Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Fusion of Destinies ❯ Where No Wizard Has Gone Before ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Fusion of Destinies
a Harry Potter/Metroid crossover
Chapter 9: Where No Wizard Has Gone Before
12-5-2005
by Grey

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series and all of its characters are the creation and property of J. K. Rowling. Samus Aran and the Metroid series are the creation and property of Nintendo, and was originally masterminded by Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) .

This fic is dedicated to Razor Knight and CubedCinder128, whose support gave me the confidence I needed to write this thing.

"Space is your heritage. See that you prove worthy of such a glorious gift." - The Watcher, Fantastic Four #13

Arthur Weasley looked up and out of the fireplace in Albus Dumbledore's office, staring disbelievingly up at the headmaster and at his wife and Alastor Moody, who stood at his side. His neck felt very sore and hot, and his legs still ached from another night of guard duty, and kneeling in front of the fireplace back at Grimmauld Place wasn't helping matters any.

Ugh, I never liked this method of communication, thought Mr. Weasley dryly. Muggle fellytones are much easier. Less strain on the legs and neck, that's for sure. Out loud, he said, "So, that's what's been going on? You're serious? Harry was infected with some space parasite from the future?"

"Yes. Some dark wizard is planning to use these things as a weapon," growled Moody. "And I think this little caper has You-Know-Who written all over it."

"I-I'm not so sure," spoke up Mrs. Weasley, who had been silent up until now. "We've been keeping track of You-Know-Who's followers and we haven't seen anything that would point to something like this. It still looks like their main goal is getting into the Department of Mysteries. Those Extendable Ears my boys made have come quite in handy, I'll have to admit," she finished with a sly grin.

"But if Samantha... err, Samus, was right about them being in the Chamber of Secrets, that alone should convince you," said Moody. "Who else would know about that godforsaken place, and be able to open it?"

"Not necessarily, Alastor," said Dumbledore calmly. "If Tom could figure out the location of the Chamber, then someone else might have as well. And as for opening it, I would wager that a single X parasite could merely transform into a serpent and then order the entrance to open. Remember, Harry Potter is not the Heir of Slytherin, but he can still open the Chamber."

Mr. Weasley stared up at his fellow Order members, not sure of what to make of their arguments. "Right now, this is all speculation," he said suddenly. "It doesn't really matter whether You-Know-Who is behind it or not. What's important is that the Order puts a stop to it. What's our next move?"

Dumbledore looked back down at Mr. Weasley, his face screwed up in concentration. "Once Samus returns from the Chamber, she intends to find and repair this ship of hers," he said at length. "With it, she'll release Severus's special potion into Earth's atmosphere and safeguard all life on the planet. He and Minerva are busily working on making enough of the potion as we speak."

"And then what?" asked Mr. Weasley. "We still won't be any closer to finding out who's responsible or where these X are."

"That's where you will come in, my friend," replied Dumbledore kindly.

"Me?" gasped Mr. Weasley, truly shocked. "What can I do?"

"You can help me," said Dumbledore. "The way in which Harry's life was saved served as an inspiration; it was a combination brilliant potioneering and scientific know-how. I believe that such a fusion of disciplines will work in our favor again. And for that, I believe I will need the help of someone who's experienced at using charms and enchantments on Muggle machinery. I can think of no one better than you."

Mr. Weasley simply stared up at Dumbledore for a moment, unsure of what to say. He didn't consider himself much of an expert when it came to Muggles and their machines; he still couldn't quite figure out how jet planes worked. But he knew it was his duty to try. "Alright, I'll see what I can do," he finally said.

"Splendid. When can you easily reach Hogwarts without drawing attention?"

"Well, I do have the weekend off, and I don't have guard duty again until next Monday," said Mr. Weasley. "I'll fly in early on Saturday."

"We'll talk again at that time, and when Molly returns to headquarters, she'll tell you what I plan to do. I'd rather not discuss it when communicating via a fireplace," said Dumbledore. "Speaking of which, I believe you should go now. There's no telling how long the charm that's keeping the Ministry unaware of this chat will last."

"I understand," was all Mr. Weasley said. And then, with a small pop, his head vanished from the fireplace.

When her husband had gone, Mrs. Weasley turned to Dumbledore. "Are you sure Arthur will be able to help? You're asking him to tinker with something far beyond Muggle cars. He may not even know where to begin..."

Dumbledore held up a hand. "I am aware of that," he said calmly. "But he is more knowledgable about this field than any other Order member, except perhaps Sirius Black, and I know he won't let me down."

"Maybe we should have Samus help you too," spoke up Moody as he lumbered over to Fawkes's cage. "She says she's from an era centuries from now, right? The machines we have now should be no problem for her."

"As undeniably brilliant as she is, she still has virtually no knowledge of the intricate workings of magic," said Dumbledore sadly. "I doubt she'd be able to help us with this."

"You still seem awfully willing to confide in Samus, Mad-Eye," said Mrs. Weasley. "That's not like you. You're suspicious of everyone."

"Of course I'm suspicious of her! You didn't see what kind of power she let loose on those parasites. I did!" snapped Moody as he stared at the phoenix. "But she IS the one brought to this time that knows how to fight these parasites, and her blood saved Potter. So for now, I'll conisder her an ally. Besides, I must admit that I like this 'one-woman army' style of hers."

