Author's Note: Ok, here it is, chapter 2. Quite speedy, if I do say so myself. And a big thanks to my beta, megan, for correcting my mistakes and adding a little flare here and there; thanks! Have at it, and please r&r!
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. and also characters and situations created and owned by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. Copyright infringement in these pages is not intended.
Harry Potter stared out of the window of his compartment on the Hogwarts Express, gazing at the clear blue sky with longing. How he wished to mount his Firebolt and soar through the wispy clouds, leaving all his troubles behind him. To leave his fear and his pain back on the ground. To leave the memory of Sirius falling through the veil behind--
Stop it, Potter,
Harry thought to himself. Thinking about Sirius all the time won't bring him back. Sighing, Harry looked around the cabin, looking for something to occupy his time. Neville sat across from him, reading through a book about exotic magical plants of South America, his eyes scanning across the pages with fervor. Turning from Neville, Harry looked at the sliding door, wondering when Ron and Hermione were going to get back from their Prefect duties. They had been gone for only a little while, so they probably weren't going to get back anytime soon. And the train should be getting closer to Hogwarts, Harry thought to himself. Sighing once again, Harry resigned himself to staring out the window.
After only a few moments of wistful staring, something caught Harry's eye. High, high in the sky, Harry saw two dots break through the cloud cover. He removed his glasses and attempted to clean them with the bottom of his shirt. Harry once again peered through the window, and to his astonishment, the dots had not disappeared! They grew bigger and bigger, and were heading towards the ground at an amazing speed. As the two objects got closer and closer, Harry thought that they looked like spaceships. No way, Harry thought to himself. This is impossible.
Suddenly, the two objects were scraping across the tops of the trees in the forest, and one started flipping end-over-end. Harry now had his forehead pressed unflatteringly up against the glass, trying to get a better look. They're definitely spaceships, Harry now thought. The train then started to turn and Harry lost sight of the two spacecraft. After staring out the window for a few moments more, he turned to look at Neville. Neville was so engrossed with his book that he had not moved an inch since the last time Harry looked at him. Harry jumped when the compartment door suddenly slid open, revealing a very relieved Ron and Hermione. Ron dropped down at Harry's side, leaving Hermione to take the seat next to Neville.
"Bugger all, that was boring," Ron drawled out. Hermione gave him an exasperated look.
"Honestly Ron, if you find it so boring then why do you still want to be a Prefect?" she asked. Ron, fishing in his pocket and withdrawing a Chocolate Frog, chose not to look at her.
"I like the Prefect bathrooms," he replied. "They're a lot better than the regular ones." And with that, he shoved the writhing Chocolate Frog into his mouth. Hermione gave him a disgusted look and turned to Harry only to discover a troubled look on his face.
"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked with concern in her voice. Harry, whose face was full of confusion, pointed out the window.
"Just now, I saw..." Harry trailed off, thinking of how to explain the unusual sight from earlier. More so, he wondered if his friends would even believe such a claim as seeing spaceships. In fact, Harry recalled many times when he claimed to have seen outrageous (but true) things, and both his best friends seemed reluctant to believe him. After some consideration, Harry merely shook his head and looked out the window. "Nothing, Hermione," he said sighing. "Nothing."
Hermione seemed to want to say more but thought better of it and looked away. After a moment, she looked out the window and stood up.
"We're getting close to Hogwarts. We had better get changed." She gently shook Neville's shoulder, rousing him form his intense reading. "Better get changed, Neville." Neville nodded his head and put away his book.
"Ah, thanks for reminding me, Hermione," he said, standing up. Harry followed suit, and left to change into his Hogwarts robes.
Ten minutes later, the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station, and the students of Hogwarts began piling out of the crowded train. Harry saw the familiar, mammoth form of Hagrid, the beloved groundskeeper and teacher of Care of Magical Creatures. Harry gave him a wave which was heartily returned as Hagrid herded first years to the boats that would bring them across the lake. Harry followed Ron and Hermione to the carriages pulled by thestrals and began securing their luggage on the back.
After the luggage was secured, Harry joined his friends inside the carriage. They were soon joined by the youngest Weasley, Ginny, and her spaced-out friend, Luna Lovegood. No, Harry thought. She's no longer just Ginny's friend. She's our friend as well. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione. Well, she's my friend, anyways. Luna saw Harry looking at her and greeted him.
"Hello Harry," she said in a wistful voice. Harry smiled.
"Hi, Luna," he replied. "How was your summer? Did you find any Crumple-horned Snorkacks?" Luna seemed to light up with excitement at Harry's mention of the mythical magical beasts.
"Oh, no," she replied, happy nonetheless. "Father suggested that they might have migrated sooner than normal. But we were able to catch a glimpse of a Leviathan." Harry raised an eyebrow.
