A Premonition
Edelweiss went to bed early on a night near the end of term. The Hogwarts Express was set to return to London in two days' time, and for the first time in her career at the school, she would not spend her Yule hols within the castle walls. Professor McGonagall confirmed she would be allowed to spend the hols with the Weasleys. The Dursleys, for once, had written the school to grant their consent.
She took that to mean Mad-Eye paid them a visit and the auror threatened an agreement out of Uncle Vernon. Edelweiss was disappointed she missed them being intimidated.
The Force drew her to bed on this night. She sensed its currents, calling upon her to follow them. Edelweiss tried to resist the draw, but it grew stronger the more she resisted. It reeked of the Cosmic Force, that dreaded aspect of the almighty power that swayed minds and made puppets of the Jedi. And yet she failed. She succumbed to its siren call. It came swiftly, crushing all resistance. Edelweiss found in the span of a blink she went from struggling to finish an essay in the common room to laying in her bed, changed and ready for sleep.
Might as well learn what the Force wishes to show me, she thought mulishly. Edelweiss pushed aside her hesitation, closed her eyes, and gave in.
Time blurred into inconsequential nothingness—and then Edelweiss became aware of her surroundings. She was in a dream but not; a blurred, greyed ripple of some other place she had dreamed of before. The grey coloring faded, but the ripples and blurs did not.
She stood in a long corridor, the walls covered in black tiles. They were smooth and glossy, reflecting a pale blue light that drew her forward. Edelweiss treaded forward. As she went, she noticed her reflection. She stopped and stared, burning the image into her mind. This was how Darth Gladiolus would dress when the time came. She wore boots made of a dark, pitted metal. The metal covered her hands, leading into gauntlets that crawled up her forearms to the elbow. There they met bare flesh, the black, swirling marks from her cleansing exposed for all to see. She wore cloth over the rest of her form; supple pants and a sleeveless tunic, with a long, flowing cloak over her shoulders that fluttered behind her.
And at her belted waist hung a lightsaber. The weapon of a Sith Lord, sleek grey metal stylized to mimic her holly wand.
She followed the corridor until she came to a door. She opened it and entered a strange, circular chamber. There were a dozen doors around her. When she came to the chamber's center, the wall shifted and started spinning. Instead of watching the wall or the doors, Edelweiss closed her eyes and focused on the Force. Time passed. Eventually, the chamber stopped spinning. Relying only upon what she felt, she went to a door on her right. It was not directly before her, yet it was not to the side. She opened that peculiar door and stepped through.
The chamber she entered was massive, with a high, arching ceiling. Her sight was filled with row after row of shelves, all bearing blue, shining orbs. Edelweiss frowned and started forward. The Force beckoned her onward, onward, onward! She had a terrible feeling about what she would find at the end of her path, but she had no—
A man screamed. Edelweiss turned toward the scream. The world rippled into its proper shape as she broke away from the Force. She rushed to the scream's source. She nearly stumbled over a massive snake as it weakly crawled, seemingly spent. There was no time to stop and inspect it. She had yet to find the man who had screamed.
She found the man and froze. She knew him. She knew the balding red hair on his head and his paunchy stomach. His eyes widened as though he could see her. But he shouldn't be able to. This was a dream, or so Edelweiss told herself.
His lips moved, her name reflecte—
Edelweiss shot up in her bed, panting. She sprung to her feet, raced through a dormitory filled with snores, and scurried down to the common room. Her heart pounded. Her mind whirled. What had she seen? Edelweiss feared it was true, but for that to be so…
She shook her head and banished the thought. Edelweiss went to the portrait over the fireplace, one of a Scottish warrior cleaning his massive sword.
"Summon McGonagall!" she demanded. Edelweiss remembered the copy in the professor's office from prior years. She suspected McGonagall used the portrait to keep an eye on the Gryffindors, despite her apparent blindness. "Go now! Fly!"
"Now, hold ye—"
"Go before I ruin you!" bellowed Edelweiss. She knew she was too loud, perhaps loud enough to awaken all of Gryffindor. "Hurry! A man's life hangs in the balance!"
The portrait nodded and vanished. Edelweiss spent the next few minutes stressfully pacing the chamber. The dark side cloistered around her, a second skin that provided little real comfort. She tried to make sense of all she had witnessed. Arthur Weasley had been attacked. That was clear. But where? By who? Voldemort? She guessed he would have the power to control a snake, but something had been off about it. Wrong. She hoped that snake had housed some of his essence and had now perished, weakened severely by the cleansing. It should be dead now, though the mere thought of it infuriated her. It never should have had the chance to look Arthur Weasley in the eye, let alone attack him.
"Did I make an error?" she murmured.
There was no time to dwell on that thought, for McGonagall burst into the common room, family tartan wrapped around her night robe. She went to Edelweiss and asked, "Miss Potter, what is—?"
"Inform Dumbledore that Arthur Weasley has been attacked. It was done by a snake in a chamber with glowing orbs on shelves."
McGonagall blanched. The place she had seen was connected to the Order. Edelweiss was tempted to press the issue, but a man's life hung in the balance. If she were to claim the Weasley's loyalty for herself, she needed to ensure their patriarch survived to see the new year. To see more years.
"Go on," said Edelweiss. "Go tell Dumbledore, so that he can send someone to get Mr. Weasley to safety."