"Thank you, Moody," came a stern yet feminine voice from the doorway. "Usually, I don't endear myself very well among old war horses."

All of the them turned to see Samus Aran standing in the doorway. And leaning against her was Harry Potter, who had a dazed look in his eyes and looked as if he would collapse at any moment. Samus had her left arm around him, holding him up. "My dear, it's been over an hour," said Dumbledore, surprised by Samus's sudden arrival. "I take it you've thoroughly searched the Chamber of Secrets?"

Samus nodded. "And it was crawling with X-hosts. Thankfully, it looks like we were able to wipe them all out. We went through all the areas more than once, and after we eliminated the X-Core, things went a lot more smoothly."

"An X-Core?" said Moody curiously. "What's that?"

"And extremely powerful X parasite that can mimic massive creatures. This one mimicked a basilisk," explained Samus. Dumbledore and the others all let out a collective gasp. Samus knew that the prospect of there having been another basilisk lurking underneath Hogwarts would truly be horrifying for them.

"Wait a minute... 'we were able to wipe them all out'?" repeated Mrs. Weasley hotly. "Are you telling me that Harry went in there with you?"

"Argh, not so loud!" cried out Harry as he broke away from Samus's hold. He staggered aimlessly over to Fawkes's cage, and Moody grabbed hold of him to keep him from falling.

Samus turned to glare at Mrs. Weasley. She resented how Mrs. Weasley implied that she willingly let Harry put himself in danger. "Against my recommendations, I assure you," she said sharply. "He followed me in, and I could tell that there would be no dissuading him, so I kept him close to me and made sure he stayed safe. Actually, he turned out to be very helpful. I doubt things would have gone as smoothly had I gone at it alone."

"But if you did such a good job taking care of him, what's wrong with him now?" barked Moody, who was still holding onto Harry. Harry looked as if he had just swallowed a Puking Pastille.

"Well, my method of flying us out of the Chamber didn't exactly agree with Harry," said Samus. That was another reason she regretted that Harry had followed her. She knew carrying Harry while space jumping back up the pipe would make him extremely dizzy.

"I'm alright now, though," said Harry hoarsely as he stood up. "The room's stopped spinning, for the most part."

"Now that Mr. Potter's dizzy spell has passed, I believe we can get down to business," said Dumbledore flatly. "Severus should have the potion completed soon, and Minerva will ensure that we can get you as much as you need. But we still must find your ship."

"Then I'll go and look for it right now. I don't like the idea of having left it buried for over three months," said Samus, feeling insanely guilty. In that ship was all that remained of Adam Malkovich, and the knowledge that he lay entombed all this time while she was stricken with amnesia was more than a little unsettling.

"I'll go with you," said Harry softly. "I want to see this ship of yours, and meet Ad..." He broke off when Samus glared at him. He realized that he shouldn't go blabbing about personal secrets that she had wanted to reveal only to him.

"Harry, you shouldn't. You've been through too much already and you must be exhausted," said Mrs. Weasley with a tone of motherly concern. "Besides, in a few hours classes will begin, and you already missed a whole day's worth of work."

"It shouldn't take me very long to find the ship and get it up and running," said Samus. "I can probably have him back in the castle well before school starts."

"And I don't feel the least bit tired, anyway," said Harry truthfully. He had absorbed so many X parasites down in the Chamber of Secrets, he felt as if he had enough energy to keep him going for another twenty-four hours.

"Still, it's not a good idea to go traipsing around in the Forbidden Forest at night..." Mrs. Weasley began.

"I brought him out of the Chamber of Secrets unscathed," cut in Samus. "I think I can handle whatever's in that forest."

"Normally, I would insist that school rules be followed," said Dumbledore. "However, since you are technically still part of the staff of Hogwarts, I feel as if it is not a violation of the rules if you accompany Mr. Potter."

Mrs. Weasley looked aghast after Dumbledore settled the manner. However, Harry turned and looked up at Samus, smiling appreciatively. It meant a lot to him to know there was at least one adult besides Sirius who didn't insist on keeping him out of the loop. "Let's go then, Harry," said Samus eagerly, and the two hastily left Dumbledore's office.

Shortly after they left, Dumbledore spoke up again. "I think it's time I checked on Severus's progress again. Furthermore, I believe it's time that the two of you return to headquarters. It would look extremely suspicious if Umbridge or any of the students saw you here now that Harry's no longer ill."

"Understood. We'll be keeping an extra close eye on all the Death Eaters from now on," muttered Moody as he lumbered away from Fawkes's cage and followed Mrs. Weasley out of the office.

"I swear, I don't care how many weapons she's got in that suit. If she lets Harry get hurt..." muttered Mrs. Weasley derisively as she walked down the stairs.

Soon Dumbledore left as well, and the only occupant left in his office was his phoenix, Fawkes. Right now, it looked just as it did that night it rushed to Harry's side over two years ago. Fawkes did not mind being left alone, and decided to take a quick nap...

But a strange noise made Fawkes awaken from its light sleep. Something that sounded like the oozing of some noxious liquid. Its gaze darted wildly around the office, looking for anything unusual. But after a few moments, Fawkes couldn't find anything, so it slowly drifted back to sleep.

A few seconds later, it was awakened again, this time by the sound of its cage being thrust open. Fawkes opened its eyes, and saw what looked like Harry Potter standing in front of the cage. Only now, he was unclothed and his eyes had a fierce, yellow-green glow.

