The Cleansing
In the days that followed their first gathering in the Come-and-Go Room, several policy changes from the Ministry concerning Hogwarts came to the castle, announced both in the Daily Prophet and upon handwritten documents framed in wood and glass. They were all hung in the Entry Hall so students could see them daily. Edelweiss stared at them one day almost halfway through November, her face blank and placid as she read them, some for the seventh time. Many gathered around her stared and gossiped about one of them, which declared: "ALL STUDENT GROUPS, DEFINED AS ANY ORGANIZATION, CLUB, OR TEAM WITH THREE OR MORE MEMBERS WHO GATHER AT REGULAR INTERVALS FOR A SET PURPOSE OUTSIDE OF STUDYING MINISTRY-APPROVED CURRICULUMS, MUST BE APPROVED BY THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS." The announcement, like the rest, had been signed and approved by Minster Fudge, the fool heading the decrepit Department of Magical Education, and the new High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, Professor Umbridge.
She glanced around and wondered why they were so easily cowed by this newest proclamation. Yes, their meeting had included some thirty students, but she had told them sessions would be held whenever they could be. Not at the regular intervals explicitly mentioned by the declaration. The Minister had a name for it, but she ignored that. It did not matter in the grand scheme of things.
Hermione, though, seemed to think differently. In a low, hissed voice, she asked, "Why are you not worried about the decree? It—"
"—does not affect us," Edelweiss said, each word clipped and careful. Her brows furrowed as she pondered over how Hermione was not seeing straight through the obvious loophole. "They're concerned about groups who meet at regular intervals. Clubs, Quidditch, the like. This decree you're so worried about only concerns regular life at Hogwarts." She turned away and started toward breakfast. "It only allows the Ministry to interfere with that which already exists."
Hermione scowled, hearing Edelweiss's words, while Ron muttered, "What about Quidditch? Won't we be allowed to play?"
"Professor Umbridge would be foolish to ban a single team," said Edelweiss, as they made their way into the Great Hall. The professor in question sat at the High Table, speaking with Professor Flitwick with a look of veiled disgust. She had a golden badge pinned to her pink cardigan. "She might force Angelina to replace me, though don't count on McGonagall allowing that to happen. The best she can do is stall how long before we can return to practice."
They came to the Gryffindor table, half filled with nervous students. Angelina rose from the table when she spotted them, a grin on her face. "I got approval to keep the team intact already," she said, looking between Ron and Edelweiss. Her grin weakened. "Because McGonagall helped us out, we can only practice three times a week. At least until we play Slytherin on the Thirtieth."
Edelweiss sighed and nodded. "Let me know when you know all of our practices. I already have the schedules for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff." There were only a handful of Quidditch players from those two houses involved in their defense scheme. Yet their numbers were enough she had long decided safety could be found in organizing around practices instead of risking coming into conflict with Quidditch. She had a feeling most would choose their sport over her lessons.
"Will do." And with that, Angelina returned to her seat.
"I can't believe you're organizing around their schedules," grumbled Ron as they sat down. Food appeared before them. "What does it matter if they miss a practice or two?"
"We shouldn't dismiss people just because they play on the Quidditch teams for other houses." Edelweiss stabbed one of the sausages on the platter before her. "What matters is that Umbridge will manufacture any excuse to set into motion the expulsion of rebellious students—or worse, and it pains me to admit so, sack Dumbledore."
"You really think she'd try that?" Ron had barely loaded his plate, an odd sight given how ravenous he was every morning.
"It makes sense," admitted Hermione. She chewed at her lower lip, staring at her the fruit and eggs she had plated. "The Ministry already got the Headmaster dismissed from his political posts. Removing him from Hogwarts would be the final step."
"And should they do that, Voldemort could sweep across all of Britain," continued Edelweiss, feeling disturbingly akin to a prophet. She huffed and shook her head. "Damn those two men," she whispered. "Making my life more difficult."
