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magicalforcesau · 3 years

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Dancing With Ghosts in Your Garden~ Chapter 13 - Year 2: September

(ao3 link)

King’s Cross station was buzzing with life just as it always was. Crowds were pulling in all directions, making it difficult to follow a specific current. Still, Anakin and his mum navigated the onslaught of people with practiced experience that came more from Shmi’s instincts rather than Anakin’s. It was for this reason that he allowed her to hold his hand as she swam them upstream until they arrived between platforms 9 and 10.

“Now, mum, this is difficult for me to say, but I’m the chosen one now. I’ve got a reputation to uphold. So, while I don’t mind holding your hand, I don’t need anyone else thinking their chosen one is a wuss.”

She raised her eyebrows at him, “Is that so?”

“It’s a shame, it is.” He said with a nod, “We had some good times.”

Shmi snorted, “Who does Spider-Man love and protect more than anyone else in the whole world?”

“His Aunt May.” He said, surprised that his mother would even doubt him knowing that, “Who’s like a mother to him. During the clone saga arc of the Amazing Spider-Man comic run, Aunt May died! Well, we all thought it was her, but-”

“-Exactly,” She smiled, “And would you call Spider-Man weak?”

“Of course not,” He scoffed, “He can take down the entire Sinister Six all by himself!”

“Anakin, even heroes are allowed to love their mothers. Only a fool would brand you weak for that.”

And with that, she clasped Anakin’s hand tightly and led him through the brick wall that divided his two realities. He couldn’t really find much else to say on that, because she’d bested him in his own language. He might have pondered about how unfair this was, but was far too distracted by the tingly feeling that permeated through him as he caught sight of the Hogwarts Express again.

When he tried to push further into the crowd of wizards, who all said their goodbyes to their parents before getting aboard the train, his mother’s grasp tightened a bit.

“Mum?” He looked up at her to see that her eyes were teary, though she ran her arm along her face in a quick attempt to hide this. “What’s wrong?”

She knelt down to be at his level, “Nothing’s wrong, dear. It’s just… Don’t try to grow up too fast on me, okay?”

He wanted to make that promise, but everyday Anakin learned something new about who he was and what he could do. Even just doing his homework this summer made him feel inspired by his own gifts. He could see in his mother’s eyes that she saw the same thing. Still, he wanted nothing more than to take that melancholic look from her.

“I told you I’ll never grow too old for you, mum, and I meant that. Even when I save the world, I’ll still love you.”

She brushed his bangs, which had grown a bit longer, out of his eyes and kept his face between her hands, “I know, my darling, but you know I worry.”

“But why?” He had to try one more time. He really believed that his mother might share more about her experiences in the wizarding world with the prophecy becoming public information. He was wrong on that account.

Instead, she just seemed to only grow sadder.

“Ani, the only thing harder than being the chosen one expected of all this responsibility and heroics, is to be the mother that must let her child fulfill that.”

He blinked, “I’ll be safe, I promise.”

“Do not make promises you cannot keep,” She sighed.

“I can try.” He said quietly.

“And I’ll hold you to that,” She smiled and stood back to her feet, “I look forward to hearing of all the safe adventures you embark on.”

He returned her smile, though couldn’t help but notice that she still seemed quite forlorn. He wished they had more time to talk about it. He still wished he could bring her with him, try as he might to seem like he didn’t.

Behind her, some of his classmates waved excitedly at him and whispered amongst themselves to their parents, likely saying exactly who Anakin was. He smiled back and then looked back to his mother’s curious eyes.

“And remember those who chose you before this prophecy did.” She said.

“How could I forget- Oh, hey Ferus! Good to see you!” He cut himself off to wave to an older student that regarded him from across the platform.

His mum kissed his forehead and he didn’t resist too much for her sake (or that’s what he told himself), “I love you, Anakin. I’ll see you again soon.”

“Love you too!” Anakin chirped and then turned to the train, still awestruck at how magnificent it truly was. Sometimes, he struggled to realize the fact that this got to be his life.

He turned around once more on the edge of the train, waving proudly at his mum.

It was going to be a great year.

***

Rex had to resist rolling his eyes in good nature over his best friend’s obvious liking to the sudden stardom he’d risen to. He could understand why, on some level, everyone had taken a sudden interest in Anakin. The chosen one prophecy had existed longer than any of the other orbs in the Ministry of Magic. Valorum, the Minster, himself, did an entire exposé where he discussed just how untouched the prophecies had been for the past millennia.

And sure, it did sound rather incredible what was going to happen, if anyone ever got around to deciphering what it meant. To Rex, Anakin was always going to be just Anakin- his best friend and co-conspirator, whose tongue turned fat whenever talking to a certain Gryffindor third year girl.

Speaking of such, Anakin was going to have a conniption when he noticed Padmé and her group of girls were in the compartment just across the way from the one Rex chose. Since he already knew he was going to ask, he claimed Echo and Fives’ extendable ear in an attempt to listen in.

The engine on the locomotive let out one final warning call, alerting any stragglers to get their bums into high gear lest they miss the train altogether. Rex had never known anyone to do so, but Fives and Echo allegedly had a classmate their first year who missed the train and no one ever saw him again.

Whether or not that was true or just a means of them getting him out of bed early, was debatable. Hogwarts was full of strange urban legends.

Finally, Anakin meandered his way down the aisle, stopping to talk to every single person who called out to him. This time, Rex did roll his eyes, especially as Anakin was even conferring with Asajj Ventress, who was nothing but nasty about him the previous year.

Really, he hoped all of this wouldn’t get to his head.

Surprisingly enough, when Anakin walked past Padmé’s compartment and into the one Rex occupied, he offered little more than a polite greeting after the girl said hello. Instead, he sat down across from Rex without much explanation. He didn’t even look the least bit flustered after encountering Padmé of all people.

“Rex!” Anakin said cheerily.

“I’m sorry, are you daft?” Rex shot back with a questioning look.

“What?” His friend stared back blankly.

“Are you daft?” Rex repeated slowly and then leaned forward to whisper, “Do you not see who’s right over there? I thought you would be over the moon right now! In fact, why aren’t you over the moon right now?”

“Because I’m over all of that,” Anakin waved off, “Is Padmé the most beautiful girl in the entire world? Yes, but I’m gonna be busy with all of this world-saving I’ve got to do.”

“Oh brother,” Rex leaned back in his seat, “You’re kidding me.”

“I’m serious!” Anakin squeaked and then leaned forward to shut the compartment door so they had more privacy to discuss this, “She’s still the love of my life, but I’ve made my peace that I can’t have her.”

“Okay, so you’re giving up.”

“Not giving up.” Anakin said, “Heroes don’t give up.”

Rex’s frown deepened as he considered the cocky Gryffindor across from him, “Kinda sounds like giving up to me.”

“My mum got me thinking about Spider-Man.”

“You’re losing me, mate.” Rex groaned.

“So,” Anakin sat up, “Superheroes can’t have girlfriends or boyfriends, because then the villains use them as a pawn to get to the hero. I already have my mum! I can’t risk having anyone else that Dooku could use to foil my plans of foiling his plans.”

“Why the bloody hell would Dooku care about a tween romance?” Rex asked, “Particularly a one-sided one?”

“Because that’s how bad guys work, Rex!” Anakin insisted, “Trust me on this, because I’m an expert.”

“Because let me guess, you’re the chosen one.” Rex returned.

“Well, yeah, but mostly because I’ve done my homework on that account.”

“If by homework, I’m sure you mean watching copious amounts of television.” Obi-Wan drawled as he leaned against the now-open compartment. Even as a prefect, he was the only student fully dressed in his robes already. Rex was unsure how he didn’t notice him standing there.

“You don’t even know what television is!” Anakin countered in a high-pitched voice that drew the girls’ attention from across the way. He sat back and grimaced at their muffled giggles.

“I do so.” Obi-Wan said, “I just don’t understand the full logistics of it.”

It was true, most wizards didn’t know much on the technological aspects of the muggle world. From what Anakin told Rex about television and electricity, it all sounded very exciting and thrilling. They were clearly missing out on something pretty great and Satine gave great indication of this too, even if her idea of exciting programming probably wasn’t the same as Rex’s.

“Please tell Mr. Chosen One that giving up on love simply because an orb decided to glow for him is utterly ridiculous.” Rex said.

“If anything, Obi-Wan would support my decision to side on the airs of rationale.”

Obi-Wan snorted, “Perhaps, if you were considering this on a school-level, but not to become a hero in tights.”

“I would look good in tights.” Anakin argued, which only told Rex that he likely had a version of his own superhero image sketched out somewhere. If someone was going to see it, it was going to be Rex.

“No one looks good in tights.” And Obi-Wan said that like he unfortunately had experience on this matter, “Anyway, remain in your seats, boys, we’re heading out soon.”

When he shut the door behind him, Anakin scowled, “Why would you tell him about my plan to sacrifice love? I don’t want it getting around!”

“Who’s he going to tell?” Rex asked, “My brother? Satine? Those are the only people he talks to.”

“Yeah,” Anakin said, “You have a point there.”

Rex caught him sneaking a small wave in Padmé’s direction.

***

When Obi-Wan finally entered the compartment he usually shared with Cody and Satine, he dropped down into his seat with a sigh.

“Mate, the term hasn’t even started yet.” Cody teased, “Don’t stress me out with your stress.”

“On the plus side, no potions for you this year.” Obi-Wan smiled, “As for me, I just didn’t sleep well last night, which is strange, since it’s usually my best sleep of the summer.”

“I know the feeling.” Cody grinned, “This season of Quidditch is going to be insane! It’s going to be Gryffindor’s big comeback year, I tell you, and here’s why:”

Obi-Wan allowed his best friend to go on his lengthy rant about just why Gryffindor was going to pull through that year, which included the fact that Rex was going to try out and show up all the other second year tryouts, especially with how hard Cody trained him that summer. Other than that, he lost Obi-Wan in a lot of random dribble that didn’t really register, considering Cody was still trying to be vague about his plan.

“Can’t exactly squeal the goods to you, mate. You are technically a House Cup champion, after all.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, “Yes, of course, well, get your rants out now before Satine joins us. You know she’s not nearly as keen to listen to this as I am.”

“Where is she, anyway?” Cody asked, “I’d hate for you to be the only prefect with a stick up their bum this year.”

“Rest assured, she’s in the restroom getting changed.” He said, “Not without teasing me for arriving dressed in my robes.”

“It is hot outside, you know.”

“And you know that the clothes my parents would have me wear would have me teased forever.” He retorted.

“Yeah, you can’t afford that after the-”

“-Pajamas, I know. Satine mentioned it in about seven letters this summer to remind me. Anakin hadn’t even seen them and mentioned them too. I swear, you all need new material.”

“And so do you,” Cody snorted, “New clothing material, that is.”

Obi-Wan groaned, “That was pitiful.”

“Really? Because I found it quite funny.” He said, “Not as funny as Ventress’s face is going to be when Gryffindor takes the house cup and shakes up the entire division by-”

Obi-Wan was more than happy to allow him to continue, letting his eyes drift to peer down the aisle of the train, catching a glimpse of Satine as she walked their way, robe in hand. When they’d been to Diagon Alley just a couple weeks prior, he’d of course noticed that she’d… Matured over the summer. However, seeing her in the uniforms that she wore practically every day was something of a divine intervention.

She always carried herself with confidence, but it seemed like the rest of her caught up to such a bold nature. He suddenly found himself feeling very childish in comparison- all skin and bones- while she no longer looked like the young girl that occasionally had him flustered. He couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious about how starkly different they seemed now.

She looked sophisticated, wise beyond her years, and utterly brilliant.

Her legs looked like they went on for days.

He shook his head, trying to bring himself back into the present, but only found his face grow red as she drew nearer. He wasn’t even sure if Cody was still excitedly talking, as the boy only would go on until he was stopped. He never ran out of things to say about Quidditch.

Whatever spell he’d been under broke the moment someone whistled as Satine walked by, causing her to turn to them and spit back in retaliation. Obi-Wan felt himself see red for a different reason entirely. It seemed as she passed, even more people took notice of how much she’d transformed over the summer.

And many of the boys, including the seventh years, liked what they saw.

Obi-Wan did not like the way that made him feel.

“Can you believe the utter buffoonery?” Satine groaned as she sat down beside Obi-Wan, cutting Cody off from his rant about defensive measures in overtime.

“Can you be more specific?” Cody asked without missing a beat.

“These… Arseholes are acting like they’ve never seen me before.” She said, adjusting her skirt and then looking at Obi-Wan, which he averted his gaze immediately, “It’s like they all woke up with their heads on backwards.”

“It’s extremely inappropriate.” Obi-Wan found himself agreeing with a little too much enthusiasm that drew a cocked eyebrow from Cody. “She’s a person for God’s sake! Not to mention a prefect. It’s like you’re some kind of walking carnival act for them to gawk at.”

“It’s just because they think you’re hot now.” Cody said with a shrug, “They’ll get over it.”

“That doesn’t make it right.” Satine said. “And I haven’t gotten hot. I haven’t done anything!”

“Exactly!” Obi-Wan said, and cringed as Satine glared at him.

“You don’t need to always be so agreeable, you know.” She snapped.

“Well, what would you rather I do? Hoot and holler like some sort of invalid?” He retorted, opening a book on his lap to hopefully distract from how red his face was, “For the record, I’ve always thought you looked quite fit. Didn’t you, Cody?”

Cody, who had been staring very intensely at the candy cart, snapped back to them, “Oh- er, yes, sure.”

“Very convincing stuff, boys.” She grimaced, “Thank you.”

Obi-Wan sighed, “Yes, well, I still maintain that they’re all idiots.”

“I’m sure you do.” Cody said.

It was going to be a long train ride.

***

Ventress glowered as she watched more students gather around Skywalker’s compartment, asking eager questions about what he’d done with his summer. It was pitiful to see how the masses swarmed to their newest morsel of gossip and intrigue like they were quite literally dependent on it for sustenance. They would suck the life out of Skywalker until he had nothing else to give, turning on him in seconds flat. In a way, she knew what that felt like better than anyone- to be used.

Her culture, her people, was familiar with it. It was engraved in their history to be cast to the sidelines in favor of a more civilized age. They were marked savages, heathens, monsters while the filth known as muggles got to parade about and mock them with pointy hats, cartoonish movies, and stereotypes that only fueled the fire of their isolation.

Relegated to the castle that approached from over the hill- not allowed to flaunt their gifts amongst the whole world, to display dominance. It was vile.

Wizards, after all, did the proper thing if their child was born without magic. They didn’t allow them to go and ruin someone else’s culture. Ventress always believed in nature as opposed to nurture and all the nurture in the world couldn’t make a muggle-born an actual witch or wizard. It just wasn’t possible.

She knew how people saw her. Her bone white face, icy blue eyes, and close-cropped white hair made her stand out in a crowd. While her family never spoke of it, she represented the witches of olde- not nearly as posh and significantly more malicious than what proper wizards prefer to display at the surface.

Where muggles would have thrown her to the gallows, the elite purebloods took her in.

Skywalker was a fool for believing he was lucky. In fact, the stark realization between how people treated him now vs. the year before (when no one cared or knew that he existed) would have been startling to anyone with a working brain. However, the little second year just continued to eat up the fact that he was chosen.

Ventress knew something about that as well and considered, as she absently doodled in the top corner of the open spell book on her lap, how it wasn’t always what it was cut out to be.

“You think he’s going to be a problem this year?” Faro Argyus asked as he leaned back in the seat opposite to hers.

Faro always looked like he smelled something bad. To his credit, this time might actually ring true.

She sighed, unsure when she agreed to having him sit in her compartment at all, “If you truly believe some snotty little second year is going to pose any true threat to you, Argyus, perhaps you aren’t as tough as you believe you are.”

He growled, “I’m not talking about Quidditch.”

“I never said that you were.” She leaned on her hand as she looked at him.

His face needed work, but he was quite chiseled otherwise and even Ventress could appreciate that. Luckily, he was about as smart as a forest troll, so he never exuded much critical thinking. If he did, she believed the sky would truly open up and rain pigs on them all.

“To answer your original question,” She added and folded up her book nicely, “I think Skywalker is a walking problem in general.”

“I wish he’d start up that cheating ring again.” He huffed and shifted in his seat, “Maybe come up with one that’ll take care of NEWT’s.”

“That wasn’t even him.” She rolled her eyes, “That was the muggle-born from Calgary.”

“Figures.” He sniffed, “Only a muggle-born would get caught.”

“Thank the maker he’s gone.” Shu Mai, a Gossam sixth year with deep gray and wrinkly skin and a long head that curved up, said tactly, “Their lot is lucky they go here at all. If they blow their chance, that should be it.”

Ventress glanced down the aisle to where the incessant do-gooder, Kenobi, and his muggle sidekick, Kryze, shooed away the gathering crowd, saying something of it being against safety measures to be up and standing on a moving train.

Before they, themselves, moved to sit down, they were stopped by a Ravenclaw named Fenn Rau, who seemed quite interested in talking with Kryze about something indistinct. Whatever it was, it made Kenobi’s face go intriguingly dark in a way that Ventress believed suited him. He should tap into it more often to unleash the power that he was truly capable of. However, that was just her opinion.

“Seems Skywalker isn’t the only one gaining more attention this year.” She said and kicked Faro in the shin as she caught his stare lingering on Kryze, “Have you any self-respect?”

“Pretty packaging, that’s all.” He shrugged, but glanced back, “If Kenobi gets a good shag out of her, I’ll get why he’s put in so much time.”

“You’re swine, Faro.” Shu Mai accurately assessed with her heavy-lidded eyes.

“And I’m okay with that.” He said. “Actually, there’s plenty of hot merchandise up for sale this year.”

“I don’t remember asking you to sit with me.” Ventress fired back.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’re on the list.” He winked.

“Come anywhere near me and you’ll be turned into an actual piece of merchandise to be immortalized in some generic department store.” She fired off.

Faro blinked, trying to process that, before listing off the many girls he’d taken notice of this year. Shu Mai also looked like she regretted her choice of seat, but that was what happened when your friends were all upperclassmen and graduated already. Ventress thought she would suffer a similar fate, but realized instantly that she was above the sentiment.

Night was approaching outside of the train as stars began to break up darkness’ monotony. Away from all the bustling towns and cars that polluted the sky, they were afforded only a clear display of night as it was intended.