Before Fawkes could do anything, the being that looked like Harry Potter lashed out and grabbed it by the neck. Soon after that, Fawkes blacked out.

The darkness looming over the Forbidden Forest bordered on oppressive, as always, and the light from Harry's wand seemed extremely weak, barely able to illuminate the path before them. Harry realized that it would be much easier to search the forest during the day, but dawn wouldn't come for another few hours, and time was of the essence. Finding Samus's ship was crucial to stopping the X.

As for Samus, she followed close behind Harry, carefully surveying their surroundings and having her arm cannon at the ready at all times. Before this, she had only ventured out of the castle and into the forest a total of four times, and was unsure of what to expect. Still, she wasn't the least bit fearful. She had been through terrain far more foreboding than this. This place is nothing compared to the dark version of Torvus. Now THAT was noxious, she thought to herself.

"Think we're getting any closer?" whispered Harry shakily. The memory of his run-in with Aragog's family was still fresh in his mind. Thankfully, they were far away from Aragog's territory.

"According to Dumbledore, Snape and Hagrid found me somewhere around this area of the forest," replied Samus. "I'm betting my escape pod was jettisoned a few seconds prior to touchdown. It shouldn't be too far away."

They continued on their way, carefully looking for any signs of a ship being buried; upturned earth, mangled trees, anything. However, for several more minutes, their search remained fruitless.

Then, just as Samus's patience began to ebb, she noticed something. At least a half a dozen somethings were registering on her radar, completely surrounding the two of them. "Harry, on your toes. We've got company," she warned.

Harry looked around nervously, trying to spot whatever Samus was picking up. He was expecting to see more Space Pirates step into his wandlight from behind those towering trees. But after listening carefully, he could make out a familiar sound, something he heard during his first trip into the forest: the sound of hooves hitting the dirt. "Centaurs," he muttered.

One by one, the centaurs revealed themselves, stepping into the area Harry's wand illuminated. Harry immediately recognized Bane and Ronan, but they took no notice of him. All of them stared fixedly at Samus; this was understandable, since it wasn't every day that a human in an armored space suit ventured into the forest. "I am called Bane, human. And just who, and what, are you?" demanded Bane imperiously. "What is this strange armor that you wear? And why are you trespassing into our domain?"

It looked as if Samus was merely staring back at Bane, but she was actually scanning him with her visor. After the scan was complete and it was revealed he wasn't an X-host, she spoke up. "My name is Samus Aran, and I'm looking for something of mine that's here in the forest. And this is Harry Potter, whom I believe you've met before."

Bane and the others turned to look at Harry, as if noticing him for the first time. He felt uneasy under their withering gazes, and wondered why Firenze wasn't among them. Harry wished he was, since he was more level-headed than the rest of the herd.

Bane turned back to Samus, his eyes full of disdain. "You may be searching for what is yours, but we centaurs still find it a grave insult when a stranger such as yourself bursts into our forest unannounced. We have trouble enough as it is, with one of our number missing."

Harry tried to think of something to say that would calm Bane down, since he remembered how hotheaded he could be. But something about his words prickled at his memory. Then it came to him. "Wait a minute. This missing centaur... did he have a long, gaunt-looking face?"

Bane turned back to face Harry with glowering eyes. "You've seen Forar? Where is he now? Tell me!" demanded Bane.

"He's dead," said Samus sharply. "Consumed by the parasites we're hunting down."

"What is this you speak of?" gasped Bane. "Some creature is on the loose and has taken one of our herd?"

"I'm sorry for your loss, Bane," said Samus sorrowfully. "All I can do for you is assure you that I'm doing everything I can to hunt down and destroy the parasites responsible for taking your friend. And that's why I need what's buried in this forest. I need to ensure that others won't suffer your friend's fate."

"We can respect how you intend to protect others, but we don't need you to avenge the murder of a fellow centaur! We are a proud race, independent of humanity, and will take matters..." But Bane broke off mid-sentence, and his look changed to one of realization. "Wait a moment, this smell... I recognize you! You're the..."

Samus reached behind her helmet and pulled it off, revealing her face to the centaurs. "The human that Hagrid found unconscious here in the forest, months ago," Samus finished for him.

Bane slowly backed away from Samus, then turned to whisper among the other centaurs. Harry couldn't make out what they were saying. Probably talking about some stuff they've gathered from the heavens and all, Harry thought. But another strange sound interrupted both the centaurs and Harry's thoughts: a chorus of high-pitched warbles, along with a forceful grunt that was more like a snort.

Then, all of a sudden, five strange creatures burst out of the darkness. One was the strange blue koala-like creature Harry had seen the other day, along with two more like it. They leaped through the trees, skittered around the centaurs, and surrounded Samus. Also, a large bird that resembled an ostrich with green feathers and had a feathery plume atop its head shaped like a mohawk stormed through the trees and ran up to Samus, followed what looked like a much tinier version of itself, no doubt its offspring. They all gazed upon Samus with recognition, as if they had found their long-lost master.