If only she could focus on her Sith studies and only those. She was confident with her Force powers, though they, like any power, could be further refined. What dominated her mind was interest in the ritual Lord Salazar and Naga Sadow would be devising, to purge her of the wretched taint her hated enemy had left within her, that night he first attempted to murder her.
And when she thought of it, Edelweiss realized she had no classes after Charms in the early afternoon. Today would be the perfect time to commune with them and learn all of what they had in store for her.
Lord Salazar's holocron activated as Edelweiss swept into his solar, entrenched in the dark side. The ancient wizard's face was stern, a slight frown communicating more disapproval than words could ever do. She bowed; she had only knelt before Lady Bastila, and unless she met a Sith in the flesh worth apprenticing to, that would remain unchanged.
"We have been waiting for you, apprentice," said Lord Salazar. Naga Sadow appeared beside him, smaller in conjunction with the different sizes of their holocron. "Our cleansing ritual, designed for your purposes, has been completed. It waits only upon you to put it into motion. With it, your journey toward becoming a Sith Lord shall advance."
Edelweiss smiled. "What will it require and how soon can I see it through?"
The ancient Sith Lords exchanged a dark look, one that made her stiffen. She stared while waiting on them, wondering which would tell her the apparently troubling news they had for her. It was Naga Sadow who bit the bullet, saying, "There is a substance native to your world required for the ritual. It is the venom of the basilisk. The required quantity is immense and would be most easily procured from a live beast over time. According to Lord Salazar, you slew the one he had bred and raised."
"Basilisk venom should not be an issue," said Edelweiss. "I claimed most of the venom for personal use. I had no plans concerning how I would use it, so my stores have been unaffected since the corpse was rendered for parts."
"Do you possess enough venom to bathe in it, apprentice?"
She paused and considered how much that would require. The basilisk's corpse had produced five hundred liters, according to the goblins, though she couldn't recall whether their liter and a human liter were the same quantity. Lips pursed, she asked, "Do you know exactly how much would be required for this ritual? I have a great deal, though I do not know if it is enough to completely submerge in."
Lord Salazar hummed thoughtfully. "Should you have any stores within my Chamber, I should be able to detect them. Otherwise, we can move along in other ways. We have planned around insufficient quantities, though you will require other materials to bridge the gap created by your lack of basilisk venom."
"There are stores here," said Edelweiss. "Feel free to inspect them. Otherwise, is there training either of you have for me?"
"It is time to instruct the girl in the ways of lightsaber combat," declared Naga Sadow. He turned his gaze to her. "Your studies have focused on the Force and the powers you gain from the dark side. However, if a Jedi were to find you, you would not be prepared to kill them without ambush. They will revert to the lightsaber and seek to cut you down."
"A lightsaber," whispered Edelweiss, unable to restrain her desire. Lady Bastila had discussed training her with a double-bladed weapon, but it had been unappealing to Edelweiss. She preferred a more traditional method. She glanced at the plethora of holocrons on the wall. "Which would you recommend, my lords?"
"There is a Sith Lord from an era following when your master lived that I recommend, though do not mention either your master or Lord Revan to him," said Lord Salazar. "One of their descendants was a powerful Jedi and she scarred him terribly while fighting on Alderaan. Lord Malgus is less than pleased by reminders of his many encounters with Grand Master Satele Shan."
Edelweiss wondered how terrible those encounters must have been to create animosity between a single man and an entire bloodline. She went to the wall of holocrons and found one labeled "Darth Malgus" among those on the shelf furthest from where she first found Lady Bastila's holocron. Given the animosity Lord Malgus possessed for her master's line, she would settle upon using only Ziost Hangar for her communions with him. Lady Bastila's remained in Gryffindor Tower, secured within her trunk. It was wrapped in one of the thick woolen socks Uncle Vernon had gotten her over the years. She nearly laughed, thinking of how he would react learning one of his gifts possessed utility. Perhaps she should repay the kindness with mercy.
