Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.


Ron held up his hand calling his squad to a halt, leaving his assault rifle hanging by its strap. His breath misting and his lungs burning in the extreme cold. The snow covered ground ahead was undisturbed in the large open space between the tree line where his squad was hunkered down and the outer suburbs of the city ahead. Ron had only just rejoined his squad after three months with the think tank.

"Alright, we wait here." Ron ordered before sending a coded radio pulse.

Through his peripheral vision he could see the rest of the assault force moving into position behind the cover of the trees. Ron could hear the coded pulses as each unit moved into position.

After a few minutes a voice cam over the radio.

"Archangel. I say again, Archangel." The voice said and then a pause. "Go. Go. Go."

Ron signalled his squad forward and ran at full pelt out over the open space. Gun fire opened up both from the assaulting troops and from among the buildings. The Death Eaters had learnt quickly that they needed guys with guns to fight this war. They had gotten their soldiers from two sources. One was Mercenaries, hired for their complete lack of morals, and the other force was British Soldiers co-opted by the use of the Imperious Curse on strategic officers and NCO's.

About one third of the way across the kill zone, with a swathe of fallen assault force members sprawled on the snow, the assault looked like it was about to falter as an ever increasing rate of fire came from the buildings and street barricades. Then the attacker's support came in to play. The artillery shells arrived in giant plumes of flame, dirt, brick and snow. The majority of the shells fell in the outskirts buildings but a number were targeted short of the buildings in order to provide craters for cover and foxholes. Once the foxholes were created the barrage lifted from the field and then continued to lift as the soldiers advanced.

Ron's team dropped into one of the foxholes. One of his troopers fell with a bullet in his head. They returned fire to the window where the shots had come from. One trooper sent a 203 grenade through the window, which blew out sending a corpse flying. The call to advance came and they moved into the city.


Hermione stood at the lectern of the conference room, in front of twenty Jedi, most of the most promising candidates at being truly effective Generals. Anakin and his Master were not present as they had been deployed but there were several Council members, including Master Windu, in attendance. Harry was also there to help with the presentation and had several holorecordings keyed up ready to play and there were also two Clone Commanders to assist in the lecture.

"The single most important adjustment that you will need to make is to remove yourself from the situation and trust your troopers." Hermione said. "In order to get the most out of your troops they need latitude."

"How are we supposed to give them latitude?" one Jedi asked. "Not give them too many orders?"

"No. Remember that the Clones are trained obey any order exactly as you word it. So if you order them to 'Assault that position', then they will perform a direct assault, regardless of how much fire power they are walking into. However if you say 'we need to take that position', then they will plan their assault with the best chance of success." Hermione replied. "What you need to do is give objectives to be achieved but unless you have a very good reason do not tell them how to take the objective. The one order that has killed more Clone Troopers than any other in this war had been 'Follow me'. Just because a Jedi could survive a situation does not mean their Clone Troopers can."

Harry began passing out datapads to all of the Jedi and the two Clone Commanders.

"On the datapads you are receiving you will see the schematics for a hypothetical Separatist fortress that needs to taken. You have two hours to formulate your assault plan. When you are done we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each plan."


Thrust and Rush walked through the ranks of the troopers standing at attention. Their force had been officially titled the 332nd Legion, and unofficially dubbed by Sergeant Stalker as 'The Predators', and had received a large number of reinforcements, consisting of two thousand veteran clones that had seen fighting on various worlds and another five and a half thousand rookie clones, shipped strait from their training on Kamino. The troopers who had been with them on Geonosis were easily recognisable by their armour markings. The other veterans could be identified by the familiarity with their weapons, their slightly dinged or worn armour and something almost intangible in their bearing. The rookies all stood ram-rod strait, their white armour almost shining.

"Alright, listen up." Thrust began. "My name is Colonel Thrust, your commanding officer. This is Major Rush, my XO. While the 332nd Legion will be conducting standard operations against the main Separatist Clanker forces, we are to be a specialised Legion. Our primary focus will be combat on worlds where the indigenous populations not only support the Separatist cause but have also committed warriors. That's right brothers. We are to fight sentients."

A murmur went through the assembled clone troopers, with the exception of the Geonosis veterans.

"In the Predators we have three very important traditions. Firstly, all armour damage will be repaired in red, like you see on Major Rush, myself and the other Legion Veterans. All troopers who have transferred in from other units are to report to Captain Crush for armour analysis and, where appropriate, damage markings. The Legion's Markings shall also be three parallel slashes on the left shoulder pad. All transferring Troopers shall receive this when they report to Crush. Rookies will receive their Legion Markings once our Veterans have determined you are ready."

