The Path to Sith Lord

Hermione Granger scanned the platform at Hogsmeade Station for Edelweiss. Ever since the end of the previous year, her best friend had begun to drift away. She understood why, for all she hated the reason. Fear filled Hermione, thinking of her friend's obsession with the looming war, convinced she was being forced to fight it alone, and needed to shed blood. Unfortunately, there was precedent for that belief. Edelweiss Potter solved her troubles alone. She had faced Quirrell and You-Know-Who alone in their first year. She had gone into the Chamber of Secrets alone in their second year. They might have been together during their trip through time in their third year, but Edelweiss had displayed a magical prowess Hermione wished she could not be jealous of.

And during the previous year, Edelweiss had faced down three deadly tasks before a reunion with her dreaded foe.

"There she is!" shouted Ginny, pointing towards a pack of Slytherins heading for the horseless carriages. "She's with Greengrass and Nott."

Dread slithered, cold and slow, through Hermione's body. She pushed through the crowd, using her prefect status a few times to get bemused older years out of her way. Quickly enough, she reached Edelweiss and the Slytherins with her before they could board a carriage up to the castle.

"—so you see them as well, Nott?" Edelweiss asked, staring at the blank space before the carriages. "What are they?"

"Thestrals," said Nott. "Only those who have seen someone die can see them."

Edelweiss hummed. She peered over her shoulder quite suddenly, a flash in her familiar emerald eyes. "Ah. There you are, Hermione. I was wondering where you were. I was quite disappointed you didn't find me on the train."

Hermione scowled defensively. "We searched the train for you, Edie." She glanced at the Slytherins before asking, "What are you doing with them? Nott's a—"

"I'm well aware what his family is like, Hermione. He proved himself…compliant while on the train. I have grown tired of fighting the wars of our parents and grandparents."

She was tempted to argue that point with Edelweiss, but Hermione doubted her points would sink in. Whatever delusion there was twisting her friend's mind had already poisoned her against many who clearly wanted the best for her—Dumbledore most of all. While she couldn't deny that Edelweiss was justified in her petty anger at the Headmaster, he was still Albus Dumbledore. He had defeated Grindelwald. He was the one Voldemort feared. They couldn't fight the war Edelweiss was obsessed with without him.

"Fine," said Hermione. Edelweiss smiled victoriously, and Hermione felt a flush of anger. Impulsively, she added, "We're joining you in the carriage."

"There's only enough room for you and Ron."

"Go on," said Ginny before Hermione or Ron could protest. "I see some of my friends. I'll head up to the castle with them."

Edelweiss nodded, glanced at Hermione and Ron again, and then gestured to the Slytherins to board the carriage they were closest to. The trio in silver and green took one side, while Edelweiss climbed in and sat across from them. She glanced at Hermione and Ron before patting the bench beside her. They took the clue and scurried up into the carriage, joining their friend and the strange group of Slytherins she had drawn into her orbit.

The carriage shifted several seconds after Ron sat down. To Hermione's surprise, the unfamiliar Slytherin girl reached out with her right hand in a very muggle manner. "I'm Tracey Davis," she said as an introduction. "I've wanted to speak with you for a while, Granger, but I've always been so worried about Malfoy that I've kept my distance. We have Ancient Rune and Arthmancy together, so I guess I could have risked it, with him taking the same electives as Potter, but—"

"Trace," warned Greengrass. "Malfoy has not been defused yet."

Davis deflated at Greengrass's words. Nott rolled his eyes, though his face was morose enough Hermione suspected he might enjoy seeing Malfoy be publically humiliated. From what she had seen, he spent most of his time with that dark-skinned Slytherin in their year, and periodically with Greengrass and Davis.

And that assumes Parkinson is elsewhere.

She tried to forget her sudden realization. It was easier to deal with the magical world when she approached it like a children's story, with black-and-white morality. Slytherins evil, Gryffindors good, and nobody minded the other two houses beyond when their numbers stepped into the grand conflict within Hogwarts.

Edelweiss, clearly, had abandoned that worldview. Where a year ago she too would've dismissed Slytherins as cruel prats, she now entertained a possible friendship with Greengrass and Nott.

"Oh don't worry so much," remarked Davis, drawing Hermione's attention back to her. The girl was surprisingly tan for a pureblooded Slytherin. "They don't know it yet, but Potter more or less has those two wrapped around a finger. We've all been looking for an excuse to get away from Draco."

"You make her sound like one of you," said Ron, his face reddened with fury. "You snakes need to—"

"I made the decision to reach out to them, Ronald," Edelweiss suddenly said, voice low and cool. "You will speak to them politely—or not at all."

Ron growled lowly before crossing his arms, making clear his decision to suffer in silence instead of risking Edelweiss's wrath. Hermione listened carefully to what Edelweiss said, and struggled as she bit her tongue. Deep within, fear swelled, for her friend sought to orient toward being an alternative to You-Know-Who and Dumbledore.

It was brazen.

It was foolish.

It was, unfortunately, also brilliant.

Worse, Hermione struggled to justify why Edelweiss shouldn't beyond her young age. It was clear from everything she saw and heard over the summer that her friend was utterly convinced she would need to fight and fight on her own terms. What worried Hermione most was what Edelweiss might intend for Britain after the war. She trusted Dumbledore's vision, regardless if it was unlikely he would not live long enough to witness a lasting peace settle across Britain.

