Hey everyone!

Thanks for all the positive feedback on the first chapter. Like I said, I'm trying to do a weekly update.

I took some liberties here. I realized was making Luke more like the Alec Guinness Obi-Wan and I wanted him to be more Luke-ish. Luna is more down to Earth, I'll explain that in further chapters. And Hermione... well, everything is going to calm down a little bit there.

But I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Let me know what you think!

Two

He leaned forward, stretching his back and legs until his muscles were screaming at him, and sprinted through the forest. He ran without the use of the Force. The stronger he was without it, the stronger he'd be with it.

The Forbidden Forest was definitely something to behold. The farther you went in, the more it changed. He was running through soaked grass and dead leaves, their sickly sweet smell intoxicating. Fall does that to a man. It makes him just a little happier to be alive.

He came to a small ravine and skidded to a stop, slipping in the leaves and falling on his backside. He started to become embarrassed, his face and neck heating up, but then laughed. He roared, throwing his head back and cackling into the canopy. Some creatures flew out of their resting places.

He rested on his elbows, his arms holding his weight as he looked up into the sky. His tank top and pants were covered with mud and water, his body was slick with sweat. He smelled like the owlery. But he felt good. He felt relaxed.

He shuffled over to a boulder and and pulled his knees to his chest. Focusing his breathing, he gradually slipped into a deep meditation. Everything around him breathed. The forest floor rose and sank in a syncopated rhythm that put him even more at ease. The trees spoke in whispers, joking and laughing, loving life. And the brook below sang in a soft melody that was beautiful. More beautiful than anything he'd ever heard before.

But something was approaching him from behind; he heard the leaves sliding and the grass moving. Searching out with the Force, he smiled and without opening his eyes or turning he said, "Master Charon."

"Master Potter. I'm impressed. It's been a long time since someone has heard me approaching."

Harry opened his eyes and stood up, brushing himself off. He shivered, just a little, as his defenses fell and the autumn air nipped at his bare and wet skin. Turning, he bowed out of courtesy. The centaur smiled and bowed back.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed your meditation," the half-human, half-horse being began.

"No, no. Nothing to be sorry about. It was probably a good thing I ended anyway, don't want to be out here too long. Catch a cold this way."

"Quite so. But, I have something I must tell you." He looked nervous. No, scared. For someone usually so composed and so confident, so fearless, this was uneasy.

"What is it?" Harry asked cautiously. Now he was on alert, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"The war that is coming, the war with the wizard Voldemort, we centaurs have agreed to join the side that opposes him—"

"That's wonderful news!"

"—only if you are the one leading the army. For there is something else, something much worse." He met Harry's eyes and Harry saw the fear in them. "There's something living in these woods, something like you." He gestured to Harry's lightsaber. "But whatever it is… it does not seek peace."

He made his way towards the edge of the forest and picked up his robe he'd left stuffed behind a tree. Thinking on what Charon said, his mind wandered. He needed to meditate but that would have to wait. He had classes to attend. And… he needed a shower.

He stepped into his bathroom after turning the water off. The mirror was fogged over. He sighed and let himself drip-dry and wiped away the condensation.

His face was fine; it was his eyes that were heavy and churning. Emerald embers crackled in his head. But it seemed as if the fire were dying. It was too much stress, too much weighing on his mind. "A commander?" he asked the empty room more than himself. "How the hell can I lead an army if I can't even handle something as basic as my relationship with Hermione?"

"It isn't easy," Luke said, standing in the doorway. "I didn't think I could be a commander either during the war. But I did it. I was some backwater kid from Tatooine. I'd gone from taking pot shots womp rats in my dust hopper of a ship to destroying the Death Star. I did because I had to, Harry.

"A lot of people look up to you. They will follow you into battle. You're getting stronger every day. Don't dwell on your faults, nothing good will come with it. I will be here with you every step of the way. And the Force will be with you, always."

Harry looked down into the sink and didn't have to look back to know that Luke was gone. Looking into the mirror he noticed something. His right eye was red. And not bloodshot. It was his iris. It was an angry, pulsating red with black lines running all throughout it like fissures in a volcano. It started bleeding. The blood ran down the side of his face, dangling off his chin before plopping into the sink. He heard a hum in his head. It started off far away and then grew close, like an angry swarm of bees, rushing towards him. His heart was pumping faster than it should have been. Each thump, the blood flowed heavier.

All of a sudden the lights went dark and a deep red smoke cloud in the shape of a distorted face shot out of the mirror, screeching. Harry fell and skidded backwards across the floor in a crabwalk with a shout. He back peddled until he hit the tub.

The face floated through the air and grew near to his face. Its eyes were blurred out, showing only a mangled nose and rugged mouth. No ears. It sniffed him. Harry turned his head away, all Jedi training running out of him as if it were water being blown off by a heavy wind.

