Chapter 16

Spinner's End, first lesson:

"Draco" Snape suddenly snapped: „What would I get if I added root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Ahm. I don't know." The blond-haired boy shrugged his shoulders.

"Pity. In that case, I believe you need further reading material." Snape remarked dryly, and the boy's shoulders slumped, and he pouted angrily.

"Now, let's see if Mrs. Potter knows the answer?" He turned towards her and she just smiled happily at him, which seemed to irritate him:

"As written in the book Advanced Potions making by Mathilda Gibbs, on page 245, third paragraph: Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death." Harriet cited while challengingly looking at the Potions Master, who sneeringly turned back to her companion. The answer to the first question had been written in a sixth year's book.

"Let's try again. Draco, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" That she did know as it was mentioned as a side note in the book Thousand Fungus and where to find them. she had leaved through at countless times already. Draco bit his lips and shrugged carefully.

"A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it can be used to save people from most poisons." Harry burst out to safe the blond boy from Snape's scrutiny.

"I was unaware that your name was Draco." He reprimanded her. Last question." he bellowed "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"They're the same" Harry and Draco answered in unison which brought smirks to both children and Harry added:"and this extremely poisonous plant is also called aconite, leopard's bane, mouse bane, women's bane, devil's helmet, Queen of all Poisons, or blue rocket and belongs to the family Ranunculaceae, and…"

"What are the three basic components for the cure of boils?" he continued.

"That depends on the cause of the boils." She answered as this was a trickier question. "According to Magical drafts and Potions, you need horned slugs, porcupine quills, and snake fangs for the simplest version."

Snape nodded and continued his questioning:" Tell me which potion I would get with the following recipe:

Add 2 drops of Lethe River Water to your cauldron, Secondly, gently heat for 20 seconds, then add 2 Valerian sprigs to your cauldron, stir 3 times, clockwise and wave your wand with a specific incantation and leave to it to brew for 45-60 minutes."

Harriet snickered, which Snape didn't seem to like if his reddening face was any indication, but that was an easy question again:

"That's the first part of the brewing process for the Forgetfulness Potion. This potion causes an unknown degree of memory loss in the drinker. The recipe for this potion can be found in Magical Drafts and Potions and its key ingredients include Lethe River Water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs." She took a deep breath and continued.

"The second part of the brewing process is as follows: You have to add 2 measures of the standard ingredient to the mortar, add 4 mistletoe berries to the mortar, crush it into a medium-fine powder using the pestle, then add 2 pinches of the crushed mixture to your cauldron, stir 5 times, anti-clockwise and then wave your wand to complete the potion. I believe that those have been several last questions, professor."

Draco gaped at her in astonishment and Professor Snape just seemed to fight finding his voice again as he repeatedly open and closed his mouth like a carp out of water. Draco was quicker to get over his surprise and leaned over whispering conspiratorially.

"That's a first. I've never seen anyone being able to silence Severus."

Finally, the greasy haired potions master caught himself and snapped his fingers. "Your mother wasn't that bad at potions during her time." He stated. "Did she teach you all this?"

"You must be joking." Harriet shook her head. "My mother has her head in the clouds. When she isn't to busy doting on my mentally challenged brother, then she is busy bettering her station in the newly formed social circles of Wizarding society."

Snape grimaced for a split second and schooled his face a second later so that Harriet believed to have imagined it. "I was an autodidact until a year ago. I've read and memorized pretty much all the books in our library."

"You read all the books?" Draco asked her. "Really all?"

"Yes, all the books in the Potter library." She nodded.

"Well, that wouldn't have taken long to read through. Your father cheated himself half-way through Hogwarts." The Snape murmured bitterly.

"That would explain a lot." Harry concurred with the Potions master who stopped in his tracks and frowned at her. Probably wondering why, she didn't defend her father. "But we do have an extensive library."

"Well, you can always borrow some of our books." Draco suggested "Father says we have the best library after Hogwarts."

Harriet laughed. "Don't make promises because I might hold you to that."

"Alright, you two enough chatter." Snape interrupted them and ordered them to follow him down a narrow, steep and barely lit staircase, which probably leading to a cellar.

As Harriet carefully treaded after him, with Draco behind her she stopped shortly and whispered to the boy: „I'm pretty sure this is how horror stories begin."

He snickered behind her and whispered back. "Well, Severus does look like a giant overgrown bat? Do you think he can grow fangs too?" Now it was her turn to snicker. "Only one way to find out."

"I heard that, you two." Came the stern voice from the darkness below them and they burst into infectious laughter.

A few seconds later they found themselves in an old cobbled cellar with several simmering cauldrons at the side and two small ones at a workbench in the middle of the room.

Her wide smile on her face grew in understanding. She was about to brew her first potion and she couldn't wait.

"Is something wrong, professor?" Lily asked offering him a cup of tea, which he gladly took.

"No, everything is perfectly fine, but I believe that Alexander is not ready yet. I do suggest however to practice simple wand exercises daily for at least half an hour to get his body used to the use of magic. He is exhausted, but it is perfectly normal. Just keep drilling him the incantations and we will fill in the other blanks later." Dumbledore answered in a friendly tone and hid his frustration. Alexander wasn't as ready as he had hoped he'd be at that age. That he was afraid of using magic due to what his sister had done to him on his birthday wasn't helping either.

