บท 3: Her Last Day in Surrey
Edelweiss woke late on the Fifth of August. Sunlight coated most of her face when she finally woke. She blinked a few times before whining and shifting so the wide span of clouds rolling in across the sky protected her eyes from sunlight. She remained lying there until a sudden burst of light rain washed away some of the heat oppressing Little Whinging. It lasted barely twenty minutes before petering out, leaving a mild haze in its wake. She took the chance provided by the anomalous weather to slip away the Dursleys, who were too busy with the late, oversized breakfast Aunt Petunia cooked up.
She spotted a drunkard shortly after escaping Number Four, passed out on the lawn of Number Six with a suspicious, bunched ball of silvery cloth under his head. His clothes were a shade dark, no doubt damp from the rain. Edelweiss touched the Force and sensed magic. Not only did she feel magic within the man, but the silvery cloth as well.
She raised an arm and reached out, seeking his memories. Her master had walked her through the process during recent communions. However, she had not resisted the temptation to use the Force so until now. A heartbeat passed before she found what she sought. Several images flashed in her mind, passing in quick succession. None seemed good. Her teeth gritted, Edelweiss's emerald eyes opened. She snarled before turning and stalking away from Number Four.
Only once her wrath was fully tamed would Edelweiss consider what it meant for Dumbledore's lackeys to be spying on her and do nothing about the Dursleys.
She retreated into her mind as she went down Privet Drive, heading for nearby Wisteria Lane. The park down that route would be beneficial to meditation should she desire. Edelweiss did not think she would dare meditate publicly, but she had yet to make up her mind on that matter. It was possible that with the wretched, uncertain weather nobody would be out and about. Yes, others could spy on her from their homes. But spies would be unable to understand her actions as well as anyone who dared approach and interrupt her mid-meditation.
Edelweiss was nearly upon Wisteria Lane when she noticed something dark moving off to her right. Edelweiss paused and glanced over, finding a long adder with black, glimmering scales slithering slowly in the sparse sunlight. She considered the snake for a few seconds before approaching it. The adder froze as she kneeled and whispered, "§Let me aid you, darling§."
"§A two-legged sspeaker§," the snake whispered, coiling as its tongue flickered out. Edelweiss smirked as the tongue brushed her skin. "§I heard whissper one lived in thiss land§."
"§Come with me, so you may hunt in a better place§," Edelweiss said. "§This is not a suitable locale for one like you, darling§."
A moment of consideration passed before the snake suddenly nodded. It was an odd gesture for a snake to make. She paused for only a second, to introduce herself as She-who-slithers-over-all-lands. A rather pretentious name for an admittedly beautiful snake, Edelweiss thought.
She watched as She-who-slithers-over-all-lands came forward and crawled into her hand before slithering around her arm. She felt muscles shift underneath dry scales. Once the adder was secured, Edelweiss continued on her way. She listened as the snake spoke of past hunts and the humans she spooked. Hearing others panic at the sight of an adder or chase after her with malicious intent inspired something angry and disgusted within Edelweiss.
They continued along down Wisteria Lane. Edelweiss offered a comment here and there to her snake friend, though she found a greater draw to the dark side of the Force. She made up her mind; she would meditate once she reached the park. It would be the best use of her time, away from Number Four and her master. Magic could not be practiced during the summer, and especially not in muggle areas.
They reached the park as She-who-slithers-over-all-lands told a tale about a marmot she found and devoured in the nearby woods shortly after crossing what sounded to be the boundary of Little Whinging. Edelweiss smiled at the tale, regardless of how unlikely it sounded. Snakes, she increasingly suspected, were like Slytherins at Hogwarts: prone to boasting and bragging. She nearly laughed at the mental comparison. Had Lord Salazar not possessed the ability to speak to snakes, she imagined he would have still chosen the serpent as his house's sigil.
She lowered her right arm and watched her snake companion unwrap herself and slither away. Edelweiss smiled when she heard a hissed, "§Here, foodie foodie foodie§." The phrase repeated several times before She-who-slithers-over-all-lands traveled far enough she could no longer be heard, her hisses fading into the wind.
The witch turned and headed to the swing set midway between Wisteria Lane and Winston Road on the park's far side. She straightened as a gust of wind crashed over her. Edelweiss enjoyed the coolness she felt. It was refreshing. The recent burst of humidity, paired with the heat wave of past weeks, should have left her oppressed by a sickly broil akin to being steamed. Instead, Edelweiss was lucky. Her thick black hair, left uncoiled and unbraided, rippled in the breeze.
She sat sideways on the swing furthest from Winston Road upon reaching it. She leaned back against one chain. The press of metal felt reassuring while in the midst of the dark side. She stared at the houses across from her. The seat was still wet, yet she did not care. Edelweiss shifted in her seat as her emerald eyes drifted across the cookie-cutter houses before her. They were constructed from brick, older than the whitewashed houses of Privet Drive. Perhaps they were council houses; she knew Uncle Vernon would bitch and moan and complain about their presence whenever given the slightest chance. Yet he rarely did. He either pretended they did not exist or perhaps he thought they had some strange, false connection to the shires where he claimed houses were built with the blood and toil of those who occupied them.
