Come-and-Go

Hours after their meeting at the Hog's Head, Edelweiss gathered Ron and Hermione by the roaring fire in their common room. She muttered gibberish under her breath as she used her strength in the Force to warp the space around them. Whether or not it would work was unknown to her; all she knew was that if she could combine the Force and her magic, and that magic operated in part off intent, then it should function. Hopefully. Then again, she had waited until the common room had cleared out. Ron was completely oblivious to what she did, whereas Hermione flinched and looked around with a wild look in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione," Edelweiss said. "I don't want to risk any unseen eavesdroppers."

Not that I wouldn't sense them first.

Hermione frowned doubtfully. "Truly?"

Ron snorted. "Doubt Edie would claim something if it weren't true. You know how she is. Didn't either of us doubt her when she confessed to using the Chamber of Secrets?"

Hermione scowled at him and then turned back to Edelweiss. "I want to know how you set that ward up."

"I cannot teach you," admitted Edelweiss. "For you do not have the potential."

And she was honest about it. Hermione didn't have a bone in her body that was sensitive to the Force. She did seem resistant to its power, but then her mind was fortified against most manipulations.

Hermione gritted her teeth. She looked ready to argue about the Force—about something she knew nothing of—but eventually sighed and gave up the point. Instead, she asked, "Why did we need to wait until the common room cleared to talk?"

"Our little defense club and where we're going to hold it," Edelweiss said. "I will not allow others access to the Chamber of Secrets. It is mine. It has been that since I slew the basilisk and it will remain mine as long as I breathe."

"I… I wasn't going to propose using the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said. "Even if the idea did cross my mind." At Edelweiss's furious glower, she hastily added, "It would be poetic using the Chamber to train Volde… Voldemort's enemies."

Ron squawked. Edelweiss allowed her anger to cool as she raised an eyebrow. She was pleased Hermione possessed the strength to utter the Dark Lord's assumed name, when so many flinched and panicked at its mere utterance. She glanced at her oldest friend, who was busy glancing between Edelweiss and Hermione as though they were mad, and wondered what it would take for him to garner that strength.

Then again, he was probably right to think them mad. In time, her friends would learn how far she had fallen. To them and anyone else who worshiped the ground Dumbledore treaded, Darth Gladiolus would be a monster akin to Voldemort, one who could ruin all they sought to make of magical Britain.

"Poetic, huh…" muttered Edelweiss thoughtfully. "I imagine he would be furious if he knew I routinely used the Chamber of Secrets to grow in power. He must have thought of the Chamber as his oasis within the miasma that is Hogwarts."

Though if she were honest with herself, she was projecting her own experience onto Voldemort. After Dumbledore told her of how similar they were at the end of her second year, she had wondered about whom that young Tom Riddle was like during the summer hols between her second and third year. What would sharing a common room have been like? Classes, the Great Hall, all of Hogwarts. She had felt ashamed about her elective choices then, but she had not found the courage to write McGonagall. How could she explain her change to others?

Now, Edelweiss knew she had been foolish. How much further would she be along her chosen path had she taken Runes and Arithmancy instead of Divination and Care of Magical Creatures? Perhaps she would already be freed of Voldemort's tainted essence.

"Still, there must be other secrets within the walls of Hogwarts," Edelweiss said as she leaned back into her plush chair. Were she sleepy, she would have certainly yawned. "Dumbledore once mentioned he stumbled upon a room filled with chamber pots when he needed a bathroom. I'm certain the Twins have stumbled upon similar in their time here." Edelweiss hummed, crossing her arms. "But to not be on the Map…"

"Maybe it can't be Plotted," suggested Hermione. "Like Grimmauld Place."

"Perhaps. But then how would we find it?"

Ron, who had been looking between them like a tennis ball in action, said, "We could always ask the house elves. If anyone would know, it'd be them. Plus"—and here he glanced at Hermione strangely—"we haven't spoken to Dobby or Winky this year."

Edelweiss blinked at how Hermione perked up, beaming at Ron. He blushed in turn, and Edelweiss bit back a sigh. She did not wish to witness their strange courtship or whatever it was playing out before her. And so she turned her thoughts inward. Freeing Dobby had been the highlight of her second year, and she realized she had never completely taken advantage of his loyalty to her. She had allowed him to be bound to Hogwarts, and thus to Dumbledore. A foolish choice, one she could not undo until the Headmaster was dead.

And once that is finished, I should bind Dobby to myself. Edelweiss cleared her throat. Hermione and Ron frowned at her. She smiled before calling out, "Dobby!"

