Author's Note: I'M BACK! And I am very, very sorry to all out there that it's been a year plus since I last posted anything. It's just been really, REALLY, hectic lately. Anyway, please read and review. Also, let me know of any writing errors. Enjoy.
Chapter 17
The Gathering
Year 1 - Assorted Locations - Earth, Ilum
Christmas Eve, as well as Christmas Day, had both come and gone by so very fast for many of the Hogwarts students in the castle. And soon, the Gathering (of which Harry was most certainly looking forward to with ever-growing enthusiasm) was drawing near; which, in turn, was set to take place in just four days time.
As for the holiday itself, though, Potter had woken up to find a small neatly stacked pile of gifts and packages at the foot of his bed. He hadn't expected to get any presents at all, to be honest. Not even from Sirius; being as his godfather was currently many light-years away on the city-world of Coruscant.
~~ FLASHBACK ~~
"Merry Christmas," said Ron quite rather sleepily, while Harry got out of bed and quickly threw on his bathrobe.
"You, too," Potter replied, and he bent down to pick up a parcel from atop the pile, which was wrapped in thick brown paper. And scrawled across it were the words "To Harry, From Hagrid" on it.
Inside the package was a roughly carved wooden flute, which the half-giant had obviously whittled himself. Harry tried it out at once, and upon blowing into it, discovered that it sounded a bit like an owl's hoot.
Harry had also received a thick, hand-knitted sweater that was emerald green in colour, as well as a large box of homemade fudge; both of which were from Molly Weasley herself. And there was one more present left. The young Padawan lifted it off the floor near his bed; examining it closely, as the gift was rather lightweight. And as he unwrapped it, something fluid and silvery gray fell out onto the floor, where it gently came to rest in gleaming folds, and Ron gasped in absolute surprise upon watching it fall at his friend's feet.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed in sheer amazement, upon immediately recognizing what it was. "I've heard of those, if it is indeed what I think it is - they're really rare, and really valuable, too. Go on! Put it on! Go on! Go on!"
Potter then draped the shiny cloth over his shoulders and the redhead promptly gave an ecstatic yell. The young Padawan looked down at his feet and suddenly noticed to his absolute shock and surprise that not only were they now gone, but that his whole body had vanished, as well.
"It is an Invisibility Cloak!" declared Ron with much excitement.
Harry smiled inwardly to himself. 'He was right,' he immediately thought to himself, remembering all of the times in which Sirius had spoken of an "Invisibility Cloak" during the many stories that he had told to his godson throughout the years. And as the little boy pulled the Cloak off his shoulders, something tumbled out of it and landed on the floor next to him.
"There's a note inside it!" said Ron promptly, and he pointed to where a small piece of parchment lay by Harry's feet. "Look down!"
The raven-haired Padawan looked down at his feet where Ron was pointing to: immediately snatching up the note off the floor the moment he saw it, before then examining it closely.
Written in narrow, loopy writing that he hadn't ever seen were the following words:
'Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was
returned to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you.'
Potter immediately noticed that there was no signature. And while he was staring at the note, Ron was admiring the Cloak.
"I'd give anything for one of these," the redhead declared. "Anything."
Harry felt very strange after examining the note. But before the young Padawan could say, think, or even do anything else, the dormitory door had instantly swung wide-open on its hinges, and the two Weasley twins bounded into the Common Room with tremendous glee.
"Merry Christmas!" they both exclaimed in unison.
"Hey, look, Fred - Harry's got himself a Weasley sweater, too!" George remarked, pointing to the unmistakable glimpse of a woolen sleeve that was hanging loosely out of an unwrapped parcel on the floor near Potter's feet. "And, oh, my…"
He promptly noticed the silvery gray fabric of the Invisibility Cloak, which Ron had tried most unsuccessfully to stuff rather hastily back into its wrapping, so that nobody else would see it upon entering the room.
"Is that what I think it is?" asked Fred, upon looking in the same exact direction as his twin; immediately eyeing the Cloak, as well.
"Yes. It is indeed what you think it is, Fred," answered Ron in a sarcastic manner. "And it's Harry's, not mine."