Edelweiss closed her eyes and opened herself to the Force. She felt it all: the Living Force and the grandeur of all life; the Cosmic Force, with its bonds to death and the eternal beyond; and the sweet, sweet fire of the dark side. She let them wash through her like a great flood seeking to drown a village. She breathed slowly as she channeled the full extent of the Force sweeping through her into a ball of power within. The metaphysical place where her magic existed yet did not. Each part of the Force she felt made contact with her magic, and each had a distinct nature that she better understood.
It was only the final one, the dark side, that she allowed to resonate with her magic. The Living Force attacked her with all of life pressing. It was claustrophobic, almost oppressive in its weight. The Cosmic Force slithered through her like the Imperius Curse, trying to subvert her mind. Lady Bastila had described it right. Edelweiss forced aside the Living and Cosmic Force and found she could breathe more easily.
Once Edelweiss was centered in her power and her emotions chained tight, she focused on what she learned from the drunkard's mind.
Dumbledore had finally weaponized her exile to Surrey. Once, her location had been known to only him and the Weasleys, and then to Hagrid and somehow to Sirius. She knew nearly all of them were settled in her godfather's childhood house. But Dumbledore had betrayed any faith she might have had in him. Nothing remained of the shreds of goodwill she had entered the summer holding. He had agents keeping watch now. They knew of the Dursleys, and so they knew of the degradation she suffered every summer. And by the Headmaster's order, they did nothing to benefit Edelweiss Potter. They did nothing to improve her lot, even when it was clear the suggestion of attention from a witch or wizard would force them to shape up. Even her godfather, Sirius Black, and her friends relented to the old man's orders.
Part of her hoped it was done begrudgingly, but then they were all too loyal to the man she hated.
He had even told her godfather and friends before that drunkard's spying eyes to tell her nothing they might overhear in the pitiful letters they were allowed to send her. It was too dangerous, Dumbledore claimed. After all, Voldemort had returned. And he was dangerous. Too dangerous to speak freely with their friend.
Rage and fury coursed through her, burning molten in her veins. She closed her eyes and focused on the meditation Lady Bastila taught her. She distantly sensed the emotions of those dearest to her. The Weasleys. Hermione. Sirius. Her rage focused upon them and their subservient acquiescence to Dumbledore's demand. Only Sirius suffered regret and doubt over his choice, and she sensed a shred of uncertainty.
She would grant the grace of forgiveness for this transgression. The others would need to beg—Ron especially.
When Edelweiss left her meditative state, she found that the sun appeared in between a pair of clouds, just beyond its apex in the summer English sky. Her stomach rumbled and mewled. Her mouth watered. She rose sluggishly from the swing, which had dried in the time she meditated.
Before departing Wisteria Lane, Edelweiss walked around the grassy area. She failed to stumble upon She-who-slithers-over-all-lands, though it was likely for the best. Having an adder with her would cause more trouble than she wished for. Muggles were remarkably particular in what they did and did not accept. And the muggles of Little Whinging had never liked her. Creating any more hatred between her and them was not worth the trouble.
She headed toward the suburbs of Little Whinging. There was a shopping district a kilometer and a half from Privet Drive, which could be reached by following pedestrian pathways too narrow to be paved over and too isolated for redevelopment. She would be free of prying, watching eyes, even though almost everyone in the area knew of the pathways.
Edelweiss took advantage of that oversight and made a beeline for the nearest path. She realized, if a bit belatedly, that she had taken no money from Uncle Vernon's wallet. He was more watchful this summer, and accused her of all thefts; she hoped Dudley blew his ill-gotten gains on something good, or else she'd make an early example of him.
Halfway from the park to the shopping district, a familiar face stepped out into her path. There had been no crack of apparition. The slight shimmer that followed his passage before her drew a scowl. She carefully reached out with the Force and confirmed the man before her was who he appeared to be. He blinked, and she feared that he had noticed her use of the Force. The scars lining his face stretched awkwardly as he tried to smile.
Edelweiss spoke before he could. "A surprise to meet you in Surrey, Professor Lupin."
Remus Lupin, the defense professor during her third year at Hogwarts and one of her father's dearest friends, flinched. He looked shabbier than when she last saw him secreted into Hogwarts along with her godfather in the wake of Voldemort's return. His robes appeared more threadbare than ever before, which she had not thought possible. He wore a vest and shirt beneath his suit jacket, along with trousers and scuffed shoes. They, at least, were in better shape than his robe.
"We're worried about you, Edie."
