"Wow," Bant murmured, her large eyes flickering between Obi-Wan and Hermione. "I can honestly say I never expected this from you, Obi."

"He is Master Qui-Gon's padawan," Quinlan chirped. "We really should've seen something like this coming."

Obi-wan sighed, closing his eyes and counting to three as he often had since they were crèchelings together. He had to fight to keep his lips from twitching– Quin had a point, Master Qui-Gon was known for being unorthodox– while his friends snickered.

"Still, a secret history of soul-bonded Jedi to force users from another universe? I think that is beyond anything we ever dreamed of as younglings," Luminara conceded.

As one, they all lifted their heads out of the little huddle they'd instinctively formed and turned back towards Hermione, who looked up from where she was entertaining questions from Quinlan's padawan and waved at them.

"She handles herself like a seasoned teacher," Luminara observed softly, as Hermione's attention was redrawn by young Aayla Secura bouncing on her toes. Obiwan had to admit, he was rather impressed at how his soulmate had taken the sight of so many non-humanoids in stride. She'd barely blinked in surprise when Bant, a Mon Calamari with pink skin and large yellow eyes walked into the hall, and Obi-Wan knew Bant even faced discrimination within their own world. She'd also readily accepted blue-skinned Aayla's flying hug when Quinlan had introduced her as "Aunt Hermione," although she had been slapped across the face by one of the twi'lek's lekku on accident.

"She's adorable," Bant grinned.

"Definitely too good for you," Quinlan teased.

Obi-wan rolled his eyes. "Thank you all for your approval."

"You're welcome," they all chorused, far too innocent smiles spread across their faces. It was moments like this that Obi-Wan could almost believe they were all still together in the crèche planning their next big adventure through the temple's tunnels.

"She wants to meet you all," he said softly, eyes a bit downcast. "I've… grown to know her family and she wants to know mine."

Silence settled over them. It was rare for Obi-Wan to ever admit to the bonds he had with other members of the temple, and yet here he was, vocally claiming them all as his family.

Luminara's smaller hand wrapped around Obi-Wan's as Quinlan slung an arm around his shoulder. "You're stuck with us, Obi," he said solemnly, Bant nodding her head in agreement. "Hey, mini-me padawan!" Quinlan shouted, drawing Hermione and Aayla's attention.

"Ma-ster!" Aayla complained at the nickname but obeyed his unspoken order and got Hermione's attention by waving her arms in the woman's face. Hermione looked up at the interruption, and at Obi-Wan's tipped head, she spoke gently to the other children before separating herself from them and heading to her soulmate.

"Hermione," Obi-Wan paused and tried to fight down his blush as she looped her arm through his when she stopped at his side. "Ah, you've met Quinlan already, but I'd like you to meet Luminara Unduli and Bant Eerin. All four of us have known each other since we were Teddy's age, in the crèche here."

"Teddy?" Bant asked, her mouth forming the foreign word slowly.

"My nephew," Hermione clarified and smiled at Obi-Wan's friends. "It's wonderful to meet you all."

"The pleasure is ours," Luminara replied. Her gaze didn't miss how Obi-Wan and Hermione naturally gravitated toward each other.

"Obi-Wan told us you're a magic-user?" Bant questioned, eyes wide with interest.

Hermione dipped her head in assent. "Yes, I'm a witch," she replied. "On my world, the magical community lives in secret but adjacent to non-magicals. And you are a healer in training?"

"Yes, which comes quite helpful considering how many misadventures these three get into."

"Hey!" Quinlan poked her side. "Don't lump Nara into our degeneracy."

"I'm not sure whether to be offended or flattered," Luminara turned a stern glare onto the Kiffar.

Obi-Wan watched out of his peripheral vision as Hermione's smile grew larger the longer his friends continued to bicker until finally, she began to laugh.

"I'm sorry," she managed to say. "It's nothing bad, it's just- you remind me of, well, me and my friends. We grew up together although at a later age than the crèche starts, and our arguments I imagine sound the same from the outside."

Three pairs of eyes swiveled towards Obiwan. He shrugged. "They do sound remarkably similar, he agreed genially."

"A high compliment," Bant smiled. "One day I should like to meet them."

Hermione and Obiwan shared a look. "One day."


"So?"

Hermione looked up from the grimoire she'd been reading while curled up in front of the fireplace in Grimmauld Place's sitting room. They'd done away with most of the original furniture on account of it being cursed or full of moth holes, and this new seat had become her favorite since it was transfigured to match the chairs of the Gryffindor common room.

Harry was watching her with poorly concealed anticipation from where he stood in the doorway.

"So?" Hermione parroted back, waiting for him to actually voice a full question.

"So," he repeated, "how was it? The Jedi Temple," he said with emphasis. The only temples in their world were fully religious and not typically meant for large-scale inhabitation, so Hermione understood his perplexion.

"Lovely but complicated," she sighed.

Harry shrugged. "When is it not when it comes to us?"

"When it comes to you, maybe," Hermione grumbled, but obliging sat up momentarily to make space for Harry to sit before draping her legs over his lap.

"Mhm. Maybe try telling me that when you aren't holding the Black family grimoire."

Hermione huffed and waited for him to finish laughing when she didn't try and further argue the point. "It was… Obi-Wan has a few fellow Jedi that he's grown up with since they were toddlers really. One of them– Quinlan Vos, he reminds me of the twins, actually– has the ability to see past events after touching an object."

She could feel Harry tense beside her. "What of yours did he touch, then?"

She cringed. "The Head of House ring. When we shook hands." She fiddled with the jewelry as she spoke, twisting it around her finger.

"How bad was it? What he saw," Harry elaborated.

"Bad. He didn't say any specifics, but that he had seen the bearers of the ring perform truly evil deeds."

As supportive as ever, her best friend shot her one of his crooked grins. "At least it's in good hands now."

Hermione's eyes flickered down to the ring on her finger and then away to where the fire still crackled away. "I suppose so."

"Hermione?"

She was quiet for a minute, her mind replaying decisions she had made in the past. "I did trap someone in a jar for weeks, Harry. That's not exactly "good.""

Harry sighed. "And I nearly killed Draco with Sectumsempra. If we make this into a competition, we'll be up all night."

Hermione pressed her lips together in frustration but knew there was truth to his words. "It just made me question what I've dragged Obi-wan into. Quinlan was terrified, and he's a fully-trained Jedi master with a padawan of his own."

"You've forgotten what Obi-Wan's already seen," Harry said softly. "He saw us duel those Death Eaters in the coffee shop, and he killed Bellatrix at Malfoy Manor. He's not going in blind, Hermione."

She gave him a watery smile as he pulled her in for a hug. "Thanks, Harry."

"Just remember this for the next time Ginny asks which one of us is your favorite, yeah?"