The Forever Mage

A Harry Potter/Star Trek Crossover

By Darth Marrs

Author's Note:

Star Trek's future history is a bit of a conundrum for fans. When Gene Roddenberry first penned the series in the 1960s, he could not have possibly imagined it would be around decades later, especially not as the popular franchise it eventually became. So the dates of the most formative events in his "Future History" have long since come and gone.

Most notable of these are the Eugenics Wars, which according to Roddenberry were fought in the 1990s and featured the genetically augmented Khan Noonien Singh, who in 1992 was absolute ruler of a quarter of the planet from Asia to the Middle East. People followed him because of his strength, intelligence, mesmerizing voice, and the most awesome pecs ever.

For the purpose of this story, I've chosen to honor these dates as an alternate history to our own. Within context of the Harry Potter stories, I think this is doable. Nothing in HP specifically contradicts the events of ST history, since Harry's story takes place almost solely in wizarding England and much of the Eugenics War was fought in Asia and Africa. I did however have to nudge Khan's fall back a few years from 1996 to 1999. There are one or two other small changes to Star Trek canon to better fit the story. I'll try to notate them as I go along.

This particular story takes place in 2392. The use of Stardates for the purpose of this story is restricted to active duty Starfleet while Earth civilians still generally use the modern calendar. To put it in perspective, Voyager ended 2378. The Battle of Cadassia Prime which ended Deep Space 9 occurred in 2375. I'm avoiding stardates because in reality no one, not even Gene Roddenberry himself, knew what the hell stardates actually were. Producers literally made up numbers based any given season of TNG. This story will not take into account the further alternate history created by the events of JJ Abrams' Star Trek or any novels, since the evil B&B Twins (Berman and Braga) discarded written canon (or even established canon) at will.

Also, please note that this is a sequel of sorts to my story Harry Potter and the Four Founders in so far as Harry had five wives and the plot device at the end of Four Founders is the same device used to deliver Harry to the far future. You don't have to read the first to enjoy this. However, it couldn't hurt. I mention this because if you wanted to read Four Founders, there will be spoilers for it. However, I cannot stress enough for fans of Four Founders that this is a completely different type of story. If there was one word I could use for this fic, it would be Bittersweet. It does not contain any of the crack!fic elements from Four Founders and is generally more dramatic in nature. It also has a more sedate pace.

One last thing, and I'm sorry for these many notes. This story is rated M. There will probably be some sex. FYI. Also, I don't own either the Star Trek properties or Harry Potter. This is a work of fanfiction with no intention for sale or profit. Thank you.


Chapter One: Memento Mori

"Sweetie, you don't have to do this. It's morbid," Jennifer Chamberlain said.

Susan looked from her mother to her father, and then down at the urn that contained Grams' ashes. "She asked me to."

Susan's father Peter shook his head. "She asked you to take her ashes across the planet and dump them in a lake next to an old ruin." He sniffed and looked at Jennifer. "It's always your side of the family.

Jennifer slapped his shoulder playfully. "At least mine has personality. Your family reunions feel like they've been pre-recorded and we're forced to watch the playback in slow motion."

Susan snickered despite herself. "I love them, but your family is kind of slow, dad," she said.

"Well, something good must have come from it, miss future Daystrom Institute analyst."

Susan blushed and looked back down at the urn. "Well, are you sure you're okay with this?"

"It's no worse than last summer when you went to Tycho City," Susan's mother said. "At least this year you're staying on the ground. I'm not very happy about that stipulation in the will about the alcohol, though."

This time, Susan grinned. "Good old Grams. Those Scots knew how to throw a party. Thanks for the permission slip. They wouldn't transport me with it otherwise."

The three of them looked up as the rest of their party arrived at the transport hub. Diana Boxing was at the forefront, laughing at something Mary Caraough had said. The two walking together were a striking pair. Diana was petite, with classically porcelain skin that she despised and bright strawberry blonde hair framing an oval, heavily freckled face. Beside her, Mary's dark skin was a sharp contrast, though her features were Gallic, as were her green eyes. The girls' parents came behind, carrying their backpacks.

