I shall obey my betters.

The morning after Edelweiss received her detentions from Professor Umbridge, the three chasers on Gryffindor's Quidditch team intercepted her before she could sit for breakfast. She had forgotten about Quidditch and the team, for last year's season never began thanks to the Triwizard Tournament the previous year, and then she had stumbled upon Lord Salazar's collection of holocrons. The chasers towered over her, though if she gained several centimeters, she might match the shortest of the three, sixth-year Katie Bell, in height.

"What were you thinking getting detention with Professor Umbridge?" asked Angelina Johnson, her frustration like poison. "I need you available for Friday. Go apologize or do whatever you need to get that night cleared." Her dark, glowering eyes would have cowed the Edelweiss of a year ago. But now? She was a Sith apprentice, superior to all around her.

"Apologize? Better you should speak with Umbridge yourself," said Edelweiss. When Angelina's glower didn't let up, she sighed and added, "I would love to get out of detention with her, but I doubt she'll agree without a reason."

"Quidditch try-outs. That's your reason. The entire team needs to be there."

Edelweiss blinked. In the four years since she first joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team, there had never been a need for try-outs. The team had been all but assembled when she first arrived. After that flying lesson with the remembrall, she had readily agreed to join the team when Professor McGonagall suggested it to Oliver Wood. She realized there always would have been a need for try-outs; Oliver, team captain and keeper, graduated following her third year at Hogwarts.

"I'm the seeker, though. You only need a keeper. I don't interact with them out on the pitch."

Angelina glanced at Alicia and Katie. Both shrugged, as if conceding Edelweiss's point. She knew they wouldn't; yet they should know Umbridge would surrender a day's detention. Had they minded the speech from the Welcoming Feast as Edelweiss and Hermione had, they would understand Enemy Number Two in the eyes of this year's Defense professor was Edelweiss Potter.

Enemy Number One remained Headmaster Dumbledore. Edelweiss might hate the old man, but better he remain at Hogwarts than be scattered to the four winds.

"Still, it's a matter of team spirit."

Edelweiss turned to Alicia, then to Katie. Neither appeared willing to speak on her behalf. With a sigh, she muttered, "I'll try, but don't get your hopes up. You know Umbridge hates me."

"Then go to class!" hissed Angelina. "It's the reason she gave you detention!"

"It's a bloody waste of time!" Edelweiss shouted back. The dark side responded to her rage, banking it like a dimming fire. "You three might have dropped Defense, but I still have to take it. That wretched woman is going to scuttle the Defense scores for my year and nobody at the Ministry should be surprised when most of the Defense OWLs taken in June turn out to be Poors and Dreadfuls! Morgana's tits, they probably want that. That will give them plenty of reason to force Dumbledore out of the headmastership."

Ugh. They're making me defend him. Curse the Ministry.

Angelina grimaced as her dark skin went ashen. Katie Bell blanched while Alicia Spinnet merely looked a touch sickly. Edelweiss blinked, wondering what she had said to draw such expressions—and then she realized their gazes went past her.

She turned and found a mirthful Professor Umbridge. "Is that what you think of me, Miss Potter? One more week of detention should help sort you out. And another week if you do not come to class when scheduled."

Edelweiss clenched her hands tightly, her sharpened nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms. She met Professor Umbridge's gaze and focused upon the Force. It flowed, dark and sickly, between them. The squat woman flinched away, something fearful, almost prey-like, in her wide-set eyes. It vanished as she reasserted herself.

"Best you be in class, Miss Potter."

"See in you class, professor."

Edelweiss hummed as she turned away and headed to the Gryffindor table. She had learned something: Umbridge was susceptible to the Force.

Despite how it pained her, Edelweiss kept her word. She shocked Gryffindors and Ravenclaws alike as she entered the Defense classroom. They stared as she set her bag down beside Hermione, reclaiming the seat she had occupied and left during their first session. Professor Umbridge, naturally, was as equally pleased by her appearance, though Edelweiss suspected the woman would have been quite happy to assign an extra week of detention. Punishment came before instruction in Umbridge's world.

Once seated, she pulled out the assigned text, some parchment, and a quill. Hermione shifted her massive inkpot into place between them. Surprisingly, Professor Umbridge said nothing about it.

