Harry woke to the sound of explosions.
For several seconds he simply lay there, half buried beneath a thick blanket on the Weasleys' sofa, his mind still caught somewhere between sleep and the strange dreams that had followed him back from the world of Jedi and Sith, until another explosion rattled the windows and sent a tremor through the old house.
Harry's eyes snapped open.
"What the hell?"
He sat upright so quickly that the blanket slid onto the floor, and before he had properly worked out where he was, another boom shook the Burrow hard enough to make several plates clatter in the kitchen.
Then somebody screamed.
Harry was already moving.
He sprinted through the house, taking the stairs two at a time, his wand appearing in his hand almost by instinct, although the moment he reached the front door and saw the sight outside, he knew a wand was probably going to be the least important weapon he had available.
A wall of fire surrounded the Burrow.
It burned in a near-perfect circle across the field, towering several metres into the air and throwing an ugly orange glow against the morning sky. Smoke rolled across the grass while figures moved through it, and standing beyond the flames were two people Harry recognised immediately.
Bellatrix Lestrange.
And Fenrir Greyback.
Harry's expression hardened.
"Of course."
Behind him, doors opened and people began spilling into the hallway.
"Harry!" Sirius shouted.
Harry didn't answer.
The front door flew open and he ran straight through it.
"Harry, wait!"
He ignored Sirius.
The adults immediately reacted, spells flying towards the flames while Molly, Arthur, Remus, Tonks and several others worked together to contain the fire. Water erupted from several wands at once, while earth rose from the ground to form barriers around the burning grass.
Harry didn't stop.
He vaulted over one of the low magical barriers and sprinted towards Bellatrix and Greyback.
Bellatrix noticed him.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh, you have got to be joking."
Greyback turned as Harry approached, his lips peeling back to reveal yellowed teeth.
"Potter."
Harry grinned.
"Evening."
Then he punched the ground.
The earth responded instantly.
A ridge of soil erupted beneath Greyback's feet, forcing the werewolf to leap sideways while Bellatrix stumbled away from a sudden trench that tore through the field.
Harry followed.
He twisted his hands and sent a powerful gust of air across the field, kicking dust and loose grass into the Death Eaters' faces.
"Bloody hell!" Bellatrix shouted.
Harry laughed.
It felt good.
For once, he wasn't running away from some cosmic threat or waking up in another universe with no idea what was happening.
He was simply angry.
And Harry Potter had learnt a long time ago that angry was a dangerous state for him to be in.
Greyback recovered first.
The werewolf charged.
Harry sensed him before he saw him.
The Force brushed against his awareness like a warning.
Harry ducked.
A clawed hand passed inches above his head.
He pivoted on his heel, stepped inside Greyback's reach and struck.
One finger.
Two fingers.
Three.
Harry's fingertips struck precise points along Greyback's torso and neck.
Chi blocking.
The werewolf's body locked instantly.
Greyback's eyes widened.
"What did you..."
Harry shoved both hands forwards.
The Force exploded from his palms.
Greyback flew backwards as if he'd been hit by a speeding car, crashing through the air before landing in a heap several metres away.
Harry didn't even look at the others.
He turned towards Bellatrix.
She was backing away.
For perhaps the first time in her life, Bellatrix Lestrange looked genuinely frightened.
Harry raised one hand.
"Come here."
Bellatrix's eyes widened.
"No."
Harry clenched his fingers.
The Force Pull caught her.
Bellatrix screamed as she was dragged across the grass.
Harry planted his feet.
Air began spiralling around his fist.
The pressure increased until the air itself seemed to distort.
Bellatrix came within range.
Harry swung.
His fist connected with her stomach.
The impact was brutal.
Bellatrix folded around the punch and was launched backwards, tearing through the grass before slamming into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.
Harry lowered his fist.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
Then Bellatrix groaned.
"That... hurt."
Harry stared at her.
Bellatrix slowly climbed from the crater, one hand pressed against her stomach.
Her eyes flicked towards Greyback.
The werewolf was still completely paralysed.
Bellatrix swore under her breath.
Then she grabbed him.
Harry started forward.
Bellatrix fired a burst of magic towards him, forcing Harry to raise an arm and deflect the spell with a quick sweep of the Force.
