IATB: The Rise

by ffdrake

Sequel to In All Things Balance. Former Dark Lady Nox has laid the foundations for a new order of Force users on Earth. But with Order 66 given and the Jedi scatter her plans must be accelerated making her bring her adoptive son, Harry Potter, and her apprentices Daphne and Susan to their trials. While on Earth Voldemort begins his plans for resurrection. Nox/Tonks, Harry/Ahsoka

14. Chapter 14

A/N: Well here we are with another chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted to this story so far! Thank you so much! The Rise is now up to over 2k alerts! That's…simply incredible to me so thank you all so much!

I've also just gotten a new computer! (The store couldn't fix my old one even after two months so they just gave me the amount I paid for it in credit and I got a new one). So I will be a lot better about answering all of your wonderful reviews from here on out!

And lastly, a big thank you to my two beta readers HowInMadHowie and Dunstan Xenon. Thank you guys so much for your continued help!

Oh, and there will be another A/N at the end, please read if your so inclined.

Chapter 14

Coming out of hyperspace, Quinlan Vos stared at the rapidly growing planet directly in front of them. "Well…here we are again." He murmured as he turned around to face first Asajj, who'd been dozing in the seat next to him, and then BB-8. "Hey Bee-Bee. Kick up the scanners will you? Let's see if there's anyone home."

The little spherical astromech extended one of its arms and gave him a salute before rolling towards the back of the cockpit and plugging into one of the terminals. "It's about damn time too." Asajj grumbled from beside him as she rubbed the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. "Despite the modifications our new friends did to this ship…two months is still a long time to spend in it."

"It was still worth it." Quinlan shrugged, flipping through the controls of the ship to prepare for entry into the planet's atmosphere.

Part of their mission had been to search out possible planets that would be eligible to sustain life while they were following the path that Master Nox had set through the Unknown Regions of space. They didn't stray too far off of their set route, but they had managed to pick up a system on their long range scanners that appeared to have a planet that could sustain organic life. The other reason as to why they'd taken their time in getting to Odessen was the warning that Master Yoda had given them about feeling a disturbance in the Force around Odessen.

'Although how the old man can feel a disturbance in the Force that far away that accurately completely boggles the mind.' Quinlan thought as the ship started to enter the atmosphere. 'But as I've learned…never question Master Yoda. The old man is usually right.' But despite countless hours of meditation by both himself and Asajj, neither of them felt anything.

Just as they were leveling out through the clouds however, BB-8 started whistling and beeping loudly. "Sounds like the little guy found something." Asajj commented before pulling up her screen. "Huh…looks like there's some sort of small power-downed craft near the ruins to the old Alliance base. Hmm…looks like it's been here for a while too."

Staring at the now clear landscape beneath them, Quinlan opened himself up to the Force. He could feel something, or rather…someone familiar yet at the same time not. Yet one thing that he could sense was a complete and utter lack of hostility in the presence. 'Who are you?'

"Set landing coordinates for the ruined base." He said, coming out of his trance. "We need to find out who this is. And more importantly, how did they get here."

"Really? You want to ask how? What part of powered down craft did you miss." Asajj said dryly then sighed, seeing the mountain that hid the old Alliance base come into view. "We're about to get our answer. Whether we like it or not."

As their ship touched down, BB-8 detached himself from the terminal and was rolling towards the exit before either Asajj or Quinlan could so much as get out of their seats. "Well," Quinlan chuckled as the little droid whistled. "He's certainly anxious isn't he? Let's go see what's got him so worked up shall we?"

Stepping out of the Wind, Quinlan hesitated only for a brief moment as his eyes fell upon the strange ship that was sitting just in front of the entrance to the abandoned base. 'Hmm…that's a old Republic T-6 shuttle…what in the name of the Force is it doing all the way out here?'

Ignoring BB-8 for the moment, Quinlan stepped around the spherical droid and made his way over to the shuttle. 'Strange…the loading ramp is down but the inner door is sealed.' He thought as he circled around the ship before squatting down next to the end of the loading ramp. 'A single set of tracks…light weight. Humanoid build. Possibly female but…hmmm…a slight hand print on the ground. Let's see if you left any more clues stranger.'

Using his ability to track other through the touching of inanimate objects was almost second nature to Quinlan. But tracking one using his ability and their tracks left on the ground was much more difficult. As his hand pressed down on the indent, he opened his mind to the Force. In his mind's eye he saw a figure robed in light brown robes leaning over and pressing their hand to the ground. The figure's hooded head rose slightly and look at the ruins before them before standing upright, bringing an immediate end to his vision as their hand left the ground.

"Well?" Asajj asked, kneeling down next to him. "Who are we dealing with?"

"I don't know." He answered, staring towards the base. "The vision wasn't clear enough for me to see their face, but they were wearing a brown robe. A light brown robe. And they were powerful in the Force. Incredibly powerful. I'm talking nearly on par with the old man and Nox."

Asajj blinked dumbly before turning her head slowly towards the cavern entrance. "Who?"

"I have no idea." Quinlan answered honestly as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his hands. "But…I think they're friendly."

Asajj shook her head. "You think? And what are the odds that they're not?"

"Eh, this day and age I would say it's about a fifty-fifty shot." Quinlan smiled over his shoulder as he made his way towards the entrance. "So come on, what's the worst that could happen? Bee-bee, stay with the ship until we get back. And if we're not back by sunrise send a long range transmission to Nox."

BB-8 gave another salute before turning tail and rolling back into the Wind as Quinlan and Asajj made their way into the darkened cavern. "Now," Quinlan muttered as he pulled out his wand. "Let's see if I remember how to do this again."

Unfortunately despite the fact that they were stuck inside the ship for nearly two months, neither he nor Asajj had gotten in much practice in terms of practical applications with their wands. Sure they were able to do a few charms so they could get used to the feel of channeling the Force through them and into their wands. But practicing complicated spells was not the best idea when one was locked inside a small ship traveling through hyperspace.

It took Quinlan a few tries, but eventually he managed to recreate the spell that Nox and Yoda had used last time they were here to create a small ball of floating light. "Ha! Admit it…I'm good aren't I?"

Asajj merely gave him a queer look before snapping her own wand off to the side duplicating what'd taken him multiple tries on her first attempt. "You were saying luv?"

"Bloody show off," Quinlan grumbled lowly before moving past his lover and into the darkened cave.

The old base looked exactly as he remembered it. Everything was in the same place, nothing had been dug up or moved. In fact, the only indication that someone had even ventured into the base at all the ship parked just outside the entrance. Kneeling down off to one side of what was once a control room, Quinlan made a careful examination of the crisscross of footprints that'd been left in the dust. 'These are all useless. Most, if not all of them, were left by us the last time we were here. And this new figure…their tracks are roughly the same size as a few of those girls from Earth.

"Quinlan, over here."

Standing up, he made his way over to Asajj, who was kneeling down just in front of a small opening the wall. An opening that wasn't there the last time they were here. Nodding to Asajj, the two canceled their spheres of light and drew their lightsabers before slipping silently into the small opening.

Emerging from the slight opening, the two found themselves in a new branch that led off of the main hall. A single set of footprints left in the millennia worth of dust leading off down the path. 'Is that…is that running water I hear? There must be some sort of underground stream running through this section of the base.'

Moving slowly to avoid making any sound, the two of them made their way through the pitch black corridor relying only on the Force and the sound of running water to guide them. A few turns down the corridor later, and the two pulled short as they spotted light coming from further down the hall.

Pressing themselves against either wall, the two moved silently towards the large cavernous room at the end of the hall. The sun was shining through a large crack in the ceiling, making the partially moss covered room completely visible. At the opposite end of the room, water was running freely down the rocks and into a small pond in the floor. And just before the pond knelt a single figure that was wearing, what Quinlan now knew for a fact, a Jedi robe.

"I see you two have finally decided to join me." A distinctively feminine voice called out. "Come out from the shadows. You have no reason to fear me."

While Quinlan was wracking his mind trying to place the voice, Asajj went completely stock still.

"No…it can't be." Asajj murmured to herself but Quinlan heard her looked at her with a raised bor.

The figure's hooded head tilted slightly to the side. "Ah…Ventress. I see…interesting. Not quite so full of hatred and bile this time. Has your time amongst the Sith finally shown you the truth of their nature?"

Taking a few steps away from the wall, Asajj stood still in the entrance to the room and stared at the figure as if she were looking at a ghost. "Asajj?" Quinlan questioned as he stepped over to her, his lightsaber still in his hand and ready to be used should the need arise. "Who is this?"

Asajj gave no indication that she even heard him. Her eyes trained solely on the robed kneeling figure in front of them. "You're dead. I killed you. I felt your presence fade away. You– you can't be her!"

Laughing, the figure rose to her feet and pulled back her hood, revealing a youthful face of almost unparalleled beauty surrounded by golden locks of hair. Even though he'd never met her, Quinlan knew who this Jedi was. Just as every Jedi who'd gone through the Jedi Temple in the past few hundred years knew who she was.

"You should know young one…in the Force nothing is impossible." Jedi Master Fay answered with a smile.

