feeling of his skin on mine. A pleasured sigh escaped me as his thumbs traced small circles on my hipbones. He pulled my shirt over my head and nuzzled my breasts. His hands travelled deeper and he unzipped my jeans, slowly pulling them down until I was lying under him in only my bra and panties. I could feel the latter getting soaked with my arousal.

"Drop the glamours."

I blinked at Scotty and nodded, dropping the illusions that kept my scars hidden. He smiled softly and started caressing and kissing every single one of them.

"Ye're so beautiful, lass." He murmured, his warm breath ghosting over my skin. "So perfect. So soft. So good."

He reached around me to unclasp my bra and threw it behind him. His lips latched onto one of my stiff nipples and one of his hands travelled down into my panties, into my slick folds. He found my clit and started fondling it with his thumb as he captured my lips again, swallowing every one of my moans and desperate gasps of pleasure. He slid my panties off. I snapped my fingers, causing his clothes to land in a heap on the floor. He smirked and growled lowly, the vibration sending another jolt of pleasure through my body. I was more than ready for Scotty and grabbed his hard throbbing member, guiding him to my entrance. He took the hint and swiftly entered me, wasting no time. At times like these I liked it when he took me a little more roughly. Gentle was good and all but sometimes I just wanted to be fucked senseless. And Scotty knew that through our connection and was all too happy to follow my wishes. My moans and screams and his grunts filled the room. Eventually I came, clinging to Scotty and digging my nails into his back. He wasn't long after, filling me with his seed. He pulled out of me and with a wave of my hand the covers draped themselves over us.

* * *

The next morning I was awoken by a gentle knock on the door. I propped myself up on my elbows and saw Scotty still fast asleep. I pulled the cover higher to be at least halfway decent.

"Come in!" I called as quietly as I could.

Kreacher entered, two trays with breakfast floating behind him.

"Kreacher has prepared breakfast for his Mistress and the future Master." He whispered. "Shall Kreacher wait?"

"Just put it on the dresser, Kreacher, Thank you." I replied.

Kreacher obeyed and left the room. I smiled to myself and nuzzled Scotty's shoulder. He murmured in his sleep and pulled me close with his arms around my waist.

"Jus' a few more min'tes, lass." He mumbled sleepily.

"Hmmm." I hummed and snuggled up to him.

We dozed curled up next to each other for about half an hour before Scotty finally woke up. He propped himself up on one elbow and smiled.

"I'm still not used ta wakin' up next ta ye, lass." He murmured, leaning down to kiss me.

We both sat up and I waved for the trays to float over to us.

"Kreacher brought breakfast about half an hour ago." I explained.

"I think I like that little bugger." Scotty smiled.

We had breakfast in bed and got dressed. Just as I was about to open the door of the bedroom a silver lynx floated in through the window, soundlessly landing on the thick carpet. It opened its mouth.

"_Hello Amy._" Kingley's calm deep voice said. "_I heard you were planetside again. How about you come to my office and we catch up? I've got a slow day. I heard you have a boyfriend. You can bring him if you like._"

The lynx vanished and Scotty stared at the spot it had sat on. I pulled my wand out.

"_Expecto Patronum."_

Prongs appeared and bowed his majestic head before me.

"Tell Kingsley that we're going to be there in about four hours."

Prongs nodded and floated away.

"Ye can use a Patronus for messages?" Scotty asked in surprise.

I nodded, walking over to the wardrobe and riffling through the robes in there.

"M-hm. Very effective." I replied. "You only need to know someone's name and you can get the message out to them."

I found a robe I liked and looked it over, nodding to myself. I turned around to look at Scotty.

"You'll need a robe, too." I mused. "Fortunately we have a few hours which means we can get you outfitted at Madam Malkin's since I need to go to Gringotts anyway."

"Robes?"

"If you don't wear robes you'll be too obviously a muggle. If you do you'll pass as muggleborn." I explained. "There are still many pureblood supremacists. My position as head of two of the oldest and richest houses gives me some freedom in all of my public decisions but bringing a muggle into the Ministry would be… would be like bringing a Klingon aboard the _Enterprise_ and declaring him captain." I shook my head. "The press would slaughter me again. I'm not ashamed of loving you but I don't want us to be splashed across the headlines either."

Scotty just nodded. He followed me out of the house and I hailed a cab. (London hadn't let go of its black cabs.)

"Tottenham Court Road." I told the cabby who nodded.

It didn't take long for us to arrive. Scotty frowned when he saw the _Leaky Cauldron_.

"That looks out of place." He stated. "Why does nobody notice that pub?"

"If you weren't bonded to me you wouldn't see it either." I smirked. "One of the reasons why the magical manages to stay hidden: So-called muggle-repellent-charms. Muggles either don't notice something altogether, they see something entirely else or they suddenly remember something very important that they have to do, mostly in the opposite direction. Come on."

We entered the pub and Tom smiled and nodded at me. I led Scotty out through the back and tapped the bricks to open Diagon Alley.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley." I smiled.

Scotty's eyes were wide and he stared at everything while we walked to Madam Malkin's. The woman immediately started fussing around us. I put my lady demeanour on.

"Mr. McKenzie needs robes. He is going to accompany me to a briefing with the Minister. Unfortunately he only has casual robes with him." I explained. "I trust your discretion in this matter, Madam Malkin."

"Of course, of course, Lady Potter. No words about this will leave my lips."

"Good."

I handed her a handful of galleons. She waved at Scotty to climb on a stool.

"What colour should the robes have?" She asked. "And the lining? Any special wishes?"

Scotty was completely lost.

"Simple business robes, Madam Malkin." I helped. "Dark grey with lining in the same colour. Also he needs a matching cloak."

Madam Malkin did quick work in scribbling Scotty's measurements down.

"The robes will be ready in about three hours, Lady Potter."

"Thank you."

I led Scotty out of the shop.

"Why did ye tell her a false name for me?" Scotty asked.

"Because Madam Malkin is someone who likes to gossip. It doesn't matter how much I pay her some day something will leak out. I don't want your name in the magical headlines tomorrow." I replied, walking along the busy alley to Gringotts. "Until we officially announce anything I want to keep you out of the magical press."

I entered the marble entrance hall of the goblin bank and strode up to the main desk, my cloak billowing behind me.

"Good day." I said. "I want to speak to Ironclaw."

"Name?" The goblin asked in a bored tone.

"Lady Amaryllis Lillian Potter."

He slid a piece of parchment with a dagger lying on top over the desk to me.

"Seven drops of blood on this parchment."

I obeyed. The blood arranged itself to write my name in a neat, curvy handwriting. The goblin took one look at it and nodded.

"I will have someone notify Ironclaw of your presence. I believe you know the way to his office?"

"Yes. Thank you."

I led Scotty through a corridor and to Ironclaw's office.

"Ironclaw is the manager of my accounts. Let me do the talking." I warned Scotty before I knocked on the heavy oak door.

"Enter."

We entered and Ironclaw rose from his seat behind his desk.

"Good day, Ironclaw." I greeted him. "May your gold flow as freely as your enemies' blood." I added inGobbledegook.

He smiled, revealing his sharp pointed teeth. He took my hand in his own long-fingered one.

"The same to you, Lady Potter, the same to you. Please have a seat." He told us and sat down behind his desk, folding his hands on top of it. "How can I help you?"

"I came here to check on my accounts since I haven't been on the planet for more than six months. I know you manage them just fine, Ironclaw."

"Of course, my friend. Who is your companion?"

"This is Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer of the _USS Enterprise_ and my fiancé." I introduced.

"Ah. Mr. Scott, I hope you are aware that Lady Potter is a Goblin Friend and a member of my clan." Ironclaw said evenly. "And if you hurt her you will have the wrath of my entire clan, which counts more than two thousand members, come upon you." He finished with a predatory smile.

I sighed in exasperation.

"Can all of you please just stop scaring my bonded?" I asked, throwing my hands up. "He's not going to ever hurt me!"

"Indeed. If he is bonded to you he won't. Now, about your accounts. I believe you want to take a look for yourself?"

"Yes, thank you."

Ironclaw nodded and led us back to the entrance hall and then to the rails that led down to the vaults.

"Better hold on." I warned my fiancé. "These things are like a really fast rollercoaster."

I always liked the drives down to the vaults of Gringotts and couldn't help but grin when Scotty cheered next to me like back when I had flown with him on my back. We stopped in front of the Potter main vault and Ironclaw opened it. I could feel Scotty's astonishment at all the gold and other riches inside. Scotty followed me inside.

"The thing about bein' rich was an understatement, lass." He muttered.

"This is only one of my vaults." I threw over my shoulder as I rummaged through a heavy oak chest. "This vault holds the most precious items of my father's family as well as gold. These are heirlooms that have been passed down from parent to child for centuries."

I straightened and turned to my fiancé.

"The goblins have been managing our properties since the founding of Gringotts. It was my very great grandfather Robert Potter's idea to invest in Microsoft."

We left the vault and went back up to Ironclaw's office.

"I believe it was to your satisfaction, Lady Potter?"

"Very much, thank you, Ironclaw." I replied with a smile. "May your riches stack as high as your enemies' corpses."

"The same to you. Goodbye, Lady Potter."

We left the bank and I led Scotty to Florean Fortescue's Icecream Parlor. We ordered our ice cream and sat down.

"When we're done we can get your new robes from Madam Malkin's and then we head to the Ministry." I explained, licking on a scoop of pumpkin with chocolate chips.

We finished our ice cream and I enjoyed being a completely normal couple. Madam Malkin ushered Scotty into a changing room at the back of the store and when he came out to show himself fully clothed in robes and a cloak I had to admit that Madam Malkin had done a great job. The clothes fit my fiancé perfectly. I paid and we left the store, Scotty's normal clothes in my extended bag. I grabbed his arm.

"We're going to apparate to the visitor's entrance of the Ministry." I warned him before turning on the spot.

We reappeared in an alley not far away from the broken phone booth. Scotty raised his eyebrows as I stepped in and beckoned for him to come after me but obeyed. I dialled the number.

"_Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the reason for your visit."_

"Amaryllis Lillian Potter and Montgomery Scott, we have an appointment with the Minister." I replied and gave Scotty his badge after it came out of the slit.