"A Leviathan?" he inquired. Luna nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Yes, a giant sea monster," she explained. "We caught a glimpse of one off the shore of Sweden."
"That sounds pretty cool," Harry admitted. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione giving Luna a disapproving look. Harry frowned, but shrugged it off and looked back at Luna. "So, what creature are you going after next?" Harry questioned.
"We haven't decided yet, but I was hoping that Father and I could look for heliopaths," Luna replied. Harry thought back, trying to recall what exactly heliopaths were.
"Oh yeah, the fire-demons Fudge had as a secret army!" Harry exclaimed. "That sounds exciting. I wouldn't mind going with you to look for them."
There was silence after Harry's last statement. The other conversations in the carriage abruptly halted as everyone stared at Harry in disbelief (with the exception, of course, of Luna, who seemed uncharacteristically pleased). Harry blinked and looked around at his friends.
"Wha... what?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice. "Did I... err, say something wrong?" No one said anything, but looked away instead, and resumed their conversations. Harry's brow creased in further confusion. Luna didn't seem to pay any of it any mind.
"Oh, that'd be excellent, Harry!" she gushed. "We might even be able to go search for them over the winter holidays. Father said that they hibernate during winter, and our best bet is to catch them while they're sleeping." Harry nodded. A small smiled replaced the confusion on his face.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Harry said. "I hope we get to do that." Once again, there was silence from everyone, but only for a moment. Harry glanced around with an eyebrow cocked. He had no idea why everyone was acting weird.
Before long, the carriages arrived at the gates of Hogwarts. Everyone began to pile out of their transports and into the castle. Harry, feeling a little awkward about the silence and stares from before, helped Luna out of the carriage, and the two carried on a conversation about Bibbering Humdingers and Ministry conspiracies as they walked into the castle and into the Great Hall. Saying their good-byes as they headed towards their respective house tables, Harry stole a glance towards the staff table. He hoped to catch a glimpse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry spotted a young-looking woman with black hair that he did not reconize. Taking a seat at the Gryffindor table across from Hermione, Harry nudged Ron in the side.
"Hey, take a look at the woman beside McGonagall," Harry said. "Think that's the new Defense professor?" Ron looked up at the staff table and shrugged.
"Probably. Only person that's new to me," he answered. Ron then leaned in closer to Harry. "Look, Harry... what was going on with you in the carriage?" he questioned. Harry blinked in suprise.
"What do you mean with me?" he shot back. "You guys were the ones acting weird." Ron's eyebrows shot up.
"Us?" he said in amazment. "You were the one saying how you wanted to go look for nonexistent animals with Looney Luna Lovegood," Ron insisted. Harry frowned.
"That wasn't weird," Harry said. "And why do you still call her Looney?" Harry asked back. "She's perfectly fine," he assured.
"Mate, the day Looney Lovegood starts acting 'perfectly fine' is the day I start believing in crumple-horned snorkacks and all that other rubbish she talks about," Ron retorted.
Harry was getting agitated, even a little angry.
"Her name's Luna, Ron," Harry coldly replied. Before Ron could say anything else, Harry turned his attention back to the staff table. For some reason, he no longer cared to sit through the Sorting or the welcome feast. As if on cue, Professor McGonagall came through the doors of the Great Hall, followed by all of the First Years. She stood with the Sorting Hat in he hands, waiting for Dumbledore to begin the ceremony.
Dumbledore stood at the eagle podium and raised his hands for silence. It took a moment, but soon silence reigned in the Great Hall. With that, Professor Dumbledore smiled and cast the Sonorus charm on himself.
"Welcome, students!" Dumbledore's voice rumbled through the hall. "I know that, normally, my speeches are reserved until after the Sorting and the feast. But I feel that some things need to be said before we get underway with our traditions." Dumbledore took a moment to look around at the students. "As I'm sure all of you are aware now, the Ministry of Magic has finally acknowledged the return of Lord Voldemort." There was a quiet intake of breath from nearly everyone at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. "Yes," Dumbledore continued, "Voldemort is a great threat, now more than ever. Now that everyone in the wizarding world knows that he is back, he will resume his attacks on innocent wizarding families. That is why we must remain vigilant and united if we are to defeat this evil. We can no longer hide from Vodlemort or his followers. We must stand together if we want to rid ourselves of this evil. That being said, I can assure you all, that while you remain inside the walls of Hogwarts, you are safe from Voldemort and--" Dumbledore was cut off by a loud explosion just outside the Great Hall.
Harry jumped up, wand in his hand, ready for action. He glanced at the others at his table and noticed that everyone that was in the DA was also prepared for a fight. Nodding grimely, Harry focused his attention on the doors of the Great Hall.
