Author's note:
Apologies for not doing any review responses for this chapter. I have spotty internet and I barely finished as it was. Reviews will be caught up with in my next update. I hope you all enjoy this and have a merry Christmas.
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Chapter 8: A Christmas Confrontation
"Come on," I mutter as the power flow reaches its standard operating level. This was the make or break moment. I had spent the past couple days constructing this version of the ion engine prototype and I was finally testing it out. "Don't fuck up. I promised Carla I would get you done before I head back to Hogwarts in January."
As if to spite me, the steady pulse of the engine starts to become erratic as the energies contained inside lose control. An exhaust pipe busts and fires a plume of dense smoke form the side before wires blow off in a spray of sparks. I slam my hand on the abort button and groan as it powers off. I really thought I pinned down the issues with this model. I guess it is just back to the drawing board. Well, at least this one didn't explode.
I spoke too soon as a panel blasts off of the side as the engine rocks in its mounts from the explosion. Said panel promptly slams into the concrete of the testing area and wobbles in place where it embeds in the stone.
"Goddamnit!" I curse as I slam my fist on the safety glass of the observation room. I take a deep breath and try to shake off the tension. This was annoying as hell, but it wasn't the end of the world. I can always rebuild the stupid fucking engine tomorrow. It is just a pain in my ass.
My phone chirps with a notification as I walk out of the testing bunker buried under the property. It was reinforced and soundproofed to the point where I could probably test a nuclear weapon without the neighbors noticing. Even if they did, Carla would just throw an ungodly amount of money at them to make them mind their own business.
As I emerge and lock the vault door behind me, I pull my phone out and check the alert. None other but Sirius Black was waiting at the front gate and checking his appearance in the reflection of the security panel. I was hoping he would appear closer to New Years, not on fucking Christmas Eve.
Thank God Hailey and Carla are out shopping right now for some stuff for dinner. Despite making me question ever building him based on Yoda's recommendation that I am beginning to think was a prank, the protocol droid was actually a fairly competent cook. At least he was better than Carla, but that was always a low bar. That woman could just look at a kitchen and somehow make toxic waste. Hailey wasn't much better. She once started a fire when she was boiling water. The literal water was somehow on fire.
It took me a couple minutes to get across the property to the front gate. When I did, I found Sirius with the dumbass grin I expected.
"Good to see you, kid," he chuckles at my anniyed expression. "I told you I was going to drop by to check in. Since I am trying to be more actively godfathery, I need to check that everything is cool and nothing hinky is going on."
"How long have you been waiting to say the word hinky in an actual conversation?" I ask.
"Years," the man admits freely. "Now, let's check out you place. It is pretty spiffy if I do say so myself. I didn't expect all of the wards though. Nice work."
"Carla hired someone over the fall to give the property the works," I tell him as I open the gate and let him in. "With how much money she shelled out, the team she hired said that it was easily as protected as a family manor in Britain."
"They definitely weren't lying," Sirius replies while we walk up the main drive to the house. "I have been around the block a few times, so I can definitely say that these are some top notch wards. The only times I have seen anything stronger are with some of the old families that have some ancient wards with lost magic. Who knows how those things even work."
"Probably bullshit logic," I suggest. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were work just because they are supposed to work. I know there is the whole thing with arithmancy and runes, but I would bet decent money that people forget magic works heavily on nonsense."
"You're not wrong," Sirius agrees. He was about to say something else, but we finally entered the house and he was struck speechless by the interior. "Merlin, this place is swanky."
"Thanks," I say. "I hope you weren't hoping on meeting Hailey and Carla while you are here. They are shopping right now and I want you out before they get back. In a perfect world, they would never even meet you."
"Come on, Harry," Sirius says. "You are seriously trying to stop me from meeting the girl who played Princess Leia? By the way, how in the hell did you look older in the movie? I would have guessed you were twenty six or something if I never saw you in real life."
"Holograms," I genuinely admit. "You just project a slightly older version of me on top of young me and bam! Insantly older."
"Bloody hell," Sirius mutters. "I didn't realize muggles had gotten so far along with their technology and whatnot."
"Yeah, science has really been jumping forward these last few years," I say. I just ignore the fact that I am singlehandedly pushing the human race forward into a technological golden age using stolen tecnology told to me by an old cranky gremlin.
Sirius was browsing along a bookshelf when he picks something up. "Is this what I think this is?" he asks as he turns around to show a lightsaber hilt. "Because it looks like a lightsaber."
"That is just a prop," I say as I immediately begin to sweat. "You should probably put that down. It is kind of fragile and I wanted to hopefully sell it at a charity auction for children's cancer research."
"Calm down," Sirius says. "This thing is pretty solid. I would have to really mess up to break it. I just wanted to see what it felt like."
