Harry Potter and the Dark Lord of the Sith

Chapter 58.

Emergency bulkheads slammed down at the viewport, and the wind stopped. Harry pulled himself up. Mara was gathering herself nearby. Luke was further up the stairs, looking a bit dazed.

"A foolish gesture, young Potter," Palpatine said. Damn.

Vader attacked Luke, who brought up his lightsaber to defend. Voldemort attempted to join him, but Harry and Mara rushed up. Harry struck with such force that Voldemort was thrown back.

Luke threw Vader off balance, tossing him down the stairs. Vader stood up, lightsaber still up. "Obi-Wan has taught you well," he said.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, hoping to get the spell in while Voldemort was too busy fighting him and Mara. He had no such luck. The spell met something emerging out of Voldemort's wand, and a gold band connected them. Harry broke it off. Priori Incantatem would be useless now.

"I will not fight you, father."

The words barely registered in Harry's brain before the shock. Vader was Luke's father? He turned to Luke. "Luke?" he asked. His friend nodded.

Harder task, before young Skywalker lies, Yoda had said. Harry had to agree.

Harry's lightsaber flew out of his hand--he was too distracted for a proper block. He rolled down the stairs to avoid Voldemort's lightsaber, and was nearly skewered by Vader.

He got up, summoned his lightsaber back, and engaged Vader. Luke, meanwhile, dueled with Voldemort. Slowly, they made their way towards each other.

Mara chose this moment to approach Palpatine. But she barely lifted her lightsaber before being pushed down on her knees.

"You are out of line, my wayward Hand," he said. "The dark side will defeat you."

"NO!" she shouted, before Palpatine forced her down again.

Harry remembered how he and Luke trained together on Dagobah, and tried to find Luke in the Force. As soon as he did, they joined minds.

Harry, retreating under Vader's relentless advance, moved up the stairs. Luke, constantly blocking Voldemort, took a few steps down. Suddenly, they were back to back.

"Mara!" Luke yelled, seeing her nearly crumpled form in front of the throne.

Suddenly, Mara sprang up, Luke's voice apparently getting her out from under Palpatine's spell. She reignited her lightsaber. Palpatine replied with a burst of lightning from his fingers, throwing Mara across the throne room. Luke reached out to slow down her fall. She still hit hard and stopped moving.

Voldemort used the opportunity to knock out Luke's lightsaber. Luke dodged Voldemort's strike and leaped away. Harry stepped back, facing two dark lords at once.

Vader struck first, putting so much power into the blow that Harry felt pain in his arms. Voldemort fired off a spell, but Harry quickly got his own wand out, forcing Voldemort to break the connection. Vader's next strike came too quickly for him to block, though, and Harry watched helplessly as the red blade went towards him...

...only to be turned away by a green one. Luke quickly rejoined the fight, and they reestablished their mind-meld.

Luke ducked and tried to strike Voldemort from below, leaving room for Harry to swing at Vader. Harry threw a stunning spell at Vader, but it seemed to have no effect. Frustrated, Harry thrusted at Voldemort and immediately had to pull back to block Vader's attack. Vader hit his blade so forcefully that Harry fell back, but Luke managed to parry the white lightsaber.

He felt Luke's presence in his mind, telling him to do something. He got it. There was no need even to nod. Blocking another round of strikes, the two young men executed simultaneous Force jumps and landed on the catwalk above the stairway.

"Your thoughts betray you, father," Luke said. "I feel the good in you. The conflict."

Harry felt no such thing from Vader. He didn't expect anything of the sort from Voldemort.

"There is no conflict," Vader declared.

"You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, and I don't believe you'll destroy me now," Luke said.

"What do you think, Tom?" Harry shouted. "Maybe you should probe his mind and tell us."

"Tom?" Luke asked Harry.

"Tom Riddle. Voldemort's real name. He hates it."

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted. Harry and Luke dodged, letting the spell fly harmlessly between them.

"You underestimate the power of the dark side," Vader announced. "If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny." With that, he threw his lightsaber at them.

XXXXX

"Ready?" Greengrass asked again.

