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
XIII
Monday, July 17, 1995
Harry stared intently at the jumble of metal, wiring, and circuitry that was floating in front of him as he inspected it all one last time. He peered at each piece, looking for any sort of defect whatsoever.
"Are you sure this is all correct?" he asked aloud.
Yes, young Harry, the Holocron floating nearby responded, as far as I can tell, you have managed to fashion the technical components for your lightsaber to the exact specifications provided.
Initially Harry was rather doubtful that he'd be able to build the weapon that was apparently a constitutive element of being a Jedi. From what Master Isu had described, Harry didn't think that such technology existed anywhere on earth and he was certain that he wouldn't be able to build such a thing by himself.
But with the guidance and technical direction provided by the Holocron, a significant amount of trial and error, and a lot of assistance from the Force, Harry was able to assemble the necessary components for his lightsaber from surprisingly common materials, even if he had little understanding of what most of it was or what the individual pieces did. It was easy enough to understand what a 'focusing lens' did or what a 'pommel cap' was for, but he didn't have the slightest notion of what the 'magnetic stabilizing loop,' 'cycling field energizers,' or 'power vortex ring' were about. Yet the Holocron kept assuring him that he had constructed everything correctly and that he had everything he needed.
Except for the most important part, of course.
"You're sure?" he asked again.
Yes, young Harry. You lightsaber will function perfectly well once you find your crystal.
"Right. My crystal."
That was going to be the hard part – finding a kyber crystal. According to the Holocron, a kyber crystal was the heart of each lightsaber. Also known as 'living crystals,' they were rare, Force-attuned crystals that naturally grew on scattered planets across the galaxy.
Harry had objected in that he had no means for leaving planet earth let alone searching the galaxy, but the Holocron insisted that if a Jedi had need of a crystal, the Force would provide one.
It was part of every Jedi's training to go on a quest to find a kyber crystal that called to him, that bonded with him, and to bring it back for the completion of his lightsaber. Harry was struck by how similar that sounded to a witch or wizard getting their first wand – not that they had to go on a quest, but as old Mr. Ollivander said, it was the wand that chose the wizard. Apparently there was something similar going on with kyber crystals.
Harry turned to the tiny, hovering figure of Master Isu.
"You're sure that I'll be able to find a kyber crystal somewhere here on earth?"
The Force will provide you with what is necessary for your destiny.
"Right. Well, let's do this then."
He waved his hand, and the carefully-constructed lightsaber components floated into their make-shift case, which in turn floated into Harry's backpack. The blue light of the Holocron faded to a tiny pinprick at the center of the crystal cube and the image of Master Isu winked out as it joined the saber components in the bag.
Harry then quickly used the Force to return all of his belongings that were orbiting about him in the room to their proper places. He checked over his supplies one last time. He had food and water, plenty of both wizarding galleons and Muggle pounds (thanks to a very… understanding Aunt Petunia), spare clothing, his wand, a few blankets, his Nimbus 2000, and his rarely-used invisibility cloak that he had mysteriously received during his first Christmas at Hogwarts. He still suspected it was from the Headmaster, but he'd never been able to verify that theory.
He didn't have much that would make the journey comfortable, but that was apparently part of the point. The quest was supposedly about penance and purification as much as it was about building a lightsaber, so Harry was prepared to be roughing it.
Everything was ready. He closed up his bag, tied his shoes, glanced at the note he'd left on his desk, and made his way downstairs.
Now he just needed to slip past his minder.
They were a new and rather unwelcome addition to Number Four, Privet Drive. Apparently Dumbledore had decided that Harry's status as Voldemort's number one target warranted a round-the-clock bodyguard stationed at his house. It made sense, of course, but that didn't mean that Harry had to like it. Or that he had been consulted about the fact. And he especially didn't like the fact that the guards simply expected him to obey their orders to remain in the house for the entirety of the summer break.
He tried reasoning with them, but once they'd gotten over the shock that he could easily sense their presences despite their invisibility cloaks or Disillusionment Charms, they all simply told him to stay put and be a good lad. Dumbledore's orders.
It was for occasions like that that Harry sometimes wished he had his own owl. Then he could have sent the Headmaster a rather strongly-worded letter.
Harry stopped just inside the kitchen door and reached out with his senses. His minder was in the front yard, staring out at the street and feeling rather bored. He slipped out the back door, mounted his broom, and pulled his invisibility cloak over himself. He sent a subtle nudge at his minder through the Force, just enough to distract the wizard for a moment or two, and then he was off, slowly gliding away, still close to the ground, but away from Number Four.
