Chapter Forty

On the other end of the Hypercom Darth Sidious, or Sheev Palpatine as his public persona was called, had to hide a frown. Sorenno had been supposed to build a large fleet, with at least a few capital ships. Yes, they didn't really need that many of them, but such a fleet would have fed a sense of superiority and make their Counts start to act aggressively in patrolling their own sector, as well as its neighbors. This would have given rise to further tension, not least of which because those sectors would have been shown to not be able to look after themselves.

This however, a starfighter brigade was precisely what they needed to hunt down pirates, but wasn't what he had hoped for. His and his master's inability to further influence Dooku into the Dark Side for the past few years was telling here, in a way he had not foreseen. Dooku's arrogant personality should have made him want to back Sorenno overawing their opponents and feed the Sorenno's need for independence, but it looked as if Dooku's tactical acumen had trumped his arrogance.

Yet in the end, it was a small issue. Dooku's removal from Coruscant, as well as his still growing, if far more slowly than before, dissatisfaction with the Order would still serve, even if he did not fall to the Dark as Sidious had hoped. Maul was after all no true apprentice, and Sidious could foresee a time when he would need a public enemy for the Great Plan.

And for now I can still twist this to my own interests in the Senate. "I will try to pave the way for this announcement, and get with the sector Senator on it when I can start. Alderaan and many of the other factions will not be pleased though."

Dooku gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "I am uncertain about the sector Senator, not having met him myself. We might be able to work a deal with him, though I will leave that to the other Counts of course as I was only acting as a moderator for this discussion."

"Of course, we can't have Jedi actually making decisions can we? Especially ones which most serve the greater good… that would be wrong." Sheev replied dryly and Dooku chuckled, after which the two amicably ended the discussion.

After the com cut off Sidious leaned back in his chair, it wouldn't do after all to call it a throne, not yet, frowning thoughtfully. Thanks to the ongoing work on the Dark Side of the Veil not having been finished just yet, Sidious still had to be very careful about reaching out to the Force at that far a distance, lest some of the Masters on Coruscant sense it. Master Yoda in particular was very good at that kind of thing, but not good enough.

There was something there, something in Dooku's voice, some presence on the planet be above and beyond the three Jedi that should've been there. Two other Jedi, whose presence I have not felt personally, though the one… Could that be Master Fay? She is dangerous. If more of the Jedi were like her, I would never be able to work up the necessary hatred amongst the public for the Grand Plan to work. Her presence there is hazardous for my plans for Dooku even if he does not fall to the Dark. Perhaps steps need to be taken. I'll have to consider that, and discuss it with Plagueis.

Sidious sneered a moment thinking of his Master. Soon it would be time to remove him, but not just yet. Plagueis needed to finish the work on the Dark Side of the Veil, the work of which had been slowed considerably these past few years as he fine-tuned it to recent strange changes in the Unifying Force of the galaxy. But soon, soon Plagueis would be superfluous to the Grand Plan. Sidious would make his death quick at the very least. He would die without knowing he had been supplanted, a small bit of mercy to the man who taught Sidious so much who had helped him find his destiny.

OOOOOOO

Moments after Master Dooku cut that connection, he caught up with Master Fay, her young padawan and the Force Ghost, who had stopped to look out over Carrania taking in the view. He gestured them to follow him, and they boarded a small square sided shuttle. As they were lifting off, Master Fay immediately turned to Dooku. "Can I ask what you're role was in that discussion?"

"If by that you mean was I acting as a Count, I was not, though I am the last of my family. The retainers have kept up everything, and our family's holdings are still as powerful as they ever were." Dooku sighed, leaning back. "Between us, I do not know if I will continue to act as a Jedi, I have long been of the opinion that the Council is too quick to back the Senate line despite what might or might not be right and wrong in any given assignment. The Senate has been the cause of many a Jedi's death due to lack of information. In recent years it has begun to get worse, and the High Council is either blind, or too wedded to the status quo to see it. Much has changed in recent years I will admit, making me believe the Order can grow beyond what it is now to match the changing universe, but our ties to the Senate are still too strong."

