The sunlight sneaked in through the bottom of the tall windows. It touched gently upon a lock of greying red hair, and moved steadily onwards, gently warming wood, stone and skin. A golden beam alighted upon a face just beginning to succumb to time, partially hidden by brown locks. He shifted under the attention, but did not wake.
That soft glow advanced up and up, touching on cool grey stone, yellowed parchment, soft grey owl feather...
The man jumped in his seat, instantly awake and aware. He turned and stared at the quill through narrowed eyes. It was scratching a cross on today's date on the calendar, just as it had for the last twenty-three days that he had been here. Sighing softly, he relaxed back into his seat and caressed his temples. For the first time in a long time, Qui-Gon Jinn was anxious to report to the Jedi High Council.
For the last few weeks, this school infirmary had been his prison. He didn't resent Albus Dumbledore's decision. He simply felt cut off from his Jedi duties. As such, he was spending a lot more time meditating and getting used to his new environment. Qui-Gon soon realised that his initial assessment of the beings here had been correct. They interacted with the Force in intriguing new ways. It wasn't different, per se. He was simply seeing more of the Force than he'd ever seen before.
The boy who had apparently brought him here lay unconscious on the hospital bed before him. Jinn's semi-conscious mind threw him straight back to the Chamber of Secrets, and what had transpired there after the battle.
"Master, do you know what's going on?" Obi-Wan called over his shoulder as he tended to the fallen boy. His ailment didn't really need diagnosis. They could both feel the chasm his over-channeling of Force energy had opened.
Qui-Gon Jinn looked slowly around the hall. "Know? I know nothing of where we are, what just happened, or who these people are... were." He gazed thoughtfully at the place where the ghostly apparition had disappeared. "I do have some ideas..."
"Who are you?" said a dark-haired youngling. He was aiming a small stick at them, similar to the one the apparition had attacked them with. "Step away from my friend."
Qui-Gon raised his hands in a placating gesture. "My name is Master Qui-Gon Jinn. This is my apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi. We do not know how we got here, only that this boy was in some way responsible."
A blonde girl rested a hand in the boy's arm. "It is alright, Neville Longbottom. They are friends. Aren't you?"
"I should hope so," said Master Jinn.
"She's waking up!" one of the other younglings said urgently.
Everyone hurried over to the small, red haired girl who was now stirring in what Qui-Gon presumed to be her sibling's arms.
She looked, disoriented and frightened, from face to face, before turning to the fallen boy.
She let out a little squeak, her bottom lip trembling dangerously. The two Jedi's attention was brought suddenly to a new anomaly in the Force. There seemed to be a bond of some sort between the two children. As they watched, it grew, and they realised that it had been there from the start — they simply had not noticed it before.
Force bonds were not uncommon. There was one between Jinn and Kenobi, as with most master-padawan pairs. They did not usually have a great effect, being more a symptom than a cause. Such bonds would form as a result of the closeness of the force adepts, serving to enhance that closeness and let them share emotions and communicate to a degree, even sharing their power. However, this bond was much stronger than those even the Jedi had encountered, and there was something odd about the boy...
"Harry..." the girl breathed. The pain in her eyes was humbling. As if a switch had been flipped, she too lost consciousness, sliding right back down to the ground. Even as her family reacted with alarm, rising rapidly to help her, they were all repulsed gently, gliding backwards over the wet floor. The bond between the younglings flashed into visibility, nearly blinding them. Neither had seen such a thing before. While they watched, it pulsed, and the two children were slowly brought together. Mystified, the Jedi watched for any detail they might relay to the Council. No matter how little Master Jinn liked it, this was beyond him and required the Council's wisdom.
As the two came into contact, there was a pulse of blue light that dazzled the mundane senses of the observers. But in the Force, Qui-Gon Jinn witnessed the energy fade. Once more, the bond was a barely noticeable thing, invisible to the casual eye. As their vision returned to them, the Jedi saw the children locked in an embrace that seemed entirely inappropriate for their maturity. But they knew better than to interfere with the will of the Force.
That was not true of everyone.
"Oh for Merlin's sake," said the tallest. He tried to approach, but a barrier of blue light repulsed him once more. "What is this? Are you doing it?"
He looked pointedly at the Jedi, but they were as bemused as he was.
"Right, well," he said. "Mother's going to have a fit."
His brothers groaned. The dark haired one actually cracked a smile.
"We're all alive," he said. "We won!"
"What about Harry?" said another.
"Unconscious," said Qui-Gon.
"Again?" said one of the twin boys. A round of sniggering followed.
"I can just see Hermione when she wakes up," said the youngest red haired child. "Oh but think of all the homework he needs to catch up on!"
Smiling at their desperate, relieved grasp at joy, Qui-Gon returned his attention to the unconscious pair. He was missing so much information. Seeing that they were unlikely to be allowed closer access to the bodies, he and his apprentice returned to the vanquished foes.
Qui-Gon busied himself with analysing the great snake, while Obi-Wan retrieved the little book from its mouth and attempted to decipher its importance.
"We could use Vos's talents with this," Obi-Wan muttered, flipping blank page after blank page. Quinlan Vos was another unruly knight, with psychometric abilities that allowed him to see the past experiences of objects through contact. He had always rubbed Obi-Wan the wrong way, and it was a mark of how lost they felt that his padawan would be willing to accept help from Vos.
Once again, and just as suddenly as before, they felt another benevolent presence in the Force. There was a burst of song as a beautiful bird drifted down to them. Qui-Gon smiled at it. His close connection to the Living Force allowed him to sense its pure intentions. It settled on the ground before them looking remarkably pleased with itself.
"Hello," Qui-Gon said. "You don't know the way out of here, do you?"
'It might be more polite to introduce yourself, first, you know,' a voice replied in his head.
