Cult Potter

Wanda: I'm compressing the timeline at the end of PS because one, it's easier on the flow of the story, and two, I would rather not just retell PS because that book was already written. It was called the Philosopher's Stone. That and Harry didn't have anyone to delegate dealing with Norbert to while he went looking for the stone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 8: Confrontation

"Is Quirrel still in the teacher's lounge?"

"Sounds like it." Flora had bought an experimental item off the Weasley Twins a few weeks ago – an eavesdropping device dubbed the 'expendable ear'. The twins, despite their low grades in a lot of their classes, were budding geniuses. The glitching item confirmed that the possessed teacher was yet to sneak off to get the stone. "And it sounds like Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape are there as well."

"Good." Edith checked the power setting on her tazer. She had set it to max just in case; hopefully Fluffy wouldn't be too difficult to subdue but last resort items should always be kept. "Any sign of our resident poltergeist?"

"No, but he might still show up," Hermione noted in concern.

"Then we better get going."

The group nodded grimly and set off for the third floor. Flora looked more and more excited along the way; the blonde Slytherin loved violence. Hermione, usually a teacher's pet of the highest order, seemed a bit torn but determined to follow through on her decision. Blaise kept in stride with Edith, acting as the group's lookout along with Tracey.

Meanwhile, Ron was leading the group effort to get Norbert transferred. What the four didn't realize was that Theodore Nott was stalking them in hopes of getting Edith into trouble. However, even if he did catch them it would only continue to distract the teachers from the group heading to the third floor.

Edith was the first to reach the door on the third floor. She waved Daphne up to the front and nodded. Daphne pulled a glass flute out of her bottomless pouch. It was an expensive gift from her mother; the honey blonde haired girl was a talented musician and loved music.

Opening the door, Edith and Daphne moved inside. Sure enough, a massive three headed hound was sitting in the middle of the room. Just under its front paws was a trap door.

Fluffy growled when he spotted the intruders into his 'nest'. Quickly Daphne raised her flute and began to play an arrangement of 'Amazing Grace'. Fluffy eyed her for a moment and padded forward a few steps. Daphne winced but kept playing. Fluffy's three sets of eyes drooped, and he lay down on the ground in front of her and fell asleep.

"Aww." Flora cooed, reaching out and petting Fluffy's middle head. "He's so precious."

Edith walked forward and knelt next to the trap door. Blaise helped her pull the door open and together they looked down into the black abyss. Hermione cast a bluebell flame with her wand and cast it down into the darkness; a huge green mass shifted and groaned.

"Devil's Snare. Neville was right." Edith murmured. "Everyone, wands out – once you hit the plant, cast a flame charm."

She went in first; Blaise and Hermione right behind her. Edith winced as she hit the squirming mass of tentacles; she pointed her wand straight up and snapped, "Lumos!"

Flora hurtled down from above and hit the plant right next to her as the light filled the area. "Ugh. Gross." Her fellow Slytherin growled, as they slipped down past the plant and onto the floor below it. "Somebody's been reading too much creepy Japanese tentacle hentai."

"What?" Edith asked, confused.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." Flora said.

Blaise offered Hermione his hand to balance her. The bookworm smiled gratefully at him as Tracey, Dancia, Sally and Daphne all dropped down one after another. "Thank you."

"No problem," Blaise said with a small smile.

Daphne made a face as she cleaned off her favourite birthday gift with a quick spell. She was the only other person who'd gotten the implication of Flora's 'manga' comment. "Ugh."

"You're really good, Daphne." Sally complimented her. The petite Hufflepuff looked like she'd been given an adrenaline makeover; her hazel eyes were almost glowing in the dark. It was a good look on her, Edith thought absently. "I think Fluffy likes you."

"Maybe," Daphne said, looking a little guilty when a faint, sad 'wuff' sounded from the above floor. "If he sticks with Hagrid, I could play for him again."

"Is everyone alright?" "Mm-hmm." "Good."

The group walked across the darkened floor and pushed the ancient wooden door open. Immediately they were brought into a room with a high ceiling, full of jittery keys with wings. In the middle of the room was an old broomstick.