---

Pacing the length of the training room he'd created in the Room of Requirement for the twentieth time in as many minutes, Harry felt the tenuous control he had on his temper starting to slip even as he repeated the Code of the Guardians over and over in his head. 'Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order.'

Yet despite the mantra, his control was slipping and in a fit of rage he lashed out with the Force and completely obliterated one of the weapon racks lining the walls. Reducing both the shelf and the weapons that'd been attached to it to splinters.

Hearing a loud bang reverberate throughout the room, Harry waved his arm towards the entrance, using the Force to unlock the dozens of locks lining the door. Once the door had opened enough, a clearly nervous looking Hannah entered the room.

"Well?" He demanded, before immediately cursing himself as Hannah flinched. "Sorry."

"I'm fine." Hannah responded unconvincingly. "But…it's like you thought. Susan's missing. She was in our room last night when we went to sleep. But this morning…she was just gone."

Unfortunately, Harry wasn't surprised by this news, but that didn't help his anger at all. "Thank you Hannah." He managed to get out evenly before turning his back on the blond haired girl. "Please leave for a while."

Hannah didn't respond, preferring instead of back out of the room silently. As soon as the door shut, Harry let out an inhuman yell as he raised both hands up to shoulder height. Anything that wasn't nailed down in the room floated up off the ground before compacting in one themselves as Harry's hands clenched tightly into fists and falling back to the ground. 'Damn them all to hell! I hate it when I'm right!'

It was the day of the second task, and just as he had predicted almost two months ago several of his friends had disappeared. Both Ginny and Hermione had been with him before he'd gone up to his room the night prior, however when he woke up mere hours ago both of them were gone. And now thanks to Hannah he knew that they weren't the only ones as apparently Susan was missing as well.

'That would make the hostages for Viktor, Cedric and myself.' He nearly hissed out loud as he made another pass within the training room, his eyes searching for something else to vent his anger out on. 'The old fuck is just lucky he couldn't get his hands on Ahsoka.'

Just the mere thought of his togruta girlfriend brought a halt to Harry's pacing and a slight grin to his face. Their relationship so far had been quite frankly…fantastic. Despite the fact that neither of them had ever been in a romantic relationship before. For her it was more of the Jedi Order's ridiculous ban on marriage and relationships in general, which only hardened after something called the Ruusan Reformation according to Ahsoka.

And for him, it was because he simply didn't have the time. It also didn't help that the only real female company he had until the age of nine had been his mother.

So together the two had been stumbling through their relationship together. Or rather…stumbling into one another as frequently as possible at least. Their brief little escapade atop the astronomy tower awoke something in the both of them. A hunger neither of them even realized they had.

Ever since then the two were joined at the lips whenever they were alone. Be it in the library, one of the meditation gardens, the landing bay behind a shipping crate. Even once on top of a chandelier. It seemed like no matter where they were whenever they were alone for at least a minute or more either Ahsoka or he would turn towards the other and that would be it.

But despite their best attempts at being secretive about their little…sessions they had still gotten caught. Although in hindsight, making out in cockpit of one of the Blackwings was probably not the best of all ideas. Especially when said Blackwing had already been signed out by Master Secura for training purposes that day.

At least the look on the twi'lek's face when she opened the canopy to find Ahsoka straddling Harry with their lips pressed together was priceless. The eight straight hours of meditation that they'd both been sentenced to thought was not priceless as Harry was positive that Master Secura had found the most jagged rocks possible for both of them to sit on while they meditated. His distracted musing was interrupted by a voice.

"Harry."

Growling low in his throat, Harry looked over his shoulder towards the entrance to the room. Standing just within the door was Daphne, who was pointedly looking directly at Harry and not at all of the damage that he'd caused to the room. "What is it Daphne?"

If Daphne was put off by his tone, she didn't show it as her face remained completely calm. "It's time."

Giving her a stiff nod, Harry made sure that he had his little bag of tricks shrunken and in his pocket before he marched towards the exit. Just as he was passing by Daphne, her hand shot out and grabbed his arm stopping him in his tracks. Cold blue eyes met crystal green as the two stared at one another. "Use it Harry," Daphne said, staring at him right in the eye. "Don't let it use you."

Holding her gaze, Harry nodded once before Daphne let go of him allowing the two of them to walk out of the Room of Requirement. Just outside of the room, the rest of Harry's inner circle minus Hermione, Ginny and Susan were pacing back and forth in the hall waiting for him. Ron and Tracey were standing next to one another as usual.

Astoria was comforting Hannah. And Luna was off by herself staring up at the rafters while moving around in slow circles, which he noticed were actually the steps to Ataru. But as soon as Daphne and he entered the room fully, all of them stopped and turned towards the two of them.

No words were spoken as Harry met each of their eyes before continuing on past them and down the stairs and through the empty halls of Hogwarts. 'Everyone is already down at the lake.' Harry thought as they reached the ground floor of Hogwarts. And he was right. As they stepped out into the sunlight Harry could just make out a large three story dock jutting out into the lake that'd just been constructed specifically for the second task and several rows of stands lining the shore.

As they drew closer, Harry felt two quick brushes against his mind. 'Mother and Ahsoka…' Sparing only a quick glance up towards the top of the stands where he felt the pulses originate from, Harry left his friends behind and climbed up onto the dock where the rest of the Champions awaited. Near the end of the dock he found Viktor staring resolutely across the lake and Cedric nervously pacing back and forth. But it was Fleur that made his steps falter. The half-veela looked absolutely apocalyptic.

"Fleur." He called out tentatively as he drew even with the irate veela. "Fleur…who did they take?"

Fleur's eyes were positively ablaze as she rounded on him. "My sister…those bastards took my sister!"

Flashback

Standing on the balcony in the astronomy tower overlooking all of Hogwarts, Harry waited with his back pressed against one of the pillars for his guests to arrive. There was a sense of peacefulness to Hogwarts at night that was second almost to none. That…and the fact that this tower had suddenly become central in most of his dreams of late definitely made it one of his favorite places in the world.

Feeling three presences rapidly approaching, Harry pushed himself off the pillar and turned towards the only door leading out of the balcony. 'It's about time.' He thought as the door opened revealing Fleur, followed by Cedric and Viktor taking up the rear.

"Well…we're here Harry." Cedric said as Viktor closed and locked the door behind them. "So…what's with all of the cloak and dagger stuff?"

Instead of answering immediately, Harry turned and stared back out at the landscape. "Have you all figured out the clue for the second task?" Harry asked over his shoulder. "That we have to retrieve something we hold dear from the bottom of the lake?"

Turning back around, Harry found that none of the Champions seemed to be surprised by this. 'They already knew. Go figure.' "And what of it?" Fleur asked, clearly curious. "It doesn't seem too hard. A simple bubblehead charm and a watchful eye on your surroundings and you'll be able to obtain whatever they've taken quickly enough."

"I'm not necessarily concerned with retrieval." Harry said before wincing. "Alright…actually I am. But it's not about what we're retrieving. Rather, who we're retrieving."

Fleur's and Cedric's eyes both widened as realization dawned on them. However Viktor didn't seemed to be surprised at all. "It's not so surprising is it?" Viktor shrugged. "Hostages have been used in past tournaments."

"What?" Fleur gapped, turning around to stare at Viktor.

"He's right." Harry confirmed. "Hostages were often used as a motivator during at least one task in almost every tournament. It's actually one of the reasons the Tournament was banned. It wasn't considered uncommon for at least one hostage to die each tournament."

"But- but the Headmasters assured us that there would be precautions throughout the tournament to ensure safety." Cedric said slowly.

Harry couldn't help but scoff. "Well, seeing as how I'm standing here as the fourth champion, an underage champion, in a 'Triwizard Tournament', I think that it's safe to assume that their precautions aren't worth hippogriff shit."

Fleur gave off a snort and shook her head. "Point taken Harry. Well…as I'm sure we can all agree that the so-call 'precautions' aren't worth anything…what are we going to do about this?"

"We?" Cedric asked, turning towards Fleur while Viktor merely raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, 'we'." Fleur sighed. "That is why you brought all of us up here tonight Harry, no? To work together on this Task?"

"As shrewd as smart as you are beautiful." Harry responded with a wink, which made Fleur chuckle.

"You best be careful little boy. Lest your girlfriend think your eyes are straying."

Harry couldn't help but laugh out loud. "She has nothing to worry about." Fleur's eyes narrowed at that, and Harry found himself quickly trying to backtrack. "Um– I mean not that you…well you're definitely worth it and– but I'm a one woman man. And Ahsoka knows this. So that's why she has nothing to worry about."

"Nice save Harry." Cedric laughed while shaking his head. "Now…what is all of this about working together? Not that I'm against it, but we're supposed to be in competition with one another. If we all work together…isn't that cheating?"

"Technically there's nothing in the rules that state that we cannot work together." Harry shrugged. "So it isn't cheating…just skirting around the whole 'competition' aspect of the tournament so to speak."

"But why should we?" Viktor grumbled. "This is a competition against one another."

"Yes it is," Harry nodded. "And I know that you three entered willingly to prove yourselves and I didn't. But…I don't think that any of you are willing to stake the lives of those you care about just for a few coins or some ill-conceived notion of glory. Because I'm not and besides, according to Bagman the first two tasks are almost meaningless.