"Who is worried about me? You? Sirius? The Weasleys?" asked Edelweiss. She reached out slightly, working to sense his feelings on the matter. Annoyingly, Lupin's emotions were absent. Silenced. "Spare me your lies," she snarled. "If you truly cared, you would be here to spirit me to wherever my godfather resides, not to corral me on Dumbledore's behalf."
"You know why I can't—"
"Why you won't," she corrected. The dark side's power was but a thought away. "You are so enthralled by Dumbledore and what he has done for you that you've willingly become his slave." Lupin finally flinched. "You overlook the crimes he commits against me. Was your friendship with my father ever true? Or merely an illusion to make seven years pass by easier?"
"Dumbledore explained to me how your mother's sacrifice protects you—"
Edelweiss scoffed and spat at the feet of a man who had called her father friend. "Voldemort used my blood to return to his powers last month. The same blood " Lupin, like so many others flinched, flinched at the utterance of 'Voldemort'. "He touched me. Three years ago, I ruined the man he possessed with my bare hands. Forgive me if I no longer believe Dumbledore's claim that I am safe here in Surrey."
I have never been safe from danger with the Dursleys. They could have been Voldemort's followers, had they been born to magic. Her brows furrowed slightly. Not that anyone would believe my claim.
"Even so," said Lupin, clearly unconvinced. "Edie, you need to return to your family."
She stared at him, astonished. She stared into his soft brown eyes. Edelweiss knew they would never see eye to eye on this particular matter. Even so, she held his gaze until he turned aside. "Not yet," she whispered, just strong enough he could hear her. "I am off to eat; the Dursleys would throw celebrate if they heard I starved to death. Return to Dumbledore. Tell him what I have said, or keep your peace. I… I no longer care which you choose."
Edelweiss stormed past Lupin before he could respond. Her anger simmered under her skin like a new layer of protection. She expected him to try and stop her. to say something—anything—that might delay her and give him the chance to try and convince her she was wrong. Disappointingly, yet unsurprisingly, Lupin did nothing. He had done nothing when she was a child, little when he was her professor, and could only stand aside now that her most obvious foe had returned.
A sigh escaped her as she turned a corner, leaving Lupin's line of sight. Whatever influence he might have once possessed over her was gone. Dead, like her parents.
She reached the shopping district to the sound of the local Anglican Church's bell ringing twice. A few muggles stared at her, but most ignored her presence. Edelweiss glowered at those who stared at her and smirked when their gazes shifted away. She drew upon her anger and cloaked her person with the power of the dark side. After some focusing, she watched with great pleasure as gazes slid past her with no recognition. A victorious heat bloomed in her chest once her power was firmly in place.
Being functionally invisible thanks to the dark side was not a power Edelweiss had learned of from her master. She considered if it could be safely used against witches and wizards. Her need for secrecy as a Sith apprentice automatically suggested that she not dare attempt anything beyond meditation while around those who knew of magic. Lupin's reaction to her using the Force confirmed that suspicion.
Until I can ensure others will not sense my use of the Force, I will need to be careful. Perhaps… Perhaps I can use the Chamber of Secrets toward that end. Lord Salazar did build it to hide his true legacy.
Edelweiss entered a grocery owned by an older couple that looked the other way when Aunt Petunia forced her to carry the bulk of the groceries before attending Hogwarts. Even now, they remained quiet about the slaps and shrieking that occurred years ago.
With the dark side as her cloak, she moved with lazy purpose and took what she wished.
She thought nothing of the electronic cameras as she snatched a couple small sandwiches, a bottle of cider, and a packet of crisps. Her prize held tight to her body, Edelweiss walked out with her goods. And the muggles were left none the wiser.
She consumed her meal as she returned to the park off Wisteria Way. It just happened to be her best option, especially as she sought to stay away from the Dursley household for as long as possible. Were it within her power, she would never return to Number Four. Unfortunately, all of her things were there—and she knew not where her godfather hid.
When she reached the park, Edelweiss discovered she was not the only one who decided to head there. Dudley and his friends stood around a boy about twelve or thirteen years old. She could not hear what they were saying. But she knew the dark mischief in their hearts.
Edelweiss chewed the last bite of her second sandwich while pouring her anger into the paper container the sandwich had come in. A faint whiff of smoke followed her as she swallowed that last bite of bread and meat.
She approached the group of boys with her head raised high. One of Dudley's goons glanced over, looked twice, and gaped.
"Hey!" he shouted, raising a finger to point. "It's Potter!"
Dudley and the rest turned and stared, watching dumbly as for once in her life, she did not run away from them. The boy they had surrounded used her sudden appearance to slowly back away. Once he had several feet between him and them, he turned and ran home.
"Is this how you get your jollies these days, Diddiekins?" asked Edelweiss with a crooked grin. "Beating up kids from around the neighborhood? What'd they do to you?"
Dudley flushed a furious red while his friends suppressed chuckles. They then glanced around. With the boy long gone, a couple of them glared at her while the rest spread out slightly, searching for where he went. That or they were foolish enough to think they could surround her.