Perhaps, the state of affairs would be just as transparent.

Soon.

***

The train hissed into Hogsmeade station and Anakin and Rex looked up as prefects started opening compartments looking for first years.

“Oh yeah! The boats,” Anakin thought back to his experience the previous year, “That’s just for first years right?”

“Yep, Fives told me they make the rest of us walk, but with the look Echo was giving him I’m assuming that’s not true,” Rex told him as he stood, pulling his shoulder bag off the rack above him.

“I certainly hope not,” Anakin had walked partially to Hogsmeade last year and it hadn’t gone very well at all, “And I doubt they’ll let us break off to use the tunnel.”

“That tunnel was practically longer than walking,” Rex shook his head.

“Hey you lot? Planning on riding all the way back or are you coming to school?” Cody popped his head in waving at the two of them to follow. It seemed Anakin and Rex weren’t the only 2nd years who weren’t sure how they would be traversing to the castle this year, as many of them flocked towards any older students they happened to know.

Anakin ducked as a trunk soared over their heads and slotted itself neatly onto a cart pushed by an old witch Anakin hadn’t seen before. In fact there were several carts all loaded precariously with trunks and rucksacks. One was filled purely with empty owl cages, seemingly having let all their owl friends free. Anakin hadn’t gotten a cage for Artoo yet, but he knew the owl would have no trouble finding Hogwarts as it was his first home after all. He made a note to check up on him later.

“They’re volunteers,” Cody said suddenly and Anakin looked up to see him waving at a few of the older witches and wizards, “Hogsmeade survives off business from the school, although you two aren’t allowed in yet,” He reminded them with a stern look, “Every year they help get our things to the castle so we don’t have to try and squeeze them into-” He didn’t need to finish, and if he did Anakin didn’t hear him. Carriages, pulled by seemingly nothing were dotted along the road, waiting for students to file in. Cody hardly blinked as he grabbed the edge of one and swung on up.

Rex beat Anakin to the edge of the carriage climbing up with a little more caution and a lot more interest than his older brother. Anakin made to follow when someone called his name from behind.

“Skywalker!” A 7th year was calling for him. He was fuzzy on the name, but what did it matter. 7th years ruled the school, in more ways than even his former mentor could. The boy was waving him over, he wanted Anakin to join him and his fellow 7th year friends.

He flicked his gaze back to where Rex was laughing at something Cody had said. Surely Rex wouldn’t miss him, it was only a short distance to the castle after all. He made up his mind and hurried over.

“The name’s Ozzel,” The boy stuck a hand out and Anakin shook it, “Glad to have you, Chosen One,” Anakin felt pride swell like a balloon in his chest as he climbed the steep steps into the carriage.

“Ey, Chosen One!” He ended up being sandwiched between Ozzel and a Hufflepuff girl he didn’t recognize. Across from him was a Hufflepuff boy and two Slytherin girls. He sat as tall as a 12 year old boy could and happily answered a few of the questions he was most often getting asked. Things about the beast that had plagued their school just a year prior or about vanquishing Dooku. When they were finally satisfied Anakin glanced over his shoulder, he’d missed the good view of the castle.

They all stepped off the carriage and waved goodbye to Anakin before looping around the back to enter the Great Hall. Anakin moved to enter as well, but a large hand grabbed his shoulder to stop him. Looking up he was greeted by the stern expression of his least favorite professor.

“Go this way and you’re going to get yourself trampled,” Anakin wrinkled his nose, trying to figure out what on earth Windu was on about as it seemed a little early in the semester for riddles. Windu sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose with his opposite hand, “The carts are pulled by thesterals,” He took Anakin’s hand and brought it forward until it hit something fleshy and cold. Anakin yanked his hand back in shock.

“But, what? They’re invisible!”

“Invisible to some, not all,” The Professor put his hand on what Anakin could only assume was the creatures neck, “Only those who have seen death first hand can see them,” Anakin was just about to ask if Windu could see them when he heard Rex call his name angrily from behind him.

“Where did you go?” He crossed his arms, “Figured we lost you at the station or something.”

“Sorry Rex I-” He thought for a minute before continuing, “I just saw a friend I wanted to say hi to,” Rex didn’t look convinced, but still waved for Anakin to follow him into the Great Hall.

“Sure you did.”

***

The sorting ceremony went on without a hitch as it typically did. It was nice not to have the stress of watching to choose a mentor. Obi-Wan had quickly eaten through the main course of dinner. Meals at Hogwarts were always so warm and inviting, definitely a great way to welcome back students for the year. He was, as usual, a little more interested in the desserts, but before he could grab a second slice of pie a hush drew across the Great Hall.

He turned and gazed up towards the teacher’s stand to see Headmaster Yoda raising his hands in the air, asking for silence.

“Welcome you, I do, back to Hogwarts,” He hummed as the remaining chatter died out, “Many announcements to make, I have,” Many students groaned at that, desperate to have the night to catch up with friends. Yoda was always one who could sense such notions though so he smiled, eyes glinting, “Leave those for later, I will. All but one,” He extended out his hand and an adult, who was sitting at the Professor’s table, stood up. Obi-Wan didn’t recognize the man. He was green, clearly aquatic in nature, with long tendrils extending from his head like hair, “Your new DADA teacher, this is, Professor Kit Fisto.”

The Great Hall all clapped politely, before slowly the atmosphere drifted back towards the meal. The new professor sat down and the Headmaster turned to talk with Mace Windu at his side.

“Kit Fisto,” Satine considered the name, “I haven’t heard of him, haven’t read of him… What about you Ben?”

Ben looked away from her for a moment pondering, “Not that I can recall.”

“So that’s a no then,” Satine sighed. There was very little he couldn’t recall after all. Professor Fisto was probably another retired auror, but before he could continue down his line of possibilities he was nearly shoved to the side as a Ravenclaw 5th year squeezed his way between him and Satine. Obi-Wan had to blink a few times just to make sure that this indeed was reality, while the boy stuck his hand out to Satine.

“Nice to see you again, Satine,” He greeted her, and because Satine was always polite she shook his hand.

“Fenn Rau was it?” Satine asked and Obi-Wan felt like his eyes were glued on their hands until he let hers go, “I helped you with your charms paper last year right?”

“And I’m forever grateful,” His voice sounded awfully cheery to be talking about homework, Obi-Wan thought. Surely he and Satine were the only ones who truly appreciated a good paper. As if just now feeling Obi-Wan’s eyes on the back of his head Fenn turned to shake hands with him as well.

“Of course, I don’t want to leave you out of the loop either, Kenobi,” The boy smiled as Obi-Wan took his hand and gave it a firm shake, not unlike his father’s, “I’m excited to work with you as well, as one of Ravenclaw’s newest prefects,” it was only then that Obi-Wan saw the glint of a prefect’s badge sitting atop the 5th years robes. Perhaps it would be a long year after all.

***

They had all thankfully been given the opportunity to catch up with their friends- exchanging summer anecdotes, talking about the upcoming year, speculating about the mystery that was their new DADA professor. Regardless of their various experiences, everyone could steadily agree that it was good to be back.

Because of the various security breaches from the previous year as well as the actual monster that nearly destroyed the school and those who inhabited it, parents and guardians had justifiable reason to be concerned for the incoming school year. Headmaster Yoda’s answer to this had been to implement a conference day. This allotted time for concerned parents to meet with their child’s professors, view newly implemented security measures, and assuage their fears.

“Safe, our students should feel.” Yoda had announced from his propped podium at breakfast. All of the students were haphazardly mixed together as they always were for meals that were not dinner. Even in the midst of the excited chatter full of catching up from summer break, everyone stopped dead when Yoda began to speak.

Anakin didn’t know what it was about the little green wizard, but he sure knew how to command the room.

“Welcome, all parents are.” He said firmly and cast his bright green eyes across the entire student body, “All blood types, of course.”

He had been, of course, referring to the muggle-borns, which was surely the question on everyone’s mind. This meant, to the shock of many, that muggles would be allowed at Hogwarts for the first time since its opening. As guests, sure, but it was still a big deal. Despite growing up around muggles his entire life, Anakin could see how this would bristle people. They didn’t know or understand magic. This school was meant for wizards only. Muggles could get hurt on the grounds and no one wanted to see that.

In lieu of this announcement, the student body didn’t fall into that comforting sense of easy camaraderie that made the castle feel like home. Instead, the knowledge that their parents would be invading their spaces to inspect and essentially deem Hogwarts fit for them in a week’s time, made it very difficult to relax at all.

Even Anakin was a bit worried that his mum might learn of the more dangerous events from his first year. She certainly would not have enjoyed hearing he was kidnapped for a brief period of time or that nobody notified her immediately.

Despite how low he felt at one point in the spring, Anakin couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but at Hogwarts. His recent surge in popularity was proof of his belonging. How else was he supposed to protect his people if he wasn’t trained to do so? They needed him and he liked the concept of them needing him.

Obi-Wan was probably the only student not at least a little on edge, which Anakin found more peculiar than anything else. After his potions class, which afforded him the chance to visit one of his favorite professors, Anakin slipped away from the crowd of chattering students to find his mentor calmly shepherding some new first year Ravenclaws. Of course, he was still incredibly diligent about his job- taking care to make sure they got on their way without getting lost. He just lacked that rigid demeanor that every other student seemed to carry with them or in Obi-Wan’s case, the kind he carried most of the time anyway.

Anakin sighed as he considered the new students. It was hard to believe that it had been an entire year since he was in their shoes. They were so young, so unknowing, so naive. They could learn a lot from him.

“Did you need something, Anakin?” Obi-Wan looked over at him.

“Oh, I was just seeing if you needed help rounding up the little kids.” He said casually, “Seeing as I probably know this castle better than most at this point.”

Despite the quirk that pulled at his mentor’s usually serious mouth, Anakin knew Obi-Wan couldn’t exactly contest the point with all of Anakin’s misadventures through the secret tunnel system.

“I’m sure you heard that the tunnels are open for public transit now.” He said, “And are guarded at all times by enchanted suits of armor so as to prevent any mischief.”

Anakin did hear that, but he didn’t appreciate the way Obi-Wan took care to cast an accusatory look at him when he said the word mischief, even if it wasn’t entirely misplaced. He also didn’t voice his obvious disappointment that the tunnels were no longer just his little secret that he shared with Palpatine and Rex. With everyone knowing, they basically just became additional glorified hallways.

“Well, everyone should be thanking me for finding them quicker ways to get to and from class then.” He said with a nod.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to answer with what would no doubt be a well-timed sarcastic reply, but was cut off by a loud “WOOP” and cheer of Anakin’s name by a third year Ravenclaw named Jax Pavan, who was merely passing by. This was soon followed by his friend, a Hufflepuff named Tru Veld’s, own loud acknowledgement of Anakin.

“Hey guys!” Anakin waved and beamed at them.

“My my, you’ve certainly gained some instant popularity.” Obi-Wan said once the boys passed down the moving staircases.

Anakin shrugged like it wasn’t as big of a deal to him as it was. After all, he’d never been popular before. Hearing Obi-Wan admit it made it feel like he had pop rocks in his stomach. It was confirmation.

“Well, word does travel fast.” Anakin said with the wave of a hand at another passing fan, “I am just choosing to embrace that fact for once.”

“As long as you don’t allow it to interfere with your studies.” Obi-Wan said sternly, “Even chosen ones need to pass their classes.”

“We’re not even through the first week of school and you’re already lecturing me?” Anakin complained, “You’re worse than Windu.”

“Just because I’m no longer technically your mentor doesn’t mean I don’t have your best interest in mind.” Obi-Wan said with a shrug.

“Oh, that’s right, so that means I no longer technically have to listen to you anymore.” Anakin puffed out his chest in pride at deducing that one.

“I’m still a prefect, Anakin.” He deadpanned, “The only thing that’s changed between us is I am now in the jurisdiction of being able to give you detention should you require it.”

He remembered his detentions with Windu with the disdain of someone that was never going to get those hours back. He really did not want to repeat the same strokes and end up there again. Plus, he quite liked having Obi-Wan as his mentor. While innately powerful and necessary to the fate of the universe, Anakin still couldn’t quite figure out how to scribe the perfect essay.

“I suppose it would be quite lame if I don’t score high marks.” Anakin reasoned, “Being the chosen one and all.”

“If I’d known a prophecy would have gotten you to do your homework on time, I would have taken up poetry at some point last year.” He said.

“You’re telling me you haven’t been reading that goofy stuff this entire time?” He asked.

Obi-Wan cracked a smile and gestured his hand out, neither confirming nor denying this. He wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest. Obi-Wan was always discussing archaic books with Satine or Qui-Gon, “Now, Mr. Chosen One, I highly recommend you see your way off to your Defense Against the Dark Arts class.”

His uniform was pressed and perfect as ever- complete with a prefect button shining from being recently polished and shoes that endured the same fate. There wasn’t a hair out of place on his well-sculpted head and there didn’t appear to be any tension gripping at his form. That being said, Obi-Wan had clearly gone through a bit of a growth spurt over the summer and was even taller than he was last year, making him appear longer and lankier.

However, Anakin liked to think he could read him pretty well and saw none of the usual signs of unease: no tight frown, clenched jaw or hands, red ears, or intense calculative stare. Instead, he just seemed full of pure duty and focus.

Yes, Obi-Wan was far too serene for someone that stood a lot to risk with being ripped from school after the parent conferences. Everyone knew he was in the running for Head Boy and Anakin didn’t even fully understand the significance for such a title besides the fact that it was a big deal to wizards.

“But what about the first years?” He complained, “You might need my help.”

“Professor Fisto might be new, but he’s no fool. He’d never believe I require the assistance of a second year to accomplish such a feat. Besides, I think I can handle escorting a lost child or two. I certainly had no issue getting you to class.”

Well, Anakin had fallen down a staircase on his first day, but he’d had worse days in the past.

“You know, you seem awfully chill.” Anakin finally accused him with narrowed eyes and an outstretched pointed finger.

“I’m always chill!” Obi-Wan objected with a slight crack in his voice, but even the word chill sounded foreign coming from his mouth. Perhaps, this was because it was not usually a word so readily used to describe him.

“One, no you’re not.” Anakin countered, “And two, everyone in school is freaking out about their parents coming and pulling them out of Hogwarts. I figured this would have you written all over it as far as panic attacks go.”

“Contrary to popular belief, I see no reason for concern,” Obi-Wan said simply and earnestly.

Still, Anakin stared at him for a long moment to try and look for any of the indicators that he was lying. He didn’t know exactly what to look for with the ever-trained Obi-Wan, but he’d seen enough cop shows to know there were always tells.

He placed a hand on his shoulder, “Anakin, I appreciate your consideration, but really, I’m alright. I do not believe my parents would see any place as a better fit for me than Hogwarts. After all, my family has been in attendance since the first generation of students.”

“Your family is that old?” Anakin couldn’t even trace back to his grandparents on either side, let alone know what his forefathers were doing back in their day. Based on his minimal impression on Obi-Wan’s family, he couldn’t decide if that was a positive or negative thing.

“It certainly has its legacy.” He said instead, but shook his head before devolving into what would surely be a very robotic history lesson, “And besides, my parents are far too busy to just drop everything for a school event. They’ve got much to keep up with the family business.”

That would explain why the Kenobi’s were never at any Quidditch matches, but Anakin had never made such a connection until now. While the sixth year prefect didn’t sound or seem the least bit sad over this, Anakin still felt a bit bad. Even if he was nervous about what she might say should she learn of his incident with Dooku, Anakin was still excited to show his mum his bunk, classrooms, and Quidditch locker.

Even if he was grown up, he still liked having someone who took the care and time to worry about him. Absently, he wondered why Obi-Wan wouldn’t want that too.

As he stepped foot into DADA, which would conclude his day, he shrugged off the concern, realizing not for the first time that Obi-Wan was a great deal older than him. Perhaps, worrying about such frivolous matters wasn’t in his coding.

***

“Are we sure bringing all of the parents on property is such a good idea, Headmaster?” Mace Windu asked from his position across from Yoda. As usual, Gryffindor’s head of house never opted to sit, though Yoda always offered it to him. Sometimes, he believed that the former auror liked having him crane his neck even further to look at him. However, the wiser part of Yoda understood that Mace was simply always on the move.

He had been the most uneasy about the decision to open Hogwarts’ doors to the parents, feeling that they were simply opening their dirty laundry to those that might blow it out of proportion.

“Their children live here for the greater part of the year, Professor Windu.” Sheev Palpatine said carefully, “Should they not feel secure in that decision?”

Mace bristled, “I understand that, Professor, but hosting guests feels a bit like welcoming trouble into our lair so soon after we’ve just increased security.”

“And you believe the parent of one of our students is capable of evil?” Palpatine asked, still maintaining his persistent sense of calm that was often needed in these weekly meetings.

“One of our own was capable, Sheev.” Windu shot back, “No one is above suspicion.”

“I can’t completely disagree with Mace.” Qui-Gon voiced for the first time. Though this was his first year as Ravenclaw’s head of house, this was not the first meeting he’d attended. It only seemed natural now.

Windu, just as everyone else, seemed surprised by this.

“It’s been known to happen every once in a while.” Qui-Gon smirked at the beguilement of the room, “We aren’t entirely sure who we can and can’t trust. One thing was made clear from last year: Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one, which means attempts on his life will be made.”

“Exactly,” Windu nodded firmly, “We don’t know who Dooku’s got working for him. It could be anyone.”

Unfortunately, they didn’t know much about Dooku’s plots for evil in general. After a relentless search that spread across the entire summer and alerting all aurors to remain on the highest level of awareness since the darkest of ages, it seemed the outed Sith lord who called himself Tyranus had disappeared into the shadows.

Yoda knew it was only a matter of time before he showed himself once again.

Professor Shaak Ti sighed, “Of course I care for the boy’s safety, but is this school not the safest place for him? I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumors. If enough parents pull their children from Hogwarts, we don’t have a school.”

“And think of the poor muggle borns, who would otherwise have nowhere else to learn magic.” Palpatine said.

“I understand that fears must be assuaged,” Qui-Gon said, “If we lead with fear, we’ve got no true ammunition towards the building Sith offense. We simply do not have the luxury of denying that a darker time is approaching and we must do everything in our power to prevent it.”