"The only task or trial that actual means anything is the last one. So the question is…are you three willing to work together with me to save the lives of those we care about? Or are you going to let your pride get in the way?"

Fleur, Viktor and Cedric all started casting glances at one another as the three older champions held a wordless conversation amongst themselves. Cedric was the first to give him an affirmative nod, followed shortly by Fleur. Viktor held out, but eventually faltered under the glares he was receiving from Fleur and Cedric. "Alright Harry," Viktor sighed. "Let's hear this idea of yours."

End Flashback

Moving alongside Fleur, Harry gently placed his hand on her shoulder while at the same time shooting a glare towards the second story of the dock where the Headmasters and other judges were standing. "We'll get her back Fleur, I promise you."

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Ludo Bagman's voice echoed across the lake. "During the First Task our brave and noble Champions proved their skills by going toe to toe a ferocious beast! Today…their resolve and valor will once again be tested! For somewhere in this vast lake a person that our Champions hold dear lay waiting to be rescued!"

A low growl rumbled in the back of Harry's throat as Bagman droned on and on either completely oblivious to the hostilities emanating from Harry and the Champions or simply not caring about it. 'I swear…does that idiot have an "off" switch or am I just going to have to break his jaw. Although I don't think even that will stop him as Madam Pomfrey will have him fixed with a few flicks of her wand.'

"Champions! Please head for the edge of the dock!"

As one, the four moved towards the end of the dock, stripping off their outer robes and down to their bathing suits as they moved. Harry's arms felt bare as he had forgone both of his usual wand holsters. But seeing as how he wouldn't be needing his lightsaber, or rather he didn't want to be tempted to use it, he'd decided to leave both of them behind and simply carry his wand the old fashion way. In his pocket.

As they drew closer to the edge of the dock, Harry caught a glimpse of Fleur out of the corner of his eye. 'Morgana's tits…how can a one-piece bathing suit look so…sexy…I wonder what Ahsoka would look– No! Mind. Get the fuck out of the gutter! How soon until I can jump in the cold water…for fuck's sake Bagman…just say go already!'

"Champions! I wish you all the best of luck! And may you return quickly with those you hold most dear! Champions…at the ready! Set…Go!"

As one, the four champions turned on their heels and pointed their wands towards the judges. Or more accurately, the wooden boards that made up the stands that the judges were currently sitting on. Harry wasn't quite sure which was funnier, watching Umbridge fall into the water and flop around or Bagman's fairly high pitched scream as the floorboards were quite literally pulled out from under their feet. Both Dumbledore and Maxime managed to avoid going into the water by moving far faster than one would believe possible with their bodies to a safe section of the dock. Karkaroff wasn't so lucky, but he did manage to avoid just getting wet by just barely managing to grab onto a section of the dock that was still intact before he hit the water.

Forcing himself back to the task at hand, Harry worked in tandem with the other three champions in guiding the deck planks into the water before fusing them together with those that were already there. In less than ten seconds the four of them were stepping down onto their nearly created ten foot by ten foot raft. Once they were all on, Harry knelt down in the center of the raft as Fleur charmed the raft to start moving quickly across the surface of the water.

"Damn it…it's not working." Cedric growled angrily, staring down at his wand as if it'd somehow offended him.

"What isn't working?" Fleur demanded, her wand still pointed towards the back of the raft to keep her charm going.

"Our tracking charms." Viktor answered, his face calm but with a slight tremor in his voice. "We can't find them."

Fleur cursed loudly as their raft started to slow down. "So what are we going to do now tha-"

Ignoring the three behind him, Harry kept his focus on the wand in his hand. After uttering a silent point-me spell, his wand pointed off just slightly to his left. 'But…just to make sure.' Harry thought, closing his eyes and reaching out through the bond he shared with his apprentice. 'Yup…she's there…and if she's there. Then the others are as well.' "Head in that direction." Harry said, pointing off in the same direction his wand was pointing. "They're two hundred meters or so in that direction."

Fleur didn't hesitate before adjusting her charm so that their raft was heading in the direction Harry had dictated. "How could you possibly know that?" Cedric asked, more curious than angry. "Our tracking charms have been removed."

"I know." Harry answered. "But my tracking charms haven't been removed."

"How?" Viktor asked.

"Simple." Harry couldn't help the smirk that came across his face. "Whenever you attach a tracking charm to an individual you're attaching it to their clothing right? And if you want to dispel the charm you have to dispel each item of clothing one charm at a time right? I figured that the Headmasters would remove any tracking spells on the girls' clothes. So, I gave each of them a small hair wrap that they hid in their hair and placed a tracking charm on that. Then I covered it up with a disillusionment charm and a notice-me-not charm. I also placed tracking charms on their clothes to throw the Headmasters off as well."

All three stared blankly at him once he'd finished his explanation. "Bloody hell Harry," Cedric half laughed, half sighed. "Are you sure that you're only fourteen?"

"Pretty sure." Harry laughed back before refocusing on his wand, which had taken a nose dive down. "Slow it down Fleur. We're almost right on top of them."

The raft jolted as Fleur reduced the power she was pumping into the charm before coming to a complete stop just as Harry's wand was pointing straight downwards. Once they were stopped, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the small pouch that he'd shrunk down earlier. "Don't jump in just yet," he called out just as Fleur was cast a bubblehead charm on herself. "I've got something here that will make our lives a lot easier."

Enlarging the bag, he reached his hand in and pulled out four weighted diving belts. "What are these?" Cedric asked as Harry handed out the belts.

"They're modified muggle diving weight belts." He explained as he fastened his belt onto his waist and pointed towards a small dial on one of the front weights. "Two settings. Point it in this direction and the weights gain weight, helping you to sink to the bottom of the water. Turn the dial the other way and they become quite buoyant." Making sure his belt was secured, Harry moved over to the edge of the raft and cast a quick bubblehead charm on himself as well as a warming charm. "See you all at the bottom!"

The moment Harry's body hit the water, it felt as if a thousand knives were stabbing every inch of bare skin available. 'Force help me.' He nearly cried out as his body started sinking into the black abyss of the lake while he watched the other three drop into the water and begin to sink with him. 'This is bloody well fucking cold! Well on the bright side…I don't have to worry about any unwanted growths imagining how Ahsoka would look in that suit that Fleur is wearing and – oh come on! Really? Sirius told me the best thing for this sort of "problem" was a cold shower. How is jumping into partially ice covered lake not helping matters!?'

The deeper they went, the darker it became. Soon enough Harry felt his ear drums pop as the pressure of the water started getting to him. Holding his wand before him, Harry created a sphere of light before sending it downwards. What he saw made his eyes widen. There were dozens, maybe even a hundred, of buildings built into the floor bed of the lake. And weaving their way through the individual house were hundreds of merpeople. As he drew closer Harry cast another point-me spell. His wand jerked so hard in his hand that he was turned around in water.

'Force…I'm seriously going to kill them all.' Harry cursed as he found his friends. All three of them were seemingly asleep and hanging suspended in the water just above what would've passed for a town square up on land. But what truly got his temper boiling was the little girl that was suspended right next to Ginny. 'Force…she can't be older than Nat for fuck's sake!'

"Harry…calm yourself my son."

"Sorry mother," Harry thought back as his feet touched the lake bed and began walking towards the fountain. "But…Fleur's sister…she can't be older than Nat. And she's…she's just hanging here at the bottom of the lake."

"Focus on the here and now Harry." His mother sent back to him. "Vengeance can wait until they are all safe."

Fleur was the first one of them to reach the four hostages. The half-veela went immediately to her young sister, her hands brushing back her sister's blond hair as she inspected her. Ignoring the two of them for now, Harry made his way up to Ginny. She looked…peaceful. As if she were simply asleep and not floating in the bottom of a lake. 'It's as if she's been put into some sort of stasis…one that eliminates the need for breathing apparently. Hmm…I'm going to need to figure out what spell Dumbledore used. It could be invaluable to injured soldiers.'

Cedric and Viktor arrived shortly after Harry and Fleur did, the two heading towards Susan and Hermione respectively. Risking a quick glance around, Harry saw that all of the merpeople that he saw swimming through the village on their way down had stopped whatever they'd been doing and were now staring at them. While not as powerful at sensing emotion as Daphne, Harry could still feel the general surprise emanating from all of the merpeople. 'They probably weren't expecting us to get here so fast.' Harry thought as he performed a tempus spell and saw that only five minutes or so had expired since the start of the task. 'Or they probably weren't expecting us to quite literally drop on top of their heads like we did.'

Crouching down low, Harry examined the chain wrapped around Ginny's ankle which was holding her in place. 'What I wouldn't give for my lightsaber right now.'

Bringing his wand around, Harry pressed the tip against the metal chain before sending a small blasting curse at the chain at point blank range. The chain snapped like kindling and Harry had to reach out quickly to grab Ginny before she started floating up to the surface without him. Holding Ginny tightly against his body, Harry reached down and turned the dial on his weight belt. Harry felt his feet leave the lake bed and it was all he could do to hold onto Ginny as they raced for the surface of the water. 'Holy bloody hell! Mother could've warned me about not switching it over fully! It's just lucky we weren't deeper or such a quick rise could've killed the both of us!'

