Chapter 4

Harry was sitting near the center of the Champion's tent in his meditative position. Around him were the other champions who were eerily quiet and seemed to be keeping away from Harry. The Sith Lord smiled lightly as he felt their fear and apprehension about the coming event. The very thought of what he was about to face made the force scream in excitement. Dragons were one of if not the most powerful magical creatures in the world. Easily able to live for thousands of years and are resistant to most magic, add to that their unbelievably powerful and brilliant mind then you have the makings of a beast that is literally unbeatable. Harry couldn't wait for the fight that was coming ahead. He let the force go out and he sensed the overwhelming power of fear that continued to ooze and intoxicate the air.

The Sith Lord licked his lips at the rush of power he felt from the dark side and smiled darkly to himself. He was broken out of his meditations when the judging panel walked into the tent with Barty Crouch. The man seemed nervous as hell and kept looking around with paranoid eyes, "Champions please gather around. Within this bag are four miniature dragons that represent the species that we have selected for you. Each of you will select your dragon and depending on the numbered tag, you will then challenge them in order."

Harry's mind turned off the rambling sound of Crouch's voice and focused on the bag. With the force he easily could sense which dragon would be the best suited for a match up and with a gentle nudge to the minds of the miniatures, he placed his desired dragon on the bottom of the bag. When Barty finally came to Harry the young man didn't even have to guess as he pulled out his desired target, "The Hungarian Horntail….the most fearsome of all the dragons in the world."

Harry snorted at the man's attempt to intimidate him and simply looked up as the judges left. Glancing over at the other champions, Harry smiled as he saw that they were all very pale looking…fear was such a wonderful thing.

Fleur walked over and smiled weakly, "Are you feeling alright Harry?"

He nodded stiffly, "Perfect."

She seemed to disagree with this, "Are you sure?"

Harry turned to her and smiled darkly as the cannon fired and signaled for Cedric to start. "The fun is just beginning." The Sith Lord looked the young woman in the eyes as he quickly curled his fingers around the tiny dragon miniature and crushed the life out of it. Fleur's eyes widened as the small creature gave a pathetic cry before its body was casually dropped to the ground. Harry's aura radiated untold power and Fleur found herself drawn to it again. She ground her teeth together in annoyance. This boy was infuriating to her. Her magic screamed at her every time she was near him and this infernal power of his was only making it worse. Fleur knew his attitude towards everyone and thing around him so she could only assume that he had done some horrendous things. However, despite all this she was still very curious and wanting to know more about the boy. The French beauty found herself shaking her head at the word boy. Harry was anything but a boy…he was easily one of the most powerful beings she had ever encountered and she would be a fool to ignore her magic anymore…she had to know more.

She looked over to see that Harry had once again gotten into his meditative stance and was focusing on his own plans. Fleur sighed to herself and looked out towards the entrance of the tent as the crowd suddenly went wild. She guessed that Cedric was done with his dragon and that it would be her soon. Steeling her emotions, Fleur fingered her wand and prepared for what would be the hardest fight of her life.

*HPPIAL*

"Three of our champions have now faced their dragons, and all three have achieved victory now we will see if our final and youngest champion is able to achieve the same." The crowd reacted just as Harry had expected. A handful of cheers in support of him but the majority were jeers and taunts. Harry smiled as he pulled his hood over his face and walked out drawing upon the power of the dark side. He stopped at the center of the ring and looked around as the crowd grew silent. Only a moment went by before the force warned Harry of an incoming attack. The Sith ducked to the side just as a massive tail with a deadly looking spike stabbed into the rocks behind him. Looking up, Harry was witness to a massive dragon arching up to her full height in an attempt to be intimidating. The powerful beast inhaled deeply and roared before swinging her tail around to attack again.

Harry effortlessly moved around the attack and continued to do so much to his amusement and much to the anger of the dragon. The giant grew more and more frustrated with every attack that failed and finally resorted to launching a stream of magically charged fire at her target. Harry flicked his wand and with a quick wave he brought it up in a sharp motion and clapped his hands together. From the ground shot four slabs of perfectly carved stone that clamped tightly around the young Sith and easily protected him from the flames.

