The Hog's Head Conspiracy

Edelweiss witnessed the first dawn of October from upon her broom, hovering over the wet field on the western side of Hogwarts. Golden beams streamed past the many towers of Hogwarts, outlining them in sharp contrast to the soft shadows still facing her. She hovered, dressed in crimson Quidditch robes as she basked in the golden warmth of a new day. Angelina was bound to come flying by soon and reprimand her for hovering about instead of flying around, but she found that she did not care.

Her Firebolt swayed in the wind as she considered once more resigning from the Quidditch team. She almost missed having the excuse of detentions, and unless otherwise instructed, Umbridge should not issue more.

Lightning rippled up her spine as her broom tilted forward slightly. An old longing welled up within. Ah, who am I kidding? I want to race, to feel the thrill of flight. If only there could be a way other than Quidditch.

Her gaze drifted to the rest of the team. The Twins were off on their own, bouncing bludgers between themselves as they tried to knock the other from his broom. The chasers tossed around a quaffle, floating about as they went. And then her gaze fell upon the redheaded bloke hovering before the goal posts. She blinked and then frowned.

Is that? It can't be! He would've…

Edelweiss leaned forward and raced to where Ron floated in the sky. She understood the need to replace their keeper, given Oliver Wood had graduated two years ago. Edelweiss wanted to be cross with Ron for keeping a secret from her, yet she was proud that he could keep one from her.

"Ron!" she shouted as she reached him. "Why didn't you tell me you made the team?" Edelweiss had been ordered to try and attend the try-outs. She had suffered a single detention and then chose her Sith studies instead. And then nobody had said a word to her afterward.

Though I guess my studies have made me unavailable recently.

Ron blinked owlishly before looking around as though the chasers—or worse, his brothers—would sweep out of the sky and suddenly scold them. "I thought you knew. Hermione gets so much of your limited time these days I assumed she would have told you."

"Most of our conversation concerns classwork," admitted Edelweiss. "She's overjoyed I'm applying myself more, though she grumbles so often about Defense I've thought about cursing her." She then smiled wryly. "I think Umbridge and I have come to an understanding about Defense, so think nothing of me not being there."

Ron sighed and crossed his arms. "Of course, you get out of class. Umbridge has been a bloody menace!" He sighed. "I miss Professor Lupin. He was great."

"That he was."

"Still, bit odd how she took the job but doesn't teach."

Edelweiss recalled the words Umbridge had her write during the sole detention she attended. She flexed her right hand as she tried to not growl at her memory.

Ron glanced at the hand and frowned.

"Hey, I've heard rumors about her detentions, and… Well, I wanted to know if they were true."

Edelweiss stared at her gloves with a pensive frown. A faint scar of the words had lingered for several days. Thanks to a simple glamour, she had kept the words hidden from sight. And while she was completely healed now, she had an impulsive need to keep her hand hidden.

Maybe it's only my paranoia over my Sith studies and ensuring nobody learns of them and the dark side of the Force.

She raised her gaze and stared at Ron. Edelweiss could not bring herself to show her weakness to him. Not when he knew her weakness could destroy all she sought to become.

"I don't know what rumors you've heard, but it was boring." Edelweiss glanced at the chasers as they came flying over. "Don't worry about Umbridge, Ron. She'll be gone by the end of the year." She then smiled with a touch too many teeth. "Trust me."

Ron nodded. Yet she felt doubt from him. It was only a small ripple, but enough to affect her. To frustrate her. Some other worry lingered under the surface. Another secret kept from her. Edelweiss wanted to press and draw out what was eating at him. But the chasers arrived before she could speak. Angelina, at the fore, radiated frustration, aimed almost purely at Edelweiss.

"Potter! Is there a reason you're troubling our new keeper?"

"Just giving him a hard time for keeping his position a secret from me," Edelweiss said with a sly grin. "Can I help you, Captain Johnson?"

Angelina visibly recoiled. Edelweiss felt her shock and hurt at being referred to so. They had all called Oliver by name, despite the fact he was their captain and technically should have been called by his title. To use that on Angelina—and with her family name as well—was an insult in the confines of Gryffindor House.

Edelweiss fought down a smirk. The very passions that strengthened her connection to the dark side rippled off Angelina. Edelweiss wondered what effect they would have on her. She could taste the indignation coming from the seventh-year.

"No. That was it, Potter." Angelina's gaze swiveled to Ron. He squawked under her intense look. "Get into position. We're beginning drills against the rings."

Ron gave Edelweiss a worried look before flying into position before the center ring. The Quidditch posts were fifty meters tall, terminating at rings two meters in diameter. She had once wondered how the chasers threw so accurately. But now that she knew the power of the dark side, she could tell they used a physical magic none of them truly recognized as magic.

She headed off. For now, her Quidditch task would remain being to catch the golden snitch.

While the chasers attacked Ron's goals, she floated about the stadium. There was a practice snitch somewhere fluttering about. She could sense the golden ball, wherever it was, but she had no desire to hunt it down. Instead, she watched Ron and the chasers. He was a decent keeper, which she had known from summers at the Burrow. But the way he performed now revealed that he had done more than just play with his siblings. Edelweiss would bet he had taken time early into the summer to practice. It was a shame his time at Grimmauld had dulled his ability, but he did have enough talent to make the Gryffindor team.

Twenty or so minutes passed before a sudden volley of bludgers rocketed toward her. She rolled out of the way and watched the bludgers break from each other, roaring toward separate ends of the pitch.

"Nice try," she shouted, turning as Fred came racing over. "Next time, try and have George on the other side. Maybe then you'll have a chance of hitting me."

"But I'm George," he claimed.