As soon as the two of them broke the surface of the water, Ginny let out a loud gasp and started thrashing wildly in his arms. "Bloody fucking hell! It's fucking cold!" Ginny cried out before looking around and, to Harry's utmost surprise, smacking him upside the back of his head.

"Bloody hell Ginny?" Harry cried, "Why did you do that? I just pulled you out of the bottom of the lake!"

"You didn't cast a warming charm on me before I woke up!" Ginny yelled back. "It's the middle of February! There's ice floating on the water! And you didn't cast a warming charm on me! So that's why!"

"Well sorry for being more concerned about your well-being rather than your comfort." Harry grumbled before blanketing Ginny in a warming charm. "There, is that better your highness?"

"Oh yes…" Ginny groaned, leaning her weight back into him and going limp in the water. "Well? What are you waiting for? You're the rescuer here…so finish rescuing me already."

Shaking his head, Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny's midsection and began swimming towards the raft. "You know…you're probably the bossiest hostage ever. I wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore put you to sleep just to stop the complaints."

As the two reached the raft, Fleur and her sister broke the surface of the water. The little veela girl started flailing about just as Ginny had while babbling almost incoherently in French at her sister. "Here we Ginny," Harry said, turning his attention to Ginny as he put one hand on the raft. "Up you go."

Nodding, Ginny reached out and grabbed hold of the edge of the raft. Just as Harry started to move his hands to boost her up though, she froze and turned her head towards him. "I swear to Merlin Harry…if you touch my arse I'm telling Ahsoka that you're a pervert and letting her deal with you."

"Shut up." Harry growled as he readjusted his grip so he was nowhere near her backside. "And get up on the raft."

After helping her up, Harry hoisted himself up and flopped over onto the raft just as Fleur and her little sister reached them. Recovering quickly, Harry reached his hand out and helped first Fleur's little sister and then Fleur herself up onto their makeshift boat.

"Well," Harry breathed, casting a drying charm over first Ginny and then himself. "That was easier than I thought it'd be. Now we just have to wait for the other's to come back up."

The words had no sooner left his lips than Cedric and Susan broke the surface of the water followed quickly by Viktor and Hermione. As he watched the four swim towards them, Harry felt a pair of eyes on him. "Fleur!" Fleur's younger sister hissed lowly. "Tu ne m'as pas prevenue que nous devions le voir aujour'hui! Regarde moi! Je ressemble a un rat detrempe!"

"Je parle francias aussi, juste pour que tu saches." Harry responded, turning around and grinning at the stunned little girl. "Et vous etes bein trop mignonne pour ressembler a un rat, Mademoiselle…"

"Gabrielle." Fleur answered as her young sister seemed unable to do so. "Her name is Gabrielle."

"Gabrielle." Harry nodded, smiling at the young girl who was now staring at him completely speechless.

Unfortunately, the amusement towards the young girl was interrupted with Susan's exasperated voice from the water. "If you're quite done hitting on underage girls Harry, we'd greatly appreciate help getting up. The water is more than a little cold! I think my tits are about to freeze off! And no Cedric…that isn't an invitation for you to warm them…but ask me later and I might take you up on the offer."

"Don't need to know about your private life Susan." Harry grumbled, turning away from the young veela and moving over towards the edge of the raft where Susan and a remarkably red-faced Cedric were floating in the water with Hermione and Viktor next to them.

After helping the four up onto the raft, and applying several warming charms to both Susan and Hermione, they set off towards the shore with Cedric and Viktor this time providing the power in order to move the raft. "So," Harry said slowly. "You guys think that Dolores, Ludo and Karkaroff are dried off yet after their little dip in the lake? And while we're on the topic, anyone want to place a bet that at least two of our esteemed judges are more than a little pissed off with us at the moment?"

Cedric was the first to start chuckling, followed shortly thereafter by Fleur. Viktor didn't laugh, but the corners of his lips did turn upwards. Which probably could've been considered full out laughter from the serious man. Hermione, Ginny, Susan and Gabrielle however merely looked at the four of them. "Okay," Susan said slowly before raising an eyebrow at Harry. "What exactly did you guys do…and is it possible to make a pensieve memory of it?"

---

"Completely and utterly disgraceful! They should be disqualified and sentenced to Azkaban for making a mockery of this sacred tournament!"

As Dolores Umbridge's voice started reaching inhuman octaves, Dumbledore was seriously starting to consider conjuring a pair of ear plugs for himself…either that or simply obliviating the woman's memories of what had just transpired. 'And as tempting as such a thought might be…I cannot. All upper Ministry employees are routinely checked if they've been obliviated. And the last thing I need is Cornelius sticking his nose where it does not belong.'

The second task had finished it what was undoubtedly the oddest way imaginable for a tournament. The four champions worked together to build a raft, find the hostages and then brought them back all at the same time. While their actions were impressive, they also left the judges in quite the quandary. Naming, whether or not their actions were in fact liable by the rules of the tournament. And second, how should they be scored. Which was why he, Karkaroff, Maxime, Bagman and Umbridge having this…"pleasant" discussion.

"Azkaban? You crazy toad." Madam Maxime murmured angrily. "Under what charges? We presented them with a task and told them to fulfill it. We never said what they could or could not do."

Umbridge's face was nearly scarlet at this point. Although Dumbledore was sure that it was partly because Madam Maxime, a half-human half-giant, dared to question her as a pureblood. 'I really need to step up my efforts in getting Cornelius to remove this woman from public office. She is causing far more harm than good.'

"They worked together!" Umbridge screeched. "They can't do that!"

"I don't know." Bagman shrugged, his trademark grin still plastered across his face. "I actually thought it was rather sporting and ingenious of them. And as Madam Maxime stated, there is nothing in the official rules that specifically forbids the contestants from working together on any of the set tasks. The only rule is only one can hoist the Cup at the end of the Tournament. And with the way we've designed the Third task, only one will come away the victor no matter the outcome of the first or second task."

Dumbledore felt that Ludo laid out a solid argument with that. And in truth, Dumbledore was actually proud with how the four Champions went about the second task. Despite the fact that they'd tried, and nearly succeed, to drop all of the judges into the lake. The entire purpose of the tournament was to create a sense of unity between the three schools. And that was exactly what'd transpired. The four Champions had set aside their competition with one another to work together in order to save those that they cared deeply about.

Despite Bagman's sound logic though, Umbridge remained unmoved. "That doesn't matter! It's tradition! We have to redo the second task an-"

"Even if we wanted to we cannot." Dumbledore finally chimed in, growing past tired of Dolores's tirade. "I understand and appreciate your concern Madam Umbridge. But the simple fact of the matter is that we do not have the time to create and implement a second task. Professors Hagrid and Sprout have already begun growing the maze for the third task. We can't simply stop that.

"And as Ludo stated, the only task that truly decided the victor is the third task. Besides…is this not what we wanted? We brought this tournament back to create a sense of unity between our schools. And in this task our champions have done exactly that. They came together despite being in competition with one another to save their loved ones. What more could we ask of them?"

"I agree Dumbledore." Madam Maxime nodded. "But question now is how do we score them? Technically they all worked together, but not in equal portions."

"Obviously the Potter brat had little to do with what they did." Karkaroff sneered. "The Cedric and Viktor created most of the raft and Fleur propelled it across the water. Potter did nothing."

"Your eyes are failing you Karkaroff." Maxime scoffed. "Either that or you were too worried about getting wet that you didn't pay attention to what was going on. If it wasn't for young Monsieur Potter, then they wouldn't have found those four nearly as fast."

"What?" Both Umbridge and Karkaroff cried.

"It's simple." Dumbledore sighed. "Somehow young Mr. Potter figured out a way around our disenchanting of the tracking charms that were placed on the girls. Either he had another means of finding them, or he simply applied more than we bothered to look for. But while they were in their raft, Harry used a simple 'point-me' charm, which led them too directly over the merpeople village. And according to the merpeople, it was Harry who supplied those interesting belts to the others."

"So what you're saying Dumbledore is that Harry should receive the highest marks then!" Ludo proclaimed happily.

'And why wouldn't he?' Dumbledore thought as Ludo smiled. 'He has a substantial amount of coin placed on Harry winning this competition. He no doubt wants to give the boy as much of a hand as he is allowed to do so.'

"I believe that in all fairness, all four should be scored evenly." Madam Maxime commented. "They all had a part in this little escapade of theirs. Each one just as important as the other. And unless we can figure out just who was the mastermind behind this little plot of theirs, which they've already told us that they will not admit too, they all had equal parts."

"Headmistress Maxime speaks rightly." Dumbledore nodded. While he'd been impressed with young Harry so far in this tournament, he didn't want to put the boy in undo harm. And giving him the point lead going into the third task would do just that. Let us give them all the same score…say nine out of ten from each of us. And let the final task decide the winner of the tournament."

Ludo did not look particularly pleased, but his expression was far better than Karkaroff's and Umbridge's. "I– I guess that's fair. Well then, are we all in agreement? Each champion will be awarded forty-five points for the second task?"

Dolores pursed her lips but after a moment she nodded, albeit highly reluctantly. Karkaroff frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, but under the weight of the four judges he eventually relented and nodded. "Then it is decided." Dumbledore nodded, rising from his seat. "We will be giving each of the champions forty-five points. And letting the third task decide who our champion will be."