When they reached the castle, they found the caretaker, Argus Filch, waiting at a narrow point, waving about a strange object that reminded Hermione of a portable metal detector. They had been informed that dark detectors would be used upon arrival during the prefect meeting, but it was different seeing it in person. He waved it over them as they disembarked and trudged forward. He grumbled about Gryffindors and Slytherins mixing, calling it "unnatural." His dark detector registered nothing, though there was an odd moment as it passed over one of Edelweiss's pockets.

Once they reached the Great Hall, long separated from the three Slytherins Edelweiss had somehow gathered, Hermione whispered, "The Cloak?"

"Yes."

Hermione was a little surprised the Cloak could be detected, but she guessed whatever trait allowed it to last longer than it should and in greater condition would confuse a dark detector. Still, she was disturbed that the dark detector reacted in the slightest to Edelweiss. Despite the house they occupied over the summer hols, she assumed anything questionable her friend stumbled upon would have been left behind.

Calm down, Hermione. Calm down. It wasn't worth stressing over her friend this night. More so, she was happy to be back at Hogwarts. There were still plenty of aisles and cases of tomes unexplored and unread. Her personal reading time would be diminished this year, especially compared to previous ones. They were taking their OWL examinations this spring. High marks on those would allow her to register for more NEWT-level courses, and high marks on those offered access to internships, apprenticeships, and posts at both Gringotts Bank and, more importantly, the Ministry of Magic.

One day she would become the Minister for Magic. Perhaps it was a lofty, even arrogant dream, but she could do it. She was smart and tenacious enough to push past the lazy prejudice of the purebloods around her and seize that top post. She, Hermione Granger, would prove to them that her lineage was not something that held her back, but gave her strength. She was stronger because she was the child of muggles, not despite it.

For now, Hermione would focus on studying for her OWLs. It would be impossible to achieve what she wanted without passing those tests with flying colors.

"Stop worrying about your OWLs," grumbled Edelweiss as they reached the Gryffindor table. "We still have months before we sit them."

"I…" began Hermione, the word squeaking out of her as she hastily sat down. "I am not worrying about them."

Edelweiss rolled her eyes. "If you say so. Hermione Granger never worries about tests, especially not weeks or even months in advance."

Ron snorted. When Hermione glowered at him, he shrugged and mumbled, "Edie has a point, Hermione. You've always been too intense about exams."

"They're very, very important!" Hermione hissed. "And our OWLs are more important than any we've taken so far. You two should take them seriously as well."

"There's a difference between taking them seriously and worrying about them way too early." Edelweiss's gaze drifted, and Hermione's followed. Malfoy was currently forcing some other students to shift around the Slytherin table so he could sit with Nott and Greengrass. "Once Christmas has passed, then you can bother us about OWLs. Even write up study schedules, since you have done that every year."

Hermione tried not to blush, even as a fiery warmth claimed her cheeks. Her friend was right, regardless of how much she wanted to protest the claim. Hermione had grown up obsessed with school, for her parents had long talked about the schools she might be able to get into with high test scores.

Hogwarts is the same as those schools, she told herself. Magical Britain is the same as the muggle world. The better I do on these tests, the better off I will be.

Edelweiss struggled to not sigh or roll her eyes as Hermione's thoughts remained plagued by the fluttery mess that was her worries over their OWLs. She suspected she could peer into her friend's psyche to try and figure out why she was so obsessed with tests. However, she was worried she might give away her powers while stumbling about the choppy tides of Hermione's mind. She had almost slipped up while dealing with the three Slytherins on the Hogwarts Express. Malfoy was attempting to question them; Davis appeared to be relying upon Greengrass, using her friend's words and reactions as a cue for handling Malfoy.

Whatever Daphne Greengrass was saying appeared to be in Edelweiss's favor, judging from the faint reddish blush crawling up Malfoy's neck. Davis nodded at appropriate moments, backing up her friend's words. Nott was ignoring them, clearly content to let the girls handle Malfoy instead of bothering with it himself. Edelweiss watched how he spoke quietly with dark-skinned Zabini. He glanced her way, met her gaze, and turned away quickly.

She smirked, but was drawn away from the Slytherin table as the doors of the Great Hall swung open. Professor McGonagall guided the new crop of first years between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables toward the hall's front, where the Sorting Hat awaited. They were tiny and timid, numbering nearly seventy by the time they were all gathered in a funky line before Hat and stool.

The Sorting Hat began its song, but it fell upon deaf ears. Edelweiss's gaze had drifted from the first years to the Head Table, and in particular to a squat woman with a wide, unpleasant face. The woman noticed her gaze and a foul glare crossed her face, directed solely at Edelweiss. The woman was dressed in pink, wearing a thick cardigan and had a small bow in her soft brown hair.

Oh joy, Edelweiss thought, turning back to the first years as the Hat finally wrapped up its song. She clapped automatically. Another Defense professor who looks more than ready to try and kill me.

Beyond the trouble of Samhain, Edelweiss was aware of the trend of Defense professors attempting to murder her, either purposefully or by accident. Quirrell and the false Mad-Eye were among the first category, while Lockhart and Lupin, transformed into a werewolf, were among the latter. She wondered which the new woman would try and join before realizing it wouldn't matter. Her class would likely be a waste of time, or merely poorly run.

Best to skim the assigned text and hope my worries are misplaced.

The Sorting took a good twenty minutes. Several sat on the stool for a minute or two, the Hat mulling over which house to send them to. Edelweiss only clapped upon hearing, "Gryffindor!" There was enough bad blood between her and the other houses that she was tossing aside politeness and propriety for the night.

"Lot of midgets this year," Ron grumbled. "They should hurry up. I'm starving."