Edelweiss rolled her eyes, openly and blatantly. "I know you're Fred. Abandon your attempts to deceive me."

For several seconds, she thought Fred might challenge her. Then his shoulders slumped and a weak sigh passed through his lips. "How'd you know?" he asked, putting on a good attempt at a puppy begging.

"Intuition," she said, while she thought, The Force. It was almost hilarious how easy it was now to parse out which Weasley Twin was which.

"Well then," Fred said with a grin, "we'll have to work on fooling you."

She huffed and smiled. "Good luck on that."

He nodded, but before he turned away, Fred asked, "Would you care to test one of the products George and I have been working on?"

Edelweiss tilted her head and considered what they had been up to over the summer. She had seen some of their developments, but not everything. And she had not gotten the chance to try it all out herself.

"Why not," Edelweiss said with a curious gleam in her eyes. "I am curious what my gold became in your crafty hands."

The following day, Edelweiss left Divination early thanks to the Nosebleed Nougat the Twins supplied her. She considered her investment more than paid back as she chewed the other half of the sweet. She rubbed away the excess blood covering the lower half of her face as she headed for the nearest entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Her thoughts lingered on which of her Sith masters she would attend to. Edelweiss had spent plenty of time bouncing between Lady Bastila and Naga Sadow. The former was her proper master while the latter taught her Sith alchemy. Throughout her descent, she considered going to Naga Sadow. Her studies into runes and arithmancy had drawn Hermione's attention. Her curiosity frustrated Edelweiss, who had grown increasingly tired by the questions concerning her sudden interest in runes and arithmancy. Worse, Hermione no longer fell for the bait of berating Ron about his poor schoolwork.

Annoyingly, Ron had become distant outside Quidditch practice. She overheard him arguing with his siblings about a letter from Percy the previous night. Of the Weasleys who attended Hogwarts alongside Edelweiss, Percy Weasley was the one she knew least. He had graduated the same year as Oliver and now worked at the Ministry. He had talked to her about his work during the Yule Ball the previous year, and she had foolishly allowed his words to escape her. She should have cared then, for Percy could be useful. Umbridge worked to extend the Ministry's reach into Hogwarts, and Percy could be a means by which to undermine those efforts.

Maybe Edelweiss should stick her nose into the Weasley's business. She had been involved with their family long enough that she had a claim to them as if they truly were family.

She would leave that topic alone until a more suitable time. Whispers and rumors circulated through the student body concerning Umbridge and her apparent power grab. Hermione knew the most about it among those around Edelweiss, but then Hermione maintained her subscription to The Daily Prophet. How sad that she wasted her precious coinage on the Ministry's propaganda, though perhaps there was a value to the paper's existence.

I should do something about the Prophet. Overt? Secretive? Should I kill the editor or just intimidate him? Maybe I could outright take it over. Make it my mouthpiece.

Edelweiss sighed. She was nowhere close to deciding on the magical paper by the time she reached the fifth-floor entry for the Chamber of Secrets. She set aside thoughts of magical Britain as she commanded the passage to open and followed it deep through the castle and beneath the dungeons to Ziost Hangar, embedded into the foundations. She barely recognized how easily she switched to parseltongue when commanding the paths left behind by Slytherin or one of his many heirs.

She headed straight to the small meditation room where Naga Sadow's holocron awaited her attention. She kneeled before the small pyramid before focusing the dark side on to the holocron. Naga Sadow appeared, a great grimace marring his expression.

"Ah, so you have finally returned, apprentice. You have been absent longer than I like."

"I do have a life beyond our studies together, no matter how vital they are to my future victories."

"Then perhaps I should lower my expectations if you plan to juggle masters."

Edelweiss grimaced. "I plan to go beyond merely meeting your expectations, Lord Sadow. I shall exceed them, and show my petty little world what it means to be a Sith Lord. I could learn from ten Sith Lords—a hundred—and I would still meet whatever expectation you set for me."

Naga Sadow mad a harsh, dismissive sound. "Your arrogance shall get the better of you. Though perhaps that will confirm that you are worthy to be named a Sith Lord, as long as you learn to create opportunities. That will help you advance toward all your goals. Stop being passive or only reacting, girl. That is the way of the Jedi."

Edelweiss nodded and pondered the Sith Lord's advice. She knew not yet how to create an opportunity to strike against her foes—for that was what she surmised Naga Sadow spoke to—though if she were to follow his other piece of advice, perhaps an opening could be made. Hermione was cleverer than Edelweiss, and Darth Gladiolus would need that kind of mind to succeed as she desired.

"Now that I have instructed you in some of the basics," continued Naga Sadow with a sly smirk, "I assume you have a plan for this ritual of yours. A power of that ilk is most suitable for destroying the fragment of your foe's essence within you." He then chuckled, cruel and spiteful. "He was a fool to do so."

"I do not think he is aware that a part of him is bound to me."

Naga Sadow frowned. "How would you know?"

"Given how often he has attempted to murder me, I believe he is completely unaware some of his essence has broken away without his command or knowledge. I would be shocked if he entertained the thought. He might be aware of our connection. But its source? I would be shocked."

"A fool indeed."

Edelweiss nodded, even if she thought Naga Sadow was too dismissive of Voldemort. He had become a dark lord for good reason. "I have an idea about dealing with the essence bound to myself and even to the other shards of his essence spread across Britain."

Naga Sadow frowned but for a single eyebrow, which rose.

"Three years ago, one of his old possessions, imbued with his essence, was smuggled into the school. It possessed one of the students and unleashed a creature of Lord Salazar's upon the student body. I destroyed the beast with a sword, but by then the object had produced a likeness of Voldemort. I destroyed the vessel containing his essence with basilisk venom—and I maintain a store of the venom after the basilisk was rendered for parts."