"A truly rare and genuine Invisibility Cloak. I can't believe it," George remarked with profound astonishment, before turning his gaze on Harry in wonder. "Who gifted this to you, Harry?"
Potter immediately shook his head. "Don't know. But this note was placed inside it. There's no signature on it, however, nor is there any clue as to who sent the Cloak, either," he stated with a bewildered tone, and passed the small hand-written note to Fred, who in turn, held it up so that both he and George could read it for themselves.
"Wicked!" said George, after reading the note. "So this Invisibility Cloak once belonged to your father, Harry? Extraordinary!"
Harry shrugged in reply to the older boy's question. "I…guess so," he said, with a hint of uncertainty. "I mean, that's what it says on the note, anyway."
The young Padawan Learner suddenly felt very strange. Had the Cloak really belonged to his father at one time, as the note claimed? He immediately asked all three of the Weasley siblings to not mention the Cloak to anyone, as he didn't feel like sharing it with any of the other students yet. At least, not until he figured out who had given it to him, and more importantly, whether (if indeed) it was true or not that the Invisibility Cloak had once belonged to his father.
~~ FLASHBACK ENDS ~~
Harry also had asked Josh if he knew anything concerning the name of Nicolas Flamel just days earlier (as he'd planned to do), to which Varner almost immediately stated that both he and Ron already had the answers they were searching for, when pointing out that he noticed a brief description of the wizard, in question, on the back of a chocolate frog card that the redhead had opened; a card which featured Albus Dumbledore on it's front.
Upon reading the back of the card, Ron and Harry went straight over to the library once again to look for any and all books which not only pertained to just Flamel's name alone, but also touched on the subject of alchemy, too.
"I found him!" exclaimed Potter with delight, and both him and Weasley promptly sat down together at a nearby table, after close to an hour of searching through any and all book titles that would even so much as briefly reference both alchemy and Flamel together in the same volume; coming across a passage in only one very large book out of all the others (which they had checked thus far) that read:
'Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone.'
Upon reading that, Ron and Harry both looked at each other in utter confusion. What exactly was this… Philosopher's Stone? They immediately turned their attention back to the passage within the book, which further stated that the ancient study of alchemy was used to create said legendary substance that, in turn, held astonishing powers. And that the Stone, itself, possessed the ability to transform any metal into pure gold. It also was able to produce a potion known as the Elixir of Life: a draft that, when consumed, made the person who took it immortal.
"Blimey!" exclaimed Ron almost immediately. "A stone that makes gold out of any metal it touches, and also keeps you from dying? Wicked!"
"That's what Fluffy is guarding on the third floor," declared Harry. "And that's what Snape-"
Potter stopped himself at once; instantly remembering what had happened to the former Potions Master (as well as to the five Slytherin students) down in the dungeons classroom just days earlier. He also recalled seeing Professor Dumbledore cast a "tracking spell" in the dungeons classroom upon entering it, only a few minutes after the Headmaster had been notified of the incident.
~~ FLASHBACK ~~
The little boy had seen how the spell, in question, revealed that several random potion ingredients were accidentally added to five different concoctions, with each one of them promptly starting to violently sputter and explode outwards into the air: both large drops and small droplets of the botched potions seemingly landing into a gigantic cauldron mixture that was located very near the Potion Master's desk, which had been prepared by Snape himself. And almost immediately, the giant cauldron began to shake, rattle, and sputter most powerfully as the bubbling brew inside it gradually rose up higher and higher towards the top of the pot, until…
**BA-BOOM‼**
A colossial explosion was suddenly triggered as a result of the unstable blend of random potion ingrediants, followed instantaneously by a thickly expanding cloud of smoke that rather quickly filled up every corner of the room.