Master Fay sighed. "It would be a sad day for the Order if you left it, but I would understand. I, as you know, do not follow the Council's orders, I go where the Force wills me."

"And it has willed you here, or rather your own concerns for the future has," Dooku said nodding. "To get your young padawan trained in the lightsaber."

"Indeed. And in return, I will help Master Luminara with your former padawan. What is your role in the healing process going forward? I was surprised to not find the two of you together with young Vosa."

Dooku winced, looking away as if he was embarrassed about something, which he was. "I unfortunately can only help her healing in a very hands-off manner. You see, the reason why she had volunteered to go on the initial mission against the Bando Gora at all was to prove to that she was worthy of my… attention."

Master Fay blinked not understanding while Lily gasped. "She fell in love with you?" The ghost asked in Galactic Standard.

Dooku looked at her, a faint sad frown on his face. "So you do speak Galactic Standard, that's good to know. I have many questions about you milady, and your… son?" Lily nodded, and Dooku went on. "But yes. I will admit that I was not kind when I brushed her off. I thought it was simply a childish infatuation, and I am still of that opinion, but as I said, I was not understanding about it."

He admitted to his past mistake easily, as one would with something he had forced himself to face several times. "Komari went on that mission, and was captured by the Bando Gora where she was tortured in many ways. I blame myself for that, and so did she in several ways. So while I have given her sanctuary in my house along with Master Unduli, I am afraid that in terms of aiding the healing, I am involved only peripherally."

"I will talk to Luminara about it then," Master Fay said, shaking her head slightly at the idea of a padawan falling in love with his or her Master.

To the side Harry looked away quickly, unwilling to comment on this discussion at all. Harry would be the first to admit that he'd gone through a stage at one point where he thought Master Fay was intensely attractive, but his connection with Aayla had stopped that from going further than a simple appreciation.

"So you wish to be trained in the lightsaber." Dooku said, bringing Harry's mind back to the present with a bump. "Have you decided on your forms yet?"

"I have studied the basic style of Shii Cho Master, but as Master Fay has said, I have not yet created my own lightsaber, and I was basically trained by vid and other teaching aids that we brought along."

"That is not good," Dooku said mildly though his lips twisted into an almost contemptuous sneer. "Shii Cho is called the basic style because while several of its moves and stances underpin all others, it is simplistic, with nothing to really set it apart or above. If I train you, it will be in form two, Makashi, the dueling style which is my own."

"As I said Master I have studied what is written about the forms, as well as their basic philosophies, and I understand Makashi is your preference. It is certainly the most elegant of the styles, but I would prefer to create my own hybrid style from all the various forms. "

"Most Masters do, do you think my style is the same as someone else's? No it is not. But you have to understand your own innate combat philosophy first, then match that philosophy to a style. I suppose as Master Fay's padawan you would probably be better with Niman?" Dooku almost but did not quite sneer as he mentioned Form 6.

"I doubt it actually Master Dooku," Harry said politely, shaking his head as he contradicted the other man. "Master Fay and I have discussed many things in our time together, and one of the things we have discussed is that my own philosophy is not similar to hers in many aspects. I'm more than willing to talk and use discussion to head off issues or bring them to a close, but I'm also much more willing to go the way of the Guardian rather than Consular."

"Interesting," Dooku said still mildly, though he was looking at Harry thoughtfully. "We will test you both Luminara of myself then. She and my former padawan Vosa should be back by the time we arrive despite the squall they accidentally journeyed into." Dooku allowed a wintry smile to appear on his face. "I may say accidentally, but I'm certain that Luminara wanted to use the storm as some kind of visual aid for the girl, though what kind is beyond me, I am not a Mind Healer."