"How would you apply this 'basilisk venom' you possess?" Naga Sadow asked. "How you pursue this venture will determine other aspects of the ritual."

Edelweiss mulled over how she could use her basilisk venom stores. The most obvious means was in a potion. But she was mediocre at potions on the best day and a danger on the worst. She would be more likely to kill herself than achieve her aim of safely cleansing Voldemort's taint.

She blinked as a terrible, brilliant idea came to her. It aligned with Naga Sadow's description of having to channel the dark side through a ritual. It was potions-adjacent, which gave her some pause. But with the implementation of runes and arithmantic arrays, she should not have to worry about errors from preparing the venom. And if worse came to worse, Lord Salazar or even Naga Sadow could tutor her in potions.

"If I were to bathe in diluted venom, surrounded by runes and arrays, could I achieve my end and destroy the foreign essence within me?"

Naga Sadow raised a curious eyebrow. "A fascinating idea, apprentice. I will need information about the materials available on your world before I can make a judgment. I am not familiar with this 'basilisk venom', and much of what I would have used cannot be guaranteed to be found on your world."

"As you request, Lord Sadow. Lord Salazar should retain knowledge concerning potions and rituals of this world from his time as a wizard. If your holocrons can commune beyond what I have been told—"

"Take me to him."

Naga Sadow vanished before she could protest or question his command. Edelweiss sighed and leaned forward, lifting the holocron from where it lay. She headed swiftly to Lord Salazar's solar and set Naga Sadow's holocron beside Lord Salazar's. She stepped back and waited. Seconds passed as nothing happened. The holocrons sat there, a pair of crystalline pyramids red with shining metal and black capstones.

And yet they were lifeless and inert, which Edelweiss found troubling.

Must I?

She huffed and grasped her fury, that delicious, fiery power that was the dark side of the Force. Once ready, she focused all the power she could wield into the two holocrons. They glowed and projected their Sith Lords high above.

"Can you two not sense each other from within your holocrons?" asked Edelweiss. She gave Lord Salazar a pointed look. "You, Lord Salazar, have reacted to my presence on more than one occasion."

"And on those occasions, you were cloaked in the dark side as you arrived. You did not need to focus your power on my holocron to achieve activation."

Edelweiss growled as she turned to Naga Sadow. "And you? You were the one who commanded I bring you to Lord Salazar, so you two could commune."

"My holocron, just like his, requires intent and the Force to activate."

Edelweiss swallowed a growling protest while shrugging off the flush of embarrassment that even a half-year before would have left her mortified. She had grown past that foolish girl. She would be a Sith Lord come June. She felt it in everything: in her bones, upon the wind, and most especially upon the currents of the Force. She wondered if Divination might lead to a foretelling of her future power. She did not fear that quack Trelawney recognized what Edelweiss had become. Was becoming.

She only wished for the confirmation.

"And now that you are both awakened?"

"Give us some time," said Naga Sadow. "Our holocrons were created thousands of years apart, and we Sith Lords are hesitant to grant knowledge and power to those who are not our apprentices."

Edelweiss nodded and considered what Naga Sadow had said. If she wished to learn from any other than these holocrons, she would need to seek out any Sith who remained—and then debase herself, bowing to one who may not be as powerful as her.

Still, if any still live in the cosmos, I shall seek them out, Edelweiss decided. Once I have settled the matter of Britain, I shall find them all… and destroy them, no matter their strength.

She waited the better part of a half hour for the holocrons to finish their communion. She suspected whatever potions knowledge Lord Salazar imbued into his holocron had to be guarded with fierce protectiveness. That, or the knowledge interplay necessary for their exchange was greater than she could guess.

"How fascinating," Naga Sadow purred. His gaze swiveled to Edelweiss. She nearly flinched from his intensity. "It will take time to parse out how we shall achieve this end. While I am busy with that task, I would like for you to study the rituals of your world, apprentice. If what this enemy of yours has done is based on the powers native here, you will need them to overcome his work."

She scowled. "You mean that the dark side of the Force will not be enough?"

"Had he been trained in the dark side, it would be enough. But because this foe of yours only knows the ways of your world, we must incorporate those into all I might plan."

Edelweiss made an annoyed noise.

"What he has done is laudable," continued Naga Sadow, ignoring her slight dismay, "but immensely foolish. To allow his essence to fall into your hands, even by accident, is an oversight he deserves to be punished for."

"And what has he done that is laudable, Lord Sadow?"

"The pursuit of immortality. His error has come about because of his methods and his failure to account for what his defeats may cost him. In his effort to master death, he has opened the path for you to destroy him forever."

"And so I shall," declared Edelweiss. The dark side swelled within her. A great shroud of power soaked into her bones. She knew, then and there, that her words would become truth. Not today. Perhaps not soon. But one day that day would come, that promised day of inevitable victory.

Hermione came storming down from the castle, her bushy hair rippling behind her, as Edelweiss and Ron returned from Quidditch practice. Edelweiss raised a curious eyebrow seeing Hermione approach them so. Hermione being awake early was unsurprising. But for her to emerge from the castle so? That Edelweiss found odd.

"What do you think Hermione wants?" asked Ron, resigned to his fate. He had gotten on Hermione's bad side recently after saying a few choice—and rather foolish—words about studying for their OWLs so early and the excessive amount of schoolwork they received. All of Gryffindor had gathered to watch as she berated him.

"I have no clue. Hopefully, it'll be something other than OWLs."

Hermione reached them at the top of the sloping lawn that led gently to the pitch. Hermione stopped first, crossing her arms as her gaze went to Edelweiss.