"We will." Lily nodded thankfully. "I've thought about teaching him some basic potions recipes for later. Do you think that would help his enthusiasm?"

Dumbledore nodded with a wise smile. "That's a very good idea, Lilly. I've already asked Severus if he would consider tutoring, but unfortunately he declined due to time complications."

"What time complications could he possibly have?" Lily asked with a pang in her heart. He had been her friend and guide in the first few years at Hogwarts, but it had soon turned sour and she had to break off any contact to save her sanity.

"Oh, preparing for his next year in Hogwarts and he has agreed to tutor his godson and an additional child, but I do not know its name unfortunately." He told her in a conversational tone.

"I was wondering if I could borrow James' cloak for a day or two. I need to check Hogwarts for any potential weaknesses, which would be immensely helpful if I was invisible." He explained, and Lilly laughed. "I'm pretty sure that you don't need that cloak to become invisible, so there is probably more to it. But we don't know where it is at the moment. James has hidden it away so that he can give it to Alexander as its first inherited item, but unfortunately so well that even he can't remember where it is."

"He hid it? Why? There are not many people who know about this cloak." Dumbledore frowned.

"Well, we don't want it to get in the wrong hands." Lily told him. "After what Harriet did at Alexander's birthday we honestly don't know what else she is capable of and we thought it best to hide it form her."

"A wise decision". Dumbledore sighed at the thought of the rebellious girl.

A solemn silence with some murmurs, whispers could be heard in the ballroom where everyone was gathered after Astoria Malfoy's service.

After paying her respects to the mourning family, Augusta Longbottom meandered in between the groups of people in search for the minister. Yet her gaze was drawn to the small forlorn boy sitting in the corner. He sat at a small table and was drawing something intently, while streams of tears glistened on his puffy face. Augusta mentally compared him to the younger Malfoy and had to admit that he did look almost exactly like him, but his almost white-blond hair was uncharacteristically curly and looked as if he had made it even more unruly by brushing his hand through it. Nymphadora's son Teddy was sitting next to him, but it seemed that he was not getting through to his friend and drew something on another sheet.

Augusta shortly abandoned her search for the minister and sat down opposite the boy and took a glance at the pictures. One was clearly a Star Destroyer. The second one, which he was currently drawing on made her gasp. The little boy was drawing uncharacteristically detailed for his age.

"That's a very pretty picture." Augusta remarked smiling at the little boy, who only nodded and continued ignoring her.

"Do you know who that is?" He nodded again, finishing something colourful in the back of that grey room. "That's Harry."

"That's right." Augusta continued smiling. As she inspected the picture further. It showed a Blue-skinned male in a white uniform standing opposite of Harry. They seemed to be in a deep conversation.

"How do you know her?" He probably had seen one of the articles about her. Occasionally the Daily Prophet had branched out and reported trivial things about her in the Muggle World. But as they had never understood what she had achieved there, it had not been newsworthy. But how could he know about Thrawn?

"I've always known her." He answered shrugging his shoulders. Then he carefully put his crayons to the side and a smile was hushing over his face. "And I can finally talk to her. I talked to her yesterday. But she was so tired and fell asleep. It looked funny." It appeared as if he was mimicking her falling asleep with

"Who did you talk to, Scorpius?" a new voice joined them, and Draco Malfoy sat protectively next to his son and shot Augusta an angry glare.

The little boy pointed at the Harry in the picture and told him:" With Harry of course. I talked with her and then she fell asleep."

"Scorpius, Harry is far away on a what do they call it… Star Destroyer? There is no way that you could have talked to her." Draco admonished him and brushed his hand over Scorpius soft unruly hair.

"Yes, I did." The little boy protested. "I told her that she looked like an angel, but she said that she's not, because she has dark hair. Then,…" the little boy giggled clearly remembering something and continued. " then she said that you have blond hair, but you are not an angel either. She called you a fire-breathing dragon.

Augusta snorted at that and received another look

"Then I told her that your name is Draco but I think she did not believe me." The little boy told her. The elder Malfoy shook his head and froze when Augusta leaned back in her seat with a cautious look.

"You asked her if she could help your mother, didn't you?" she asked the little boy remembering what Harry had told her and Draco cut in.

"I really don't think that it's a good idea to bring up Astoria so close after her passing." He stopped when Scorpius answered. "Yes, I did. Did you talk to her too?"

"I did have a lovely conversation with her a few hours ago." Augusta confirmed "and she thought that her mind was playing tricks on her, when she saw you. She can't explain why she keeps seeing you."

"Wait. Harriet can see my son?" Draco Malfoy asked her, his eyes taking on a haunted look. "How is she doing?" ahm… " He cleared his throat. "How is this possible?"

"That's the big mystery." Augusta shrugged.

"I've only established contact once a few hours ago, but those were very informative few minutes. Especially, considering what she had been through after you broke off any contact with her, or I'm I mistaken."