"FEAR, YOUNG JEDI. FEAR WHAT IS TO COME. FOR YOU. WILL. FALL." The face cracked apart and seemed to explode. Hatred and laughter poured out of it. Power. That was the scariest thing. All that power some smoke had. Was that the power of the Dark Side?

The lights came back on slowly and he wiped at his cheek. Nothing. He got up on two feet and cautiously made his way over to the mirror. His eyes were both that solid emerald everyone said reminded them of his mother's. There was no blood on his cheek or in the sink. He took a shaky breath and walked out of the room, the lights turning off behind him.

He could still hear the laughter in his head as he got dressed and ready for breakfast.

When he got to breakfast he saw Luna sitting at the Gryffindor table waiting for him. He sat down and she looked him over.

"Harry, you look awful," she said. There wasn't pity, just concern.

"Ask me about it later. Too many prying ears right now." His eyes flicked towards Hermione who was sitting down the table with Lavender, Ginny, and Parvati, all of whom were laughing and giggling about something. Only Hermione noticed them. Harry didn't acknowledge it openly, but Luna knew he was internally groaning and fighting with himself.

"Okay," she said and went back to work on her breakfast. "The room tonight, half seven?" He nodded. she bit her lip. "I know it's not my place, but sometimes it's okay to let others in. Like you let me in."

Harry smiled sadly at her. "You're right, but do you know the reason I let you in?"

Luna shook her head, searching his eyes for some clue.

"You believed me."

She returned his smile. "Well, you believed me too," she said. She then lowered her voice and leaned forward so only he could hear her, "Master Potter."

Harry sprayed orange juice across the table, all the while Luna laughed her head off. Neither of them noticed the Head Girl leaving breakfast hastily, tears in her eyes.

"Harry?" a muffled voice outside the door asked.

He looked up at it and put the book he'd be given by Dumbledore in his

trunk, locking it. Dobby stood there and Harry nodded. The little elf bounced around and then warded it for him. Harry gave him a pair of socks as thanks, putting a finger to his lips. Through tears he nodded his head and popped away.

Harry hooked his saber to his belt and threw his robe around himself to conceal it. It would do no good for someone to see it on his way to the Room of Requirement. No one besides Luna, that is.

He opened the door and saw Hermione. She wouldn't look at him. She was grinding her teeth and staring at the floor, glaring at it really.

"You were calling me?" Harry asked. He wanted to get out of this situation as quick as possible. A Jedi knew when to pick and choose their battles, and this was not one of those battles to be fought at the moment.

"I wanted to say," she sighed, "I'm sorry."

Well then, he thought.

"I accept your apology. Thank you." He put on a smile and squeezed her shoulder. She wasn't sorry. She still didn't believe a word he'd said. He knew she was just saying it. For what reason? His guess was as good as a wampa's.

He moved past her down the stairs, glancing at the clock. Five of seven. Still early, but he wanted to get to the room and meditate, maybe discuss with his Master what had happened in the bathroom this morning.

"That's all you have to say to me?" He turned around and saw her standing there with a gaping jaw and fiery eyes.

"Yes. At the moment it is. I have somewhere to be and you weren't sincere." She flew down the stairs, not with her wand, but with her hand, and slapped him across the face. He could have dodged it easily, blocked it, and even parried it had she been an enemy. He could have had her hand as a necklace had he used his saber. But he wanted to drive his point home. There was a nasty pink hand print on the side of his face.

"As I said, you weren't sincere. If you had been, you never would have

hit me." He walked through her towards the door to the Heads' tower.

"Why her?" Hermione whispered

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "What?" He turned and she was looking down again, but not with the anger from before. Just with sadness. Now this was genuine. This was Hermione.

"Why her, Harry?" She looked up with tears in her eyes. "Why did you choose her?"

"Her? Luna?" he asked. She nodded and he turned around walking back and hugging her. She gripped onto him. "I didn't choose her. I chose someone else, but they didn't believe in me." He broke the hug and walked towards the door. "But maybe in time they will."

Duck. Slide. Jump. Vault.

"Things with Hermione may have gone better if you'd talked to her, you know." Luke sat on a stump in the Room of Requirement, watching as dummies threw rocks at Harry. Luna and Harry had yet to try spells. That would be the test tonight. So rocks would do for the moment.

Harry pushed out with the Force with such power that it blew the training dummies out of the floor and flung them across the swamp floor. It was hot and damp. His shirt clung to him and his boots and trousers were sopping wet at the shins. This was the first time he'd ever tried recreating another planet, but magic was a wonderful thing. He was in a room recreation of Dagobah.

So this is the place his Master had been taught the ways of the Force.

