quot;With our new ally on their home world, I am."

"And the snitch is caught! The final score…Bulgaria one hundred and sixty. Ireland…one hundred and seventy! Witches and wizards! Ireland is your 422nd Quidditch World Champions!"

Leaning back in his seat, Harry let out a breath. "Well…that was exciting."

"That was…umm…wicked!" Nat said after a moment's hesitation. "Can we watch another game?"

"That was over a lot sooner than I thought it'd be." Sirius commented as the two teams began converging on the announcer's box, which had converted itself to a large stage for the presentation of the World Cup. "The last world cup lasted for two full days. This one was barely an hour."

"It was fairly exciting though." Dan Granger said rising to his feet before holding out his hand to help his wife to hers. "Thank you very much for inviting us Ms. Nox. I must say, I can understand now why my daughter is always so eager to return to school at the end of each summer."

"Think nothing of it Dan." His mother said as she too got to her feet. "And again, you and your family are more than welcome to stay with us for the night."

"Thank you, but we're going to have to decline." Emma Granger responded politely. "Dan and I still have a practice to run in the morning."

"I understand." His mother nodded before holding out a small metal ring roughly the size of her hand. "If you three will grab hold, this will take you back to your home."

After saying their goodbyes to Hermione for the night, the Grangers took hold of the portkey. Although neither looked too thrilled as they knew what was about to happen next. "Is it too late to say that I really don't care for these things?" Dan asked with a grimace as Nox drew her wand.

"Yes." She smiled before touching the ring with her wand, making the three Grangers disappear with a crack. "Well then, I invite the rest of you to stay with us if you wish. We have a tent set up not too far from here. And it would be a waste to run off before all of the celebrations are done."

As they left the luxury box and made their way back towards their campsite, both Evelyn and Cyrus Greengrass left but gave their blessing for Daphne and Astoria to stay with them. Xenophilius left as well, claiming that he'd managed to secure a press pass for after the game and wanted to ask the Bulgarian players if it was true they trained by being chased by vampires.

The Abbotts and Mr. Davis left as well, after securing promises from their respective daughters that they would be on their best behavior and that they would return first thing in the morning. Arthur, Molly and Bill Weasley left as well despite his mother's attempts to get them to stay for the night. By the time they reached their campsite, their group had been reduced down to the ones that'd gone on the trip into space plus Sirius, Amelia, Fred and George. The two former, of which were currently out, were talking to some official or other.

Leaning back in his seat within the tent, Harry sipped on his butterbeer as he and Ahsoka watched as both Fred and George, who were still pink from head to toe having failed to find a way to undo whatever his mother had done, danced a jig with one another as Nat tried her best to match their movements while laughing uproariously. "Those two are rather lively aren't they?" Ahsoka asked as she took another large gulp of her drink. "And what is this? It's delicious!"

"It's butterbeer." Harry answered with a smile as Nat laughed as Fred grabbed her hand and led her in another dance. 'Thank Merlin those talismans fool not only the eyes, but the sense of touch as well.' "Probably one of, if not the, most popular drinks in the magical world. And yes, those two are always worth a good laugh or two."

As he watched the party go on around him, Harry froze as he felt a ripple in the Force. Beside him he saw Ahsoka stiffen slightly as well. Something bad was about to happen, or was happening. Looking around, he saw that Aayla, Kento and Mallie were all frowning in concentration while his mother stood up from her seat and made her way towards the entrance to the tent.

Just as she was about to reach it, the flap flew open allowing a clearly out of breath Sirius to rush in. While the flap was still open, Harry could just barely hear the sounds of people running by and…screaming? Before anyone could ask Sirius what was going on he pulled out his wand and the music that was floating through the tent ended. "We need to leave. Now."

"What's going on?" Nox asked.

"I don't know for sure." Sirius answered while biting his lip. "Amelia got a distress call that someone has taken the muggle owners of this land hostage and are currently marching through the camp destroying whatever they can and throwing curses and hexes at anyone who gets in their way."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Harry asked rising to his feet only a split second before Ahsoka, Daphne and Susan all stood as well.

"You will not be going anywhere young man."

His mother's words stopped him dead. "Mother?"

Taking a step towards him, his mother spoke in a low tone so that only the two of them could hear her words while Sirius ran past them telling everyone else to grab whatever they needed and that they would come back later for everything else. "I know you can handle whatever is going on out there my son." His mother said. "But now is not the time for you to show yourself. We must be patient. Go with everyone else. Get them to safety. The Masters and I will deal with this."

Harry wanted to press the issue, but the look in his mother's eye stopped whatever he'd been about to say. "As you wish, mother."

Then without warning, Harry felt his mother's arm wrap around him and pull his head into her. "There will be a time when you will no longer have to hide yourself my son." She said soothingly. "But that time has not yet come to pass. Be patient. Soon you will deliver justice to those who wronged you all those years ago."

Leaning into his mother's embrace, Harry nodded his head. "Yes mother."

"Good." She said pulling back from him as he voice took on the same commanding tone it'd had back when they rescued Ahsoka. "Sirius, head back to Amelia and help to organize the Aurors and Hit-wizards to help get the civilians away from these terrorists. Kento, Mallie, Aayla and I will be with you shortly to lend you our assistance."

It took Harry all of two seconds to decipher his mother's plan. It was brilliant. Sirius would go back to Amelia and get her to move the Aurors and Hit-wizards out of the way while providing the four of them with an alibi. Then the Masters would confront the terrorists free from any outsider hindrances from the Ministry.

Harry could see the wheels turning in Sirius's head as he too deciphered his mother's plan. "Right." He said moving towards the tent. "I'll head back to Amelia. It should only take me two minutes to find her. Hopefully this whole debacle will be over in ten minutes."

After Sirius left, Luna walked over to Mallie and took custody of sleeping Galen. Harry reached out and took hold of Nat's hand while the rest of his friends as well as a non-pink Fred and George gathered near the entrance to the tent. As Harry pulled the flap back, his ears were assaulted with the screams of panicked witches and wizards as they ran by as well as the sounds of distant explosions. "Alright." He said tightening his hold on Nat's hand. "Stay close everyone. Let's move!"

After making sure that Harry and the others were a fair distance away from the tent, Nox ducked back in and marched past her three Guardian Masters towards the back of the tent. "So let me guess," Kento said solemnly as she used her wand to summon a large trunk from her room. "We're not going to be just, 'helping people get away'."

"We will be. From a certain point of view." Reaching down into the depths of the trunk, she quickly found what she was looking for. Standing back upright, she handed a grey colored cloak to each of the former-Jedi behind her. "Put these on."

"What are they?" Aayla asked while holding the cloak up so she could inspect it. "I can feel slight…pulses in the Force coming from them."

"They're modifications of Unspeakable cloaks." Nox answered. "Amelia was able to smuggle me one of them, and I've been copying and altering them slightly. This cloak will obscure your face, your body's appearance and your voice. While you're wearing this, the only thing that people will be able to tell about you is that you were someone wearing a grey cloak."

"But why do we need to wear them?" Mallie asked.

"Because right now our greatest weapon against the approaching darkness is anonymity." Nox answered as she threw the cloak over her shoulders and allowing it to magically close so that only her head was still visible.

"Smart." Kento admitted while throwing the cloak over his own shoulders. "Okay…this whole self dressing thing is going to take a little getting used to. And speaking of which…why do you even have these with you? These don't necessarily look like your everyday…oh Force. You knew this was going to happen. Didn't you?"

"I knew there was a possibility that something might happen." She responded. "I have several contacts within the…darker elements shall we say. One of them informed me that something might happen at the world cup."

"Then why didn't you say so before?" Aayla demanded, her cloak still in her hand.

"Because I wasn't sure, and neither were they." Nox shot back. "And before you get on your typical Jedi soap box. Don't. I already talked with Amelia about the possibility of this happening, which is why she had so many of her Aurors and Hit Wizards already here. This," she accented grabbing part of her cloak, "was merely a worst case scenario."

Aayla kept quiet for a moment as she stared at Nox. No doubt trying to find some inclination that she wasn't being entire truthful. But in fact, Nox was being quite truthful. For the most part. Narcissa had told her that her husband was planning something for the quidditch world cup, but couldn't tell her what. And she had informed Amelia that there was a possibility that there could be some type of disturbance. But what was happening now was not a 'worst case scenario'.

Quite the opposite in fact. This was exactly what she wanted. A chance to reveal the Guardian Order to the world. Not that she would actually admit that to the former Jedi though. They were still too wrapped up in their old philosophy and couldn't understand the necessity of striking first.

"As you say." Aayla nodded after a moment long before she began putting the cloak around her shoulders.

Once her three Masters were dressed, Nox pulled the hood of her cloak up. It truth…she was actually fairly amazed. Despite the fact that she was wearing a hood that should've disrupted her vision, her peripherals were still perfectly fine. As the three former Jedi pulled up their hoods, the charms and runes within the cloaks took effect and the three faces were cast into darkness and their bodies became indistinguishable from one another.

"So what is our plan of attack?" One of the three figures before her asked.

"Just that." Nox responded in a voice that wasn't her own. "We clear the noncombatants and then we attack. Oh, and one last thing." Snapping both hands out to her sides, she drew both her lightsaber and her wand. "Don't hold back on these assholes. They deserve what is about to happen to them. Oh, and we only have ten minutes to make our mark. So let's move people."

 

Chapter 7

As Nox made her way through the throngs of screaming people, none of whom even hesitated as they passed the four Masters despite their unusual clothing options, she couldn't help scoff. 'Each of these witches and wizards carry a deadly weapon with them. There are perhaps a thousand or more of them…and they all scatter like womp rats at the first sign of trouble…Force. No wonder Riddle was able to nearly crush Magical Britain last time.

Sidestepping another frantic witch, Nox spotted a stray spell fly up into the air. Following the rapidly dimming trail down to the ground, she found the nearly two dozen magicals wearing black robes and bone white masks. Above the group was an entire family: an old man, a middle aged couple, and two children. The old man was clearly dead. And the couple both had multiple lacerations running across their bodies. And the children…the children were screaming out in terror. And all the while, the ones in the black robes did nothing but laugh and occasionally throw another spell up at the family.

Tightening her grip on both her wand and lightsaber to the point where it was almost painful, she cast a quick glance towards her three companions. "K and M, secure the family first." She said, her voice heavily distorted by the cloak she was wearing. "A, you're with me. Don't show these bastards any mercy."

Not even bothering to be subtle, Nox used the Force to augment her legs as she somersaulted over the heads of at least a dozen witches and wizards before landing in the no-man's land between the Death Eaters and the rapidly retreating crowd. The moment her feet touched the ground, she watched as one the Death Eaters who had his back turned towards her fire off a spell at the child that made him scream in agony while the mother cried out for them to stop.

Nox froze for only the briefest of moments as a memory that was better left buried reared its ugly head. A mother being restrained by dozens of soldiers as she begged for mercy for her daughter while those passing by hurried along and others laughed at their misfortune. As quick as the memory came it went, and Nox felt herself fueled by rage. 'How dare they make me remember that!?'

The air crackled with the dark side as Nox raised her wand. She didn't bother with an incantation of some complex spell. Instead she channeled all of her rage into her wand before using it to cast a bout of Force lightning at the fool that'd cast the spell at the child.