She set aside the bloodthirsty thought. There was time aplenty to handle the Dursleys. Edelweiss had no reason to accelerate her nebulous plans concerning them. If this year progressed as she increasingly expected, a great reckoning would come to pass in June. She suspected she would once more clash with Voldemort—and achieve her ascension as Darth Gladiolus in the process. Edelweiss grew excited at the prospect of facing her foe. She would be empowered by the dark side when they clashed next. Would he be able to counter her new Sith powers? Or would he be powerless before them?
"I would recommend you take Lord Malgus's holocron to the dueling hall, on the far side of the hangar," advised Lord Salazar. Edelweiss looked away from the holocron and to the Sith Lord. "I had once intended to take on a Sith apprentice, but by the time I was ready for that task, my powers had waned. Soon after, I was expelled from Hogwarts Castle by my former allies. They knew not of this place."
Edelweiss nodded, unfazed by how he referred to the other Founders. She would have been surprised if he still considered them friends—hers were increasingly utilitarian, or so she reasoned. But allies? That explained the relationship between the founders—and thus the Houses within Hogwarts—very well. Some days she was surprised the school had not been restructured to remove its degrading influence.
Perhaps she could improve Hogwarts and render the House system moot.
She bowed before departing the solar. Edelweiss made her way to the lower level of Ziost Hangar, coming upon a stairwell before she reached one of the strange elevators. She walked past the strange black ship, staring at its curved black form and dark mechanical underbelly. Had she known anything of muggle craft, she could have attempted to identify all she saw. However, she knew naught of their planes and cars, and thus she was left to stare at something she was ignorant about.
I should learn how that works, and how to maintain it. Certainly, it shall have use one day.
It would be useful, possessing that knowledge. When the day came to step out into the galaxy beyond, she would need to know how to maintain that ship. How else could she ensure she reached other worlds?
Civilized worlds.
Until then, she would focus on the tasks at hand. She had an opportunity to learn how to wield a lightsaber from a Sith Lord who must have been one of the greats. Or so she assumed. There was no reason Lord Salazar would lead her astray.
Edelweiss entered the dueling chamber, a long, narrow room that reminded her of the Come-and-Go Room. There was a pedestal to her left designed to accept a holocron. She set Lord Malgus's holocron upon it and touched upon her ever-present anger.
A massive man, tall and broad, appeared at the chamber's center. He was bald, with a thick ring of metal around the lower half of his head, and the hollow of his eyes was set in a permanent scowl.
"Who are you to seek my knowledge?" he asked. His voice was slightly mechanized and absolutely terrible.
"Edelweiss, a Sith apprentice of a backwater world unexposed to our ancient enemies, the Jedi."
Lord Malgus frowned and crossed his arms. She struggled to not swallow as he accidentally attempted to intimidate her.
"For what purpose have you sought me out?"
"I wish to be trained with a lightsaber. Two of the Sith Masters I commune with recommended you for that purpose."
"And which form do you seek to learn?"
"…form? Like a style?"
He laughed, dark and mocking. "So, they send me a child? Find another fool to teach you the basics. Once you can prove mastery over the first form, then—and only then!—shall I teach you."
And with that, his holocron deactivated. Edelweiss felt her stomach churn as disappointment brewed in her bones. Where Lord Salazar and Lady Bastila and even Naga Sadow had understood and developed her powers as a Sith, Lord Malgus had rejected her solely because she was not as capable as he wanted. Her hands clenched, a burning fury bubbling up in her veins. She would show him. She would learn, faster than he could ever imagine, and return to him before Christmas.
By the time she returned to Grimmauld Place, he would teach her how to fight in the subterranean dueling chamber Sirius had shown her.