"Great. It's a flying course." Dancia muttered. She hated flying, especially thanks to their first proper lesson when her broomstick had bucked her off a couple feet off the ground.

"There's only one broom," Susan noted. "Why would you assume that a person would try to take the Stone alone? Wouldn't it be wiser to assume they would bring help?"

"Well, this is based on the idea that you should take a very sought after object and put it in a school full of vulnerable children," Sally said sarcastically. "I don't think that once you've made that leap, you're bound to set everything up very cleverly."

Hermione had made her way across the floor and was examining the lock. "It won't open to an unlocking charm; we'll need the actual key." She reported. "It's probably an old one, with rust and an ornate shape. Can you guys see anything like that?"

The nine students wandered under the various keys for a few minutes before Blaise let out an exclamation and pointed upwards. Sure enough, a heavy bronze key – quite different looking from the rest – was floating in the middle of the pack.

"The keys are probably charmed to attack," Hermione warned Daphne as she mounted the ancient broomstick. "We'll try to hold them off, but you might want to be quick."

Hermione and Flora were the only ones who knew an immobilization spell. Daphne pulled to the left when the first horde of keys went after her, allowing her companions to freeze them in place. The Slytherin easily snatched the feeble key out of the air and pulled it down to the door.

Once they got through that door, they found themselves standing at the foot of a massive wizard chess set. "Pity Ron isn't here," Blaise said. "He's brilliant at this."

"...I've played chess a couple times." Sally offered.

"I have as well," Dancia said, clasping her hands together. "My mother is very fond of it; I've been playing since I was five."

"Great," Edith said, pleased. "You're the strategists, then."

"What pieces should we be, though?" Blaise eyed the pawns with some trepidation.

Edith walked to and fro in front across the black side of the board, her mind whirring. "Okay...Dancia, you're the Queen. Hermione, you take the Rook on the far right. Blaise, you're that Knight." Her friends hurried over to their positions as the pieces walked off the board. Edith examined the board for another second before continuing, "Tracey, Daphne, you two are the Bishops. Sally, you're the other Knight, Susan, the other Rook...Flora, you're..."

"A pawn?" Edith waited for her friend to go nuts and unleash an angry rant, but Flora just set her expression in grim determination. "Well, I better aim for the other side, huh?"

"...and I suppose I'll be the King." Edith finished, giving the other girl a look of gratitude.

Someone had to be take the most vulnerable role.

Wizard chess was violent. Most of their pawns got smashed by the aggressive white chess pieces. The White Queen was particularly vicious; she took Blaise and threw him off to the side of the room. He groaned and passed out, much to the dismay of his friends. Susan sacrificed herself to start luring the White King into a trap; meanwhile Edith and Hermione used the castle manoeuvre to put the remaining rook in the necessary position.

Tracey grimaced as she examined how the White Queen was protecting the King. Flora was nearly at the other side of the board; if she made it she could become a Rook and complete the trap. But the Queen could still cut her off, and the plan may fall apart.

"I have to draw her away," She said. Taking a deep breath, she muttered, "This is going to hurt." Before anyone could stop her, she walked across the board and took a pawn very near the White Queen. The enspelled piece took the bait; Tracey went flying and landed in a heap next to Blaise and Susan.

Daphne cried out in concern but remained on her square; Flora promptly stepped on the last square and declared, "Checkmate."

The King turned and threw his crown at her feet. Immediately the six remaining students ran across the room to where their friends were lying. Daphne knelt down next to her closest friend and checked her pulse. "They're all still breathing," She gasped. "But someone has to take them back."

Susan groaned and sat up; when Dancia put a hand on her shoulder she muttered, "I can walk; I didn't have far to fly."

"We'll do it," Dancia said, turning towards Edith. "You, Hermione and Sally – you have to get the stone. Come back and meet us at the Hospital Wing. Promise?"

Edith nodded weakly. Seeing Susan, Blaise and Tracey get hurt had sent cold shudders down her spine. I can't put them in any more danger. This was my idea... "Go, and hurry. Be careful for Quirrel..."

The group split up, Sally and Hermione staying by Edith's side as they made their way further down into the chamber. They reached a logic puzzle; Professor Snape's. A wall of fire consumed the doorway, leaving it unpassable.