Edelweiss had once heard the phrase "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery." She wished she could recall when or where, for that phrase immediately leaped to mind the moment Dobby appeared before her. The house elf was dressed like Albus Dumbledore, complete with a lucidly colored robe and hat. He even wore a fake silvery beard, one she was half-tempted to yank out of pure curiosity. At least those infuriating half-moon spectacles were not present.

"Missy Edie Potter!" squeaked Dobby. Edelweiss knew she had been right to wait until the common room was empty, for not even the Force could keep this house elf a secret for long. "What can Dobby bes doing for you?"

"I have a question: is there a secret room within Hogwarts? One that can only be accessed under specific conditions?"

Dobby nodded vigorously, his ears and false beard flopping about. His hat flew away thanks to a particularly vigorous nod. Edelweiss caught it, an amused smile gracing her lips.

"Oh, yes, Missy Edie Potter! There bes that place! We house elves calls it the Come-and-Go Room, but I also hears it called the Room of Requirement."

"Where is it?"

Dobby paused thoughtfully. Edelweiss went to skim Dobby's mind with the Force, yet stumbled upon a block. After several long seconds, her power bypassed the curious magic house elves possessed and discovered the house elf did not know. He confirmed what she learned and then quickly offered, "I coulds ask the other elves. Many bes knowing where the Come-and-Go room is."

"Could they write down and delivered written directions with my cleaned laundry?" asked Edelweiss. The elves would take it away that night. Plus, she was certain Naga Sadow and Lord Salazar would be proud of her plotting.

Dobby nodded, nearly throwing off his false beard. "Dobby will speaks with Eekl about leaving message for Missy Edie Potter in her's laundry."

"I appreciate it, Dobby," said Edelweiss. Before Dobby could depart, she continued: "Are there any particular socks you wish for Christmas?" A gift to reward good service would always be appreciated.

"Dobby does not knows, though he will accepts any socks Miss Edie gifts Dobby."

Edelweiss smiled. "I'll try and surprise you regardless. I'll be in touch, Dobby."

The elf bobbed his head, this time mindful of the false beard upon his chin, reclaimed his hat, and vanished with a soft pop. Edelweiss stood, grinning, and smoothed out her robe.

"Well, I am off to bed. I suggest the two of you get some sleep. Once we know where this 'Come-and-Go Room' is, I want to prepare for our first session with those still interested." Her smile twisted into something vicious, yet lacking in cruelty as she turned away from them. "I wonder how they will handle disarming and shielding," she wondered aloud. "Cannot allow them to build upon a faulty foundation."

Hermione and Ron nodded, yet did not move to follow her. As she headed from the common room, Edelweiss glanced back at the two, still beside the fire. They had leaned in close and were whispering something. Something they did not want her to hear yet. She frowned, disliking what they were doing. Still, she would not interfere. Not yet. She sensed no malice from them yet. She turned and continued on her way to her dormitory.

Edelweiss entered Ziost Hangar the next day, during those quiet, Sunday morning hours when most of the castle was still abed. She went dressed in a dark robe taken from Grimmauld Place, cinched at the waist with a belt of a strange black metal not even Hermione recognized. She drew upon the dark side, and Lord Salazar and Naga Sadow appeared almost immediately.

"Masters," she said, bowing. "I have come to inquire after the ritual to cleanse my enemy's taint."

"We have made good progress," said Lord Salazar. "There are factors on your side, concerning materials needed, that we will need to speak of later."

"However, there is something more important," continued Naga Sadow. "You are woefully unprepared to use the runic language this ritual shall require, if you are to use the dark side alongside the natural magics of your world."

A pattern of twenty-three characters appeared before her. They reminded her strongly of the Futhark alphabets third-year Rune students learned, though she knew these were not of Earth.

"So this is the original Sith language?"

"Precisely," said Naga Sadow with a vicious grin. "When the time comes, you will need to act alone. That is necessary for all Sith as they embark down the path of Sith alchemy. Yes, you can be taught much, but to succeed, you cannot be with your master. You shall either live or die by your own merits."

Edelweiss nodded. She had not thought of where to enact the ritual, though she knew Hogwarts well enough to easily find and claim an abandoned classroom for her needs. She had done as much the previous year, when preparing for the Tournament's three tasks with Hermione and Ron.

"I assume I must learn to write all of these, then?"

"It would be wisest to learn them all now. Should you continue further in the realm of Sith alchemy, you will inevitably have a need for each character. For this particular ritual, you will only need twenty-two."

She could almost hear him chuckling. Of course, they would make it so that she had to learn all but one. Edelweiss stood up straight and declared, "I shall learn them all, Naga Sadow."