He closed his eyes as he flew, trusting his feelings to guide him around any danger or obstacle that might appear in his way. He reached out further and further with his senses, out into the living Force. He let it fill him and overwhelm him.
Where do I go now? was the thought that Harry held in his mind, asking the Force to take up the desire and lead him through it. Where can I find a kyber crystal for my lightsaber?
And he felt the gentle pull, the invitation from the Force, the call that he might follow should he so choose.
Harry smiled.
And he sped off as the Force directed.
OoOoO
OoOoO
Tuesday, August 15, 1995
Harry smirked to himself as he followed the tour group through the caves. The glittering minerals in the stone walls were just like he remembered.
"Up ahead and to the right is the entrance to Saul's Labyrinth," the tour guide explained, "a huge complex of twisting tunnels. It's never been fully mapped or explored, but our best estimate is that there's over fifty miles of caverns in that one section alone."
It had been exactly eight years ago to the day that Harry had found the Holocron in those very caves. What were the chances that the Force would eventually lead him back here?
Actually, Harry thought to himself, probably pretty good. I ought to've checked here first thing now that I think about it…
"Please do not enter the Labyrinth," the tour guide continued. "We actually had a boy get lost in there a few years ago, it's very easy to get disoriented in the twisting tunnels. We'd rather not have to send out any search parties today, so like I said at the beginning, please stay with the group."
Harry raised his hand.
"Yes?" the guide asked.
"Did you ever find him?"
"Who?"
"The boy that got lost in the Labyrinth. Did you ever find him? Or is he still wandering around down there to this day?"
"Actually," the guide answered with a concentrated look on his face, "if I remember correctly, the boy somehow managed to find his own way out. Not that I was around back then, but that's what I've been told. The park rangers still consider him to be something of a mascot for the caves. Now then, on to our next station."
Harry held back, lingering by the entrance to the Labyrinth. He sent a gentle Force-nudge at the tour guide, just enough that he would think there was one less person in his group than he had counted at the beginning. He didn't want to cause a fuss for the park rangers once again. They'd been rather nice to him when he wandered into the Labyrinth the first time around after all.
He smiled and embraced the Force more fully, and then stepped into the twisting and winding caverns.
OoOoO
OoOoO
He walked alone for hours. Any other person would've probably given themselves up as lost by then. But even though a part of him felt like he was wandering in circles, Harry had the Force, and it beckoned him ever forward, and he trusted its call.
He continued through the narrow passages, his eyes closed and his helmet mounted torch switched off. Down there in the in the darkness and silence, Harry had no need of any other sense but the Force – it would guide him to his long journey's completion.
The quest probably shouldn't have taken as long as it did, his Nimbus was probably capable of making the trip from Surrey to the caves in only a few hours, but it had taken him nearly a month, twenty nine whole days to get there. Apparently the Force felt the need to lead him on a rather circuitous route, taking him through cities and countrysides, all over England. He had no idea why that was the case. He'd thought about it often enough as he tried to sleep on the hard ground or scrounged around for bits of food, but no answer or understanding came to him. So he just kept on following wherever his senses were inviting him to go.
The Force hadn't failed him yet after all.
Although he was sure that there would be a few people that were rather angry with him for his long absence when he eventually got back.
The feeling in the air suddenly shifted.
He stopped.
This was it.
Here.
The Force was leading him to that exact place.
He opened his eyes, but of course saw nothing but complete darkness. He switched on his torch, but it's faint, focused light gave him little real help other than that he could tell he was standing in a small, cramped chamber. He was going to need more light.
With a thought and an act of will, the Holocron floated out of his backpack. It pulsed with cerulean light, and as the little image of Master Isu appeared, the chamber was bathed in a soft blue glow.
Young Harry, the figure greeted.
"Did you know that you make a great lamp?" Harry asked.
That is not within the intended functions of this Holocron.
"You have no sense of humor."
A sense of humor was not deemed necessary for either the primary or the secondary purposes of this Holocron, and was thus not included in its design.
"I noticed," Harry replied as he looked around the chamber. It was tiny, but in the reflected light of the Holocron, Harry could easily make out a corner that was covered in little crystals. They were growing out of the surface of the rock, tiny but brilliant little jewels that felt weighty in the Force.
"So those are kyber crystals, then?"
Yes. Those are indeed kyber crystals.
