Heart of Kyber

A terrible blizzard slammed into Hogwarts on the first morning of February. Professor Sprout appeared close to tears throughout breakfast; once more Herbology was canceled for days. Edelweiss thought the weather appropriate for the icy mood suffocating the school. The mood had descended as a swarm of snow-burdened owls swooped into the Great Hall and delivered wretched cargo. She only needed to glance at the front page of the Daily Prophet to know danger loomed in the future. If Voldemort had been trained as a Sith, then she knew he would have waited for this very storm before striking. The twin blow of his actions and the weather dominated many minds around her, for on every paper, the oversized headline declared:

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

She did not need to read the article to know what happened. Voldemort daringly struck Azkaban amidst night and liberated all locked within sworn to his cause. Those freed were those too loyal or too foolish to bribe their way out of a life sentence. That much she knew, thanks to events she witnessed back in June. Edelweiss had gone through the records of the Death Eater trials back when Sirius escaped Azkaban. Proof of membership as a Death Eater was a life sentence. No parole, yet unfortunately no capital punishment. She suspected in the rush to clean up the aftermath of the war, they had not bothered to eliminate the worst.

After all, who could have predicted the worst Dark Lord in Britain's history might find a way to escape death and return from the grave?

Dumbledore had the foresight to know that would not be the end for Voldemort. But then the old man had been made impotent even within the halls of Hogwarts. Edelweiss glanced to where he sat at the Head Table. It was rare these days to find him present during meals. Whatever Order business he engaged with behind the scenes occupied enough time he rarely appeared before the student body.

That or he had grown tired of Umbridge's perpetual glower. Edelweiss wondered if the woman understood what subtly meant. After the implementation of the Inquisitors, the clear answer was not. How she had gotten the Ministry to sign off on the name was something Edelweiss would love to know, for she had sworn that term retained a powerfully negative image in the wizarding psyche. After all, Umbridge's formal title was a major mouthful—and now everyone called her "the Grand Inquisitor" behind her back.

"This is terrible," whispered Hermione for the twelfth time. "So many escaped, and they're blaming it on Sirius."

"Keep your voice down," muttered Edelweiss mulishly. "Nobody is supposed to know about Snuffles. I don't know why you're so surprised the Ministry insisted the Prophet run that story. The only other option would be to admit that Dumbledore and I have been right this entire time." She sighed and shook her head. "If only they could admit the truth."

"If only…" agreed Hermione, voice drifting off. She turned to Ron. "Say, are there any other magazines or newspapers? Beyond the Prophet and Witch Weekly, that is."

Ron looked up from the hill of meat and potatoes before him, blinking dumbly. "Others? Uh…" His lips twisted as he thought. His gaze drifted away from them toward the nearby Ravenclaw table. "You know, I think there is another one. The publisher even lives in the same area as my family."

"Who?" asked Edelweiss as Hermione asked, "Which?"

"The Lovegoods. They're the ones who publishing The Quibbler."

Edelweiss hummed thoughtfully while Hermione groaned. "That magazine?" Hermione shook her head. "It's full of nonsense and conspiracies! You can't be serious that's it!"

Ron shrugged and returned to his breakfast. "It's the only one I can think of. There isn't much beyond the Prophet and Witch Weekly."

While Hermione descended into a mire of grumbling and frustration with the lack of journalistic mediums in magical Britain, Edelweiss pondered over the strange encounter she had back in November with Luna Lovegood. She glanced over her shoulder to the Ravenclaw table and found the girl in question. "Ron," she began, gesturing at Luna. "Is that one of these Lovegoods? The ones who run the Quibbler?"

"Yeah. That's Looney—I mean, Luna," he said, a faint blush blotting out his freckles. Hermione snorted. "Her dad does it all, or so I hear. Dunno what happened to her mum other than she's dead. Ginny used to play with her years ago."

Edelweiss nodded. She stroked her chin with a thumb, following the two thick marks there. "She could be useful," she murmured. "But we'll need someone to write up an article. Someone who'll write down my story."

Hermione paused. She looked uncomfortable with whatever crossed her mind. Edelweiss watched and waited. Seconds later, her friend gave in and muttered, "I think I know just the person. However, you won't like it."

She was right. Edelweiss did not like whom Hermione thought about. And yet, it was better than nothing at all.

"Next Hogsmeade weekend is Valentine's Day," Hermione added. "We could meet with her then. So many people will be distracted that—"

"Sounds like a plan," said Edelweiss. She glanced at the Ravenclaw table again and found Luna. The odd blonde looked up from her breakfast. She smiled as their gazes met.

Odd indeed.