"Good. Lord Salazar had his droid prepare a chamber for you to read over and practice each character. Return to us when you have perfectly written each one twenty-seven times." Naga Sadow glanced at an amused Lord Salazar. "He has told me that number has great significance upon your world."

Edelweiss nodded, even as she glanced at the Sith Lord in question. Twenty-seven was vital to arithmancy practices, for it was the cube of three. Three, three times. She wondered if he had drawn upon the number for that sole reason, or if there was another purpose behind the command.

For now, she would go along and learn what she could. The reason would certainly come to light. She bowed and said, "Partings, Masters," and turned. Her grasp upon the dark side loosened and she felt them return to their holocrons.

Edelweiss pulled Ron and Hermione aside after dinner three days after the Hog's Head meeting. They sidled into an alcove off the second floor. Edelweiss drew out a small bit of parchment, rolled and sealed with the same purple wax that came on their Hogwarts letters. She had found it in the pocket of that very robe that morning, and she had been left wondering how long it lingered there before she found it.

"This explains who handles the school letters," Edelweiss said when Hermione frowned.

No comment came, so she broke the seal and unrolled the message. Instead of writing down instructions as any witch or wizard might, the elves had gone with moving pictographs. Edelweiss held the message low so Hermione and Ron could stare at it as well. There was an image of a man teaching what she assumed were trolls how to dance of all things drawn onto a scraggly banner. A tapestry, she realized. A humanoid shape went back and forth thrice, an exclamation point hovering over its head—it was always upon the third pass when a door would appear.

"Isn't there a tapestry like that up on the seventh floor?" asked Ron. He used his height—Edelweiss just reached his shoulders these days while Hermione stood right beneath his chin—to peer over them and get a better look at it. "Yeah, I've seen that before. Up on the seventh floor, near the Fat Lady."

"Well then," Edelweiss said using a bit of Force lightning to torch the message. She ignored their shocked gasps. "Let us go inspect this 'Come-and-Go Room' then."

Her companions said nothing, only following in her wake.

They found the tapestry that matched what the house elves had drawn several minutes later. As Ron said, they had to pass by the Fat Lady to reach it from where they had unrolled the note. She immediately withdrew the Marauder's Map from her pocket and found where they stood. There was no sign of a secret. None of the bubbles proving the password or the meager hint or indication something secret lay in wait nearby. Either her father and his friends had been ignorant of this particular secret or their genius could not map this particular room.

"How curious," Edelweiss murmured as she glanced around. She cleared the Map before putting it away. "Either the room is not on the Map, or maybe the directions are faulty."

"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Hermione as Ron grumbled, "Maybe if you hadn't burned that note, Edie—"

She raised a hand as she recalled the message. Yes, she had destroyed it, but she had committed it to memory before doing so. They needed to watch their steps, especially with someone like Umbridge lurking about the castle. The tapestry before them matched the message, almost alarmingly well. But the house elf had done more than merely come to where the tapestry hung. It had paced before this spot, yet the door had not appeared behind the tapestry.

She glanced over her shoulder at the blank wall. It cannot be this easy, she thought, even as she grinned widely.

"What is it?" asked Ron.

Edelweiss expanded her senses with the Force. There was something there. Something mercurial, heavily based upon intent and the desire to compel. "I may visit the kitchens and personally thank the elf who brought me that message." She stepped up to the wall across from the tapestry and ran her hand along it. "The door is here, but it is also not. How fascinating…"

She paced before the spot three times, curious how it treated only pacing before it. As she expected, nothing happened. She grasped for an idea that she could fix in her mind. Edelweiss settled upon a simple one: We need a place to train for Defense.

She walked past the blank wall once, twice, a third time; and a door appeared. Edelweiss grinned and wrapped her hands around the iron-wrought handles. She paused only a heartbeat before pushing the doors open. She entered the room, her friends following on her heels. Hermione closed the doors behind them, for Edelweiss had already drifted into the grand chamber her thoughts had created.

The chamber established for their use was about twelve yards across and almost fifty long. The long walls were coated in ceiling-to-floor mirrors. One of the short walls was lined with engorged bookcases. Hermione was already inspecting the provided volumes, while Ron stood beside Edelweiss. There were targets and dummies at the far end, waiting to be deployed.

"I think this will work magnificently," she said. "Would you agree?"

"Looks good to me," replied Ron. He turned toward Hermione, who was still busy perusing the books supplied. "What about you, Hermione?"

"I'm very impressed by these books, though where do you think the room got them from?"

"Who cares!" said Ron. "This place is amazing!"