Edelweiss returned to the solar, frustrated and dejected despite her determination to prove herself to Lord Malgus. She found Lord Salazar speaking with Naga Sadow. She had sworn their holocrons had deactivated upon her departure, but it appeared that was not what happened. Or, perhaps more accurately, they had assumed she would be with the bald Sith Lord longer, practicing the basics of lightsaber forms. When she paused to think about it, perhaps it was foolish attempting to learn how to use a lightsaber when she did not possess one.
Fool girl, overstepping without careful planning.
"Ah, apprentice," drawled Naga Sadow when he noticed her. "You have returned sooner than we expected."
She growled, lightning dancing upon her fingertips. "Lord Malgus was displeased I lacked training with a lightsaber. He has decreed that I learn and master the first form before he will instruct me further."
Lord Salazar cackled while Naga Sadow grinned maliciously. "We should have expected it would be so," said Naga Sadow, "but then I was long dead by the time of Lord Malgus. Remember, Lord Salazar is only a holocron and not his true self."
Edelweiss nodded, her lips pursed for several seconds. "Since I have returned to you," she continued, "I wish to know if the quantity of venom stored in the Chamber of Secrets is satisfactory for the ritual, or if I will be required to smuggle extra vats into the castle."
"What you possess is only three-quarters of what will be required," said Lord Salazar.
She blinked, almost surprised. She had hoped the 200 liters stored within would be aplenty. She would need to write the goblins, and that would be after she did the math to determine how much that final quarter actually was.
"However, you will need to find a proper site for the ritual. I do not recommend the Chamber of Secrets, for there are warding schemes set around it."
"A proper chamber…" murmured Edelweiss, a hand pressed to her lips. "Is there a place within the castle that would be ideal, Lord Salazar? I know that it has changed since your time, but certainly, there must be a prime location you know of. Perhaps in part of the castle now abandoned."
Lord Salazar made a spitting noise. "Damn the fools who allow my greatest achievement to sit empty. There is no need for a special chamber. Any classroom will do. You must only see it through to the end." He leaned forward, face drawing into a dark scowl. "You do possess the proper courage, yes, Edelweiss Potter?"
"I am a Gryffindor," she replied with boiling blood. Lord Salazar was fortunate he was long dead, for she would have done the deed herself. She may not possess the Sith title her master promised, but it would be hers. That was certain. She had sworn herself to this path, and she would see it through to the bitter end. Blackened would be her soul, for that would ensure Voldemort and Dumbledore were cast down, their followers scattered upon the wind as ash and dust.
"Will you face our cleansing ritual? Will you embrace your fear and anger, to allow the dark side to work through you?"
"Aye, I will, Lord Salazar. I will cleanse myself of the taint my foe left within me. I will destroy the key to his immortality."
They smiled and nodded. Edelweiss tried to not preen under the approval of these Sith Lords. She wanted to bask in their praise, to soak in all she could from them. One day, she would surpass them. Edelweiss found disappointment in the fact they were already dead. She would have to prove her strength by killing other men.
For an hour, Edelweiss took notes and asked questions about the ritual. The Sith Lords made her verbally repeat the steps back to them to ensure she would not forget them, even written down. Everything necessary—materials, runic scheme, and the first Sith Code—was both written down and committed to memory.
Life at Hogwarts grew busier, hectic even, as the first Quidditch game of the year neared. Edelweiss increasingly regretted that she had not sought to resign from the team. Between preparations for her ritual, scheduling the defense meetings, and studying for the OWL examinations, she was awash with work. What time she possessed for her Sith studies filled the pitiful spare time still left. And with Angelica's determination to increase practices after their first game of the year, Edelweiss's fealty to the Gryffindor team was at an all-time low.
At least their first match was against Slytherin as always. Edelweiss would enjoy making a fool of Draco Malfoy, not that it was difficult. She thanked whoever designed the Quidditch schedule, for there was only one way to open the season: Gryffindor crushing their ancient rival. The match was excellently timed as well, for she sought to use the high of victory over Slytherin to fuel her cleansing ritual.