Edelweiss waited days before approaching Luna Lovegood. She sensed that the Inquisitors had bumped up their numbers trailing her throughout the day. Perhaps they suspected she would do something following the Death Eater outbreak. Maybe they suspected she had plotted something with Hermione. Either way, she was amused by the fact nearly all of them were Ravenclaws. She also noticed the Hufflepuff who joined the Inquisitors had resigned. She suspected whatever form of social warfare Hufflepuffs engaged in had gotten to that Inquisitor. Still, she did find it amusing how few of the Slytherins bothered to follow her about.

Malfoy's doing, no doubt. He would want to catch her himself, yet he could not stand to be too close to her.

She easily lured Luna into one of Hogwarts' abandoned wings. The girl had no friends, so there were no presences around her that Edelweiss needed to worry about. Yes, some people might notice her randomly interact with Luna "Loony" Lovegood. But when that encounter ended as quickly as it began, the interest of the gossipers and rumormongers would drift away to something more scandalous.

A shame that none bothered to consider that something of interest could occur during a brief encounter. They would be floored by the truth she would soon reveal to all. Her truth. The one the Ministry was hell-bent on keeping from the public.

And Edelweiss? She prepared for the inevitable attempt by Umbridge to silence her story. She had been a fool in September to allow that woman a modicum of power over her. She would ensure Umbridge never again had any influence or power over her, even if it meant a temporary exile from Hogwarts.

Exile was often ended by conquest and bloodshed. Her Sith Masters had taught her that.

Edelweiss entered a small, dusty room. Luna stood on the far side, staring into a corner filled with cobwebs. Oddly, the room reminded Edelweiss of the one Dumbledore chose to hide the Mirror of Erised in before he moved it during her first year. That, she now knew, had been a manipulation on his part. Why else would he allow her to stumble upon the mirror than to prepare her for her inevitable confrontation with Voldemort?

She sighed and set that thought aside. Her sigh alerted Luna Lovegood, who turned to her with remarkable awareness. Edelweiss strolled to the room's center and then stopped.

"Hello, Edelweiss Potter. Or may I call you Lord Gladiolus?"

"Not yet," she confessed almost bitterly. "But soon. You will know when the time comes. I am certain of that."

Luna hummed before nodding understandingly. "Something like a wrackspurt has been flittering around you recently. It told me where and when you wished to meet."

"They serve you well." Edelweiss glanced about. She sensed nothing, but then Lovegood possessed a bizarre brand of Force-sensitivity. She grasped the dark side, brushed her power against the girl's mind, and then asked, "And 'wrackspurts'? Care to explain what those are?"

Luna's blue eyes lost that dazed, dreamy quality as she straightened. "They're fae, invisible to most. They usually cause people's heads to go fuzzy." Her head tilted as she blinked. "You're immune to them. Or as immune as anyone can be."

Fae. Of course, she would think of what she sees so. There's all manner of faerie-like creatures and critters about the isles. And given the muggle stories that linger, some would be invisible to most.

"Oh? I am immune to them?"

Luna nodded. "There's something about you that protects your mind from them." She shrugged before adding, "I cannot say what it is. Maybe my father would know."

"I do not think he would know, for I am the only one living who knows the power which protects my mind." Edelweiss considered the possibilities before her. The Force showed her some things, and none appeared to lead her toward destruction or failure. And so she would take a risk. A leap of faith. This girl did know the name 'Darth Gladiolus'. "I believe you could be trained to wield this power. You strike me as being sensitive to it. After all, how else would you know to call me 'Lord Gladiolus'."

"How fascinating. So this is a power I could learn?"

"Perhaps in time. But that is not why we are gathered here. I have a proposition."

Luna's head tilted to her left. "A proposition?"

"I'd like to commission a story for your father's publication, The Quibbler." Edelweiss drew a step closer to Lovegood. "I've realized the need for the people of Britain to know the truth of what happened last June, along with the recent misconduct and failures of their Ministry. Would he be interested in a story like that?"

Luna grinned widely, as though Christmas had already come again. "I'll write Daddy. He'll be excited to publish anything that harms the reputation of Minister Fudge." Luna leaned in close and whispered, "There's all manner of secretive work going on within the Department of Mysteries. Weapons to control people. Strange spells that would change the world if they escaped."

Edelweiss felt her heart lurch. She had done her best to keep her strange, nighttime jaunts into the Department of Mysteries a secret. It had happened twice more, each drawing her to that strange chamber with the orbs before she suddenly awoke.

She had said nothing of those dreams to her Sith masters. She dreaded telling them, for they would be furious she kept that incident—and any further ones—from them for almost two months now. She hoped it was only a coincidence, but Edelweiss had learned with Lovegood—and the Force at large—that there were no coincidences.

Luna must have noticed something, for she took a step back and smiled. "I'll be touch, Edelweiss Potter."

She then skipped out of the room.

