Chapter 2

An Altered Destiny

Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi stood in shock at the empty space where three people had once stood. Even for the few bystanders looking on, who viewed the exchange with fear more than anything else, it was an amazing sight. It had seemed, like the three people just twisted slightly and disappeared with a pop and a flash of light. To the Jedi though, it had been a nearly blinding pulse of the force.

"We should have expected this from her!" spat Master Tre'jin as he looked around, his head moving quickly in an attempt to spot them.

"What, walking around with a Force wielding Bounty hunter that can literally play with the minds of Masters? You must be far stronger in the Force than I to have predicted that." Mundi shook his head, still unable to look away from the spot where Ahsoka and the stranger had disappeared. Sure that he could focus his sight through the illusion.

"Don't be a fool. I meant that Skywalker's precious padawan causing trouble every time we turn around. It's obvious he is incapable of instructing someone properly." Tre'jin glanced at his fellow master with more than a touch of disdain.

"Stretch out your senses, if you are right they can't have gone far." Mundi said with a small calm smile, as he realized that he could already feel a distinct lack of Ahsoka's presence. He couldn't feel her anywhere close by, certainly not within a few miles.

Tre'jin stretched out his own senses, and reached into the Force to search for the two. Even at top running speed, enhanced through use of the Force, the two couldn't have been more than a few hundred meters away, especially since one of them was weighed down. Much to Tre'jin's dismay though, he could feel nothing. Master Tre'jin couldn't help but grind his teeth in frustration, the situation had gone from bad to miserable in seconds. He didn't want to think about how this was going to affect the future.

Ahsoka Tano was gone, and now they had a squad of Clone Troopers looking agitated and fidgety, with fingers dancing over the triggers of their blaster rifles.

Loud noises and bright flashes tended to have that effect on soldiers.

"Look around, see if they're still here." Commander Jet spoke in a tone that forced his men to reign in their fears. He knew he definitely was going to be expected to report this, though assumed it would just be round filed for the future.

Master Mundi nodded to his friend and colleague, then turned towards the surrounding buildings and the civilians who were already beginning to move about their business. Sometimes working in the less reputable parts of Coruscant had some advantages.

"Let's check around for more information, someone has to know who that bounty hunter is." Mundi spoke with a bit more calm than his partner, but he too didn't like how things had played out. Deep in his gut he feared that young Tano had fallen into the clutches of someone with questionable, and potentially evil motives.

"Fine." Tre'jin muttered as he turned towards the Clone Troopers and motioned for them to set out to canvass the area. He was quite certain this was going to come back to bite him in the ass.

oOooOoOOoOooOo

Ahsoka Tano was going through the most disorienting sensation, an assault on her senses, perhaps more powerful than any she had experienced in her entire life. One moment she was standing there with a near stranger, albeit one who had possibly saved her life, and healed another person far more than she ever imagined possible.

She had been confronted by two Masters and found herself thinking the Jedi were once more being unilateral and unfair in their treatment and that she was about to end up detained for "questioning" once more.

Then in another moment she was completely awash in the Force, as it squeezed and pushed against her. It was unlike anything she ever experienced or imagined. It seemed to stretch on forever, but in reality ended only a few moments later.

Whatever had happened had completely messed up her echolocation ability, and made it go haywire for several seconds. Much like a bat who had been blasted with a pitched sound, it left her incredibly disoriented, causing her to fall to the ground in an undignified heap due to dizziness. It was like the world around her completely changed in an instant.

Harry however seemed to be utterly comfortable as he landed, staggering only a little bit because of the unfamiliar balance of the body unconscious over his shoulder.

He straightened up and chuckled, looking down at Ahsoka, "Well that was fun." Harry observed dryly.

Ahsoka sat up weakly, looking queasy and barely restraining the urge to throw up everything in her stomach. She took several deep breaths and managed to prevent puking, as well as blinking several times to adjust to her surroundings.

She found herself sitting on the hard concrete floor of a hanger. It was a medium sized hangar, but was empty of everything but Harry and and a freighter. However, what was most noticeable was the freighter in front of her painted a brilliant red and gold.

"Where are we? Whose ship is that?" She asked blearily, still looking around.

"We're at my ship, The Gryffindor. And this is a pay by the day hangar." Harry said gesturing grandly.

Ahsoka had to blink twice to take in that comment. As far as she knew there were no pay by day hangars within maybe 500 kilometers of where she had been. They were very nearly at the center of the planet's many activities. Within a dozen kilometers, they had the Grand Jedi Temple, the Senate Building, the recently constructed Military Headquarters, as well as the corporate headquarters of over 100 different galactic corporations.

However, any of the ships landing in the area were for large commercial vessels, large military vessels or ships privately owned by the innumerable governments with representatives on Coruscant. Each race and world requiring their own access and needs met, and all ridiculously expensive and overpriced.

Of course those were the upper levels of the area. The lower levels still had shops and bars that served all those "regular" folks who managed to actually keep things running above.

There certainly wasn't pay by day docking bay nearby.

Ahsoka was slowly coming to the realization what all of it meant. They had traveled from one place to another, seemingly using the Force as a conduit. It was unheard of, unprecedented and by everything she had ever been told, it was completely impossible. However, before she could managed to form any of the dozens of competing questions in her mind, Harry had already headed toward the ship.

Her mind idly took stock, with the brilliant gold and red paint job, it certainly stood out, and given the fact that she couldn't detect the slightest bit of chips or peeling in the paint job she would have said it was a brand new ship. She idly noted that it was a Gymsnor-3 Light Freighter.

Her eyes flitted over the freighter with an experienced eye. The technical skills from being in close proximity to SkyGuy managed to rub off on anyone started to scream that although the pair of turbolaser canons on the forward underside of the ship had clearly been upgraded and looked like they meant business. This ship in front of them still looked like it needed major upgrades to be worthy of SkyGuy's needs of speed, destruction, and mayhem.

Then she realized she wasn't with Skywalker anymore. Yet somehow she didn't get the impression that this Harry was somehow more reserved and calm than her old Master had been at any point.

Harry wasn't paying any attention to Ahsoka's evaluative looks as he entered the ramp to the Gryffindor, though Ahsoka regained her bearings enough to quickstep after him and follow him up the ramp into the hold of the boldly colored ship. As she stepped through the threshold of the ship, she felt a wash of the Force go over her and looked around trying to determine the source.

Harry unceremoniously plopped the weight of the still unconscious man onto the ground in front of him, before turning around and seeming to realize that Ahsoka had followed him up the ramp and into his ship, though she still seemed to be a state of shock. She was also reaching out with the Force trying to determine why she felt surrounded by it, though not in a bad way.

Harry winced a little bit as he looked at her. With her extending her senses out, she was practically shouting her thoughts and emotions to him, and her confused emotional state didn't help. "Please… try and stop broadcasting your presence so loudly if you can. We're a fair distance from those idiots, but lets take no chances of them hunting you down before we leave the system."

Ahsoka frowned and looked at him in confusion. "Broadcasting my presence?" She echoed with confusion, never having heard that term before.

Harry nodded a little bit but any reply he would have made was cut off by soft clinking steps and the humming of servo-motors as a droid walked into view. Ahsoka recognized the droid from the image on Harry's holocom and was happy to see that her initial perceptions were accurate.

It resembled a protocol droid with odd projections over the eyes, like it was wearing a welded on hat. It too was colored dark grey almost uniformly. She also noted that her observation about it seeming bulkier was accurate and that unlike normal protocol droids there was no exposed wires, every part of it was encased. She hadn't seen a model like it before though she was hardly an expert on all droids out there.

Harry had looked up and smiled slightly, "Hey Minnie, please tell me you at least caught that whole debacle with the Jedi on a holo."

"Of course," The matronly voice responded primly. "Caught and logged. You had your arm up holding your guest, and positioned perfectly to catch and record everything, both audio and visual... at least of them. A picture of you or your companion was not recorded." The droid sounded a little miffed at being doubted.

"Great, maybe we'll be nice and just send a copy of it over to the Jedi Temple, rather than any news media in the directory. I'm none too pleased with how they acted, but pouring fuel onto a media fire might not be the best idea ever. Knowing someone caught them on holo should at least cause them to think twice." Harry mused.

He turned back to Ahsoka who appeared still a bit dazed; and an amused smile crossed his face before it faded somewhat and turned into a self-conscious and abashed expression. As humorous as her reactions might have been, he hadn't really planned on this and felt a wave of sympathy for her. "Hey, you alright?"

The kind and concerned voice directed at Ahsoka seemed to gather her attention back to him. When she didn't respond he continued. "Sorry about… sorta… kinda… kidnapping you there. I can always take you back if you want." He offered, running a hand through his hair somewhat sheepishly.