---

Walking down the length of the north landing pad outside of the Temple, Nox couldn't help but marvel at the sight in front of her. Three years. For three long years she'd waited for this…and even though she could see it right in front of her she was still having difficulty believing it to be true. Reaching out, she laid her palm against the cool metal surface of the hull of the ship. The first hyperdrive capable ship to ever be built on Earth.

The ship was fairly long at just over one hundred and fifty meters, making it just slightly longer than an average Republic cruiser according to her Jedi counterparts. After laying out the designs for the ships that she wanted, this ship was only a frigate. She still had the slightly larger cruisers to make. Then the dreadnoughts. And if she got enough material, the super dreadnought. Although if she actually managed to make one of those ships before the Empire found them it would be a miracle.

The main section of the ship was shaped like a half-circle with two wings jutting off near the rear of ship. Each wing contained two smaller propulsion engines for maneuverability while the primary propulsion engine was attached to the main section of the ship. Inside, the ship was divided up into three levels. The lower level contained the cargo hold and engineering. The midlevel of the ship was divided into the crew's quarters, med-bay, dining hall, on ship laboratory and workshop as well as the controls for the ships main guns. The bridge, armory and the captain's and first mate's quarters.

Stepping up beside her, Tonks marveled at the ship. Copying Nox's motion, Tonks reached out and laid a hand against the smooth hull. "It's beautiful."

"Yes it is." Nox agreed, letting her hand drop back down to her side.

To Nox though, it wasn't just aesthetics of the ship that got to her. It was what this ship represented. The true first step to taking on the Galactic Empire and bringing balance back to the Force.

"I must say Madam Nox…when you say that you have something interesting to show me you certainly mean it."

Turning her head slightly, she smirked as Ragnok wobbled up next to her while staring at the ship in awe. Or at least what probably amounted to the goblin equivalent of awe. "I aim to impress, Master Ragnok."

"And you succeed." Ragnok nodded before turning to look down the length of the ship where several dozen goblins were adding several dozen more werewolves and the few Guardians she had load the ship with supplies. "And in more ways than one…I would've thought that your…other friends ended with the togruta and Master Yoda. But that blue one…I don't recognize her species."

Moving down towards the front of the ship, Nox took her time while she examined every inch of the ship. "She's a twi'lek. And she's also perhaps one of the best blades here. So I'd be careful before you get any stupid ideas."

Nodding, Ragnok walked along with her with Tonks trailing a slight distance behind. "How many can fit in this ship?"

"It will require a crew of at least sixty to operate." Nox answered quickly. "Three rotating work cycles. Forty man the ship while twenty sleep. The crew's quarters have been magically expanded to allow for greater comfort and the cargo hold is capable of variable expansion up to the point of twice its original size. But we were careful to limit the enchantments so that they will not interfere with the other enchantments and runic clusters within the ship."

"Smart." Ragnok nodded as Remus and Aela walked up to join the three of them.

"Everything is just about loaded up Nox." Remus said calmly, holding out a datapad for her to look over. "We have enough supplies to last our crew for a month. And we have enough building materials to get the framework for the facility up. The only question is whether or not we'll even be able to get that far on the construction. None of us have ever worked out in space before. This whole zero-gravity thing could throw a huge wrench into our construction efforts."

Taking the pad, Nox flipped through the list of supplies that'd been loaded up onto the ship. "Our chosen asteroid is large enough and dense enough generate some gravity. Not as much as Earth or even its moon, but there is some. And the main goal of this mission is primarily to find the asteroid, set up a beacon and unload the building materials. Any other work we can get done can be considered a bonus."

"The men and women will be glad to hear that." Aela nodded. "It'll probably take us a few days to even find the asteroid and then at least a week of training until the crew is able to work in limited gravity."

"A week at best." Nox agreed before handing the datapad back off to Remus.

"Well…I guess that takes of everything then. There's just one thing that we need to do." Remus said, turning and staring up at the ship. "Giving the new girl a name."

Looking up at the ship, Nox let a smile cross her face. "I've already picked one out. Wolfsbane."

Both Aela and Remus made a face at that. "You're going to have explain that one to us." Remus said slowly.

"It's simple." Nox replied, resting her hand against the hull once more. "We've already determine that the werewolf curse is more centralized on Earth. Once you leave Earth you can transform at will at maintain your mind while transformed. Which is what the Wolfsbane potion does. This ship, which will be crewed mostly by werewolves, will be responsible for ferrying your people away from Earth. Hence, it's a giant wolfsbane potion."

Remus, Aela and Tonks just stood there staring at her, while off to the side Ragnok nodded. "It's a good name. Fitting as well." The leader of the British goblins nodded. "But we're going to have to talk Nox. Gringotts owns part of the rights to the mass manufacturing of wolfsbane potion. You're essentially ending the business for us. We're going to need proper compensation like say…one of these for the goblins."

Letting her hand drop, Nox stepped away from the ship. "That will be a discussion for another time Ragnok. And besides that threat is weak. Your sales of Wolfsbane has been next to nonexistent for years now. So don't try and pull that shit on me."

"Ah well," Ragnok shrugged seemingly completely indifferent. "It was worth a shot. But for now I must return to Gringotts to begin preparing the miners that will be going on the next voyage. Is there any training you would suggest our men undergo to prepare for this…zero-gravity that the wolf girl spoke of?"

"That's right." Nox nodded. "And have your miners prepare by mining underwater. It will get them used to the feeling of weightlessness and having to rely on a breathing apparatus."

Tilting his head slightly, Ragnok stared at her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "As you say Madam Nox. And again, please give my best to Master Yoda. And please remind him that he has an open invitation to visit Gringotts whenever he so chooses to do so."

"I will remind him." Nox nodded. "Have a pleasant day Master Ragnok." Ragnok nodded as he raised his fingers and snapped his fingers before disappearing without sound.

"So, what was that all about with Master Yoda?" Tonks asked. "You told us that he handed a couple dozen goblin warriors their arses on a plate, which I would've loved to have seen by the way. But how did that grant him an open invitation to the goblin nation?"

"Because they're trying to steal him away from me. Remus, Aela. Make sure that everything is loaded and secure by sundown. I want you to be well passed the moon before the end of the week and–" Nox was cut off as the small runic palm mirror she had in one of the many pockets of her robes began to vibrate. Taking the mirror from her pocket, she channeled a small amount of magic into the runes. "Yes?"

The runes on the mirror glowed as a holographic representation of Mallie appeared of the mirror. "I apologize for the interruption ma'am. But we've just received word from Quinlan. They're entering Earth's atmosphere right now and there's another ship with them."

"Another ship?" Nox questioned. "What other ship?"

"I don't know ma'am." Mallie answered. "Quinlan was being quite aloft about the trailing ship. All he said was that they'd found the source of the disturbance you and Master Yoda felt emanating from Odessan and was bringing it with them."

Pursing her lips, Nox looked up at the sky as she reached out with the Force. Even from this distance, she could faintly sense Quinlan and Asajj. As well as one other. One who was almost as powerful as the two of them put together. 'Hmm…who have you brought back with you Vos?'

"Tell him to land on the southern platform. And he'd better have a good reason for all this secrecy. We can't just be bringing anything and everyone here whenever we find them. Oh, and tell Yoda and Kenobi to get off their asses and meet up with us on the south landing dock. Something tells me those two might be needed for what's coming."

"Yes ma'am. I'll send the messages. Mallie out." Mallie's holographic representation bowed before winking out of existence.

"What's he bringing back with him?"

"Not what, but rather who is the better question luv." Nox responded before turning towards Aela and Remus. "Finish loading the ship and get ready to depart. You two will be taking command of the ship for this expedition as you probably have the most flight time out of everyone else here save for our former Jedi friends." After getting a nod from the two, Nox turned and gripped Tonks' arm. "And you're coming with me luv."

A quick turn and Nox had apparated the two of them to the south platform on the opposite side of the Temple. "Merlin's fucking balls Nox!" Tonks cried. "I'm used to apparating and all…but still. A bit of warning before side-along apparation is appreciated!"

"I'll keep that in mind for next time." Nox said as Kenobi, followed quickly by Yoda, cracked into existence next to the two of them.

"Master Nox." Kenobi greeted her kindly while Yoda merely nodded. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"With Quinlan…that might almost be a guarantee Kenobi." Nox shrugged, drawing the slightest bit of a grin out of Kenobi. "But no. I don't think he's bringing trouble back with him today. Rather…I just have this feeling that you two need to be here for this."

The two looked at her curiously before turning their eyes to the sky. In the distance, two small ships could be seen cutting through the clouds and heading towards the temple.

"Unless I'm seeing something…I do believe that that is a old Republic T-6 Shuttle." Kenobi mused as they watched the ships descend towards them. "What in blazes is it doing all the way out here?"

Shaking her head, Nox shot an amused glance towards the human. "Probably the same thing you are Kenobi."

"Point taken." Kenobi conceded as the two ships touched down lightly onto the landing pads.