Harry and the centaurs stared at them for a moment; the centuars seemed just as taken aback as Harry was. Eventually, Bane spoke up. "You... you know these creatures?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes I do," came Samus's immediate reply. "They're... my friends. The mammals are called the Etecoons, and the birds are Dachoras." One of the Etecoons jumped up onto Samus's shoulder and began ruffling her hair, and the large Dachora nuzzled her shoulder with its head. Samus felt a swell of gratitude now that she was reunited with her old friends, as well as overwhelming shame about how she had forgotten about them completely, even after her memory came back. It never occured to her that they had been brought back along with Adam and herself. After how they had helped her on Zebes and B.S.L, how could she possibly forget about them?

"We found these creatures shortly after Hagrid found you. We have been watching over them ever since," said Bane. "They possess a sharp intellect most would not appreciate, especially humans. However, if they place their trust in you, perhaps we should... tolerate your intrusion."

Harry felt a great swell of relief now that they didn't have to worry about the centaurs. He was about to insist they get on with their search, but then, the Etecoons ran in front of Samus and began hopping in place, making that high-pitched noise. Then they turned and ran, and the Dachoras followed them. "Where are they going now?" Harry asked as he watched Samus's old companions take off.

Samus had a hunch, one that she sincerely hoped was right. "They want us to follow them. They're trying to lead us somewhere," she explained, then she ran after them. Harry followed close behind her, leaving the group of confused centaurs behind them.

For several minutes, Harry followed Samus, but it proved to be difficult. She ran through the forest at an extremely brisk pace, and he got the feeling that she could probably run even faster. He only caught up to her when she had stopped, and by then he was completely out of breath. The excess energy gathered from the X parasites could only help him so much...

After taking a few seconds to rest, Harry looked up to see where the Etecoons and Dachoras had led them. They were now in a clearing, and there was an area of about two hundred feet where the earth had obviously been upturned some time ago, but had started to become weathered down from wind and rain. They stood where the row of upturned earth ubruptly ended, and the Etecoons were once again hopping in place, obviously pleased with themselves.

"This is it," Samus declared resolutely, looking at the ground with her x-ray visor on. With it, she could see her ship buried several feet under the ground. She also saw a small tunnel that looked as if it was dug by hand, leading to the spot underneath the ship, near its cockpit cockpit... the spot that served as its main entry point. "Wait here, Harry," ordered Samus, then she went into morph ball mode and rolled into the tunnel.

Thankfully, the ship apparently had plenty of power left, and once she rolled into the end of the tunnel, she was carried up into the ship. Samus unrolled and looked around, seeing that everything was running on emergency power. Wasting no time, she sat down at the cockpit and began running a diagnostic.

"That's a relief," breathed Samus as the results came up. Main power could easily be restored by bypassing some relays and replacing a few damaged parts. Plenty of fuel still remained, and all the propulsion systems were undamaged and could be started up at a moment's notice once main power was restored. But right now, her main goal was getting the computer back online. Please still be there, Adam, she thought as her left hand deftly ran over the control panels, fearful that what remained of her friend was lost forever. Right now, she needed her old friend's guidance and genius more than ever.

At last, she had finished rebooting the ship's systems, and the familiar computerized voice chimed in. "Samus, you've finally arrived. According to the ship's chronometer, it's been over three months since the ship was incapacitated and crash landed. You certainly took your sweet time finding me, Lady."

Samus grinned. Adam's gruff, acerbic manner would put off most anyone else, but she found it genuinely endearing. "I'm sorry, Adam. The situation was... complicated."

"Very well, you can tell me all about it while you work on getting the ship above ground," said Adam brusquely. "Unfortunately, I was unable to do it myself. Several systems overloaded and main power was knocked out. I tried to instruct your friends about how to make repairs, but it proved to be much more difficult for them than starting up the ship. Eventually, I urged them to dig their way out and search for your escape pod, then lead you back here."

"Well, it WAS the Etecoons and Dachoras that led me back to you," said Samus as she entered more commands into the console. Silently, she thought to herself, They must've spent all these months looking for me, but I was rarely outside the castle. And they probably couldn't make their way into Hogwarts to find me, because of all the security measures that Dumbledore puts in place.

"So, what's our situation, Lady?" asked Adam impatiently. "Do you have any idea what became of that escape pod filled with X parasites after the ship was overcome by that anomaly? And how were all of you able to survive on SR388 for so long? Its entire surface was incinerated..."

"We're not on SR388, Adam," interrupted Samus. "Believe it or not, we're on Earth."

For a few seconds, Adam stayed silent. Samus could tell he was busily processing this new information... and that he was probably thinking up yet another sarcastic retort. When he spoke again, the volume was lower and the tone was less forceful. "It is highly improbable that the ship crash-landed on a planet so many light-years away from our last recorded position. Unless... perhaps that anomaly was some sort of wormhole?"

"Something like that," said Samus. "It was a sort of temporal portal, one created by magic."

"It was magic, Samus?" asked Adam. His computerized voice remained low and reserved, with surprised Samus. She had expected him to react with outright disbelief. "And it was a rift in the fabric of time? I do believe I'll need a bit more information, Lady."

"It's a long story, but it'll take me a while to complete these repairs, so..." And so, Samus launched into her story about what had happened ever since she arrived in Earth's past, afflicted with amnesia, and outlined what had to be done now.

After Samus finished her story, Adam once again remained silent, no doubt busily processing all the new information. "So, our fight against the X parasites is not over yet," Adam said at length. "Fortunately, you've enlisted the aid of the wizards in this time."

"'Wizards in this time?'" repeated Samus, shocked by Adam's response. "You mean... you already know of the existence of witches and wizards?"

