Interlude II
Oath of the Padawan

It was a month later, that you would find Harry Potter in the High Council chamber, his soon-to-be-teacher, Master Yoda to the side of him and Master Mace Windu in front of him, now that he was the High Council leader-elect.

The now seventeen year old Harry Potter kneeled on a small platform constructed of wood in front of the two Masters. His head was bowed as tradition mandated, and his hands were placed on the wood platform two feet apart from one another.

His hair had been grown quite long for the occasion, and he wore a simple white tunic and pants. He had eaten quite healthily in the last month, and had worked out, his muscles toning slightly and his overall robustness increasing. Thought to be impossible, his eyes were a lighter shade of emerald, the sparkle within them not diminishing one bit - he had studied, and read texts constantly since he had agreed to becoming a member of the Jedi Order, and he felt as if he were once more within the confines of Hogwarts.

While he had made several friends, his best and favorite being Anakin Skywalker, he had received some glares, stares, and harsh criticism for being nine years too old toundergo training. This of course was never said when Master Yoda was around, and Harry tried his best to ignore it. Anakin often taunted the person on behalf of him, reminding him strongly of Ronald Weasley.

He smiled slightly, as a memory of Ron swept his memory.

He was brought out of the memory as Master Windu began.

"Today, Apprentice Potter, you will be the first in over 4,000 years to recite and explain the Old Code. With it, you will then answer a few questions and take the Oath, lastly, before ascending to the rank of Padawan within the Jedi Order. The Padawan is the lowest rank within the Jedi Order, serving under a Master until they are ready to face the Jedi Knight Trials when the Master believes the Padawan ready. Understood?"

"Yes, Master Windu," spoke Harry.

"Very well, repeat the first maxim, Apprentice."

"There is emotion, yet there is peace."

"Your interpretation, Apprentice?"

"That, we as Jedi, to better serve the Light Side, should embrace what we feel - to never bottle it up, yet control ourselves, teach ourselves and free ourselves from the emotions that the Dark Side feeds off. To let it roll off us and to remember who we serve - to hold compassion for all life."

"The second maxim of the code, Apprentice," said Mace Windu, in a businesslike tone.

"There is ignorance, yet there is knowledge," said the seventeen year old, confidently.

"What does that mean? Why do we not say 'There is no ignorance, there is knowledge?'"

"We must be humble, as Jedi," said Harry, "for if we always believe that we are right - that we have learned from history or from the tenets we teach and not stop to think that there may be another solution - another answer - we risk making a mistake. We risk becoming too proud of ourselves, complacent with all the knowledge we command, when in reality, we know little. To admit you are ignorant from the start, you think more clearly and may find many solutions, than the one answer or solution we may get from a data disc, believing ourselves to be knowledgeable."

"Very good, the third maxim?"

"There is passion, yet serenity."

"How does that work?" inquired Mace Windu.

"Passion for life - passion for love - serves our strength within the Light Side of the Force. We must hold some control, though, with our passions or we may lose sight of what love really is.We must also be able to adapt when we lose a strength."

"Good. The fourth maxim."

"There is death, yet there is the Force."

"Explain. Why can we not use the New Code in which states, 'There is no death, there is the Force.'"

"To deny that death occurs is foolish - we are all effected in one way or another when we lose a comrade, a loved one, a parent, or whomever you feel close to." he said, Hermione's cold lifeless body flashing in his mind, "We must remember, though, that the Force flows through everything - that it created everything. We all return to the origin of Force eventually, and we must control our passions, our emotions, and be knowledgeable about the situation, remembering that it is the Force's will."

"Good," said Master Windu, "You have shown your understanding of the code of the Old Jedi, the code we are using in your situation, for we sense the Dark Side is once again clouding the Force. For millenia we have never faced such an encounter - we have become complacent, whereas the Sith have become far superior. They move in stealth, work undercover, and have remained elusive for thousands of years, that is, until five years ago. Show your understanding of the Sith."

Harry continued to look down and took a deep breath, "Two Sith there are, at all times - a Master and an Apprentice."

"Reasoning?"

"Six thousand years ago, the first Sith Wars broke out with the Galactic Republic - the Old Republic as it is coined now. The Sith fought with anger, and hatred but they not only slaughtered the Old Republic, but themselves. Control was first established by Darth Revan, Third Dark Lord of the Sith, who, four thousand years ago made the Sith Caste - Two Sith Lords, Master and Apprentice, then Sith Masters, then Sith Knights, and then Sith Apprentices. Their rule was brought to a halt by Revan himself, and he purged the remaining Sith onto Korriban where they were believed to be defeated. They were not."

"Thousands survived the purging, but they once again turned on themselves, fighting over control until one survived - Darth Bane. He established the rule, that there would be no caste, but a Master and an Apprentice, and since that time, from recent evidence as of five years ago upon the planet of Naboo, the Sith have existed, elusively."

Mace Windu nodded his approval to Yoda, "That will be good enough, though it would be best if you studied the actual Sith. The Sith of today are an ideal - the Sith of 12,000 years ago, first introduced to the Galaxy by the Jedi who fled the Order and became Dark Jedi, were an actual race of hunter-warriors. Darth Revan got the idea of his caste, from the actual Sith, who used such systems to control order. Nonetheless, they too, killed themselves out."

"Yes, Master Windu."

"You have met my approval, Apprentice. You exhibit control over your emotions, and you are well on your way to following the Old Code. All that remains is the Oath of the Padawan," he paused slightly to allow Harry to think upon it, and continued.

"Begin,"

"My oath," the boy said calmly, "Sworn upon the occasion of my Padawanship, is to serve the will of the Force."

"As a symbol of my submission to the Jedi Order, I undertake the task of creating a lightsaber, and receiving the traditional Padawan Braid."

As this was said, Yoda, stepped onto the platform, and began weaving the braid with the help of the Force.

"I promise that I will uphold theJedi Code thatI have recited - I will protect, guard, and serve each life I come across in any way I may, no matter who they may be. I swear upon my occasion of Padawanship, that I shall use the Force for defense and knowledge and never for aggressive purposes."

As Harry Potter finished the last line, Yoda finished snipping his hair to reveal a significantly different looking seventeen year old. His hair was hardly an inch long, and a seven inch braid of hair fell down from behind his right ear. Mace Windu walked up and handed him a simple, brown robe, the traditional one given to all Padawans.

"You may, of course, design your own Padawan, but these are a keepsake. A tradition, if you will," he said with a smile, "I welcome you fully into the Jedi Order, young Padawan."

Harry received the Jedi Robes, then stood up, bowed, and faced his Master.

"Come, Padawan-learner," said his new Master with a smile, "Much we have to learn."

Mace Windu watched in fascination as the two walked out of the High Council Chambers, the bond of Master and Padawan already forming.