Edelweiss sat down and sighed. Seconds passed before she grinned, luxuriating in her nearing victory. She doubted Hermione would have trouble with their reporter friend.

To think, she had been a bug during the prior year.

Hogsmeade had been repainted pink for Valentine's Day. And that morning, the village was blessed with a coating of fresh, glistening white snow. Edelweiss watched couples come and go from the various businesses spread throughout the small village near Hogwarts. An old want twisted in her gut. She suppressed the feeling. It was a distraction from the path she had chosen to walk. A Sith Lord could not afford the weakness of family and children. Those old wants of Edelweiss Potter had to be sacrificed so Darth Gladiolus could destroy their enemies and stand above all.

"We could have come down earlier," grumbled Hermione as they trudged toward the Three Broomsticks. "I need to visit Scrivenshaft's and you know I always look around Tomes and Scrolls."

"You can do that afterward," Edelweiss said. "I have no interest in visiting either." She sighed, white steam puffing from her lips. "It's almost noon and I'd like to avoid keeping our guests waiting too long."

They made their way to the Three Broomsticks, entering as a pair of seething hags stormed out. Edelweiss paid them no heed as she stepped into the pub. The common room was packed and noisy, voices blending into a cacophony. The proprietress, Madam Rosmerta, bustled about with frantic energy. She looked to be a woman increasingly on the verge of going mad as she carried several mugs of sloshing butterbeer in each hand.

"This way," murmured Hermione, heading for the back stairwell. "I booked a private room upstairs. They should be waiting for us there."

Edelweiss nodded and followed her friend up the stairwell. The ruckus of the common room faded once they reached the crooked landing. They climbed another flight of steps—the sound all but fell away—and made their way down a small hallway with doors only on their left.

"Room Seven… Room Seven… Room Seven… Here!" said Hermione. They stopped at a door with a large brass '7' nailed to the wood. Hermione opened the door and entered the room without knocking. Edelweiss followed her in and found two others already awaiting them, sitting around a small table.

Luna Lovegood dressed as she normally did in her blue-and-bronze-lined school robe. She wore butterbeer cork earrings, held on lines of copper wire. Edelweiss raised a curious eyebrow at the sight, though she came up short when she finally came face to face with the journalist contracted by Hermione.

"Rita Skeeter. I'd say it's a pleasure, but after last year you're lucky I'm not crushing you under my heel."

Rita Skeeter sneered. She looked run down: her blonde curls no longer bounced, her glasses lacked most of the glimmering rhinestones that adorned them, and she had even shorn down her nails to something practical. She held a notepad and a quill that was lacking the ostentatious appearance of the peacock-styled Quick-Quotes Quill the woman used during the Tournament.

"Let's get this over with," grumbled Rita, glowering at Hermione. "It's bad enough I struggle to get more than puff pieces for the Prophet these days. But writing for The Quibbler? You're lucky I didn't tell you to—"

"I'm certain the aurors would have enjoyed arresting you for being an illegal animagus," Hermione said, interrupting the journalist. "I suggested you because your name, for some unfathomable reason, still carries weight with the public." She turned to Edelweiss. "I'll leave the rest up to you, Edie. This is your story."

Edelweiss nodded. She closed the door behind them and drew her wand. She embraced the dark side as she waved her wand and placed several protections on the door. Nobody would overhear their conversation, nor would anyone curious about why she was up here recall the reason they came up the stairs. They would need to be patient and wait for their chance to read her story. She joined the others around the table and sat down directly across from Rita Skeeter.

"I assume Hermione informed you about what I will be telling you, and thus what you will be writing?"

Rita nodded as though aggrieved by the thankless task thrust into her hands. "A little expose about whatever happened during the Third Task. A simple matter."

"Then we have an understanding." Edelweiss paused, and then smirked. "I thought of speaking about Albus Dumbledore and his questionable management of Hogwarts and my life as well, but that may distract from the narrative you'll certainly spin from my tale of that June night."

Rita froze, a wild look in her eyes. Hermione stiffened beside Edelweiss. She could feel their confusion and uncertainty.

Edelweiss rolled her eyes. "I have no love for Dumbledore," she said, mostly to Rita Skeeter. "But for now, I must suffer him in my life."

"You understand the Ministry would use that as justification to try and remove him," Hermione pointed out.

"They would need to go through the Board of Directors for it to stick," said Edelweiss with a toothy smile. "Should, say, Umbridge try to remove him herself with the Minister's backing, that can be spun as a usurpation of the school."

Rita Skeeter sighed, interrupting the impromptu argument. "We can just stick to the night of the Third Task since you two can't agree." She paused, lips twitching. "We can go over anything else once we're finished, should I have other questions."