"Yes. This group of humans is indeed xenophobic, as you have undoubtedly noticed. But by the time mankind reached the stars, circumstances forced them to reveal themselves to several of Earth's governments. However, the general populace of the galaxy remains unaware of their existence; it remains a closely guarded secret by the top officials in the Galactic Federation. Only leading government officials and top military officials - such as I was - are briefed about their existence. However, I have never met any, nor do I know what the extent of their capabilities are," explained Adam.

"Ah, I see," said Samus. She tried to sound nonchalant, but she was truly intrigued by what Adam had revealed.

"From what I understand, the Galactic Federation police sometimes enlists elite teams of these magic-users for certain operations," Adam went on. "I believe they are called 'Aurors', and in the beginning of the conflict with the Space Pirates, they were contracted to covertly fight them along with bounty hunters. I think there are even some secretly planted in certain Marine platoons."

Is that so? I wonder if there were any in that group that got stranded on Aether, Samus wondered as she continued to effect repairs via the cockpit panels. Even if there was, it made little difference; the Ing slaughtered them all anyway.

"It seems you learned quite a lot during those few briefings," commented Samus as she continued working. "I wonder... during any of those briefings, were you ever told about someone by the name of 'Harry Potter'?"

Adam was silent for a few seconds. "This is the teenage boy you said had been infected by X, correct? No, I was briefed about no one with that name," he said eventually. "Why? Is this an important figure in this time?"

"You could say that," replied Samus airily. She sat up and punched in a few last commands. "These wizards have a war of their own going on right now, much like our conflict with the Space Pirates. I'll tell you about it while I replace the damaged parts..."

Harry impatiently paced back and forth around the small hole in the ground. The chilly night air blew past him and rustled the tops of the nearby trees. Thick clouds loomed overhead, almost cutting off all moonlight. All this, combined with the fact that it had been over half-an-hour since Samus went into the tunnel, made Harry feel nervous and edgy. "What's keeping her?" he thought aloud. "She told me it wouldn't take long, and it's..."

Suddenly, one of the Etecoons hopped up onto his shoulders, and the shock almost gave him a heart attack. "Augh!" he screamed in surprise, and he thought he heard something stir in the blackness that surrounded them. The Etecoon began ruffling his hair and it sounded as if it was giggling. The other two Etecoons then planted themselves directly in front of him, and were gazing up at him curiously. "Samus certainly makes interesting friends," Harry mused as he looked down at the strange aliens.

Just then, Harry heard the sound of hooves yet again. Turning around, he saw Bane and Ronan had stepped into the clearing. "You are still here?" asked Bane querulously. "I thought you were with the armored woman. Or has she still not found what she came for?"

"Ohh, err, we found what we needed. It's... buried here in this clearing," Harry answered nervously. Perhaps it was his imagination, but Bane's eyes seemed to gleam menacingly in his wandlight. The two centaurs said nothing else, but merely walked up to Harry and stared intently at the upturned earth. Harry felt that he should say something. "Err, you know, you shouldn't try and go after what killed your friend. We don't even know where they're hiding, and you'd just end up like him."

"Our herd understands this," said Ronan softly. "We realize that justice for Forar must be delivered by the hands of another."

Harry didn't reply immediately to this since he was reflecting on Ronan's words. "Erm, let me guess, you've figured out what's going on by interpreting the heavens."

"Something like that, yes," replied Ronan.

"Ronan! Do not trumpet our knowledge among humans!" thundered Bane.

"There seems to be no harm in merely letting him know that we have deduced the course of events," said Ronan defensively. He gazed up at the sky, as if hoping to peer through the clouds. "After all, it seems this foal already knows of what's going on."

So, they have figured it out, thought Harry. But he wondered what exactly they had gathered from the heavens. Did they foresee that Samus was their only hope, the only one who could wipe out the X? Did they foresee her ultimate success, or perhaps failure on her part? No, she won't lose. Samus is the type who refuses to fail.

All of a sudden, the ground began to shake, almost making Harry lose his footing. The Etecoons and Dachoras ran to the edge of the clearing, and the two centaurs nervously backed away and followed them. Harry eventually did the same, and when he reached the others, he turned and looke behind him. Something big was rising from the ground, pushing up the soil above it and making a loud, ominous hum...

Slowly, whatever it was became visible as the dirt slid off from above it. There was no doubt that it was Samus's ship. It was roughly a third of the size of a commercial jet, had a reflective purple hull, and its overall shape reminded Harry of the Blackbird jet he had seen in Dudley's X-Men comic books. And through the green-tinted windows that formed a half-circle around the cockpit, Harry could see Samus operating the controls.

"Blimey," Harry muttered softly as the centaurs looked on in awe and the Etecoons and Dachoras pranced around happily.

Half an hour later, nearly all of the preparations for the next phase of the plan was complete. The ship had landed near the edge of the lake, close enough to the castle but out of view to anyone awake in their dormitories and looking out a window. McGonagall and Snape were there with Harry and Samus, having finally finished their task. Both of them were illuminating the area with their wands as they explained things to Samus.

"It took Snape a while to figure out how to brew the necessary potion," McGonagall explained to Samus. "From what I understand, each specific disease requires a different formula, slightly different ingredients... As you might imagine, determining the right formula for an extraterrestrial pathogen was quite a challenge."