At this stage Rush took over the instruction while Thrust disappeared into a turbolift, only to appear a few moments later high on a gantry with a squad of Veteran troopers, their red markings highlighting their white armour.

"Our second major tradition is our preferred method of covert insertion." As Rush said this, Thrust and the squad stepped off gantry high above, earning a gasp from the new legion troopers. "Parachute insertions."

The squad all pulled their chutes, landed and smoothly exited their harnesses without getting tangled.

"You will learn a range of types of Parachute insertions and the best tactical uses for each method." Rush continued. "And our third, and most important tradition. Officers and NCO's lead from the front, and no one leads better than Generals Potter and Granger."

"Right." Thrust said, stepping up besides Rush. "Now we will start the combat drills. We have two battle fields set up. In Alpha it will be two squads of experienced Troopers versus one squad of Veterans. In Beta it will be two platoons of Rookies versus one squad of Veterans."


Harry leant against the railing high over the training area, watching the tiny figures below of Experience Troopers versus the Veterans. The newer troopers had improved in the last three weeks, and were quickly getting up to speed with the Legion's requirements. Even the Rookies were starting to shape up. He watched as the seven remaining Experienced Troopers were trying to track down the three Veterans still active. The Experienced troopers had split into two teams, one three man and one four man, but they were still having trouble as Veterans, Backstab, Sprint and Deadeye, had all spilt up and were playing to their individual strengths.

Harry heard footsteps along the gantry and Hermione leant against the railing next to him, but facing away from the drop so that they could see each other's faces.

"How's the training going?" she asked.

"They're improving." Harry said, before glancing sideways at her eyes. "We've been tasked, haven't we?"

"Yeah. Some planet in the Mid Rim I've never heard of. Hear it is very Earth like. The Humans there are fighting alongside the Seps." Hermione explained. "We got a full briefing at oh-nine hundred tomorrow and the Flotilla sets off the day after."

When the Legion had been officially established, they were given three Republic Attack Cruisers under the command of Admiral Janna Keltra, the only female Admiral in the Republic Fleet, a brilliant tactician who also recognised the need for different viewpoints and always kept her focus on the overall objectives rather than immediate ones. Since the 332nd had been assigned to her ships, she had invited Harry, Hermione, Rush and Thrust to dine on several occasions, with the intention both the get to know each other and to discuss strategies for hypothetical situation they were likely to encounter.

"Well, long day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed." Hermione said, pushing away from the railing.

Harry nodded as he watched Deadeye score a hit on one of the Experienced Troopers from two hundred meets, the shot passing though some partially obscuring plants and hitting the Trooper in the middle of the six inches of exposed helmet. He was not called Deadeye for nothing.

"You coming?" Hermione asked with a sultry smile, only partially ruined by the scar running down her face.

"Of course." Harry said, standing upright. "Thrust has this under control."

Harry put his arm around his wife's waist as they walked off to their cabin. And their large bed.


"Mistress Padme, you have a visitor."

"Who is it, C3PO?" Senator Amidala asked.

"An old friend." A female voice said from the other room, one that Padme instantly recognised.

"Hermione." She said, rushing out into the living room of her apartments. "I was not expecting you for a few days."

"You said you wanted to talk, and I ship out with the Legion tomorrow, so if I did not come now then it would be months at the least before I could come." Hermione replied.

Padme led Hermione to the couches and dismissed C3PO.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Hermione asked, adjusting her two Lightsabre hilts on her belt, making sure they did not interfere with the two blaster pistols in their thigh holsters.

"I trust you will keep this confidential." Padme said.

"Of course. Is this political?"

"No." the Senator replied. "Personal. This is about Anakin."

"Right. But if this is about the birds and the bees I'm out of here." Hermione joked.

"It's not about that." Padme replied with a smile. "How do you deal with Harry being in so much danger? I mean every time Anakin… what was the term you used? Ships out? Every time he ships out I worry so much about him."

"Well in my case I am in as much danger as he is." Hermione mused. "So I don't have to wait behind like you do."

Hermione paused looking at the emotion in Padme's eyes.

"My advice is to make the most of every day you have with him. Like Harry and myself, you and Anakin have also both dedicated yourselves not just to each other but also to a cause. The Jedi Order for him and politics for you."

"So that is how you have done it? Making the most of every day?" Padme said.

"We are slightly different. Harry and I have been, if not exactly in a war, but still in conflict for almost our entire life, so we have gotten used to it and the danger is just a part of our life."

The two wives sat and chatted for a few hours, before Hermione had to get back to the Legion while Padme got a call about a resolution going through the Senate, so C3PO showed Hermione out.

TBC…