"Fine. I can do that." Edelweiss breathed out slowly. "I'll begin with my encounter with Diggory and Krum. Krum was put under the Imperius Curse by the Death Eater installed within Hogwarts by Voldemort." Rita stiffened, face scrunching up. "Oh get over it!" Edelweiss snarled. "I'll say his name a dozen more times before we're finished. You and Lovegood can censor his bloody name, but I will not! He's a bloody halfblood using his descent from Salazar Slytherin to mask the fact he was sired by a bloody muggle!"

"You know this for certain?" asked Rita with a breathy whisper. Her hand was hard at work, scratching down what Edelweiss was saying.

"Aye. I'll get to that when it comes up." She huffed loudly at the interruption. "Back to my story. Krum was put under the Imperius. Diggory and I took him down and then split ways. We reunited at the Triwizard Cup, where I decided to be a chivalrous fool and argue with him over the bloody thing. We were both injured and tired, and I had taken to heart the anger over my unwanted position in the Tournament. Had I done as my instincts suggested, I would have taken the Cup once ensuring he was stable enough that Madam Pomfrey could handle him.

"And that means he would be alive. The Cup turned out to be a portkey. It took us to a graveyard near a muggle town called Little Hangleton. We bumbled around for a few minutes before a voice called out, 'Kill the spare'." She sighed and shook her head. "A moment later, Cedric Diggory was struck down by the Killing Curse. I was stunned and strung up, tied to one of the graves."

Edelweiss paused, allowing Rita Skeeter to finish writing down what had been said. She waited until the woman looked up before continuing. "I awoke to find a Death Eater with Voldemort, preparing a ritual of restoration."

"Restoration?" asked Rita Skeeter.

She nodded. "Voldemort never died after that night thirteen years ago. He was stripped of his physical form and sent into exile. He returned to Britain, for a time, when he possessed Professor Quirrell three years ago." Her hands flexed, remembering how his face burned under her touch. "I dealt with him then and sent Voldemort back into his exile. There he remained until last summer when a servant of his finally returned to him, sent into flight after recent events."

"Sirius Black."

"Wrong. Sirius never bowed to Voldemort, nor did he betray my parents. That was all Peter Pettigrew, who hid as a common rat for twelve years in the Weasley household."

Rita paused in her writing. She blinked, once while staring at her notepad and then again when she looked up. "He hid as an animal with the Weasleys?"

"Yes. He likely hid with them due to their connection to Dumbledore and their poor position in regular society. Harder to be found out by anyone in the Ministry, yet close enough to hear whispers and rumors of his master." She sighed. "Events conspired against me at the end of my third year. Pettigrew escaped Hogwarts and the grasp of justice. Sirius remains in hiding, ever my faithful godfather."

"You know people will call you mad. Everyone knows that Sirius Black—"

"What they know is a lie," Edelweiss said with a snarl. She felt the cold touch of the dark side cloaked around her. "I may sit down for an interview concerning him another time, Skeeter, but he is not our focus today."

Rita Skeeter nodded. Her face was pale and her lips only possessed color thanks to her lipstick. "So, the ritual. What are you willing to share, since I everyone knows whatever happened had to be an act of dark magic."

"Dark magic indeed. It required sacrifice, part of which came from his dead muggle father. All the public needs to know is that he returned to his full powers that night. He then summoned his free Death Eaters and taunted me, seemingly at his mercy."

"And these Death Eaters," continued Rita Skeeter. "Who are they?"

"Those left free following Voldemort's fall," said Edelweiss, nearly rolling her eyes. The shocks and gasps in response to her uttering the false Dark Lord's name were fewer, though she knew it would take an excessive amount of time to break them out of their habit. "I'd reckon there were two or three dozen present. Some of the names you can guess from the trial records: Malfoy, Nott, and Mulciber were ones that stood out." She leaned toward Rita and added darkly, "If you were to draft a list of every 'Death Eater' who got out of Azkaban by claiming the Imperius defense, you would have the names of nearly all who were there that night. They all lied to protect themselves.

"Still"—and here she leaned back to her normal posture—"those who remained free following Voldemort's fall came back to him, crawling in the filth like animals. It was very pathetic, though seeing him torture his followers was strangely amusing." Edelweiss's face smoothed when Skeeter's eyes bugged out wide. "No comments about possible madness or delight in cruelty, Rita. This article should only reflect what I tell you about that night. Not your opinions."

"Yes, yes," Rita grumbled. "You're trying to salvage your reputation, not sink it completely. I understand that much, Potter."

Edelweiss tried to not feel too annoyed that her interview was being termed 'salvage' for her 'reputation', even if in a way that was accurate. She needed to find a way to eliminate her irritation before she returned to the castle. It would be bad for people to think something might be off with Edelweiss Potter.

"However, not all of the freed Death Eaters returned to him that night. There were three absent. One, he called a traitor and a coward. I suspect that he referred to the former Headmaster of Durmstrang with those words. Plenty gossiped about him having been a Death Eater back during the war."