“Including gaining the favor of the parents, most of whom, Hogwarts is their alma mater as well.” Shaak Ti said.

“Why can we not hold these conferences in the office space in Diagon Alley as we’ve done when there were concerned parents before?” Windu asked.

“Comforting, transparency can be,” Yoda said firmly, “Unsettling, secrets are, but correct, all of your concerns are as well. Prepared for the worst, we must be.”

“And how do we do that if we swing our doors wide open?”

“Preemptive actions, I have taken.” Yoda nodded, “On duty, officers from the Ministry of Magic will be.”

Former aurors, the toughest of which, rarely fully retired if they hadn’t fallen on the job. It had thankfully been a fairly peaceful age up until the previous year, meaning there were more surviving aurors than in the history of the Ministry. Some went into teaching, as Dooku and Windu had, but most went into security for the Ministry or freelance. Yoda had been sure to nab the best of the best to preserve and protect their school in this uncertain time.

“Headmaster, as much as I support the notion of protecting our students, that might further instill the notion of fear in the parents.” Palpatine offered.

“Undercover, they will be. Unseen, unless necessary.”

Yoda prayed they would not be.

***

Satine truly didn’t have the time of day to be nervous for parent conferences. That was due to the fact that she was far too busy being absolutely elated over the whole idea. She’d done extensive reading on the history of Hogwarts (from none other than Hogwarts: A History) and in all its time of schooling, muggles had never set foot within its gates. This meant that even when something as tragic as a student death happened, the parents were not permitted on the grounds to retrieve their child if they were of muggle descent. Such rules changed to simply stating that no parents could step within Hogwarts, but were often danced around by pure and half-bloods, whose parents sometimes came to the Quidditch pitches to watch their matches.

While she never did (and wouldn’t ever) play Quidditch, she wouldn’t have minded an excuse to drag her mum to at least see the school her daughter had been dedicating time to. Even the graduation ceremony had always occurred in a field discrete enough to shroud the outline of the castle in the distance. This meant that it took a great leap of faith for muggles to send their children away to a school they’ve never so much as seen. Luckily, Hogwarts was extremely reputable and in Satine’s case, witches and wizards were very convincing.

She smiled fondly at the memory of when she first received her letter.

“Did you hear they’re pushing back Quidditch tryouts this year?” Cody complained around a mouth full of eggs.

“You might have mentioned it once… twice… or what is it, Satine?” Obi-Wan turned to her wryly.

“I’d say we’re rounding on the fifteenth time.” She answered after some thought. “This morning.”

Both laughed, but Cody was far too cross over the matter to join in on their jest. Instead, he continued muttering under his breath about the injustice of it all and how this was going to set them back significantly.

“A load of hogwash it is.”

“It’s only for a week.” She offered as the owls fluttered through the windows, carrying the first batch of letters from home for many expecting witches and wizards. As a carefully sealed letter fluttered in front of her, thanks to her faithful and beautiful snow owl, Copikla, many others followed for the students around her. She gently ran a finger along the belly of the fluffy bird as she used her other hand to peel open the envelope.

She grinned at her mother’s beautiful cursive handwriting and felt an immediate sense of warmth wash over her as someone would when ingesting a pepperup potion. Hogwarts was definitely her home, but sometimes she did yearn to have her two worlds come together- or at least, the better parts of both.

“I think my mum is just as excited as I am to have her at Hogwarts.” She said brightly, still scanning her eyes across the page, “You know, to finally get the chance to see everything I’ve been dribbling on about for years.”

“You? Dribble on? Never.” Obi-Wan teased as he opened his own elegant envelope, which was naturally enclosed with a green Kenobi family crest sealed at the back.

“My dad would have loved to see our tryouts! Show the parents what the kids are really doing out there!” Cody grumbled as he read his own letter, which was written in much choppier and hurried script, “Now, all he’s going to want to talk about are my grades.”

She wasn’t even sure how he read his letter with how much his burgundy old owl, Fox, crumbled the page.

“You’re not worried he’ll deem Hogwarts unsafe?” Satine asked, “Even I discussed with Qui-Gon a contingency plan where he assures my mother of my safety here. He’s quite convincing in that manner.”

“Hell no!” Cody barked, “When I told my dad about the Zillo Beast, his first question was asking if I fought it myself. I suppose my older brothers have already given him enough heart attacks at this point for him to be too bothered.”

“Your dad would light this place ablaze if anything happened to you and you know it.” She said firmly, “He just knows you’re capable of handling yourself.”

“And he’s right.” Cody said, “I’d just rather show him that on the Quidditch pitch and not in a one-on-one conference with Windu.”

“I think they’re worried the muggle parents might see their children getting knocked several meters to the ground without any safety net.” Satine said, “Need I remind you that your sport has literally seen people dead?”

“Not in like… Three years.” He counted on his fingers, “And even more so at Hogwarts!”

“Ah yes, so comforting.” She rolled her eyes and turned to Obi-Wan, who’d suddenly fallen incredibly silent throughout this line of conversation, “I’m sure you don’t mind Quidditch being pushed off a bit, do you?”

He didn’t answer, though. Instead, he stared intently at the neatly unfolded piece of parchment in his hands, reading over and over the printed words as though he was having a difficult time understanding. This, of course, was incredibly unlikely since Obi-Wan was easily the fastest reader at Hogwarts. He even gave Qui-Gon a run for his galleons.

“What’s their excuse this time?” Cody asked, though not without a careful edge to his voice, “Is the Wizengamot physically holding them captive? Or did a hoity toity banquet just spring up from nowhere? Perhaps they’re planning on falling ill that day?”

They’d grown used to a whole array of ridiculous and equally dismissive excuses for the Kenobi’s lack of involvement. Usually, Obi-Wan never seemed to mind much and would even play along to any jokes on the matter. However, he still sat completely unmoving, eyes unblinking and staring so hard at the paper that Satine felt he might burn a hole straight through the center.

She and Cody exchanged a worried look and she slid close enough to Obi-Wan on the bench to glance over his shoulder and read the letter for herself.

It wasn’t an extensive letter, contrary to how long it seemed to take Obi-Wan to read or fully comprehend, but Satine drew in a sharp breath.

“What is it?” Cody asked, dropping all pretenses of humor, “Is someone dead?”

“They’re… Coming.” She said slowly with every bit of disbelief that she felt ringing through her head. “They’re coming to the conferences.”

And there was little more that needed or could be said after that. All three sixth years sat and ruminated over what this could mean or why they were choosing now to show up. Obi-Wan’s father had been the prosecuting attorney on the Zillo Beast case, declaring the beast to be killed, but while he had delivered a scathing speech on the safety of the students being at risk, hadn’t said much on the matter since it disappeared.

In fact, as far as she knew, the search parties for the beast had stopped. It created a sickly feeling in the back of her mind, like either they’d done something to it in secret or the reason for its being left alive was to serve a different purpose. Either way, 97 meter-long creatures don’t just disappear easily and surely the muggles would have reported something by now had they taken notice of it.

Her worry for the beast did not compare to her concern for Obi-Wan, who always acted differently around his parents- like he was trapped in a crafted disillusionment. It wasn’t his fault, of course. They were his parents; while Satine always tried to hold her tongue on her growing distaste for his family, sometimes they made it very difficult.

“Ben?” She dared speech after a long moment of silence between the three of them.

He had placed the parchment down, but his mind was going at a rapid speed, and if she had to guess: was calculating every second of the next week.

“If you’ll excuse me,” He said in an even tone, “I’ve much to prepare.”

He swung one leg followed by the other over the bench, collected his belongings, and swiftly moved down the center aisle and towards the door before Satine or Cody could say anything else on the matter.

Cody sighed as he leaned on his forearms, “Good luck with that.”

She frowned, “And why is this solely my responsibility?”

He nodded towards the crest on her robe, “You see him a whole lot more than I do, mate. We both know that he’s going to be avoiding meals.”

That thought soured her spirits even more and she sighed deeply, causing the side bangs that framed her face to billow briefly in the air, “I suppose I’ll be taking his meals to-go for the week, won’t I?”

***

“AWE MAN!” Anakin exclaimed loud enough to echo through the emptying Great Hall. He slammed the fist that was not holding parchment onto the table.

Artoo, who had been among the last of the owls to return with a letter, fluttered in surprise and concern at the outburst, to whom Anakin immediately placated with a gentle pat on his head.

“Sorry, Artoo,” He grumbled sullenly, “It’s not your fault.”

“What’s wrong?” Rex asked. He’d already begun to gather his things to start moving out of the Great Hall and on towards their Charms class, which already wasn’t the best start to Anakin’s day.

Anakin sighed and moved to follow him, watching Artoo fly off with the other owls towards the owlery to harass the ever-sensitive Threepio, “My mum can’t make it to the conferences.”

“And that’s bad news?” Rex looked at him quizzically, “Me and my brothers are afraid of what the professors are going to say to our dad. Not having him come would cure all of our headaches.”

“The term just started!” Anakin protested, “Even I haven’t fallen behind on homework yet.”

“Sure, but you really think Windu is keen on keeping his trap shut about the antics from the previous year?”

“Maybe,” Anakin shrugged, “I think he still feels sorta bad for making me think he was going to kill me.”

Rex considered that and nodded, “I’m just saying, I love my dad dearly and wouldn’t trade him for all the galleons in the world, but mixing parents and professors just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.”

“I can’t believe they’ve never done conferences before.” Anakin said, “What if a parent is worried their kid is failing?”

“They have them off-site sometimes if pre-arranged by the parent.” Rex explained, “Or if a child is being particularly rambunctious. Fives told me Sebulba’s parents have met with the Headmaster.”

“A lot of good that did.” He muttered.

They moved past the slippery Dug, who was currently taking to firing enchanted spit balls at passing students with Ody and Groff. A few girls vocally complained while some boys retaliated with crumpled paper balls. If he were in better spirits, Anakin might have involved himself, but was far too sullen over his mum being unable to come.

As they took their seats in Charms, Rex turned to him, “So, why can’t she come?”

“Work.” Anakin twisted his face into one of disgust, “For the foulest person on the planet.”

“I thought that was Dooku.”

“Dooku is the worst person on the planet,” Anakin explained, “But Watto is all-in-all just vile and disgusting. Inside and out.”

“And your mum works for him?”

“She says she does it to put food on the table, but she’s the best waitress around. I’m not sure why she needs to stoop so low.”

Rex sighed, “Well, I’m sorry she can’t come, mate. Maybe a different beast will attack the school this year and they’ll hold these sorts of meetings again.”

“I hope so.” Anakin said and then gave him a wry smile, “And if that happens, you know who to call.”

“Headmaster Yoda.”

He thumped him, “Me, you ninny!”

Rex rolled his eyes, “No offense, mate, but I’ll hold off on turning to you until you at least grow tall enough to look our enemies in the eyes.”

“Then why are you calling Yoda?” Anakin asked.

“Big personality, I guess.”

***

“Tell me whose brilliant idea it was to schedule the first Apparition class the night before Parent Day.” Cody yawned as all of the sixth years piled into the courtyard. The air was still muggy, even without the added presence of the sun, and crickets could be heard whistling in the grass surrounding them.

“And at midnight,” Satine matched his yawn with one of her own and he wasn’t shocked to see she was cross. It was no secret that his friend didn’t do well with being awoken beyond her own readiness. Even that was pushing it, “I thought we were through with this malarky first year with Astronomy.”

“It’s the only time we were guaranteed a free slot in our schedules.” Kenobi, easily the freshest looking and the only one dressed in uniform, supplied. It was quite likely that he wasn’t able to sleep anyway with the impending conferences in the morning.

“Don’t they understand the concept of beauty rest?” Ventress scowled as she trudged not far behind them- hair askew, makeup smeared, and bags under her eyes making her sockets look hollow.

“You’ll need more than sleep.” Cody grimaced, which earned him a sharp glare.

“Do try to avoid poking the beast.” Kenobi jested dryly, “Particularly at feeding hour.”

“If either of you were to accidentally apparate into an active volcano, that might just make my year.” The pale witch spat and then scoffed as Professor Windu moved through where she and Cody stood briskly taking the center of the courtyard. “And you can bring him with you.”

“He doesn’t look any more pleased about it than you do,” Satine said, but then frowned as she took another look at Ventress, “Well, maybe not.”

“What good is it that you even take this course?” Ventress twisted up her face in disgust at Satine, “Hadn’t you muggles fancied yourselves too good for convenience in your plaything means of transportation?”

“Are you referring to planes, trains, and automobiles?” Satine rolled her eyes, “Operating those require a great deal more skill, I promise you that.”

“Oh, I’m sure, Duchess. Why not go learn to operate those instead?” She grumbled with crossed arms, “And spare us of your pointless lectures and comparisons.”

“I’m going to consider myself grateful that we haven’t shared classes in a while,” Satine sighed, too tired to take the bait, though Cody did notice she sidestepped that line of conversation. Unlike Ventress, the prospect of learning to pilot a vehicle was incredibly interesting to him. If Kenobi weren’t intent on brooding at the horizon, it would have interested him too.

“Alright, class, I know it’s late, but this is the only time we had for our first lesson.” Professor Windu explained.

“Does this mean not all of these classes will occur at such a late hour?” Lyra Prime asked from the corner opposite to them. Upon looking around, Cody noticed that no one was particularly enthusiastic about being out so late. He knew a couple of second year Gryffindors that would jump at the prospect, but he guessed this is what growing up looked like: pure exhaustion.

“Not all of them will,” Professor Windu said, “Nor will they occur as regularly as your normal classes. I do not want to detract from your studies with this course.”

“Just from our sanity,” Cody murmured to Satine, who nudged him in retaliation.

“Tonight, we won’t be doing anything crazy. I know we’ve all got a busy day tomorrow, but one thing you’ll learn quickly outside these walls is that life doesn’t wait for anyone. Ever.” Windu, even if tired, had the uncanny ability to sound like he was delivering the final remark on a rollercoaster of a court drama.

Cody wasn’t that disappointed about being here, really. Once his eyes blinked awake a bit more and he got used to it, he would likely be happy. He’d been excited to apparate since he first came to Hogwarts, after all. Most of the attendees were, save for possibly Ventress, who wouldn’t be excited for anything that didn’t involve dismemberment. Or at least, that’s the conclusion he’d drawn.

Of course, Windu sure had a way of sucking the excitement from the air.

“Where are we going tonight, Professor?” Eeth Koth asked.

“There will be no apparition tonight, Mr. Koth. These first few sessions will be about determining if you can handle the responsibility of apparition. Then and only then, once you showcase your knowledge and respect for the law and the intricacies of it, we’ll practice.”

“This class might as well have been run by you.” Cody said to Kenobi this time, “This is going to be boring as all hell.”

Kenobi only shrugged, likely not bothered or surprised like many of the students were. Cody was just irritated that this was going to be yet another thing he had to study for this year. His dad was definitely going to have questions about that.

“Everyone pair up!” He was unsurprised to turn and find Satine had already claimed the somber Kenobi for herself.

He frowned as he looked at Zeb. “Why are you taking this now? You took it last year.”

“Doesn’t mean I passed,” The purple Lasat said gruffly, “Wanna partner up?”

Cody sighed. Sometimes, being in a group of three did have its disadvantages.

***

Obi-Wan probably would have signed up for the setup taskforce for “Parent Day” without the obvious obligation of his own parents’ imminent attendance. Such a team took care to assist the professors in making the school not only sparkle for its guests, but appear as safe and functioning as possible.

Well, as possible for a magical school. He noted that they kept the moving staircases as well as allowed the ghosts to wander about. However, he wasn’t sure there was much that could be done about them anyway. Most of the parents would have presumably gone to Hogwarts as children and knew what to expect. He supposed they just needed to see that the attack of the beast hadn’t left any glaring scars.

He wouldn’t be mentioning to any of them that he still sometimes subconsciously felt the way the astronomy tower shook that fateful day the Zillo Beast escaped.

He really wouldn’t be mentioning that day it escaped to his parents.

“I’m sure you know by now that breakfast doesn’t begin for another hour.” Qui-Gon said the morning of the event.

“Would you believe me if I said I had first patrol?”

“No.” Qui-Gon said with the barest hints of a smile.

Obi-Wan had risen before anyone else in his house to get a headstart on the day- performing any last minute touch-ups on his section of the boys’ dormitory in the event that his parents wanted to see how Obi-Wan’s been managing. He was grateful that he’d learned long ago how to contort his more frivolous belongings so they were unnoticeable in his trunk. Still, just to be safe, he moved them over to Cody’s dorm so as to make the optimum impression.

Besides, Obi-Wan hadn’t slept too well all week and was of much better use preparing. He thought about what they would talk about and tried to prepare for every possible situation. They were brief and concise people just as they were busy. He had his doubts that they would stay the entire day, which truthfully, he was betting on.

He gestured to the towel that was in his hand, “I just figured I would get the jumpstart on taking a bath to prepare for the day.”

“And why do I gather the suspicion that you won’t be at breakfast at all?” Qui-Gon asked with crossed arms.

“Because I’ll eat later.” Obi-Wan waved him off, “You’re up early too.”

“You know I don’t sleep.” He was teasing, but there was definitely some truth to that statement. For an optimistic moment, Obi-Wan considered if this was where he adopted this bad habit. To be fair, Obi-Wan had been eating at least semi-regularly through his focus. Somehow, plates of food just ended up near him that came from seemingly nowhere. Of course, Obi-Wan had his theories, but not much time to ponder them.

“Like everyone else, I’m simply trying to put my best foot forward and impress my parents today.” Obi-Wan answered the unasked question in Qui-Gon’s eyes, though it felt a bit like he was guessing at it, since without a trace of natural sunlight, it was difficult to tell in merely candlelight. “And what of you? Are you afraid for the fate of the school?”

Qui-Gon frowned, “No, because I imagine most halfblooded and pureblooded families would still allow their children to attend.”

“That result would play straight into the Sith ideology.” Obi-Wan sighed and felt a new form of panic settle over him at the thought of Satine’s mum not allowing her to continue going to school at Hogwarts. He loved school, but he would love it a great deal less without her.

“Well, welcoming muggles through our doors certainly isn’t.” Qui-Gon said with a firm nod and placed a hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, “Keep your chin up, Obi-Wan. The only thing your parents should discredit you for is perhaps your sleep schedule.”

Obi-Wan shifted, “They don’t discredit me. They are just quite particular in their vision for my future. They just want what’s best for me.”