Unduli and Vosa were waiting for them at Master Dooku's residence by the time they arrived. The residence was a small manor estate, situated high in the hills overlooking a placid lake which the family owned, as well as two large farming houses. The manner itself was a six-story tall house with two wings leading off a large domed building in the center, the totality looking like a V with a large dot on the top where the lines came together from above. There was a large garden around it with the landing pad for the shuttle situated not in the center of the V, but along the walk path up to the main doorway.

Dooku nodded his head respectfully to Master Fay, watching as Lily followed the woman out, wanting to watch Master Unduli and Vosa is reaction to the Force Ghost. He still had a lot of questions for Lily, her son and Master Fay, but they could wait until they were in a more comfortable and private place than his family's shuttle.

Despite Luminara's great self-control she actually stumbled slightly as she moved towards the newcomers, staring at the Force Ghost. I am most glad I wasn't the only one, Dooku thought to himself.

Master Fay bowed her head to Master Unduli and young Komari Vosa, smiling at them both. Vosa nodded to her, stared at the Force Ghost then concentrated on Harry, taking in his youth and the sense of him in the Force for a moment before looking at her Master.

"Master Unduli, I have heard much of your ability to heal the spirit as well as your lightsaber skills and ability to read the Force," Master Fay said, holding up her hand in formal greeting.

"As I have of yours Master Fay," Luminara said politely, her own hand rising in turn, almost as if the two women had not gotten the measure of one another through the Force earlier that day. Other people when meeting for the first time would've shaken hands or done their species equivalent at meeting someone in person for the first time, but Jedi did not do that kind of thing. "And who is this?" she asked, gesturing to the Force Ghost. "I must admit to never having truly believed Force Ghosts were real."

"Lily Potter and I'm real enough, though how I became a Force Ghost is nothing I would wish anyone else to have to go to meet you." Lily said for herself, smirking at the older woman.

Luminara was a Miralian with whose habitual green skin and black lips set them apart from humanity. She also had an odd tattoo consisting of numerous black dots on her chin. Her robes looked more personalized than Fay's or most other Jedi Lily had seen, but she also wore an odd headdress that added to her already decent height.

"Padawan Harry Potter." Harry supplied, bowing in turn.

Fay watched Lily and Harry greet Luminara out of the corner of her eyes, but her own attention was concentrated on the young knight following Luminara. Luminara Unduli was not as good a physical healer as she was a mind healer and Fay could already tell there was something in Komari Vosa that Luminara had not seen, a pain part physical and part mental. The mental aspect had been healed several times, but kept on coming back, tied to the physical flashes of pain and anger. "Hello young knight," Fay said, moving towards her. "I am Master Fay."

"Master" Komari said, bowing her head.

Fay smiled gently, even as her Force power reached out. "You are in pain, let me help for a moment."

"Master I am not…" Vosa paused and then the woman almost crumpled to the ground, but not in pain. Her face had instead formed into an expression of disbelieving relief. The pain in her head, in her body had simply gone away at Fay's gentle Force touch.

Luminara sighed as she caught Vosa, shaking her head before she looked up at Fay. "Thank you for that. I was able to feel the pain she was in, but I was not able to get at or discern where it was coming from. I was only able to soothe the pain slightly. You, you took the pain entirely away."

"There is a shadow there, something within her mind is causing her great trauma in some uncoordinated but controlled fashion. We will need to examine her brain closely, I think there is something implanted there," Fay said briskly as the two of them held the other woman back into the house Dooku following watching proceedings with well-hidden concern as Harry and Lily followed, unwilling to interrupt the current drama.

The three of them watched silently as Fay and Luminara first lay Knight Vosa down on a bed then began the laborious process of examining the woman's mind and soul.

Luminara was a healer true, but nowhere near as accomplished as Fay. Even Master Yoda would have admitted that Fay was the better healer, able to take away pain, both physical and mental, to a level he could not with a subtlety Yoda could not match. He was far better at healing gross injuries, but when it came to the mind, Fay was head and shoulders above him.