The Death Eater screamed in agony as the lightning struck him in the back. But what happened next surprised even Nox, although she managed to maintain it. The man wasn't thrown back, nor was did he fall to his knees in pain. Instead the moment the lightning struck him he…disintegrated to dust that was quickly scattered by the wind.

The sudden death of one of their own made all of the other Death Eaters turn towards her as one. Their bone white masks making it impossible for her to identify their facial features. Not that she needed to see them to identify them though. Their presences were unmistakable. After all, she'd been dealing with at least half of them every other day or so for the better part of several years.

The brief respite was ended as a startled cry came from the non-magicals as they were pulled away from the Death Eaters by Mallie and Kento, who'd managed to use the confusion created to sneak through the crowd and flank the Death Eaters. Once the family was safely way Mallie erected a power barrier, one of the few wand spells she'd learned, over the still family.

Snarling in rage, one of the Death Eaters raised snapped his wand towards Nox. "Die Unspeakable! Avada Kedavra!"

Nox didn't even bother trying to dodge. Instead she let the spell nearly touch her before she drew her lightsaber and batted the sickly green lightning safely away from her and into the ground. Bringing her lightsaber around, she held the glowing red blade vertically in front of her face, casting her hooded head in a red light. "Unfortunately for you, Lucius Malfoy." Nox smirked as the Death Eater before her went stock still as his name rolled off her tongue. "We are not as lenient as the Unspeakables." Beside her, she heard Aayla's lightsaber come to life as Mallie and Kento activated their own blades as well.

Lucius, overcoming his apparent shock at being named, cast a quick glance around at the four that were surrounding his nearly two dozen. Nox could practically feel the smugness radiating off of him. The fool.

"We outnumber them five to one." He said calmly while raising his wand once more. "Kill them. And hang their corpses up as a lesson to those who would dare to cross us!"

To their credit, the Death Eaters didn't even hesitate before throwing a barrage of multicolored spells, most the sickly green color of the killing curse, at the foursome. But all of their spells were for naught as the Nox and the others used their lightsabers to almost casually deflect the spells away, and more often than not return them to their casters causing the Death Eaters to scatter.

The moment the Death Eaters gave her an opening in their lines, Nox leapt into the air, somersaulting over the heads of the Death Eaters while still blocking their spells and landing in the center of their mass. Swiping her lightsaber across her back, she deflected whatever curse had been about to hit her before spinning around and backhanding the offending wizard across the face with enough force to crack his bone mask. The young man, as she could now tell due to his lack of a mask, was still in the process of trying to recover from her attack when she brought her lightsaber around and pierced his heart before using the Force to toss him away like a rag doll.

A Death Eater off to her left cried out in agony as his right arm was removed courtesy of Kento while yet another lost his hand as his own cutting curse was sent back at him by Mallie. Aayla was fending off three Death Eaters that actually seemed to know what they were doing. Two were firing off spells while the third was casting a continuous barrier to protect them from reflected spells. It was a good tactic, until one of the two casters threw a killing curse that Aayla deflected back into the one that'd been casting the shield. With that one down, the other two barely lasted a few seconds before Aayla was on them.

Feeling a slight warning from the Force, Nox leaned back just in time to watch a killing curse pass right in front of her, only to strike a Death Eater that'd been trying to sneak up on her. "Your aim needs quite a bit of work Lucius."

The Death Eater snarled as he launched a barrage of spells at her, each of which she either dodged or deflected back. But unlike the others, Lucius was proving his worth. Each spell she deflected back he quickly countered. And after only a brief exchange he switched from direct attacks to area attacks by trying to set the ground beneath her feet ablaze. Against anyone else, his plan might've worked. But against her…it didn't stand a chance. Pulling deep on the Force, she gathered all of the flames surrounding her into a single ball in the palm of her hand before lazily throwing it back at Lucius.

"Damn it!" Lucius growled as he threw one of his own men between them, who she tossed aside with a Force push, while trying desperately to put out the fire that was making its way up his robes. "Who are you?!"

"You're worst nightmare Lucius." Nox smiled as she brought her lightsaber across her body.

Snarling, Lucius brought his wand up to unleash another barrage of spells, when a loud thunderous boom from the sky brought a screeching halt to their little skirmish. Casting a quick glance skywards, Nox frowned as she saw a skull forming from the clouds with a snake protruding from its mouth. 'The Dark Mark. But it wasn't anyone here so…Harry.'

Swinging her lightsaber back over her shoulder, she cast a glance out of the corner of her eye at Lucius, who was now holding onto his arm getting hit with the cutting spell he'd tried to hit her in the back with. Clutching at his arm, Lucius snarled at her one last time before disappearing with a crack. 'Portkeys…shite.'

Thrusting her hand out, she grabbed hold of the nearest dead Death Eater and quickly cut the strands of Force that were trying to pull his body through the portkey. Nox grunted as she desperately held onto the body. It was like trying to hold onto a slippery eel underwater. Eventually though, the tremors stopped and the body dropped back down to the ground.

Brandishing her wand, she quickly summoned any portkeys he had on him. Three items leapt off his corpse and hovered just beyond the tip of her wand for a moment before she dropped them to the ground. She wasn't about to touch them just in case Lucius tried to activate them again.

"What happened?" Aayla asked as she deactivated her lightsaber. "How did their dead disappear?"

"All of their portkeys were tied into one. Once the primary portkey was activated, the rest forcibly activated as well. It was only sheer luck that I was able to keep this one here." Nox answered while nodding towards the one corpse still on the ground before pulling out her wand and looking up at the Dark Mark in the sky. "Now, let's do something about that monstrosity."

Raising her wand in the air, Nox narrowed her eyes in concentration. "Custodia insigne."

A small sphere of fire shot out from the end of her wand, sailing skywards until it impacted the floating skull right between its eyes. As soon as the two met, the fire spread in a vortex, quickly consuming the skull and snake. Once the mark was gone, two lines of fire emerged from the vortex creating a circular marking that only a few understood, but soon everyone would know.

"The mark of the old Alliance between the Jedi and the Sith." Mallie commented as she stared up at the flaming mark of the Guardians in the sky. "Considering the Guardians philosophy, I guess that is as good a symbol as any."

"I thought so as well." Nox nodded while putting her wand and lightsaber away. "Put your weapons away and get ready to activate your portkeys. We're about to be visited by the Aurors and Hit Wizards."

No sooner had the words passed her lips, than two dozen Aurors and Hit Wizards appeared around them with the telltale crack of apparition. And standing directly in front of them with their wands drawn were Amelia and Sirius. Amelia took one look at the dead body before glancing up at the sky and then returning her gaze to Nox and the others. "Identify yourselves, now."

Nox had to hand it to the woman. She knew how to act. "Madam Bones, Head of the British Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Nox remarked calmly before pointing up towards the fiery circle in the air, "We are the Guardians."

Amelia's eyes darted down towards the corpse. "And I assume that is your handiwork?"

"You would be correct." Nox nodded. "We managed to take down at least five others and at least wound the rest. However they escaped using a joint portkey which took their dead along with them. It was only sheer luck that I managed to keep this one here. But you should be able to use it to launch your investigation into this sudden reemergence of the Death Eaters."

Several of the Aurors and Hit Wizards gasped and began looking back and forth between one another. "But how do we know that you four are not the ones who initiated this attack?" An Auror, that took her a moment to place as Rufus Scrimgeour, demanded as he took a step forward. "You could've simply killed anyone and dressed them that way."

"Possibly." Nox nodded. "But you can ask anyone of the non-combatants around here what happened and they will all tell you quite the opposite, Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour."

The fact that Nox had been able to correctly identify two of the people before her drew even more puzzled looks from the witches and wizards surrounding them. Nox could almost feel their confusion and slight fear. 'Ah…my old friend. How I've missed you.'

"Perhaps." Amelia said flatly while taking a step forward and leveling her wand at Nox's head. "But I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take you into custody until this mess is sorted out. If for no other reason than you're wearing a variation of an Unspeakables' cloak, something that is prohibited for anyone not associated with the Department of Mysteries. Please hand over your wands immediately, and I promise you fair treatment."

Smiling, Nox spread her arms. "I'm afraid Madam Bones that I cannot allow that. You see, we're not quite ready to reveal ourselves to the world. But rest assured, we are on your side. Farewell."

Twitching her wrist slightly, Aayla, Kento and Mallie all activated their portkeys simultaneously just before Nox activated her own. A quick trip later, and the four of them were once again standing in a secluded area right behind their tent. Quickly taking off their cloaks, the four made their way into the tent before stashing the cloaks into the same trunk Nox had pulled them out of.

"So those were the followers of this Dark Lord huh?" Kento asked as Nox secured the trunk. "Not very impressive."

"Those were merely the scrubs." Nox countered. "There were only two or three within that group that actually had any talent. Lucius being one of them and he was actually able to keep up with us. Sort of. Riddle's most dangerous followers are still in prison."

"I am curious though." Aayla said slowly. "You knew the identity of at least one of the attackers. And from what I understand he is a high ranking member in this magical government. So why didn't you take the opportunity to capture or expose him?"

"Unfortunately it's not that simple." She sighed. "Lucius has spent the past ten years lining the pockets of just about every major politician in the magical government in at least three different countries. Even if we were to expose him, it would be quickly covered up. And right now, his being released is not a hurdle due to the fact that we can counter or mitigate whatever ill concocted schemes he comes up with."

"How?" Mallie asked.

Nox hesitated at the question. 'I guess trust goes both ways.' "Because his wife, Narcissa Malfoy, who just so happens to be Sirius's cousin, is also one of our deepest planted spies amongst the 'darker' elements of the magical society. And before you three get on your Jedi high horses," pausing, Nox made sure to look at each former Jedi in turn before continuing. "She was the one who came to us. Not the other way around. And she fully understands the consequences of her actions should she be exposed. And it is also because of her that we've managed to get our hands on one of Riddle's soul containers and at the same time stop a plot by Lucius to unleash a class five dark creature on the students of Hogwarts."

"A class five?" Mallie echoed. "Which one?"

"A basilisk." Nox paused for dramatic effect, "A thousand year old basilisk"

Kento and Aayla both looked puzzled while all of the blood rapidly drained from Mallie's face. "Mallie?" Kento asked his wife before turning back to Nox. "What's a basilisk?"

"A giant snake." Mallie answered. "They can live for over a thousand years and continuously grow their entire lives. Their gaze petrifies, or rather freezes the nervous system, of whomever or whatever they make eye contact with. Their venom is considered to be one of the most toxic substances on the planet. And their hide is magically resistant."

"That…such traits would make such a creature the absolute alpha predator." Aayla said lowly. "How did this Lucius almost unleash one on the school?"

"Because there was one beneath the school." Nox answered before waving them off. "But don't worry, its dead. Myself and a team of Aurors went down into the chamber below the school a few years ago and hunted the thing down. But that's enough for now," she added cutting off Aayla off as she once again opened her mouth. "When that mark got sent up, I felt a call from Harry and now I sense that he's in trouble. You three can head back to the Temple if you wish, but I'm heading to my son."

"We can't, Galen is with Luna so we'll wait for them to return back." Mallie reminded Nox.