On the night before the game, Edelweiss found herself unable to sleep. In the late hours of the night, she spirited away to the Come-and-Go Room with Lady Bastila's holocron and her practice lightsaber in her pocket. It was cool to the touch, thicker than her wand yet just as long. She her thumb over the emitter, wondering how such a weapon could resist the heat its blade produced. It should be warm always, and yet it was not.
She paced before the tapestry and slipped inside the door that appeared. A chamber almost identical to Ziost Hangar's dueling chamber had appeared. When she set her master's holocron upon that perch she used for Lord Malgus, Lady Bastila appeared.
"How fascinating," her master drawled. "This place…. I see you finally begun your training with a lightsaber."
"That I have," said Edelweiss, holding her practice lightsaber in a hand. She kneeled before the projection. "I wish to learn the first form of lightsaber combat from you. I have found another Sith Lord to instruct me, but he insists I master the first form before he instructs me further."
Lady Bastila hummed dangerously. "Only the first form? There is much I can teach you… but if you are certain, then fine. I know it was Lord Salazar who suggested you seek another to instruct you in the ways of combat." Edelweiss stiffened. Her master's tone suddenly changed, lighter, almost amused. "A wise decision, despite the poor choice of tutor."
Edelweiss blinked as she leaned back onto her heels. "You are not angry, master?"
"I am incensed, but I not against you, apprentice. Remember that I am the one you call master. Not Salazar nor Naga Sadow, nor whatever duelist they guided you to."
"Of course, master." Edelweiss rose to her feet, and began to stretch her limbs. She had quietly dressed in her Quidditch tights and jersey before leaving the dormitory. These were the clothes best suited to lightsaber training she could explain away, should she somehow be caught out of bounds. "I am ready to begin."
"Are you?" her master asked maliciously. "Then let us see, apprentice."
Edelweiss limped toward the Gryffindor table the next morning with a pained grimace. She wondered why she thought Shii-Cho, the first form, had been wise before a Quidditch match. Her body ached, muscles left untrained by Quidditch aching most. Not even sleep and the Force cleansed her of those pains. Had they a reserve seeker, she would beg off playing. She might even consider being truthful with Angelina when explaining why she could not play. She'd omit the nature of the sword she was learning, but otherwise, it would be the truth.
Angelina could learn to live with her fury.
It's not like Edelweiss actually cared. Quidditch was an afterthought these days. The defense meetings and her Sith studies were what stroked her passions. Magic, some days, was almost treated the same as Quidditch: an afterthought. She considered pawning off the business of planning defense meeting onto Hermione, but then Edelweiss would worry over what measly, ineffective ideas would be thrust upon her. She had her own ideas for what was and was not useful.
Edelweiss sighed, thinking of the defense group.. They were scheduled to meet in three days. Tuesdays, oddly, were the most convenient day of the week.
She sat down in the first open seat she found. Edelweiss had to swallow a whine as a bruise she had not known about on her thigh pressed against the edge of the bench wrong. She breathed in and out slowly, channeling that pain toward something productive. It was a simple task, thanks to her Sith training. Turning pain into power and vice versa was supposed to become second thought, or so the Sith Lords claimed. She was not at that point yet, but hopefully soon.
There were months between now and when she would reveal her Sith powers. She would become their equal. But there was much to do until then. She had little proficiency with the lightsaber, and she had a feeling none of her Sith masters—not even Lady Bastila—would think her worthy of the name of Darth Gladiolus until she achieved mastery.
Edelweiss slathered her plate with rashers and toast. She eyed a plate of cooked eggs, but held back from raiding it. As she ate, her thoughts turned to her training and to what her master had said of Shii-Cho and its relation to other forms.
"You're eating heavy." Edelweiss blinked, startled from her thoughts, and turned to find Angelina hovering over her. Worry radiated off the seventh year. "I had been worried you might not eat this morning, since that's how you normally are at the beginning of the season."
