Chapter Four - Empire's Fall

Harry and Sirius had travelled from Hogwarts to Black Manor using the floo system later that day, despite the Headmasters protests and insistence that Harry stay at Hogwarts for the duration of the tournament. Harry was completely baffled by this and pointed out once more that he was a grown man and an officer of the Empire to boot, and he was in no way inclined to follow the instructions of a school headmaster.

Exiting the fireplace behind Sirius, he was welcomed by 4 of what he could only assume were aliens wearing black togas. His panicked and somewhat disgusted expression was quickly spotted by Sirius, who dismissed the house elves with a quick wave of his hand, causing them to disapparate back to whatever jobs they were doing. "Not a fan of House elves I take it?" He asked, curious at his godson's reaction.

Harry grimaced, answering "I am… not overly fond of alien creatures. Many species are… frowned upon in the Empire, with many of them being responsible for the confederacy, the leading cause of the Clone Wars… the Empire has encouraged the various species to migrate out from the Core Worlds and towards the Outer Rim…" Sirius nodded along as he listened, slightly apprehensive at the xenophobia displayed by Harry.

"House elves aren't quite like what you are probably used to. They are completely subservient to Wizard kind, it is almost a symbiotic relationship that keeps them alive. In return, they serve us completely and utterly. Their magic is beyond anything even we can use." He explained, causing Harry to hum thoughtfully.

"Acceptable I suppose. Before you give me the tour, could you tell me how large the grounds around the manor are?" The young Captain asked, causing Sirius to think momentarily before replying.

"Eh, large enough but nothing over the top. Why?" He asked.

Harry grinned. "Landing zone for a shuttle. Naturally we would need to make sure nobody else can spot it coming down from orbit… somehow."

Sirius frowned. "Well there's nothing that I can do in that regard until your friends actually arrive. If you mean to go to and from, then there are a few spells or wards that can be used to make whatever your friends arrive in unnoticeable."

Harry inclined his head gratefully. "That would be great, thank you Sirius. It would be useful to know these things myself as well… I've been told by both you and Professor Dumbledore that I have the potential to do the same things that all Witches and Wizards can do, if that is so then won't I need one of your sticks?" He asked, a single eyebrow raised.

Sirius snorted in amusement before throwing his Godson a wry smile. "You mean a wand. Well I never thought it would be me in this position, never mind 10 years later than it should have been, but… let's head to Diagon Alley!"

- Scene Break -

Sirius exited the green flames inhabiting the fireplace of the leaky cauldron with practised ease, looking every inch the lord that he was. Taking a moment to wait for his Godson, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Harry had no issue stepping out of the fireplace normally. Usually people new to floo travel stumbled or fell on their first few times. Harry, spotting Sirius' surprised look, guessed correctly and smirked. "I'm a fast learner, Sirius. The Imperial military is an unforgiving place for people who do not learn from their mistakes."

Sirius grimaced at the reminder of his Godson's 'career' yet quickly turned the grimace into a smile, guiding Harry out the back and through the entrance into Diagon Alley. Harry for his part looked absolutely baffled by everyone's clothes, the different shops selling various strange items and the moving pictures in windows that intrigued him immensely. The duo received a few strange looks, mostly down to the fact that Harry had refused to change into Wizarding robes and insisted upon wearing his uniform. "I'm technically still on duty and on what the Empire considers a hostile world, Sirius. Besides, I am not wearing those rags you people insist on calling clothes."

It was mutually agreed that a wand was the priority. Harry had already been told about his family's fortune, however Sirius insisted on paying for everything. "All these years I haven't been able to buy presents, at least let me do this." The Lord Black had almost begged, causing Harry to give him the most genuine smile he had shown yet. Entering Ollivanders, they were met with an almost silent and very dusty looking shop, something that quickly changed when an ancient man who could only be the shopkeeper appeared from behind one of the shelves.

