Chapter 5: Out On A Limb
Anakin was bewildered. This place, these people, all this magic! When the Healer, Poppy, returned with some lumpy clay shapes that looked vaguely like arms and legs on a cart with some strange looking bottles, he at first thought she meant to measure him for new prosthetics, and he wondered briefly if there were any droids on this planet. Any Healer he'd ever met had an army of droids to carry things and do the routine or technical work. Most med centers were staffed mainly by droids, but Anakin hadn't seen any here since he awoke.
Then the old man named Albus Dumbledore, who had the unmistakeable presence of a Jedi Master, turned to him and said, "She wants to re-grow your arms and legs," and Anakin couldn't speak. He hadn't even considered that possibility, even after the other marvels he had seen, and his throat grew tight with emotion. After everything he had gone through, was it possible that he could become whole again? Could he truly begin his life anew, and become the person he was meant to be?
"We don't have to do that if you don't want to," said Master Dumbledore. "The process is long and painful, and it is possible to make you magical limbs, though they tend to have a mind of their own..." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I do think regrowing will be best in the long run, but only if you consent."
"I do!" shouted Anakin, finally recovering his faculties. "I do want to regrow my limbs. I was just- "
"Speechless," finished Albus Dumbledore with a smile. "I sometimes forget what it must be like for someone new to this world, even with the first year students coming every year."
"This is a school?" Anakin asked, and Albus nodded. Anakin thought that made sense. Only a school for people strong in the Force, or this strange magic, could have such a powerful, uplifting feeling. Albus waved his living stick again and turned Anakin's chair back into a bed, then helped the Healer arrange the clay limbs in place.
"Are they the right length and size?" asked Albus. "She modeled them after your metal ones."
"The arms should be the same as before, but the legs should be shorter. I wasn't given a choice about it at the time, but I was given extra long prostheses to make me taller."
Once they had adjusted and attached the clay limbs, the Healer did something with her stick that made the clay feel warm, and then gave him a vial of some liquid that smelled awful. He looked at the writhing green mess, hesitating.
"You need to drink all these potions now for your limbs to grow back," said Albus. Anakin took the vial and gulped it down, grimacing at the taste. Then he drank the rest of them, as Albus told him what they did: growing new bones, muscles and tendons, regenerating nerves and blood vessels, replacing the clay with layers of fat and skin tissue, replenishing his blood supply so the potions could circulate, and some that were to encourage healthy growth and condition his muscles for use, which would take effect later. He marvelled at the trust he felt for these people so soon after meeting them, but their presences in the Force were so pure that he knew they wanted to help him.
A few minutes after drinking the potions, the pain took over. It was excruciating, after feeling relief for a short time, to experience this terrible pain again, but he would bear it. Albus and Poppy held him down while he thrashed and screamed. The pain was so great that he couldn't speak, but he used the Force to impress his gratitude on them again, When the pain became manageable, they held his hands and he smiled when he realized he could feel their warmth.
Poppy spoke, and Albus translated, telling him it would take a few days before his limbs would be fully healed, and he would have to stay in bed until then.
"Tell me more about this planet," he said when he could speak again. Poppy had bustled away, needing to rest from her healing efforts.
Albus told him about muggles, people who couldn't use magic, and how the wizards had their own hidden world. Wizards used magic as a daily convenience, and muggles used machines.
"I'm know a lot about machines," Anakin told him. "What types of transport do they use?"
Anakin's dismay grew as Albus described trains, cars, and airplanes. No antigrav or hovercars? They were truly primitive here.
"What about their spaceships?" Albus told him about rockets that went straight up and traveled to the moon, or dropped off satellites, or took supplies and personnel to what sounded like a very primitive space station.
"So nobody from Earth has ever traveled to another planet?"
"I'm afraid-" Albus began.
"That's not true," said a new voice, and both men looked up to see a woman carrying a large bundle of papers entering the room. She was fairly tall with straight brown hair, and gave the impression that she was on a very important mission.
"Hello, Mr. Skywalker," she said briskly, setting her papers down on the next bed. She came closer and gripped his hand as it lay on the bed. "I'm Aurora Sinistra, and while the Headmaster is right about the muggles, he isn't entirely correct." She looked at Albus apologetically. "There is one person from Earth who has traveled further into space. I have been to several other planets in my magical spaceship."
Hah! bet you didn't expect that. I actually have been imagining how some Harry Potter character might create a spaceship with magic for a long time. Almost wrote one about Harry doing it, but I thought it would be more interesting to bring a lesser-known character forward. We really know next to nothing about Professor Sinistra except that she teaches at night, but according to HP Lexicon her first name is Aurora, which means "dawn" and her last name means "left handed", so I also made her a lefty. I decided to make her a pretty big character in this story, and maybe a love interest for Anakin, but not for a long time. Please tell me if she's turning into a Mary Sue; I'll try to avoid that at all costs. I'm also writing another short story about how she came to make a magical spaceship that I'll post separately, called Sinistra's Spaceship. Keep reviewing!