Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling. Star Wars is owned by Disney. I am neither a British woman nor an animated mouse. Thus I do not own nor do I claim ownership of either Harry Potter or Star Wars, and I am not profiting in any way through the writing and publication of this story.
Holocron
V
Sunday, September 1, 1991
Harry dragged his trunk into one of the many empty compartments on the Hogwarts Express. His uncle had dropped him off at King's Cross Station over an hour early. His relatives were rather eager to be rid of him for an entire year, so he found himself to likely be the first student to board the train.
He rummaged through his new school trunk and pulled out a few books before lifting the heavy box onto the overhead rack. He sat down into one of the seats, put the books next to him so that he'd have something to read during the journey, and settled in to wait. As had become his habit, he closed his eyes and reached out into the Force. There were only a few other people that he could sense on the train, and none of them were nearby. He decided to spend some time in meditation.
He opened his mind to the warmth of the Force and let it fill him and flow through him. He let his awareness drift on the gentle current, and was led outward, into the world around him.
There were so many people in King's Cross. So many lives busily hurrying about, to and fro. Each and every one added something to the energy and life of the Force that was all around them, even if they might never know it. Most left gentle ripples in their wake. A few stirred up great waves of destiny that flowed out into the distance. But each life left a mark. Most of the people had a rather muted Force-presence, but a few here and there shone with splendor as they passed through.
The Force was heavy with the emotions of the many people gathered in that one place. Train stations were places of excited greetings and sad goodbyes, and as it was early on a Sunday morning, it seemed like the sadness of departure was the overwhelming feeling at the moment. But the ever-present Energy did not weep because loved ones were parted from each other, and neither did Harry lament their sorrow, because nothing was ever very far away in the Force, it bound all of creation together. There was no such thing as separation, there was the Force.
There were other beings that could be sensed the current of the Force as well. Little rodents scurried around searching for food. Insects darted about, hardly aware of their own actions. Birds flew overhead. The trains hummed with massive reserves of potential energy just waiting to be unleashed. Even the steel and the concrete of the building itself added a trickle of unique quality to the Power that ebbed and flowed through the station.
It all summed up to a great and beautiful symphony of Life and Strength and Truth that thrummed through Harry's mind. He found himself letting go of his desire to control his senses and instead wanting to cast himself adrift in the Music of the Force.
"How're you doing that?"
Harry opened his eyes and let his awareness slide back into his compartment on the train. He blinked for a moment and then noticed the red-headed boy standing in the doorway.
"Oh. Err… Hello."
"Oh yeah," the other boy said, "I'm Ron. Ron Weasley. How're you doing that with your books?"
Harry glanced around in confusion and saw that his books were floating in mid-air, slowly moving around him in circles.
"Oh, that. Sorry," he said as he reached out with his mind and pulled them back into a stack on the seat next to him, "things have a tendency to do that when I meditate. I'm Harry by the way."
Ron made a strange face at Harry's answer before speaking again.
"Pleased to meet you. Mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full."
"Come on in."
Harry watched as his new companion stowed his trunk and then sat across from him. He was then struck by something that didn't make sense. "How can everywhere be full already?"
"What're you on about? The train's about to push off. Mum barely got us here in time."
"Oh." Harry realized that he must have been meditating for a lot longer than he thought.
The train jerked into motion beneath them, and Harry smiled as his journey to Hogwarts truly began.
"Are you a first year too?" he asked.
"Yeah. Although I've got three brothers ahead of us. Percy's a fifth-year and he just made prefect. And the twins, Fred and George, are in third year. All in Gryffindor, of course."
"That's one of the four houses, right? I read about those."
"Yeah. Us Weasleys are always in Gryffindor. Bill says it's because of the hair," Ron reached up to pinch a lock of the red mess on top of his head for emphasis.
"Who's Bill?"
"Oldest brother."
"How many brothers do you have?"
Ron tilted his head as if he was counting for a moment.
"Five," he finally said. "Plus me makes six. And then there's Ginny, she's the only girl. She'll be starting next year."
