Author's Note: I've always wanted to do a Star-Wars-Harry-Potter-crossover and now I've finally started to write this one... I needed a break from my other angst-filled stories ;-) Oh, don't worry, there will be angsty parts in this one too, but most of the time it's a bit lighter than my usual stuff. Hopefully sometimes humorous and/or fluff.
Timeline: This story takes place when Anakin is fifteen years old and he and his Master Obi-Wan are sent on another mission. So it's not really AU - who knows, maybe they really had such a mission ;-) It is, however, definitely an AU in the Harry Potter world... The Jedi arrive in Hogwarts when the Marauders (James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew) go to Hogwarts - so there's no Harry yet.
Characters: The story focusses on Anakin and Obi-Wan (will be mostly their point of view...) but takes place in the Harry Potter world, featuring the Marauders, Snape, Lily, Dumbledore, several other teachers and... You-Know-Who.
I have only written this chapter so far and have just started writing the second chapter... I have a rough idea of how the story should end but aside from that I haven't decided many things yet - that means ideas from you are always welcome! I probably won't update this story as regularly as my other story - my focus will stay on "Servants of the Force".
Chapter 1
"How long is it still to go, Master?"
"Patience, my young Padawan learner."
"Yes, Master."
"We should be there in a few minutes."
"You already said that the last time I asked you."
"That was one minute ago."
"So?"
"So it's still a few minutes minus one minute to go."
Anakin rolled his eyes and caught up with his Master's long strides. They were in a little town on a backwater planet called Earth. Earth. Really, this planet's inhabitants lacked some imagination if they could not think of a better name to call their homeworld.
Anakin felt slightly self-conscious in his new outfit. He wore a school uniform of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At first, he had liked it very much. It was much like the Jedi robes, though not as comfortable and Anakin still had not understood the meaning of the tie. The best thing about it, however, was its colour: Black, true black - not the darkest dark brown Anakin usually wore. It was a deep satisfaction to him that he was finally not only allowed but also forced to wear black without the Jedi Masters complaining about the dark side in him. But, admittedly, as it was not forbidden anymore, it lost some of its attraction. Obi-Wan had assured him everyone here had to wear this black uniform. However, until now, Anakin had not seen anyone in such a black cloak. That was why he felt somewhat uneasy. Maybe they had landed on the wrong planet. Or the government had changed and there were new clothing habits. Maybe everyone who wore a black Hogwarts school uniform now would be immediately sentenced to death. Normally, Anakin was not overanxious or worrisome but he had seen enough crazy planets, governments and rules during his life as a Jedi.
"How long to go, Master?"
"Patience, my young Padawan learner."
"Yes, Master."
"It's the fifth time you ask me that."
"I'm sorry, Master."
"We should be there in a few minutes."
"Alright." Anakin chewed on his lower lip and was momentarily distracted by his trolley, which had got entangled at the edge at the pavement again. He did not like undercover missions where he had to disguise and pretend to be a normal inhabitant of some strange planet. He was not very good at that. His Master, however, always was. Obi-Wan had no problems at all with his trolley. Anakin did a little sprint in order to catch up with his Master, almost tripping over his own feet, which had grown too quickly in a too short time.
"Master?"
"Yes?"
"Are you sure we're on the right planet?"
For the first time during this conversation, Obi-Wan really paid attention to him. He frowned a little. "What gives you the idea we're on the wrong planet?"
"Well, you know, you told me everyone here wore such clothes." Anakin gestured at his and Obi-Wan's outfits. "But they don't. In fact, I haven't seen anyone wearing such clothes at all. Haven't you noticed how everyone stares at us?"
Obi-Wan's frown deepened. "Yes, I noticed that. But our contact assured me we'd absolutely need these clothes or we would attract too much attention."
"And that's why I think this is the wrong planet," Anakin declared.
"I don't think so. This planet is called Earth and this town is called London. So it should be right."
Anakin was now frowning too but he quickly stopped himself. Sometimes it frightened him that he assumed too many of Obi-Wan's habits. "What if it's a trap? What if that contact of yours is a criminal? A Sith?"
