Her Last Day in Surrey
Edelweiss woke late on the Fifth of August, watching a wide span of clouds roll in around half eight that morning. A light rain followed shortly after, lasting barely twenty minutes before petering out into a mild haze. She took the chance provided by the anomalous weather to slip past the Dursleys, too busy with their oversized breakfast. She spotted a drunkard almost immediately, passed out upon the lawn of Number Six with a suspicious, bunched ball of silvery cloth under his head.
She touched the Force, and sensed magic from man and cloth alike.
She raised an arm and reached out, seeking his memories. Her master had walked her through the process the prior night, though she had yet to attempt it before now. Several things sprung into her mind in quick succession, and none were good. Teeth gritted, Edelweiss opened her emerald eyes, snarled, and continued on her way. She would deal with these revelations later, once her wrath was fully tamed.
For now, she slid back into her unconscious mind, her body walking as if she were sleepwalking. Edelweiss was certain of her ability to return to awareness, should she encounter anyone about; yet she doubted any chance encounters might come to pass. The coolness was not enough to prompt many from their homes. At least not yet. She centered herself in the Force, in the whirling vortex that was the dark side as emboldened by her rage. Edelweiss breathed slowly as power sunk into her bones.
Halfway to the nearby park off Wisteria Lane, Edelweiss noticed that a long adder with black scales that glimmered in the sparse sunlight was following her. She paused, waiting upon the snake, then kneeled and whispered, "§Let me aid you, darling§."
"§A two-legged sspeaker§," the snake replied, coiling near the hand she held out to her. "§I had heard whissper one lived in thiss land§."
"§Come with me, so you may hunt in a better place§."
After a moment of consideration, the snake nodded, an odd gesture for the creature, and came forward to wrap herself around the witch's offered arm. She felt muscles shift underneath dry scales. Once secure, Edelweiss continued on her way, listening as the snake spoke of her hunts and those humans who panicked at the sight of her or worse chased after her with malicious intent. She introduced herself as She-who-slithers-over-all-lands, a rather pretentious name for an admittedly beautiful snake.
Edelweiss kept her opinions about the snake's name to herself, though she did reply, if sparsely, to the tales told to her. Most of her mind remained upon the dark side of the Force, that cold shroud of lovely power.
They reached the park as She-who-slithers-over-all-lands spoke of a marmot she had found and devoured in the nearby woods, newly arrived to the area. Edelweiss smiled at the tale, regardless of how she doubted its legitimacy. Snakes, she had found, liked to boast and brag. It reminded her of the Slytherins she knew, prone to similar behavior. Draco Malfoy, most of all, was prone to speaking and acting in such a manner.
She lowered her right arm so her snake companion could unwrap herself and slither away in search of food. She smiled at hearing a hissed, "§Here, foodie foodie foodie§." Edelweiss heard the phrase repeated several times before She-who-slithers-over-all-lands was far away; her hisses eventually faded upon the wind.
The witch headed another way, walking towards the set of swings midway between Wisteria Lane and Winston Road. She straightened despite the wind, enjoying the coolness crossing her. It was refreshing, the humidity that had compounded the worst days of the heat wave now wielded in favor of cooling Britain instead of bringing her to a sticky broil. Her thick black hair, left uncoiled and unbraided, rippled from the breeze.
She lowered herself down onto the swing furthest from Winston Road, sitting sideways so she could lean against a chain while staring at the houses across from her. It was still wet. She did not care. Edelweiss shifted, side to side, as her emerald eyes drifted across the cookie-cutter houses, all built of brick, older than the whitewashed houses of Privet Drive. Perhaps they were council houses; she knew Uncle Vernon would bitch and moan and complain about their presence. Yet he didn't. He must either pretend they didn't exist or perhaps thought they had some false connection to the shires, where he claimed most houses had the same brick style that she saw before her.
Edelweiss closed her eyes and opened herself to the Force. She felt it all, the Living, the Cosmic, and the sweet taint of the dark side. She let it wash through her like a great flood coming to drown a village. She breathed slowly, channeling all that swept into her towards the ball of power she felt within, the metaphysical place where her magic existed yet did not. Each part of the Force she felt made contact with her magic, all bearing a different flavor.