McGonagall stared at Edelweiss pensively. For several seconds, she worried the professor would ignore her—or worse, try and punish her. But then she sniffed and said, "Remain here, Miss Potter. I will go speak with Albus."
She watched the professor go and only worried after Arthur Weasley, who had always been decent to her. There were those who did not deserve death, and he was one of them.
A half-hour later, a tight-lipped Professor McGonagall brought Edelweiss to Dumbledore's office. She was surprised to discover Minister Fudge and Umbridge were presented as well, but then she kept the Force close to her after what had transpired earlier. The adults appeared slightly exhausted, though the Minister was frightened awake when he saw her face. She stared impassively as he babbled about "rotten morals" and "a need to do something". It would have been hilarious, were it not so pathetic.
"Pardon me, but why was I called here?"
Dumbledore rose to his feet. Minister Fudge cleared his throat, shot the Headmaster a dark look, and then turned to Edelweiss with a grimace. "It was reported to my office around twenty minutes ago that there were several breaches into the Department of Mysteries. One of these breaches was caused by you, possessing those strange, dark marks on your face. And worse, there were reports of yellow eyes! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"That I woke up a half hour ago after suffering a terrible nightmare." Edelweiss fought down her sudden want to blast the Minister with Force lightning for daring to compare her Sith markings to the slave tattoo Voldemort placed on his servants. She also suffered a wave of jealousy, learning others had seen her eyes burn with sulfur-yellow before her ascension. They would be like glowing coals in her skull. "I wish I could aid you, Minister, but I'm afraid I don't know—"
"You told me about Arthur being attacked in the Hall of Prophecy," interrupted Professor McGonagall. She had freshened up, though her tartan hung around her still, just like when she stormed into the Gryffindor common room. "While I disagree with the Minister's claim you were there physically, I cannot fathom why you would know about something in London."
"And especially not after what happened to Arthur Weasley," the Minister added. He shot a foul glare at Dumbledore. "This is the second time someone with close ties to you has been found where they should not be, Albus. I want to know why the Department of Mysteries!" Edelweiss tried to recall who the first person had been, but she was drawing up a blank. Perhaps she should read the Daily Prophet, for all she detested the Ministry's propaganda rag. "I am tempted to see you drummed out of your position here at Hogwarts!"
"I am afraid you do not have that authority, Cornelius. Otherwise, you would have removed me this summer," said Dumbledore. He glanced at Edelweiss, a hint of amusement hidden in his blue eyes. "It pains me to confess that Arthur took a concern of mine too far. I am covering his care at Saint Mungo's, and I will ensure his family receives restitution for what has happened."
Minister Fudge huffed. "Still, that does not explain the snake corpse we found."
"Snake corpse?" asked Edelweiss, playing dumb. She glanced at Dumbledore. "Do you think…?"
She let her question linger in the air between them, a trap for him to take, should he desire to inflame the Minister's anger. He smiled back at her; he knew what she was doing, and found it amusing. Amusing!
"I have no doubt, my dear, that Voldemort believes there is something of great value to him in the Hall of Prophecy."
Edelweiss raised an eyebrow while Minister Fudge spluttered. "A prophecy? Perhaps connecting me and him—?"
"Enough!" boomed Minister Fudge. "Enough about him! He has not returned! He has not! He has been dead all of these years!"
"Then how would you explain the Chamber of Secrets being reopened?" asked Dumbledore. "I told you then that it was the same man—and that it was never Hagrid."
Minister Fudge's face pursed as if he had eaten a handful of prunes while Professor Umbridge shot Dumbledore a deathly glare. Professor McGonagall appeared to have aged several years in as many seconds, while Dumbledore sat behind his desk, strong and stoic. Here was the force Voldemort feared; here was the force she would destroy.
"May I return to bed?" asked Edelweiss. She yawned. "I would appreciate a few more hours of sleep before you inevitably inform the Weasleys about what happened to their father."
There was an awkward, almost pained exchange of glances before McGonagall said, "I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower, Miss Potter."
Edelweiss nodded. No protest came despite Umbridge's frustrated expression. They left Dumbledore's office to the sound of Fudge bellowing about alleged threats to the integrity of the Ministry. She smirked. The Minister was a fool if he remained unaware he had already been subverted.
The next morning, the story of Arthur Weasley being attacked reached Hogwarts and immediately evolved into a dozen ludicrous stories. The Weasleys, along with a frightful-looking Hermione, had been told shortly after Edelweiss returned to the common room. They had gathered, worried over her disappearance from bed. That was amplified by the panic she put into the portraits while reporting the attack. She remained silent when questioned how she knew of the attack; judging from how Ron glanced at her, she would need to take him aside and correct whatever foolish notion there was in his head. She had no desire to threaten and cajole him into seeing things correctly. But knowing him, it could be necessary.
Edelweiss would never forget how he believed she had secretly put her name into the Goblet of Fire the previous year. Oh, how it had been tempting to throw his lackluster apology in his face and end her oldest friendship. Were it not for the pressure she received from Hermione and the other Weasleys, she might not have accepted Ron back into the fold.
However, there were other ways to ensure his compliance.
Edelweiss also suspected that what she witnessed was connected to her cleansing. Had she not cleansed herself of Voldemort's tainted essence, she might have witnessed the attack on Mr. Weasley—from the snake's perspective. She couldn't fathom how that change would have affected these past days, including how the Force had helped draw her to bed, and thus to that place.