Rita nodded and mentioned, "He was allowed to go free because he betrayed others."

Edelweiss nodded, recalling Dumbledore's memory of that day and the names Karkaoff had betrayed in exchange for his freedom. Among them had been the four who had tortured the Longbottoms into insanity. She hoped to cross paths with the Lestranges; she had been prevented from slaying Barty Crouch Junior herself. They would die by her hand since Neville did not have the strength to kill them himself.

"The second was one whose loyalty he doubts. That would be Professor Snape, who Dumbledore protected. Everyone in the castle knows. That is probably why he's stuck teaching." She leaned against the table and murmured; "I do not think he knows how to teach someone how to brew a simple potion without just showing them directions and stalking about while fuming about incompetence."

Rita Skeeter choked on a laugh as her cheeks went bright pink. Hermione sighed loudly, aggrieved, while Luna Lovegood nodded in agreement.

"The last of their number was his agent, a Death Eater, within the walls of Hogwarts." Edelweiss sighed and shook her head. "I was blind to that person and their presence. Everyone was blind. That nearly got me captured again, and likely killed had events otherwise played out differently. But we haven't reached the point in my tale where I tell you who it was.

"Voldemort gave a speech, talking about how they were cowards and that the first faithful servant to come to him was Peter Pettigrew. He rewarded Pettigrew for his service, conjuring silver to replace his sacrifice. It was around that point he remembered I was present. He decided to duel me instead of just killing me while I was tied up."

Voldemort had stared down at her, slitted nostrils flaring. "Bow to Death, Edelweiss Potter," he had hissed, trying to firmly place her under the Imperius Curse. "Bow to Death."

"He had me to rights," she confessed bitterly. "He should have killed me in that graveyard. But I was saved by a coincidence or fate or pure stupid luck." Edelweiss grimaced, her hands drawing into tight, closed fists. "Our wands share a core. Something strange happened that night. It saved my life and allowed me to return to Hogwarts with Cedric's body."

Rita Skeeter raised an eyebrow. "Care to describe what happened, or do we want to leave that to reader speculation?"

Edelweiss breathed out heavily as she bundled her fury into a ball and tossed it down the deepest, darkest part of her psyche before she could say something regrettable—or worse, do something regrettable. Already she could smell the faintest hint of ozone. No doubt the scent rose from her clenching, itchy hands. Her Force powers responded to her will—and sometimes that was a touch wild. Yet if she were to convince others, she needed to be honest where truth served her better than lies or secrecy.

"Dumbledore called what happened 'Priori Incantatem', after the reversing spell," Edelweiss began, slightly wary of what she might incidentally reveal. Though given the strangeness of her holly wand, perhaps it would not matter. "Our wands linked, for their cores came from the same phoenix—Dumbledore's phoenix, oddly enough. The effects of our spells caused a chain reaction and created a golden magical dome, which surrounded the grounds on which we dueled. The Death Eaters were driven back, forced to watch as I confronted their master alone.

"A ball of energy formed between us. It moved by willpower. I forced it toward his wand. That caused the spirits of those killed by Voldemort to appear. First came Cedric Diggory, freshly murdered. Then it was a muggle, who had probably worked in the area. After him came Bertha Jorkins—"

"She was murdered?" asked Rita Skeeter, sounding almost hysterical. "Everyone assumed she had vanished!"

"Vanished. Murdered. Are those truly any different when dealing with Voldemort?" Edelweiss smirked widely. She felt the discomfort of those around her, so she quickly moved on. She needed to use them, here and now. "After her were my parents. First, my mother… and then my father, as I had known for years."

Rita paused, waiting for more.

Edelweiss took several seconds to center herself as the shroud of the dark side surrounded her, its power feeding on her pain. She whispered, "I heard them dying, whenever a dementor drew near."

She was pleased she could utter those words without awakening those old longings that ran contrary to being a Sith.

"Oh."

"You can see why I quickly grew to hate you," Edelweiss confessed. "You trivialized the pain I feel having never known my parents, beyond stories, photos, and the repressed memories of the night my life was ruined—and thus defined."

Rita Skeeter nodded. Remorse—legitimate remorse, at that—rippled off the woman in faint waves. Edelweiss schooled her features, else she revealed her surprise Rita was capable of such emotion. She had hoped—expected even—for the woman to be pleased by the pain she caused. It was bizarre dealing with her as a human and not as a pest to crush under her heel.

