A/N- Here's chapter three. Who's been looking forward to it? I'm still amazed at the reception of this story so I hope I can be as consistent as possible with this story and make it the best I can possibly make it. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
A/A/N- Whilst writing this chapter, I watched The Phantom Menace repeatedly for some of the dialogue but as I'm sure you'll see, some of it has been moved around or given to different characters and in some cases, the dialogue from the movie has been removed entirely in order to fit this story better.
Chapter Three – Twin Suns
Harry woke up with a gasp. After he'd fallen asleep, he'd begun to dream. At first, the dreams had been pleasant although the dreams had been gradually getting naughtier. This changed after a dream suddenly became a nightmare. He found himself thinking back to the moment Sirius went through the Veil and then he thought back even further to a year earlier. Cedric's death still haunted him; the nightmare version of Cedric had been taunting him during his sleep. Harry was sweating buckets as he got up from the floor. The mattress that he'd summoned to sleep on had virtually dissolved whilst he was asleep. "Well, at least the mattress did its job. Didn't even notice that it disappeared whilst I was sleeping." Harry remarked to himself before noticing that the blankets and pillows had likewise disappeared. "I hope Rey, Jaina and Leia got some decent sleep. I wonder what happened with Padmé? Maybe I should check up on her?" Harry went to go and find Padmé.
He wandered through the ship, trying to find Padmé when he heard a frustrated yell come from a lower level. "WHY IS EVERYTHING HERE TOO SMALL FOR ME?!!" Harry made his way down and saw a smallish room almost immediately. The next thing Harry noticed was a large amount of clothes strewn across the room with little to no care. Harry then noticed Leia's white dress carefully folded up and laid over some protruding bar clearly connected to some electrical source. Then he saw the source of the shouting and thrown about clothes.
Leia had been trying on various outfits in private but everything she'd tried had proven too small to fit. This was evident by the fact that the trousers she was currently wearing came painfully short of her waist, showing a certain part of the female anatomy. At the same time, Leia was struggling to get her head through the top of the shirt and this left a good part of her stomach bare. Harry blushed and gulped in nervousness. He did not wish to interrupt or embarrass her so he moved to the side so he was behind a metal wall. Leia had noticed him though, "Is that you there Harry?"
Harry winced as he realised that he'd been noticed. He wasn't sure what to do but he thought it would've been rude to not at least acknowledge her. "Erm, yeah. I can wait on the next level so you have some privacy." He said to her as he began to make his way back to the main hold. He was stopped from going back up when Leia spoke.
"Harry, do you mind giving me a hand here?" she asked with a grunt as she struggled with the clothing she was attempting to try on.
"Erm, sure." Harry replied hesitantly. He walked into the room and was desperate to look anywhere but at Leia, who still had some of her body exposed. He did note Leia's hair had been untied and was now flowing down her back.
"I need you to expand these clothes that I'm attempting to try on. Is that something you can do with your magic?" Leia asked, having finally given up on forcing herself to try something too small for her body.
"I wouldn't have shrunk all those vehicles and guns if I couldn't." Harry replied. He finally had to look directly at her because he had to see what he had to expand.
Leia, without any prompt or hesitation, removed the clothes she'd been attempting to try on and laid them neatly on the floor. She then walked right next to Harry, whose eyes were glued to the spot where she'd been standing. She noticed Harry standing still and showed concern at the lack of action from him, "Are you okay, Harry? You're just staring into space there."
Harry nodded his head numbly, "Yeah. It's just that that's the first time that I've seen a woman or girl naked." He was blushing as red as a tomato.
"Well, what can I say? I'm proud of my body. I know I should be embarrassed by the fact you've seen me without anything on but I'm not. It helped with the fact that you were such a gentleman when Jaina was topless while you treated her injuries." Leia said with pride before giving Harry a hug, making him blush even redder than he already was. "Do you mind doing your thing on the clothes I was attempting to try on? Things might get a little weird otherwise."
"Oh yeah, yeah." Harry replied awkwardly as he got his wand out and aimed it at the neatly laid clothing On the floor. "Engorgio." The shirt and trousers expanded gradually until Harry stopped the spell. "That hopefully should do it."
"Thank you Harry. I'm going to try these again and I hope I'll the able to wear them. Do you mind staying for a moment just in case I need you?" Leia asked gratefully before moving to pick up the clothes Harry had made bigger.
"Erm, sure." Harry replied hesitantly. His gaze unconsciously followed Leia's nude form as she began to put on the clothes that he had enlarged. He shook his head as he realised that he was staring and politely turned around. He then thought about how he'd met her and her currently folded up white dress. He decided to ask her about it, "Where did you get the clothes from? I know you didn't have any with you. So, where did you get them from?"
"Padmé got me a selection of clothing from the various wardrobes on the ship. Can't say that they fit particularly well. They felt as though they were more likely to fit Padmé." Leia replied as she finally managed to wear the trousers she'd been struggling to get on. She then remembered something that had happened earlier and spoke to Harry about it, "I think Padmé wanted to see you first before we step on to the planet."
"Okay, two questions." Harry said as he thought of a couple of questions that were of interest to him. "Firstly, how come you need a change of clothes in the first place?"
"I'd been wearing that white dress for a few days at least. And we've landed on Tatooine, so the dress wasn't the most practical of clothing to wear here?" Leia explained as though Harry knew what Tatooine was.
"This isn't my second question but what is Tatooine and why wouldn't your dress/gown thing be practical for it?" Harry asked in confusion.
"You really don't know much about the galaxy, do you wizard boy?" Leia asked half teasingly, half frustrated.
"I don't think so. To be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how I got to Naboo in the first place." Harry said as his thoughts began to drift back to the Department of Mysteries and his friends. He was still worried about them.
"And what was your second question, Harry?" Leia asked, tilting her head slightly to the left as she looked at him.
"Oh yeah, I was just going to ask if you know why Padmé wanted to see me?" Harry asked, his concentration brought back to the present.
"She didn't say but I think that she's interested in you. She wants to know you better." Leia replied with a smile. She then added with a grateful tone, "I'd like to know you better too. I wouldn't be surprised if Rey and that Jaina girl also wouldn't mind wanting to get to know you better too."
Harry stood there awkwardly as he struggled to think of a reply. Eventually, he could only think of one word to sum up what he'd been told, "Cool." It wasn't elegant or even summed up what had been said to him but it was the only thing that came to the forefront of his mind. "I'm going to go and see Padmé now." Harry told Leia.
"That's fine Harry; thank you for your help." Leia replied gratefully as she adjusted the newly expanded clothing she was now wearing. "I'm going to go and find Jaina and Rey and see if they can help me out with my hair." Harry and Leia left the droids' hold so that they could go and find Padmé and Rey and Jaina respectively.
Harry found Padmé alone in the royal throne room, sat on a seat right next to the ship's throne. She was currently wearing a blue top, baggy trousers and heavy, durable boots. Her hair was plaited and tied up into a bun that had a resemblance to a ponytail. She appeared deep in thought. Harry walked slowly towards her, not wanting to alarm her. There was no need to be worried about alarming her though as a few seconds after he entered the room, she looked at him and greeted him with a beaming smile. Harry returned the smile before getting straight down to business, "Leia said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, I did. We've landed on Tatooine and the Queen and I were hoping that you will accompany me." Padmé asked seriously. Harry somehow knew that he wouldn't be able to turn her down.
"For you, I think I will. What is it about Tatooine anyway? I asked her about it and she never answered." Harry asked, wondering what the big deal was.
"It's a desert planet in the outer rim. To put it kindly, it's not a friendly planet. There are slavers, bounty hunters, criminals among many others on the planet." Padmé explained to him.
"Well, I guess that I can do something with the sliced up battle droids then." Harry said before getting his wand out again and summoned a piece of battle droid. He then promptly transfigured it into a cap that could help shield his eyes from the sun.