"I wanted to talk to you about Umbridge's new post as the Ministry's 'Hogwarts Investigator' and what we are going to do—"

"What we are going to do?" drawled Edelweiss. She nearly smirked when Hermione puffed up, radiating annoyance and frustration.

Several days had passed since Umbridge had been formally declared the Ministry of Magic's Special Investigator Into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a post no doubt built to grant the woman special powers over the school and its inhabitants. Rumors and speculation had filled both the Prophet articles about her new post and the school body. Edelweiss personally thought it of little importance until the woman dared to cross her again.

"Yes," Hermione bit out. "We."

"I have decided to stand back and allow her petty power trip create enemies out of those who otherwise would keep their heads down. If we are fortunate, she will drive Snape and Trelawney out of their posts. We could use a real professor for Potions, and you have never been secretive about your disdain for Trelawney and Divination." Hermione's mouth opened to protest, but Edelweiss continued. "Could you imagine what our lives would be like if we had an actual teacher for Potions, and not just some prodigy confused by how children do not understand topics that are so plainly obvious to him?"

And despite any good Umbridge could do, she will overstep her authority. Once she does that, then I will be free to act. Her death shall be the prelude to my ascension as Darth Gladiolus, and all shall be thankful such a wretched creature is in her grave.

"Wouldn't that be the day," Ron muttered, sounding quite pleased with Edelweiss's suggestion. "No more Snape."

"The issue isn't Potions, Edie. The issue is that the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts."

"Yes. And?" asked Edelweiss, nearly chuckling at Hermione's owlish blink. "After five defense professors in five years, perhaps someone should interfere. Would it be best if they waited for her to end up ruined, if not dead? I would not mind if they did. But the post is truly cursed. It would have been wiser to send curse breakers instead of the Minister's stodge—"

"And there's the issue!" hissed Hermione. "She's the Minister's agent! A puppet! Do you think she can adequately teach us how to defend ourselves? You've seen what she thinks is appropriate for Defense!"

Edelweiss sniffed, even as her anger rippled under her skin. "I read the book she assigned, Hermione. Umbridge would not be qualified to give aurors instructions, let alone teach children. Your vision is too limited if you think of Hogwarts as only a school." She gestured toward the castle, directing her friend's gaze. "It is so much more."

Hermione's face went blotchy and red as her lips pursed tightly. "Then what is it?" she snarled.

"Hogwarts is the soul of magical Britain. Whoever controls it, controls the future." Her emerald eyes burned with passion, just as her veins burned with the Force. "Until Dumbledore is expelled from its walls, he can influence generations and control the future. Remember that before Voldemort blew himself up trying to murder me, he was winning. Yet he had not won for he failed in his efforts to claim Hogwarts. His home." She slapped her chest. "My home!"

With that, she stormed past Hermione. Edelweiss felt Ron linger behind, begging Hermione to help him with an essay as though that would cool Hermione's passions.

Thinking of her essays drew a grimace to Edelweiss's face. Between Angelina's impression of Oliver Wood and her Sith studies, she barely had enough time to take her classes seriously, let alone stay atop her ever-increasing mountain of assigned work. Were it not for the expectations hanging around her neck, Edelweiss might have considered blowing it all off.

Instead, she would be a good little witch and go to the library. There was an image to maintain if she would keep her true nature secret from the public.

About halfway through October, the date of the first Hogsmeade visit was finally announced, posted to the boards of every common room. It would be on the Saturday before Halloween, which happened to be the following Tuesday. Edelweiss, who had claimed a corner table in the library when she wasn't in the Chamber or Gryffindor Tower, did not glance up as Hermione sat down across from her with a frustrated huff.

"I'm assuming your anger is over Umbridge." She paused and peered up. "What has our favorite stooge done now?"

Despite her tendency to respect authority too much, Hermione snorted at Edelweiss's mocking insult. Her lips did twitch, though Hermione had enough restraint to not smile. She took a moment to compose herself before saying, "If she will not teach us how to defend ourselves, then we need a real teacher."

Edelweiss glanced around the library, her burning gaze lingering on all within view. There were a few Hufflepuffs at a table several yards away and a group of Ravenclaws skirting about in the shelves; both flinched away from her gaze. Only then did she ask Hermione, "Who were you thinking would be this teacher of yours?"

"You, Edie."

She blinked, glanced around again, and then leaned forward. "Please repeat what you just said. I swear you just said I would be an appropriate teacher."

"But Edie, you have to understand," said Hermione, her brandy-brown eyes luminous with certainty. "You've done so much since you started at Hogwarts! The Stone's defenses, the Chamber of Secrets, rescuing Sirius from the dementors, even the tournament last year! You've survived all of that, and you're stronger because of it."

"I guess I am," said Edelweiss with a pleased grin. She could not lie that she did not appreciate having her ego stroked and built up, but she did not trust what was being said to her. Especially not from Hermione, despite the fact Edelweiss should be the one manipulating her friend. "Still, that does not explain why I am going to be teaching. You happen to have the patience for it."

"Who's gonna be teaching?" asked Ron as he suddenly joined them. He set his bag down between the girls and then looked between them. "Hermione telling you about her defense club idea?"

Edelweiss stared at him with a harsh, piercing stare. Ron recoiled slightly. "You knew? You knew… and said nothing?"

"Well, uh…" Ron glanced between them for a few seconds before sighing. "Hermione said she wanted to tell you herself. I came up with the idea after shooting down her idea to get someone from the Order to sneak into Hogwarts and teach us. She was certain she could convince you since I said you would reject the idea."