"Seven children?"
"Yeah, it's great most of the time. At least when Fred and George aren't terrorizing me. Always someone around to play Quidditch with."
"Sounds like fun. But what's Quidditch?"
Ron just stared at him in disbelief for a moment.
"You don't know what Quidditch is?!"
"No… Should I?"
"But… How… Okay. Let me explain. Quidditch is just about the best thing ever…"
OoOoO
OoOoO
They were well into the trip and Ron had expounded on the virtues of the Chudley Cannons multiple times when they heard three quick knocks followed by their door sliding open. Harry instantly recognized the bushy, brown hair of Hermione Granger.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost his. Oh, hi Harry."
"Hello, Hermione," Harry smiled and gave a little wave. "Sorry, haven't seen any toads."
"You two know each other?" Ron asked.
"We met at the orientation in Diagon Alley. I'm Hermione Granger," she said as she stepped into the compartment.
"Ron Weasley," he said as he shook her offered hand.
Hermione sat down next to Harry and turned to face him.
"Did you know that you're rather famous?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, what would he be famous for?" Ron added.
"For defeating You-Know-Who apparently," Hermione answered.
"WHAT?!" Ron shouted.
Harry just felt confused.
"It says so in Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts," Hermione continued. "You're also in Modern Magical History, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, and probably loads more but those are the only books that mentioned you that I've read so far."
"You're Harry Potter?!" Ron exclaimed.
"Err… yes?" he answered.
"The Harry Potter?!"
"I guess so. I don't know any others. Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"
"You're basically the most famous person in the entire wizarding world," Hermione answered.
"That can't be true. I didn't even know anything about wizards and witches until a few weeks ago. How could I be famous?"
"You beat You-Know-Who as a baby!" Ron declared.
"I did what?"
"You really don't know?" Hermione asked. "I'd have found out everything if it was me."
"Would you just tell me already?!" Harry nearly shouted since he was getting a little exasperated at being the only one left out.
"Sorry," Hermione actually blushed a little bit before she started to explain. "It says in Modern Magical History that You-Know-Who basically started a civil war in wizarding Britain sometime around 1970. Headmaster Dumbledore led the resistance, but You-Know-Who was actually winning until he decided to attack the home of James and Lily Potter on Halloween of 1981. No one knows exactly what happened, but he killed James and Lily, and then when he tried to cast the Killing Curse on you, something backfired and it destroyed him instead. Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts says that's why you've got that scar on your forehead, but Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century says such theories are just speculation…"
"Oh." Harry suddenly felt rather… vulnerable.
Hermione seemed to notice and started to fidget.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
"No… it's just… I… My relatives always told me that my parents died in a car crash. I never knew that someone had… murdered them…"
Hermione twitched like she wanted to reach out to him but had held herself in check.
"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed causing both Harry and Hermione to jump a tiny bit in their seats. "That explains it! You're the Boy-Who-Lived!"
"Now what are you talking about?" Harry asked.
"That's a title that most of the books have given you," Hermione was quick to answer. "No one's ever survived the Killing Curse before, so after you basically stopped the war single-handedly, everyone took to calling you the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'"
"Yeah, what she said," Ron added after tossing a bit of a glare at the only girl in the compartment. "But I bet that's how you cast that Levitation Charm on all those books when I first came in. Everyone says that the Boy-Who-Lived must've had some wicked magic in order to beat You-Know-Who!"
"You already know how to cast a Levitation Charm?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"What? No! I told you, Ron, that that just kind of happens sometimes when I meditate. I think I kind of do it unconsciously."
"Looked like more than that to me," the other boy declared. "You must've had three or four books floating around in the air when I came in."
"Sounds like accidental magic to me," Hermione added. "I summoned a book I wanted off the top shelf when I was four, and I once exploded a lightbulb during a tantrum when I was six."
"Don't be daft!" Ron argued. "He's the Boy-Who-Lived. He probably already knows half the spells they're gonna teach us at Hogwarts."