"Hermione?" Edith asked simply.

The Ravenclaw nodded and examined the script for a few long minutes.

She snapped her fingers, walked to the edge of the table and picked up a small vial, grimacing. "There's only enough for two of us," She said. "Sally, you go with Edith. I'll stay here and act as a lookout. If you hear sparks going off, that means someone's approaching okay?"

Edith dug her fingernails into her hands to keep them from shaking; her friends were doing so much for her without her even asking. Trying not to be overwhelmed by her rising emotions, she nodded and drank half the vial before handing it to Sally.

The two of them then walked into the final room.

Edith blinked. She wasn't sure what to think. The room was completely empty except for a familiar looking mirror...

"What?" She muttered, walking up to it. Sally followed only to stop a pace behind her, surprised by what she was seeing in the reflection. "A mirror? Is this another riddle?"

What she saw in the reflection hadn't changed since she stumbled across it at Yule. Was...was the stone not here? But that didn't make sense – why put up so many defences for an empty room! It had to be here somewhere...

She felt Sally touching her arm. Edith turned to face her friend and nearly jumped. Sally was holding her hand up to her, a glowing red stone in her hand. "This is it," The Hufflepuff murmured somewhat unnecessarily. "The Philosopher's Stone."

"Ah...how did...?" Edith looked between Sally and the mirror in confusion. "What did I miss?"

Sally gave her a tiny shrug in response. "I don't know. It's probably a spell of Headmaster Dumbledore's. Who knows what goes on in his head..."

Sparks fluttered by the door. Cursing, Edith pulled Sally behind her and pulled out both her wand and her tazer. She pressed the stone into her pocket, all her nerves alert. It could only be one of two people, and since Dumbledore was asleep in his office...

Professor Quirrel...Voldemort...walked into the room, frowning when he saw the two young girls standing in the room.

"Dear sweet Edith Potter...what a surprise to see you here before me."

"That makes both of us," Edith said flatly, schooling her face so as not to show emotion. She faced down the man, she could sense Sally bristling with both fear and anger as the tense standoff began...

"You've surprised me quite a few times this year, child – and I say that with all honesty. The Potter girl, Dumbledore's greatest victory, hero of the common people...in Slytherin, the most noble of houses? When everyone thought you would be the Headmaster's pet Gryffindor? Perhaps you are destined for greatness...though the company you keep is less than desirable."

Sally clenched her fists.

"She's my friend," Edith responded. "She's stayed at my side. It doesn't matter where she comes from."

Voldemort snorted. "She's a muggleborn. She won't amount to anything. Even if she managed to dig out a foothold in our world, she would still be cast down. I can assure you of that."

"The world can change." Sally said bravely, jutting her chin out in defiance. Edith couldn't put to words how she admired Sally for saying that and standing her ground, despite how clearly frightened she was. She would become a deadly force when she got older.

Voldemort gave her a look of contempt mixed with amusement before returning his attention to Edith. He walked across the hall – stumbling slightly, twitching, as if the body he was inhabiting was coming apart at the seams. It was truly unsettling to see. "I see you've found the Mirror of Erised. Clever of Dumbledore, to hide the stone there..."

"Erised?" Edith asked, hoping to stall a bit longer until she came up with a strategy; she hadn't expected Voldemort to come to them. They had planned the day carefully, hadn't given him any indication they were on to him or that they knew what was on the third floor.

She wondered what, or who, could have tipped him off.

"Mmm. I suppose you're still too young to understand...it is an old creation. The mirror of desire. When a person looks into it, they can see what they want the most in the world at that moment...so child, tell me. What do you see?"

Edith turned and looked at the mirror. Again, she saw her future self – that tall, warrior queen, surrounded by her friends and companions. This time, her parents were there as well; her mother and her father, smiling proudly down at her.

"I see myself in the centre of the world," She said. "I'm surrounded by those I've chosen; my family. I have a crown. There are people of every kind bowing at my feet."

Voldemort turned towards her, and this time his expression held genuine surprise. "Is that so...? I admit, that wasn't what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?" Edith asked coldly, staring straight ahead while discreetly tightening her grip on Sally's hand and pulling her friend closer to her belt. Sally blinked and then suppressed a smile of understanding when her fingers brushed against the tazer. "Some pretty, cookie cutter heroine who recoils at such an idea?"