"But ultimately, it was nothing I couldn't handle," said Snape smugly as he walked up to them. "We're just lucky that we had actual samples of this parasite left over to work with. Anyway, our job is complete. McGonagall has spent the last hour Apparating back and forth from the outside of the grounds to the ocean shore, using a copying spell to transfigure ocean water into more of my potion. We should have more than enough now."

"Very well, where is it?" asked Samus eagerly.

Snape turned and pointed to a series of flimsy-looking metal cylinders behind him. Each cylinder was roughly the size of an oil barrel, and there were a total of thirteen. "I know it doesn't seem like much, but don't let looks deceive you," said McGonagall persuasively. "Each cylinder has been charmed to increase the storage space within them over a thousandfold. Let me tell you, THIS was an undertaking, doing so much transfiguration."

Harry looked at McGonagall, and noticed that she seemed extremely exhausted. He then turned to Samus. "Do you think this will be enough?"

"Let's hope so," Samus replied.

"However, I must point out another shortcoming I neglected to mention during our meeting," Snape cut in. "While the tiniest bit of this potion will grant complete immunity to ANY form of life, its effects are NOT permanent. That's why it's use is deemed so inefficient, and why it did little to curb outbreaks of Black Death centuries ago."

Harry glared at Snape, crestfallen. Samus was just as disappointed. "How long will it last, then?"

"Honestly, I don't know," said Snape sourly. "It may be only a week, or as long as a month. I really have no way of knowing at this point."

"So we'll have to keep doing this every week until the X are found and destroyed. So be it," declared Harry.

Snape glared malevolently at Harry, but said nothing. McGonagall then spoke up, obviously in the hopes of preventing an argument. "Now then Samus, you've got the means of dispersing incalculable amounts of our potion high in the air. However, we really couldn't think of a way to have them open up when you want them to, after your ship drops them. We merely assumed you could build a sort of Muggle explosive device that you can set off whenever you want."

"You assumed correctly," came Adam's churlish, computerized voice through the ship's outer speakers. "Using special features within the ship, I can easily construct thirteen remote-detonated bombs to attach to the canisters."

McGonagall and Snape turned to stare intently at Samus's ship; it couldn't be more obvious they had been taken by surprise. "Your spaceship, it... talks?" asked McGonagall with a tone of polite disbelief.

"Yeah, that's the ship's computer talking," said Harry quickly, hoping to keep the professors from asking any more questions. He didn't feel as if they needed to know all the details about Adam.

"Err, very well," said McGonagall nervously, still staring at the ship. She turned back to face Samus. "How soon can you do... what needs to be done?"

"As soon as those bombs are ready, we can take off immediately," replied Samus. She then placed her hand on Harry's shoulder. "And if it's alright with you, I'd like to take Harry along for the ride."

"You would?" asked Harry, looking up at Samus incredulously. He had already done so much with her tonight - venturing back into the Chamber of Secrets, searching the Forbidden Forest for her ship, and even flew back to Hogwarts in it. But now, she was going to let him go into SPACE?

McGonagall stared at the ship again. "You are, err, certain that this vehichle is safe?" she asked delicately.

"Like I told you before, it's a sturdy vessel. There was no damage to the outer hull, and all systems are 100 percent operational," said Samus, a little more sternly than she had meant to. The notion that she'd willingly endanger Harry's life still annoyed her; she only let him accompany him in the Chamber of Secrets because he had left her no choice, and she had only let him go with her into the forest because she was confident she could keep him safe.

For a few more seconds, McGonagall was silent as she glared at Samus's ship, her eyes narrowed. It was obvious she didn't have much faith in technology, even though the ship was centuries ahead of anything else she had seen. Eventually, though, McGonagall sighed and said, "Personally, I believe he's been through enough for one night. But if he desires it... as long as you have Mr. Potter back in time for the start of today's classes, I suppose there is no harm in it."

It's kind of mental how everyone's worried about me getting to class on time when we've got a possible alien invasion on our hands, Harry thought sourly.

"Alright Harry, you heard your Head of House. Go ahead and get aboard," said Samus. Harry nodded, then walked underneath the ship to the spot where passengers boarded. Suddenly, a column on bright light descended upon him, and then he was levitated up into the ship's interior.

And so, the canisters of potion were loaded into Samus's ship, and Adam's makeshift bombs were attached to them. Satisfied that all was well, McGonagall and Snape started heading back up to the school. As Samus sat down at the controls, Harry stood by her and watched them go. "Wonder what they're going to do now. What's the next step in the Order's plan?"

"We'll find out later, after we've got this job done," said Samus as she punched a few commands into the console. "Is everything set, Adam?"

"We're ready to go, Lady," chimed in Adam. "Just give the word."

"Uhh, 'Lady'?" whispered Harry. From what he knew about Samus, he had a feeling she would never tolerate being called something that implied she was soft and weak.

Samus let out a snort of laughter. "Believe me, Harry, Adam is the only one who can get away with calling me that," she replied, amused by Harry's confusion. It's obvious he's already got me figured out, she thought. Samus tapped a few more buttons, then said, "Brace yourself, Harry. Takeoffs in this ship tend to be a little rough."

Harry heard the engines at the back of the ship fire up and, true to Samus's word, the ship began to shake lightly. He looked out the window and saw that the ship was slowly rising from the ground. "Err, Samus, some students might be awake already," said Harry, glancing at the castle. "If they see..."