*HPPIAL*

The watching crowd gasped out at the display of elemental magic and many of the few that supported Harry smiled as they realized that their champion was just getting started. In the spectator stands where important officials of the ministry sat, the imposing figure of Lucius Malfoy watched with interest. To anyone that knew him he seemed normal but as of last night…Lucius Malfoy ceased to exist. Darth Vitiate smiled to himself within his new host body and watched his apprentice easily avoid the attacks of the dragon. The powers that his apprentice had were nothing short of impressive and would only continue to grow with time and training. Darth Sovereign already was more powerful in the force when compared to other Sith Lords of old. If he had to put it in terms of actual comparison, Harry was easily more powerful than any of the former Dark Council members that were once loyal to Vitiate himself.

This single thought caused Vitiate to smile. With an apprentice as powerful as Harry, there was little chance that anyone could be able to stand against the Sith Empire. He smiled darkly as Harry sent a powerful blast of magic at the dragon and actually sent it flying back. With two immortal Sith Lords at the forefront of their order…the Empire would rule until time itself had ended.

*HPPIAL*

Harry extended his wand as another blast of flames roared towards him. His shield, amplified by the power of the dark side, easily held against the dragon's flames. The Sith Lord smiled wickedly as the dragon roared again in anger. "As fun as this has been beast…your pathetic life now comes to an end." As Harry's statement hung in the air, he took a deep breath and summoned the full power of the dark side. His aura exploded into full power and sent a wave of energy over the immediate area. Bringing his hands forward, the dark side raged up his limbs and launched at the dragon in the infamous form of force lightning. The purple arcs of energy raced forward and slammed into the dragon, launching her off her feet and into the stone wall that went around the arena. Screeches of pain and agony filled the ears of everyone in range and many eyes were widened as they watched Harry slowly walk forward with powerful energy shooting from his fingers. Smoke started rising from the dragon's body as it was electrocuted. Its magnificent form was twitching and thrashing around against the assault. To the shock and horror of many in the crowd the dragon's skeleton became visible as the power of Harry's attack increased. When he was almost on top of the beast, Harry canceled the lightning and summoned the dark side once more in yet another deadly and favored form. A dark purple almost black beam rushed forwards and struck the dragon. The dragon cried out again before it went slack and its body let out the last of its energy only for it to be claimed up by the ability, Death Field, an ancient and power technique that only the most powerful Sith Lords of old could learn and master. Many of the ones who tried would actually consume themselves and be nothing more than an empty husk of skin and bones.

Looking upon the corpse of the dragon Harry smiled, it had been too easy. Shaking his head, the Sith Lord quickly walked over to the pill of eggs and picked up the golden one and turned to walk out of the stadium enjoying the silence of the stunned crowd.

*HPPIAL*

Harry arrived near the medical tent that he was supposed to go into when he felt a pulse in the force. He turned to see a tall figure off to the back of the stadium and it was obviously a powerful force user. When the figure moved away, Harry quickly followed moving his lightsaber into his grasp ready to activate it on a moment's notice. He rushed around the side and into the underside of the stadium only to come face to face with Lucius Malfoy. The man smiled coyly at him and Harry readied his lightsaber, "I don't know how you became so powerful Malfoy but I won't let you have the chance to use this power. I have worked too hard to achieve my goals."

Lucius's lips thinned before he opened his arms, "Sovereign…"

Harry's eyes widened at the gravelly voice that he had come to know so well, "Come to me…I am your Emperor."

Harry clipped his lightsaber to his belt before falling to his knees, "My master…how?"

Vitiate waved his hand to let his apprentice know he could stand, "It is the technique that I spoke of…essence transfer." Harry's mind went to work at the how he could gain this knowledge but he quickly quieted it to listen, "I searched through the force in order to find the best candidate for a new host. This is very important when you do the same. A host body cannot be someone who will be constantly watched but at the same time it can't be someone who isn't of known importance. If you pick someone within the middle to upper area of society it will be easier to move around. For example, Lucius Malfoy is powerful in all aspects within the Wizarding World but because of his dark past he doesn't have the ties he would if he would have remained within the light spectrum. Because of his loyalties to Voldemort he was forced to move into the backdrop of the workings within the government. This proves extremely effective when wanting to move our agenda forward."