"This year is different," grumbled Edelweiss. She nearly turned back to her breakfast when her thoughts from earlier came back. "Oh. Angelina. If we lose, I am going to resign from the team. I've been very busy and I can live with cutting Quidditch."
Angelina glared and crossed her arms.
"You don't need to worry about me purposefully losing, though," said Edelweiss. "Worry about Ron. This is his first game. We've both seen from practice that he's more susceptible to pressure than he lets on." Edelweiss thought of their first year and the Mirror of Erised. "His brothers have achieved a lot during their times at Hogwarts… and being my friend has not helped him in that regard."
"I'll have a talk with him," said Angelina before stalking off. Iolanthe could only hope it was enough.
"WEASLEY IS OUR KING! WEASLEY IS OUR KING!" bellowed the Slytherins with malicious glee. "HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN! WEASLEY IS OUR KING!"
"You like our song, Potter?" asked Draco Malfoy, floating nearby. He had given up on singing after the first few renditions of their song. "We didn't have enough time to—"
"It's childish," said Edelweiss, watching Ron and the Gryffindor hoops. Two Slytherin chasers charged his way. One suddenly broke off, flying first in front of Alicia and then Katie. The other chaser pressed forward, nearing the rings. He chucked the quaffle, and it went into the ring furthest away from Ron—who had gone the wrong way. She sighed and added, "And it's working." She turned back to Malfoy, who stared at her as if she were someone else. "How long did the lyrics take you? A month? Two?"
Malfoy was slow to answer. They floated there for a minute or so before he said, "When did you grow up, Potter?"
"Over the summer." She turned back to the pitch. The sooner she caught the snitch, the sooner the game would be over. Ron could use the help, anyway. His frustration clouded his mind and the pitch. Edelweiss suspected she was the only one affected by it. "I realized there were more important things than petty squabbles."
"Like what?"
Edelweiss gave him a side-eyed look before smirking. "Like power, and the willingness to use it."
He gaped, then. Perhaps Malfoy had spent enough time around Voldemort. Certainly, he knew the words she uttered were the core of the Dark Lord's philosophy. Those were the very words he had spoken to her when she challenged him on the matter of good and evil. It was unsurprising that a man who basked in his vices would dismiss good and evil. She had found that while good and evil were real, they were also a matter of perspective.
Edelweiss had come to terms with the truth she would do terrible things in the future. She would stain her soul, as Dumbledore would say. But in the end, the price paid would be worth the cost. She would be free.
The world would be changed. Forever.
A flash of gold caught her eyes. With a careful, swift glance, she confirmed she had seen the golden snitch. Amusingly, it was near the Gryffindor goalposts, hovering maybe twenty feet from the ground. Edelweiss spent some time floating around Malfoy, who had joined in on another round of "Weasley Is Our King". The score reached 170-40. If she waited too long, Slytherin would cross the 150-point threshold catching the snitch granted and they would likely win.
Her pride demanded victory, regardless of the fact a loss would free her from Quidditch.
Once Edelweiss had several meters of separation from Malfoy, she leaned forward and zoomed toward the posts. She could barely hear Lee Jordan, no doubt screaming about her spotting the snitch, over the roar of the wind and the Gryffindor crowd. They all knew the game was nearly over and in their favor, unless Slytherin got extremely lucky. Of all the seekers she had dueled in the past, Draco Malfoy could not claim to have ever beaten her. She had fond memories of their matches, especially the first one with the rogue bludger and the zooming race through the wooden support structure around the pitch.
That kind of flying was what she wanted. Being seeker was mostly floating around and looking for a shining ball barely larger than an eye. It was tiresome and demeaning, especially with her Force powers. She longed to race brooms and for the victor to be decided by a mix of raw speed and talent.
Being the seeker was as close as she could come to that thrill while playing Quidditch. A shame that the chase would be over before it could begin.
