Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

Ah, my first published story. It's a Harry Potter/Firefly crossover, and a Harry/River romance. It may even develop a plot. Ignores Wash's Death. And Sheppard Book's. Because that did NOT happen.

The first chapter, and perhaps the second, are tame. Barely a T rating. This will change to M within a chapter or two.

It was over. Voldemort was dead. Ron and Hermione, Neville and Luna, and surprisingly, even Draco Malfoy had helped. And then Harry was alone. Ron and Hermione were too wrapped up in their losses and their new relationship to worry about Harry. He didn't blame them; after all they had gone through with him, they deserved some happiness. So did Neville and Luna, who were currently off hunting Crumple Horned Snorkacks. Draco was spending some much needed time with his family. And, Harry thought, with Ginny Weasley, who had befriended the Slytherin boy. They made a good match.

Remus was dead, Tonks, Mad-Eye, Fred, all of them. Sirius. His parents. They were gone, and it was his fault. Oh, he wasn't, as Snape would have sneered had he lived, quite arrogant enough to take full responsibility for their deaths. He knew there were other factors. But he also knew he could place a lot of the blame on himself.

He stopped in to see Teddy Lupin at the Tonks residence. Andromeda was so happy to have a baby around again. Harry had agreed that she should raise the child. He wouldn't have made a good father. He knew that too. The Tonks family didn't notice the letter and Gringotts key he left on the front step as he left the house.

It was amazing how easily doors opened for him at the Ministry. He was the savior. Yes Mister Potter. Of course Mister Potter. Right this way sir. This isn't normally allowed sir. But for you Mister Potter, we'll make an exception sir. He was reminded forcefully of house elves, and had to blink back tears as he remembered Dobby, another innocent who might still be alive, if not for Harry Potter.

The room with the veil was just as he had first seen it. He heard the voices from behind it. The ministry official accompanying him stepped out to give him a moment, "to think, and grieve for Sirius Black, since the war prevented it before." Harry reached out a hand and ran his fingers lightly across the veil's surface. He looked at his hand. It tingled, but looked unchanged. Without a backwards glance, he stepped forward, through the veil, and disappeared.

0000000000000000000000000000

River Tam sat bolt upright in bed, and screamed. Simon rushed into her room, and tried to pull her into a comforting embrace, but she resisted.

"A whole in the fabric of the universe. Took the torn piece and hung it in a room. Usually only the wind blows through. But sometimes a bug. We need to catch the bug," River explained to Simon, very sensibly. He looked confused. She rolled her eyes and hopped out of bed.

"River? Where are you going mei mei?" Simon followed her out the door as she wandered upstairs. Passing through the kitchen, she stopped in front of the table where Mal, Wash, and Jayne were playing poker.

"Is unnecessary. Jayne will win." The three men looked up, surprised.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed there, Lil Albatross?" Mal asked.

"She was, but then the fabric fluttered." River replied.

"What fabric mei mei?" asked Simon from behind her.

"She already explained it to the idiot child. Captain, Serenity must stop. She will plot a course." Everyone laughed at the way River referred to Simon, but sobered immediately at her parting words as she headed for the bridge.

"No gorram way we are makin' any stops as weren't planned for quite a ways ago. Albatross!" Mal said, laying his cards down on the table and standing to follow her out.

"You foldin' Mal?" asked Jayne, still staring at his hand. Mal nodded as he exited the room.

"Girl, you get on out of Wash's seat now, you hear?" Mal's voice drifted down the hall. Simon started for the bridge.

"She's in my seat? What is our own personal prophetess doing now?" Wash asked, making to leave the kitchen and investigate. "I'll fold."

"I win?" Jayne asked the deserted kitchen, slightly shocked.

00000000000000000000000000

Harry was rather surprised to find himself standing in a desert. At the bottom of a cliff. He was rather surprised to be standing at all. He had assumed that the veil meant you died, and if there was something after that, he was pretty sure it didn't look like this. Looking up, the first thing Harry noticed was the moon. And the other one. There were two. He sat down on a nearby rock.

So, as strange as the thought was, he wasn't on earth. Was this an alternate reality? Or something like the Room of Requirement? He pulled off his robes to reveal a green shirt and jeans. It was slightly cooler, but not much. A thought occurred to him, and he pulled out his wand.

"Lumos!" Harry was thrilled to see that, wherever he was, at least his wand still worked. It was getting dark. That meant it would cool off soon. He conjured a sleeping bag and lay down on top of it, staring up at the sky. He wasn't particularly worried about being in the middle of nowhere. He had thought he was going to die, to see Sirius and his parents. He had convinced himself that they waited just beyond the veil, just out of reach. He felt keenly the disappointment that he wasn't with them now, but rather alone on a desolate planet.

He must have fallen asleep, because Harry was suddenly awakened by the roar of an engine as a spaceship landed close by. Standing, he drew his wand. A spaceship? Was this some bizarre dream?

A ramp lowered, and a group of five people walked towards him. The first thing he noticed was that they were all carrying guns. The second was the girl. She was in front, leading the rest. She was tiny, and moved with catlike grace, dark eyes focused on Harry, and long hair blowing in the slight nighttime breeze.

"Poor little bug. Not native to this environment." She smiled at him, and he found himself smiling back, even as he wondered about what she said. It made sense, sort of, but she spoke strangely.

"What's your name kid?" asked a man with sandy brown hair. Harry noticed his eyes. They had that look. Like they had seen too much. Harry would recognize the look anywhere. Glancing around, he saw that they all had the same haunted something lurking in their eyes. He knew that his held the same.

"Harry Potter." There was no whispering or nudging. They didn't all smile and try to shake his hand. The man who had spoken just nodded and asked how he had gotten there. The girl answered.

"Stepped through the piece of fabric. Fell through the tear. We have discussed this. He can cook." The man, who Harry assumed was the leader, frowned at her explanation, but his face brightened slightly at the last part. Harry just stared at her in shock.

"You can cook? Great. We could use a chef, with the Sheppard stayin' planetside. River, you vouch for him?"

"Affirmative." The girl treated Harry to another bright smile, while the rest of the crew watched silently. The large man carrying a huge gun looked bored. The pretty woman wearing mostly leather looked just as dangerous as he, her face expressionless. The other man, a skinny, sophisticated looking fellow, held his pistol as if he'd never handled one before, and seemed very concerned as he watched the girl who was talking to Harry. The leader broke into a funny lopsided grin and offered a hand. Harry shook it, after slipping his wand back into his pocket. He didn't have anywhere else to go.

"The name's Mal. And this here's River, her overprotective brother Dr. Tam, Zoe, and our mercenary, Jayne. And this," he continued, gesturing to the ship, "is Serenity."

Please review the story so far. I'm hoping to have an update in a couple days.