His apprentice nodded, "What of his family?"

Vitiate smiled, "Only a matter of time. I will deal with them come Christmas…you will be short a classmate after winter break."

Harry smiled darkly, "Good I can't stand Draco and not being able to give him the revenge I lust for has been nothing short of frustrating."

Vitiate nodded, "Understandable and you have done well in using your training to withhold your powers from lashing out. Many untrained Sith would have lost control, now…onto your performance during the task."

Harry nodded and waited for his master's analysis. "Overall it was well done and thought out. The only issue I have was you had a little too much enjoyment out of the torturing of the dragon. For a person who is supposed to be rather reserved and frail you let a lot of power show."

Harry opened his mouth to argue but found wisdom in what his master said, "Do you have a way to counter the impending gauntlet of questions?"

Harry nodded slowly, "I have slowly been isolating myself from my friends over the months so they don't know that have been training. I can simply state that the past three years have caused me to reevaluate my life and position. I am choosing to take my life into my own hands without the interference of others."

Vitiate was silent for a moment as he thought it over. The Sith Emperor looked up as the mass of people began to return to the school. "It will have to do. But I can't express this enough." Vitiate's eyes flared with his full power and Harry found himself lifted into the air by the force. The power was brutal and his muscles were being constricted by his master. "Do not push the boundary of what is acceptable for your current life. Until you reveal yourself to the world with the backing of an army you must remain in the background."

Harry was dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap and wheezed out, "Yes my master." Vitiate turned and walked away leaving Harry.

Harry forced himself up and took a deep breath to calm his body before he turned and walked to the medical tent. Outside of it he suddenly inhaled sharply and fell to his knees as his nerves flared up from pain. Harry's eyes burned with tears and he clenched his teeth hard as he used every fiber of his being to refrain from crying out. His hand turned white as he gripped the grass in an attempt to lessen the pain but it was for nothing. The lingering pain from the ritual was back with a vengeance…something that Harry stupidly forgot in the rush of the task. Drawing upon the dark side Harry quickly reached into his robes and uncorked a vial of pain reliever potion. Taking down the foul potion the Sith hissed as another pulse ripped through him. "Damn it." He forced himself up and took a painful breath before walking through the tent flaps.

*HPPIAL*

Fleur looked up as Harry walked into the tent and knew that something was different. His normally strong framed body was slightly hunched over and his face showed the slightest amount of strain. The teen Veela forced her magic to calm down as she slowly walked over to him, "Harry, are you alright?"

His powerful green eyes looked at her with the slightest hint of the pale yellow that still haunted her. "Fine." The sudden tightening of his jaw suggested otherwise but she decided to not push it. As the nurse looked them over, the three champions kept glancing over at Harry who was now sitting on the ground in his meditative state.

Cedric walked over to Fleur and whispered to her, "What do you think?"

She spoke just as softly, "I don't know really…that display was unlike anything I have ever seen. I was always taught that elemental magic was difficult to accomplish but Harry used it like he had been for years."

Cedric's eyes hardened lightly and nodded, "This isn't the Harry Potter I am use too, he has changed a ton. He use to be frail, skinny, sickly, and average when it came to magic. But this year he shows up like this and from what I have heard through the rumor mill is that he is completely different."

Fleur looked at her fellow champion, "How so?"

The seventh year Hufflepuff thought for a moment, "For one thing his classes, he has quickly advanced into the top percent of his class. Some people believe he has even overtaken Hermione Granger as top student. Another aspect is his social life. Before he only ever spent time with Hermione and Ron where as now he will talk with anyone but is mostly in seclusion." Cedric was quiet again, "Could explain why he has become so powerful. If he is training by himself then he very well could be learning forbidden arts." Fleur's mind flashed to the night in the forest and could only nod in agreement. The two fell into silence until the judges came in to announce the scores. As they called for the champions, Harry's eyes snapped open and met with Fleur's causing her to feel weak again. With the grace of royalty, Harry rose from his sitting spot and slowly walked out.

