The Lightsaber
By: Tellemicus Sundance
#04: Sorcery

September 10, 1995
Upper Dungeons

Euphoria.

That was the closest Harry could ever come to describing what he felt that first time. It was as if every pore and cell of his body had opened itself up to the magic of the universe. So much raw power was gushing through him that it felt like a tsunami, such was the magnitude that he was felt. It was exhilarating, empowering, and terrifying. The very air around him, the stone floor he sat upon, the castle around him, and many hundreds of creatures within that castle, he could 'see' them all without sight, hear them without his ears, smell and taste them. Each and every one of them shone brightly with an inner energy that stood out like lighthouses at sea or the streetlights of a city.

But he could also feel his 'senses' stretching beyond his workshop, beyond the castle, far beyond. He could sense every gust of wind, every clap of thunder, the stamp of feet upon pavement, the rustle of clothing, he had been opened to the world. He was the world, and the world was him. He could see the many shades of light and dark that covered the planet, those who had auras of brightest light and those of a much darker nature. Emotions and sensations of the many trillions of life forms that populated the planet, easily overwhelmed him. But, amidst the chaos and maelstrom of color, emotions, and feelings, he somehow managed to retain a small sense of his own identity, anchoring him and beckoning him back to his corporal body.

With a herculean effort of will, he pulled and separated himself from the world, returning back himself again. Opening his eyes and climbing to his feet, Harry lifted his hand clenched his fist, flexing his fingers. There was…strength coursing through him. Incredible strength. But not only that, energy, what felt like limitless energy. Moving to the door, he exited his secret workshop. After hurriedly locking and securing it, he turned and started walking down the hall.

Then his walk became a run.

Then his run became a sprint.

Rushing forward with a strength and speed he had never felt before, a wide and excited grin spread across Harry's face. He bounded down the stairs of the dungeon, three at a time, and kept on running. He navigated the maze of the dungeons with perfect ease, knowing where he was going despite not being overly familiar with the layout. Any students that were in the hallway were smoothly dodged. Running up another stairwell, he emerged into the Potions classroom area, which had even more Slytherin students milling about. Seeing the lone red, running figure approaching their midst, the Slytherins quickly tried to block him, as though expecting him to have been trying to escape from them for some reason that demanded their immediate retaliation and revenge.

Harry's grin just widened. He felt so strong and fast that he felt he could just jump over the entire group. In fact, he would! Taking a small bounce as he neared them, Harry pumped a portion of the energy and strength he felt into his legs and just leapt. And what a leap it was! He easily sailed over the collective heads of the Slytherins, idly running his hand along the low ceiling of the dungeon hallway. Landing several paces behind the surprised and dumbfounded group, Harry couldn't resist letting out an ecstatic laugh of exhilaration as he resumed running. At the end of the short hallway, he found another set of stairs that he just jumped up as well, not touching a single step before he landed at the top.

Emerging into the Entrance Hall, he turned and resumed his running. Cutting through several hallways, he ran across the courtyard and the bridge beyond. Weaving his way with casual ease between students around the Transfiguration classrooms, he finally broke his way out of the castle and ran around the North Towers towards the Quidditch pitch. Up ahead was the outer curtain wall of the castle and Harry's grin widened even farther as he saw it. Finally, a challenge!

The wall must've been ten meters tall, but that didn't stop him from repeating what he'd tried earlier. Channeling his newfound power and strength into his legs again, he took a mighty leap as he neared the curtain wall, leaving behind a slightly indented crater from where he pushed off. The jump was so fast and high that Harry actually entertained the idea that he'd somehow taken flight without his Firebolt. But evidently he'd underestimated just how much power he'd used, he must've passed over the curtain wall by about ten meters.

Landing in a tumbling crouch on the opposite side, he again shot off like a rocket, heading straight for the Forbidden Forest. Pushing more power into his legs, Harry seemed to blur as his speed multiplied. He was sprinting so fast that a severe case of tunnel vision began to warp his eyesight. But he never lost sight of where he was going. He knew when to dodge a tree, skip over a jutting root, and jump over a fallen tree or branch.

He just…knew. After several minutes of this hyper-speed run, he came to a stop in a darkened clearing of the forest. His body throbbed and his legs burned from the extreme exertion that he'd just subjected them to, but he had never felt so alive before! He felt…He felt like he could punch his bare fist through a ten-foot thick concrete wall, and not feel any pain!