Edelweiss nodded, more or less mentally agreeing with Ron. Yet she found his lack of concern to be troubling. It was very likely the Come-and-Go Room room shared texts with the library, sneaking them out for their use. She would need to check, or perhaps have Hermione do so in her stead. Free reign in the library would probably make her happy, even with OWLs looming before them. Yet what Edelweiss noticed most of all was how the room pulsed with power. It felt more like the Force than any magic she knew of. Perhaps this was another of Salazar's secrets. She thought it was perfectly in line with any Sith Lord to construct a room controlled solely by desire and will. That brought into question just what it was capable of.

"Ron, Hermione. Step out for a moment," said Edelweiss. "I want to check something."

Hermione looked ready to protest the request with how her lips pursed and shoulders squared, but Ron dragged her out of the room before she could speak up. Edelweiss stared at the doors. Once they were closed shut, she focused her will upon them She desired the doors to vanish. They responded almost immediately, vanishing just as she wanted. She reached out with her feelings, inspecting the barrier placed between the room and the corridor beyond. She could feel her friends panicking. Hermione's feelings bled through clearly, while Ron's were difficult to make sense of. Edelweiss did detect to her amusement that he was already hungry, despite how recent breakfast had been.

Magic is the sole explanation for that boy's appetite.

After a few seconds, she willed the door to reappear. Hermione and Ron stormed in with wands drawn yet held low. She slapped her wand against her left hand. Magic shot through her body, and they turned to face her with confused expressions. "I could have hexed you both, coming through that door," she said. "Frankly, the way you two entered was predictable—and foolish. Mad-Eye would certainly have harsh words for you two." Their cheeks burned red; the redness spread to Ron's ears, while Hermione's hair bushed up like a hissing kitten. She watched them, now only tapping her left palm with her holly wand. "But there would be no reason for you two to expect danger. Neither of you are an enemy of mine, though perhaps some lessons in how to handle danger may be necessary. 'Constant vigilance,' as Mad-Eye likes to say."

"Maybe you could hold off acting like Mad-Eye until after a few meetings," suggested Ron. "Though, I would like to see Smith's face when you suddenly hex him."

"Doubt there would be much to see. He'd be flat on his back and likely unconscious before he could draw his wand. His anger afterward might be of interest, though he'd be more embarrassed. I'd be surprised if he did more than slink back into his group afterward, tail between his legs." Edelweiss smirked as her wand came to a rest with a soft smack. "Hermione. How long would it take to organize our first meeting?"

Hermione considered the question for only a few seconds before a torrent of ideas poured forth from her mouth. Edelweiss snatched upon the idea of the protean charm and said, "I'll leave crafting our communication to you, as long as you leave handling our little Slytherins to me. They'll flee or get defensive if you try approaching them."

Hermione looked relieved at the prospect of not dealing with Slytherins. Edelweiss almost pitied the girl.

Hermione surprised Edelweiss when she handed over five galleons on the Ninth of November. It was late, and she had been attempting to catch up with her increasing workload. Four of the coins she now held had the regular goblin imprinted onto magical currency, while one had Edelweiss's face plastered upon it, smirking back up at her. "They have a protean charm placed on them," said Hermione, sounding greatly pleased with herself. "These are the four for your Slytherin allies. This way, they can know when meetings are along with everyone else." She pointed at the serial numbers. Edelweiss blinked; after a few seconds, she recognized them for what they were: date and time. "Yours can be changed to alert everyone else when the meeting will be. Theirs will heat up when you send out a message."

"This is genius, Hermione," said Edelweiss. She glanced at Ron, who was admiring his coin. "How do you plan to prevent Ron from accidentally spending his?" she asked Hermione. "You know how his family is."

"Given it's the only galleon he owns, he shouldn't spend it," said Hermione. Ron frowned at them, though he seemed unaware of what they said. "Now go on, Edie. You should deliver those as soon as you can."

Edelweiss shrugged. She went back to her dorm, slipped on her invisibility cloak, and slunk out of the common room as a group of disgruntled third-years stumbled in. She went several yards from the Fat Lady before pulling out the Marauder's Map. She hissed, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." She quickly found her four Slytherins down in the dungeons and away from their common room. Unfortunately, they were not alone. Several Slytherins were present, including Malfoy and Parkinson. Even being outside their common room it would be a risky affair to supply them with the fake galleons.

Yet the challenge of delivering these galleons with enemies about propelled her forward. She was to be a Sith Lord. What did she have to fear from Malfoy's ilk? Edelweiss kept an eye on the Map as she went. She stumbled upon an abandoned classroom thanks to Mrs. Norris that had excess stores of parchment and ink. She stole some, slipped away from Filch's cat, and wrote a note. She addressed it to Nott, since he was the slyest of the four. Davis was too obvious, Greengrass too close to Parkinson, and she did not have reason to trust Zabini yet. Perhaps it was foolish to believe she could trust any of these four, but her other option was to seek them out another time.