"How in Merlin's name did they get to be down here?"
I am afraid that I do not have any information relevant to that question in my data matrices.
"Well, we're in the same cave complex where I found you - that can't be coincidence."
Probability would dictate that you are correct. Perhaps the Jedi that brought this Holocron to these caves also brought a kyber crystal with him that acted as a seed. The one that was likely housed within his lightsaber would have sufficed. Kybers are alive in a certain sense. Given enough time, the crystals grow and spread. From the size of that cluster, it can be estimated that those crystals have been growing for over twenty thousand years.
"Twenty thousand years?"
Approximately.
"That's not a very big bunch of crystals for twenty thousand years."
It is sufficient. You shall only need one small shard. There are enough kyber crystals present in that formation to build hundreds of lightsabers.
"Oh. Okay, well, how do I pick one?"
Let the Force guide you. If you are truly ready, the crystal will choose you.
"Right."
Harry closed his eyes once again and reached out toward the little patch of crystals with both his right hand and his senses. Their presence was heavy in the Force, and they seemed to sing with power. They were all different, each with its own little distinguishing marks and shapes, each with its own subtle but unique presence in the Force.
One seemed to sing to him a bit more loudly than the others. He focused on it, and it called to him, reaching out with its very presence. And the crystal felt familiar, it felt like… himself.
He reached out and gently plucked the crystal off the rocky surface with his thumb and forefinger. It came away easily, but its presence thundered into Harry's mind. Finding this crystal was something… momentous, it was an occasion worthy of note and remembrance.
And then Harry felt with the utter certainty that could only come through the Force that the crystal was truly a part of him, a little piece of himself that he'd never known was missing before, but now that he had it, he suddenly felt complete.
Whole.
One.
Its presence sang within his mind - a song of peace and defense and knowledge, and Harry felt his own presence adding to the music, harmonizing in a way he didn't even know was possible.
"This is it," he finally said to himself after what must have been an hour just standing there, holding the tiny crystal shard and mentally singing along with the music of its presence. "This is my kyber crystal."
He sat down and folded his legs beneath him. His backpack once again opened seemingly of its own accord and out floated the technical components that Harry had worked so hard upon. He released the crystal, and it floated up to join the swirling jumble of parts and pieces.
It was so simple. Now that he had the crystal, he could see how and why it all fit together. It was an elegant design, beautiful in its simplicity.
The Force guided Harry's will, Harry guided the crystal, and the crystal sang out within the melody of the Force itself. Together, they gave voice to the great symphony of Life and Energy and Harmony that bound the galaxy together.
And as the music of the Force built, the crystal and other components quickly and snuggly fit themselves together into a nearly foot-long, cylindrical, silver tube. It was simple in appearance; a belt ring at one end, followed by a metal grip that was covered in black leather, and then a couple of knobs and buttons near the emitter at the top. A casual glance would probably mistake it for an electric torch.
Harry held out his hand, and the lightsaber flew into his grasp. He held it gently and carefully, inspecting what he already knew to be its flawless construction. The song of the kyber crystal at its center was even louder now in Harry's mind, the music of the Force amplified by the fact that its purpose was fulfilled.
Harry's kyber crystal had taken its rightful place in the heart the most important tool of any Jedi. An instrument not of war and aggression, but an elegant weapon meant to help further the cause of civilization, to ensure peace and defend life in all its many forms. And Harry felt complete with it grasped in his hand.
He thumbed the activation switch, and a sharp snap-hiss and electric thrum echoed in the cavern. Brilliant blue light scintillated off the flashing energy-blade. He marveled at the glowing, sapphire light that could cut through just about anything with ease. It seemed impossible that a thing of such beauty could be used for violence, but he knew that all weapons were meant for deadly purposes, even if only as a last resort.
He twirled it in his hands, listening to its thrum as it cut through the air. He went through a few quick motions of one of his Jedi katas just to get a better feel for it, but there was little room to maneuver within the cavern.
Harry smiled in pure joy. He felt a new confidence, a new assurance of purpose fill him. He was meant for this. He still had much to learn and more training to endure, but he had never felt more himself than in that moment, filled with the strength of the Force and wielding his very own lightsaber.
AN: What did you think?
I know, I know, it's been quite a while. But I haven't had much free time at all really. I haven't even had a chance to read a bunch of fics that I've been following. But like I've said before, I'm still working on this when I can and it will eventually be finished. No promises on when though…
Thanks for your reviews, and thanks for reading!