Naturally, that led to questions about how she could be there in her sleep. Lady Bastila's holocron currently resided in her trunk, so she had access to someone versed in the Force and its many phenomena. Hopefully, her master possessed an explanation for what Edelweiss had experienced. While she felt triumph in possessing powers beyond the scope of what Voldemort and Dumbledore could do, she wondered why they would both be interested in the Hall of Prophecy. The obvious sprung to mind, yet how likely could that be? Was she tied to one of these men—Voldemort, no doubt, for he began their story by trying to murder her—by prophecy?
The Force told her yes, and that she hated.
That left her unsettled. Her gut churned. Had discovering the Force and the dark side, embracing Salazar's Sith legacy, been her working within the confines of this prophecy?
Or could she break away from its influence?
It didn't matter. She would destroy Voldemort regardless of external forces or influences.
Fifteen minutes after lunch, Edelweiss was summoned to Professor McGonagall's office. She entered and found the other Weasleys gathered, along with Hermione. She sensed their discomfort, along with McGonagall's frustration. She had a few suspicions of why the professor had summoned him, yet there was only one that actually made sense.
"You're sending us to Grimmauld," said Edelweiss. Of them, only her trunk would be packed. Hermione packed the night before they left, while the Weasleys had a destructive habit of not packing until the day of departure.
"Aye, I am," said Professor McGonagall. "With the rumors about what happened to Arthur spreading throughout the school, Albus and I decided it would be best for all of you to depart today."
"Even Hermione?" asked Edelweiss. "Won't that make Umbridge more suspicious?"
McGonagall pursed her lips, appearing a heartbeat away from outright glowering at Edelweiss. "I reminded him of the same, but Albus believes she should go along. Her connection to you, Miss Potter, and the Weasleys is well known. Enough that she is better off leaving with you." She sighed before adding, "Aurors will likely be at King's Cross. On Fudge's orders, since he has grown even more suspicious of Albus and his intentions."
"And Dumbledore fears they might catch on to Grimmauld Place if they follow us," Edelweiss surmised. "With the Fidelius Charm, is that truly of great concern?"
"Albus believes so. I do not think it is the appropriate reaction, but I understand his reasoning."
Edelweiss sighed and then nodded. "When do we leave?"
"Within the hour. Albus has modified the wards so that all of you can depart from my office instead of his."
Something changed after June, thought Edelweiss with bitter poison in her mouth. She still recalled the portkey that spirited her away at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, along with the price she paid for her weakness. She glanced at the others, who were asking McGonagall about their trunks. "A certain house elf with handle it," McGonagall said with a smile.
Edelweiss embraced the Force then, and carefully felt out their emotions. The Weasleys projected varying states of anxiety. They wanted nothing more than to hear about their father and his condition. Ginny even wanted to see him at Saint Mungo's immediately. Hermione's were more muddled; yet similar enough that Edelweiss almost mistook the bushy-haired girl for a Weasley.
"Miss Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "I would like to speak with you privately."
Edelweiss nodded. She watched as the Weasleys and Hermione filed out of the room, the latter shooting her a worried look.
"What do you wish to speak about, professor?"
"I am concerned about the quality of your schoolwork," began Professor McGonagall. "You are struggling with most of your courses, especially with the written work expected from you. All of your professors have reported this decline to me. Even Professor Snape is concerned."
"I find them writing to be boring and tedious," said Edelweiss. "I excel with my wandwork, along with the rest of the practical work required of me."
"And that is only half of what will be expected of you on your OWLs." Edelweiss almost thought Professor McGonagall was angry with her. Disappointment rippled off the older witch, potent through the Force. "If you continue as you are, I am worried you may not be able to register for many NEWT-level courses. Worse, you may need to take remedial classes so you can catch up with those in your year."
"I will be fine, Professor, but"—and here she paused, smiling slightly as if she were still the girl savior everyone expected—"I appreciate the concern."
That seemed to be enough for McGonagall. "If you ever need help, know my door is already open."
"Of course," said Edelweiss with no plans to accept aid from McGonagall. She did not trust the professor. Not after everything that happened over the past four years. But for now, there was nothing wrong with allowing the Scottish professor to think she possessed influence over Edelweiss.
Better yet, that assumption would trickle up to Albus Dumbledore. He would believe there was a means by which he could influence Edelweiss, now that she was increasingly beyond his control. She wondered how long she could string them along before they realized her game.
For now, though, she would lie low. The Christmas hols would allow her time to focus on learning Ataru and prepare for whatever trouble she would face upon returning to Hogwarts in January. Edelweiss sensed unseen powers at work. They were too blurry to make sense of, yet she knew a threat loomed upon the horizon.
A threat, oddly, that she thought she could use.
Professor McGonagall stepped out briefly, returning with the Weasleys and Hermione following her. She then drew out a length of rope and held it out for them to them.
"This is the portkey Albus prepared for you. It's set to react to an activation word."
Edelweiss was the last to grasp the portkey. She grimaced, remembering what happened the last time she touched one. The others must have forgotten, for she received confused looks.