"I've been wondering for a very long time when you would eventually come to visit me, Mr Potter." The old man turned to Sirius and inclined his head. "Lord Black. Elm, dragon heartstring… 13 inches If my memory serves me correctly." Sirius nodded, suppressing a shiver.

Turning to Harry, the old man hummed before racing back to the shelves with surprising speed. "Now Mr Potter I am not quite aware what knowledge you have of our ways, but it is common knowledge between wandmakers that it is the wand that chooses the wizard. Let us see which wand shall choose you to be its partner…"

It turned out to be a twenty minute stint of trying various wands, causing Harry to lose his patience more and more as the old wandmaker kept snatching the wand from his hand, sometimes before he even had a chance to give it a wave. The latest wand, made from Holly and a Phoenix feather, proved to be utterly dead in his hand, something that caused Ollivander to gasp in surprise. "I had thought Mr Potter, that the Holly wand would choose you. I was almost certain of it and yet… you see Mr Potter, the phoenix that gave the feather for that wand gave another feather, just one. That other feather resides in the wand that is responsible for that scar." Ollivander gestured to Harry's forehead, causing him to scowl.

Harry had been given a basic rundown on what had happened, and it was not something he was happy about. He had openly scoffed at being referred to as the 'boy-who-lived' and detested the apparent fame he had for something that happened when he was but a babe in a crib. Ollivander eventually came back from behind the shelves with another wand, Yew and runespoor scale, an unusual ingredient according to the wandmaker. Sirius paid for the wand and they hurried out of the shop, eager to be away from the creepy man.

They also made a trip to Flourish & Blotts where they purchased several books to assist Harry in his introduction into the Wizarding world, however when Harry pointed out that several subjects were lacking, Sirius waved an unconcerned hand. "The Black library contains more than enough material for you to go over Harry, and considering your Grandmother was a Black you should have no issue entering through the protection ward.

It was nearing the time for them to return to the manor when suddenly, Harry's transponder began to beep on its own, something that caused Harry to smile and Sirius to gaze at it curiously. "What does that mean?" He asked.

Harry smirked. "It means that someone from House Corvin is on their way."

- Scene Break -

After they had returned from Diagon Alley, Sirius had begun teaching Harry everything he could to help him get started, from basic spells to a more in depth analysis of the Wizarding Nobility. It was two days after their shopping trip that Harry picked up an incoming transmission on his comlink. One thing that Sirius had pointed out was that it was strange that the technology Harry carried with him still functioned normally, as electric items had a tendency to go haywire in magical areas. Harry of course had no clue, so simply shrugged.

Answering the transmission excitedly, the young Captain was ecstatic to hear the voice of his adopted Father. "Harry, we are closing in on your location, are we cleared to land? Please respond, over."

"Father! It's a long story but I'm currently in a manor house that belongs to my Godfather, he has said that it is safe to land within the grounds. Nobody should see the shuttle come down, we're pretty isolated here, over."

Harry, followed closely by Sirius, rushed outside to await the shuttle which was visibly getting closer, standing out in the starry sky. It wasn't long before a strange looking flying vessel was landing in the grounds of Black manor, lowering its ramp to reveal a greying man in a similar uniform to Harry and a two man Stormtrooper escort. Harry quickly moved forward as fast as he could without breaking from his dignified walk before saluting the new arrival smartly. The older man returned the salute but then grinned, opening his arms wide and embracing Harry in a tight hug.

"You have got some explaining to do I think Harry, how in blazes did you end up back here?" Cornelius asked. Harry sighed, knowing this was going to be a long conversation. He introduced his adopted Father to Sirius, both of whom were slightly weary of each other yet remained polite. He led the small party back towards the manor after being informed that the rest of the crew would remain on the ship for now.

Once inside the manor, they took seats and Harry began to explain what he had been told so far, with his Godfather filling in the gaps with knowledge of the Wizarding world that Harry had yet to be informed of. The young Captain however wanted his own explanations. "Father, what is happening out there? Before I was summoned here I was fighting outside of the Imperial Palace, how did the battle go?" He eagerly asked.

