CHAPTER I

Mischief Managed.

Click, click, click, click. The sound of Captain Janeway's heels resounded through the narrow hallway as she marched to her destination. Pausing at a doorway for a moment, the soft swooping sound was the only indication of her arrival to the positively frantic inhabitants. Transporter room 3 had been blocked off from the rest of the crew for the last week, the deck deserted as engineers scuttled around with scans, tools and creased brows as they tried to fix the problem that was growing more and more worrying each passing hour.

The sight that greeted Janeway did nothing to assuage her own growing concerns. The above head lighting was spluttering on and off like a death rattle of her dying ship, the computer interface panels were distorted, frazzling and sizzling in the picture, rendering them useless. The transporter pad itself had been partially dismantled in the quest to answer the questions piling up around them, drowning them in a tidal wave of quandary. The side panels had been taken off, wires, bolts, crystals and CPU boards open to the air and prodding fingers of the engineers. If the engineers did not find the answer today, Janeway highly doubted her ship, and subsequently her crew would make it through the night shift.

With how her Captaincy onboard Voyager was going, light-years away from home, lost, running into insurmountable danger every other day, it had been expected by now that in the small two week time span of relative peace and quiet that something would go horribly wrong and leave them all dashing to play catch-up. But this?... This was mind boggling.

It had started out harmless enough, as all their troubles did and had escalated right under their noses until it had demanded it could not be ignored any longer unless they pay the price with their lives. The problem had first been deftly explained away, the energy build up in the transporter coils had been equated to everyday wear and tear and lack of equipment for the upkeep. Something to keep an eye on, but not nearly as life threatening as it had inevitably become.

The first blaring sign it was not as it first seemed to be and was, in fact, a more complicated issue was when the computer interface and system in the transporter bay had begun to loose power, draining, lagging before completely clonking out on them in a dramatic show of fireworks and bright sparks that had left a crewman in the medbay for three days. Impossible as it was, as its own supply of power from the ship core didn't run through, nor interfere with the transporters own power cells, a failsafe for mid-beam safety to stop individuals from being killed or mutated due to a power outage.

They had not believed it was the transporter itself in the beginning days, perhaps the computer system was just faulty. However, that was until the door system to the room began to loose power, nearly slicing through another crewman before it refused to close any longer. Then the hallway lights burst in a rain of glass and fibre-optics. Then the turbo lift to this deck nearly dropped another six crewmates to their deaths and worse of all, eventually leading to a drop in their warp core power and a signature of extreme power build up emanating from the transporter. In short, if they did not manage to stop the buildup and diversion of power to the transporter, soon life support, all warp core functionality and every other system would be drained and they would be left dead in the water... Quite literally dead. All in all, just another day aboard Voyager.

The problem wasn't they didn't know what the transporter was trying to do, it was they did not know why or even how it was doing it and therefore, didn't know how to stop it. The power was building steadily and showed no signs of incline, decline or slowing of any sort. The transporter... Well, by all reports, all scans and all information they could gather was... Trying to beam something or someone aboard. For some reason unknown and ominous even to Janeway, it needed a colossal amount of power to do so, too much power Voyager was already in deep need of.

Neither Janeway, nor the engineers could wrap their heads around why it was doing this. The transporter on deck three had not been used for a full month and a half, so it was unlikely the problem and buildup occurred with a faulty input from a member of staff trying to beam, the problem had only started two weeks ago by the calculations given to her. The time frames just didn't add up. It seemed like the transporter was doing it... Itself. That itself begged the question what, or who was currently trying to beam aboard her ship and why it needed such power to accomplish the task. All Janeway could really ask, all she could focus on, was what would it mean for the survival of her crew if it, this being or object, was successful. The woes of being a Captain had never felt as heavy on her shoulders as it did right then.

