The Three Fates of Darth Gladiolus

Summary:

Part I: In the wake of the Triwizard Tournament, Edelweiss Potter discovers a secret complex beneath the Chamber of Secrets. Within, she stumbles upon the last secret of Salazar Slytherin: holocrons of Sith Lords long dead from worlds half a galaxy away. Faced with threats from all sides, Edelweiss must pursue power and victory, regardless of the price.

Part II: Victorious over her foes, three tasks lay before the newly named Darth Gladiolus: to finalize her hold on magical Britain, to prepare her world for their inevitable encounter with her enemies, the Jedi, and the Galactic Republic they serve, and to select a Sith apprentice, should any with the potential exist on her world.

Part I - Ascension: Salazar's Final LegacyChapter Text

The Chamber of Secrets bubbled with magical power. Spells rippled down its length, fired in fierce, quick bursts. Light reflected off the curling, snarling snake statues that lined the chamber. Several more spells shot forth before the chamber fell silent for all but Edelweiss Potter and her harsh breaths. Power flowed in her veins, dark and heady. Hours remained before she would be cleansed of her ill mood and the power fueling her.

She rubbed a hand across her forehead and grimaced at the feeling of sweat. She nearly growled at the dampness coating her. Edelweiss had meant to work through her frustration and anger. The worst thing she could think of had come to pass. Voldemort had his body and his full powers back. And did the powers that be listen to her and act? No. They engaged in foolish political posturing while she was left to wonder what grim fate she would face in the coming years.

Edelweiss began to cast again. Her anger and frustration leeched into her magic. Each spell leaped from her holly wand, a touch darker than it should be. She growled as her emotions boiled within her. She could hear her friend's voice in the back of her mind: "Control your emotions," said the Hermione in her head, "else they school you. The rational mind beats the emotional heart."

"Unhelpful advice," Edelweiss grumbled, as though her friend were there to hear her. "Better I use them than try to force my magic into an unnatural form."

She paused and considered the return of her enemy, the Dark Lord Voldemort. She had been witness to his resurrection. And he had used her blood to overcome the magical defenses she acquired following their first encounter.

When she had been only fifteen months old, he had come to her family's cottage on Halloween night. Three times he cast the Killing Curse that night. Yet only twice did the Green Death enact its fatal design. It failed him the last time. For when he had cast death upon her, a miracle occurred. She survived. His powers failed. His body destroyed. She was taken from the wreckage and, as her sworn godfather pursued a destructive course of vengeance, left with her mother's muggle relatives.

She lingered at Number Four, Privet Drive for ten years, allegedly protected by 'blood wards'. There she was treated akin to a slave, beaten at every sign of magic. It was the source of their wrath and the single thing that prevented her from truly joining the Dursley household. And they had kept it a secret from her, crafting a world of lies around her parents and her heritage. One that lasted until she turned eleven.

For on her eleventh birthday when she thought freedom from the Dursley's cruelty had come to her in the form of Hogwarts and magic, Edelweiss was instead set on a path that ended with her reunion with the monster who shattered her family and left her with her infamous epithet, the Girl-Who-Lived.

And now Voldemort has a body once more, thought Edelweiss. She sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow. Her hair had begun to plaster to her forehead, which she disrupted with her open left hand. She brushed against the angry scar that cut across her forehead. It arced like a lightning bolt. It was the sole sign she survived the Killing Curse.

Edelweiss breathed out slowly and put thoughts of her past out of her mind. She used the strength still within her to remain on her feet. The chamber's tiled floor was murky at the best of times. Despite her ongoing efforts, the Chamber of Secrets maintained a thin coating of grime on every surface and dark pools of sitting water.

And near the great statue of Salazar Slytherin at the far end was a large, dark stain from spilled blood. The basilisk she slew as a second year was gone now. She had it removed and rendered down for parts. She only retained enough of the vibrant green basilisk skin to produce armor in the future, along with five large vats of venom. The goblins she had contracted for the removal had kept the rest, providing her a slow yet steady stream of profit as they sold off the remains of her great victory.