"You have no idea what you are talking about." Draco Malfoy hissed at her. "I'm not having this conversation here in front of my son at my late wife's wake. I believe it's time for you to leave."

Augusta inclined her head and addressed the little boy

"Scorpius, the next time you want to talk with Harry make sure that she is alone. That way she won't get into trouble with this one. Grand Admiral Thrawn" Augusta pointed at the blue skinned man in the picture. "She is already on his radar."

The little boy nodded in understanding but then frowned and asked:"What's a radar?"

"That's not important right now, Scorp." Draco Malfoy stopped him but looking at the young boy Augusta knew he would not let go of this anytime soon. He had a very familiar cheeky look on his face.

"And tell her that you've talked with me, Augusta Longbottom and that I can confirm that you are real, right. That way she won't be so shocked when she sees you. Good day, Mr. Malfoy."

She almost made it half-way through the ballroom when she was stopped by a very irritated Walpurga Greengrass. "Do you have no shame, Augusta. Scheming and pitting people against each other at my daughter's funeral!"

"I was merely paying my respects and happened to talk with your wonderful grand-son. She must have been so proud of him. But that's not why you are so stressed out, is it. You're afraid that young Draco Malfoy will marry again, and you'll lose your connection to their vast wealth. Don't worry, I doubt that he will marry again until he has found out what this curse was all about. The risk of loosing another wife would be too dangerous."

Ministry, the next day.

"She will not bow to the Ministry's laws and I believe you know perfectly well, that we won't be able to bind her magic or to stop her. She defied Dumbledore and pretty much everyone here." Augusta told the minister who nodded solemnly.

He nodded. "Yes, she could raise the Tartarus on earth, but she has a good heart that stops her from doing that. I expected something like this, and I can't help but agree with her. We should be out there helping the Muggles, yet I can't overrule the Wizengamot." He passionately argued.

Augusta nodded. "There is something else about her that might interest you and it could be connected to Astoria Malfoy's sudden death."

Kinsley straightened in his seat." I'm listening."

"You do remember the more than unflattering articles about her claiming that she had become ill due to a botched abortion? And the witch hunt that followed afterwards" Augusta asked.

He nodded. "I wasn't surprised about that. She always favourable towards pro-choice and our society is acting holier than the pope in Rome."

Augusta snorted. "Turns out that Rita Skeeter has written an entirely false article again. She should be questioned about the source of her information on that article. Harriet never aborted. She lost it due to reasons still unknown. According to the Dursleys she was found unconscious at the bottoms of the chairs in a 'puddle of blood' and her dead child at her side, shortly before she was due. She spent two weeks in coma."

Kingsley's gaze turned worried and partly angry. "She was in a coma? Why weren't we informed of that? Was there any evidence of foul play?" he asked the elderly lady who shrugged. "She lived in the Muggle World. So, we don't know. The Dursleys suspect foul play but can't prove it, but with the next information it gets even more interesting." She told him seeing that the minister was hanging on her every word. "The father of that unborn child was none other than Draco Malfoy."

Kingsley jumped up from his seat in surprise. "No! Did they have an affair that turned sour?"

Augusta shook her head. "No, according to the Dursley's they were an item for several years. But it gets even stranger."

"How could this possible get any stranger, than it already is?" Kingsley sighed and plummet back into his chair, which creaked under his weight.

"Scorpius Malfoy can see and communicate with Harriet Potter without any additional magical means. He's drawing Star Destroyers and pictures of her. He said that 'he has always known her'. I found out talking with Harriet Potter and the little Malfoy confirmed it yesterday. She was on the verge of panic. She thought she was losing her mind."

He nodded. "Yes, that can be terrifying for someone who relies so strongly on logic and rationality."

"And then Astoria dies from an unidentified curse, that nobody could cure." He mused. "That is worth investigating. I'll set two Aurors on this case as soon as possible."

Augusta nodded again but reminded him. "Not sure if two are enough. There is a lot of ground to cover and you have to be careful who to pick. Her relatives, Sirius Black, Ronald Weasley should be excluded from the investigation. Tonks is related to the Malfoys, so you can't take her either."

"Thank you, Augusta. I do know how to do my job." He protested.

Thrawn's office

Don't faint! Don't faint! Harry mentally repeated as she eyed her wand verily and heart plummeted. Her trusted wand, her friend. Although she was perfectly capable of doing magic without her wand, it helped her to channel her power and control it. Without it she lost control way too easily and she didn't trust her other wand, she had won from her brother. He couldn't know what it was? He has your notebooks. Of course, he figured it out! Her treacherous mind told her.

"I believe you call this a wand." Thrawn remarked admiring the carved artwork on her wooden wand. She nodded hesitantly but kept silent. She knew that she would not be able to produce more than a squeaking sound due to her nervousness and utter terror now.

"Depictions of this item can be found in all cultures throughout the history of your planet. In earlier cultures, however those wand-bearers were highly respected and considered responsible for the well-being of their people. In some later cultures, however we can see a shift in this attitude towards these people. Especially after the change from a matrilineal to patriarchal society. They became shunned and hunted. Then curiously enough they disappeared into legend." He froze her in place with his unsettling red eyes. "Yet, here you are."