A strange bat-like creature flew by with a high pitched squeal. Harry brought out his lightsaber and ignited it, the green blade coming forth in and instant. Luke chuckled.

"Easy, Harry. It's just probably just a jubba bird."

Harry deactivated his lightsaber and took a calming breath. "This

place… even though I know it's a fake recreation, it feels so powerful, as if the whole planet is breathing."

Luke nodded. "It's a lot to take in, that's one of the reasons Master Yoda was attracted to it. It is strong with the Force… Dark and Light. You have company. We will talk shortly."

Harry turned to see Luna walking over roots in her training gear, lightsaber attached to the hip. When he turned back, Luke was gone and that emptiness he always felt when his Master left returned. But it was soon replaced by the warmth of the Force his friend emitted.

"Good evening," he said, moving out of the swampy water and walking towards her.

"You couldn't have picked a nicer place for us?" She wrinkled her nose.

"This is where Master Luke trained with Master Yoda, so I saw it sufficient for our use."

"Dagobah?"

Harry nodded.

"Interesting. Now, care to tell me what happened this morning?"

Harry told her about his chat with Charon and hesitated when it came to the bathroom incident.

"But how? We should be the only ones that even know of the Jedi." she asked.

"I don't know. Charon doesn't know either." He walked over to the stump where Luke was sitting and plopped down. He wiped a hand over his face.

"How did he know about us in the first place?"

Harry shrugged. "They are just as sensitive to the world around them as we are. Maybe the felt something strange."

"Makes sense…" A silence fell over them. Then, "That isn't everything, is it?"

He looked up sharply and then hung his head. "No. No it isn't." He told her about the bathroom and she sat down on her own stump, letting out a sigh.

"What are we going to do about it?"

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think that there's anything we can do. We just have to keep training and trust that the Force will guide us."

She nodded, standing. "So, let's begin then. Chop, chop!"

Harry grinned and stood.

"I'm getting really tired of getting hit with rocks," Luna said. She rubbed at her shoulder.

Harry laughed. "You're holding back. Do not be afraid to give yourself to the Force. As long as you don't fall too deeply, it will move with you. But, let's stop with the rocks for now."

"Oh thank you so much."

"Let's see what these things do against spells, shall we?"

Luna nodded. "You or me first?"

"It's only fair that you get to take a few pot shots at me after all the rocks I've hit you with." Something growled and he turned to look. But he felt it coming. His lightsaber flew to his hand and ignited as he struck upwards, the spell flying off into the sky. They stared at each other. He was impressed with her silent casting and she was amazed that the saber was able to block a spell. "Well, I guess it wo—" He flung his blade up again to block another spell. And another. And another.

Luna was shooting them off like a madwoman. Her accuracy was perfect and the power of her spells was strong. She was a fine witch, but he was fully in sync with the Force. He was spinning and diving, ducking and slashing, but she did something that caught him off guard. She pushed him backwards with the Force and shot off an Expelliarmus and his lightsaber flew from his hand towards hers. He grabbed at it with the Force but not before she shot off another spell. It was coming fast so he threw out his hand and with all his concentration he grabbed the spell and rolled it in the palm of his hand. He lashed out and threw

it back at her. Shocked and awed by the sheer power and discipline he had over the force, the spell hit her square in the chest and she flew back into a puddle of muck.

His lightsaber fell back into his hand and he was breathing heavily. He dropped to one knee. It had taken a lot out of him. He felt his consciousness wearing thin but he took even, steadying breaths and drew himself up. He clasped his lightsaber back to his belt and started towards Luna. She groaned and sat up.

"There's another bruise for tomorrow," she said.

He chuckled. "That was really impressive. You're one hell of a witch. You don't give yourself enough credit." He stuck out his hand and helped her up. He willed the room back into a dormitory. "You go wash up. There should be school robes in there waiting for you."

"Okay." She hobbled towards the bathroom but stopped. "You're a strong wizard Harry… but you're an even stronger Jedi." She closed the door and left Harry standing there dwelling on what she'd said. He kneeled in front of the fireplace and closed his eyes.

Was he still a wizard? Could he be both? But his thoughts drifted as he fell into a deep meditative state. Maybe he was a Jedi.

He read by candlelight. It was from the book Dumbledore had given to him. It taught him more ways to improve his form, his fighting and flow of movements. What would happen if he gave himself completely to the Force? He'd told Luna it was safe, but he'd never tried it. And he was unsure of what would happen.

"You may lose yourself in it and become incredibly powerful for a few moments, but you'd burn yourself out and be powerless for longer than you should be," Luke said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "At least at where you're at now. Not to say you're weak, but it takes more practice and training to get to that level."