Upon briefly picking up a tiny shard of one of the shattered cauldrons, only moments after entering the Potions classroom once the smoke had been cleared away, Harry immediately had a vision through the Force; showing him that Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had gotten into an argument. And that the three of them were barely paying any close attention to which specific potion ingredients (or precise ingredient amounts) each one of them was adding to their own cauldron potions. This, in turn, caused both Parkinson and Zabini to momentarily get distracted, and thus, accidentally put several varying types (and amounts) of ingredients into their own potions, as well, while Professor Snape (who had failed to realize that the jumbled mixtures had all started to bubble and then sputter up and outwards from the pots, soon after resulting in a cascading domino effect that caused the explosion, followed by the instantaneous creation and expansion of the thick smoke cloud) was, in turn, breaking-up the quarrel between the three boys.
~~ FLASHBACK ENDS ~~
The young Padawan Learner immediately cleared his throat, not even so much as bothering to finish what he was going to say regarding Snape. And it seemed as though Ron was also thinking the same thing as he was about the former Head of Slytherin House; as the redhead was looking slightly ashamed that he still viewed Snape as a greasy-haired git, of which the now tiny tot wasn't any longer. Because technically, as it now stood - the mean, tall, slender, greasy-haired Potions Master, and Head of Slytherin House, was no more.
Both of them then quietly nodded to each other in agreement: the two friends immediately deciding to go straight over to the Hospital Wing and visit with the little ones for awhile in order to check-up on them, as well as see how things were going with the Hufflepuff students and Madam Pomfrey.
On the day that Harry and Josh were set to leave for Ilum, however, Ron was sulking about the castle - practically avoiding his best friend at each and every turn whenever he could. And the Padawan strongly suspected that it most likely had to do with the fact that no one else other than himself was allowed to go to the snow and ice-covered planet to attend the Gathering.
While he was busy getting ready (and quickly double-checking to make sure he had everything that he needed), Potter discovered that the Invisibility Cloak was nowhere to be found. Yet, even though he didn't presently need it, Harry knew that he clearly didn't have the time to either go searching for it, nor ask around if anyone had seen or (without his permission) borrowed it.
After preping for the journey ahead, the Padawan Learner then went down into the Great Hall (dressed in his Jedi tunic and boots) for a quick breakfast. Upon entering the hall, he found Susan sitting at the Hufflepuff table; spoon-feeding Hermione some baby food, with the adorably cute little munchkin seated in a high chair. The five former Slytherin students (now all of them toddlers) were seated in their own high chairs around the table, as well - all of whom were being fed by other Hufflepuff students.
Little baby Severus, however, was the only one of the small munchkins that was being fed a warm bottle of infant formula by Professor Sprout; who was, in turn, cradling the precious bundle of joy in her arms as she gently swayed back and forth in a rocking chair that was placed nearest to her House's table, yet in-between both it and the High Table at the front of the hall.
Once he'd finished eating his breakfast, Harry immediately grabbed his things and met Josh out in the entrance courtyard, where the Jedi Knight was waiting.
Turning on his heel, Varner led the raven-haired Padawan down the road towards the boathouse area, when all of a sudden, a dense white cloud of fog slowly began to roll-in; completely engulfing the wooden bridge and the surrounding structure along with it. And upon entering the thick veil, Harry briefly felt a small gust of air blow directly past him, which instantly coincided with a soft whooshing noise.
"Josh?" the little boy called out. "Josh, where are you?"
"I'm still here, Harry?" Varner's response came from a short distance off. "Just follow my voice. You're only but a couple yards behind me. Keep walking forward. We're almost there."
"Almost where?" Potter asked in confusion.
Continuing to steadily walk onwards through the dense white fog (with Varner guiding him vocally along), the young Padawan Learner soon found himself standing on a rather large, green hillside in a lush open valley. And upon momentarily glancing behind his shoulder, Harry saw that the cloud of thick white vapor had totally dissolved until nothing was left, yet not before he'd felt the exact same blast of wind rush past; accompanied by the same sound he'd heard earlier, as well.
Josh then flicked his arm upwards slightly and the left sleeve of his robes fell to reveal a wrist comlink. And upon pressing one of it's buttons, a rather large vessel instantly materialized directly in front of them.
"Wow! Is this your ship?" asked Harry in amazement.
Josh nodded in response. "Yep! It most certainly is," he remarked. "A modified YG-4210 light freighter."
