"A Slytherin Black Sheep"
Chapter Seventeen: A Darker Force
"And now I'm all alone again
No where to turn, no one to go to.
Without a home, without a friend,
Without a face to say hello to."
-"On my Own," Les Miserables
It seemed only the day before that Edana started at Hogwarts. Then one morning she woke up and found herself in her seventh year staring down her NEWTS. The Wizarding Archeological Society would officially accept her unless she did poorly on the NEWTS, so Edana combated her unexpected burst of fear and sentimentality by studying like mad. Charlie teased her that she had moved into the library.
She was having a hard time focusing since her mind refused to consider anything but the upcoming Quidditch final against Gryffindor. Despite dating the opposing captain/seeker, Edana wanted very much to leave Hogwarts with a victory under her belt. Not being chosen for head girl hurt, but she had gotten over the worst of her disappointment. Ravenclaw Thalia Blakely, Head Girl, has done a wonderful job, but Edana could not help but ponder what she might have done had the position been awarded to her instead. Edana could not help but wonder if her family was held against her in the selection. It was one thing to be made a prefect from a house famed for its Darker members, but quite another to be held up as an example for the entire school.
All in all, Edana was excited about leaving Hogwarts, but more than a little concerned as Lucius Malfoy had been owling her since her birthday last in September, wanting to meet. Thus far she was able to plead lack of time with her NEWT studies and Quidditch practices consuming her hours. Lucius appeared to accept this explanation, instead writing that he would meet her when she arrived home in June. Her home, the family estate she could now claim as she was of age.
His easy acceptance unnerved Edana, but she comforted herself with the thought she would at least be on her home ground.
* * *
Edana passed the Quaffle to her fellow Chaser Melinda Barnes, a fourth year girl just moved up from reserves. In the time since Melinda filled in for Edana at another final match, Edana had taken the other girl her under her wing. Edana hoped that after she left Melinda would carry on the tradition of excellence in chasing that she and Hodge had established. With two of the three Chasers in their seventh years, the two older students had spent a great deal of time both instructing and threatening Melinda along with the two reserve chasers.
Melinda feigned a pass to Hodge, but at the last second switched to Edana. The delay while the Gryffindors changed direction bought Edana enough time to enter the scoring area. One of the opposing chasers was mounted on a Nimbus and the faster broom easily narrowed the distance between himself and Edana. As she threw the Quaffle, the Gryffindor chaser tried to snatch it, but missed by millimeters.
"Slytherin scores," the commentator, a Hufflepuff, announced. It was a flat comment, without the enthusiasm that would have been present had Gryffindor been the one to make the goal.
Edana punched the air in triumph, but the euphoria from scoring was not something she could pause long to savor. The game continued. As she brought herself around, the Gryffindor Keeper tossed the Quaffle to one of their chasers.
"Gryffindor in possession…" the Hufflepuff said with undisguised glee.
Not for long, Edana thought as she saw Hodge pull along side the enemy chaser.
Hodge snatched the Quaffle from the Gryffindor Chaser and Slytherin beater Allan hit a bludger at Charlie, knicking his left arm. The Commentator was hard put to keep the resentment out of his voice as he growled, "excellent ploy by the Slytherin Beaters. They have obviously committed the first rule of the Beater's Bible to memory: take out the Seeker."
Edana winced in sympathy as she glimpsed Charlie's face, but she knew he would take it. He was right handed and could still play. Edana bottled up her concerns: Charlie would be all right, her focus must be on the match.
The momentary distraction as she glanced at Charlie was all the Gryffindor beater needed to send a bludger her way. She did not notice her danger until the Blugder was inches from her. She tried to pull away, but the bludger still grazed her forehead. Edana distantly felt her body go limp and slump against her broom before everything was swallowed by darkness.
* * *
Edana did not like losing consciousness. The return was littered with traps. As soon as she opened her eyes in the too-bright infirmary she regretted it. She heard the squeak of Madam Pomfrey's thick-soled shoes on the floor as she flew to her patient's side.
"I feel ill," Edana whispered. Had her eyes not been closed she would have seen the nurse give her an understanding look as she handed her a basin. After Edana was thoroughly sick in the basin and had rinsed out her mouth, she felt a hundredfold better.
An hour later half of the Quidditch team arrived. They had changed back into their school robes and did not reek of alcohol and butterbeer. From that, Edana realized they must have lost.
"We lost again, didn't we?" Edana rasped.
The team stared down at their shoes. It was really quite cute that they would do that in unison, but Edana wanted answers, not synchronized staring.
"We lost," Melinda confirmed, raising her eyes to meet Edana's gaze. She tugged off her glasses and proceeded to clean then with the sleeve of her robe. "For the sixth year in a row."