The period passed with them only taking notes from the fifth chapter of Defensive Magical Theory, which was concerned with the Ministry's list of spells that were illegal and the reasons why. While some made sense to Edelweiss, like the Unforgivables, she didn't understand why others were on the list. A few hexes and jinxes that got tossed around the halls of Hogwarts were present, though those spells had fee punishments instead of time in Azkaban. Stunning spells and disarming charms weren't on the list, though the author included a passage that suggested he believed spells of that nature—being most suitable for combat and defense—should be heavily regulated, if not outright banned.

"What a load of tosh," grumbled Hermione.

Edelweiss glanced over and nearly gaped at what her friend was doing. Instead of taking notes, she was annotating her copy of Defensive Magical Theory. Very heavily, given the tremendous amount of excess ink. She risked a glance at Professor Umbridge. She watched Hermione carefully with a pinched expression, yet she did nothing to stop the bushy-haired girl from annotating the text. Odds were since Umbridge had not attempted to stop Hermione, the annotation had occurred during one of the classes Edelweiss had skipped.

Meeting with Naga Sadow and learning about Sith alchemy had been worth the absence, even with the weeks of detention that were piling up.

She considered her detentions. She doubted it would be anything worse than lines, though perhaps the woman was crafty enough to try "honey" instead of "vinegar", as the saying went. Edelweiss had no reason to like the woman, but if Professor Umbridge dared suspect Edelweiss was anything other than Dumbledore's loyal pawn, then she would be a fool to not attempt to build rapport between them.

It would be amusing if she got handed a cup of tea, spiked with a potion like veritaserum.

Class continued without anything of interest occurring. At the end, Professor Umbridge assigned nine inches of their thoughts and opinions of the chapter for the next session. Nothing about grading was said, though after they left the classroom, Hermione immediately snarled, "I cannot believe that cow! She's holding back our education because Minister Fudge is too cowardly to see reason!"

Edelweiss rolled her eyes. "Why would you expect anything different from him? Fudge was a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts and has been receiving bribes from Lucius Malfoy for years. The man might have been willing to give his job to Dumbledore if asked, but now? With the threat of war over his head after years of peace?" She glanced back toward the classroom. Umbridge lingered at the threshold, watching them. The professor wasn't daring enough to follow them, yet surely she could guess what they discussed.

Edelweiss looked away before grumbling, "He's afraid his legacy will be that of weakness of failure. He's right, but the fact we're suffering as a result… The damned fool is too worried about what Dumbledore might do that he forgets about the rest of us. Just look at who he installed into Hogwarts."

"We should do something about Defense," Hermione said. "That'd be a start."

"Leave me out of it," replied Edelweiss. "I have enough trouble with Professor Umbridge without crossing her so brazenly." She glared at Hermione as her mouth opened with a ready response. "I have enough troubles without defying her so. Were I not so busy, I would be happy to aid you, Hermione. You speak of rebellion in the halls of Hogwarts"—she grinned maliciously—"and I would not mind that."

Hermione dragged Edelweiss into a nearby alcove. "And what is so important you can't do something, Edie? Any other year and we'd already be discussing—"

"I cannot tell you, Hermione. I am not keeping this secret lightly, but it must remain so."

Hermione crossed her arms and glared.

"Don't give me that glare!" hissed Edelweiss. "As it is, I plan to tell nobody. Not until the time is right. For now, I'm more concerned over the two—no, I think it's three weeks now—."

"Three? Three weeks? She gave you three weeks of detention?"

"Because it doesn't matter in the grand scheme," said Edelweiss, waving a casual hand at Hermione's concern. "I have no reason to worry or fear what she may do. The worst she might attempt is to spike a cup of tea with a potion. Perhaps a calming draught or that truth potion Snape pumped into the Death Eater posing as Mad-Eye last year." She grinned crookedly. "Imagine her shock when I tell her how Voldemort returned to his powers."

"Or maybe she'll ask you about Sirius!" Hermione hissed.

Edelweiss shook her head. "He's safe behind the wards at Number Twelve. Worse comes to worst, I blackmail Madam Bones into giving him a trial. That will make Fudge's day."