Instead, they were acting as if Umbridge might barge through Professor McGonagall's door at any moment. A foolish fear, for the woman was currently giving first years an academic debauching in Defense. Edelweiss, for her part, was ready to return to the Grimmauld. Perhaps she would bully her godfather into dueling. He would expect her to ask after it. The others wouldn't blink at her doing so, thanks to the defense group.
McGonagall waited until she was confident they were all holding the rope tightly before she said, "Leo." A moment later, something yanked Edelweiss behind the navel. She was taken from Hogwarts. The world spun in a flurry of muted colors. Reds and golds poked through for a time, but were soon replaced by greens as the world dimmed.
She crashed to the floor as they arrived at Grimmauld Place. Edelweiss cursed under her breath, for the Force failed to warn her. The Weasley Twins chuckled at her misfortune. Hermione helped Edelweiss to her feet, amusement and worry on her face. She almost ripped the hand away, but her friendship with Granger was too valuable to wantonly destroy.
"One of these days you'll land on your feet," said Hermione. "I still don't know how you're so clumsy with magical transit."
"I would rather never use portkeys." Edelweiss recalled the previous night. "Maybe one day I won't require them."
Hermione blinked. "What do you mean— Wait, is this related to our conversation—"
"It is and it is not, Hermione. For now, worry not. I do not think that day is near." Edelweiss glanced around the room. They had landed not in the entry, but the small family room with the great, sprawling family tree of the Blacks. "Where's—?"
The door suddenly burst open, slamming against the wall, as Sirius Black stormed in. "Edie!" he shouted. His voice bore a barking quality that drew a fond smile to her lips. Her godfather pushed his way over and scooped her up into a hug. She embraced him, grinning widely, despite the faint, embarrassed flush that came to her face.
When he set her down, she took a small step back. "It's good to see you, Sirius." She glanced at the Weasleys, taking in their jealous, morose expressions. "Is Mrs. Weasley around? How is Mr. Weasley?"
"Molly is at Saint Mungo's, along with Bill and that bird of his. Seems like he's getting serious about the girl he's been seeing recently."
Edelweiss nodded. She had met Bill Weasley twice now. Once during the previous summer and a second time, following the First Task. In another life, she might have looked up to him as his siblings did. Instead, he was just another Weasley; one she barely knew.
"Arthur is doing well," continued Sirius. "Hopefully he'll be released before New Year, though with the aurors sniffing around him…"
"You think they'll hold him longer?"
Sirius nodded. He glanced at the Weasley children before admitting, "It was a near thing. The Unspeakables are furious with Dumbledore since he was able to sneak members of the Order into their department. But because of how the Department of Mysteries is structured, the Minister can't do much." He shrugged, a faint grimace marring his attempt at being elusive. "I believe he'll be fine, but I won't know anything until Molly gets back."
"Do you think he might be fired from the Ministry?"
Sirius's silence was answer enough. Edelweiss thought it was foolish on their part to eliminate the man heading one of their most vital muggle-facing departments, but then she had seen firsthand that witches and wizards thought of Muggles as being equivalent to human-shaped animals. Arthur Weasley acted so oddly around them it was a miracle he didn't expose the magical world on his own.
It would be a tragedy to allow magical Britain to be exposed as it was. The muggles, for all their "liberal softness" as Uncle Vernon boomed too often, would not suffer their magical populace to act as they had during secrecy. They would be yanked, screaming and biting, into the modern age.
Edelweiss almost wanted to witness it happen. It was only an irrational fear muggles would snuff out many British mages that kept her firmly on the side of secrecy. Purging enemies was one thing. Genocide was another.
"They would be foolish to fire him, but then we are speaking of the Ministry." Sirius huffed while the Twins tittered. "I wonder who they would hire to replace him. Not a muggleborn, despite the fact they would be the most qualified."
The Weasleys grumbled and complained about Edelweiss's comment, though she sensed that Hermione secretly agreed. She would not take up the position—Hermione Granger had too much ambition for that—but she would see a muggleborn step into that position, if given the chance.
"Come on," said Sirius. "I have tea ready for you lot. Kreacher will handle your luggage once McGonagall sends it over."
Edelweiss bit her tongue. She knew she would room with Hermione and Ginny once more. The amused feeling she sensed in Sirius told her he would not help her get out of it.
About an hour later, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Bill's unknown girlfriend returned from Saint Mungo's. Shouting arose from the entry as the Weasley children greeted their family, though only a few of the raised voices asked after their father. Edelweiss remained in the kitchen with Sirius, wishing she had a chance to place her training lightsaber and holocron into her robe. Had she done so, she would be in the dueling arena, running through her katas and other training exercises instead of listening to a few months' worth of pointless gossip.
"Shouldn't you be out there?" asked Sirius.
Edelweiss shook her head. "I'd only be in the way. They might like having me around, but I'm not one of them." She raised her cup of dark, lukewarm tea. "I never will be. Not as Mrs. Weasley would like."
Sirius raised a curious eyebrow.
She considered the surface of her cup for a second and then chugged down all that remained. Edelweiss wrinkled her nose. "She wants me to fall in love and marry one of her sons. Ron would be expected since we're of age." She sighed before muttering, "He's a decent friend, but he's too controlled by envy. It could never work."
And I have plans of my own. Plans that his petty sense of self-righteous morality would clash with—and I will not have that. None will stand in my way.