Then, he proceeds to swing it around like a sword while making whooshing lightsaber sounds with his mouth. I was about to stop him when his finger hit a button on the side. With a swooshing sound, a blade of blue energy erupts from the end of the hilt and hums with power.
Fuck.
"Is this an actual lightsaber?" Sirius asks blankly.
"Of course not," I scoff as a bead of sweat rolls down my temple. "You think that if I had a real lightsaber that I would leave it lying around where anyone could grab it?"
That is a real lightsaber and I did leave it lying around where anyone could grab it. In my defense, Hailey and Carla know not to mess around with my prototype sabers. They are still highly experimental and ludicrously dangerous. My synthetic Khyber crystals are flawed, which means that they are all unstable as shit. Any prototype saber that uses one will realistically explode in around two minutes of use.
"I think that is exactly what you did," Sirius says with a scrutinizing look. "You wouldn't believe how many times that Lily has left flawed runic arrays lying all over the place when she was developing some kind of new tool or ward."
Goddamnit, Lily! Why did I have to inherit this bad habit from you?!
"I think you are overestimating what kind of technology I have," I say as I try to bluff. "Movies pay a lot, but not that much."
Sirius just grabs a thick chemistry textbook from the bookshelf before dropping it on the extended blade. It burns through the heavy book and the two smoldering halves land on the floor. He looks at me and raises an eyebrow.
Shit. Well, nothing for it.
I had a feeling this day would come. It was akin to a Force prophecy. One day, there would be the one who could challenge me for my title. With the Jedi Order extinct and the Force untouched by mortal hands in all but the smallest ways, I had long believed that I would never be able to fulfill my destiny.
To do a nonsense, bullshit-ridden, incomprehensibly stupid Jedi duel with someone.
I reach out through the Force and grab onto the nearest hidden lightsaber before pulling it into my hand. I ignite the emerald green blade and perform a dashing strike only for Sirius to block it with the azure blade of his own saber.
"I knew it," Sirius says as he holds my saber back in our clash. "That wasn't magic. That means you must be using the Force like the movie. You are a Jedi."
"Only another idiot would make the leap in logic, but yes," I admit. "However, a wizard could never beat a Jedi, even one in training."
"You forget," Sirius says as he shakes his head like a disappointed teacher. "With magic, you can get close enough. Ever since I first watched the movie, my free time has been devoted to one thing: learning to cast my spells silently and wandless."
He holds up his hand and I got flying back with what I assume is a Banishing Charm. I tumble over a couch before I right myself and land on my feet. Sirius grins and brandishes his lightsaber like a master swordsman.
"You underestimate my power, pup," he says. "I might not be a Jedi master, but I am the knockoff king."
I flick my wrist and send a vase flying across the room at Sirius' head. He ducks, but his distraction gives me the chance to close the distance. I was vaulting over the couch when it suddenly lifts up and breaks my momentum. I fall to the ground and barely roll out of the way as the heavy piece of furniture slams down.
Sirius still had that idiotic grin on his face. How about I knock it off?
These lightsabers were completely nonlethal since I designed them to only function in higher training parameters. This meant that they energy containment field wouldn't allow the plasma of the blade to make contact with anything that has a substantial Force presence. This includes humans which causes it to only burn about as much as touching a stove before it can cool down. Sure, it is really fucking hot, but it only gives a minor burn at worst. The Jedi used to use it for youngling training with the delinquents. It combined mild punishment with training. It is honestly a great idea in my opinion.
We both exchange a rapid series of strikes that are either blocked or parried. Sirius seemed to be incredibly skilled at the technical side of sword fighting. Each of his movements were finely honed from years of hard training. It seems I underestimated my lazy defense professor.
While we both knew what we were doing, our personal technique was focused in different ways. Sirius seemed to use a primarily defense oriented style. It focused on blocking attacks and using them as openings for a counterattack. This balanced aggressive attacks and a solid shield. It was well suited for his strength and endurance.
On the other hand, my style was more of an offense style. It relied on parrying strikes and never letting the opponent slow down. I would pressure them with a constant barrage of slashes and stabs designed to target their weakpoints and force an opening that I could exploit. This utilized my speed and stamina because I was constantly moving.
We were also both being unrepentant nuisances the entire fight by either using spells or Force telekinesis to fuck with one another. One second, I am fighting and the next, I am beign held up by my ankle with magic. I barely dispel it with a blast of Force in time to deflect a slash from Sirius that would have caught me in the chest. Ever since he realized that the lightsabers couldn't really hurt us, he had stopped pulling his punches. He wasn't a world renowned duelist for nothing.