"Amazing!" Padmé said in astonishment as she saw Harry wear the cap.
"You do realise that we're going to be spending what might be a long time together. At some point, you'll have to get used to my magic." Harry pointed out to the young woman.
Padmé blushed. "Sorry Harry. It's just that I've never met anyone else like you." She replied apologetically. Padmé walked to the door and Harry stood still, having noticed that Padmé's hair was far longer than what he'd first seen and was flowing rather loosely down her back. He shook his head as he realised that Padmé was asking him a question. "Is something the matter?" she asked him with an amused smile.
"Sorry, it's just..." Harry wasn't sure of what to say. "It's just that... How long is your hair?"
Padmé giggled. "It's quite long." She admitted as she giggled. "Are you coming?" Harry quickly followed her out of the door, leading to more laughter from Padmé.
They were joined by Captain Panaka as they began to exit the ship and then he began to walk ahead of them. As much as he was expecting to walk through a desert, he was not expecting to see what he saw in the sky. "Padmé... is it normal to have two suns in the sky?" Harry quietly asked her.
"It is in some systems." Padmé replied as though it was normal.
"I think that my world's astronomy classes needed more powerful telescopes. As far as I know, we've never seen more than a single star in a system. I could be wrong though." Harry remarked aloud to himself.
"I suppose I could help you find someone to teach you about the galaxy." Padmé said to Harry.
"I think that you've just volunteered to help teach me about this galaxy." Harry remarked with a sly smile.
"I'd be happy to when I have time." Padmé happily replied. They walked behind Captain Panaka as they saw that Qui-Gon, Jar Jar and R2 were about to walk to the nearest settlement on the planet.
"Wait!" Captain Panaka called out to the departing group. Qui-Gon, Jar Jar turned while R2 turned the dome that was his head towards them. "Wait." Captain Panaka repeated, this time much more calmly. He briefly glanced at Padmé before starting to speak, "Her Highness commands you to take her Handmaiden with you."
Qui-Gon seemed to be annoyed at the thought of taking more people with him, "No more commands from her majesty, Captain. This spaceport isn't going to be pleasant." Qui-Gon almost looked as though he was grimacing.
"The Queen wishes it. She's curious about the plan." Captain Panaka said, amending his earlier statement.
Qui-Gon considered the Queen's head of security's words and then looked at Harry next to Padmé. "Why are you here Harry?"
"I'm here because I'm accompanying Padmé on this trek. At the request of both the Queen and herself I might add." Harry answered without hesitation.
"Very well then. It's not a good idea though." Qui-Gon said after a moment or two of silence, acquiescing to the Queen's wish. He spoke to both Padmé and Harry with a slightly more quiet voice, "It will be dangerous. Stay close."
Before they could move another step towards the settlement, three familiar voices called to them as they grew closer, "Wait! Wait!" Qui-Gon's eyes rolled as he was forced to wait for another moment. Leia, Jaina and Rey quickly walked up to them, with Rey and Jaina now wearing ponchos similar to what Qui-Gon was wearing, presumably to hide their lightsabres.
"Why are you three coming along?" Qui-Gon asked almost indignantly. He did not wish to wait more than he needed to.
"None of us have been on this planet before and we simply want to experience the planet for ourselves." Rey replied with confidence. Leia and Jaina were nodding along in agreement. "And we can handle ourselves without you needing to worry about us." Rey added afterwards, almost like she was speaking to a teenager. Jaina let out a snort of laughter as she struggled to contain the full laughter that threatened to come out upon hearing Rey speak.
"Try not to get lost." Qui-Gon grumpily said after a brief second. He then turned around and walked towards the settlement, followed by R2 and Jar Jar. Seeing that they'd been allowed to come and join them, the group of Harry, Padmé, Leia, Rey and Jaina quickly caught up to Qui-Gon.
Whilst walking through the desert, Harry looked at Jaina and then his gaze darted to Padmé and Leia. He couldn't be sure if he was seeing things but he decided that he needed to talk to someone about it. He discreetly gestured for Rey to fall behind slightly and he too fell slightly behind Padmé, Leia and Jaina. "Have you noticed something?" Harry asked Rey.
"What do you mean? I've noticed a lot in the last day or so." Rey replied, not sure what Harry meant.
"Look at them three." Harry instructed Rey, gesturing at the young women in front of them. Once Rey was looking at them, Harry conveyed what he'd noticed, "I'm very much certain that this is just one great big coincidence but they all have very similar hair. Similar colour, similar length; If I hadn't had met them beforehand, I could've sworn they were sisters. Don't you think so?"
Rey looked at the trio of young women ahead of Harry and herself and realised that Harry had a point. She thought that the resemblance of the hair between Padmé and the other two young women was indeed a remarkable coincidence. The resemblance between Leia and Jaina though finally hit her like a ton of bricks. "Yeah. They kind of do look like sisters." Rey agreed absentmindedly. She especially looked at Jaina and thought back to just before she'd gone to sleep several hours earlier. The more Rey thought about it, the more she could see a resemblance between Jaina and Leia and she could even see a little bit of Han Solo too. Rey also remembered when they all formally introduced themselves to each other and recalled that while Leia and herself had declined to give their surnames, Jaina did give her surname and she did not hide the fact it was Solo. Rey had what seemed like a million thoughts running through her head and they all revolved around the potential and increasingly evident link between Leia and Jaina. Rey immediately became suspicious of Jaina for a moment but, just as immediately, dismissed any thoughts of potential hostility from the younger Jedi. Rey decided to put her thoughts to the back of her mind as the settlement started to come into view.
Harry and Rey quickly caught up with Padmé, Leia and Jaina and then Harry and Padmé walked slightly ahead so they were walking alongside Qui-Gon. As the group walked through the desert under the twin suns, Padmé spoke to Harry. "How old are you Harry?" she asked inquisitively.
Harry was surprised by the question but replied almost instantly, "I'm fifteen. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know. It's just that... to me anyway, you seem older than you are." Padmé said somewhat sadly, even as she smiled brightly.
"I think that's because I never had a true childhood. My parents were killed by a dark lord when I was only one year old and I was almost killed straight afterwards. After I lost my parents, I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle and cousin where I was treated like a slave by them. They called me a freak. When I found out about my heritage, I found out that my aunt and uncle had known since I was placed with them." Harry continued to tell Padmé about his virtually non-existent childhood, unaware of the tears beginning to swell in her eyes. "Ever since I was reintroduced to my heritage, I have been called a hero and a monster because of things that I have no idea doing or because of things I have no control over. And every year, I'm almost killed." Harry looked Padmé in the eyes and spoke directly to her, "Those who have died doing the right thing, they're the real heroes."
Padmé wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall down her face. "You've had a hard life, haven't you Harry?"
"I have but considering what we're about to walk through, I think that I am lucky by comparison." Harry replied. "I could do with a change of clothes and a shower though." He then commented offhandedly. "Actually, does the ship have a shower?" Harry then asked Padmé in curiosity.
"It does as it's the Queen's personal ship. It also has a bath that can be used." Padmé confirmed. "I'm sure I can arrange it so that you'll be able to use the ship."
"Are you supposed to make arrangements on behalf of the Queen?" Harry replied questioningly. Padmé blushed slightly and gave Harry a shrug as they walked alongside Qui-Gon.
The group eventually reached the settlement and Qui-Gon gave a brief summary of the settlement and of the planet in general, which Harry had already heard from Padmé. In addition, Harry found out about other inhabitants of the planet and some of their occupations from Qui-Gon, "This planet consists mainly of moisture farms. There are a number of indigenous tribes and the spaceports are ideal for those who do not wish to be found."
"Like us." Padmé said aloud, unintentionally reminding everyone else about their current situation.