Most of the Slytherins had departed by the time she reached her four. They were gathered in a chamber with several couches and a square central table. Malfoy and Parkinson lingered about with Lillian Moon, Crabbe, and Goyle for company. It appeared they had been working on an essay for Flitwick, but had become distracted by something else. Edelweiss stood beside the furthest wall and listened to their conversation.

"You really think we're going to tell you where we were?" asked Greengrass with sneering amusement. "We have all told you the exact same thing, time and time again: we cannot say a thing."

Edelweiss smiled. These four must have noticed the hexes laid upon the parchment they had signed.

Malfoy huffed. "So you're going to side with mudbloods and blood traitors? What happened to the Greengrass family—"

"My family's blood is older and purer than yours, Malfoy," snarled Greengrass. "We were well established upon these isles when your forefathers came across in the service of a bastard muggle king."

"She speaks true, Draco," added Nott before Malfoy could protest. "Remember that my family was here before yours. Only the Blacks and the Longbottoms remain from when Rome first touched these shores, and perhaps a half dozen who crossed with the Angles or the Saxons. Perhaps it is different in Ireland, but the old families are reduced here in Britain."

"You sound—"

"I am only telling you the truth, Malfoy." The warning in Nott's voice impressed Edelweiss. "You are too caught up in your father's conception of the world to see what it going on. Something dangerous is brewing, and none of us will be prepared when it erupts."

Malfoy fell quiet, face splotchy with embarrassment. Edelweiss moved forward, slipping around the near couch and standing right behind Zabini. He was the only Slytherin still working on his essay. A glance over his shoulder revealed he was more capable in Charms than she would have thought. Or perhaps she had grown too accustomed to sharing the class with Ravenclaws and not Slytherins.

"You've been quiet, Zabini," said Parkinson. She stared at her dark-skinned housemate intently Malfoy glanced between them with a pronounced frown. "What do you think?"

He grumbled something under his breath in what Edelweiss assumed was Italian.

"Zabini!" whined Parkinson. "I want to—"

"What I think," Zabini bit out, "is that each and every one of you is more concerned with external politics than the reason we're all at Hogwarts." At their silent gawks, he continued. "We are here to learn magic. You can't be a decent witch or wizard if you're more worried about your ego than your wandwork and theory."

Parkinson huffed. "That's not what I meant. I wanted to know about wherever the four of you were at Hogsmeade. I heard a rumor you were at the Hog's Head."

"And?"

"Well, Draco and I were worried about you four. I heard there were a lot of people over there, though nobody will say anything about what happened."

Moon huffed and started packing up her things. "I'm heading back to the common room," she told an uncaring Parkinson. "You're welcome to come back if you want. I doubt they're gonna say a thing to you or Malfoy."

She had barely passed by Edelweiss' first hiding spot when Parkinson scrambled to hurry after Moon. Malfoy took that as his cue to depart, though he couldn't leave without uttering, "Best you four think about where your loyalties lie." Crabbe and Goyle followed after him seconds later.

Edelweiss drew out the Map and waited until the departed Slytherins had returned to their common room before slipping off her cloak. She had planned to make a stealthy delivery and leave, but now she had the option to directly speak with her Slytherins. Their attention, though, had returned to their schoolwork.

Edelweiss used their absent attention to walk about the couch and sit down beside Zabini and stare at his nearly completed essay. He glanced at her, looked over again, and then choked on a yelp. Greengrass looked up, a question on her lips, and froze when her gaze met Edelweiss's. Her mouth snapped shut and she sighed loudly through her nose.

Davis turned at the sound and shrieked when she noticed Edelweiss. "Must you sneak up on us like that? You nearly scared me to death!"

"Did I? It wasn't my intention."

Nott and Zabini snorted.

"Tracey!" hissed Greengrass with narrowed eyes. "If Potter has sought us out, then she has something she wants to speak about!"

Edelweiss drew out the four galleons Hermione had given her to pass along to the Slytherins. She held them out so the four could see them clearly. "These coins are not as they appear. They are tokens meant to inform you when meetings will occur. We found a secret place to practice and so we're ready for our first session." She set the false coins on the table. "On the seventh floor, there is a tapestry of a man teaching trolls how to dance. A door will appear on the other wall. We will meet in there."

Davis picked up one of the false coins. She stared at one under thick torchlight before nibbling the edge. "At least you didn't use real coins," she remarked.

"Hermione didn't explain everything she did to make them. What she did mention relates to 'a protean charm'." Edelweiss frowned mulishly. "I had the feeling she wanted me to deliver these immediately.