Edelweiss bit down on her tongue to stop from snorting at Ron's ill-timed comment. Hermione took umbrage with his words, for she slapped him across the table. A few of the others around them glared at her, but nobody said a word when they spotted the red and gold prefects badge proudly displayed on her chest.

"Dumbledore will want to speak as well," she told him as a "Rollins, Carol," was sorted into Hufflepuff. "Hopefully he keeps his speech short."

Ron nodded, even as he stared longingly at the large golden platters in the table's center. Soon enough they would be filled with food. For now, they remained barren and empty. His gaze remained fixed upon the platters, even as Dumbledore stood and spoke a few words of greeting. He was subtle as he referenced his speech from June, yet Edelweiss heard his warnings nonetheless. The new Defense professor glowered at him, as if he had spat directly in her face.

Ah, yes. She's loyal to Fudge. So Dumbledore failed to find another candidate.

Food appeared and conversation began almost immediately. Edelweiss plated herself roasted chicken and pork and a salad rich in cucumber and tomato. She listened to Hermione theorize about the Hat's song—the same song she had ignored—while Ron ate with his usual blistering speed and lacking graces, his plate piled almost alarmingly high.

"Close your mouth while you chew," snarled Edelweiss. "It was amusing a few years ago. It's gross now."

Ron glared, yet snapped his jaw shut nonetheless. Edelweiss noted a few grateful glances shot her way, yet there were times as many glares. Frustration brewed within her, for there was a great inconsistency behind the glares. She turned to Hermione and whispered, "Do you know why I'm less popular now than right after my name came out of the Goblet?"

"You have been reading the Prophet, yes?"

Hermione sounded shocked by the question. Edelweiss rolled her eyes. Despite Rita Skeeter's so-called reporting from the previous year, Hermione must have renewed her subscription to the Prophet. Hopefully, her friend had picked up on how it was little more than the Ministry's mouthpiece, barely above a propaganda rag. Could Hermione be that blind to the faults of the paper, or had Edelweiss's introduction to the Sith arts awakened her to the lies and deceptions of the world around her?

Then again, the muggle BBC set the bar for trustworthy state media.

"I rarely read the paper, Hermione. You know that. When I have, it's because of either you or Malfoy."

Hermione had the grace to appear embarrassed about the reminder. She was saved from answering by Ron. "They've been saying terrible things about you all summer," he said; mouth miraculously not filled with food. "Hermione used to rant and rave about the articles."

"I never heard any of that."

"She stopped a couple days before you suddenly showed up. Dunno why, since the articles continued to make her mad. Once you stopped cleaning with us, she'd rant and—"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "You can't talk about this summer!"

"She has a point," Edelweiss said with a bit of pork chop on her fork. "This is not the place for a conversation that important."

Ron's ears went bright red while his cheeks took on a rosy hue that highlighted his freckles. He then focused on eating, all the while appearing mindful of Edelweiss's earlier words. She tried to not be surprised he was capable of polite manners, but then she was so accustomed to him eating like a slob that any change of pace would stand out.

"What about those Slytherins in your train compartment?" asked Hermione with a hint of suspicion. "Is this the wrong place to talk about them?"

Edelweiss glanced up and down the table. Only a few were actively paying attention to them, as if aware that this trio of students had been at the center of every major event these past four years. After a moment, she made her decision. "What of them?" she asked. "I was asleep when they arrived, and they have as much love for Malfoy as we do. Perhaps even less, since they have to suffer him in their common room."

"But they're Slytherins. You can't trust them."

Her left hand clenched. Had she been holding a knife, it would have bent under the force. "The Hat nearly sorted me into Slytherin. I begged for anything else, and so I was sorted into Gryffindor." Edelweiss tried to feel nothing as she stared at Hermione's stricken expression. "I will not fault you for distrusting Nott, since I don't as well. But Greengrass? Davis? They could be allies, and perhaps friends one day. The latter faces enough scorn and contempt within their walls, given her blood status is…comparable to mine."

"It doesn't matter," grumbled Hermione, turning back to her dinner. "She's as rotten as the rest."

Edelweiss clenched her jaw, and decided to allow her friends to eat in silence. She focused on her meal, all the while wondering when she had grown up compared to them. Over the summer would be her guess, though she had primarily focused on her studies of the Force under her master's tutelage, and later eking out what she could from living in a Black family home. Yet the more she reflected upon the past months, between bites of roasted meat and vegetables, the more she realized she had also pushed them away. It had been a slow process, aided as much by her diverging interests as by how they followed Dumbledore's order concerning letters. Both of her friends dangerously idolized the man—Hermione more than Ron, admittedly—and could she truly trust anyone who idolized him?

They don't have the same experience with him, she reminded herself. They aren't the ones sent to an uncaring household. He doesn't manage their lives as he does mine, dictating their summers and manipulating their time at Hogwarts.

She ate on in silence, anger and hatred stewing. More than once she glanced at the Head Table. It took a few looks to notice Hagrid's absence; his massive bulk had always stood out, and for all the man's many faults, he was still the one who introduced her to the magical world. There must have been someone else to escort the first years to the boats they took across the Black Lake to the castle. Maybe it had been the woman in Hagrid's usual seat. She looked familiar to boot.

Eventually, dinner gave way to desert, and then that too went away. Edelweiss centered herself away from her anger as Dumbledore rose back to his feet, his long silvery beard almost fashionable against a robe of magenta and puce.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," the Headmaster began as the Great Hall went quiet. "I will begin with this year's beginning of term notices." He smiled fondly, as if there was nothing he would rather do. "Firstly, it should be noted that the Forest on the grounds is out of bounds to all students. Some of the returning students should remember that it is called Forbidden for a reason."

