Chapter Five: Reunions and Explanations

There was a chorus of "HARRY!" which made the Jedi wince, and then a flood of people started towards him, the Weasley family and Dumbledorein the lead. Harry stepped back and used the Force to create an invisible wall between him and the tide of people. As an afterthought he added cushioning to it, but not before Dumbledore had run at full speed into the hard part, breaking his nose and making it even more crooked than before.

Snape then spoke, his tone conveying suspicion although his eyes showed amusement at Dumbledore's predicament. "How can we be sure that it really is Potter? I mean, we all know how he was framed in the first place."

Harry was about to reply that of course it was him when a chorus of trills and hoots came from above them. As he looked up, Hedwig and Fawkes came spiraling down to land on his shoulders, affectionately running their beaks through his hair.

After repairing his nose and motioning for the rest of the Order to stay back, Dumbledore turned his twinkling blue gaze on Harry and said cheerfully, "I think Hedwig and Fawkes have just proven his identity. Harry, we're very glad to have you back, and your help is most welcome. Would you like to see what we've come up with so far?"

Harry shook his head, keeping his eyes locked with Dumbledore's. In an even tone of voice he replied, "With all due respect Headmaster, we've just arrived and we're tired. We can look at what you've done already in the morning, but we need to sleep right now." As Dumbledore nodded Harry continued in a slightly harder tone, "One more thing, Headmaster, I didn't give you permission to use my name. Kindly address me as Knight Potter until I say otherwise. Only those I trust are allowed to call me by my name."

Harry turned back towards the door, leaving a stunned silence behind him. He was far more attuned to Fawkes and Hedwig though, who had kept up a constant series of trills and hoots which he interpreted as a sound telling off for leaving them. Everyone was silent because no one could remember anyone ever talking to Dumbledore in that manner before. It also served to highlight exactly how deep the rift between the two ran, which was painful to both although Harry wouldn't admit it. Then there was a pop, and a very excited house elf attacked Harry.

"Harry Potter sir, Dobby is being preparing your suite for you and your friends. Dobby is so excited to be able to be seeing you again. Dobby is being very happy that you have returned."

As the Jedi looked on in amusement, Harry knelt before the excited little creature and detached himself gently. "Hello Dobby, I'm pleased to see you too and I'm glad our rooms are ready. Can you lead us to them please; we'd like to settle in."

Dobby nodded and led the Jedi to a portrait of the Hogwarts Founders. Godric Gryffindor looked at them and said, "Password please."

Harry looked at Dobby who said, "Hope" Godric nodded and the painting swung forward, admitting the Jedi to the suite of rooms behind it.

"You can be changing the password Master Harry if you be wanting to. Tell the portrait the new password and it will be changed. Goodnight."

Harry smiled as Dobby popped away and then sat down. There was a brief silence before Obi-Wan broke it. "Harry, what the hell was that creature?" Harry smirked at his friend.

"Dobby is a house elf Obi-Wan; they are bound to serve one place or family until they die. Most house elves are well treated however there are some that get mistreated by their masters. A house elf can only be freed if their master presents them with clothes. I freed Dobby from his family when I was twelve, and he's been attached to me ever since."

"Is he normally that, er, excitable?" Syra questioned. Harry nodded before yawning. "Yes he is, you get used to it though. I'm off to bed though, considering we need to be up early tomorrow to discuss strategy."

So saying, he went to investigate the bedrooms, and was soon followed by Anakin and then Syra as Obi-Wan had given him a pointed look which said "Bed, now." After another 10 minutes or so the other Jedi followed, needing sleep as much as Harry and the two Padawans did.

The next morning, all the Jedi were up early, and followed Harry down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They made quick work of it, and were just about to leave to get in a quick meditation session when they were met with a red blur which resolved itself into Ginny Weasley.

"Harry Potter, how dare you go away and leave me here without saying goodbye" she shrieked before stepping up to him and slapping him across the face. Anakin leapt forward with a snarl but found himself restrained by his master.

"It's ok Anakin, I deserved that. I'm surprised she didn't use her favorite hex actually" Harry admitted. Turning to Ginny he said "I'm not going to apologise for leaving because I was in no state to talk to anyone when I left. If you want to know what I was like when I joined the Jedi Order, I suggest you talk to Mace, Hikari and Sora here as they're the ones who put me back together, with help from Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan as well. That being said, I am glad to see you. You're the only one from your family that I want to see actually."