Close behind Mary came Katherine Dunningham, flanked by her mother, Commander Marilyn Dunningham, who was home on extended shore leave from Starfleet. Like her mother, Katherine was the tallest of the group with shoulder-length blonde hair and laughing blue eyes that looked out from a tanned face.

Staring at these girls, Susan realized that they were the best friends she was likely to ever have, and that this was probably going to be the last time they were all together like this.

The parents made their polite greetings while Mary, Diana and Katherine formed a little circle around the urn. "This is so strange," Katherine said. "She asked for the four of us by name?"

Susan nodded. "But she also asked that we toast her with traditional Scottish whiskey. My parents signed the release. I have a big bottle of Glenfiddich in my pack."

Katherine grinned while the other two girls shared a giggle.

"So where is it we're going?" Mary asked.

"That, girls, is the surprise," Susan said. "Grams asked that her ashes be thrown to the wind on the shores of a lake by the ruins of a haunted castle in Scotland." She glanced over their shoulders at their parents. "In fact, it's the most haunted castle in the world."

Mary's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Yes. Girls, we're going to Hogwarts."

* * *

No one knew how old Grams was. It came as a shock that the flier for her memorial did not have a date of birth. It was known that she was well over a century old, though. When Susan asked, her mother smiled and said, "Susan, your grandmother called her Grams too. The only reason she isn't listed as the oldest biological human alive is because all her birth records were lost."

As old as Grams was, though, she always welcomed Susan during her mid-term school breaks with exuberance. "The woman has enough grandchildren to fill a space cruiser," Peter once complained. "Why is Susan the only one she ever has over?"

Jennifer Chamberlain would almost smile when her husband asked them and would run a finger through Susan's curly auburn hair. "Because our little girl is special," she would say.

Susan would blush and smile prettily, and then wonder herself why Grams always seemed so much more excited to see her than any of the rest of her huge family. Of the people at her memorial, over one hundred had claim to be descendents. And although all of them had at one time or another visited Grams, Susan was the only one who had been to Grams' house in Scotland more than once. She was also the only one to bring friends to stay for a while.

Susan still remembered that day when Grams met her best friends. The ancient eyes lit up in absolutely delight as she shook their hands. "Such a pleasure to meet you!" she insisted as she showed them in. "Such special girls!"

If it weren't for the fact that they all felt so perfectly at ease with both Gram and the house, it would have seemed a little creepy.

Grams lived outside of Edinburgh in a small town called Cramond. While it was always too cold in winter and the days way too long in summer, Susan always enjoyed her visits. Grams house was…peaceful. The house simply felt right for some reason. It felt as if when she walked through the door the house itself welcomed her. Her friends reported feeling the same way.

And now, Grams had appointed her with this one, final task. Take her ashes to Scotland and spread them over the lake. There was another task in a sealed packet stuffed in her back, with explicit instructions not to open until she reached her final destination.

"Are you girls ready?" Commander Dunningham said.

Katherine's mother was a stern-faced woman who had all of Katherine's beauty without the younger girl's smile or charm.

When the girls nodded, the commander handed each of them a small tube the size of their thumbs. "Emergency beacons," she explained. "Just throw them in your backpacks. If you have an accident while hiking, just thumb the switch and help will be there instantly."

"Thank you, Marilyn," Susan's mother said. "We should have thought of that."

Commander Dunningham shrugged. "My husband assures me that it's paranoia. However, I like to call it being prepared."

"Thanks, Mother," Katherine said. She did not hug the woman; rather they shook hands like casual acquaintances. Diana, however, turned and wrapped her mother in a huge. Mary did the same with her parents, both of whom had come to the hub.

"Chamberlain, party of four. Transport in five minutes." The announcement rang through the hub.

Susan turned and hugged her mother. "Thank you for letting me do this."

Jennifer Chamberlain gave her daughter a kiss. "It always tickled me the way you hit it off with Grams. She was a very special woman, and the fact she thought so very much of you proves that you are too. Have fun. Seize this moment. The memories you make will be with you forever."

"I know, Mom," Susan said. "Love you." She gave her dad a peck on the cheek. "Love you too, Dad."

"Me too, sweetie," he said.

