Ashara returned to the crew's quarters later that night to find Anubin stroking a greyish creature absently while he examined a long wooden stick.
She'd seen him do weirder things, but this was still up there.
"Anubin, what is that?"
"It's a wand. It's this culture's version of a focus."
"Not the wand, the... animal."
As if it knew it was being spoken of, the creature turned it head to glare at Ashara with beady yellow eyes. Ashara shivered under its gaze - those eyes reminded her too much of some Sith Lords she'd met.
"Oh. She's a cat, a small feline bred as housepets on this planet. I call her Advena."
Knowing Anubin's twin, who didn't much like animals - a mutual feeling - she would not be impressed.
"I was hoping to show her to Talos, I thought he might like to examine her tracks."
"He would. Anubin..." Ashara came closer, and wrinkled her nose as she realized exactly how dirty the cat was. "She needs a bath."
"I suppose. Very well." Suddenly, Ashara found herself with one arm full of the cat and the other being pulled by Anubin as he dragged her along to the bathroom. She spluttered out an incoherent protest, but it was ignored.
After they got the indignant Advena cleaned up, Anubin left for the library to do some more late reading, having not been able to join his crew that morning on account of his lesson. About an hour into one particular advanced spellbook, he discovered something that had the potential to be extremely useful.
He called Xalek and Ashara to him. "Look at this," he said. "These Force users have learned to bend the Force to teleport."
"That's impossible."
"Apparently not. They call it Apparition, which is a rather silly name for something so useful."
"Apparition..." Ashara slammed a fist into her palm. "I remember reading something about that! It said in Hogwarts: A History that there were anti-Apparition wards around the school, so people can't Apparate on the grounds. I didn't know what it was referring to, but I get it now."
"We're going to learn to do this. Whether we have to leave the grounds to do it or not, we're going to learn to teleport."
Of course, first they had to find time to learn how to do so, between Anubin's sessions training the Force users how to work without wands, general research, meals and sleeping, and anything else they had to do. They decided to work mostly at night. After all, what were a few nights with a little less sleep than they'd like versus learning how to teleport?
It took almost a week of practice to make any kind of a breakthrough. Anubin finally managed to disappear and reappear a few metres away, and then Xalek did so an hour or so later. Ashara managed the following day, and soon the three could reliably teleport distances of up to a hundred metres.
The three agreed that the ability to teleport could be quite dangerous in many a Sith Lord's hands, and so they decided to keep their discoveries a secret from the Empire at large. They kept no notes on the subject, and largely ignored the book that had described the process from then on.
Anubin's students in the Force were progressing well. All of them had finally picked up on how to feel the Force, and most had managed to channel it to levitate small objects. Lily had moved on to being able to summon small sparks of lightning on her fingers, though they were a far cry from the lightning Anubin had once demonstrated his ability to conjure. Still, they were moving faster than most students in the ways of the Force did at first, which was a thought Anubin clung to when his students would drop what they were lifting at the slightest distraction.
A few days after mastering teleportation, Anubin noticed Minerva leaving the castle early in the morning. This wouldn't be overly remarkable but for the exceedingly early hour - Anubin himself wouldn't have been up, but the Force was roiling like a pot of water on a stove, apparently after or in anticipation of a momentous event - and the way she looked around before she left, as though to make sure no one was following her.
Naturally, Anubin hid himself from perception and followed her.
Minerva headed down the long path to the castle gates. Anubin quickly followed her through the gate before it slammed shut, and reacted to her turning as though to Apparate in time to catch hold of her sleeve to come along with her.
They landed in a heap under a small tree. The shock on the landing forced Anubin to release his hold on the Force, so his cover disappeared and he was visible.
"Anubin! Why did you grab me that way?! You're lucky we weren't Splinched!"
Having nearly had a nasty incident with Splinching himself, Anubin understood where she was coming from. "I'm sorry, Minerva, but you were acting quite oddly - you have to understand why I was intrigued."
Minerva drew herself up to her full height, looking every inch the angry teacher she was, and Anubin automatically flinched away. "Intrigue? That's your excuse? You could cause us to be discovered by these Muggles! I refuse to be discovered here because of you!"
Anubin cloaked himself again and stepped out of her reach. "You won't be discovered because of me. I just want to know what you're doing here. You don't have to tell me anything. I'll just watch."
Minerva opened her mouth to argue, then sighed. "Very well."
Then, to Anubin's great surprise, she turned into a cat and leapt up onto the short wall behind them.
"I have to learn how to do that," he muttered.
Anubin sat down on the wall beside Minerva. He was tempted to reach over and rub behind her ears the way Advena liked, but refrained - he didn't feel the need to rouse her ire so early in the day.
Several hours passed, and the people in their houses began to come out. Most got into their odd little groundcars and drove away - Anubin had to laugh at the technological simplicity of this society - but some walked around and engaged in conversation with their neighbours.
