Chapter 14 – Prophecies and Destinies

Wherever there was a clear window or open doorway in Hogwarts, students clustered and gaped, awestruck, at the skies. Never before had they seen the likes of this – flying vehicles that spouted fire and executed intricate maneuvers against the silver-white dawn. Slender concrete-gray ships with four wings swarmed like pixies around a massive white craft, whose outstretched wings and towering "sail" gave it the appearance of a flying Spanish galleon. Squat round ships also darted about the pitched battle, green light lancing from them. Gasps and screams punctuated the amazed silence as shots met their marks and skycraft fell, flaming, to the snowy grounds.

Only later would the full magnitude of what they had just witnessed sink in. The large ship had been a shuttle, and while the Order of the Phoenix had been occupied at the Ministry of Magic, it had evacuated the children of those loyal to Voldemort from Hogwarts. The Alliance's X-wings had battled the shuttle and its accompanying TIE fighters in an attempt to stop its departure, but their efforts resulted only in the deaths of five pilots… and the loss of dozens of students to the machinations of the Empire.

Breakfast that morning was a subdued affair. The Hogwarts Express would be carrying no students home for Christmas this year – it was too dangerous. Everyone ate or simply picked at their food in a heavy silence, apprehensive or even terrified.

Harry surveyed the Hall as he stirred his now-ice-cold scrambled eggs absently. Gryffindor House was still completely intact, no surprise there. Hufflepuff had lost a handful of students to the Emperor's shuttle, Ravenclaw about twenty. And Slytherin… only six Slytherins had been left behind, and these few now clustered in a tight knot at the far end of one table, their stunned expressions indicating that they had no idea why they remained. The rest of the Slytherin table was occupied by Rebel soldiers and members of the Order, as both organizations had now made Hogwarts their headquarters.

Harry dropped his fork and stood. No point in staying here. He wasn't hungry anyhow.

"Where you going?" asked Ron.

"Hospital wing," he replied. "See if Vader and Percy are okay."

"I'll go with you," Ron volunteered, standing.

"Hermione, you coming?" asked Harry.

She didn't look up from determinedly reducing a croissant to shreds. "No."

"Hermione…" began Harry.

"I don't want to see him," she said firmly. "Maybe later… but not now."

They didn't press the issue but left.

The door to the hospital wing was firmly closed. Fred and George were hunkered down before it, their infamous Extendable Ears stuffed under the door.

"Hear anything interesting?" asked Harry.

"Depressing, but yeah, interesting," Fred replied, handing his Extendable Ear to Ron. "Have a listen."

"Right cheerful conversation, makes you want to hide under your bunk," George added, giving Harry his Ear.

They bent down and eavesdropped.

"…lost Shacklebolt, lost Mundungus, lost Ackbar, lost Antilles," Moody was saying grimly. "Tonks and Arthur's boy are going to be laid up awhile, too bad we can't take 'em to St. Mungo's…"

"It's too dangerous," came the regal feminine voice that Harry recognized as Princess Leia. "By now the Empire will have firmly established itself here. Any travel outside Hogwarts will be suicidal."

"What of Snape?" asked McGonagall.

"Be fine once he sheds his skin one last time," Moody replied. "All for the good his transformation was in my opinion, probably would have defected back to the Dark Lord had he been there…"

"Dumbledore trusts Snape implicitly," McGonagall snapped. "He would not have gone back to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…"

"Don't know that for sure, do we?" sniffed Moody. "An' man's already been wrong once with that Mundungus…"

"And Vader," Leia added. "In my opinion, Vader did far more damage than Mundungus…"

"Vader's case was different, Princess," McGonagall replied. "According to Dumbledore, he had no knowledge that his information was being used against the wizarding world."

Silence for a few minutes.

"Well," Moody said at length, "no use fighting among ourselves now. Best see to the injured, organize the Alliance, send someone to collect Vader's shuttle from London, let Weasley and Potter in…"

The door opened, and Moody's magical blue eye fixed them with an eerie look.

"Um… I'm here to see Percy…" Ron mumbled.