Where was he going with this? "This is just a personalized conductors beaton, Sir." She tried to lead him astray with unsteady voice. She could not let him find out more about her otherwise he would hand her over to the Inquisitors and she did not want to become one of them or get killed. "I tried to learn to become a conductor for a while before the empire came. It's just a remembrance of those times."

That was obviously the wrong thing to say as his red eyes narrowed. Harry clenched her teeth as her breath hitched and her vision swayed slightly. Keep your focus.

"Do not take me for a fool, Mrs. Potter." He scolded her calmly, and Harry jumped somewhat.

"You are delightfully bad liar. Very rare among the imperial ranks. But with a wide range of useful talents. I have observed your behaviour since you stepped onto my bridge for the first time. You used your power defensively against the continued harassment of Ensign Mayr and his accomplices to hide the fact that your hair grew back each day to the same length of before, the ship's blackout without any power failure, your fast return to save Crewman Panaká, despite being several decks in between. Our physicians are still baffled how she is still alive as the poison she was affected by usually kills within a minute. You slowed the process down. Am I correct?" Harry was almost inclined to nod but stopped. She could not admit that.

"I will not admit having such powers, Sir." She stubbornly replied. "I know what happens to people who are detected to have some kind of power, or as the empire calls it 'Force sensitivity'. They disappear to be either be tortured and killed or secretly trained in Arkanis."

"Really?" Thrawn stopped his circling and turned around. He did sound curious. Ups. I think I just admitted to more hacking and… shit…. I admitted it to him probably with that statement. She grimaced before she could school her features again.

"According to the rumours, of course, Sir." She added quickly hoping to sound convincing but in the back of her mind she knew that this wouldn't be enough to convince him.

"I told you that you're a bad liar." He reminded her. "So, don't ever lie to me again. Or there will be consequences" His deep voice dropped a few degrees as he locked eyes with her again and she shivered. Yes, he was scary, but she would not let him intimidate her further. He had not killed her yet. So, perhaps he had a different plan. No, he was probably just goading her. That's why she was not listed as a member of the crew anymore.

"What do you know about Arkanis?" he enquired, and she contemplated if she should share this information with him. He was a Grand Admiral. He probably knew about Project Harvester anyway and was probably provoking her into admitting something. But he could apparently read her face, so lying was out of the question.

The inch of truth fleetingly came into her mind. Narcissa had once advised her to use the inch of truth to hide lies and to make it more difficult for them to be spotted. Perhaps she should use this too. On the other hand, Thrawn had ordered her to never lie to him again and if he spotted her lying to him know then she didn't know what else he would do to her. And she really wanted to stay alive to see the Dursley's again.

"I still require an answer, Ms. Potter." Thrawn reminded her now standing in front of her again and she had to crane her neck. He was much taller than her and she wasn't exactly short.

"I found out about Arkanis in the Academy." She told him defiantly. "The top student of an advanced course disappeared over night after a Pau'an male came to visit." She shuddered in remembrance. She had been asleep in her hard cot when cold, dark chill had washed over her waking and warning her about immediate danger and she had slammed her mental defences in place and extended that barriers over her entire body, masking her magical core.

"I overheard taskmaster Birk talk to an officer about that cadet and just tried to investigate what had happened to him. He died as part of Project Harvester on Arkanis. That's all I know, Sir."

"Interesting." Thrawn mused turning away from her and she dared to take a quick and hasty breath to refill her lungs.

"You were able to tab into highly classified information, that even I was of yet unaware of. Again. Lt. Commander Vanto was right. You are a talented slicer. And it also explains your wariness of using your power."

"No." Harriet admitted. "Had I only used my power then I would never have achieved everything that I did. I worked myself up using my intellect. Not my power."

Thrawn wondered. "You resent it."

"Yes.I do! I prefer to use my mind, not my power. It has brought me nothing but pain." She spat. "The people on my planet, who are using it, are culturally and mentally several centuries behind the normal population. They resent progress and shun everybody who dares to challenge their stunted backward ways. So, if you want to turn me over to the Inquisitors, you should know that I won't go quietly. I've survived them. I will survive the Inquisitors."

She passionately told him, finally letting go of any pretences. There was no point of denying it anymore. He knew. She had not been careful enough and would now pay the price for that. But she decided that she would not give up that easily. Yes, he did have her first wand in his possession, but she didn't necessarily need it to protect herself and she would give them hell.

"You misunderstand, I have no intention of turning you over to the inquisitors at the present time." Thrawn answered calmly shaking his head locking his eyes with her again. "Handing you over to Lord Vader or his Inquisitors, I can be certain that your valuable talents will be wasted." Thrawn told her locking his gaze with hers again. "You are far more valuable to me alive and well. But my protection for you has a price."

Her breath hitched again. "What price?!"

But it looked as if Thrawn was going to continue toying with her like a cat which had finally trapped the canary. "Patience. All in good time."

