In Truth the Spirit Lives in Us All

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter characters and world belong to Rowling, while the original ones belong to me.

In Truth the Spirit Lives in us All

Chapter One: The Necklace

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-----Theodore Roosevelt

Cold rain patted hard against the windows, cascading towards the earth in clusters. Splattering harshly on the pavement, it showed no mercy to the air and grounds, as water gushed from the houses to the streets. The rain lashed the glass like bullets, pressing harder against the glass as if in protest while a pair of entrancing eyes lingered on the masked night outside her window.

"Mother, why do you wait by the window? Please keep me company."

The woman looked down to see a little girl fawning over the brim of her cerise robes. Suddenly, the youth's fingers gripped the woman's robe firmly, filled with tension. The woman smiled with all she could muster. At least her child would be protected with as much as she could offer. She took hold of her daughter, embracing her, cradling the child closely. The girl clung onto her mother, their hearts beating at a slow, rhythmic pattern. The woman held her daughter closer, listening to the cadence pulsating below her own ribs.

"Katherine, you must go to grandmother. Do this for mother, will you?"

Katherine gazed at her mother, her eyes glazing over with a few blinks. She wanted more than anything to stay with her. She restrained herself though, she was a big girl now, and big girls don't cry and throw fits. So the little girl looked back at her mother, her eyes staying in their stony complexion, and followed the pathway to the locked study where her grandmother lay.

The woman looked back at the window for a moment, her fingers stroking the windowpane. The touch felt like ice coming up through her fingertips, even the air lost its lust for birthing wind thus entwining itself with the rain. The rain pounded harder, if possible, perhaps more ruthlessly, and more solo than before.

Without warning, the front door pounded with the ferocity of a battle about to commence. It would have seemed like it was only the rain, until it was thrown off its hinges with a bang. At the entrance stood a tall, lean, man, wand poised to strike. The water began to trickle off his soaked, dark cloak; he could have been mistaken for a lost wizard had it not been for the most distinguishing feature resting underneath his hood. Lurking in the depths of his shadowed features beamed those luminous red eyes, separating yet at the same time merging with the adumbral complexion leering before her.

He looked at the tranquil woman, and smiled. "Mei, how good it is to see you."

"Charmed," replied Mei, her wand now at the ready.

"I only come here for information. There's no reason to turn this into a calamity, Mei." He smiled his half smile. He knew what he wanted and no witch like Mei was going to stop him.

Mei on the other hand knew how to evaluate her opponent properly. She knew Voldemort grew more confident in his abilities, but she also knew he was not to be underestimated. Mei could use this to her advantage...for now. She looked into the eyes of the man once known as Tom Riddle. Her wand poised, she attacked. There was an earsplitting scream, and a second later a shining black mark appeared in the middle of Voldemort's chest. The insignia entwined with itself but in the middle of it was an unmistakable 'K'.

"Something to remember me by." She bravely grinned at the enraged Dark Lord, raising her wand for defense as the drenched man clasped his wand tightly. Perhaps he did underestimate his opponent.

"That mark is permanent, no matter what body you use as a vessel. It will always be there. Always..." she taunted him, her rose lips curved into a playful smile.

He shot a look of grimace, which formed into a distorted smile complying with hers.

"So you choose death over handing me information? Very well, Lord Voldemort shall grant your wish." He then raised his wand to strike, but Mei was ready. Ready as she'd ever be. She hastily used her counter spell to block the Cruciatus Curse.

Unfortunately Voldemort was back on his feet, and she didn't expect a non-verbal spell. Pain, unbearable pain, hit her as the red light caressed her body in a sick fashion. She screamed out into the night, only to be muffled by the rain thundering outside. That was a foolish move Mei, she berated herself. She should have counted on a silent spell. This was after all the darkest wizard of her time.

"Peculiar, I expected more from you," Voldemort laughed sadistically as he began to raise his wand towards her. "I guess I was wrong." The space between them gradually closed.