By the time he looked again, Bellatrix and Greyback were already disappearing into the distance.
Harry stood still.
Behind him, nobody spoke.
He turned.
The entire group was staring.
Sirius looked as though he'd forgotten how to blink.
Remus had his wand lowered.
McGonagall's mouth was slightly open.
Ron looked impressed.
Hermione looked horrified and fascinated at the same time.
Harry sighed.
"I'll explain."
He glanced towards the smoking remains of the fire surrounding the Burrow.
"Inside."
Nobody argued.
By the time Dumbledore and the rest of the Order arrived, the initial shock had faded slightly, although not by much.
The story was repeated several times.
Harry had chased Bellatrix.
Harry had used the Force.
Harry had immobilised Greyback without a wand.
Harry had punched Bellatrix so hard that she had landed in a crater.
Every time someone retold it, Sirius looked a little more amused.
"I still can't believe you punched Bellatrix."
Harry looked at him.
"I was annoyed."
"You punched Bellatrix."
"Yes."
"With your fist."
"That's generally how punching works, Sirius."
Ron snorted.
Hermione covered her mouth.
Even McGonagall looked as though she was struggling not to smile.
Dumbledore eventually raised a hand.
"Before this conversation becomes even more entertaining, perhaps we should discuss what happened."
Harry nodded.
His expression became serious.
"There is something else."
That immediately caught everyone's attention.
Harry looked towards Vale.
"You wanted to know what happened when I fell asleep earlier."
Vale nodded slowly.
Harry walked towards the table.
"I went somewhere else."
Nobody spoke.
Harry placed his hands against the Pensieve.
"And this time, it wasn't the Avatar world."
He closed his eyes.
Memories began flowing from his mind.
Silver liquid gathered inside the Pensieve.
Harry opened his eyes.
"You're going to want to see this."
Dumbledore activated the Pensieve.
The room vanished.
The first thing they saw was darkness.
Then stars.
Millions upon millions of them.
A vast ocean of light stretched across the blackness as a spacecraft emerged from hyperspace.
Everyone stared.
Harry's voice echoed around them.
"That was my first look at hyperspace."
The image changed.
A planet appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Worlds unlike anything the wizarding world had ever imagined passed before them.
Coruscant.
Tython.
Tatooine.
Hoth.
Voss.
Alderaan.
Entire cities stretched upwards into the heavens.
Starships moved between planets.
Droids walked alongside humans.
Alien species filled streets and marketplaces.
Harry watched his younger self step onto Tython.
They saw the Jedi Temple.
They saw Master Orgus Din.
They saw Satele Shan.
They watched Harry train.
Not simply with a lightsaber, but with the Force.
He learned to sense danger before it happened.
He learned to move objects without touching them.
He learned to fight while barely looking at his opponent.
And, slowly, his existing abilities began to merge with it.
The Force became another sense.
His bending became another language.
His Saiyan instincts became another layer of his combat awareness.
The memories accelerated.
Harry fighting Flesh Raiders.
Harry rescuing Padawans.
Harry entering caves.
Harry meeting Callef.
Harry becoming Orgus Din's Padawan.
The Order watched in silence as Harry fought through Tython's dangers.
Then they saw the first lightsaber.
Blue.
Harry's voice sounded quietly.
"That was mine."
Sirius smiled.
"Looks like you."
The memory continued.
Coruscant.
The enormous city-world left Hermione speechless.
Ron simply stared upwards.
"How many people live here?"
Harry answered from somewhere beyond the memory.
"Billions."
Ron swallowed.
"Right."
The group watched Harry fight the Black Sun.
They watched him uncover Doctor Tarnis's betrayal.
They watched him battle Sith.
They watched Darth Angral swear revenge.
Then came Ord Mantell.
Taris.
Nar Shaddaa.
Tatooine.
Alderaan.
Every world seemed to bring another enemy.
Another war.
Another impossible situation.
Harry kept moving.
Kept fighting.
Kept learning.
The Order saw him rescue people who had never heard of Britain.
They saw him defend strangers.
They saw him lose friends.
They saw him nearly fall.
And they saw him refuse to give up.