The Chamber of Secrets was her place of solitude and peace now. The watching, prying eyes of Hogwarts had become too much in her third year. Where Ron and Hermione could go to Hogsmeade and feel normal, Edelweiss did not have that luxury. She turned to the first place she could think of, where she could escape the sensation of her hair standing up. She hated feeling someone's gaze linger on the back of her head. Sometimes her right hand would twitch, a heartbeat away from drawing her wand and cursing the offender.

Thanks to her unique ability to speak parseltongue, the tongue of snakes, she was the sole occupant of Hogwarts able to access the Chamber. For now, it remained a sanctuary unique to only her. But she knew that one day even this place could fall.

On that fateful Halloween, some of Voldemort's powers had been transferred to her. Or so Dumbledore told her, back when she still thought highly of him. She was skeptical of the Headmaster's claim, yet what other explanation was there? A connection had formed between them, one that strengthened as the years passed.

It did not help that Edelweiss thought she was forever bound to the night of Halloween. Each year, something came to pass that night, ever since she entered the halls of Hogwarts. Each year something dreadful happened on that night: the troll in her first year, the Chamber of Secrets opening in her second, Sirius Black's attack on the Fat Lady in her third year, and finally her name emerging from the Goblet of Fire several months back.

She huffed and shook her head, clearing her mind of thoughts that did not help her. Edelweiss could not allow herself to be distracted while she built and developed her spell repertoire. She was weak right now. Pathetic. She knew all too well that the only reason she escaped Voldemort and the graveyard was because of their twin wands. She needed to be stronger for when they next fought. Part of her new, future strength would come from knowing more spells. And once she knew them, she would need to master them, so she could fight Voldemort and his followers.

One day she would fight his Death Eaters in battle. She needed to be ready for whatever they would throw at her. She would not expect mercy from them, just as she would not give them quarter.

She could not do that. For her, capture at their hands would be the same as death. She could not rely on miraculous escapes when caught in a difficult position.

Edelweiss closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. She focused on her inner self, on the piece of her that resonated with the world beyond her skin. During her preparations for the Triwizard Tournament, she had stumbled upon a narrow tome that only she could read. The tome promoted meditation and guided one to… not enlightenment, per se, but a greater understanding. A greater connection to the world beyond the self, and the power one could gather by that means.

Through that meditation, Edelweiss learned to expand her feelings. To sense more beyond her weak, mortal self. To sense more than the primitive, material world that surrounded her.

And through her feelings, she had discovered something strange beneath her feet. Edelweiss struggled to make sense of what she felt. Some of what she knew could not be possible. She sensed metal and power that felt more in line with the muggle world than anything that could be found in the magical one. Yet it was there.

She had searched the parseltongue seals the basilisk's lair and the abandoned office, long since pillaged with only spare, scratched-out pages left behind. Yet Edelweiss had not found it. It felt like a dirty secret. Her senses continued telling her what she felt existed, especially when she meditated in the Chamber of Secrets. Yet when she turned her wand and her magic to the task of ferreting out the strange things she sensed, Edelweiss was left stumbling in the dark.

Increasingly she felt that what she sensed was not of this world. The puzzle of what it was frustrated her to no end. Yet she could not justify introducing this particular problem to Hermione. Her friend might be the brightest witch of their age, but Edelweiss had grown up with nothing. She would possess her secrets for as long as they could remain so.

I will solve this mystery today, she decided. No matter what.

Edelweiss thought over how her magic had failed her. With a grimace, she slid her holly wand into the dragonhide holster at her wrist. It had been a Christmas gift, made from Hungarian Horntail. She held out her right arm, nice and straight. She closed her eyes and reached out with her strange, new senses. Some of her fatigue faded as her feelings found and embraced the secret thing she knew was present. Power filled her, swift and sudden. She did not need to incant or wave her hand about.

Her strange, new senses were meant to channel power. Edelweiss desired a proper name to describe it. Whatever last secret Salazar Slytherin hid away pressed at the edges of her awareness. Yet it resisted her attempts to grasp it. Edelweiss scowled and put her strength into her feelings. Her magic strained, even as righteous power filled her. There was something about this place, about this moment, that spoke to her heart and soul.

Something cried out, begging for her to show she possessed the power to find it.