It was only the final one, the dark side, she allowed to resonate with her natural magic. The Living Force was claustrophobic, almost oppressive, with all of life pressing down upon her. The Cosmic Force reminded her of the Imperius Curse. Lady Bastila had described it right, and she forced it aside after a heartbeat of contact.
Once Edelweiss was centered in her power, her emotions chained tight, she focused upon what she learned from the drunkard's mind.
Dumbledore had finally weaponized Surrey against her, or so it appeared. Once, her location had been known to only him and the Weasleys, to Hagrid and Sirius; most now lived in her godfather's house. Now, he had others agents keeping watch. They knew of the Dursleys, and so they had to know the degraded state she suffered every summer. And by the Headmaster's order, they did nothing to benefit Edelweiss Potter. Even her godfather, Sirius Black, and her friends relented to the old man's orders, if with begrudging anger and concern.
He had even told them, before this drunkard's spying eyes, to tell her nothing they might overhear in the pitiful letters they were allowed to send her. It was too dangerous, Dumbledore claimed, for who knew the Dark Lord's mind now.
Rage and fury rippled through her. She closed her eyes, and reached out as Lady Bastila had taught her. She felt, if distantly, the emotions of those closest to her. Most left her feeling sick, all but one. She could feel Sirius's anger even now, and the remorse and distress over his inability to protect her properly.
He had earned her forgiveness, if only by the grace of luck. The others could beg.
When Edelweiss opened her eyes, the sun passed through a gap in the clouds, appearing to have already passed through its apex. Her stomach rumbled, and then mewled as it contracted. Her mouth watered despite her best efforts. She rose sluggishly from the swing, which had dried; a ray of sunlight crossing her face harshly as she stepped away from them.
Before leaving the park, Edelweiss made a round of the grassy area. She did not find She-who-slithers-over-all-lands, though it was likely for the best. Having an adder with her would cause more trouble than she cared for. Muggles could be quite odd, and those in Little Whinging had never liked her. No reason to create excess animosity without reason.
She headed out into the suburbs of Little Whinging. There was a shopping district a kilometer and a half from Privet Drive, which could be reached by pedestrian backways too narrow to be paved over and too isolated to be re-developed. They were free of prying, watching eyes, though almost the entire neighborhood knew where they all were.
Edelweiss took advantage of that oversight and made a beeline for the nearest path. She realized, if a bit belatedly, that she had taken no money from Uncle Vernon's wallet. He was more watchful this summer, and accused her of all thefts; she hoped Dudley blew his ill-gotten gains on something good, or else she'd make an early example of him.
About halfway from the park to the shopping district, a familiar face appeared on her path. There had been no crack, though there was a shimmer behind him that drew a scowl. She reached out with the Force, if a little hesitant, and confirmed this man was who he appeared to be. He blinked, surprised by whatever he might've felt of the Force. The scars lining his face stretched awkwardly as he tried to smile.
"What are you doing here, Professor?"
Remus Lupin, the defense professor during her third year at Hogwarts, flinched. He looked even worse than when she last saw him, secreted into Hogwarts alongside her godfather in the wake of Voldemort's return. His robes were shabbier than ever, which she hadn't thought could be possible. He wore a jacket and shirt beneath, along with trousers and scuffed shoes. They were in better shape than his robe.
"We're worried about you."
"Who? You? Sirius? Dumbledore?" asked Edelweiss. She watched for a flinch on Lupin's face; disappointedly, none came. "Spare me the lies. If you truly cared, you would be here to spirit me to wherever my godfather resides."
"You know why I can't—"
"Why you won't," she corrected; the dark side's power was but a thought away. "You are so enthralled by Dumbledore and what he has done for you that you've willingly overlooked the crimes he commits against me. Was your friendship with my father ever true, or an illusion to make seven years pass by easier?"
"He's made clear how your mother's sacrifice protects you."
Edelweiss scoffed and spat at the feet of a man who had called her father friend. "Voldemort used my blood to return to his powers last month." Lupin, like many, flinched hearing the Dark Lord's name. "He touched me. Three years ago, I ruined the man he possessed with my bare hands. Forgive me if I no longer Dumbledore's claim."
Not like I was ever safe there, her mind continued.
"Even so, you still need to return."