Edelweiss smiled fondly, remembering her many misadventures in the nearby woods. She had risked death there a number of times, especially when she and Ron had foolishly wandered into an acromantula nest.

"Next, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind everyone that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a great number of other magical items. You can find the complete and extensive list fastened to the door of Mr. Filch's office."

He paused and glanced up and down the Head Table. "We have two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be instructing Care of Magical Creatures while Professor Hagrid recovers from his summer sabbatical on the continent. Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught this year by Professor Umbridge, who has kindly stepped away from her Ministry career to pursue one in education."

His announcement was met by polite, if disinterested clapping. Hermione and Ron shot worried looks first at each other, and then to Edelweiss. She shrugged while trying to not narrow her eyes, for she suspected the "sabbatical" Dumbledore spoke of was Order business.

As the Headmaster continued on to notices about Quidditch tryouts, Professor Umbridge rose to her feet. Edelweiss only noticed because the squat professor's chair shifted back loudly enough for that the professors nearest her turned and stared stared, shocked at her brazen action. Dumbledore trailed off once he noticed and stared curiously at his newest professor.

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat with a "Hem, hem." Edelweiss flinched at the false sound. The moment she opened herself up to the Force, she could feel an undercurrent of discomfort swirling amongst the students. Only some at the Slytherin table seemed aware of what was occurring. They, curiously, were pleased.

"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high and breathy, like a teenage girl trying desperately to flirt with a boy who never gave her the time of day. Edelweiss bit down on her tongue, else she laugh at how ridiculous the new professor sounded.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" The Great Hall was silent as her words echoed high above in the rafters. When no response came, she continued on as if nothing was wrong. "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

Giggles broke out nearby. Edelweiss glanced over at Parvati and Lavender. She suspected one of them had made a snide comment about Professor Umbridge's ghastly pink clothes. Probably about the cardigan, or that silly bow in her hair. Regardless, it was doubtful the woman would find many friends among the student populous.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance," continued Professor Umbridge. "The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

Edelweiss frowned as she leaned forward onto an elbow. A bad feeling pooled in her gut as the new professor spoke, slowly laying out in her strange way what she planned for her tenure at Hogwarts. Her frown slowly deepened as the woman went on and on, and she was left wondering who this Umbridge woman was among Fudge's cronies and minions. She was certain this woman had been important, yet her lack of knowledge about those within the Ministry meant she knew next to nothing about Umbridge. She had to relax her jaw as Umbridge's speech began to come to an end.

"…because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment," said Professor Umbridge, smiling sweetly. It was the smile of a creature confident it had nothing to fear from those it thought as prey. "Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

She was met by silence. Nobody clapped. Not the Ravenclaws who understood what she said, or the Slytherins who might agree, or even the Hufflepuffs who were overly polite. There was no whispering or gossiping about what was said. All that met Professor Umbridge was the silence of a student body quite incapable for once of coming to a sudden, rash decision about how to handle an oddity in their midst.

Headmaster Dumbledore, surprisingly, came to her aid. "Thank you, Professor Umbridge, for those illuminating words."

Professor Umbridge, for her part, glowered at the Headmaster. Edelweiss suspected the woman thought she was being mocked. That, or her hatred of the Headmaster was too strong to hide her honest feelings.

A fool to challenge him so openly in his own castle. Not even Voldemort dared to act against Dumbledore within Hogwarts without some cunning scheme in place.

"As it has grown very late, I believe all of you should head off to bed."

The Great Hall broke out in a rumble of voices as the student body rose to their feet. Edelweiss instead waited, watching as Ron and Hermione squabbled over how they would escort the Gryffindor first years to the common room. She tried not to laugh as Ron proceeded to call them midgets despite Hermione's efforts to correct him.

The first years, on the other hand, were more interested in staring and ogling Edelweiss than following the new prefects. She stared back, vibrant emerald startling them one by one.

"Come on, Edie." She turned around. Ginny stood behind her. "Let's head up while they argue over the first years."

Edelweiss glanced at Ron and Hermione, who were still busy arguing in the midst of the Gryffindor first years. She stared at the twenty or so children chattering to each other, their numbers enough to make her head briefly swim.

"Lead on," she said, rising to her feet.

Ginny dominated their conversation as they scaled up Gryffindor Tower. Edelweiss allowed Ginny's words to brush over her, for her mind was more intrigued by what Umbridge said. Most obvious from her speech was the Ministry's blatant intention to fully interfere in the affairs and operation of Hogwarts. She wouldn't be surprised if something occurred that would allow the Ministry—through their agent at Hogwarts, Umbridge—to influence or control the staff's composition. They could go as far as sacking and replacing professors.

Edelweiss thought first of Trelawney, then of Snape and Binns. They could all be justifiably sacked. She wouldn't shed a tear seeing any of them depart the castle permanently, disgraced and ridiculed over their poor instruction.

When they reached the Fat Lady, guardian of the Gryffindor common room, Ginny suddenly asked, "Do you know the password?"

Edelweiss blinked. "Password?"

Edelweiss recalled how she slept away most of the trip from London before spending the remainder with those Slytherins. After that, she had argued with and ignored Ron and Hermione enough that she hadn't thought for a moment to ask for the password.

As prefects, they would know.

"Afraid not," she admitted. "You?"

Before Ginny could answer, a familiar voice caught up with them. "I do!" They turned as Neville Longbottom reached them, grinning. "For once."