Then came the Emperor.
The room became completely silent.
Harry's younger self stood before an ancient Sith Lord whose power seemed almost impossible to comprehend.
The battle was brutal.
Harry lost.
He was captured.
He was corrupted.
He was trained by the enemy.
For a while, Harry's face looked different.
Colder.
Harsher.
Then they watched him break free.
Kira.
Scourge.
The Jedi.
The fight against the Emperor.
The destruction of worlds.
The final confrontation.
Harry standing in the Emperor's temple.
Lightsaber raised.
The Emperor falling.
And then silence.
The memory ended.
The Pensieve returned everyone to the room.
Nobody moved.
Not immediately.
Harry stood beside the table, staring at the silver liquid.
Sirius was the first to speak.
"Harry..."
Harry looked towards him.
Sirius shook his head.
"I don't even know what to say."
Harry gave a tired smile.
"That makes two of us."
Remus slowly exhaled.
"You were fighting an entire galactic war."
"Yeah."
"And you were a Jedi."
"Yeah."
"And you were apparently quite good at it."
Harry shrugged.
"I had practice."
Ron suddenly pointed towards the Pensieve.
"You fought Sith Lords."
Harry nodded.
"Several."
"You flew spaceships."
"Yes."
"You went through something called hyperspace."
"Yes."
"You've been to another planet."
"More than one."
Ron stared at him.
Then he looked at Hermione.
"I think I'm starting to hate him."
Hermione laughed despite herself.
"You've been jealous of him since first year."
"True."
Ginny hadn't said anything.
She was still staring at Harry.
"You really did all of that?"
Harry's expression softened.
"Yeah."
Ginny shook her head.
"And you came back."
"I always seem to."
That answer didn't reassure her as much as he intended.
Dumbledore approached the Pensieve.
"These Jedi..."
"They're warriors," Harry said. "But they're not supposed to be soldiers. They're meant to protect people. The Force is something they learn to understand, not something they simply use as a weapon."
McGonagall folded her arms.
"And you combined it with your other abilities?"
Harry nodded.
"Eventually."
Vale looked fascinated.
"So the Force can be used alongside magic?"
"Yes."
"And bending?"
"Yes."
"Ki?"
Harry smiled.
"Yes."
Vale stared at him.
"So you've essentially spent several lives learning different supernatural systems and found ways to use them together."
Harry considered that.
"That sounds about right."
Snape gave a quiet, irritated scoff.
"Of course it does."
Everyone looked at him.
Snape folded his arms.
"I am beginning to suspect that Potter's greatest talent is finding increasingly absurd ways to make the rest of us feel inadequate."
Harry grinned.
"Thanks, Professor."
"It was not a compliment."
"I'll take it anyway."
Sirius laughed.
Remus joined him.
Even Dumbledore smiled.
But there was something else beneath the humour.
Everyone understood what they had just seen.
Harry hadn't simply visited another world.
He had lived an entire life there.
He had made friends.
He had fought wars.
He had trained.
He had suffered.
And once again, he had returned to them carrying all of it inside his head.
Vale finally broke the silence.
"Harry."
He looked at her.
"What?"
She hesitated.
"How many planets?"
Harry thought about it.
"A lot."
"How many?"
"Enough that I stopped counting."
Vale stared at him.
Harry smiled slightly.
"And that's only one of the lives."
That sentence killed the laughter.
Nobody had an answer.
Harry looked around the room at the people who had become his family.
Then he sighed.
"I know it sounds insane."
Sirius stepped closer.
"No."
Harry looked at him.
Sirius shook his head.
"It sounds like you."
Harry's expression softened.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then Sirius pulled him into a hug.
Harry hugged him back.
The room slowly began to relax.
Outside, the Burrow was still being repaired after the attack.
Somewhere in the distance, the remains of the fire were being extinguished.
But inside the house, the Order of the Phoenix had just been given another glimpse into the life Harry Potter had lived beyond their world.
And every person present understood the same uncomfortable truth.
Harry wasn't simply getting stronger.
He was becoming something none of them could properly measure anymore.
And somewhere out there, Voldemort was still preparing his next move.
Harry already knew one thing.
Whatever came next, he would be ready.