Harry shrugged, "My blood has so many things, magical and otherwise floating in it at this point, even I sometimes have a hard time keeping track. By my count, my blood came into contact with several things that could have caused my aging issue, and those are just the chemical reasons," Harry shook his head, quickly cutting off the inevitable follow-up question.
"Once I realized what was happening, I began to work furiously in potions and alchemy. I didn't want to lose my wives… my family," His voice broke slightly and he swallowed thickly. No matter how long it had been he still had trouble saying it. "So I worked to try to find a way to keep them from dying," "That is an ever present danger and why all Jedi must be wary of attachments. Becoming so obsessed with what you're attached to that you lose touch with reality and attempt to do the impossible," Shaak Ti said levelly.
Aayla glanced quickly to Ahsoka who seemed to swell up in indignation a retort on her lips. She had already heard this rant on attachments from her and Aayla could see that Shaak Ti was about to be on the receiving end of the same rant. However, she was cut off by a dismissive snort from Harry that drew the attention of all three.
"Please … immortality... or at least the complete arresting of the aging process is hardly impossible," Harry scoffed, rolling his eyes. "If what you say about your life span is true," Shaak Ti's response was slow and it was clear she was choosing her words carefully. She was somewhat relieved when Harry didn't take umbrage at her doubting his words, but rather content that she was willing to consider it. "Being long lived is not unheard of. Wookiees live for centuries. Master Yoda is nearly a millennium old. The Gen'Dai are known to live for several millennia. So being long lived is not a myth."
"Longevity achieved in complete defiance of a life span though… always raises concerns." Her voice was uncertain though since there were several people throughout the history of the order that had seemed to arrest the aging process. Though those who were in the Jedi were powerful, they had almost always died heroes deaths. Those in the Sith were usually destroyed.
"No, not long lived, I mean immortal, as in not aging. And it's not that unreasonable. Now that I'm older, and have truly explored magic, I know of at least … " Harry trailed off and scrunched his brow in thought. "Um…three? four ways? I start to lose track. Though two are incredibly dark, and two are involuntary, and one is sort of a only one at a time sorta thing… I think."
He seemed completely unaware of the stares he was receiving from the three women as he continued to consider the issue and count, "Five… six... though that one is sorta gross… I heard of a seventh way, but could never figure out how rubber bands, a liquid lunch and a particle accelerator could have that effect. But it certainly isn't the strangest I've heard of." He seemed to cotton on to the fact that they were staring at him and snapped back to the conversation. "But yeah. I certainly wasn't going to go all dark and start murdering and sacrificing innocent souls. No, I was working on recreating an alchemical masterpiece. One of the things that might be the reason for my aging issue is contact I had with what my world called a philosopher's stone. Essentially, one of the purest transmutation mediums you can create. Among the numerous things you can produce with such a thing, is a way to preserve and heal someone's body so that they enjoy a quasi-eternal life."
Both Shaak Ti and Aayla exchanged blank looks at that statement.
"Quasi-eternal?" Ahsoka asked with a frown on her face trying to work out the meaning to that.
Harry nodded a bit. "Essentially stops the aging process and provides an overall improvement to general health and healing. But it won't like … prevent someone from killing them by cutting off their head or something,"
""I… think," Harry trailed off uncertainly, "I admit I haven't really tried that one on someone else."
He shook his head, ignoring the raised eyebrows from the people around him. "Anyway, the attempt to recreate the stone pretty much consumed my work for the next several decades. I learned all I could about potions, alchemy and what muggles understood of the human body. I didn't want to lose Daphne or Tonks to age. Our children either,"
Shaak Ti and Aayla both exchanged looks at that, it was the exact sort of thing that Jedi had to be worried about, becoming too attached to people that they would sacrifice anything in order to keep their attachments, often sacrificing who they were in order to do it. .
"It's ironic, I ended up completing it with a surprise burst of inspiration that I had been hoping and hunting for decades… around a year after burying both of my wives. It had been under my nose the entire time," Harry's expression was melancholy, but also one of resignation. He had come to terms with it a long time ago. Ahsoka could feel those emotions in him and feel the loneliness that came with it, and it was enough impetus for her to give in and slid into Harry's side and slid her arms around her waist, giving him a hug, which caught him off guard but caused him to smile at her. Ahsoka blushed a bit and released the hug but stayed pressed against his side.
Her blush increased when he dropped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her affectionately. She could feel the gazes of the two Jedi Masters but didn't look their way to meet their eyes. Harry however didn't seem to be bothered at all as he looked up trying to recapture his train of thought.
"Anyway. So there I was, immortal, a means to grant immortality to others, along with eternal youth to the women I loved with a single drink… and they'd both already lived to over the age of a hundred and seventy, and I completed a scientific impossibility and magical improbability a year after they died. One year too late," Harry was lost in his thoughts, he realized this was the first time he'd talked to anyone about himself, in … centuries. Even if he had to obliviate one or more of them later it was still cathartic in a way. He was talking to people who had no idea of his history and he could still tell the unvarnished truth.
"You… actually discovered the means to stop aging?" asked Aayla carefully.
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