Ginny nodded. "Not surprising. Give them a chance though Harry, they've been in a state since last night, especially Mum. They want to apologise, but they're afraid that your friends won't let them get close enough to do so."

Harry considered this and then finally turned to Mace and said, "Let them, and anyone else that wants to talk to me do so, if I need help I'll tell you ok." Mace nodded and then replied, "I think that might be sooner than you think Harry."

Turning round Harry spotted Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape entering the great hall. He stiffened slightly as they approached, but gave no other sign of his feelings. The three eyed each other before Draco stepped forward, holding out his hand.

"Welcome back Potter, you're looking a hell of a lot better than when I last saw you." Harry smirked and took the outstretched hand, shaking it firmly before replying, "Decent food and training will do that to you Malfoy. What's been happening here since I left?"

"I'm Snape's Potions apprentice, and have been for the past 5 years, I went to university and then apprenticed after that. He's given over teaching 1st years thru to 4th to me, and takes the 5th years and up. This Dark Lord that is terrorizing everyone is playing havoc with the students though; it's almost like it was when we were in school."

"That bad then" Harry asked. Draco nodded. "Thank goodness Severus and I don't have to spy though." Harry nodded. "You wouldn't stand a chance against a Sith Lord, no matter how good your Occlumency skills" he stated.

"Speaking of Occlumency Potter, I see your shields have improved dramatically" Snape's silky voice spoke from behind Draco. Before Harry could reply, Hikari snapped back, "That's what happens when you teach someone rather than mind-rape them Snape!"

Draco looked confused. "Mind rape? What happened Severus?"

Snape looked uncomfortable. "Do you remember when I was teaching you Occlumency Draco?" At his apprentice's nod, he continued, "Do you remember what I did at the end of the training?"

"You mean when you attacked all out with little to no warning?" Draco asked.

Snape nodded. "I did that every time with Potter here, Master Hikari's accusation is true, it was mind rape."

Looking directly at Harry, he continued, "I know that what I did is unforgivable but I do have an explanation for why that happened. It won't excuse my actions but it may put them in perspective."

Harry looked evenly at his former teacher before saying, "We can discuss it in a less public place. Not all of us have to be there though; may I ask whether Draco would consent to giving a tour of the castle to our apprentices?"

Draco nodded and said, "I'd be happy to Potter. It will give me a chance to pick your apprentice's brain about what you're like now and I'll be able to tell him what you were like when we were students."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Here we go the grand apprentice story swap" he muttered. Turning to Anakin he said, "No wandering off Padawan, Hogwarts is full of traps for those that wander around without paying attention." Anakin nodded before replying equally seriously, "I won't wander off Master, I'll be too busy gathering blackmail information."

Anakin ducked out of the way of the good natured swat that Harry aimed at his head before heading off with Draco. Syra followed them after a second's hesitation.

Snape watched them go and then said, "I never would have imagined you as a Master Potter." Harry smirked and then said, "My name, Professor, is Harry. Please use it." He then turned and walked in the direction of their suite, with Mace, Hikari, and Sora following. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had excused themselves to discreetly follow Draco, Anakin and Syra, because they wanted to see round Hogwarts as well. They wouldn't be close enough to hear the conversation but by following the route the apprentices took they would be safe and could look around the castle as well.

In the common area of the rooms the Jedi had been given, Mace, Hikari, Sora and Harry sat down on the couches, while Snape pulled up the other chair so it was facing the Jedi who were in a loose semicircle, with Harry at the centre. The four Jedi were wearing neutral expressions but Snape was too good an Occlumens to not pick up the suspicion and hostility directed at him from the three Masters. Harry he noted was keeping his emotions masked but they seemed to be curiosity mixed with a faint apprehension as to his reasons for the Occlumency disaster.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Mace said sharply, "You said you had reasons for your inexcusable behavior towards my former Padawan so start explaining."

Harry closed his eyes as Hikari added "They had better be good ones otherwise not even Harry here will be able to stop us from showing you what we think of child abusers."

Snape was not really shocked at the way the senior Jedi had leapt to Harry's defence, what he was shocked by was the implied threat in their words. Before he could say anything though, Harry spoke up.