Nott whistled lowly, inspecting a galleon of his own. "That's NEWT-level work. I didn't think Granger could pull that off."

Edelweiss rose from the couch. "The only spell Hermione has ever struggled with is the Patronus. Why you're surprised… Well, I guess you haven't paid attention. She spends all of her free time cooped up in the library." She drew her invisibility cloak over her shoulders, her head all that remained visible. "Keep in mind that if any of you rat us out, I will know. I will set the Weasley Twins upon you. They will enjoy having targets who betrayed my trust."

And before they could react, she tossed the cloak over her head and vanished into the twisting maze of Hogwarts.

Mid-November arrived with bitter cold and biting winds. The time had come for the first defense meeting. Edelweiss went to the Come-and-Go room an hour before the scheduled time, preparing the chamber for the initial session. She thought over which spell or spells to teach. Her old instincts suggested the disarming charm. It had saved her life when she dueled Voldemort and yet it wasn't good enough Shield charms were vital and she assumed nobody would have a problem with stunners. Nearly all of the signees were fifth years or older. The younger students were exclusively fourth years.

Hermione and Ron arrived first, followed by shrinking waves of Gryffindors. They spread out before raiding a stack of cushions they set out and sat down on. Edelweiss thought it was a bit silly, but she knew bad habits died hard. Perhaps she should force them to their feet. Yet without her interference, they were quick to chat and gossip, slowly growing more comfortable with the chamber. I guess I can leave them alone for now. The Ravenclaws came next, streaming through the doors in groups of two or three. Shortly after them were the Hufflepuffs. A minute before Edelweiss's chosen time, her four Slytherins arrived. They received a few hostile looks, but most ignored them.

Edelweiss made a loud bang with her wand and then clapped thrice.

A thick bar slammed down over the door. On the other side, the door would be vanishing from sight, thus hiding their presence from the castle. Any who walked down that particular corridor would not find them.

"Everyone is here, so we will begin," she said. Many glanced between her and the door, shocked looks on their faces. "Do not worry. Nobody will be finding us. For now, I want everyone up on their feet."

She watched as they scurried up off the cushions. The newly arrived Slytherins joined the crowd, taking up positions among the Ravenclaws.

"Welcome to our first session. I am not naming this group, because anything that has a name can be betrayed—and I will not suffer traitors lightly. You will know my wrath if you go against all of us gathered here." The Slytherins grinned, having already heard her threat. The rest looked alarmed, which almost drew a chuckle from Edelweiss. "Our meetings will occur when they can. The sooner Quidditch practice schedules are delivered to me, the sooner I can plan out the remaining sessions between today and the winter hols. I want to fit in a good dozen sessions before we all leave for the hols, but if it only ends up being three or four, I will make them worth your time."

"And how will you do that?" asked Zacharias Smith. His question sounded annoyingly genuine. "I understand having a dozen sessions, but only three? How would—?"

She whispered "Stupefy" with her wand held low and at her side. It was a risky position to use, but she had the Force to help guide her hand and ensure her targeting was dead on. The red spell smacked Smith full in the chest before he could raise a defense. He collapsed like a puppet cut from its strings. Edelweiss raised her holly wand, spinning it about a finger, as she gazed upon her gobsmacked audience. "There is one lesson I must teach you all: advantage. If you attempt to fight fairly, you abandon any advantage—and thus any key to victory—you might possess. Surprise is an excellent example, especially if you have a quick, accurate spell up your sleeve."

Edelweiss stepped forward and pointed her wand at Smith. The Hufflepuffs shuffled bout their fallen comrade just as she cast, "Rennervate."

Zacharias Smith gasped as he woke, reacting as if injected with a lorry-sized quantity of adrenaline. His wide, wide eyes found her hovering above him, wand out, and he scurried away on hands and feet.

"What the hell, Potter!"

"I'd apologize for using you as a prop for my demonstration, but you volunteered yourself the moment you opened your fat mouth," said Edelweiss, lowering her wand. "Still, I thought you could have tried to raise your wand before you went down. That was… pathetic. How you passed Defense under Professors Lupin and Moody is beyond me. I would have failed you after that performance."

His face first went a brilliant red before settling on the ruddy puce color Uncle Vernon sported whenever she infuriated him. Edelweiss sighed and offered her free hand. He stared at the hand with narrowed eyes for several seconds. It was only when others began grumbling that he accepted her help and got back onto his feet. He slunk into the pack of Hufflepuffs, muttering and grumbling all the while.