Edelweiss knew with growing certainty a day would come when she would leave Earth. She did not know when or if she would even return, but it would happen. There was so much out there in the cosmos. And a sentimental side of her thought Salazar would appreciate having his holocron brought to Ziost. That, however, could only come to pass after she destroyed all who stood in her path. Perhaps she would embark on some social reform before her departure. It would be foolish to leave magical Britain as the same backward quagmire some fool stylizing himself as a dark lord could conquer.
I am the only one with a true claim to the title of Dark Lord on the Earth, thought Edelweiss, reflecting upon her lessons under her many Sith masters. Any who dare to invoke what is mine shall be destroyed.
She sighed and shook her head. "Worry about me less, Sirius."
"But you know I'm always Sirius!" he quickly said with a wry grin.
Edelweiss glowered and growled, "Ugh. Must you?"
"Yes, I have to," he said. His amused smirk fell away, and she was surprised to see how easily seriousness clung to him. "I'm your godfather. That means I have to look out for you, and sometimes it means that I have to consider what is best for you, Edie. That's what love is."
Her gaze fell away from him. "And if I do not agree? What will you do when what I wish to pursue and what you believe is best for me cross paths? Or worse, diverge completely?"
His brows furrowed. His grey eyes took on a dark look, almost worryingly so. "Is there something you wish to confide in me? Something I need to know that you've kept secret?"
"No." She spoke quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. "I do not trust you with this secret. I trust nobody with it." Not even the one who knows part of it.
Sirius hummed thoughtfully. He then surprised her by nodding. "If you ever change your mind, Edie, you can always tell me. I will never betray you."
And then he proceeded to set his cup down and leave the kitchen. She felt him head to the entry. Edelweiss sat there, hearing his low yet tenor tones come from where the Weasleys still were. She turned toward where he disappeared, staring. For several seconds, she considered going to join them—and then Kreacher appeared, grumbling, "Filthy muggle-loving elvies. Comes into my mistress's home, just as blood traitors and mudbloods. Worthless. Worthless!"
Edelweiss waited for the house elf to notice her. Instead, he returned to his bedding alcove near the sink. After several seconds of nothing but low mutterings, she rose to her feet and slipped over to the stairs. She scurried up them and down the hall above, heading straight to the door she remembered from the prior summer. Within, as expected, were three trunks. Edelweiss went to hers, kneeling before it, and popped it open. She quickly withdrew her training lightsaber and the Ataru holocron.
She slipped them into her pocket, just as the door behind her opened. Hermione stood on the threshold, her brandy brown eyes watching Edelweiss carefully.
"Just checking that everything was here," said Edelweiss as she closed her trunk. "Mine looks good. Going to check yours?"
"No. I spotted you slink up the stairs, and decided to follow. Mrs. Weasley is cross that you haven't come to ask after Mr. Weasley, especially since you asked Sirius about him when we arrived."
Edelweiss rose to her feet and stretched, drawing a few pops from her back. She needed to stretch more, especially if she was to master the lightsaber form she had chosen. Ataru required quick movements and a level of flexibility she was inching ever closer to achieving.
"I was going to speak with her once I came down." A lie, but Edelweiss had gotten good at lying. "And then there's something personal I must attend to."
Hermione crossed her arms. "Such as what, Edie? You've been secretive all year. Too secretive. I'm still not happy with the evasive half-truths you've given me, especial—"
"Stop!" growled Edelweiss, thrusting a curved hand toward Hermione. The words caught in her friend's throat. Her eyes bulged wide. Edelweiss tightened her grasp slightly and watched as Hermione released a pained choking sound. "You should know better than to speak of those matters. Stang, Hermione! Who knows what wandering ears linger about this hovel? It's bad enough I have to put up with your meddling speculation."
After a few seconds, Edelweiss slackened the pressure on Hermione's throat. She coughed several times before stumbling completely into the room. "Yes, because I've seen you wield magics that frighten me!" she hissed. The door finally closed behind her. "Edie. I… I just want you to talk to me. To confide in me as you did back when we were firsties."
Edelweiss stiffened, remembering those early days. She had confided to Hermione, sometime around Easter, about her first acts of magic. Naturally, nothing happened. Muggles were powerless to affect her life. The magical world would not dare intervene. Not as long as they bowed and scrapped before Dumbledore.
"Then you understand why I must act as I do." Edelweiss's jaw clenched briefly. "I have grown exhausted of your questioning, Hermione. Accept that events play out beyond your control. It will make your life easier… and perhaps more peaceful."
"Edie…"
"Don't you dare 'Edie' me, Hermione!" Edelweiss felt the cold torrent of the dark side wash over her. "Don't you dare turn against me."
Hermione swallowed nervously before nodding. "I won't. We're friends. We'll always be friends."
"Good. Then you will keep secret anything I decide to entrust you with. Understood?"
Hermione nodded weakly. She would likely operate under the delusion that she might learn more by being compliant. Edelweiss rose to her feet and strode forward, pausing with less than a foot between them. "Tell anyone, and I will know. And despite all our long years of friendship, I will cast you aside. It's only by your grace that I agreed to allow Ron back into the fold last year."
Before Hermione could respond, Edelweiss pushed past. She drew the dark side about her like a cloak, willing all gazes to slide off of her as rain slid off glass. She made her way down and further still to the hidden entrance and the subterranean chamber beyond.