Harry grinded her teeth. She was not patient. And certainly not in her current position. She wanted to blurt out that she preferred to know immediately but kept silent. But the urge was rather strong.

"You've had formal training in the honing of your powers? What exactly did this entail?" he enquired inquisitively.

"Too much to detail everything in a few minutes. Should I provide you with an entire curriculum?" Harry snapped sarcastically. "It usually takes seven years to master it but it's entirely ignoring science."

"You did not study it that long." Thrawn remarked with a knowing stern gaze at her tone.

Harry huffed in exasperation. Why did he already know her so scarily well? What else of her belongings had he taken and studied? Technically she had studied quite some time before Hogwarts.

"No, you are correct I finished it in two years and only because I wasn't allowed to leave Hog. …mh. This particular school earlier."

"Interesting." Thrawn murmured in a conversational tone "I'm eager to learn more about it in the future." Harry grinded her teeth silently. So, if she wasn't listed among the crew, yet it seemed that the Chiss planned to keep her around then as what? The implications were numerous. She was confused and frowned but her blue skinned commander did not give her much time to contemplate on his statement.

"Where you part of Terra's defence Force that defeated the empire when it first tried to conquer your planet?" He asked changing the subject and caught her off guard again.

"Is that a trap question, Sir?" she enquired stalling him to think for a proper answer. Her heartbeat still racing in her throat. They had been an uncoordinated mess at first, but eventually, they had been able to work together for the first time in history. As devastating their losses were, this moment of working in unison had made her proud. But she would not give away their leaders, who had mostly survived and were only biding their time and had agents among the conscripts who were supposed to learn as much as possible, but she knew that she was the only one who was still alive.

"Just answer the question." Thrawn ordered her evenly.

"My entire planet was." She answered him with pride in her voice, still stalling. "This happens when an unknown force arrives and attacks our planet out of the blue without any prior provocation. Besides, the empire must have had Earth… ahm…Terra under observation for quite some time otherwise they wouldn't have known which targets to take out to cripple our planet. We were only defending ourselves." She huffed in anger, but it also felt good to get that off her chest. Caution be damned.

Again, Thrawn seemed entirely unfazed by her rant. "According to the empire's database your planet did provoke the empire."

"How should we have done that? We didn't even know that this monstrosity of an empire existed!" Thrawn's right eyebrow rose while the rest of his face remained motionless. It almost seemed as if he was surprised that she dared to speak to him like that. Ok, probably a bit to forward. I should probably tone it down a bit.

"Sure, if by provoking you mean that the empire sent a squad of dispensable desert troopers into one of the most lawless parts of our planet, where streams of desperate refugees originated from and wonders why they were openly executed by the local militia group, then yes, we did provoke the empire." She sarcastically answered him remembering stumbling over the disturbing footage of the terrorist group online, while working for the planetary defence force. For god's sake mouth shut up, your forwardness is going to break your neck. She bit her cheeks to stop her from continuing like that.

"You believe the empire purposefully sent troopers to their death to provoke an incident?" Thrawn asked her.

"It wouldn't be the first time." She swiftly answered him. "I did some digging in the academy. Those troopers were failed cadets without any real worth to the empire. The empire probably figured that they had invested too much in them and could use them somehow. Which means either swamp troopers or cannon fodder. Why the empire was so eager to conquer my planet is beyond me. We luckily do not have any resources that could be useful to it. Or rather we have human resources. Seems like the empire is running a bit too fast through its recruits…"

"Careful. Somebody might call your talk treasonous." The Chiss reprimanded her calmly stopping her tirade.

Which part of my talk? I spent the last few minutes taking digs at the empire? She wanted to rebuke, but opened the mouth, but at her superior's narrowing gaze she quickly shut it again. Her defiance was getting out of hand.

"I can't speak about the reasons the empire decided to integrate your planet into its reign." He told her. "But your planet's existence has not been a secret to my people. To be honest, I have no idea why it took the empire so long to detect your rather loud planet. Your little exploration probe was an interesting little present."

"Probe?" What probe could he probably referring to? She wrecked her mind until she gasped, and her eyes widened. There was only one probe that he could mean that had left the solar system: "Your people found our voyager II?" her jaw dropped. "That's amazing!"

"Voyager? Interesting." He repeated the for him foreign word. "Voyager. The Chiss Ascandancy found it rather … primitive yet amusing."

"My planet's technology skyrocketed in the decades after." She defended her people. After all they had advanced significantly.

"You are very loyal to your people. An admirable trait. But the empire demands your loyalty as well." Thrawn remarked calmly.

"After the devastation the empire created on Terra, it doesn't deserve my loyalty." Harry hissed angrily balling her fists. "How can you support such a tyrannical regime that would gladly subjugate your own people, just because you don't fit into their neat little human categories or simply because they are not of the same species? They can't fault you, but as soon as you'd make a minor mistake they would throw you to the wolves."