Edelweiss nearly threw herself at what she felt. There was a long moment where she wondered if she had grasped onto it. And then another awareness pushed back. Hard.

She grunted, eyelids clenching tight as she focused, intent on claiming that which she felt. It sensed her will and intent. And as though judging her worthy, it finally responded as she wished.

Control was hers.

The wide circular block at the base of Slytherin's statue shifted and groaned. Stone ground against stone, slowly twisting as it responded to the raw power of her will. Edelweiss clenched her jaw as she raised her right arm. The block strained against her. She reached out with her left and bolstered her efforts to move what she once assumed to be a fancy section of flooring. Her power rose, as rough and raw as it was. It responded to her intent, just as magic did; yet she felt that slight difference as she relied on these feelings.

It did not come completely from within, as her magic did. Instead, she felt as though she were bound to everything around her. As she sunk into its power, Edelweiss swore she could feel others—their emotions, their locations, even their intentions. She wanted nothing more than to explore this power, yet her lack of guidance stopped her cold. Push the wrong way and she might expose herself.

Certainly, someone else could wield their feelings like this.

Her eyes fluttered open and gazed up at the towering statue of Salazar Slytherin. You had these powers, didn't you? Edelweiss thought, heart aflutter as she held the block in place. She had a feeling it was halfway clear. Just as you could speak with snakes, you possessed this strange power.

Does that mean…?

She gritted her teeth and nearly growled at the thought she entertained. Edelweiss Potter was sick of the ever-increasing connections between her and Voldemort. She decided to believe he was ignorant of these powers. If he had known of this place, then he would have wielded these powers against her. This power had to be her providence alone. She alone deserved to possess them.

This she would not share. It was hers. She had found it!

Her temper swelled in a wave of raging, wrathful fury. She channeled the full might of her will and her anger into the massive stone. It complied. Edelweiss had a sudden feeling that the stone had been waiting on her to call upon her anger. Where she had once struggled, it now moved with ease, revealing a pyramidal base that sloped cleanly to a point. A crimson crystal, filled with the hatred and wrath of a thousand human hearts, glowed where it sat at the apex.

How beautiful, Edelweiss thought, as she twisted her hands. The stone moved in turn, flipping over as she moved it leftward. She allowed it to hover until it was parallel to the chamber floor. Finally, she lowered it. The stone settled without a sound. She released her hold.

The moment she released her feelings and the power they granted her, a wave of exhaustion swept through her. Edelweiss nearly collapsed to her knees. Her legs shook. A wave of rage and fury swept through her, emulating what she felt from the crimson crystal. Her strength returned. The makings of a feral grin broke out as thundering realization shook her.

Her anger gave her power. It renewed her whenever she felt weak, just as hot soup warmed a cold child.

She approached the chasm left behind by her actions, holding her anger at a light simmer. Green lanterns illuminated descending steps, slowly drifting to the center. Without a moment of thought or hesitation, Edelweiss followed them down. Her footsteps were silent, sound and noise devoured by the stone around her. Something called out to her, beckoning her down and down and down. She resonated with the call as if part of her had been sealed away down here long ago.

At the base of the stairs, she found a short corridor. It led several feet to a strange metal door. It was dark and smooth, yet glistened as though freshly polished. A trio of soft white lights illuminated the doorway. Edelweiss looked it over, frowning as she failed to discover any handle or panel that would allow her entry. Staring at the door made her feel uneasy. Muggle technology did not work at Hogwarts. So how could something that looked even more advanced be here? This was the heart of Salazar Slytherin's domain. Notorious muggle-hater Salazar Slytherin. And yet this anomaly existed.

Her right hand twitched, itching to draw her holly wand. But she stayed her hand. Her new feelings told her magic would not open this door. Something else could affect it as she wished. That thing—that feeling—would allow her access to whatever awaited her on the other side.

Perhaps I can learn more about this strange power and why it responds so readily to my feelings.

She approached the door with short, careful steps. Her emerald gaze cast about the threshold, hoping perhaps there would be a secret there. As she came within arm's reach of the door, a trio of lights above her suddenly glowed red. A transparent blue man appeared before her, projected from the ground. He stared her down and his lips moved. Delayed words were relayed to her: [PEACE IS A LIE.]