The booth brought us down into the atrium of the Ministry and I led Scotty up to the desk where Ernie Macmillian was sitting and looking bored. I smiled.

"Hey Ernie." I said. "Please don't make a fuss. We're here to visit Kingsley."

Ernie looked up and nodded, waving us through. We stepped into one of the elevators and I pressed the button for the floor with the Minister's office. We soon got there and I knocked.

"Enter." Kingley's familiar baritone called out.

We entered and the black man rose from his seat behind his heavy oak desk. He smiled warmly and pulled me into a paternal hug.

"Good to see you in one piece, Amy." He grinned.

I grinned back.

"Kingsley, this is my fiancé, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer of the _USS Enterprise_." I introduced. "Scotty, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, the British Minister of Magic."

The two men shook hands.

"So you're a member of Starfleet then?" Kingsley asked as we sat down on comfortable armchairs in a corner of the room. "I could curse them to hell and back for taking one of the best Aurors this Ministry ever had. But if Amy's happy…"

He looked at me with a questioning glance. I took Scotty's hand and smiled.

"I'm very happy, Kings." I replied. "I'm admired for who I am, not for what I've done out of necessity. I'm engaged to a wonderful, funny and intelligent man."

"Who's that guy?" Scotty asked jokingly. "Do I know him?"

Kingsley chuckled.

"I see I don't have to threaten you, Mr. Scott. And I think the Weasleys have already done that."

I just shook my head in exasperation.

"At least you don't threaten him. Kingsley, we're bonded. He won't hurt me."

Kingsley nodded and looked at Scotty.

"Call me Kingsley."

"Scotty."

With that the two men shook hands once more and we had a friendly conversation. Scotty filled Kingsley in about the Nero incident as I didn't really know everything about it. I was relieved that the two seemed to get along just fine. When I looked on my watch I saw that it was already dinner time. I rose from my seat.

"Kingsley, it was wonderful to see you again and catch up. We should go to bed because tomorrow we have to be back in San Francisco to oversee the repairs on the _Enterprise_." I said.

Kingsley smiled and pulled me into a hug before he grasped my right forearm.

"Look after yourself out there, Amy. Your Captain seems to be as much of a trouble magnet as you are."

"Of course."

Scotty and Kingsley shook hands and we left the Ministry, stopping once so Scotty could change out of his robes into his normal clothes before we went out onto the streets of London. I hailed us a cab to Grimmauld Place.

"Kingsley's a nice guy." Scotty remarked.

"He was Head Auror before he became Minister." I explained. "A good man, strong fighter, and fierce protector of those who cannot protect themselves."

"He mentioned that you were an Auror."

"Aurors are basically police, just better trained in combat techniques. After the whole thing with Voldemort I wanted to minimize the threat of hidden Death Eaters as much as possible. So I became an Auror and hunted them down."

The cab stopped and I paid before we entered Grimmauld Place. A delicious smell waved up from the kitchen.

"Hmmm, smells like Kreacher's French onion soup." I said, taking a deep breath. "You _have_ to taste that."

We spent a relaxed evening together and fell asleep tightly curled up around each other.

* * *

The next morning we took a shuttle back to San Francisco. We changed into our uniforms and went to the dock to oversee the repairs of the _Enterprise_. The girl was getting refitted after what had happened. New Warp Core, of course, better shields, the hull needed to be fixed, as well as the big window on the bridge. We actually got a say in what we wanted our quarters to be like. The first thing we requested was a proper water shower. And a bed big enough to have the both of us comfortable in it. But most of the time we worked down in engineering, overseeing the installation of the new core. After about a month the _USS Enterprise_ was as good as new and ready to go on new missions.

It was about a year after the Nero incident and we had been sent out to survey the class-M planet Nibiru. When Jim and Spock noticed that there was a volcano about to erupt and wipe out the indigenous species in the process Jim decided to save them and ordered Sulu to park the _Enterprise_ on the bottom of the ocean. Scotty and I agreed that it was stupid. A starship was not built to withstand the salt water that would undoubtedly react aggressively with the hull. But then again, Jim was the captain, so we had to follow his orders and concentrate on keeping the _Enterprise_ running. When Jim and Bones (I was one of the few he allowed to call him that) came back Scotty left me in charge to go complain to our captain. Then we were flying out of the ocean, directly into the field of the volcano. I shook my head, knowing that Scotty didn't approve of that. He came back down to Engineering when we were on our way back to earth.

"That guy will be the death of me." I muttered as Scotty took a tool out of my hand.

"Yeah." He replied, kissing my cheek and turning to the piece of machinery in front of us.

We worked in silence, enjoying the hum of the engines. At the end of our shift we walked up to the mess hall, each of us ordering a sandwich and a drink before we sat down at a table from where I could overlook the entire hall. Scotty had thought that weird before but he understood when I told him that it was a remnant of my time as an Auror. After we had finished our dinner we went to our quarters, quickly falling asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you all for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review. 'Till next chapter!**_


	3. Into Darkness

_**A/N: This was tough to write. I took much of the dialogue from Into Darkness and putting Amy in it wasn't easy. But I managed. And it turned into a little monster. Anyway. Enjoy!**_

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

"_Talking telepathically"_

"_talking patronus/intercom call/communicator on the other end/transmission from another ship_"

* * *

I woke up and propped myself up on one elbow to watch Scotty sleep next to me. He had a small smile on his face while mumbling parts of equations every now and then. I smiled to myself. This man had made me happier than I had been for most of my life. I could feel his pleasant dreams in the back of my mind and leaned down to lightly kiss his lips.

"You seem happy, Mistress." A deep, rich, male voice said behind me.

I whirled around, wand ready, to see Death standing next to the window. He had taken the form of a handsome man in his mid-thirties. His hair was a mess of ginger curls, he was tall and lean, with green eyes and an angular, aristocratic face. He wore a well-cut black suit with a long coat over it. I narrowed my eyes and put my wand away, sending a wave of calm over to Scotty to keep him asleep. I slipped out of bed and led Death to my study. The fire in the fireplace had almost died, reduced to embers. I sat down in one of the armchairs in front of it, motioning for Death to take the other one.

"I thought I told you to call before coming over." I said.

Death inclined his had.

"I didn't have time to inform you before my visit, Mistress. Darkness lies ahead. People you know, people you're close to, will die or get into life-threatening situations. Many others you have never seen in your life will die very soon." He replied. "All I request from you is your permission to do my job."

"You're not going to tell me who's going to die, right?"

"Christopher Pike."

I was taken aback. Normally Death didn't answer my questions that willingly. A deep sigh escaped me. Christopher Pike was a squib who had known my mother and had been like an older brother to her. Back when I had been at the Academy he had taken me under his wing. He knew I had potential above magic and being the Girl-Who-Lived – God, I hated that title.

"I know that Christopher Pike was a mentor to you and that you look at him as part of your family. I told you back when you united the Hallows: If it concerns your family, you have every right to intervene in my job and demand information." Death explained as an answer to my unasked question.

I stood up, rubbing my forehead and pacing. I didn't want Pike to die.

"Death, I want you to put Pike into coma. I have a feeling that it will be essential that he gets into a live-threatening situation. But don't kill him."

Death nodded.

"As you wish, Mistress. I will take my leave now."

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

There was a glimmer of something I couldn't interpret in Death's eyes but it disappeared just as fast as it had come. He smiled at me and vanished. I sighed and collapsed back into the chair, staring into the flames that were just barely peeking out of the ash in the fireplace.

"Why does fate always want to fuck me over?" I muttered, shaking my head.

I waved my hand in the direction of my liquor cabinet which caused a tumbler of Old Odgen's finest to appear in it. I needed the strong alcohol right about now. A snap of the fingers of my free hand caused the fire to flare again, warmth washing over me as I was only in a thin nightgown. My eyes were fixed on the amber liquid in my glass, watching the way the light broke through it as I contemplated what Death had said. Darkness was coming and we were going to get involved. I took a sip of my drink, enjoying the burn down my throat. I wondered if I should tell Scotty about Death but discarded the idea. He didn't need to know. When I realized that I wasn't going to sleep again I shook my head and rose from my seat, putting my drink down on my oak desk before changing into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. There was correspondence to attend to as it always stacked whenever I was off-planet. I sifted through the envelopes and parchment scrolls. I loved the feeling of parchment and real paper under my fingers. It was truly something else than the mirror-smooth surface of the PADDs. I broke seals, read letters and answered them as needed. There was an account update from Ironclaw which I replied to with a thank you and a polite request to put the Potter family jewellery to the front of the Potter main vault. A few marriage requests from pureblood heirs which I politely declined. A letter from Victor asking how I was doing and if I wanted tickets for the next Quidditch World Cup. As the Bulgarian Seeker he could get tickets for every game. I put the letter away for later. As the sun was rising over the skyline of San Francisco I had answered the last letter. I stood up from my position behind my desk and stepped in front of the window that overlooked the city. I had the perfect view to the Academy and the Starfleet HQ. I downed the last of my drink, opened the window and let out a shrill whistle. Immediately a small flock of birds of prey swooped in, landing on the long perch standing in my study for just this purpose. One very good thing about the phoenix tears was that I could call on any birds if I needed them and they would do what I needed them for. I tied the replies to their feet and sent them off to deliver the letters. I took a deep breath of the San Francisco morning air that tasted slightly salty and smelled of the ocean. I heard the door open and Scotty entered the study.

"Ye getting' all broody, lass?" He asked softly.

"Just thinking. I have a feeling we'll stumble into the next catastrophe very soon." I replied quietly.

Scotty came to stand next to me, wrapping one arm around my shoulders. I leaned into his warm and comforting embrace, resting my head on his shoulder. He kissed my temple.

"What did ye expect, lass? Jim's our captain."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that, shaking my head. Of course Scotty was right. Jim was about as much of a trouble magnet as I was. Scotty and I turned until we could look into each other's eyes. We kissed and rested our foreheads together. I smiled softly and trailed my fingertips along his jaw.

"We need to get ready for our shift aboard the _Enterprise_." I murmured. "Let's take a shower."

Scotty nodded and we showered together, helping each other clean and dry. Then we slipped into our uniforms with the standard issue jackets over them and made our way to the shuttle hangar to go back to the starship we loved. Whenever we were in space dock we got one night down on earth. Scotty and I got out of the shuttle, brought our bags and jackets to our quarters and went down to the engine room.

