Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, all things Star Wars belong to Disney. Many thanks to DianeCastle, whose wonderful stories "League of Extraordinary Women" and "Secret Return of Alex Mack" inspired this tale.
Prelude: Ten years ago
It had often been said that, should there actually be a bright, shining center to the universe, than the planet Tatooine was as far away from it as you could possibly get. Located in a binary star system in the outer rim territories of the galaxy, it was an unforgiving frontier world, populated by the desperate, the hopeless, and the criminal. While formally part of the great Galactic Republic, it was in actuality ruled by whomever had the most blasters in his employ. That being the Hutts, interplanetary crime lords.
That was not to say that there were no honest folks about on this world. Granted, most of these had either gotten stuck here through some misfortune or other, or had been born here never to escape, but they did try to make a somewhat honest living from the soil. Given Tatooine's extremely arid climate, most of them were moisture farmers, using evaporators to draw what little moisture there was from the air and using it to cultivate a meager amount of farmland.
It was early in the evening when one such farmstead, a good distance away from even the closest place deserving of the name settlement, got unannounced visitors. A sleek and dangerous-looking space craft descended from the sky on silenced repulsor engines, its silver hull gleaming in the final embers of twilight. Ships as elegant as this one were rarely seen this far out from the more populated center of the galaxy. Use of an advanced cloaking device during approach of the planet had made sure that it would remain so.
The craft gently settled on its extended landing struts some distance away from the quiet farmstead and as the engines powered down, a landing ramp descended from the silvery hull. A moment later three silhouettes could be made out against the light from inside the ship, slowly descending onto the sandy surface of Tatooine.
The first to step out was a tall, human man in brown robes, his imposing figure only slightly bent with advanced age, who took a moment to carefully inspect his surroundings. He briefly closed his eyes, his wrinkled face tight with concentration, before he relaxed again. Moving his hand away from his belt, where a silver cylinder was attached, he turned to face his two companions.
"I can sense no unwanted company. No one has seen us approach."
The human woman, regal and stern-looking, walked up to stand beside him, her gaze fixed on the farm buildings in the distance. She, too, wore brown robes and had a silver cylinder dangling from her belt, but unlike her male companion she looked neither serene nor comfortable.
"I still think you are making a mistake, Master Dore. This is no place for a child."
The man, addressed as Master Dore, turned to face her with the air of someone tired of rehashing the same old argument over and over again.
"I know, Master Gell," he replied to her, "but the High Council has decided to follow my recommendation of placing the boy with his closest living relatives, which I believe to be the best course of action."
Master Gell shook her head. "You know of their opinions regarding the Order and the war. The resentment they hold over Lilly's decision. I greatly fear they will project their resentment onto the boy and even if they don't, they will certainly not be willing to teach him about his heritage."
Master Dore nodded. "You are probably right, but that doesn't change the fact that this is our best option. The war is not yet over, Ma-Gon, and there are few safe places to the found. No one will look for him here."
He turned to look at the third member of their party, still standing on the ramp some distance away, leaving them to their argument. Nearly half again as tall as Master Dunn-Bel Dore, the figure was rather unmistakable as a member of the Wookie race. Covered in dark brown fur from head to toe, the massive shaggy giant was a fearsome sight to behold. Which made the gentle care with which he cradled the small human infant in his giant arms all the more remarkable a sight.
"I hope young Harry has weathered the journey well, Hagricca?" he asked.
Hagricca took that as his cue to approach the pair, moving slowly so as not to jostle his precious cargo. Most Wookies were incapable of speaking Basic, the galactic trading language, as their vocal apparatuses simply weren't designed for it. A small percentage of them, however, carried a hereditary birth defect that caused a speech impediment much like a severe stutter in humans. By some strange twist of fate, however, that same impediment actually enabled them to speak Basic. Not well, but good enough to be understood by those who didn't bother learning any of the Wookie dialects or didn't have a translator droid handy.
"The pub never once stirred, Master Dore," Hagricca grumbled. "Still seems very tired."
"Well, there are some rather dark, tiresome days behind him," Dore replied, his voice somber. "Let us hope more happy days lie before him."
Master Gell merely snorted at that, but refrained from further argument as they walked the distance to the farmstead and approached the main habitation module. Tatooine architecture took the severe sandstorms that were a regular occurrence here into account, meaning most buildings resembled small hills or sand dunes. All three of them noticed the presence of proximity sensors around the edge of the property, but took no steps to avoid triggering them. They weren't here as thieves or attackers, after all.