She stared at him, astonished. She met his gaze, with his soft brown eyes, and held his gaze until he blinked and looked away. "No," she said. It was soft, just enough for him to catch. "I am off to eat; the Dursleys would throw a party if I starved. Return to Dumbledore. Tell him what I have said, or keep your peace. I care not which you choose."
Edelweiss stormed past Lupin before he could respond. Her anger lingered under her skin like a new layer of protection. She expected him to try and stop her, to say something, anything that might delay her departure. Disappointingly, unsurprisingly, Lupin did nothing. He had done nothing when she was a child, little when he was her professor, and could only stand aside now that her most obvious foe had returned.
A sigh escaped her as she turned a corner and Lupin lost sight of her. Whatever influence he might have over her was gone, as dead as her parents.
She reached the shopping district some time after one. A few muggles stared at her, but most ignored her presence. Edelweiss glowered at those few, and smirked when their gazes fled. She drew her anger, the dark side of the Force, around her person like a cloak. After some focusing, she watched with great pleasure as gazes slid past her with no recognition. A victorious heat bloomed in her chest once it was firmly in place.
Moving about while functionally invisible was a power Edelweiss had not expected from the Force. She considered if it could be used against magicals, though it appeared quite unlikely once she thought it through. Judging from her encounter with Lupin, other magicals could notice the Force when used against them; whether or not they were as connected to it as she remained questionable. Perhaps she could risk experimentation at Hogwarts; distance, most like, was her best defense after secrecy. The Chamber of Secrets would be perfect for her needs.
Edelweiss entered a grocery owned by a couple who had long looked the other way when her Aunt Petunia made her carry the bulk of the groceries prior to attending Hogwarts. Even now, they remained quiet about the slaps and shrieking.
The dark side as her cloak, she moved with lazy purpose, taking what she wished.
She thought nothing of cameras as she snatched a couple small sandwiches, a bottle of cider, and a packet of crisps. Her prize held tight to her body, Edelweiss walked out with her goods.
She ate her food while returning to the park off Wisteria Way. While there was no serious reason to return, her options were limited to either heading back to where she had gone first or to dare risk the Dursleys being ignorant of her return to Number Four. Her ability to cloak herself from muggles should with upon them, but she knew nothing of Dumbledore's watch. There was always a chance more than just the Dursleys awaited her at Number Four.
When she reached the park, she found others present, and up to no good. Dudley and his friends surrounded a kid, who was maybe twelve or thirteen. She couldn't hear what they were saying from a distance, yet she knew the kind of mischief they were up to.
Edelweiss put away the last bite of her second sandwich, pouring her anger into the paper container as she tossed it aside. A faint whiff of smoke rose as she swallowed that last bite of bread and meat. She approached them with her head raised high. One of Dudley's goons glanced over, looked twice, and gaped.
"Hey!" he shouted, raising a finger to point. "It's Potter!"
Dudley and the rest turned and stared, watching dumbly as for once in her life, she approached them. The boy, noticing their attention drawn elsewhere, backed away slowly. Once he had a few meters between him and them, he turned and ran for home.
"Is this how you get your jollies these days, Diddiekins?" she asked with a crooked grin. "Beating up kids from around the neighborhood? What'd they do to you?"
Dudley flushed a furious red while his friends suppressed chuckles. They then glanced around. With the boy long gone, a couple of them glared at her while the rest spread out slightly, searching for where he went.
"He deserved it," her cousin snarled, jowls wobbling. "He was talking shite behind my back."
Edelweiss glanced up and down, then side to side. Dudley's blush brightened, rising to his forehead and falling to his neck. "Wouldn't be too hard, given how big you are."
"Ain't like you're better, talkin' to yourself at all hours!" Dudley snarled. "Who're you talking to, yourself? Going mad already? Dad always said—"
The dark side swelled within her and she raised her right hand slightly, directed his way. Something within her crackled, demanding she punish him. However, it wasn't that which silenced him. It was her wand, flicking out from where it was normally hidden. In the summer before her third year, she had invested in a wand holster, ironically made from a Hungarian Horntail. Many times it had proven useful, and this was a time where it proved useful.