Hermione was unconvinced. Edelweiss put an end to Hermione's questioning by stepping out of the alcove and continuing on to Gryffindor Tower. When she wasn't followed, she paused and glanced back. Edelweiss had assumed Hermione would follow and give chase. Instead, her friend had gone elsewhere. The library, most likely.

Lord Sadow was right with his rebuke. I am allowing a useful pawn to slip through my fingers.

Edelweiss lingered in that corridor, considering what she should do. Apologizing was the best way to make things right between them, yet she had done nothing wrong. Technically. The trouble, she knew, was that Hermione had grown up being the smartest and cleverest person in her peer circle. It was difficult, getting her friend to realize when she was in the wrong. It reminded her of that difficult month during their third year, after Edelweiss received her Firebolt racing broom. Yes, Hermione was proven right in the end that Sirius Black had sent the broom, but he had done his duty as her godfather by replacing her destroyed broom. He had not been the psychopathic murderer they were told.

She frowned as she realized that particular incident favored Hermione. She had been pleased when Sirius admitted to sending the broom. Then again, the fact the gift possessed no intention to kill Edelweiss was glazed over.

Regardless, Edelweiss feared she would have prolonged trouble handling Hermione. Ron was simple to deal with; like the other Gryffindor boys, he was interested in girls, food, and the rare magical talent he possessed. For Ron, that would be chess and Quidditch. It was a shame she had little interest in either pursuit.

Edelweiss received cold shoulders and dark glares from her fellow Gryffindors following dinner; whether it was a product of her absurd detentions or Quidditch, she didn't know. What she did know was that it irritated her. Yet she lingered in the common room while wasting time. She had to report to Professor Umbridge's office. She knew she should focus on her homework, yet her mind drifted off to wonderings about what Umbridge had in store for her or Ziost Hangar and the lessons awaiting her there. It was frustrating, though she thought her Sith alchemy lessons could help her with potions.

Hopefully, Snape would accept an improved performance from her. Edelweiss would love for him to reflect upon who she actually was instead of superimposing James Potter over her, but that asked too much of him. He would accuse her of cheating should she improve. She knew it.

She left the common room and reached Professor Umbridge's office at seven o'clock. She knocked after a moment. A response of "Come in, Miss Potter!" sounded almost immediately. Edelweiss opened the door, paused upon the threshold, and nearly left after witnessing how the office was decorated.

The walls and ceiling were coated with an eye-watering shade of pink wallpaper. The wood flooring she had appreciated from Lupin's tenure was hidden by pink carpet, along with a large rug a few shades darker. Thick ribbons bearing eight porcelain plates hung evenly along the walls; each plate displayed a kitten of a unique breed.

And at the room's center sat Professor Umbridge, behind a large desk similar to the one in the Defense classroom. There were two chairs set before her desk, though only one had a roll of parchment and a quill set before it.

There was no inkpot. Edelweiss frowned.

"Take a seat, Miss Potter. You'll be writing lines tonight."

Edelweiss slowly crossed to the seat. She dragged it back, sat down, and scooted forward. She went to grab a pot of ink from her bag when Professor Umbridge cleared her throat with a small "hem hem".

"Yes?" she asked, a hand in her bag.

"You won't need any ink."

She glanced at the quill, back to Professor Umbridge's wide smile, and then nodded. She picked up the quill, rolling it between a pair of fingers. It was pitch black with a hint of coppery red. She brushed the strange quill with the Force and nearly gasped. Something cruel was embedded into the quill akin to the cursed objects that littered the House of Black. The darkness encroached upon Edelweiss. She allowed it in, and was disappointed it failed to resonate with the cold touch of the dark side. She wondered what Umbridge planned.

"What will I be writing?" asked Edelweiss with quill in hand. She unfurled the roll and found no line at the top for her to copy. Other professors had done so.

"You will write 'I shall obey my betters'."

Fury erupted within Edelweiss. Her immediate impulse, deep within the thrall of the dark side, was to bathe Umbridge in a lethal torrent of Force lightning. She remembered the inky bolts she had unleashed upon those dementors over the summer. She would feel glorious, wielding that power against Umbridge. Doing so would draw unwanted and undue attention to her, though.

"How many lines will I write?" she asked, struggling to maintain restraint.

