Chapter Three: Worrying Missions and Realised Dreams

A few days later, Harry walked into the initiates training hall to see Master Ryoth just finishing the training session. The initiates all hung their lightsabers on their belts and walked into the changing rooms to get changed into fresh uniforms. Harry watched as Damien went with his year mates, seeing the slightly slumped shoulders as he walked.

Harry knew the reason, it was now only a few days until Damien's 13th birthday and the boy was probably wondering if he'd ever be chosen. Smirking, Harry pushed that thought aside, he intended to make sure that Damien achieved his dream of being a Jedi Knight. Walking over to Ryoth he kept an eye out for when Damien reappeared.

"Do you intend to take him as your Padawan then Harry?" Ryoth asked. There was no need to specify who he was talking about, both of them knew it was Damien. Harry nodded. "Yes I do. I just hope he accepts" he said. He was startled when Ryoth laughed.

"Harry I think that you're more in danger of Damien hugging you to death than him rejecting you. Have you truly no idea of what the initiates think of you and Knight Skywalker? Most of them would quite happily be either yours or Anakin's apprentice and I'm fairly certain that most of them will be dealing with a fair amount of conflicting feelings later on today, when word filters down that you've chosen Damien. They'll be happy for him of course, but also jealous that he got you and they didn't."

Harry chuckled. "I suppose so. Now, can you help me with one last thing?" Ryoth nodded curiously before laughing as Harry said "How the hell do I actually ask him?"

"It's different for every Master. Some just ask straight out, some hide the question in a sentence and wait for the initiate to figure it out. If you're still worried then might I suggest going to a familiar location and then asking him. Maybe the waterfall garden room?"

Harry nodded. "Thank you Master. I'll do that. Here he comes now."

Ryoth chuckled as he watched Harry walk over to the group of initiates and speak quietly with Damien. Damien then followed Harry out of the room, and Ryoth wished he could be a fly on the wall so to speak when Harry asked the all important question. He felt certain that the result would be amusing.

Damien followed Harry to the garden where he'd first started to get to know the quiet Jedi Master. He'd seen the man watching him over the weeks but hadn't really talked to him all that much beyond that except for the last few days. He was sad at the thought that in a few days time he might not ever see Harry again.

When the two reached the garden Harry gestured for Damien to sit and then did so himself. He looked round the garden for a minute before turning his attention to the initiate sitting opposite him.

"Do you want to be a Jedi Knight Damien?" he asked quietly. Damien looked up, startled at the question. Then his heart began to beat faster as he sensed where this might be leading.

"Yes Master Potter I do" he said, reining in the excitement and hope that bubbled up inside him. Harry smiled slightly at him and then reached forward and lightly tugged the lock of hair right behind Damien's right ear.

"In that case, Initiate Kyral, I would honored to have you as my Padawan Learner" he said, before sitting back and waiting to see how long it took Damien to figure out what Harry had just asked him.

It didn't take long. Eyes wide Damien squeaked out, "You want ME as your Padawan?"

Harry nodded with a smile and then Ryoth's prediction came true as Harry found himself flat on his back with an armful of excited Jedi Initiate who seemed intent on hugging the stuffing out of him.

"Thank you thank you thank you" Damien repeated over and over. Harry laughed and detached his new Padawan from his ribcage before sitting up.

"I'll take that as a yes then?" he asked with a smile. Damien nodded with a wide smile before he remembered how he should act and hastily corrected himself.

"Yes Master Potter I would be honored to be your apprentice" he said formally before breaking out in a grin again. Harry smiled. "You don't need to be so formal with me Padawan, only when we're around other Masters or Knights do you need to be formal. When it's just me, or around family, you are allowed to call me by my name if you wish to. I won't force you to call me Harry if you're not comfortable with that, just know that I won't be offended if you do when we're either alone or with family OK?"

Damien nodded. "OK Master. What do we need to do now?"

Harry smiled. "Well, I anticipated your acceptance so I scheduled a meeting with the Council so we could get this confirmed. Once we've done that, we'll see about moving house for you."

"Moving house Master?" Damien asked, puzzled, as he walked slightly behind and to the side of Harry as they made their way towards the council chamber. Harry smiled. "Well, you can't live in the initiate dorms now that you're a Padawan now can you?"

Damien stopped and frowned. "Don't you live with Ginny Master? How am I going to fit in?"

Harry stopped as well and turned round. Bending slightly so he could look his new apprentice in the eyes, he said, "Ginny and I are married yes, but we have an agreement that should I take an apprentice then they would take priority. I don't mean that she will move out but that she would not stand in the way of your training, or all the other aspects of a Master/Padawan relationship."