Obi-Wan shook his head in disapproval. "Don't be so overly dramatic, Anakin. This is just a routine mission, nothing too serious. And by the way, we're there now. That should be King's Cross Station."
They entered a little train station. Obi-Wan led the way to a wall between platforms nine and ten. "Do you feel it?" Obi-Wan jerked Anakin from his contemplation on the other people's clothes. For a minute he had been sure he had seen two girls with black cloaks. Guiltily, Anakin quickly checked the Force around them.
"I'm sorry, Master," he apologised. "I was distracted. I'm afraid I can't feel anything. What was it? Some disruption in the Force?" His hand darted to the lightsabre hilt which was well hidden underneath his uniform.
"Nothing dangerous," Obi-Wan said patiently and only a tad disgruntled. "Reach out to the Force again. Can you feel that wall?"
Anakin did as he was told and he sensed it immediately. "Ah, it's a hologram."
"Not likely. They are very primitive here, they do not have the knowledge to establish such a hologram."
"So what is it then?" Anakin reached for the wall and grabbed through it. "Some optical illusion?"
"Maybe. But I guess it's what they call magic. Search the Force again. If you look very carefully, you'll see that the place where the wall should be is not completely empty. It's almost as if the wall is there - but only very dimly."
"Okay." Anakin closed his eyes and checked the wall again. He was very powerful in the Force, so he quickly noticed what Obi-Wan meant. "I see it." It was as if the structure of the bricks was floating and ever-changing, sometimes being more solid, then again completely permeable.
"Very well. Let this be a lesson to you, Padawan. Your focus must always be on the Here and Now where it belongs. And you must be more careful if you examine something. The first impression may mislead you."
"Yes, Master."
Suddenly, someone behind them softly cleared their throat. "Excuse me?"
The two Jedi turned around and faced a boy who was probably Anakin's age, but much smaller and thicker. He shoved a trolley and grinned apologetically at them. "Could you step aside? It's almost eleven and I don't want to miss the train."
"Sure. Sorry we didn't notice you earlier. We were just so distracted in our conversation." Anakin flashed both the boy and Obi-Wan a big smile when they moved aside. Anakin could not resist it. It was great that Obi-Wan had not noticed the boy. It meant he did not follow the lecture he was just teaching to Anakin. Anakin could certainly use this as an advantage in the future.
Watching the boy go through the wall, Obi-Wan unperturbed went on with his lecture. "Touching the wall just like that was extremely incautious from your part. You could have lost your arm due to some toxic substance. Or you could have been drawn into a black hole."
"Now, who's overly dramatic," Anakin muttered under his breath.
"You mustn't touch anything without knowing what is going to happen. Try and error is too dangerous for a Jedi because error could mean death."
"But how could we have ever known what is going to happen if I had never touched the wall?" Anakin argued and then quickly jumped aside when two boys came running in almost Jedi-speed towards them and raced through the wall.
"You could have just watched what others would do - like those two."
"They definitely are not very cautious."
"They seem to know what they're doing."
"Yes, I agree, but just watching them doesn't grant us certainty it's really safe. I mean, it could be a Jedi-eating wall and so it doesn't do the normal kids any harm."
Obi-Wan sighed and ushered Anakin towards the wall. "Why do I have the feeling you don't listen to me at all?"
"But I listen to you, Master, always!" Anakin protested. "Sometimes I just don't agree with you."
Obi-Wan muttered something like an indignant "sometimes" and then they went through the wall. They found themselves on Platform 9 ¾. An old-fashioned, steaming locomotive stood there. To Anakin's great relief, there were several people who wore cloaks. Not necessarily black, but at least cloaks.
"Come on, let's get into the train and find ourselves a quiet compartment," Obi-Wan said.
They chose the last compartment. Obi-Wan persuaded a few students to leave them alone and go to another compartment where they could have so much more fun with their friends. Finally, the train started moving. Anakin stared gloomily out of the window. The train was incredibly slow. Already now, he was bored. He just hoped the ride would be over soon.
"This ride will take about ten hours," Obi-Wan shattered his idle hopes. "So that should be enough time for some instructions."