Edelweiss pursed her lips. Despite how little free time she possessed, their 'defense club' proposal would be a means by which to assault Umbridge's authority and power. She leaned forward on an elbow and softly asked, "Convince me how?"

Hermione swallowed thickly, pinned as she was by Edelweiss's intense gaze. "As I said, you're the only one who could teach us. You have experience, and that's more important than book smarts, Edie. Especially when trying to teach people how to survive a war."

She drummed her fingers on the table. Her friends flinched at the noise, so soft only they could hear it. Edelweiss nearly snorted. How odd that she still thought of them as friends. The only serious time Edelweiss spent with Ron at Hogwarts was during Quidditch practice. Hermione increasingly became a tool in her mind. Her very personhood fell away, stripped against her will. Was this what becoming a Sith Lord would do to her? She had understood from a young age that she was different, set apart from the rest—but to think so differently? She had never expected this change.

And for whatever reason, she could not determine how she honestly felt about her new view of the world. Perhaps Edelweiss was only growing up.

"What else? You must have more arguments to convince me." Edelweiss strained to hold back her smirk. She was baiting Hermione now, drawing out everything the bushy-haired girl could think. It should be obvious what she was doing, for there was only one person in the castle she hated more than Albus Dumbledore: Dolores Umbridge.

Though thinking of Dumbledore reminded her of how she longed for the day she destroyed him, no matter how long she waited. Edelweiss was certain she would be Darth Gladiolus that day.

Perhaps she would be fortunate enough to stand over Voldemort's corpse when that day came to pass.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a concerned look that drew a dark scowl to Edelweiss's face. What right did they have to judge her? They had allowed a man who did not have her best interest in mind cow them into following his will over doing what they knew was right. They knew the misery she suffered every summer. They could have done what was in her best interest. But no, they had to go along with Dumbledore's foolish demand they not tell her anything!

"Just imagine Umbridge's face when everybody passes their Defense OWLs because of you," said Ron.

"Stroking my ego as well?" Ron choked while Edelweiss chuckled. "A wise decision."

"Edie," grumbled Hermione.

"Oh come off it, Hermione. You know I will agree if only to spite Umbridge. Can I not have some fun with this?"

Ron guffawed. He was not loud enough to draw Madam Pince's ire, but the sound did draw unwanted eyes their way. The Hufflepuffs looked away when Edelweiss's gaze fell upon them. The Ravenclaws stared back. She shot a filthy glare their way, and they scurried off as if her eyes burned them with hellfire.

"Is that all you care about?" asked Hermione. Her voice was soft in a manner that annoyed Edelweiss. "Spite? Making people furious?"

"Umbridge was the one who began this, Hermione. Not me," Edelweiss declared, all but snarling. "She is dedicated to the acquisition of power and influence, just like any with eyes to see the world around them. I must destroy her, for that is the only option she grants me." She sighed and rose to her feet. "And it is the same with the war. I will not offer quarter to those who fight against me. Think on that before you make any rash decisions." She glanced between her friends and their pale, stricken expressions. "Keep me informed about the club. I will teach whomever you bring to me, whether you like it or not."

Edelweiss then stormed off, before either could stop her. She sensed the growing separation between them. And for all she tried to tell herself she was content to allow the gap to grow and fester, part of her longed to reclaim their old friendship.

But that is not how a Sith Lord would act. They would use and abuse those two until their value was spent and their carcasses collapsed, drained of vitality and use.

Her decision was made. Should Ron and Hermione grow up and approach her seriously, she would remain on the outside of their plot. Annoyingly, Edelweiss thought it was a plot worth engaging in. But for her to advance, she would require them to approach her, not the other way around.

Darth Gladiolus, the Dark Lord of the Sith. That is who I shall be once those foolish old men are dead.

Edelweiss sat beside the roaring fire of Gryffindor Tower, an arithmancy tome lying in her lap. She rubbed her face, seeking to fight the tide of exhaustion threatening to sweep her under, to drown her in its tides. Part of her was sorely tempted to pass out in the ridiculously comfy chair she had claimed for her usage, but she had a feeling in her bones this tome would be of benefit to Lord Salazar and Naga Sadow when it came to her future ritual.

She sensed Ron long before he stormed into the common room. Yet Edelweiss did not look up from the tome in her lap until he crashed into the seat beside her. She glanced his way and spotted a crumpled fold of parchment clenched in a white-knuckled fist.

"Another letter from Percy?" she asked.

Ron's hand clenched around the letter and crinkled the parchment. Edelweiss considered him for a few seconds before sighing and closing the tome in her lap. She would easily find her place another time and press on. This little 'confrontation' would be necessary for maintaining the fiction that was Edelweiss Potter.

"You should burn his letters if they're only going to give you grief." Ron paused and turned to face Edelweiss. "One day, he will come crawling back to your family with an apology on his lips. You should hope it does not require a death in the family to do so."

Ron scowled as he glanced between the letter he held, the nearby fire, and Edelweiss. She waited for a response, for she could feel the gears in his mind shifting against each other.

"Yeah, well he better apologize to Mum and Dad." Ron sighed, leaning back into the chair he picked. "Hermione and I decided to go forward with our idea since you've agreed to teach." Edelweiss raised a curious eyebrow and he smiled. "The upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. The Hog's Head, at noon. We're going to meet with some people interested in learning from you."

They fell silent after that. Edelweiss tried to return to her reading after reopening the tome and finding her old place. But all her mind could fixate on was how this defense group would forward her broader agenda. Yes, she sought to destroy Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen after that? She had always been so concerned with achieving victory that she had never considered her life afterward. Swaying those at Hogwarts to become her followers instead of allowing them into the clutches of Voldemort or Dumbledore would secure a better future for her.