“As parents should,” Though it seemed like Qui-Gon was walking on eggshells and it was not for the first time in this line of conversation, “Just be sure that you are also being mindful about what’s best for you.”

Obi-Wan didn’t quite understand that. He was always trying to secure himself a successful future. He wouldn’t describe himself as solely self-serving, but he did think a lot about his life going forward and how he would try to make his parents proud. Their pride always felt good and allowed him to know he was doing something right.

“I will, sir.” He said with a nod, and backed away to head towards the prefect bathroom as initially intended, “I might bring them by your office later.”

“I would like to finally meet the parents behind one of my favorite students.”

“One of?” Obi-Wan teased, “Satine isn’t around, professor.”

“At this time of morning? I know.” He snorted.

***

At exactly twelve noon on the dot, the harmonious bells gonged from their respective tower, alerting both students and faculty that Parent Day was to begin. Because there was no excuse to be tardy with the help of magic, the parents appeared from seemingly nowhere just as the doors to Hogwarts swung open.

Prefects, expectedly, still had their duties even with the sudden influx of adult supervision. Unlike most afternoons, students were required to sit with their houses in the Great Hall so as to make the process of parents finding their children easier. Prefects, meanwhile, stood aside and took on the task of guiding the befuddled muggles where they needed to go.

Satine took her tasks quite seriously and was sure to pass a sharp glare to shut up any smarmy student that tried to make fun of the awe that filled the muggle parents’ eyes. It was preposterous, really, because every student- regardless of lineage- was awestruck at one point or another when they entered the Great Hall for the first time.

In fact, even the wizarding parents had that warm glow in their gaze as you might when walking down memory lane. Hogwarts had once been their home and for a brief moment, Satine wondered if they saw themselves in the students that sat at their respective tables- or if they noticed all that had changed.

She wondered how she would feel when she returned after graduation should she have any children of her own.

They certainly wouldn’t be little bastards like Sebulba, who fancied himself something special now that he was a fourth year.

“Sebulba, if you don’t get that tongue away from Tiplar, I will be confiscating it.” She scolded.

“Is that a threat or a promise, Kryze? I’m not usually one for blondes, but Sebulba likes what he sees.” He waggled what she assumed would be eyebrows, but they couldn’t be seen beneath the goggles he wore over his eyes.

“I’d say such disrespect warrants 5 points from Slytherin.” Fenn Rau said airily as he appeared next to Satine. She turned in surprise to find him at all, actually, but was even more startled by the gust of wind to her right.

“More like 10 points from Slytherin.” said Obi-Wan, who had his fists balled at his side, “And should you continue this flagrant disrespect for personal space and authority, I will have no problem extracting you from this event in front of your parents as well as explain to them why Slytherin is falling behind in the house race.”

“Funny, I’d always known you to be the gentler prefect, Kenobi.” Rau said with a smile at Satine, “Not that it wasn’t deserved, of course.”

“I take the treatment of my fellow prefects very seriously.” Obi-Wan said sternly and if Satine didn’t know better, she’d say his chest was puffed out a bit, but he never kept his eyes off Sebulba, who looked like he debated on saying something else until he caught the intensity of Obi-Wan’s glare.

Sebulba snapped his trap shut so fast it made a clicking noise that she’d never heard, but Satine’s focus was more trained on the venom that seemed to pour from every feature of her best friend. She’d never seen him behave like this before and couldn’t quite explain what it was. There was tension, of course, which she expected from him on such a day, and disgust, which Sebulba obviously warranted. There was also protectiveness, which part of her naturally batted against, because she could discipline a simple sleazebag on her own and certainly didn’t need his interference. However, a smaller and more elusive part of her welcomed it.

He stared at Sebulba until the suddenly shy Dug had the good sense to turn away and duck his head down to avoid Obi-Wan’s silent fury. Satine led them a few meters away by gently tugging him on the arm from Rau and Sebulba.

“You know,” She kept her voice low, “I could have handled that myself.”

“I am aware of that. Perhaps, I was merely sparing Sebulba from your wrath.” He replied rather cheekily, which she was surprised as she expected him to be reticent today of all days.

“Is that all?” Still, she had to play along, “Need I remind you that I’m a pacifist?”

“Not when you remind me every day,” He quipped, “But you are also quite ruthless when you wish to be.”

“I thought you liked that about me.” She dared.

“I do.” He said immediately and then reassessed his approach, “Just because you can handle something does not mean you should have to.”

That familiar fondness tickled at her chest again and she found she couldn’t look at him for much longer without flushing completely red. He wasn’t looking directly at her either, which made for an easier task of diversion.

“I suppose chivalry isn’t completely dead then.” She said.

“Especially when prats like Sebulba are involved.” He said.

“So?” She pressed, “Just felt like blowing off some steam?”

“Something like that,” He flickered his gaze to her before casting it back to the masses that still poured through the building, likely trying to spot and see if anyone needed assistance. Despite the overwhelming sense of uneasiness that plagued the school for the week leading up to the event, children seemed overjoyed to actually see their parents so soon. Even the gruffer students, like Zeb Orrelios, who played tough during the day, ran into their mother’s arms and allowed themselves to be enveloped without question.

She noticed Obi-Wan’s gaze was fixed on a rather touching display between a young Hufflepuff first year and his parents and how elated they seemed to all be together in that moment.

When he felt her stare, he snapped his eyes forward towards the door and nodded with a little smile on his face. She followed where his gaze had fallen and felt her own mouth twitch into a grin. A woman strutted in, long and lean just like her, and held herself with a confident strength that was so binding that not a single wizard likely deemed her a muggle.

“Mum!” She moved at her own accord, letting Obi-Wan fall back as she pulled the taller woman into a tight embrace. It had only been two weeks since she’d last seen her, but she always missed her mother.

“Hello, darling.”

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Satine said, feeling quite like a first year as she said it.

“You were right, Satine, this place is fantastic.” Her mum said after they separated.

It always baffled Satine how her mother could maintain such ethereal beauty at all times- all the while maintaining a strength that she longed to possess. One did not raise their three children (including an actual witch) on their own for the past seven years and not be a force of nature.

“Isn’t it?” She beamed, “I’m looking forward to showing you everything!”

“Let’s get this over with.” A voice that was teetering on the edge of a whine said from behind them.

She was so distracted by the joy she was experiencing from seeing her mum that she almost missed the second and shorter figure that lingered behind her.

Satine cocked her head to the side in confusion and met the scrutinizing glare of eyes that always reminded her of green tea in color. However, while they used to be as bright as the rolling fields of the countryside in a fresh spring, there was something menacing about them now.

“Oh, you’ve brought Bo.” She tried not to sound disappointed, though internally cringed at how clear she had failed at that account. It wasn’t that she disliked her sister. In fact, the two used to be incredibly close as children. It was that Satine really did not feel like spending the entire day under intense judgment, especially when her kid sister decided she disliked nothing more than magic.

“I did.” Her mother said warily, which sounded like a warning for the both of them to get along. In Satine’s defense, she always tried. “With your brother away at university, there was no one around to stay home with her.”

“I’m not some dumb dog that needs to be watched,” The fiery-haired tween grunted with arms crossed over her chest, “I’m going to be 13 next month! I’m practically an adult.”

“I’ve not forgotten.” Satine said carefully, “Though I still can’t believe how much you’ve grown.”

“An easy thing to miss when you’re busy spending all of your days playing voodoo in this cold castle.” Bo complained and looked all around her, easily the only person to ever walk through Hogwarts for the first time and be unimpressed. “What kind of name is Hogwarts anyway?”

“Behave, Bo-Katan.” As beautiful as Ruusaan Kryze was, she was also formidable.

“It literally means pig pimples.” It was a shame Bo was as unrepentant as ever.

They hadn’t seen much of each other over the summer, save for the final two weeks when Bo returned from summer camp. However, she had been determined to spend as little time with Satine as possible, making it clear where she stood on her feelings.

“Always a pleasure.” Satine muttered and turned, surprised to see Obi-Wan had approached them again and was suddenly relieved for the distraction from the rising tension that Bo-Katan brought with her wherever she went. However, she was amused to see that Obi-Wan seemed a bit antsy for some unforeseen reason.

She placed a hand on his arm and smiled, “You remember my friend and fellow prefect, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mum.”

Something sparkled in her mother’s eyes as she clasped Obi-Wan’s outstretched hand, “It’s good to see you again, Ben.”

He smiled sheepishly and nodded, “And you, Ms. Kryze. I hope you’ll find Hogwarts fit to your daughter’s exceptional talent.”

Her mother laughed, “Oh, I’m sure I will. Satine speaks very highly of Hogwarts, adventures and all.”

“And of you.” Bo commented and looked Obi-Wan up and down as though she was ready to go in for the kill. Satine would not put her above doing so. “Though I don’t see what’s so great about you that warrants droning on and on in her diary-”

“-Anyway!” Satine gritted and fixed Bo-Katan with her most lethal stare, “Let’s proceed with a tour.”

“Er, yes.” Obi-Wan said, clearly befuddled by the change of pace and hopefully not by the way Satine looked like she swallowed a jalapeno every flavor bean. However, he recovered and smiled genially at Satine’s mother, “I will see you all later for dinner.”

“Ah, you’re not coming along? Satine says you know this castle inside-out. So much so that you made a map!”

“Right down to the murderous slaughter chambers, no doubt.” Bo muttered, but was silenced by a warning look in her mother’s eyes.

Satine and Obi-Wan exchanged an uncomfortable stare, before laughing awkwardly as if what Bo-Katan insinuated was so ridiculous. To be fair, the year prior, it would have been, but with Dooku recently outing himself as a Sith lord as well as an actual Sith temple that lay decimated below, it wasn’t completely out of the question. Who knew what lay within the walls of Hogwarts that they hadn’t yet uncovered?

“I may have made the map, but I’m sure she’s also mentioned some of my questionable artistic choices.” He smiled at Satine, who shrugged.

“It needed to be made known.”

He sighed, “And anyway, as much as I would love to attend, I must stay on guard for my own fam-”

“-There you are, Obi-Wan.” Mrs. Kenobi briskly stepped through Bo-Katan and Satine’s mother as though they were merely French doors that meant to be parted at her will. As always, she was dressed like she was attending the funeral of a very high-ranking politician. Her mood did not look much cheerier in comparison.

“Yes, we made the mistake of checking Slytherin’s table first.” His father, who matched his wife in demeanor and in maudlin fashion choices, trailed behind with the airs of constant disappointment clinging to him. Of what, Satine could and would never understand so long as she lived.

“We had assumed you would be with Ventress, but it seems she’s already off with her parents.”

“An easy mistake to make,” Obi-Wan cleared his throat and Satine could once again see that tightness return. Had they been in a different setting, she would have reminded him to take a breath.

“More like wishful thinking.” His mother said dryly before finally seeming to notice that Satine and her family were even present. “After all, you always manage to surprise us with the company you choose to keep.”

“In all fairness, times are changing.” Mr. Kenobi drawled and Satine noticed he clutched his serpent-headed walking stick a little tighter. “I think it’s wonderful that Obi-Wan has diversified his entourage lest he not be branded as bigoted in these… Judgemental times.”

“Funny, that’s not the word I would use for it.” Satine said.

“Entourage?” Bo-Katan asked at the same time.

“Indeed, we also take care to have a muggle or two in our artillery.” Mrs. Kenobi nodded as though neither Kryze girl had ever spoken, like this was a box that needed to be checked, “Of course, we befriend muggles of royalty or status-”

“-But muggles no less.” Mr. Kenobi sniffed and looked at Satine’s mother, “Seeing as Hogwarts has all but tossed the concept of privatization and prestige into the rubbish, I cannot place blame with Obi-Wan for having limits in who he chooses.”

“It seems to me that this dusty school needed a bit of change,” Satine’s mother raged.

“Mum-” Satine tried to cut in, but there was no use in stopping a Kryze woman when she was already lost to the throes of her own determination.

“-Because my daughter is anything but a token to be claimed like some sort of tax deductible. If you wizards even have taxes, that is,” She said, “I might not know everything about your culture, but make no mistake-”

“-But you, yourself, already have one on your hands, you see,” Mr. Kenobi said plainly, “Magical children born of the muggle world are just that by definition, alone.”

Mistakes.

“Father!” Obi-Wan cried out.

“That’s not to say they don’t have their strengths.” Mrs. Kenobi added calmly, “I’m sure Saline-”

“-Satine.” Obi-Wan corrected with gritted teeth.

“Is very gifted for her type.” She said in what Satine could only assume was meant to be genial, “But what my husband says is true. You never meant to have a witch for a daughter, correct?”

“You cannot plan for something you do not know of.” Satine’s mother said, “But I’ll have you know, Mrs. Kenobi, that my daughter- the alleged mistake that you claim was never meant to exist, not only is gifted for her type, but is the top of her class. Neck and neck only with your son in terms of merit, isn’t that right, Satine?”

“It is.” Satine was suddenly wishing she wasn’t here right now, because as satisfying as it should have been to see her mother drive the Kenobi’s into the dirt (metaphorically speaking), the necessity for this conversation made her mouth feel dry.

This made the Kenobi’s flounder if only a little bit in shock, and looked to Obi-Wan for confirmation with a mixture of outrage and the clear attempt to cover their shock. Obi-Wan, of course, nodded in agreement with Satine’s mother.

“Well, times certainly are changing.” Mr. Kenobi repeated in a dry tone. “Congratulations, my dear.”

It sounded as hollow as it felt.

“Yes, certainly… A victory for your people.” Mrs. Kenobi’s smile was so tight that Satine truly believed it would tear her face in two, “But we did not come to scrutinize over political differences.”

Satine clenched her teeth. “Political differences” seemed like a rich way of saying that the Kenobi’s believed Satine didn’t have a right to exist while Satine’s politics included just wanting to exist in peace.

“Oh really?” Satine’s mother asked, likely thinking the same thing.

“We’re here to see Obi-Wan’s chosen mentee.” Mr. Kenobi nodded beyond all of them and towards Gryffindor’s table, where Anakin Skywalker sat alone.

Satine doubted the word chosen was accidental.

***

Cody had all of his brothers lined up from oldest to youngest, just as his father preferred for the sake of remembering names. He took care to ensure that each was showered, dressed, and fed so that there was no messing around. Jango Fett, while a carbon-copy of each of the boys (but older), had a much less relaxed and more serious demeanor. The only one who fared like him in terms of personality was Boba, who Cody was shocked to see in attendance alongside his father, Hevy, and their eldest brother- who they called Ninety-Nine.

He supposed this made sense. There were four of them presently still in school and only one of Jango to attend all teacher conferences. It was enough to make Cody’s head spin. He just wondered who he was going to get.

Worst case: Boba, best case: Hevy.

Boba stood taller than their father- the only one to accomplish such a feat- with dark wavy hair that framed his sharp face and hung above his shoulders. He was easily the most muscular of their group, which was saying something, and always wore his military uniform whenever he could muster. He was the person that most professors turned their heads at, seeing as everyone believed Boba would involve himself in less legitimate dealings as an adult.

He noticed Hondo’s jaw drop in awe at the sight of Boba, which was proof enough of his reputation for smuggling.

Hevy was the broadest and who Cody reckoned he looked the most similar to; though Hevy always sported a five o’clock shadow that Jango couldn’t stand. Cody wasn’t much for facial hair, even if he teased Kenobi about being able to grow a full beard while his friend could not.

And Ninety-Nine, their eldest and most revered brother, stood shortest- in part to the hump that caused him to slouch and require a cane- however, this did not stop him from walking the proudest towards his little brothers. Ninety-Nine was the best of them, in Cody’s humble opinion, with enough kindness to cover cities and a loyalty that would have made any Hufflepuff proud. He was wise as a Ravenclaw should be, braver than himself and all his other Gryffindors, and ambitious as the best of Slytherin house was.

There was just one thing: Ninety-Nine did not have magical abilities.

“Brothers!” Ninety-Nine was the first to greet them, a lopsided smile coloring his face, which could only move on the right side. He pulled Rex into a gentle hug first, “I’m so proud of all of you. The best of Gryffindor house!”

“Wait til you talk to their professors before you say that, mate.” Hevy grinned devilishly, tugging both of the twins into a headlock that made Boba roll his eyes disapprovingly.

“Uncle! Uncle!” Fives begged while laughing.

“Yeah, let us out of these meat sticks you call arms, Hevy.” Echo added, “There’s a reason that’s your nickname and isn’t because you’re teeny weeny.”

“Boys.” Jango said sternly and each of them fell into line, including Ninety-Nine at the end. After pacing back and forth, inspecting each of them for missing or forgetting anything, he nodded, “At ease.”

They all dropped into more casual positions and Cody smiled at him, “Oi, Dad, I didn’t know you’d be bringing the whole team.”

Jango cracked a smile, “And let three of you get off easy? I think not.”

“Not when you lot are releasing beasts and tracking down Sith lords.” Hevy said.

Ninety-Nine nodded eagerly, “I heard you were at the heart of all that, Rexy.”

Rex grinned, likely happy to have some attention, which Ninety-Nine always had ample amounts of, “My best friend, Anakin and I, were.”

“That’s me.” Anakin’s blond little head had popped somewhere in the midst of their huddle without anyone noticing. To be fair, the kid was small and their group was big. It was easy to forget who was and wasn’t a Fett sometimes. “I’m Anakin Skywalker.”

Jango and Ninety-Nine took care to shake his small hand while Boba nodded at him appraisingly.

“I’ve read the news about you.” Ninety-Nine said, “Boy is all over the Daily Prophet! Never imagined my little brother would be tied in with the chosen one.”

“That he is.” Cody said, “These two get into more trouble than even the twins.”

“Hey!” Echo protested.

“Yeah, I resent that.” Fives added, “We had an off year. We hope to reclaim the throne again soon.”

“You can have it.” Rex sighed, “Last year was exhausting.”

“Alright, alright, enough of the chatter. We’re here for a reason and that’s to talk with all of your professors.” Boba said, “We’ve got to make sure your heads are not up in the clouds.”

“Cody.” Hevy crooned and the twins laughed.

Cody glared at him, “My head is right where it needs to be.”

“And it’s bigger than ever.” Rex teased with a smile.

“Careful, I’m the deciding factor that puts you on the Quidditch team or not.” Cody warned.