Her cousin blanched at the sight of holly pointed his way, while his friends chuckled awkwardly. She didn't intend to use her wand, but the reminder she was magical would bring Dudley to heel.
"A stick?" sneered Piers, the rat-faced boy who had once held her arms while Dudley squared up to punch her lights out. "Big D, there's no reason to be afraid of—"
A howling gust roared through the park. Edelweiss froze, feeling the magic within. It wasn't her power, as great as she wished it would be; yet it was familiar. Disturbingly familiar, she realized as Dudley and his friends shivered.
"The hell?" one of them mumbled, teeth nearly chattering. "Why'd it get so cold?"
"Stop it!" Dudley demanded. He pointed at her wand. "Stop whatever you're doing!"
She snarled, sliding it back into its holster. A few of the boys frowned, as if their eyes were playing tricks on them. "This is not my doing, Dudley." Her emerald eyes— Killing Curse green—wandered across the park, and scanned the surrounding houses. "Something fouler than any powers I might possess comes." Edelweiss turned back to the boys. "Best you lot run on home. Be quick, and fear not. It will hunt me before it hunts any of you."
Before she could turn away and start for Privet Drive, one of them shouted, "What the hell is going on, Potter?"
Edelweiss stared, considering what she could say. She knew she should do what she could to preserve the Statute of Secrecy. "Best you forget today, or else you be forced to forget."
And with that, she turned and strode off.
A few seconds later, her ears were filled with Dudley's rough breathing as he hurried after her. She watched him stumble up to her side, flustered by the effort required. When they had been younger, it was his friends who were tasked with catching her whenever they played 'Edie Hunting'.
"Hurry along," Edelweiss growled. She glanced around them, green eyes seeking out the telltale black cloaks of a dementor. "We do not want to be outside once they finally arrive."
"Who?" Dudley asked, still struggling for air.
"Not who," she corrected, "what."
Dudley blanched, the thick pinkness that usually graced his cheeks now a milky white. He kept close to Edelweiss, though flinched when she drew her wand. With the manner of creature soon to assault them, she wanted to be more than ready. Already she worked to conjure happy thoughts to fuel her Patronus Charm, focused on her friends and Sirius. Yet they failed her, poisoned with anger. She tried to separate her emotions, yet they stuck tight together.
The passions that emboldened her, that made her powerful, weakened the single method she knew to fight dementors.
She spat a curse, sliding her wand back into its holster. They were already halfway back to Privet Drive; the freezing sensation that followed dementors wasn't strong enough to suggest one was about to swoop down and attack them. It didn't mean they weren't drawing closer, only that there might be enough time to reach Number Four before their arrival.
They had just stepped onto Wisteria Boulevard, the wide, American-styled road that ran south toward Kent, when her breath fogged. Dudley squeaked, and her blood ran cold. Without the ability to cast a patronus, Edelweiss was at a loss for how to fend off a single dementor, let alone multiple.
"Dammit. We need to run."
"Run?" Dudley asked, shivering. He might have been wearing a white tee and a jersey, but his thick forearms were exposed. The hairs all stood "What the—what the hell is go—oing on?"
Edelweiss stared at him, considering what she should and should not tell him. "A dementor has come to Little Whinging. They guard my side's prison, and will devour your soul if given the chance. Best hope we get back before it finds us."
Dudley gulped loudly. Any fear he had of magic was being compounded this evening, and Edelweiss knew that it would affect his parents as well. Hopefully whoever Dumbledore had to watch her could handle the dementors, or force the Headmaster's hand.
They hurried along the boulevard, a few dozen meters from the corner onto Privet Drive, when the chill thickened. Edelweiss peered over her shoulder and momentarily stiffened. Two cloaked figures glided toward them, moving with just enough haste to clear the distance to the two humans before them.
"Wha—what's goin' on?" Dudley mumbled, head swiveling erratically. "Why am I—"
"It's the dementor," Edelweiss said, cheeks flushing from how foolish she suddenly felt. "You can't see them, but they certainly know you're here."
An internal war waged within her. It would be easy to turn tail and flee. What would it matter in the long run if she abandoned Dudley to the dementors? The Dursleys might hate her more, but it would be one slight of many undone. Yet who knew what the magical world would make of her decision. There might be little love for muggles, but she was supposed to be the Girl-Who-Lived, anathema to everything the Dark Lord stood for. To let a muggle die in her place could be her ultimate undoing in the public's mercurial eyes.