Holding tightly onto Nat's hand, Harry dodge and weaved his way through the throngs of panicking witches and wizards as he tried to make it towards the tree line. Part of him had immediately wanted to grab his emergency portkey and get himself and the others out of here, but he felt something in the Force that stayed his hand. Something was going to happen soon…something that he either needed to see or be a part of.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts their group ended up getting separated from one another in all of the commotion. Right now the only ones still with Harry were Luna, Galen, Ginny, Nat, Ahsoka, Daphne and Astoria. Ron, Hermione, the twins, Susan, Hannah and Tracey had all gotten separated from them early on, but he trusted Susan to keep the group together.

Just as the group reached the tree line, Harry saw a something out of the corner of his eye shoot up towards the sky. Then it sounded like someone let off a cannon blast charm, which made everyone in the near area stare up into the sky. Staring up, Harry blinked dumbly at the image that was created in the sky as around them, the older witches and wizards started screaming in terror before renewing their efforts to leave ten-fold.

"Harry!" Ahsoka yelled over the roar of the crowd. "What is that?"

"It's the Dark Mark." Daphne answered. "It was used in the last war to send a statement…usually that someone had just been killed."

Lowering his eyes from the sky to the trees where he saw the spell originate from, Harry motioned for Daphne to take the trembling Nat's hand. "Daphne, I want you to take Nat for me for a few minutes."

"And where do you think you're going Potter?" Daphne demanded as she took Nat's hand firmly in her own.

"That spell was fired off from somewhere in those trees just over there." Harry said, motioning with his hand towards the trees. "I mean to go and find the bastard that put that cursed mark in the sky."

"Whoever did that is mostly likely gone by now Harry." Daphne countered back.

"Maybe, or maybe not." Harry shot back. "And each moment I waste here is another moment for that person to get away. Trust me. Keep track of everyone and I'll be back before you know it."

Daphne looked conflicted, but in the end just sighed. "Fine. Go run off and be a bloody hero. Idiotic barbaric Gryffindor fool."

"I'm coming too." Ginny announced taking a step past him. "An apprentice should always follow her Master. So…after you Master."

Ahsoka though didn't ask, she simply took off into the woods leaving the rest of them behind. "Guess she's coming too," Harry sighed before turning back to Daphne. "Take care of them." He added before taking off into the woods right behind Ahsoka with Ginny hot on his heels.

In their short time together, there was one thing that he knew for sure about Ahsoka. And that was that she was fast. Wicked fast. And now as he and Ginny were rushing to keep up with her through the trees as she leapt, rolled and vaulted through the forest, he was forced to add another description to her as well. She was quiet. She made absolutely no noise whatsoever as she ran.

A few short moments later and Ahsoka came to a screeching halt just before a small clearing while holding up a closed fist which brought Harry and Ginny to an abrupt stop beside her. Pointing upwards with her finger, Harry nodded and then jumped up into the thick tree branches with Ginny and Ahsoka right beside him.

Taking off his faux glasses, Harry inched his way along the length of the thick tree branch as he tried to see through the darkness. Squinting, he could just barely make out two figures, one large and one small, standing on the opposite side of the clearing from them. Turning his head just enough so he could see Ahsoka and Ginny, he held up two fingers before pointing to the far side of clearing. 'I really need to learn this military sign language. Merlin knows it makes things a lot easier in the movies.'

After getting an affirmative nod back from both girls, Harry dropped out of the tree while using the Force to cushion his fall so he made absolutely no noise as he hit the ground. Crouching low to the ground, Harry inched forward until he was standing at the very edge of the clearing. He could clearly make out the two figures. One was undoubtable a house elf that was looking extremely nervous for some reason and holding a wand of all things. The taller figure though was wearing some type of black cloak and had his back turned towards him.

Just as Harry was about to make his move, the taller figure made some sort of gesture, which made the elf fall to their knees and cried out as if in agony. The larger figure then hit the elf with two spells before disappearing with a crack.

"Shite," Harry cursed as Ahsoka and Ginny landed silently beside him.

"Harry," Ahsoka whispered. "What happened?"

"We missed him." Harry said shaking his head and drawing his wand. "But we might still be able to find out what happened. Come on."

With Ahsoka and Ginny flanking him on either side, Harry moved slowly across the field towards the spot where he knew the house elf was laying while keeping his wand trained on the area directly in front of them while trying, and failing, to find any trace of the man who'd been there just moments ago. As they came upon the downed little creature, he heard Ahsoka's steps stuttered. "Harry…is that a…house elf?"

Nodding, Harry had to remind himself that despite being here for several weeks, none of the Jedi had actually been to Grimmauld Place yet and therefore had not met Kreacher or any other house elf. "Yes," Harry nodded before kneeling down next to the small elf and gently feeling for a pulse on her wrist.

"Is she-"

"She's alive. Just stunned." Harry said, cutting Ahsoka off as something started building in the back of his head. "We should get her to – oh shite! Down!"

Thrusting his wand into the air, Harry turned his head as he poured everything he had into creating a bubble shield around the four of them. His shield was hardly even in place before he felt no less then at least two dozen stunners slam home against his shield. Had it just been the single barrage Harry could've held the shield without any problems. Except it wasn't just a single barrage.

Mere moments after the first round subsided, a second round of the same number impacted his shield again. Then a third round. By the fourth in less than a few seconds he could tell that the spells were no longer just limited to stunners. There were more than a few powerful blasting curses thrown in as well. By the tenth round in as many seconds, Harry felt his shield starting to crack. 'No!' He cried out in his mind as images of either Ahsoka or Ginny getting struck by one of the many powerful curses that were battering against his shield came to the forefront of his mind. 'I….won't…give…up!'

Gritting his teeth, Harry used his will to keep his apprentice and Ahsoka to pull on the Force harder than ever before. His body literally shaking with effort, he rose to one foot. Then his other. "Just…back…off!"

He wasn't quite sure just how he did it, but his shield disintegrated, only to be reformed into a semi-transparent blue shockwave that batter aside both spell and magical alike as it spread out from the three of them.

Harry could only blink dumbly at now vacant area. All of the wizards who'd been firing at them were all sprawled out either on the grass or even a few times up in the trees. Looking down at his wand, Harry stared at it for a second before his knees gave out on him and he sunk down to the ground.

"Harry!"

He wasn't quite sure whether it was Ahsoka or Ginny who'd called his name. But before he could hit the ground he felt himself being caught in a pair of arms while another set placed his discarded glasses back onto his face. Shaking the spots out of his eyes, he forced himself to look up at the one who was holding him, and found himself staring right at Ahsoka with only a scant few inches separating the two of them.

"Harry?" She called, snapping him out of his revere. "Are you alright?"

"Ye– yeah." Harry nodded back before turning to look at Ginny who was staring at him in awe. In fact, both of them were looking at him in awe. "What happened?"

"What is going on here?!"

Harry nearly cringed as the loud feminine voice echoed throughout the clearing. Lifting his head just enough to peer over Ahsoka's shoulder, he gulped as he saw a positively fuming Madam Bones marching across the clearing with his completely stoic mother walking beside her. And it wasn't Madam Bones that made him gulp. 'Mother is usually never this calm unless she is extremely an– oh shite. I just used magic outside of the Temple and Hogwarts. And an incredibly advanced spell at that…I'm a dead man.'

While Madam Bone rounded on the nearest wizard who'd managed to rouse himself, his mother continued on her way until she was kneeling right next to him and Ahsoka on the ground. "Are you three alright?"

"I– yes mother." Harry answered while Ahsoka and Ginny both nodded.

"Good." His mother said crisply before turning to examine the area with a critical eye. He hadn't noticed until now, but the shield he'd created had left a nearly foot wide scorched area from the point where it'd been touching the ground. "What happened here?"

"What happened is that Harry Potter and these two are going to be held under suspicion of casting the Dark Mark and for violating the clause for Underage Magic, Madam Nox."

His mother's face went completely blank as she turned towards the elderly man who was standing next to Madam Bones. "Is that so, Mr. Crouch?" His mother asked, her voice completely void of any emotion as she rose to her feet. "Perhaps you could explain to me why you believe that three children, all of them too young to even remember the last war, could have cast a spell that none of them even know?"

The elder man bristled at the slight. "They were in the vicinity Madam Nox! That makes them the prime suspects-"

"Just being in the vicinity of a crime does not constitute guilt, Crouch." Amelia shot back while glaring daggers at the older man. "I would think that the Former Head of the DMLE would know that. As such, where do you get off telling those children they are to be held? I do not recall resigning and you taking up your old job."

Crouch rounded on Madam Bones. "Do not lecture me about the letter of the law Amelia." Crouch growled. "Lest you forget, I sent my own son to Azkaban for violating the law."

"Then you should know the importance of assuring guilt before passing a sentence, Mr. Crouch." The way his mother's voice stayed completely flat sent more than a few shivers down Harry's spine. "Harry, perhaps you could explain why you three are out here and why there is an unconscious house elf lying right next to the three of you."

Awkwardly getting to his feet, with only minimal help from Ahsoka who stayed by his side just in case, Harry looked Crouch right in the eyes as he answered. "We were trying to get a safe place when we saw the Dark Mark go up in the sky. I we could see a slight spell trail leading here, so we decided to follow it and try to find who cast the mark. We found this clearing and saw a man talking to an elf. The man then cast a few spells on the elf before disappearing. That's when we came out from the trees to investigate. We'd just gotten to the elf here when I heard a twig snap and then we were under a barrage of spells from them."

Once he'd finished, Madam Bones strode forward towards the small elf laying on the ground. With a wave of her wand, a black wand slithered its way out of the elf's grip and into her hand. Touching her wand to the new one, a small wisp of smoke rose from the wand which circulated for a second before forming the image of the Dark Mark.

"It seems that this is the wand that was used to cast the spell Barty." Amelia said tossing the wand to one of the nearby witches. "Find out who that belongs to. Now let's find out what a house elf is doing out here alone."

Another wave of her wand, and the house elf groaned before its eyes fluttered open. The elf's eyes widened in horror as she finally got a good look at the dozen or so witches and wizards surrounding her. But when her eyes fell on Crouch, she gave off a wail of despair and flung herself at the man's feet. "Master Crouch! Winky sorry! Winky a bad elf a-"

"Silence!" Crouch shouted, his face now completely red, as he roughly kicked the wailing house elf. An act that made Harry reach out and grab hold of Ahsoka to keep from doing anything rash. As much as he hated it…they couldn't do anything at the moment.

The house elf, Winky, curled in on herself while letting out several pitiful whimpers. "Perhaps, Mr. Crouch," Harry's mother countered. "We should be asking you why your house elf is out here, alone, with the wand that is responsible for casting the Dark Mark into the sky."

Crouch glared at his mother once again before rounding once more on his cowering elf. "Well Winky. Answer her. Why are you out here with a wand?"

Winky's big eyes blinked rapidly as before she looked down at her feet. "Winky…Winky doesn't know sirs. Winky doesn't know how I came across the sticky or why I'm here. Winky is a bad elf."

'She isn't lying…she honestly doesn't know. She must've been oblivated.' Harry frowned before turning to look at Crouch, who was staring down at the elf in utter disgust. 'She would've only stayed still like that for her Master. But then…what would Crouch have to gain by putting the Dark Mark up in the sky? This doesn't make sense.'