Rex had the good sense to slink back at that. Yeah, Cody wasn’t being entirely serious, because he knew Rex could play better than any of the new prospective kids that would be trying out, but he needed to humble the kid out every now and then.

“Don’t listen to him, Rex.” Ninety-Nine smiled softly, “He would love to have you play.”

***

It wasn’t enough that Anakin’s mother wasn’t able to make it for Parent’s Day, but having to witness the intensely jovial reunion between all of the Fett’s was a lot to take in. He supposed it was for the best that his mother not confer with Windu about Anakin’s dealings of the previous year, but he still yearned for that sense of family atmosphere that everyone else got to have.

Then again, he would have time to reacquaint himself with the castle, perhaps seek out the coat of arms that would be guarding each tunnel. He figured Palpatine would allow him to hang out in his classroom if need be.

Just as he was about to get up and remove himself from the fuzzy feelings that swirled around him, he was faced with the intimidating presence of the Kenobi’s, who strangely enough, looked at him with welcoming smiles.

“And you must be the wonderful boy our son has told us so much about.” Obi-Wan’s mum said brightly. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

He’d technically met them before, but perhaps, he’d caught them on a bad day. Everyone had those. He wasn’t too nice if he found himself eating a bad burrito or chili cheese dog. Who would be, anyway?

“Officially, that is.” His father corrected with mirth in his eyes, “I do apologize for any rudeness from our previous encounter. I have no excuse for our curt interaction, but I assure you, we meant no malice towards you.”

Anakin’s eyes flickered to Obi-Wan’s, who was standing off to the side and looking very out of place in this circumstance. In fact, he kept studying his parents as if they’d gone mad. Still, Anakin didn’t want to be impolite and reached out to shake their outstretched hand.

“I’m Anakin. I was Obi-Wan’s mentee last year.”

“You sure were.” Mrs. Kenobi’s smile widened and it looked new on her face, but Anakin was happy to have put it there. She was a great deal less scary when she smiled and while his father did remind him of Dooku in appearance, seemed significantly friendlier as well. “I see what our son saw in you.”

“Yes, we’ve certainly heard of all your various talents.” He said.

“You did?” Anakin smiled hesitantly, “Did he tell you about Dooku?”

“Oh, you know Obi-Wan. He’s so stoic and shy.” His mother said, “We had to do a little digging of our own, but my my Anakin, you are something of a prodigy.”

He’d never heard that term to describe him before, but it made him light up with excitement. These upstanding, high-end, practically royal wizards noticed him. And not only that, saw his merit. Plus, this meant there were newspaper articles about Anakin floating around.

“I am quite proficient in charms.” He admitted, though he didn’t want to sound too full of himself.

“You would make a damn good auror one day,” Mr. Kenobi said excitedly, “Especially for conquering such odds last year,” He sat down beside Anakin at Gryffindor’s table, which made Obi-Wan’s eyes widen even more. It made him look a bit like a cartoon character in the moment.

“I would love to meet your mother. She’s a wizard, no?” Mrs. Kenobi said, “To tell her what a magnificent and brave little boy she has on her hands.”

“Er, I hate to interrupt, but my head of house really was eager to meet you two-” Obi-Wan began, but was cut off by Anakin.

“-My mom isn’t here.” Anakin said glumly.

Mrs. Kenobi quite literally clutched her pearls in surprise, “Heavens! That’s awful. Is she alright?”

“She’s okay.” He said quietly, “Just working.”

“Working?” Mr. Kenobi said it like it was a foreign word, but then again, Anakin knew they were rich. Perhaps, there was very little work to be done even if you owned your own law firm.

“She works at a small pub beneath our flat.” He said, “Anything to pay the bills, I suppose.”

“So, who’s going to attend your conferences in her place?” She asked.

Truthfully, Anakin hadn’t really thought of that bit. He’d been so wrapped up in the fact that his mum wouldn’t be present that he hadn’t considered that his professors might not love the lack of interaction on Anakin’s behalf. Headmaster Yoda had seemed quite passionate about it.

“No one, I guess.” He shrugged.

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Kenobi placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder, “That is simply not acceptable.”

“Indeed,” He said, “We will go in her place.”

“But what about-” Obi-Wan started.

“-Not everything is about you, Obi-Wan.” His mother placed two hands on Anakin’s shoulders, “This poor boy is new to this world and is likely very frightened of all the changes happening around him. You are top of your class and do not require the same level of concern. Do you not have prefect duties?”

Obi-Wan frowned, “I mean, I could patrol but I do take NEWTS next year and-”

“-It’s settled then.” Mr. Kenobi grinned at Anakin, “We will oversee your meetings to ensure you are receiving the proper levels of attention.”

“Oh, thank you.” Anakin said, shocked, “I couldn’t ask you to-”

“-Nonsense.” He said, “Don’t mind Obi-Wan. He will be just fine. Right, my boy?”

Obi-Wan nodded curtly, “Right.”

“We are so proud of you for aligning yourself for this boy in need, my dear.” His mother said to her son, “You’ve done well.”

Strangely, Obi-Wan didn’t look like he had.

***

“Well, there goes the neighborhood,” Madame Ventress hissed to her daughter as both sauntered past Professor Qui-Gon Jinn’s office. It appeared he was currently in the midst of a meeting with that wannabe heiress Amidala’s family. Seeing as both Qui-Gon and Padmé were of pureblood descent, she knew her mother wasn’t referring to them, but the myriad of muggle families that were galivanting around the school like they owned the place.

Like this was some play place for them to mingle and take pictures as tourists. It was sickening to someone like Madame Ventress, whose family line extended through the earliest days of Hogwarts and cared a great deal for preserving its integrity.

Asajj Ventress, on the other hand, cared not for the trivial aspects of tradition. Infused in tradition was hypocrisy and she was learning more and more that the two could not be stripped from each other.

“I think we can agree it’s been on a downhill slope for quite some time,” She offered in her own raspy voice. “Ever since they allowed muggle-borns to come to this school.”

“Indeed,” Her mother rolled her eyes at the thought before her frown deepened as they passed Dooku’s old office. Ventress caught her mother’s eye in curiosity, intrigued to find interest rather than loathing there. Publicly, everyone called the old fart crazy. It was hard not to. To throw away an entire career of fighting off dark wizards to simply become one? In his old age? It felt a little too late.

“What is it?” She asked her mother when they stopped walking. She was staring at nothing more than a closed door, after all. Sooner or later a professor or fellow prefect will find them here and have suspicion, even if it wasn’t necessary.

After a long moment, she answered, “Regardless of his improper methods, perhaps he was not as crazy as the papers made him to be.”

“Is that so?”

“Times are ever changing, my dear,” She said slyly, “It is prudent that you always find a way to remain on top of them, before they occur, so as to be a visionary of them. That is our family’s way.”

It was true as it did remind her that even in her mother’s picturesque view of Hogwarts, where muggle-borns were deemed abominations and muggles were banned, that not even Ventress, herself fully belonged to that future.

Not unless she took her mother’s advice in a direction of her own course.

“I believe Professor Palpatine is waiting.” She said.

“Yes, of course, I do enjoy that man. That’s a proper example of a decent professor. I look forward to hearing that you have excelled to top of your class.”

Close, but Ventress wouldn’t be bringing that up right now. The iron gate of disappointment would have to clamber shut on her fingers another time, because they had meetings to attend and appearances to keep.

Another day in the life of pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She cursed the putrid muggles that walked by her. How dare they invade her space? It wasn’t a space she even fully fit in its entirety, but it was still reminiscent of something tangible without their grimy little fingers getting in. Seeing them felt like a scathing reminder.

Perhaps, this was a good thing after all.

***

“I can’t believe you even want to go to this school!” Bo-Katan’s loud voice echoed off the bathroom walls of the prefect bathroom. Satine had decided it was the safest place for her sister and her mother to let out any other grievances that they had. “You’re not even wanted here!”

“Not everyone is like them!” Satine huffed, though she was also reeling from the encounter with the Kenobi’s, “Ben’s not like that.”

“How would you know?” Bo countered, “You’re too busy going moon-eyed over him to notice much else about him. These wizards are bad news.”

“Now, now, Bo,” Satine’s mother placated, “There are good wizards as there are good people.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Bo rolled her eyes, “You heard them! They don’t think Satine belongs here either.”

“That’s not for them to decide and it isn’t for you to decide.” Satine gritted, “The point is I do belong here, because I believe so, and I’ve proved that by being top of my class.”

“You don’t have anything to prove.” Satine’s mother said, “You are allowed to just be.”

Satine could feel tears filling her eyes, but she shoved them down, refusing to give her sister the satisfaction of seeing her waver in her conviction. Instead, she took a deep and calming breath before saying, “To them, I do. And I always will. But in the muggle world, I’d be hiding. So, if I had to choose between hiding and proving, I will choose the latter every single time.”

Bo-Katan frowned, “Hiding? Like being a human is such a pitiful thing? Sorry we’re not all born exceptional, Satine.”

“I never said that,” She glared. “Because regardless of magic or not, I’m still human and at least I know how to act like it.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Their mum stepped between them, “I’ll have no more of this bickering. You two used to be so close and your father would be so sad to see you no longer get along. We cannot change who we are or how we’re born, but we can change how we act. Now, I want you two to stop acting like those stuffy arseholes got to you, because they aren’t allowed to. Kryze women do not back down especially in the face of adversity. More importantly, they stick with their own. They protect their own.”

“Yes, they do.” Satine said firmly.

“Bo-Katan?” Their mother nudged her.

Bo ducked her head to the side and didn’t give a committed answer, however, they were running late for the remainder of the meetings, and it was just going to have to do.

***

Qui-Gon wasn’t quite shocked that Obi-Wan’s parents didn’t show for their meeting with him, but he was a bit befuddled to see them trailing Anakin Skywalker as they walked towards the hall, chatting it up quite fondly with none other than Professor Palpatine.

“Mr. and Mrs. Kenobi!” Qui-Gon forced a smile as he fought to catch up with them, even jogging to show for it. “I’m sorry to have missed you.”

Qui-Gon hated the politics that came with operating these sorts of events, but as head of house, he officially needed to be ensconced in them. Their wizarding world was ever-changing in a constant back and forth between different ideologies. Qui-Gon, of course, held his own, but knew he needed to behave a certain way to placate the less accepting lot of parents that would surely be expecting special treatment.

“And you are?” Mr. Kenobi asked slowly.

“Ah, yes, this is Ravenclaw’s new head of house, Qui-Gon Jinn.” Professor Palpatine explained warmly, “As we’ve discussed when speaking of Anakin’s brave heroics, Dooku’s unfortunate career change did leave us with an empty position. Luckily, Qui-Gon is more than up to the task of stepping in.”

“Hm, well, hopefully he doesn’t make it a continuing trend.” Mrs. Kenobi said archly, “What class do you teach, Professor Jinn?”

“Muggle studies.” He answered, but it was clear it had been the wrong one.

“Oh my... Things certainly are different from when we were in school, aren’t they, Professor?” Mr. Kenobi said, though he looked like he was a good generation older than his wife. In fact, he looked old enough to have been in Sheev’s year- whatever that was.

“That they are.” Palpatine said in good nature, “However, with the expansion of muggle students, there is a need for wizards to see how the other side lives.”

“I suppose there is validity in that,” Mrs. Kenobi debated, “Just makes me question where our donations are going.”

“I can understand those concerns, but I assure you, Hogwarts always has the best intentions for each of their students.”

As Qui-Gon’s eyes landed on Anakin, who just seemed like he was trying to keep up with this line of conversation, he couldn’t help but question that expression. Was having Anakin mixed in with all of these adults that were desperately grabbing for his attention the best for him? And did they really put their students' interests forward or the interests of the school as a whole? It was all so complicated, but now was not the time to bring up such matters.

“I only wanted to say that you have much to be proud of.” Qui-Gon said, “Your son is absolutely brilliant as he is kind and strong.”

“Yes, well, Kenobi’s settle for no less than the very best.” Mr. Kenobi said brusquely, “It is good to hear that he is meeting expectations.”

“And where is Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon asked.

“Serving his duties as prefect.” His mother answered sternly, “No use in slacking for our account.”

“The prefects were dismissed from duty for the rest of the evening.” He said, “That’s why all professors are fulfilling these tasks instead.”

As they caught a glimpse of two of the Fett boys play-wrestling at the end of the hallway, Mr. Kenobi snorted, “Yes, and what a good job they’re doing.”

Qui-Gon bit his tongue and smiled. It seemed that was the best he was going to get from them for now, but didn’t see why Anakin needed to be with them too. Still, the boy didn’t seem bothered in the slightest, smiling brightly up at him.

“We were just talking about the Quidditch season and how Gryffindor is going to make a major comeback!”

“I would love to see you play sometime.” Mr. Kenobi said, “Seeing as you were scouted as a first year, no less.”

“So was Obi-Wan, right?” Anakin asked.

“Indeed, but Obi-Wan isn’t nearly as gifted as we’ve heard you to be.” Mrs. Kenobi said, “Though he does do what he can in a match. Shame the poor dear just doesn’t have a knack for it the way his father did.”

Anakin nodded sagely, “I’d love to show you some of my moves sometime.”

“What broom do you fly?” Mr. Kenobi asked.

“Uh, a brown one?”

Each of the adults save for Qui-Gon laughed, though he suspected Palpatine’s was inauthentic, and Anakin blinked up at them in confusion.

“Anakin uses one of the school issued brooms.” Qui-Gon explained, though he didn’t see what was so funny about not having the money to acquire something fancy. It certainly didn’t make the player.

“Oh, you’re serious.” Mrs. Kenobi said.

“And yet, Anakin is still the best beater that Gryffindor has ever seen.” Palpatine smiled, “He has even deflected shots with his eyes closed.”

“Now that I really must see.” Mr. Kenobi said.

“Great!” Anakin chirped, “Our first match is in November! We play Slytherin, of course.”

Qui-Gon felt something twist in his stomach at the smiles exchanged by the Kenobi’s. Just what did they have in mind? And where was Shmi? Perhaps, he’d been wrong to assume that the risk on Anakin’s life would be solely that of an external force.

Perhaps, it would be someone close and disguised as a friend.

***

Obi-Wan, for his part, was glad to see Parent Day finished. This was coming from someone who hardly had any interaction with his parents, which was likely for the best. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment that they didn’t get to talk to Qui-Gon. Surely, they would be impressed when he told them of his accomplishments.

He’d figured out pretty quickly that the additional parents that “roamed the halls” were not parents and actually guards of some kind. Maybe, they were from the Ministry. He was unsure of their exact position, but was excited for their presence all the same. This, he was not surprised about. However, he was pleased to note that they weren’t necessary. No physical violence broke out during the entire course of the day, proving maybe that they could all get along for the right reasons.

Emotional and verbal clashing did happen and he was ashamed to say that his parents took their fair share of cheap shots in this regard. He still cringed at what they’d said to Satine and hoped terribly that she didn’t believe he felt that way.

They were dated views coming from pure ignorance, but his parents were powerful and capable. It was crushing to see that they didn’t always use that power for good.

And what was up with their interest in Anakin? Surely, it was because of his newly anointed glory that was already going to his head. They’d dropped Obi-Wan for him quicker than they could think of it.

They had really told Anakin he would be a good auror.

Did this mean they would think the same of him? He hadn’t told them of his plans yet, hoping to concoct a careful and calculative method to breaking this news. Then again, Anakin had no such responsibilities to uphold a family name. It wasn’t the same and it never would be.

He’d done the honorable thing and attended each of his conferences alone, save for seeing Qui-Gon. He didn’t quite have it in him to explain what had happened- that his parents had all but came with the intention of being Anakin’s guardians vs. Obi-Wan’s. All of his professors were incredibly confused by Obi-Wan attending alone, claiming that it defeated the purpose, but most carried on anyway.

He had a stack of notes in the event that his parents asked for them, but doubted they would. Last he saw them, they were watching Anakin excitedly tell of how he discovered his prophecy, which to Obi-Wan, was information better kept to the chest. However, it was Anakin’s fate and the boy could do what he wanted with it.

No, he refused to feel any sort of jealousy or resentment towards him. It wasn’t Anakin’s fault that his parents were fawning all over him and it certainly wasn’t Anakin’s fault that Dooku had seen him fit for attack.

Though, as Qui-Gon came into view and rested a fond hand on Anakin’s shoulders, proudly releasing a laugh of his own at something silly the boy must have said, Obi-Wan still felt a knot grow in his chest. It was pitiful of him, he knew, but he still couldn’t help but feel a bit left out.

He was distracted briefly by one of the secret “guards” who walked briskly by him, knocking into him a bit and stumbling, dropping their wand in the process.

“Oh here, let me help you.” He offered.

Obi-Wan leaned over to pick it up for them, but met bright blue eyes. These were not of the lovely variety, though, like he might say about Satine’s. These were artificial and something he’d only ever seen from a textbook.

They were enchanted.

“Are you alright?” He asked dumbly.

“Ayy-o-siss-ssah.” Was hissed back at him before he was launched across the room from a bolt of magic that exploded from her hands. He’d seen that once before from none other than Count Dooku. Although this witch did not speak of any magical words or phrases. She didn’t speak at all; just continued to hiss in a language that Obi-Wan heard from Anakin’s lips once before.

She was human, that much he could see, with rich brown skin that reflected brightly from beneath her dark cloak.

He hit the back wall with a thunk, but wasted no time in whipping out his own wand to stop her.

Even in his stupor, he noticed a dark and ugly ink-pressed mark embedded in her wrist. His research told him exactly what it meant.

The Sith emblem.

“EXPELLIARMUS!” He yelled and fired back a volt of red energy towards his attacker, who ran at full speed towards where Qui-Gon and company sat. In more of a sense vs. pure knowing, Obi-Wan knew she was going after his mentee and would not allow it.

Luckily, whatever crack of magic he released at full force had drawn a bout of attention, and the enchanted witch went flying as well. Qui-Gon leapt to his feet and stepped in front of Anakin, guarding him of whatever danger would come to them. Obi-Wan’s parents, meanwhile, launched over to where the attacker lay unconscious on the floor.

“What is this nonsense?” His father asked.

Upon closer inspection, Obi-Wan realized the ink on her wrist looked fairly fresh in nature, like the wounds of the tattoo hadn’t yet healed in full. It was easier to tell when she wasn’t firing lightning at him.