Had he been consulted, Yoda might well have found the small torture devices still embedded in the woman, so small that even Republic medical scanners could barely find them, and would not have been able to remove them in any event. But Fay could find them, and could remove them, though the process was not pretty.

Harry gulped once as he watched the back of the woman's head slowly open as if it had been cut by a scalpel then watched over the next few moments as something small, so small it glittered in the air like a piece of dust was slowly pulled out of the woman's brain cavity. Master Fay held out her hand, and the dust particle began to move from the cut, as if the blood wasn't even solid it was simply there, held there by Luminara's Force powers. The particles began to fill up a small nearby vial for a moment, as Lily looked on in wonder once more at the Jedi's ability to heal, watching Fay and the green-skinned woman work.

Eventually Master Fay leaned back shaking her head with his side. "I believe we have found them all." She nodded at Master Unduli.

The other woman nodded back, shaking her head sadly. "I would never have even realized those implants were there," she said wonderingly. "How in the world did the Bando Gora get their hands on technology that could create and implant something like that?"

"Some hidden packet of ancient technology, some madman developing it on his own? The reasons do not matter, only that they died with them." Dooku said shaking his head from where he had been watching the work behind Harry. "We were most thorough in our destruction of the death-loving cult." Dooku said with a nod. "But my former padawan will be well now?"

I have been concentrating on the mental trauma and the psychological side of things, and I've been making quite a bit of progress even with these pain giving devices implanted within Vosa. Your rescue of her, and the amount of effort the Order put forth in doing so, was a major stepping stone to rebuilding her psyche," Luminara said clinically. "With this pain giving saying that gone, we should make even more progress quickly, though I would welcome Master Fay's help there too of course."

"With pleasure," Fay replied, smiling as she leaned back in the chair. "I believe that healing like this should be the bedrock of the entire Order, though I know I am in the minority there."

Now to young Harry and to the mystery of Lily. I take it that she and the boy she so closely resembles is the real source of all of the new techniques that have begun to propagate within the order?" Dooku asked, gesturing them all to sit down, pulling out a hard-backed chair from himself form a small table set by the window of the room assigned to his former padawan. Harry quickly sat down on the floor by Master Fay's seat, his legs crossed Indian style.

"That is essentially correct, though the reality is somewhat different, and our origins are something that we would prefer not to share at present." Lily replied cautiously, looking at the two lightsaber masters. "Can you two do anything of the techniques Clan Saa has shared?"

"We can both us the Shielding technique. Naturally this has led to a bit of evolution in our lightsaber styles," Dooku supplied then cocked his head, his lips twitching in what might have been a wry grimace. "The stunning technique seems to be of limited utility, so I have not made any effort to learn it, though I have made an effort to build up a mental defense to its effect. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do any of the body modification techniques, my belief in my own body is too strong for me to overcome."

"Nor have I," Luminara said softly, reaching for a glass of water on a nearby bed stand and drinking it down for going on. Master Fay didn't look as if she had been exhausted by this ordeal, but Luminara certainly was. Seven months I have been on this planet, and I never realized that those pain receptors were still activated. I feel as if I should go back to training.

Aloud, Luminara said "There is a tale here," looking between Harry and Lily and then back to Master Fay. "A tale Master Yoda evidently has endorsed and moreover hidden the truth of from the rest of the Order. I have to wonder why he thought the secrecy was necessary."

"I on the other hand do not. The Order can be reactionary at the best of times, and with the balance in the Force shifting to favor the Dark Side, this is not the best of times," Dooku said, his face stern. "However, I too would like to know the truth of how you came to join the Order, at the very least as they tie into your abilities. You do not need to tell me more than you wish, but recall you have come here to ask for lightsaber training, something you are reluctant to go to the Temple itself for."

Harry and Lily looked at one another for a time, while Fay filled the silence by telling Dooku and Luminara about what the Force had told them about that idea: that taking Harry to Coruscant too soon would lead to disaster. The fact the type of disaster was not certain was irritating, but the message had never varied. The knowledge that Master Yoda had also sensed this calmed Luminara down. Dooku however remained looking at the Lily and Harry.