That finally seemed to be the impetus required to snap Ahsoka out of her silence that the rapid shocks had uncharacteristically put into her, and immediately questions began to bubble out of her.

The words tumbled out of her in a combination of shock and genuine interest. "Who are you? WHAT are you? Where are we? What was THAT!? How... is this possible?!" She waved her arms slightly, indicating the feeling of the Force she was sensing around her.

Harry blinked a bit and then laughed, cut her off before more questions could come out as a fond smile crossed his face. "That's the second time you reminded me of one of the best friends I ever had..." he mused with a fond if somewhat wistful smile on his face. Before he focused on Ahsoka once more. "Well, my name is Harry, as for the rest…"

He furrowed his brow as he considered how to answer that. "The rest were just some basic skills I picked up a very long time ago." He stared off into space a second before the wistful smile was back on his face. "Well, long before you were born."

He gave her a lopsided grin, but she could tell there was some sadness behind the forced mirth, "Some would call it the final legacy of a misspent youth. Others would just call it part of who I am."

He shook off his sudden reflective mood and then gestured for her to follow him. "C'mon, let's make Mr. Religious Fornicator there more comfortable for the few moments he's still with us, then we can talk a little bit." He reached down and gripped the unconscious man and hefted him up by the back of his belt and half carried and half dragged him in towards the cargo hold of the ship.

Ahsoka followed him, and watched as he tossed the man in what was obviously a small cell… or a cupboard, she wasn't sure which. He pressed a button and the door slid shut with a soft hiss of pressure. The rest of the cargo hold was surprisingly empty, no sign of freight or anything. Instead she noted in one corner there was several tables together with several datapads, along with several open books all around an easy chair.

A chair which Harry sank into with a bit of a pleasant sigh before his pleased expression faded and his emerald eyes focused on Ahsoka with an intensity that made her shiver. After several seconds in which he stared at her, Ahsoka felt he was reading her very soul. In a way she felt that sometimes Master Yoda or Skywalker could, only… this was far more intense.

"Now, why don't you tell me just what kind of trouble you're really in?" Harry finally said bluntly.

"I'm… not in any trouble!" She protested, "They just caught me by surprise is all."

Ahsoka frowned a little bit as doubt crept in. She was here with a self-admitted bounty hunter, one who was a Force-user no less. And it had just been loudly announced that the bounty on her was worth several hundred thousand credits. That would be enough to tempt almost anyone. She should have been more than a little concerned with her self preservation instincts going wild, telling her to get as far away from any bounty hunters as she could.

She shook herself out of those thoughts. While he had brought her here without her permission, which was as he described, technically kidnapping. She was more concerned with figuring out how rather than the fact that he had done so. It also helped that he didn't seem to intend any nefarious purpose or seem to be acting overtly secretive at the moment. Besides, she had been the one to follow him out of the bar when he left, he hadn't dragged her out with him.

But most of all, she just didn't feel like he intended to hurt her. In fact her instincts were telling her the opposite.

Harry's expression was one of disbelief, "Mister Religious Fornicator in there thought you'd fetch him some good money." he cocked his thumb over his shoulder pointing behind him toward the cell. "Now, some bounty hunters may be stupid, but they're rarely wrong about how much money a target is going to bring in. And it wasn't Jedi in general he was talking about, it was you specifically."

Ahsoka deflated and sighed a little bit, "Yeah… I didn't think about that either…" She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down, not meeting Harry's eyes. "I've been a part of the war for the past two years. My Master and I were pretty active in it. Not just active in it… but fairly prominent. We've ruffled more than our share of feathers even on species that don't have them." She smiled weakly finally looking back up to see Harry's expression as her joke fell a bit flat.

Harry however didn't seem to disbelieve her. He was merely looking thoughtful and nodded a bit, no sign of judgement on his face. "You said that you weren't a Jedi anymore, and those Jedi we ran into definitely seemed less than pleased with you."

Ahsoka sighed a little bit and, seeing no other convenient furniture shifted and sat down on the edge of a table that had books scattered on it. "I told you earlier, about my recent troubles."

When Harry nodded and smiled self-deprecatingly, "I heard something about it when I landed, I tend to ignore the news unless Minnie mentions there might be something of interest." a look of guilt flashing across his face. He had made the flippant jokes to the Jedi about the situation at their expense, without concern for Ahsoka's thoughts on the matter.

Ahsoka nodded, she wasn't surprised, given how many higher ups in the military, government and Order were involved, it was entirely unsurprisingly. Still, she felt she had a bit of explaining to do. "Well… any Jedi is free to leave the Order at any time. The Order is just not real… keen on it." Ahsoka frowned, trying to figure out a way to put it best.

"My former Master didn't want me to go, but he understood my decision because I'm sure it's one he's wrestled with more than once. So few people actually do it though… I don't think some of the others in the Order were as accepting." Ahsoka frowned a bit and her tone turned defensive, "Their utter lack of trust in me just… it got to me, and I couldn't stay there. I didn't think the consequences through, that I was giving up everything I knew."

Harry raised an eyebrow, and kept his tone mild as he considered what she said. "So… then your troubles are going to get worse." It was a statement more than a question.

Ahsoka's puzzled expression in response to the statement caused Harry to sigh.

"Well, you've left the Order, once that fact gets out… something that has quite obviously already happened. People are going to realize that means you no longer have their support… or protection." Harry reasoned out as he regarded her expression thoughtfully.

Ahsoka looked at him blankly for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. Her voice was hesitant as she worked to deal with the enormity of what she was figuring out "So… people that might not have come after me before, because they didn't want to risk taking on the Order would come after me now… like a lot of bounty hunters." She trailed off as she glanced past Harry toward the door he had sealed the bounty hunter behind.

Harry nodded looking pleased at her sharp mind. "Precisely."

Ahsoka looked back to Harry. "But I've made friends and allies the past few years… helping people. They could help me." Even saying the words implying she would need to rely on the others bothered her independent side.

"Friends and allies that would support you and risk alienating the Jedi High Council for aid they may need at some point in the future?" Harry asked mildly, his tone curious rather than argumentative.

"Yes!" Ahsoka nodded firmly and then she hesitated, "Some of them… a few… maybe…" Her voice sounded increasingly disconsolate as she really considered the question and thought about any allies that would help. The only allies she thought who might do it would be people she would definitely rather not be indebted to.

Finally she looked up at Harry dejectedly, though despite the slight sense of despair she was still thinking over her predicament. "I wonder if so few people leave the Order because it usually means they're utterly without support. I mean… with a few notable exceptions they can't even really count on family to fall back on. Most Jedi don't remember their family… if they do it's hazy. Part of having no attachments."

She briefly considered the other few she knew that had left the Jedi Order. A handful of those who had voluntarily exiled themselves without ever revealing a reason. Others who chose other… darker paths to follow. Dooku sprung immediately to her mind. He had gone back to his home planet of Serenno and took his hereditary position as Count. He was one of the Lost Twenty. One of twenty Jedi Masters who throughout the recorded history of the Jedi Order, had left it because of ideological differences.

The number of those who left was higher for those who had achieved the rank of Jedi Knight, Ahsoka herself could remember four or five that had left, during her time but it was still enough of an event to be noted.

"I'm well aware of the Jedi policy of taking students from families when they're found to be 'Force sensitive.'" Harry replied after considering her words, his tone a touch irritated.

"I was one of those kids, I was found by Master Plo Koon." Ahsoka interjected defensively. "He brought me back to the temple and it's where I've spent my life."

Harry tilted his head, "And what of those parents who don't wish for their child to be taken? They're just left alone?"

Ahsoka looked taken aback at that insinuation, "Of course! We would never forcibly take someone from their home."

Harry merely tilted his head curiously in response but didn't push it any farther because he didn't want to be accusing wildly. He did not like the Jedi Order, but out of his laundry list of complaints that was rather far down. Nor was it really the focus at the moment.

Ahsoka shook off her thoughts on that particular comment, knowing they would come back later when she had a quiet moment to consider them. "Who… are you?"

Harry smiled in bemusement before chuckling a bit. "As I said, my name is Harry. Harry Potter."

"That's not what I meant." She replied, narrowing her eyes "I meant…. who are you?" an expression of frustration crossed her face as she realized she had just repeated herself and didn't have any way to better ask the question on what she actually meant.

"I've had lots of titles. Some pleasant, many not so much. I'm sure you have some hypotheses. Why don't you tell me what you think?" He asked, an interested expression on his face, curious to find out what she thought, and using one of his favorite methods of getting people to put their thoughts in order.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at the evasion, but Harry held up his hands, warding off her retort. "Indulge me. I'm honestly curious."