"If you only learn one thing from me before the OWL examinations, let it be this: the ability to handle sudden, violent confrontations and to emerge from them relatively unharmed." Her gaze drifted across pale and even greenish faces. She was disappointed, but unsurprised. "I have learned these skills through necessity; I seek to teach them to you without risking your lives.

"Today's session will focus on two spells. The first is the one I used to knock down Smith: Stunners. The other is the shield charm, Protego. I want a show of hands: who knows either of these spells."

Several hands rose, mostly among the sixth and seventh years present. A few fifth years, mostly Ravenclaws, raised their hands, along with Ron and Hermione.

"Drop them if the spell you know is Protego."

Most of the hands fell. Edelweiss found herself disappointed. For all she detested the man, she had hoped many would have taken Dumbledore's words at the end of the previous year to heart; that they would learn good spells for safeguarding their person.

Perhaps, she thought, rubbing her jaw, they have come to me now because they understand what Dumbledore wished for them to understand, and fear what may occur when they depart this castle.

"For now, line up against either wall. Hermione, I will need your assistance for this demonstration."

The crowd hurried to line up against the walls, finally mixing houses. Edelweiss kept her focus on Hermione as they took up positions between the two lines. "Stunners and shields," Edelweiss said. "Since those are our spells for tonight."

Hermione nodded firmly as she raised her wand. A red spell leaped toward Edelweiss. She ducked beneath it, holly warm against her palm. Hermione shot a second stunner racing across the distance between them. Edelweiss raised her wand with a muttered, "Protego." A bluish sheen rose before her, glowing bright and harsh as the red stunner slammed against it. The offensive spell broke apart, leaving the shield unaffected.

"My turn," she said with a wide, almost vicious grin. Edelweiss fired a swift trio of stunners, muttering the incantation as she used the simplified wand motion to replicate the spell. Hermione's eyes went wide with alarm. Her hastily raised shield blocked the first two spells and then fell apart as the third smashed against it. Edelweiss frowned at how the final spell had failed to maintain its strength as it destroyed the shield. She had thought her final spell was powerful enough to pierce Hermione's shield. Still, it was not the worst outcome. Bringing down a shield was important.

She spun her holly wand in her right hand as she surveyed those watching from along the walls.

Hermione surprised her by springing a counter-attack. Edelweiss ducked the first stunner, shielded against the second, and nearly followed a Force-driven impulse. Her master had mentioned in passing that the Force allowed one to absorb energies like Force lightning. Edelweiss already suspected it worked on spell fire, but this was not an appropriate audience for such a trick. Instead, she flicked her wand, pouring through it her intention to prevent Hermione's spells from working.

Her magic responded, amplified by her power in the Force. Hermione's spell fell apart. As her bushy-haired friend stared gobsmacked, Edelweiss swiftly stunned her.

"Don't try to replicate what I just did," she said to her astonished crowd. "Though if any of you can figure it out, well… You're welcome to see if you can get a prefect to give you extra points."

Her comments were met by a few smiles, but no chuckles. She sensed how they all felt, and tried to not be bitter. At least only a few betrayed their feelings with their faces or eyes. The rest masked their fear and terror, yet it existed nonetheless. Edelweiss released her grasp upon the Force, or else she accidentally become intoxicated by their potent, heady emotions. Part of her was tempted to cultivate their negative emotions regardless of the trouble it was bound to cause. She had been careful with using the Force at Hogwarts so far. Perhaps she had finally come to a time where she could test its boundaries. She would discover how much she could accomplish without being discovered in turn.

She resuscitated Hermione, who looked quite put out she had been taken out as she had. "I want all of you to line up. Only one row for now. We will work on dueling later. I want all of you to practice the shield charm before we move on to stunners." Edelweiss watched as none gathered immediately reacted to her command. She grasped the dark side and channeled its power into her voice. "Hurry up."

A moment later, they scurried to form a line along the wall opposite the barred door. She clenched her jaw at how they jostled and bumped against each other. Friends stayed close to friends, and if she could paint them in their house colors, Edelweiss knew there would be no odd stripes, no overlap. It would be four perfect bars of color.

They all stared at her, though only a few held their wand. Zacharias Smith, she noted, was one of them.

"Wands out!"

She struggled to not grimace at how long it took several of them to draw their wands. Hermione had hers firmly held, while Nott and the Slytherins were quick to flick them out of their sleeves. Most drew them from pockets in their robes, though a few kept them in back pockets. One girl had to remove hers from a small purse tucked into the pocket of her robe.

Breathe in, and breathe out. Don't be angry with them. They're just children.

Edelweiss spent the next several minutes demonstrating and explaining the shield charm and its mechanics. Sirius had been pleased by how quickly she had learned the spell, though she suspected he had wanted to move her along and teach her other shields. Most magical shields were built upon the foundation of Protego. Were she not accustomed to the laziness of wizards she would have been shocked.