As expected, Quinlan and Asajj quickly emerged from the Howling Wind, but the one who exited from the second ship made even Nox pause. She was, quite frankly, one of the most attractive women Nox had ever come across in her entire life. She looked almost human, save for her slightly elongated and pointed ears.

Her long blond hair waved slightly in the wind, emphasizing an almost ageless face. But it wasn't just the surface of the woman that drew Nox's attention. It was her power. She was incredibly powerful in the light to be sure. But it was tempered by a slight darkness within in a manner that reminded her almost exactly of the Hero of Tython Aedan.

"Master Fay."

Turning her head, she found Yoda staring at the woman with happiness while Kenobi…Kenobi looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "Master Yoda, Master Kenobi. I'm glad that you're both still alive." The newly named Fay said in a soothingly calm voice as she walked forward with Quinlan and Asajj. When Nox met the woman's eyes however Fay stopped in her tracks. "You are the one…the one who sent the warning through the Force a saved dozens if not hundreds of Jedi."

"Yes." Nox answered simply. "I am Ziri Nox, former Darth of the Dark Council of the Sith Empire and now I am the Grandmaster of the newly formed Guardian Order."

Fay's eyebrows scrunched together as she stared at Nox not necessarily in anger, but more as if Nox had suddenly become a puzzle for her to solve. "I was not expecting our savior to be a Sith…even a former Sith."

Nox couldn't help but laugh. "Trust me. I certainly wasn't expecting to be the one to save the Jedi either."

"Master Fay." Kenobi stuttered, stepping forward. "How? I– I felt you die in my arms after Ventress…"

"After I stabbed her through the chest." Asajj finished. "I don't deny my past Kenobi."

Kenobi's face twitched. "Right, but still Master Fay. How are you still alive? Not that I'm not happy to see you, I am. It's just…I felt your essence fade into the Force."

Taking a step forward, Fay reached out and grabbed Kenobi's hand before pressing it to her face. "As you can feel, I am still flesh and blood Master Kenobi. And as for why I'm still alive…the Force wasn't ready for me to pass on yet and so I remained. It is a lot easier to concentrate on healing oneself when everyone is ignoring you because they think you're dead.

"I lowered my heart rate to the point of almost nonexistence and then projected my essence out, making it seem as if it's left my body. After that, I crawled into a cave and entered a deep state of meditation in order to heal the damage done to my body."

Pausing, Fay nodded towards Nox. "The warning this one sent through the Force jolted me out of my trance. But by the time I could get moving again, it was too late. And the Jedi were gone. And I was alone."

Once Fay had finished her tale, Yoda hobbled forward before reaching out with his stick and striking her in the knee. "Alone, you are not." Yoda hummed. "Lost many brethren we have. But lost, we are not. Evolve, change the Jedi must. But alone we shall never be. Allow it, the Force will not. Evident of us standing here, the will of the Force is."

Fay stared down at the diminutive Jedi. "You're right Master Yoda." She sighed before looking up at Nox and tilting her head to the side.

Nox could feel the woman reach through the Force at her, trying to get a read on her for a moment before retreating. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Nox growled. "Because if you try that shit again with me I'll turn you into a rat and make it permanent."

Fay blinked. Apparently the woman wasn't used to being caught snooping. "Forgive me. But…you are not at all what I expected from a Sith. Even a former Sith at that."

"Really?" Nox asked dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well sorry to disappoint. I left my portable torturing kit and blood stained cloak back in my room."

"That is not what I meant. And you know it." Fay responded which a chuckled. "There is darkness within you yes. A dominating darkness that encompasses your entire being. But it is controlled in such a manner that I have never seen. It doesn't control you. There's a light within you…love."

"Yes, yes," Nox said dismissively. "I've heard all of this and seeing as how these four are apparently willing to vouch for you, you can stay here. And I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to study me to your heart's content latter. But for now, Winky!"

"Yes Mistress Nox?" Winky asked, appearing by her side out of thin air.

Nox had been hoping to surprise Fay, but much to her disappointment the near-human Jedi merely raised an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the elf. "Please prepare a room for Master Fay here."

Winky turned to look up at Fay before beaming and running forward to grasp her hand. "Yes Mistress! Winky takes cares of Mistress Fay! Winky bes the bests caretaker ever! What would Mistress Fay like in hers room?"

Fay tilted her head clearly lost as the little house elf began to drag her by the hand across the tarmac and towards the entrance to the tunnel. Once they were out of sight, Nox rounded on Quinlan and Asajj. "Don't ever do this again."

Quinlan and Asajj turned to one another, clearly confused by the sudden hostilities in her voice. "What?"

Spreading her fingers, Nox wrapping both of them up a Force Stasis and holding them a full meter off the ground. Kenobi made to reach for his lightsaber, but was stopped as Yoda's cane shot out and blocked his path.

"Never bring someone here without informing either myself or Yoda again." Nox growled. "Do you two even realize what you could've done? Our whole existence is owed to our ability to stay hidden. Your actions, while honorable, could've led to our doom. Suppose that she'd been compromised by the Sith and was sent as a spy to try and find us out?" That made Quinlan's eyes widen.

Obviously he hadn't thought about that chance. But judging by the glare that Asajj was sending him, she had. Letting go of the Force stasis, she let the two drop to the ground.

"Now get out of my sight." Nox growled, turning her back on the two and purposefully walking away with Tonks trailing after her hurriedly.

"Nox?" Tonks called out hesitantly as the two walked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Nox growled before stopping in her tracks. "Just amazed. Even after nearly four millennia the stupidity of some Jedi and Sith remain. But…while we're on the topic of being alright…shall you let me know why you're so hot and bothered?"

"What?" Tonks reeled, back peddling away from her. "I– I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me luv." Nox cooed, licking her lips as she stepped towards the younger woman. "I can sense your feelings. You get a little jolt each time you look at Aayla and several others. Your dreams are morphing as well and I've heard more than just my name passing by your lips as you sleep. And just now with Fay…well I don't blame you with her. She is incredibly attractive. Enough so to put even a veela to shame."

Reaching out quickly, Nox pulled Tonks flush against her, her anger at Vos and Ventress quickly being replaced by something else as she fed off the arousal emanating off of her lover as she spoke. "So tell me…what floated into that pretty little head of yours when you saw Fay hmm? Perhaps an image of me and her laying on our backs while you-"

Pressing her hands against Nox, Tonks pushed herself away. Her face completely red and her breathing more than slightly labored. "Right. I'm going to go and take a cold shower…a really cold shower!" She shuddered before disappearing with a slightly louder than normal crack.

Smiling to herself, Nox stood on the platform licking her lips as the memories she'd shared with both Ashara and more recently with Tonks raced through her mind. 'Ashara…I think I found your reincarnated soul in human form.' Normally Nox would've let it end at that…but the memories wouldn't leave her be and she turned on her heel and apparated to her room.

The first thing she noticed when the world stopped spinning was the line of clothes leading from the center of her chambers to the joining bathroom. The second was the sound of water running. And third was the unmistakable sound that was filling the room just under the sound of running water.

Shedding her outer robe, Nox dropped one piece of clothing after another adding to the line heading into the bathroom so that by the time she entered the brightly lit room she was completely bare. Inside she found Tonks standing in the middle of the large shower letting the steaming water run over her as she…took matters into her own hands.

'Well now…waste not want not.'

Stepping silently into the shower, an easy feet with the water running the sounds Tonks was making, Nox waited until she was just behind her lover before making her move. Grabbing Tonks by the shoulders, she pressed through the young woman against the tiled shower wall and pinned her there. "So…this is your 'cold shower' huh?" She smirked.

Tonks gasped at her and struggled slightly against Nox's hold on her. "Ziri…I-"

"Shhh…it's alright lover." Nox cooed before letting her hand slide down Tonks body before sliding under Tonks hand. "You never need to feel ashamed with me."

Tonks' eyes widened and a low groan rumbled in her throat as Nox curled her fingers. "Ziri…"

"So tell me Nymph…which one was it?" Nox asked in a completely normal tone as if they were talking about the weather. "Is it Aayla? Or our new arrival Fay? Or perhaps it's my son and Ahsoka if you're feeling adventurous hmm? Master Kenobi? Remus and Aela…maybe even while their beast blood is clouding their minds? Or maybe it's all of them at once no? Although that could probably get quite tiring…not to mention the sweet soreness you'd feel the next day."

Tonks' head fell back against the tiles as she groaned. "Morgana…Ziri…please…"

"Nope, not yet." Nox smirked, backing off and letting the storm within Tonks dissipate slightly. "Not until you tell me which one."

Tonks groaned again, her head swinging from side to side hard enough for her hair to fly around. "Morgana tits! You! It's you! An– and oh– A– Aayla! You and Aayla! And…and maybe…now…Fay…"

"There," Nox cooed, increasing her pressure and pace. "That wasn't so hard to admit was it? And both of them hmm?"

"You…" Tonks panted, her body shaking as Nox expertly controlled her. "Only…you…"

"Now now…no need for that." Nox continued. "You're mine…and I'm yours. But…that doesn't mean we must limit ourselves does it? As long as you talk," she accented with a hard thrust, "to me about it first. I am rather open minded about such things. I did tell you about the time Ashara and I 'split' a pair of twi'lek dancers didn't I? I bet we could create our own memory of such an event with Aayla and Fay."