Madam Bones stepped up towards the small elf and pulled out her wand, making the elf whimper once again. After several complex wand movements, Amelia frowned before turning back around. "It appears that she's been oblivated. Unfortunately, that means we will probably never find out just who this second person is that young Mr. Potter and his friends saw. Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley and…"

"Ms. Tano." Ahsoka added quickly.

"Ms. Tano." Amelia finished with a nod. "You three are free to go. Madam Nox, I may need to contact you again to speak with your charge regarding this night's events."

"You know that my door is always open to you Madam Bones." His mother smiled before motioning for the three of them to join her. "Now if that will be all, I will be taking these three back-"

"Wait. There is still another matter that needs to be discussed." Crouch called out. "Mr. Potter may not have been the one to cast the Dark Mark, but he did violate the Restriction for Underage Magic. And as such, he must be held accountable."

"Citing the same law Barty, I'm willing to overlook Harry's usage of magic under the clause for acceptable use under duress." Amelia countered back quickly. "Madam Nox, you and your charges are free to leave."

"Wait!" Ahsoka called out suddenly. "What about the little one? She's a victim in all of this too. What's going to happen to her?"

All eyes turned to Crouch, who in turn glared first at Ahsoka and then at the house elf. "While we cannot prove that she committed any crime, the fact remains that she violated my orders." Crouch answered coldly. "And I will not suffer a servant who doesn't follow orders." Taking off his left glove, Crouch threw the item at the elf. "I hereby discharge you from my service and label you a disgrace to all house elves. Now get out of my sight!"

Winky clutched the glove to her chest and started bawling her eyes out. Hearing her cries like was like a knife to gut. But before Harry could do anything, his mother took him by the shoulder and led him away from the scene. "There is nothing you can do about it now son." She said.

Harry turned around ready to retort, but the look in his mother's eyes stopped whatever he'd been about to say. If looks could kill…then Crouch would be dead many, many, times over. "But we can't just let this stand Master Nox!" Ahsoka said lowly. "What just happened now…it was wrong!"

"And I agree with you." Nox countered back. "But as I said, there is nothing that you three can do about it now. Now go back and collect the others and return home. I need to have a word with Amelia before I return."

Harry stared at his mother for a second before her words finally sunk in. With a slight grin, Harry nodded. "As you wish mother. Come on Ahsoka, Ginny. Let's go find the others."

"Harry!" Ahsoka cried as he began walking away from his mother and back into the trees. "What are you doing? We can't just leave!" Ahsoka hissed at Harry as they continue to walk away.

"You didn't listen to Master Nox very well did you Ahsoka?" Ginny asked with a grin, making Ahsoka gape at the younger girl. "She said that there was nothing that 'you', or rather us three, could do. She never said that she wasn't going to do something though."

Ahsoka stared at the two of them while doing an impressive imitation of a fish out of water. "What? Then…then why didn't she just come out and say that?"

"Because it wouldn't have been any fun." Harry answered with a smile before quickly dodge the backhand Ahsoka threw at him. "You're going to have to do better than that!"

Ahsoka blinked at him, before her eyes narrowed and her lips turned up slightly. "Oh…it's on now Potter. Hold still!"

Sitting at his desk, Dumbledore was feeling all of his one-hundred and twenty-four years as he stared down at the Daily Prophet lying on his desk. Across the top of the paper in big bold print was the headline, 'Attack At World Cup! Unidentified Individuals Thwart Attack!' And just below the headline was a picture of the Dark Mark in the sky, but as the picture moved a flame erupted in its center before consuming the mark and leaving a new flaming mark in its wake.

Turning the front page, Albus stared down on the large picture that dominated a quarter of the paper. It was of a figure in a grey cloak standing in front of the Death Eaters. Then as the picture moved, a sword of light appeared in the figure's hand before deflecting away a spell and then cutting off the arm of the Death Eater before the picture reset itself.

Hearing the roaring of his fireplace, Albus closed his newspaper just in time for Alastor Moody to step out of the Floo and into his office. "Ah, Alastor. Good to see you again my old friend. Lemon drop?"

"You know I don't eat that sweet shite Albus." Alastor grumbled as he hobbled his way across the office before dropping heavily into the seat across the desk while his magical eye continuously looked around.

Smiling, Albus reached into the small bowl he kept on his desk before popping one of the yellow candies into his mouth. "I take if you've heard of what happened at the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Eh, who hasn't heard?" Alastor grumbled as he reached down and retrieved the flask that he always kept on him. "Bunch of Death Eaters attacked the after party. Heard that they got their arses handed to them by a group of supposed 'Unspeakables' though. Bollocks. If those were Unspeakables than I'm a bloody ballerina. Still, serves those bastards right."

"Didn't you read the paper Alastor?" Albus frowned as he pushed his copy of the Prophet towards the ex-Auror. "One of the attackers died. Marcus Flint. A child who was scheduled to come back to Hogwarts because he failed his exams last term."

"I don't read that pile of trash Albus." Alastor scoffed as he stared down at the paper. "It's ninety-eight percent dragon shite. And as for the boy, you know my feelings on that. He sealed his fate the moment when he decided to fire off the Killing Curse. And don't look at me like that. Just because I don't read this shite doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant of the going ons around me. Constant vigilance and all that shite."

Swallowing back his retort, Albus leaned back in his seat. Level of force had always been a point of contention between himself and Alastor. Ever since Albus took the man under his wing during the Second World War sixty years ago. "Turn to page two Alastor," Albus sighed. "Tell me what you see."

Flipping open the paper, Alastor stared down at the picture. "Hm. Some sort of magical weapon that can deflect curses. And if my sources are correct, they can even deflect the Killing Curse. I'm sure those wankers down in the DoM are yanking themselves raw over this picture."

"I know that the picture isn't too clear, but what would you say about its ability to cut through an arm like that?" He asked as the picture moved past the point where the individual cut clean through a Death Eaters arm.

Leaning over the picture, Alastor's magical eye focused in on the picture. "Hm," Alastor hummed. "A clean cut. And…it almost looks like the wounds been cauterized. Like a cutting curse. I'm sure the goblins would be willing to pay a dragon's weight in gold to figure out how they work."

Nodding along, Albus reached into one of the many drawers within his desk and pulled out a single photograph that he'd taken three years ago. "Tell me Alastor," he said handing the photo over. "Do you think that a weapon of that caliber could cause this type of injury?"

Alastor's magical eye flickered back and forth between the newspaper and the photo. "I would say that it is highly likely. Who did this belong to?"

"Quirinus Quirrell." He answered. "Three years ago I tried to lure Voldemort out into the open by placing a replica of the Philosopher's Stone here in the castle. It worked. The essence of Voldemort attached itself to Quirrell and entered the castle for the stone."

"That was bloody well moronic Albus." Alastor growled.

"I know." Albus sighed. "But as the muggles say, hindsight is always twenty-twenty. And I was getting desperate to prove his existence to the world. Especially as Harry Potter was formally re-entering the wizarding world."

"So, what happened to Quirrell?" Alastor asked. "I doubt he did that to himself."

Nodding, Albus took the picture back. "Quite right, but honestly I'm afraid that I do not know the specifics of what happened. All I know is that I received a warning that wards surrounding the fake stone had been tripped. And while I was on my way to investigate, Madam Nox barraged into the school using Madam Bones's authorization and demanded to be taken to her son. When we found them, Harry was out cold and this arm was all that we could find of Quirrell."

Leaning back in his seat, Alastor took a long pull from his flask. "So you think that the Potter boy is one of these so called 'Guardians'? I admit, there is evidence to that theory. But it's flawed Albus. A powerful fire spell or cutting spell could've done that to that arm. Although I do admit that both would be beyond a first year. Unless the kid's a prodigy that is."

"There's more though," Albus said nodding to the picture. "You see how that person is fighting? Wand in the left hand and sword in the right. As long as I've known the Potters, and I even went back and traced their lineage, they've all been right handed. Harry is ambidextrous with his wand, but he seems to prefer using his left. But his wand movements with his right hand are significantly faster and sharper. Then…there is also this."

Getting up from his seat, he made his way around his office and towards the large pensive he had with Alastor right behind him. Taking a single vial off of the shelf, he hesitated only a moment before upending its contents into the bowl. "I've never shown anyone this," Albus admitted while stirring the liquid with his wand. "And I'm the only one who knows it in its entirety."

The figure of Sybill Trelawney came to life above the surface of the pensive. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… Woe to the Lords of Day and Night…for one of the Pillars, reborn of everything and nothing shall guide the Chosen…and under the Pillar's guidance shall the chosen sprout six wings…upon these wings shall the chosen glide…and the world shall break and heal before the chosen's power…the chosen shall be born as the seventh month dies…and balance shall the chosen bring."

As the ghostly figure disappeared, Alastor rubbed at the few days' worth of growth on his chin. "Divination ain't my area Albus."

"I know." Dumbledore nodded while placing the memory back into the vial. "Harry was born on July 31st. Voldemort marked him when he tried to kill him. And through a clever bit of wordplay, I've discovered that Madam Nox, a woman that has no clear origins, identifies herself as a 'Pillar'. Although what that could mean I do not know. But Harry meets all the requirements of the prophecy. And unless we do something…I'm afraid that the boy will destroy the world."

"It said that he would 'heal' the world as well Albus." Alastor added sharply. "When a broken bone is healed it becomes stronger. Perhaps the world needs a good breaking."

"Perhaps," Albus sighed tiredly while heading back to his seat. "But in my lifetime I've seen the rise of two Dark Lords. Both of whom I had a chance to stop but didn't until it was too late. And despite my telling myself otherwise…I can't help but see the similarities between the rise of Grindelwald, Voldemort…and now young Harry. All three were incredibly powerful. All three are or were able to attract powerful witches and wizards to their cause. And all three have the same…spark within them."

"Well if you're going by that criteria, there's a fourth one to add to that last Albus," Alastor chuckled and pointed his finger. "Yourself. And frankly, you turned out alright. What's to say that Potter won't turn out alright as well?"

"I argue that same point with myself everyday Alastor." Dumbledore conceded. "And I have yet to reach a satisfactory answer. Perhaps he will turn out good. But then again…there is just as much of a chance that he will not."

Grunting, Alastor pulled out his hip flask and took another drink. "You're going in circles Albus. Just get to the reason why you called me here."

"I need another pair of eyes within the castle Alastor." Dumbledore sighed. "Especially this year seeing as how there will be representatives from two other schools for the majority of the year. Alastor…I need you to take up the post of the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Bloody hell I will," Alastor growled. "I ain't no bloody professor for little shite's to listen to and gawk at."

Leaning back in his chair, Dumbledore sighed at what he was about to do. "Alastor…do you remember Normandy?" That brought Alastor up short. "Well…I'm calling in that debt you owe me."

Alastor stared at him for several long moments before dropping back down in his seat. "You got me by the bloody balls, or at least the one that's left. Fine. I'll teach. For one year only though!"

"Splendid." Albus smiled as he reached back into his desk and pulled out several pieces of parchment. "I've already taken the liberty of designing a course outline for you this year, as well as assigning the necessary books to the students."

Taking the pieces of parchment, Alastor started flipping through them, his magical eye reading their contents far faster than a normal eye could. "What is this shite Albus?" Alastor asked as he picked up one particular piece of parchment. "Ministry authorization for use of the Unforgivable Curses for teaching purposes?"