They turned into a street and began looking for a dealer that could potentially provide them with the parts required to repair the ship. In the middle of one street, Harry noticed some animal droppings lying there and that Jar Jar was going to walk straight through it. He tried warning his new amphibian friend, "Jar Jar, mind the animal shit." Unfortunately, Jar Jar didn't hear the warning in time and he certainly didn't see it until he felt it on his foot. The clumsy Gungan complained about the animal droppings he'd stepped into before wiping his foot in the desert sand, largely cleaning up what had been stuck on his foot. Walking through the sandy streets for all intents and purposes got rid of the remaining muck. They were largely depending on Qui-Gon hopefully knowing his way around, seeing as none of them had ever been to the desert planet before. Eventually after some time looking through the various sandy streets, Qui-Gon directed them to follow him into the shop he had chosen to look in.
It was a small shop, although Harry had seen smaller. Behind the counter was a bug like being that seemed to be the owner of the place. It greeted them in a language that he didn't recognise but everyone else seemed to. Qui-Gon quickly and vaguely explained their situation to the bug like shopkeeper, only telling him the bare minimum of information that he needed to know. The bug like shopkeeper, in his own language, called out to someone who'd been out at the back of the shop. To the surprise of the group, a small sandy-brown haired boy ran into the shop and ran up to the bug like being. The bug like shopkeeper keeper and the sandy-brown haired boy conversed in the former's language for a brief moment before the boy sat up on the counter and the bug like shopkeeper led Qui-Gon out back to see what parts were available, with Artoo following Qui-Gon.
The rest of the group was left to stand idly by, waiting for Qui-Gon to return when the sandy-brown haired boy began speaking to Padmé. "Are you an Angel?" He asked inquisitively.
"A what?" Padmé replied, confused by the question. Harry was curious as to where the conversation was heading. He was especially curious as the description of the Angels that the boy was talking about and had a distinct feeling that the Angels he was going to describe were not the same as those he'd heard tales of. In that respect, he was absolutely correct.
"An Angel; I hear all the deep space pilots talk about them. They say that they come from one of the moons of Iego, I think. And they say they're the most beautiful creatures in the whole universe." The boy said as he recounted what he'd heard from the many visitors to Tatooine.
Harry couldn't help but interject. "That sounds very different to the tales of Angels on my world." He remarked with a sad laugh.
"What are they like in the tales on your world?" Rey asked, her curiosity peaked by Harry's comment about the Angels.
"Well, it really varies depending on the culture, religion and the tale itself but they are commonly described as being protectors and guides sent from heaven by God." Harry summarised for the attentive group. Just then, Jar Jar began playing around with some objects and they turned out to be some kind of pop-up robot. Jar Jar tried to grab the droid but the little droid proved to be very nimble as it dodged Jar Jar's attempts to grab it. It laughed at the clumsy Gungan mockingly and, at that point, Harry decided to cut Jar Jar a break. He discreetly took out his wand and aimed it at the tiny robot. He muttered the Full Body Bind curse, "Petrificus Totalus!" and the droid suddenly became rigid and fell backwards on to its skeletal like back, unable to move. Harry turned to Jar Jar with an amused frown on his face, "Jar Jar, I like you but, sometimes, you really need to follow instructions otherwise you might end up in trouble that no one else will be able to get you out of."
"What did you do to it? You could've seriously damaged it." The young boy said, his tone torn between amazement and annoyance as he looked at the fallen droid.
"I just immobilised that robot. It'll be fine... I think." Harry said, initially with confidence before some doubt crept up.
"You could have just hit it on the nose." The little boy pointed out as though it was the most obvious thing to do.
"Well, it wasn't obvious to me." Harry shot back, making it crystal clear that he knew nothing about that kind of droid.
Padmé then resumed speaking to the sandy-brown haired boy whilst Harry and Jar Jar began working to get the immobilised droid back to the state in which Jar Jar had found it. "So how long have you been here?" She asked, her voice full of curiosity.
"I've been here since I was very little; Three, I think. My mum was originally owned by Gardulla the Hutt. She lost us during a bet and here I am." The young boy explained to Padmé.
"You're a slave?!" Padmé asked in complete surprise.
"I'm a person and my name is Anakin." The now named boy replied indignantly.
Harry, having helped Jar Jar with deactivating the droid, cut in, hoping to stave off any more angry reactions. "Anakin, right?" Anakin nodded. "When you're older and if you weren't a slave, what would you like to be?"
"I want to be a pilot. I've been a pilot all my life but I've only ever flown vehicles on this planet." Anakin said, no longer indignant and was happier that he got to speak about something he was passionate about. There was a twinge of sadness in his voice though as he thought he would likely never leave the planet.
"Anakin, if you're ever able to leave this place, you should follow your dreams and passions." Harry said encouragingly. Anakin smiled at the words given to him.
Just then Qui-Gon came marching through and without stopping, he spoke authoritatively. "We're leaving." He left the shop as soon as he finished his brief sentence.
"It was nice to have met you Anakin." Padmé said kindly.
"Don't give up on your dreams Anakin, you should follow them. You seem like a good kid." Harry added.
"I'm glad to have met you both." Anakin called to Padmé and Harry. Anakin watched on as Harry and Padmé were the last to leave the shop.
The group moved across the street and into an alleyway. Harry was not particularly fond of alleyways after the Dementor attack the previous summer. Still it was a form of shelter from the blistering heat emanating from the twin suns. "Why did we leave?" Leia asked, perplexed by the abrupt manner of their departure.
"The Toydarian wouldn't accept our currency." Qui-Gon explained to the group.
"What are the currencies in this part of existence? I've somehow got the feeling that I'm going to know exactly zero currencies around here." Harry said. His frustration built as his lack of local knowledge became increasingly evident. Nevertheless, he kept calm, knowing that his eclectic group of companions were there to help explain things to him. The droid known as Artoo attempted to explain the various currencies in the galaxy but, unfortunately, whilst Artoo could understand Harry, Harry could not understand Artoo. "I'm sorry little guy but I have no idea what you are saying." Harry told the domed droid apologetically.
"Don't tell me you don't understand Binary?" Leia asked incredulously.
"I don't think they have droids on his world Leia." Rey muttered into Leia's ear.
Harry overheard the muttering from Rey and interjected, "Robotics is a new thing on my world. Most of them at the moment need some sort of human input. And most wizards and witches don't even know about robotics in the first place. And as far as I can tell they either speak English or don't speak at all."
"I think that we should be more worried about our next moves than about the intricacies of droids and currencies at the moment." Jaina said, silencing Harry, Leia and Rey. This then allowed Qui-Gon to ask Obi-wan, who remained with the ship Captain Panaka, about the various goods that could potentially be sold to provide funds for the needed parts.
Whilst Qui-Gon waited for Obi-wan and Captain Panaka to inventory and respond, the rest of the group either sat or stood in the alleyway waiting for an idea of what to do next. During the tedious wait, Leia asked Harry about the events on Naboo, especially the battles in the courtyard. "Harry, I'm just thinking about yesterday, in the courtyard."
"What about it?" Harry replied, curious as to what Leia was thinking about.
"When Rey and Jaina entered the courtyard and then the Droidekas arrived to attack them, you didn't immediately go to help them out." Jaina and Rey looked at Harry, stunned by the revelation. "I just wanted to know why didn't you go to immediately help them?"
"Good Question. Since I arrived at the city with Qui-Gon, Obi-wan and Jar Jar and I'd been told that they were the only two Jedi sent there, I wanted to double check that was indeed the case. I also didn't want to give away the fact that the Queen or anyone else was nearby. As far as I was concerned, I was making sure that I could trust what I was seeing." His gaze turned to Rey and Jaina and it was an intense, brooding gaze. "I've been burned before because I trusted people and things that I shouldn't have. But I wouldn't have left you to fight those things by yourselves." Harry smiled sadly as he looked away from everyone, "My friend Hermione calls it my 'saving people thing'. Apparently, I'd try to save anyone in danger, even if they didn't deserve it." Rey and Jaina's expressions softened but still held a look that indicated that their feelings had been hurt.