"I read that file you gave me - the one about magic. I'm afraid I don't understand it," Anakin admitted.
"I'm not sure I understand it either," Obi-Wan said, smiling and frowning at the same time. "But I came to the conclusion that Hogwarts School is probably much like the Jedi Order. It's obviously a school for people with certain abilities and there they are trained in those abilities."
"But they aren't raised there from their births. They go there from the age of eleven. And they are allowed to see their family during their holidays - I mean, they have really long holidays, not just one day off - and they are allowed to send letters to their families."
"Yes." Obi-Wan eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"
Anakin shrugged and pretended to be offhand. "I just meant to say it's not so much like the Jedi Order. They learn to use their abilities and things but the school doesn't interfere with their private lives."
"And is that good or bad?" Obi-Wan asked and Anakin was sure it was some sort of a test.
"Depends. I haven't seen that school yet, so I'm going to wait with my judgement until I have more insight into the matter."
"That is surely the right thing to do. Anyway, back to magic."
"Yes. I wondered... could it be just another expression for the Force? Maybe they have a more primitive way of using the Force?"
Obi-Wan thoughtfully stroked his beard. "That's what I thought at first too. But then I read about some things they can do with magic and they can do things that we've never been able to do with the Force. Maybe they use the Force in another way than we do. Or there is just something specific about this planet."
"You mean like a moon that radiates unusual rays or a certain rock which harbours special powers?"
"Yes." Obi-Wan looked thoughtful for another few moments but then pulled out two sticks from his trunk and handed Anakin one. "Actually, it's not important to know how the magic works. We just have to pretend to be able to use magic."
Anakin twisted the harmless looking stick in his hands and scrutinised it closely. "That's a wand, right?" He had read the info-material Obi-Wan had given him but he had imagined a wand to look more...powerful. He had to admit he was a bit disappointed.
"Yes. Wizards need wands to perform magic."
"Okay... So, how does it work? Can we practise a bit?" Anakin asked eagerly.
"You're not supposed to do real magic. Just swish your wand a bit and murmur some complicated things - you can speak Huttese if you wish - and then do something with the Force."
Anakin would have liked to learn how to do magic but of course he knew that was not the sense in the mission. "What are you going to do? I mean, you're supposed to teach the students - how are you going to teach something you can't do yourself?"
"I'm going to think of something. I could make them work out things for themselves or I teach them only theory."
"Oooh, that's going to be boring classes..."
Obi-Wan grinned a bit. "No one ever claimed I was a good teacher."
Anakin grinned back. "Just be careful. If you're a too horrible teacher they will perhaps sack you."
"You better be careful and behave properly for once in your life or they are going to sack you. And that's why I have some new material for you to read. Try to memorise this."
Anakin took the offered datapad. It was the school regulations of Hogwarts. Knowing the rules might be useful. So he started to read. But he did not get far. Rule # 8: Students are not allowed to throw food through ghosts.
"Master?"
"Hm?" Obi-Wan looked up from another document he was studying.
"What do they mean by 'ghosts'?"
"Normally ghosts are parts of ancient mythology. Some tribes believe that their ancestors -"
"I know about such religions but Rule Eight says students mustn't throw food through ghosts. How would they know where ghosts are?"
"Maybe it's just a euphemism of saying students are not allowed to throw food. Like a warning. You mustn't throw food because it could hit the spirit of your ancestors."
"Alright. What is a euphemism?"
"It's another way of saying things. Saying things so that they appear to be better than they are."
"Okay." Not really happy with that answer, Anakin continued studying the school regulations. Some of the rules were pretty crazy. For example Rule # 16b: First years are not allowed to own a broom. It was definitely crazy. Why should the younger students not be allowed to clean their rooms? Maybe the older students did that for them? It was a pity Anakin was not a first year... Rule # 17 stopped him again. Students are not allowed to own a poisonous toad / acromantula / Cornish pixies / giant owl / ghoul / niffler / any creature that may cause harm to the other students / the teachers / the school's interior.
"Master?"
"Hm?"
"What is an a-cro-man-tu-la?"