"Please, excuse my manners. I am a little disoriented, but that is no excuse," Qui-Gon replied, smiling. "I am Master Qui-Gon Jinn of the Jedi Order, and this is my Padawan learner, Obi-Wan Kenobi."
'Pleased to meet you,' the bird trilled. 'I am Fawkes, a phoenix of the Order of Guardians. Welcome to the Milky Way galaxy.'
Qui-Gon's eyes grew wide. "I'm sorry — what galaxy?" A glance at his Padawan convinced him that Obi-Wan was probably hearing the same things he was.
'I am afraid that you are a very long way from home,' Fawkes sighed. 'Do not worry yourselves — you will be able to get back. Harry will wake.'
"Why is the boy so important?" Qui-Gon said.
The phoenix trilled with his laughter. 'You have a great many questions, young one. The boy is special. I will leave it at that. There is only so much I can reveal to you. You are in a galaxy far, far away.' The bird laughed musically, and while Qui-Gon's worries were eased, he felt misplaced — as if he was party to a private joke. 'Do not worry yourself, young Kenobi,' Fawkes continued. 'I can assure you that you are perfectly safe, and the galaxy you are used to will be just the way you left it when you return there.'
"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked. "Is this some different universe, that our realities are so different as to exist on different planes of space-time?"
The bird, however, had already disappeared, reappearing on the shoulder of one of the approaching younglings. She smiled radiantly at the bird as it seemed to commune with her, before simply allowing her to stroke and pet it. The other younglings gawked openly. It had just finished accepting the stammered thanks of one of the boys before turning back to the Jedi.
'No; and yes. You will have to discover these things for yourself.'
At that, the phoenix burst into flames and disappeared.
Qui-Gon walked over to where Harry and the girl lay entwined on the ground. When he got within a few metres of them, he met with a resistance, and stopped. He felt like he was being tested. After a short while, the resistance eased. Careful not to disturb either child, he retrieved the double-bladed lightsaber hilt from Harry's hand. "It was a curious experience," he mused. Obi-Wan looked up from his examination of the basilisk's fangs. "To be so certain — the Force provided me with no warning. And then to be wrenched from reality like that..."
"Master?"
He glanced back at Obi-Wan. "What did you see, Obi-Wan?"
"What do you mean, Master?" Obi-Wan replied, confused.
He sighed. "When the... switch occurred. What did you see?"
"I... Nothing, Master. One moment you were there and the next the boy was slaying the Sith," Obi-Wan replied, shaking his head.
"Slaying the... this boy killed the Sith Lord alone?" Qui-Gon remarked. "That is incredible."
"What is more, he pulled the blade from the zabrak's hands as he was — no cortosis gauntlets were involved," Obi-Wan said. Cortosis was legendary, and highly expensive, for being the only known material to entirely resist a lightsaber blade.
Qui-Gon blinked, and stared at the boy's hands. He couldn't see their palms, but there were none of the usual symptoms of contact with a fully powered lightsaber. For instance, he still had a full complement of limbs. "He is already well-versed in the use of the Force. Strange."
"Master, this boy wasn't affected in the slightest by the effort!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, surprised at his Master's lack of reaction.
"Obi-Wan, the Chosen One has been found. We are in a different galaxy. Rarities are to be expected." He stood up, and left the protective bubble, which flashed blue as it sealed.
At that moment, Fawkes flashed back in with an elderly man who had exceptionally long hair and an equally long beard, both tucked into his belt.
"Professor Dumbledore!" said the eldest.
The man surveyed the battlefield for a moment, took stock of the Jedi, and sighed deeply.
"What happened here, Mr. Weasley?" said Professor Dumbledore. "Have there been any casualties?"
"No injuries, sir," said the boy. "And Harry and Ginny are alive, though something strange happened when Ginny awoke..."
"Sir, how are you back?" said Neville.
The bird trilled something, but Qui-Gon could no longer understand. He did feel that the bird was far more amused than the man. In fact, the man seemed rather concerned through the Force.
"Fawkes alerted me that a group of students had decided to take on the legendary monster themselves in an effort to save young Ginevra," said Professor Dumbledore. "I did not wait for the details, although it would appear that you have done quite well for yourselves."
The redheads seemed varying degrees of pleased with this. The girl remained unmoved, however, and the dark-haired boy... suspicion was a mild term for the thoughts in his mind.
Seeming to recognise this, the man sighed. "I understand that you are upset. But what possessed you to come down here yourselves rather than inform the staff of the entrance?"
The boy said nothing, and the girl stared at Professor Dumbledore with wide, protuberant eyes.
"We will discuss this with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick later," said Professor Dumbledore.
The professor turned away from his students to face the Jedi, greeting them with a genial smile.
"Good evening, gentlemen," he said. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of the school which you are standing half a mile beneath. Fawkes tells me that you aren't familiar with our planet. I hope you will excuse me a moment, but I must escort my students back to our hospital wing."
"Of course," said Master Jinn.
The Headmaster tried to examine the unconscious pair, but on being rebuffed by the protective field that seemed to surround them he signalled to Fawkes. The phoenix bobbed his head, and glided over. The shield flashed blue again, but it did not hold Fawkes back. Soon, the phoenix had taken all of the children to the Infirmary.
Feeling out of place, as neither were proficient in Force Healing, they waited for the old man to return for them. A few, long minutes later, he did, and the three of them flame-travelled to his office. It was a... pleasant experience. The cool fires put to rest worries and troubles Qui-Gon had thought himself already long past. When they landed, he found himself not feeling quite as old and tired as he had not an hour before.
"Sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore asked, holding out a box of yellow sweets.
"Thank you," they replied. The tangy sweets were oddly revitalising. Dumbledore smiled genially, and tapped his nose.
"I imagine you'll be quite curious about... everything, really, aren't you?"
Qui-Gon smiled wearily. His Padawan held his tongue, and Qui-Gon felt even better than he had. Obi-Wan was ready for the Trials. This would be a truly testing situation for anyone.