Looking around the clearing, he saw that it was littered with a few boulders of various sizes and shapes, the ground was a dark black of decay, and the sky above was barely visible through the canopy. Moving over towards one of the closer boulders, Harry smiled as he extended his hands towards it. It was a physical representation of what he was doing with his newfound magic. Feeling the magics that were faintly imbued and reverberating from it, Harry grasped ahold of them and began trying to lift it. This act was not as simple as he first thought it would be, forcing him to focus more and more heavily upon what he was doing. His hands began to shake as the strain built up. But his efforts were not in vain as the boulder started to shake and tremble out of its resting spot, scattering dirt and foliage as it started to slowly rise half a meter out of the ground.

Cracking his eyes open, Harry grinned excitedly at his accomplishment. "Yes!"

But his concentration had faltered in that moment of elation and the boulder crashed back down to earth with a wet thumping noise. But he wasn't disappointed, look at what he'd done! If he could do it once, he could do it again!

Great Hall

It was several hours later that Harry finally left the Forbidden Forest. Though he had spent a great deal of the energy and adrenaline he'd felt from earlier, he still felt like he was a five-time Olympian star athlete. It wasn't that he had lost the power he'd gained after taking the potion, for he regained it with each simple breath he took. No, he had finally found a way of getting better accustomed to it and dealing with it. Thus the likelihood of him bouncing off the walls were…slightly lower now.

He had returned to Hogwarts just as the lunch was being served and he eagerly dug into it. All around him, the whispers and stares had drastically increased in volume and consistency. He could feel their curiosity, their disgust, their arrogant pride, and their simmering anger towards him. But he could no longer find it within himself to care. He was in too much of a good mood to let little things like that dampen it.

"There you are!" a familiar voice said as a mop of curly hair sat down across from him. "Where have been? Do you know what the Slytherins have been telling everyone? That you snuck into their dorms and tried to set a bunch of Dungbombs off in their beds!"

"Wow, that's almost creative," Harry said, not caring in the least. The Slytherins were simply being Slytherins, no way to stop that.

Hermione sent him a sharp look, one that he recognized. It basically demanded 'Where have you been? Tell me now!' But more than that, he could sense her concern and disappointment towards him.

"I just went for a little run," he hedged, grinning slightly. "Don't worry, I'll tell you later. Hey, Ron."

Hermione blinked in surprise as Ron took a seat on the bench next to Harry. That, in and of itself, wasn't surprising. It was the fact that Harry hadn't even twitched in the boy's direction and still knew that he was there and preparing to sit down. How had he known Ron was there like that?

Ron didn't notice this as he happily started getting his own food. "I heard that you went and terrorized the Slytherins this morning. Good job, mate!" Harry just grinned distractedly into his food. "But is it true that you ran along the ceiling to get away from them when they caught you and tried to corner you?"

"Nope," Harry answered truthfully. "I jumped."

"What?" both his friends asked, staring at him with wide eyes and slightly full mouths of food.

"I jumped so high that I guess it looked like I was running on the ceiling," he explained with a grin. "I guess they saw it differently."

"I don't know, Harry," Neville said as he sat down next to Hermione. "I saw you as you were running through the Transfiguration halls. It sure looked like you were flying to me."

Harry just snorted but continued eating. "I'll explain it later."

"Does this have anything to do with what you were reading on the train?" Neville asked, quite interested and visibly earnest. "Can…Can I come too?"

Not seeing any reason to say no, Harry just shrugged. "Sure, no problem."

Upper Dungeons
Harry's workshop

Harry had taken his three friends down to his new workshop. It had been tricky getting all of them under his Invisibility Cloak since they were all now much older and larger than they had been three years ago, but they'd managed. He was showing Hermione what his latest magical technology project was, or MagiTech as Ron had affectionately dubbed it. Needless to say that while she was definitely intrigued by the idea of somehow building a blaster rifle for Dudley, she didn't necessarily like that Harry and Dudley both actively planned to use it in a battle situation. Regardless, she was already peering through his preliminary designs and notes.

"Harry, what is all this?" Neville asked, looking quite bewildered at the setup of the place, particularly the sketch of his lightsaber that he'd left pinned up for motivation to himself. "I've never seen or heard of anything like this stuff before. And what's that?"