"Come in, Weasley," said Moody, motioning for him to enter. "You, Potter?"

"I wanted to see Professor Vader," he replied.

"Madam Pomfrey released him an hour ago," McGonagall informed him. "He should be in his office."

"Okay." He turned to go.

"Potter?" Moody called.

"What?"

"Give the man the benefit of the doubt, will you?" Moody advised. "He's been through a lot more than you know."

He nodded. "I know."

"And I saw that," Moody growled as Leia rolled her eyes.

Harry left the hospital wing and continued down the corridors, lost in thought. He wondered how Vader was taking all this. Probably not very well. Losing the life he'd lived for over twenty years had to be difficult. And add the burden of guilt and betrayal to that… he must be having a hard time. Maybe Luke was talking to him right now, or Dumbledore…

The door to Vader's office was locked. Harry knocked several times, but there was no answer.

"Professor Vader?" he shouted. "I need to talk to you!"

"He's not there."

He turned to see Peeves hovering cross-legged close to the ceiling, liberally smearing ink onto a stolen crystal ball from the Divination classroom.

"What do you mean, he's not there?" demanded Harry.

"I mean he's not there," Peeves replied matter-of-factly. "Packed his things and left ten minutes ago. Lasted half a term, pretty short time even for a Dark Arts professor…"

"He's leaving!"

"Thick, are we, Potter? Leaving Hogwarts, never coming back, so long, bye-bye…"

"Which way did he go?"

Peeves pointed down the corridor. "Took a left at the painting of the mad knight."

"Thanks, Peeves!" He took off at a run. "Professor!"

Skidding around the corner, he continued to run, glancing down each passageway for a glimpse of Vader. He couldn't be leaving! Not now! The Empire had cast him out; he had no place to go outside Hogwarts. Where would he go? And what if the Empire caught him again?

"Professor Vader! Professor Vader, wait up!"

At last he spotted Vader down the entrance hall, and he lengthened his stride to catch up with him. Vader carried a black traveling valise, and judging from his rapid pace, he wanted to get out of the castle in a hurry. Harry realized that he'd never catch up with the man before he stepped out of those doors forever. How could he stop him?

Pulling his wand, he shouted "Diffindo!"

The suitcase's latch popped off, and the contents spilled all over the flagstones. Vader whirled to stare at the tangle of broken luggage, spare cloaks and gloves, and mechanical odds and ends. When he caught sight of Harry, he froze.

"Potter, what do you think you're…" he snarled.

"Professor Vader, you can't go!" Harry exclaimed.

Vader dropped the broken valise. "That is not for you to decide, Potter. It is my decision, and mine alone, to make. Now go."

"Where will you go?" demanded Harry. "The Empire's taken over the wizarding world! They'll kill you the minute they see you! And the Muggles'll think you're some kind of freak or nutcase and probably lock you up somewhere!"

"There are other worlds than this, Potter," Vader replied. "The galaxy is vast. There will be somewhere that I can live out my remaining years in peace." He stared at a point past Harry, a faraway tone coming to his voice. "Not that I deserve that…"

"Professor, we need you here," Harry countered. "You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had! And Luke needs you too."

"Luke…" he murmured. "I've never given Luke any reason to care about me. I cut off his hand, I killed his Jedi Master, I tortured his friends… he doesn't need me. And if I'm the best Dark Arts professor you've had, the others must have been ridiculously incompetent. A proper teacher would not have placed his students in danger…"

"You didn't know the Emperor was playing you for a fool!" Harry shouted. He didn't know why he was doing this, why he didn't just let Vader go and have done with it. Something deep inside him told him that, were Vader to leave the school, there would be no hope for correcting this mess the wizarding world found itself in.

He glowered at Harry. "You're right, Potter. I am a fool. The greatest fool this galaxy has seen. I ignored the warnings of you, Dumbledore, and Luke. I denied the evidence that was continually thrust in my face, believing myself too smart to be taken advantage of. My foolish actions have damned your world. Hogwarts has no need to keep a fool on its payroll."