"What the bloody Hell is going on?" Ron whispered. Harry shook his head.
"I'll bet you anything it's Death Eaters," Harry answered. Dumbledore, meanwhile, flew into action, organizing the staff to surround the First Years to protect them and striding towards the middle of the Great Hall himself.
"Students!" he bellowed. "Get to the back of the hall, quickly!" Most of the students didn't need telling twice and got behind the professors and against the back wall. Some though stood with the professors and Dumbledore, their wands drawn, most of them members of the DA. Dumbledore looked as if he wanted to order them to the back, but he said nothing.
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall exploded inwards, splinters of wood on fire. Harry shielded his eyes from the blast and tried to look through the dust and smoke. He saw forms in black robes with white masks. Death Eaters, alright, Harry thought to himself. As soon as the doors were blown open, the Death Eaters began firing spells into the Great Hall. Harry watched in amazement as Dumbledore cast a great shielding charm that rebounded most of the curses. A second later, the Death Eaters began pouring into the hall. Harry guessed that there were at least twenty, maybe more. He gripped his wand tightly in his hand, ready to start firing curses back. However, he didnt get a chance.
From behind the Death Eaters, two forms seemed to flip over their heads, landing in between them and the residents of Hogwarts. Harry heard a sharp snap-hiss and watched as two beams of light, one green and the other blue, emerged from the two figures wrapped in brown cloaks.
"What the Hell..?" Harry said.
After exiting the forest, Kruk and Ares came to a fairly large lake and, to their surprise, a large stone structure looming behind it. It had a regal yet humble look to it, with elegant spires rising high into the sky.
"I can sense some life forms inside that building, Master," Ares said. "And also more coming from that direction," he continued, pointing towards his left. Kruk nodded, looking towards the direction Ares was pointing.
"Yes, it seems that there are many coming this way, probably heading to that castle," Endeel indicated. Ares and Endeel kept up their steady pace towards the large stone building. Before long, they both heard the sound of a strange transport traveling parallel to their position. It was definitely heading towards the castle. Keeping out of sight, the two Jedi watched as hundreds of young male and female humans disembarked from thier transport, only to get into several smaller transports which were drawn by strange looking, four-legged, winged creatures. These creatures took them to the castle and deposited the young ones at the front gates. There was, however, a smaller group of people being lead by a man of gigantic stature to the lake, where many small boats awaited to take them to the castle.
After everyone seemed to be inside the castle, the Jedi emerged from their hiding places and began their trek once again.
"I sense a strong presence of the Force here," Ares stated. "Not just in the castle. It seems like all of those young people were in touch with the Force in some way."
Endeel contemplated his apprentice's words.
"Perhaps this is a school of some sort, a place to train young ones in tune with the Force," Endeel suggested. "But there is something different about the nature of the Force, here." Endeel focused on the stone building. "I sense the Dark Side within the halls of this building. As if a great evil once resided here and it has tainted the entire castle." Ares nodded in agreement.
"I also feel it, Master," Ares replied. "But I also feel that it is not entirely evil. This is a strange place." Endeel had to agree.
"This place is indeed enigmatic."
As the Jedi neared the entrance to the grounds, there was a great disturbance in the Force. Both men ducked behind some nearby shrubbery, their lightsabers in their hands. Their was a loud humming noise and out of thin air before them appeared an unknown number of people. The Dark Side of the Force rolled off of each of them like stink rolls off of garbage. Each of them wore black robes and white masks.
"Are they Sith?" whispered Ares.
I don't know," Endeel whispered back, shaking his head. "But the Dark Side surrounds them." The Jedi watched as one of the people from the group detached himself from the rest and faced them. The leader, obviously.
"Alright, remember your orders," came the sound of a man's voice. "Don't kill any of the students. Kill the professors if they get in your way. And remember, the Dark Lord wants Potter alive. Let's go." With that, the group of masked men strode through the entrance, up the steps, and into the school. Endeel and Ares were not far behind.
"It sounds as if they mean to cause harm to innocent people," Endeel stated. "If they attack, we'll take them out." Ares nodded in afirmation. "Let's try to take one alive, if possible."
Endeel and Ares quickly found their way up the stairs and into the castle, when they heard a loud explosion not far from them. It was soon followed by another explosion. The Jedi were soon upon the group in black, and watched as they started firing strange beams of light from small pieces of wood at a line of terrified looking people. Not thinking but letting the Force flow through them, Endeel and Ares drew their lightsabers from their belts and flipped over the black-clad group, putting themselves between the two groups. With two quick snap-hisses, the Jedi ignited their lightsabers. In a flurry of slashes and thrusts, Endeel and Ares quickly cut their way through the men in black robes, their sabers cauterizing the fatal wounds they inflicted.