"Be my guest, then," said Edelweiss, gesturing toward the bemused Fat Lady. She rested playfully in her portrait.

Neville stepped forward and proudly said, "Mimbulus mimbletonia."

The Fat Lady winked before swinging inward, granting them access to their common room. It was as red as it had been in years previous, yet as Edelweiss entered, she didn't feel as though she were coming home, as she once might have. Ever since she discovered she was a witch, Gryffindor had become her true home, the place where everyone she cared about was. Yes, that was before Sirius, but her godfather had called it home when her parents were a Hogwarts. It counted in the end.

Nothing seemed different. She only felt off.

Her favorite seat, a massive plush chair by the fireplace, was occupied by a group of giggling third years. She considered, for a moment, bullying them away from it, but a wave of exhaustion swept over Edelweiss. She turned to Neville and Ginny, murmured a good night, and climbed up to the dormitory she had occupied for four years.

Beyond Hermione, who had to still be busy with the first years, the other girls in her year were present. Fay Dunbar had already climbed into bed, a mask over her eyes, though Edelweiss sensed she had not fallen asleep. Whatever gossip Lavender and Parvati had been engaged in halted the moment they spotted Edelweiss.

"Were your summer hols pleasant?" she asked, crossing to her bed. When they had been first years, Edelweiss had insisted upon having the bed furthest from the door, and thus closest to the bathroom. Lavender and Parvati had not been terribly pleased by the arrangement, but that was back when they had been blinded by hero worship for the Girl-Who-Lived. Now the mysticism was gone.

"Fine enough," said Lavender awkwardly. "You were in the papers a lot. The front page, not the parts I usually read."

"They only said nasty things about you," added Parvati with a frown. "Padma doesn't think you or Professor Dumbledore are barmy, though she says most of Ravenclaw won't agree."

"If only they could see half of what I have," murmured Edelweiss. She entered ideas of what might sway the Ravenclaws. Would it be her memory of Quirrell removing his turban to expose the ghastly face attached to the back of his head? Perhaps the memory of Tom Riddle revealing how and why he devised the name 'Lord Voldemort' would convince them. Or perhaps she could outright show them all that occurred in that graveyard, events that were even now suppressed away in a dark, damp corner of her mind.

"My family believes you as well," Lavender said quickly. "We've long supported the Headmaster, ever since he went over to Germany and beat Grindelwald."

Edelweiss hummed, now aware revealing her true thoughts concerning the Headmaster would not endear her to Lavender—and thus to Parvati, as well. Perhaps with time she could acquire their loyalty, but that would take time and more patience than she possessed.

"And Fay?" she ended up asking, glancing toward the now sleeping girl.

Lavender shrugged. "She didn't say much. Ate with her friends at the feast, then came up and went to bed."

Fay had long been the odd girl out in their year. Where Lavender and Parvati were childhood friends and Edelweiss and Hermione had a bond forged in fire, Fay existed along the periphery of their year. Not even Neville went as unnoticed as Fay did. She had latched onto some girls in the year above them to mask her loneliness. Sometimes Edelweiss felt bad about how they had all but marginalized the girl, but with all that weighed upon her shoulders, she found she cared little for Fay's opinion.

"So the normal, then."

Lavender nodded. Parvati stared at the sleeping girl and sighed. "It's depressing, having a stranger sleeping in this dorm with us. We've been together for four years, yet how much do we really know about her?"

"Beyond she's friends with a few sixth years?" asked Edelweiss.

Parvati nodded.

"She's a halfblood like me," Edelweiss continued. "One parent muggleborn, one parent pureblood. I think it's reversed, but then she doesn't talk about her family much."

"We could say the same about you, Edie," Lavender teased. "I know you holiday in the muggle world—"

"Wouldn't describe my summers as holidays, but go on."

Lavender frowned at the interruption before continuing on. "Well, it's just we never hear anything about your muggle relatives. I don't want to be pushy or nosy, but I've always been curious. What is the Girl-Who-Lived's home life?"

For a long moment, Edelweiss considered telling them the truth. She considered telling them how she had called a cupboard under the stairs her bedroom for nearly ten years. How she was ignorant of being a witch until she received her Hogwarts letter. How she had cooked and cleaned and handled the gardening since she was five and had been expected, at least until the past summer, to continue doing so despite being a witch. She even considered telling them how she had lived in fear she would be beaten—or worse—by her muggle uncle.

She decided upon saying nothing just as Hermione stormed into their dorm, face flushed with fury. For several seconds, she paced back and forth before her bed, hands opening and clenching. Edelweiss watched Hermione until she suddenly approached her and said, "I can't believe what they're saying about you down there! I nearly took twenty points off of them!"

"Nearly? What are they saying about me?"

Hermione stiffened, leaving Edelweiss to wonder if her friend ever meant to mention what happened below. She watched her friend as several things flickered in her brandy brown eyes, one after the other. In the span of a few heartbeats, Hermione made up her mind and said, "I can't tell you. Otherwise, you'll go down there and do something I'd have to take points for."

"A wise choice," said Edelweiss, her mouth filled with bitter poison. The dark side grasped her attention. She suspected from what Hermione had said that the people speaking against her good name were still down in the common room. "Though I wouldn't mind another reason why I shouldn't go down there and hex anyone who looks at me wrong."

"Because it won't solve the problem?"

"…are you suggesting I kill the Minister or take over the Prophet, then?"

Lavender and Parvati choked on horrified sounds while Hermione scrambled for words. Edelweiss smiled crookedly and waited until her friend realized she was being teased.