I got him back within moments when I slammed two books against the sides of his head. That sent him him reeling for a second which I spent yanking his leg out from under him. He is toppled to the floor and I proceed to slam my lightsaber down at him. He presses his hand to his side at the last second and uses his Banishment Charm to throw himself out of the way. My lightsaber ended up just piercing the wooden floor and leaving a charred hole behind.
Yeah, I am going to blame Sirius for that.
We were about to clash again when the blades of our lightsabers begin to flicker and pulse. A brief glance to each other created a silent truce as we both realized the fact that we should not be holding these in our hands right now. In unison, we chuck them to the sides a second before the blow up like hand grenades. They leave scorched craters in the floor as they tore through the wood surface and dug into the concrete beneath.
Definitely going to blame Sirius for that.
Our eyes meet again and a new understanding passed between us. The truce is over.
"Accio lightsaber!" Sirius calls out before a new one comes shooting out and into his hand. He ignites it and the custom design reveals itself. It had a longer and thicker blade than the standard saber along with two smaller blade extending from the hilt like a crossguard. As stupid as it looked, they were actually supposed to be useful for deflecting strikes when used by a skilled hand. In terms of Earth history, it most closely remebled an English greatsword.
I Force pull my own saber into my hand and ignite it. Oh, I forgot I made this! As the twin emerald beams of my double bladed lightsaber emerge, I thank God and the Force that I decided to make a bunch of exotic lightsaber designs recently. This is going to take the nonsense to a whole 'nother level.
The funniest part is how they were perfectly suited to our styles. The greatsword Sirius found was meant for powerful attacks and unrelenting strength. My double bladed staff was intended for rapid attacks and controlling multiple angles of attack and defense.
With his new weapon, Sirius decides to forego his previous defensive strategy and focus on trying to deal some damage. He hammers at my defense with his saber and was doing a damn good job of overpowering me. The concrentrated plasma of his greatsword lightsaber had more force to it, so I was barely able to deflect and parry his powerful strikes. Similarly, it provided an enhanced defense against my strikes since it felt like his blade was more solid.
If I didn't know any better, then I would think Sirius was using a Force connection to strengthen his lightsaber's blade. However, he felt like he had the usual Force presence for a wizard. Sure, it might have been on the stronger end like Dumbledore, but it was still normal. That means he is kicking my ass with just magic and top notch sword skills.
It is a damn shame though. He would have made one hell of a Jedi.
As if to prove my point, Sirius proceeds to cut off the bottom half of my double bladed lightsaber. The top half turns off as well since he must have hit one of its wires as well.
"Timeout?" I suggest.
Sirius just shakes his head with a grin. I know I would do the exact same thing in his situation, but come on!
The only other lightsabers were in my lab, but that was at the back of the house. That means I have to either get to my lab or fix the damaged lightsaber I already have. Something tells me that Sirius isn't going to give me the chance to run.
That is indeed confirmed by the swing that I barely duck under. I use a Force Lift to slam him into the ceiling before dropping him and running. I bolt towards the kitchen and try to put enough distance to figure out how to get my own saber working again. A Force pull gives me a knife which I use to strip off the insulation from some of the wires before I begin to try winding them together again.
Sirius tries to get me, but I throw a chair from the kitchen table at him and force him to dodge. I run and dive under the table to hopefully delay him enough that I can finish rewiring this freaking thing. This turns out to be a massive mistake.
I hear a thump as Sirius jumps and lands on the table. A moment later, a blue lightsaber blade stabs down through the wood above me. It was only my honed reflexes that allowed me to shift my head to the side and dodge it.
That makes me start working double time. I try to braid two of the stripped wires together, but it shocks my fingertips and makes me curse. Sirius doesn't give me any time to adapt as he continues to stabs his greatsword lightsaber down through the table at me. This was starting to get fucking annoying.
Yes! I finally managed to twist the last wires into place. Let's see if this actually works. I hold the hilt up against the table and press the button. With a whoosh that triggered a rush of dopamine, the lightsaber ignites and the blade goes up through the table and stabs out the other side. If the yowl of pain was anything to go by, I probably hit Sirius.
"Fucking hell!" the man shouts in pain. "That cut through my shoe and hurts like a right bitch!"
"Sucks to suck!" I shout in return as I proceed to pulll my lightsaber back before stabbing it up again.
We both proceed to frantically stab through the table in an attempt to hit the other while simultaneously dodging around to avoid being hurt in return. My phone vibrates with another alert and I am able to pull it out in time to see that Carla and Hailey are driving up from the main gate. They would be here any second.
I need to finish this fight as quick as possible.
I charge up before realizing the strongest Force Push I can manage up on the table. It goes flying back along with Sirius who yelps in surprise. He rolls away in time to avoid being crushed by the heavy table crushing the ground where he landed.