"Eventually," she continued, "I was told I could not maintain the connection. I broke it. The spirits aided my flight. I retrieved both the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's body and returned to Hogwarts. From there, you know most of the rest. The only thing I can think of that has been kept secret from the public is that the Death Eater at Hogwarts, Barty Crouch Junior, never perished in Azkaban. It had been his terminal mother, polyjuiced to look like him. His father took him out of the prison and kept him as a slave in his house, held under the Imperius until the summer of the Quidditch World Cup. He was able to break away, disguise himself as Mad-Eye Moody, and interfere in the Tournament." She shrugged before muttering, "A real shame that Minister Fudge had the man Kissed before he could confess to all of his crimes. Along with what he did."

"…the Death Eater… was Kissed?" asked Rita, looking between her notebook and Edelweiss. "Why do you think Fudge had that done?"

"Fear, I imagine. The man is a coward. He thinks by denying the truth he can salvage his legacy." She nearly spat onto the table between them, earning shouts and glares. "Not that he will have much of one beyond his failures. Whoever picks up the pieces after him will be the one history remembers."

The conversation continued with little else of interest to say. Edelweiss already felt her thoughts drifting, turning to matters concerning the dark side of the Force and her Sith studies. Her work here was finished.

Complete.

When they parted ways twenty minutes later, Edelweiss could not help the toothy, sardonic grin that adorned her face. She could feel the future twisting into shape. And if it just happened to be a shape that suited her needs, then she had no room to complain.

A massive swarm of owls stormed the Great Hall late on the morning of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match. They all bore the same cargo: the newest edition of The Quibbler. The Quidditch teams had almost risen, so that they could depart for the pitch in advance of their adoring crowds. Edelweiss watched with barely concealed amusement as students and teachers alike stared at their unexpected gifts. She was pleased to see that there was a little note pinned inside the copy delivered to her by a contrite Hedwig.

"Sorry, girl," she whispered, allowing a few of her fingers to be nipped and nibbled on. She no longer felt the owl's anger. "I'll make time for you soon."

Hedwig hooted loudly before stealing several chunks of bacon from the table's center and flying off. Edelweiss huffed and smiled fondly as her gaze lowered to the note slipped into her copy of the strange magazine. It was written in an odd, slanting hand:

'Miss Potter,

'Thank you for entrusting my daughter and I with your arduous tale. We have long supported you and Dumbledore against the dark forces that haunt our world. Continue fighting, no matter what.

'Yours,

'Xenophilius Lovegood'

Her smile faded at the reminder of how others connected her to Dumbledore in their thoughts and beliefs. Yet what should she have expected? None knew the full extent of his crimes against her. She had only told Rita—and Luna, in turn—of what happened on that night back in June. Yes, she had mentioned she held no love for the man. But a gulf of difference existed between being at odds and actively hating someone.

Though as she considered what was and was not said, Edelweiss found herself disappointed. Skeeter should have been able to read between the lines. She should understand Dumbledore's failures on that night. Had he acted more prudently, Fudge would have been forced to tell the truth instead of attacking them with slander. Barty Crouch Junior could have been preserved long enough to inform the public the worst had come to pass.

Hindsight reminded her that she might not have been furious enough to grasp the dark side on that day and achieve resonance with the kyber crystal embedded into the seal over Ziost Hangar. And without being able to sense that, she would have never discovered the dark side of the Force and the ways of the Sith.

"Miss Potter, if I may have a moment."

Edelweiss turned to find Professor McGonagall looming over her. Umbridge gave her a withering glare from where she stood behind the Deputy Headmistress.

"Have I done something wrong?" she asked. Edelweiss slipped the hand holding Lovegood's note under the table. She channeled a flash of Force lightning through the note and set it alight. Smoke filtered up from beneath the table, faint enough that Professor McGonagall only twitched her nose with irritation.

"Just come with me," the woman said, exhausted and uninterested in arguing. After a moment of hesitation on Edelweiss's part, McGonagall barked, "Now, Miss Potter!"

Edelweiss sighed and rose to her feet. She turned back to the table and snatched a few apples from the center bowl. "I only arrived for breakfast, Professor. Are you sure this cannot wait?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss Potter. Not today." McGonagall leaned in close before hissing, "Minister Fudge is here. He is very, very furious! It appears The Quibbler reached London hours before Hogwarts."

Edelweiss nearly sighed again. To stop it from coming out regardless, she took a large bite from one of the apples and chewed loudly. "Lead on, Professor."

They made their way up to the fifth floor where the Headmaster's office was. Edelweiss trailed after McGonagall, eating through the fruit she took from the breakfast table. She tossed the inedible cores into dark corners wherever she could, confident the house elves of Hogwarts would whisk them away. It was callous to use them so, but McGonagall would be unwilling to stop so Edelweiss could dispose of her trash with Minister Fudge waiting on them.

By the time they reached the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office, Edelweiss began licking the juice from her fingers. Her hunger remained unsatiated, yet it was not a physical hunger. A dark craving existed in her heart and the back of her mind. She had to ignore it for now.