Everyone’s eyes flicked to Obi-Wan, whose head hurt terribly and was trying to play back the previous events back. It all seemed to happen so fast. Satine and Cody lingered on the side, clearly ready to launch themselves at him when afforded the proper chance.

Headmaster Yoda came onto the scene with a briskness Obi-Wan had never seen from the old wizard, who usually used a cane. In this case, gone was any limp he previously had, and it was replaced by vigor and strength.

“Okay, are you, young Obi-Wan?” He asked with kind green eyes that Obi-Wan was at level with from where he sat.

“I’m alright,” He said, “But I don’t believe she was acting on her own accord. Her eyes glowed as though she was enchanted.”

“Please leave this to the proper authorities.” His mother said. “You could have been killed!”

“Brave, he acted.” Yoda defended. “Dangerous, this was. Close Dooku must be.”

“How did that happen? Did you not account for this? Surely you knew there were risks to opening the school all willy nilly.” Mr. Kenobi asked harshly, “Number one being that these children are not safe here. What kind of operation are you running, Yoda? Do you not know that you have a hero in your midst?”

“Investigate this matter closely, we must.” Yoda said.

“Closely? Like hell I’m leaving this to you alone. You’ll be hearing from the Ministry of Magic directly. You won’t be able to move or breathe without someone knowing exactly what you’re up to, Yoda. I swear to you. You will not continue to put these children in harm’s way.”

And he turned on his heels and marched out of the room, letting the limp body of the attacker drop like a sack of potatoes. For a moment, all that could be heard was the distant clicking of his shoes.

“So much for a quiet year.” Anakin sighed. “I thought I’d at least make it through one month without something weird happening.”

***

Because the secret tunnels allowed students to traverse all over the castle to places they never could before (within reason and with supervision), it was hardly fair that Ravenclaw’s common room was the only one without a secret door. Evidently, it had to do with how the tower, itself, was built.

Still, because of this imbalance, so long as quiet hours were not in swing, students were allowed to bring one friend from a different house within the common room. This was incredibly convenient, because it allowed Obi-Wan and Satine to bring Cody in as their plus 1 while the star Quidditch player helped the limping Obi-Wan back to their dorm.

After the surprise attack and the Kenobi’s threats against Yoda, everyone had essentially dismissed themselves without much show. Qui-Gon, who feared there were other secret op’s hiding within the castle, teamed up with the other heads of house to scope the grounds. First, he escorted Anakin back to his room, of course. The boy’s safety was to be their top priority.

Satine had bid her mother and sister adieu and promised that no, this sort of thing did not happen every day. Wizards were either incredibly passive or over dramatic when it came to near-death experiences. She, of course, was quite shaken by the whole ordeal.

She hadn’t even seen it happen. Cody was the one to draw her attention. He and his brothers had been stuffing their faces with cauldron cakes- Hevy making a comment about how he missed the food most of all at Hogwarts, when the flash alerted everyone. Satine had been busy explaining how the ceiling’s weather changed to her mother and unimpressed sister when Cody practically dragged her to the Great Hall doors.

Naturally, Obi-Wan insisted he was okay. Madame Nema wasn’t called onto the scene, but everyone seemed much more concerned about an enchanted secret agent, who actually was employed by the Ministry and had no recollection of the previous events, than they were about Obi-Wan.

“What’d they even look like?” Cody asked curiously, after Obi-Wan sat back onto the couch with a weary sigh that marked being a little less than okay. Cody took his position on the floor, which Satine guessed was common for him in his own dormitory. Despite it being nice to see her mother, she was relieved they were back in the comforts of their room, where no one could infiltrate their privacy.

“What did what look like?” He returned.

“The eyes.” Cody shivered, “Boba’s told stories of enchanted witches. That’s some dark magic right there.”

“They were like the prophecy orbs from the Ministry of Magic.” Obi-Wan explained, “Only smaller, of course, but very bright. I felt like I was going to get sucked up if I stared at her for too long.”

“Surely, you’ve already guessed what this means.” Satine said, the crackling fire sounding crisp from behind Cody.

“Dooku has connections inside the Ministry? Yes, I did contemplate that as I was flying backwards from her sudden bolts of lightning.” He deadpanned, “Forgot about it though until you just mentioned it.”

“So what good is your parents involving more Ministry agents then?” Cody complained.

“I don’t know,” Obi-Wan scrubbed a hand over his head and Satine was trying to decode if this was exhaustion a concussion that was plaguing him. “But what I do know is that they are very keen on protecting our resident chosen one.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Cody said cautiously.

“It’s not!” Obi-Wan defended immediately, sitting up straighter instantly, “Of course it’s not. I just mean that they hadn’t expressed nearly as much interest in him when he was just a mischievous little Gryffindor boy. That’s all. Perhaps, their additional support and connections will bring us to the bottom of things sooner.”

Obi-Wan must have been feeling awful, because he never complained about his parents, even in an indirect fashion such as this. That being said, he certainly had a point. While she had been busy thinking about the terrible implications and insults they’d thrown her way earlier, she had briefly considered that they were not here for Obi-Wan, alone.

“I take it conferences didn’t go as planned for you.” Cody said.

“Obviously not,” Obi-Wan snorted, “But I mean, Anakin is younger and likely needed a presence there for his conferences more. Qui-Gon said he contemplated on stepping in too.”

Satine sighed. The moment of his brief rebellion had since passed just as quick as it came.

“I would really rather not uncover a slew of dark secrets about yet another professor, that’s all.” She said, “That’s my bar for the year and yes, I understand it’s quite low.”

“Well, I intend to aim high,” Cody said, “I explained my Quidditch strategy for the year to my Dad and he seems pretty confident we’ll pull through too.”

“Ah, so you were able to detract the stoic Jango Fett from just studies.” Obi-Wan teased.

“It helped that Ninety-Nine was there. Having him around always makes Dad a little softer.”

“I can’t say the same for my sibling.” Satine complained, “Though it feels a bit daft to moan and groan about a petulant little sister though when Ben was quite literally abandoned and left for dead during his conferences.”

“It wasn’t my parents’ fault I got blasted.” Obi-Wan said, “And besides, your sister really did not seem to like me or much of anything.”

“Don’t take it personally, mate.” Cody laughed, “When Bo-Katan met me, she told me I had a very square head and that it didn’t suit me.”

Satine and Obi-Wan both burst out into a much needed fit of laughter, unable to control themselves at the visual of the conversation. Satine could picture those very words coming from Bo’s mouth and while it mortified her then, she had to admit it was quite funny, especially since Bo had been 9 years old at the time.

“Well, you do have a square head.” Satine said finally.

“But it suits me!” He said defensively, which caused the three of them to slip into giggles again. “Hey, at least my head is in working order. How hard did you hit that wall earlier?”

Obi-Wan frowned, “Not hard enough to forget that horrible marking that was on that poor girl’s arm. I doubt she consented to that being placed there.”

“The plan had likely been to have her kill Anakin at the party and become unenchanted afterwards.” Satine said, “Which is a horrifying thought.”

“Luckily I was there to take the blow.” Obi-Wan said earnestly and Satine couldn’t help but fix him with a glare to show just how little she agreed with that statement.

“I’m glad Anakin’s okay, but I would also prefer if you could be okay too.”

“I second that notion, mate.” Cody clapped him on the shoulder and Obi-Wan winced, “Maybe you should see Madame Nema.”

“Oh no, absolutely not. I’ve just got some bruises!”

“Oh really? Take off your shirt!” Satine argued and instantly regretted her words as she was returned with a very flustered expression from Obi-Wan and a cheeky one from Cody, “You know what I mean! Prove it’s just a bruise or two.”

Obi-Wan gaped, opening and closing his mouth, before shutting it all together in astonishment that Satine also felt to her very core. Had she really just said that like it was nothing? Was she not supposed to be in Ravenclaw? Actually, wasn’t she supposed to have an active brain in general?

Cody chuckled, “Well, I better go then.”

“F-For what reason?” She stammered and grimaced at her hesitance.

He smirked, “For one thing, it’s almost curfew. Also, I really don’t need to see anything I shouldn’t.”

“Oh bugger off!” Obi-Wan scowled, but his ears had turned a bright and shiny red that Satine couldn’t help but be charmed by.

Internally, she asked herself a question that had been recited through her mind a few times that summer. What if she just went for it? She suspected he didn’t know in full what her feelings were, which put the ball metaphorically in her court. This was fine, because Satine wasn’t sure what she would do if it were the other way around.

Once Cody did leave and it was just the two of them in front of the crackling fire, sitting far closer than most friends do, and facing each other, she swallowed.

“Here, let me check and make sure you don’t have a concussion at the very least.”

He sighed heavily, as though allowing her to quickly inspect him would be the hardest task in the world, but was obedient when she gently took his face in her hands. She tried desperately not to think about how soft his face was or how fixated he seemed to be on her eyes.

She raised her wand, reciting “lumos” to bring it to aglow, “Now, follow the light.”

He did as he was told- bright eyes following the tip of her wand with little struggle.

“What’s 7x7?”

“49.” He answered quickly.

“What’s my favorite color?”

“Blue.” He said.

“What was the last thing we learned in Charms last year?”

“How to make a teacup grow legs.” Ben said, “And yours tried to attack me.”

“It was a smart teacup,” She smirked. “What’s your birthday?”

“Nice try, Miss Prefect.” He smiled and pulled away to give her best mock-glare, “You’re going to have to do better than that to figure out what my birthday is.”

“Hm, bold of you to assume that was my best.” She said, “Though I suppose this does mean you don’t have a concussion.”

And yet, neither of them moved for a long moment.

“Ben-”

“-Yes?” He asked, earnest as ever. “What is it?”

Her tongue went dry as they met eyes and she thought, not for the first time, how brilliant his gray-blue eyes looked when reflected in firelight. Her sister was crazy to believe he was nothing special to write about. Then again, Bo didn’t know him too well.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” She was stalling, because how does one just come right out and say it? How do you take that leap over the edge, even if you know how the other person feels? What if it didn’t work? What if they hated each other after?

No, she could never hate him. She would always-

“Does this have to do with the diary your sister mentioned?” He asked and for some reason, this deflated any of the build-up that was causing her heart to slam against her chest cavity with increased enthusiasm.

“N-No!” She raged, “And don’t go thinking you’re hot to trot simply because I may have mentioned you there.”

“I would never.” He smiled, “Though I suppose if I were keeping a journal, I’d write about you as well.”

“Well, you better!” She said angrily, “I’m your bloody best friend, after all.”

“Yes, you are…” He reached between the minute chasm of space left between them and took her hand in his, causing any other previous thoughts to short circuit. She couldn’t seem to stop flickering her gaze between their joined hands and the intense look in his eyes as he practically beckoned for her attention.

As if it could be anywhere else right now.

“And I…” He took in a deep breath, “I wanted to apologize profusely for what my parents said earlier. It was wrong and quite frankly, embarrassing. I’m even less proud of the way I didn’t step in more.”

“Ben-” She wanted to say some version of “No, it’s not your fault that your parents are terrible hypocrites.” but he didn’t allow for it.

“You are the furthest thing from a mistake or an accident or whatever other crude language they could ever try to use to describe you,” He said, “And you don’t have to be the brightest witch of our age for that to be the case.”

“Even though I am.” She couldn’t help but add in.

“You are,” He smiled brightly, “You’re absolutely brilliant in every meaning of the word. I just meant to say that even if you weren’t, you just being… You… is what makes you great and well, I don’t think I would have made it this far without you.”

“I’m not sure about that,” She murmured quietly, “You are, after all, my only true competition.”

“And I’m honored to be anywhere beside you.” He said it like it was a prayer and once again, she felt like the ability to breathe was no longer something she could do, “You’re not a mistake. You’re a miracle.”

Satine swore her heart was going to explode.

He gave her hand a nice, affirming squeeze, before realizing how close they were sitting and getting up to his feet. He turned back to her with hands now in his pockets, seeming like he was unsure of what to do with himself from there.

“If you think,” She cleared her throat as she got up to follow him up the stairs, “That all of that nice stuff is going to make me forget about checking you tomorrow for further injuries, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“I would have it no other way, my dear.” He smiled roguishly, “Just do try and refrain from asking me to strip again.”

She tossed a book at him and he dodged it, laughing merrily.

***

“Have they concluded initial questioning?” Qui-Gon asked as he and Mace Windu walked side-by-side to the dungeons, where the secret assailant was being kept for questioning. He winced as he heard her panting for breath echoing off the walls. He certainly didn’t have the stomach for some of the more medieval tactics of acquiring information. It was the seedy part of the job that often went unmentioned at career fairs.

“Just about,” Mace said sternly, his eyes like stone as he kept his gaze forward. It was strange seeing him in this environment, even if the man was always a little stoic. It was like he was slipping back into that role before his very eyes.

“And?” Qui-Gon asked after a meaty pause. Was this really the time to mince words?

“And I’m not cleared to release sensitive information,” Windu said pointedly.

“Why call me at all then?”

Something in Windu’s profile shifted- whether it be the intensity of his furrowed brow or the increased tightness of his jaw, Qui-Gon was unsure. However, it was easy to see that he was uneasy about something specific

“You’ll see.” He said instead.

“That’s very comforting, thank you, Mace.” Qui-Gon drawled, “Anakin’s life was at risk again, you know, and while I disagree with the Kenobi’s for being so…”

“Dogmatic.” He helpfully supplied, “Nosy? Sniveling? Spoiled rotten?”

“Anyway,” Qui-Gon carefully sidestepped, “Are they so wrong for being upset? We opened our doors to this madness and have the audacity to be surprised it came in?”

“It’s all very suspicious, I’ll give you that.” Windu said.

“Suspicious? It’s obvious.” Qui-Gon sighed heavily, “Dooku is at it again.”

“Well, we never were under the impression that he would stop, not while he still lives uncuffed.” He said darkly and then flashed Qui-Gon what was an honest attempt at sympathy, “It’s not your fault he runs free.”

“It matters not if it is or isn’t. We must get to the bottom of this,” Qui-Gon strutted into the chamber where the attacker was being held, “We must find out how to best protect Anakin and the rest of the students.”

“Join us, you have.” Yoda greeted them from where he was perched in a stone seat beside Minister Valorum and across from a drenched woman with tan skin, who was promptly cuffed to the table between them. To her right was Coleman Trebor and to her left, a large fluffy Talz auror whose two sets of beady black eyes were regarding them with question. It wasn’t often that professors were drawn into private investigations, after all.

“Foul Moudama, this is Qui-Gon Jinn.” Coleman Trebor explained.

At the mention of his name, the furry white auror nodded sagely in understanding, which was not the least bit of a comforting gesture. He supposed there was a reason he was the teacher of small children and these two were designed to hunt bloodthirsty villains.

“And Qui-Gon,” Trebor turned his long, scaly head towards him again, “This is Deena Riss.”

Qui-Gon recognized her, of course, as the cloaked assassin that had attempted to murder Anakin Skywalker earlier that evening. He’d only truly seen her unconscious before, but upon first impression, noted that she didn’t look the least bit aggressive or malicious. In fact, he could only describe her as befuddled and confused.

He nodded and took the empty seat beside Yoda and folded his hands in front of him. Qui-Gon was a patient man. He always was. He never let his feelings get the better of him. Did that mean he had any tolerance towards someone who could be so brazen as to step into this castle and try to take the life of a twelve year old boy? No.

She was still panting, clearly still recovering from whatever waterboarding they’d done to her to try and get information from her.

“Why did you do it, Miss Riss?”

She looked at the two aurors beside her, who seemed more tired than anything else. Qui-Gon was surprised at this. Was it not their whole job to be here right now? To investigate this case?

“I don’t know.” She swallowed, leveling him with her dark brown eyes, never once wavering from her stance. Headmaster Yoda kept his wand outstretched, a white tip aglow on the end of the small wand. If she were lying, it would glow a sharp red.

“Who are you working for?” He tried again.

“I don’t know.” She answered with just as much confidence and even more diction. He turned to see the white light.

“Who are you?”

“I’m an officer for the Ministry of Magic,” She said and no matter how exhausted she likely was from the countless attempts at getting her to spiel something different, she spoke the words verbatim without any hesitance. They were the truth, “I would lay my life down protecting those who cannot. It’s what I signed up for years ago and it’s what I continue to do. I can’t stay away from the job, because I love doing it. I love keeping people safe. That, whatever happened, was not me.”

“Why did you betray your post?” He asked.

“I didn’t.” She said and then bit her lip, “As far as I know, I didn’t.”

He was surprised to find the tip still white, but then again, the spell was designed to read the truth of the speaker. If for example, Deena Riss truly believed the sky to be green and the grass to be blue, it would show no indication of a lie.

“These are the sorts of results we’ve been receiving too.” Trebor said and Modama merely grunted. Qui-Gon wasn’t sure the latter spoke English, but he felt the sentiment all the same radiating off of him.

Qui-Gon looked back to Deena Riss, “Tell us about your day.”

“I already told them,” She sighed and rubbed her temples. Qui-Gon startled when he noticed the mark on her wrist, “I can’t even remember my week, let alone my day.”

“What do you mean?” He decided to come back to the tattoo, which looked as painful to receive as it was ugly. It clearly hadn’t been done by wand, but by needle and not from a professional’s hand.

“I mean, I don’t recall ever accepting this job in the first place! I don’t remember getting this stupid tattoo! And I don’t remember ever agreeing to any hit target. Seeing as that’s never been my thing, I’d say I would.”

“I’d say you would too,” Qui-Gon furrowed his brow as he looked over to a calm and understanding Yoda.

“So, no matter how much you try to get me to say otherwise, there isn’t anything to say. I am Deena Riss and I have a perfect record supporting my name. I refuse to let this define me when that wasn’t even me doing it.”

“So, who do you suppose it was?” Qui-Gon asked. He didn’t mean to sound like he didn’t believe her. While a perfect history didn’t mean someone was innocent, take Dooku for example, Yoda’s truth detector didn’t lie.

“All I can tell you is that there was this sinister voice… It was all I heard… And it was haunting me, caging me inside. I was trapped and I could never be sure for how long. I could see the things I was doing but only in small blips… Like my psyche was trying to fight what was happening though none of it was detrimental. Just, talking to some of my coworkers or taking bites of breakfast. I wasn’t strong enough to ward it off. And strangely, it was in the form of a song, but I couldn’t tell you the tune to save my life.”