Dumbledore let out a breath. "I have called on our astronomy teacher, Professor Sinistra. I hoped that we might be able to start by exploring the possibility that our planets are in some way aware of each other. According to Fawkes, you come from a galaxy-wide conglomeration of societies..."
"Yes, the Galactic Republic spans many star systems in our galaxy," Obi-Wan offered. "But our knowledge of galaxies beyond our own is limited. There is an... anomaly beyond the edge of our galaxy which prevents us leaving it via hyperspace. And without faster-than-light travel, there isn't much point in trying."
"I see," Dumbledore said slowly. "It appears that we have much we might learn from each other."
Qui-Gon nodded. "I hope that we will."
"However, there is something I must ask of you," Dumbledore said in a manner which put the operative in his statement in some doubt. "You must stay within the confines of our infirmary and my office for at least the next few weeks."
Obi-Wan sagged slightly. "We are the first extra-terrestrials your planet has encountered, aren't we?"
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose. "What brought you to that conclusion?"
"A hunch," Obi-Wan admitted. "A few weeks doesn't sound so much like customs as quarantine. You didn't seem to recognise anything I was talking about when I mentioned space travel..." His brow furrowed as a mystery struck him. "Does anyone find it odd that every planet in the Galactic Republic seems to come with at least one new being, and several languages for each, then we come to a different galaxy and not only do we encounter beings of apparently the same species, but who speak the same language?"
Qui-Gon and Dumbledore started at having the obvious suddenly revealed.
"Ah, come in, Aurora," said Dumbledore, standing. He and Obi-Wan followed suit.
A tall woman with dark skin, hair and eyes drifted into the room, taking in the Jedi with a glance.
"You wished to see me, Headmaster?" she asked.
Qui-Gon noted that every humanoid on this world he had met so far had been wearing robes, and the adults had both been wearing tall, pointed hats.
"Yes, my dear professor, I did," Dumbledore replied. "We require your expertise to achieve our strangest of objectives. We need to find our galaxy."
"The, ah, Milky Way, Headmaster?" Sinistra asked, shifting uncomfortably as she found herself on the wrong foot.
"Precisely," Dumbledore agreed. "But not from our point of view. From theirs." He indicated the two men. "Aurora Sinistra, Professor of Astronomy; Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knights of the Galactic Republic."
"Oh?" Sinistra enquired, her lips twisting into a smirk. "Care to show us your weapons, Jedi?"
They glanced at each other. If they didn't even know of the existence of this place, how could people here know of them? Shrugging, Obi-Wan drew his lightsaber and powered it up.
The Professor blinked slowly, swallowed thickly then reached a hand out, entranced. Obi-Wan hurriedly retracted the blade. Sinistra snapped out of it, and then gaped at the two of them. "That's impossible!"
"I feel more and more poorly informed as the minutes pass," Dumbledore said good-naturedly.
"I see where your problem lies," Sinistra muttered. She produced a roll of some heavy-looking paper from within her robes, and stretched it out to cover the Headmaster's desk. "Show all known galaxies," she said clearly, tapping a short, crafted stick to the paper. The delicate, hand-drawn graphics zoomed out until they showed a strangely negative image of a few hundred galaxies. "I don't know whether or not-"
"Wait," said Obi-Wan. "How is it that you know of the Jedi?"
The woman fidgeted. "I'm not sure it's my place to say," she said hesitantly. She seemed unwilling to meet their eyes. "Anyway, I don't know if you have the same names for these galaxies as we do..." She left the statement hanging.
"We don't like to name celestial bodies before we get there," Qui-Gon clarified. "Sometimes corporations who systematically exploited planets for their resources would simply assign names to star systems randomly. However, the Galactic Republic will look for civilisation on planets, and try to make official their own name for the planet. Since we have no way of reaching other galaxies, we simply haven't given them names, only code-numbers."
"I see," Sinistra replied. "Well, let's see if you can recognise anything on here."
They had examined the diagrams and drawings for quite some time before Obi-Wan spoke up.
"I think I see something," he murmured. "Master, over here. That would be the Rishi Maze..."
They looked up at Sinistra, who muttered something, again while pointing that stick at the paper. It glowed faintly silver, and slowly magnified. When it stopped, Obi-Wan blinked. "Well, it would appear the phoenix was right, Master."
"Indeed," Qui-Gon replied. "We are a long way from Naboo."
"I take it you have located yourselves?" Dumbledore asked.
"If we are right, we are several millions of parsecs from home," Obi-Wan said. "So I suppose that explains why the comlinks aren't working."
Sinistra's lips twitched. "You could try turning them off and on again," she ventured.
"That's not a bad idea, actually," Obi-Wan replied, grinning.
He brought out his comlink and hit the power button. To his confusion, the indicator lights remained on. Dumbledore sighed as Obi-Wan once again hit the power button. The device fizzled and spat sparks before starting to glow red-hot. Obi-Wan dropped it, but kept his hand extended, holding the comlink suspended in the air with the Force. Sinistra's eyes visibly glowed with pleasure. It melted in front of them, the sophisticated bit of electronic wizardry becoming a ball of glowing slag in less than twenty seconds.
"Maybe not such a good idea, then," Obi-Wan said apologetically.
"Before any further damage is done," Dumbledore interjected, smiling, "I think we had better start telling you about our world and how it might differ from your own. You don't mind, do you, Aurora? Only, you seem to know more about them than I do."
"Of course, Headmaster," she replied, rolling up the paper and tapping it with that stick of hers. To Qui-Gon's astonishment, it shrank to the size of a credit chip before she tucked it away in an inner pocket of her robe.
Dumbledore released a breath. "Where to begin? Perhaps I should start with a more detailed explanation of where we are. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded around a thousand years ago by the four greatest sorcerers of the age..."