"But Professor…"

"Don't argue with him, Harry," someone advised from behind him. "He has the infamous Skywalker stubborn streak – the more you fight with him, the more adamantly he sets himself against you."

Dumbledore stepped up beside Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving Vader a look of profound sympathy.

"I'm leaving, Headmaster," Vader told him bluntly. "I've put your students in danger. You have no more need of me. You'll find my letter of resignation on your desk."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Vader." He flicked his wand at the valise, and it snapped shut with a clap, its contents flying back inside it as if it were bursting open in reverse. "I expect to see you back at work at the end of the Christmas holiday."

"You cannot stop me from going!" hissed Vader.

"I understand, Vader, that this has been an ordeal for you," Dumbledore replied softly. "But this is not entirely your fault. The Ministry of Magic shares a great deal of the blame, as do the minions of the Empire. And while I expect many things of my faculty, I do not expect them to be omniscient. Anyone could have been deceived as you were, even me."

Vader bent down and picked up the suitcase. "Fine. I will remain at Hogwarts. But don't expect me to be happy about it."

Dumbledore's expression of pity intensified. "I think, Vader and Harry, that you need to come with me. It's time I told the two of you a few things that you should have known a long time ago."

Vader stared at Harry as if demanding an explanation. Harry shrugged. He didn't know what Dumbledore was up to either. Puzzled but curious, the two of them followed the headmaster.

After a long walk, they came to a familiar corridor – the corridor where, three years ago, Harry had discovered Filch's cat petrified by the stare of a basilisk (though he hadn't known it then) and a cryptic message regarding the Chamber of Secrets inscribed on the wall. Without pause Dumbledore strode to a nearby doorway, stepped easily over a growing puddle on the floor, and opened the door.

"Headmaster, that's the girl's bathroom," Vader said distastefully.

"I know," Dumbledore replied. "But no one ever comes in here, so we'll be safe."

"Headmaster," Harry said warily, realizing what Dumbledore must be intending, "we're not going…"

"I thought," he replied, "that Vader might want to know precisely what we're up against."

The bathroom floor was covered with a good two inches of water, seeing as every tap had been turned on full-blast and then the handles pried off. The culprit could be heard sobbing in one of the toilet stalls. Harry wondered just what had set off Moaning Myrtle this time.

"Oh my, this won't do," Dumbledore said fretfully. "Repairo!"

The faucet handles reappeared. Harry set himself to turning off the taps.

At the sounds of voices in her bathroom, Myrtle drifted out of her stall, her glasses askew and her eyes red and swollen from constant crying. She sniffed loudly and pouted when she spotted Harry.

"About time you came back," she moped. "You promised me you'd visit me ages ago, I've been waiting all term…"

But when she caught sight of Vader, her high-pitched whimpering escalated to a screech of fright, and she dove headfirst back down her toilet.

"Wow, that was pretty cheerful for Myrtle," Harry noted.

"Let's leave Myrtle alone for now," Dumbledore told him. "Harry, will you open the door?"

Reluctantly Harry went to the faucet with the serpent emblazoned on it – a mark that was almost invisible unless one knew precisely what they were looking for. He focused, trying to imagine the serpent was alive and listening.

"Open," he hissed.

The entire fixture sank into the floor, leaving a gaping hole in the floor. Harry jumped down first, followed by Vader. After a few minutes, Dumbledore joined them, his wand glowing.

"What is this place?" Vader inquired.

"The passageway to the Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore replied. "A room constructed by Salazaar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… and a firm believer that the only wizards worth recruiting were those of pure blood. This chamber was supposedly only accessible by his heir, though in recent years we've found that any Parselmouth – that is, anyone who can speak to snakes – can gain entrance."

"I gathered as much," Vader replied dryly as they passed the enormous snakeskin.

"Slytherin kept a monster down here," Dumbledore went on as they continued. "A basilisk, a giant snake that kills with its very gaze. It was foretold that his heir would open the chamber and release the beast, which would purge Hogwarts of those unworthy in Slytherin's eyes to become wizards."