Obi-wan then spoke to his master over the communicator and the news was not looking good. There were things on the ship that could be sold but, short of selling the entire ship or all the major components within it, the amount that could be potentially raised would fall far short of the amount needed. "Now what?" Jaina asked moodily.
"I've just realised something." Rey exclaimed as a thought came to the forefront of her mind. "Harry, would you be able to repair the hyperdrive?"
Harry frowned in thought as he tried to figure out if he could or not. "It's certainly possible that I could repair it but I would have to make sure that my magic didn't screw it up in some way. I say let's try and get this... hyperdrive first and then let's see what I can do with the damaged one. It was a risk doing it on Artoo and the droid in that shop."
"What about the vehicles that you kind of stole back on Naboo? Would your magic affect them?" Rey asked with concern.
"You stole some vehicles on Naboo?" Padmé also asked with concern, but for very different reasons.
"Don't worry, I stole them off some droids that Leia shot up." Harry replied immediately so as to reassure Padmé that no vehicles belonging to the people of Naboo were stolen. He then replied to Rey's question, his expression one of uncertainty, "I honestly don't know. If we can see if they work, then it'll prove that I can repair the hyperdrive."
"Let's look around. We might be able to find someone who can help us." Qui-Gon said after a few moments of silence. He then led the group away from the alleyway and back through the settlement.
They walked a short distance and passed by some sort of bar or restaurant and Jar Jar gained an interest in some dead animals hanging from some kind of meat hooks. He practically slurped one dead animal into his mouth and was about to swallow it whole. Before he could eat the dead animal though, Jar Jar was accosted by the owner of the bar. Harry stopped walking and he noticed that Jar Jar had fallen behind and could see an altercation developing from a million miles away. However, he assumed that the coming altercation was going to be with the bar owner, which proved wrong. He heard Jar Jar say something with his mouth full to the owner and then he spat out the dead animal some distance. The dead animal collided with some cups of drinks on a table and this caused some people of races unknown to Harry to get soaked in their own drinks. Jar Jar tried to get out of trouble by walking away while whistling; something Harry could tell wasn't going to work out well. Jar Jar was almost immediately accosted by one of the patrons whose drink he knocked over and spilt and Jar Jar was knocked to the ground. The angry alien spoke angrily in another language that Harry did not recognise to Jar Jar. The clumsy Gungan attempted to speak but barely got a couple of words out before he found himself in a vicious chokehold. Harry began to run to help Jar Jar out but before he could reach the Gungan, the Anakin boy from the shop turned up. Harry was surprised that Anakin managed to diffuse the situation but was grateful for the assistance in any case.
Qui-Gon had noticed the incident and walked up to the young sandy-brown haired boy. "Hi there." Qui-Gon said, greeting the young boy with a mix of caution and curiosity.
"Hi." Anakin replied.
"Hello again Anakin, where are you headed?" Harry said with a happy but tired voice.
"I was heading home but I saw your friend here get into a fight with a Dug and especially vicious Dug called Sebulba. He would've turned your friend to paste if I hadn't intervened." Anakin told the eclectic group.
"Well Jar Jar, I think this kind of proves the dangers of wandering away from people you know. You never know what kind of people you could meet." Harry said admonishingly to the hapless Gungan.
"Mesa fine." Jar Jar replied with a grumble.
The group and Anakin began to walk away from the bar and restaurant and Harry discreetly took his wand out. He cast a summoning charm on a couple of the strange looking food items. The dead animals flew straight towards Harry and he caught them with his free hand. He then pocketed his wand and used the newly freed up hand to pass one of the dead animals to Jar Jar. Jar Jar looked astonished as he saw what Harry was holding in his out stretched arm. "I don't do this thing for everyone, Jar Jar. The only reason I've got these things is because I'm hungry myself as I don't think I've eaten since more than two days ago now." Harry said to the surprised but grateful Gungan, who eagerly took the offered food and wolfed it down in one go. Harry looked at the food in his hand and realised that he was unsure of what he should do with it. "Do I have to cook this or can I eat as is?" he asked himself aloud.
"What are you trying to figure out Harry?" Leia asked as she overheard Harry talking to himself.
"I'm trying to figure out if this is ready to eat or not." Harry told Leia. He showed her the strange looking dead animal in his hand.
"Where did you get it from?" Rey asked, having overheard Harry and Leia.
"I think that's a question best asked and answered not anywhere near here." Harry replied, putting off answering the question until later.
After roaming the streets of the settlement for some time, Anakin initially led them to a stall with an old woman running it. It seemed that Anakin knew the old woman running the stall very well as they were having a long conversation with each other. After what seemed like a long time, Anakin gave Qui-Gon some kind of fruit that Harry had never heard of. The old woman looked around fearfully, almost as if she was sensing something was about to happen. She spoke to Anakin, "A storm's coming Ani. You better head home quick."
Taking the warning seriously, Anakin said his thanks and began leading the group away from the stall. "Do you have shelter?" He asked them. He was alarmed by the answer he was given.
"We have a ship." Qui-Gon replied. That didn't alarm the young boy.
"It's on the outskirts." Padmé added. That did alarm Anakin.
"What!? You'll never make it! Sandstorms around here are very dangerous. I'll take you to my place." Anakin said adamantly as he began to lead them to his home.
"Maybe it's time to bring out those STAPs Harry?" Rey asked him.
"STAPs?" Harry asked, wondering what she was talking about. Then he felt around his pockets for the shrunken, heavily lightened aerial vehicles that they had stolen from the battle droids and realised what she was talking about, "Oh those one person vehicles that those battle droids were using? That's what they're called?"
Rey nodded before correcting herself aloud, "Well officially, they're called the Single Trooper Aerial Platform but that's what they're called for short."
"I must be an idiot in this part of universe then if I didn't know that." Harry said.
"While you lack knowledge about a lot of things in this galaxy, you're definitely no idiot. Besides, I think that you might be much wiser than some of us here." Rey replied before briefly holding Harry's hand with a smile. He looked back at her with a slight smile. The smile on his face vanished when Rey withdrew her hand very suddenly after a few moments, almost as if she'd been burnt.
Before anyone had realised it, Anakin had led them to his home and just in time too for the sandstorm was . He pressed a switch and the door slid open. He entered the building and was followed inside by the group. "Mom! Mom, I'm home." He called out. Once he was sure that everyone was inside, Anakin shut the door. A woman in her late 30's or very early 40's walked into the hallway of the small desert home and was surprised when she saw her son accompanied by a somewhat large group of strangers. "These are my friends Mom." Anakin explained to his mother. Jar Jar made some comments that showed his approval of the residence.
"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn. Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter." Qui-Gon said to the young boy's mother.
"Do you want to come see the droid I'm building?" Anakin asked Padmé and Harry, although the invitation was open to anyone interested. Padmé accepted the invitation along with Leia, Rey, Jaina and Artoo. Anakin excitedly dragged Padmé a few metres to show off his building project.
Harry also accepted the invitation but spoke to Anakin's mother as he followed. "Hi Anakin's mum, I hope I'm not imposing or anything but I got this... thing from one of the shops and I have no idea how it's meant to be eaten. I'm hoping you can help me figure this out." Harry said as held the dead animal up to show her.
Anakin's mother was surprised by the sight but remained helpful. "If you don't mind waiting for a while, I can serve it with dinner."
"Thank you very much." Harry replied gratefully before rushing to re-join Padmé, Anakin and the others. Harry entered what seemed like a small workshop and saw the others chatting with Anakin.
"I have a brother called Anakin, you know. My Grandfather was also called Anakin." Jaina told the young boy.