She hesitated a moment before nodding slightly, chewing on her bottom lip a moment while she put her thoughts in order. "You have used the Force several times. That sleight of hand with that black dust in the bar, knocking those guys out. But… the healing you did was beyond anything I've seen. I don't think even Master Shaak Ti, or Master Stass Allie or…"

Ahsoka trailed off as she felt a pang of bitterness, almost mentioning the former friend who had betrayed her, before she picked up her thought. "I don't think even the best Jedi healers could have helped her."

"I have no idea how you did that… trick to bring us here. That was like nothing I ever felt before, and one moment we were there, and the next we were here. It was either some bizarre mind trick, or you… somehow... teleported us. Both of which are equally as mind boggling." She shook her head and took a breath.

"I think you're a Jedi… or rather a former Jedi. Though you were never a Jedi Master because then everyone would recognize you. Only twenty of those have ever left the Jedi Order. However given how you seem feel about the Order, and what you said to those Masters I'd say you weren't happy when you did leave. That's why you're now… a bounty hunter." She summarized with a slight nod at her deductions.

"Oh… and you used the Force to open up that box at the bar too." She interjected quickly when she saw Harry prepared to reply.

"Observant little one, aren't you?" He commented with a soft chuckle, betraying his amusement. "Well, first off. I'm not a Jedi. Never have been, and short of giving myself a full frontal lobotomy, with a hydrospanner in Zero-gravity, while intoxicated, and under enemy fire, will never be a Jedi. They're far too limited."

Ahsoka looked surprised at that last statement, "Limited, what do you mean? In what way are they limited?"

Harry chuckled again, and grinned. "I'll get to that in a bit. Might as well hit all your observations first. You're right about me being not happy with the Jedi Order."

"Once I heard about them, I did some looking into them, and was not really impressed by much besides the fact that they still somehow exist. I'm not impressed with their policies, their beliefs, or usually how they conduct themselves." He shook his head a little bit in disgust, "I've encountered more than one of them in my travels. Saved more than one, though they remain blissfully ignorant of that fact. I've yet to be overly impressed, save by their extreme need to martyr themselves."

Harry shook his head as a wry smile graced his face. "Worse than even a pack of Gryffindors."

Before Ahsoka could ask what that comment meant Harry pressed on.

"As for the bounty hunter part… well, technically you're right about that since I pay my dues and all that so I can say I am. But I only occasionally turn in bounties, usually when they irritate me, or fall into my lap like our religious guest." Harry shrugged with a gesture in the direction of the cell.

"Truthfully, a lot of planets tend to look the other way when it involves someone with a bounty hunting licence. It is also convenient for ignoring a lot of rules and laws and such when the need suits me. They assume whoever I'm there to pick up is likely to rid them of a problem. And if I'm in some out of the way location and confronted by authorities, usually saying that I'm a bounty hunter following a lead, avoids arguments."

Harry shook his head, "That being said, I would never consider it to be my primary profession of choice. It just gets me more rights than 'eccentric and mysterious historian" tend to get."

"So… what are you?" Ahsoka asked with a puzzled expression on her face, her tone making it clear she wasn't just asking for an occupation or something.

Harry laughed softly, despite a slightly sheepish look on his face. "Talk about a loaded question. Um. I don't know that there's a word for what I am. I sorta fell into what I do by accident."

"I explore, I look through histories or historical sites." He shrugged lithely, knowing there really wasn't a cut and dry word for what he was. "I keep an eye out for things and travel a lot. While I'm doing this, I take on odd jobs. Sometimes for money, sometimes for fun."

"Sometimes because he is bored." disapproving voice of Minnie spoke as the droid walked up with a whirling of servomotors.

Harry rolled his eyes to look at the droid, "Problem Minnie?"

"No Mister Potter, I have the holo clip ready to transmit to the Jedi Temple. I just thought it might be wise to prepare to leave before any restrictions regarding our movement might be imposed." The droid explained.

"It's very likely they will track the transmission of the events here, and attempt to prevent us from receiving clearance for departure." The droid finished factually.

Harry nodded and ran a hand over his face. "And Coruscant is not a planet where you can simply kick in the sublight engines and leave. Well, we probably could, I'm just not sure that I want to make that big of an impact." He seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding, "Okay Minnie, we're not leaving this second but start prep for take off."

"All right, Mister Potter. I will let Dobby know." The droid said as it turned to walk away.

"Don't bother. I'm sure the bugger is listening in." Harry muttered as the droid walked off.

Ahsoka was still regarding him cautiously, though stopped at outright suspicion. When Harry turned to regard her once more, she took her chance to ask "So you're not a Jedi, and never have been. But I've seen you use the Force, so what are you?"

She bit her tongue to keep from asking the followup question, almost asking him if he was Sith, but managed to stop herself in time. She was aware there were more Force users out there in the galaxy besides just Jedi and Sith, though they tended to be deeply religious sects of one sort or another.

She'd encountered a few in just the past few years. The problem was, most of them were only passably neutral with the Jedi. Many of them were in direct opposition to the Jedi, and had actually been hunted down by the Jedi and all information about them destroyed, since so many of their ideologies closely aligned with the Sith.

Harry grinned, clearly amused once more. "I'm a wizard."

"A…. wizard." Ahsoka repeated dryly.

Harry was enjoying himself. He did enjoy the doubt on her face. It had been a long time since he'd outright talked about himself and being so open with another living being was strangely liberating. Ahsoka's attention was caught now, as she was looking at him with a combination of pity and scorn.

"I'm not a 'Force User' Miss Tano." Harry clarified. "I use Magic." He gestured at the floor in front of him and a chair popped into existence right in front of where Ahsoka sat on the edge of a table.

Ahsoka gasped and jumped backward at the sudden appearance of the chair, unfortunately, as she was leaning against a table at the time of the conjuration, she quite literally tumbled backward over it and sprawled onto the floor, her limbs askew.

She scrambled around and righted herself after a moment and peered over the table at the chair. Seeing it was still there, she hesitantly came around the table, stepping over the books she had knocked down. She was glancing back and forth between Harry whose expression was calm and curious, and the chair he conjured. She moved over to lightly hesitantly reach out and touch the chair to verify that it actually was there.

It was completely solid.

When she glanced up at Harry in disbelief, she saw an infinitely amused expression on his face.

"Take your time. We're in no rush. We have to still turn in that bounty and Minnie's getting the ship ready to launch." Harry said, though a bit of a wistful expression was crossing his face as he recalled his first interaction with magic.

Ahsoka was running her hands over the chair, squeezing it and turning it a bit, as if trying to figure out the trick. She finally turned and moved to sit in it, as if that was the ultimate barometer when she glanced at Harry uncertainly.

"Go ahead, I want you to fully understand and accept that the chair in front of you is real, and wasn't there a second ago." Harry encouraged.

Ahsoka slowly sat down and blinked as she found a comfortable chair that completely supported her weight. She was still shocked. She had walked through this space so it wasn't like he removed an illusion. She was actually sitting in a chair that hadn't existed earlier. There was no illusion. It was not a Jedi Mind trick, nor was it a hardlight hologram or a projection.

"How did you do that?!" She finally half asked, and half demanded incredulously.

Harry grinned and laughed, surprised to find that he was truly enjoying himself. "Magic." He replied.

"But… I felt you do that in the Force." Ahsoka replied.

Harry nodded a little bit. "You did, I'm really not surprised. If you're being truly technical about it, they're essentially the same thing… but my people's understanding and uses of Magic is far different from the norm throughout this galaxy."

"But, Magic?" Ahsoka repeated, unable to keep the doubt out of her voice.

"Yes, I'm well aware that your Jedi Council views all those societies who view "magic users" and possess self-proclaimed witches and wizards as backwater, primitive, and do their best to 'educate' them otherwise." Harry said with a trace of scorn in his own voice. "Heaven forbid people be allowed to believe what they want to believe."

He shook his head, "I won't deny the people of my world could, at times, be described as terribly primitive. In terms of technological levels, before I left, the non-magic users were centuries behind even the most basic spacefaring users that are found throughout this galaxy."

Harry gestured at the chair Ahsoka was sitting in. "But in the use of Magic? We were easily centuries… if not millennia ahead of anything I've seen since I've arrived here. No matter what culture or place that I've visited."

Ahsoka frowned. "I've never heard of anyone try and measure the evolution of a society or group's use of the Force, it all seems to be by hyperspace speeds. In fact, I doubt the idea to do so would ever occur to most Jedi I know." Her tone was puzzled and thoughtful.

"Well, that's one thing that's noticeable different about how Force users approach things than the people of my world." Harry replied, his speech taking on a slightly lecturing tone. "I can't entirely be certain, but I believe there are a number of reasons for that."