Chuckling, Harry pulled his lightsaber hilt out of his schoolbag, dug the emitter shroud out of his pocket, and clamped it into place. "This is some of the stuff I plan to use to kill Voldemort." And with that, he flicked his lightsaber on and handed it carefully to Neville to examine.

But Neville wasn't the only one enraptured by his saber. Through his connection to all things magical, Harry suddenly gained a profound new appreciation for the device he'd created. Once it'd become activated, the small fragment of himself that was nestled in the heart of the thing had filled the entire object with vibrant and pulsating magic. The magic danced and raced along the runes in its many pieces, protecting and enhancing them. The gem itself seemed to resonate with his soul, showing to the world the beauty and tranquility that he held within himself. The blade was merely an extension and representation of that beautiful soul and how he intended to use his influence on the rest of the world, to make it a better and safer place. Yes, this lightsaber was and would always be his single greatest creation ever.

"That reminds me, Harry," Hermione said, looking away from his notes to glance over at the saber blade that Neville was still gawking at. "You still haven't told me how to make my own lightsaber."

"Sorry, it's been a busy week for all of us," Harry pointed out. Then he turned and pointed towards his lightsaber sketch pinned just above where she was standing. "All the relevant notes should be on the back of that." Hermione took down the drawing, studying it for a few long moments before flipping it over and reading the tiny scrawled writing that lay there.

"Harry," Ron said, a sudden burst of fear and confusion radiating from him and his voice, catching everyone's attention. "Is this what I think it is?"

Taking his lightsaber back from Neville, Harry moved over to the corner Ron was standing in. He found Ron looking over his book on Sorcery. "Oh, I forgot about that."

Ron turned sharply to look at Harry, a thunderous look on his face matching his sudden burst of anger. "Is this a book on Sorcery?!" For a moment, all three of the others were taken aback by Ron's unexpected outburst. While Ron losing his temper was not an uncommon occurrence, losing it on his friends most certainly was.

"Yes," Harry answered honestly, not seeing what the problem was. "I found it at Gr—at you-know-where when I was showing you guys my saber the first time. Remember that bookshelf we found? It caught my interest, so I took it to read. Why?"

"You should've burned this book, Harry!" Ron declared loudly. "Nothing good comes from Sorcery!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Harry snapped, glaring slightly at Ron.

"The Darkest Arts, the worst of the worst of all Dark Wizards, have all been Sorcerers, Harry!" the redhead said loudly. "Once a Wizard starts learning Sorcery, they go Dark and crazy within the year!"

"How do you know all that?" Hermione asked, moving over and taking the book from Ron to read. "I've read about many different types of magic, but I've never heard of Sorcery before."

"Me neither," Neville admitted quietly, though none of the others paid him as much attention. It honestly wasn't as surprising that he didn't know about Sorcery. His overprotective grandmother and relatives likely shielded him from many of the darker and more dangerous parts of the world as he was growing up.

"That's because it's illegal to learn or teach," Ron answered, looking about as surprised as Harry that she hadn't heard of Sorcery before. "Right alongside the Statute of Secrecy, Sorcery is one of the highest and most illegal of all forms of magic to learn! I've even heard rumors that there's an ICW law enforcement branch whose job is to find and kill any new Sorcerers who appear before they can rise in power."

"How…?" Harry finally asked, struggling to keep his temper in check. To do this, he tried to focus on the calming influence that the ambient magic gave off when he was calm and passive. He was only somewhat successful in his attempt. "How do you know they go Dark?"

"Because that's what always happens!" Ron said, glaring at Harry for questioning him on something so important. "Nobody knows how or why it happens! Some of the nicest and kindest people were completely corrupted and turned into butchers and murderers as soon as they started it."

"Do you think I'm going to go Dark just because I'm reading up on Sorcery?" Harry asked in a low tone. Something Ron had said sparked something in his mind, a memory so vague that he could only grasp the sheer profoundness of it but nothing more. The memory had something that spoke of anger and aggression. "That I'm going to become something worse than Voldemort that needs to be hunted and killed?"

There was a long moment of silence that stretched after that question as all eyes turned to a suddenly nervous Ron. But Ron did his best to not let the stares affect him and keep his gaze locked on Harry's. "You have been in a really bad mood ever since you came to…you-know-where this past summer," Ron said in an equally low tone. "You're my best mate and I don't like what's been happening to you lately."