"Muggle-borns," Harry added.

At last they reached the chamber itself. Everything was black and damp, the faint light issuing from Dumbledore's wand reflecting from the moist snake-carved stonework and the towering statue of a seated man. In the center of the chamber lay the skeleton of the basilisk, picked clean by time and rats. Vader approached the bones cautiously and ran a hand along the length of one ivory fang.

"This is the aborted legacy of Slytherin?" he asked. "A dead monster and an abandoned chamber?"

"No," Dumbledore replied. "Far from it. For though the Chamber of Secrets no longer harbors danger toward our school, Slytherin's heir lives on… Lord Voldemort."

Vader turned to face Dumbledore.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle was one of Hogwart's brightest students," Dumbledore explained. "Though an orphan and a half-blood, he learned very quickly, and he was a favorite student of many teachers. But he knew of his relation to Salazaar Slytherin, and he quickly immersed himself in the Dark Arts, becoming the most feared of all wizards… Lord Voldemort."

"Until Potter defeated him," Vader replied.

Dumbledore shook his head. "There is far more to the story than that."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore sat down on a slab of broken marble, removing something from his robes and rolling it absently around in his hands. Harry recognized it as the prophecy he had taken from the Ministry of Magic, which he had turned over to Dumbledore last night.

"The story begins over a thousand years ago, soon after Hogwarts was established," he began. "The Jedi Council of the time was paying a visit to the school, for at that period of time the Republic had not yet cut off ties with our world. The Jedi wanted to observe the wizards' teaching methods, and the founding wizards of Hogwarts wanted the Jedi's endorsement for their school.

"During the visit, a student appeared in their midst – a student from the future named George Lucas, Jr. He had been illegally experimenting with a Time-Turner, a device that allows wizards to travel back and forth in time. He was delivered a stern lecture from founding father Godric Gryffindor, and they ordered him to depart for his own time at once."

Dumbledore pulled a second prophecy from his robes, rubbing the dust from the glass. "At that moment, the young Lucas delivered a prophecy – a prophecy of a Chosen One."

"You mean… you've had the prophecy all this time…" Harry breathed.

"I was quite friendly with Master Yoda," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "During the Clone Wars he approached me and delivered this. He feared the Jedi Temple would be in danger of attack, and he wanted to ensure the record of this prophecy remained safe." He twisted the glass sphere, and it came apart in two neat halves.

A ghostly image of a young, dark-haired man drifted upward like a Patronus, its voice young and cracking with adolescence but still resonant and strong with the tone of one making prophecy.

"THE SON OF THE SUNS SHALL BE BORN OF THE MIDICHLORIANS… AND HE WILL HAVE POWER OVER THE FORCE THAT NONE HAS EVER SEEN… AND BOTH SIDES OF THE FORCE SHALL BOW TO HIS WILL… HE SHALL BE A CHOSEN ONE, ONE WHO BRINGS BALANCE TO THE FORCE… A BANE TO THE DARKNESS AND A BANNER TO THE LIGHT… THE CHOSEN ONE SHALL BE BORN TO A MORTAL AND TO THE FORCE…"

The figure drifted back into the sphere, and Dumbledore closed it.

"Sound familiar, Vader?"

Vader bristled with fury.

"Lucas was, of course, sent back to his time, where he made a fortune from his Seer gift in the Muggle world. Meanwhile, the wizards kept the prophecy on file, though they never made much sense of it, and in the end they turned it over to the Jedi Order – after all, it pertained more to them than it did to our world. But then, during the war against Voldemort, a second prophecy came to light.

"On a cold, wet night sixteen years ago, I was interviewing an applicant for the post of Divination teacher in a room above the bar of the Hog's Head Inn. The applicant was a relative of Lucas' and a descendant of the gifted seer Cassandra Trelawney, and I thought it common politeness to meet with her. But she didn't appear to have a trace of the gift. I told her that I did not think she would be suitable for the post and turned to go."