With final farewells, the four girls walked across the floor toward the public transporter. They waited their turn, and when their names were called they stepped onto the platform. Susan gave her parents one last wave before San Francisco disappeared in a flash of white light.

They arrived a split second later. When they left, it was an abysmal five in the morning. When they arrived in Edinburgh, it was one in the afternoon. Rather than get started to Hogwarts, they took a public tram up to Cramond.

Grams' house was exactly like Susan remembered it. She slipped in the key she was given at the will reading and opened the door.

The furniture was covered in white sheets, but it did not appear anything had been moved. "Did she really leave this to you?" Katherine asked as the other girls stepped in behind her.

"She did," Susan said, breathing in the familiar smells of the house. It did not smell dusty despite sitting vacant for a month. Instead it smelled like fresh-baked bread; of honey and thyme and cedar. It smelled like Grams. "Mom said I had more than a few distant cousins who were not happy about it. Someone even flew in from Proxima for the will reading. Grams had a lot of assets."

"You mean money?"

"For what good it did," Susan said with a shrug.

There was a common misconception among some members of the Federation that Earth did not use money. In point of fact that was false. Earth and the other core Federation planets had a vibrant financial credit system. However, with essentials such as food, transportation and even basic housing provided free to all residents and a standard income levy of 50%, money was simply not as important as it once was. It was the very rare person who accumulated wealth for the sake of being wealthy. Individuals with such competitive spirits usually found themselves recruited into Starfleet, where their competitive natures were put to better use. Wealth bought very little that people couldn't get for free if needed.

"Susan, look!" Diana said.

Susan followed her hand into the spacious kitchen of the centuries-old house. A large piece of paper sat on the counter with a hand written note.

Susan couldn't help but feel her eyes water as she read a message from the dead.

"What's it say?" Mary said.

Susan cleared her throat. "It said that all four of us should consider this our home when we need it. That we are all welcome." She smiled at her three best friends. "I think she liked you girls as much as I do."

"I hope so," Katherine said with a shudder. "I'd hate to think she didn't adore me."

"Everyone adores you," Mary told her.

"Even you?" Katherine said, battering her lashes outrageously. "Give me a kiss?"

"Stuff it, you," Mary said with a laugh. They stopped laughing as they again looked at the letter. "So, Susan, think we can really look around?"

Susan very carefully folded up the letter and slipped it into the pocket of her slacks. "I don't see why not. Let's go."

Their exploration unearthed many unexpected treasures. For one, Grams' garden was awash with more plants than anyone of them had ever seen, even at the Federation Gardens. It helped that the house rested on a solid acre of property backing up to the sea. That late in the summer at that latitude, they had plenty of sunlight with which to explore. They found trunks and trunks of clothes from almost every era the girls could imagine. They found first edition books from hundreds of years ago, and collections of old media of types even Mary the historian had a hard time figuring out.

However, what Susan was most interested in was a photo album that she found atop a white sheet-covered coffee table in the music room. It was hugely thick, and creaked when she opened it up. She sat on the couch behind the table, across from the piano that dominated most of the room.

Eventually, Diana, who of the three was Susan's closest friend, sat down beside her and watched her as she looked at the contents. "Er, Sue, why are all the pictures of girls?"

"I was just wondering that," Susan admitted. The other girls wandered in and, curiosity set, came over and stuffed themselves onto the sheet-covered couch beside the first girls.

"Wow," Mary whispered. "Look at the date on that picture."

Susan looked and bit her lip. The date read 2101. "Yeah, saw that."

"That was in the middle of the Post Atomic Horror," Mary whispered. The young historian pointed to another picture. "That one says 2120. That one 2123. Turn the page."

Susan did so, trying in the meantime to hide the tremor in her hands. She felt a strange sense of fear and anticipation, but she didn't know why. The writing was all in her Grams' flowery script and seemed as old as the pictures. One picture with the date 2207 was circled with a large star. But underneath it was another note hastily written in pencil. "No others found."

Down through the ages they flipped. All the pictures looked like they were of girls in ages from sixteen to eighteen—in other words, the ages of Susan and her friends.