"He deserved it," her cousin snarled, jowls wobbling. "He was talking shite behind my back."
Edelweiss glanced up and down, then side to side. Dudley's blush brightened, rising to his forehead and falling to his neck. "Wouldn't be too hard to talk about behind your back, given how big you are."
"Ain't like you're better, talkin' to yourself at all hours!" Dudley snarled. "Who're you talking to, yourself? Going mad already? Dad always said—"
The dark side swelled within her. She slightly raised her right hand and directed it his way. Her hatred churned, demanding she punish him. However, it was not her power that silenced him. It was her wand, emerging from where she kept it hidden. In the summer before her third year, she had invested in a wand holster. Ironically, it was made from Hungarian Horntail skin. It proved useful in the years since, and somehow it proved useful now.
Her cousin blanched at the sight of holly in her grasp while his friends chuckled awkwardly. She did not intend to use her wand. But the reminder that Edelweiss Potter was magical would bring Dudley to heel.
"A stick?" sneered Piers, the rat-faced boy who had once held her arms while Dudley squared up to punch her lights out. "Big D, there's no reason to be afraid of—"
A howling gust roared through the park. Edelweiss froze, sensing the magic carried along. It was not her power. If only her power could be so great, there would be no need to worry about Voldemort or Dumbledore. Yet it was familiar. Disturbingly familiar, she realized as Dudley and his friends shivered.
"The hell?" one of them mumbled, teeth nearly chattering. "Why'd it get so cold?"
"Stop it!" Dudley demanded. He pointed at her wand. "Stop whatever you're doing!"
Edelweiss growled as she put away her wand. The boys exchanged confused glances, but they were not her concern. "What you feel is not my doing, Dudley." Her emerald eyes—Killing Curse green—wandered across the park before scanning the surrounding houses. "Something fouler than any power I possess comes." Edelweiss turned to the other boys. "Best you lot run on home. Be quick, and fear not. The danger that comes shall hunt me before it hunts any of you."
Before she could turn away and start for Privet Drive, one of them shouted, "What the hell is going on, Potter?"
Edelweiss stared, considering what she could say. She knew she should do what she could to preserve the Statute of Secrecy, despite the fact a terrible violation of that very law neared. "Best you forget today, or else you will be forced to forget."
And with that, she turned and strode off.
A few seconds later, Dudley's rough breathing came from behind her. She was surprised he hurried after her. Edelweiss did not stop, though she glanced over her shoulder as he stumbled up to her side, flushed by the effort required. When they were younger, it was his friends who were tasked with catching her whenever they played 'Edie Hunting'.
"Hurry along, Dudley," Edelweiss growled. She glanced around, emerald seeking the telltale cloaks of a dementor. "We do not want to be outside once they finally arrive."
"Who?" Dudley asked, still struggling for air. After a few seconds without an answer, he demanded, "When who arrives?"
"Not who," she corrected. "What."
Dudley blanched; the thick pinkness that usually graced his cheeks was now a milky white. He kept close to Edelweiss, though flinched when she drew her wand. Given the manner of creature soon to attack them, she wanted to be more than ready. Already she sought out the state of joy that fueled her Patronus Charm, centered on her friends and Sirius.
Her thoughts and memories of them were poisoned by anger. She tried to parse her emotions, yet they stuck together.
The passions that emboldened her and made her powerful weakened the single method she knew to fight dementors.
She spat a curse as she slid her wand back into its holster. They were already halfway back to Privet Drive. The freezing sensation that followed dementors was not strong enough to guarantee they would not suddenly swoop down upon them. Yet it did not mean they were not drawing closer.
Only that we might have enough time to reach Number Four before they arrive.
They had just stepped onto Wisteria Boulevard, the wide, American-styled road that ran south to Kent when her breath fogged. Dark clouds blotted the sky above them. Dudley squeaked, and her blood ran cold. Without the ability to cast a patronus, Edelweiss was at a loss for how to fend off a single dementor, let alone multiple.
"Dammit! We need to run!"
"Run?" asked Dudley through a violent shiver. While he was wearing a white tee and a jersey, his thick forearms were exposed. Thin, almost invisible hairs stood on end. "What the—what the hell is go—oing on?"
Edelweiss gave him a considering look as she thought over her options. "What you feel is the aura of a dementor. I think one has come to Little Whinging because of me." She flashed him a grim smile. "They guard my side's prison and will devour your soul if given the chance. Best hope we get you home before it finds us."
Dudley gulped loudly. Any fear of magic he possessed would be compounded this evening. Edelweiss knew it would also affect his parents' opinion of her. Hopefully whoever Dumbledore had to watch her could handle the dementors or force the Headmaster's hand. The Dursleys were hers to punish as she saw fit.
They hurried along the boulevard. They were several yards from the corner onto Privet Drive when the chill thickened. Edelweiss peered over her shoulder and momentarily stiffened. Two cloaked figures glided toward them, moving with just enough haste they would clear the distance between them and the humans before they could reach Privet Drive.