Indecision held her feet, even as her anger roared, demanding why she protected her wretched cousin. She could feel the dark side as it soaked through her. She heard its whispers, that cold need to destroy all that threatened her life and strength. Dudley could wait; the dementors could not. Her doubts slid away, crystalizing into grim certainty. Edelweiss shifted to stand before her cousin as the dementors approached. She raised a single hand, fingers held out in crooked lines, aimed at the pair descending from the darkened sky. Edelweiss felt her dark power arise. The dead, guiding hand of a tradition she barely knew wrapped around her. Some long-dead fiend reached forth, and whispered what she must do.
The scream of her mother, the Dark Lord's cackling, the Killing Curse cast; the sounds of that fateful Halloween was a dim echo. Edelweiss was ignorant to them, sunken so deep into the swirling confluence of the dark side. She released a shuddering breath, almost a laugh, as instinct took hold.
In one moment, she stood before the cloaked figures, iconoclastic in her immobile strength. She would not step aside, for these abominable presences before her could not last.
In the next, the nightly calm of Little Whinging shattered with the violent lashes of black lightning. It flowed from her fingertips like flames, crackling and screeching, oxygen rent into ozone. The bolts struck the dementors, who screamed and writhed upon contact. Edelweiss poured her wrath into the lightning, her realized Force power mingling already with the magics she was born to. It produced a power darker than the looming night, lethal enough to stain unholy beings.
Several heartbeats later, the dementors retreated, lingering bolts flying from their whipping forms as they fled into the night. All Edelweiss could hear was her thundering heart. She grinned, wide and terrible, seeing what she had wrought. She had known the dark side would be a great wellspring of power, yet she had remained ignorant until now to the majestic cruelty it could summon, to bear against the world.
The dead hand of Sith tradition released her. Edelweiss knew she must attend to her Sith master, to report her deed.
She turned to Dudley, who stared gobsmacked. His eyes were glassy from the dementor's influence, though she would not doubt his mind was clear enough to understand she had done something to banish that source of sudden, unexplainable terror. A strong shake of his shoulders cleared the glaze from his eyes. He flinched from her, blue eyes reflecting emotions she could sense. Warmth filled her, flowing down to her core and cleansing the lingering sensation brought about by those dementors.
"What…what…" mumbled Dudley, his weak mind straining to make sense of what he had witnessed.
"You saw nothing," Edelweiss said. She stared into his soft blue eyes, remembering how wizards obliviate muggles. She poured that desire into her gaze, seeking to influence him as she had with that girl in Gryffindor Tower. She had gotten lucky that day, she now knew. "There was no attack, I did nothing. Head on home, I'll follow when I can."
"There was no attack and you did nothing," Dudley mumbled. "I'm heading home. See you later, cousin."
And with that, he turned and stumbled down Privet Drive. Edelweiss watched him with furrowed brows. Her mind was caught upon how he repeated her words. She hadn't focused on the Force while manipulating his mind; somehow it did as she wished. She remembered her lessons with Lady Bastila, and nearly burst out laughing. Her master had described the effect of mind tricks.
"How wondrous," she declared aloud. Edelweiss followed after her ambling cousin, each step slow and languid. The evening air was still cool, and she had naught a clue if the dementors would return.
If they do, I shall have a means to handle them. One, I hope, which can destroy them permanently.
Kingsley Shacklebolt tried to shake the frown that had formed upon receiving a sudden evening summons from Madam Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He had been preparing to depart for Order Headquarters, a report for Albus Dumbledore and some brainstorming to complete with Sirius Black. As the head of the search for the mass murderer, he had unparalleled access to the material necessary to fabricate the man's journeys about the Low Countries.
He met two other aurors outside of Madam Bones's office—Proudfoot, loyal to the law, and Robards, loyal to Minister Fudge. Only one could be trusted should war break out into the public eye.
"Let's see what the Head has for us," Robards said, scowling at Kingsley. It wasn't a secret in the department that he was friendly with Dumbledore, though he doubted any beyond Nymphadora Tonks knew of his induction into the Order of the Phoenix. It was best kept that way; Minister Fudge would purge the Auror Corps to maintain his office.