At Ahsoka's curious expression, Harry didn't hesitate at expanding on his point. "First, based on the History I've read, the Jedi have had at least five instances over the last seven thousand years where your entire order has been brought to damned near the brink of extinction. And if you read between the lines the number is probably higher if not for pure luck."

Harry's tone became more emphatic as he spoke on the topic. "Each time, knowledge was lost left right and center from each of those previous incarnations of your Order, or worse, not just lost but deliberately forbidden because "Oh this became a danger once, despite using it for the past thousand years, so… let's make it forbidden because we're weak-willed idiots."

"Each time, entire branches of research and techniques into 'the Force' were completely lost. So any hope of progress or development was stopped in it's tracks." Harry shook his head in disgust.

His eyes focused on her once more. "I've looked a little bit into how Jedi are trained. And… it rather disappoints me."

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked with a puzzled expression.

"Most of what you're taught is simply philosophy, relevant to the particular group you serve, and really has no basis when it comes to you using Magic… or the Force or whatever you wanna call it." Harry said.

Seeing Ahsoka's confused expression turn to protest, Harry expanded his explanation slightly. "What I'm talking about simply is the ethics that your specific Orders, be it Jedi or Sith, expect you to follow."

"Truthfully, the bad… or 'loaded' words I'd use to describe that process are indoctrination or brain-washing; each group does to its initiates to ensure they behave a certain way." Harry said calmly, expecting a response. He was not disappointed.

"The Jedi Order does not indoctrinate or brainwash it's padawans! The Sith are the ones that do that!" Ahsoka protested, her entire body tensing. If he hadn't lumped the Sith in there with the Jedi Ahsoka would be a lot more nervous, wondering if she had stumbled across a Sith.

Harry looked calm despite her outburst, and merely questioned quietly, his tone honestly curious. "Really? Would you mind a few questions then? And if I've understood wrong, I will apologize."

Ahsoka shook her head, Harry's calmness despite the sensitivity of the topic was putting her more at ease. Still, Harry sounded far too confident in the results of his questioning for her to relax completely "Okay, go ahead."

"In your training, how much time did you focus on using 'the Force' and were you ever encouraged to explore new ways to use it?" Harry inquired.

"We spent a great deal of time learning to feel the Force, and learning how it could guide us. But… almost no time exploring new ways to use it." Ahsoka replied after a moment's thought.

"I want you to think about this for a second before you answer. Think and consider. How much of your training involved being reminded of how to act? How to think? How to not feel your emotions?" Harry asked quietly.

That question hung in the air as Ahsoka thought about it. Her response was on the tip of her tongue before she stopped and considered it. Her master hadn't harped so much on those lessons, but when she was a youngling, those had been the focus of the lessons, and she was well aware other initiates and padawans had more strict Masters who focused far more on those lessons.

In a small voice she replied. "I've heard it differs from Master to Master… and my master was a bit… different."

At Harry's curious expression, Ahsoka expanded slightly, a little nervously. "Master Skywalker wasn't constantly reminding me that I shouldn't have emotions, that I was in danger of going dark. He was far more… passionate than any Jedi I've ever met."

"And how did other Jedi respond to that?" Harry immediately asked.

Ahsoka flinched slightly, knowing that other Masters at times had expressed displeasure with him. "There were some people that were unhappy with it."

Harry nodded, not needing her to expand "But that doesn't answer my question. How often was the lesson all about the feeling at peace and then whatever other mumbo jumbo they've tacked on as doctrine?"

Ahsoka hesitated before conceding, "A lot of the time, most of the starting training like that… even after we're taken as padawans, a lot of Masters make sure it is in every conversation, much less every lesson."

Harry nodded, "From what I understand Sith are the same way, very similar training, at least historically. Only they seem to indoctrinate students to use hatred instead of always being calm. Similar methods, albeit opposite sides of the coins."

He didn't give her time to protest or mull that point over before gesturing around, "How often did you explore what the "Force" was capable of?" And I'm not talking about meditating or whatever it is you Jedi do when you just sit there pondering mysteries. To me it seems like you're just a few bottles of sherry, coke bottle glasses and some bad smelling incense short of turning into my old divination teacher."

"I… don't understand what you're asking." Ahsoka frowned, in fact only half of what he had said even sounded like terms she understood, much less made sense in any coherent fashion.

Harry frowned, "Ok, as examples. You said that healing on the bartender was far more than the Jedi Healers would be capable of. You never imagined that "teleporting" was possible. You even think the chair you're sitting in is impossible." Harry's voice seemed to fill with pity. "To me that's a sad thing. There are no limits to what Magic can do."

Seeing that Ahsoka was listening with rapt attention, Harry gestured with a hand and the books lying on the floor hopped back on the table almost offhandedly. "That 'teleport'? That was called apparition. It was common on my world. The first time I did it was on accident, at the age of seven to escape some bullies chasing me at school."

"It was so common in fact that almost everyone could do it. At age seventeen, after receiving instruction by Ministry approved instructors, all magicals could take a test and got a license for doing it. It really isn't that hard." Harry chuckled a little bit and shook his head.

"There's so much you can do with magic. From the mundane…" he gestured at Ahsoka and suddenly her entire body, clothes and all, was a bright purple. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt the Force move around her entire body. It took her a moment to realize what happened as she looked down, letting out a little squeak of surprise. Harry smirked for a moment before gesturing and returning her clothes and skin to their normal color.

"To the more complicated." He gestured to the chair she was sitting.

"How do your people learn such things?" Ahsoka asked

"They start going to school at the age of eleven. It gets them started with all the basics." Harry replied with a shrug. "Prior to that, its generally considered… bad, to begin actual instruction that uses magic. People have long believed that active use of magic prior to the age of eleven, actually damages your ability to use it."

"Though that seems to be a bit of a crapshoot. On some people it makes them less powerful and limits their control and potential later in life. On others it seems to magnify their power and control." Harry shrugged a bit. He had seen evidence pointing both ways before.

"But yes, at age eleven we started school. In my own country, school was seven years long, with major exams at the end of the 5th and 7th year, with stupid acronyms, which were what you were 'judged' upon when we went out into the wide world looking for careers." Harry frowned as a thought occurred to him, "We had electives starting in our 3rd year as well, as some people's interests were vastly different than others."

Their conversation was interrupted by the whining of servomotors as the droid Minnie once more approached, "Dobby says the ship is prepped for take off Mr. Potter, and departure clearance has been received."

Harry expression reflected surprise, as he realized that time had passed. "Alright Minnie, I'll be right there."

He turned to Ahsoka and seemed to hesitate. "Well, looks like our evening is at an end. You are free to disembark here if you like… or is there anywhere you're headed? We can drop you off anywhere in the direction of…." he trailed off and looked at Minnie.

"Nar Shaddaa" the droid supplied helpfully.

Harry nodded, looking unsurprised, as if the droid had merely refreshed his memory. "Ah, Nar Shaddaa." He breathed deeply and smiled with mock grin, "I can almost smell the pungent fumes of hundreds of millions of unwashed gangsters, smugglers, prostitutes and other life forms from here."

"Minnie, what do you think the odds are of me going there and managing not to end up causing some sort of trouble?" Harry inquired thoughtfully of the droid.

The droid hesitated and the lights in it's eyes flickered as if processing the information, "Are we planning on landing?"

Harry nodded.

"Non-existent." The droid said shortly before turning away to trundle away.

Harry sighed and looked vaguely wounded. "No faith."

"Hardly that Mr. Potter." The droid paused. "I simply calculated the number of times you can't resist getting into some mischief and divided by the number of planets, moons and space stations we have landed on. That number nearly equals 1. "

Harry rolled his eyes, though didn't argue with the droid before turning his attention back to Ahsoka. He found her expression curious.

Ahsoka was staring at him with a look of deep concentration on her face. She had left the Order with no idea of where she was headed next. Her entire world had been turned on a dime in the past two weeks from the accusations, expulsion, trial, offer to return, and the turning down of that offer.

She literally had nothing to her name but the clothes on her back, and the offer from this perfect stranger for a free lift to anywhere on the way to where he was going, which was one of the seediest places in the entire galaxy

Occasionally in the past, Ahsoka had received directions on her larger actions from the force. Sometimes she heeded it and other times she didn't, or at least at times she misinterpreted it. However in this moment she had never felt an urging from the force like she was now.

For just a moment she had thought perhaps it was coming from Harry, but after a moment's contemplation she realized that it was coming from within herself. It was as if the Force was urging her, and not just urging, her but practically pushing her.

Somehow Ahsoka suddenly knew that this might be the most important decision of her life, and a prelude to the most important thing she would ever do. Not just for herself but for the...galaxy, maybe even for the Force itself?