* * *

My PADD dinged and I opened the message.

"Scotty." I said, walking over to my fiancé who was hanging up to his elbows in a piece of the _Enterprise_ engines.

He looked up, then at my PADD and frowned.

"They took the _Enterprise_ away from Jim?" He asked. "And Pike's Captain again."

"Christopher Pike is a good man." I replied. "He knows what I am and was the closest thing my mother had to an older brother. Back at the Academy he took me under his wing."

I sighed.

"Jim's disrespect for rules had to bite him in the ass some day."

Scotty nodded and we continued working.

* * *

About an hour after our shift ended we were sitting in our quarters, watching one of my favourite movies. We were laughing at Captain Jack Sparrow's antics when my communicator pinged. I answered it.

"Yes?"

"_Amy?"_

"Mione? What's going on? Why do you sound so panicked?" I asked.

Scotty straightened next to me, asking me with his eyes and thoughts if everything was alright.

"_The Kelvin Memorial Archive has been blown up._" Hermione explained. "_Hannah and a few others of the DA have gone to help. We're trying to save as many people as possible but the death count is rising._"

I rubbed my forehead.

"Thank you for telling me, Mione. I'll tell you if I hear anything. You think Kingsley will do something?"

"_Ron is here to investigate if there is any chance of something magical behind the explosion._"

"Keep safe."

"_You too._"

A sigh escaped me as I put my communicator away.

"A Starfleet archive in London has been blown up." I explained, feeling very tired.

Scotty wrapped an arm around me.

"I'll probably be called to a Wizengamot emergency session within the next few hours. I hold two seats in the Wizengamot, although I usually let Andromeda handle the Black seat."

"It'll be alright, lass."

I nodded and snuggled closer to him. I didn't like this at all.

* * *

Kingley's Patronus floated into our quarters a few hours later just as I had thought it would. It told me that I was to come to the Ministry as fast as possible. I kissed Scotty and apparated to the apartment where I used the Floo Network to get to the Ministry after I had changed into my formal Wizengamot robe. I was led to the room where we would confer. A long oval-shaped oak table stood in the middle of the room. Kingsley as the Minister of Magic had already taken his place at the head of the table while the heads of the old houses slowly filed in. I was directed to the seat on his right side. When everyone was there we rose from our seats. Kingsley looked into all of our faces.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, ladies and gentlemen." He said. "Please be seated."

We sat down.

"A few hours ago an archive here in London exploded." Kingsley started. "It was the Kelvin Memorial Archive, holding public Starfleet records. Forty-two men and women are dead and numerous others badly injured and traumatised. As of now I can confirm that this happened without magical causes…"

"Minister?" Lord Moffat interrupted. "What is Starfleet?"

I raised an eyebrow while Kingsley glanced at me.

"We have a Starfleet Officer among us." He replied. "I think she can explain it better than me. Lady Potter, if you would."

"Thank you, Minister." I nodded. "Starfleet is a muggle organisation of exploration and peacekeeping within the United Federation of Planets. Our main tasks are the advancement of the Federation's knowledge about the galaxy and its inhabitants, the advancement of the Federation's science and technology, the military defence of the Federation and the practice of Federation diplomacy. We do this by sending out starships on missions of varying length in space." I explained. "As to my knowledge Starfleet Command isn't aware of the existence of the Magical World, except for Admiral Christopher Pike, a squib."

"Humans can't leave the planet." A woman I didn't know scoffed.

"The first time humans left the planet was during the 20th century." I calmly explained. "Humanity is in constant contact with extraterrestrial races. We're not alone in the universe."

I shook my head.

"That's not important right now. The destruction of the Kelvin Memorial Archive was an attack. I don't doubt that there's a conference of all Captains and First Officers of the ships in the area being held at this moment. The one responsible has either already fled the planet or has something else planned." I continued. "Considering the number of deaths caused Admiral Marcus will very probably send out every ship available to hunt them down and get them to face judgement."

"Should we interfere?" Kingsley asked.

"No, unless you want Starfleet to find out about magic." I replied. "I think Starfleet can handle the situation well enough. Starfleet is where some of the best and brightest of the entire galaxy come together. Should I see the need for the Magical World to interfere I would contact you, though."

Kingsley nodded, satisfied with my answer.

"Good. I expect you to come to a briefing as soon as the situation is resolved. If there are no more questions I would close this sitting."

Lady Gatiss stood up from her seat.

"Why do you trust Lady Potter's judgement of the situation so willingly?" She asked.

"Because Lady Potter is a highly trained ex-Auror and Starfleet officer. If you have forgotten it, it was her who defeated You-Know-Who." Neville spoke up. "Lady Potter is a woman I would trust with my life and of everyone in this room she has the most experience with Starfleet. I'm aware that not many of you know this but she is a genius who'd be capable of building weapons of mass destruction from scrap metal if given the right motivation."

"I'm only second in command of engineering on the flagship of the Federation, Lord Longbottom." I interjected. "Said ship is full of genii. I'm just one among others."

Kingsley just raised an eyebrow at me and shook his head.

"Any other questions? No? Good." He said. "I close this sitting with the result that we will not interfere in the matter unless absolutely necessary."

* * *

I exited the Ministry and found that it was already dawning. I yawned and toyed with the thought of telling Scotty that I would sleep in London for a few hours before heading back. My train of thought was interrupted by a message received on my communicator. The meeting at the Starfleet HQ had been attacked by the man responsible for the destruction of the archive. Pike was heavily injured and in a coma struggling to stay alive. I took a deep breath and apparated back to San Francisco, quickly downing a potion to keep me running, before heading to where I had been requested to help Scotty in taking the bastard's ship apart. I nodded to Scotty. I knew he could feel how worn out I was after the gathering of the Wizengamot.

"_Ye need to sleep, lass."_ He told me softly as we disassembled the scrambled engine of the shuttle.

I shook my head.

"_No time for sleep now, Scotty."_ I replied. _"When Harrison is locked up I can sleep but not while he's still out there."_

Scotty sighed in defeat and we continued working until we found a portable transwarp beaming device. It took Scotty about a minute to find out where Harrison had gone. We shared a glance and contacted Spock, asking him to see us with Jim ASAP.

We ran over to the two men, Scotty carrying the device.

"Captain!" Scotty called out and handed the device over as soon as we stood in front of them. "We found this in the crashed jumpship, sir. This is how the bastard got away."

"What do you mean?" Jim asked.

"It's a portable transwarp beaming device." I explained.

"Well, can you figure out where he went?"

"I already did, sir. And ye're not gonna like it." Scotty pressed a button on the device. "He's gone to the one place we… we just can't go." He finished, meaning the coordinates of Kronos, the Klingon homeworld.

Jim took a deep breath.

"You two return to the _Enterprise_." He said.

Scotty and I nodded and made our way to the shuttle hangar to go back on the ship and do our jobs.

* * *

I followed as Scotty walked around the cargo bay of the _Enterprise_ while torpedoes were loaded. Someone wanted his signature. I walked around one of the torpedoes, all my senses tingling and my inner alarm going off like crazy. There was something about them.

"I cannae detect the type of fuel in these torpedoes." Scotty told the man. "Where're the specifications?"

"Classified."

"Well then. No specs, no signature!"

"You need to sign, sir."

"No! I'm not signin' anythin'!" Scotty exclaimed. "Now get these bloody things off my ship. Captain!"

Jim walked up to us.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Scott?" Jim asked.

"Aye, sir. I was just explaining to this gentleman that I cannae authorize any weapons aboard this ship without knowing what's inside them."

"Mr. Scott raises yet another point…" Spock started.

Jim handed him a PADD.

"Report to the bridge." He ordered.

"Captain."

Spock walked briskly away.

"Mr. Scott, I understand your concerns, but we need these torpedoes on board."

"Due respect, sir, but photon torpedoes run on fuel. Now, I cannae detect the type of fuel that's in the compartments on these torpedoes because it's shielded." Scotty explained, clearly getting exasperated. "Now, I asked for the specifications but he said…"

He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the man wanting the signature.

"It's classified." The man replied in a bored tone.

"It's classified. So I said, 'No specs, no signature!'"

"Captain!" Sulu said from above us. We all looked up at him. "Flight check's complete. We're good to go, sir."

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu." Jim replied and looked back at us.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, sir, we have a warp core to prime." Scotty said and we walked away, Scotty ordering Keenser to get down from the torpedo he was sitting on.

"Scotty! Amy!" Jim called after us, catching up. "I need you to approve those weapons."

Scotty pointed at the warp core.

"Do ye know what this is, Captain?"

"I don't have time for a lecture, Scotty."

"Do ye know what this is?" My fiancé insisted.

"It's a warp core."

"It's a radioactive catastrophe waitin' to happen." Scotty explained. "A subtle shift in the magnetic output from, say, firin' one or more of _six dozen_ torpedoes with an unknown payload could set off a chain reaction which would kill every living thing on this ship. Lettin' those torpedoes on board the _Enterprise_ is the last straw."

"_Calm down, Scotty." _I cautioned.

"What was the first straw?" Jim asked.

"What was the…? There're plenty of straws!" Scotty exclaimed. "How about Starfleet confiscatin' my transwarp equation? And now some madman's using it to hop across the galaxy! Where do you think he got it from?"

"We have our orders Scotty." Jim urged.

"This is what scares us." I said softly.

"This is clearly a military operation." Scotty continued. "Is that what we are now? 'Cause I thought we were explorers."

"Sign for the torpedoes, that's an order." Jim ordered sternly.

Scotty stopped dead in what he was going to say.

"Right, well, ye leave me no choice but to resign my duties."

"Come on, Scotty."

"Ye're givin' me no choice, sir. I will not stand by…"

"You're not giving _me_ much of a choice!" Jim countered. "Will you just make an exception and sign…"

"Do you accept my resignation or not?!"

"I do!"

I stopped and looked between Jim and the man I loved.

"I do. You are relieved, Mr. Scott."

Scotty nodded and grimaced, taking a step closer to Jim.

"Jim, for the love of god, _do not_ use those torpedoes." He whispered urgently before stepping back and handing Jim the PADD he was holding.

Jim took it, looking numb, and turned to me. I shook my head.

