"Mr. Kenobi?"

Ben opens his eyes to see that he's hovering about half a meter above his bed. Trent is standing to the side with wide eyes and open mouth. Ben slowly descends to sit normally with a gentle push of the Force, and nods politely to the Healer. "Hello there. I apologize if I startled you, as well as for attacking you earlier."

Trent blinks several times, then shakes his head, regaining a professional tone. "Apology accepted, Mr. Kenobi. I take it you're feeling better then?"

"Reasonably so." Ben smiles disarmingly. "Am I free to go then?"

Healer Trent chuckles with the long-suffering patience of a medical professional who had heard this question many times, mostly from individuals who really should be in convalescence. "Tell you what, if you prove to be physically and mentally able, then yes, you may go."

With that, he waved his stick in careful, measured movements, drawing strange symbols that glowed a cool blue as they flew through the air to attach themselves to Ben's body. The Force hummed with warmth, and Ben held still as the letters flashed in sequence before fading into nothing.

"Hmm, slight bruising and minor frost damage, which is consistent with what Professor Dumbledore told us about. Also a couple decades' worth of sun damage, which I'll have to prescribe you some potions for." Trent said as he jotted down notes on a clipboard.

"That won't be necessary-" Ben began to say, before the Healer interrupted.

"Nonsense. My scanning spells indicate you are only fifty-seven years old, far too young for a wizard to be looking as old as you do. You need to take your medicine if you don't want to end up an old man before you're even a hundred."

"Very well." Ben agreed, though he had no idea what potions were. Possibly their word for medicine? "Am I free to go then?"

"Just a few questions first." Healer Trent replied. "First, do you know who the current Minister for Magic is?"

Ben recalled the portly man who'd helped interrogate him had been addressed as Minister and Cornelius. However, he didn't know for certain whether that man had been the Minister for Magic. After a moment, he settled for the truth, from a certain point of view. "I must confess that I do not, though I suspect that has more to do with my unfamiliarity with local politics. I'm not from around here, you see."

Trent frowned slightly, but pressed on. "Alright, do you know what year it is?"

It seemed unlikely that the Healer would accept twenty-five aught fifty-three (Ben refused to use the Empire's calendar) as an answer. Enough was enough. Ben moved his fingers through the air between himself and Trent before speaking. "I don't need to answer these questions. I am perfectly healthy and free to go."

Fortunately, it seemed Healer Trent was far less resistant to Force mind tricks than Professor Dumbledore had been, because his eyes unfocused slightly and he said in monotone, "You don't need to answer these questions. You are perfectly healthy and free to go."

"Thank you." Ben smiled and got up from the bed. He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and walked out of the room, leaving Healer Trent standing by his bed with a confused expression.

As Ben wandered through the hallways of the hospital, he felt a familiar tugging sensation. Despite the fact that the Force had gotten him into this strange situation in the first place, Ben followed dutifully, and noted that it was guiding him in the same direction as the helpfully placed exit signs, which he was surprised he could read somehow. He chalked that up to the same interference from the Force which allowed him to speak to this world's natives- in hindsight, it seemed highly unlikely that a planet so isolated that they'd never heard of the Republic or Jedi Order would speak Galactic Basic.

Eventually, Ben managed to find his way to the front desk he'd arrived at earlier, and noticed a doorway. He quickly hurried out before anyone could stop him, and found himself standing in a deserted street. The sky above was dark, with a single solitary moon and a few scattered stars. When Ben turned around, there was no door, but a transparisteel shop front. How odd.

"Well, now what?" Ben asked no one in particular.

As if on cue, his lightsaber hilt glowed blue as the Force swelled within it, and once again Ben felt himself being yanked off his feet and carried into a whirlwind of color. He sighed, resigned to his fate.

Sure enough, Ben's boots slammed into uneven ground and he pitched forward, landing on his face. He laid there for a moment, wondering if the Force had a sick and twisted sense of humor, then got up and dusted himself off.

This time, Ben had landed in the midst of some dark woods. The trees were bare of most of their leaves, which had fallen to blanket the ground in a soggy, wet layer. However, Ben could see a light nearby, with voices coming from it. He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and approached slowly.

As Ben drew closer, he could see that the light was coming from a fire lit at the mouth of a cave in a nearby clearing. Seated next to it were two men, one of whom sounded annoyingly familiar. As Ben entered the light from the fire, the other man, a haggard-looking fellow with pale skin and haunted eyes, shot to his feet and pointed a stick at him. Ben responded by igniting his lightsaber.

"Peace, Sirius." Dumbledore stood up with more grace and calm than his companion, and put a hand on the haggard man's arm, forcing him to point the stick at the ground. He then turned to Ben. "Master Kenobi. Please, have a seat. I'm sure you have many questions."


A/N: I apologize for the week's delay in posting. I had a brief bout of depression that impeded progress for a few days, and then another progress took up my attention for a few days. But we now return to our regularly scheduled posting.

To be honest, when I first came up with the title for this fic, I didn't think it would take eight chapters for Sirius to show up. It's my headcanon now that poor Padfoot is late to everything. Always late for classes back in Hogwarts, last to achieve Animagus after James and Peter, and too late to save James and Lily from their Secret Keeper's betrayal.