She had forms to practice, and a future to prepare for.
On Christmas Day, Mrs. Weasley finally relented to the demands of her children to visit Mr. Weasley at Saint Mungo's. Edelweiss briefly considered not going and taking advantage of the empty house to focus her energies toward hours of dedicated study and practice. She then remembered how stiff and sore she was, and decided she could sacrifice a few hours to visit the man she rescued from mortal peril. She hoped to learn something from the man about her strange astral wandering. And if necessary, she could wield secrets drawn from his mind against the Weasley family to control their futures as she saw fit.
All of that was unlikely. But the thought was enough to draw a smooth smile to her face when Mrs. Weasley blinked, astonished, when Edelweiss said, "Yes, I would be interested in visiting Mr. Weasley."
Hermione, being the most aware of recent events, shot her a suspicious look. Edelweiss allowed the look to flow past her, even as her Sith instincts bayed for punishment and retribution. They would need to have a conversation about what was and was not appropriate in public. It was imperative nobody suspected something was wrong within the mind of disgraced saviour Edelweiss Potter.
They left Grimmauld around half ten, walking in a manner akin to when they went to King's Crossing in September. Remus and Mad-Eye accompanied them, while Nymphadora Tonks hover about Saint Mungo's. Edelweiss used the walk to peer into the minds of random muggles and see, through magic and the Force, what she could glean from them. There was little of interest or note, though she found the practice useful. She knew magical minds were heartier, with their natural and unnatural defenses. Possessing the power to punch through or subvert those defenses could mean the difference between life and death, should her Force powers somehow fail her. They had yet to; only she felt untrained in the arts of subtlety that she struggled to avoid revealing her powers whenever her passions risked getting the better of her. That folly had nearly exposed her completely to Hermione, and even now kept the bushy-haired girl suspicious of her.
They came to an abandoned department building twenty minutes later. Mrs. Weasley waved them into a small entry, the windows boarded up. Once everyone was inside, she went up to a doll that had the appearance of a mannequin dressed up like a wizarding version of Santa Claus. It's head tilted slightly as Mrs. Weasley approached.
"Welcome to Saint Mungo's Hospital. How may I help you?"
"We're here to visit a patient. Arthur Weasley."
The mannequin nodded stiffly and awkwardly. Edelweiss reached out slightly with the Force and felt a strange power tied to the construct. She immediately thought of the gargoyle defending Dumbledore's office.
The Force can make sense of magical workings. Good.
The doors they had not entered through groaned and drew back a few inches. It then slid aside silently, revealing a clean white interior.
"Go on, now," said Mrs. Weasley. She waved them through the open doorway, her gaze lingering briefly on Edelweiss.
Suspicion or worry? Which may it be?
Edelweiss did not bother learning. It would not matter in the end, for Mrs. Weasley could do nothing to stop her. Not now, anyway.
The welcoming room was plain, though there was a receptionist behind a wide pane of glass. She glanced up and blinked, confused. Edelweiss assumed the woman expected only a few visitors, maybe upwards of six. Instead, she watched ten enter the hospital, present to visit a single man.
"Come along," said Mrs. Weasley. "He's going to be this way."
'This way' turned out to be the first floor above. They passed through a swinging green door labeled: 'Dangerous' Dai Llewellyn Ward: Serious Bites. Edelweiss exchanged bemused looks with Ron as they entered the cramped ward. There were seven beds present, bunched up together. Only two were occupied, near a small window at the far end. The other patient was a sleeping man, his bandaged arm woven with a shimmering thread. From how Lupin glanced at him, Edelweiss surmised a werewolf bit the man. Dust floated in the air, though Arthur Weasley looked quite well when he spotted them.
"Molly! Children!" He paused, spotting Edelweiss and her marked face. "Edie! Why, I had thought those marks were a hallucination on my part."
She snorted and stepped forward before the rest. "I'm surprised the Prophet hasn't plastered my new face all over the front page. They've been the gossip of Hogwarts for weeks now. Fudge flinched when he saw them just recently."
"Well, you can't trust what you read in the paper," said Mr. Weasley. "And after everything that happened in the Department of Mysteries…"
Edelweiss nodded. "I was surprised when you noticed my presence. I dreamed all of that from Gryffindor Tower."
"How strange…" murmured Mr. Weasley. "How strange."
She stepped aside and allowed the other Weasleys to crowd their father. She watched on for a time with Lupin and Mad-Eye standing beside her. It was quickly tiresome and she itched to be anywhere else; the two men beside her were enough to hold back from peering into Mr. Weasley's mind.
"Could I see more of the hospital?" she asked Lupin. "I've never been here before."
He glanced first to Mrs. Weasley and then—annoyingly—at the man with the werewolf bite. "As long as you're careful."
Edelweiss beamed at him. "I'm always careful, Remus."
He stared at her with a look of horror and regret. Odds were he was as much seeing her parents as he was seeing her. Perhaps the marks upon her face dulled those memories, but she knew the look well enough from her third year to recognize that exquisitely painful blend of past and present.
Mad-Eye followed her out of the ward. Edelweiss felt both eyes upon her back as she went to the first stairwell she found and started up. As she rounded the first landing, she came face to face with a man she thought to never see again.
"Professor Lockhart?" Bad habits died hard. Edelweiss grimaced at how easily she uttered 'professor'. She bitterly recalled his attempt to wipe her memories and leave her for dead. Thank Merlin Ron never replaced his broken wand that year.