In a matter of seconds, all of the men in black were dead, save one, who trembled in terror. Endeel and Ares disengaged their lightsabers. Ares clipped his lightsaber to his belt and, raising his right hand towards the masked man, used the Force to throw him hard agianst the stone wall behind him. The man hit with a loud crunch and he slumped to the ground, unconcious. Ares turned back to face his Master, a small smile playing upon his lips, his face half-hidden from his hood. Endeel nodded to him.
"Good work," he said, and they both turned towards the group behind them.
"Greetings," Endeel said, lowering his hood.
Harry watched in amazement as the two cloaked figures slashed their way through the group of Death Eaters as if they were nothing. In a few short seconds, they had killed at least twenty of them. He watched as they turned off whatever it was they had used to kill the Death Eaters, and one threw the last Death Eater against the wall. Without a wand, no less! Harry gaped at them. It was all too much. The Great Hall suddenly grew silent; students and professors alike merely stared at the newcomers, their faces frozen in shock. A few of the younger students were in tears.
The two mysterious figures turned around and faced Dumbledore and his group. "Greetings," one of them said, lowering his hood. The man seemed to be in his late thirties to early forties, with short, cropped hair and a neatly trimmed beard. The other one followed, his hood lowering to reveal a much younger face. He was a man of only about twenty years of age, with semi-long black hair and piercing cobalt-blue eyes. This was the one who had thrown the Death Eater against the wall.
"Hello," Dumbledore answered back to the two men; his expression was unreadable. Harry noticed that the Headmaster had lowered his wand, as he as well as many of the other students and professors did the same. "May I inquire as to who you two gentlemen are, and how you came to be here, right in the middle of a Death Eater attack no less?" Dumbledore questioned with uncanny calmness. The two men glanced at each other.
"You may certainly do so," responded the older of the two men. "I am Jedi Master Kruk Endeel. This," the man said, indicating to the young man beside him, "is my apprentice, Jedi Knight Ares Rigel."
"Jedi...?" Dumbledore asked.
"You've never heard of the Jedi?" inquired Ares. Dumbledore gently shook his head.
"Should I have?" he countered.
"I fear that we are a long way from home, my young apprentice," Endeel murmured to Ares. Ares nodded grimly. To Dumbledore, Endeel said, "As to how we came to be here... it is a very long tale, and I do not believe that it is for all that are present," he stated. "However, know that we mean you no harm. We are guardians of peace and are sworn to protect the innocent."
Dumbledore seemed to contemplate Endeel's words for a long second, and then nodded. Turning to face the students and professors, he said, "All head of houses, gather you students and escort them to their common rooms and remain there until further notice. The rest of the professors, take the First Years to the Hospital Wing for now. We will have to have the sorting tomorrow morning. Students, when you reach your common rooms, food will be delivered by the house elves. Do not stray from your common rooms. It may still be dangerous at the moment. Now, good night. Tomorrow will be a better day." With that, the students began to file out of the Great Hall in a daze, following their heads of house. Harry lingered near the Head master for a moment before turning and following his friends.
"What the bloody Hell just happened?" Ron asked as they climbed the staircases to reach Gryffindor Tower. Harry shrugged, looking around him, as some of the adrenaline was still pumping through his veins.
"To think that Death Eaters would attack Hogwarts like this..." Hermione commented, half stunned, half deep in thought. "And who were those two men?" she asked. "Jedi, they called themselves?"
"I have no clue," Harry answered. "Do you think they're some kind of wizards?" Hermione shrugged.
"I don't think so," she said. "Those light swords or whatever they used looked like they were electronic." Harry's brow furrowed.
"Yeah, but did you see that guy--Ares I think his name was--throw that Death Eater up against the wall?" Harry asked. "He didn't use a wand at all. Do you think that was wandless magic?" he asked Hermione.
"Maybe," she conceeded. "But that would have been very powerful wandless magic if it was. I don't know if even Dumbledore could do that without a wand..." she trailed off.
They made the rest of their journey in chilling silence. Soon they were at the portrait hole. The students gathered around Professor McGonagall and the Fat Lady.
"Attention, students," she said in a strained but still strict voice. "The new password is 'Apollo'. Remember it." With that, the portrait hole swung open and the dazed students made their way into the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to their favorite seats by the fireplace. Harry sat with Hermione on the sofa while Ron sat in a chair. Not long after arriving, plates of food started appearing on a table that had been set up in the common room. The students, however, didn't seem to eat with as much gusto as they would have if it were the regular welcome feast.
"What a day, huh," Ron said through a mouthful of potatoes. "Attacked at the safest place in the wizarding world, saved by two strange weirdos, and eating the welcoming feast in the common room." Ron looked contemplative for a moment. "I suppose stranger things have happened," he finally said.
Harry, for one, didn't seem so sure.