Chapter 2

Hermione Granger adjusted the hood over her head and tried not to accidentally brush against any aliens in Mos Espa, the strangest space outpost on this side of Tatooine. The strangest and only space outpost I've seen so far. Nevermind the simulators. It was hot, but thank goodness for cooling charms. And glamours. It was strange looking at herself in the mirror and closely looking like she was a first year in Hogwarts. Minus the hair and teeth issues, thank you very much. Qui-Gon – or the entity that mimicked him – assured her everything would be alright and that today would be the day she would first contact Mr. Mistery. She knew Padme's name, but not his.

"You will know him, as soon as you see him." Great, she thought. Such a help, that is. "Now you sound like Yoda." He didn't explain who that was, either.

Watto's store was weird and chaotic, like so many other establishments on this planet – make it this galaxy – and off he went to search for the parts she required, leaving a dirty thin little boy, dressed in rags, who sat down, watching the store and doing a poor job of pretending not to be staring at her. Harry… He reminds me of Harry, dressed in his cousin's hand-me-downs. He blurted out a question, soon enough.

"Are you an angel?"

"Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?", she smiled widely at the boy, whose blue eyes grew wider. "I'm sorry, I was only teasing you a little. In my world, angels are beautiful, kind guardian spirits, who watch over you. Who guide you."

"Then you must be an angel."

"And you a cherub.", she smiled. "My name is Hermione Granger. What's yours?"

"Anakin Skywalker."

"Well, I'm on an errand, and your employer is taking quite a bit of time.", he squirmed. "What is it?" The boy confessed the Toydarian owned him and his mother, Shmi. "Oh, well, he doesn't seem very nice.", she replied, and Anakin seemed to relax a bit, as he realized Hermione was not judging him for being a slave.

"He is better than the Hutt who owned us before him." The boy's gaze was so intent on her he hardly noticed the new customers coming in. He paused, watching her. "Would you like to meet my mother? She'd love to have an angel dining with us." Hermione smiled.

"Very well, little cherub." As Watto came in, they finished their transaction and once again she turned to Anakin. "I'll see you soon."

"Wait!", everyone seemed to stop at stare at them, making the little boy blush beet red. "I… you don't know where I live. And it's dangerous out there, you shouldn't go alone."

"I'll find you, don't worry.", she playfully winked at him and exited the shop.

Well, that worked better than I expected. But I wonder if it was enough. There was still time, and so she decided to explore Mos Espa. She shuddered at the memory of the others in the store; avoiding looking at her teacher's face in this time or reality, or whatever this was, had helped her maintain her composure, fortunately.

It had been easy, finding Anakin's home. She could have asked around, but a wandless tracking spell had done the trick. Though talented, it wouldn't do to underestimate the young boy, so Hermione had kept her mental shields in place. It would be preferable to reach Shmi before Qui-Gon's entourage arrived.

She had changed her clothing to something Muggle, of her Earth, and carried the food capsules and a dark case, the size of her forearm and hand, with her. She smiled gently at the woman and introduced herself as an acquaintance of Anakin, and a guest for dinner. Worry subtly plagued Shmi's countenance.

"I hope you don't mind, but as I wouldn't like to be a burden, I have brought food with me.", she said, and handed her the capsules.

"That's not really necessary."

"Oh… I have the feeling your son has probably invited more people for dinner. He seems to be very friendly, and a special boy."

"He is.", she smiled. "He is."

"He seems… to be very handy in mechanics."

"Quite. He is also a good pilot. I don't like when he podraces, but…"

"It's alright. Did you hear that? I think Anakin is here." Here they come, she thought.

"Mom, I'm home." Anakin apologized for not warning Shmi in advance.

"Well, Anakin, we are fortunate since Hermione had already warned me, and was kind enough to bring extra supplies for dinner." Anakin beamed at the young witch and Qui-Gon introduced Jar Jar Binks.

"Mesa happy to meet ya!", said the Gungan menace.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, though the young lady seems to be missing.", Hermione noted.

"She didn't like the heat.", frowned Anakin. "And she seemed a bit…" Hermione's eyebrows rose, "I didn't like the way she reacted when I told her I am a slave.", the boy blurted out.

"Well, Anakin, I suppose she might be from a world where slavery isn't very common, and sometimes people just… don't know how to react. Maybe it was too much to process. This heat and Mos Espa seem to do strange things to your brain!", Anakin's frowning face twisted into a soft smile. "Now, I don't know about you but I'm a little hungry."

Dinner started as a quiet affair, interrupted by Jar Jar's antics, to which Hermione barely blinked; something Anakin noted.

