The two girls stared at the door apprehensively. Hermione was not entirely sure what to think as Dorothea sighed.

"It's always the same with her." She said, rolling her eyes. She pressed herself to the door and closed her eyes. "Bernie, sweetie." She said, her voice nice and warm. "It's time to come out. It's not good to keep yourself locked up like that. How are you ever going to meet any boys?"

A high pitched wail came from the other side of the door. Hermione was distinctly reminded of Moaning Myrtle. Dorothea sighed.

"I don't know how Edelgard does it." She told Hermione. "Really…"

"Can I try?" Hermione said, stepping forward. Dorothea, despite a look of reluctance, stepped away. "Umm… Bernie?"

The sound on the other side stopped.

"I'm Hermione." Hermione said, placing her hand on the door. "Um, it's nice to meet you."

There was silence on the other side of the door. Encouraged by the lack of wailing, Hermione pressed onward.

"I'd really like to talk to you someday." She said. "And maybe… be your friend. For as long as I'm here."

"Hermione?" The girl repeated. "The girl who-"

"Edelgard, yes." Hermione said. "I'll be stepping away from the door now. You can come on out."

She pushed herself off the door and walked off. Dorothea stared at her, and then back at the door.

"Wha-"

The door slowly began to open and Hermione turned around to see the smallest, frailest looking girl she had ever seen in her life. Wild purple hair ran over her head in knots, and big eyes stared up at her with unease. Hermione found herself thinking that the girl reminded her of a house elf. She had been quick to notice that Edelgard was very short, but Bernie was even shorter. More than that, though, Bernie seemed to have that nervous, uneasy disposition that many house elves seemed to have. Hermione felt a strong surge of affection for her.

"Hello." Hermione said, as she stepped back to the door. Bernie made a surprised MEEP sound and then took a hurried step back. Hermione almost hesitated, but she ended up raising her hand to the girl. Bernie stared at it.

"It's wonderful to meet you." Hermione said, smiling at her patiently. She continued to hold out her hand to her. Bernie continued to stare at it. Dorothea made a noise behind her, trying to get her attention, but Hermione ignored it.

"We're going to go see Professor Byleth." Hermione said. "Do you want to walk with us?"

Bernie was staring at her with wide, scared eyes. Hermione felt a strong sense of pity for her. She seemed to be a complete wreck. This was not a person who should be enrolled here.

She did not speak, but continued staring at Edelgard with wide eyes. Hermione stared at her. She had learned during her work on S.P.E.W that it wasn't a good idea to try and force change. These people lived the way they did for a reason, and found comfort in it. There was clearly something wrong with Bernie, but Hermione couldn't force her to change.

"If you don't want to come, that's fine." Hermione told her. "But I'm really glad I had the change to speak to you, regardless."

She smiled at her and turned away, back to Dorothea. "Ready to go?" She asked.

"Well, uh, sure." Dorothea said, looking back and forth between the two of them. She nodded to herself and then turned away from Bernie.

They left together, climbing up the stairs and around the corner. Once Bernie was out of earshot Dorothea started speaking again.

"I'm really sorry about her." She said. "I don't understand her, I really don't."

"I do." Hermione said quietly. She could tell just by looking at her that she had been the victim of very harsh abuse. She wasn't sure whether she should explain her thoughts to Dorothea though, and thought it best to change the subject. "Where does Professor Byleth live, anyway?" To her shock, Dorothea giggled

"Oooooh, already interested, are you?"

"Huh?"

She turned to look at her, shocked, and Dorothea giggled at her expression.

"Usually when a girl asks where Professor Byleth lives." She said. "She's thinking about visiting after dark." She giggled. "It took me a couple of days to get there, but you're already…-"

"No no no." Hermione said quickly, frantically. "I didn't mean it like that…"

Dorothea laughed. "Sure you didn't." She teased. "You're more like Edelgard than you think." She winked at her playfully.

Hermione took in a deep breath, and then exhaled. Dorothea… she had simply been relieved to have someone there was nice and friendly to her. But she was beginning to notice some of her personality flaws. She was loath to admit it, but it seemed like her closest friend at the academy was actually a huge slut.

"What kind of men do you like, Hermione?" Dorothea asked curiously. "If you really don't like the Professor."

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to know."

"I like men with red hair." Hermione said without thinking. And then she blushed.

"Ooooooh." Dorothea said, and for the first time Hermione felt a strong sense of revulsion at the idea of having a big sister in Dorothea. "Do tell."

"There's nothing to tell." Hermione said, with her nose in the air. She was trying very hard to hard her discomfort.

Dorothea reached forward and wrapped her arm around hers. "There's ALWAYS something to tell." She said. "We're going to have some tea, and you are going to tell me EVERYTHING." To Hermione's horror she was spun around and marched back down the stairs, across the courtyard, past Bernadetta's room, past the greenhouse and the dock, and up some stairs to the cafeteria.