"What if I wanted to go with you?" She blurted suddenly.

Harry winced a bit, he didn't like the sound of that. "You want me to drop you off at Nar Shaddaa? Why would you want to go there? You realize that the heat on you there will be ten times what it is here?"

"I mean, I can hide your face with glamours, but that's only a temporary stop-gap, and its not permanent once you go on your way, it'll fade in time…" Harry trailed off. "There may be some biometrics that will see right through a glamour, I haven't really bothered to test it against everything and the bounty hunters there will be on your pretty little ass even faster than the wannabe hunters were here."

Ahsoka blushed slightly at the last comment before shaking her head. "No, I mean… " She hesitated and broke off a moment to compose her thoughts.

There weren't many options for her, in the wide galaxy. It was true, that she had a fair amount of technical skills that had been beaten into her skull in a do or die environment by Skywalker, but combine that with Jedi on her resume and most companies or groups likely wouldn't look twice at her. Most would probably think it was an undercover op and that she was actually still a Jedi sent there to spy on them for wrong-doing.

She could ultimately return to her homeworld, which would mean attempting to blend in with a world and lifestyle she didn't even know. She cringed at the thought of what many of her race did to leave their homeworld, and had no inclination to become a prostitute or dancer like many chose to do. They weren't quite at the same level of Twi'leks when it came to that sort of thing, but they weren't far off either.

That ultimately left trying to attach herself to those who would be willing to help her. She knew and trusted some people, but again, her background as an ex-Jedi now would be a liability for them, and Harry seemed to be completely unconcerned about the ramifications of having the Jedi council upset with him.

"Can you teach me how you do what you do?" she asked bluntly and gestured vaguely at the chair she was currently still sitting in. She never was very good at talking subtly and working her way into things.

Negotiations with Ahsoka Tano usually were done with a thermal grenade in one hand and a lightsaber in the other.

Harry blinked and tilted his head with a frown. He opened his mouth to reply and then shut it as his brow furrowed, as he truly considered the question. When he responded it was as much to himself as it was to her "I… don't know."

The question itself seemed to intrigue him. He scratched his cheek as he mused out loud, half to her, half to himself. "You're able to use Magic, and do so without a focus, so theoretically, I would guess you had the potential to learn."

Her expression grew excited but he held up his hand. "But… I don't think it would be easy or short. I mean children go to school for seven full years so they don't accidentally blow themselves or someone else up."

"That's just for basic competency." Harry ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. "I mean, we're possibly talking several years to a decade, minimum of hard work here."

Ahsoka frowned, "I won't be a burden. I can earn my keep. I'm a decent mechanic, so I can help upkeep the ship. I have some connections all over the place after fighting in the war, and I'm not a liability in a fight…" She flushed a bit remembering the circumstances of their first interaction. "Though I need to get my lightsaber... or make a new one."

Harry was blinking in surprise, that was not the objection or response he had expected.

Ahsoka didn't take his surprise and silence for hesitation, but consideration, so she pressed forward. "Like I said, I promise I won't be a burden. But… the Force must have guided me to you because I… don't know that I have any other options." She finished with a quiet sigh and looked down at her lap while one hand idly stroked fingers up and down the lekku over her left shoulder. It reminded Harry of the way one of his old friends used to play with her hair when she was nervous.

Harry shook his head quickly and held up his hands in a calming motion. "Okay, okay. Miss Tano, I was merely concerned about the length of time involved and how magic would challenge the ideals you admitted to growing up with." He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

After a few moments, he took a breath and then involuntarily chuckled a little bit. "I haven't taught someone in a long time either. Never really had much interest in taking on a student or an apprentice. And never someone like this."

Ahsoka frowned at that comment, as he looked like he was in his mid-twenties, wondering what a long time might constitute, but her trail of thinking was disrupted as he grinned.

"At the very least this should be interesting. Alright Miss Tano, I will do my best to teach you, and you will be free to walk away at any time." Harry said earnestly, before his expression turned serious. "There is however one small caveat."

When she looked at him suspiciously at this statement, he continued. "One thing I'll require is an oath from you that you'll not teach others what I'm teaching you without my permission or until I release you from the oath or I find some way to get myself killed."

"Of course," Ahsoka nodded after only a moment's hesitation.

Harry shook his head. "No, I mean an actual Oath. A magical oath is not something to take lightly. Once taken, if violated, it will cost you your connection to your magic."

Seeing Ahsoka's startled expression, Harry shrugged slightly. "I do not want to be cruel, however there are people out there who could do very bad things and hurt a lot of people if they could do even a portion of what I can do."

Ahsoka swallowed a little bit and then nodded again.

Harry nodded and brightened. "We'll make that one of your first lessons… though later. First though, we should drop off Mr. Religious Desecrator over there off at the Bounty station."

Ahsoka glanced over where the man was presumably still unconscious before she nodded, somewhat nervously.

Harry grinned. "Relax. This should take 10 minutes, and you'll get to see some more magic."

Thirty minutes, a glamour charm, and two apparitions later they were 19,000 credits richer after the bounty hunter guild took it's cut. Twenty minutes after that The Gryffindor was clearing the Coruscant atmosphere, pausing only to transmit a brief message to the Jedi Temple communications exchange before it jumped to Hyperspace.

ooOoOOoOoo

"Most disturbing, this is." Yoda said, his taloned finger stroking his chin slowly. The diminutive Jedi Grand Master remained seated in his chair, one hand holding a twisted cane. Yoda was small and a pale green, his wrinkled visage giving some insight into the great age of the powerful being.

"'Disturbing'? That's all you can say about this?" demanded an absolutely irate Anakin Skywalker as he actually paced the chamber. The dark Jedi robes of the human billowed as he turned to pace back the other way. One of the most publicly recognizable Jedi in the ongoing Clone War, Anakin's dark hair brushed his shoulders as he turned. The man was classically handsome with an intense look on his face, marred only by a scar over his eye.

"My Padawan, who was railroaded out of the Order, nearly put to death while you all did nothing, is now running around with some Force-Using Bounty Hunter, after these two… threatened to throw her into prison again...?" He broke off not wanting to go quite as far as blatantly insulting the two masters, before he finished his statement, no less irate than he started.

"And all you can say is this is 'Disturbing'?" Anakin clenched his fists at his side to keep from throwing his hands in the air in disgust.

"Calm yourself, Anakin. Losing control at the moment will not help us to determine a course of action to take regarding this," came the cultured and soothing tone of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He sat rigidly in his chair, the bearded Jedi Master watched Anakin move with concern on his face. It was time like this when Anakin's emotions were so close to the surface that Obi-Wan was truly concerned about his padawan. "I myself share your… concerns, but we need to deal with the issue before us first."

"Nothing direct can we do," said Master Yoda. "Highly embarrassing, this trial has been for the Jedi Council more so than even the military or government."

"This holovid would be even more embarrassing if it were released to public," added Plo Kloon. "Outright damaging to the Order, in fact." He clarified needlessly. The Kel Dor Jedi spoke quietly. His head was bowed as his words came out through the antiox breath mask he wore. The mask added a deeper tone to the Jedi Master's voice.

Several other Jedi Master's looked at him with concern. He had been incredibly quiet since Ahsoka Tano had walked away from the Order. Several knew how close the two were, and thought the Jedi Master was blaming himself for his devotion to justice and how it blinded him that he knew Ahsoka better than any other Jedi save her Master, who believed her innocent. He was blaming himself for his lack of faith in her. He knew Ahsoka, who he affectionately referred to as 'Little Soka' would never murder in cold blood. The mechanical goggles that protected his eyes also prevented anyone from being able to tell what was going on in his head.

"The public is already wary of us having an excessive amount of power and influence due to our wartime roles," said a holoprojection of Mace Windu, who was already enroute to his next mission aboard one of their fleets. The bald and dark skinned Jedi master spoke bluntly to the people there as was in his nature.

"Outright abuse of power like this," he continued as he stared down Ki-Adi-Mundi as the cone-headed master fidgeted a little in a chair amongst the rest of the council, "Could give the Senate reason to introduce sanctions that would make the Ruusan Reformation look like a scolding meant for a naughty youngling."

Ki-Adi-Mundi shifted uncomfortably in his seat while aware that his companion in that afternoon's events was getting equally unpleasant glares from other Jedi Masters. Unlike Ki-Adi-Mundi however, he did not have a seat on the council, so Master Tre'jin was forced to merely stand there. Even over a holocom transmission, the image of Master Windu looked especially thunderous.

"Where did the transmission containing this holovid originate from?" asked Plo Kloon, his tone still quiet.