"Well, Anakin, the truth is… when I was younger I went to… a special school. And I made quite a bit of acquaintances and a few friends. One of them had – sorry, Jar Jar – horrible table manners. Though… his heart was in the right place.", she mused, looking lost in memories for a little while.

"I… I noticed Qui-Gon and you have a laser weapon, Hermione. That place you went to… was it a school for Jedis?", he asked, excited.

"I didn't receive that sort of training back then.", she mumbled.

"So you had it later?", Bah-humbug, thought Hermione.

"Anakin… Jedis are trained from a very young age.", Hermione replied.

"Why?", uh, time to pass the hot potato.

"You should ask that to Qui-Gon Jinn, since he is a Jedi.", she chirped, smiling like a Cheshire cat. The Jedi Master quirked an eyebrow.

"You never know if I didn't kill a Jedi and took his weapon.", said Qui-Gon, to which Anakin replied nobody could kill a Jedi.

"Death comes to us all, Ani. Even Jedis.", muttered Hermione. "Well… I should get going."

"Already?!", protested Anakin. "It's much too soon. I'd love for you to check out the protocol droid I'm building, C3PO. And my pod, it's the fastest ever. C'mon!", he pleaded.

"Very well then. Excuse me.", said Hermione. "Master Qui-Gon, Madam.", the witch nodded to them and followed Anakin, who had transformed into a little chatterbox. Hermione looked on and smiled tenderly at the boy. He really is cute. She sobered up. Hard to believe what… no, don't think it.

"Hermione!"

"Oh, Ani, no need to bellow at me like that. I was lost in my thoughts, that's all."

"You seemed so… sad. Why?"

"I apologize. I shouldn't think about the past so much. I have… lost a lot of people I loved, Anakin, and I haven't had the opportunity to mourn. I… I should go."

"But I've hardly showed you 3PO!"

"I'm sorry, Anakin.", she felt horrible, manipulating the young boy. "I'll come back. I'm just… upset right now. Don't worry, I'll be fine, I just need to rest."

"There's a sandstorm coming real soon. I know, why don't you lay down for a bit, here. This is my cot. Don't worry." She frowned.

"I don't want to be a bother." Perfect.

"It's okay. I'll just go check on Qui-Gon, and I'll be back in a bit. You rest now."

Hermione sat on the cot and then laid down, closing her eyes, relaxing, meditating briefly and then began with stretching her senses. Focusing on her core, and then into her mental landscape, she walked between memories. The dirt road of the Forest of Dean ended in the wizarding village of Hogsmeade, and she took up the path to Hogwarts. Her home.

She was almost there when she got pulled back by Anakin and Qui-Gon; unexpectedly, she shoved the Jedi Master against the wall, sticking him to it. Anakin was surprised and stared at the Jedi.

"Wow!", he exclaimed. "Do all Jedis learn how to do that?!" Hermione shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

"Maybe.", she snickered at the boy's hopeful look.

"I would appreciate it if you could remove me from the wall." Hermione closed her eyes briefly and Qui-Gon was unstuck, falling into the ground. "You were meditating?"

"Sorting memories, actually. I do apologize for reacting so strongly. Constant vigilance and all."

"Sorting memories?", asked Ani.

"Yes. The process, to me, is easier after a short meditation. It helps me especially when I feel confused, or lost, or upset, really. It puts things in perspective.", she paused. "Well, if the storm is over, Ani, I think I should go. I've imposed enough on your hospitality."

"Nonsense.", said Qui-Gon. "We've just met." The man was looking appraisingly at her, obviously making calculations.

"And guess what!", Ani then proceeded to relate all pertinent facts with regard to what Hermione would later on mentally refer as to the pod menace and Company. Company being the Nubian ship. Anakin was going to compete and, without any doubt, win.

"I know I can win. It's the fastest ever!", he repeated at the sight of a smirk in Hermione's face.

"How fast have you piloted it?", she asked, eyebrows raised, anticipating the answer.

"Well… I'm still working on a few quirks…"

Another day came. Hermione's… tutor, for lack of a better word, instructed her to remain for a while longer. She would divide her time helping Shmi around the house or helping Ani with the pod. Padme seemed to keep her distance. Hermione's magic helped with that too – if Ron had been alive, he would probably once again refer to her as scary brilliant. And sneaky. She did enjoy ward casting.

She just hoped she was doing the right thing.