"You will write until it sinks in."

Edelweiss glanced to the quill in her hand and focused her senses upon it. She sensed its power, how the cruel grasp of the quill ended at her wrist; its energy was concentrated in her hand. She set the quill to parchment and wrote the first line: 'I shall obey my betters.' The back of her hand itched. It was faint, like the crimson letters upon the page.

Edelweiss glanced at Professor Umbridge with a frown. The woman sipped from her tea, a pleased smile marring her squat head.

She continued writing, line after line. The itching grew worse as letters carved their way on to the back of her hand. She knew long before the first word emerged clearly what it would say.

I shall obey my betters.

The only betters I have are the Sith Lords who came before me, she thought bitterly. None in this castle breathing are my better. Her burning, wrathful feelings rippled outward, and suddenly she felt the curious crimson crystal down in the Chamber of Secrets. It resonated with her power. Edelweiss shivered as a ripple of cold power draped over her shoulders.

Edelweiss glanced up at Umbridge. She sipped her tea, and watched as her torture continued.

I shall kill you, Dolores Umbridge, Edelweiss mentally promised. As the very moment your power is at its greatest, I shall cast you down into a pit of your own making. In that final moment, all you will know is Darth Gladiolus and the wrath that sits buried in her heart.

She wrote lines for almost two hours. Edelweiss had reached the bottom of the roll provided. The bright words upon the back of her hand wept coppery tears. Professor Umbridge set down her empty cup.

"Let me take a look," said Umbridge, her sausage fingers grasping Edelweiss's right hand. She made a tutting sound as she inspected the bloody back. "Looks like it will take some time for these words to fully sink in." She smiled widely. "Remember, Miss Potter. Seven o'clock."

"Of course, Professor."

Edelweiss left with Umbridge's smug smile burning a rotten hole in her heart and mind.

Days passed with a monotonous and frustrating pattern: breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, dinner, detention, and a little homework before crawling into bed. Edelweiss frowned when she found the words carved into the back of her hand after that first session was almost completely healed. Day by day, though, the words grew deeper and more pronounced. She discovered with a crafty mix of magic and the Force, she could glamour the words, hiding them from view. Umbridge had been furious at first, but with a simple tweak, Edelweiss allowed the professor, and only the professor, to glimpse her handiwork.

Let her believe she is winning, thought Edelweiss as she seethed. Her notes from the insipid text assigned for Defense were poorly done, her handwriting sloppy and messy. Umbridge never checked, so it didn't matter. Every day you add to the horrors I shall inflict.

Between it all, she found little time for her Sith studies, or even to work at subverting Slytherins. Thanks to the hard spike in essays and her nightly detentions, Edelweiss lacked the spare time to attend to Ziost Hangar or dare approach those three she shared a compartment with. She even lacked a private place to commune with Lady Bastila. The advice of Naga Sadow lingered in the back of her mind. Hermione sometimes stared at her oddly while they worked on essays together, but she accepted the bitter apology Edelweiss gave her.

She felt pathetic acting so, but Edelweiss had to do what she must. She had yet to reach the apex of her powers. Perhaps then she could purge her weakness, the trash of her life.

With the lack of privacy in Gryffindor Tower, she could not risk the holocrons up there. They remained in Ziost Hangar, gathering dust as she seethed under the soft tyranny of Professor Umbridge. Every night, she entered the woman's ghastly pink office and wrote lines in her blood, carving bitter, bloody words into her hand.

I shall obey my betters.

I shall obey my betters.

I shall obey my betters.

On and on it went until September finally ended. Every plot or plan Edelweiss wished to enter Hogwarts with was derailed because of her detentions. On their final night together, Umbridge held Edelweiss's bloody, bleeding hand and smiled thinly. "Oh, that appears quite in order." Her voice was that sweet, sickly simper that made something dark and foul coil within Edelweiss. "You are dismissed, Miss Potter. I hope you have learned from these sessions."

"I have," she said, knowing they spoke of different lessons. The displeased look she got was confirmation Umbridge understood her implication. "Have a good night, Professor."

Edelweiss departed with thoughts dominated by Darth Gladiolus, and their shared vengeance that would inevitably strike down Dolores Umbridge.