The conquest of Magical Britain would come in time, and likely not soon.

"Just go to bed," grumbled Hermione as she went into the bathroom. Edelweiss followed after her friend. She wanted a shower before trying to get a good night's sleep. Hopefully, a peaceful night in Gryffindor Tower would leave her in a better mood come the morrow.

Around five the next morning, Edelweiss woke quite suddenly. A power beckoned her, weak and distant. She sat up, frowning, and reached out with the Force. Her sense grazed against the enchantment upon the stairs up the girl's side of the tower and the Fat Lady's portrait, even as the Force guided her down toward the depths of the castle.

Lord Salazar, somehow, was summoning her to the Chamber of Secrets. To Ziost Hangar. And who was she to make him wait?

Edelweiss drew a robe over on her sheer nightgown, before snatching her family invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map from their spot in her trunk. They, along with her Gringotts key and the album of family pictures, had a special place that was easily accessible. Were her Firebolt racing broom small enough, she would put it with them. Instead, it lived with her robes, helping to maintain their shape without cleaning and grooming spells.

Her year mates were deep sleepers—even Hermione, who was prone to waking at odd hours to write down strange insights from her garbled dreams. For all she hated divination, Edelweiss sometimes wondered if her friend might possess a gift for it. She was merely too rigid in her thinking to realize what she was capable of—and Edelweiss would take advantage of that oversight.

Were Hermione more attuned, perhaps she might pick on the Force and Edelweiss's ascent toward becoming a Sith Lord.

The descent from Gryffindor Tower to the Chamber of Secrets was short thanks to a past effort of hers. During her third year, shortly after being given the Marauder's Map, Edelweiss had come upon a passage on the fifth floor that possessed a parseltongue lock. Notation had been left behind, barely muddled or confused by time. The safeguards had stumped the Marauders—months would pass before she learned who they were—over that particular passage.

Edelweiss happened to be a parselmouth and thus she could pass through. She soon learned just about every trace of parseltongue sealing within Hogwarts led to the Chamber's entrance. That locale on the fifth floor was the closest to Gryffindor Tower, and just happened to be near the bronze eagle knocker that the map showed guarded the entrance to Ravenclaw's common room.

With cloak and map, she had zero trouble reaching the spot. From there, she vanished from the Marauder's Map. Edelweiss allowed the cloak to hang from her neck, bound together as if it were a regular cloak and not the oddest blanket in the world. Once she had joked with Ron about using it while she slept. He had not found it amusing, as she thought he might. He had sprouted off some wizarding nonsense about her never waking up.

Apparently, she learned later, the wizarding tale of Sleeping Beauty involved a cloak of invisibility instead of a curse.

Barely twenty minutes after waking, Edelweiss came to the door into the Chamber of Secrets. It was tall, lined with serpents that sealed it shut. She barely lost her stride as she hissed, "Open!" The door quickly obeyed her, and she slipped into the familiar confines of the Chamber of Secrets.

The massive stone block that had guarded the entrance to Ziost Hangar sat precisely as she left it back in June. The crimson crystal glowed faintly when Edelweiss gazed upon it. She grasped the dark side, and it glowed brighter. She had learned some of lightsabers during the hols, and she understood that one day that crystal would be instrumental to her next weapon.

Edelweiss headed to the opening, stepping here and there as she cursed her oversight to not put on slippers or shoes before answering Lord Salazar's summons. She hurried down the stone steps, down to the strange metal door that guarded the Hangar. The door hissed open automatically. No strange, robotic voice attempted to block her entry.

Edelweiss went not directly to Lord Salazar, but to the guardrails several paces beyond the entry. She peered down at the strange, black ship below. It was sleek, all smooth surfaces that slowly curved to the forward point. Part of her was tempted to inspect the craft—and then Lord Salazar's summons struck her like a bell. She turned shakily from the ship and proceeded into the holocron room.

Lord Salazar appeared almost immediately, his massive red-hued projection hovering over the desk. Edelweiss kneeled before him, head bent as she murmured, "What do you wish of me, Lord Salazar?"

"You came. I was not certain you would recognize my summons," the ancient Sith Lord said.

"I came as soon as I could. The summons awoke me, and I knew where I must go," said Edelweiss. "Thankfully I know the swiftest routes through the castle, including those you installed."

"Are you the only parselmouth living?"

"The only one within these walls. The other, the Dark Lord Voldemort, is my enemy."

"This Dark Lord? Is he a descendant of mine?"

"He is," Edelweiss admitted sourly. "He prides himself on his connection to you through his mother. However, I know that while he found the Chamber above, he remains blind to the Force."

"Since you seek to become a Sith Lord, you must destroy him. I do not doubt you will be able to."

"Thank you, Lord Salazar," she said shakily.

He smiled before asking, "How have your studies under Lady Bastila's tutelage proceeded?"

Edelweiss reached into her robe's pocket and found no the holocron within. It was secured in her trunk up in Gryffindor Tower. Answering Lord Salazar's summons quickly had come first.

"They went well," she said carefully, "though my master's holocron is in my dormitory back in Gryffindor Tower. My master would be better able to report on my progress."

Lord Salazar nodded, though a hint of something disappointed or perhaps exhausted slipped onto his weathered face. "Rowena and Godric were fools, claiming tower dormitories for their lot. Helga and I were more sensible, placing them lower in the castle."

"I wouldn't say a common room beneath the Black Lake is sensible, even if it is impressive, Lord Salazar."

"You have been to the Slytherin House?"