*HPPIAL*

As the scores were read, Harry found himself letting his mind wander to the big change in his plans for the future…his master now was in physical form. With the Emperor now in the world he would have to be very careful with how he went about his goals. With Lucius Malfoy's connections, Vitiate would easily be able follow Harry's doings within the world where as before he remained within his holocron to preserve his essence and power.

Vitiate was powerful and that was putting it lightly, there was a reason he went unchallenged for over twelve hundred years as the supreme ruler of the Sith Empire. True Harry was his apprentice and by the rules of the Sith he was destined to eventually overthrow his master, but their circumstances were a little different. It wasn't just Vitiate who was immortal…BOTH Harry and his master held this trait and it would only prove to make things impossible for any eventual conflict between the two. Harry cringed from a shot of pain within his nerves but also from the thought of fighting his master for all eternity. The planet would be consumed by their power and ultimately destroyed, along with everything they had worked for to rebuild their empire.

The Sith Lord looked up as his name was called to see that he was given second place despite the fact that he was the quickest, most advanced, and unharmed. Rolling his eyes at the stupidity he turned and walked away from the stadium. As he exited the massive building he found himself confronted by a group of men all wearing obviously enchanted robes and many of them had scarred features from magical burns. "I'm assuming you are the dragon handlers?"

The tallest of the group walked forward and nodded, his red hair and pale features reminded Harry of a Weasley. "You are right there Harry, you might not remember me but I am Charlie Weasley, Ron's older brother."

Harry slowly nodded, "Is there something I can do for you?"

Charlie looked to the other handlers and then back to Harry, "We have a problem Harry…you killed your dragon when you were only meant to fight her into submission."

Harry shrugged, "I was told to prepare for the task and I took the route I thought was best. The fact that it cost the dragon its life means little to me." Charlie was taken aback by the casual dismissal of the creature's death and made a mental note to speak with Dumbledore about it. "There are several things we need to discuss Harry. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but the fact remains that you killed the dragon during a magically contracted competition which means our ownership of the beast left the moment you killed it."

Harry's eyebrow raised in question, "In short, by the right of conquest you own everything in regards to the dragon." Several of the other handlers shifted uncomfortably which caused Harry to press, "Meaning?"

Charlie sighed, "The dragon is yours to do with as you wish, donate her, strip her for parts, sell her to an apothecary, or leave her with us…it is ultimately your choice. There is also the issue of her eggs. She was a nesting mother and had a large clutch of eggs, seven to be exact." Charlie again sighed and ran his hand over his head, "They are also yours by right of conquest."

Harry's eyes widened at this, "I get the dragon's eggs?"

Charlie nodded sadly, "We would normally take them with us but because of the way she died it is out of our hands."

Harry was silent for a moment and then spoke, "When can I take them?" Charlie turned to the other handlers and each of them reached into their robes to produce a dragon egg. The large oval shaped objects were black with a rough exterior. "The only thing I ask is that you be careful with them and should any of them hatch please send them to a dragon reserve. One dragon is hard enough to handle but now you have the possibility of raising seven." The men laid the eggs down at Harry's feet and walked back to the direction they came.

Harry looked down at the eggs and then over to the mass of people that were slowly moving back to the castle. Near the middle of the group was the half-giant Hagrid and Harry instantly knew what to do with the eggs. "Hagrid come over here for a moment!"

The giant lumbered over and Harry noticed that he had a few tears speckling his beard. "Everything alright Hagrid?"

The man shook his head, "Why you do it Harry?"

The Sith was taken aback for a moment before he realized what he was talking about, "I did what I needed to in order to survive Hagrid. I'm sorry you had to see the dragon's death but it had to be done."

Hagrid nodded and pulled a large hankie out of his pocket before he blew loudly, "Actually there is something I need from you Hagrid. You see, with my defeat of the dragon I came into possession of seven items that I know you could take care of for me."

Hagrid followed Harry over to the back side of the arena and his eyes widened when he saw the clutch of eggs, "Harry are these what I think?"