Ani, special boy he was, sensed perhaps that Hermione was special as well. Different. Different from him, from his mother, from Qui-Gon, from everyone else he had ever met in his so far short life. She was older than her years, and there was so much pain and sadness at times, in her eyes. Anakin knew what that felt like, oh yes.

Pain was very much a part of a slave's life, along with fear. Anakin was afraid for his mother, not so much for himself, he knew he had worth thanks to his abilities. Mother too, had worth, just not what their owner saw. Mom was Anakin's only light in the darkness, but it didn't abate that need he had. Of going up to the stars, of becoming a Jedi, strong and fearless. Anakin wanted to be brave. He had fear, yet he wasn't afraid. How to put it? His fear wasn't of getting hurt in a fight, or displeasing his master; Anakin was very capable of handling himself. No, that ingrained fear was something more elusive, and far more emotional.

The day came. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Mom were there to see him off. Padme too, but he was too preoccupied with looking around for Hermione to care about what she was saying. Yes, yes, he knew they hoped; so did he. He knew he'd win, he just knew it. He felt it in his bones, the Force was with him.

"Ani.", there were two gentle hands squeezing his shoulders.

"Hermione!", he beamed. "You came!"

"I wouldn't miss it, besides… I promised I'd come, didn't I?", she winked. "And here I am, young Skywalker."

"Won't you wish me luck?", he felt a tad embarrassed, looking for her approval. The girl smiled softly.

"Yes.", she smiled and sobered, kneeling and quickly kissing his brow. "May the Force be with you." That little kiss seemed to have given him liquid luck or to have implanted itself permanently in his head, or in his heart.

And he won. He won!

And he was free! But Mom wasn't. But his heart… his heart told him he would, very likely, see her again.

And so, he turned his back on his dear Mother, to leave that dry and nearly forgotten planet.

As he ran towards the ship, fear constricted his heart again, fear of the unknown, fear of the strange warrior fighting Qui-Gon. It lessened once his eyes laid upon a cloaked Hermione, burdened with a black pack. He knew it was her, he could feel it, his heart beating wildly in his chest a second later, feeling a strange force coming from her and heading impossibly quickly towards the Jedi's enemy, knocking him down to the ground, disoriented.

Qui-Gon Jinn blessed the Force and wasted no time heading towards the ship. Returning to Naboo was the top priority.

"Thank you…"

"You are quite welcome, Master Jinn. You may call me Hermione. That applies to you as well, Padawan Kenobi."

"Likewise. Hermione, thank you for saving my Master."

"I had a friend like him. He didn't go looking for trouble, it usually found him."

"I look forward to meet him.", said a smiling Kenobi.

"Not possible, I'm afraid."

"Oh, my condolences.", Hermione grimaced and turned to remove her outer robes and her bag. She excused herself, but alas, she had to be taken to the Queen, who offered her thanks to the young witch; Qui-Gon did the same. Annoyance plagued Hermione's features, and the Queen questioned her on it.

"I am well, Your Highness. But I grow tired and I do not deserve such praise. You are too kind.", she bowed gracefully and turned on her heel, leaving the room.

Qui-Gon approached the young girl, her face contorted into a fierce frown, her eyes unseeing, not fixed on the control room nor its people, rather in some other place, or some other time; Anakin discreetly followed him, hiding close by.

"I did not do it for them.", she whispered.

"Who then?", the Jedi asked. She laughed.

"Why… I did it for Anakin. And no, I won't tell you why."

"There is a prophecy…"

"The Chosen One… Have a care, Master Jinn… prophecies can be fickle things, and are open to interpretation!", Qi-Gon frowned at the anger present in the girl's forceful tone. "They do not always come true in the manner or timeframe one expects. So… have a care. Have a care.", she turned her back on him and laughed then, a dark, then hollow laugh that chilled him to the bone. He grasped his lightsaber. "Don't be an idiot. I'm not your enemy. Unless you're thinking of going over to the Dark Side." She turned to him and he could feel a wave of sadness and loss coming from her. "I have lost so many, thanks to a stupid prophecy, forgive me if I have little tolerance for them."

"I do believe Anakin is the Chosen One."

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Right now he is a little boy, about to face Jedi training, which will be hard enough as it is. Do not punish him with a burden he doesn't understand yet, Master Jinn. Perhaps one day I shall tell you Harry's story and mine. Then you'll see what I mean."

Anakin frowned. Hermione was his friend, wasn't she? She would confide in him, then. He pouted slightly; who was this Harry? He seemed to be so important to Hermione… but so was he! He beamed, she had saved Qui-Gon for him. She knew how important Qui-Gon was to him!

And she… she was important to him as well.