Edelweiss flinched back and drew her wand. She held it low, by her side. Something told her danger could be at hand, but only if she failed this test.

[PEACE IS A LIE,] the blue man repeated.

A password. It's looking for a password But how do I respond? And could I even hope to have a third chanc—

A voice whispered to her. It was not a voice she knew. Yet it reminded her of the feelings and power she had stumbled upon. The voice was soft, seductive, and rich. She thought of the crimson crystal that emanated pure passion.

"Peace is a lie. There is only passion."

She nodded numbly. She had been prompted with 'Peace is a lie'. Edelweiss knew what she had to do. She met the blue figure's steely gaze and told it, "There is only passion."

The blue man stared at her. Before she could fear she had answered wrong, the eyes glowed. [YOU HAVE ANSWERED CORRECTLY, APPRENTICE. BIOSCAN INITIATING.] A wide, silvery beam shot out from near the man's projector. It crossed her body, top to bottom and left to right. Edelweiss stiffened, wand clenched tightly as it hovered over the scar that cut cleanly from her hairline down through her right brow. She kept it hidden under her wild black hair, which often curled about her thin glasses. The beam passed over the scar several times before the blue man said, [ANOMALY DETECTED. FILING FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS.] A few seconds later, he added, [ACCESS TO BE GRANTED FOR:]

Assuming what he asked for, she said, "Edelweiss Potter."

[UNDERSTOOD. ACCESS GRANTED TO EDELWEISS POTTER. WELCOME TO ZIOST HANGAR, APPRENTICE.]

The blue man vanished and soft white lights illuminated the doorway. The door hissed open, rising so quickly her head flicked up trying to follow it. Air swept past her from beyond the door. Stale air. Her hand clenched tightly around her holly wand and her magic resonated with the phoenix feather within.

"You're a Gryffindor," Edelweiss hissed to herself. "There's no need to fear the unknown."

Yet with a hesitant step, Edelweiss crossed the metal threshold. She entered what the strange blue man had called "Ziost Hangar" as a dozen large lights suddenly clicked on. The hangar was almost the same size as the Great Hall with a high, vaulted ceiling. Thick bars of metal crossed above like ribs, supporting the metal roof. Several feet before her was a railing. She approached it and found that the floor fell away. She stared down at a black craft, long and smooth with a soft, matte finish. She had seen nothing like it. Not even in the muggle world. The closest she could think of was from Dudley's telly programs—the kind he only watched when Uncle Vernon was at work and Aunt Petunia was busy gossiping. She hoped the strange craft could fly.

That must be why that strange man called his place a 'hangar', thought Edelweiss.

As she looked around the hangar, she found a stairwell to her left and a door on her right. It was identical to the one behind her. Edelweiss stared at the door. That calling sensation she felt up above returned. She could almost feel the seductive whispers emanating from the room. Her feet moved before her mind reached a decision—the same one her impulse had guided her to.

The door did not demand a password. It instead opened with a hiss, just like the previous door. Edelweiss entered a dark room. A heartbeat passed and the lights activated.

She had entered an office reminiscent of Dumbledore's. Shelves covered most of the walls. They bore not books, as she would have assumed, but strange four-sided pyramids. They appeared to be made of crystal, glowing a faint reddish hue. There was a black diamond at the tip, linking the construct together.

Edelweiss breathed in slowly and then reached out with her new feelings. She caressed the pyramids, and they reached out in turn. She started toward one of the shelves when she felt another presence.

A greater one.

She glanced at the desk set along the far wall. Her gaze did not linger on the strange black and red banner hanging from nothing, but the pyramid built into the desk. It was larger than the ones on the shelves. It glowed brighter than the rest. Edelweiss reached out with her feelings and sensed that this was what drew her to this place. It had beckoned her, demanding and enthralling.

She approached the desk and stopped with barely two feet between her and the pyramid. After a moment of hesitation, Edelweiss reached out with her feelings. She brushed the pyramid's internal structures and it glowed brightly. The black crystal atop the pyramid began projecting a familiar figure. It was not his whole body; only everything above mid-chest.