"A what?"
"Yes, rule number seventeen says Students are not allowed to own a poisonous toad / acromantula / Cornish pixies / giant owl / ghoul / niffler / any creature that may cause harm to the other students / the teachers / the school's interior."
"Well, then I suppose an acrum - ... whatever is a creature that may cause harm to the other students, teachers, or the school's interior."
"Are you sure?"
"No. But you don't have any animal, so there's nothing to worry about, is there?"
Anakin shrugged and went on reading. But rule number nineteen was difficult again.
"Master?"
"Yes?"
"What is an Unforgivable Curse?"
"I really don't know, Anakin. Couldn't you just skip the passages you don't understand?"
"I haven't understood many so far. Rule One seems pretty easy: Students are not allowed to damage, vandalise, pollute and contaminate anything of the school's property. But, you know, I knew that without reading the regulations."
"Yes, Anakin. Could you please be quiet for a few minutes? Because I want to read a bit about the subject in which I'm supposed to be a qualified teacher. If I don't know anything about the dark arts, our disguise is likely to leak out."
"Oh yes. Sorry, Master. I didn't mean to disturb you."
"That's alright. Just try to memorise the rules and maybe you will understand them as soon as you'll have spent a bit of time with the other students."
Anakin tried to memorise all the rules. But soon he only made the effort to memorise those that sounded impressive and important. He skipped the next three or four. Then the next ten rules. He still was not finished with the whole school regulations. Curiously, he scrolled to the end of the document. Rule # 284: Students are not allowed to hex anyone a runny nose.
"Master?"
Obi-Wan sighed deeply. "Yes, Anakin?"
"There are, um... I mean, did you know how many rules there are?"
"Is it important right now?" Obi-Wan asked, annoyed.
"Dunno. It's just... There are 284 rules."
"284?" Finally, Obi-Wan looked up from his datapad.
"Yes. And many of them have even an a) or b) and c)!!! Honestly, Master, no one can ever memorise all of them!!!"
"Hm. They must have extraordinary abilities."
"Wow," Anakin said in awe. "They have even more rules than the Jedi. But I can't learn all of them in just one day!"
"No, of course you can't... Let's say, 40 a day?"
Anakin sighed in relief. "Alright. That sounds better. Thanks, Master."
"I guess it's okay if you don't know all the rules yet. I mean, you're new at that school. They can't expect you to know everything yet. I just hope they don't get suspicious if you don't learn as quickly as the rest of the students."
"If it gets complicated I could always use the Force and tell them to go away and forget about the incident."
"I just hope it works with them and their great abilities..."
"You worry too much. Just trust in the Force."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot for the lecture, Padawan. You better learn your 40 rules by heart now."
Anakin thought it was odd that ten hours going by train and just sitting around could be more exhausting than ten hours of hard Jedi training. In any case, he was glad when the train finally stopped. But the journey was not over yet. They still had to go a few minutes in some carriages pulled by winged horselike creatures. When they finally arrived at Hogwarts, it was time for Master and Padawan to separate. It would probably look suspicious if the new student hung around with a teacher all the time.
"Try not to draw too much attention to yourself," Obi-Wan told Anakin for the sixth time today.
"I'll do my best, Master," Anakin assured him, eager to finally mingle with the other students.
"And from now on I'm 'Professor Kenobi', not your 'Master' anymore, okay?"
Anakin grinned. "You're not my Master anymore? That's cool!"
Obi-Wan did not react to that at all. It was a clear warning to Anakin not to do anything stupid. "If you have any questions, contact me via comlink."
"Yes, Ma -" Anakin quickly cleared his throat when he noticed Obi-Wan's stern glance. "Professor, I mean," he said apologetically.
"Why do I have the feeling you do not pay attention to what I say?"
"Sorry, Ma -" Anakin mentally slapped himself and ducked his head.
Obi-Wan gave him a very irritated glance. "Alright, now follow the other students. May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you." Anakin was very proud of himself because he had not added a 'Master'. Obi-Wan, however, only worriedly watched him leave.
AN: Did you like it? Was it boring? Should I continue? And what should happen next?