"Interesting, theory" Thrawn remarked calmly. "as for my loyalty to my emperor, I'll give you a scenario." He sat down behind his desk and gestured her to sit opposite to him. Where was this going, she wondered. Was he trying to get her to understand his stance? Or was this another of his countless tests. He had still not reacted angrily towards her blatant disregard of proper behaviour. Wait? Am I trying to get him riled up? Ups, I might be testing his patience. Everyone else would probably have already lost his temper, but he hadn't.

"You and I face a dangerous predator intent on slaughter. Running is impossible, tools and weapons are limited. What are your options?" He asked catching her gaze again, while leaning back and putting his fingertips together.

"What kind of predator? How is that predator dangerous? Is it physically dangerous by size, numbers, claws?" she asked wondering. Or did he mean another alien species? Several alien film horror plots were rushing through her mind. "By technology?"

She could swear that there was a barely visible grin in the Chiss' face. "I believe you are overthinking this." He answered her.

She shook her head. "I don't think so, Sir. In order to answer your scenario, I need more than just that 'it is a dangerous predator intent on slaughter'. That could be applied to quite a few monsters around. Metaphorically, it could also be applied to the empire."

"I gave you my scenario. Now it is upon you to solve it." Thrawn answered unfazed and calm. "What would you do?"

She contemplated it. Ideally, she would just grab Thrawn and apparate away, but she assumed that was not what he wanted to hear. He probably wanted a different solution. Or rather he wanted to hear what she could do, but she would disclose this particular gift for now

"There are two possibilities." She told him after a second. "The logical, but cold-blooded option would be to strike you down so as to make you the easier prey. While the predator devours you, I'd hope to find or build a weapon I can use to assure my own survival." While she stated this possibility, she knew that she would probably never be able to this. Her instinct would tell her to save them both. She contemplated. Were there people she would leave behind. The emperor? Definitely. Voldemort, if he were still alive. Definitely. Draco? After he had broken her heart. Maybe. Her brother? Very tempting, but probably not.

"And the second?" Thrawn disrupted her musing.

"The second one would be for us to join forces." She answered. "Trying to distract and confuse that predator until we could find or build a weapon to survive." Harry let her mind wander again. Why had he asked her this? Was he trying to lead her to his reason why he was loyal to the empire.

"Your scenario. Is this your answer to my earlier question, Sir?" she asked mimicking Thrawn's behaviour by leaning back in the seat and putting her fingertips together. Did the Chiss have mirror neurons? She could manipulate humans to "like" her by mimicking their physical behaviour in order to appear more pleasant to them, which actually was only an activation of their mirror neurons. She decided that it was worth a try. What could possibly happen?

"It is indeed." Thrawn answered inclining his head, but a confused look was hushing over his face for a split second. Aha! That could be worth investigating. Did the chiss have mirror neurons? Something had been there, which had confused him or was he baiting her? She tried lower her mental shields to sense him, but he somehow, she had difficulties understanding it. Was that because he was from a different species? Or she wasn't that familiar with him that she could read him like that.

"There are evil things in this galaxy, Ms. Potter. Far more evil than the Empire, and far more dangerous to all living beings. We know of some, while of others we have heard only rumours. We needed to know whether the Empire that was rising from the ashes of the Clone War could be an ally against them."

"Or whether it should instead be collapsed into an easy prey," Harry completed his sentence with growing dread.

"Correct." He stood up from his seat and put his hands behind his back.

"Does that mean that your exile was a bluff?" she asked him curiously and stopped herself. His file wasn't accessible to everyone and that he had been found exiled on a remote planet was not common knowledge. Well, his file hadn't been very forthcoming with any information on him personally. It was only a rather extensive lists of reprimands and promotions, the circumstances he had been recovered and that he hailed from the unknown regions, but not much else. His victory at Batonn had not made much sense to her as he had kept casualties to a minimum in previous engagements with the enemy, but people tended to change when reaching a certain level of power

He rounded his desk again with entirely calm face. "I should have known. Did you find my file ... informative?" Not really. She shook her head.

He stopped next to her seat, too close for her taste so that she had to crane her neck to keep his gaze. Why was he invading her personal space? Again. Or did the Chiss have a different definition of personal space? It certainly already varied from country to country on her planet but was there a rule for the empire. Or should she have stood up with him?

"To protect our galaxy, we need capable people who have the strength to do what is necessary. Who are intelligent enough to see the bigger picture and can plan several steps ahead and who can give us an advantage over those dangers."

Harry sighed. "So, I'm supposed to turn a blind eye on all the atrocities the empire is committing? The enslaved Wookies, the Lasan genocide, the prison camps on Wobani? Batonn?!" Ah... Low blow, Harry!

"Unfortunately, not all circumstances are foreseeable, but one has to adjust to those situations. The civilian casualties were not my intention." Thrawn answered and Harry could swear that she could hear a bit of regret in his voice. But she was probably imagining things.

"Certainly, the Empire is corrupt. No government totally escapes that plague." He continued lecturing her. "Certainly, it is tyrannical. But quick and utter ruthlessness is necessary when the galaxy is continually threatened by chaos."

"And what happens when this ruthlessness creates more chaos?" Harry asked challengingly. "Because, repression and revolt feed each other. It's a vicious circle. There is only so much that subjugated species can take, and the empire is particularly cruel to them."