Qui-Gon groaned quietly, massaging his temples. Even the cursory use of the Force he had used to better absorb the information had been exhausting. Then again, they'd been talking in that office for a very long time. He envied Obi-Wan's youthful energy.
At the same time, his respect for the boy's wisdom was growing. For though Obi-Wan still had something of the impatience of youth, he too had sensed something off about the Headmaster. Everybody in that chamber had had pure intentions. The bird was a diamond beyond compare to be certain, but the professor had been... clouded in a way that made Qui-Gon uncomfortable. There was a hint of the dark side to be sure, but that was not at all what had unsettled him.
So when it came time for them to share information of their own home, and the powers they possessed, the Jedi remained a little economical with the truth. There was a sufficient volume of information that it did not appear that they were holding back, nor did the astronomer seem to know about them in vast detail. So Dumbledore remained ignorant of their clairvoyance and time manipulation abilities. They could only trust in the Force that that would be enough should something go wrong.
"Are you alright?"
Qui-Gon looked up to see Ginny Weasley blinking sleepily. He found the happy smile on her face intriguing. He had never seen her smile before. It had a strange, uplifting effect on him. "Yes, but somehow I feel that you are in a better mood than I."
She beamed. "He'll wake today."
He blinked. "Harry, you mean?"
Ginny nodded with a grin that would shame a Nexu cat. "He awoke last night, but he can't wake up for a while yet."
"I see," Qui-Gon replied. "Maybe you should tell him that there isn't any real hurry. Well, there is, but the interrogation he'll be put through when he does wake might be a bit much if he isn't ready."
"I can answer your questions," Ginny told him.
He frowned at her for a moment, then the knowledge came back to him. "Your bond has advanced," he stated. She nodded in reply. "Speaking of that, Dumbledore will want to know everything about that. Not to mention your parents."
Her cheeks darkened slightly. "Don't talk about it like that!" she hissed. "Everyone talks about it like it's something... inappropriate!"
Reaching out with the Force, Qui-Gon felt her indignation, and also her insecurity. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I just meant to warn you, I wasn't trying to imply anything."
"But it's what you think, isn't it?" she replied. Some of the harshness was gone, but it had only been replaced with hopelessness.
"Ginny, I come from an order where personal and emotional attachments are forbidden," he started.
"But it's more than that, isn't it?" she interrupted.
Qui-Gon sighed softly. He'd been warned about her empathetic talents. "I don't want to discuss that."
"And yet my relationship is going to be examined, gossiped about and whatever else for years to come?" she pressed.
He shook his head, realising how far off-topic they'd come, and wondering why the Force hadn't alerted him to such a manipulation. "Look, this really doesn't matter." She raised a challenging eyebrow. 'It doesn't matter!' "Can you tell me how Harry managed to transport himself, myself and my Padawan across the entire universe?"
She stared at him for a few seconds, then seemed to let it go. "He didn't."
"I'm sorry?" he asked incredulously.
"It wasn't him," she clarified. "He was only the conduit, channelling the energy."
"What energy?" he enquired.
She scrunched up her face in her deliberation. "We're not sure. It just sort of happened. And when Harry brought Mr. Kenobi he didn't know what he was doing. He wanted them back here, and then they were back here."
"Most curious," said Master Jinn. Obi-Wan knelt next to him, having arisen from his meditation.
"The only thing we know is that if it hadn't happened then," Ginny sighed, "you both would have died."
"I am prepared to believe it," said Master Jinn, sharing a glance with his student. "What do you know of his killing the assassin?"
"Very little," Ginny shrugged. "He saw the man kill you multiple times while he was unconscious before. A kind of wordless voice in his head led him across the universe to you… He says he felt a bond form between himself and you, and to be honest that's the only clue we have about how you... switched."
Qui-Gon mentally added clairvoyance to the growing list.
"He was pretty upset at the time," Ginny added. "That was the first time he'd killed someone. Well, someone who hadn't attacked him."
"He has killed before?" said Qui-Gon sharply. The Force defied him to understand how this boy could be as pure as he was.
"And he nearly died doing it," Ginny sniffed. "I suppose it was a team effort, but..."
"What are you?" said Obi-Wan. "Monster hunters?"
"Friends... and more," said Ginny. "Any more questions?"
"Actually, yes," Obi-Wan replied. "You've been party to the mind of a Dark Wizard. What would you say made him Dark?"
Ginny closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. They could feel her distress. "I think I understand why you're asking. I saw quite a bit of his mind, it's true, so I'll tell you all we can figure out. Tom," she shuddered, "never actually turned evil. But he was always very angry. His mother died in childbirth, and his father..."
"Yes?" Qui-Gon prompted.
Ginny seemed to struggle with the phrasing. "Wasn't there. I mean, he literally wasn't there. Tom only knew his name because his mother named him after him.
"He was really smart, too, and that was probably the real problem. He lost interest in kids' games really quickly, if he ever had any. And he saw the flaws in the carers at the orphanage — alcoholism, laziness and neglect... it fed his anger and made him reclusive and untrusting. Then he started developing powers. Magical powers. When people annoyed him, he used his powers to hurt them. And he was so angry all the time — everything annoyed him. He started collecting trophies from the other orphans, and... his fondest memory was his first attempt at mind magic. He took these two kids into a cave, and..."
Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably as the youngling choked back a sob.
"The boy is no longer here, child," Qui-Gon said soothingly. "Let that be, we don't need to know what he did there."
Ginny nodded gratefully, and took a slow, deep breath. "When Dumbledore came and told him he was a wizard, he was so happy. He thought that his father must have been some great wizard and just hadn't known about him, because there's no way a witch could die giving birth in some dilapidated orphanage..."
"The child sounds psychopathic," Qui-Gon interjected.
Ginny frowned at him for a moment, then shrugged her assent, as if just remembering what psychopathy was. "I guess he was."