"I'm right here, you know!" Harry interjected. "And I already told you that it happened while I was practicing a Jedi meditation technique. Sometimes my subconscious decides to float things about the room with the Force."
His statement was met with silence and confused looks from both Ron and Hermione.
"What are you on about?" Ron asked.
"What do you mean, 'Jedi meditation'?" Hermione added.
"You… you're not Jedi?" Harry asked in response.
"I'm a wizard, mate," Ron replied. "I'm not some sort of bloody Jedi!"
"Language!" Hermione admonished. "Although I've never heard of that either. There was no mention of anything like 'Jedi' in the orientation packet or in any of the books I've read."
"But you know about the Force, right? Hogwarts has to teach us about the Force, right?"
"No one ever told me that the Boy-Who-Lived was nutters…" Ron mumbled.
Hermione shot a glare at the ginger boy.
"What exactly do you mean by the 'Force'?"
"The Force is an energy field created by all living things," Harry recited from memory, "It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together. It's the source of a Jedi's power. It lends him strength and knowledge and guidance."
"Like I said, nutters," Ron said much louder this time.
"Oh, come off it, Ron!" Hermione admonished, "Harry is not crazy! He's just… I don't know, a little… confused about things…"
"But someone at Hogwarts has to know about the Force, right?" Harry asked. "It's the only thing that makes sense."
"Harry," Hermione said, "Hogwarts teaches witchcraft and wizardry. It's a school of magic. I'm really not sure what you're talking about…"
"Oh."
Harry felt a deep sense of disappointment settle into his stomach.
"Are you sure you're not just, well, like I said, a little confused?"
"I…" Harry started to answer but suddenly couldn't find anything to say. The Force was real. The Jedi were real. He was sure of that, even if he'd never actually met another one. He wasn't confused. He wasn't crazy.
Was he?
Silence filled the compartment.
After a moment, it started to get awkward.
Hermione finally stood up.
"Well, I guess I better get back to helping Neville find his toad…" She looked a little hesitant, like she wanted to say or do something else. "I suppose I'll see you at the station then."
Harry gave a half-hearted wave. Ron just rolled his eyes and turned to stare out the window.
The door clicked shut behind Hermione and silence descended again. Ron didn't seem to want to talk any more.
Harry felt a familiar fear rising up within him. No one ever liked him. Everyone – his relatives, his teachers, even the other children – thought he was crazy, thought he was a freak and stayed as far away from him as possible. He thought it would be different at Hogwarts, but now it was starting all over again.
He closed his eyes and reached for the Force. He gathered up his fear and his loneliness and released them into the strong but gentle current. Then he smiled. With the living Force coursing through him he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he wasn't crazy. Who cared what Hermione and Ron had to say? They'd see once they got to Hogwarts. 'Magic' was just a primitive name for the Force. They'd see that he was right soon enough. He'd show them that he wasn't crazy.
OoOoO
OoOoO
Monday, September 16, 1991
Harry felt like he was going crazy.
He grumbled as he stomped up to the portrait of the Fat Lady and snapped out the password. He quickly crossed through the Gryffindor common room without acknowledging anyone and headed for the first-year boys' dorm.
It had been over two weeks. Over two weeks! Sixteen bloody days! And still no one had heard of, or mentioned, or knew anything about anything to do with the Jedi or the Force.
Harry had cautiously asked around during the first few days. His classmates had thought he was joking at first, but then they started to watch him with guarded looks and would quickly stop their conversations whenever he came near. He'd only bothered to ask one professor about it, and McGonagall had quickly told him to stop fooling around and to move on to his next class. After that he'd decided to keep his questions to himself.
But now he wasn't so sure. He'd had an idea.
Harry marched into his empty dorm room and quickly shut the door behind him. He had his trunk open a moment later and he dug around at the bottom until he found a single, blue sock. He reached into it and pulled out a small crystal cube.