"I can't, Jim." I said, squeezing Scotty's hand.

We walked away, Keenser following us.

"_I'm going to stick around to make sure they don't kill themselves."_ I said softly, glancing back at our captain.

"_I don't like this."_ Scotty replied. _"They would find you."_

"_I have a cloak that can hide me from Death himself."_ I explained. _"And I can turn into my cat form."_

"_Stay safe and keep the connection open, lass."_ Scotty sighed. _"I cannae bring you away from this, can I?"_

I smiled and kissed him before discreetly turning into my cat form. I managed to find Jim and followed him and Nyota up to the bridge. Nobody spent me anymore thought than needed to register that I was there as I had done this a couple times before and become the ship's mascot whenever I was in my cat form. I jumped up and lay down on top of the backrest of the captain's chair. Jim walked up to Chekov at his navigator's station.

"Mr. Chekov, you have been shadowing Mr. Scott and Miss Potter. You are familiar with the engineering systems of this ship?"

"Affirmatiwe, sir."

"Good. You're my new Chief. Go put on a red shirt."

Jim clapped him on the shoulder, gave me a small pat on the head and sat down in his chair.

"Retract all moorings, Mr. Sulu." He ordered.

"Yes, sir."

As we left the dock Jim spoke again.

"Lieutenant Uhura, open a ship wide channel."

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Chekov, how we looking down there?"

"_All systems nominal, Keptin._"

"Copy that."

"_Varp awailable at your command._"

"Thank you, Mr. Chekov."

Jim closed the channel.

"Al right, let's ride."

"Yes, sir." Sulu replied.

Within seconds we were on our way to Kronos at warp speed.

"Channel open, sir." Nyota reported.

"Attention, crew of the _Enterprise_." Jim started. "As most of you know, Christopher Pike, former captain of this ship and our friend, is in a coma fighting death. The man who's responsible for that has fled our system and is hiding on the Klingon homeworld, somewhere he believes we are unwilling to go. We are on our way there now. Per Admiral Marcus, it is essential that our presence go undetected. Tensions between the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been high. Any provocation could lead to an all-out war."

Jim turned to share a glance with Spock. I pretended to doze, my ears twitching as I listened intently. Jim took a deep breath.

"I will personally lead a landing party to an abandoned city on the surface of Kronos where we will capture the fugitive, John Harrison, and return him to Earth so he can face judgement for his actions. All right. Let's go get this son of a bitch. Kirk out."

Spock rose from his seat at his station and came to stand on Jim's right side.

"Captain, I believe you have made the right decision." He said. "If I can be of assistance, I would be happy to accompany you on the away team."

Jim looked up at the First Officer.

"You? Happy?"

"I was simply attempting to use your vernacular to convey an idea."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock."

As we continued on our way Jim reached behind him and started scratching my head. I purred, leaning my head against his hand. Suddenly we dropped out of warp. I fell off my perch with what would have been a yelp from a human but came out as a yowl. Of course I landed on my feet. My fur was sticking up and my tail that resembled that of a racoon was twitching in irritation. I shook my entire body to flatten my fur.

"Engineering manually dropped us out of warp, sir." Sulu reported.

"Mr. Chekov, did you break my ship?" Jim asked over the comm.

"_Sorry, sir. I don't know vhat happened!_" The Russian sounded slightly panicked and I pressed down the urge to run down to Engineering to help. "_Ze kore owerheated. I had to actiwate emergency stop. Eet must be a coolant leak. I need time to find eet. Sorry, Keptin._"

"Mr. Sulu, time to our destination."

"Twenty minutes, sir. But that's twenty minutes in enemy space we weren't counting on."

"All right. We better hop to it." Jim turned to the science station to see it empty. "Where's Spock?"

"Here, Captain." Spock walked onto the bridge.

I jumped back onto my former place and started licking my paws before washing my face with them.

"You're coming with me to Kronos." Jim said and looked at Uhura. "Lieutenant, how's your Klingon?"

"It's rusty but it's good."

"Good, you're coming too. This isn't going to be a problem, is it, you two working together?"

"Absolutely not." Uhura replied with a glance at Spock and walked off the bridge.

I raised an eyebrow. There was a story behind that.

"Unclear." Spock stated.

"I'll meet you in the shuttle bay." Jim sighed.

Bones walked up to Jim.

"Jim, you're not actually going down there, are you?" He asked in a hushed voice. "You don't rob a bank when the getaway car has a flat tyre."

Jim opened the comm.

"I'm sure engineering will have us all patched up by the time we get back. Isn't that right, Mr. Chekov?"

"_Yes, Keptin. I'll do my best, sir._"

Jim turned around.

"Mr. Sulu, you have the conn. Once we're en route I want you to transmit a targeted comm. burst to Harrison's location." He explained. "Tell him you have a bunch of real big torpedoes pointed at his head and if he doesn't play nice, you're not afraid to use them."

Sulu looked nervous.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, sir. I've just never sat in the chair before."

"You're gonna do great."

Jim started walking away with Bones quickly stopping him. My heightened cat senses allowed me to listen to their conversation.

"Jim! Wait! You just sat that man down at a high-stakes poker game with no cards and told him to bluff. Now Sulu's a good man but he is no captain."

"For the next two hours he is. And enough with the metaphors, all right? That's an order."

Jim walked the rest of the way to the lift, slightly raising his voice.

"Mr. Sulu, make sure that K'normian ship is ready to fly."

Sulu rose from his position at the helm and sat down in the captain's chair. He opened the comm.

"Acting Captain Sulu to Shuttle Bay 2." He said. "Please have the trade ship we confiscated during the Mudd incident last month fuelled and flight ready. Captain Kirk is en route to you now."

I climbed down onto Sulu's lap. He gave me a small smile and started petting me with long calm strokes. I couldn't help it and started to purr loudly.

"_Mr. Sulu, I think we found our man._" Jim reported. "_You let him know you mean business._"

"Aye, Captain."

Sulu opened another comm. link while still stroking me.

"Attention, John Harrison. This is Captain Hikaru Sulu of the _USS Enterprise_. A shuttle of highly trained officers is on its way to your location. If you do not surrender to them immediately, I will unleash the entire payload of advanced, long-range torpedoes currently locked onto your location. You have two minutes to confirm your compliance. Refusal to do so will result in your obliteration. If you test me, you will fail."

Bones turned his head to look at Sulu who looked like a cliché villain right now, sitting in a chair with a cat purring in his lap.

"Mr. Sulu, remind me never to piss you off."

We waited anxiously as the three went down to Kronos. At one point the signal of their ship cut out. After about half an hour we had a new signal. They had captured Harrison and were bringing him aboard. I jumped down from Sulu's lap to perch on top of the backrest again. I furrowed my brows (yes, I could still do that as a cat) when I felt that Scotty was drunk. I shook my head and stretched, extending my claws for a moment. Nyota came back on the bridge, Spock was not long after. After a while Jim arrived with Bones. I jumped down and sat down in front of the great viewscreen, starting to clean my fur while listening to the conversation the three men were having. Jim told them something about opening one of those torpedoes.

"Are you out of your corn-fed mind?" Bones asked. "You're not actually going to listen to this guy? He almost killed Pike and you, and now you think it's a good idea to pop open a torpedo because he dared you to."

"Why did he save our lives, Bones?" Jim asked quietly.

"The Doctor does have a point, Captain." Spock said.

"Don't agree with me, Spock. It makes me very uncomfortable."

"Perhaps you, too, should learn to govern your emotions, Doctor. In this situation, logic dictates…"

"Logic? Oh my God!" Bones exclaimed. "There's a maniac trying to make us blow up our own ship and…"

"That's not it." Jim interrupted. "I don't know why he surrendered but that's not it. Look, we're gonna open a torpedo. The question is how."

"But Jim, without Mr. Scott or Miss Potter on board, who exactly is qualified to just pop open a four-ton stick of dynamite?" Bones asked exasperated.

"The Admiral's daughter appeared to have interest in the torpedoes and she is a weapons specialist." Spock stated calmly as always. "Perhaps she could be of some use."

I stopped in my cleaning and looked up. Jim frowned.

"What Admiral's daughter?"

"Carol Marcus. Your new science officer concealed her identity to board the ship."

"When were you going to tell me that?" Jim sounded kind of hurt.

"When it became relevant. As it just did."

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head, following Jim into the turbolift. I walked through the corridors to the brig to take a look at the man who had caused the deaths of forty-two innocent men and women.

* * *

I sat on front of Harrison's cell, staring at him. He looked one hell of a lot like that guy who played Sherlock Holmes on the 21st century remake of the classical Holmes for the BBC, Benedict Cucumber or something. He looked straight into my eyes. I tilted my head slightly to the side, my tail twitching. This man was a terrorist but I wanted to know why he had killed all those people. He certainly wasn't a wizard, nor did he know about magic, apparently. I faintly registered intense concentration from Scotty in the back of my mind, followed by astonishment. The door of the brig opened but neither Harrison nor I lifted our gazes.

"Having a staring contest with a cat?" Jim asked. "You're gonna lose."

"She's a peculiar animal, isn't she?" Harrison asked, looking up to meet Jim's eyes.

"Why is there a man in that torpedo?" Jim asked, completely ignoring the other man's question.

"There are men and women in all those torpedoes, Captain." Harrison replied. "I put them there."

Jim and Spock shared a glance while I narrowed my eyes. So that was why my senses had been tingling around those things.

"Who the hell are you?" Jim continued.

"A remnant of a time long past." Harrison sounded wistful. "Genetically engineered to be superior so as to lead others to peace in a world at war. But we were condemned as criminals, forced into exile. For centuries we slept, hoping when we awoke, things would be different. But as a result of the destruction of Vulcan, your Starfleet began to aggressively search distant quadrants of space. My ship was found adrift. I alone was revived."

"I looked up 'John Harrison'." Jim said. "Until a year ago, he didn't exist."

"John Harrison was a fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause." Harrison rose from his seat, stepping up to the force field separating us from him. "A smokescreen to conceal my true identity. My name is _Khan_."

Jim tilted his head.

"Why would a Starfleet Admiral ask a three-hundred-year-old frozen man for help?"

"Because I am better."

"At what?"

"Everything."