Especially once I ascend to my proper place and become the Dark Lord of the Sith. I shall require loyal subjects and servants.

"Hey," said Ron, drawing her from her thoughts. "I'm heading to bed."

Edelweiss nodded as she leaned back into the cushioned seat and considered what her friends—they were technically still that, though she could not say for how long—had planned. They would invite Gryffindors, and perhaps some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Yet for all she detested the thought, Edelweiss remembered how the Sorting Hat sang of unity within Hogwarts. If magical Britain was to advance after decades of strife and war, then all of society should be folded into the new world.

Slytherins, Slytherins, thought Edelweiss, almost singing the word. How shall the rest handle the snakes I set among them?

With that thought in mind, Edelweiss rose to her feet. She had a map and a cloak to retrieve.

Edelweiss folded up the Marauder's Map as she whispered, "Mischief managed." She slid the wad of parchment into a pocket as she peered around the corner she stood behind. Within the small room before her sat the three Slytherins she shared a compartment with on the Hogwarts Express. Were it not for the Map, she might have missed the fourth Slytherin, who had joined the three she sought out. His dark skin reminded her of the caramels Dudley stuffed his mouth with when they were ten. She almost wanted to apologize for the comparison, but then she knew little of Blaise Zabini.

Perhaps he will be amused by comparison, thought Edelweiss as she stepped onto the room's threshold.

Tracey Davis caught Edelweiss's emerald gaze and stiffened. The girl's tan had barely faded, despite the cloudy weather that suffocated Scotland most of the year. Her golden wheat hair had lost some of its shimmering sheen.

"Trace, what's the—" Daphne Greengrass swallowed her words almost immediately. Her auburn hair was loosely tied up, with several strands brushing against her neck and shoulders as they rested across her collar. "Oh. It's you."

"That's all of you have to say, Greengrass?" Edelweiss asked as she strode into the room. Theodore Nott watched her silently, enough wariness in his gaze she nearly got excited. "'Oh. It's you'? I thought I had left a greater impression upon you than that, Greengrass."

Soft green eyes like a meadow in spring glowered coolly. "And then you spent all of September, ignoring us as you suffered whatever nonsensical detentions Umbridge had for you, Potter. It's nearly Samhain. Halloween. You've wasted two months playing games while we've had to keep our heads down."

Edelweiss sniffed. "Samhain, Halloween—I care not which you call it, Greengrass. I happen to remember it as that day when terrible events came to pass. Dead parents, a returned madman, attacks within the safety of Hogwarts." She smirked at their discomfort. Zabini looked the most troubled by her words. "Still, that's not why I am here. My dear friends have decided they have had enough of Umbridge's obvious incompetence. We're organizing a little defense club. Open to all houses, though you can guess which one won't receive an invite. I want you three—four, if Zabini can be trusted enough to not whisper secrets to Malfoy—to make an appearance for our little meeting. Let others see not all Slytherins bow to evil."

Zabini scoffed. She raised an eyebrow as he said, "What would you know of Slytherin?"

"A great many things." Edelweiss thought of the Chamber and Ziost Hangar, of her admittedly limited contact with Lord Salazar. However, she could not speak of all she truly knew to these four. Another thing came to mind, a little tale that had gotten the other Slytherins to warm up to her. She glanced at the trio from the Expression and knew instantly none had told Zabini what she told them. "One of which is a story of the past."

"…what kind of story?" asked Zabini.

"You can thank Draco Malfoy at your leisure for convincing me to all but demand the Sorting Hat to send me anywhere other than Slytherin. The Hat said Slytherin would lead me to greatness. I rejected its offer, though I wonder if I was a fool for rejecting Slytherin."

Zabini stared at Edelweiss for several long seconds. He then burst out laughing. She glanced at the other Slytherins, those who already knew that little tale. They all rippled with fear, though it was Nott's that was the most potent. He must have seen enough of Voldemort over the summer hols to know that torture usually followed up an insult like this.

Edelweiss held a hand toward Zabini, low and draped by her robe's sleeve. She tightened two fingers, and Zabini choked on his laugh. His bulging eyes met her steady gaze. She smirked, released her grasp, and then turned to the others.

"So—"

"Why should we go?" demanded Tracey Davis, sounding more confident than Edelweiss expected. "What's there for us if we go along with your… with your plot?"

Edelweiss blinked, a touch surprised Davis dared question her proposal. Or that she sounded to be on the verge of accepting it. Then again, the girl was a halfblood in Slytherin. Her defenses against the cruelty of blood supremacists were Daphne Greengrass and whatever meager magical ability she had.

"I could duel all four of you simultaneously and walk away unscathed," Edelweiss declared. "Without even breaking a sweat." Only Nott looked slightly uncertain of her claim, but the dark side of the Force would allow her to overwhelm him easily. "Hermione has a silly idea about this 'defense club' stuck in those curls of hers. I know not what she wants from this group, but I intend to train fighters. People who can step into a society caught up in civil war at seventeen and survive, no matter how long it might drag out.

"Plus, you will have a chance to make connections in the other houses. I would assume those in the house of ambition and cunning can see a good deal when it arises."

"What about Malfoy?" asked Greengrass. Her slender nose twitched. "He'll make a fuss when he finds out."

"If he finds out." At their skeptical frowns, Edelweiss sighed and continued: "I shall handle him should the worst come to pass." Edelweiss then gave them a dark smile, all teeth and upturned lips. "I have handled him as one deals with a child in the past. Perhaps it is time I remind him that even his father has been forced to flee before me and my power."

The Slytherins shot her skeptical frowns, but that was to be expected. She was overstating how her little confrontation following the Chamber of Secrets incident with Lucius Malfoy played out.