"Then the revolt must die," Thrawn said. "The danger is too great. The stakes are too high. If the Empire falls, what can replace it?"

"Probably chaos at first. And if the democratic powers are strong enough then we could have a strong democratic republic."

"You are giving them too much credit." Thrawn answered sternly. "If the empire fails, then the result is utter chaos. Civil war, which will tear this galaxy apart, making it easy prey for the evil lurking at the edge of our galaxy."

"Perhaps, you are not giving them enough credit, Sir." She countered sourly. "A common enemy usually has the effect of uniting even the fiercest adversaries." Thrawn nodded turning towards the large display of the two lizard-like creatures.

"You are correct, but even if two former enemies join forces, there will be no clear chain of command at first, which will result in significant delays countering the attacks of the aggressor. These delays will ultimately lead to fatal failure and cannot be allowed. Failure to act always brings consequences. But sometimes those consequences can be turned to one's advantage. As I said. There is too much at stake."

Well, I doubt that he would let anyone else take the lead.

"And how exactly should following the orders of a madman like our dear emperor, safe the galaxy from this evil you speak of?" she asked him snidely.

The Chiss slowly turned on his heals again and faced her with narrowed eyes.

"Your counters are becoming bolder with each statement." He remarked lowering his voice and her heart plummeted.

"I have no qualms about accepting criticism or useful ideas merely because they weren't my own. My position and ego are not at stake here. But, other commanders might take issue with your insubordinate tone and hinder your advancement in imperial ranks. For future references, I suggest that you take Lt. Commander Vanto's advise to heart and formulate your statements in a less forward manner."

Harry scowled. Advancement within imperial ranks? She had been demoted. Why would she even want to advance in this oppressive regime?

"As for your question:" Thrawn continued in a less threatening tone. "Emperor Palpatine will not live forever. When it becomes time for his authority to be handed to another, my position as a senior officer will allow me to influence the choice of that leader."

Who's the one sounding treasonous now? Harry sincerely doubted that. Yes, he was a Grand Admiral, but he wasn't the only one. There were twelve others and the emperor had several powerful people who wouldn't hesitate to take his place: Vader, Tarkin, Mas Amedda. Thrawn did not have enough political influence. He came from the Unknown Regions, was a humanoid alien, and constantly showed the Coruscanti elite up. All things that disqualified him from being able to influence the new leader. And there were rumours that their emperor was considering to shut down the senate.

"Even if, you succeed putting a more sympathetic leader on the throne. Many planets won't be able to wait that long. Especially, when their lives are in immediate danger now, by the empire" She told him. "They will flock to the growing Rebellion."

She would too, if she had the chance. But she was curious about the "so-called" evil the blue skinned Commander spoke off. Surely there wasn't something far eviller than Voldemort and the empire?

"Not, if there's no rebellion they can turn to." Thrawn answered her coldly. "If you are confronted with two aggressors, you do not split forces. You take out the weaker aggressor with minimal force, so that you can focus on the real threat."

Harry took a deep breath. Why could life not be simpler for a change? Not to have a care in the world. But she desperately wanted the rebellion to succeed. Surely, if they knew about the threat they could properly prepare for it. But so far, there were only whispers of a growing rebellion. When she had taken Dudley's place she had placed her hopes into reaching them one day, coming back to free her planet from the tight grasp of the empire. Her facial expression must have given her away because Thrawn stepped closer to her again and Harry jumped.

"I understand, that from you'd hoped to escape to the rebellion once an opportunity would present itself, but I will not let that happen. You are part of the empire now, more specifically, you are part of my personal staff and it is time that you accept that." For god's sake! Is he a mind reader? What had given her away this time? Her notebooks? Her expression? Wait. Did he say his personal staff?

Harry frowned in confusion:" But, I thought I've been demoted? I wasn't listed on the ships log."

"Demoted?" He repeated shaking his head. "On the contrary. You have not been demoted Ms. Potter."

On the contrary? Had she been promoted? That wasn't possible. Was it? She had caused too much ruckus in order to get one.

"When we contacted High Command about your rank issue, they were surprised that they hadn't listed you as a cadet there." He commented.

"That's because I wasn't meant to be there in the first place." She asserted drily. "I just managed to make Commandant Wielock livid with rage and he wanted to get rid of me. Thus, transferring me to an Academy in hopes that I would eventually be eliminated."

"So, I've heard." Thrawn nodded. "Colonal Yularen discovered your rather detailed file, kept separate from the others of your year. It was a rather… informative on your behaviour."

Harry mentally groaned bending forward trying to hide her face behind her hands in embarrassment. Now, she knew how Thrawn had deduced her rebellious tendencies. In the Academy she had not given a lick about her reputation and had manipulated the different taskmasters and teachers with seemingly harmless remarks to the point of severe quarrels and even fist fights, pitted bullying cadets against each other, had sometimes completed the different tasks way ahead of the required time frame and sometimes she had not payed active attention at all, knowing full well that she would remember everything around her. In the battle simulation classes, she had always held back letting the other's fight over their pride.