"No kidding." Anakin said in surprise.
"Honest to truth." Jaina said with a smile. She then glanced at Harry, giving him a wry grin, "What held you up Harry?"
"I was just asking Anakin's mum about the little meal I got from that bar restaurant place. And no I'm still not going to say how I got it." Harry replied to the amusement of Jaina. He then quickly said to Anakin, "I'm ready when you are."
Anakin excitedly removed a blanket or something similar to reveal a somewhat incomplete robot. "He's not finished yet but I'm building him to help mom. He's called See-Threepio but I often just refer to him as Threepio. Isn't he great?"
Unbeknownst to Harry, Padmé, Anakin and Artoo, Leia, Rey and Jaina's jaws all dropped as they saw a droid that they were already familiar with and saw the droid's origins. In their respective time periods, they never once asked the protocol droid about his origins and now were staring the birth of him. It was only when Padmé replied to Anakin's question that they shut their jaws together. Leia, Rey and Jaina never saw Harry glance at them out the corners of his eyes and see their shocked expressions.
Anakin pressed a switch on the droid and the protocol droid activated. "Oh my! Where is everybody?" the incomplete protocol droid asked in some surprise and panic. He was missing an eye.
"Oops!" Anakin said before he began rummaging through a pile of various bits and pieces until he found what he was looking for. He found Threepio's other eye and attached it to the alarmed droid.
"Hello, I am See-Threepio. Human-Cyborg relations." The incomplete droid introduced himself calmly after realising where he was. Artoo let out a series of beeps, whistles and chirps as he introduced himself to the now standing droid. "Artoo-Detoo, how very nice to meet you." Artoo let out another small series of beeps, whistles and chirps and Threepio suddenly sounded very shocked, "Naked?! What do you mean, naked?" Artoo let out a few more beeps and chirps and Threepio finally realised what kind of state he was in, "My parts are showing?! Goodness gracious me!"
Harry let out a laugh before speaking to Anakin, putting up some privacy charms with his wand so that they couldn't be overheard by any of the young women or the two droids. "Anakin, I'd like to know something." He said, his curiosity evident in his voice.
"Sure." Anakin said, readying himself for whatever questions Harry threw at him.
"Now, you're not in trouble but I want to know, did you steal See-Threepio or any of the parts you're using to build him?" Harry asked. Anakin suddenly looked nervous and Harry repeated his question, "Did you steal See-Threepio or any of the parts you're using to build him?"
Anakin looked at the floor guiltily for a moment before nodding, "Some parts of Threepio are stolen... like most of him."
"Okay." Harry replied. He was then silent for a moment before he continued speaking, "Thank you for being honest with me kid. Perhaps, in future, try and earn some money to buy the parts or try to barter for the parts you need... Not that I have a leg to stand on in that regard."
"Thanks for the advice but what do you mean that you don't have a leg to stand on? As far as I can see, you have both your legs." Anakin asked confusedly.
Harry regarded the young boy with a wry smile and proceeded to explain what he meant. "No, no, not literal legs, metaphorical ones. Now, I do stress that you do not repeat any of what I say to anyone unless I've already told them, okay?" Anakin nodded despite the fact he could've freely spoken aloud. "I stole a couple of food items from that place where Jar Jar got into trouble."
"Really?!" Anakin asked in complete surprise.
"Yes. Now, can I trust you to keep quiet about this until I'm comfortable to share the information myself, okay?" Harry asked seriously. Anakin nodded. Harry smiled, "Good. Now, you should stop stealing things or, at least, only steal when you need to."
"I can do that... I think." Anakin said cautiously.
Sometime later, the group joined Anakin and his mother for dinner. Harry was unsure of what the food actually was but it certainly wasn't the worst food he'd ever had. His memories of his Aunt Petunia's cooking made him mentally gag whenever he thought of her massively subpar meals, especially the burnt boiled eggs. How it was possible to burn a boiled egg he would never know but she'd managed to somehow to do it and, as it stood, he'd never have to eat it again. By contrast, Anakin's mother was almost a miracle worker with how many people she'd had to feed and how little she actually had to feed everyone. "This is great Anakin's Mum." Harry said glowingly.
"Please call me Shmi." Anakin's mother replied. "And thank you."
Jaina looked at Rey and met her gaze. She frowned as she tried to remember something and silently mouthed to Rey, "I know that name from somewhere. Don't you?" Rey nodded as she paid attention to the conversation.
"What about the surname? Anakin never said what his surname was." Harry asked as he explained the reason for the question.
"Oh, the name is Skywalker." Shmi replied. She didn't notice the blood drain from the faces of Rey and Jaina. Leia seemed to be taking in every detail of what was being said as her eyes lit up in amazement.
"Skywalker, huh? That's a very grandiose name. Makes it sound like you should both be walking in the sky." Harry remarked offhandedly. "There are people on my world who do it for work."
"Do they use repulsorlifts or something?" Anakin asked inquisitively.
"Repulsorlifts?" Harry asked in confusion.
Leia leant towards Harry and whispered in his ear, "The tank you shrunk and those droid patrol vehicles use repulsorlifts." She then leant back and waited to hear what Harry would say.
Harry nodded to Leia and turned back to Anakin and gave him an answer to his question, "No, we don't have the kind of repulsorlift technology you do in this galaxy. Skywalkers are, on my world anyway, people who work on tall buildings. They're usually people who work with metal too. It's a name that was initially given to the members of a tribe who did that kind of work but is more generally applied these days."
"Does the name have any spiritual connotations on your world, Harry?" Qui-Gon asked inquisitively as he wished to learn more about Harry's world.
"It's nothing direct but there's something called a Red Skywalker and apparently, it's your conscious self. It's apparently who you are and who you're becoming. I don't remember all the details though." Harry answered after a couple of moments with a slight frown on his face.
The dinner conversation then turned to Tatooine and Qui-Gon after a few moments. "Are you a Jedi?" Anakin asked the older man questioningly.
Qui-Gon had a subtly amused expression on his face, "What makes you think that?"
"I saw your laser sword. Only Jedi carry those." Anakin said. As far as Harry knew, he didn't know of anyone else who used that kind of weapon, so he had to agree with Anakin's logic.
"Maybe I killed one and stole it off him?" Qui-Gon asked the young boy, almost as if he was testing him.
"I don't think so; No one can kill a Jedi." Anakin rebutted. His knowledge and beliefs meant that he did not acknowledge the possibility. At least, not until Qui-Gon's subsequent comments.
"I wish that were so." Qui-Gon said, not quite indifferently but with a sense that he was trying to put sadness behind him.
Anakin then spoke about one of his dreams, "I had a dream that I was a Jedi and I came back to free all of the slaves."
"How does one become a slave out here? I'm not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable or anything and I know that I'm changing the subject but I'm genuinely interested in why this happens." Harry asked apologetically.
"They put bombs in people's necks." Shmi explained without hesitation.
"I've been working on making a device that can locate them." Anakin said, almost braggingly.
"Any attempt to escape..." Shmi began.
Anakin finished off what his mother was going to say, "... And they blow you up! Boom!" Anakin slammed a first on the table just to emphasize the explosion that would happen if any of the slaves tried to escape.
"How wuude!" Jar Jar said in surprise as he was taken by surprise by the slam on the table.
"How is it still allowed out here?!" Padmé asked, shocked at the injustice she was hearing about. "The Republic anti-slavery laws-."
"The Republic doesn't exist out here." Shmi replied as she interrupted whatever else Padmé was going to say. "People out here have to survive as best as they can."
"Did you come to free us?" Anakin asked Qui-Gon as two separate subjects became one.
"No, we didn't." Qui-Gon answered definitively.
"I think you have; why else would you be here?" Anakin said doubtfully.
"I see there's no dodging you, is there Anakin." Harry said with an amused smile.