Eventually their silent communication ended, and Lily began to tell their tales. They did not share everything, only enough to assuage Dooku's concerns. They shared nothing about their real origins, and Harry made certain to not share anything about a lot of the Force techniques that Harry could use, in particular transfiguration and conjuration, though Lily hinted at the experiments with rune work she and Fay had been doing, saying their research into it had been sanctioned by Master Yoda.

Fay joined in again after that, with Harry and Lily speaking about Harry's strange luck, how he always seemed to find conflict or danger both connected and not to whatever mission sent by the Force had brought Fay to a planet. It quickly became apparent that Harry needed more combat training than Fay could provide. Her own abilities were formidable, but did not include lightsaber training of course.

"And so you are here to learn the lightsaber Harry," Dooku said with a frown looking between the Force Ghost and her son for a long moment, trying to get the measure of them and their story. He trusted Master Yoda of course, had had been quietly ecstatic about the number of new Force powers Yoda and the clan had been introducing, which had broken the stasis he felt the Order had been in for too long.

And he liked the youth, there was a charisma and power in Harry that was impressive. But that also made Dooku even more leery of trusting his first impression of the youth. He leaned back, now concentrating on his Force senses, asking the Force as a whole a simple question: What should I do here?

The answer he got actually dovetailed with his own first impressions, combined with a vision. It showed all three of his visitors surrounded by a corona of white, almost searing Light, fluctuating and shimmering away from them into the Force as a whole as the Dark Side closed in. What was interesting however was what happened when the ripple touched Dooku. His own aura, something he rarely looked at if Dooku was honest, also changed. It became stronger in some ways and simply changed in others. And when the ripples went on, they had become ripples he caused, things that would last beyond his own time, possibly for all time.

This vision told Dooku several things. One, whatever changes had begun with the inclusion of the Jedi's new techniques they were far from finished. Two, these three represented both that change and the Light side of the Force. And third, if he chose to help them, his own life would change, his own future would change, and perhaps more than that… Finally Dooku nodded, his lips ticking up into an actual smile. "I trust you have a training lightsaber?"

Harry nodded eagerly, and Dooku gestured him out the door. He looked at Luminara who looked between the doorway and Lily who had quickly followed Harry, then down at her patient before nodding and getting to her feet. Master Fay gestured at herself and the patient. "I'll stay here for a moment."

After making certain that the woman would stay asleep for now and running a few diagnostic sensors techniques over the other woman, Fay quickly followed the others. One area among the garden was actually a training area, and Master Fay found the other three there, along with Lily. She paused watching as Master Unduli began to duel with Harry, not a full on spar: Luminara was not using any of your Force powers nor was Harry. It was simply lightsaber to lightsaber, as Luminara and Dooku tested Harry's physical skills and his Force precognition.

Harry's lightsaber was a blur, thrusting, slashing and cutting in short controlled arcs then wider arcs and then thrusts, working in all of the techniques he had learned from Shii-Cho and what he remembered from Master Giiett against Luminara, who simply stood there, batting his attacks aside. "Move your feet more," she instructed, her eyes narrowing for a moment before going back to normal. "Hmmm, that is enough of Shii-Cho. Have you learned anything from Ataru?"

In response Harry took to the air, actually kicking off it occasionally with Force Pushes directed downwards from his feet, a sight that made Luminara's eyes widen appreciatively. But that was the only side of surprise that the Miralian showed, commenting calmly, "Good mobility, decent style as well for someone who has been untrained. Your Force Precognition is also decent!"

This last comment was caused by Harry's attack seguing into a defense blocking Luminara's attack and then using the momentum of that attack to swing into his own attack forcing her backwards slightly. Her one Force Precognition of course had seen it coming, but even so from a young boy that was a remarkable sign.

"The young padawan is powerful but power is not everything," Dooku said thoughtfully shaking his head as he knew what was coming next.