Waving his hand slightly, the Jedi Knight used the Force to lower an entry ramp on the underside of the ship. And just as the ramp started to raise up into a close-and-lock position again; to seal off the entrance after both Harry and his mentor strode into the vessel - a loud crash was heard by both of them as a bunch of stacked containers toppled onto the floor inside the cargo hold of the ship.
Hurrying over to where the loud noises were emanating from, both Jedi entered the cargo hold just as two young redheaded boys got to their feet upon throwing off what appeared to be the telltale sign of a large translucent fabric.
"What are you two doing here?" Varner demanded as the boys turned around to face him.
"Fred? George? Why are-" asked Harry in surprise, before noticing what George was grasping in his right hand. "Hang on, what are you two doing with my Invisibility Cloak? And how did you get here?"
"We flew here on Fred's broomstick," answered George. "We wanted to see where it was that you were headed off to, Harry. So we borrowed your Cloak in order to keep ourselves hidden."
"More like 'stole' his Cloak from him to use without his permission," Josh sternly surmised, before letting out a heavy sigh. "Well, come on, we'd better get moving if we're gonna make it to the rendezvous."
The raven-haired Padawan immediately shot a look of confusion at Varner. "But, Josh, they're not Jedi. They can't come with us to the Gathering on Ilum. Remember?"
Josh glanced down at Harry with a knowing expression. "Unfortunately, it's too late for us to take them back to Hogwarts right now. We'll miss our time window if we do," he stated bluntly. He then turned and strode off towards the cockpit of the ship, with Harry, Fred, and George all following behind him.
As the redheaded twins walked closely in line at the rear of the two Jedi, they gaped in both sheer awe and wonder at the mere sight of the vessel's interior - they had never once seen anything quite so spectacular or extraordinary like this before: a real-life space ship - something, of which, they had either only heard and/or read about in books that were written by Muggles, or through casually conversing with them in passing.
Upon entering the cockpit, Varner directed the Weasley boys to sit down and strap themselves in for the journey ahead. A moment later, the engines roared to life and the ship lifted up off the green grass-covered plains, and as the landing struts folded up into place within the underside of the ship, the Jedi steered the vessel around and slowly angled it upwards into the sky. Before breaking the planet's atmosphere, though, Josh pressed a couple buttons on a control panel; resulting in a strange bluish-white hue of light streak across the outer hull of the ship from back to front.
"What was that?" asked Fred, upon noticing the light moving down past the viewport.
"Cloaking field," said Varner. "The planet has dozens of tracking and surveillence satellites orbiting around it, so it's best that nobody notices us."
As the ship traveled further and further away from Earth, the young Jedi Knight then sent a signal, both into deep space and backwards through time (as the Force alone provided the means for allowing one to traverse the Continuum - albeit, ONLY through adhering strictly to it's will and intentions, whereas, if someone were to attempt to break through the Continuum's barrier by means of their own free will against the Force, it would inevitably result in both catastrophic and dire consequences), in order to contact their intended party, before promptly receiving a reply signal back shortly thereafter.
"Coordinates entered. Here we go," Josh voiced quietly, before turning to look behind him at the Weasley twins with a barely noticeable smirk. "Brace yourselves, guys. If you're enjoying the ride, well then, you two are gonna love this next part."
The Jedi then turned back toward the controls, and upon pushing a small lever forward on the panel, Fred and George both stared in complete awe and wonder as the starry black void of space faded away into a swirling vortex of bluish-white light.
"So, you two wanna stay here in the cockpit, or do you boys want a tour of the ship?" Varner asked, as he turned his chair around to look at the Weasley twins directly. "It'll be a little while before we reach our destination."
Almost immediately upon hearing this, both of the red-headed Weasley twins excitedly agreed. Josh then, of course, started with the cockpit that they were all currently inside. He gradually went through each one of the spaces throughout the vessel; making sure that the two rather very curious teens didn't touch anything that they shouldn't - not without his permission, anyway.
One of the last things that Varner showed them, however, were the two upper and lower heavy cannon turret stations that he had personally installed onto his ship several months prior.