The door opened before Robards could knock. Miss Emily Kline, Madam Bones's secretary, had predicted them, or so it appeared. She gestured them in, her soft blonde ringlets bouncing, then closed and locked the door behind them with a wave of her wand.
Kingsley frowned. Something was deeply wrong.
Amelia turned to face them once the door was locked. With flaming red hair and a monocle over her right eye, she was beautiful and intimidating. Her reputation lined up with her appearance, and there were few witches free of Azkaban who could match wands with her. She held her post for good reason, even if she had not seen the field in five years. She looked past the three aurors lining up before her desk to her secretary. "Thank you, Emily."
"Of course, ma'am," the young woman replied. She did not leave.
"As for you three," Amelia continued, turning to the aurors, "I have a troubling case on my hands. Two incident reports arrived within seconds of each other. I suspect they're linked." She placed a document before them. "Shortly after half three this afternoon, a pair of dementors went unaccounted. This isn't terribly unusual, I'm afraid, but when they did reappear around six, they had suffered magical burns. Best we can tell, their wounds were inflicted with magical lightning. The residue does not match known elemental war spells. Only they could leave behind those wounds.
"The second," she continued before any of them could ask questions about the dementors, "concerns a potential violation of the Ban on Underage Sorcery—and the Statute."
They tensed, almost as one. A Statute of Secrecy violation was the most severe crime any of the aurors could think of.
"Detectors picked up two bursts of magical activity which occurred within minutes of each other in Surrey. From our records, the only mage in Surrey is Edelweiss Potter. The only other name of note belongs to a squib, placed near Miss Potter's residence following You-Know-Who's downfall."
"Magical activity?" asked Kingsley, feeling weak. He had watched over Miss Potter a few times so far during the summer. The girl rarely left her room. There had been a couple times when he thought he had felt something coming from her bedroom, yet it faded almost immediately. The warding around the plot prevented him from drawing closer, else he risk alerting the girl to his presence. The blood wards appeared quite odd, judging from what Dumbledore had told him. How or why was unknown to him, and the Headmaster did not have a suitable answer.
Amelia sighed. "I'm afraid this is where it gets messy. While we have ideas about what she may have cast, the activity does not align with anything known to the Ministry. Best the detectors can tell, the first burst involved magical lightning; this is why I am sending the three of you to question her."
"Are you claiming she created new magic?" asked Proudfoot.
"I hope not. Imagine how the public would react to a witch with magical powers unknown to the Ministry. The Prophet would have a field day with the news, let alone the trouble the Unspeakables would cause."
Proudfoot whistled.
Robards scoffed. "We've all seen what's been reported in the Prophet this summer about the Potter girl. This is another attempt on her part to make a name for herself and draw attention. It's probably just accidental magic. She must have tried to frighten some muggles."
"Either way," Madam Bones said, ignoring Robards, "I want this dealt with. Quietly. The three of you are to head to Miss Potter's address immediately." Her gaze turned to Kingsley. "You know where she is, since Dumbledore has you and Auror Tonks watching Miss Potter on his behalf. Let him know the next time he decides to use my aurors for his vigilante club, he should schedule a meeting with my secretary first."
It took all of his impressive willpower to not gulp at the knowing look and accusation. Kingsley knew he shouldn't be surprised Amelia suspected him, but to have it said aloud was disconcerting. To include Tonks when she wasn't present was a step too far, though he doubted Madam Bones would see it that way.
"My brother was part of Dumbledore's rogue group during the last war," she added. "I know how he operates, and the kind of people he successfully recruits into his little Order." Amelia then turned to Robards. "Nothing to Fudge. I understand you're his creature in my department, but this little tidbit goes unmentioned in your reports. It's either that or you're on Azkaban duty until someone else pulls a Sirius Black."
Robards nodded grimly. "Understood, Madam."
"And Proudfoot," Amelia said, turning to the third auror. "Keep an eye on them. Should either do anything that besmirches the name of the Auror Corps, I wish to know. Some people have forgotten where their loyalties lie. Best they remember now, while we still have peace."
"Understood, Madam," Auror Proudfoot said with a smile.
"Dismissed."