"I'm not worried about that, Master. I'm more worried about my emotions. What if…"

"What if you fall to the Dark Side?"

Harry nodded, closing the book and sitting up.

"Harry, when I fought my father on the second Death Star, I lost myself to the Dark Side for a few moments. It was incredible the power that I felt. But it was tainted. I felt filthy and vulnerable. I had no idea how Vader embraced it. The Emperor was nothing but pure hatred. I don't know if my father was enticed by the power of the Dark Side or if he was scared of what would happen if he didn't embrace it. The Dark Side is powerful, but it is selfish and evil. It is a tainted version of the Force. It's for cowards, Harry. And you are not a coward. You are brave and strong. I saw what you did in that fancy room of yours. That was incredible for a beginner."

Harry felt his cheeks grow hot. "I just let the Force guide me is all."

"No, you didn't."

He looked up at Luke. "What?"

"You thought out what to do on the spot, and fast too. The Force may have helped you, but it was you that did that all on your own." Luke smiled. "You are truly on your way to becoming a Jedi Knight."

Harry looked away and thought about it. Was he really? No, not this soon. Maybe…

"How can—" but Luke was gone.

"I hate it when he does that." Harry blew out the candle and turned over, falling into a deep slumber.

"How's your chest?" Harry asked Luna at breakfast the next morning. She rubbed it.

"Hurts, but nothing is broken. Least I don't think so." She grabbed a muffin and began to eat it. "How did you do that though, with nothing but your hands?"

Harry paused, eggs halfway to his mouth. "I don't know. I just kind of let instincts take control and let the power flow out."

"Well it sure as hell hurt."

He felt someone stop behind him. He turned and saw Hermione standing there looking furious. "You, Harry Potter, are the world's biggest arsehole!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and fled the

Great Hall.

Harry turned to look at Luna who was staring at him gobsmacked. "What was that all about?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know, but I guess I should go find out." He made to leave when he felt someone else approaching and he groaned.

"Potter!" He didn't need to see a face to tell him it was Snape. "What exactly was that outburst about?" His face sneered and lips were pulled back in a predatory fashion.

"To be perfectly honest, sir, I have no idea. I was just about to go find out."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for back talk and detention with me tonight."

He turned to leave but Harry did something a bit ballsy, something he didn't really think he should have done. Softly, he waved his hand and muttered, "You don't want to give me detention."

Snape stopped and twitched before turning around and striding up to him. "Get out of my—"

"You don't want to give me detention," he said again with conviction.

"I… I don't want to give you detention."

"You aren't going to take away house points."

"No house points are lost."

"Move along."

"Move along, Potter." Snape turned and left.

Harry sighed and slumped back onto the bench. He was shaking. He used too much power attempting that. Master Skywalker had said the weak-minded could be fooled by a Jedi or Force wielder. He never imagined Snape to have a weak mind, unless…

"Harry," Luna whispered. "That was incredible!"

"Yeah," he said shakily. "Yeah." He grabbed some pumpkin juice and sat

staring at his food. Just how strong was he becoming?

He knew he had to choose. Wizard or Jedi? The wizarding world had given him so much, but being a Jedi (or on the way to becoming one)… it gave him a place in the world he'd never had before. So he made his decision. He'd finish out Hogwarts and then be done with magic.

"It's a difficult choice," Master Skywalker had said to him one night. "You can be both, but if you feel you must choose, choose."

He'd come so far so quickly.

He had chosen.

He was meditating when he heard screaming coming from the common room. He grabbed his lightsaber and hid it under a robe, making his way down the stairs quietly. He saw Luna standing there with her hands up in the air and Hermione pointing a finger at her.

"You stole him, you… you jezebel!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Luna said. She was calm and Harry felt her gathering up energy, just in case.

Harry sent out a pulse letting her know he was there. She visibly relaxed. She could handle herself, but he knew she was still afraid of conflict, no matter how far she had progressed in practice.

"You stole my Harry from me! It was probably you who put these ideas of that wretched Force and Jedi talk you insane wacko bitch!" She pulled her wand and instinctively Luna went for her lightsaber but stopped when she saw Harry slowly walking towards them.

Hermione backed up a few steps and spun her arm, throwing out a nasty orange coloured spell. Before it could hit Luna, it stopped in mid-air. Hermione stared at it, but it swam through the air behind her and she followed its trail… right into Harry's hand. It formed a sphere before he closed his fingers into a fist and the ball disappeared.

"Thank you, Harry," Luna said, her arm slowly moving away from her hip. It had looked like as if she were reaching for her wand and nothing else.

"Harry?" Hermione looked beyond confused. "How did… what… what just

happened."

He stared her down. "You didn't believe me then. Do you believe me now?"

"I…" Hermione started, "think I need to sit down."