_Wow, that's what I call arrogant._ I thought as Khan started pacing his cell.

"Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilised threat in a civilised time and for that he needed a warrior's mind. My mind. To design weapons and warships."

"You are suggesting the Admiral violated every regulation he vowed to uphold simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect." Spock stated less calmly than usual.

"He wanted to exploit my savagery." Khan replied, stepping up to the force field to look directly at the half-Vulcan. "Intellect alone is useless in a fight, Mr. Spock. You… you can't even break a rule. How would you be expected to break bone? Marcus used me to design weapons. To help him realise his vision of a militarised Starfleet." Khan turned to look at Jim. "He sent you to use those weapons. To fire my torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet. And then he purposefully crippled your ship in enemy space, leading to one inevitable outcome. The Klingons would come searching for whomever was responsible, and you would have no chance of escape. Marcus would finally have the war he talked about. The war he always wanted."

"No. No." Jim shook his head in denial. "I watched you open fire in a room full of unarmed Starfleet officers. You killed them in cold blood!"

Khan turned away.

"Marcus took my crew from me!"

"You are a murderer!"

"He used my friends to control me." There was the slightest tremor in Khan's voice. "I tried to smuggle them to safety by concealing them in the very weapons I had designed, but I was discovered… I had no choice but to escape alone… And when I did, I had every reason to suspect that Marcus had killed every single one of the people I hold most dear." His voice was only a whisper by now. After a short pause he spoke clearly again. "So I responded in kind." Khan slowly turned. There were tears in his eyes. "My crew is my family, Kirk. Is there anything you would not do for your family?"

_I would do anything to keep my family safe._ I thought.

The comm. opened.

"_Proximity alert, sir!_" Sulu's voice said."_There's a ship at warp heading right for us._"

"Klingons?" Jim asked.

"At warp?" Khan scoffed. "No, Kirk. We both know who it is."

"_I don't think so. It's not coming at us from Kronos._" Sulu reported.

Jim was already on the move.

"Lieutenant, move Khan to med bay." He ordered. "Post six security officers on him."

I decided not to stay back any longer. I ran out of the brig and into a good spot to change. As soon as I was human again I ran up to meet Jim and Spock before they entered the bridge.

"What the hell?" Jim asked. "I thought you quit with Scotty."

"I did quit, Captain, but I have a damn hero complex and needed to make sure you don't kill yourselves." I replied. "I hid on board but I can't take standing back any more and now I want to help."

Jim nodded and we entered the bridge.

"ETA of the incoming ship." Jim demanded in full captain-mode.

"Three seconds, sir." Sulu reported, eyes fixed on his screens.

Jim sat down in the chair.

"Shields."

"Aye, Captain."

The shields were activated just as what looked like a Federation ship about at least two times the size of the _Enterprise_ dropped out of warp.

"They're hailing us, sir." Nyota reported.

"On screen." Jim ordered. "Broadcast shipwide, for the record."

Admiral Marcus appeared on the screen.

"_Captain Kirk."_ He greeted.

"Admiral Marcus. I wasn't expecting you." Jim replied. "That's a hell of a ship you got there."

I frowned slightly when I felt Scotty far closer than before.

"_And I wasn't expecting to get word that you'd taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders._"

"Well, we…" Jim hesitated. "We had to improvise when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned. But you already knew that, didn't you, sir?"

"_I don't take your meaning._"

"Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? To assist with our repairs? Why else would the head of Starfleet personally come to the edge of the Neutral Zone?"

"Captain, they're scanning our ship." Sulu reported quietly.

"Is there something I can help you find, sir?" Jim asked.

"_Where is your prisoner, Kirk?_"

"Per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning on returning _Khan_ to Earth to stand trial."

"_Well, shit._" Marcus scratched his forehead. "_You talked to him. This is exactly what I was hoping to spare you from. I took a tactical risk and I woke that bastard up, believing that his superior intelligence could help us protect ourselves from whatever came at us next. But I made a mistake. And now the blood of everyone he's killed is on my hands. So I'm asking you, give him to me so that I can end what I started._"

Jim shifted slightly.

"And what exactly would you like me to do with the rest of his crew, sir?" He asked after a moment. "Fire them at the Klingons? End seventy-two lives? Start a war in the process?"

"_He put those people in those torpedoes._" Marcus replied, urgency in his voice. "_And I simply didn't want to burden you with knowing what was inside of them. You saw what this man can do all by himself. Can you imagine what would happen if we woke the rest of his crew? What else did he tell you? That he's a peacekeeper? He is playing you, son, don't you see that?_"

I couldn't help but think that Marcus sounded a lot like Dumbledore and his talking about the 'Greater Good'.

"_Khan and his crew were condemned to death as war criminals. And now it is our duty to carry out that sentence before anybody else dies because of him. Now, I'm going to ask you again! One last time, son. Lower your shields. Tell me where he is._"

Jim hesitated before answering.

"He's in engineering, sir. But I'll have him moved to the transporter room right away."

"_I'll take him from here._"

With that the transmission cut off. Jim rose from his seat.

"Do not drop those shields, Mr. Sulu."

"Captain, given your awareness of Khan's true location in the med bay, may I know the details of your plan?" Spock asked.

"I told Marcus we were bringing a fugitive back to Earth." Jim replied. "That's what we're going to do."

He pressed the button for the comm. to engineering.

"Mr. Chekov, can we warp?"

"_Sir, eef ve go to varp, ve run ze risk of seriously damaging ze core!_" Chekov reported.

"Can we do it?"

"_Technically, yes, but I vould not adwise eet, Keptin._"

"Noted." Jim closed the comm. "Mr. Sulu, set course for Earth."

"Yes, sir."

I cringed at that. If my assumptions based on Chekov's reports were right we would be almost killing the ship by going to warp.

"Punch it."

Jim turned to Nyota.

"Lieutenant Uhura, contact Starfleet. Tell them we were pursued into the Neutral Zone by an unmarked Federation ship."

"Comms are down, sir."

Carol Marcus came onto the bridge.

"Permission to come on the bridge."

"Dr. Marcus."

She ran up to Jim.

"He's gonna catch up with us, and when he does, the only thing that's gonna stop him destroying this ship is me, so you have to let me talk to him."

"Carol, we're at warp. He can't catch up with us."

"Yes, he can. He's been developing a ship that has advanced warp capabilities…"

"Captain!" Sulu interrupted. "I'm getting a reading I don't understand."

Marcus' ship was indeed catching up with us and opened fire. We were violently thrown out of warp.

"Where are we?" Jim asked.

"We're 237 000 kilometres from Earth."

"Damage report!"

"Weapons are way down."

"Shields are dropping."

"We're defenceless, sir."

"Sir, we have a bulkhead breach."

"Where's the damage?"

"Major hull damage, Captain." The android reported.

We were still under fire, the alarms blazing.

"Evasive manoeuvres! Get us to Earth! Right now!" Jim ordered.

"Captain! Stop!" Carol urged. "Everybody on this ship is going to die if you don't let me speak to him."

"Uhura, hail him."

Carol turned to the viewscreen.

"Sir. It's me. It's Carol."

The attack stopped and Marcus came on screen.

"_What are you doing on that ship?_"

"I heard what you said. That you made a mistake and now you're doing everything you can to fix it. But, Dad, I don't believe that the man who raised me is capable of destroying a ship full of innocent people. And, if I'm wrong about that, then you're gonna have to do it with me on board."

"_Actually, Carol, I won't._"

The gold swirls of beaming appeared around Carol and she turned to Jim.

"Jim…"

"Can we intercept the transport signal?"

"No, sir."

Carol bolted for the door and was transported off the ship.

"_Captain Kirk, without authorisation and in league with the fugitive John Harrison, you went rogue in enemy territory, leaving me no choice but to hunt you down and destroy you._" Marcus said. "_Lock phasers._"

"Wait, sir, wait, wait, wait!" Jim shouted.

"_I'll make this quick. Target all aft torpedoes on the _Enterprise_ bridge._"

"Sir, my crew was just following my orders." Jim explained. "I take full responsibility for my actions. But they were mine and they were mine alone. If I transmit Khan's location to you now, all that I ask is that you spare them. Please, sir. I'll do anything you want. Just let them live."

"_That's a hell of an apology. But if it's any consolation, I was never going to spare your crew. Fire when…_"

The transmission cut off and we were all silent as Jim turned to us.

"I'm sorry."

We waited for the impact but it never came.

"Their weapons have powered down. Sir." Sulu reported surprised.

"Enterprise_! Can ye hear me?_" Scotty's voice came over the comm.

I couldn't help the grin that broke out on my face.

"Scotty!" Jim and I shouted together.

"_Guess what I found behind Jupiter._"

"You're on that ship!" Jim shouted.

"_I snuck on. And seeing as I've just committed an act of treason against a Starfleet Admiral, I'd really like ta get aff this bloody ship. Now beam me out!_"

"You're a miracle worker. We're a little low on power right now. Just stand by. Stand by."

"_What do ye mean, 'low on power'? What happened to the _Enterprise_? Call you back!_"

He abruptly cut off.

"Scotty!" Jim called but there was of course no answer. "Spock. Our ship, how is she?"

"Our options are limited, Captain. We cannot fire and we cannot flee."

"There is one option." Jim said. "Uhura, when you get Scotty back, patch him through."

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Spock, you have the conn."

I followed Jim into the turbolift, Spock following us both.

"Captain, I strongly object." He said.

"To what? I haven't said anything yet."

"Since we cannot take the ship from the outside, the only way we can take it is from within. And as a large boarding party would be detected, it is optimal for you to take as few members of the crew as possible."

The lift opened when we were on the deck that held the med bay. We walked out, Spock still talking.

"You will meet resistance, requiring personnel with advanced combat abilities and innate knowledge of that ship. This indicates that you plan to align with Khan, the very man we were sent here to destroy."

"I'm not aligning with him, I'm using him." Jim said.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." I quoted.

"An Arabic proverb attributed to a prince who was betrayed and decapitated by his own subjects." Spock stated in his usual manner.

"Still, it's a hell of a quote." Jim huffed.

"I will go with you, Captain."

"No, I need you on the bridge."

We stopped and Jim turned to look at the half-Vulcan.