"Hogsmeade. Noon. The Hog's Head. Either make an appearance, or I will ensure none of you recall this little conversation… and perhaps scrape up some secrets to use at my leisure."

Edelweiss swept away before they could respond, using her best Snape impression. Given she heard hissed, furious whispering, she thought she had succeeded.

Regardless, they would arrive for the little meeting in Hogsmeade. She knew it.

Hermione led Edelweiss and Ron to the Hog's Head nearly fifteen minutes before noon. Snow blanketed the land, inches deep in some places and feet down in others. Edelweiss struggled to follow Ron and Hermione's trite conversation, for her mind lingered on the future. She drew power from the dark side of the Force, knowing she would need it before the day's end. More than one fool would be present, and she no longer suffered them lightly. It might only be a feeling, but it was one she would not ignore. She had learned, if slowly, to trust her feelings. Edelweiss had even begun to move past her deep-seated fear of the mind-altering nature of the Cosmic Force. She mentally cursed her master for telling her that truth, even if she remained grateful for the warning.

The Hog's Head was dilapidated by the standards of Hogsmeade Village. Yes, the Shrieking Shack sat on the outskirts of the hamlet. But it was set out of the way so one could avoid it. The Hog's Head was different. Despite being two stories tall, the building struck Edelweiss as remarkably squat. She assumed it would be a tight squeeze if more than a few dozen showed up. Ron and Hermione had skirted around her questions about whom they spoke to about their defense group. Edelweiss suspected a great many would show up. She had sensed several minds oriented toward a meeting at noon during breakfast.

They entered the pub to a ringing bell and a wretched smell. The common room was maybe a dozen yards in each direction, with several cramped tables spread about haphazardly. The old barman glowered at them. Edelweiss raised a curious eyebrow at his annoyance before turning away. She was more interested in the four patrons present: a man whose entire head was wrapped in greying bandages chugging a strange, simmering drink at the bar; a pair of hooded, cloaked figures sitting at a distant table as they argued in thick Yorkshire accents; and a black veiled witch, tucked into a corner beside the roaring fireplace.

"Do you think—?"

Edelweiss raised a hand, stopping Ron before he could ask something foolish. She could guess the answer to his unasked question without the Force. None present were Umbridge or a known spy, though she could not trust any of them to not go running and squeal about what they overheard in exchange for gold from the Ministry. From all she skimmed from their defense professor's mind, Edelweiss knew any defense training behind Umbridge's back would lead to repercussions upon discovery. Reaching out carefully with the Force, she projected her power upon the four patrons, focused into a single word:

"Leave."

They scurried out of the Hog's Head as if a mountain of cockroaches had fallen from the ceiling. Edelweiss hoped her Force-laden compulsion sent them all back to their homes and kept them there. For now, she put them out of mind. Should it be necessary, she would try her hand at modifying memories.

"Edie," whispered Hermione, faint and afraid. "What did you just do?"

"Cleared us a space to talk openly." Edelweiss crossed over to the scowling barman. He reeked of goat and looked familiar. Annoyingly so.

Could he be…? No. Dumbledore would never leave his brother in such a state. Not unless this was agreed upon between them.

"We'll need thirty, maybe forty bottles of butterbeer. I'll pay extra for exclusive use. Tell nobody about what we discuss—especially your meddling brother. I think we can both agree Albus deserves to be left out of this little secret."

The barman blinked and then sighed. He smiled faintly behind his shaggy grey beard. "Should've expected you would know who I am, Potter. How'd you find out?"

She grinned, flashing a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Call it a woman's intuition."

He shot her a filthy glare before muttering, "It's gonna be a galleon for every two fools who walk through that door. Don't try to get out of paying. I know the Potters were disgustingly wealthy."

"That we are," she murmured, turning away. "That we are."

Edelweiss set Ron to handling the butterbeers while she aided Hermione in setting up the room. They moved a table into a position that granted them a commanding view of the room and door and then sat three chairs behind it. She wanted the three of them united before the invited crowd. The rest of the tables were organized a touch haphazardly before the table established for them.

The first through the doors were the Weasleys twins and Lee Jordan, carrying a bag of Zonko's products, and three more, brown and unmarked. Shortly after them came the chaser girls; Angelina glowered at Edelweiss, which she returned with a bemused grin. More Gryffindors entered: Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, already gossiping; Fay Dunbar, their quiet roommate, and her sixth-year friends; the boys in their year, Irish Seamus Finnegan, muggleborn Dean Thomas, and a nervous Neville Longbottom. Edelweiss was surprised to find Ginny with Dean, hand in hand. It was cute, in a quaint manner. She wished them the best, especially once she felt Ron's anger with Dean.

Others from their house arrived, but students from the other houses overshadowed them as they filed in.

Several Hufflepuffs arrived, including some from their year: Susan Bones, niece of Madam Bones who held Edelweiss's respect; her friends, Lily Moon, Hannah Abbott, and scarred Sally-Ann Perks; and a group of boys, including popular Ernie Macmillan, a skeptical-looking Justin Finch-Fletchly, and pompous Zacharias Smith. Edelweiss remained impassive at their arrival, though she feared one of them would accuse her of murdering Cedric Diggory if given the chance. Perhaps a dozen more showed up.

Had she suspected for a second what would happen after they claimed the Triwizard Cup together, Edelweiss would have cursed him in the back. He was more useful alive, able to speak on her behalf, than as a martyr used against her.

Ravenclaws followed in close to the noon bell. She recognized Padma Patil, twin to Parvati, along with Su Li, who often competed with Hermione for the top seat in their year. Following them came Cho Chang, who glared at Edelweiss as though they were serious rivals. The girl with Cho glared as well. She tried to not roll her eyes at their foolish anger. A few of the Ravenclaw boys were familiar, but Edelweiss could not recall their names. She knew few of the Ravenclaws. Several in total had come from their house.