"Have we determined if this is a malfunction of the ship or whether something or someone is trying to access Voyager Lieutenant Torres?" Janeway asked as she strolled over to Torres, eyes never quite being able to leave the bane of her latest problem, the transporter. Luitanent B'Elanna Torres was typing away on her pad, frowning heavily, ridges prominent under the flickering lights above them, speaking hushed and rushedly to... Doc, who should have been in medbay, not in transporter bay three. It didn't take long for Torres to turn her attention to the Captian, eyes hooded.

"Captain. I wouldn't rule out a malfunction completely, but we have found evidence of a molecular structure being transported through." So, something was being beamed aboard. Why did Janeway have a feeling it wasn't and wouldn't be friendly? It never was. Before she could question Torres further on her discoveries, Doc stepped closer, forming a tight circle, and broke through their chatter with his own findings and elaborating on exactly why he was here instead of where she had stationed him.

"While not enough matter has been gathered for a proper evaluation of the lifeform, I can say with certainty it is a lifeform and not an object Captain. When Torress discovered the structure, she passed it along to me for analysis to see if it was inanimate, synthetic or biological. The matter, the blueprint so to speak, is that of a biological form, in that I have no doubt." Janeway sighed heavily, running a tired hand down her face. She had not slept in three days and her own wear and tear were beginning to show. Heavy bags under her eyes, darkened, sagging, hair slightly frizzled and not as neatly placed in her iconic bun. It was a who, not a thing. Then what did this being want with her ship? With her crew? There were too many questions that needed answering to leave any level of comfort for her to bury herself in. When she spoke, even her voice sounded tired, croaky, rough around the edges. Sleep. She desperately needed a good nights sleep.

"From the little we have, can you conclude on what exactly this lifeform is and if it's a danger to my ship and crew? Ensign Vorik, set up a quarantine around this area, level five please. Only personnel specifically chosen by me and who are currently in this room will be allowed to enter. No one can leave until we have some inclination to the risks it could pose to the others onboard my ship." Vorik gave a small nod, hastily walking to the only computer interface that still worked in the room, inputting the new orders. She wasn't willing to take any chances, this thing could be malevolent, and even if it was benevolent, it could carry diseases that could spread and wipe her people out. Doc nodded along as if he had expected her to give those exact orders, which he likely had, and began to flick through files on his pad, stalling at one particular 3d image of a scan he had taken.

"Well, while I agree such stringencies are needed in place for peace of mind, I fear you are jumping the gun Captain. You see, from what little I have gathered and analyzed, the life form is... Mostly human." Janeway's gaze snapped from the transporter, locking onto Doc with hefty weight, eyebrows perched high on her forehead. A human? All the way out here, alone?

"A human? In the delta quadrant? Surely this is a mistake-" Then his full sentence, his particular and well-picked words sank in fully and Janeway rounded on the Doctor, arms crossing stiffly over her chest as she bared down upon him with a no-nonsense aura.

"Did you say mostly? Mostly human?" Doc coughed preeningly into his closed fist, not to clear his throat, holograms needed no such action, but likely to divert from the fact he had been caught out in his very own words. Straightening up, he held his pad out for Janeway's inspection, a scan of... DNA twirling around on the screen, showing all angles, glittering in red and gold.

"I say mostly human because of this. You see? They look exactly like the compounds that make up a human's DNA, the same sequencing too... Nevertheless, on closer inspection, can you see it?" Doc excitedly pointed down to the spinning scan, eyes wide, glistening, smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Janeway didn't feel his enthusiasm, nor his seemingly delirious happiness at what he had discovered, but on closer look, she did feel a bit wonderstruck, not realizing how she could have missed what he had pointed out until he had done so. Doc's voice picked up speed, a telling sign of his eagerness.

"There seems to be a strand of foreign... Matter... Energy is the best way I can describe it, literally woven through the DNA strand. The DNA strand is irrevocably human. The sequencing is human... With a few discrepancies. The energy, however... I have never before seen this appear in any other living thing. Nor have I read any record or account of this such precedence becoming known before. Hence my... 'Mostly' human description of the being." Torres, renowned for her lack of patience and more than a hairline trigger of a temper, cut through Docs speech, huffing slightly as she rolled her eyes and frustratedly ran her hand through her hair.