"I cannot allow you to do this." Spock insisted. "It is my function aboard this ship to advise you on making the wisest decisions possible, something I firmly believe you are incapable of doing in this moment."

"You're right!" Jim replied. "What I'm about to do, it doesn't make any sense, it's not logical. It is a _gut feeling_. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I only know what I can do. The _Enterprise_ and her crew need someone in that chair who knows what he's doing. And it's not me. It's you, Spock."

I followed Jim the rest of the way to the med bay.

"I'm coming with you and don't think you can keep me from doing it, Captain." I told him. "Before I joined Starfleet I hunted terrorists. I may not look like it but I am more than able to hold my ground."

"Scotty's gonna kill me if we survive this."

"He knows me."

Jim nodded in defeat and we entered the med bay. The captain came to stand in front of Khan.

"Tell me everything you know about that ship." He ordered.

"Dreadnought class." Khan replied. "Two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat."

"I will do everything I can to make you answer for what you did." Jim explained. "But right now I need your help."

"In exchange for what?"

"You said you'd do anything for your crew. I can guarantee their safety."

"Captain." Khan sounded almost disappointed. "You can't even guarantee the safety of your own crew."

There was a moment of silence as Bones did something with a tribble at a nearby table.

"Bones, what are you doing with that tribble?" Jim asked.

"The tribble's dead." Bones replied. "I'm injecting Khan's platelets into the deceased tissue of a necrotic host. Khan's cells regenerate like nothing I've ever seen, and I want to know why."

Jim took a step closer to the criminal.

"You coming with me or not?"

* * *

We walked through the corridors, Jim speaking to Scotty over his communicator.

"_Ye want ta do what?_"

"We're coming over there. Sulu's manoeuvring the _Enterprise _into position as we speak." Jim explained.

"_Ta this ship? How?_"

"There's a cargo door, hangar 7, access port 101A." Khan interjected. "You need to find the manual override to open that airlock."

"_Are ye crazy? Whoever ye are._"

"Just listen to him, Scotty." Jim ordered. "It's gonna be all right."

"_It is not gonna be all right._" My fiancé disagreed. "_You want me to open an airlock into space, whereupon I will freeze, die and explode!_"

We put thruster suits on and made our way to a trash exhaust.

"Scotty, how we doing over there?" Jim asked.

"_Captain, I wish I had better news. They've locked out access to the ship's computer. They'll have full weapons in… three minutes. That means next time I won't be able ta stop them destroying the _Enterprise_. Stand by._"

There was a comm. call from the bridge.

"_Captain, the ships are aligned._" Spock reported.

"Copy that. Scotty!"

"_I'm in the hangar. Give me a minute. I'm running. Stand by._" There was a pause. "_Whoa, whoa, hold on, now, Captain. This door is very wee. I mean, ye know, small. It's four square metres, tops. It's gonna be like jumping out of a moving car, off a bridge, into yer shotglass._"

"It's okay. I've done it before."

Khan and I turned to look at Jim.

"Yeah, it was vertical. We jumped onto a… It was a… It doesn't matter." Jim shook his head. "Scotty…"

"Did you find the manual override?" Khan asked.

"The manual override, Scotty." Jim said.

"_Not yet, not yet._"

I could feel his exasperation and slight exhaustion.

"_Captain, before you launch, you should be aware there is a considerable debris field between our ships._"

"Spock, not now. Scotty, you good?"

"_It's not easy! Just… give me two seconds, all right, ye mad bastard!_"

We crouched down in position, readying ourselves for our flight.

"_Okay, Captain, stand by. Come on, come on, come on… yes! Okay, okay, I'm set to open the door._"

"Spock, pull the trigger." Jim ordered.

My heart was racing.

"_Yes, Captain. Launching activation sequence on three, two, one._"

The door opened and we were sucked into space. Spock had been right about the debris field. I used many tricks I had used during Quidditch before to dodge Bludgers and other players. It seemed to go according to plan but of course nothing ever goes according to plan. Jim got off course and was frantically trying to get back when there was a feeling of _Oh, shit_ from Scotty. Khan helped Jim whose display was dead by now get back on course and Scotty opened the door in just the right moment. We flew inside and I saw someone get sucked out of the door. Scotty closed it and we fell down to the ground, rolling until we were lying in front of him.

"Welcome aboard." My fiancé panted.

"It's good to see you, Scotty." Jim replied.

"Who is that?"

"Khan, Scotty. Scotty, Khan."

"Hello."

We got up to our feet and I pulled my helmet off. I could feel Scotty's concern for my safety.

"_It's alright, Scotty." _I said softly. _"I was an Auror, remember?"_

"They'll know we're here." Khan said. "I know the best way to the bridge."

After taking the suits off we took the phasers we had brought with us.

"It's locked to stun." Jim explained as he gave one to Khan.

"Theirs won't be." Khan commented.

"Try not to get shot."

Scotty and I shared a glance. We made our way through the corridors of the gigantic ship. I found out that it was called _USS Vengeance_.

"They're going to have full power and we're walking?" Scotty asked breathlessly.

"The turbolifts are easily tracked." Khan replied. "Marcus would have us in a cage. This path runs adjacent to the engine room." He tapped a few keys on a station we passed. "They know they won't be able to use their weapons here without destabilising the warp core, which gives us the advantage."

"Where'd you find this guy?"

"It's a long story."

I summarised the events for Scotty as best as I could over the connection as we continued through the surprisingly empty ship.

"I don't mean ta tempt fate here, but where is everybody?" My fiancé vocalised my thoughts.

"The ship is designed to be flown by minimal crew, one, if necessary." Khan explained without turning around.

In that moment a man came from another corridor and attacked us, others quickly following. I was engaged by three men at once, managing to take them out pretty quickly. Jim looked at the men I had taken out in astonishment.

"Amy, remind me to never piss you off."

"Noted, Captain."

Jim helped Scotty to his feet.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Where is Khan?"

We looked down the corridor, seeing a trail of men and women lying there. We followed the corridors.

"Where is he?" Scotty asked. "Shit."

"This way." Khan's voice said behind us.

"The minute we get to the bridge, drop him." Jim ordered.

"What, stun him? Khan? I thought he was helping us?" Scotty protested.

"I'm pretty sure we're helping him."

We followed Khan the rest of the way to the bridge and arrived just as Marcus ordered to destroy the _Enterprise_. We quickly stunned everyone but Marcus and Carol. Jim nodded to Scotty who stunned Khan.

"Make sure he stays down." The captain commanded.

Scotty walked over to khan, keeping his phaser trained on the man.

"Admiral Marcus, you're under arrest." Jim said.

"You're not actually going to do this, are you?"

"Admiral, get out of the chair." Jim ordered.

"You better stop and think about what you're doing, Kirk. You better think about what you did on Kronos. You made an incursion onto an enemy planet!" Marcus exclaimed. "You killed a Klingon patrol. Even if you got away without a trace, war is coming. And who is going to lead us? You? If I'm not in charge, our entire way of life is decimated! So you want me off this ship, you better kill me."

"I don't think that's necessary, Admiral." I spoke up. "You know what's funny? I need only one word to cause you agony so terrible you'd do anything to make it stop. I'd only need one word to control your mind. And, in the worst case, I need only two words to instantly kill you. You have threatened and hurt people I look at as family. Let me tell you, that is not a good place to stand at."

Jim glanced at me before looking back at the Admiral.

"I'm not going to kill you, sir. But I could stun your ass and drag you out of that chair. I'd rather not do that in front of your daughter."

He looked at Carol.

"You all right?"

"Yes, Captain."

In that moment Khan jumped to his feet and knocked Scotty out.

"Jim!" Carol shouted at the same time as I shouted "Scotty!"

Khan attacked Jim while I ran over to my fiancé to make sure he was alright. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that he was just unconscious. Marcus made a bolt for the door. Khan marched up to him, shoving Carol out of the way and stomping down on her ankle, breaking it. Then he took Marcus' head between his hands and started pressing.

"You…" He growled. "You should have let me sleep."

Marcus' skull broke with a sickening crunching sound and Carol screamed. Khan hoisted Jim up, holding his arms behind his back and a phaser to his head as he hailed the _Enterprise_.

"I'm going to make this very simple for you." He said.

"_Captain._" I heard Spock say.

"Your crew for my crew." Khan continued.

"_You betrayed us._"

"You are smart, Mr. Spock."

"Spock, don't…" Jim started but Khan knocked him out with a beat of the phaser.

"Mr. Spock, give me my crew."

"_And what will you do when you get them?_"

"Continue the work we were doing before we were banished."

"_Which, as I understand it, involves the mass genocide of any being you find to be less than superior._"

"Shall I destroy you, Mr. Spock? Or will you give me what I want?"

Hatred burned inside me. Hatred against a man who had killed dozens of people, who had hurt the man I loved more than anything in the world and who was now threatening my family. I got up to my feet, slipping the Elder Wand into my right hand.

"_Khan._" I hissed, almost slipping into Parseltongue. "It took me more than fifteen years to hunt down and kill the last person who threatened my family. But believe me, I've gotten better since then. I have powers you know _nothing_ about."

"What could _you_ do to me?" Khan taunted. "Turn into a cat and scratch me?"

I didn't answer and gripped the Elder Wand more tightly.

"_We have no transporter capabilities._" Spock spoke up and I got the feeling he had a plan.

As much as I didn't want it I stepped back and put the Elder Wand back in its sheath in my sleeve. Khan turned back to the screen.

"Fortunately mine are perfectly functional. Drop your shields."

"_If I do so, I have no guarantee that you will not destroy the _Enterprise_._"

"Well, let's play this out, logically then, Mr. Spock. Firstly, I will kill your Captain to demonstrate my resolve. Then if yours holds, I will have no choice but to kill you and your entire crew."

I clenched my fists in anger, magic crackling around me and charging the air with static electricity. I just knew Spock was planning something and any interference from me might just destroy said plan.

"_If you destroy our ship, you will also destroy your own people._"

"Your crew requires oxygen to survive, mine does not. I will target your life support systems located behind the aft nacelle. And after every single person aboard your ship suffocates, I will walk over your cold corpses to recover my people."

I couldn't help the thought that in his twisted way Khan really cared for his crew.

"Now, shall we begin?"

"_Lower shields._"

"A wise choice, Mr. Spock. I see your seventy-two torpedoes are still in their tubes. If they are not mine, Commander, I will know it."