"Well, I suppose that's something," Obi-Wan smiled. "Know your enemy."
"I could stand to know less," Ginny grimaced. "He was a monster."
"Indeed," Qui-Gon agreed. "It certainly seems that way. But all that goes up must come down."
"Good morning," Mrs Weasley yawned. "What have I missed?"
"Harry's going to wake up today, Mum!" Ginny enthused.
The woman literally jumped to attention. "When, Ginny? I need to get Arthur and the boys... What's the time? Will they be up yet?"
"Please calm yourself," Obi-Wan begged, "you'll give yourself an aneurysm."
She glared at his Padawan while he and Ginny stifled their laughter. "Hold your tongue, young man, or I'll fix it for you! If my son is waking from his coma today, I have every right to make a fuss."
"Urgh, consciousness is so overrated."
"Ginny! Get off him!" Mrs Weasley cried.
When Ginny did surface, Harry's grimace had been replaced with a grin. "Or not."
"Welcome back, Harry," Qui-Gon offered.
"Couldn't let you bother her all day," Harry laughed. Ginny punched him in the shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Qui-Gon said. "There is a lot we don't understand here."
"Tell me about it," Harry replied. "Ginny told me the diary's dead..."
"So you have been talking telepathically," Mrs Weasley breathed.
"Yes, Mum," Ginny admitted. "It was my idea not to say anything."
"But why?" Mrs Weasley asked.
Ginny sighed. "I just wanted something special."
"Because we know that I'll never be enough," Harry grinned.
"Something secret," Ginny glared at him. "Something I shared with Harry that no one else could ever have."
Harry embraced her tightly. "You're not going to lose me Ginny. I crossed the damn universe so Riddle wouldn't have you."
She burst into tears. "I was watching you, Harry. I could see through his eyes. Every time that snake..."
"Shh," Harry said.
They either remained silent for a while after that, or switched to telepathy, but Ginny did calm down.
"I know that he is dead," Harry said. "What about you? How did you do?"
"I'm touched that you ask, Harry," Qui-Gon replied. "We were fine, thank you. It was rather more of a struggle than we are used to from our opponents, but our combined defensive techniques were up to the task."
Harry nodded to them. "See, Ginny? Everyone was fine."
"Everyone would have been a lot better if I hadn't..."
"Hey," Harry stopped her. "Don't even think about blaming yourself. He got me too, didn't he?"
"Harry, you fought back," Ginny said despondently. "He gave up on you and just knocked you out."
"And you didn't fight back?" Harry challenged. "Ginny, I saw into his mind. He lost his patience with you because you weren't allowing the basilisk to kill."
She hid her head in his shoulder. "Harry, I should've been able to do more."
"Ginny, he's Lord Voldemort," Harry said firmly. Mrs Weasley gave a little whimper. "You're eleven."
"He was a shade," Ginny argued. "I..."
"He put me in hospital for three whole months," Harry scoffed. "You have to stop punishing yourself."
"But I should've known better," Ginny whispered.
"We both should've known better," Harry said. "We should've told Dad about a weird book that writes back to you. We should've told Professor Dumbledore there was a memory of one of the old head boys talking to us. There was plenty of stuff either of us might have thought to do, but Ginny I didn't do any of it either."
Qui-Gon had begun to feel that they were intruding on something private rather a while ago, but somehow he still couldn't make himself turn and walk away. He looked to his Padawan. Obi-wan had a very strange expression on his face as he watched the two younglings. "We should test them," Qui-Gon said softly.
Obi-wan looked up, surprised. "I thought you were confident in Anakin as the Chosen One."
Anakin Skywalker, a young slave boy they had freed on the planet Tatooine, was incredibly strong in the Force, and with no training whatsoever. Qui-Gon was indeed confident that the boy was the prophesied Chosen One, who would restore balance. He wasn't quite sure what that would entail. However, now that the Sith order, antithesis and anathema to his own, were returning he could hardly believe that it would be a bad thing.
"I am," Qui-Gon affirmed. "But one does not simply jump across the universe. There is something about this boy... You must feel it too. And I think it important to test the girl too, considering their bond."
"What kind of tests are these?" Mrs Weasley asked.
"Blood tests," Qui-Gon explained. "My order is based around a shared connection to the Force. The Force is an energy which permeates the entire universe, binding all life forms together. We do not fully understand it, but we have spent millennia studying it and will continue to do so.
"It is the Force that grants us our 'powers', if you will. The Force also leaves traces, however. Life forms have varying connections to the Force, and this can be seen through the presence of midichloreans. They are symbiotic organelles which reside in all of our cells, and a greater connection to the Force seems to stimulate them to higher concentrations in the body. We believe that it is through them that we communicate with the Force."
Mrs Weasley sat there for a moment, letting that sink in. "Why do you want to test my children?"
"Harry seems incredibly strong in the Force," Qui-Gon said. "I am curious to know how his connection relates to Ginny's, considering the nature of their bond. I am also considering to offer Harry training."
He could feel Obi-wan's despair. The High Council wouldn't like this. Harry was even older than Anakin, and they'd thought he was too old to begin training. But Qui-Gon had just been teleported across the entire universe. He didn't plan to give the Council a choice in the matter.
"You're going to have to elaborate about this training," Mrs Weasley said. "And it's also going to have to wait until my husband gets here."
Qui-Gon nodded. He understood her concern. "Harry, do you mind if I ask a few more questions?"
"Go on," Harry invited. Ginny didn't seem to be sobbing anymore, but she remained very close to Harry.
"Was that day in the chamber the first time you used the Force? Do you remember previous occasions?" Qui-Gon asked.
"I suppose there might be times I'm confusing with magic," Harry shrugged. "I think I remember a couple of things that were probably the Force though."
Qui-Gon nodded, inviting Harry to continue. It would hardly be surprising in someone of Harry's apparent calibre.