"You will not hurt him, Masters. None of us like what he did, but I know him well enough to know that while he might act like a complete bastard he does care about the students of this school. He would not willingly have hurt me like he did, the fact that he wants to explain the reasons tells me that something else was behind this. If you try and hurt him I will be standing in the way."

Locking eyes with his former Professor, Harry continued quietly, "I should have listened to him in the first place, or done research on my own on Occlumency techniques. I didn't do my part properly which is part of why he was able to do so much damage. Hear him out."

Snape swallowed and sat silently for a few minutes, sorting his thoughts into order and mulling over the maturity that this new version of Harry was displaying. He resolved to talk with him later, alone, to find out how he had changed and why, and get to know the man in a way that he had never allowed himself to get to know the boy that he used to be.

'That is if I can avoid being killed by his defenders' he thought. Breathing out slowly he began his explanation.

"Harry," he stumbled slightly as he wasn't used to using his former student's first name, "is only partially correct. Yes he could have researched but he would have found only obscure references and vague hints of what to do. I was trapped by circumstances that I will explain, so I couldn't be a source of information for him either, which under normal circumstances I would have been. While it is true that a teacher cannot teach unless the student is willing to learn, the student cannot learn unless the teacher provides them with the necessary information and tools to learn with."

Taking another breath Snape locked his eyes with Harry's, not quite willing to meet the eyes of the senior Jedi, and continued, "When I was awarded the rank of Master Occlumens I had to swear an oath to never use my skills to harm another person and if I taught a student to be an Occlumens to never use my skills to harm them while teaching them. I think you all know quite well that I broke that oath rather spectacularly with Harry. I had to get the "lessons" stopped somehow so I used Harry's natural curiosity and deliberately left my Pensieve out on the table, knowing that his thirst for information of any kind would lead him to looking in it, and thus giving me a legitimate excuse to end the lessons."

"This is all well and good Professor but we still haven't heard why you mistreated Harry in the manner that you did" Sora said dryly. Harry shot the healer a sharp look, which was returned with equal intensity. Snape noticed the by-play and smiled slightly.

"Still managing to annoy your teachers then?" he said with a crooked smile. Harry grinned back and said, "You know me, I never stop. Continue though, I don't think they'll wait much longer."

Shrugging in acquiescence, Snape continued his explanation. "That was the background, now I can get to the reasons. The lessons were supposed to stop Voldemort from getting into Harry's head. Before the term started though, I was summoned to the Headmaster's office. He told me to deliberately mis-teach you, and I wasn't happy about it. Would it be better if I just showed you the memory?"

At the four nods he received, Snape withdrew his own Pensieve and set it on the table. Drawing out a strand of memory, he placed it in the bowl and then pushed it towards Harry with a wry look.

"This time Potter you have my permission" he said. Harry smirked before answering, "Thank you very much Professor and I apologise for my unauthorized entry when I was 15."

The five occupants of the room stuck their fingers into the Pensieve and were dropped into the past.

They landed in Dumbledore's office where a heated debate was going on between Dumbledore and a younger looking Snape.

"Severus, these visions that Harry has been having may help us. I know I said I wanted you to teach him Occlumency but I've changed my mind. The connection that young Harry has with Voldemort may work to our advantage. We could possibly use the connection to flush Tom out and then we could get Harry to kill him."

"And how would you suggest we do that Headmaster, the Occlumency lessons are to teach him to keep the connection closed, not open, though I doubt I'll be able to teach the brat when we do start, given his complete lack of attention in class so far."

Dumbledore smiled, and it was a smile that Snape didn't like very much. The old wizard leaned back in his chair and said, "That's because I don't want the connection closed Severus, I want you to go into his mind and open it wider. Harry has no inkling of our plans, that's why I've kept him in the dark so to speak so far this year. You have your instructions Severus, once the lessons start, open his mind, and don't teach him to close it."

Snape was staring at his mentor in disbelief, what he was being asked to do was to go against the oath that he'd sworn when he was awarded the rank of Master Occlumens/Legilimens. Shaking his head he snapped out,

"Headmaster, do you realize what you're asking me to do? You're asking me to break a sacred oath, an oath that you once swore yourself. You know the consequences of mind rape as well as I do. I won't do it; if I am to teach that brat Occlumency then I will do so properly. You can find another way of flushing out that monster without using an innocent boy to do it."