Harry nodded, "Hagrid I want you to care for these dragon eggs for me and when they are about to hatch I want to be there. I'm trusting you with this important task Hagrid and I need your promised silence."

The man had giant tears falling down his face as he slowly picked up an egg and ran his massive fingers over the shell, "I promise you Harry that I will care for them as if they were my own…this means a lot." Harry nodded and made sure that all the eggs were with Hagrid before he started to walk back to the castle. Because it was a Saturday there were obviously no classes so Harry was free to do what he wished.

For the moment that consisted of going to his favorite place in the castle in order to recuperate. He first walked to the Great Hall and sat down to eat something. Of course at this point the hall was relatively filled with returned students from the task and many of them looked over at the Sith in both awe and shock. Mentally smiling to himself, Harry sat down and filled his plate with a moderate helping of fruits and meats. As he slowly ate he found that the group of students at Gryffindor table had slowly shifted away from him and only four were making an attempt to get close to him. Hermione was slowly walking over with a look upon her face that showed that she was contemplating something, Ron was walking behind her with an unintelligent look upon his face and behind him was his younger sister Ginny who had a look of lust and wanting directed at him.

The thought caused Harry to shiver as he looked to the final person who was sitting at the table and looking at him with interest, one Neville Longbottom. Harry reached out with the force and found that Neville's interest was one of curiosity and loyalty which caused Harry a certain amount of, shall we say, pleasure. Neville had always been a wild card in the grand scheme of things and Harry had questioned why he hadn't made the effort to know the boy more. His family was powerful and naturally allied with the Potter family as well as the fact that he seemed to hide a certain level of darkness that Harry was only able to see once he was trained up. This could prove very useful as Harry began to search for disciples to train.

His emerald eyes shifted to see Hermione sitting down across from him with Ron and Ginny on either side of her, "Harry."

He gently inclined his head, "Hermione." She sighed when he started eating again, "Don't you have something to say?"

He looked up and smiled roguishly which caused all the witches in the general area to blush, "Lovely weather isn't it."

Hermione got red in the face with irritation, "Harry this isn't the time for childish games, I am talking about the task…you killed a dragon!" The last part came out as if it was a mother scolding a child. Harry pushed his plate away as Ron opened his mouth, "He didn't just kill it Hermione…he bloody annihilated it…it was brilliant really."

The Sith Lord raised his eyebrow at Ron, "I wasn't aware we were speaking again Weasley."

Ron's face darkened slightly at the usage of his last name, "Look Harry, I realize that things were said that we both regret but in all honesty why don't we both just be men and apologize."

Harry's eyes flashed the slightest hint of yellow, which went unnoticed by his friends, and he growled, "I did nothing wrong you arrogant prick. I am innocent within all this and only did what I needed to do in order to survive. I'm not at all surprised that you came crawling back to me when I'm somewhat accepted by the masses."

Ron's face reddened, "It's the way people like you work, isn't it Weasley. The moment you have an opportunity to leech off of someone you come running. You couldn't handle the fact that I was in the spotlight without you so you turned, but the moment the slightest amount of light casts its way to you, you come back like a dog." Ron, Hermione, and Ginny gapped at this, "I have nothing to say to people like you and I would insist that you don't return to bother me or….It will be your last mistake!" The final portion was hissed out in parstletongue which caused everyone in the area to pale drastically.

Ron mumbled something before he quickly moved down the table with Ginny following. Hermione simply looked at her friend in shock, "Harry he was going to say he was sorry!"

The dark lord glared at her as he stood up, "Sorry Hermione but I have not the time nor the desire to deal with stupidity." He turned away and walked briskly out of the hall.

*HPPIAL*

Later that night Harry was sitting in front of the fireplace deep within the Chamber of Secrets. After his confrontation with his friends, Harry had received a message from his Godfather, Sirius Black. Last year after his escape from Azkaban, Sirius had contacted Harry and filled him in on the true events surrounding his parent's death. Harry had been able to use the force in order to tell that Sirius was telling the truth and that above all else, his loyalty to Harry was unending. This had caused Harry to speak with his master about the possibility of teaching Sirius the ways of the force, if only the basics. When Vitiate had inspected Sirius for himself he found that he would rather die than betray his Godson and only remaining contact to Lily and James Potter.