The newly promoted Vice Admiral Cornelius Corvin's face twisted into a scowl. "I'm afraid that Isard did exactly as predicted, and apparently absconded from the Capital with a Super Star Destroyer that was hidden under the city. Millions died as a result, and those of the garrison that couldn't flee surrendered. I know for a fact that roughly a quarter of your own 227th Division made it off world before they were forced to capitulate, and have been sent to help bolster the new front line, somewhere near the Orinda system."

Harry remained silent, his jaw hanging open slightly in shock. It was commonly felt by the Imperial Military that Madame Director Ysanne Isard would tuck tail and run at the first opportunity, but to cause so many Imperial deaths and to cost them the capital world in the process was simply unthinkable. Not to mention the loss of the Imperial capital, it was simply unthinkable. But it also implied something else as well, something that made the young Captain's blood run cold.
"And what of Corulag?" He whispered, barely able to string the words together.

His adopted father looked miserable at this. "It will soon be cut off, there are no Imperial forces available to prevent an encirclement, most of them fled towards the Orinda line or into the Deep Core. We probably have time for another round trip there and back before we lose access…" The older man sighed, feeling defeated.

They remained silent for a long few minutes, whilst Harry processed everything and tried to think about his next move. He could return to what was left of the Empire and re-join his unit, but being summoned to Earth had given him an idea. Turning to Sirius, he began the line of questioning. "Would you be willing to train me in magic?" Sirius nodded instantly, whilst Cornelius looked baffled. "And what is this planet's current population?" Sirius then looked even more confused than the Vice Admiral, but thought about it before speaking. "Roughly six billion I believe."

Harry and Cornelius looked at each other before Harry spoke once more. "Father there is a lot I need to explain to you, but due to recent events, I shall need to remain here. However I believe this may prove to be an opportunity…and I know you know what I am thinking." He said, causing his father to grin.

"Build a new power base here on Earth?" Harry nodded.

Cornelius continued. "Completely possible. An adequate population ripe for recruitment, and the solar system contains plenty of resources to keep us running for a time. We could even set up a shipyard… nothing like Kuat of course, but it would be something… I would need to make the return trip to Corulag and bring back personnel and as much material as I can possibly muster." He hummed in thought before speaking again.

"I believe I can convince my flag ship's crew of the benefits to the Empire that this plan could provide… I shall need to speak to some of my other officers. It will be difficult, but it is definitely possible." He concluded, smiling tiredly at Harry.

Harry returned the smile before becoming solemn once more. "It will be a large undertaking Father… we will need engineers, scientists, trained pilots, troops, crew, credits… the list is endless."

Cornelius waved a dismissive hand "I will make it happen. My rank gives me access to most of what we need, and my title as Lord Corvin grants me everything else. Whilst I am gone, train with your Godfather and begin building a powerbase here, meet with the nobility, gain funds, land, whatever you can. But most importantly, we need fighters…" He finished with a raised eyebrow at Sirius, who grinned.

"I know one or two people who may be able to help…but I'm a little lost here, what are you both trying to achieve?" Sirius drawled, still grinning. It was common knowledge that Sirius was quite formidable with a wand, and he knew quite a few people good with a wand who either needed the work or a new purpose. He received a smile and another nod of the head from Cornelius.

Harry smirked at Sirius. "I suppose congratulations are in order Sirius. The Empire requires Earth and its people, and as such we are claiming this planet in the name of the Empire."

Sirius gawped. "What?!"

Author's Note: Hey guys! Not the easiest chapter for me to write, but I enjoy putting the plan together. The idea is that Harry & Co will have to start up with very few resources in an effort to build up the Imperial War machine here on earth- in the next chapter, magic will be a major focus and how it can be used in the war effort.

I once again repeat myself when I said I'm not the best at writing conversations, so I apologise if they seem messy. Either way, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!