The Diamond of Light

The Diamond of Light

Chapter 2 - Dream in the Rain

Two hours had passed and Harry was still sitting on the front door steps. He felt extremely tired and sleepy but he was fighting to open his eyelids. He did not want to sleep, since there was a high probability of having another nightmare. It was raining heavily, and Harry was soaked to his skin. The continuous waves of coldness swept through his frail figure. This made his hairs stand on end in response. Harry must swear that everybody would get wet even he or she was under enormous eaves in this weather. Wind was blowing in every direction, so the heavy raindrops were flying about everywhere too, hitting Harry as if he was their only target. Thank to the endless attack of icy raindrops, Harry could manage to stay awake for more than two hours. He put his arms around his knees and curled up his body tightly. He was shivering like mad. He needed to minimize his surface area to reduce heat loss. Freezing wind blew more strongly and this time, Harry's teeth chattered. His stomach churned. He felt slightly sick because he had not eaten anything since last night. He did too much work this day so he was run out of energy. His stomach gave a loud noise in protest again.

"Sleep," said a voice at the back of his head quietly, "only sleep can get rid of all these unpleasant feelings..." It was so tempted... but no... going off to sleep meant having horrible dreams again... His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier as time passed.

"Go to sleep..." the voice echoed in his mind again. This time Harry could not resist it. He had done a lot of work today and he was extremely exhausted right now. He felt the wave of sleepiness went through every cell of his body. He finally gave in and mumbled, "Yes..." His eyelids drooped and eventually closed. Harry drifted off to the inviting darkness immediately.

* * *

He was walking in a very dark street. The rain had stopped but the sky was still very stormy. Harry looked around the unfamiliar street. He did not know how he could end up here. It was abnormally quiet in the street. The houses stood in darkness eerily along the street. Harry felt a bit unnerving as the atmosphere here gave a hint that something terrible was going to happen.

"I hope the street lamps are still working, at least," Harry muttered, not realizing that his voice was shaking slightly. He did not know why, but he kept walking until he reached a small but odd-looking house. He could make out the shape of the house with the help of lightning. It was composed of three blocks, which looked suspiciously like towers, but poorly built. The whole thing resembled a mini castle. Harry looked at the old-fashioned wooden door and hoped to find that who were living in this house. He spotted the doorplate but he could not see the words. It was too dark. He approached the front door cautiously.

Harry put his hand on the doorplate and used his finger to trace the carved letters. He froze when he felt his lightning scar stinging. He knew only when Voldemort was near him or feeling murderous his scar would hurt. Harry shuddered at the thought. He was not prepared for meeting the Dark Lord again. He felt his pocket and noticed he did not have his wand. Then he remembered all his magical things were locked inside the cupboard under the stairs.

He felt a soft breeze behind him and he abruptly turned around, prepared for seeing the worst. A slim figure appeared out of thin air near the flowerbed, which was in front of the house. The figure swayed on the spot.

"Dammit, I hate Portkeys," the person muttered in frustration. The voice was feminine and the person was evidently a she. Another flash of lightning confirmed Harry's thought. The female's straight hair nearly reached her waist and well, judging by her behavior, she was a young girl.

The girl gained her balance at last. She looked around and seemed to spot something that had gone wrong.

"What the hell-? Even the street lamps aren't working!" she exclaimed quietly. Then she started to make her way towards the front door.

Harry panicked. How on earth was he going to explain to this girl? Turning up in front of other people's home in the dead of the night was really suspicious, and asking her where was he was a rather stupid idea.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to-" Harry started, but the girl did not seem to realize that he was there. Harry stepped aside.

"Excuse me, do you know how to go to Little Whinging in Surrey? I think I'm lost," Harry asked again a bit louder, feeling stupid at the same time.

Again, the girl did not notice him. She stopped in front of the door and stuck her hand in the pocket. She pulled out something like a key. Harry's jaw dropped. He had expected the girl would at least draw out her wand. A witch using a key to open the door, well, really funny.

"May be she is an under aged witch, not being allowed to use magic," Harry reasoned. Then he remembered he had spoken to the girl two times and the girl did not respond. He suddenly got an idea and waved his hand frantically in front of the girl's face.

The young lady even did not look at him.

"I'm not getting into someone's memory again, am I?" Harry thought. Now he was positive that the girl could not see him or hear him. He was in fact become more and more aware that the pain in his scar was intensifying.

The girl inserted the key in the lock and turned. However, the lock did not click.

"Poor old Daddy," she shook her head slightly, "didn't even remember to lock the door." Then she opened the door silently and slipped through it.

Without warning, Harry's scar exploded with pain. He cried out in agony and sank to his knees. He knew Voldemort was very near, probably inside this house. He had to warn the girl. The girl shoved the door shut; not noticing danger was near.

"No!" Harry said through clenched teeth. "Don't go inside!" he pleaded the young female. The door in front of him faded away and when everything came into focus again, he found that he was inside the house as well, following the girl closely. He looked around. Everything had a shade of green. The girl wore a confuse expression on her face.

"Where does this kind of light come from?" she cursed in disgust. Then she spotted it. It was coming from the living room. She walked towards it and called, "Dad, are you still up? I've given the wooden box to Aunt Jean."

No one responded.

"Dad? It's me," she called again. Then she saw it. Lying on the floor near the table was her father. She hurried over and shook the man's shoulder gently. "Dad?" her voice panicked.

The man let out a moan and opened his eyes blearily. When he saw who was peering over him he gasped.

"What are you doing here? GO!! They're here," he choked out, "Go NOW!"