We were about to continue the duel when the handle of the front door begins to move. Sirius and I exchange a glance before we promptly chuck our lightsabers away so that there is no evidence. You know, besides all of the extensive property damage.
When Hailey and Carla enter, they are greeted with the sight of Sirius and I innocently whistling with damaged clothes while surrounded by a literal warzone.
"Hey, how was your shopping trip?" I ask.
"I am Sirius Black, Harry's godfather," Sirius says as he introduces himself with a smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
The girls just stare at us for a moment until Hailey speaks up.
"Did you two have a huge fight while we were gone?" she asks.
"Of course not," I say right before the Khyber crystals in the second set of lightsabers explode after finally destablizing.
Hailey just gives us an unimpressed look.
"In our defense, it was like this when we got here," Sirius says only to be followed with the exlosion of the second Khyber crystal from my double bladed lightsaber. It had been seperated from the main lightsaber during the fight, but that just preserved it for a little longer. Sirius visibly winces when it goes off.
Yeah, we are not getting out of this.
--
After being thoroughly berated by the girls for Jedi dueling in the house, I take Sirius back towards my lab so I can give him something to deliver.
"Pretty impressive, pup," he says as we walk through the different areas of my lab area. "This looks like it is from one of those sci-fi movies that Lily loves."
"Sort of the point," I joke as I rustle around in a cabinet. "I know I left it somewhere in here. Ah, here it is!"
I close up the cabinet and toss Sirius the package. He catches it before giving it a look over. It was a box bound in green wrapping paper and a silver ribbon tied in a bow. There was a To and From sticker on the top which catches his attention.
"Really?" he asks in surprise. "I didn't expect you to send a present to Rose for Christmas."
"I felt kind of guilty for avoiding her all semester," I grudgingly admit. "It definitely didn't help that I keep picturing her at Potter manor looking like a pouting puppy. Hopefully, this might make up for it a bit."
"Sounds good to me," Sirius says. "I will get this to her when I have some dinner with the Potters tonight. By the way, you put up a hell of a fight for someone who has clearly never dueled against another person."
"How the hell are you so good?" I ask. "It doesn't make any sense."
"Years of fencing classes and a long history of participating in the dueling circuit," Sirius says. "I also dabbled in some kendo after I took some trips to Japan. You need a couple more years before you are on my level, pup."
"Yeah, yeah," I say as I wave him off. "Just get that package delivered before you forget. I don't want to imagine the puppy pouting at me when we get back to Hogwarts if she thinks I didn't reach out."
"You got it," Sirius chuckles before he heads back towards the front door. "See you in class, pup!"
--
(Rose Potter POV)
She stared at the present for a while as she tried to decide whether or not to open it.
Well, she knew she was going to open it. After all, it was from her little brother, Harry. He was actually trying to reach out on his own! This made her happier than any present she would probably get this year.
The main question is if she should open it now. Well, what if it was food or something? It might not be preserved and it could go bad!
But that didn't take into account how nervous she was. Maybe she should just wait until later?
No! She needs to do it now before she chickens out!
She unties the ribbon and rips open the wrapping paper to reveal the carboard box within. The top half came off easily to uncover some kind of block thing. A note rested on the block with a simple message.
Call out 'BD-1'
"BD-1?" she asks out loud before the block pops up and sprouts a couple of legs. It had a lens on its face that focuses on her before it chirped loudly.
"So cute!" she exclaims before she picks it up into a hug. It snuggles into her embrace before using its feet to climb up onto her shoulder. A ray of light is emitted from a projector on its face before it seems to solidify into a copy of Harry.
"Is this thing working?" Fake Harry asks. "Oh, who gives a shit? Hey, Rose. If you are watching this, then that means that Sirius could probably manage to carry a package without losing it. Small miracles, I guess. Anyway, you are now the proud caretaker of BD-1."
"Oh, so that is your name," she says as she glances at the little metal creature.
"BD is a utility and companion droid that I developed based on some data I had," he explains. "He doesn't have a lot of features, but I tossed in a couple bells and whistles. He has a comprehensive 3-D scanning system, an archive of most movies that have been digitally stored, a built in translator for all recorded human dialects and those possessed by most magical species, a telescope feature, the ability to map out your surroundings as he explores, the ability to interface with most mundane technology, small jet boosters that allow him to traverse heights, a small high powered laser that allows him to cut through steel in short bursts, and several short term bacta shots for emergency first aid."
That doesn't sound like a couple things. That sounds like a lot.
"I don't want to ramble too much, but I hope you have a nice Christmas," Fake Harry finally says. "See you in January."
With that, the light fades and BD-1 chirps. She reaches up and strokes its boxy head affectionately.
Best Christmas ever.
--
Merry Christmas,
Titan900