"But it's impossible! It makes no sense! An object or item could, if made correctly, withstand this sort of prolonged treatment of molecular distortion that happens with prolonged beaming. But biological matter? For the two weeks this has been taking place?! It should have begun to disintegrate and decay from the repeated process of beaming in and out long ago... Yet, it shows no signs of degradation! It has been phasing through slowly, very slowly and has no signs of stress or strain to its structure. As I told you, Doctor, run the scans again!" Janeway, despite her gut instinct that shouted to her that the Doc was right, that it was a being and not an object being beamed aboard, had to agree with Torres. There were seven failsafes alone to make sure this process happened as fast as possible to save time and distress to the traveler using the transporter. The longer a person was in phase, the more decay would happen. It was a fact of physics and physics was a bitch to argue with. Still, Janeway kept her own frayed temper in check over the two squabbling crewmen, cutting off Doc as he turned a mottled red, cheeks puffed and a tirade was sure to follow.

"Slowly? Care to elaborate Lieutenant?" Torres looked even more bewildered as she scanned her pad once more, idly shaking her head at what was presented to her.

"I... It is the first time I have ever seen anything like this. The pressure this would cause to anything, living especially, to the body and mind would be... Unimaginable. You see, from the scans and readings we've gathered from the particles present, they are... Phasing. In 1.345 split second intervals, they phase back out, only for more particles to be beamed back in, naked to the human eye. If I didn't know better, it would seem the transporter was trying to beam something or someone through and they were... Fighting it. But it's impossible, you can't 'fight' a mid-beam reconstruction!" Janeway felt the slight shift of apprehension towards her back, just a feeling of something... not quite right happening behind her, before she heard the exuberant chuckle and click of boots as someone peered over her shoulder, a face appearing in the corner of her eye. She didn't need to look to know who, or more aptly, what it was. She should have known he had something to do with this whole mess. He always did have a hand in these things.

"Of course she's fighting it! It's what she does best after all. Hello, dear Janeway. I hope you haven't missed me too much? Oh, please, don't spare me the details of your longing for me. Do tell." Janeway stiffened and her jaw flexed as she tried to fight down the anger at his appearance. Of all the times to swan in and mess up the small peace they had found, he chose now to re-appear and likely gloat about what he was doing or what he had done. Her fist clenched at her side, she adamantly fought down the urge to swing at his face.

"Q. I should have known you had something to do with this." Ever since she had helped the energy... Man... Alien lifeform known as Q with the Quinn trial, he kept visiting, causing havoc, disjointing everything with just a click of his fingers and for once, Janeway felt helpless to stop him. How could you stop an omnipotent being like Q? You couldn't. You just had to go with his flow and that... That was what made Janeway angry. She wasn't used to following the tide.

Q casually walked around to face her, smile positively beaming and at his sudden and unannounced appearance, something he always pulled, Torres reached for her phaser. Janeway held her hand out to tell her to stop wordlessly, it was useless. Phasers didn't work on him or his kind, she knew, she had tried it after all. Q faced her, grin almost cracking his cheeks wide open.

"Oh, really? What gave it away, my ready admittance to my participation? Please dear, do keep up. It shouldn't be long now, she's stubborn but not as stubborn as me." Janeway fought back the scoff. She knew she had to play it safe, too safe for her liking when it came to Q. If Q wanted, he could click his fingers and they would all be dead, or gone, or blue, or what other fancy he had taken. Which made the question of how this... She was putting up a fight against something like Q in the first place... And if she was willing to give Janeway the skill and details to do so once she appeared. For once, if she could just see that damned smile wiped off his face, she could die peacefully.

"So, it's another one of the Q continuum you are trying to beam aboard my ship? Are you going to tell me why you have brought her to my ship?" Janeway asked with as much authority as she could. He was trying to goad her into an argument, one that would lead away from what was truly happening here, giving Q time to exact whatever it was he was planning. Janeway wouldn't play ball and by the look he shot her, he realized it too. Good.