Edelweiss reached the golden snitch before it could drift more than a few feet from where she first spotted it. She snatched it from the air and held the golden, confused ball tightly in her fist. The score, as best she knew, was 190-170 Gryffindor. Their victory was her victory.
She grinned upon her realization. Edelweiss would stay on the team. They needed her more than she needed them, she would use remaining on the team to keep the other members as part of her defense group, and thus acquire more power.
Edelweiss landed and slipped off her broom. She watched others in red and green descend from the sky. Her gazing was cut short when she felt something roaring her way. She tossed aside her Firebolt while dodging the other way, drawing her wand as she rolled into a kneeling stance. A bludger bounced off the turf and soared back up into the sky. One Weasley Twin raced after it while the other pelted one of the large Slytherin beaters with the other bludger.
"Idiots and fools," grumbled Edelweiss, shaking her head. She did not need them defending her honor, though she appreciated their support. They would make for excellent minions, should she fully embrace what it meant to be the Dark Lord of the Sith. She would repay the Slytherin beaters for their attempt on her life eventually; they were too low on her priorities list to deal with in the present.
She went to the locker room while entertaining thoughts of the torture she would inflict upon those beaters. Edelweiss grinned at that thought before remembering she would need to rejoin her teammates, eventually. Somehow she would need to depart Gryffindor Tower during the partying tonight. The thrill of victory in her veins would fuel her cleansing ritual with great power. She had the entire process memorized, Sith runes and all. There was basilisk venom aplenty from her stores in the castle, thanks to the goblins.
On this night, she would purge Voldemort's foul taint from her body. On this night, she would be freed from his influence. On this night, she would bring ruin upon Voldemort's method of immortality. Lord Salazar promised it would happen, and Edelweiss had double-checked enough to be certain of his claim.
Her mind was too addled by pumping adrenaline to think beyond the ritual and what it would do.
Edelweiss entered an empty locker room. By the time she was showered and dressed in plain black robes, none of her teammates had arrived. Not even Ron, who she almost expected to emulate Oliver Wood and attempt to drown himself in the showers. She smiled, thinking of that old memory. That had been when she loved Quidditch, and not merely the thrill of flying.
Still, the absence of her team was troubling. There was no reason they should not be present. Not unless something awful happened on the pitch after she left, severe enough to impede the team from stepping off the pitch.
"Shite," hissed Edelweiss. She rushed out of the locker room, nearly bulldozing Professor Umbridge in her haste. She stumbled backward, shocked to find the squat, pink witch.
"There you are!" the woman shouted, the strange girliness of her voice absent. "Your teammates just hospitalized Mister Malfoy fighting like muggles! Muggles!"
Edelweiss blinked. She then sighed and rubbed her face. "Let me guess. They got in a tuffle over that last-minute bludger. Malfoy said something terrible about… say, their mother, and so either Fred or George gave him a beating."
"That is not what happened. Those two boys, the older Weasley ones, laid hands on Mister Malfoy without provocation!"
She bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood. She gained nothing by contradicting Umbridge. Edelweiss knew Malfoy too well to believe he was assaulted without due cause. He had no clue about what was and was not responsible to say, and it was getting worse if he was being publically assaulted for his opinions. Odds were making him a prefect only made it worse. Then again, she was so caught up in her Sith studies and her defense group that she barely interacted with Malfoy now.
"Is that so. I was not there, as you know. I only assumed he said something, based upon how Malfoy has behaved in the past."
Something predatory glimmered in Professor Umbridge's eyes, as if Edelweiss had said something she wanted to hear. "Oh? And how has Mister Malfoy behaved in the past?"
"Like a spoilt child," Edelweiss said as flatly as she could. "And I would know. My cousin—a muggle, mind you—behaves almost the exact same way. Fits, when he doesn't get what he wants. Leverages others to bully those who slight him for whichever reason his little mind contrives. I assumed he mocked the Weasley family because of the enmity between Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy." She smirked as she added, "I once watched them brawl in Diagon Alley like muggles. It was almost hilarious."