The three aurors were swift to depart. Kingsley informed them quietly of Edelweiss Potter's address en route to the Ministry's apparition site. Once there, they all vanished with small pops.
Edelweiss sat before her master's holocron, the woman's face illuminated in red. The Dursleys had given her long, distrustful looks upon returning, but said nothing when she immediately headed up to her room. She bowed to the image of Lady Bastila before saying, "Master. I have good news to report."
"Do tell, apprentice."
"I have blended my magical power with the dark side of the Force. I used this power to cast lightning upon dementors, foul creatures that draw up the worst fears and can devour souls. Once they were repelled, I then influenced my cousin's mind. It was simple, for he is weak and gullible."
Lady Bastila smiled. "You have grown strong, my apprentice. Soon you will be ready to be taught many secrets of the dark side. Doubt not that what you have told me is pleasing to hear. Already, you have found two applications for your power. I suspect your education as a witch has primed you to learn the ways of the Force without traditional guidance."
"So what I have done is possible through the Force alone?"
"Yes, apprentice," her master confirmed. "Force lightning is the providence of the Sith, though some Jedi, those daring enough to use their emotions for power, can use it to some degree. Manipulating the weak-willed is a common skill. Only moving objects and sensing others and their feelings is more common."
Edelweiss nodded, forcing down her growing urge to grin. She was deeply pleased that she had been able to use known Force abilities, though there was a gulf between incidentally wielding power and willfully using it. She found a new, almost sudden fear of her Force powers coming to her akin to accidental magic. To lose control would doom all she wished to accomplish in the future.
"I must refine my powers," she said, lowering her head slightly. "I have sworn myself to your teachings, master. How best can I strengthen myself and ensure I dominate all with the power of the dark side?"
"Continue your meditations. Soon we shall work through the most common Force powers, such as telekinesis, and build from there. In time you shall learn all I know, and learn from the other holocrons Salazar hoarded before his flight to this world. What you have done this day shall be mastered, though only in time."
"I understand, master. I shall meditate upon what you have told me."
Edelweiss deactivated the holocron and slipped it back into her trunk. She sighed as she returned to her kneeling position on the floor, her mind already turning inward. Her meditations had grown easier, day by day; yet she wondered how long until she was prepared for her master's more strenuous lessons.
Someone rapped on her door just before she slipped into her meditative trance. Anger flowed in a fiery torrent as Edelweiss rose to her feet and stormed to the door. She threw it open, and glared at her horse-faced aunt.
"What do you want?"
Aunt Petunia sneered at the angry demand. "Three of your lot are downstairs. Get them out of my house."
Edelweiss frowned, half-tempted to slam the door shut. "You let them in?"
"You think I'm just going to allow three strangers in red robes stand on my porch?" Aunt Petunia hissed. "It's risky enough allowing them inside, let alone agreeing to their silly demand to speak with you. Get them out of my house and send them back to wherever they came from!"
Red robes? thought Edelweiss. What would aurors want with me? Do they know of the dementors already?
"Fine, then. Dunno why they're here."
She stomped downstairs, paying no heed to Aunt Petunia's petulant glare. Edelweiss entered the living room and found three aurors waiting for her. One of them looked familiar. She suspected he had been with the Minister back in June following the Third Task. The second was an older man, aged by long years hunting dark witches and wizards. The third was an African man wearing a fez atop his bald head.
"Hello," Edelweiss said, making her way to the open seat. Aunt Petunia had already made herself scarce. She saw no sign of Dudley or Uncle Vernon. She guessed they had already retreated upstairs. "How can I help you?"
The aged auror nodded her way. "I am Auror Proudfoot. With me are Auror Robards and Auror Shacklebolt." Each of the aurors nodded when mentioned, allowing her to place name to face. "We've come to inquire about an incident that occurred recently in Surrey. We have reason to believe you were involved, and that laws were violated in the process."
She frowned, glancing from Proudfoot to Robards and Shacklebolt. Edelweiss knew little to nothing of these men, along with their department. She had likely heard in passing, but until recently she had learned of aurors thanks to Dumbledore employing Mad-Eye Moody.
"I'd rather not answer questions until I have a chance to hire a barrister, so they can clear whatever questions you have me," said Edelweiss, remembering that one crime show Aunt Petunia used to watch. "Though I am not against having you inform me of whatever happened and why it should be my concern."