"Fine... Fine. You're no fun sugar plum, you know that right? I suppose you could call her my niece. A long time ago, one of my many brothers, M, a favorite brother of mine, fell in love with a... Human" He spat the word as if it disgusted him, the taste foul and odor rancid. He began to pace in short, precise steps, steepling his fingers, eyes boring into the air.

"They ended up breeding, pointless if you ask me, why mix our genes with something so... Inferior? Then again, M had always been a bit on the crazy side. It was one of the reasons I liked him so much, he was never one for the rules. However, he pushed too far, M eventually denounced the Q continuum and hid amongst those of his mate's race on earth." A high jostling chuckle broke out as Q twirled to face Janeway, eyes as sharp and keen as a knife's edge. Janeway didn't get the joke, neither did she think she should have gotten the humor. Once you started to find yourself in Q's head space was the same time you put yourself through a full psych evaluation.

"A Wizard is what humans began to call him, I believe he called himself Merlin. Tacky name if you ask me. Eventually, more defectors joined his little campaign of pro-humanity, bred just like he had, eventually died like he did and a race all its own was created. You humans didn't even know how close you were to them. You would talk to them, see them, brush shoulders as you passed in the street and you never once questioned anything. However, as the generations passed, they forgot where they really came from, what they really were and they began to really think they were human. Can you believe it? They became what they were forced into being due to the limitations of humanities understanding, wizards and witches and forgot all about their true heritage. Look at the scan if you don't believe me, that little strand of energy? That's Q DNA." Janeway blinked, wearily eyeing Q up and down, face purposefully blank.

"So... This 'niece' of yours, she's descended from one of the defectors? Why bring her here? Why now?" Q tutted at her, waggling his index finger from side to side, scolding her as if she was a little child caught playing with a replicator. Although begrudgingly, she supposed to something like Q and his continuum, she was nothing but a child, a newborn in the grand scheme of things... Which makes her wonder why the hell Q was bringing this supposed niece here, to her of all places.

"Not just any defector, but my brother, Merlin. I told you, he was one of my favorites. Unfortunately for me, he knew it and liked to play on that fact. He wrangled me into a deal I never thought I would have to fulfill... Bastard. I promised if his bloodline ever needed me, truly needed me, I would be there to make sure they were safe and... ugh, happy." The word 'happy' fell past his lips in a flop, as if he was gagging on it, nose scrunching up in distaste. So it was fulfilling a deal, was it? Janeway did scoff this time, turning her head slightly away to look at the transporter behind Q.

"And she... Needs you now? Why bring her here Q? Why not bring her to the continuum? To earth? To anywhere else that isn't a ship lost across the galaxy that has the unfortunate habit of nearly falling apart every other week?" Janeway had experience with Q, on some level, she knew him, be that deeply or shallow, she knew him and he wouldn't go this far for a simple deal, neither would he not try and take the easiest root of fixing the problem. If this was a, in fact, just fulfilling his end of a bargain, he could have conjured up a perfect little world and placed the 'niece' into. Full stop. Game over. Finished. However, because he had gone to this length to drag her here, for some reason placing her on Janeway's ship, she knew there had to be more of a reason than a pathetic 'I'm living up to my end.' that Q was trying to sell her.

"Why not? You're a bunch of misfits on a misfitted ship lost in a place not your own. She's a misfit too, she'll fit right in! She also has a penchant for trouble and attracts danger like bees to flowers, something your crew gets into daily. See? You'll get along great! You already have so many similarities it's startling!" She. Wasn't. Buying. It. Q was obviously getting something more out of this than he let on. He never did anything out of the kindness of his heart, if he even had one to begin with. The fact was simple. Q wasn't human, holding him to human emotions, standards or regards was foolish and Janeway was no fool.