Harry and Vader watched, fascinated, as Dumbledore opened the second sphere. A figure rose from it, draped in shawls and beads, her eyes weirdly magnified by her round spectacles.

"THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LOARD APPROACHES… BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES… AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT… AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES… THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…"

Harry gaped as the figure of Professor Trelawney was shut away again.

"The Prophecy was referring to Potter, I presume?" asked Vader.

"The funny thing is," Dumbledore replied, "that the prophecy could have applied to two boys born at the end of July, two boys born to parents who had escaped Voldemort's wrath three times. One was Harry Potter. The other was Neville Longbottom."

"So it might not be me?" asked Harry. "It might be…"

"There is no doubt that the prophecy speaks of you, Harry," Dumbledore interrupted. "Voldemort marked you as his equal, not Longbottom."

"And why did he intentionally mark Potter as his equal?" demanded Vader.

"That was not his intention," Dumbledore answered. "His intention was to destroy Harry before he became powerful enough to face Voldemort. But Voldemort's information was incomplete. The Hog's Head is not a place where you should assume you're safe from being overheard. Our one stroke of good fortune that night was that Voldemort's spy was discovered a short way into the prophecy and thrown from the building."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "Why me? Why not Neville? Why did he think it will be me?"

"Think about it," Dumbledore replied. "Voldemort decided that the greater threat was, not the pureblood, which he professes to be the only worthy sort of wizard, but the half-blood like himself, the boy whose father was a wizard and his mother a Muggle-born. He saw himself, in some measure, in you, and he sought to destroy you – but in doing so he mistakenly transferred a measure of his own power and spirit into you."

Harry's hand reached up and touched his scar. "You mean… he made it so I can tell how he's feeling… when he's rising to power again…"

Dumbledore nodded. "You might wonder what these prophecies have to do with each other, aside from the fact that the Seers who delivered them are blood relatives. Until very recently, I, too, believed them to be separate matters. But scarcely two months ago, I became aware of another development… a third prophecy, one that links the two." He smiled at Vader. "But as I did not hear the prophecy with my own ears, I rely on you, Vader, to inform Harry of it."

Vader glared silently at the Headmaster.

"Vader," Dumbledore said firmly, "please tell us of the prophecy."

He spun on his heel and strode away several paces. Back to the others, he spoke in a resentful, monotone voice.

"'The Dark Lords have united… as the tenth month is born the Dark Lords unite in their cause… and the Chosen One will find himself betrayed and betrayer… the Empire will rise and threaten what the wizards hold most dear… and the stag and the dragon must join forces else be slain by the Dark Lords… the Chosen Ones must unite as the Dark Lords have or all will be lost.'"

"Thank you," Dumbledore told him. "Parts of that prophecy have already come true. Two Dark Lords, Voldemort and Palpatine, have joined forces. Darth Vader, the Chosen One, unknowingly betrayed Hogwarts and was, in turn, betrayed by his master. As for the strange animal references…"

"The dragon's Vader," Harry realized. "His Patronus is a dragon!"

Dumbledore nodded. "Harry is the stag. Vader is the dragon. Alone, perhaps you could accomplish your separate prophecies, but now that the Dark Lords have united, it would be impossible for you to fight your battles alone. The only way you can defeat the heir of Slytherin and the Sith Order is by joining forces yourselves."

Vader slumped to his knees.

"Professor?" Harry hurried to Vader's side.

"Trelawney," he snarled. "She was right all along. The woman who caused me great trouble was no other than Sybill Trelawney. The Chosen One Prophecy ruined my life. I want nothing further to do with it or any other prophecy!"

"I understand that this is hard for you," Dumbledore said with utmost sympathy. "You've not had an easy life. But Harry has also known great hardship in his young life, and I'm sure he can identify with your plight."

There was silence in the chamber for a long time. Vader's respirator echoed hauntingly off the stone walls, and a steady drip of water punctuated the quiet with its rhythmic plunk.

"Talk to him, Harry," Dumbledore urged.