"I have," Edelweiss admitted. "In our second year, when the Dark Lord's memory possessed a student and used your basilisk to attack students, my friends and I brewed a batch of polyjuice potion. With it, we disguised ourselves as Slytherins, so that we could access the common room and try to uncover what others knew."

"A memory that can possess people? Polyjuice? These are not known to me." Lord Salazar scowled and crossed his arms. "Magic has grown in the thousand years since I passed away. I am both pleased and vexed."

Edelweiss nodded as she worked to assemble a proper response. She wished she understood what that memory of Tom Riddle had actually been beyond what he claimed. However, that would be another secret Dumbledore continued to keep from her. She would be shocked if his theory about whatever that diary had been was proven false.

All she knew was that the diary had almost killed Ginny Weasley, and that basilisk venom destroyed it in turn.

"Perhaps this relates to the anomaly the scanners discovered during your first visit," murmured Lord Salazar. "I have spent the months since the reactivation of Ziost Hangar to analyze what was discovered."

Edelweiss frowned. "Anomaly? I remember that… Do you know what it is?"

"The anomaly relates to the scar upon your brow." Edelweiss brushed some of her wild black hair over the lightning bolt scar that cut across her right eyebrow and up across her forehead and into her hairline. The highlight was the obvious bolt that cut across her brow, for it was red and ached something fierce. "Indeed. That. I have gone over the scans taken, and the best we can determine is that there is something of another's essence lodged there."

"We?"

[SYSTEM REPORT: ZIOST HANGAR OPERATED BY SERIAL NUMBER: ZETA-ALEPH THREE-SEVEN]

Edelweiss stumbled up onto her feet, emerald eyes scanning the room as she sought the source of the strange, metallic voice. Lord Salazar chuckled, low and mirthful at her panicked reaction.

"What was that?" she demanded, on the verge of drawing her wand. She snatched the dark side, using her panic and fear to draw in power. It swirled with fury and wrath, slipping past anger.

"That was Zeta-Aleph, a droid brain plugged into the computer systems that operate Ziost Hangar," said Lord Salazar. There was pride in his voice, tempered by a hint of glee. "Rowena begged many times to study him. Her methods were crude, however, and would have destroyed that which I could not dare be lost."

"Why not?"

"Because he possesses knowledge unknown to any organic life form on this planet. Ziost, my homeworld, is on the far side of the galaxy."

Edelweiss frowned at the reminder that Lord Salazar had not been born on Earth. "Show me this galaxy. Show me Ziost."

Lord Salazar stared at her, almost amused by the demand. And then he nodded and disappeared, suddenly replaced by a large wheel. Her mouth fell open as she stared upon its brilliance, upon a million million stars. One portion, reaching out from the edge of the furthest ring, glowed. "This is the Orion Arm, where we currently are. Rowena insisted upon naming it so." Most of the far half then glowed. Segments appeared, divisions that meant something to him yet nothing to her. "This is the Known Galaxy, at least at the time when I was a young man. I fled after prophetic dreams revealed the looming destruction of the Sith Order I knew. The one who would destroy it would also bring about my death, so I fled for a world where I might sow the seeds of my future vengeance against his legacy."

Lord Salazar said nothing as Edelweiss rose to her feet and approached the projected galaxy. Lines streaked out from the core, spreading out like the branches of a tree. She raised a hand and followed one. "What are these?"

"Hyperspace lanes. People beyond this planet have the ability to travel across the stars swiftly, moving faster than light."

Her breaths became shaky. "The ship in the other chamber. That's how you came to Earth…"

"A thousand years ago, when I first came to this planet, it was little more than a backwater. That ship was the most advanced craft by all measures"

"And so it remains," Edelweiss murmured, recalling the little she remembered of muggle space travel. "I cannot fathom what it must have been like to arrive on this world after all the luxuries a space-faring people must enjoy."

Her education concerning early Britain had been undermined thanks to the Dursleys and their efforts to ensure she performed worse than Dudley. Fury roared in her veins thinking of them. She tried to cool her ardor, even as she took comfort in how she plotted to destroy her relatives.

"Worry not, young apprentice. One day you shall leave this world and step out into a new galaxy. You shall encounter the remnants of the Sith and deal with whatever remains of that tired old religion."

"I would not call it tired," declared Edelweiss. "Not yet." The Gryffindor courage that had driven her through the trap door, into the Chamber, to face dementors and Voldemort, bloomed with her fury. "Perhaps that is how you feel, my lord, but I am filled with energy, with the strength to carry on. Entrust me with this legacy, and I shall be the greatest Sith Lord who ever lived."

Lord Salazar reappeared and stared at her. She stiffened, unwilling to back down before him. Eventually, a wry smirk crossed his old, weathered face.

"You have many trials ahead of you before any Sith will confer upon you the title of Sith Lord. Only once you are Darth Gladiolus will I recognize your ambition as more than a simpering girl's idiocy."

"What trials do you foresee for me, Lord Salazar?"

"There are two, and how you face them shall be upon your shoulders: you must overcome the two lords of your age. You have spoken of this Voldemort, the unruly descendant of mine who calls himself a dark lord. But there is another. You radiate with wrath and fury whenever you think of him, even more than toward the one who murdered your parents."

"The Headmaster of Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore." Edelweiss clenched her hands so tightly a nail cut through the flesh of her palm. "That is who you speak of. He is this other lord—the one in opposition to the false dark lord."

"Once Dumbledore and Voldemort are no more, you shall be a Sith Lord. All who know the dark side will recognize you, and should they not know the name of Gladiolus, they shall confer upon you the title of Darth. In ancient times, it was what separated those who thought themselves a Sith Lord from those who were Sith Lords."