She could just die right now, Mei thought. Just let everything slip away...

No...

I need more time.

This isn't the right time, a voice spoke clearly in her ear, making her face flick with a spasm of defiance.

Get up Mei. The voice was firmer this time, while Mei's fingers twitched. The grasp on her wand strengthened.

Get up NOW.

"ADFLICTO!" Mei cried in a breath with all she could muster, adrenaline rushing through her weary body.

Voldemort bellowed in outrage as he began to slow in reaction. Mei was now swifter than the soul-impaired wizard, but she had to do this. It was her duty, her priority, her life.

"Why do this? All I need from you is the information," he hissed.

She looked at him with her brilliant deep blue eyes, a tinge of bronze at the brim of her pupils, dancing in the darkness. They flowed with and caressed the light, laughing at Voldemort like a child with a little secret. Her entranced look startled the wizard and he stumbled back, away from her.

The wind hummed around them, accompanied by a chill that went unnoticed before. Then with a flash of movement and a drawing of breath, green light raced towards Mei like thunder: powerful, fast, deadly.

Mei gazed into the emerald light embracing her whole, and let go of her wand. Wind rushed past her just like death, her black hair flowing by her side. The pounding rain ceased, its mystifying melody only followed by silence. The woman's eyes stopped dancing, like stone they starred into the space above, now only a memory. For a moment Voldemort closed his eyes, listening to the silence playing another symphony for him. Silence. He breathed it in with subtle ease before pulling from his robes a necklace.

It was shaped just like a locket: two inches in diameter, made of pure blue sapphire, brimmed with clear-cut diamonds, and linked to a gold chain; centered in the heart of the sapphire lay an 'R', as if it formed into the gem itself. He let the necklace slip from his fingers, next to his opponent, and turned to leave. Gliding into the new dawn, he left no trace of his legendary mark.

Twenty feet away, the little girl known as Katherine screamed as the wind began to howl.

"MOTHER! LET GO OF ME! I WANT TO SEE MY MOTHER!"

Somehow, she managed to push away her grandmother, refusing to give a glance back at the old woman. Her grandmother in total shock of what just happened, let the youth slip through her fingers.

The little girl ran towards her mother's body, her insides screamed at what she would face. The child's chest heaved and tensed while her lips started to quiver. Katherine's eyes like twins to her mother's stared into Mei's blank eyes. Her right hand rested on her mother's forehead. It felt cold. Mei's face blurred before her as tears brushed over the child's lashes. She tried to look away from her mother, stifling her sobs.

Then she spotted it. She picked up the elegant necklace, its fluent form complemented by a dawn silhouette. It seemed almost unreal in form, Katherine thought, placing the necklace over her head. It swung gently beside her chest; the light reflecting off of it from the pale sunrise twinkled at her mischievously when she took a glance at it. She placed her hand on its center, covering it from her view, staring instead into empty space.

Mother...

Katherine's body shook as her tiny fingers dug themselves into the carpet floor, leaving her rooted to the ground like her mother's corpse.

A few minutes passed before the old woman rushed towards Katherine and Mei's body. Her chest tightened; she stood breathless as her stare lingered on her daughter's lifeless eyes.

"...Mei...Mei-Xia..."

The old woman began to shake her motionless daughter, whimpering her name in struggled breaths. Katherine's eyes trailed from her mother's body to her hysteric grandmother; her eyes twitched, holding back her tears as best she could; her chest compressed painfully as she pursued such efforts.

When both fell quiet, they listened to the silence. The rain, which thundered hours earlier, washed the world clean, but not the humans who dwelled in it. The old woman laid her hand over Mei's eyes closing them forever, where they would dance in her eternal slumber. She then grasped her granddaughter's hand firmly, and went outside to breathe fresh air. The wind whistled at the two of them. Yet as the wind sang its melody, there was a tremor and an unmistakable chill created by the symphony of sound surrounding them.