"Weasley leaves this year," Beater Allan, reminded them.
"Thank Merlin," muttered Melinda.
"I leave as well," Edana reminded her. "And I'm not the only one."
"Maybe next years team won't be so depressed," Melinda said. Her lip twitched a little.
"Best you not be, or all us seventh years will owl you hexes!"
The team left shortly after to take advantage of the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Edana was given a headache potion and sent back to her dormitory. As she left the infirmary, Charlie emerged and pulled her into an empty classroom by the arm.
"You wouldn't be thinking of taking advantage of me, would you? I have several medical potions sloshing about in my veins."
Charlie grinned. "Maybe later. I have'nt seen much of you lately. Quidditch and NEWT studies don't leave much time - and after seeing you get hurt today…"
Edana moved her hand to his faced and pressed her fingers over his lips. "We'll be leaving soon. No more NEWT worries, no Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalries to confront every day."
"Just the real world to contend with," he sighed.
"I'll be applying to work at Stonehenge and you'll be working with dragons."
Charlie's smile rivaled the sunrise in brilliance. "You paint a pretty portrait."
"With words, I have no artistic talent whatsoever," Edana teased. Her tone was light but both she and Charlie knew how few dragon reservation positions to be had. She resolved to but such worries on the back shelf of her mind for the time being.
"I knew you had a flaw somewhere!"
Edana laughed. "And so now you know."
* * *
The NEWT examinations came and went, Edana thought that after the OWLS they were almost disappointing. Of course, Edana had to concede that her disappointment of leaving Hogwarts without at least once winning the Quidditch Cup cast a pall over events for the remaining few weeks of term.
Still, her scores were enough for her future plans and she was pleased if not ecstatic with them.
"One more would have been lovely," she grumbled.
"Your scores are perfectly acceptable…unless you care to trade with Malina?" Dru asked in her lilting voice. Both witches grinned: Malina's scores were the worst in their house and she had made no secret of her displeasure.
* * *
For the final time, Edana stepped off the Hogwarts Express and hauled her trunk unto a cart. All around her were other students promising to owl often, hugs, and fare-thee-wells. The departing seventh years were the easiest to spot. Even Malina was staring at the train with disbelief.
"It doesn't seem possible, does it?"
Edana jumped and turned around to see Dru and Kali with their trunks. Beyond them were their families.
"I keep having to remind myself that I won't be coming back next year," Dru sighed.
"I think we all have. Hogwarts becomes a part of you," Edana agreed.
"Just think," Kali said with a hint of mischief, "that the next time we stand on this platform will be when we send our children off to their first years!"
Dru appeared stricken. "Maybe for you, but I intend to teach someday."
"To provide future Slytherins with a class other than potions to excel in?" Kali teased.
"Quite."
All three laughed, tears streaking down their eyes that had nothing to do with humor. No one said anything about them though.
* * *
Lucius Malfoy was waiting for Edana at her house. It was peculiar seeing him standing on the front steps, but she knew that he was not keyed to the wards and thus could not enter unescorted. The indignity lent him a sharper edge that made Edana swallow hard.
"Cousin Lucius," Edana called out with a manufactured air of one actually pleased to see a relative. She waved and walked over to him.
"Edana," Malfoy greeted her flatly. "I've been meaning to speak to you for some time. I know that your family did not leave you much in the way of gold, so I thought I might like to buy an old amulet of your mothers. I would give you the money outright – but I am aware of how your family feels with regard to standing on your own."
"Which amulet?" Edana asked, pretending to be ignorant of his interest in the Mirror of Truth. "I'm rather fond of some of them."
"The Mirror of Truth."
Edana made her eyes wide with feigned surprise. "The last one my mother created? But I have already arranged to have it donated to the Harbrace Museum."
The Harbrace Museum was renowned for its tight security – and its strong ties to both Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore.
Lucius was angry, but fought to conceal it. After a moment he ceased trying and the mask of civility fell away.
"I suggest you retrieve the amulet. I have many contacts within the Wizarding Archeological Society and can 'recommend' that you shunted aside to a paperwork position." Lucius continued, "or I could make it very difficult for the Weasley boy, dragon keepers are a highly sought after and dangerous position."
"Why should I care about a Weasley," Edana sneered. Her hear thumped hard in her chest and she felt fear ice her spin.
Lucius favored her with a predatory smile as he removed a parchment envelope from his robes. Inside where pictures of her and Charlie: walking on the edge of the forrest, snogging by the lake and simply talking. "You ought to exercise greater discretion. to be more discrete. I've known that you have been seeing the Weasley boy for over two years. It would be such a shame if something unfortunate happened to him, but then the Weasley's have so many children they might not notice his loss."
With that, Lucius turned on his heel and left a stunned Edana to digest his words.