But once the Minister's anger has been defused and the Quidditch match is won…

"I hope you have something planned for when the Minister threatens to have you expelled," Professor McGonagall hissed, breaking through Edelweiss's thoughts. Umbridge gave them a dismissive look. She had her own idea of how events would play out.

"He doesn't have support from the Board of Directors to do more than demand," replied Edelweiss. At McGonagall's surprised look, she added, "Snape has threatened to expel me enough times I checked the school charter for the requirements to expel a student. You need to either be convicted of a crime that results in imprisonment in Azkaban or have all twelve members of the school board vote for expulsion. I have zero cause to believe he could gather more than five or six to support that demand."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. She did not share Edelweiss's confidence. She could not blame the professor for her belief. Edelweiss only wondered how those in power in magical Britain could be so blind to what she recognized as being crystal clear.

The professor turned away and approached the gargoyle. She then spoke the password softly. It shifted aside. Edelweiss grimaced, having failed to catch the password. Though, did it matter? She knew should she truly require access to the Headmaster's office she could always rattle off the names of every candy she knew of until the bloody thing moved. Dumbledore was predictable that way.

She would not have it any other way.

Edelweiss moved swiftly and seized the lead, climbing the spiral staircase two steps at a time. She did not knock at the door, nor did she wait to be summoned. She just pushed the door open—she had to stop herself from smirking at the soft sound of outrage from Professor McGonagall behind her—and strode into the office as though it belonged to her. Nothing had changed since her little interrogation back in December, including their unpleasant guest.

"You!" shouted Minister Fudge almost immediately. His auror escort—Auror Robards, if she remembered right—grimaced. "You…! You!"

"Me what?" she asked with mock offense, pressing an open hand against her chest. "Have I done you some terrible wrong, Minister?"

Fudge stormed her way shaking a copy of the newest edition of The Quibbler at her. "This! Do you know what chaos this is already causing? I have had howlers in my office since five this morning! HOWLERS!"

Edelweiss stared at the cover. She regretted not looking it over earlier. It was a remarkably well-done painting of her dueling Voldemort in a graveyard with the golden dome of magic surrounding them. There were a few Death Eaters visible, but most were shades in the background. Her lips twitched as her gaze returned to Minister Fudge. "It's a lovely recreation of last June, Minister. You should know since I did tell you my story in full. You should even know the exact moment that depicts."

His face drew up in a disgusted look that wished to be a scowl, yet failed to reach that level of scorn. Umbridge cleared her throat with her obnoxious little "hem hem". McGonagall, who stood beside Edelweiss, grimaced.

"Miss Potter," began Umbridge in her sickly-sweet tone. "This article has been greatly disruptive to the social fabric of both Britain and Hogwarts."

"And that is not my fault. If Britain can be shaken by a single story, then perhaps the Ministry should change course. Or the Ministry could allow the Prophet to publish articles beyond whatever tripe gets pumped out of whichever office responsible for debasing the nation's paper." She sighed and shook her head. "To think that muggles can get being trustworthiness down better than wizards." Edelweiss fixed her gaze upon Fudge. She drew on the Force slightly. Too much power and Umbridge and Fudge might notice. Too little and her power would be ineffective. "Were I you, Minister, I would return to London, find out who has failed the public, and fire them." She added a sweet smile for impact.

The looks of offense and fury that bloomed on their faces were glorious, especially since she had just implanted a seed into his mind. Edelweiss held her sickly sweet smile, even as internally she cackled with victory. How had she ever allowed herself to be cowed by them? Had the Dursleys truly damaged her so terribly that it took her adoption of the dark side and the ways of the Sith to cast aside their influence and realize the world had always been hers to claim?

"I would follow Miss Potter's advice, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. He had remained behind his desk, amused by the proceedings before him. "I do not fault you for your mistakes. I only wish for you to do better."

Edelweiss picked an impassive expression as she awaited Fudge's response. His face went puce, almost identical to a furious Uncle Vernon. She allowed him to believe in the image of the silly schoolgirl still firmly lodged in his mind. She wondered how he would react when Darth Gladiolus stared him down and demanded for him to kneel.

A glorious day, that would be.

After several seconds, Fudge grumbled, "I guess I should take a tighter hand with the Prophet," with an expression of pure pain. He turned to an alarmed Umbridge. "Come along, Dolores. I believe we need to have a conversation about your work here at Hogwarts. You as well, Robards."

They departed, stepping around where Edelweiss stood. Umbridge was so shocked by Fudge's words that she did not even bother to glower as they went.

"You should go as well, Miss Potter," said Dumbledore. Edelweiss turned to face him and was surprised by his drawn, severe expression. "I applaud your effort to circumvent the Ministry's attempts to hide the truth of Tom's return. However, this will cause greater trouble for us both here within the halls of Hogwarts.