“Was it a male or female voice?” Windu asked.

“Male at first, but later female.” She shivered and it was a very visceral and real reaction, “The male voice was leathery and thick… Booming… Power… The female voice was shrill and daunting, going out of its way to keep me from escaping.”

Qui-Gon stroked his beard, “So, Ms. Riss, what is the very last thing you remember before waking up today?”

“I was leaving work,” She thought back, “A security job for a buyer that was meeting a collector. He was buying something valuable, but I wasn’t privy to what. It was commissioned straight through the Ministry, you can check for yourself, and was completely legit.”

“Do you remember this man? Any details?” Windu asked more urgently with a hand pressed to the table as he leaned over Qui-Gon. His presence was heavy with frustration and even more so in fear.

“Well, the buyer was Rish Loo, some Gungan collector who liked to pawn off different types of strange artifacts. He’s got family in the Ministry. It seemed like an easy and quick gig, but I don’t remember anything beyond stepping foot in that pub.”

“Nothing about the seller?” Qui-Gon asked.

“He wore a cloak and was selling jewelry,” She said dejectedly and pleaded with him, “I’m sorry, that’s all that I know of him.”

Qui-Gon stared at her for a moment longer, reading the desperation in her eyes. This woman was lost, that much he could confirm. She didn’t know what her greater purpose in all of this was or if there was one. Whether she was merely delusional or something even more terrifying had yet to be determined.

“A word, Qui-Gon?” Yoda finally spoke again and he didn’t seem nearly as perplexed as to what was going on. Qui-Gon, without taking his eyes off Deena Riss and more importantly, the tattoo on her arm, slowly backed out of the room in tow of Yoda.

“That mark, Headmaster-”

“-Sith symbol it is,” He whispered in a low gravelly voice. Qui-Gon leaned against the wet stone wall to his left in order to make looking down at the small Headmaster a little easier on his back. He took a deep breath in, not once appreciating the damp and moldy smell that the dungeons always seemed to hold.

“You don’t just get those on any corner,” Qui-Gon pointed out.

“Done by hand, this was,” Yoda nodded, “By Dooku.”

“Or one of his followers. But for what? Free advertisement? She gave no indication to knowing what it was.” He said, “What is her place in this?”

“Fulfilled, it is,” Yoda said curiously, “Gone, the artifact is.”

Qui-Gon’s eyes widened, “You believe that artifact the seller- Dooku was in possession of was cursed to possess its holder?”

“Line up with Obi-Wan’s statement, it does,” Yoda nodded gravely, “Blue eyes, mindless movements, foreign voice.”

Qui-Gon made the mental note to check on Obi-Wan, “And what if she’s just playing into our assumptions, Headmaster?”

Yoda waved his little wand around, which was the only wand Qui-Gon had ever seen be only 6 inches, “Fabricate, this does not. Back her story, her co-workers have.”

“And she’s been acting completely normal all week? What about Rish Loo? The buyer. Can we not ask him?”

A dark look crossed Yoda’s face in the shadows of the gray dungeon hallway and Qui-Gon already knew the answer. “He was found dead?”

“Reported by Deena, he was. Killed by his seller, he was.”

“And how do we know he wasn’t killed by her?” Qui-Gon asked.

“Checked her wand, they did. Killed by the killing curse, he was.”

Qui-Gon ran a hand through his long hair in disbelief, “Dooku’s made his first kill then.”

“That we know of.” Yoda reminded him.

No, that certainly didn’t sit any better. And more frighteningly, that there was an artifact that could possess its holder into apparently trying to blindly murder Anakin Skywalker, lost somewhere in the castle. It couldn’t have gotten far if it wasn’t on Deena. Unless she’d dropped it, whatever it was.

Or it had been taken off of her in the chaos of the Kenobi's outburst against Yoda. He had to admit that even his focus wasn’t on the unconscious girl during the skirmish.

“We need to find that artifact,” He said.

“Indeed,” Yoda nodded, “Figure out who has it, we must.”

That sat even worse with Qui-Gon as they walked back into the chamber. He sat defeatedly down in the same seat he’d occupied prior, looking at Deena Riss with new resolve. She was nothing more than a pawn in this whole setup and her name would be dragged through the mud forever. Dooku, it seemed, committed more than one murder that day in his own way.

“What was the voice telling you to do?” He asked, “Was it telling you how to kill Anakin Skywalker?”

It felt like a sick question to ask, but he needed to know in the event that it might provide a clue or two in how to protect and prevent such an incident.

“Skywalker?” She frowned and shook her head, “It wasn’t about Skywalker.”

“Then who?” Qui-Gon asked.

***

“You wanted to see me Headmaster?” Obi-Wan asked as he cautiously entered Yoda’s office. The boy had a way about him that didn’t want to inconvenience anyone, even if he’d been invited. Yoda’s heart squeezed at the thought of such a thing being possible. How one could turn down the inquisitive mind of a child, he didn’t know.

“Young Obi-Wan, indeed.” He took a calming sip of some of the tea Kit Fisto had gifted him with after getting the position as the new DADA professor. It was supposed to be made solely of properties from the ocean and have the relaxing sensation of sea spray and a warm day at the beach. Yoda didn’t know about all of that, but he’d take any help he could get at this rate.

Obi-Wan took a seat, his knees bending up towards his chin as he’d chosen a seat geared more towards people Yoda’s size. It wasn’t as big of a problem when the boy was in his first formative years at Hogwarts, but now he was stretching out a great deal vertically. Yoda absently wondered why he never changed his chairs to fit his guests more often.

“Wanted to check on you, I did.” He said.

“Oh, my head is much better now,” He confirmed, “Nothing more than a big bump, it would seem.”

“Good to hear, that is,” Yoda pointed his cane at him, “Interfere with your big brains, we don’t want to.”

“No, my grades will not slip as a result of this,” He chuckled when he said it, but Yoda had a nagging suspicion that he’d said it before to someone else in a more serious tone of voice.

“Emotionally, I wanted to check on you.” Yoda amended his previous statement.

“I’m alright!” Obi-Wan shifted, “It’s Anakin who should be worried, I suppose, seeing as presumably Dooku is out for him again.”

“Indeed, he is.” Yoda sighed, “Stop overnight, the dark side does not. Fester, it does. Hide under rocks, they will. Before coming out, they do.”

Obi-Wan nodded, “I’m surprised I’ve not spoken to the aurors by now… Given I was the only witness to the attack and based on my parents’... Reaction.”

He was trying to find the words to apologize without completely betraying his family, but Yoda wanted no such thing from the child. It was not his place or fault to mend anyone’s fences but his own. He raised a three-fingered claw and leveled with him, “Moved to hunting Dooku down, they have.”

“Oh,” Obi-Wan actually seemed disappointed by this, which he supposed did make sense given his field of study for the future.

“Give them your words, I will.” Yoda said hopefully, “Remember anything, do you?”

Obi-Wan frowned, “Sir… It was strange. That girl… I know I mentioned that she was surely possessed, just based on her glowing eyes, but she was speaking parseltongue.”

Yoda considered this, “Sure, you are?”

“I remember it quite clearly from when Anakin passed out last year.” Obi-Wan said with confidence, “I know what it sounds like.”

It was a bit difficult to miss, Yoda had to admit, but it made the entire puzzle more daunting. Why could she speak parseltongue? Unless, Dooku was a parseltongue all these years and never showed it? He did have some royal blood in his family lineage that could do to be explored.

“Notice any odd… Items, did you?”

“Items?” He furrowed his brow in thought.

“Jewelry, trinkets, toys…”

“Besides the tattoo?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Mhmm,”

“Not that I can remember.” He admitted, clearly disappointed that he wasn’t offering anything of notation at the moment. “I was a bit distracted.”

“Acted quick you did,” Yoda commended, “Brave, you were.”

“Thank you, Headmaster, but I believe I only did what anyone else would.”

“What not many could, you did.” He said firmly.

***

Satine quite missed having classes with her friends. She’d taken for granted how nice it was to have Ben, Aayla, or Stass to talk to in between. Perhaps that’s why she hadn’t minded that Fenn Rau had started tagging along between her History and Charms classes. He said he had class in a similar direction and would love to learn a thing or two about how she went about patrolling, so she agreed with an easy shrug. She wasn’t too keen on being any sort of mentor like she had been last year, but she didn’t mind having him along to observe.

“You seem like the type to enjoy a cup of tea,” Fenn suggested.

“I do,” She agreed, as she turned to take them the long way to the Charms classroom. He took note rather quickly, as she expected any Ravenclaw would.

“Perhaps you can give me a few recommendations,” He was smiling rather brightly at her. At least one of them was a morning person.

“Everyone has a different taste. What I like isn’t necessarily what you’ll like.”

They turned around another corner and his hand bumped into hers on accident, “Now I know this isn’t the fastest way to Charms. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the way?”

“Of course not,” Satine scoffed, “As prefects it's important we keep track of all the hallways,” Satine explained, “We can’t check everywhere between classes so I’ve taken to making sure my path to class is unpredictable.”

“That’s very Ravenclaw of you,” He chuckled, his hand bumped into hers again. Perhaps, she was walking him too close to the wall. She moved her hand up to grasp the strap of her bag, “I’d expect nothing less from the best in her year.”

“Ben’s actually at the top right now by about half a point,” She corrected, although she counted the two of them to both be at the top, she didn’t want his own hard work and effort to be ignored.

“Speaking of ‘Ben’,” Satine nearly paused, it was always odd to hear anyone other than herself call him that, “I’ve been meaning to ask why do-”

He never got to finish his thought because at that moment they rounded the corner to see what looked to be every girl in the school and a fair few others. Everyone was talking at once, so much so that Satine couldn’t make anything out. She stood on her tiptoes to peer over the crowd and to a mixture of shock and horror, saw her two friends, Stass and Aayla, at the center of attention.

Breaking up large crowds of students was Satine’s specialty. She made short work of waving away students and threatening to dock house points. Rau finished scaring off a few 5th year girls while Satine finally made her way to her friends.

“What happened?” Aayla looked impossibly flustered, which didn’t bode well for someone who was a hard egg to crack.

“Professor Fisto asked her to stay after class,” Stass answered sagely.

Perhaps, Aayla had just gotten into some trouble, but that didn’t explain the crowd, “Did you do something wrong?”

“No I did something right,” Suddenly Aayla’s eyes were twinkling and Satine had even less of a clue to go on.

“Professor Fisto wanted to congratulate her on getting the highest grade on our pretest,” Stass explained.

“He told me I had great promise,” The purple blush coating Aayla’s face seemed to grow at the thought.

“He asked her what she wanted to do after graduation-”

“And then I asked him what he did-”

“He was on the team of wizards that explored the Mariana Trench,” Satine wasn’t sure why this information was so interesting to nearly half the school, but she could see why he’d been selected to be the new Dark Arts professor. The unexplored portions of the ocean surely contained unexplained dark magic.

“So he’s qualified,” Satine said slowly.

“Oh Satine,” She’d forgotten Rau was still here, “Women love a mysterious man.”

Like the final puzzle piece had been slotted into place, Satine shook her head, “Fenn, why don’t you go on to class now,” Rau seemed disappointed by the dismissal, but did as she asked without complaint.

Once he was out of earshot she turned and hissed at her lovestruck friend, “He’s a professor!”

“For only 2 short years!” Her eyes were sparkling with delusion and even Stass rolled her eyes, “Once I graduate, we’ll bump into one another during a routine trip to Diagon Alley. He’ll ask me what I’ve been up to and then he’ll tell me he always knew I’d go on to great things,”

“Perhaps you did hit your head a little too hard during last year’s Quidditch season,” Stass put a hand on their friend's cheek to check for a fever presumably, but Aayla batted her away.

“It won’t be love at first sight! It will take a few more chance meetings,” She stood then, rising from the window sill with too much purpose for something like this, “Then he’ll ask me on a date and it. Will. Be. Wonderful!” She declared.

“Aayla-” Satine started, but Aayla shook her head, clearing it from the clouds.

“I know, I know, but a girl can dream,” She tilted her head back towards the DADA classroom, “Besides, I don’t mind admiring him from afar.”

Stass gave Aayla’s shoulder a quick sympathetic pat, “Well I quite prefer my head to sit on my shoulders.”

***

The last person Obi-Wan was expecting to see on his evening patrol was Fenn Rau. It wasn’t uncommon for prefects to switch with each other, but Fenn Rau looked almost disappointed when he came into view. Obi-Wan felt his teeth grit together so he supposed the feeling was mutual.

“Oh, Kenobi,” Rau greeted with a wave, “I thought Satine was patrolling tonight.”

He hadn’t been completely off base in his suspicions, “Satine wanted to catch up on homework this evening,” He would certainly not be disclosing any more information.

“That’s a shame,” Obi-Wan didn’t think so. Rau scratched the back of his head, both of them strapping in for a rather awkward patrol, “I’m surprised she wanted to switch with you, she’s never seemed like a morning person.”

“And how would you know!” Obi-Wan thought rather bitterly.

“She should have asked to switch with me. I had a mid,” Rau laughed, but Obi-Wan was hard pressed to hear it over his own heartbeat.

“Let’s get on with this shall we,” He gritted out instead. Rau seemed a little taken aback, but followed after him as Obi-Wan turned.

The silence following was blissful. Only the echo of their shoes on the cobblestone and the snoring of portraits to be heard. It was a grave error then, when Obi-Wan decided to ruin it with his own morbid curiosity.

“Why were you trying to patrol with Satine?” He had to ask, it was practically eating away at his heart. Rau fell into step beside him at the opportunity, though Obi-Wan quite wished he’d stayed trailing behind.

“Well you know...” But he didn’t know, and as if sensing this Rau sighed, “I just want to get to know her. We’re both prefects,” Obi-Wan liked that answer, but it didn’t sit quite right.

“I haven’t seen you trying to get to know any of the other prefects,” Obi-Wan pointed out. Rau looked a little uncomfortable, like he was being interrogated, but if Obi-Wan was wanting to interrogate him, he was sure he’d do it in a more professional way.

“What about you?” Rau asked suddenly and Obi-Wan almost faltered in his gait.

“What about me?” Obi-Wan countered, fiddling with the watch on his wrist, “I’ve already gotten to know my fellow prefects.”

“Yeah, but I always see you around Satine,” He pointed out and Obi-Wan scoffed, waving a hand.

“We’ve been friends since first year, it just so happens that we both became prefects,” Rau seemed to inspect him slowly.

“So you’ve been friends since first year,” He repeated slowly and Obi-Wan nodded.

“Of course, best friends,” He confirmed, “Satine, Cody, and myself.”

“I see.”

They lapsed back into silence. Obi-Wan thought once again he should enjoy such quiet, but there was something about the way Rau looked like he was mulling something over that unsettled him. A nagging sort of voice, one that sounded a little too much like Satine, told him he may have missed something important about this conversation. He would have to dissect it later, but for now they wandered through the dark halls of the castle together under moonlight.

***

“It’s finally Saturday!” Cody roared, practically standing on the Gryffindor table as he made his announcement to the entire house. Though Anakin figured he was loud enough for the whole Great Hall to hear, “Quidditch tryouts are today! If you wished there was more time to practice, tough luck! You should have been practicing over the summer,” He paused though as he gazed in scrutiny across the table, “Although, muggle-borns don’t you fear, there will be special consideration for those of you who had nowhere safe to fly over the summer.”

Anakin would rather he just shut it and give this speech out on the field. He was hungry and the food seemed to refuse to appear anywhere it might be stepped on. Rex seemed to have the same thought as he exchanged glances with Anakin. Luckily for both of them, the screech of a particularly loud owl cut off any more that he’d have to say as mail started being dropped all around. Cody dodged an owl going straight for his head, before finally dropping into his seat.

“Woah! Look at that!” Rex pointed up and Anakin followed the motion to a pair of beautiful tawny owls carrying a long thin package. It was near obvious to guess what it was by shape alone.

“Who got a new broom?” Anakin considered as they passed overhead, he did not expect the clatter as the broom was dropped onto silver plates right in front of him, stopping near all conversation in the Great Hall as they all looked over to Gryffindor table.

“Uhhhhhhhh,” Anakin and Rex both looked at one another and then the confused Gryffindor’s across from them. When no one made a move to grab it, Anakin shrugged and pulled it towards him. It’s not like he hadn’t seen anything more dangerous than a mysterious broom. He flipped it over and dropped the handle in shock. His name was written in very well-manicured green script, so he wasted no time ripping it open.

For a moment everything was still as the beautifully polished piece of wood slid out of its wrappings before someone gasped and then everyone was talking at once.

“It can’t be-”

“-Just came out!”

“Firebolt Supreme!”

Anakin, himself, was shocked at the turn of events. This obviously hadn’t been sent by his mother, as this much money could have possibly gotten them a whole new apartment and then some.

“It came with a card,” Cody was looking at him with an unreadable expression, one of those tawny owls sitting primly on his shoulder as if they were old friends. Anakin took the card from his outstretched hand, the green seal… He’d seen it before.

“We couldn’t allow such a special boy to ride around on a plain broom. We look forward to seeing it in action. -The Kenobi’s”

His first thought was perhaps Obi-Wan had suggested such an idea, but why did Cody seem so surprised then? He supposed he remembered discussing brooms with Professor Palpatine, but could they really have just decided to do such a nice thing for him?

“Do you think it’s real?” Rex asked as he tentatively touched the handle with one finger.

“It’s from the Kenobi’s!” Anakin said much too loudly, causing the surrounding crowd to whisper amongst themselves, “I doubt they’d buy a fake,” His hands itched to grab it though, “Guess we should try it out though, yeah?”

***

“Did you know?” Satine asked as the Gryffindors barreled past them, Anakin holding his new broom over his head in excitement. Cody passed by too, clearly needing to make sure his Quidditch team didn’t get themselves killed, but he sent them a sympathetic look all the same.

“No,” Ben answered simply, nodding at Cody as he left the Great Hall.

“How could they just-” She started, but Ben shook his head.

“They can spend their money however they’d like,” He sounded neutral on the matter, but Satine could see that he was not, “Anakin needed a new broom eventually.”

But Satine disagreed much more about the circumstances than the turnout.