"_Vulcans do not lie. The torpedoes are yours._"

"Thank you, Mr. Spock."

"_I have fulfilled your terms. Now fulfil mine._" Spock demanded.

"Well, Kirk, it seems apt to return you to your crew." Khan said, just as Scotty came to. "After all, no ship should go down without her captain."

He didn't beam me away. I narrowed my eyes.

"Do you think you can keep me here just by not beaming me away?" I asked. "Wrong."

I apparated into the brig of the _Enterprise_ where I could feel Scotty. The _Vengeance_ opened fire on us. Scotty and Jim took Carol between them to help her to the med bay.

"_Crew of the _Enterprise_, prepare for imminent proximity detonation._" Spock's voice warned.

"What's he talkin' about? What detonation?" Scotty asked.

"The torpedoes. He armed the damn torpedoes!" Jim replied.

We could feel the shockwaves of the explosion lightly rumbling through the ground under our feet as we entered the med bay.

"Bones!" Jim called out.

"Nurse!"

A pair of nurses took Carol and we stepped up to Bones.

"Good to see you, Jim." Bones remarked.

"You helped Spock detonate those torpedoes?"

"Damn right I did."

"He killed Khan's crew!" Jim panted, turning to Scotty and me.

"Spock's cold, but he's not that cold." Bones replied. "I've got Khan's crew."

He gestured to a closed-off part of the med bay that held an array of cryo tubes.

"Seventy-two human popsicles safe and sound in their cryo tubes."

"Son of a bitch!"

In that moment all the lights went out. That could only mean that the central power grid was failing as well as apparently the auxiliary power. The ground beneath our feet tilted.

"We're caught in Earth's gravity!" I shouted.

An explosion rocked the ship and alarms blazed around us.

"Engage emergency lockdown!" Bones shouted, running over to the bed Carol was lying on and fastening a belt around her. "I hope you don't get seasick."

"Do you?"

"Yeah."

Evacuation protocols were initiated but Scotty, Jim and I didn't listen to them as we ran out of med bay.

"One day I've been off this ship!" Scotty ranted. "One bloody day!"

"Stop!" I shouted. "We need to go faster. Jim, we don't have time for me to explain. Just climb up, hold on, and don't pull any feathers out."

With that I changed into my griffin form.

"What the…"

Jim didn't get to finish as Scotty pulled him on my back behind him and I took off on a run. I spread my wings as the ship tilted again, managing to keep us in a horizontal position.

"There won't be time for evacuation if we don't get power to stabilise the damn ship!" Scotty shouted.

"Can we restore it?" Jim asked.

"Only from engineering. We have to get back to the warp core."

I landed and ran again, jumping over the entrance of another corridor without slowing down as I was forced to run on the wall. When we came to engineering the catwalks and stairs got too narrow for me to walk on so I simply took off in the air, carefully balancing the tilting motions of the _Enterprise_. Then I landed and changed back as soon as the men had climbed off my back. Chekov was there with us.

"Even if we get the warp core online, we've still got to redirect the power!" Scotty shouted over the loud hissing of the damaged machines.

"He's right, Keptin!" Chekov agreed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone has to hit the manual override." I explained.

"Laddie, there's a switch…" Scotty started.

"Behind ze deflector dish! I'll flip ze svitch!"

And he took off while we made our way to the warp core. We got to the station right next to it.

"_Core misaligned. Danger."_ The computer reported.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Scotty shook his head.

"What?" Jim asked panting.

"The housings are misaligned! There's no way we can redirect the power!"

I felt the exhaustion of not sleeping for more than 24 hours and constant running and using magic to keep me on my feet catch up with me.

_Not now!_ I thought frantically, knowing I was about to pass out.

My magical core felt drained and the last thing I heard was Scotty telling Jim that the _Enterprise_ was dead before everything around me went black.

* * *

_**A/N: I couldn't find a way to include Amy in the core scene without making it weird. I just don't want to reveal the whole Mistress of Death thing to the crew (including Scotty) yet. Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!**_


	4. Aftermath

_**A/N: Sooo… Can't say much about this. By the way, Death looks like Tom Hiddleston in the clothes Loki wore in Stuttgart. Hope you like it.**_

* * *

I opened my eyes to find myself in what looked like a living room. I was sitting in an armchair, a fire crackling in the fireplace. Two other chairs were standing there, the one next to me empty, the one across from me occupied by Death. A coffee table stood between the chairs, a tray with tea ready on it. Death smiled at me.

"Hello, Mistress. I see you have almost completely drained your core." He greeted me. "You could say your body went into emergency shutdown. Tea?"

There was no way of waking up before my core was recovered so I nodded.

"Milk and two sugars please." I said and took the cup offered by Death. "Are we expecting company?" I asked with a glance at the third chair.

"Your Captain Kirk is going to join us soon." Death replied, taking a sip of his tea.

I took a sip of my own and hummed at the taste. You just couldn't get decent tea in North America.

"I guess he's not really going to die as you didn't tell me about his impending death like you did with Pike."

"It's not his destiny and I don't really want Fate to get cross with me." Death explained.

I smirked. I knew he had a thing for Fate. After everything that happened with Voldemort Fate and I got along pretty well. I leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs.

"I guess everything is going to be as alright as possible under the circumstances." I sighed. "I saw many crew members die while we were hurtling down to earth."

"They are at peace, Amaryllis. You have had no part in their deaths as you weren't the one to destroy the core, causing the power to fail."

I nodded and was silent, sipping my tea. I knew Death was right but that didn't stop my hero complex from making me feel like I could have done more. A sigh escaped me and I shook my head just as the door opened and a reaper led Jim into the room. I smiled at the confused man.

"Jim. How nice of you to join us for tea." I said. "Have a seat."

Jim frowned and sat down in the empty chair.

"Jim, Death. Death, James T. Kirk." I introduced while pouring the tea. "Jim? Milk? Sugar?"

"Is this real?" Jim asked. "Or is it in my head?"

I smirked to myself, tempted to reply the same thing Dumbledore told me years ago but refrained from it. Instead I pushed a fresh cup of tea into Jim's hands and sat back.

"It is real, Jim." I said softly. "As real as the _Enterprise_ and Khan."

"Where are we then?"

"This place has many names." Death explained. "You might know it as Limbo."

"Limbo? So I'm dead?"

"Not yet. If you were you wouldn't be having tea with us." I shook my head. "We are just waiting for our bodies to recover. Death assured me that you're not going to die."

"What about you?"

"Let that be my concern. I drained my energy reserves so my body essentially went into emergency stop. Drink your tea, Jim, or it will get cold."

Jim blinked and took a sip of his tea. I just looked at him and waited for the inevitable question.

"What are you?" He finally asked. "I mean, you can change into that eagle-lion-thingy…"

"That was a griffin. The cat was me too, by the way." I told Jim with a smile. "I'm as human as you are, Jim. Just with a few… benefits."

"Benefits?"

"Powers." I clarified. "Powers that have been in humans since the beginning. Well, we're a minority of the human population, really. I think about ten percent or something."

"What kind of powers?"

"Do you believe in magic, Jim?"

"Magic like wand-waving, broom-riding, cauldron- stirring fairytale-witches?"

"Yes, like that. Maybe not exactly like the witches in fairytales. But we have robes and pointy hats and the whole thing. There's an entire hidden community of witches and wizards all over Earth with governments, schools, hospitals and sports."

"Why do you hide?" Jim seemed confused.

"Salem ringing any bells, Jim? In 1662 the International Confederation of Wizards signed the International Statue of Secrecy of the Wizarding World. Although the non-magical humans – we call them muggles, by the way – almost never caught a real witch or wizard and if they did most of them could easily escape the wizards from back then didn't want to take any risks." I explained. "This is why the entire magical community went into hiding under spells and wards to keep ourselves undetected by muggles. Advanced technology that isn't shielded short-circuits in areas if high magical density. I've shielded the entire _Enterprise_ and every bit of technology on board – including personal PADDs - during the repairs after the Nero incident. She's the only ship in the entire fleet that could withstand an army of witches and wizards as long as I'm alive."

Jim set his teacup down and sighed.

"Back on the _Vengeance_, what you told Marcus…"

"Three curses, Jim. They are known as the Unforgivables and outlawed. The Cruciatus activates all of your pain receptors at once. It feels as if liquid fire gets poured into your veins while you get stabbed by burning hot knifes. Five minutes under that curse and you will suffer after effects for months and nightmares of the pain for years. Ten minutes and you will suffer from the effects for the rest of your life. Fifteen minutes and your mind inevitably breaks, leaving you in an almost vegetable state. The Imperiatus controls your mind and actions. And the Death Curse is pretty self-explanatory."

"So… are you more a Glinda- or Wicked-Witch-of-the-West-type?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Really, Jim? Black or White? I consider myself more light grey. I don't like using dark spells but if it's necessary to save people I will do it."

"She has a temper worse than Fate." Death commented over his teacup and I shot him a glare.

"Says the guy who could kill every living thing in the universe with a thought but doesn't have the balls to ask the woman he has a major crush on out."

"This is surreal." Jim muttered.

"For me this is pretty normal." I shrugged.

"Amaryllis, Jim will wake up shortly." Death said.

I nodded to him and leaned forward.

"Jim, you can choose now: You can either forget about this thing, about me being a witch and we go back to what it was like before, or you keep the knowledge you gained here."

"Will something happen to me if I keep it?"

I smiled.

"No. Only your view of the world will maybe change a little. It's time for you to wake up now, Jim."

Jim faded from the room. I emptied my cup and rose from my seat.

"We'll see each other around, I guess." I told Death who just smiled and inclined his head to me before vanishing as I found my way back into my consciousness.

* * *

The first thing I got aware of was a warm, rough, calloused hand gently carding through my hair. There was the sound of a steadily beeping heart monitor but it was overlaid with something else… Scotty's voice. The familiar, loved Scottish burr was reciting Gaelic poetry, telling of heroes of old and their victories. Scotty's other hand was holding mine, rubbing small circles on its back. I opened the connection and stirred, causing the hand in my hair to stop and join the hand clutching mine. I blinked my eyes open and looked at Scotty, feeling his warm relief wash through me.