"Tell me the truth Q. If I suspect for one moment this thing... Person, she will be any danger to my crew or ship, I'll leave her on the next available planet and not look back once. And don't think I buy this whole 'I'm fulfilling a deal' tripe you are trying to sell me. If that was the case, you would simply conjure up a perfect little world to place her in and call it a day." She seemed to have hit a sore spot as he cast her a glare before his gaze became unfocused, pupils dilated, lost in his own mind, his own memories. His voice was soft, velvet, the softest she had ever heard before or thought him capable of. If this was an act, Q needed a standing ovation.

"She... She's a lot like him, my brother Merlin. Of course, she suffers from the human affliction. A bleeding heart, do-gooder, a hero complex the size of my ego, now that's saying something! But she's got that... Unpredictability we Q have. You always think she'll take a right when she takes a left, that she'll stay down when she hops back up fist raised and then, as a bonus, she drop kicks you in the face... Just like my brother... You see Janeway, I lost my brother, but in... In this girl, I haven't lost him completely." He paused for a moment, still lost, voice so airy now that Janeway had to strain to hear it. Even then, she wasn't sure she was hearing him right. Q, expressing an emotion other than mischievousness, greed or spoiledness? Never. Yet... Yet, here he was, doing such a thing.

"I... Here is safest for her. There has been a war, she... She has lost much. She's alone, tired, bearing too much weight on her shoulders for one so young, out of place... Lost. She doesn't see it now, but now her war is over her own people will start to turn on her, they already have and she will be even more lost. That is a feeling I thought you would understand, feeling like you don't belong. With me is not safe, it's not good for her and I doubt with her humanity she would be at all happy. As much as I loath to admit this... I trust her in your care. I know you will look after her. I do not and will not say this again, but... Please." Perhaps she was wrong... Perhaps Q did have a heart buried somewhere deep, deep, deep inside. Even more startling, he had more in common with humans than he would like to admit or Janeway had first thought possible.

"She... She means a lot to you doesn't she?" Q stiffened, eyes coming to as if he had never stopped looking at her, an overly bright smile blossoming on his face. Fake. This was the act, not before, but this show of unruffled-ness but Janeway could tell the truth he so ardently tried to hide. He cared. He cared deeply. His tone was biting, goading her to argue otherwise.

"As much as any lowly human hybrid could mean to someone as brilliant as me, I suppose. So, deal?" These were the moments Janeway hated. The times where she didn't have time to consult her crew on their views, their wishes, and she had to take the risk herself. In the end, when all the cards laid bare, she wouldn't be the only one paying the price and that's what she loathed most.

"Do I have your guarantee she won't hurt anyone on my vessel? Won't put my ship in danger?" Q curled his lip up at her, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side arrogantly. Huh. She had been wrong. What she loathed most was dealing with Q in general. The arrogant, no good, manipulative bastard. All feelings of sympathy were momentarily swept away by his condescending, beseeching gaze.

"Do you have guarantees of your own crew on that aspect? By your own track record, you do not. However... I can say she will not purposefully create trouble, neither will she hurt any of you without good reason or provocation. As I said, she's the epitome of a bleeding heart. A hero in all essence... Ugh, I might vomit. If you're worried about her power, fear not, her diluted blood leaves her with only twists of the hands and a more... Creative outlet to her energy, nothing too worrying. If you think you'll have a mini-me running around, don't get too excited. She would also be a great help to you and your crew, that I can promise. Dear...Captain... Janeway, she is just a girl, a lost girl needing a home. Are you really going to deny her that?" Janeway bit her lip harshly, frowning at Q. He knew exactly what to say to back her into a corner. Of course, if the girl really was as he said she was, she would never deny her a safe harbor, a home. He knew that and he was betting on it. Damn. In this card game of wills she was playing with Q, it seemed he had called her bluff and was about to see her dud hand.

"No... No. Fine. She can stay. As long as she adheres to our rules, tries to stay out of trouble and learns while she's here, she'll have a home." Q was back to smiling, teeth glinting, as he clapped and seemed to vibrate in his shiny boots. Why did she feel like she had just signed her soul over to the devil?