"Me?" said Gilderoy Lockhart. "A professor? Why, I think I would remember if I was a professor!"
"Oh, don't mind her, Gilderoy," said a white-robed woman. Edelweiss noted the badge on her chest and assumed she was a nurse. Madam Pomfrey had nothing of the like, yet they were dressed similarly enough. "You know how people can be when they see a familiar face."
"Oh, of course!" he said, beaming that wide white smile Edelweiss recalled from her second year. "She must be here for a personal autograph!" He turned to head back up the stairwell. "Come along, then. All of my stuff is by my bed!"
And so the four of them awkwardly ascended to the fourth floor. Edelweiss followed nurse and patient to a set of wide double doors, a sign beside them proclaiming the room beyond to be the Janus Thickey Ward.
"I know some good folk who've spent a long time here," murmured Mad-Eye. Edelweiss glanced back at him. "They were aurors, Frank and Alice. Damned good ones, as well."
"Were they in the Order?"
"Aye, they were. That's probably why they were attacked in the end."
Anything else Edelweiss might have asked was interrupted upon entering the ward. There were a dozen beds, all laid out nice and even. To her surprise, almost half were occupied. Two beds near the far end had a pair of visitors—an old woman and a young man. Her grandson, Edelweiss guessed. She was tempted to turn around and leave. Her encounter with Lockhart had been a surprise, and she wanted nothing to do with him.
And that was when she recognized the young man.
"Neville?"
Edelweiss snapped her mouth shut, surprised by how loud she said his name Neville Longbottom reacted in kind, jumping a good inch as he turned her way. His mouth fell open. He spent a good few seconds trying to work it before the old woman said, "Neville, dear. Who is your friend?"
"That's Edelweiss Potter," said Neville, sounding slightly hesitant and very awkward. "I've told you plenty about her."
Neville's grandmother hummed, staring intently at Edelweiss. She, in turn, recognized the red handbag and vulture hat that Neville had inflicted upon his boggart.
"Well come over, dear," said Neville's grandmother. She waved Edelweiss over for good measure. Once Edelweiss reached them, Neville's grandmother looked her up and down. "You look a great deal like your grandmother Dorea under those strange marks on your face. Though your eyes… those are Lily's without a doubt. Had things gone differently, perhaps you would have grown up beside my Neville."
Edelweiss glanced at Neville, who looked pained at his grandmother's revelation, before asking, "You knew my family?"
"Few could claim to not have known Charlus and Dorea by some measure," said Mrs. Longbottom. It was the best name Edelweiss had without using the dark side to draw up the woman's given name. "She stunned many when she married into the Potter family, especially since it was still well known that Henry, Charlus's father, had advocated we aid the muggles during that Great War of theirs."
"I take it her family didn't approve?"
"Other than Arcturus, yes. He, I suspect, saw through the illusions we all held close during Grindelwald's war and recognized something of a kinship in Charlus Potter. The alliance they built during the 50s should've led Britain into a long peace." Mrs. Longbottom sighed and shook her head. "A shame what happened in the early 60s."
"And that is?"
"Dumbledore finally gained enough support to make himself the head of the Whig faction in the Wizengamot. They had always been friendlier to the muggle world, but Dumbledore took their advocacy a step too far, as many believed. Some accused him of being an integrationist—or worse, wishing to completely undo the Statute of Secrecy. Henry Potter was never so daring."
Edelweiss blinked as she clamped down on her surprise. She knew Dumbledore's political influence came from defeating Grindelwald back in '45, but to hear he had outright taken control of part of the Wizengamot? She understood little of the archaic leviathan at the heart of magical British governance, yet she knew enough to be disturbed by what Mrs. Longbottom said. As to integrating magical and muggle Britain, that reminded her of her fears of secrecy and discovery—and, she realized, that extended to the broader galaxy.
Mrs. Longbottom chuckled faintly. "Charlus had been the leader then. He had made progress when it came to the recognition of muggleborns within blood purist circles. To say that he was irate by Dumbledore's change in policy put it lightly. He resigned in protest after a particularly nasty argument over the emergent Knights of Walpurgis."
"The Death Eaters," growled Edelweiss. The dark side rippled around her. "Those were the early ones. Before war broke out."
Mrs. Longbottom nodded, a stern look upon her face. "I attended Hogwarts with many of them. Most are dead, now. Only Nott lives, and he escaped Azkaban because of his poor health. After he recovered, his family had restored enough prestige to prevent his prosecution."
Edelweiss hummed, before sneering. "I assume Dumbledore did nothing?"
"Just about." Mrs. Longbottom sighed. "I'm still shocked by what young Sirius did. It must pain you—"
"My godfather is innocent of his crimes," said Edelweiss softly. "It was Pettigrew who betrayed my parents. He was exposed as the Weasley pet rat and fled Hogwarts at the end of my third year." She glanced at Neville, then back to his grandmother. "He was there at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. When Voldemort returned."
Even though her words should not have carried, fear and panic rippled through the quaint ward. Edelweiss glanced around the room. The nurse, who had been with Gilderoy Lockhart, stared horrified. It was as though she had not realized the strange girl with black facial markings was Edelweiss Potter.