This was a weakness that Vitiate instructed Harry to exploit and so, over the summer before fourth year Harry taught Sirius about this strange power he had come to know. Of course he left out details such as who his master was or his ultimate plans but Sirius was rather interested in the concept of the force. Sirius's natural affinity towards dark magic thanks to his family made him a prime candidate for becoming a dark side adept, if not a fully-fledged Sith Lord.

Ultimately, the determining factor would be if Sirius was willing to join Harry completely once he and The Emperor revealed all to him. This was something that despite his training in not to have emotional attachments, he found that he silently prayed for. Sirius was someone dear to him and it would make him that much more powerful to have his last link to his past by his side for a glorious future.

A spark from the fire place caused Harry to look into the flames. A moment later the face of Sirius Black appeared and he smiled at his Godson, "How's it going pup?"

rolled his eyes and smirked lightly, "It's going fine. How are your exercises going?"

Sirius's face intensified as he thought about his training, "It is just as you said Harry. My emotions influence just about everything. With magic I have always had to watch my emotions but with the force I can utilize every emotion and bring it to bear on whom or what I wish."

This statement caused Harry to smile, his Godfather was already speaking like a Sith. "I completed the first task and was granted second place."

Sirius smiled at this, "Great job Harry I had no doubt that you would accomplish it. Now, your last letter stated that you needed something from me?"

Harry nodded, "Seeing as you are out of Azkaban and technically my magical guardian I need you to authorize a leave of absence from the school for the two weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday."

Sirius looked at Harry for a moment, "Am I allowed to hear why?"

Harry shook his head, "Not yet, not until my master is certain of a couple of things."

Sirius was silent for a moment before nodding, "It shouldn't be difficult to achieve. You are the last heir of two Ancient and Noble houses. Potter is a given but Black is because of my adjusting my will. There is more than enough information for you to go through and it is all important enough. I will send my letter directly to Minerva, she will authorize it once she understands the reasoning. Just be careful that Dumbledore doesn't find out."

Harry nodded, "Good thing that she has such a soft spot for the Marauders."

His self-proclaimed Dogfather smiled and nodded, "Indeed it is, when are you going to be free for our next training session? I have finished all of the exercises you wanted and can levitate objects for a full half hour without having to really draw upon any reserves of energy."

Harry nodded in approval, "You can continue on without me until Christmas. The three objects that I gave you are called hand all you need to do is focus the force onto them and activate them. The holocrons contain an artificial intelligence that will help you continue your training until I am free."

Sirius smiled at the prospect of learning more, "Sounds good pup, I better go before the family who's house I am using return. I will be residing in Black Manor from this point forward, the Ministry has called the Dementors off from me."

Harry smirked darkly, "I'm well aware of that…in fact, the Dementors won't ever be a problem again."

When Sirius looked at Harry funny his Godson simply smirked, "The force." Shaking his head the man said a final goodbye before leaving the flames.

Harry pushed himself off of the ground and walked to the entrance of the Chamber smiling. He was easily ahead enough in his classes that he wouldn't miss anything from the two weeks of school and this would give him plenty of time to search for the two items his master wanted, the Star Forge and the Foundry.

Arriving at the entrance to the girl's bathroom he double checked to make sure that the Chamber was closed before walking through the door to find a beautiful blonde leaning against the railing that ran along the second floor. Fleur turned and smiled weakly at Harry as he looked at her, "What do you want Fleur, I can feel your desire."

The Veela slowly walked up to him and then dropped to her knees in a sign of submission that took Harry by surprise. She looked up and her eyes showed a desire that Harry had never seen before and she weakly spoke with a passion that rivaled his own, "Teach me….teach me to use your power."

And finally done with Chapter 4

So, the first task is finally done and we find that everything is set up to find the powerful objects of the force. Sirius has been revealed to be learning form Harry and Fleur has now asked…what will happen?

As always send in ideas and reviews.

KingFatMan25