"You're reading that correctly Alastor." Albus sighed. He really did not want to expose his precious students to such evil. But with what was to come, it was far better that they learn about them now rather than later. "I don't want you to teach them how to cast the curses, but how to recognize them and how to potentially defend one's self from them as well."

Alastor stared down at the paper for a while longer before his eyes snapped up to meet Dumbledore's. "The Dark Lord is coming back isn't he?"

Dumbledore didn't question the fact that Alastor didn't find the news that Riddle wasn't dead shocking. The old Auror had probably guessed so years ago. Which probably explained why he put all of his protégés through hell whenever he was given one. "Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "I don't know how much time we have left. But the Dark Mark is getting stronger."

Alastor's eyes narrowed. "Your pet tell you that?"

Sighing, Dumbledore took off his glasses momentarily so that he could rub the bridge of his nose. Severus had been a point of conflict between the two of them ever since the end of the last war. "Yes the information came from Severus. And the reemergence of the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark are another clue. And before you saying something more, don't. Severus has my complete trust."

"And that makes exactly one of us Albus." Alastor growled as he stood up from his seat while collecting the lesson plans on the desk. "I'm heading back home till school starts."

"Thank you, my old friend." Albus smiled as he too rose from his seat.

"Don't thank me yet Albus." Alastor grinned as he hobble towards the fireplace. "I plan on treating those little whelps just like they were my trainees."

"That is actually what I'm hoping for Alastor." Dumbledore nodded just as Alastor reached the fireplace. "Oh, and Alastor, one more thing. Please watch your language around the kids this year."

Sitting in her room within the Guardian Temple, Ahsoka watched as the eastern sky began to brighten, preparing for the sun to rise. Closing her eyes for the twelfth time in as many minutes, she let out a low breath and tried to clear her mind of all thought and emotion. But just like the dozen times before, her concentration broke within seconds. Cursing her inability to concentrate, Ahsoka got up from her kneeling position and leaned an arm against the window frame in her room so she could better watch as the sun rose.

Her lack of concentration could be contributed to one single fact. And that was that the day that she'd been secretly dreading had finally arrived. In less than a few hours Harry and the others would be returning to their school to learn magic. And she would be left behind. Again. And if there was one thing that she hated more than anything it was being left behind.

Finally conceding defeat, Ahsoka let out a long sigh as she rose to her feet and decided to get ready for the day. Making her way into the bathroom that was attached to her room, she stripped down and stepped into the shower. The moment she was fully inside, warm water started pouring out of the overhead spout and onto her head and shoulders.

Hugging herself, Ahsoka let her head roll back as she enjoyed the sensation of the warm water pouring over her head. Considering the fact that she'd pretty much only taken sonic showers her entire life…a real shower with actual water was a luxury. Although…calling it 'real' water was a mild stretch. After Master Kento pointed out the apparent lack of plumbing in the Temple, Sirius had explained that the water in the bathrooms were all conjured from runes and the water removal was once again handled by runes. In short…magic.

Stepping out of the shower, Ahsoka reached out and picked up one of the neatly folded towels that were stacked up next to her shower. 'Winky's doing, no doubt.'

True to Harry's and Ginny's prediction, Master Nox had indeed done something about the situation regarding the house-elf, although none of them knew just what that 'something' was until next day when everyone had gathered for the first meal of the day. That was when Master Nox introduced Winky to everyone.

Thinking back on that particular moment though made Ahsoka wince. That had…not been a pleasant conversation. Despite the growing trust that'd been building between the Masters and Nox…the fact still remained that Nox was at least at some point and time a Sith. And not just any old Sith Lord; one of the rulers of the old Sith Empire. So when Master Nox introduced the elf as a servant…everyone, including herself as much as she loathed to admit it, jumped to the conclusion that Nox had basically taken on a slave.

She really didn't remember much of the conversation that followed, but what she did remember was that it was a fairly one-sided argument in that only the Masters and herself were the ones speaking. Or rather yelling. And the whole time Master Nox and Harry just stood there taking their insults while looking completely…disinterested.

In the end, it'd been Winky that ended the argument when Master Secura demanded that Master Nox release the elf from her service. At that, Winky started wailing and wrapped her arms around Master Nox's legs, all the while begging her not to let her go and that she would be a good elf.

Needless to say, the little elf's pleas took the wind out of their metaphorical sails. But before any of them could comment further, Master Nox whipped out her wand and Master Secura, Kento, Mallie and even herself were all wrapped up in magically conjured bindings and forced to sit down. Of course that did not go over well with any of them. But as they tried to yell at Nox…nothing came out. Ahsoka could feel her own mouth moving and could see the Masters trying to speak as well, but none of them were making a single sound.

After she put her wand away, Master Nox proceeded to lecture them on house-elves. The house-elves were a magically symbiotic species. Meaning that they needed magic to survive, but for reasons that no one knew the elves ability to tap into the Living Force had been removed. Which meant that they had to bind themselves those who could access it, or locations that were heavy with the Force, in order to survive. However their pride did not allow them to simply live off another like a leech.

So instead of being a parasite, the house-elves began serving those that they were bonded too. And over several millennia, there want to serve those who had magic because they did not want to be a burden thus they had become the very cornerstone of who they were. Master Nox then went on to inform that Winky had not bonded herself to Master Nox, as her own experience with slavery had left her with a deep hatred for the practice, but rather to the Temple itself. Harry also sealed the point that Hogwarts employs hundreds of house-elves that are bonded to the school.

Wrapping the fluffy towel around herself, Ahsoka walked out of her bathroom and back into her room only to find a set of robes neatly folded and sitting on the edge of her bed and a cup of tea that still had wisps of steam rising from its surface. Dressing quickly, Ahsoka took a calming breath before calling out, "Winky?"

A very slight pop off to her left brought her head around just in time to see Winky appear out of thin air. "You calls for Winky, Missy Ahsokie?"

"No." Ahsoka said shaking her head, before continuing on quickly when she saw the elf's face fall. "I just wanted to thank you for the tea and clothes."

Immediately, Winky brightened right back up and even blushed slightly. "Winky is happy Missy Ahsokie likes what Winky picked out for her. Winky not sure what Missy Ahsokie likes…Did Winky do good?"

"Yes." Ahsoka smiled while looking down at the robes that were arranged on her bed. While not her usual choice, the robes that Winky had picked out for her greatly resembled Jedi robes except they were definitely more form fitting than what was normal worn. "They're wonderful Winky. Thank you."

"Winky is pleased to serve Missy Ahsokie." Winky beamed. "Does Missy Ahsokie be needing Winky for anything else? Winky has eggs cooking for Master Yodie and doesn't want them to burn."

"No." Ahsoka responded shaking her head before quickly thinking better of it. "Actually, where are Harry and Nat?" Being the last day before everyone was to set off for Hogwarts again, all of her fellow Knights and Apprentices had decided to stay with their families save for Harry who stayed at the Temple because…well it was his home.

"Master Harry sir be in the Many Rooms Room." Winky explained. "And Missy Nat still be asleep."

"You're a gem Winky." She said making the small elf blush. "If I need anything else I'll let you know. Thank you."

"Yous be most welcome Missy Ahsokie!" Winky beamed before snapping her fingers and disappearing from the room.

Shaking her head at the elf's antics, Ahsoka left her room and made her way down the halls towards the Room of Requirement, or the Many Rooms Room as Winky called it. Just as she was about to reach the room, she came to an abrupt stop as she saw something…strange. Hedwig was perched up in one of the upper tresses of the corridor, which in and of itself wasn't all that strange. But what was strange was the large red bird with black accents lining its wings.

"Well good morning Hedwig." She called out earning a hoot from the owl in return. "And who is your friend?"

The large red-black bird gave off a trill before spreading its wings and gliding down from the rafters and over her head. But when the bird tried to bank around…it ended up colliding right with the wall and landing in a heap on the floor. Just barely managing to stifle her laughter, she knelt down next to the downed bird, who was by then up and shaking its head, while Hedwig floated down gracefully and landed on her shoulder with hardly any effort. "Well hello there." She smiled. "Are you okay little one?"

The large bird shook its head once more before hopping back a pace or two. Then the oddest thing happened. The bird just…wavered. And then instead of a bird sitting there before her, it was Harry. "Ouch." He groaned as he rubbed at his head. "I really need to learn how to bank better. It isn't like fly a broom at all."

Ahsoka stared absolutely confounded at the sight of Harry squatting on the floor before her. "Harry." She called out slowly. "Were you…did you…was that you?"

Hand pausing mid rub, Harry shot her a goofy grin. "Um, yeah. Wanna see it again?" And before she could answer his form blurred once again and the large red and black trimmed bird was standing before her once again.

"Force." She breathed as she reached out and gently pressed a finger against the large bird's feathery chest. In response, the bird, Harry, leaned its head back and gave off a loud trill. The noise was…pleasant. Soothing. Smiling, Ahoska moved from just touching the bird to lightly stroking its feathers. The responding trill that Harry gave off made Ahsoka smile as she suddenly felt better than she had in a long long time.

The bird shimmered once again, and Harry was back and backing away from her with a wide, embarrassed, smile on his face. "Sorry…that umm…yeah that felt really good."

Smiling, Ahsoka got back up to her feet. "You managed to fully transform into your animagus!" She exclaimed, happy for her friend even if he did manage to achieve his full transformation before her. "So…what is it? I've never seen a bird like that before. And I've been across most of the galaxy."

"I'd be surprised if you have seen one before." Harry answered while standing. "It's a phoenix. And honestly…I wasn't convinced that that was what my form was until I fully transformed into it this morning."

"Why not?" Ahsoka asked.

"Because they're magical creatures." He responded. "And what I've heard and read, technically one isn't supposed to be able to transform into a magical creature."

"That's amazing Harry!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "So…if it's a Forc– magical creature. It must be able to do magical shouldn't it? What can you do?"

Smiling, Harry shrugged. "From what I've read, phoenixes are incredible. When they die they burst into flames and are reborn. Their tears are supposedly the most powerful curative substance on the planet as they're able to cure almost any type of wounds or any poison. Even basilisk venom. And I think they can do some other things, but honestly I'm not sure. And as for what I can do, I don't know. I only managed to get my transformation down fully a minute or two before you walked down the hall. I'm still just trying to fly in a straight line. You'd be amazed at how important tail feathers are!"

Fighting down the sudden surge of jealousy coursing through her, Ahsoka managed to smile. "That's really amazing Harry." She said. "I've only managed to transform my two arms so far. Sirius is actually an amazing teacher. When he isn't trying to prank Master Yoda or Master Kento."

"So what are you going to be?" Harry asked still grinning from ear to ear.

Shrugging, Ahsoka stared off down the hall as she felt…something approaching. "I think it's a corellian banshee. But I'm not entirely sure. But judging by my wing size…I would say that it's a fairly safe bet."

"That's awesome Ahsoka!" Harry yelled, surprising her by suddenly grabbing her and pulling her into a tight hug. "We can go flying together and– oh. Umm…sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." Ahsoka smiled trying, and failing, to keep her cheeks from warming as Harry took an awkward step back from her. "Flying together sounds really – what the? Is that…is that a loth-cat?"

Behind Harry, sitting on its back legs and staring up at the two of them was probably one of the last things Ahsoka thought she would ever see on Earth. An honest to the gods loth-cat, a white loth-cat, was sitting there just staring up at them. "That…that isn't a loth-cat." Harry said slowly.