Qui-Gon realised that Harry was right and Anakin was not going to let the matter of why they were there slide. "We're on our way to Coruscant to see the Supreme Chancellor."
Padmé then proceeded to explain how they got to Tatooine without explaining the exact circumstances, "Our ship was damaged and our ship has not got a working hyperdrive."
"It's not like we didn't have the money for it. It's just that the bug person didn't accept our currency." Harry pointed out. He then seemed doubtful, "Actually, I have no idea what monetary values are like in this part of the universe, so I couldn't tell you if we had enough money or not."
"I'm certain that we would have." Qui-Gon said with absolute conviction.
"Do they have currency exchanges on this planet?" Harry asked, hoping the money they had could still be useful.
"No, at least, not in this city." Shmi said. This caused Harry to deflate as quickly as his mood had risen.
"That sucks." Harry was out of ideas.
"Has anyone seen a Podrace?" Anakin asked, after a moment of silence.
Qui-Gon had been eating some food but spoke as soon as he swallowed his food. "They have Podracing on Malastare. Very fast, very dangerous."
There was a slight pause before Anakin spoke, "I'm the only human who can do it."
"You must have Jedi reflexes then." Qui-Gon said. He was growing more curious about Anakin as time went on. Rey and Jaina on the other hand were becoming increasingly conflicted as they became entangled in the origins of one of the most important people in the entire galaxy. Leia was outwardly calm but was fascinated by the young boy in front of her, unaware of her connection to most of the people in the room aside from Artoo.
"I can help repair your ship. I can fix anything." Anakin said as he offered to help them out. Shmi looked at her son, almost as though she knew what he was thinking.
"I'm sure you can. However, we do need to get the parts we need." Qui-Gon told the young boy encouragingly.
"These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind?" Padmé wondered aloud.
Shmi looked straight faced at Padmé, "Gambling. Everything around here revolves around betting on those awful races."
"Greed, it can be a powerful ally." Qui-Gon said. He was beginning to formulate a new plan and it was clear to almost everyone what he was thinking.
"Greed can also be a powerful enemy." Harry pointed out.
Anakin then spoke up, undoubtedly helping Qui-Gon lay the seeds of his new plan. "I built a racer. It's the fastest ever. There's a big race in a few days on Boonta Eve. You can enter my pod."
"Anakin..." Shmi said exasperatedly. "Watto won't let you."
"Watto doesn't know I've built it." Anakin protested. He then turned to Qui-Gon, pointing at him as he spoke, "You could make him think it was your pod and get him to let me pilot it for you."
"I don't want you to race. It's awful; I die every time Watto makes you race." Shmi replied, sounding every bit like the concerned mother she was.
"But Mom, I love it. And the prize money would be more than enough to get the parts they need." Anakin said emotionally, really wanting to help his new friends in any way he could.
"Anakin..." Shmi said, trailing off as she found herself running out of reasons to object to Anakin's idea.
"Your mother's right." Qui-Gon and Harry said at the same time. Harry, upon realising that Qui-Gon was going to say something, mimed an action to tell the Jedi master that he was free to continue speaking. Qui-Gon nodded his appreciation to Harry and turned to Shmi, "Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who can help us?"
There was a brief moment of hesitation but Shmi shook her head, "No." She then took a deep breath.
Anakin definitely wanted to help and made an emotional plea to his mother, "Mom, you always say that the biggest problem in this universe is that no one helps each other." His mother masked her sigh by making it look as though she was taking a deep breath but it was clear that Anakin had won the argument.
"I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger. We'll find some other way." Padmé said, attempting to reassure Shmi.
Shmi looked resigned as it became too clear that no other options were on the table, "No. There is no other way. I may not like it... but he was meant to help you." Qui-Gon looked thoughtful as he considered the young boy in front of him. Meanwhile, Harry had been paying attention to Leia, Rey and Jaina throughout the meal and throughout the day. They'd been friendly to Anakin right up until the moment that his mother had said what their surnames were and from that point onwards, Leia looked at him like she was looking at some future hero whilst Rey and Jaina acted coldly towards him.
Everyone was suddenly surprised when they heard a knock from the front door. "Who could be out there? Don't they know that the sandstorms out here will tear them to pieces." Anakin said in total shock.
"Anakin, grab a cup. Whoever it is, they might want a drink." Shmi told her son as she ran to the door. Anakin likewise ran to the kitchen where he grabbed a cup. He then ran back to the dinning table where he was about to pour some blue milk into the cup. To his astonishment, before he could fill the cup with a single drop of the drink, the cup was suddenly filled with water. He saw that Harry had a stick in his hand and Harry was looking at him. Harry gestured at him like he was saying, 'Go and help your mum.' Anakin got the message that Harry was silently sending him and went to help his mother.
Harry and the others waited at the dining table for Shmi and Anakin to return. They could hear their voices along with the muffled voice of the person who presumably had been outside. Shmi returned with Anakin a few moments later looking grave whilst Anakin looked like he was perplexed. Behind them was a short humanoid like being, barely a couple of centimetres taller than Anakin, wearing a black robe, black mask and black goggles as well as sand coloured gloves. The stranger fixed its gaze on Harry after it had drifted over Jaina, Rey and Leia. It's voice was muffled by the mask it was wearing but it could be clearly understood. "My boss knew that you'd arrive 'ere. I assume that I am in front of Harry, Rey, Jaina and Leia?" The humanoid being voice asked, almost as if he was pleased and everything that was about to be said and done was just a mere formality.
"Who are you?" Harry asked, gripping his wand tightly in his hand. He was absolutely suspicious as was everyone else in the residence.
"I am but a mere servant." The short stranger said before lowering his mask and lifting his goggles. Now that his face could be seen much more clearly, Harry saw the stranger had gnarly green skin and dark green eyes. "However, if you must know my name, it is Jurzacka." As the little green person spoke, everyone could see he had very sharp, pointy teeth.
"Why are you here?" Rey asked as she readied herself to pull her lightsabres into her hand.
"My boss wishes to meet you over breakfast or brunch tomorrow. He's aware of your situation and would like to discuss a number of matters." Jurzacka told them. "A droid and myself will drive you to my boss's residence."
"We'll get ready for tomorrow. You can count on it." Padmé declared.
"My boss also said that the only people to come were Harry, Rey, Jaina and Leia. Everyone else here is to carry on as they were." Jurzacka told them as he looked at Padmé, who looked a bit put off by the rebuff. "That does mean you Qui-Gon, Padmé, Binks and Artoo-Detoo."
"It had better be worth while." Harry remarked suspiciously.
"He did say that you shouldn't be a Boggart, especially as you have mutual interests." Jurzacka replied as though he'd rehearsed that sentence almost a dozen times. "I will meet you across the street from a junk dealership that's owned by a bug named... what's the name?... Ah yes, Watto." He then put his goggles and mask back over his face and turned his head towards Shmi, "You will let me out now humie." As Jurzacka began to head towards the door, he momentarily paused and, without turning, spoke to Harry, "I'm not worried about the weather outside because I'm protected by a charm that you have forgotten about. You should think back to what Ginny did with a door at Sirius's home." Jurzacka then followed Shmi out of the room and was let out of the home.
"Some of us have got to do our own thing then tomorrow?" Rey asked questioningly.
"I guess." Jaina said, still unsure of what was going on.
"Such a horrid little creature." Shmi remarked bitterly, Jurzacka having left a bad impression on her. "And to think I thought he was someone in need."
"He gave me the creeps too." Harry remarked, having a shiver as he thought about the little green creature.
"Are we all done with dinner?" Shmi asked everyone as she scanned the table and saw that everyone had stopped eating.
Everyone replied with various variations of the same answer, "Yeah." "Yes, thank you." "Yep." "Sure."
Shmi spoke to Anakin, "Anakin, clean the dishes and then go to bed."