Might have needed fifty butterbeers, instead of only forty.

And then her four Slytherins entered the Hog's Head. Everyone turned to face them.

Several wands were drawn before Ron could shout over the bubbling din, "Who invited the snakes?"

"I did," boomed Edelweiss. The room went still. Several seconds for all gathered to face her. "I invited them of my own free will. You all heard the Sorting Hat's song this year. It is folly to think this school—this nation—can stand and remain whole, even as we continue to isolate one group because some among their number prostrate themselves before a madman and his ambitions." She scanned the furious, reddened faces before her. "None do that to Gryffindors, yet one could argue Dumbledore is a madman with ambitions ill-suited to the long-term happiness and prosperity of Britain. Until this summer, he held posts not only within the castle many here call home, but also in London and Avignon."

"Yeah, but he's Dumbledore," some Hufflepuff declared, sounding confused that Edelweiss Potter would dare question Dumbledore. "He's different."

"Because we agree with him, in part or in whole." She scanned the room, taking note of their mood and attitude. Few showed their emotions, yet she felt a swirling miasma of emotion thick and confused enough that she could drown in the currents. "We delude ourselves, thinking Voldemort and Dumbledore are different beyond the pleasantries they preach." There were shouts and yelps when she named the Dark Lord. Even the Slytherins were startled, the fools. "They each have an ideological vision for this land and think nothing of using each generation that arises to fight their proxy war. Some of us have no choice but to fight, regardless of our feelings on the matter.

"That, however, is not why we have gathered here. In several months, many of us will sit for the Ordinary Wizarding Level exam for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Edelweiss felt tension leak out of the Hog's Head. "We are here because the Ministry has forced an incompetent spy upon us in a clear attempt to further London's control of Hogwarts, which has always maintained neutrality in the world of politics. After years of madmen and other incompetents, our defense education has been riddled with holes, especially when it comes to the practical application of spells in the real world."

Zacharias Smith cleared his throat loudly. "What are you getting at, Potter?"

"What I am getting at, Smith, is that few among you will be prepared for your Defense OWL should nothing change. Hermione here," and she gestured to her friend, who squeaked and blushed at the sudden onslaught of attention, "proposed I teach all of you how to defend yourselves since I possess more practical experience than any other student at Hogwarts."

She channeled Snape with every word she uttered, especially at the end. Many flinched and sat up straight as if her words injected into them a fervent need to listen. The Slytherins, standing apart from the rest, smirked. Edelweiss slowly reached out with the Force, recalling all she knew of how to sway and influence minds. One error, one miscalculation, and all she wrought here and now would collapse.

"I have agreed in part because I cannot stand what Umbridge is doing, and because all of you must learn how to defend yourself." Her gaze traveled the breadth of the room, taking in the watchful faces gathered before her. There was no sign her powers or her arguments were being rejected. "If you will not learn how to defend yourself against the dark forces that loom beyond the walls of Hogwarts, then I would suggest you leave now. I won't prattle on anymore about OWLs and education. If that was your sole concern, then you would already be self-studying. Or you would be more interested in what Hermione would say than in my speech."

She paused, waiting for anyone to say something contrary.

"I can tell that you are all here because you know how far behind you are. That you are unprepared for what is out there in the world beyond Hogwarts' walls. Certainly, you have heard the tales: Quirrell, the basilisk, a hundred dementors, and the Triwizard Tournament. I have overcome them all, and am willing to share what I have gleaned from my trials and train any who wish to learn."

The Hog's Head fell silent. Edelweiss could have heard the scurrying rats and mice were there any. Not even the barman made a sound, busy as he must be calculating the coin she would owe him. It was a fine investment, should her actions here pay dividends in the future. Each mind present was hers to sway. If they had not already been swayed by her words, then she would find a chance in the future. Some present would be hers completely, and others would resist.

But eventually, they would all bow to Darth Gladiolus. Else they would perish.

"Now, I believe Hermione has a sheet for anyone interested in my offer to sign," said Edelweiss. "We have plans moving forward, and they rely on knowing exactly who is here." She smirked slightly at how her friend flinched. Most likely Hermione had expected this to go on for far longer and to use other arguments. Edelweiss would not fault Hermione for thinking so; she did not know there was a Sith apprentice beside her, more than ready to take control the moment an opportunity was handed over. "To any not swayed by my words, I would recommend you tell nobody about our clandestine meeting. Should I suspect one of you might tell Umbridge about why so many gathered here…"

Edelweiss then smiled wickedly as her unspoken threat hung heavily in the air. Were she daring enough, she might reveal what horrors she had in mind for whoever betrayed her of their own free will. But she was handling children. Vinegar and honey, as the saying went. And she? Well, she was mostly vinegar now.

"I doubt Hogwarts will ever forget the example I shall make of you."

She turned to Hermione, who was quick to draw out the sheaf of parchment prepared for the meeting's end. Her shouted words were devoured by muttered conversation. Uncertain parties were trying to make a decision. Yet Edelweiss was more interested in the jinxes she sensed attached to the page set down to be signed. She smiled, accepted a quill from Ron, and added a hint of her power to the parchment as she dipped the quill in an offered inkpot.

Edelweiss made a point of signing the parchment first and then stepped aside to allow everyone else to sign. They fell over themselves to add their signature beneath hers. In the end, everyone present signed their name. She wondered if they would continue on or flake after they thought through their decision. A shame it did not matter.

The magic upon that page would ensure their silence.