Now she was grateful most magical shields were based upon Protego. If she could teach everyone present the basic shield charm, then they could learn the rest. There were plenty of specialized shields, including those that deflected dark curses, or the rare curse designed to puncture more common shields. Yet before she could get to those, she had to ensure everyone present could cast a competent shield charm reliably.

"Now, I want all of you to cast on the count of three!" commanded Edelweiss once her explanation had wrapped up. "One… Two… Three!"

The room filled with the cries of "Protego!" Her emerald eyes went up and down the line, watching as silvery and bluish magical shields formed. Only a couple failed to produce a shield, though most shields looked weak enough that a single stunner would punch through without falling apart. Her impulse was to cast a nasty hex at each, but she forced it down. They weren't like Edelweiss, whose instincts reacted to danger and death. They were normal and needed to be handled so.

"That was not a bad first attempt, though I am disappointed by the poor quality of many shields."

She had them repeat the spell until she was happy with what she saw. With every repetition, the shields improved. Edelweiss approached those struggling the most, coaching them through whatever impeded their ability to successfully cast what she thought should be a second-year spell. Most got it down quickly. A few of the boys, she discovered, were holding back to get closer to her. A hex disabused them of that opinion.

And then there was the curious case of Neville Longbottom. For as long as Edelweiss had known him, she had been befuddled by his struggle with spells—and really all wandwork. It had been during her second year that she learned he used his father's wand. She had thought the decision odd, though Ron had used his brother Charlie's wand up until that year. As such, she had thought nothing strange of wands being passed down through a family.

But now, having watched him struggle more than everyone else combined? Edelweiss was disturbed by his struggle. She wondered why nobody had tried to intervene beforehand. She felt the power he possessed within He should be great, not almost falling behind everyone else.

She sighed and forced herself to approach Neville as he struggled through another attempt to cast the shield charm. She waited for him to finish his attempt and turn to face her before saying, "I know you use your father's wand, but I've been wondering: Did it actually choose you?"

Neville looked away with something akin to fear upon his face. "I, um…" he began, hands tightening around the wand. "My gran said it was an honor to use his wand. He was an auror, before, well…"

Edelweiss knew Neville would rather speak about anything else. The Edelweiss of June would have backed off the issue. But that was before she discovered Ziost Hangar and Lord Salazar's holocrons underneath the Chamber of Secrets. She was now awakened to the Sith Code, to their ways. She could feel the potential within Neville Longbottom. She would draw it out and refine it. She would help him become stronger, and own his loyalty until his death.

"Was he killed?" she asked softly. "Or did something else happen to him?"

Neville glanced around as a splotchy redness coated his cheeks. "I don't want to say."

She hummed. Edelweiss could understand why he would be hesitant to speak with her when so many strangers, including those who had been cruel to him, stood nearby. He was worried about what they might think of him. Either his parents were unsung heroes of the war, or whatever happened that led to him living with his Gran was the family's shame.

"I understand. If you wish to speak another time, let me know. There are private places in this castle." Neville blinked. She felt his astonishment, though it went quickly A few seconds passed before he smiled, small and sheepish. Edelweiss gestured to his wand before saying, "Now, I want you to try again. Think of your father. Of how proud he would be of you."

Neville's smile faltered, stiff and strained. Edelweiss laid a hand on his shoulder, trickling power from the Force into him.

"Go on, Neville. You can do it."

He nodded. She withdrew her hand and stepped back as he held his father's wand before him. Neville took a moment to center himself before bellowing, "Protego!" He jammed his wand forward, and a great expanse of silver appeared before him. He held it for several seconds and then turned to face her with a shocked look.

"You're more capable than you give yourself credit for, Neville."

Ninety minutes passed before Edelweiss ended the session and gathered the sweaty, panting witches and wizards she was training around her. Most had moved onto stunners, though she planned to return to shields at some point. She gazed upon them with a soft smile and nodded to herself. "A good showing tonight," she said. Smiles bloomed around her. "It will take time and practice to get these spells to where they should be, but you should all be proud of how far you came tonight." She glanced from the Ravenclaws to the Hufflepuffs to the Gryffindors and finally to those Slytherins drawn in by her. "I would advise you to gather in small groups—no more than five or six—and practice these spells until our next meeting. We'll begin with revisions before moving on to whichever new spells I decide to practice."

There were several nods, and several more looked ready to nod off and fall asleep.

"You're all dismissed," said Edelweiss. A few minutes later, she was left all alone in the Come-and-Go room. She closed her eyes, kneeled, and meditated upon the dark side.