A second later Luminara disarmed Harry quickly, her lightsaber lightly tapping the back of his hand for a moment after sliding down the plasma blade and Harry winced, letting loose his weapon automatically. Before he could grab it with his own Force powers Luminara had, and it hovered in the air above her for a moment until Dooku stepped forward.

She then returned it to Harry with the same Force Hold and Harry took it quickly, bringing it in a salute towards the older man. Dooku returned it, then without another word attacked, a probing attack first towards Harry's chest with a thrust, segueing into a slash at his leg, then another at his head. Harry blocked them all, and they were off, the lightsabers sizzling and fizzing as they clashed.

Dooku was the definition of calm, almost cold precision holding his dueling style curved lightsaber hilt in one hand as the other was set along the small of his back, always turning his body to present his side towards Harry. Harry dodged and moved, whereas Dooku simply remain silent and watching, evaluating and shouting instructions. Occasionally his lightsaber would score on Harry, and Lily would wince, but her son didn't let those touches bother him, simply absorbing the instruction and the attacks and returning with his own.

"Do not wave your arms about like that, keep the lightsaber under control. Remember it has little weight to it at all, do not be fooled by the fact it is shaped like a sword. Swift responses, let the Force guide your movements." Dooku shouted, then fell silent, scoring again and again on Harry for a few moments, until he backed away once more, allowing Harry to regain his breath before pressing in once more.

"Don't let your instincts or physical responses control your movement, the Force is everything in a duel between Jedi! Settle yourself into it! Do not lift one leg while still attacking like that!" Dooku said, as he attacked that one leg before Harry could set himself, battering Harry's defenses aside to score a long slash there. His lightsaber was of course on low-power, but it still stung.

This went on for some time as Luminara watched, calling in calm instructions of her own, helping Harry get used to the fact that his lightsaber was indeed a weapon and one he had to respect.

Dooku words and tone remained crisp, almost but not quite condescending throughout the match, but his thoughts were something else, though he did not let himself feel the full impact until later that night.

This young boy was immensely powerful, and skilled too. He had yet to make the same mistake twice, he listened to instruction well, and he was no stranger to pain, something which admittedly made Dooku wonder what had been kept back about his past in their earlier explanation.

But even more so, the boy's abilities could prove interesting, and he wondered how much more the boy had that Clan Saa had not shared. Dooku was harsh on him for those first few moments because it was obvious that Harry wanted to use some of his own techniques, fighting his instincts and Force senses both. Eventually Dooku paused, moving away quickly. "That is enough lightsaber dueling for now, we have a handle on your physical skills and Force Precognition Harry, and they are… adequate. We will of course bring them up further. Adequate is not good enough to me, understood?

"Yes Master," Harry said quickly, bowing his head.

"Now, after a two minute break, we will begin anew. Only this time, we will each be allowed to use our Force Powers." Dooku went on, nodding his head incrementally to acknowledge Harry's attitude.

Fay frowned slightly, then looked up and Lily, who moved her shoulders in a half shrug, making a wait and see motion with her hands. At first she too had been rather angry at how Dooku was treating Harry, but Lily quickly realized it was simply how he acted in general. Moreover, she knew that her son hadn't really had any male role model behind Master Giiett, who really couldn't step up to that role given his duties to the rest of the clan. Dooku's stern attitude towards Harry might be a good thing in the long term, but Lily would have to watch closely to make certain it didn't go too far.

To that end, Lily caught Harry's attention before the next match could begin, speaking out in English so only Harry and Fay could understand her. "Harry, feel free to use shields, stunners, Bombarda, and apparition in this next match along with telekinesis if you can. No transfiguration or element attacks, and no Light constructs." The last was one of Harry's specialties, something Lily had never seen in the Wizarding World, but one she, Harry and Fay had worked on over the years.