Anakin moved to the kitchen and Harry got up to help him. "Let me help you out kid. Get it done faster." Harry followed Anakin into the kitchen. Anakin prepared to wash the various dishes, cups and cutlery by hand but he then saw the food and grime disappear. "Told you that I could help you get it done faster." Anakin looked at Harry, who had just put his wand away.
"Are you a Jedi too?" Anakin asked Harry in amazement.
"No Anakin, I'm not a Jedi. When I met Qui-Gon a day or two ago, I landed in front of him and I think I managed to thoroughly confuse him. Likewise, I had no idea what the force or a Jedi was." Harry said with a smile. "Apparently, he couldn't sense me despite me being right in front of him."
"What are you then if not a Jedi?" Anakin asked, his curiosity piqued.
"I'm a wizard. As far as I'm aware, wizards don't exist in this part of the universe." Harry said, becoming wistful as he spoke.
"What happened to them? Your kind, I mean." The young boy asked, assuming something bad had happened to Harry's people.
Harry heard Anakin speak and realised what his question implied, "Oh, nothing bad has happened to them. Well, I think that a war has just broken out between them but they're fine otherwise. My problem is that I am now in this part of the universe with no way to get back. All because I ran after my godfather."
"Do you worry that you won't ever get back?" Anakin asked.
"I do." Harry admitted. He then asked Anakin about his fears, "What do you worry about Anakin? Is there anything you fear?"
"No!" Anakin said all too quickly, as though he didn't want to admit that he had any fears or worries.
"You said that way too quickly Anakin. That means you do have some fears." Harry pointed out to the young boy. He immediately spoke to reassure him, "You can tell me Anakin, I won't judge."
Anakin remained silent for a few minutes and then he spoke to Harry, "I worry about my mom and my friends. I don't want to lose them."
Harry laid a hand on one of Anakin's shoulders, "Anakin, that's a very common fear. I'm sure that your mum has the same fear when it comes to you."
"She does?" Anakin asked sceptically.
"I'm almost certain of it. She will almost certainly see you as her child, even as you get older." Harry said with a smile. "But my point is Anakin, it's that while you fear losing your friends and family, they'll likewise fear losing you. However, eventually they'll have to accept it."
"Why though?"
"Because that's the nature of life. Life comes at you fast. If you try to stop it, then you're not really living it."
Anakin took in what Harry had said and silently pondered. He then told Harry about something else, "There's one more thing and I can't tell if it's to do with what we just spoke about."
"Go on." Harry said, prompting Anakin to continue speaking.
"There's this nightmare I've had once or twice now. Maybe a few more than that. I'm either walking home or leaving home and I pass by a building. I turn to look behind me and I see my shadow is not of me." Anakin explained, almost fearfully.
"What's the shadow of then if not you?" Harry questioned with total curiosity and confusion.
"The shadow is of this tall figure. He then emerges from the shadow and he's wearing a black mask, helmet, cloak, everything. The only bit of colour seems to be on his chest where there's some device. He reaches out to grab me and I scream in fright before the nightmare ends." Anakin said. He then asked, "Do you know what it could mean?"
"I unfortunately don't. Divination is a sketchy subject at best and I didn't exactly have the best divination teacher, not that it's the easiest subject to teach. Or learn." Harry told the young boy. Anakin seemed disappointed. "I could try asking one of the others, see if they're able to interpret it." Harry then suggested. Anakin looked at Harry with a wan smile, "I'd appreciate that."
There was a call from one of the other rooms. "Anakin, have you done the washing up yet?"
"Yes Mom." Anakin called back to his mother.
"Head to bed then. You've got to get up early tomorrow because Watto won't like it if you're late." Shmi told Anakin, leaving no room for argument.
Anakin and Harry looked at each other and Anakin spoke to Harry. "Thanks Harry."
"You're welcome Anakin." Harry replied with a slight tip of his head.
Anakin then asked Harry about the day to come, "You're not going to go with that nasty little green person tomorrow, are you?"
Harry let his eyes wander around the somewhat spacious yet cosy home before he answered Anakin. "I suppose that we should be going with him. It can't hurt to be cautious around him though."
"I suppose it can't." Anakin reluctantly agreed before he began hauling himself off to his bed. "I'll see you tomorrow Harry. Night." He said tiredly.
"Goodnight Anakin." Harry replied as the young boy finally left his sight.
Harry remained in the kitchen for several minutes with only the sound of the ongoing sandstorm for noise. His current thoughts were currently centred on Leia, Rey and Jaina. The more he thought about those three, the more about the three of them didn't quite make sense to him. He ran through the many possibilities in his head and no reason he could come up with never quite fit with the information he had. Unable to get his thoughts about the three young women out of his mind, he decided to go and find them.
He found them a moment later in a room with Padmé. "Are you alright Harry?" Padme asked him with quiet concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to talk to Rey, Leia and Jaina quickly and privately." Harry replied pointedly, not really concentrating on her as he looked directly at the other three young women in the room. Leia, Rey and Jaina looked at each other in surprise and began mentally trying to figure out what had gotten Harry annoyed. "Come on, this will only take a moment or two." Harry said as he walked back out of the room, his tone indicating that they should follow him.
The trio of young women followed Harry to the Skywalker's kitchen. Leia decided to voice the question that was on all their minds as Harry put up some privacy charms, "What's the matter, really?"
"Is it about tomorrow or that Jurzacka creature?" Rey asked, dismissing the small green man as nothing more than a creep.
"Or is the fact he knew all of us? Which terrifies me to the bone if I'm completely honest." Jaina added. She subconsciously shivered as the implications were clear to her, Rey and the person who'd one day become her mother.
"Whilst that... thing knowing our names irked me greatly," Harry said in agreement before his reason for being annoyed became clear, "What really has me, I don't know, concerned I'd say, is that you three are trying to hide something."
"You're being ridiculous Harry." Leia said, acting angry and upset in an effort to deflect him.
"Why would we hide anything from you?" Rey asked him in a tone similar to Leia's, immediately catching on to what Leia was thinking.
"Because you're all trying to protect yourselves or something? I don't know exactly what you're trying to hide but, whatever it is, I don't want it to endanger us." Harry said, his voice growing louder and angrier as he spoke, which made him thankful that he put up some privacy charms up. "Well?" he then asked, his voice becoming a low, questioning growl.
Jaina sensed that the approach being taken by Rey and her future mother was going to backfire spectacularly on them. She decided that the best course of action at this point was damage control of some kind. She wasn't certain but she thought that something had happened to Harry at some point, which caused him to be enraged at anyone not telling the truth or at anyone throwing false accusations towards him. "We can't say Harry." Jaina said apologetically, earning her looks from her future mother and Rey that suggested they thought she'd grown a second head.
"Can't or won't?" Harry asked sceptically.
"We can't Harry." Jaina replied, holding her nerve in the face of the Rancor-like temper emanating from the teen boy in front of her. "I know that you wouldn't have liked the answer either way but I think that everyone will be safer if you and no one else knows."
"You're right, I don't like it." Harry replied angrily. "All my life, I've found that some kinds of secrets lead to more harm rather than keeping people safe."
"You think that whatever we're not telling you all could cause harm?"
"Put it this way, I hope your ideas of keeping people safe proves me wrong." Harry said, his tone full of doubt. He then took down the privacy charms and went to go to apologize to Padmé. "I'd suggest getting some sleep; We do have a meeting with a mysterious stranger tomorrow."
Once Harry was out of the kitchen, Leia, Rey and Jaina had whispered, annoyed words with each other. "What the hell Jaina!" Rey said with a tone that of annoyed shock.
"Why did you tell him that we're hiding things from everyone?" Leia questioned Jaina angrily.