"Wha—what's goin' on?" Dudley mumbled, head swiveling erratically. "Why am I—"
"It's the dementor," Edelweiss said. She rubbed her arms while a light puff of steam emerged from her mouth. "You can't see it, but it knows you're here."
No point telling Dudley there are two. If they get past me, then he's done for.
An internal war waged within her. Her older instincts, fashioned by life in Gryffindor and molded by Dumbledore's approval, demanded she stand and face the dementors. What did it matter if she struggled to cast a Patronus when leaving a muggle to die by their hands would cast doubt on the name of the Girl-Who-Lived?
But her newer instincts, those born from her short study of the dark side of the Force, suggested she flee. This would be Dudley's penance for brutalizing her as children. She might even be able to fashion this event to deal with the other Dursleys. They would care more for their son than for why she led them toward the feeling of a frozen hell.
Indecision held her feet. Yet her anger roared, demanding why she protected her wretched cousin. She could feel the dark side as it flowed through her. She heard its whispers. An inferno of hatred nearly consumed her, but Edelweiss had enough sense to focus her mind. Dudley could wait. The dementors could not.
Her doubts slid away, crystalizing into grim certainty. Edelweiss stepped in between her cousin and the dementors. She stared as they approached. Her right hand rose, fingers held in crooked lines, and aimed at the pair gliding ever forward. Edelweiss felt her dark power arise. The dead guiding hand of a tradition she barely knew grabbed her. Some long-dead fiend reached through the veil of death and whispered what she must do. Power welled within.
The scream of her mother, the Dark Lord's cackling, the Killing Curse cast; the sounds of that fateful Halloween were a dim echo in her ears. Edelweiss became ignorant to them as she sunk deep into the swirling confluence of the dark side.
Edelweiss released a shuddering breath—almost a mad laugh—as instinct took hold.
In one moment, she stood before the dementors, iconoclastic in her immobile strength. She would not step aside for these abominable presences. They could not be permitted to pass.
In the next, the late day calm of Little Whinging shattered. Violent lashes of black lightning flowed from her fingertips like flames, crackling and screeching, as oxygen was rent into ozone. The bolts struck the dementors, who screamed and writhed upon contact. Edelweiss poured her wrath into the lightning. Her realized Force power mingled with the magics she was born to. It produced a power darker than looming night and lethal enough to stain unholy beings.
Several heartbeats passed before the dementors retreated, lingering bolts rippling off their whipping forms. They fled into the ether. Edelweiss was left listening to her thundering heart. She slowly grinned, wide and terrible, having witnessed what she wrought. She had known the dark side would be a great wellspring of power. Yet she had been ignorant to the majestic cruelty it could summon with a mere whim.
The dead hand of Sith tradition then released her. Edelweiss released a harsh, shuddering breath. Her legs suddenly felt weak as the great, terrible power that filled her slipped away.
She turned and found Dudley standing there, eyes glassy from the dementor's influence. Edelweiss knew soon enough his mind would clear enough to realize she had done something to banish the sudden source of unexplainable terror. A strong shake of his shoulders cleared the glaze from his eyes. Dudley flinched from Edelweiss, his blue eyes reflecting emotions she sensed.
"What… What happened?"
Edelweiss frowned at Dudley's reaction. His disbelief and confusion had to be a product of his inability to see the dementors. Perhaps if he had seen them he would understand. But all he witnessed was the power of the dark side.
"You… You saw nothing," Edelweiss declared. "You saw nothing." She stared into his soft blue eyes and thought of how wizards obliviate muggles. She poured forth her desire for him to forget. She recalled the girl in Gryffindor Tower who she had influenced with the Force. Her cousin would be easier, for he was a muggle and she was better trained. "There was no attack, Dudley. I did nothing that resembled magic. Head on home. I'll follow soon I enough."
"There was no attack. You did nothing," Dudley muttered with glazed eyes. "I'm heading home. See you later, cousin."
And with that, he turned and made for Privet Drive. Edelweiss watched him with a growing, sly smile. Her mind caught upon how he repeated her words. She had touched upon the Force while manipulating his mind, but not completely. Not fully. Somehow, though, it responded to her wishes. She remembered her lessons with Lady Bastila and nearly burst out laughing. Her master had described the effect of mind tricks, and what she had witnessed matched them perfectly.
"How wondrous," she murmured as if in a daze. Edelweiss eventually followed after her ambling cousin. Each step she took was slow and languid. The evening air remained cool against her skin. She had naught a clue if the dementors would return, yet she did not care.
If they return, I shall destroy them. The Force has proven great enough to repel them. And if that can be done, then surely I can find a way to end them—permanently.
Kingsley Shacklebolt tried to shake the uncertainty that had clung to his skin after receiving a sudden evening summons from Madam Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He had been preparing to depart for Order Headquarters with his report for Albus Dumbledore and was interested in further brainstorming with Sirius Black. As the head of the search for the alleged mass murderer, he had unparalleled access to the material necessary to fabricate the man's journeys about the Low Countries.