Edelweiss straightened and smiled. When Lady Bastila had first spoken the name Darth Gladiolus, she had barely minded the first element. The latter, the flower name that emulated her own, had grasped her fancy and imagination so tightly she barely even gave that other one—the title of Darth—a second thought.

With this new realization, she now felt and heard the thousands of years of history, prestige, and heritage that title bore. She needed to do right by the title. She would be a great Sith Lord, greater than any who have lived or would live. At the end of time, when all faded to dust, they would still speak of Darth Gladiolus and the shadow she cast across the galaxy.

"But I have allowed myself to be distracted," Lord Salazar said, drawing Edelweiss from her errant thoughts. "We speak of the anomaly detected when you first came to Ziost Hangar. As I had said, it is the essence of another, parasitically attached by some means I do not fully understand."

"When you say essence… What do you exactly mean?"

Lord Salazar was quiet for a minute or so before saying, "Rowena used the word 'soul' to describe what I speak of. A fragment of another's soul has attached itself to you."

"A soul can be broken apart?" whispered Edelweiss. A hand covered her mouth as her gut flipped over and tightened with disgust. Something akin to horror lingered in her veins, even as her mind grasped onto something she hoped would explain what Lord Salazar had told her. Perhaps she was grasping straws, but speaking of that handsome, cruel boy in the diary had awoken memories she had tried her best to forget and repress. "You know the memory of Voldemort I spoke of? I… I think it could have been like the anomaly. A soul fragment."

"Explain."

"Well, the Tom Riddle from the diary—Voldemort when he was maybe a year older than me—said he had taken from Ginny and had poured some of himself into her. If soul and essence in this case is the same thing, then perhaps that was what the memory really was: another fragment of his soul, bound to the diary."

"And where is this diary?" asked Lord Salazar.

"I returned it to Lucius Malfoy after it was destroyed. I used one of the basilisk fangs to pierce it through. The memory vanished and Ginny was restored."

"Then it appears this Voldemort left some of his soul with you, though how—"

"Oh."

Edelweiss was almost surprised Lord Salazar went quiet after she interrupted him. She barely paid him any heed, for she knew when this fragment of Voldemort's soul came to her. It was on that night, when he cast the Killing Curse upon her and his powers failed, his mortal body destroyed. It was why she could speak with snakes, why she could access the Chamber of Secrets.

It was why she had always sensed him, for a portion of the Dark Lord sought to return to its master.

"He murdered my parents," Edelweiss began thickly, "and then attempted to kill me. It failed, and he was destroyed for a time. This part of him has been with me since that night, so long ago." When Lord Salazar raised an eyebrow, she added, "It would have been when I was only a year old, and I only just turned fifteen."

"It will be difficult to remove."

"Yet there must be a way."

Lord Salazar was quiet for a time. He appeared thoughtful to her, perhaps ponderous, as he considered the dangerous task of freeing Edelweiss from the foul piece of Voldemort latched onto her. She wondered how long he puzzled over how to cleanse her of the Dark Lord's taint; had been from their first meeting, or only here and now?

"There are two ways you may free yourself of his essence: either he must kill you the way he first attempted, or you must use Sith alchemy to purge yourself of its taint."

"Sith alchemy?" asked Edelweiss, remembering the hunt for Nicholas Flamel in her first year. She had set aside thoughts of alchemy, distracted terribly by the thankless task of stopping Voldemort from acquiring the Philosopher's Stone. Yet now that she was years into her magical education and newly introduced to the ways of the Sith, she had options now set before her.

What life could she lead once Dumbledore and Voldemort were dead?

She had rarely entertained that question, for the Dark Lord cast a long shadow over her life. Once she might have considered joining the Auror Corps, but that was before she discovered the dark side of the Force. She no longer required aurors to gain the power necessary to destroy Voldemort.

"A dark science, one whose roots predate the Sith Order. Those who practice it seek to wield the energies of the dark side to manipulate life and the world around them," Lord Salazar said. "With Sith alchemy, you may cleanse yourself of the tainted essence bound to you."

Edelweiss nodded, turning to scan the wall of holocrons. Dozens sat there, waiting their turn to be activated by a Sith apprentice. "Who among them would be wisest and most knowledgeable in this science?"

"I would suggest the holocron of Naga Sadow." One of the holocrons hovered slightly, the red crystalline glass shimmering. "He was one of the greats, thousands of years ago when the Sith dared to number as many as the Jedi. He was buried on Korriban, the ancient homeworld of the Sith. On that world did the early wielders of the dark side ascend to Sith Lords."

"And then it became a religion, a way to commune with the Force and use it for one's gain," whispered Edelweiss. She went to the wall and took Naga Sadow's holocron. For a few seconds, she considered slipping it into the pocket of her robe. She drew out her wand and cast a swift tempus. The faint glow of numbers warned her that morning had come. Hermione would be awake soon. As such, Edelweiss's ability to conceal the holocron would be hampered.

"I will return for your knowledge and lessons, Lord Naga," she murmured, returning the holocron to its previous place. Edelweiss turned back to Lord Salazar. "I must depart, my lord. Do you require anything else of me?"

"As of now, I do not, young apprentice. When you return, bring Lady Bastila's holocron with you. I shall speak with her, and perhaps you can learn Sith alchemy from Lord Naga. And soon, I hope, we shall begin your lightsaber training."

Edelweiss bowed and departed. Her hands clenched as she envisioned what wielding a lightsaber would be like, for it sounded glorious.