"If you didn't notice, the approach you two were taking was going to result in him becoming angrier than he already was. He's clearly someone who hates lies and hates it when he's made out to the liar. Besides it's clear that he knows we're hiding something, he just doesn't know what." Jaina said, her annoyance mirroring Leia's anger. She then walked up to Leia, getting right up close and personal with her, "I know that you're probably used to getting your own way but our situation means that we've got to rely on help from wherever and whoever we can get it from and that none of us three take charge of any situations which could muck established events up more than they already are." Jaina then quietly snapped at the young woman who would become her mother, "At this point, I suggest that you stop acting like a princess and start acting like you're a member of the team."
Rey moved up close to the close to mutinying pair and physically pushed them apart. "Leia, Jaina's right. We don't have the luxury right now of turning our new friends and allies against us when we're in a time and place none of us are supposed to be."
"Fine. What do we do if he finds out the reason we've hiding information from him?" Leia asked as she felt angry at the fact she had to back down during an argument.
"Then we deal with it when the time comes. Jaina's right. All he has to know that we know things that no one else does. We don't have to tell him anything else." Rey said to the young Princess. Leia could only frown as she reluctantly accepted that Jaina was correct on the matter.
"Come on, let's get to sleep. Sounds like we need to get up early tomorrow." Jaina said, yawning as soon as she finished speaking.
Meanwhile, after he left the three young women in the kitchen by themselves, Harry went back to Padmé. "Are you sure you're alright Harry?" the young Handmaiden asked him with obvious concern.
"Yeah, I just needed to have some stern words with Jaina, Leia and Rey. I'm sorry for making you worry." Harry replied apologetically. Padmé walked up to Harry and surprised him when she gave him a hug. She then stepped back.
"What did you need to talk to them about?" Padmé asked softly.
"For the moment, I think that will remain a matter between the four of us. Sorry but I don't think it's my place to discuss it unless I have no other choice." Harry said with a slightly different apologetic tone.
"I can understand that." Padmé said in understanding. "Just tell me one thing."
"What do you want me to tell you?" Harry asked as he wondered what Padmé wanted him to tell her.
"Does what you four spoke about impact our time here in any way? Does it endanger us?" Padmé asked neutrally, hoping it wasn't going to be a bad answer. She found herself somewhat disappointed by the answer she got.
"Honestly, I don't know. I don't think it's anything to do with this so-called Trade Federation though if that's what you're thinking." Harry admitted whilst simultaneously assuring her that he didn't think that battle droids were going to turn up out of nowhere. Padmé breathed a small sigh of relief as she found her main worry to be very unlikely. Harry began making his way out of the room when Padmé grabbed his hand and he was now feeling concern for the pretty girl in front of him, "Are you alright?"
"Yes. Yes I am Harry. I was just wondering..." Padmé said, trailing off nervously.
"Yes?" Harry asked, wondering what Padmé was going to say.
"I was wondering if you'd join me tonight? I pulled one of the beds closer to the one by the wall." She then pointed to the two beds near the wall that were close to each other.
Harry was definitely not expecting that. He struggled to think of anything for what seemed like an eternity. "I was not expecting you to ask that." He managed to sputter out after a few moments.
"I know it's unusual but I feel safe when you're around." Padmé explained to the confused boy.
"You've known me for less than two days." Harry pointed out to the young Handmaiden.
"I guess it's because you seem like a decent, kind and friendly boy. It also helps that you're easy to like anyway and you seem very mature." Padmé told him.
Sensing that she was going to keep going until he gave in, Harry acquiesced to Padmé's request. "Okay, I'll join you. You have to promise me one thing."
"And what's that?" Padmé asked as she tilted her head to the right.
"If something happens during the night that makes you uncomfortable or uneasy in any way, you wake me up, okay?" Harry said earnestly.
"I think I can do that." Padmé said with a grateful smile. She then hugged Harry again and said quietly, "Thank you Harry." This time, she let the hug linger on.
"You're welcome Padmé." Harry replied as he hesitantly hugged her back. "I've had friends for almost five or six years now and I'm still not sure if I'm the kind of person who's a hugger." He admitted quietly to her.
"I guess there's time yet to make sure that you are one then." Padmé said softly as she subconsciously savoured the hug. They remained hugging until Harry separated himself from the hug.
"Did you want the bed by the wall?" Harry asked Padmé.
Padmé looked at the wall and the two beds before turning back to Harry and nodding to him. "If you don't mind?"
"Of course not; it's all yours." Harry said as he went to get on his bed. Padmé got on to her bed and laid on her side, allowing her to look at Harry. He was laying on his back and looking up at the ceiling. He had a question that he wanted to ask her, "Does Naboo have any beaches?"
"There are a few. Why do you ask?" Padmé asked in surprise as she responded to Harry's sudden question.
"I've never been to the beach on my planet. I hope I get to see a beach somewhere at some point." Harry said with another admission that caused Padmé to wonder about his past.
"You've not had the best of childhoods, have you?" Padmé asked softly, a tear brewing in her tear ducts.
"Calling my childhood a childhood would be generous. After my parents were murdered and I was almost killed, I was sent to live with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. I'm not going to say much about them now as I already said a lot earlier other than say that they don't deserve the lifestyle they inexplicably seem able to afford." Harry said with bitterness and barely concealed anger.
"Thank you for letting me hear that Harry." Padmé said sincerely.
"I don't know why I'm saying all that in the first place." Harry remarked with mild surprise and intense sincerity. "I've never said much about my relatives and I don't know if I'm the best conversationalist but when I speak to you Padmé, even though it's only been a couple of days since we first met, it feels as though you're stripping me of my armour."
Padmé felt her heart pounding as Harry told her about himself. She felt honoured that he chose to share things about himself with her and she wanted to make sure that he wasn't let down again by anyone else. She couldn't help but be drawn to him. She watched as he fell asleep suddenly, completely exhausted after what seemed like a long few days and unable to say goodnight. She began to consider becoming the senator for Naboo in future so she could help more people like Harry and the Handmaidens and their families. She lightly traced Harry's lightning bolt scar with one of her fingers, causing him to sigh contently in his sleep. She then then removed his glasses and put them under his bed before folding her arms together and falling asleep soon after him. Neither of them noticed that one of Padmé's arms then stretched out in her sleep and her hand sought out Harry's, holding it through the night.
Rey, Jaina and Leia entered the room and, very subconsciously, felt feelings of jealousy as they saw Harry and Padmé's close proximity to each other. However, their more conscious minds were more focused on the slight confrontation with Harry quite a few minutes earlier. "Do you think he'll be in a better mood in the morning?" Jaina asked with concern as she began to lay down on her bed.
"I hope so. I think that we're better off when he's happier." Rey commented tiredly as she began laying down on her bed.
"He should've been very happy this morning. I'm fairly sure that I was his first sight of seeing the female body, especially as he helped me fit me fit these clothes on." Leia said offhandedly as she followed suit and laid on her bed.
Rey and Jaina looked at Leia in complete shock. "Please don't tell me what I think you just said." Jaina said to Leia as Rey was rendered completely speechless.
"If you're asking if I was naked in front of him, then yes I was." Leia said, confirming what Rey and Jaina had thought. "I could've mortified him if I'm being perfectly honest but I'll say to you the same thing I said to him. I'm proud of my body and was charmed by his behaviour when you were topless while he healed your injuries."
"I said don't tell me!" Jaina replied in a harsh whisper before attempting to go to sleep.
"No one rush to say goodnight or anything." Leia sarcastically remarked as it became clear that no one was going to say goodnight to each other. She then fell asleep herself.
Jaina then found her dreams plagued by images of the young version of her mother completely nude. She felt very conflicted about the dreams and soon managed to dream about the handsome boy with the lightning bolt scar. "Stupid dreams tryin' to torture me." She said grumpily in her sleep.
A/N- I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review. Writing this chapter was a challenge but an enjoyable one.