In a burst of irrational anger, Harry moved forward and said, "If I'm being such a pain in the ass, at least have enough Gryffindor courage to tell me to my face when it's happening and not use something else as a means to do it!"

"You're doing it right now!" Ron pointed out, which only increased Harry's anger all the more.

The temptation to throw Ron out of the room was very powerful in that moment. To use his newfound Sorcery powers to telekinetically lift and throw the youngest Weasley boy across the room and through the door would've been so satisfying! And the best part was that he knew he could do the act before the Weasley boy could even react to the unexpected attack. It was so tempting! But at the same time, another voice warred within himself against his irrational anger. Pointing out that Ron was one of his closest friends. That if he did do that to Ron, he might damage their friendship to irreparable levels. That Ron was only trying to look out for him in his own way, irritating as it may be at times.

For one long, eternal moment for Harry, indecision between the two equally powerful impulses held him teetering on an edge he never knew existed and barely understood the importance of.

With a loud growl of frustration, Harry turned, grabbing and donning his Invisibility Cloak as he left the room, ignoring his friends' call to return. He had some powerful frustrations to work off, and the Forbidden Forest seemed the best place to go to vent without anyone caring about the high amounts of damage he'd likely inflict.

Forbidden Forest

It was several hours later, the sky had already darkened greatly as evening set in sooner nowadays, and Harry finally came to rest, panting heavily with his arms hanging limply at his sides. All around him, the forest and ground were torn up, twisted, and broken. In some regards, saying that a bomb or a titanic battle had taken place here wouldn't have been too far of an exaggeration. Still, while his body was finally starting to feel exhaustion set in from the continuous and high demands he'd been putting it through, his mind was still very much active and his frustrations had hardly ebbed in the slightest. Raising his arms, he drew upon the magic once again.

A large log sailed through the air crashing upon a tree, breaking in several pieces. Two large stones were then lifted from the ground and flung at each other. The stones hit with such force that a loud explosion filled the air. Harry then spun around, thrusting his right hand forward. A powerful blast of telekinetic power shattered the bark on one of the ancient trees in the forest. Surprisingly, the tree managed to stay standing. Harry fell to his knees panting heavily. A new presence filled his senses and he lifted his head to see a being that he has not seen in a couple years.

"What do you want?" scowls Harry as he weakly rising to his feet. He internally winced at his own tone having let his frustrations at Ron's automatic assumptions out for Firenze the Centaur to see.

"I didn't expect us to meet so soon Harry Potter. I must have misread the stars."

"Yeah, well, it seems we are all misreading situations," grumbled Harry. "You still didn't answer my question."

Firenze's facial expression gained a hint of amusement. "I do not want anything. I merely came to see what the commotion is. I did not expect to find you."

Harry plopped down on a nearby log, one of the few that hadn't been pulverized by his ever-growing powers. "It's just me. Feel free to go now." He wasn't sure what was causing his rather caustic attitude at this point. Blaming his frustration towards Ron only went so far as he waved his hand dismissively.

"I do not want more of this beloved forest to be destroyed so I will attempt to help with your problems," states Firenze. The centaur trotted over to Harry. "What is the matter?"

A flat stone rose into the air, and with a negligent twirl of his wrist, Harry began spinning it over his hand, then with an equally uncaring flick of his wrist, it went careening blindly into the forest, imbedding itself into a nearby tree. Harry then ran a hand through his hair. "My friend, Ron, wants me to stop learning this new magic. It's really amazing and could definitely help me when I fight against Voldemort, but he keeps saying that it'll corrupt me." He scowled in anger. "He hasn't learned or seen what I have! He hasn't experienced it for himself and yet he's so quick to judge me without having all the facts!"

"Perhaps, but there is truth in both your points of view."

"He's hardly one to talk! He's just jealous that he isn't the famous one that worshipped and demonized by the Wizarding World!" Harry clenched his hand into a fist. His anger at the situation quickly rose as he recalled the incident that had started the troubles between him and his male best friend. Unnoticed by Harry, Firenze took a few cautionary steps back as small pebbles and dead leaves began to rise from the ground and encircle the would be Wizarding Boy Hero. "I say if he wants to be the hero so badly…"

More and more bitterness crept into his tone as he spoke- a barely noticeable faint corona of pure magic appearing.