"Susan, you know, this is sort of creepy," Katherine said. "What's this book about?"

"I don't know," Susan admitted.

They found another picture from 2256 circled. Again it was accompanied by a note. This time it said, "Only one other. Not enough!!!"

So it went, page after page of hundreds and hundreds of girls. As they approached modern times, Susan began to recognize names. Distant elderly cousins and aunts. Her grandmother. Her mother.

The very last page held just one picture. It was of a girl with curly auburn hair, a heart-shaped face and a nose a tad too long to be considered truly beautiful. Intelligent hazel eyes stared out with a slight smile, as if she held a secret no one else knew.

It was Susan's school picture from three years ago, when she was fifteen.

Her hand shook as she touched it. The picture had three red-ink circles drawn around it. And underneath were names.

Diane Boxing, Phoenix.

Mary Caraough, Paris

Katherine Dunningham, San Francisco.

"Susan," Katherine whispered. "How well did your Grams know us?"

"Before last year, she didn't know you at all."

Diane reached down and touched the words that held her name. "Mum decided to move to 'Cisco out of the blue. Just one day she said she wasn't happy in Phoenix any more. Said the sun was bad for my skin. She never explained why."

"My parents wanted to open a restaurant," Mary said. When she was truly emotional, a little bit of her French ancestry showed through. At the moment, she sounded as if she were still in Paris. "I never understood why they chose San Francisco. The city already has several good French restaurants."

"Look at the date."

"Twenty-three eighty-nine," Susan said. "The year we met each other."

"The year we became friends," Katherine echoed. She looked up at the others, wide-eyed. "Susan, did your Grams have something to do with us meeting each other?"

"I don't see how she could have," Susan said. "Or even why she would have. And she didn't make us become friends." She closed the book. "We did that all on our own. And it's not like she's asked us to do anything… Oh, wait. She did."

She stood abruptly and walked across to the floor by the kitchen where they had left their backpacks. She pulled out the box with the writing on it. "She left this with the urn," she explained to the other girls. "It says not to open it until we get to Hogwarts."

"To hell with that," Katherine said. "I'm not going anywhere until I find out why there are three hundred year's worth of pictures of young girls with your Grams' handwriting under them, and why she happened to know where we lived three years ago."

When her other two friends nodded their agreement, Susan opened the package, which was heavier than it looked. She up-ended it over the table and four things fell out. The first was a heavy metal cross that landed against the table with a loud thunk. The cross looked as if it had been exposed to extreme temperature and was even sharpened and cracked at one end.

The second item was a book that appeared to have been retrieved from a fire. The third item was a wooden stick perhaps 40 centimeters in length. It appeared to be ornately carved with bulbs every few centimeters until it came to a narrow point.

The last item was a holographic disk.

"Well?" Katherine demanded.

"I'm being silly," Susan admitted as she wiped suddenly sweaty hands against her slacks. She placed the plate-sized disk on the floor, activated it and sat back down with her friends. She smiled despite the situation when she felt three arms reach across her back to comfort her.

Suddenly Grams stood before them, withered and bent over with extreme age. Yet her voice was young and lively when she said, "Caught you! I knew you wouldn't wait before you opened that box!"

Susan couldn't help it. She laughed, and the other girls relaxed a little.

"I'm sure by now you've explored the house," Margaret said. "And you've found the picture book. I left it out for you. I figured if you didn't find it, your friend Mary would have. I've been waiting for you a long time, Susan. For you and your friends. You could say waiting for you was the only thing that kept me alive all these years. And when I found you, I knew that rest would come soon."

"Grams," Susan whispered.

"I can't tell you everything, dear, because some things must be experienced to be believed. But I want you to know that you and your friends are special. Each of you embodies a special trait. Katherine, you are brave and bold, and willing to take risks others are not. The fact a berth at Starfleet Academy is waiting for you is proof of that courage. Diana, sweet child, you are the most loyal girl I have ever known. When you stayed with Mary during her mother's illness, it was done so with no thought to yourself. I have a feeling you would gladly die for any of your friends, if you had to. And it is this same loyalty that has caused you to feel so lost and torn when thinking about your future. You realize you're going to lose your friends to their careers, and the thought fills you with dread."