Dumbledore stood abruptly, the persona of the kind old grandfather gone, and in its place was the powerful wizard that Voldemort feared. In a hard tone he said, "Severus, are you deliberately defying my orders? Have you forgotten who saved you from Azkaban after the first war ended?"

Spinning round to face Dumbledore, Snape ground out "No I haven't forgotten and I will be forever grateful to you for that but I've paid my debt to society, I shouldn't have to be forced to go against my word like you're asking me to."

Still in a hard tone Dumbledore replied, "One word to the Minister, Severus, and you'll be back with the Dementors. If I can't trust you to follow my orders then you're of no further use to me. What's it to be, mind rape one boy for the good of the wizarding world, or spending the rest of your life with the Dementors? It's your choice Severus."

Snape was standing stock still, his eyes closed tightly as he sorted through his options, which were really limited to two equally bad choices. Finally he opened his eyes, having come to a painful decision.

"I'll do it Headmaster, but don't be surprised if your Golden Boy ends up in the same ward as Longbottom's parents, the mind is a delicate thing and not to be treated harshly." Spinning on his heel he stalked towards the door, before stopping and turning back to say one last thing, "If he ever finds out what you've asked me to do, may Merlin help you because I won't stand in his path if he wants revenge. I may even help him do it."

With that he stalked down the staircase, muttering to himself. As he stalked off down the hall he muttered, "I have to stop the lessons somehow. Maybe utilizing the brat's natural nosiness, if I leave my Pensieve out, yes that will work. I can give the brat a view of what his sainted father was like at his age and also have a legitimate excuse for stopping the lessons. I can't do it until at least 3 or 4 weeks though, oh damn I'm going to have such a headache for that time. Damn you Albus."

The memory ended and the five people landed back in the common room. Snape was looking out the window but he could feel the rise of magic in the air. When he dared a glance at his four companions he shivered. Harry seemed resigned upon finding out about yet another betrayal by his one-time mentor; the primary emotion in his eyes seemed to be sadness for Snape's predicament. The other three Jedi though, were furious and weren't hiding it in the slightest.

Finally Mace spoke and his tone conveyed the fact that he was holding back a great deal of anger. "Where is the Headmasters office?" Harry now looked worried, and so did Snape although he also looked amused at the prospect of Dumbledore having to face three utterly pissed off Jedi Masters. He leaned back and drawled, "Why do you want to know?"

"So we can express our, ahem, displeasure, at his tactics with the Occlumency" Hikari hissed. Sora nodded, not needing to speak, the anger radiating off him was palpable.

Before Snape could answer, Harry spoke up. "You can't harm him Masters."

"Why not Harry, he certainly didn't seem to have much respect for your wellbeing when you were younger, nor much for Professor Snape either from that memory" Mace said. Harry got up and blocked the doorway, his eyes locking with those of his former Master's.

"You can't hurt him for several reasons. One, we are here to help get rid of a Sith, not get retribution for something that happened a long time ago. Two, since he hurt me and Professor Snape we're the ones who should be first in line as it were for any retribution, three, this was my home at one point and I still know it well enough to get to Dumbledore before you could, four, I still need an apology from the man, even if I have to beat it out of him and five, well, reason number five is the most compelling of all Masters.

Reason number five is that we're Jedi, we shouldn't seek revenge, even though I'm happy that you're so protective of me, we can't forget our primary reason for being here. I can handle Dumbledore, if it turns out that I'm wrong then feel free to step in on my behalf but until then, please, restrain yourselves. I don't want you to end up in Azkaban for killing him; it's not a nice vacation spot."

The three Jedi Masters looked rather ashamed of themselves while Snape looked surprised. In a less superior tone than he normally used he said, "You've truly grown up Harry, haven't you?" Harry turned to look at him and with an amused tone of voice said, "Yes, I did. Everyone does someday. I just had to do it in a more unusual way than most. Tell me, why are you less hostile towards me than you were when I was a student?"

As Snape started to reply, Mace, Hikari and Sora started making for the door. They were almost there when Harry asked calmly, "Where are you going?" Annoyed that his former apprentice was making him feel like a Padawan again, Mace replied, "We're not going to harm Dumbledore, we're going to see if we can find Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and the others, while you and Professor Snape discuss the past."

Harry nodded and the three Masters left, leaving Harry and Snape to discuss several points of interest and lay down the beginnings of what some would have deemed to be impossible – a friendship between a Snape and a Potter where traditionally there had only been enemies.