"LET HIM!"

The magical build up inside of him reached its apex, desperately seeking its own release. As he shouted out that last bit, a surge of power exploded with him at the epicenter. Miraculously, Firenze maintained his vertical base, but only just barely.

However, the magic being expelled was more primal than a simple shock wave, there was a tinge of elemental magic mixed in as jagged bolts of uncontrolled arcs of lightning were flung from his now outstretched hands, cackling as they tore through the air, searing the landscape around him.

When they struck the closest trees in their path, the lightning superheated the resin and water within the trees, causing them to explode upon impact. Instinctively, Harry hurried shielded his face with his arms and pulled on his magic wrapping it around him and his long time friendly acquaintance, shielding them from the worst of the wooden shrapnel.

A moment of silence filled the forest, as Harry looked on in shock and awe at what had transpired. He didn't want to even glance at Firenze – he wasn't sure what would be worse on the centaur's face – fear, anger or disappointment.

"Perhaps there is some justification to his worry," Firenze said, breaking the silence.

"I… I didn't mean… I…"

"Tell me, Harry Potter, do you know what magic truly is?" Firenze asked as Harry chanced a glance at him. Firenze was looking to the stars above.

Not trusting himself to speak, he simply shook his head. Firenze must have sensed that he did as the centaur did not once break his gaze from the stars to look at Harry. "Magic is the result of our desires combining with our beliefs – willpower mixed with intent. It is our desire to perform an action and our belief that we can accomplish our set task. But willpower and intent, while necessary, are not sufficient. For magic to work properly, one must be a master of their own whims and desires to achieve balance or else uncontrolled, unintentional outbursts or backlashes may occur."

"Accidental magic," Harry said, though whether to himself or to the centaur expanding his knowledge base even he was unsure.

"Yes." The centaur acknowledged. "However, our emotions play a huge role in magic as well. Rage, avarice, fear, will, hope, compassion, love… In any situation these emotions can either boost or hinder our power and control. Controlling your emotions, finding balance within yourself, allows you greater control over your own power, lest it controls you. Losing control, even for a short while, can force you to do things you normally wouldn't or shouldn't do and can lead to your destruction."

"For once you start down that dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny…" Harry whispered. Firenze looked to Harry with a raised eyebrow at his quote, though he did not ask about it. Meanwhile, through the mysterious connections that the human brain is capable of achieving, Harry was suddenly struck by the full remembrance of a memory that had teased his mind back in his workshop, that of a simple quote. He wasn't sure when he had read it, but he'd come across it in the Empire Strikes Back novelization and now it made a great deal more sense to him. 'Anger, fear, aggression, the dark side are they. Easily they flow. Quick to join in a fight. Beware of them.'

It was that line that also removed all doubt, leaving him with a simple truth that George Lucas was a sorcerer or at least knew of them. He knew them, and quite well it seemed, as he seemed to preach the dangers of allowing negative emotions to guide and control one's actions. Star Wars had a myriad of secret messages for all prospective Sorcerers.

"I understand…" Harry said after another brief moment of silence.

"Go back to your friend, Harry Potter," Firenze suggested. "Understand and be understood. The stars show troubling times ahead. Now is not the time to push those you would call family away."

Harry stared at Firenze for a moment. "Thank you, Firenze."

Firenze smiled at him. "If you need further aid, I am always available. I have the feeling you, one day, might be able to read the stars as well."

"I don't know about that," smiles Harry. "But anything is possible. Thanks again."

"It is my pleasure, Harry Potter."

(Author's Note) And out comes another chapter! Tremendous thanks to M2J MandalorianJedi and Fiori75 for helping me refine this disaster of a chapter!

We see just a bit of Harry's potential and power in Sorcery, some of its more basic abilities, as well as the inherent dangers of possessing so much raw power. Oh, and in case some of you are wondering, Harry's erratic emotional state is not entirely his own fault. Remember, in canon, he was getting constantly but unknowingly influenced by Voldemort. Now that he had been fully revived and regained his power, some of it is rubbing off on Harry. So, Harry has to struggle even harder to contain now only his own anger issues, but the echoes of Voldemort's that he receives through his scar.

For those who were wondering, it was the Force Awakens teaser that came out recently that inspired the last scene of the previous chapter.