Padma, leaning against the bunker wall, nodded. Greengrass cast the final spell.

There was a loud screech, a crack, and then the doors of the bunker flew open as if pulled apart by extreme strength.

As soon as the opening formed, a mixture of blaster bolts and spells were sent into it. Someone fired back, but missed everyone.

"Come on," Han said.

At this moment, Susan and Ginny ran up. "Sorry we didn't get her before," Ginny said, exasperated.

Neville and Luna, along with several rebel commandos, appeared from the other direction. "Ron!" Neville yelled and ran up to him.

"Sorry, no time for stories." He grinned. "Han?"

Han got up. "You,"--he pointed to Ron and the other wizards-- "watch here in case more of them show up. Kyle and I will set the charges."

Kyle nodded, and joining Han and several rebel soldiers, vanished inside. By this point, Chewbacca climbed down from his stolen AT-ST, and was helping Leia. Ron was supporting Jan. Could they really have done it this time?

XXXXXX

The red blade cut through the supporting cables, and the catwalk collapsed. Luke tumbled down. Harry managed to jump off before slipping, and was now standing next to the throne, facing Voldemort.

"You whelp!" Voldemort snarled.

"What? If I had known your Muggle name was so effective, it would have been all over the Daily Prophet years ago. Maybe your half-blood status, too."

Harry attacked. Anger at all the injustice this--he couldn't bring himself to call it a man--thing caused, at all he and his friends had to suffer because of him, flared up inside him. He jumped over Voldemort, and tried to strike him. The dark lord was too quick, but Harry kept fighting, kept attacking. Forcing Voldemort to step down the stairs, he struck from the higher ground.

Harry was so quick that Voldemort had to spend all his energy on blocking. At every blow, the dark lord stepped back. Harry could feel the white lightsaber shake under his purple one.

Voldemort was clearly exhausting himself. In addition to throwing faster and faster lightsaber strikes, Harry added spells to the mix. And then, getting closer and closer, he formed a powerful shield with his wand, and thrust his lightsaber tip at Voldemort's left hand. Straight to the core of his wand.

The wand exploded, causing Voldemort to flinch. His left hand was bleeding. Harry hit it with his invisible shield, and then, with all the strength he could muster, struck Voldemort's lightsaber. The dark lord couldn't hold on to it, and the weapon flew off to the side.

Harry breathed hard. He stood over Voldemort, wand in one hand, lightsaber in the other.

"Good... your hate has made you powerful," he heard Palpatine's voice. He wasn't sure whom the Emperor was talking to, as Luke was standing over Vader in much the same position, except he had no wand. "Now fulfill your destiny, and take your father's place at my side. Or perhaps young Potter would rather have that honor? He has proved himself worthy."

"Well, Potter?" Voldemort asked him. "Are you going to kill me?"

"The final Horcrux," Harry demanded. "What is it?"

"I didn't think you were stupid, Potter."

"I am not. I'd rather you tell me yourself, but if not... Legilimens!"

At first, Harry got nothing, but then, drawing on the Force, he pushed against Voldemort's mental shields. His scar burned with pain, but he forced himself to go on. And then... he was in a different place altogether.

XXX

Harry was walking through a house, wand raised. It was dark outside. He came to a door and pushed it open. He reeled.

Mara was standing in front of him. No, he thought. Not Mara. This was Lily Potter, and he was seeing her through Voldemort's memory.

"Stand aside, silly girl," Harry-Voldemort said. Harry had to force himself not to break off, knowing what was about to happen.

"No. Not Harry. Anything but--" Lily stood in front of him, a baby in a crib behind her.

"Stand aside," Harry--This is Voldemort! Voldemort! he forced himself to think--said.

"NO!"

Harry--Voldemort, dammit!--raised his wand, and pointed it at the woman. "Avada Kedavra!" he said.

And when the woman fell, Harry felt himself spinning, spinning... through the stars, through light... until he ended up in a completely different room... which also contained a crib.

A small, redheaded baby inside the crib yelled out in pain. Harry tried to approach, but couldn't... and then the vision vanished and he was back on the Death Star.