"Yes." Voldemort answered bluntly. "You were the cause of my first defeat, and Dumbledore would have wanted to preserve you for my inevitable return."

"You'd think I was a nuclear missile locked up in a silo." Edith muttered, her eyes hardening. Her right hand move to her arm, where one of several long scars Vernon had given her still remained. You can't really lean on a Dark Lord for accurate information, but she had seen Dumbledore once in a way that didn't make her want to trust him.

Sally, meanwhile, discreetly plucked the tazer from Edith's belt and pressed it against her side.

Voldemort stepped around her until he was directly in front of both girls. "Hmm...you're a unique child, Potter. I value wisdom and bravery; your parents both showed those traits...I would have rather have let your mother live, but alas, she would not step aside when I gave her the chance. You would make a good Death Eater, child...this world will never welcome you and your friends without a olive branch extended from someone like me."

"I agree. The world needs to be changed." Edith said, staring straight ahead. Voldemort leaned closer to her, awaiting her response. "...but you killed my parents."

Sally acted then, springing forward and ramming a full powered tazer into the man's stomach. Voldemort howled and dropped his wand; Edith stepped forward and stomped on it, snapping it in half. Then she shot forward, tackling him and knocking him onto the ground. Edith pinned his head down by her hands, only to yelp in surprise when smoke rose up from her fingers. To her amazement, Voldemort was suddenly burning alive under her hands. Sally knelt down next to her and hit him with the tazer again, pinning his writhing hand to prevent him from grabbing Edith's neck.

The man burned into ashes and shattered on the ground; a bright red aura surrounded Edith's hands and face. Sally couldn't see it, but Edith looked skyward, whispered, "Mother?", and collapsed on the ground, passing into unconsciousness. Mere seconds after this, a cloud of smoke rose from Quirrel's ashes; it screamed and tried to pass through Sally, but it wasn't strong enough to do her any harm.

Once he had left, Sally scrambled over to Edith's side and slowly propped her up against her. When she managed that, she limped over to where Hermione had been hiding and asked her for help. Together, they brought the unconscious Edith back to the entrance of the floor.

Daphne had come back to wait for them. "The teachers are starting to sweep the school. We have to go." She said, before pulling out Edith's invisibility cloak which she had collected from the dorm after getting Tracey to the hospital.

The four students hid under the cloak and made their way back down to the dungeons and into the Slytherin girls dorm. The first thing Sally noticed was that Pansy Parkinson's bed was empty. They placed Edith down on her bed and pulled the blanket over her.

"Sally, your house is closer, so Hermione you borrow this for now." Daphne instructed, handing the cloak to Hermione. The bookworm took it very carefully in her hands."Don't get caught."

"That goes to you, too." Sally said with a small smile.

**~The Next Day~**

Edith woke up late and slowly. Blinking heavily, she let out a small 'woof' when Tristan woke and pawed happily at her stomach. Back in the dorm...? She shifted heavily and sat up, her hand going into her pocket. Her fingers hit the stone, and she pulled it out to examine it.

The Philosopher's Stone. It was beautiful to behold.

Quickly Edith put it back away and got up a little unsteadily. She had to see if her friends were alright... Tracey, Blaise, and Susan had all gotten hurt...

"Edith!"

Flora and Hestia had been waiting at the doorway. "Oh good, you're awake!" Hestia said in relief. "You won't have to go to the hospital wing."

"Tracey? Blaise?" Edith started, only pausing when Flora waved a hand.

"They're all fine. Their injuries were superficial, and they headed out for lunch a minute ago. It was tough, erm, convincing Poppy not to report the injuries, but we managed it!"

Hestia gave her sister a disapproving look, so Edith decided not to ask to preserve her ability to plead the fifth amendment. (the USA had some useful things in their constitution, even if they didn't uphold them all the time.)

"Hermione and Sally got back to their dorms without getting caught. Ron, Neville, Cho and I were less lucky, but we ended up being a useful distraction," Hestia said.

"What happened?" Edith asked.