"I am Salazar Slytherin," the figure declared. "Once I was a Sith Lord of Ziost. Later, I became a founder of the Universitas Hogwarts Magicarum Artium." His gaze turned to her, terrible and burning. "You are the first to find this place. Be proud of your accomplishment. I desire to know your name."

"I'm Edelweiss Potter, my lord," Edelweiss said hastily. She did not know where the title came from, but she did recognize the roar of pride and victory in her gut. This discovery was hers, not Voldemort's. "I am a witch studying above, in the halls of Hogwarts."

"So Hogwarts persists." Salazar smiled. She felt pride rippling from the pyramid—from him. "I would ask many questions of the academy as it is now, but the only one I must know the answer to is: does the house system I put into place still exist?"

"You're the one who came up with the House system?" asked Edelweiss. She had always assumed it was a mutual choice or the slow evolution of the school across a thousand years.

"Yes! It was my grand vision as a Sith Lord to ensure all of our students competed against each other. They were too against individual competition, so I had to settle for splitting the student body into four groups, each corresponding with one of us." Salazar then sighed. He scanned her and frowned. "I see no badge of House on you, Edelweiss. Which were you sorted into?"

"I'm a Gryffindor, sir. Though the Hat considered Slytherin for me."

Salazar grimaced. "So Godric's Hat persists. I would have thought it would fail over time." A hand appeared and he rubbed his jaw. "How fascinating."

"Is it actually, sir?"

His gaze flickered to her. "No. Not truly. Also, do not call me sir. I am not a wizard here, but a Sith Lord. I am to be addressed as 'Lord Salazar', 'Lord Slytherin', or should I accept you as my apprentice, 'master'."

"Of course, Lord Salazar," said Edelweiss. She tried to not react to the usage of 'master' as a title. That reminded her of Dobby the House Elf, and thus the wretched treatment she suffered at the hands of the Dursleys.

"Though for a Gryffindor to find this place…" muttered Lord Salazar, troubled. His brows furrowed greatly, but they did not carve down into a proper scowl. He considered her. "Are you a parselmouth?"

Edelweiss nodded. She suspected Lord Salazar had never intended for only parselmouths to be capable of finding this place.

"Still," said Lord Salazar as if he had never posed her a question, "you must be very powerful in the Force to reach me even with your gift. Have you been taught the ways of the Force?"

"…the Force, my lord? Is that this wonderful power I feel? The one that binds me to everything, yet grants me power over it all as well?"

He nodded. "A basic response, but yes. I would presume you have not been taught it, then. What of your witch studies?"

"Only four years."

Lord Salazar considered her curiously. "Either you are younger than I first suspected, or you are small for your age."

"I happen to be fourteen, Lord Salazar. I will be fifteen at the end of July."

"So young and so powerful." Lord Salazar grinned widely. Edelweiss swore something mad flashed in his eyes. "A powerful Sith Lord you shall be, Edelweiss Potter."

"A Sith Lord?" she asked, unable to stop hints of fascination and fear from slipping into her voice. Edelweiss wondered why he called her a Sith Lord instead of a Sith Lady. But she would not ask. If Lord Salazar and Snape were alike, then he would not suffer fools.

Lord Salazar sighed. "When you asked about the Force, I began to fear you would be unfamiliar with my oldest and greatest title. Tell me, Edelweiss. How many years have passed since Godric and I had our public falling out?"

"About a thousand years, Lord Salazar."

He drew back slightly. "…that long? Truly?"

Edelweiss nodded. "I, um, I should apologize, Lord Salazar. For killing your basilisk. It happened a couple years back—"

He waved away her apology as if it meant nothing. "After a thousand years, even the greatest beast born from Sith alchemy is more dangerous than she might be worth." He paused and then raised an eyebrow. "A couple? So you were twelve at the time, yes?"

Edelweiss nodded.

Lord Salazar suddenly smiled. "My suspicion about your power is guaranteed. Should you agree to be taught by me or one of the many whose knowledge I have gathered, you shall be the greatest Sith Lord since those banished from Tython came to Korriban and learned the secrets of the dark side."

Her mouth opened, a thousand half-baked thoughts ready to tumble from her tongue. Yet none sprung forth. Eventually, her mouth snapped shut. Edelweiss nodded dumbly, as though she understood all she had just been told. Lord Salazar smiled in the face of her hesitation or uncertainty.