"There have been a few times when time slowed down for me," Harry said. "I don't think that was magic, because I've never heard of it before, and I think Hermione would've mentioned something about time magic."
"There is time magic, Harry," Mrs Weasley said. "It is forbidden to travel in time using magic, but there are spells you can use to lock something in time and so on. It's all very complicated though, and it uses the kinds of rituals that need many sorcerers working together."
"Oh," Harry said simply. "Well, it might've been magic then."
"How did it happen?" Qui-Gon pressed.
Harry squinted at empty space. "Err... I guess it always happens when I'm fighting. It happened with Malfoy, both times I've fought Voldemort, and when we went paintballing."
"So that's how you hit their paintballs," Ginny gasped.
"Yeah," Harry shrugged. "I guess. I thought I was a bit lucky though."
"There's no such thing as luck," Obi-wan said. "Only the Force."
"Slowing down time is a considerable ability," Qui-Gon praised. "However, it is extremely common. The degree to which it was done is what will decide exactly how much you have achieved prior to any training. Now, what of this bond? What can you tell us about it?"
Harry shrugged again. "You already know that it formed about a year and a half ago. We could sense where the other was, and talk telepathically when we were touching. I guess I've always been better at sensing where she was than the other way around. Err... It got stronger after our first kiss. Oh, I thought I covered that with telepathy. We can sense each other's emotions."
"This definitely resembles a Force bond," Qui-Gon said. "I don't know what kind of bonds exist here...?"
"There are a few," Mrs Weasley said. "The most common is the marital bond, which we make ourselves. Then there's contracts, which can be made on purpose or by accident. Then there's the soul bonds and mind bonds, which no one understands, really."
Just then, Mr. Weasley came rushing out of the fireplace. "I just got word," he said. "Are you alright Harry? Ginny?"
"We're fine," they chorused.
"My word!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, rushing in. "I told you he needs space and rest!"
It was true, she had demanded that they leave him be as much as possible. Her strict visitor rules were probably half of the reason why Harry had chosen this time to fully waken. Madam Pomfrey had been busy in another meeting and had entrusted the infirmary to her apprentice. The girl was desperately keen to please the more experienced healer, but at the same time was quite reasonable. After a few days of subtle suggestions Qui-Gon had slowly convinced her of the advantages of a more sociable environment.
"Apprentice Cooper!" Madam Pomfrey called.
"Madam Pomfrey, I have been monitoring them," said Cooper. "Hygiene has been enforced and rest properly protected. The boy needs his friends and family, ma'am."
"We will discuss this later," said Madam Pomfrey sternly.
Cooper was not cowed. Qui-Gon was certain that she would make a fine medical professional soon.
"Now Mr. Potter, tell me how you feel," Madam Pomfrey asked softly.
"A lot better with Ginny here," Harry grinned, pulling the girl closer. She laughed and pushed away. "How do you feel, Madam Pomfrey?"
"I... I'm examining you, Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey said. "But fine, thank you. Mr. Potter are you in any pain at all?"
She had started moving her wand, as they called it, over Harry's body. A network of lights started glowing all over him in a tangle of greens, blues and yellows. His head, however, was glowing with a bright white light, just as it had when Madam Pomfrey had first run these tests and every time since.
"I wonder," Madam Pomfrey muttered, before casting over Ginny too. Her head also glowed bright white, and Qui-Gon could hardly see their faces anymore. "Remarkable. This is a bond of some sort, but I do not recognise it. It's not my area of specialty."
"They'll definitely be alright?" Mrs Weasley asked.
"Of course we're gonna be alright, Mum," Harry laughed. "We didn't do all that just to die now."
Mrs Weasley rushed over to embrace the younglings. Mr. Weasley stood chuckling to himself. "I'm proud of you two," Mr. Weasley said finally. "Really proud. You have no idea just how much you accomplished."
"We're sorry, Daddy," Ginny said tremulously. "We should've come to you first."
"Perhaps," Mr. Weasley allowed. "But could you, really?"
"No," Harry said. Ginny started to protest, but stopped at a look from Harry. "No, Dad, we couldn't. As soon as we wrote in that book, he had us. We just weren't prepared for it."
"And unprepared, the two of you defeated a young You-Know-Who," Mr. Weasley praised. "With some help, of course." He nodded to Qui-Gon and Obi-wan. "I never got to thank the two of you."
Qui-Gon smiled, but it was painful. "The snake was not the real threat — merely a distraction. I did not mean to kill it, but we did what was best under the circumstances. Of course, it was young Harry here who dealt the final blow. Both of the final blows."
"Regardless, thank you," Mr. Weasley said. "I don't know that we'd all be here now if you hadn't intervened."
Qui-Gon and Obi-wan both bowed. "It is our duty as Jedi," Qui-Gon said.
Mr. Weasley gave them a funny look, but didn't linger. He soon moved on after he was sure that the younglings would be okay, though not so soon that he couldn't give his consent for the tests to be done.
"Now I must insist that you stay here," Madam Pomfrey was saying. "You seem just fine for now, but there are a lot of strange things coming together here..."
"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," said Ginny.
"You're welcome," Madam Pomfrey replied. She went off to talk to her apprentice, who was taking a deep preparatory breath.
For the tenth time since they'd arrived, he sat down on the floor and prepared to meditate.
"Join me, Obi-wan," he said, closing his eyes and letting go of his physical body. As ever, the concentration of Force energy here was almost overwhelming. It was less so when Obi-wan joined him, but still an incredible experience.
They drifted for an indefinite period before a vision struck them.
Qui-Gon was fighting the Sith again. He rained down increasingly heavy blows, trying to break through his opponent's defense, but the zabrak was too fast. Every one of his attacks was parried and countered with total ease. The combined effort of lightsaber combat and resisting attempts to throw him telekinetically down the ventilation shaft was tiring him too quickly. Poor Obi-wan was assaulting the beam generators of the force field that separated them, but to no avail. The Sith's lunge got him this time. It was a curious thing, to watch yourself die. The experience was liberating, and Qui-Gon realised that the boy, Harry, was the reason why he was still alive. Whatever the Force willed of him, Qui-Gon knew that it centered around Harry.