Unfortunately, the instructor had tried to trap her once with a seemingly impossible scenario and she had completed it due to her astonishment. This instructor had then continued to be on her heels and it had been rather difficult to evade her.

The flight training had been the only thing she had really enjoyed, although her partners had hated and resented her as she had sometimes rather gone after her wingmen and sometimes after the rebels, depending on her current moods. Yes, the Academy had been in a bit of disarrey during her time, but she had hoped that she would have been expelled and sent to her home planet again to be reunited with her family. After all they had already given her as a "tribute" to the empire and wouldn't dare take her cousin after her escapades. But she had miscalculated. Somehow, she had not been expelled. And she suspected it had something to do with that instructor.

"As you should theoretically have graduated with the rank of Ensign, Colonel Yularen suggested, that given you're displayed dedication to save your fellow crewmembers and catching Agent Colburn, that a promotion was due." Thrawn explained with amusement in his voice.

Harry's jaw dropped, and she gaped at her, still having to crane her neck. Not a crewman? Not an ensign? Then what was her rank and what came with it?

"You'll be replacing Lt. Commander Vanto as my personal aide as he will undertake a very delicate diplomatic mission and will be absent for an indefinite amount of time." Thrawn continued his explanation locking his gaze with hers.

His personal aide!? That meant that she would mean that she would be forced to spend quite a lot of time in his direct vicinity and he would probably study her further until every secret of hers would be laid bare. Her heart skipped a beat at that thought again and somehow, she wished her insignificant rank of crewman back.

"I will personally oversee the continuation of your training, your conversational abilities in Sy Bisti and I will teach you another rare language, that might prove useful in the future: Minisat."

Harry was speechless and just nodded breaking his intense gaze. She wouldn't have been able to produce more than a squeak. What training was he talking about? The only thing she was remotely looking forward to was the promise of learning another language.

"Furthermore, you will record a message for your people, pledging your allegiance to the empire." Thrawn informed her with a barely visible lopsided grin.

Her head shot up as she straightened in her seat, cold sweat running down her back. His demands became worse by the second. She was known to be an outspoken enemy of fascist regimes, thanks to her overactive social media presence before the empire's arrival. A recording of her pledging her allegiance to such a regime would entirely ruin her reputation, disappoint quite a lot of people, mark her as a traitor to her own believes and incite others to "follow her example" and enlist. There had to be a way out of this. Even if she would be able to reach the rebels one day, as unrealistically as it sounded, they would never be able to believe her after this. Thrawn was forcing her to accept her service to the empire and as his aide he would be constantly breathing down her neck. He had successfully trapped her, and she hated to be stuck.

But you have the opportunity to document all the atrocities. Her mind told her. Should the empire fall one day, then they would need evidence for prosecution. Message within a message? Came to her mind. She had to find out what kind of recording they would create. Visual or auditive. Both ways could be highjacked by her. So, perhaps not all hope was lost.

She schooled her features and nodded hesitantly "Understood, Sir. Anything else?"

"You will keep any contact with the Terran troopers to a minimum." He ordered her sternly and her shoulders slumped slightly. She did not like them much, but they were her means to communicate with her family. Now, he was trying to alienate her from her own people. What else would he throw at her? He did this with purpose "Understood, Sir."

Thrawn gestured her to stand up and she quickly complied. He was standing too close and she took a small step back to put some distance between them. The Chiss stood with his hands behind his back and scrutinizing her thoroughly.

"Mixed loyalties are a luxury no officer of the Imperial Fleet can afford. I'm willing to put you under my protection, risking the wrath of our emperor, should he detect you among my ranks and I can ease the situation of your planet, but in return I expect your unwavering loyalty to me." He proclaimed locking her gaze with his glowing red eyes.

Loyalty to him? Not to the empire? Was this another trap? But did loyalty to him mean automatically, that she swore loyalty to the empire? Did it? But, where did his ultimate loyalty lie? With the Empire or the Chiss? How would he choose if the empire decided to attack his people? Was he offering her a middle ground? If she swore allegiance to him and he sided with the Chiss against the empire did this mean that she would have to follow him? Well, as unlikely as this situation was, but giving the empire hell would be a light bonus to that. How could he ease the situation on her planet? She hoped that he didn't make empty promises on that front. She had to properly think this through, but unfortunately the long hours of the surprising day started to cloud her mind.

"Do you swear loyalty to me?" Thrawn queried again, never letting her break the gaze.

He had her trapped for now and she decided that until she had a better understanding of what her new position entailed, she would play nicely and play along. Crossing Thrawn was not something she dared for the near future and she would certainly not tell him about the wizard's oath.

She squared her shoulders holding his gaze and answered evenly. "Yes, I swear loyalty to you, Sir."

Thrawn inclined his head, never breaking eye contact with her. "A wise decision. It is therefore with great pride that I present to you the Rank of Lieutenant Potter."

Couldn't split this in two chapters. It was probably the most intense chapter so far. Thrawn is really difficult to get right. Hope I could do him justice. Let me know in the comments what you think.

As always. Thank you for your support! I'm looking forward to hearing from you!