Harry blinked at her, having expected she and Fay would ask him to keep apparition a secret, though the other chosen spells hadn't surprised him. Except for the Bombarda type spells they were all things the clan had been taught. Only Aayla and the teachers knew Bombarda, but it was a possibility that Dooku had already seen it.

He looked over at Fay, who looked in turn at Dooku who was looking between the two Potters with interest. After a moment she nodded her agreement.

At that Harry lips curled into an almost-grin bringing his lightsaber up into a defense stance, before nodding over at Dooku who nodded back and attacked. "Bombarda!" Harry shouter, bringing his hand forward, aiming the technique at Dooku's feet.

His Force Precognition screaming at him Dooku Leaped up, pushing off the ground with the Force to avoid the explosion that occurred right where his feet had been a moment before. "Interesting, but you'll have to do better than that." He subsequently ignored a red stunner, before ducking underneath a thrown vase, which Luminara subsequently caught with her own Force powers. Charging forward Dooku closed the distance quickly, summoning up his own Force shield a convex thing which redirected the brunt of the next bombarda, using the momentum of it to fling himself around into an attack.

Harry blocked it, then was suddenly gone. Lily noticed idly that there had been no sound of displaced air or anything else when he apparated, something that only the most powerful wizards in the Wizarding World could have done. Here of course he was the only one who knew the technique but that didn't invalidate how darn good, or how quick, her son had become with combat apparition.

Looking around Dooku gave himself to the Force Precognition and brought his lightsaber up over his head to block Harry's downward stroke. Then Harry disappeared again, coming in once more from the side only to be blocked in turn. "An amazing display of Force power, but unless you can train yourself to fool your opponent's Force Precognition it becomes little more than a parlor trick."

Harry took that in stride, and began to not only apparate but fire out stunners, Force grabs aimed at his opponent's limbs, and a few Bombardas. Dooku responded by summoning up his Force Shield once again, and moving around randomly, so that many of the techniques missed, closing in whenever Harry had to stay put for a moment to fire them off. Eventually he also began to lash out with his own Force powers, grabbing at Harry's body, causing his balance to falter, even at one point launching a mental probe at Harry.

Eventually he closed in, pressing Harry too hard for him to concentrate on his Force techniques. After that, Harry was forced on the defensive, and stayed there for the rest of the match, as Dooku once more began to give him some simple instructions. Drilling him in the various stances and attacks could come later.

Later that evening, Dooku sat on his villas verandas alone with his thoughts, smiling slightly as he thought about what he could do with this young man. The word is legacy.

Dooku was one of the top three blade masters in the Order, and had defeated Master Windu in past lightsaber duels. But his own two padawans, while both excellent with a blade, were not reckoned among the best. He had seen Windu rise to his position and create Vaapad, but even before that, Dooku knew the younger man would go far, he had that much potential. Yet Dooku knew he was getting on in years, his physical prime was behind him now. But Harry Potter's potential dwarfed that of Mace Windu, or any of the other lightsaber masters.

Dooku knew he wasn't actually a natural Master, the type to teach everything he could about the Force to a young padawan, as evidenced by his relationship with his two previous ones. With Qui-Gon he was too distant and cold, and it nearly ended in disaster. With Komari, he never noticed her infatuation until she confessed to him, and then had rejected her automatically, siting both their respective ages and the Jedi Code, which forbade such attachments. But a lightsaber teacher, that he certainly was. Indeed, some of his lessons on the subject had been collected and added to a holocron currently used in the Praxium to teach the beginning of Makashi to younglings.

"Thinking deep thoughts Master Dooku?" A voice asked, and Dooku turned from gazing out over the vista to look at Lily Potter as she floated on the breeze next to him. Her own face was turned away for a moment, before turning to look at him, those bright emerald eyes she shared with her son locking on Dooku's face.

"Not quite deep though perhaps personal, at least somewhat." Dooku replied, standing and bowing to her before returning to his seat, staring up at her thoughtfully. "You have questions." He stated.