He encountered two other aurors outside Madam Bones's office—Proudfoot, who was loyal to the law; and Robards, who was loyal to Minister Fudge. Only one could be trusted should the cold war enter the public eye.
"Let's see what the Head has for us," Robards said as he shot a glower at Kingsley. It was no secret in the department that Kingsley was more than friendly with Dumbledore. He doubted any beyond Nymphadora Tonks knew of his induction into the Order of the Phoenix. It was best kept that way. Minister Fudge would certainly purge the Auror Corps to maintain his office. Doubly so if he suspected any active aurors had joined the Order.
The door opened before Robards could knock. Miss Emily Kline, Madam Bones's secretary, had predicted them, or so it appeared. She gestured them in, her soft blonde ringlets swaying, then closed and locked the door behind them with a wave of her wand.
Kingsley frowned. Something was deeply wrong. Miss Kline typically stepped out during meetings.
Amelia turned to face them once the door was locked. She had not been sitting at her desk, as Kingsley would have expected. With flaming red hair and a monocle over her right eye, she was beautiful and intimidating. Her reputation aligned with her appearance, and there were few witches free of Azkaban who could match wands with her. She held her post for good reason, even if she had not seen the field in five years. She looked past the three aurors lining up before her desk to her secretary. "Thank you, Emily."
"Of course, ma'am," the young woman replied.
She did not leave.
"As for you three," Amelia continued, looking from one auror to the next, "I have a troubling case on my hands. Two incident reports arrived within seconds of each other. I suspect they're linked." She shuffled through a stack to her right before removing a document. Amelia then set it before them. "Shortly after half three this afternoon, a pair of dementors went unaccounted. This, I'm pained to admit, is not unusual. But when they did reappear some time after six, they had suffered magical burns. Best we can tell, their wounds were inflicted with magical lightning. The residue does not match any known elemental war spells. Only a spell of that magnitude could leave behind wounds on a dementor.
"The second," she continued before any of them could ask questions about the dementors, "concerns a potential violation of the Ban on Underage Sorcery—and the Statute."
They tensed, almost as one. A Statute of Secrecy violation was the most severe crime any of the aurors could think of.
Amelia set another document before them. "Detectors picked up two bursts of magical activity in quick succession. The activity occurred in a quiet part of Surrey. From our records, the only witch or wizard in that part is Edelweiss Potter. The only other name of note belongs to a squib, placed near Miss Potter's residence following You-Know-Who's downfall."
"Magical activity?" asked Kingsley, trying to not sound weak. He had watched over Miss Potter a few times during July. The girl rarely left her room. There had been a couple times when he thought he had felt something coming from her bedroom, yet it faded almost immediately. The warding around the plot prevented him from drawing closer, else he risked alerting the girl to his presence. The blood wards reacted oddly if what Dumbledore told him remained true. How or why they evolved was unknown to him. And the Headmaster, strangely, did not possess a suitable answer.
Amelia sighed. "I'm afraid this is where it gets messy. While we have ideas about the magical activity that occurred in her area, it does not align with anything known to the Ministry. Best the detectors can tell, the first burst involved magical lightning; this is why I am sending the three of you to question her."
"Are you claiming she created new magic?" asked Proudfoot.
"I hope not. Imagine how the public would react to a witch with magical powers unknown to the Ministry. The Prophet would have a field day with the news, let alone the trouble the Unspeakables would cause."
Proudfoot whistled.
Robards scoffed. "We've all seen what's been reported in the Prophet this summer about the Potter girl. This is another attempt on her part to make a name for herself and draw attention. It's probably just accidental magic. She must have tried to frighten some muggles."
"Either way," said Madam Bones, ignoring Robards' outburst, "I want this dealt with. Quickly and quietly. The three of you are to head to Miss Potter's address immediately." Her gaze turned to Kingsley. "You know where she is since Dumbledore has you and Auror Tonks watching Miss Potter on his behalf. Let him know the next time he decides to use my aurors for his vigilante club, he should schedule a meeting with my secretary first. I do not care which oaths you think are worth keeping and those you disagree with. You have a duty to the Ministry and to Britain."
It took all of his impressive willpower to not swallow thickly at the knowing looks of accusation he received. Kingsley knew he should not be surprised Amelia suspected him. But to have it said aloud so brazenly was disconcerting. To mention Tonks as well—especially when she was not present—was a step too far in his eyes, though he doubted Madam Bones would see it that way.
"My brother joined Dumbledore's rogue group during the last war," she added. "I know how Albus likes to operate and the kind of people he successfully recruits into his little Order." Amelia then turned to Robards. "And you say nothing to Fudge. I understand you're his creature in my department, but this little tidbit goes unmentioned in your reports. It's either that or you're on Azkaban duty until someone else pulls a Sirius Black."