Obi-Wan was quickly flicking through information on a datapad as he spoke up almost absently. "It came from a freighter here on Coruscant just before it entered Hyperspace. The problem is, the freighter took off from a landing bay approximately 3,500 km from the walkway where Ahsoka and this stranger disappeared from. That is not enough time for any known suborbital craft in the immediate area to traverse that distance, so they must have transferred the recording to the pilot of that ship in an effort to throw us off if we decided to continue hunting them."

"Which means they're both likely still planetside then," finished Anakin with a nod as he spun without hesitation and began to walk away.

"Where are you going, Anakin?" Obi-Wan called out to his former apprentice, a note of concern in his voice. He was well aware that Anakin could be impetuous and given the volatile nature of the circumstances he was justifiably concerned.

"To find my Padawan before you all make up another reason to try and kill her..." Anakin shot back over his shoulder at the Masters in the room.

Before Obi-Wan could tell Anakin to wait, two more presences appeared via Holoprojection, over respective chairs as Masters Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti joined the conference. The Twi'lek and Togruta Jedi Masters' images hovering into view. In the distraction of their appearance, Anakin made his way out of the room and through doors that quickly closed behind him.

"What is the emergency we were summoned for?" asked Shaak Ti, she had been in meditation away from her troops and it had taken awhile for the message to reach her. The Togruta Jedi Master's voice was flat. Her robes gathered around her as she sat cross-legged facing the holocom. Her black and white striped lekku hung down over her chest, while her montrals protruded upward like horns.

"Does it have to do with how we will try to combat the effects that Padawan Tano's sham trial will have on the public's perception of our Order?" asked Aayla Secura, who was well known to have worked often with Ahsoka, and looked none too pleased as to what had happened. Nor was she shy about making her feelings known. The blue-skinned Jedi Master was not on the High Council, but as one of the more prominent and decorated generals in the war, as well as being in charge of a highly successful fleet of troops, so was often included in large scale discussions.

"Or how our own members now look at members of the Council with doubt after they viewed the ineptitude of our leadership," added Shaak Ti, causing several masters to look at her in surprise.

Usually more stoic and quiet regarding her thoughts and opinions, it was clear she was in complete agreement with both Anakin and Aayla regarding the treatment of Ahsoka Tano. None of them were pleased with the actions of the Jedi Council

Mace Windu replied curtly, "We're sending you a data packet now. Please review the video and the information included before you ask any additional questions."

Both Shaak Ti's and Aayla Secura's holo-transmission took on a garbled look as they looked at the recording they were sent. There was a brief lull in the discussion while they were reviewing it. The other Masters were looking either thoughtful or concerned, though none were voicing their thoughts. The only exception was Obi-Wan who looked like he was getting more information from his datapad.

The two masters rejoined the conversation almost simultaneously, their green holograms fading back into visibility at the same time.

"What else do we know about this… Bounty Hunter?" Stass Allie asked promptly, without waiting for anyone else to speak up. The dark skinned Jedi Master with the violet eyes looked around the room, not bothering to hide her disdain for the profession. The violet eyes would have been a distinctive feature if not for the traditional white Tholothian headdress adorning the woman's head, worn as a nod to her people and heritage.

"Nothing much," Master Obi-Wan spoke up. "I contacted the bounty hunter station nearest to that walkway. The bounty was turned in minutes prior to when we received that communication, which adds to the theory they were not on the ship that transmitted the message to us."

"The reward was transferred through standard protocols in the bounty hunter guild, where they took their cut and then transferred the money to a small time account which appears to have little to no activity as this was the first time any money has ever been deposited to it. It likely will be drained from another system and then never be used again. It'll be a dead-end unless we can link a ship to the man." He said with a faint air of resignation.

"We also have no legal recourse at the moment to try and seize the money. We're dangerously close to overstepping our remit with the bounty hunter guild merely by tracing the funds as far as we have." added Obi-Wan before it could be suggested.

Several masters shifted and there were nods all around. Relations with the guild were always tense at best and downright volatile at worst. The leadership of the guild was extremely wary and suspicious of the Jedi.

"What was the crime of the man they turned into the bounty hunter's office?" asked Luminara Unduli calmly "Perhaps that can give us some insight if he has a pattern concerning the bounties he targets."

Obi-Wan winced slightly. "Murder, destruction of property, and… desecration of a religious item of some importance to the Gamorreans." His tone all but begged anyone listening not to press their questions further on that topic.

"Forget the bounty that was turned in. What do we know about the bounty hunter himself? Anything?" an annoyed Mace Windu interjected.

Yoda sighed and looked at the two Jedi Master's who had confronted Harry, it was Master Mundi who spoke up. "Not much, beyond the fact that he didn't seem to like us very much."

"What about anything physical? Anything that might help identify him?" Mace asked with a little irritation in his voice.

Yoda shook his head. "Male and human, with dark hair."

"I remember he had very vivid green eyes." Master Tre'jin said suddenly as he thought about his encounter with Harry. He was wondering why he wasn't able to get an accurate description of the man, but for some reason the features just seemed fuzzy in his head.

Obi-Wan finally spoke up, as he still had the information he had gained from the Bounty Hunter's office in his hand, as well as what the temple slicer corp had managed to acquire. "The Bounty Hunter's Guild provided us the standard response to an official inquiry about a bounty hunter, including name and basic information. Once we had a name, our slicers were able to dig and get a little bit more information."

Obi-Wan's speech grew more slow as he obviously read through information provided to him. "The name of the bounty hunter was listed as, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. It has several other aliases listed, 'Snivellus 'The Grease Stain' Snape', 'the-Boy-who-Lived', 'Lord Lemon Drop', 'Chief Mugwump', 'Muggle McMudblood', Agodden Bed and... 'Foat Gucker'."

Obi-wan trailed off at the last two names as he realized what he was saying. He gave a slight uncomfortable cough as he looked around and said unnecessarily. "All the names are highly likely to be fake."

Aayla's snort and then suppressed laughter could be heard, along with a few others visibly seen to cover their mouths, while others narrowed their eyes in irritation.

Obi-Wan continued reluctantly. "It does have biographical data listed… The man's planet of origin was… the planet 'Dirt', which is the 3rd planet around the star… 'Foot Bottom.' His listed response to 'current age' is 'be more specific, mentally, physically or existentially'?" Obi-Wan shook his head wondering if any of this was going to be of any use to them.

He continued reading, "Gender: 'If you mean sex, yes please'." Obi-Wan made a disgusted sound. "How uncivilized."

"And they accepted such an application?" asked Windu incredulously.

Obi-wan could merely shrug his shoulders, "He pays his dues and has a sponsor. That's all the guild really asks for."

He scrolled through the rest of the information in front of him before he gave a great sigh accompanied by a roll of his eyes, "This is all useless. There's nothing of value in his profile."

"We spoke with several people nearby, including a bar, where it seemed the individual was having a drink, several people identified Ahsoka Tano and said the man's name was "Harry." Master Mundi added to be of some help.

"Are we sure that name isn't just a set up for another joke?" muttered one of the Masters loudly.

"Well," said Aayla, after she'd managed to control a bit of her own laughter, it was harder than she would have admitted. "If we, as a group, are worried about our public perception then, by all means, release that information to the public."

She started to speak in a faux serious voice, "The Jedi Order is seeking a highly dangerous individual who goes by the monikers 'Foat Gucker', 'Lord Lemon Drop', 'A god in bed' and most recently, 'Harry.' I shudder to think of how many jokes people would make from those."

Shaak Ti muttered softly. "That would at least put to rest rumors that the Jedi Order has no sense of humor."

"So what course of action should we take regarding this individual and former Padawan Tano if she is travelling with him?" asked Mace when he saw that no one knew how to respond to the corner the Order had been backed into, and wanted to get the meeting back on track.

"Someone needs to track this individual down," Master Mundi spoke up immediately. "He was a Force user, albeit one who used abilities unfamiliar to us. He cannot be allowed to just... roam free with one of our padawans."

"We cannot allow him to turn someone like Padawan Tano to the Darkside. She possess crucial information about the Republic war effort which could be disastrous if it fell into enemy hands." His tone was somewhat urgent though his pose remained stiff in his seat as he looked around.

"Dark Side?" asked an almost unbelieving Aayla Secura. "Did all of you see the same holovid I did?"

"The only thing I've heard the man could do was somehow go invisible using the Force in a new manner, and cover people around him with the same ability, plus use a version of a flash bang, which is hardly something new for our Order." She said somewhat scornfully.

"From the video itself, I saw someone who was very familiar with our Republic's laws, which apparently certain members of this Council and other highly ranked members of our Order are lacking in familiarity." Her glare was on Master Tre'jin who shuffled uncomfortably

Anakin came striding back into the room, a look of irritation on his face. "She's left the planet."

That instantly garnered the attention of everyone in the room.