"What about Professor Byleth?" Hermione asked, squirming uncomfortably. "Don't you want to talk to him?" She was desperate for some kind of out."

Dorothea giggled. "I'm not thinking about me right now. I'm thinking about you!"

…

Edelgard was sitting up late. She had taken to attempting to tidy up Hermione's bushy brown hair. She disliked the long, intricate girls and sought to remove them. Hermione, it seemed, was not all that fussy about her appearance. She was very unhealthy and somewhat chubby, and Edelgard was beginning to resent it.

She had spent hours listening to Harry describe his conflict with Voldemort. How he had risen from the dead, how he had killed Harry's friend Cedric and forced him to duel with him. How he had escaped, traumatized, back to a government and ruler that refused to acknowledge what had happened. And how at that moment, Voldemort was out there building his army.

Edelgard found the story fascinating, and at the same time rather strange. On one hand, Voldemort was, as she had already known, greatly known and feared throughout the wizarding world. It seemed to be well documented among historians that his reign of terror was one of the all time worse in the region, and inspired fear to this day. The mere act of speaking his name made you a target of his supporters. At one point he was well on his way to toppling this society and twisting it to his own image.

On the other hand, he had somehow been defeated by a child. By some inexplicable cause, Voldemort seemed to be completely incapable of slaughtering this boy, who had become sort of a messianic figure in this world. And it seemed that this weakness was consuming him and his decisions.

In some ways Voldemort was no different than her, but in others he seemed completely different. Rather, now that she knew more about Harry, she felt a stronger connection than she had previously. Like her he had been through his own hardships and tribulations, and in his own way he had overcome him.

But he had no support.

During her conversation with Harry she found herself aghast at how the 'good guys' as Ron called them seemed intent on keeping Harry, their ace in the hole, completely in the dark about now just what Voldemort was up to, but what they themselves were doing to combat him. Harry had a vague idea of a group of people working hard to expose the government's lies to the public, but Edelgard thought that was ridiculous. The government was not the enemy of the people. The enemy was. If the government was corrupt, simply conquer them and force them to do what was necessary to preserve the peace of the nation.

Once more she wondered whether there was more to the story. Harry, all of his goo qualities aside, seemed almost completely ignorant of who exactly was involved in the conspiracy, other than the Minister of Magic and those directly under him.

Was it his fault? Edelgard had studied him closely as he spoke to her at length on the subject, and decided that it wasn't. He was very passionate about stopping Voldemort, protecting people, exposing the Ministry for what it was. But he simply had no idea where to begin.

If Edelgard had not been born the Princess of the Empire, she would never have had the resources and influence she needed to accomplish her Dream. If she had never learned to fight, she would not be able to defend her ideals. And if she had never met the Professor… she would be dead.

She felt her chest tighten. Yes… Harry, for whatever reason, was being shut up in this castle. He was being taught alongside his future political enemies, learning the same things as them, with no specialized preparation or training for what was going to come in the war with government. He had the passion and drive to fight, but did not have the slightest clue about what that entailed… besides the very basics.

Bravery and passion would only get one so far. Edelgard was determined to give him more than that. And a good place to start would be with the leader of the resistance. Albus Dumbledore.

It was strange that she a more firm grip on how she felt about Harry and his enemies than she did his allies. What was Dumbledore's plan? He was clearly more influential than a mere schoolmaster. Whereas someone like Rhea surrounded themselves with beauty and wealth to emphasize their power, Dumbledore seemed to prefer operating in the shadows. Perhaps this explained his approach to the war. Perhaps his goal was to try and end it before it began.

But if that was the case, Harry SHOULD know about it. It wasn't the idea of Voldemort that terrified Harry: It was the uncertainty and that feeling of facing the unknown, which Edelgard knew from experience was the most terrifying thing of all.

She found herself wondering what she would have done in Harry's shoes. Would she have been pressured to not act by those around her? Or would she have still managed to rise up and change things for the better? She wasn't sure. Harry after all was still a couple of years younger than herself. He was at that age where he was only just starting to understand how he felt about the world, and what he would change if he could. Perhaps in another couple of years….

She still knew too little. She knew very well how the Church of Seiros had influenced the continent for its own ends to divert power away from the Empire. Perhaps a similar power was at play here. One that she wasn't even aware of. It would be foolish to jump to any unnecessary conclusions before thoroughly understanding the situation.

But then again, Hogwarts was like Garreg Mach. The children of people from all sorts of backgrounds went to school here. By studying them, and their attitudes and their beliefs, it might be possible to gain a better understanding of what was happening here.

Edelgard smiled to herself as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her bushy brown hair was becoming increasingly straight. There was nothing to be afraid of. Voldemort still lacked the military might needed to seize this country by force. She would do everything in her power to help Harry build up his own army, greater and more terrible than anything. And the best time to take that first step was right now.