***

“Alright recruits!” The hype over Anakin’s new broom had died down just in time for tryouts and Rex clutched his own Cleansweep 15 tightly. He’d been trained quite brutally this summer in hopes of making it on the team, but he knew Cody wasn’t going to go easy on him.

Anakin was standing a little too proudly next to Fives and Echo, who would also be starting on the team this year. It was a relief not to see Krell and word on the street was he’d skipped town and gone to a different wizarding school this year. Good riddance.

“We’ll offer tryouts for every position, even if there aren’t any openings,” Cody announced, “If you’re better than what we’ve got, you’re in, they’re out. Sound good?” It probably didn’t to anyone already on the team, but everyone nodded anyways and tryouts began.

Rex had picked very carefully the position he would fill. He could play anything as he often reminded Anakin when asked, but given the current openings on the team, and the current players it only made sense for him to try out for-

“Potential Seekers, line up!” He fell into place with practiced ease. Yes, Seeker was his best chance at getting picked. He had exceptionally good vision and was good at strategizing on his own. He’d won a fair few games back home as seeker and he was pretty sure he could dish out whatever Cody would serve.

The Seeker’s tryout was tricky. Cody released 3 snitches, you only had to catch one, but you were allowed to catch the others if you happened to see them first. There were about 10 of them trying out, all different years, and the 7th years definitely looked frustrated enough to knock him clear off his broom if he got in their way. He supposed if he’d failed to get on the team 5 times he’d be pretty mad about it too.

They all flew up into the air, spaced enough apart and clearly trying to find the best vantage point. They weren’t allowed to touch the snitches right away having to wait until the whistle blew to go after them. This meant that if Rex could keep his eyes on at least one, he’d be good to go.

They stayed frozen in the air, Cody watching them all carefully, before the whistle sounded and everyone burst into action. If he’d learned anything from Cody’s rambling, it was sometimes best when you were small to let the bigger members pick each other off. So Rex kept his speed fairly neutral as two 7th years crashed into each other, spinning out and crashing to the ground. He sped forward, snatching the snitch they’d been after with well-practiced ease. He held it up for his brother to see before putting it in his robe pocket, he would not be taking the easy way out.

Looking around the arena, it seemed like maybe one other snitch had been caught, but the way everyone was just hovering and searching, it wasn’t over yet. Everyone was searching pretty high up, even the two 7th years who had crashed had managed to make it back up into the air. Given the amount of eyes on the field right now, Rex could guess if it was so high up it would have already been caught so he casually let his broom flutter lower and lower as he circled close to the ground.

He was lucky, no one paid him much mind, clearly thinking because he’d already found one that he was giving up. He weaved between the Quidditch hoops before finally his eye caught a gleam of gold. The final snitch was hovering at the base of the Quidditch hoop on the opposite side of the field. If he rushed to it, someone with a faster broom could beat him there, so instead he slowly drifted around, weaving on his broom like he was being flippant with the whole thing. When he was close enough though with no one tailing him, he put on a sudden burst of speed snatching that golden spec out of the air and pulling up before he slammed into the bleachers.

Cody blew the whistle.

“That’s three! Everyone get back down here!” Cody was quick to go down the list, giving tips and suggestions to each individual. The older students looked rather annoyed, but the younger they got, the more receptive they seemed to be. Rex thought it would be stupid to blow off Cody’s advice. If there was one thing he knew about his brother, it was that he wanted everyone to learn how to do their best.

Soon enough the tryouts were done and Cody was announcing who would be joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Rex could hardly listen past the beating of his own heart. He knew he deserved a spot on that team, but had he shown himself worthy enough? He thought so.

“And our additional Seeker,” Cody looked up from his notes, addressing the crowd and not even looking in his direction, “Will be Rex Fett, for showing ingenuity and aptitude that no one else did.”

“Playing favorites again,” Someone behind him hissed, but Rex dared not turn around. He knew his brother had gotten crap about letting both Fives and Echo on the team- he’d heard from the twins that it was best dealt by ignoring it, lest it get out of hand.

“Rex will be our back up, for Moteé,” Cody confirmed and Rex looked at him in shock. Back up? He knew he was still young, but he thought- “That’s all for now. Dismissed!” Rex waited for the crowd to disperse and disappear into the locker rooms before he approached his brother.

“Cody-”

“Rex! You really-” Cody smiled at him, but Rex shook his head.

“Me? Back-up? Seriously?” Rex asked, “I know I’m only in my 2nd year, but Anakin-”

“Oh,” It seemed to dawn on Cody then, “Anakin’s a special case, Rexy. He’s a natural, and we need talent like that on our team.”

“So I’m not good enough for you then?” Rex shot back, “What was the point of training me all summer then?”

“You’re plenty good Rex,” Cody frowned.

“Then what am I lacking here?” Rex questioned, throwing his hands up, “A prophecy? A rich friend? What is it, oh lord of Quidditch?”

“See here Rex,” Cody jabbed a finger at him, “I’ll be having none of this if you want a spot on this team. Fives and Echo waited their turns just like you will; especially if you keep this up. So what will it be? There’s still time to call the other guy back.”

“Whatever, Captain,” Rex summoned his broom and stormed off towards the locker rooms.

***

Cody was stewing over his interaction with Rex, so much so that he almost got beaned in the head by Ventress’s broom. She’d “accidently” adjusted its position too close to his head, but it seemed like getting his attention was part of it.

“Kindly vacate the field before I have you dragged off, Captain,” She sneered. Ventress had been crowned captain at the very end of last year’s term. Although Cody didn’t like her personality, he wouldn’t deny that she was the best choice for the position.

“Make sure your new recruits know the rules,” Cody ducked to avoid her broom again, flashing her a cheeky grin, “I’d hate to see Slytherin flagged on the first play of the year.”

“Don’t worry your pretty head,” She scoffed, “Slytherins are all familiar with Quidditch, long before their letter,” A clear jab towards muggle-borns, though it was untrue. Whether Ventress admitted it or not, there were muggle-borns in Slytherin, “Might want to make sure your team doesn’t fall apart, what with your pet beater.”

“Jealous?” Cody teased, “Anakin’s got pure talent, and you’ve got what? Scare tactics?”

“Slytherins are built on ambition, you know,” She reminded him before practically walking through him to stand at the head of her team.

The Slytherin tryouts were much different than Gryffindors, Ventress and the Captains before her tended to look for who wanted it the most, who would do whatever it took to win. She hadn’t been wrong about Slytherin's ambition. That’s what made Slytherin the best rival to Gryffindor’s bravery on the field, not that Cody would be caught dead admitting to it.

Normally he’d be more interested in watching the new recruits, but instead he took his time cleaning up in the locker room. Cody had always thought being Captain would be a cinch. He’d read every book, every manual. He knew every rule and practically every strategy. It turns out though, that there was a lot more to being a good Captain than just strategy and knowledge, just as there was more to the game then tossing around a couple balls. His team had a lot of promise. If he could get them to all come together like cogs of a clock, he knew they’d be unstoppable.

***

With the graduation of Galen Erso, Ravenclaw team had passed the torch of captain onto the completely obvious choice of Eeth Koth. He wasn’t the only one who wanted to be captain, but he was the logical choice and Obi-Wan had no qualms in voting for him. Perhaps, it was the Ravenclaw in him or his own distaste for Quidditch, but either way he didn’t mind not having any more added responsibility. He felt he was maxed out on such things. Others though perhaps wouldn’t feel the same. His parents hadn’t even bothered sending him an owl about this, knowing already that he wasn’t as talented as they would like.

Ventress, however, had been giving him a rather superior looking smirk for the better part of a week.

“Can barely cut it on the field, Kenobi?” She bared her teeth into what he’d come to know as some sort of sadistic grin.

“Congratulations on the title,” He’d said in response. He wasn’t looking to pick a fight, however… “I’m sure there’s no one better to offer the warm and welcoming teamwork that Slytherin’s so often lacking.”

Her teeth nashed together in a snarl, “See to it your team looks up from a textbook long enough to offer a real challenge.”

He wasn’t sure what had gotten her so enthusiastic about her new position. Ventress had always liked Quidditch because of the ability to knock people out without getting into trouble. In a way it’s what made her a fabulous beater. She’d never shown that same concern towards gaining the title of captain. He wondered what it would be that finally captured the true essence of her Slytherin ambition, besides the aim to tear everyone around her to the ground.

A loud and jarring bang sounded, startling all the occupants of Ravenclaw’s locker room. Obi-Wan barely reeled himself back from hurtling a jinx as he connected Eeth’s outstretched wand with the shit eating grin on their new captain’s face.

“A heart attack Koth!” Aayla shouted, “That’s what you’re gonna give us!”

“Ah come on,” Eeth lowered his wand, stowing it back into his Quidditch robes, “How else am I supposed to get your full, undivided attention?”

“Maybe some way that doesn’t make it seem like we’re about to get attacked,” Nadar suggested without even looking up from his potions essay.

They moved swiftly from the locker room. Ravenclaw’s tryouts were often quite boring, usually some sort of simple tests through each position, occasionally even a test of knowledge as that was their strength. This year it seemed quite the opposite with how Eeth was marching excitedly past Slytherin’s team.

“I’ll just get everything set up!” He announced cheerily, “Why don’t the rest of you get to know our prospective teammates?”

Obi-Wan really didn’t have much intention on making small talk. In fact, he considered just offering a hand to Koth as he hauled over the trunk himself, but the sight of someone stopped him cold.

“Rau?” Sure enough the 5th year prefect had seemingly taken a sudden interest in Quidditch and was standing alongside his fellow hopefuls.

“Hey Kenobi,” Fenn greeted with a wave as he walked over to meet him, “Got any last minute tips for a friend?” Obi-Wan wasn’t sure they were friends, but he didn’t bother correcting him or answering his question.

“Why are you here? You’ve never tried out before,” He asked. Rau just shrugged, though his eyes betrayed him slightly, drifting towards the audience.

“Well, it looks pretty fun,” He shrugged, but when it was clear Obi-Wan didn’t buy it, he added, “And I hear women are often impressed by a man in uniform,” He grinned. Obi-Wan squinted trying to follow his gaze into the audience. What girl was so worth it to join something because of a simple crush?

A flick of blonde caught his attention. Satine.

She waved as if knowing she was being scrutinized and Rau waved back much to Obi-Wan’s sudden feeling of horror. He tried to swallow down the green feeling rising slowly in his chest. Perhaps, he’d misunderstood.

“Look I know it’s probably awkward for you. You being best friends and all,” Rau scratched the back of his head, “but Satine’s hot,” Rau shrugged, “I thought maybe you were dating her after all, like the rumors said, but then you said it yourself, you’re just friends,” He laughed, though Obi-Wan was hard pressed to hear it past the blood rushing through his ears.

“Why are you interested in her anyways?” He heard himself say a little more aggressively than he should have and Rau tilted his head, scrutinizing him.

“Are you- Do you like her?” He asked and Obi-Wan shook his head in panic.

“No, of course not!” Eeth decided at that moment to blow the whistle, calling everyone back to the center, but Rau got one last word in.

“No need to worry mate, I’m not interested in breaking her heart,” He patted Obi-Wan on the shoulder before moving to follow the crowd. Obi-Wan was frozen for another moment, heart beating too fast, green gnawing on his insides.

Rau was talking about breaking her heart as if it had already been won. A glance up to the stands revealed Satine once again and he frowned. Satine had always had a distaste for Quidditch, but she was here to watch the tryouts. Could it be that she was here to see Rau’s performance? Would she be won over if he managed to perform admirably? It went against everything he knew about Satine, but sometimes she did seem like a box of puzzles- wonderful, if not occasionally frustrating. Perhaps, he didn’t know everything about her after all.

“Kenobi!” He was shaken from his thoughts by an annoyed looking Koth, “What’s got you all petrified? Get over here so we can start!”

He lined up, bad luck had him looking directly in Rau’s direction and it just made it harder to focus than it should on what Eeth was saying, even if it was just a lot of fluff.

They ran the seeker test first. Koth had hidden a bunch of rocks around the arena. They gave off an unnatural shine and you had to find 5 to be considered. Next was the beaters, they were to hit bludger sized balls into a stack of bottles and would be judged on accuracy. He’d gotten the idea from muggles apparently and if he was less likely to blow his top on a certain unsuspecting 5th year for some reason, he’d be much more interested. There was no need for a new Keeper as they already had himself and Nahdar, so they moved on to the Chasers.

Obi-Wan got into position, hovering in front of the golden rings at the end of the field. Evidently, Koth couldn’t think of anything better to test a Chaser’s skills than by scoring. Either way his job was quite simple. Block the hoops, prevent them from scoring. The first few students to try were younger, struggling to stay on their brooms and throw the ball, but one of them had been smart enough to attempt a fake out, which would be noted by their Captain as potential. The next few students had gotten good at flying and managed to score a few goals on him using quick wit and strategy. The air seemed to change, however, when Fenn Rau fell into position in front of him.

“Don’t go easy on me Kenobi,” Rau winked, “I’ve got to make a good impression,” He should have been talking about the try outs, but Obi-Wan caught his glance into the audience and he bristled. No, he certainly wouldn’t be going easy on Rau.

It was a bit of a blur. Rau tried to score, but Obi-Wan was always there to block his shots. Rau had clearly been practicing and studying strategies because loathe Obi-Wan to admit it, he had the skills. Obi-Wan, however, had 5 years of practice under his belt and a best friend who would constantly feed him tips. He used everything he had to make sure Rau never got a single point out of him and after time was up Obi-Wan had his teeth gritted, head throbbing a bit from a few furious headbutts, and not quite enough air in his lungs. Victory tasted sweet though as Rau, looking shocked at his defeat flew down to make way for the next contender.

When he landed, he stumbled just slightly before straightening up. He’d never felt so accomplished after running drills, or even during a game. His exhaustion was worth it to save Satine from the plight of having her heart stolen by some wannabe jock.

“Alright, I’ve got the results!” Koth announced and Obi-Wan let his attention fall. His eyes caught the glimmer of Satine’s hair. It was a unique shade he’d always thought, so light and airy, like sunshine. His brain rather unhelpfully provided that it was rather soft when it brushed his skin on occasion and how it would probably feel so nice to tuck behind her ear when it fell into her eyes.

“And our back up chasers will be,” Koth was continuing, but it didn’t matter. Obi-Wan had done his part and sealed the fate of the 5th year prefect, “and Fenn Rau!” Obi-Wan’s head snapped to look at a very surprised looking Rau. He cheered alongside his new fellow teammates. He grinned up at the bleachers once more while raising a fist and Obi-Wan’s grip on his broom threatened to snap the poor thing in half. He was hardly concerned about such material possessions when he imagined Fenn Rau brushing Satine’s hair back after a Quidditch game. He turned slowly, letting his teammates pass by him until he was standing next to Eeth Koth, the last two Ravenclaws on the field.

“You picked Rau?” He asked, trying to capture some of the fake politeness he had become rather masterful of, “He couldn’t even score a point.”

“Yeah, he couldn’t,” Koth agreed, “But only because he pushed you to your limit! I’ve never seen you play so spectacularly! Had to have that kind of motivation on the team,” Obi-Wan nearly dropped his broom, dumbfounded.

“You let him on so what? He could be the team pet?” Obi-Wan spat and Eeth looked at him strangely.

“Certainly you saw that he knows what he’s doing. He’s got good tactics and a good head on his shoulders,” He looked at Obi-Wan pointedly, “I’m sure you could learn a thing or two from him. I’m here to see potential and thanks to you, I found possibly one of our best future Chasers right here!”

Obi-Wan didn’t have it in him to return any such gratitude.

***

Dear Mum,

Fine, I’m breaking the ice and writing to you. Obi-Wan says it’s rude that I still haven’t responded to your letter about not coming to Parent’s Day and he rarely lets up on this sort of thing. It’s like he’s been programmed to act like an eighty year old man even though he’s like 16. I mean, you’ve seen him. He tucks his shirts way too tight to be comfortable. Anyway, I guess he is right in a way, because I did have good news that I wanted to share with you: I got a new broom! Not just any broom either, but a Firebolt Supreme! And it flies SOOOOOOOOOOO fast and high! Before you ask, the Kenobi’s got it for me after Parent’s Day (they filled in when SOMEONE couldn’t make it), because they were pretty pressed that I was still using the school’s brooms.

Not that I NEED the edge, but it definitely feels like I’m no longer playing with a hand tied behind my back. It’s crazy how they make brooms that fly differently. I wonder if it’s different from cars that move faster? I didn’t realize magic was so complicated, but apparently, magical engineers do exist.

Also, Rex made the team too! He’s been pretty quiet about it. I guess he’s just trying to let it all sink in. I know I was pretty amazed when I made the team too. He’s just going to be a backup though, but Cody says that one day he’ll get to start! That’ll be fun, because I feel like Rex and I are a team within the team as it is.

I haven’t just been hanging out with Rex these days though. I’ve been welcomed into the older, cool kids crew across all the houses. They say I’ve got a big personality to make up for what I lack in height, but I just say I’m due for a growth spurt. Patiently waiting for that to come still.

I’m trying to distance myself between Padmé, the girl I used to like, because I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. Falling in love with me would be a big mistake and it’s already been proved as a theory! Some hypnotized witch snuck into the school during Parent’s Day tried to kill me. Obi-Wan stopped her before she could even get the chance and I didn’t even realize he’d have it in him to react like that! His parents blame Yoda for her sneaking in, which kind of makes sense since he runs the school. I’m not too worried about it, honestly, because I’m the Chosen One. I can’t die without doing all the things the prophecy says. THAT’S why I’m glad I’m keeping distance between me and Padmé. I don’t want her roped into all of that. Superheroes’ girlfriends are always used against them.

Before you worry too much, I’m totally fine! Everyone is running around like crazy trying to figure out how this even happened. They were bragging about all the security they set up, but I think they forget that Dooku (who is definitely behind this, let’s be real) used to work here for a really long time and probably knows his way around.

That’s about it on what’s been going on around here. School is school and Windu still isn’t a big fan of me, but even he can’t deny that I’m the best in his class. Obi-Wan says my marks are better than last year’s already and I should keep up whatever I’m doing. I try to tell him that heroes can’t fail, but he doesn’t really buy that as an answer. Write back when you can. I still love you!

~ Anakin

#anakin skywalker #obi-wan kenobi #obitine #anidala #the clone wars #tcw #magical forces au #hpau

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