"Hey." I whispered, my voice hoarse and dry.

Scotty quickly grabbed a glass of water standing on the bedside table and gave it to me. I gulped the cool liquid down, feeling better now. I sunk back into the pillows.

"Don't ye dare scarin' me like that again, lass." Scotty scolded softly. "Ye just dropped there an' the connection slammed closed like the door of a teenager's room! What happened?"

"You know I didn't sleep before the whole Khan thing. Well, I pretty much used magic, which in its essence is pure energy, to keep me on my feet. I drained my magical core and my body essentially put itself into emergency shutdown. How long was I out?"

"About as long as Jim. Two weeks, lass."

"Not the longest time I've ever been unconscious." I shrugged. "Remind me to tell you the story of the Philosopher's Stone one day."

The door of the room hissed open and Bones entered, wearing a white hospital uniform with the Starfleet badge on it.

"Look who's back in the land of the livin'" He said in his gruff southern drawl. "Scotty was worried sick about you."

"Just needed to recharge my batteries." I replied. "I take it you caught Khan?"

"He's frozen again, now." Bones replied, taking a tricorder and waving it over me. "Jim that bastard almost got himself killed in the process. Your vitals are normal, you're physically completely fine."

"Does that mean you're clearing me?"

"No. You were unconscious for two weeks."

"I'm fine." I insisted.

"That's still my decision."

I huffed in irritation and crossed my arms.

"My God, you're worse than Jim. At least you're not allergic against ninety percent of the medication I could give you."

He shook his head and went to the door, intending on opening it when it opened from the outside and the twins came in, wearing the magenta jackets they always wore at the WWW shops. They gave me identical grins.

"It is wonderful to see you, Amy." George said.

"Absolutely marvellous." Fred added.

I laughed at Bones' expression.

"Fred, George, this is Dr. Leonard McCoy, the Chief Medical Officer of the _USS Enterprise_." I introduced. "Doctor, these are my brothers…"

"Gred and Forge Weasley, at your service." The twins said in perfect unison with an exaggerated, perfectly synchronised bow.

"How is our silent partner?" George asked.

"Will she -" Fred started.

"- ever be able-" George continued.

"- to play the violin again?" They finished together and I couldn't keep the broad grin off my face.

Bones sent me a helpless look.

"Yes, they're always like this." I answered the unspoken question.

The doctor shook his head in exasperation.

"I pity your parents." He said. "Raising those two must have been hell."

"We're not related by blood." I explained. "I'm an orphaned only child but the Weasleys treat me like one of their own. The people I call my brothers and sisters are my family in all but blood."

George suddenly slapped his forehead.

"We almost forgot the reason for our visit, Forge!" He exclaimed.

"Merlin, Gred, you're right! We brought something for you!"

With that they fetched a box from the hospital corridor.

"A Marauder Emergency Package."

"Including but not limited to the most essential pranking supplies, –"

"- Honeyduke's finest for the sweet tooth, -"

"- and a few of WWW's newest products exclusively for our silent partner to use first before they go to sale."

Bones left the room, still shaking his head. I grinned and accepted a tight hug from the twins.

"You planning on opening a side branch of WWW in San Francisco?" I asked. "Or why are you wearing your work jackets?"

"But of course, sister dear." Fred grinned.

"I'm sorry, Ames, but we have to go." George said.

"Running a big business, I know"

We shared another hug and then the twins were gone. Scotty turned back to me.

"I like the two but I'm glad we're alone again."

He leaned forward and kissed me to which I responded happily.

* * *

On Bones' orders I had to spend the next week in hospital. Scotty was always very reluctant to leave my side but I managed to get him to go sleep in the apartment. Thankfully Bones allowed me to have my PADD with me so I wouldn't die of boredom. I was also allowed to walk around the hospital and visited Pike one day. I was wearing one of those hospital gowns with a long, flowing, silken, willow green nightgown over it. I knocked, not expecting an answer.

"Come in!" My mentor's familiar voice called out.

I entered the room to find him sitting in the bed with pillows supporting him. He smiled warmly and beckoned me closer.

"I'm glad you're better, Uncle Chris." I said softly. "I heard it was a close call."

I sat down next to the bed.

"I heard you were unconscious for two weeks." He replied.

"I drained my core by using magic to keep me on my feet through the whole thing. That's why I passed out." I shrugged. "Scotty was worried sick, according to Bones – I mean Dr. McCoy."

"I can imagine. That poor man is head over heels in love with you." Chris chuckled.

I smiled.

"As I am with him. He's a wonderful, funny, intelligent man who doesn't see the Girl-Who-Lived, who doesn't see the daughter of James and Lily but _Amy_. He… he is much like you in that aspect. I mean, most people I meet who know who I am don't see past the scar, or mum's eyes."

I shook my head.

"And most muggles think I'm weak because of my stature."

"And they get taught a lesson if they manage to piss you off." Chris grinned. "I remember that one cadet who harassed you that one time in your second year. You broke his wrist because he wouldn't take his hand off your backside."

I grinned, remembering that particular incident.

"To be fair I told him three times to take his hand away if he wanted to keep it."

Chris chuckled.

"Whenever you're like that you remind me so much of Lily. She was a force to be reckoned with when angry."

"Sirius told me the same. 'Girls are scary, vicious and _do not play fair_.' He told Ron once."

Chris was full-on laughing now.

"I can imagine him saying that. He always had a knack for angering your mother."

I stayed for another half an hour and we talked about everything and nothing before I returned to my own room.

* * *

As soon as Bones cleared me to get out of hospital I threw my clothes on and left the place as quickly as possible. Having spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital wing at Hogwarts had made me _very_ distasteful of anything resembling a hospital. I knew I was a horrible patient but that didn't stop me. Scotty and I walked out into the fresh morning air and I smiled, looking at the clear blue sky above San Francisco. Scotty and I walked to our apartment. It felt very surreal, seeing the people around us go about with their lives when there had been a madman running through the city only weeks ago. I smiled when Scotty enthusiastically talked about the enhancements he would add to the _Enterprise_ during the repairs that would take much longer than last time since the _Vengeance_ had all but completely fried her.

"Lass?" He asked after we had been silent for a few moments.

"Hmmm?"

"I want ta get married before we start on that five-year-mission."

I blinked for a moment before smiling widely.

"Me too, Scotty." I replied. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Scotty grinned, picked me up and whirled me around before pulling me into a fierce kiss in the middle of a busy street in San Francisco. I heard some people go "awww" but ignored it completely in favour of the man I loved and the happiness we had together.

* * *

The next morning I woke up being spooned by Scotty who had buried his face in my hair and was murmuring in his sleep. My head rested on his right arm while his left arm was slung tightly around my waist, keeping me close to him. I sighed contently and closed my eyes again, snuggling closer. But my cosy morning was broken by the sound of claws tapping on the window. I groaned and reluctantly opened my eyes, looking over to the window to see an owl with the _Daily Prophet_ tied to its leg. I carefully wiggled out of my fiancé's grasp before padding over to the window on bare feet and opening it. The bird swooped in and landed on the drawer, sticking its leg out to me. I shook my head, taking the newspaper and paying. The owl ruffled its feathers and flew out of the window again. I was tempted to just set the newspaper aside and crawl back into bed to Scotty when my gaze landed on the moving picture that took up half of the front page. It showed Scotty and me the day before, kissing, smiling and generally being happy.

GIRL-WHO-LIVED SEEN WITH MYSTERY MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

The headline declared. My face twisted into a snarl.

"I'm going to kill her." I hissed when I saw the name of the journalist who wrote the article: _Rita Skeeter_.

"Lass?"

I turned to Scotty who frowned at me, obviously feeling and seeing my anger.

"They can't let me live my life without plastering it across the headlines!" I exclaimed, throwing the _Prophet_ on the bed. "And I thought I had gotten that damn harpy of a woman to never publish anything about me again."

Scotty picked the newspaper up and skimmed over the article that was shamelessly blown up and filled with rumours while I paced in front of the bed.

"That's a load of bullshit." Scotty commented, tossing the paper aside and standing up.

He wrapped his arms around me and I sighed, leaning my head against his chest to hear is heartbeat.

"You should have seen the lies she spread about me when I was fourteen and fifteen. According to her I had slept my way through half of the male population of Hogwarts." I mumbled. "She made me out to be a fame-seeking whore. Then Hermione found out she was an unregistered Animagus – yes, Animagi have to be registered at the Ministry to make sure they don't abuse their ability – and threatened to alert the Ministry if Skeeter ever published anything like that about one of us ever again. That reminds me…"

I pulled my communicator out and dialled Hermione.

"Mione? Have you read the _Prophet_ of today yet?"

"_Already at it, Amy. Don't worry. I'll tear that woman apart. We've stopped any more copies from being delivered or sold."_

"You're the best, Mione. Tear that harpy to the ground until she's got nothing left."

"_You bet on that."_

I ended the call and let out a deep breath.

"I'm lucky to have friends like Hermione. She and Ron stood by my side through all the shit that happened ever since I entered the magical world."

Scotty just held me tighter, letting me feel his support.

"I'm sorry for pulling you into my problems with the magical press. I told you what they were like to me. After the War I released a press statement with the help of Ironclaw. He still helps me whenever I have problems with publicity."

"It's nae a problem, lass. I signed up for this when I asked ye ta marry me."

I smiled and took a deep breath of Scotty's unique scent before pulling out of his embrace.

"Well, now we're fully awake, anyway." I remarked. "We're not needed at the moment. That means I can start preparations for our wedding."

"Do ye need ta?"

"Scotty, this is going to be a half-magical wedding. As far as I'm aware your family knows nothing about magic. Which means I'm going to have to make sure the wedding doesn't break the Statue of Secrecy. I need to oversee all the preparations." I grinned and pecked his lips. "Don't worry, I won't become bride-zilla."

Scotty grinned back and pulled me in for a deeper kiss.

"Never said ye would."

I smiled.

"I'll tell everyone that we want to get married soon. As soon as Hermione's done with Skeeter she'll probably start organising the hell out of our wedding." I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. "You should have seen her organise her own wedding."

Scotty laughed and I smiled softly before pulling out of his embrace. I quickly got dressed and started making breakfast for the two of us.

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you liked it. Reviews are love. 'Till next chapter!**_


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