Seeing that Damien looked uncertain still Harry gently squeezed his shoulders and smiled, "Think of it this way Damien, you won't have to go far for a Healer if you get injured during training. And Ginny has a mothering streak a mile wide. If you let her she will do her best to mother you, which I would advise letting her do."

Damien chuckled. "OK Master. I'll see how things go, I like her when she's not in Healer mode."

Harry laughed and then whispered conspiratorially, "Me too."

Chuckling, the new Master/Padawan team moved up to the council chamber and were admitted two minutes later. Five minutes afterwards, they exited, with Damien wearing a broad grin and having to keep from bouncing off the walls in excitement.

Harry smiled in contentment, before gently tapping Damien on the shoulder. When his apprentice turned to look at him he said, "We need to see about your new uniform and getting your hair cut into the proper style Padawan. Then we'll have lunch and after that we'll use the afternoon to get you settled in your new home with me OK."

"OK Master. Can we go now?"

Harry laughed. "Patience Padawan, we can't go running at lightspeed you know, the tailors will still be there when we get there."

Damien struggled to maintain a proper walking speed and staying in place behind and to the side of his master. Harry was deliberately keeping things to a slower pace, wanting to teach Damien that while being excited at his change in status was acceptable, running in the halls and generally creating a lot of noise because of it was not. After about 15 minutes they reached the tailors, and Damien had calmed down from his initial burst of adrenaline from being chosen as a Padawan and was having less trouble keeping control of himself.

Harry nodded in approval as the tailor measured Damien for the new uniform and then said, "Well done Padawan, you handled that well."

Damien smiled at Harry, pleased that his new master wasn't annoyed at him. Now that he was calm, he recognized why Harry had set a slow pace to the tailors and grinned, pleased to have passed the test as it were. Even though it wasn't a test, he was pleased that Harry was pleased.

In the spirit of this he stood still while being measured, even though he wanted to fidget with impatience, which earned another small smile from Harry as he acknowledged the self control his apprentice was exhibiting. Finally the measuring was finished and Damien was presented with a Padawan uniform to wear out of the tailors while his old initiate uniform was taken away to be washed and recycled again.

Damien followed behind Harry as they headed to their home, where Harry intended to cut Damien's hair into the proper style, and show him round a bit before he moved in that afternoon. The haircut didn't take long and Damien was soon fiddling with the end of a brand new braid, which reached halfway to his shoulder. Then the Padawan explored the apartment, learning the locations of his room, Harry's room, the fresher, the lounge, kitchen, and balcony. After he'd finished his exploration he came back in from the balcony to see his master talking quietly with Ginny.

Ginny turned to see Harry's new apprentice approaching her uncertainly. She held out her hand with a smile. "Damien, it's so good that Harry picked you. I guess we'll be room mates for the next few years."

Damien nodded uncertainly. "Yes Healer Ginny we will be. You don't mind?" Ginny shook her head. "Damien, as Harry's Padawan you're like family to me, and family members don't use my title. Please, call me Ginny."

Damien looked to Harry uncertainly, and was encouraged when he saw Harry nodding at him. "Do as she asks Damien, it's not really safe to do otherwise."

Damien looked between him and Ginny in mild alarm, only to relax when Ginny whacked Harry on the shoulder and said, "Stop scaring him Harry, that's mean."

Turning back to Damien she smiled. "I'm not going to come between you and Harry Damien. I understand that he has to put you first and I don't resent that OK. Besides, Harry views his Padawans as family and his family is growing all the time. Have you met Anakin yet?"

"Knight Skywalker? Yes Ginny I have" Damien replied, stumbling only slightly over Ginny's name. He shifted a bit when he felt pressure on his shoulders and looked to the side, where he saw Harry and realized that his master had put an arm round his shoulders.

"Well, he's Harry's former Padawan, and in Jedi terms that makes him your big brother" Ginny said happily. Damien frowned and looked up at Harry, who nodded in confirmation.

"Yep, you're currently the youngest member of the family Damien. Welcome to it by the way. We're a bit crazy at times but we're all sane."

Damien giggled and then blushed as his stomach rumbled. Harry chuckled and steered Damien towards the door. "Go and eat Padawan, Ginny and I will be along in a moment. Don't forget, after lunch we start moving you in here for real."

Directing a bright smile towards his master, Damien bounded out the door and off to the dining hall, wanting to tell his friends the good news, first that he had been chosen as a Padawan and second who his master was.

Meanwhile Harry and Ginny had followed at a more sedate pace. Ginny was silent for a few minutes before asking, "Do you think Damien will be OK with this Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "Give him time Ginny; it's only been a few hours. Let him settle in and get used to the situation. He's fairly adaptable so I'm not overly concerned."