Anubin noticed Minerva focusing on one man in particular, so he followed her gaze. The man was rather unpleasant-looking - widely built, with a red face and a rather horrible mustache, plus an expression that reminded him of Darth Ravage.
Over the course of the day, Minerva and Anubin studied the occupants of the house the unpleasant man had come out of - a woman and child that were likely the man's family. The results of their watching were not encouraging; Anubin found the boy to be an awful little brat, screaming and crying whenever things didn't seem to go his way, and the woman encouraged these habits. She was also rather unpleasant, spending most of her time craning her long neck over the fence to watch her neighbours.
What was worse was the way the Force prickled him when he was around the house, as though it was - unfortunately - important to something. Whatever it was, Anubin didn't much like it. It seemed... tender, and painful, as though there was to be a great loss.
Eventually, the man returned home, and night fell over the street. Shortly after the unpleasant man and his wife went to bed, Minerva looked down the street, and a tall, thin figure appeared.
Suddenly, the streetlamps began to go out, one after the other, until the whole street was shrouded in darkness. Only then did the figure approach.
Dumbledore sat on the wall between Anubin and Minerva. He winked at Anubin, then turned to Minerva.
"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall, Anubin."
Minerva was suddenly human again, and she looked rather ruffled. Taking this as a sign of safety, Anubin dropped the illusion hiding him.
"How did you know it was me?"
"And how did you know I was there?"
"My dear professor, I have never seen a cat sit so stiffly. And, my dear boy, I have my ways."
"Unhelpful," Anubin muttered, as Minerva replied, "You'd be stiff too if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day."
"All day?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring Anubin's comment. "When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."
"Celebrating what, exactly?" Anubin asked. As far as he knew, there was very little happening that deserved over a dozen parties all at once. It wasn't Life Day yet, and besides, they didn't celebrate that on this little backwater.
Minerva and Dumbledore looked at each other, then back at Anubin.
"I'm afraid we haven't been completely honest with you or your friends," Dumbledore said. "You see, for the past eleven years now, our society has been at war."
"At war? How could we have not noticed a war?"
Minerva scowled at the interruption, but Dumbledore ignored her and continued. "The war never reached Hogwarts. You see, the man who started this war, a man known as Voldemort –" here Minerva flinched, though Dumblrdore seemed not to notice "- fears me, and so keeps away from me."
"What was this war about? And what are we doing here now?"
"Voldemort and his followers,the Death Eaters, started this war because of a difference in belief between them and wizardkind at large. The Death Eaters believed that wizardkind was superior to Muggles, or those without magic, and that we ought not to hide from them. The Death Eaters began to attack and kill Muggles and those witches and wizards who disagreed with them, and so our society has been at war ever since."
"As to what we're doing here," Mineral continued, with a glance at Dumbledore to ensure he was finished, "it was said that last night, he was defeated, but… but Lily and James Potter were killed. And… this is Lily's sister's family."
"Lily and James were killed?"
Dumbledore said nothing, only bowed his head, and Anubin followed suit in remembrance. Minerva let out an awful sob and buried her face in her hands.
"But their son," Dumbledore said, "was not killed with them. Harry survived. And so I have come here to bring him to the last of his family."
"You can't leave him here," Anubin said flatly. "These people are awful."
"I have no other choice. They're the only family he has left. It's for the best."
"What exactly is the reasoning behind that? Because one's family aren't always the best people to raise them. My father, for example –"
"Is irrelevant to this conversation, I'm afraid. My decision is made. Harry will stay here, with his family."
"But Albus –"
Dumbledore stared at Minerva. "Can't you see this is the bet place for him? He needs to grow up away from the Wizarding world, where the fame for his role in taking down Voldemort can't go to his head! He won't even remember it! It's better to leave him here, with his family, who will be better able to explain his fame to him when he's old enough to understand. I've left them a letter for that purpose."
Judging by her expression, Minerva had changed her tune. Anubin wasn't so sure, but he kept his silence.
A plan began to take shape in his mind, but he dismissed it for now; better to figure out the details when he was alone or around those he trusted.
Meanwhile, a rumbling blocked any further attempts at conversation. The rumbling grew into a roar, and them a great main that looked as though it belonged on the ground dropped out of the sky onto the road in front of them.
Anubin had met Hagrid before, so his size was no surprise, but Anubin was struck by how odd he looked surrounded by the trappings of so-called normalcy.
"Hagrid. At last. Where did you get the motorbike?"
"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir. Young Sirius Black lent it me. I've got him here, sir." Hagrid climbed carefully off the motorbike and leaned down to show the three the bundle in his hand.
The Force cried around the bundle, resonating with he loss the baby within had suffered. Anubin also sensed something odd wrapped around the boy's Force signature, such as it was. It was dark and cold and roiling angrily, and Anubin couldn't help but wonder what it was.