"Plus," and he suddenly beamed at her, "I believe you have a Quidditch match to win."

Edelweiss nodded and turned to Professor McGonagall. "You heard the Headmaster. I have to go soundly beat Hufflepuff."

She grinned at the amused huff she received in return.

Just as she told Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, Edelweiss won the Quidditch match for her team and soundly beat the Hufflepuffs. Between Ron's abysmal performance in their previous game against Slytherin and the Twins being replaced by a pair of boys she did not know, Edelweiss knew before being escorted to the Headmaster's office that the wisest course of action would be to swiftly catch the snitch and end the game. Perhaps it was unfair to the school, snatching the golden ball within five minutes of the game beginning, but she had made her decision long before she went out onto the pitch.

And it did not hurt that she was compelled to attend to another matter, deep within the castle.

Edelweiss made her excuses near the Great Hall and parted from the team. The dark side beckoned to her. She did not know what she was walking into, yet she knew something significant awaited her. The last time she had acted so—and after a Quidditch game—she had gone through with the cleansing ritual that freed her of Voldemort's taint and destroyed all that assured his immortality. What did this day have in store for her, to draw her away so?

She came to the Chamber of Secrets and found the chamber awash with violent crimson light. The kyber crystal that had first reached out to her back in June pulsed with thick dark side energies. She could feel the anger and hatred that had been poured into the crystal. Edelweiss reached inward and drew those emotions to the surface. With them in her grasp, she met the kyber crystal as an equal—and then sought to force her will upon it.

The crystal drank greedily as it tried to weaken her resolve. The crimson darkened. Its great glow did not diminish. The colors changed, dyeing the Chamber of Secrets a bloody shade, just as her blood and the basilisk's had once been shed on its tiles.

Come to me! Edelweiss thought, focusing upon the crystal. Come to me and be mine! Together we shall rule all before us!

A resonance began to build between Sith and crystal. The dark side rang in her blood and bones. Edelweiss imagined if there were any sensitive to the currents of the Force beyond Luna Lovegood within the castle, they would now be staring down and wondering what the great, terrible passion burning in her veins was.

The resonance grew, ringing in her ears. Edelweiss thought her veins might burst into flames as the kyber crystal's innate power rippled through her. She gasped and gritted her teeth. Her fear, her anger, her hatred—all of it sprung to life, fueling her with the power to overcome the crystal and force resonance upon it.

A wide, manic grin dominated her face as the kyber crystal finally embraced her power. They sang in tune, her and the crystal. It would be the heart of her lightsaber, the equal to her power in the Force. Woe to all who stood opposed to her, for if they managed to survive her Force powers, they would certainly perish on the blade of her lightsaber. Edelweiss went to where the crystal awaited her and claimed it from its perch. Holding it carefully, she descended into Ziost Hangar. She went past Lord Salazar's solar, past the dueling chamber, and to a small room far from the rest, where the parts and pieces necessary for a lightsaber were stored.

Edelweiss scanned the chamber. For a moment, she began to think over what would make her weapon look best. And then came up short. She recalled something her master had mentioned during their training up in the Come-and-Go Room: "You must rely on the Force when constructing your lightsaber. It will only serve you best if you construct it with the Force as your guide."

With a sigh, she stepped forward and kneeled in the room's center. She closed her eyes and began to meditate, focusing on the particular requirements of the lightsaber: the emitter and the casing, the end and the other little elements that brought it all together. She felt the parts move about, rising and falling, the Force and her growing connection to the dark side choosing from all Lord Salazar had gathered and prepared for his inevitable student.

Gathered and prepared for her. For Edelweiss Potter.

For Darth Gladiolus.

Eventually, the chosen parts began to orbit her. She released her grasp around the kyber crystal. It rose from her palm and joined the elements in orbit. They slowly came together, guided as much by her conscious will as by the unconscious knowledge of the Force. She heard her weapon click together. Her eyes opened and a grand smile sprung to life.

Her lightsaber was complete. She was more complete. Edelweiss slowly rose to her feet before claiming her new weapon. She held it almost reverently in her hands, twisting it, feeling how it fit in her hands. The hilt was ovular, with two thick, grey serpents wrapped around a black core. At the end away from the emitter, she found that the serpents were bound, two heads of the same creature.

"How lovely," she whispered. Her thumb found the initiation trigger. She brushed over it a few times before finally pressing down. With a snap-hiss, a thrumming blade of red and white emerged from the hilt. She swung it lazily, enjoying how it hummed with every pass.

"What a beautiful weapon…"

Edelweiss deactivated her lightsaber and slipped it into her pocket. She would need to acquire a proper belt. But for now, this would work. It was not as though she had much use for it at the present.

Nor could it ever be connected to Edelweiss Potter.