"For now, take one of the holocrons from that section," said Lord Salazar. He gestured to a bookcase on her left. Small lights illuminated a set of pyramids—holocrons—on two of the five shelves. "Those holocrons are best suited to instructing new apprentices. Especially those unfamiliar with the Force."

"What exactly is the Force?" asked Edelweiss. She had a feeling she needed to understand that before she could comprehend what 'Sith' meant.

"The first of many questions. But that is not my place to tell you. I shall guide your growth, but I was never suited to teaching the Sith ways." He sighed. "All the apprentices I tried to take up on this world were ill-suited to my old order."

Edelweiss nodded. She scanned the holocrons from a distance, wondering how she might choose between them. There did appear to be little labels beyond each holocron, though they were so small she could not read a single one.

"I would recommend the holocron of a Sith apprentice and Master, the Lady Bastila Shan," said Lord Salazar, as though he were reading her mind. Perhaps he was, somehow. "She lived during the Age of the Revanchist, just under three thousand years before my time. She was once a Jedi, the enemy of the Sith. They were the first to declare our ways 'the dark side'. We adopted the term out of spite and hatred." Edelweiss tried to not frown at that. She was still wary of dark magic from her world. What could this 'dark side' do to her? "Lady Bastila created a holocron to further preserve the wisdom of her master, Darth Revan, and those of his peers she thought of value. Her teachings will aid you in understanding what the Force is and how our foes think. From there, she can begin your training as a Sith apprentice."

Edelweiss glanced between Lord Salazar and the holocrons one last time before nodding. She approached the illuminated shelves with their crimson and silver pyramids. She searched among them for the one Lord Salazar recommended. They looked the same to her, yet she had a feeling each holocron was unique. Somehow. Her eyes stopped, finding the label that declared: Lady Bastila Shan. She reached out and claimed the holocron. It was small enough to fit in her hand, unlike the monstrosity Lord Salazar used.

It did not activate. She held it to the light. Wires and thin threads twirled about the interior, masked by the strange glyphs on each side. The black capstone remained solid and dark. Edelweiss frowned. How did one activate a holocron?

"So you know," Lord Slytherin added, drawing her attention back to him, "activating a holocron requires the use of the Force. You must will the holocron to activate; else you will continue to stare at it. You will find it easier if to use the Force if you channel your passions. Remember the code that granted you access to this place. For you, I believe anger shall be most ideal. In time, you will learn the full span of emotions a Sith Lord draws on for strength."

"Of course, Lord Salazar," she said, ignoring the twist in her gut at how easily he read her. "Is that why the password for the door was there is only passion?"

The man chuckled. "I thought it wise to work the Sith code into the seals and defenses when establishing this sanctuary. I could not risk this knowledge falling into the hands of one who would go against their teachings."

"A code…" whispered Edelweiss. She heard what else Lord Salazar said, but did not care. The idea of a code, something to live by, sounded nice. Edelweiss had become too accustomed to living off the whims of fate, and by the principles others enforced upon her. She focused her mind on the holocron in her hand. The holocron glowed. A moment later, a woman emerged from the pyramid's capstone just like Lord Salazar from the desk holocron.

"I am Bastila Shan, first apprenticed to Darth Malak and later to Darth Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith," the woman drawled. Her voice was rich and succulent, sounding how Edelweiss once thought Draco Malfoy's mother would sound. She even looked similar, with high cheekbones and hair brushed away from her face. "For what purpose have you activated my holocron?"

"To introduce myself. I am Edelweiss Potter. I wish to learn about the Force from you, and the ways of the Sith."

Lady Bastila hummed thoughtfully. "I feel your strength in the Force. It is great, but raw and untrained." She considered something for several seconds as if the holocron was imprinted with the real woman's mannerisms. Edelweiss was certain the woman had already made her decision. Maybe the holocron was programmed to probe viable students before rejection. "I shall take you on as my Sith apprentice, Edelweiss. Just as Revan taught me, I shall teach you."

"As you say, Lady Bastila."

Edelweiss's response was met with a tinkling chuckle. "I do not mind being called lady. But it would be proper for you to call me master."