Nox smiled as she felt Tonks clench even tighter. "Ah…so that thought does do something doesn't it? I must say…it does quite a bit for me as well. And I so do love a challenge. And conquering two Jedi legends…hmm what a fun challenge no?"

---

Standing on the bridge of Wolfsbane just before the main viewport, Aela gazed out the window at the mass of asteroids that made up the asteroid belt floated by just a few hundred meters before them. Straight in front of them, nearly two kilometers into the belt floated the asteroid that they were going to be landing on. It was enormous. And far more menacing up close than it'd looked on a projection. The pilot's voice at the helm interrupted her thoughts as she gazed out the window.

"Ma'am, we have a course plotted and are ready to begin maneuvers."

Without taking her eyes off of the large asteroid, Aela nodded to her helmsman. "Very well. Take us to the edge of the belt at half sub-light."

"Aye aye ma'am."

It'd taken nearly ten days, three days longer than she'd planned, in order to find the large asteroid. But in her mind, the three days had been worth it. During those days she had her helmsmen and helmswomen practice maneuvers through the outer ring of the asteroid belt. And save for one instance where the ship had been dinged by a small asteroid, which luckily resulted in no structural damage thanks to the numerous runic enchantments running between the plating of the hull, her men had done remarkably well. But this time, this time they would be traveling far further into the belt than they had before. Even magic had its limitations. If they were to hit a big enough asteroid, the strain on the runic arrays could cause them to collapse.

She knew that in part, this was a test for her. Nox had had her running more simulations than she could remember ever since they'd returned from the greater galaxy. Nox had been training Aela. And this was her final test. And with no help from any of the experience spacers, the Guardians for example, this was quite literal sink or swim time for her. The only problem was…if she sunk she would be taking nearly a hundred of her brethren down with her. Not to mention the five or so goblins that Ragnok had insisted join her and her crew.

Turning her back on the viewport, she made her way back to her captain's seat. The bridge of the Wolfsbane was unlike anything she'd seen in the few science fiction movies she'd watched.

The bridge was long, just over a third as long as the ship itself. At the very bow of the ship was the helmsman's spot, which had terminals for one pilot and two co-pilots. All the rest of the terminals that control every facet of the ship: mechanical, electrical or even magical, lined either side of the bridge leaving the center of the bridge almost completely devoid of obstruction save for a large half-runic half-muggle table which could create three-dimensional holographic map of the surrounding space, or of the ship itself. And near the back of the command table was what she'd come to call the "captain's spot". Which was nothing more than a single chair that could be moved back and forth and a control panel to control the holographic display.

Standing next to her seat was Remus. Although truthfully the only reason he wasn't sitting in the seat was because he'd turned the position down when Madam Nox had offered it to him. A fact that irked Aela more than slightly. She loved her gentle wolf. She truly did. But sometimes his lack of ambition was more than slightly maddening. So now, instead of commanding the ship, her wolf acted more in a support/magical consultant role.

"Remus," she greeted him before sitting down in her seat. "How are the runes holding up?"

Nodding, Remus held up a datapad and started flipping through it. "Good. Although I have to say I'm more than a little nervous about this whole endeavor. That little hit we took a day ago really opened our eyes to just how quickly unbreakable charms and runic arrays can deplete if put under enough stress. After all, nothing lasts forever. Not even magic. I fear we're going to have to go back to the drawing board with some of our runic designs. We're going to have to go back and refocus on kinetic energy absorption…maybe if we adjust the rune scheme here and add a charm…no that would disrupt the matrix…hmm."

Smiling slightly to herself, Aela tuned Remus out as she refocused on the path before them. Besides, she doubted that anything short of her stripping naked and dancing in front of him would knock Remus out of his thoughts at the moment. Pressing a few commands on her terminal the holographic display, which had been showing a representation of the Wolfsbane, shifted to give her a 3D view of the asteroid field and their desired path. Truthfully, Aela had no idea just how Nox had managed to put together this piece of magic and technology…but it was bloody well brilliant.

"Adjust course," she called out as a small asteroid floated into their path and the computer reconfigured their path. "Three-point-five degree downward burn for twenty seconds then correct course."

Wolfsbane tilted downwards on her command, barely missing the asteroid roughly the size of a large semi-truck before tilting back upwards and readjusting to follow their original course.

With that obstacle out of the way Aela kept a constant watch for any other smaller asteroids that might bar their path. "Ma'am, we've got a clear run at the target." One of the crewmen from along the side wall said from his spot controlling the ship.

Nodding, Aela expanded the map before her to double check. "Bring us up alongside the asteroid." She ordered. "I want us parallel with the asteroid half a kilometer off its surface until we find a landing zone."

Her crew quickly took to her orders, leveling out the ship so that they were running parallel alongside the asteroid. Adjusting the display, Aela focused in on the asteroid, trusting in her crew to continue scanning for any smaller asteroids that might be coming their way.

"There," Remus called out, pointing towards a large flat spot on the asteroid. "That looks like a good spot to set up camp."

"I agree," she nodded as she took note of the location and calling out for the pilot to change his course. "Now comes the tricky part. Landing this bird on a flying brick floating through space." And unfortunately, there was nothing she could do at the moment. It was entirely in the hands of her pilots.

Watching the asteroid getting steadily larger in the viewport, Aela couldn't help it as her hand clenched tightly over Remus's as her heart began to beat heavily in her chest. On the hologram, a small representation of the ship appeared alongside the asteroid as a line was placed between the two, indicating the rapidly shrinking distance between them.

When there was less than ten meters separating the two, the ship jerked almost violently as the landing thrusters were engaged and the ship came almost to a complete stop before suddenly dropping again and landing hard against the asteroid. "Sorry 'bout that!" A voice yelled from the bow of the ship. "Still need ta work on me landin'."

"If you broke anything then it's coming out of your pay." Aela growled as she righted herself and changed the display back to an overview of the ship. "Damage report."

"The runic array held strong ma'am." One of the crew reported. "No structural damage to the outer hull."

"We might need to take a hammer to da landing struts to straighten em out." Another reported. "But that's 'bout it."

"Good," Aela nodded, walking forward to the pilot seats and staring out the window. It was…surreal. Here they were, on a ship parked on top of an asteroid watching as hundreds of other smaller asteroids passed them by. "Get a team ready to head out." She called out over her shoulder. "I want a full visual damage report as well as a geographical survey of the immediate area on my desk by the end of the day."

"Aye aye ma'am!"

---

Walking with his fellow champions, Harry made his way out of Hogwarts and down towards the Quidditch pitch as, for once, the sun shone brightly in the late April weather. For Harry's part, he could hardly believe that the time for the third and final task of the tournament was only two weeks away already. The past two months had completely flown by.

Which was understandable considering that Harry's every day consisted of waking up, eating, going to class, training with Ginny or in a group with the others, studying, meditative sleep and repeat. The only time his schedule changed at all was during the weekend when he was at the Temple. And even then the only thing that changed for him was the fact that he had the chance to slip away with Ahsoka for a little bit of time.

Thinking of the Temple brought his mind back around to the newest member of the Guardians. Master Fay. In many ways, the strange former Jedi reminded Harry of his mother. She was witty and incredibly knowledgeable. But unlike his mother, who usually wore her emotions on her sleeve, Fay was serene. But despite her apparent calmness, Harry could sense the will of steel underneath her calm exterior. She was in a word, fascinating. And not just because she was physically angelic in a way that put even Fleur to shame. Of course, in his mind no one could beat Ahsoka. She was in a league of her own to him.

Speaking of Ahsoka, just thinking of how his togruta girlfriend and Maris acted around the fabled Master was amusing. The two practically worshiped the ground upon which the Master walked. Apparently Master Fay had been a legend amongst the Jedi. She spent hardly any time amongst the actual Jedi, preferring instead to float amongst the stars going and going where she was needed. Another interesting fact about Master Fay was the fact that she had never bother to create or even hold a lightsaber ever since she was raised to the rank of Jedi Knight. Instead, she relied on her vast knowledge of the Force when in a confrontation.

And because of her reliance on the Force, as soon as she got her hands on a wand, a custom made order by Ollivander in which he actually used several of her hairs after commenting on how remarkably similar she was to a veela, she was unstoppable. Any spell that was put forth to her, she could perform flawlessly. She even managed to create a fully corporeal patronus; which took on the form of some avian that Harry didn't recognize, after only three attempts at the spell! Not even Master Yoda had been able to create a fully corporeal patronus so quickly, although it still only took the diminutive Jedi two weeks to master the charm.

Hearing a loud screeching cry, the four champions looked up towards the sky was they walked. "If I'm not mistaken…that is a red kite." Fleur mused as they watched the bird circle around before diving down and disappearing into the trees of the Forbidden Forest. "Truly magnificent."

"Yeah," Harry murmured silently with a grin. "She is."

Of course, it wasn't really a red kite. But rather Susan who'd apparently decided to take a midday flight. That had been another development over the past two months that'd truly surprised Harry. Almost simultaneously Susan, Daphne, Ginny, Hermione and Luna all managed to perfect their animagus transformations. Susan was a red kite. Daphne was a white-tailed eagle. Ginny was a merlin falcon. Hermione, predictably enough, was a raven. And Luna was a snowy white owl, much to Hedwig's chagrin who'd taken great offense when Luna had shown up in the owlery and tried to befriend Harry's familiar.

