Rating:
PG-13
House:
The Dark Arts
Ships:
Ginny Weasley/Harry Potter
Characters:
Harry and Hermione and Ron
Genres:
Crossover Alternate Universe
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Half-Blood Prince
Stats:
Published: 05/24/2006
Updated: 06/04/2007
Words: 91,458
Chapters: 67
Hits: 75,013

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord of the Sith

LunaIsCool

Story Summary:
On Christmas morning in their seventh year, a flying accident causes the Trio to vanish. They reappear in a galaxy far, far away... where a war against the Galactic Empire rages.

Chapter 33

Posted:
11/29/2006
Hits:
985


Chapter 33.

Harry opened his eyes, an immediately shut them again in the face of bright light. Rising, he looked around. He was dressed in tight black pants, barefoot, without a shirt. The room he was in had no windows or furniture--just a white floor, walls, and ceiling. He had no idea where he was, except he wasn't in hyperspace. Nor did he know how much time had passed since his battle with the red-headed woman. As far as he was concerned, it could have been ten minutes, ten days, or ten years. He stood up and stretched out.

A door opened in front of him. Two tall figures in bright red robes and helmets waked in and stood on either side of the doorway. They were followed by a short man in black robes. Harry's scar began to hurt more strongly than anything he encountered since Voldemort touched him. Which meant... this could only be one man. He recognized him from the countless pictures he'd seen. Emperor Palpatine, the epitome of evil, stepped in the room.

The Emperor's face was distorted, wrinkled, and pale. If Harry hadn't seen similar disfigurement on Voldemort, that alone would have put fear into him... even without the eerie yellow--he blinked... yes, they were yellow--eyes.

Suddenly, he got an idea. He had the Force. He could kill the Emperor--and the evil. He would probably die, but it would be worth it.

He reached into the Force and jumped towards the Emperor, summoning one of the red guards' weapons--

And was thrown back with such force that he crashed into the opposite wall of the room. He moaned from the pain.

"That was your first lesson, my young apprentice," the Emperor said. "Nothing can match the power of the dark side of the Force."

Harry got up. "What do you want?"

"Your knowledge in matters of the Force is severely lacking. That oversight will be corrected, and you will take your place at my side."

"I am not interested in becoming your apprentice."

"It is your destiny," the Emperor told him. "Your friends have abandoned you. I am the only one who will give you the power to avenge your parents."

Harry was shocked. "You know?"

"I can feel your anger... your desire for revenge... it has given you focus for all these years..."

"You're wrong," said Harry, but there was no conviction in his voice.

The Emperor must have noticed that.

"Oh no, my young apprentice... you will fulfill your destiny, as I have foreseen."

"My destiny... everyone always talks about my destiny... the prophecy..."

"Oh, that," the Emperor said. "And how does that make me wrong? You can destroy Voldemort. Using the dark side of the Force."

What if he's right? That thought was unexpected, and uncomfortable. Dumbledore always said...

Dumbledore got himself killed. He makes mistakes. He could have made one here.

He's no different from Voldemort. I will not do it.

"No," Harry moved to try another attack.

The Emperor raised his hands, and blue-white lightning streamed from his fingers.

Harry never felt such pain... even Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse could be resisted, but here, Harry vainly tried to summon the Force to block the onslaught. The seconds felt like years, and then Harry's vision blurred and he lost consciousness.

XXXXXXXX

When Hermione returned to the throne room, everybody was watching a dance. The Twi'lek girl--Hermione wasn't able to learn her name--gracefully twirled on the floor, almost in ecstasy. Most people in the room watched intently, and they seemed to like it. Hermione might have enjoyed the performance in other circumstances, but here, she was totally disgusted by the spectacle of the girl held by Jabba on a chain, like an animal. That's how the Hutts see all other species, she remembered Lando telling her.

Before she went here, Luke said that shortly after he came, he tried to free two Twi'lek slave girls who were being sent to Jabba. But one of them, for some strange reason, refused to come. She wondered if this was her. Probably, she decided. She also probably wishes she came now. She wished she could help her, but here was nothing she could do. She would be forced to uncover herself, and that would mean a shootout with Jabba's thugs. Outnumbered like this, she wasn't confident she'd be able to escape - and if she did, it meant a trek across the desert, with no supplies, under pursuit. Still, she hated this feeling of being helpless.

She kept scanning the room, looking for possible trouble--or, more precisely, for maximum possible trouble.

This wasn't Lando's guard shift, so Han's friend wasn't here. Jabba himself wouldn't be able to do much, and he was too concentrated on food, drink, and dance anyway. Jabba's guards--even the non-Gamorrean ones--were generally untrained thugs. She could take any three of them--well, except for Lando. The little creature sitting on Jabba's tail? Hermione stifled a laugh. She decided there was only one serious danger in this room. The bounty hunter who tracked Ron, Han, and Leia to Bespin for Vader. The figure in a green helmet standing slightly off to the side, like Hermione appearing to scan the room. Boba Fett.

As long as she was wearing her cloak, she was reasonably safe. Fett's helmet might have had heat sensors, but the cloak worked on that, too--stormtroopers couldn't see her when she wore it. But magic or not, she wasn't eager to take him on. She heard too many stories about the bounty hunter--and those were from the people who survived the encounter.

Jabba was now pulling the dancing girl towards him. She was resisting... This is too much, Hermione thought. She couldn't stand it anymore, so she drew her wand and gave the incantation, as quickly as possible. The girl's chain broke, and the Twi'lek, after a shock, ran into a corridor. Hermione followed. Breaking the chain and then leaving her to try to escape by herself would probably be worse than doing nothing.

Having used the Confundus charm to evade put the Gamorreans off their trail, Hermione ran up to the Twi'lek and took off her cloak. "Stop!" she yelled. "I won't hurt you!"

The dancer did stop running, but Hermione could see she was afraid. "It's all right. I'm not working for him." She extended her hand. "Let me help you."

Hermione hoped the girl could understand her. She herself didn't speak Twi'leki, never even heard it spoken. But she didn't need to. "Who are you?" the dancer asked, fright in her voice.

"Shh... let's hide in here. She led her into a small room nearby, and closed the door.

"It's okay," she said. "You're safe now." Not quite true--not true at all, in fact; but this was not the time for those subtleties. "And that slug will get what's coming to him soon enough. Here." She waved her wand and a few plates of food appeared. "You hungry?"

The Twi'lek didn't reply, cowering in fear. Great, what have I done? She sat down and took some food herself. "I'm not trying to poison you."

"But how..."

"I'm sorry. I can't explain, really. But it'll be okay, I promise."

"Are you with Luke?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. He told me he tried to rescue two Twi'lek dancers from Fortuna. Were you...?"

The Twi'lek nodded, seemingly convinced. She approached and started eating. Hermione stood up. "I have to go. Stay here till tomorrow... I'll come back for you, and get you back to your friend." She looked around, thought about it, and made her decision. "Oh. No one should come in here, this is pretty remote, but just in case..." She took out her blaster and handed it to the girl. The Twi'lek took it with hesitation. Hermione smiled to reassure her.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Ooola," the Twi'lek replied.

"I'm Hermione. Nice to meet you."

"Thank you," the girl said.

"Don't worry," Hermione said as she left the room. Remembering how magic scared the Twi'lek the first time she used it, she waited till she was out of her sight before putting on the invisibility cloak. That girl was scared enough already, and Hermione could hardly blame her.