"Already thought about that, Harry," said Samus quickly. She punched a few more buttons, and suddenly the ship turned to face away from Hogwarts. Then Harry felt and saw the ship angle upward slightly, and then, without warning, it lurched forward. He was able to keep his feet firmly planted, but he could definitely feel the ship's movement.

The ship soared over the tops of the Forbidden Forest's trees as it continued to gain altitude. Higher and higher the ship rose, and when he looked out the side window, Harry saw the mountain ranges below receding from view rapidly. They were flying faster and ascending quicker than Harry had ever done while on a broom, and it suddenly made him nervous. "Uh, Samus, just how good of a pilot are you?" he asked, trying to sound conversational.

"Don't worry, Harry. I'm as comfortable at a ship's helm as you are on a broom," said Samus reassuringly as she continued to guide the ship. The ship then knifed upward through a thick layer of clouds, completely obstructing their view and causing some frost to form on the window's edges. But thanks to sensor readouts displayed on several screens at the cockpit, Samus was able to keep on navigating the ship.

Seconds later, the ship emerged from atop the clouds and continued to swiftly climb upward through the atmosphere. And moments later, there was no more sky above them; there were only thousands and thousands of stars everywhere they looked. Hundreds of miles away, Earth's moon could be seen, glowing brightly from reflected sunlight. Harry glanced down below again, and saw half the continent of Europe, along with endless expanses of ocean water and long stretches of billowing clouds. I don't believe this, Harry thought, overcome by the beauty of the marvelous sights just outside the cockpit window. I'm actually in space. I could be the very first wizard who's ever gone into space!

Adam's voice chimed in just then. "OK, Lady, we've cleared Earth's atmosphere and we're officially in orbit. I've already taken measures to ensure that Earth's surveillance satellites won't detect us, and have begun doing sensor sweeps of the planet."

"That's good, Adam," said Samus. "Tell me when you've got the data ready for me."

Harry wasn't really paying attention to them; he was still overwhelmed by the sight of seeing Earth from orbit, along with the moon and the stars. This ranked up there with seeing Hogwarts for the first time as one of the most thrilling moments of his life, and he wanted to savor every second of it, knowing that he may never get this opportunity again. Heh, it's funny. The wizarding world tends to look down upon Muggles. But THEY'RE the ones who've figured out how to leave Earth and go into space, we haven't, he thought as he gazed at the stars.

"Enjoying the view, Harry?" asked Samus. "First time in space, I take it? From what I understand, the extent of humanity's capacity for space travel in this time is still severely limited, am I right?"

"Err, you could say that," said Harry. "I think the moon is as far as the Muggles have gotten."

"Don't worry, Harry. Technology will improve, and your kind will go to the stars along with the rest of humanity," said Samus with an uncharacteristically cheerful tone.

"We will?" gasped Harry. He found the thought of witches and wizards using spaceships to travel to other planets to be a little hard to grasp.

"That's what Adam tells me," said Samus as she gazed at the stars along with Harry. She fondly remembered gazing up at the stars herself, back when she was growing up on Zebes. During the night, she would run and jump across the arid expanses of Crateria, and all the while, she would look up at the stars. While growing up in seclusion there, she anxiously awaited the day when she would leave the Chozo's nest and venture through space. That's why she always got a thrill from exploring the vastness of space, and why whenever she undertook a mission into unfamiliar territory, hardly anything escaped her notice, no matter how well hidden. Exploration came as naturally to her as battle tactics.

But of course, the years since her departure from Zebes had been wrought with tragedy as well as triumph. She had succeeded in defending the galaxy from numerous threats: the Metroids, the Space Pirates, phazon, the X and the Ing foremost among them. But despite all those triumphs, she'd never be able to truly forgive herself for the two failures that still gnawed at her soul...

Her best friend, Adam Malkovich, and the infant Metroid, who had thought of her as its mother. Of all the beings in the universe, they trusted her the most. And I let them down, Samus thought sorrowfully. They put their lives on the line to help me, and I let them down. I've done so much for the galaxy, but I couldn't do a thing for the ones truly counting on me.

Samus looked down at herself, realizing once again how different her suit looked. The Hatchling's DNA was now part of her and her suit; she owed it her life twice over. Then she looked at the control panels again. The preserved mind of her friend was the ship's computer core, busily slaving away and processing sensor data. The two beings who had given up their lives... essences of them were still with her, still helping her. But they also served as bitter reminders of her failures. Why is it that I can protect countless faces I've never seen, but those who befriended me had to die for me? she thought angrily. The Chozo always seem to suffer disasters too... look at what happened on Tallon IV! It seems anyone close to me...

She turned and looked at Harry, who was still gazing into space (literally) . Here was this young boy who had been through so much, and reminded her so much of herself. Now he even had the same Metroid DNA spliced into his genes. There was no denying that during the short time they had known each other, she had become very attached to him, almost as if he were a little brother. She couldn't bear the thought of Harry getting caught up in her fight and dying as well. No, I won't let that happen, she silently vowed. I won't let him suffer the way the Hatchling and Adam did...

"Lady, the sensor sweeps are complete," Adam said abruptly, making Samus look down at the console. "I'm displaying the data now. I've already identified what I believe are the best dropoff points, but I know you'll want to look over the data yourself."

He understands me perfectly, just like always, mused Samus as she studied the results of Adam's sweeps.