Proudfoot nodded while Robards sneered and Shacklebolt appeared oddly frustrated. She could guess why Robards may be frustrated, but not this Shacklebolt fellow. Too risky to use the Force upon them.
"We didn't come all the way out to a filthy muggle neighborhood to be talked down to by some attention-hungry half-blood bitch!" shouted Robards, rising to his feet. "For some reason, you drew two dementors here and used illegal magics upon them—in the presence of a muggle as well!"
"Illegal magics? Are you listening to yourself speak?" she asked, unfazed. "Do you have anything to back up your allegations?"
Robards's face flushed the same red as his robes. "You violated the Statute of Secrecy and the Ban on Underage Sorcery!"
She crossed her arms. "Quite the accusation. Get out. I can send an owl once I have a barrister. Otherwise, leave me alone."
"You can't do thi—!"
"Miss Potter," Auror Proudfoot interrupted. "Two dementors returned to Azkaban after being declared missing, bearing magical burns caused by lightning magics. The best magical sensors across Britain suggest you are responsible. That there were no attempts to cast the Patronus Charm—"
"That is what I would have done, were I confronted with dementors," replied Edelweiss, ignoring how sweet the lie was upon her tongue. Then again, she had thought about casting the charm. "I learned how to cast the Patronus Charm during my third year, when Hogwarts played host to a hundred or so dementors." She shivered, remembering that fateful night. It seemed with hindsight she had successfully casted a patronus that night because fate and the flow of time demanded it. She had witnessed herself cast the charm and repel the mass of dementors that had threatened her and her godfather, Sirius Black.
"That's quite the claim," Auror Proudfoot said. "I would be impressed, seeing it today."
Edelweiss laughed. "And chance incriminating myself? I'll pass, Auror." She straightened. "Please leave. I have nothing else to say, and I have a feeling someone very important will block any further attempts to question me.
"Have a good day, gentlemen."
She watched with a false smile as the three aurors departed Number Four. Her smile morphed into a frown once they vanished, each with a pop. Dumbledore had told her once that the blood wards around this house protected her from those who meant her harm; at least one of those aurors had to be loyal to Minister Fudge, and she didn't doubt he meant her well these days. Either those wards were keyed to particular threats, or the use of her blood in June had invalidated them.
Voldemort using my blood has indeed weakened them. There's no love lost between me and the Dursleys. If the wards won't hold, then this is no longer the safe haven Dumbledore believes, and so it is time to depart for the final time.
Edelweiss stared at the closed door for a moment longer, then turned and slipped up to her room. Anger and a trace of fear brewed in her. She used them to draw forth her connection to the Force. Using her own natural magics would alert the Ministry to her actions. She wanted to be long gone before anyone was the wiser.
She left the door open as she packed her trunk with a wave of a hand. Edelweiss then locked and lifted it manually, grimacing slightly at the heft, and turned to find her doorway darkened.
Aunt Petunia stood there, lips pursed into a tight line. "What did they want?"
"Nothing to concern a muggle like you. I am leaving, and you will do nothing to stop me."
"Why should I let you go—"
Aunt Petunia squeaked, then gasped faintly as Edelweiss poured fourteen years of misery and wrath into the woman. She was careful to only use the Force, and was rewarded for her effort. Her body constricted, her throat clenching upon nothing. Her hands twitched, unable to come up and claw at the invisible force pressing upon her. Only her eyes shifted about unimpeded, bulging and wild.
Edelweiss stepped forward and whispered, "My kind does not even know what I am doing to you. Thank your god I have decided not to kill you before going." She drew back her Force powers, and Petunia collapsed. She stepped over her muggle aunt, allowing her trunk to smack the woman's head, and started down the stairs. Halfway, she said, "Do not expect me to return in June. If I were you, I would think about leaving England. America isn't too bad, though Australia will be nice in a few month's time."
And with a cackle, Edelweiss all but skipped down the last few stairs, went to the door, and stepped out into the twilight of August. She felt free, emboldened by the dark side wrapped around her. She walked to the curb, trunk in hand, and closed her eyes.
Now, dear godfather, where are you?