He sat down in the middle of his bed and opened his mind to the Force. He searched through the surrounding area. Fred, George, and Lee were in their room two floors below him. Otherwise, the dormitories were empty as most of his classmates were spending the afternoon outside in the still pleasant weather. He left part of his awareness in the spiral staircase – he didn't want anyone to walk in on him – but turned his focus to the Holocron in his hand.
It rose up to float in the air surrounded by a soft bed of fog. Blue light pulsed out once and then retracted to a steady glow. Harry greeted the alien figure when it appeared.
"Master Isu."
Young Harry.
"I have an idea."
And what is this idea?
"Everyone here thinks I'm crazy. No one believes me about the Force."
Yes, you have told me as much.
"I mean, magic is pretty much the same thing! It just comes from inside instead of from outside like the Force."
So you have tried to explain to me before. But I am afraid that details of such a phenomenon are not located within my data matrices. Although there have been recorded instances of certain species and sects wielding the Force in different ways before…
"Right. So magic is just a different way of using a different type of the Force."
Perhaps.
"No one wants to listen to me. But they'd have to believe me if I could show them for themselves! So I had an idea. I could teach them. I could show someone how to reach out into the living Force. I could train them to be a Jedi, just like I've been doing! It wouldn't even be that hard. Everyone here just shines with the Force like nowhere else. The castle is brimming with it. It'll be easy!"
No, young Harry. This is something that you must not do.
"What? Why not?!"
You are not prepared to take on an apprentice. Teaching others about the Force and the Arts of the Jedi is a prerogative that is reserved to Jedi Masters. You are still but a learner.
"Oh come on!"
No. It is forbidden. You do not know the danger that would lie in such an endeavor. You must not start down this path, it will only lead to the dark side.
"Well, how about you teach someone then?"
I am afraid that is impossible. The limitations inherent in the nature of my construction negate any possibility of giving instruction to multiple apprentices at the same time. My emotional/relational memory capacitors do not have sufficient storage for me to engage in a long-term teaching relationship with more than one student at a time. I shall be unable to relate to another Jedi as I do with you until you have finished with me.
Harry groaned.
"There has to be a way!"
You must be patient, young Harry. Once you are truly a Jedi Master, you shall be able to take on an apprentice of your choosing.
"But that won't be for years!"
Of what concern is that? Concern yourself only with the will of the Force.
Harry sighed.
"Yes, master."
The tiny image of Master Isu Sotr winked out as Harry drew his attention away from the Holocron. He got up from the bed but stopped when he saw the state of the room. It was a complete mess. Everything had been moved about and was now strewn about the floor in total disarray.
Harry sighed again.
"I really need to learn to control what my subconscious does while I'm meditating…"
AN: So, I'm just going to assume that everyone reading this is already rather familiar with the canon of the Harry Potter series, and that we all know who the basic side characters are and what their relationships with Harry & Co. are like. So, I'm really not going to bother with writing a whole bunch of character introduction scenes to tell you what you already know. So, unless you read otherwise, just presume the status quo: Draco's still a ponce, Neville still has no self-esteem, Snape is still calling people dunder heads, etc. After all, does the world really need another Draco-introduces-himself-on-the-train-and-is-a-jerk-about-it scene? I didn't think so.
Several people have left reviews that amount to seeking clarification about the Holocron. In particular, a lot of these comments refer to 'Master Isu' instead of to the Holocron itself, and they tend to treat Master Isu as a character that will have agency in the story. I think this confusion arises from a lack of knowledge about Jedi Holocrons, which I admit, are a rather obscure piece of Star Wars trivia. So, I've written some background info and explanation about Holocrons and posted it in my forums. There's a link in my profile if you wish to check it out.
Also, in response to a comment, I've written further explanation of what I think a real Jedi Philosophy should be like, it's a little longer and a bit more technical than my previous entry. If you're curious, it's been added to the 'Jedi Philosophy' thread in my forums. Again, link in my profile. Thanks to Leicontis and Ariadne Venegas for prompting the further discussion!
What did you think?
Thanks for your reviews, and thanks for reading!