The loth-cat's form wavered and shifted until Master Yoda was standing before them. His ever present cane in his hands. Hedwig, who until then had still been resting on her shoulder, gave Master Yoda a curious hoot before once again rising up into the rafters. "Interesting experience, the transformation is."

"Master Yoda! You've managed the animagus transformation as well?" Ahsoka gaped before remembering herself. "I mean – good morning Master Yoda."

Chuckling and smiling at Ahsoka, Master Yoda shook his head. "Still always speaking your mind, Knight Tano." Remind me of Master Kenobi at your age, you do. Good morning to you as well, Knight Potter. Hope interrupting something, I am not."

"No!" Both Harry and Ahsoka exclaimed before looking at one another and blushing.

Master Yoda just stared at the two of them with an amused look as if to say that he didn't believe them.

"Um, good morning to you as well, Master Yoda." Harry said politely with a slight bow. "I see that Mr. Tonks has been able to modify your walking stick."

Nodding, Master Yoda turned the top of his walking stick slightly before pulling it away from the rest and revealing his wand. "Yes. Quite ingenious, Mr. Tonks is."

A few days ago, Master Nox had introduced them to a few more members of the wizarding world, the parents of Nymphadora, Andromeda and Ted Tonks. Andromeda, who was a pureblood and Sirius's cousin, had apparently been disowned from her family after she'd run off to get married to Ted who was a 'muggle-born'. Although why that mattered Ahsoka still didn't understand. Ted, once he'd managed to get over his shock at seeing actual 'aliens', took immediate notice at how Master Yoda didn't seem to care for his wand holster and had offered to make him a substitute.

Putting his wand away, Master Yoda smiled at the two of them. "Leave you two now, I shall. Disturb you, I did not intend. Enjoy your day together." Turning his back on the two of them, Master Yoda took a few steps away from stopping and turning his head back around just enough to stare at the two of them. "Feel I should inform you, Knight Tano. Jedi, you are no longer. Be afraid of violating the Rules of the Order, you should not be."

Ahsoka gaped after the retreating form of Master Yoda as he suddenly shifted back into his loth-cat form and ran off down the hall. 'What was he…what Rules of the Order? He couldn't mean…attachment? Could he? No. But then…he couldn't…no. He couldn't have actually been telling me to– no. He's just a friend for Force sake!'

"What was that about?" Harry asked turning back to her. "What Rules of the Order was he talking about?"

"Not sure." Ahsoka answered quickly, hoping that Harry wouldn't catch on to her little white lie. "How long do you have until you have to head out for school? Do you still have to pack anything?"

"A few hours." Harry shrugged before patting his inner robe pocket. "And unlike some of my friends, I like to pack ahead of time. I've already got everything packed, shrunken and in my pocket. Why?"

"Well…I was wondering…" Ahsoka said slowly. 'Force…how did people go about this?' "I was wondering if you would like to…well hang out until you need to go. I mean, we won't see each other for a while. Even though we'll both have mirrors and everything, but that still isn't the same. But if you have other things that you want to do right now I totally understand. Or– "

"Ahsoka!" Harry called out, interrupting her mid rant. "I would love to spend some time with you before I have to leave. Do you want to grab Nat as well?"

"She's still asleep." Ahsoka answered quickly. "And I'm sure that she'll be able to find us if she wants too."

Harry stared at her for a long time, his face slightly reddening. "Um, yeah she would, wouldn't she? Um…how about we head up one of the towers? We can watch the sunrise."

"That's sounds lovely." Ahsoka smiled, before frowning as she turned towards one of the open slats in the wall. "But I don't think we'll be able to make it in time."

"Sure we will!" Harry smiled before reaching out and grabbing hold of her wrist. "Now just a fair warning, but this is a little disorienting."

Ahsoka was in the midst of asking him what he was talking about, when suddenly it felt like she was being sucked into a tunnel of the Force. This was completely different than a portkey, which just spun you around. This…it was like her body was being stretched and condensed all at once as she traveled through the Force. The sensation didn't last for more than a second or two, and as soon as her feet touched solid ground she was forced to double over and had to do everything in her power to keep herself from losing what little breakfast was left in her stomach.

"Sorry about that." Harry apologized as he gently rubbed her back. "I forgot that you haven't apparated yet. Side along apparition takes more than a little getting used to. But if it's any consolation, you're doing better than me. I think I actually threw up the first two or three times I side along apparated with my mother or Sirius."

As her stomach finally settled, Harry's words registered in her head. "Wait, when did you learn to apparate?" As far as she knew, one wasn't allowed to learn how to apparate until they were sixteen for some reason.

Looking fairly sheepish, Harry rubbed at the back of his head. "Um, well that's just the thing. A few days ago I thought I felt distress coming from my mother and– umm, kind of apparated into her room without intending too. Needless to say…she wasn't distressed. And it took a few days for Tonks to forgive me after seeing her tied to the be – um forget I said that!" Harry said quickly, his cheeks flushing before he continued on.

"After that I actually tried to go somewhere and I ended up there. This time on purpose. I think…I think it's kind of like what happened back at the World Cup with that shield I created. After I told mother about it, she asked me to recreate it so she could examine it. Apparently it wasn't a normal magical shield. It was something…different. Something new. And I created it instinctively, just like when I apparated. I think, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with this Father guy and what he did to me."

"That's amazing Harry." Ahsoka said, honestly meaning it. "Are you…able to access his whatever knowledge he gave you?"

"No." Harry said shaking his head. "The ability to create the shield and apparate, I couldn't do them consciously at first. Or even a second time. But after a little bit of practice I was able to do both at will. But enough about that, you wanted to watch the sunrise didn't you? Well, I don't think there is a better place to do that then here."

Turning her head to where Harry was pointing, Ahsoka felt her jaw drop slightly. They were standing on the balcony of the southeast tower facing the sunrise. "This is perfect." She said quietly, making her way over towards the railing.

"Yeah," she heard Harry say softly as he leaned against the railing next to her. "It is."

Ahsoka didn't know how long the two just stood there watching the sun rise over the ocean, and truth be told she didn't care. "I wish that you didn't have to leave today." She said without preamble. "This place will be so…boring without you guys here with Nat and I."

"Missing my irresistible charm already eh?" Harry teased.

"You wish." Ahsoka chuckled while lightly backhanding Harry on the shoulder. "It's just…I've spent the past three years of my life either on the run or on the frontlines of a battlefield. It was nice to be with people my own age and not have the pressing weight of a galactic war hanging over our heads. It was…peaceful."

Beside her, she could sense Harry awkwardly shifting around. "Well…we'll still have our mirrors to talk if you get to lonely. Plus I'm sure that Hedwig would love the chance to fly if you or Nat want to write a letter to the lot of us."

Nodding, Ahsoka continued to stare resolutely forward at the sun. "How much time do you have left?"

Pulling out his wand, Harry cast a spell under his breath which created what looked like a digital clock display in midair. "I've got about an hour until I seriously need to consider getting to King's Cross." Harry answered with a sigh. "I suppose we should head in huh?"

"Not yet." Ahsoka said quickly, reaching out and grabbing his arm and stopping him. "I– umm…I just want to spend as much time with my friend as possible before he has to leave. Is that…okay?"

She could see Harry's throat move as he swallowed and nodded his head. "Um…yeah. That sounds good to me."

Taking up his position once again, Ahsoka removed her hand from his arm and looked back over the ocean as the two fell once more into a comfortable silence. Unfortunately, her mind was anything but idly as they stood there side by side. 'You want to spend as much time as possible with your 'friend' Ahsoka? For Force sake…stop lying to yourself!'

Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry clapped along with the rest of his house mates as yet another first year, a small girl with bright blonde almost white hair, took off the Sorting Hat and practically ran over to the Gryffindor table. Sitting around him where Ginny, Hermione and Ron. And of them the only one that really looked interested in the going ons of the school was Hermione. But even then that was slight. It didn't need to be said, but what they did over the summer had changed them, and altered their perspective of the wider galaxy. The drama of school life and Hogwarts just seemed so…insignificant now.

And they weren't the only ones. On the entire train ride on the Express, their not so small group hardly said a few dozen words between them. Part of that might've been because some were just far too tired to talk. Most notably Ron who'd been run ragged by Master Kento on their last night in the Temple together.

Not even Draco's customary 'pre-school taunting' could get a rise out of them. There was something about facing down the business end of a few dozen blasters wielded by seasoned soldiers out to kill you that made a teenaged sorry excuse for a bully seem so…pathetic. Harry had barely even allowed the blond ponce to say three words before he used the Force to push him and his two bodyguards out of the compartment before shutting the door and sealing it shut.

Hermione of course had berated him for a moment about his actions. Although not for the fact that he did what he did, but rather for how he did it. A lot of people still didn't know about their wandless abilities with the Force. And if he was going to use the Force rather than magic, he needed to at least be holding his wand to confuse those who didn't know.

"So, what do you think of our new Defense Professor?" Ginny asked quietly as she nodded up towards the teachers table. "He looks, more than a little rough."

Breaking out of his musing, Harry turned his head towards the head table as another young boy walked up to the stool and had the Sorting Hat placed upon his head. Their new Defense Professor definitely stuck out like a sore thumb, just like Tonks told them he would. He still remembered when Tonks came back to the Temple a few days ago and told them the news about who their new Defense Professor would be.

Although her true words were along the lines of, 'what is the old coot thinking?!' Apparently, Alastor Moody was more than a little rough with his trainees, no matter how young or old they were. Tonks's only advise for the students was to constantly stay on their toes and be ready for anything. Which suited Harry just fine. Outside of Remus, both of their Defense Professors had been a joke. It would be a welcome change to have two competent Defense Professors in a row.

"I've read about him," Hermione said unsurprisingly. "He was one of the oldest active Aurors until he was forced into retirement by Minister Fudge. Although apparently events surrounding his forced retirement were suspicious. I mean, why would you force a man to retire after he found and raided one of the largest caches of Dark artifacts since the time of Who-Know-Who."

"Dad was confused by it as well." Ginny added. "Apparently they had to have three Unspeakables escort him out. Not even Madam Bones could overturn the decision."

"Probably stepped on someone's toes when he did find that cache." Harry snorted. "I'd place even money bet that Fudge was paid a fairly handsome sum to see him removed from the Auror office."

No one seemed to find fault in what he'd said, save for perhaps Hermione, but she kept her thoughts to herself. As the last of the students were sorted into their houses, Dumbledore rose to his feet and clapped his hands once to gather everyone's attention.

"Welcome, everyone new and old to another fine year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore smiled holding his hands up as everyone applauded. "And what a most exciting year we have ahead of us too. Now before we begin the feast, I have a few announcements for everyone. Once again, the Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden for anyone without a Professor's escort. Also, for your convenience this year, our caretaker Mr. Filch, has compiled a list of banned items and posted them on his office door. Anyone caught with such items will be dealt with most strictly."

Beside him, Fred and George began snickering, no doubt they were going to take the list as a sort of challenge. "As most you can see, we have a new Professor joining us this year." Dumbledore continued motioning towards his left towards where ex-Auror was sitting. "After last years, unfortunate dismissal of our Defense Professor, I am pleased to announce that I have found an excellent Professor for you all. Please help me welcome Professor Alastor Moody!"