"How and when?" Mace Windu asked with a frown, "She's no longer part of the Order. She shouldn't have the means to go anywhere this quickly."

Anakin shrugged despite the irritation on his face, "She sent me a private message saying she was okay, and not to worry. She found… a means to continue her studies."

He hesitated, well aware that the next part was not going to go down well with a lot of the Jedi Masters around. "She called it an… education in the Force unlike anything she'd ever imagined before. She stressed that it was definitely not Sith, and that the person came from a culture who rarely if ever leave their planet, yet they have explored uses for the Force that she has never imagined possible."

"So she has admitted she has already fallen," declared Master Tre'jin with a definite note of vindication in his voice.

"I don't believe I heard that stated or implied in any such way, Master Tre'jin." stated Obi-Wan without hesitation, and a bit of heat. He was protective of Ahsoka, both as someone he liked and as his former padawan's now former padawan. His relationship to her, in his own mind was almost that of an uncle to his brother's daughter albeit without the close attachment as he so often reminded himself about both his former padawan, and Ahsoka.

"I do believe there are a number of Force-wielding sects across our galaxy, and while many of them are dark in nature, just as many are not. They simply choose to continue to follow their own ways, rather than conform to ours. A practice that is not illegal." His voice had once more returned to soothing logical tones.

"Anakin. Did she say where she was heading?" Mace Windu asked.

"No, she said something vague about following up on some of his contacts, as well as assessing her skills compared to his people's expectations." Anakin shook his head a bit at the uninformative message. "But the message contained all the identifiers we have to make sure I know she's not being coerced in any way."

There were some raised eyebrows of surprise, and a few of approval at that idea. But Obi-Wan spoke up. "When was the message that you received actually sent?"

"19:47 Coruscant Standard Time," Anakin replied immediately, not needing to check.

Obi-Wan looked down at the datapad he was using, checked things further. "That was just minutes after they'd been at the bounty station. Then, a few minutes later, the ship that ultimately transmitted the holovid of the interaction departed."

Mace Windu spoke up, "Could they have been on that ship, despite the distance involved?"

"I would say no, but unless Ahsoka was lying in her missive or hasn't actually left the planet yet, then I am not sure if they would have been able to leave the planet." said Obi-Wan.

"What was the name of that freighter that transmitted the holo recording?" Master Unduli asked curiously.

"The outbound flight plan was registered to a ship named the 'Gryffindor'. After checking with the pay by day docking bay the ship originated from, those records matched." Obi-wan answered, reading the information from his datapad.

"I'm not even sure I want to know what that name means." Obi-wan murmured as he continued reading. "The registry we have of the ship says that the planet of origin is 'Hoarty Warty Hogwarts."

There was a pause as Obi-wan looked up for any recognition of the name, when there were none, Obi-Wan continued. "Registered Owner - a Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Obi-Wan set down the datapad in disgust. "Is it bad I'm trying to think of sexual innuendo for every name that comes up now associated to this man? I'm not even sure I want to know the sexual innuendo behind that name."

He sighed and shook his head before picking up his datapad again, "Anyways, like the other identity… and all planets associated to this man, none of them are in our records, and I somehow doubt we're looking at another Kamino."

Master Allie nodded with a sigh, "I have been working with Master Jocasta Nu. Our search continues for any more information deleted by Count Dooku. Thus far, no other changes have been found, but we're having to check each record individually."

"Idea we have for where this freighter was headed?" Yoda inquired, his finger stroking his chin, as he tried to focus the topic once more.

Obi-Wan shook his head, setting down the datapad once more. "Well… his destination was listed as Nar Shaddaa… but that doesn't mean that's necessarily the truth, or his next stop. His flight path did have him on a trajectory was consistent with an outbound vector that would traverse the Corellian Run, which ultimately tells us nothing. That hyperspace lane can be used by nearly half the destinations in our galaxy."

"He is a bounty hunter… what was the origin system of the names used in any of his captures?" Mace inquired.

Obi-Wan returned to his datapad, and began to que up the results, his face taking on a slightly disgruntled look. "Unfortunately no. His designation with the Bounty Hunter's guild is extremely rare."

That generated some curious look and Obi-Wan shrugged a little bit. "He is listed as an active member which means he's paying dues. But that he isn't accepting contracts. In fact according to his record he has only turned in two bounties previously... curious."

Obi-Wan continued to look through the data, and his face took on a look of noticeable interesti and intrigue.

"What's curious Master Kenobi?" Master Shaak Ti inquired.

Obi-Wan's voice mused "A few things, his status in the guild means he is paying dues and paying money to stay active. But he isn't accepting contracts so that he can continue to earn money. It's almost like he's a member out of a lark so he can call himself a bounty hunter than being serious about it. Second, generally to become a full member you have to have completed at least 5 contracts, more than 20,000 credits total."

"Does it say who his sponsor was?" asked Master Secura from her hologram. She was familiar with the workings of the guild, and knew that to get in, one needed a sponsor to get in.

Obi-Wan frowned a bit and flicked through his datapad, shaking his head. "No... no it doesn't." Glancing around he saw more than one confused expression so he explained. "Each person who becomes a member must be sponsored by a recognized bounty hunter. Who his sponsor is might tell us more about him."

Anakin, who had been looking at his datapad and flicking through it quietly and absorbing information quickly. "I've got a few hits on his freighter. Either he doesn't seem to be making any effort to hide his movements, doesn't know how he can be tracked, or is actually going out of his way to be followed."

"What do you mean Anakin?" Obi-wan asked.

"His freighter, it's got flight plans on any number of worlds, even on ones where filing them isn't mandatory like here. There doesn't really seem to be any pattern. A slight majority of hits come from Hutt space, both Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa, also repeated appearances at Kashyyyk and then scattered all over the place, assuming they're all the same freighter." Anakin shook his head a little bit.

"Wait," said Anakin, as his fingers danced over the datapad, requerying the data with different criteria and sortings. The results seemed to not please him, but he was quick to offer them anyways. "The only pattern I can tell, and it's certainly not one frequently performed, is that he makes Nar Shaddaa his first point of entry every time he enters Hutt Space. The second trip could remain there, or go to the Corporate Sector, but the first is always there."

Obi-Wan spoke up, "It's possible, having saved Jabba's son may be to Ahsoka's benefit if that is their destination. Jabba has done nothing but expand his fortune and territory throughout this war since his son was rescued."

Yoda had his eyes closed and was frowning slightly. "Think, have someone investigate this man, we should. Committed no crime this man has, yet troubling this is. Like a beacon was the Force around him, however temporarily."

"Yes, but when we met him, until he used that flash to blind us and just disappeared there was no sign at all that he was a Force user." Ki-Adi-Mundu replied. "I tried to sense him or his actions and I couldn't sense a single thing."

Obi-Wan waved his hands dismissively at this information. "We already know from multiple sources that whoever the Sith is leading the Separatists is a Force user here that has significant influence in the Senate. Whether it is a Master or an apprentice."

Mace Windu nodded in agreement. "The idea that this man could shield himself from us is not something new, it is merely the first time we've been in the presence of someone who's actively used the ability in front of us without caution or worry. Though we have yet to determine why. We know the Sith are definitely capable of that."

"Are you implying that Ahsoka Tano is now in league with a Sith? Possibly the one we've been looking for?" Master Tre'jin demanded incredulously "And that I had him at my very fingertips?"

"It is good to see some things never change, Master Tre'jin. You are still as clumsy as you are stupid." Anakin interjected sharply, his voice cracking. He stared at the man with blatant dislike and disgust on his face.

"Why you arrogant little sno-" Master Tre'jin half shouted half growled.

"Enough." Mace Windu cut them both off with a commanding voice. The antagonism between the two was well documented, and he felt no need to let them degenerate into arguments now. As much as he sometimes disapproved of Skywalker and his actions from time to time, Mace was forced to concede that Master Tre'jin was as much at fault as Anakin was in this case.

Master Shaak Ti spoke up with an audibly exasperated voice, "Do you really think that a man who plays word games on various registration forms, quite probably to amuse himself, is some sort of dark mastermind behind the happenings in the Galactic Senate and the half of our galaxy for the past two decades? That this man, who is apparently in his mid-twenties according to you, masterminded the invasion of Naboo before he was a teenager?"

Master Tre'jin choked at the verbal jab from the unflappable Togruta Jedi but his reply was cut off by Mace Windu.

"Despite the accuracy behind the sentiment of Master Shaak Ti's statement, insulting each other does us no good. I agree with Master Yoda that we must go after Padawan Tano and investigate this man."

Yoda's voice rose once more, speaking slowly as if figuring out things on his own. "I sense… key this may be to unraveling mysteries."

"I will go after her," said Anakin with steel in his voice.