She sighed and turned back to the Longbottoms. "It was nice seeing you two, but I think I should go. Happy Christmas." Edelweiss turned to Neville. "Our first session will be three days after the hols end. Oh, and the wand situation. Have you gotten that fixed?"
Neville glanced at his grandmother, a grim look upon his face. Mrs. Longbottom gave Edelweiss a pointed look, as though she were upset with the course the conversation had taken. Edelweiss understood why since Mrs. Longbottom was the one responsible for Neville using his dad's wand in the first place. Judging from the two lying in the beds before them, the true owner of that wand was not Neville Longbottom. Not now, and likely not ever. There was still breath in his chest, even if he felt…wrong.
And then Edelweiss was surprised. "Neville, dear," began Neville's grandmother. "What is Miss Potter speaking about?"
He stiffened and glanced between the two women. Edelweiss knew that with anyone else, she would be hesitant to reveal her subversive actions at Hogwarts. But the Longbottoms were good people, and she trusted Neville just enough to extend that truth to his grandmother. "Neville is part of a group that practices spells we are not being taught in Defense."
Mrs. Longbottom pursed her lips disapprovingly. "Why am I not surprised! I told Albus to find someone—anyone—but did he? No! The man is so beholden to his view of the world that Hogwarts ended up with that dreadful Umbridge woman."
"Has Neville told you about her?"
"Oh, I knew Dolores Umbridge long before Fudge grew frightened of conspiracy in the halls of Hogwarts," snarled Mrs. Longbottom. "She's a vile woman, responsible for outright heinous laws. The worst is her anti-werewolf legislation. That Lupin fellow who taught you two was forced to lie to us about his condition, though I've long suspected Albus had his own reasons for bringing him into the castle."
That reason, Edelweiss knew, was Sirius Black. She still didn't know if Dumbledore had known from the beginning that Sirius was innocent, though the lack of action on his part made it too easy to suspect conspiracy on his part.
"Yes, well we founded a group in response to her poor teaching." Edelweiss glanced down at the pair lying in beds, unaware of the world. She could feel them in the Force. They were lost within their minds, labyrinths of trauma separating them from reality. "I take it these are Neville's parents?"
"Yes." Something hard—almost hateful—burned in Mrs. Longbottom's eyes. Edelweiss felt the emotion directed elsewhere. "Frank was my pride and joy. And Alice… Oh, I was uncertain at first, but they proved me wrong. They were good together. Good for each other." She glanced at Neville. Edelweiss felt a ripple of confusion from her. Disappointment underlined it, though she thought there might be a shred of hope. "When they had Neville, we were all so excited. Children during those terrible years were to be treasured."
Edelweiss glanced at Frank and Alice Longbottom. "Were they attacked before or after Voldemort failed?"
"A few days after. Just long enough nobody knew exactly what happened beyond your survival—and a hope of peace and recovery."
"Gran," Neville said suddenly. "Can I talk with Edie alone?"
Mrs. Longbottom blinked, surprised, and then glanced between them. Her expression was waspish, though her gaze was not accusatory. There was some curiosity there, despite there being nothing she should be concerned about. "I will wait for you in the lobby. Take your time, Neville."
They watched Mrs. Longbottom go before Neville said, "My parents were attacked by Death Eaters. They thought my parents would know what had happened to You-Know-Who since they had gone into hiding at the same time as your parents. They… They tortured them."
"With the Cruciatus?"
Edelweiss vividly recalled how Neville had shied away from Crouch's demonstration of the Unforgivable. He was pacified with a herbology book following that class. Naturally, it had that proved useful for her efforts during the Triwizard Tournament.
He nodded. "It was the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Junior."
Her veins chilled at the mention of the Death Eater who had replaced Mad-Eye during the previous year. For a long moment, Edelweiss considered telling him the truth about Defense that year. But she decided otherwise the moment she touched him with the Force. He would not succumb to the passions that drove any Sith should she tell him. It was disappointing, but not all had the character to be a Sith.
"At least one of them is dead."
Neville looked distressed, even as he nodded. "I shouldn't wish dead on them—"
"You live every day with what they did to your parents!" hissed Edelweiss. "You have every right to hate them! Every right to desire the day the Lestranges perish in Azkaban."
She recalled Voldemort mentioning them during his monologue. Edelweiss had thought nothing of it then, for she had not known those names. Now was different.
"I guess," he muttered.
Edelweiss could tell she had left Neville troubled and hopefully with plenty to think over. "I would suggest you speak with your grandmother about getting a proper wand." She glanced down at Frank Longbottom. "Your father would want you to be the greatest wizard you can be, Neville. Not to be like him."
She waited several for a reaction, for anything from Neville. When it did not come, she laid a hand on his shoulder and whispered; "I'll see you back at Hogwarts."
She made it halfway across the ward when she heard Neville reply softly, "Thanks, Edie. For everything."
Edelweiss paused, feeling something peculiar well up within. She brushed it aside and pressed on, Mad-Eye silently following in her wake. By the time she returned to the Weasleys, Mr. Weasley had fallen asleep. They were all ready to return to Number Twelve. She spotted Mrs. Longbottom on the way out. The woman stared at her for a few seconds and then nodded as if approving.
Edelweiss used that approval to fuel her training through the rest of the hols. She would kill those three Lestranges, no matter what.
They, like their master, would perish by her hand.