Robards nodded grimly. "Understood, Madam."
"And Proudfoot," continued Amelia, turning to the third auror present. "Keep an eye on them. Should either do anything that besmirches the name and honor of the Auror Corps, I want to know. Some people have forgotten where their loyalties lie. Best they remember now, while we still have peace."
"Understood, Madam," Auror Proudfoot said with a smile.
"Dismissed."
The three aurors departed swiftly. Kingsley informed them quietly of Edelweiss Potter's address en route to the Ministry's apparition site. Once there, they all vanished with small pops.
Edelweiss sat before her master's holocron. The holocron's red light illuminated her face. The Dursleys had given her long, distrustful looks upon returning, but said nothing when she immediately headed up to her room. They were too busy fussing over Dudley to trouble her. She bowed her head to the image of Lady Bastila before saying, "Master. I have good news to report."
"Do tell, apprentice."
"I blended my magical power with the dark side of the Force. I used that combined power to cast lightning upon dementors, foul creatures that draw up the worst fears and can devour souls. Once they were repelled, I then influenced my cousin's mind. It was simple, for he is weak and gullible. A simpleton."
Lady Bastila smiled. "You grow strong, apprentice. Soon, you will be ready to be taught the many secrets of the dark side. Do not fear whether or not what you have told me is pleasing to hear. Already you have found two applications for your power. I suspect your education as a witch has primed you to learn the ways of the Force without traditional guidance."
"So what I have done is possible through the Force alone?"
"Yes, apprentice," said Lady Bastila. "Force lightning is the providence of the Sith. Some Jedi, daring enough to use particular emotions for a moment of power, can use it to some degree. Manipulating the weak-willed is a common skill. Only moving objects and sensing others and their feelings are more common than that."
Edelweiss nodded while considering what she had been told by her master. She was pleased by her ability to use her magic to more easily access Force abilities, yet she was faced with the gulf between incidentally wielding power and willfully using it. She struggled with a sudden fear that her Force powers were akin to accidental magic. To lose control would doom all she wished to accomplish in the future, and so she had to learn to control the Force. Even to dominate it.
"I must refine my powers," Edelweiss declared, glancing down at a clenching hand. "I have sworn myself to your teachings, master. How best can I strengthen myself and ensure I dominate all with the power of the dark side?"
"Continue your meditations. Soon you shall develop mastery with the more common Force powers, such as telekinesis, and build from there. In time, you shall learn all I know, and learn from the other holocrons Lord Salazar hoarded before his flight to this world. What you have done this day shall be mastered in time."
"I understand, master. I shall meditate on what you have told me, and I shall look forward to the day I can replicate what I did this day without incident or struggle."
Edelweiss deactivated the holocron. After a moment, she hid it once more within her trunk. She sighed as she returned to her kneeling position on the floor, her mind already turning inward. Meditation had grown easier as summer had progressed. Yet she wondered how long it would be until she was ready for the lessons her master planned.
Someone rapped on her door just before she slipped into her meditative trance. Anger flowed in a fiery torrent as Edelweiss rose to her feet and stormed to the door. She threw the door open and glared at her horse-faced aunt.
"What do you want?" she snarled.
Aunt Petunia sneered in response to the furious demand. "Three of your lot are downstairs. Get them out of my house."
Edelweiss frowned, half-tempted to slam the door shut in Aunt Petunia's face. "You let them in?"
"You think I'm just going to allow three strangers in red robes to stand on my porch longer than necessary?" Aunt Petunia hissed. "It's risky enough allowing them inside, let alone agreeing to their silly demand to speak with you. Get them out of my house and send them back to wherever they came from!"
Red robes… Red robes… Edelweiss thought. Those must be aurors. What would aurors want with me?
Could they know of the dementors already?
"Fine, Aunt Petunia. I'll handle them."
She then stomped downstairs, paying no heed to Aunt Petunia's petulant glare. Edelweiss entered the living room and found three aurors waiting for her. One of them looked familiar. After a moment, she recalled him from when the Minister visited her following the Third Task. He glared at her. The second was an older man, aged by long years hunting dark witches and wizards. He watched her blankly. The third was an African man wearing a fez atop his bald head who looked almost pleased to see her.
"Hello," Edelweiss said, making her way to the open seat across from them. Aunt Petunia remained upstairs. She saw no sign of Dudley or Uncle Vernon. She assumed they too had already retreated upstairs. "How can I help you?"
The aged auror spoke up. "I am Auror Proudfoot. With me are Auror Robards and Auror Shacklebolt." Each of the aurors nodded when mentioned, allowing her to place name to face. Robards was the one that Fudge had brought with him. "We've come to inquire about an incident that occurred recently in Surrey. We have reason to believe you were involved, and that laws were violated in the process."
She frowned, glancing from Proudfoot to Robards and Shacklebolt. Edelweiss knew less than she liked about these men, along with their department. She had heard little in passing. The only other auror she knew was Mad-Eye Moody, and he had long retired before he was captured and impersonated by Barty Crouch Junior.