"How'd she know about mother's illness?" Mary said.

"How'd she know I stayed with you?" Diana asked more quietly. "Or what I was thinking?"

"And you, Mary, are brilliant in your studies. The many invitations you've had for archeological societies and the multitude of languages is ample evidence that you are a born scholar."

"And you, my sweet Susan, you are ambitious and cunning without being cruel or selfish. You seek to better yourself and your friends. Although Katherine gives you courage, Mary gives you thoughtfulness and Diana gives you loyalty, it is your ambition that drives the four of you. Together, you make each other better people."

Grams paused, as if debating something with herself. "You should know, Susan, that I am not actually a blood relation to you or any of your family. My children were adopted. I was rendered sterile by the same method that allowed me to live so very long. And I have lived a long time—longer than anyone on this planet. I remember when the first Vulcans arrived. I saw Colonel Green."

She took a deep breath. "I hid in the attic of this very house when his soldiers took my grand mum away. Know that I have been waiting for these many centuries for you, and your friends. The contents of the box are the only heirlooms I have from my family. I want them to be left at Hogwarts with my ashes. I am the last of my family, and there is one last thing I would ask of you. Though the book was badly burned, I've marked one page that survived. It is an old ritual to celebrate the end of a family bloodline. Sort of like the memorial you had to remember me, this ritual will be a memorial to remember my family, of which I am the last. But it requires four young women of loving hearts and pure souls. And that's why I've waited so long. Because all four of you are as loving as any children I have ever known, and your souls are pure.

"Do this ritual for me. Let my family rest finally in peace. Do this, and all that I own will be yours. I love you, little Sue."

The image faded, only to come back a moment later. "And in case you're parents said no to the whiskey, look in the cellar. Love you."

"I wonder if she means we're virgins," Mary said into the sudden silence.

"Like Katherine's a virgin," Susan muttered, blushing despite herself. "What about Edward?"

"Hugged me and cried," Katherine admitted. "Got half way there. He saw my boobs and just withered like a plant."

"You're joking!" Mary said, aghast. "He looked so delicious. I wouldn't have made him cry."

"What about Krang?" Diana asked the dark-skinned girl.

"He was Klingon!" Mary said in horror.

"I'm told they're very well endowed," Susan noted.

"I don't want my first time to rip me open," Mary exclaimed. "Besides, he was a jerk. Kept wanting to show me his bat'leth."

"I bet he did," Katherine giggled.

The girls all laughed, until finally Diana said, "How did Grams know we were all virgins? I mean, all of us are seventeen, except for Susan who just turned eighteen. We're all cute. I mean, you three are just gorgeous. That's not normal, isn't it? Outside of you three, everyone else I know has had sex before."

"Yeah," Susan said. "What else is there to do? After a while everything gets kind of boring. No risks, nothing really exciting. So all the girls do it as soon as they can. Why not? Can't get pregnant on prevshots. Can't get any diseases. Just need a willing boy."

"Wish it were that easy," Mary said. "There are lots of willing boys. It's me who's been unwilling."

Katherine shrugged. "I was willing."

Diana smiled. "I knew Edward wasn't right for you."

"Should have told me and saved me the embarrassment of having my boobs cried on."

"I did tell you," Diana said. "You told me I was just jealous."

"Yeah, because every girl wants to get their boobs cried on," Mary said.

Susan looked at their laughing faces. She had known each of them for only three years, but it felt as if she had known them for her whole life. "Do you realize that after the summer term we're going to be finished with formal schooling? And what have we done so far? Tycho City was a joke. There wasn't anything really exciting there. Everything was kept perfectly safe. Nothing truly exciting."

"Until now," Katherine said.

"Until now," Susan agreed. "Because tomorrow morning we going to hike across the Scottish moors to the only place on Earth classified by rated psionics as truly haunted, to perform a ritual celebrating the end of my Grams' family."

"At the request of a woman," Mary added, "who, if she was telling the truth, remembers seeing the worst mass-murderer in history over three hundred years ago."

Katherine stood up. "I'm going to find that cellar, and I'm going to get drunk."