There were about ten meters away from the entrance door when it opened, revealing a worn-looking human man with a large rifle in his hands. It was pointed at them, but they weren't really that concerned. On the off chance that this antique weapon might actually fire, all three of them were more than capable of defending themselves.
"Who are you?" the man shouted. "This is my land."
Master Dore slowly walked towards him, empty hands outspread, making no aggressive move.
"We are sorry for the late hour, Mister Larsley, but I can assure you we mean you no harm, nor do we have any designs on your property."
Larsley didn't lower his weapon until Master Dore came close enough to be illuminated by the light from within the building. Seeing the robes he wore, not to mention the silver cylinder hanging from his belt, Larsley finally put the rifle down. The look on his face became even less welcoming, though.
"Your kind isn't welcome here," he growled. "You have already taken enough from us!"
"I am well aware of the... unfortunate history you have with the Order of the Jedi, Mister Larsley," Dore said, stopping in front of him. "There have been recent developments, though, of which you need to be aware. Also, I'm afraid I come bearing sad news."
A woman appeared behind Larsley, looking out at him, and if anything she looked even more hostile than the man beside her.
"You," she hissed, her eyes narrowing.
"It has been a while, Perin," Dore simply said, his face carefully neutral.
"Not long enough! So what brings you here in the middle of the night, Jedi!?" She spat the last word like a curse. "What news could possibly..."
She trailed off, possibly recognizing the somber look in his eyes, or maybe just experiencing a burst of intuition.
"So it finally happened then, right?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "You finally managed to get her killed after all, is that it?"
Master Dore let the turmoil of emotions Perin experienced wash over him. There was anger there, just short of outright hatred, tasting like ashes, but also great sadness and regret for past words and deeds that now could never be mitigated again.
"Lilly and James died four days ago, yes," Dore said, looking down. "My deepest condolences for the loss of your sister and your brother-in-law."
Perin looked away from him, taking a moment to regain her composure. All through the confrontation Larsley hadn't stopped glaring at him.
"Well, thank you for taking the time to personally deliver the news then," he said, not sounding grateful in the slightest. "I assume this concludes your business here then?"
"Not quite, no," Dore replied, causing Perin too look at him once more. "There is one more thing."
He motioned for Hagricca to step forward. The Larsleys briefly started, a common reaction to the sight of a Wookie, but then their eyes were caught by the sleeping infant in his arms.
"I wish you could have met him under happier circumstances," Master Dore said. "Perin, this is your nephew: Harry James Potter."
For a long moment no one spoke, a heavy silence having settled over the assembled group of people. Finally Perin and her husband shared a long look, causing Larsley to finally step aside.
"I guess you better come in then."
A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away…
STAR WARS
EPISODE I: HARRY POTTER AND THE KAIBURR CRYSTAL
IT IS A PERIOD OF RECOVERY. TEN YEARS HAVE PASSED
SINCE THE END OF THE WAR WHERE THE EVIL SITH AND
THEIR ARMIES NEARLY BROUGHT THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC
TO ITS KNEES.
WHILE PEOPLE ACROSS SPACE CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY
OF PEACE, ANTICIPATION BUILDS FOR THE REEMERGENCE OF
THE FAMOUS JEDI-BORN, HARRY POTTER, WHO IS SAID TO HAVE
PERSONALLY DEFEATED VOLDEMORT, THE DARK LORD OF THE SITH,
EVEN THOUGH HE WAS BUT A SMALL CHILD AT THE TIME.
NO ONE HAS SEEN HARRY POTTER SINCE THAT DAY, BUT NOW
AT AGE ELEVEN HE IS EXPECTED TO COME TO CORUSCANT AND
BEGIN HIS TRAINING AS A JEDI, JUST LIKE HIS PARENTS BEFORE HIM.
IN THE SHADOWS, THOUGH, RUMORS ABOUND THAT THE DARK LORD
VOLDEMORT HAS NOT REALLY BEEN KILLED, BUT INSTEAD MAKES
PREPARATIONS FOR HIS RETURN TO POWER AND THIRSTS FOR
REVENGE AGAINST THE CHILD WHO BESTED HIM A DECADE AGO.