"Who-" the girl asked but was immediately interrupted by another voice.

"I think not," the voice was icy cold. A hooded figure stepped out of the shadow. Harry could see the gleaming red eyes behind the hood. It was Voldemort.

Voldemort waved his bony hand and the intensity of the green light that was illuminating the room grew, revealing the Death Eaters who stood behind the Dark Lord.

"Let her go! She doesn't know anything!" the man said in desperation as he shoved the girl behind him and shielded her from harm.

"Miss Montan here just gave us some valuable information," Voldemort said lazily, "Aunt Jean, I suppose?"

The greenish face of the man even got greener.

"It's none of your business! Get out of my house!" the girl growled without considering the consequence. She was furious that these guys had invaded her property and, it was probably them who hurt her father. She moved herself in front of her father instead.

Voldemort turned his glare towards the girl. He said dangerously, "I will not be spoken like that," He aimed his wand at the girl and said, "Crucio!"

The girl fell on the floor, shrieking in pain. She tried to struggle to her feet, but she could not. Her father yelled, "NO!!" Then he threw himself in front of his daughter, wanting to take the unforgivable curse on his own. Voldemort noticed this and his mouth curled into a sneer.

"No you don't," he hissed as he waved his free hand, sending the man backwards. The man's head landed the floor first. He moaned and fought to keep his consciousness.

"So, Mr. Montan," Voldemort stopped the curse when the girl nearly fainted because of the pain. "The Diamond of Light is not here anymore," he added, "the filthy Squib gets scared of the Dark Lord and drops his duty of being the Keeper of the Diamond, so coward,"

Harry hoped the Dark Lord would leave the house quickly. When Voldemort was doing the Cruciatus Curse, his head felt like going to spit open, and his body felt like he was under the full blast of the curse as well. His eyes watered and he could hardly hear what the Dark Lord was saying. When his vision got clear, he saw the man stood up shakily, his face pale but determined.

"You will never get it, Voldemort," he voice tight, "and I'm not a Squib as you think!" He concentrated and suddenly, there was a flash of white light, followed by a strong blast.

Harry could faintly make out the man lifted his daughter and rushed towards the door. However, he stopped abruptly as if he was blocked by something... or someone.

The white light slowly faded. The man stared straight at the cruel red eyes of the Dark Lord. The expression of Montan was difficult to read. Anger... scared... hopeless... and perhaps desperation? The Dark Lord smiled evilly.

"Really hopeless tactic, I dare say. A Squib is a Squib. As you do not have the Diamond, you have no use now."

Montan's eyes widened with horror as Voldemort mouthed the words, "Avada Kedavra," The girl let out a terrified scream as the green sparks hit her father. Montan fell backwards, arms still held tightly around his daughter.

The girl freed herself from her father's protective arms. "Dad?" she whispered, her voice cracking. Her hands shook as she placed her hand on the man's neck to feel the pulse. Then she jerked her hand away as if feeling an electric shock.

"Dad? Wake up... Don't leave me alone, wake up..." her voice seemed hollow and empty this time. Even Harry could not see the girl's face he knew she was crying. She pulled her father's body towards her and hugged him tightly. Harry could not bear anymore, he had to do something, but his body felt like being run over by a train. He could hardly stand up.

Voldemort chuckled. His laughter sent a chill down through Harry's spine.

"For this little girl, may be some of us could make some fun of her before sending her to meet the hopeless Squib," the Dark Lord said fondly, "Goyle, pick the girl,"

A large hooded figure stepped forward and dragged the girl away form her father. She cried weakly, "Don't," She fought to stay beside her father and refused to let go the body, at the same time she struggled against Goyle's forceful drag. She was actually fighting a losing battle since she was still under the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse.

Voldemort raised his wand again and said, "Imperio," The girl's struggles ceased almost immediately. Goyle lifted up the girl with ease. The girl seemed a bit dazed. Slowly, she placed her arms around Goyle's neck. The Dark Lord and his followers laughed.

Don't follow his orders! Wake up! Harry thought frantically, clutching his scar. "Fight the curse! I know you can do it!" he finally managed to shout at the girl, but he forgot that other people could not see and hear him.

The girl was about kissing Goyle on the lips. Then she became rigid and still.

Who are you?

Harry was startled by the feminine voice in his head. He looked at the girl who was still in the Death Eater's arms, not sure whether this girl had spoken to him spiritually. Harry could see a sparkle flashing inside the girl's eyes. It was obvious that the girl was fighting the Imperius Curse.

Go on! Don't let him control you! Harry concentrated at this thought. He did not know why, but by instinct he knew doing this could help the girl. The girl's eyes sparkled once more and this time, the sparkle remained there permanently. She suddenly withdrew her arms from the Death Eater's neck. To Harry's astonishment, the girl slapped painfully on Goyle's face, using all the strength she still possessed.

"NEVER!" she jumped onto the floor and burst out.

Harry could feel the anger radiated from Voldemort. The Dark Lord would not be offended like that. He would not forgive anyone that could throw off the curses he cast. This doesn't seem good, Harry knew what would happened next.

"Avada..." Harry dashed forward, hoping to knock the girl out of the way. To his horror, he could not touch the girl. He felt himself going through the female body and continued to move forward. He lost his balance and fell flat on his face.

"... Kedavra," Voldemort had already finished the killing curse. Harry froze. He stared at the evil green lights flying towards the helpless young one.

"NOOOO!!" Harry screamed, and then everything went black. The last thing he saw was a pair of pain-filled and hopeless blue eyes.