"Oh brilliant! Just in time too, she's about to lose the fight, here she comes. Oh, and beloved? Please keep my involvement to a minimum, she does not know of my existence nor of the trip I've just put her through. Oh, she's going to be so angry... It's going to be marvelous! Good luck dear, she's quite the feisty one! I'll check in soon." Wait... The girl did not know of him? Of the Q continuum? Of the trip? Q had... Abducted her and placed her here without any informing or acquaintance? And he had dumped her onto Janeway's ship while the girl would be confused and could possibly wield Q level atomic manipulation?!

"Wait! Q! Don't you dare-" Too late, he was gone with a smile and a blazoned wink. Just as he disappeared with a pop and flash of purple, Janeway heard the transporter fully click in and the jingle of the reconstruction take place.

Slowly turning around, Janeway watched as the girl Q seemed to care for phased into vision on the transporter pad. She wasn't... She wasn't at all what Janeway had been expecting. The girl was young, too young from what she pictured of a war-torn hero Q's speech had envisioned.

She was seventeen, eighteen at a push. Her clothes were bloodstained, wrinkled, torn, dirt, smoke and ash smeared across porcelain skin. Her hair was a mass of tangles and wild curls, twigs, leaves and broken foliage lost in the fiery crimson locks. Her eyes were wide and frantic, the greenest shade Janeway had ever seen. Under the dirt, she could see a hint of freckles, a button nose, pouty lips, elfin features. She was a pretty thing, beautiful even, underneath the cloak of death and destruction that blanketed her. Yet, something just didn't feel quite... Human about the young girl. The same apprehension Janeway got tingling up her spine when Q appeared tickled the base of her back in the girl's presence.

The girl stared bewilderingly at Janeway, blinking rapidly, eyes darting around, soaking in her new environment with a fever like inquisitiveness, focusing in on the crowd around her. A long, pointy, knobbly... Twig clasped in her hand tightly, bloody knuckles bleached white. Lieutenant Torres flicked her phaser free from her belt, taking aim, some of the other engineers following suit and the girl seemed to jump out of her stupor, her breath telling Janeway she was lost in the battle she had obviously been plucked from. You didn't look like the girl currently did without having been in the middle of a battlefield... A big battlefield. Before Janeway could shout for them to stop, someone went to fire at her but the girl was faster, using her stick thingy to somehow... Blow away the guards and Torres with a flick of her wrist.

Janeway leaped into action, she went to step forward but then it was facing her, that stick tip and Janeway held her hands up in the universal sign of surrender. It only made the girl tenser, breath coming in faster pants, lips grim, eyes guarded. "Where am I and who the bloody hell are you?"

She was also... British? Captain Janeway really did loath Q.

A.N: I admit it, I adore star trek in all forms. I'm a huge nerd, so sue me. I already have a Abrahamverse star trek fic out with Fem!Harry in it paired with, of course, Spock and Jim, but then I had the bright idea to create a whole lot of crossovers with the million ideas that just keep nagging my muses, begging to be written. The next one I have in the making is a Next Generation crossover featuring a Fem!Harry/Data, so if that peaks your interest, keep an eye out, it should be coming soon!

This is my Voyager/Harry Potter one. The pairing, as stated, is primarily a Vorik/Fem!Harry. I know he's not really a main character, but he's one of my favs. He's so very Vulcan, yet so very not. He's so socially awkward, romantically awkward and just awkward in general that I doubt anyone cannot help but like him. However, I really do love Tuvok too, hence the 'sprinkled with' Tuvok/Fem!Harry. That being said, the pairings aren't set in stone, so give me you thoughts.

I really hope you guys liked this little taster and are looking forward to more, I had quite a lot of fun writing this, especially Q, and I hope I did the characters justice and will continue to do so. If you enjoyed this, drop a Review to let me know whether to continue or whether I've just dropped the ball on this one XD. If all things go well and you guys want to read more, I'll post again soon. Until next time ~carelessdodger.