Harry opened his mouth, but no sound came out. What could he say? His mind was still spinning, reeling from the fact that he was spoken of in prophecy not once, but twice… and that his life would either end in or include murder.

"Professor," he blurted, "I'm sorry."

Vader didn't turn to acknowledge Harry.

"I know… I know it must've been hard, getting called the Chosen One all your life and having everyone keeping their eye on you," Harry went on. "I know how that feels. And I know it's got to hurt, knowing someone you trusted just stabbed you in the back. But maybe… maybe this is a chance for you to start over. To start doing something to repay."

Dumbledore nodded at Harry, winking. "The boy's right, Vader. Being known as the Boy Who Lived or, worse, a delusional glory-hound has been hard on Harry. But I'm impressed with him, as he's felt no anger toward you even knowing full well who you are. He is the greatest ally you can know."

Vader slowly got to his feet, turning to face the two of them.

Harry extended a hand. "Are we going to be partners?" he asked. "Face down Voldemort and your nutcase Emperor together?"

He hesitated, then clasped Harry's hand in his own. "Very well, Potter. Partners."

"Harry," he corrected.

Vader nodded. "Harry."

Dumbledore motioned for them to follow him. "Come now, you two. We have much to do. Vader, Luke and Mr. Weasley will be bringing your shuttle and men back. We'll need the expertise of your stormtroopers in teaching us wizards how to use those blasters of yours."

"Part of the prophecy concerns me, Headmaster," Vader said. "'The Empire will rise and threaten what the wizards hold most dear.' What do the wizards hold most dear?"

Dumbledore turned and gave him a grave look. "What do most adults hold most dear, Vader?"

Harry's mouth fell open. "You mean…"

Break…

Corusant's Imperial Square glowed first red, then violet, then golden, then green as fireworks exploded in the night sky, fireworks interspersed with leprechaun formations, TIE formations, and broom flyovers. The Square roared and swarmed with wizards and Imperials, all in high spirits as they celebrated the induction of the wizard's world into the Galactic Empire. On a raised platform at the head of the square stood over a hundred young wizards, all in crisp black robes with an insignia on the breast – an insignia portraying the silver Imperial Crest with a green serpent twined through it.

Emperor Palpatine and Lord Voldemort gazed over the ranks of children appreciatively. The sons and daughters of those true to Voldemort's cause had been rescued from the traitorous Hogwarts, to be trained in a proper school of magic to be established on Corusant. The first generation in the Imperial School of Dark Arts would serve the Empire well.

Young Draco Malfoy beamed from the front row, and the Emperor smiled knowingly at the lad. This one showed considerable promise. Perhaps, with Voldemort occupied with subjugating the wizarding world, he could spend a little time educating this one in the Sith ways. After all, now that the Sith were in total control, the could disregard the "always two" rule, couldn't they?

He turned to those assembled and raised his hands to silence the crowd.

"Citizens of planet Earth, wizards and witches, people of the Empire!"

The crowd bellowed in reply.

"This is a day to be long remembered," he went on. "It has seen the end of the weak government that has ruled your society for years, and it has seen the ascension of a great and glorious power that will carry into your future!"

He swept a hand behind him to indicate the students. "Your children, a generation that would have seen itself smothered under the hands of the likes as Cornelius Fudge and Albus Dumbledore, will receive training in the glorious powers long denied your people. They will carry on in our stead when we pass on, and they will achieve things that would have been impossible a mere twenty-four hours ago.

"This is not to say the danger is over, my friends. For a great evil lurks in your land – an evil that would undermine this dream for the future and turn the world over to the weak, the inferior, the ones you call Mudbloods and half-bloods."

The crowd hissed.

"Twenty years ago, the Empire purged itself of a similar evil in the form of the Jedi Order, cleansing our society of their taint. Now, on this day, I say we rise and excise this new taint from our lives, this cancerous establishment that will destroy all we have worked so hard to build. Let us destroy the old and build the new, to rid our children of the pestilence that has infected our own lives.

"Let it be known, from this day forth, the Galactic Empire declares war upon the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and all who would ally themselves with it!"