Ginny nodded and then smiled when she felt Harry gently squeeze her shoulders in silent support. They entered the cafeteria and had an enjoyable lunch, followed by an amusing afternoon as she, Harry and Damien helped to move Damien's possessions into his room in his new home. Once they were all finished it was dinner time and they decided to eat in, and invited James, Lily, Anakin, Mace and Obi-Wan as well so Damien could spend more time with James and Lily, and Anakin, as well as meet Mace and Obi-Wan outside of the Council. Obi-Wan had been put on the Council as he was now a Jedi Master too. The position would have gone to Harry had he not vehemently, but politely, refused the position.

After an initial bout of shyness, Damien became bolder as he realized that the Knights and Masters at the table wouldn't bite his head off if he ventured a question, and he even dared to make a small joke after observing the reactions when Harry had done the same.

A week later, the now 13 year old Damien came home from classes to hear a heated argument going on in the common area. Walking in he saw Harry and Anakin arguing over something, and wisely decided not to draw attention to himself. Harry acknowledged his arrival and broke off the argument by saying, "We'll discuss this later Anakin, will you be available tonight?" Receiving a curt nod from the Knight he nodded as well. "I'll see you then" he said and then watched as Anakin walked out, the swirl of his cloak telling Harry that Anakin was highly agitated and annoyed about the topic at hand.

"Master? What was that about?" Damien asked. Harry looked at him and then smiled tiredly. "Anakin and I were arguing about the mission the Council has just assigned him. Neither of us likes what he's going to have to do but we don't have much choice in the matter."

"But everything's going to be OK though?" Damien pressed. Harry nodded and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Yes Padawan, everything will be fine. I'm sorry you had to see that, I thought we'd be finished before you got home. How were classes?"

Damien made a face. "Ethics was boring as usual and I almost blew up the Chemistry lab by accident. Apart from that it was a normal day."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Almost blew up the Chemistry lab Padawan? How did you manage that?"

Damien shrugged sheepishly and said, "I added a little too much of the reagents when my partner knocked my arm while I was pouring. Fortunately it didn't do too much damage."

Harry chuckled. "Yes. Do you have homework to do?"

"Yes, not much though. I was wondering if I could go visit my friends after I've done my homework."

"If your friends are allowed to have you over then I don't object, as long as you've finished your homework first."

Damien nodded, before he raced to put his bag away and then moved to help with dinner. Harry had begun teaching him to cook and while he wouldn't trust Damien alone in the kitchen, he let the apprentice do as much as he could on his own. Damien was learning fast and soon dinner was ready and edible as well.

After dinner, Harry sat in the common room while Damien worked on his homework, available for questions if Damien needed help. For the following 2 hours there was silence, punctuated by the occasional question from Damien, and then a small sigh as the homework was finished.

"OK Master I'm all done" he announced as he wandered into the common area. Harry looked up at the time and then smiled. "If your friends are still awake then you may visit with them Damien. Be back by 10 at the latest, you need a good night's sleep."

"Yes Master" Damien responded before racing out the door. Harry shook his head and smiled at the seemingly endless energy his apprentice had before he moved over to the comm. unit.

"Anakin" he said, placing a call to the Knight's apartment. A few minutes after ending the call, Anakin arrived at the door. Letting himself in he sat down opposite Harry and sighed.

"I'm sorry about earlier Harry, but I'm nervous and worried about this. The Council want me to spy on the Chancellor, but isn't that an act of treason?"

Harry shook his head. "The rules of war are different Anakin, in this case it's information gathering. You know why the Jedi Council wants information on him, don't you?"

Anakin nodded with a defeated sigh. "Yes Harry I do. It's just that even after all the evidence that something's not quite right, I just can't seem to bring myself to believe that he's a bad man. I know your scar reactions, and what he said to me about Dooku seems to point that way but still. It's a hard thing to believe."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I know Anakin. Believe me, I don't want to think the worst of him either but think of it this way, the information you bring us will help us decide the issue once and for all."

Anakin nodded unhappily and then looked up. "I'll do it Harry, I just don't like it."

"No one is asking you to like it Anakin. If I could do so, I'd do it myself however, he's suspicious of me, and he has always been interested in you. If he thinks that he can sway you to his side he will hopefully let information slip that we need. Just please, don't be tempted."

Now Anakin gave Harry an offended look. "I won't give in to the Dark Harry, you know that. I won't be tempted. Trust me."

Harry gave him a sharp look. "I do trust you Anakin; it's Palpatine I don't trust. And the Dark isn't always easy to see, people have gone Dark in an attempt to protect their families for example. It was a classic recruitment trick that Voldemort used on Earth, the old join me and your families will be spared thing. Don't give in to it."

"I won't Harry. Don't worry so much."

Harry watched Anakin leave with a worried frown on his face. He couldn't help but think that things were going to go downhill very rapidly very soon and that having Anakin close to the Chancellor was a bad idea.