"Uhhh, what's this all about?" asked Harry. "And come to think of it, why are we up in orbit in the first place? Shouldn't we be dropping off those canisters from a lower height?"

"You are correct, Harry. However, it is necessary to determine appropriate dropoff points, so wind and ocean currents will carry this solution across the greatest distances possible," explained Adam in a matter-of-fact tone. "And for that, we needed to study atmospheric and ocean conditions from orbit."

"Ah, I see," said Harry, feeling a little stupid.

"Alright, I've picked the areas we'll release the potion," Samus declared. "Adam's right. We only have thirteen of these containers, and we need to make every molecule of this stuff count."

"You sure you know the best spots to do this?" asked Harry timidly, leaning over to look at the console screens. However, the data displayed was unintelligible to him.

"I suggest you leave the environmental chemistry and oceanography to Samus and myself, and simply enjoy the ride," said Adam churlishly.

Harry frowned. This is the guy Samus gets along with so well? he thought, more than a little annoyed.

"Adam, be nice," snapped Samus, feeling embarassed by her friend's rude remark. "OK, we're heading back down," she said, and she tapped a few buttons. The ship angled downward, the engines fired up again, and the ship descended back into Earth's atmoshpere.

During the next ten minutes, Samus's ship flew all across the Earth's surface, deploying the containers with Snape's potion. Whenever the container was at the desired height, Samus would trigger the bomb attached to it, and tremendous amounts of the potion was released into the air, where it quickly became vapor and was carried along wind currents. In this manner, the immunizing potion was spread across entire continents. Ten containers worth of potion were released this way, but the remaining three were dropped into oceans, so that Earth's marine life would be protected.

"And that's the last one," said Samus triumphantly as she pressed the button triggering the bomb to explode, destroying the container her ship has just dropped into the Atlantic Ocean. "Now all we need to do is find out just where the X are. Let's head back to Hogwarts and see if Dumbledore's come up with anything."

And so, the ship sped across the Atlantic Ocean, heading back for the British Isles. Within moments, Hogwarts came back into view. For once, the sight of Hogwarts brought a swell of disappointment for Harry. This marked the end of what was perhaps the most exhilerating experience of his life.

However, he was blissfully unaware that as the ship flew over the Forbidden Forest again, a pair of glowing, yellow-green eyes was glaring at the ship from one of the treetops...

Ginny Weasley lumbered down the stone steps, heading for the Great Hall. Yesterday had been absolutely miserable for her, having learned that Harry was stuck in the hospital wing with some strange new disease. That gnawing sense of dread only got worse when Ron and Hermione gave in after she had begged them to tell her the truth. She immediately wished they hadn't.

I can't believe he might actually die from this! Ginny thought angrily. If only there was something I could do to help... I still owe him! She turned to her right, where Hermione and Ron were walking down to breakfast along with her. "There's been no change? No news?" she asked desperately, but she felt she already knew the answer.

Hermione shook her head, making her bushy hair wave about everywhere. "Madam Pomfrey said we'd be the first to know if there was any change, but so far, nothing," she replied sorrowfully.

"I was there last night," spoke up Neville, who was right behind Ginny. "I wanted to give him my Mimbulus mimbletonia, but he wasn't awake. That Samantha woman was there, and she said she'd give it to him. But she wouldn't pull back the curtains and let me see him."

"Trust me, you should be glad she didn't," said Ron with a shudder.

"Just who is she, anyway?" asked Ginny heatedly, still infuriated that a Muggle stranger was completely immune to the parasite, but Harry wasn't. She knew that it was wrong to think that way (her father had thought her and her siblings not to look down on Muggles) , but the thought of Harry slowly dying was making her mad with grief.

"She's the one who helped save my life," came a familiar voice from behind them, making all four of them yelp in surprise. Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Neville all turned around, and sure enough, Harry was standing on the steps behind them, smiling. There was no trace of any parasitic infection, and he looked completely healthy and fully alert.

"Harry, you're cured?" Ron gasped. "What h-happened? How did..."

"Was it one of Snape's potions? Or some powerful anti-parasite jinx that Pomfrey found?" chimed in Hermione, her tone betryaing both happiness and curiosity.

"Neither. It was genetic engineering," stated Harry.

"Gen-ecktik... what?" asked Neville confusedly. He obviously had never heard that term before.

Wait a minute, I've heard Dad talk about this 'genetic' thing before, thought Ginny. Isn't it some sort of Muggle science, dealing with what makes people the way they are? How could that help Harry?

"Harry, that's Muggle science," said Hermione, confirming what Ginny had thought. "How could that possibly cure you?"

Harry said nothing. He looked behind him, then peered down the stairs; it was as if he wanted to make sure no one else was coming. "Alright, listen up, all of you," he said as he stepped down closer to them.

Yep, I know, this one was LONG overdue. Computer problems YET AGAIN. Story of my life.

I feel really bad about having to delay this chapter for so long. And I feel even worse about how this chapter had practically no action and was mainly used for thickening the plot even more. However, next chapter will have plenty to satisfy everyone. Why? Might as well spill it so everyone'll stick around: Harry Potter and the HP-X finally meet face-to-face.

Oh, for those who've seen the Harry Potter 4 movie... was it just me, or did Voldemort end up looking like something one would see on a Star Trek episode?

So long,
Grey