Deaged Harry, Ron, and Hermione (like in Trio but younger) are found by Mal, Zoe, and whatever crew they have at the time (none?). At first Mal plans to get rid of them ASAP, but he comes around, at least partly because of Harry's terror of being sent to an orphanage. As in Trio, Harry's not all there, so it's not exactly shocking that he and River get along like two peas in a pod once the Tams come aboard. All three of them act childish most of the time, because except for Ron they didn't when they were young the first time; Ron acts the most mature most of the time.

[River freaks out about Book's hair]
Harry: Don't worry, it only attacks his enemies.

Firefly/Leverage

What if it was the Leverage team who got River out of the Academy? Because you know they'd do a better job of making sure she and Simon were safe from the Alliance.

Firefly/Star Trek crossover

The Alliance from Firefly is the Federation from Star Trek.

Obviously the protagonists of Star Trek would not condone Miranda or what was done to River, but they don't know everything that happens. A matter of perspective- people who believe in the Federation vs. people who don't, which colors the narratives. Plus, the Star Trek people don't seem to spend a lot of time in areas like Firefly's location- backwater but a part of the Federation- because they're either on one of the major planets or exploring outside of the Federation.

Issues to writing this crossover:

• Earth uninhabitable vs. still inhabited
• aliens vs. no aliens
• your brain may break from reconciling two images of the Federation/the Alliance

Possible scenes:

• Federation officers/crewmembers in same bar as Firefly crew (on Unification Day!)
• Ship sent due to the broadcast about Miranda