"Is that where –" Minerva whispered, gesturing towards the lightning-bolt scar just visible on the boy's forehead.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Hell have that scar forever."
"Couldn't you do something about it?"
"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in useful. I have one myself, above my left knee, that's a perfect map of the London Underground." He sighed. "Well, give him to me, Hagrid; we'd better get this over with."
Hagrid handed Harry to Dumbledore, but hesitated before drawing his hand back. "Can I – can I say goodbye, sir?"
Hagrid bent over the bundle, then straightened and gave a loud wail.
Dumbledore ignored this, stepping over the low wall to the house. Anubin followed him, leaving Minerva to console the weeping Hagrid.
"Are you certain there's no other way?"
Dbledore looked him in the eyes with his piercing gaze, all trace of his usual twinkle gone. "Yes. This is the only way."
Dumbledore placed the bundle on the front step, then reached into his robes and produced what could only have been his letter. He tucked it into the bundle, then stepped away.
Anubin remained for a moment, watching the child. The Force still cried around him. It seemed to be calling for something to be done.
"It will be done," he murmured. The urgency in the Force diminished somewhat, but it still pulsed around the child.
Anubin stepped away and returned to the group. Hagrid was climbing back onto the motorbike; he kicked the engine to life and roared off into the night. Dumbledore headed down the street in the opposite direction. Suddenly, all the street lamps came back on, and Dumbledore disappeared.
Minerva turned to Anubin. "Back to Howards for us."
"Indeed."
Minerva took his offered arm, turned, and Disapparated.
Together, Anubin and Minerva made their way through the castle to the tower where Anubin and his crew were staying. Minerva left him at the door without a word.
He paced the common room for some time, trying to figure out a more solid plan and waiting until he couldn't sense anyone else awake in the castle.
Two hours after his return, he finally sensed Minerva fall asleep, and he couldn't sense Dumbledore in the castle, so he put his plan into action.
He woke his crew and Darth Vowrawn and assembled them in the common room. Quickly, he explained the basics of the situation and his plan.
"...so, we're going to take Harry Potter and leave the planet," he finished. "We'll need to move quickly, before morning comes and his relatives find him."
"Anubin, is this wise? As interesting as they are, perhaps we should leave the politics of the planet to the inhabitants, and leave the boy where he is."
"I know you might not understand my sentimental reasons, but the Force cries for him. It calls me to help him, and who am I to disagree with the Force? And another thing... I'm not certain we should invade this planet. I believe more study is needed. Perhaps a test: take a citizen to become Sith?"
"I see. Yes, you have a point."
"Alright. Ashara, Xalek, Khem, go to the library and take as many useful books as you can carry. Spellbooks, wandlore, that sort of thing. History is less important, but if you can find some ancient histories, take them if you can. Talos, Andronikos, go and make sure the Angel is ready for takeoff. Don't start the engines until I return; they'll give us away. Vowrawn, do what you will, but make sure you're on the Angel with the rest of us."
"I shall aid the library team."
"Very well. I'll go and get Harry. I shouldn't be long, so be quick."
The crew headed out. Anubin made his way out of the front cates as quickly as possible, hiding himself just in case.
Once he was out of the wards, he put his whole focus on the street where they'd left Harry, and turned in the familiar motion of Apparition.
He appeared with a loud crack by the wall where he had sat all day. He hurried up the walk to where Harry lay, still asleep in his blankets. Gently, Anubin lifted the bundle and cradled it to his chest while he hurried back down the walk.
Once he was over the wall, he focused on the area near the Angel, pulled harry in close to his chest, and turned and Apparated once more.
He appeared right next to his beloved ship. Harry, woken and unsettled by the feeling of Apparition, began to cry.
"Hush, Harry," Anubin whispered, instinctively rocking him. The sound of Harry's cries echoed everywhere, and Anubin worried they'd give them away.
Anubin dashed around the Angel to the loading ramp and ran up. He was met at the top by Darth Vowrawn, who opened the door for him.
Anubin took a seat in the main hold, still rocking the crying Harry. "I can't get him to stop."
"You're doing the right thing. Just keep rocking him, he should settle soon." Vowrawn turned as the rest of the library team emerged from the cargo hold.
"I think we were followed," Ashara reported. "We can't go back for a second trip even if we weren't."
"Well done in any case. If the books are loaded into the cargo hold, tell Andronikos to take off."
Still holding the now-quieted Harry, Anubin headed to the cockpit and strapped himself into the captain's chair. As he did so, he heard the engines starting, and a moment later the ship shuddered and took off.
The Angel angled herself towards open space, as if she was as eager as her inhabitants to leave Earth. Her sensors reported several life forms gathered on the ground, but none of the Angel's crew paid them any mind.
That being said, when the Angel finally made the jump to hyperspace, Anubin breathed a sigh of relief.