'What must I do?'
There was no answer, for he already knew. He had known for three weeks. He would train this boy in the ways of the Force.
With this conclusion firm in his mind, he returned to full consciousness to find that significant time had passed while he was gone. Obi-Wan, who had clearly just recovered himself, was giving him a concerned, mournful look. Whether that was for seeing his death, or knowing what his master would soon do, Qui-Gon did not know.
Harry and Ginny were still in bed, Mrs Weasley joining them in having lunch.
"I just wish we could see the others," Harry sighed. Ginny nodded, taking some potato from his plate with nary a hesitation. "Some things never change..."
A slight smirk, quickly concealed, was the only sign that Ginny had heard him.
As the younglings finished eating, the headmaster came in, taking Madam Pomfrey and her assistant into the office to talk. Sharing a look with his padawan, Qui-Gon steeled himself and schooled his features. Whatever his plans or hopes, he knew that he had reached their shatterpoint.
"Harry, how are you feeling this fine afternoon?" said Professor Dumbledore.
"Fine, thank you, professor," said Harry. There were matching, slight frowns on each of the younglings' faces that corresponded to a mild anxiety Qui-Gon felt from them both.
The headmaster walked over to the bed, smiling genially and engaging the younglings in small talk, but Qui-Gon paid that little heed. More concerning to him was the warning he was getting through the Force. Nothing seemed threatening. The conversation was mild. And the only new element in the room...
Too late, he saw the old man's wand sliding into a wrinkled hand.
Already having warped time in anticipation of events to come, Master Jinn got to his feet. His apprentice was there before him though, pushing him out of the way of a spell. It wasn't possible that the old man could have reacted so fast. And yet, blue, silver and red lights streaked past him in stubborn defiance of that.
Just as soon as it had started, it stopped. Obi-Wan was holding the old man in midair, a good five metres from his weapon.
"What the fuck...?" said Ginny.
"What is the meaning of this?" said Mrs Weasley. "Unhand him this instant!"
"He...!" Obi-Wan began. But the woman was already drawing her wand. "Oh for..."
But neither of the Jedi did anything. For before Qui-Gon could so much as twitch, Ginny had her wand aimed at her own mother, while Harry covered the rest of the room.
"Didn't you see him pulling his wand on us, Mum?" said Ginny.
"You dare raise your wand against your mother?" said Mrs Weasley, rage and disbelief written on every inch of her face.
"I dare," said Ginny in wonderment.
"This has happened before," Harry said through gritted teeth. "I... I don't remember. Just fragments. Professor..."
"My boy, listen to me," said Professor Dumbledore. "Your minds are unstable after the bond between you evolved. I am trying to help you."
"No, you're not," said Ginny. Her mother, Qui-Gon realised, was yelling silently, her mouth moving with an absolute lack of sound.
"Everyone frozen," Harry muttered. "The greater good?"
"What did you do?" Ginny thundered.
"These two Jedi, as they call themselves, have clearly been affecting you without my knowledge..." Dumbledore's voice cut out, the professor now apparently suffering from the same ailment as Mrs Weasley.
"Watch him closely," Qui-Gon said.
On Obi-Wan's nod, he advanced on the bed. Harry stared at him with both anger and fear in his eyes.
"Do you trust me?"
Harry nodded. Ginny shook her head.
"Why should we?" said Ginny. The question wasn't directed at him.
"Because I can feel it," said Harry. "He doesn't mean us any harm."
"You didn't feel that with Professor Dumbledore?" said Ginny.
"I..." Harry sighed. "I wasn't paying attention."
"Go on then, Jedi," said Ginny. "What do you want?"
"I'm going to try to restore your memory," said Master Jinn.
"Do it to me first," said Harry.
Ginny nodded. It was to be expected. If this went wrong, Ginny would be able to try to recover the situation.
"Come," said Qui-Gon. "Lie down for me. Flat on the bed, that's it. If you would please give him some room, Ginny?"
As they complied, he knelt to the side of the bed. Psychiatric healing was not his speciality, but he had heard and read about this sort of thing. Or rather, restoring repressed or damaged memories. He wasn't entirely sure what this sort of thing was yet.
"Close your eyes, and try to focus on anything you remember," said Qui-Gon, reaching out with one hand.
The Force flowed around him. He could feel its currents. The energy filled Harry's head, surrounded it, and built like a great storm cloud. The boy's mind was a tempest unto itself, tethered to Ginny's as if by ethereal rope.
Doubt bloomed in Qui-Gon's mind. The headmaster's words about the younglings' minds being unstable played back in his head as he felt a dark presence, sitting almost as if latched to Harry's unconscious. Repressed emotions, perhaps. Qui-Gon was no expert, but the Force did not compel him to act, and he knew to listen to its counsel.
Fear. Anger. Pain. Hallmarks of the dark side surrounded Harry. This was the boy he was going to train — the boy who felt so pure.
"Focus for me, Harry," said Qui-Gon, feeling every eddy in the Force's flow. Looking upon the boy's straining face, he let the floodgates open. "What do you see?"
"I woke up in the hospital wing, but..." Harry grimaced. "This is before I remember waking up. Ron's still unconscious. Ginny is so angry, I..."
"Every detail, Harry," said Qui-Gon. "Remember everything."
That was when something happened that brought a smile to the old Jedi's face. Within and around Harry, the Force began to swell. It was like a balloon being inflated. The pressure built steadily as the boy recited events of several months past... And Harry's eyes began to glow. Qui-Gon had not the time to wonder at the white light pouring from the youngling's eye sockets, for Force energy erupted like a benevolent bomb. Warmth spread through him as the wave broke over him, and he felt Harry, even more so than before, illuminated in the Force like a beacon.