'Of course, those three aren't the only ones who managed to finalize their transformations.' Harry thought with a grin as he recalled the week after the second task when he'd gone back to the Temple for the weekend only to find Ahsoka sitting and waiting for him in his room. Before he'd even managed to utter a greeting, she'd crossed the space between them, pressed a light kiss to his lips, and then stepped back and disappeared from his sight. Although she didn't disappear, rather she'd shrunk into the form of a large bird that he'd come to learn was a Corellian banshee.

For nearly ten minutes he could do little more than stand there and stare at her, completely dumbfounded. Finally having grown fed up with waiting for him, Ahsoka had flapped her wings and made her way over towards the balcony railing. Once there, she shot a look at him as if asking, "are you coming?" before dropping out of sight.

Harry didn't even remember crossing the distance to the balcony, nor transforming into his phoenix form. All he remembered was the feeling of elation as the two of them flew circles around each other all over the Temple. Unfortunately staying in his memories was not to be

"Harry? You still with us?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, giving his head a brief shake before focusing back in on Cedric. "Sorry. Head's in the clouds right now." Harry smiled at the private joke.

Cedric gave him a strange look for a moment, but then shrugged and continued walking. "Well best get it back down to Earth here. Unless you don't want to know what the third task is going to entail that is."

Harry already had a good idea about what the third task. You'd have to be completely brain dead or blind not to notice the hedges that Hagrid and Sprout had been tending to ever since the end of the second task. "Five galleons says that it's going to be a maze of some sort." Harry called out, drawing several sharp looks. "Any takers?"

Viktor shook his head, as did Fleur. Cedric pursed his lips, but nodded and held out his hand for Harry to shake. As the four walked through the outer ring of the Quidditch stands, Harry heard Cedric curse as the older champion began digging through his robes. "Lucky guess." Cedric grumbled as he handed over the five galleons to Harry.

'Not really.' Harry thought as he pocketed the galleons. 'Considering I've already flown over the maze in my phoenix form during the night and have already memorized most of the paths through.'

Near the entrance of the maze stood the five judges, each of whom were standing with their backs to the maze as they watched the four champions come closer. As usual, Ludo was the first to greet them, his ever present grin never fading from his face. "Welcome champions! Take a good look around you…because by this weekend this area will be unrecognizable. Any of you care to take a guess at just what your task shall entail?"

"It's a maze." Viktor grumbled, staring at the hedges which, when inspected closely, were visibly growing.

"Exactly right my boy!" Ludo clapped happily. "A maze. A giant maze which will stretch throughout the entirety of the Quidditch pitch and even slightly beyond. And in the center of the maze will be your object. The Triwizard Trophy! The first to reach the cup will be declared the winner."

"The points you have obtained will be used to determine the order in which you will be allowed to enter the maze." Umbridge continued, her face faltering slightly. "However….seeing as how you all decided to violate the spirit of the tournament in the second task, only the scores from the first task shall be counted. Therefore, Mr. Krum. At forty-five points you have the lead and have the honor of entering the maze first. Mr. Diggory, at forty-four you shall be entering second. Ms. Fleur, with thirty-six points you shall enter third. And Mr. Potter…as you have only managed to acquire thirty-four points during the first task you shall be entering last."

"You will be entering in the order given at five minute intervals." Maxime took over, shooting Umbridge a look. "Within the maze you shall be tested by various enchantments, magical creatures and magical plants. You knowledge and skill shall truly be put to the test within."

"There is also the possibility that you will encounter one another within." Karkaroff added. "To that we have this to say…there can be only one champion. However…the use of lethal spells or the Unforgivable Curses is strictly forbidden. Violation of this rule will result in your immediate expulsion from the maze and subsequent disqualification."

"And lastly," Dumbledore continued. "The maze is ever shifting. Even while you four are traversing it the maze will shift. Not even we five, who designed the maze and the traps within, know the exact layout. Now, should you encounter something that you are unable to pass through, or if you should wish to be withdrawn, you simply need to raise your wand and send up a flare of red sparks and you will be extracted from the maze by one of the watchers. Now…are there any questions you four might have?"

The four champions looked at one another. "How do we know when the competition is over Headmaster?" Cedric asked. "If the task is over once a single person reaches the center, how will the rest of us know?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "An excellent question Mr. Diggory. Each of you will be bringing in with you a small one time use portkey, just like you did in the first task. Should you fall unconscious it will remove you from the maze, which will constitute a forfeit. And once a single person touches the Champion's Trophy, your portkeys will begin to pulse for ten seconds to give you all a warning before removing you from the maze. Any other questions? No? Well then champions…I wish you all the very best of luck."

---

Sitting in his high backed chair, the twisted form of what was once the most powerful Dark Lord since the time of Morgana, idly stroked the scales of his beloved familiar as he watched the flames eat away at the logs in the low burning fire before him. The anxiety within him had been building up to the point of almost being uncontrollable for weeks now. Nearly three years of carefully cultivated planning was about to come to fruition. And soon he would be whole once more and able to continue on his noble crusade.

Hearing the door to his sanctuary open, he felt out the presence behind him, recognizing who it was almost immediately. "Come…Luciusss. And tell me…your newsss."

Walking around his chair, Lucius knelt before him, keeping his head lowered so he would not look him in the eye. 'Foolish.' Voldemort thought. 'As if I needed legilimency to know your mind Lucius. You seek my power. My knowledge. How foolish. What I have and am is not mine to give.'

Lucius was a useful tool, perhaps not as powerful as some of his more devout followers like his sword Bellatrix. But the monetary and political advantage he brought more than made up for that. But his failures as of late had been testing that. The fool was rapidly losing his usefulness. And already Voldemort was contemplating on just who would replace him. His son perhaps? Not nearly as powerful as his father, but if Potter and the girl Tonks were taken out then young Draco would stand to inherit both the Malfoy family and the Black family name.

"My lord, your request has been fulfilled. All of the necessary components for the ritual have been gathered and prepared." Lucius said clearly. "And we have assurances that Potter will be brought before you at the designated time."

Voldemort smirked while he began petting Nagini. "You have…doubtsss Luciusss."

"Yes my lord." Lucius nodded, keeping his eyes downcast. "Is it truly wise to trust…this person with this task? Should we not have a backup plan in case they fail to deliver Potter to us?"

Smiling, Voldemort leaned his frail frame back against the cushioned chair. "They…will not fail. They…know the cost of failure…Luciusss. Potter will…be brought before usss."

"And…if he isn't my lord?" Lucius pressed, daring to raise his eyes ever so slightly. "What shall we do then?"

This was one reason he kept Lucius around instead of just going straight to his son. Lucius was meticulous and had plots inside of plots and plans on top of plans. "A sssuitable replacement…hasss been chosen." Voldemort growled. "Ssshould Potter fail to appear by the allotted hour…the replacement will be sssent to usss. And the one responsible for failing…to deliver Potter…will know the weight of their…failure."

"As you say, my lord." Lucius groveled. "Is there anything else you require of me, my lord?"

"No." Voldemort said, waving his hand dismissively. "Go and prepare…my followersss for my…return. And sssend in…the rat. It is time…for Nagini to be…milked."

Lucius's throat visibly bobbed as he nodded. "Yes, my lord." He muttered before rising quickly to his feet and all but running out of the room.

Alone once more, Voldemort resumed his petting of Nagini. 'Soon Potter…I will have my revenge on you and your mudblood mother for what you've done to me. And once you are defeated…I will strip your mind of every secret you hold of these…Guardians. And once I learn your secrets…there will be nothing to stop our rise. Just as I deserve."

---

A/N: Okay…now I know that there are a few things that I'm going to have to explain for this chapter.

For the ship design I've used the design from Mass Effect, basically the frigate is the Normandy SR-2. Course not everything is like the SR-2.

Second, the magical enchantments on the ship. Now like many of you I've also read 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', and if you haven't then I suggest that you do. The enchantments and spells in this story do not work like they do in that one. The best way that I can describe this is that nothing last forever, including magic. You can pump a ton of power into an unbreakable charm, but continuously put strain on the charm and it will eventually wear the enchantment out. Put too much strain on it at once, and you can break the enchantment as well. Same with runes. Runes have to be powered up, just a battery. Once their charge runs out, they're useless and you're shielding charm or unbreakable charm that are tied into the runes will be gone.

The reason why I'm going this route is because I believe that a fleet of 'Unbreakable' ships would make everything way too OP. And I want to avoid that if I can. But still, saying that each ship will have Shielding Runes, Unbreakable charms, generated shields using SW technology plus their thicker than average hull. So…while the ships won't necessarily be OP, they will be a hell of a lot tougher than anything else out there thanks to magic.

And lastly, the small French section translates into thus: (And thank you to Torvalds42 for the help with the translation as my French is more than a little rusty)

"You didn't tell me that I would meeting him today! Look at me! I look like a drowned rat!"

"I speak French as well, just so you know." "And you are far too cute to be a drowned rat Mademoiselle