"How did you come into possession of this ship, by the way?" asked George, once the Jedi Knight had finished showing both him and his brother around.
"Bought it," Varner replied. "I'd been working a serious of jobs in my spare-time during the war, and had saved up quite a hefty amount of credits in order to purchase a few things - this ship being one of them. Of course, it was only a bare-bones design when I purchased it in new condition, with many of it's now current features being added at a later date. And, let me tell ya, those modifications certainly took some time. But, all in all, it was sure worth it."
"How did you ever manage something like that, Josh? What with the war and all," said Harry.
"You'd literally have to be in two or more places at once in order for you to do something like that," added George.
"Oh, I can quite certainly be-"
"-in many, many places-"
"-all at the same time, if need be."
All of a sudden, Harry, Fred, and George gaped simultaneously in total surprise and awe as two completely identical figures (who both looked and sounded entirely like Varner in every way) stepped out from directly behind him. And then, within one second later, all three men were swiftly absorbed back into a singular body once again.
"You can clone yourself?!" Harry asked with sheer astonishment.
"In a manner of speaking," the Jedi Knight remarked bluntly. "Sure comes in quite handy when you've got multiple things that need to get done all at once."
**Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!**
Varner glanced over at a small flashing light on a nearby control console. "Looks like we've arrived at our destination," he stated, before turning around and walking back towards the cockpit.
Several moments later, the freighter re-entered normal space; the seemingly endless and swirling bluish-white whirlpool of hyperspace promptly vanishing right before the eyes of all on-board. And just up ahead was the whitish spherical body of a planet, covered entirely by thick snow and ice: Ilum.
Right as the ship was on final approach to land close to one of the caves (which was actually the entrance to a huge Jedi Temple located on the planet), however, a hologram activated on the forward console in the cockpit.
"Hes. Hes, come in. This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Come in," a voice suddenly came over the comlink as the image of a bearded man wearing a Jedi tunic flickered to life on the cockpit's holoprojector.
"Yes, Obi-Wan, what is it?" Josh asked the Jedi Master as the vessel softly touched down onto the snow-covered landscape.
"I need you to return to the front," said Obi-Wan in an almost urgent tone of voice. "A large number of Republic fleet cruisers have been utterly destroyed in surprise attacks and ambushes by the Separatists in the last few weeks. And there's been some steadily growing rumors about a possible new Separatist weapon, as well."
"I'll be there as soon as I can. I just need to take Harry to the Gathering," replied Varner. "We're just landing on Ilum now. Hes out."
As the hologram vanished, Josh immediately turned and walked out of the cockpit, strode through a couple corridors, and entered what appeared to be a closet of sorts; with Harry and the Weasley twins all following along behind him.
"Here, put these on," the Jedi stated, handing each one of the boys a thick parka, a pair of thick gloves, and a pair of heavy boots to wear after using his powers to resize the three sets of winter clothing in order to best fit them accordingly. "It's extremely cold out there."
Fred and George immediately exchanged their woolen swears and regular shoes for their winterized attire, while Harry put the parka and gloves on over his tunic, and switched out his Jedi tunic boots for the heavier winterized ones. Varner then opened the ship's cargo door, and the four of them stepped out into a mild-to-moderate snowstorm that was blowing it's way across the frozen tundra.
Little more than half-way to their destination, however, the wind all of a sudden began to pick-up speed and intensity, and the icy flakes of snow pelted both the Jedi and the Weasley twins quite rather harshly as they made their way towards the Temple; so much so that the sheer force of the gale almost knocked the boys off their feet.
"Come on! The entrance is just up ahead of us here!" shouted Josh over his shoulder the children.
Once the group had reached the entrance of the cave-like Temple, the Jedi Knight reached out his hand with the Force, and the gigantic doors which guarded it slowly opened-up into a large arching corridor, that in turn lead into a massive circular chamber deep within the structure.
"Go on inside," said Josh, as he turned around to walk back to the ship. "The other Padawans and some of the Masters who have assembled for the Gathering are there now. They'll be inside waiting for you."
"What about you?" Fred asked. "Aren't you coming with us?"