"I'd rather not answer questions until I have a chance to hire a barrister so they can clear whatever questions you have for me," said Edelweiss, remembering that one crime show Aunt Petunia used to watch. "Though I am not against having you inform me of whatever happened and why it should be my concern. It'll make everything on my end… easier."
Proudfoot nodded while Robards sneered and Shacklebolt appeared oddly frustrated. She could guess why Robards may be frustrated, but not this Shacklebolt fellow.
Too risky to use the Force on him. Lupin noticed, and he was not an auror.
"We did not come all the way out to a filthy muggle neighborhood to be talked down to by some attention-hungry half-blood bitch!" growled Robards, rising to his feet. "For some reason, you drew two dementors here and used illegal magics upon them—in the presence of a muggle as well!"
"Illegal magics? Are you listening to yourself speak?" she asked, unfazed. They must mean the Force, somehow. "Do you have anything to back up your allegations?"
Robard's face flushed the same red as his robes. "You violated the Statute of Secrecy and the Ban on Underage Sorcery!"
Edelweiss crossed her arms. "Quite the accusation. Get out. I can send an owl once I have a barrister. Otherwise, leave me alone."
"You can't do thi—!"
"Miss Potter," interrupted Auror Proudfoot. "Two dementors returned to Azkaban after being declared missing, bearing magical burns caused by lightning magics. The best magical sensors across Britain suggest you are responsible. That there were no attempts to cast the Patronus Charm—"
"That is what I would have done, were I confronted with dementors," replied Edelweiss, ignoring how sweet the lie was on her tongue. Then again, she had thought about casting the charm before turning to the dark side of the Force. "I learned how to cast the Patronus Charm during my third year when Hogwarts played host to a hundred or so dementors." She shivered, remembering that fateful night. It seemed with hindsight she had successfully cast a patronus that night because fate and the flow of time demanded it. She had witnessed herself cast the charm and repel the mass of dementors that had threatened her and her godfather, Sirius Black, and so she had known she could cast the spell.
"That's quite the claim," Auror Proudfoot said. "I would be impressed if you were willing to cast it for us."
Edelweiss laughed. "And chance incriminating myself? I'll pass, Auror Proudfoot." She straightened. "Please leave. I have nothing else to say, and I have a feeling someone very important will block any further attempts to question me.
"Have a good day, gentlemen."
With a false smile, she watched the three aurors depart Number Four. Her smile morphed into a sneer once they vanished with the telltale pop of apparition. Dumbledore had told her once that the blood wards around Number Four protected her from those who meant her harm. One of those aurors was most certainly loyal to Minister Fudge, and she did not doubt he meant her some kind of harm these days. Either those wards were keyed to particular threats, or the usage of her blood in June had truly invalidated them.
Voldemort using my blood had to weaken them. There's no love lost between the Dursleys and me. If the wards won't hold, then this place is no longer the safe haven Dumbledore believes.
And so it is time to depart. I shall only return when it is time to punish the Dursleys for all they have done to me.
Edelweiss gave the closed door no final glance before turning from it. She climbed the stairs, moving with purpose and grace. The dark side was with her, draped over her shoulders like a warm cloak. Power embraced her like a lover, yet she had no cause to wield it.
She left the door open as she packed her trunk. Edelweiss locked her trunk carefully. She nearly reached out with the Force but decided otherwise. It was unnecessary. Edelweiss lifted her trunk and turned to find her doorway darkened.
Aunt Petunia stood there, lips pursed into a tight line. "What did they want?"
"Nothing to concern a muggle like you. I am leaving. You can do nothing to stop me."
"Why should I let you go—"
Aunt Petunia squeaked, then gasped faintly as Edelweiss raised a hand and poured fourteen years of misery and wrath into the woman. She was careful to only use the Force. And she was rewarded for her effort. Petunia's hands grasped at her throat while her eyes bulged. It would be all too easy to crush her aunt, but she would be too obvious of a suspect.
Edelweiss stepped forward and whispered, "My kind does not even know what I am doing to you. Thank your god I have decided to not kill you before leaving." She drew back her Force powers, and Petunia collapsed. She stepped over her muggle aunt, allowing her trunk to smack the woman's head, and headed for the stairs. Before she descended, Edelweiss paused and turned back. "Do not expect me to return in June. If I were you, I would think about leaving England. America would not be a bad option, though Australia will be nice soon enough.
"Oh, and you will forget what I just did." Edelweiss caught Petunia's horrified expression. "You can remember my words, but not my deeds. I don't need curious busybodies sniffing after my trail, after all."
And with a cackle, Edelweiss all but skipped down the stairs and out the door. The twilight of August greeted her. She felt free. The dark side had helped free her. She walked to the curb, trunk in hand, and closed her eyes.
Now, dear godfather, where are you? You cannot hide from me.
Not anymore.
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