The heavily scarred ex-Auror awkwardly rose to his feet before dropping back down almost as quickly after receiving a noticeably less than enthusiastic applause. Apparently his reputation was well known. Motioning for everyone to quiet down, Dumbledore continued with his welcoming speech. "Yes, yes, I know that you will all make sure that Professor Moody feels most welcome. Now onto the last of my announcements. I am sad to announce that this year there will be no House Cup nor will there be any House Quidditch games." Most of the students within the hall started whispering frantically between one another and more than a few, mostly the House Quidditch players themselves, were staring up at Dumbledore with shock. "But I assure you there is a good reason for this. For the first time in over two hundred years, the Tri-Wizard Tournament shall once again be held! And Hogwarts has been chosen to be the host school for this prestigious event!"

This time the whispers in the hall rose to the level of a dull roar as just about every student in the Hall gained a far off look in their eyes. 'Fools.' Harry scoffed. 'I doubt that any of them even realize that the reason why the Tournament was banned in the first place was because the winner was usually determined by who was the last one still alive at the end.'

"Yes, I'm sure that you are all excited." Dumbledore almost had to yell in order for his voice to be heard over the student's hushed whispers. "Now, because of past incidents with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, several safety precautions have been implemented. For starters, no one under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to compete in the tournament."

This time the dull roar turned into angry gasps as several of the students who were fifteen or sixteen stood up sharply and started protesting. Without even missing a beat, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and sent out a cannon blast charm which instantly quieted down the entire hall. "Settle down," Dumbledore shouted, bringing an instant end to all of the commotion. "This stipulation was agreed upon as the tasks that will be set before the chosen champions require a NEWT level of magical understanding at minimum. And it is not negotiable."

Dumbledore's tone and the look and in eyes brokered no room for argument. After making a pass of the assembled students, the Headmaster continued on. "The other schools that will be participating alongside Hogwarts will be Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Their chosen representatives shall be arriving two days before Halloween. The following day I shall be revealing just how the three champions shall be chosen and you shall have until the Halloween Feast to decide whether or not you wish to participate. The winner of the tournament shall be gifted a position of eternal honor as one of the Champions of the Tournament, as well as a prize pot of one-thousand galleons."

Harry nearly snorted at that, especially when the twins immediately stuck their heads together and started whispering frantically between each other. No doubt that they would be trying to enter their names now. As well as just about every other sucker in the school.

"Yes, I'm sure that you are all excited." Dumbledore said with his trademarked grandfatherly smile. "And I understand that many of you are disappointed by the age restriction. But I believe that my next bit of news might just alleviate some of that disappointment. As is tradition with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, we shall be hosting a Yuletide Ball during our winter break. The dance will be open to any Fourth year and up, however Third years will be allowed to take part as long as they are in turn invited by a Fourth year or higher. Now then, I believe that you have all heard enough of me for the night. So without further ado, let the feast. Begin."

As the food appeared on the hundreds of serving plates throughout the Great Hall, Harry couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of his head that was saying that something was going to go horribly, horribly wrong this year.

Sitting on the bridge of a stolen former Republic blockade runner, Clone Trooper 7567, known simply as Rex to those close to him, former Captain within the 501st Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic, stared out at the hypnotic blue spiral of hyperspace. As he watched, one hand reached up and idly fingered the healed scar on the side of his head.

'Thank you Fives.' He thought sadly as he remembered his former brother who'd warned him about the biochips that'd been implanted into all of the clone troopers. 'If not for you…then I would be just another mindless droid…just like the rest of our brothers serving that bastard. I'm only sorry that I didn't believe everything you said. If I had…so many of our comrades would still be alive today.'

He'd been completely blindsided when Order 66 came through. But unlike his brothers who still had their control chips firmly implanted in their brains, he was able to disregard the order from the now Emperor of the Galactic Empire to wipe out any and all Jedi across the galaxy. Unfortunately though, he also hadn't been able to stop the slaughter. That was the main reason why he had deserted the army. He wanted to find his brothers and sisters, his generals, that'd been betrayed and try to help them.

However to his utmost shame, so far he'd been completely useless in that regard. The Jedi, those that'd managed to survive that is, had gone to ground. And it'd been next to impossible to find them. There were only two instances when they'd even come close. The first had been when they spotted a young Padawan in the streets. But as soon as the boy spotted them he took off and they completely lost track of him. The second time was when Ahsoka Tano's name had been taken off of the Top Ten list.

Rex had burned through every contact and called in every favor he had in his attempt to locate the former Commander. And by the time he finally did get a clue as to her location, her name suddenly appeared back on the Top Ten list. Only this time she had the added charge of destroying a Victory class Star Destroyer and its escort. And while he'd been overjoyed to hear that she'd managed to escape, he was once again left with no leads as to where the Jedi might be hiding.

"Captain. I think we might've found something."

Letting his hand fall away from his head, he turned his seat around towards the back of the bridge. "At ease Commander Wolffe," he said, to which his brother immediately took on an at rest position. "What've you found?"

Wolffe's right cybernetic eye twitched slightly. "Sir. Gregor and I have found a lead sir. I thought you would want to know immediately."

Nodding, Rex inputted a few commands into the nav computer before rising to his feet. "Lead on Commander."

With a curt nod, Wolffe led him out of the bridge and down the short hall towards the communications center of the cruiser. Within the center, Elite Clone Commando Gregor, was bent over the terminal while holding a pair of earphones to his head. "Rex, Wolffe." Gregor called out without bothering to turn around.

Stepping fully into the room, Rex came up on Gregor's right side while Wolffe went over to his left. "Gregor," Rex greeted back. "Wolffe said you found something."

"Yes sir." Gregor nodded before pulling up a transmission log. "Lucky those idiots running the Empire aren't as smart as they like to think. They're still using the codes you and Commander Cody created at the beginning of the war, so it was easy enough for me to sneak right in. And this is what I found."

Isolating a single section of text, Gregor enhanced the section so all three of them could read it. The further Rex got down the text, the further his eyebrows rose. "The Empire thinks they've found a Jedi Master? And not just any Jedi Master…but a former member of the Jedi Council?"

"Yes sir," Gregor nodded.

"And they're sending a full battalion after this lone Jedi as well." Wolffe whistled.

Leaning away from the view screen, Rex rubbed at his jaw. "Does anyone else know this information Gregor?"

"By now…I would say about half the known galaxy know of the Empire's plans." Gregor spat. "According to this log, there have been no less than five security breaches regarding this information. All five of the breaches have been traced back to bounty hunter groups that've been known to operate in the Outer Rim."

"How long until the Empire is fully mobilized?" Rex followed up, unconcerned with the bounty hunters. They would more than likely be too busy fighting amongst each other. It was his former brothers, the battle hardened soldiers of the former Republic that concerned him most.

"A week, maybe two at the most." Gregor answered. "Apparently the new Empire is having more than a little bit of difficulty putting down the last remnants of the Separatists. Not to mention the dozen or so worlds that are rightfully pissed off at the creation of the Empire. Apparently they wanted no less than five battalions to attack this Master, but they're having a little bit of trouble scraping together enough men for a full out planetary assault. So they've scaled it back to a single battalion. And now that I look at it. I bet the information was leaked on purpose. More than likely they're hoping that either the bounty hunters will do their job for them. Or at the very least they wear the Jedi down to a point of no-resistance."

Rex grimaced. Gregor's analysis of the situation was identical to his own. But in the end…it didn't really matter. "The Jedi are our brothers and sisters in arms." He said slowly, making sure he met both Wolffe's and Gregor's eyes before continuing on. "Even if our brothers have been forced to forget that fact. Even if the rest of the galaxy believes them to be traitors. I will not forget it. I'm going. I won't leave them behind enemy lines to face torture or death. And if this should be my end. Then I'm going to go out like a clone should; fighting side by side his brothers and sisters."

Gregor and Wolffe both turned towards each other, a silent conversation passing between the two of them. "I'm with you as well sir." Wolffe announced after giving Gregor a curt nod. "The Jedi are our Generals. More so than those pathetic politicians. But more than that, just like you said sir, they're our brothers and sisters in arms."

Giving Wolffe a quick nod in return, the two men turned towards Gregor. The commando stared back and forth between the two of them for a moment before shrugging and rising to his feet. "Well if nothing else the idea is exciting. And it's not like I've got a whole lot going on at the moment anyway. So, I'm with you two. Until the end."

Smiling, Rex placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Brothers till the end."

Gregor smirked as he reciprocated by placing one hand on Rex's shoulder before placing the other on Wolffe's. "Brothers till the end."

"Till the end." Wolffe nodded as he too placed his hands on either's shoulders closing the circle.

Rex smiled as the anticipation of battle began to swell within him. Letting his arms drop, he turned towards Gregor. "Gregor, you're weapons detail. I want every blaster on this ship ready to go the moment we arrive."

"Yes sir." Gregor responded while giving him a lazy salute before walking out of the room.

"Wolffe, you're on ship detail. We're more than likely going to be going up against several bounty hunter ships not to mention there's a good chance we're going to run into a Victory class Destroyer. If we're going to have any chance this little cruiser of ours needs to be in peak condition."

"Affirmative." Wolffe's salute was much crisper than Gregor's before he too marched out of the room to begin his assigned task.

Now alone, Rex shook his head slightly as he once again leaned over the communications terminal. 'Battle truly is in our blood.' He thought as he stared at the screen. 'For weeks, all three of us have been moping around the ship, floating endlessly through the void of space while looking for a new purpose in life. And now…it's like the war was never over.'

Pushing the text off to the side, Rex pulled up a visual display of the world where the Jedi Master in question was said to be hiding. 'Felucia, here we come.'

Chapter 8

Walking up the canyon path to his home, Obi-Wan Kenobi, former Jedi Master and Jedi Council Member, stopped and leaned up against the cool stone of the canyon wall as he hid from the relentless Tatooine suns. Jedi were taught to ignore such things as extreme cold or heat, but even the most hardened of Jedi would be hard pressed to remain unaffected by Tatooine's unrelenting heat.

Pulling a small water canteen from his hip, Obi-Wan took a long pull, draining the bottle of every drop of water left within. Sighing at not having brought more, Obi-Wan raised his hood back up over his head and continued down the path towards his small hut. Just as he could see his hut in the distance, he felt something…strange. It was like a wave of the Force rolled over him yet…yet he felt nothing hostile about it. But now that it'd passed…he could sense…someone in his house. No. More than just one. Several Force sensitives were in his house and two of them felt somehow…familiar. Yet at the same time…impossible.

Reaching into the folds of his robes, he made sure he had a firm hold on his lightsaber before he continued his trek up the slight hill towards his home. As he reached the entrance, he brought out his lightsaber and with a quick wave of the Force had opened the door to his house before rushing in, hoping to catch those within off guard. And froze the moment he stepped inside his small house…only to almost stumble at the voice that greeted him.

"Is this the way you greet all of your house guests Kenobi? Where's your famous Jedi hospitality?"

Obi-Wan felt his fingers go numb and he only just barely managed to fix his hold on his lightsaber before it slipped from his fingers. Sitting on his couch, with his feet perched up on the small table, was none other than Quinlan Vos. Even more surprising though, was the young woman that was casually leaning up against Vos with her feet propped up over the edge of the seat they were on. There were two others in the room with them, a man and a woman who were sitting just off to the side of the room, but he paid them little mind considering who was in front of him.