"I do, and so do you. I realize how secretive my son and I are about our origins can seem suspicious but it really isn't. There's just no point to wondering about it you see, there is no way to go back there, and nothing for either of us to go back to." Lily finished, waving one hand as if to send the thought away, though of course it wasn't quite as simple as that.

Lily had a lot of questions about what had happened back in the Wizarding World, why Dumbledore had ignored her will and what all she hadn't seen of what he had done to keep Harry with the Dursleys, what had happened to Sirius and Remus, Alice, Rufus and her other friends. But none of that mattered over her son's happiness and safety, and there really was no way they could return anyway.

Dooku nodded, feeling the truth in her words despite not being able to sense it through her mind. "And as for keeping your abilities known only to a select few that at least is easy to understand. Arrogance and pride in your abilities has been the downfall of many Jedi over the eons, and these techniques, the new ways they allow their practitioners use the Force, would feed such feelings. I do have questions, in particular about these runes and the disaster Master Fay and Yoda saw if Harry was taken to Coruscant too soon. But those can be directed at said worthies or are currently unimportant. But I believe you too had questions for me."

Lily paused, turning to look out over the garden and beyond, the view so like something she could have found on Earth yet so unlike you could never forget this was an alien world. "My son has never had a man he could look up to in his life. My husband James… he died in the defense of our family when Harry was but a baby." Despite her ghostly status Lily visibly let out a breath before going on. "Harry asked me once about that night, about how James died, but we've never really sat down and talked about it, and he hasn't asked since."

She turned, her emerald eyes piercing into Dooku's yet again. For all that Lily was a Force Ghost and at best half his own age, Dooku felt there was a definite power to the woman and to her stare at this moment. "That is why I didn't step in when you were so harsh with him earlier. He could use a somewhat sterner hand, so long as it doesn't cross the line."

"Milady, Lily, are you asking me to become a, a father figure to him? I would not be comfortable in that role, not only because of my age, but because such an attachment goes against both my own temperament, and the Order's beliefs about such attachments. I have many issues still with the way the Order is run, but that is not one of them. I am no longer leery of your own connection to your son, but I could not form such a close familial attachment myself." Dooku said, somewhat awkwardly. He did think he had a lot to teach the boy, but he knew he didn't have it in him to be that kind of individual.

"No, that is not what I'm asking. There is a difference between a male role model and a father. My son,"our son, rather, considering how Fay has taken to treating him, "Has gone his entire life without a father figure, and I think he's turned out very well indeed without one. No, I want you to teach him what we, Fay and I, are unable to. That goes beyond lightsaber training. Tactics, strategy, even simple things such as how to comport himself, how to be stern and when it's appropriate, and other even more subtle things."

"I, I will think about this." Dooku said, shaking his head slightly. "I can understand what you are asking for and I will think about it." and what you have left unsaid, not a father figure but a role model.

After Lily left, wafting out into the garden to join Luminara and Fay on a walk through them, Dooku was left along once more. He thought for a moment about Lily's words, and wondered if he was up to that task. The jury could be said to still be out on the matter given how my two padawans have turned up. Still, it will not hurt me to try. And the potential the boy has… shaking his head Dooku turned his attention away from that as the door to his veranda opened and Harry came out. "You are recovered I trust, Harry?"

"Yes Master Dooku," Harry said bowing his head. 'I am fully recovered I think."

"Good, we will continue your instruction tomorrow after I check in on my former padawan." Dooku said, gesturing the boy to sit across from him if he wished. Harry moved to the balcony for a few moments, closing his eyes as he seemed to feel the air on his face.

Feeling Dooku's eyes on him Harry shrugged. "The last world we were on was an ice planet Master Dooku, and before that we were on several different space stations for a few weeks. Feeling the wind on my face like this without feeling as if it was freezing off is quite nice."

"I see," Dooku said, before falling silent for a few moments looking at Harry, then Dooku gestured again at the chair across from him, and the small, intricately carved game set on the table between the two chairs. "Tell me Harry, can you play regicide?"