"No," said Master Windu almost immediately.

"We can't afford to lose your abilities, leadership, and, unfortunately most important, your presence on the front-lines, Anakin. For good or ill, your presence increases not only the morale of our troops, but the public opinion as well." Master Windu said bluntly with a trace of irritation in his voice.

"Politics", said Obi-Wan as if it was a dirty word before he turned to his friend, seeing the expression on his face he shook his head. "I don't like it either, Anakin, I would like nothing better than to track down this individual as well, but I wouldn't be able to shift my current assignments to anyone else who could handle it and be brought up to speed quickly."

"Need someone to pursue Padawan Tano who she trusts," stated Master Yoda firmly. That drew thoughtful looks across the room while Yoda had yet to open his eyes. Those around could tell that Yoda was merely pausing before continuing so there was no rebuttal to his statement. He lengthened out the silence by occasionally twisting and prodding the floor before him with his Gimer Stick as he leaned forward.

Yoda's eyes opened and he looked around the room slowly. Eventually his eyes focused upon Aayla Secura's presence there as a hologram. "Master Secura, what is your current assignment?"

Aayla responded immediately, "My troops and I had just received instructions to break off a small attachment to investigate a possibly abandoned Separatist base somewhere within the many planets and moons of the Endor system. The majority were to continue as an on-call relief force since we've been temporarily pulled back from the front lines for rest."

"Hmmmm," murmured Yoda as he stroked his chin with one clawed finger, his eyes regarding her but also slightly unfocused as if seeing something a great distance away.

"Important this is," said Yoda after some length of time, his eyes once more focused on her. There was conviction in his voice, and a heavy weight that was heard by all, letting all present know that Yoda believed this with all his being. "Shatterpoint, Master Windu likely call this, would he."

The man in question raised both of his eyebrows at this assertion, and all familiar with the man's method of utilizing the Force while in combat leaned in closer to listen to the Order's Grand Master.

Aayla Secura looked concerned as much by the order as by the statement and met Yoda's eyes. "What exactly does this mission entail?"

"To recover Padawan Tano and to bring back this individual for questioning of course." Ki-Adi-Mundi replied leaning forward, his tone one of surprise that she would even have to ask.

Shaak Ti's reply was immediate, "Under what authority? This man has violated no laws, and there is nothing he could possibly be charged with."

"Beyond having no common decency," muttered Obi-Wan.

Shaak Ti ignored the comment, continuing as if she hadn't heard it, although several masters smiled in response. "By our own admittance this man has broken none of our laws. Nor has he done anything that could justify dragging him back here, especially if he doesn't want to come willingly."

"Truth you speak Master Ti." Yoda spoke before any other reply could be formed.

"And Ahsoka Tano was expelled from the Jedi Order by the will of this very Council, and then refused readmittance, which is not illegal," stated Kit Fisto

"The Order has no authority to order her back," stated Anakin, even though he obviously didn't like acknowledging the truth of that statement.

Yoda nodded slowly, before exchanging a look with Mace Windu who more often than not had seemed closest with the aged Jedi Master. They stared at each other for several long moments before Yoda spoke up once more "Priority this mission has. Sense something around this man. What, know I do not."

Aayla frowned and spoke up once more, "That… honestly doesn't clear up what my mission actually is."

Yoda nodded a little. "Former padawan Ahsoka Tano you must find. Ascertain her status. Find out more about her companion. Worked well you have in the past, and familiar you are with Hutt Systems through infiltration work. Best hope you are for this mission."

"Don't make any hostile actions towards either of them unless absolutely necessary, to protect yourself or others." Master Windu added to Yoda's comments seamlessly.

Yoda's eyes were once more closed and he spoke up again without opening them. "Trust your instincts, Master Secura. Trust the Force. Important this will be. Clouded this man's nature is, but discover more we must."

"And if the man does something that requires me to protect myself or others?" Aayla asked quietly.

"Discuss it we will should that be necessary," responded Master Yoda .

"Head to Nar Shaddaa, if indeed his path leads there, that may be the best place to start. We will speak again once you've arrived and update you with anything else we've found." instructed Master Windu.

Aayla nodded hesitantly, "I will be on my way within the hour."

"May the Force be with you, Master Secura." Obi-Wan said.

Aayla merely nodded and disconnected.

Yoda nodded his head in approval once before breathing in with a deep sigh and turning his head, he fixed first Ki-Adi-Mundi and then focused fully on Tre'jin with a glare "Discuss now we will, your deplorable behavior."

Obi-Wan spoke up, "You know we still need someone to go to the Ice World of Hoth and thoroughly explore the glaciers to ascertain there's no droid army presence."

"Indeed," added Plo Kloon. "Having two instead of one will make it go twice as fast. After all, there's only 16,000 square kilometers to check in the area we identified, and all of it done on foot, at least until some cold weather warfare assets can be detailed for the mission."

"And they are notoriously difficult to requisition by our quartermasters at the present time," added Anakin with a gleam in his eyes.

ooOoOOoOoo

Author's note:

Bwahaha. I'm pretty much loving this story. This Harry is pretty damned fun to write. Of course because he's one of my characters he's not completely without emotional damage. But his story will come! (Plums - Much later, unfortunately)

How is Harry's presence going to change things? *snickers* You'll just have to wait and find out. It has ALREADY BEGUN. *dun dun dun*

I'm doing this story a little differently. As i'm currently working on chapter 11 with it. Though constantly tweaking the rest of the chapters, and i'm seeing how this is going.

For those reviews and messages I get asking about my progress on I'm Still Here. No it is not abandoned. No it is not on hiatus. Part of the next chapter is written, more of it is outlined. I do not know when it will come out, because right now, this story sorta hijacked my muse and outright refuses to give it up.

As always Plums has been a great co-author. He helps add a certain zest to things! He also keeps me from going… quite batshit insane when I can't make an idea work. He's super supportive and I can never say thank you to him enough.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Samantha Minuet bit her tongue, ignored her dislike for Harry in order to beta read through this for me. (In the end she MAY have confessed that my writing of him didn't totally suck, which was nice ^_^)

Plums Notes:

To me, its very odd looking at this chapter, knowing that it now stands at roughly 14k words, when it was probably less than a tenth of that in outline form 6 months ago when we started working on this last October.

Some of the Jedi have always naturally just 'bugged' me, and all the negativity you may infer that is directed towards Ki-Adi-Mundi can be placed squarely upon my shoulders. I mean in Canon Star Wars, the dude apparently is freaking married, because his "species is endangered". So its okay for him to lay some pipe for the Greater Good, but not Anakin. Granted, Anakin never should have spawned with anyone, but that's besides the point. The guy was always a calm condescending prick whenever he was on screen, and he was the sole Jedi in Revenge of the Sith that I cheered when he bought the farm. The negativity towards him is solely on me.

Tre'jin's over the top silliness, you can blame that squarely on Kat. She wanted another foil for this, and searched long to dredge up his character.

The campaigns and assignments the Jedi are taking during the meeting are all taken from canon. Hell, I actually own the extremely poorly drawn comic book where Aayla and her troops go to Endor that's mentioned in her 'current assignments.' We won't be sticking with canon / AU / EU Clone Wars events for long, but just long enough to set up some of the general 'stuff' until we derail the train and turn everything on its head in terms of the plot.

That's why we read fan-fiction, isn't it? We WANT something different than the standard ole garbage we've read (or watched) hundreds of times.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this. I'm still trying to get over the fact someone actually drew a drawing inspired by Chapter one, crossing Harry with Jiraiya from Naruto and having Harry do a Toad-Sage-over-the-top-pervert-intro, with Ahsoka calling him pervert-sensei while rolling her eyes in annoyance.

I've never been prouder in my life.

Kathryn: Check the link in my profile for a look at it! It's the first time someone has done art for any of my stories! I am more than a little psyched!

Alternate chapter titles.

"Man, if I knew someone was going to read them out loud I would have had more aliases." - Harry Potter.

"My dialogue seemed so much more intimidating in episodes 4-6 and I have no idea why." - Anakin Skywalker

"Harry causing trouble. Statistically proven to be safest bet in the galaxy." - Minnie

"Hey, I negotiated and nothing blew up!" - Ahsoka Tano

"What a shock. They send the Twi'lek to Nar Shaddaa." Aayla Secura

"At least it's not Hoth. I'm going to freeze my ass off." - Master Tre'jin

"Consider Hoth just a trial to be overcome!" - snarky Ahsoka Tano

"Could be worse. Could be Tatooine. Why the eff that planet gets so many parts of stories is beyond me." - Any star wars fan ever.

"Every conversation I'm in, I will say 'uncivilized' at least once." Obi-Wan Kenobi