"Vos, you're alive." He breathed looking at his friend before turning towards the woman. "And Ventress…I heard you were dead. From Vos no less."

"Well, I would say that it's a pleasure to see you again Kenobi. But that would be a lie for the most part." Ventress smirked. "But I will at least admit that I'm glad you aren't dead. It'd be an awful bother to find a worthy adversary again."

Turning his head ever so slightly, he got a good look at the other two people in the room. They were both Force sensitive, but he didn't recognize either of them. And as a member of the Council, he the fair majority of Jedi that were in the Order. "And you two are?"

"Remus Lupin." The man said, inclining his head slightly.

"Aela…Lupin I guess you could say."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes at the two of them. Their names were…rather unique. And given their level of power, there was no way he wouldn't have at least known of them if they'd been a part of the Jedi Order. Vos's voice brought him out of his musing.

"Now I know that times are rough Kenobi, but are you really just going to stand there holding onto your lightsaber and glaring at us the whole day?"

Tearing his eyes away from the two unknowns, Kenobi put his lightsaber back into the folds of his robe as he made his way across the small room and towards the seat directly across from Vos; which also allowed him to keep half an eye on the other two while his mind tried to process everything that was going on. "I think that we broke him Quinlan," Ventress chuckled darkly while leaning into Vos more. "Oh, I so wish I could've gotten a still image of his face the moment he walked in the door. Absolutely priceless."

Ventress's comment snapped Obi-Wan out of his stupor. "I'm glad that all of you managed to escape the purge, truly I am." He said slowly still unsure about the two unknowns. "But I can't help but wonder, how did you find me?"

"Oh, that's simple Kenobi," Vos smirked. "The old man told us where to find you."

There was only one man that Vos referred to as "the old man". Although he doubted that Vos would ever have the guts to actually call him that to his face. "Master Yoda…told you that I was here?" If they were speaking the truth, then it was more than likely that Master Yoda had told him just why he was here as well. "Then he must've told you why I am here as well."

"He did." Vos nodded, all previous humor that was in his voice and expression evaporating in an instant. "You're here watching over the son of Anakin Skywalker. Known now as Darth Vader."

Even though he was expecting the answer, it still did not make hearing it any easier. Especially considering the amount of disgust that was laced throughout. "So you know," Obi-Wan sighed. "And my failure is complete."

"The sins of the student should not be levied against the teacher." The man, Remus, spoke up surprising Obi-Wan. "Many have fallen to the darkness, no matter their teacher. Do not let Anakin's fall destroy you."

Staring at the man for a moment, Obi-Wan stretched out with the Force to try and get a feel for the man. What he found was…strange. Not dark. But there was something about this man and the woman. A wildness. Like there was a ferocious animal locked within each of them trying to get out.

"That wasn't very nice." The woman, Aela, growled. A noise which only reaffirmed what he'd felt. "Try that again without permission, and I will tear off your bits."

"Apologies," Obi-Wan apologized quickly. "But I'm afraid that you two have me a great disadvantage. I've known Quinlan for most of my life and I know Ventress quite well. But you two…your aptitude with the Force is on par with any experienced Master within the Jedi Order. And yet, I do not know either of you. So I must ask…who are you two? And how did you come to be traveling with Quinlan?"

"I can answer that Kenobi," Vos said quickly as he set his feet down from the table and leaned forward. "I could go into a whole long story and everything. But you know that isn't my style so I'm just going to say it plain and simple. We found her Kenobi. The woman who spoke to us all through the Force to warn us of the Purge. And as for these two, well you can consider them her emissaries after a fashion."

Of all the possible answers he'd been expecting…this was perhaps the last he'd expected. 'They…they found her? But how? And…' "How? Where?"

"I take it back." Ventress smiled. "I wish I could've gotten a still image of his face now. And to answer your question. Quite a fair amount of stupidity and luck on our part. Not so much for the others."

"Others?" Obi-Wan pressed leaning forward. "Who?"

Smiling, Vos began listing off names, "Well there's the old man of course. Then there's my little spitfire of a former Padawan Aayla. Kento and Mallie Marek, if you can believe that. And their son Galen. And lastly, the one and only Ahsoka Tano."

Obi-Wan was heartened to hear all of their names. But his joy was quickly extinguished as he realized something. "Master Yoda…he told everyone about Anakin. Didn't he?"

"Yes." Vos nodded.

Obi-Wan couldn't help but wince. "How did Ahsoka take it?"

"Not well." Ventress answered. "But that girl is strong, as much as it irks me to admit that. She will get over it. Especially with that green eyed kid with her." Ventress smirked at the mention of unknown "kid".

"'Green eyed kid'?" Obi-Wan questioned as he was still trying to wrap his mind around everything. "What green eyed kid?"

"That's…a long story." Remus chuckled.

"I have time." Obi-Wan responded. He wanted, no, needed to know more.

The four looked back and forth at one another before Vos sighed. "Alright. The abridged version then because the long version will take several days. And truth be told…I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. So, here you go. The woman whose voice you heard is known as Ziri Nox and she is an incredibly powerful Force user." Obi-Wan frowned at the name. It sounded familiar, but for some reason he couldn't place it. "And I can tell you recognize the name. So just to put an end to the mystery, Ziri Nox was also known as Darth Nox of the Sith Empire during the civil war between the Republic and the Empire nearly four millennia ago."

"What?" Obi-Wan asked uncomprehendingly.

"That's right Kenobi." Ventress laughed. "The one who saved the remnants of your Jedi Order was none other than a Dark Lady of the Sith. And probably one of the most powerful ones in history."

"Former Sith." Remus cut in sharply. "She's no longer a 'Sith', as you understand them to be. She's more aligned with what Quinlan called a…what was it again?"

"A Grey Jedi." Quinlan continued. "And that's a point I cannot stress enough Kenobi. She might lean a little bit towards the darker end of the spectrum. But she isn't, or at least isn't any longer, a Sith Lord. In fact, she absolutely abhors the Sith right now. Why I'm not really sure. But she does."

Scratching at his beard, Obi-Wan tried to keep himself in check. The thought that he'd taken the advice of a Sith…even a former Sith at that did not sit all that well with him. "If she is truly Darth Nox from the time of the Sith Empire…then how is she alive? There is no known species that live that long."

"She was trapped in some sort of magical, or Force stasis for several millennia." Remus answered. "When she was finally released, she was visited by several Force ghosts who informed her of just what was going on in the galaxy."

"Wait…she knew what was going on?" Obi-Wan asked as he felt his Jedi calm faltering. "Why didn't she come forth with what she knew?"

"And how would that have gone over Kenobi?" Ventress asked sarcastically. "A renowned Sith Lord shows up on Coruscant in the Jedi Temple out of the blue and says that she's there to help. You Jedi would've been so blinded by her label as a Sith that you would've either killed her on the spot or locked her in the deepest darkest pit you could find."

Unfortunately…she had a point. "So where did she go then?"

"She left to find our world." Remus pointed to himself and Aela. "Apparently, our world has an abnormally large number of Force sensitives. The ghosts that visited her sent her to our world in an effort to create a…safe haven so to speak should the worst come to pass."

"Define abnormally large." Obi-Wan said resting his forearms onto his knees.

Aela shrugged. "I believe Nox said somewhere around…0.1%? So roughly six million."

Obi-Wan's almost face planted into the floor as his forearms slipped off of his knees. 'Six million? By the Force…there hasn't been a number of Force sensitives like that since…well…ever. And if that's true…then how come the Jedi have never sensed this world? Six million Force sensitives…if they were all on one planet just about any Master or even the Knights would've been able to sense them in deep meditation.'

"I had just about the same reaction as you Kenobi." Vos laughed as he reached into his robe and pulled out an ornate…mirror? "Now we can go around in circles for days about whether or not what we're saying is actually true or not. So to avoid that we have this. Think of it as a long range communicator."

Taking the mirror, Obi-Wan looked it over with both his eyes and with the Force. He could feel a slight pull from the item…but other than that it looked like just an ordinary mirror. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Hold it up to eye level," Remus explained. "Then say in a clear voice, 'mirror mirror in my hand, show me the one to whom I wish to speak'. And think of the person you wish to talk too."

Obi-Wan shot a questioning glance towards Vos, but his old comrade didn't have anything to say. "Okay then," he muttered holding the mirror up to eye level. "Mirror mirror in my hand…show me the one to whom I wish to –" He felt a slight vibration in his hand, and in the mirror every hair on his head stood up and turned…white.

Across from Aela was trying, and failing, to hold in her laughter while Ventress wasn't even trying as she openly laughed at him. "Don't worry Kenobi." Vos laughed as Obi-Wan felt his hair…and found that it was indeed sticking up in every direction. "He's gotten all of us with that one. You should've seen Asajj's hair whe–"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be sleeping alone for the next year." Ventress growled.

Still trying to figure out what had just happened to him, after failing to figure out how to break through the Force illusion that'd been cast over him, he lowered the mirror and set it back down. "How uncivilized."

"I told you!" Vos clapped before turning towards Remus. "That's twenty creds you owe me! Now change him back."

"Wait, what?" Obi-Wan was more than a little confused as Remus, who was still laughing, pulled out a stick from beneath his arm and wave it lazily towards him. He felt a subtle wave of the Force wash over him. And when he felt his hair again it was back to normal. Picking up the mirror, he found his hair was back to its normal color and style. "What did you just do?"

"Magic." Remus smirked. "Now for serious this time. Hold the mirror up and say 'Yoda'. It may take him a moment, but when he picks up the mirror he has a connection will be formed between the two of you and you will be able to speak with him."

Still more than slightly wary, Obi-Wan picked up the mirror again and held it up to eye level. "Master Yoda."

Nothing happened for a moment, but just as Obi-Wan was about to put the mirror back down the reflective surface rippled as if it were made of liquid. And when the ripples stopped, he was no longer looking at his own reflection, but rather the face of Master Yoda. "Ah, Master Kenobi. Warms my heart to see you again, it does."

For the second time in less than a few minutes, Obi-Wan nearly dropped the mirror that he held in his hand. "M– Master Yoda?" Obi-Wan breathed, turning the mirror over in his hand trying, and failing, to break through whatever Force trick was being used on him. "How?"

"Many uses for the Force, our new allies have found Master Kenobi." Master Yoda said to him from the mirror. "This form of communication, merely the beginning, it is."

Staring down at the mirror, Obi-Wan wanted to believe that he was staring at the man he respected almost more than any other. He certainly sounded like the Master Yoda he knew. But…part of him just wasn't willing to accept it so easily. Not after everything that'd happened to them. "Master Yoda…"

"Doubt that I am who you see, you do Master Kenobi." The image of Yoda sighed. "Understand I do. Ask a question that only I would be able to answer, you should. Put your mind at ease, it will."

Thinking for a moment, Obi-Wan knew exactly what question to ask. "When we last parted, you said that you had training for me. What was it?"

"Train to communicate with your old Master, I tasked you with." Master Yoda answered without hesitation.

There was no doubt about it now. Master Yoda was the only one in the room with him when he'd revealed the revelation that his old Master had become one with the Force and that Master Yoda was going to teach him how to communicate with him. "Master Yoda…it's really you? Where…where are you?"

"You're with this…Nox then?" Obi-Wan asked.