The boy himself had risen from the bed, his limbs thrown out and enveloped in that same light.
Ginny was not so passive. Her wand was now turned on Dumbledore, one flaming hand holding her mother at bay. "You bastard."
Harry gently dropped back to the bed even as Ginny got up, moving to stand next to the bed, where she could keep everyone in her field of view.
"You changed our memories?" Ginny growled. "Was that what you were about to do? Wipe us clean again so you could have us thinking the way you wanted us to?"
"How many?" said Harry, as he sat up, dim lights still rolling off him like flames.
"This can only end badly," said Obi-Wan. "Regardless of what has been done, you would surely face punishment for attacking your elders."
"He went into our heads!" Ginny said, furious tears sliding down her cheeks. "Mine, Harry's, Mum's, Dad's... Everyone! How can we just let that go?"
"Do not forget," said Qui-Gon, the irony not entirely lost on him. "But remember also that there is a world outside these walls, and it does not yet know what you know."
Ginny deflated slightly at that. "I know."
A few tense moments passed, but it soon became clear that the danger had passed.
"Would you be able to help restore everyone's memories?" said Harry.
"I shall certainly do my best," said Master Jinn, bowing.
An angry young man Harry might be, but he was not unreasonable or without self control. Qui-Gon might make a Jedi out of him yet.
"Let's start with Mum."
Harry was later told (by Fred and George) that the slap their mother gave Albus Dumbledore could be heard from the lake. It certainly left a mark. With her wand taken from her, Mrs Weasley used everything at her disposal to punish the headmaster. All that surprised Harry was that by the end of the day, there was still an Albus Dumbledore left to see that mark in the mirror. But even as people turned up, protested, remembered and raged, Harry found nothing left within him but an overwhelming sense of purpose. There wasn't even a shred of anger left. He knew who his enemies were, and he was going to work to best them.
Finally, Professor McGonagall entered the room, ushered in by a grim-looking Mr. Weasley. Harry was sure that Madam Pomfrey would have gone to get her if the school nurse wasn't sitting in the corner of the room in shock. "What is the meaning of this? Albus?"
Her wand was taken from her the moment it left her robes. Five minutes later, she was scrambling for it for entirely different reasons. The look of anguish on Professor McGonagall's face was something that would stay with Harry for a long time. But after a minute of angrily fighting invisible shackles, she composed herself and turned away from Dumbledore, continuing as though he were not even present.
"I have a duty of care to my students," said Professor McGonagall. "Until today, I was proud of myself... for all the Gryffindors who have thrived at Hogwarts... all those that I have taught. But I have failed, utterly, to protect you, from beginning to end."
Neville, who was standing next to Harry at the bedside, moved as if to say something, but held his tongue. Harry was just glad of Professor McGonagall's discretion with regards his past. His accepting it didn't mean he wanted these Jedi to know.
"Your friends lying petrified in this infirmary are further evidence of my failure," she said. "I will understand if you no longer trust me, but I swear I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"Professor, we're their parents," Mrs Weasley sobbed. Harry turned around, shocked, to see that his previously incensed mother had collapsed into quiet, distraught tears. Fred and George moved to her side in a heartbeat.
"You haven't failed any more than we have," said Mr. Weasley, trying to comfort his wife as best he could. "You trusted Dumbledore. We all did. The failure would be to allow him to hoodwink us again."
"Constant vigilance," said Professor McGonagall. Perhaps it was some private joke, for the adults present smiled, if only briefly.
"We... Thank you, professor," said Ginny.
"It isn't you we've lost trust in," said Neville.
"We're only mad at one person in this room," said Fred.
There was a long pause. One by one, everyone turned to look at the headmaster, who Obi-Wan was still dutifully keeping aloft.
"So," said Harry, "what happens now?"
There was only disappointment in Professor Dumbledore's eyes. It galled Harry and Ginny that the old man might think they should be ashamed of themselves for the day's events, but he held Ginny back. His question had not been rhetorical. Everyone present, with the possible exception of the aliens, knew how difficult the situation was.
Dumbledore was more than a famous, popular figure. He was a powerful political leader in Europe as well as the UK. People all over the world listened to what he had to say. Opposing him in any way could only end badly for them. And even if they did prove what he had done, many would accept it and move on with their lives. Dumbledore rescued the world from Grindelwald. He must have his reasons.
"I have half a mind to pull you all out of Hogwarts," said Mr. Weasley. A statement which would have provoked mutiny before now elicited only hesitant looks. "But then we would need to leave the country to be safe from the good headmaster's influence. I couldn't do that to the family. But at the same time, I cannot risk our safety..."
Mr. Weasley paused for a moment, and the only sounds in their warded off corner of the hospital wing were the erratic, quiet sniffles from his wife. Seconds passed, and Mr. Weasley looked up at Professor Dumbledore, a daring look in his eyes. It was a side to his father that Harry had not yet seen.
"We will carry on as normal," said Mr. Weasley. "Whatever measures can be taken to help us all defend ourselves will be taken, and we will sleep with one eye open. He has lost his biggest weapon — our trust."
"Indeed," said Professor McGonagall.
"A pity that you all feel this way," said Professor Dumbledore. "A pity that it came to this at all."
"One day we might be ready to think about the why of all this, Dumbledore," said Professor McGonagall. "Not today."
"I think we must ask you to leave," said Madam Pomfrey.
Obi-Wan set the headmaster back on his feet, returning his wand to him. For a moment, Harry tensed. That half second stretched out immeasurably in his head as he waited for a retaliation. Ginny held her energy just beneath the surface, ready to burst forth in a firestorm. But Dumbledore didn't so much as twitch. The wand went inside his robes, and he left the hospital wing without another word.