Varner shook his head. "No. I'm afraid not. Obi-Wan and the Council want me back on the frontlines immediately. His own apprentice should be there, though, if I'm not mistaken."
"What's his name?" asked Harry curiously.
"Anakin," replied Varner directly. "Anakin Skywalker. He can take over for me while I'm away."
Potter nodded to him in response, knowing what Josh meant regarding this "Anakin Skywalker" individual to watch out for (and mentor to him) while the Jedi Knight returned to the warfront.
The boys then promptly stepped into the Jedi Temple, and walked through the very long corridor, before finding themselves inside of the main chamber, which not only had a VERY tall ceiling that stretched up several stories high, but had several interconnecting archways that, in turn, lead down into other cavernous tunnels and passageways which went even deeper into the Temple.
In the middle of the room, there rested a large flat stone slab, and standing atop it was a tall strong-built young man with blue eyes. And standing all around him were dozens of young Padawan Learners, who were all gazing upwards in wonder at him as he spoke. Just behind them, however, stood a small number of Jedi Masters.
'This must be Anakin Skywalker,' thought Harry, as the little boys quietly made their way to the center of the chamber, thus promptly the young Jedi Knight atop the slab to abruptly stop in the middle of his speech to the circle of Padawans around him, as well as causing the other Jedi in the chamber to turn around and look at them as they approached.
"Uh, high," Potter remarked bluntly, while formally greeting the Jedi Knight with a way. "I'm sorry if we're a bit late."
"No, not at all. You're just in time, actually," replied Skywalker. "And what's your name, Padawan?"
"I'm Harry, sir," the little raven-haired boy replied kindly with a slight smile. "Harry Potter."
The young Jedi Knight suddenly froze where he stood; his mouth instantly opened in a silent gasp, and the color seemed to have drained from his face, as though he were staring at a ghost.
"Skywalker. Skywalker, are you alright?" the Jedi Master, Plo Koon, asked moments later, which managed to snap Anakin out of his daze.
"Yes. Yes, Master Plo," Anakin replied, after clearing his throat. "I'm fine."
Many of the Padawans looked at one another in confusion for a moment, until a familiar voice spoke out and caught Harry's attention.
"Harry! Harry, it's me! Thank the Force you're here! You made it!"
Potter instantly beamed with excitement upon hearing the voice of the young Padawan Learner. "Merl! Merl! You're here, too?! That's fantastic!"
The two boys promptly spotted each other, and then immediately ran towards the other joyfully in a tight embrace for a brief moment, before separating once again. Fred, upon seeing the little redheaded boy with Harry, though, was completely taken aback and more than a bit confused, to say the least.
"Ron?!" the Weasley boy exclaimed in utter disbelief. "Ron, what you doing here?! I thought you were back at Hogwarts!"
Harry chuckled at hearing Fred's remark towards Merl, and moreover to the fact that the older boy thought that Kullat was his little brother, while all the other Padawans (and even the Masters) glanced at one another with even more confusion than before.
"No, Fred," stated Potter, with a quiet giggle. "This isn't Ron. This is my friend, Merl Kullat."
The older redhead instantly jumped back; putting his hand up to his mouth in total shock and embarrassment. Harry, however, stepped forward to calm his nerves, as well as to explain the situation to him - immediately stating that even though Ron did indeed both look and sound exactly like his friend, this was someone completely different all together.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me, I just thought that-"
"It's okay, Fred," Merl reassured him. "I understand."
The Weasley boy then promptly went to introduce himself to Merl in a more proper manner, before turning towards his twin brother, only to find to his great surprise, that there was nobody standing beside him at all, with Potter himself suddenly sporting a look of confusion and worry on his face upon realizing that George wasn't with them, and seemly hadn't been standing right there with them the whole time. How could he not have noticed that someone was, in fact, missing from their group?
"George?! George!" Fred called out for his twin brother in all directions. "Hey, George, where are you?!"
Harry also tried calling out George's name several times, but to no avail.
The other Weasley twin, had seemingly vanished without a trace, nowhere to be found.