"Nott and Parkinson followed us out and up to the tower. They thought you'd be with us and figured you'd be busted for being out after curfew. We managed to get Norbert off with Charlie Weasley before they called Professor Snape and McGonagall down on us, so we've just got a night's detention out with Hagrid in the forest."

"'Just' a night in the Forest," Edith echoed in amusement.

Hestia giggled and responded, "You're the one who went off to steal from a Dark Lord."

"Quirrel's been confirmed dead, so no classes today while Dumbledore pulls his hair out...or maybe his beard," Flora said with a snicker. "because none of our 'landing party' was caught. They missed us by an inch, yes, but we weren't caught."

"That's good." Edith said.

"So you have the...?" Hestia started, only to trail off when Edith pulled the stone out of her pocket. Both Carrow sisters eyed it with undisguised awe. Edith nodded, and pressed a finger against her lips in a 'shush' gesture before putting it back away.

"Let's go get some lunch," Edith suggested teasingly. Tristan barked in agreement, and the three girls left their dorm to settle their hungry stomachs.

**~In the Great Hall~**

Dumbledore had a headache.

When the wards at the third floor had been triggered, he had given Voldemort a 'nudge' towards the prize he so desperately wanted. He thought that the person in the third floor had to have been Edith, so while it was a bit premature, he decided it was time for her to meet the man who murdered her parents and start preparing as her role as a Light Icon.

But instead, Quirrel was dead, Voldemort's spirit was gone, the Philosopher's Stone was gone, and Edith had seemingly been asleep in her dorm the entire time since she was nowhere to be found at the scene. While Lily's protection would have been enough to destroy Voldemort, the magical taxation should have left her completely unconscious.

Dumbledore didn't think that any of Edith's friends would have actually confronted Voldemort by her side. Since it was Potter's role, nothing else.

But now, what was he going to do? The stone wasn't something he had truly planned to loose, even if he was going to 'destroy' it after the fact. And he didn't even have a good grasp on what happened.

Edith walked in late for lunch alongside the Carrow sisters followed by her faithful dog, having slept in due to nightmares the previous night. The girl wasn't acting oddly at all; she sat down with Dancia and Blaise and started chatting with them. A moment later, Sally Anne Perks, Hermione Granger, and Susan Bones all travelled over from their respective tables to join her.

Various older Slytherins looked as though their dinner had been replaced with manure, but the younger children embraced this and several children, such as Maya Pritchard, Lilith Moon and Grant Richter started tentatively speaking with these other housemates.

Dumbledore was befuddled by this. As much as he wanted to bring all these children together, he hadn't put out nearly enough offers and incentives for the house of green and silver to respond so positively in a comparatively small amount of time.

Edith smiled and said something to Tracey and Grant, causing both first years to break out laughing. Professor Snape was watching that with what could almost constitute a smile, seeing how his house was beginning to flourish instead of being turned away by the rest of the school. Cho Chang and even nervous, cripplingly shy Neville Longbottom also made their way over to the Slytherin table in order to chat with their friends.

"I believe we have a first here at Hogwarts!" McGonagall remarked in awe. "I wondered when I saw Miss Potter helping Neville in that first class, but this is quite something! Children in all houses, sitting at the same table."

"It's truly remarkable," Flitwick agreed. "I've seen her working with miss Granger in my classes; she almost exclusively works with miss Potter. It warms my heart to see such different people making close friendships here."

Dumbledore said nothing, which caused Pomona to look at him in surprise. "Professor, I thought you'd be the first to comment on this."

"Ah, forgive me Pomona, I find my mind on other matters." Dumbledore said.

"Of course, sir, but it couldn't hurt to look at the silver linings before the Aurors arrive to investigate." The Hufflepuff head suggested.

"Perhaps I should...worry comes with age." Dumbledore looked at Edith again. She was still engaged with her friends. If she knew anything, she was choosing not to disclose it to him. And that thought didn't make him very happy. He was going to be her mentor, after all.

He would raise her to be the martyr of the Light. There always had to be one for things to change.

End Chapter

I'm fairly pleased with how this chapter turned out. I hope you guys like it too - but hey guys! Please review! I desire your opinions and need to know if there's more to think about while this story continues to bear fruit!

So please, Read and Review please!