Professor Umbridge sniffed. "Those sound like lies, Miss Potter. Do you need more detentions as a reminder of what counts as appropriate behavior and morals?" She pointedly glanced at Edelweiss's right hand. It was almost completely healed now, the silvery scars fading into pale, unmarked flesh. "Or should I punish you another way? Misters Fred and George Weasley have been banned from playing Quidditch ever again after what they did."
"Were they? Well, that is one way to punish their behaviors. Unless you have anything else to say, I believe it is time for me to leave, Professor. To ensure they do not get into further trouble."
"Go on, then," said Professor Umbridge. "Do not let me see you out of bounds, Miss Potter." Wrath rolled off her in waves, for Edelweiss had avoided the trap laid out for her. Chances were the woman believed the Prophet's propaganda. Edelweiss had learned from September. Soon, Umbridge would have no power over her but that she was deluded into believing she possessed.
"Of course, Professor. Have a good day."
Edelweiss went straight to Gryffindor Tower, baking her wrath and fury like banking the coals of an ember-spewing fire. Her anger was directed toward Fred and George. They were fools to publicly act as they did, no matter the cause. Malfoy's power was only that which others granted him. Visions of tortures and punishments flashed in her mind, suitable ways to make them cower before her power and might.
Yet upon reaching the Fat Lady, Edelweiss realized almost all of what she envisioned could not be done. They spawned from her Force powers and she had sworn to hide them until the time came. She paused at the entry to the common room and stared at the snoozing portrait. After several seconds, she turned away. She had an important task for this night, and handling the egos of shortsighted children impeded that task.
The time had come. Tonight was a vital night toward her ascension. Edelweiss headed for the chamber she had set aside for her cleansing.
It was almost midnight when Edelweiss finished her preparations. She had chosen a secluded room on the fourth floor near the large room used for History of Magic lessons for her purpose, thanks to the dark side. A paste of blood and basilisk venom, thickened with honey, was slathered in sharp, whooshing shapes across her face and body. She was nude, for any cloth would interfere with the cleansing ritual Lord Salazar and Naga Sadow had constructed on her behalf. She projected her gratitude for their mentorship at them before turning her attention to the Sith letters written on the floor with the same substance that coated her body. She had written out three times, encircling the capstone of her ritual, the same platitude:
The Force shall free me.
WONOKSH QYÂSIK NUN.
Her capstone was a large basin—a bathtub, really—carved from a single block of quartz. Rowena Ravenclaw had apparently made it for her experiments during her life and hid it somewhere where only those who knew the Founders could find it. Edelweiss had tasked Dobby with moving the basin, but only after getting the elf to swear to never tell Dumbledore.
It was wise to not inform Dobby what my purpose is, Edelweiss thought as she approached the basin. Though it would have been simpler to use Kreacher.
The way Dobby had explained it when she asked, was that only elves bound to the castle or to staff members were allowed to enter Hogwarts. Dobby, as Lucius Malfoy's elf, had been considered the equivalent of a staff member's elf by the wards.
She began muttering the Sith Code in the old tongue as she slipped a foot into the basin's contents. Most of the venom stores within the castle had been carefully poured into the basin. Had she not enough, she would have been forced to brew several cauldrons of a special potion of Lord Salazar's devising.
She had only needed to brew one, and she had rained it all earlier. Still, it ran coolly through her.
Edelweiss put her other foot into the venom bath and then sat down. The paste on her submerged body ached, already reacting. She uttered the Sith Code again, this time in English. Upon her third repetition—this time in parseltongue—she submerged herself in to the bath. The fluid seeped into her skin, raced up her nose, and slithered through pressed lips. She gasped, swallowing a mouthful, and felt the ritual activate. Her body alighted with pain, yet she could not scream.
The last she recalled was the sensation of her skin burning and a strange, high-pitched voice screaming, and screaming, and screaming.