Hey all!!! Here's the fifth chapter!! It's a little longer than my other chapters, but I think this is one of my better ones. I'm quite proud of this one. :D Happy reading! and please leave a review!
Big thank yous to my xanga friend MorikoSakurai, by faithful reviewer Sheen Rox and my new reviewer AutumnKate for the encouragement and the reviews!
Disclaimer: Basically, if you've read about it from the books, I don't own it. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. I also don't own the name 'Meilin', that belongs to the anime Card Captor Sakura. I own the character though, I just borrowed the name.
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Secret of the Chosen Heir
Chapter 5: Freedom
"Harry, what on earth are you doing?" Hermione asked as Harry continued to speak in Parseltongue.
"Luring Nagini out so we can kill her!" Harry replied calmly, "Alright, you guys go hide yourselves somewhere and on my signal, do something to freeze her."
"But-" Ron started to protest.
"Go! She's getting closer!" Harry interrupted, waving then away with his hands.
Hiding themselves behind different trees with their wands drawn, Ron, Hermione and Cho got ready. A huge green snake slithered into view and three different spells were shouted at once.
"Stupefy!" Ron shouted.
"Impedimenta!" Hermione cried.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Cho yelled.
Ron's spell missed the snake completely while Hermione's hit it a split second before Cho's. The snake froze into place.
Harry stood in front of it, the Gryffindor sword in hand.
"You!" Nagini hissed angriliy.
"Yes, Nagini, it's me." Harry said, smirking.
"Masssster!" Nagini screamed, "He'sss-"
Harry plunged the sword into the snake. Black blood began to spurt everywhere as Harry withdrew the sword and plunged it in again. Finally, the snake fell limp, cut open by the sword.
Harry breathed, closing his eyes to steady himself.
"Harry?" Cho went to him, keeping a wary eye on the dead snake. Blood from the snake was spattered all over him, "Scourgify!"
All at once, there were sounds of many footsteps in the forest. Quickly, Harry and Cho ducked behind a tree again.
"Search the forest thoroughly! Nagini is in trouble, find her! And kill whoever else you find!" came the deep cold voice of Voldemort from a distance.
Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione. They managed to tiptoe over.
"The forest isn't a safe place to meet up anymore, we'll have to meet somewhere else!" Harry mouthed silently.
Hermione pointed to the Muggle town they noticed before, then pointed to her wand and made an exploding gesture at the tip. Then, she took out her fake galleon and pointed her wand at it.
Ron looked puzzled, "What?" he whispered, earning a smack from Hermione and a finger to the lips.
Cho nodded at Hermione then turned expectantly to Harry, who was also looking a bit confused. Rolling her eyes, Cho grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and threw it over Harry and herself. Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and began to drag him towards the town while Cho pulled Harry in the direction of the Riddle mansion. Once out of earshot from the forest, Cho risked a whisper.
"We'll meet in the town. Hermione will send up sparks to show us where they are after we heat the coin to let them know we're out."
Harry blinked, "How did you get all that?"
Cho gave him a coy smile, making his heart flutter, "Girls, unlike boys, have a brain and know how to use it."
"Hey!" he protested indignantly. He was about the say something more when they reached the mansion door. It was half opened, so they slipped inside.
"Cho, I'm going to see where Meilin might possibly be. You stay here with the cloak, I'll be right back."
"No! You take the cloak. I'll be safe here in the shadows, but you have to stay hidden."
"But-"
"Harry, go!" She slipped out from beneath the cloak and gave him a small push.
He smiled, "Alright, I'll be right back."
Cho retreated to the darkest corner of the hallway, after she felt Harry's presence shift away. A hand clamped on her shoulder from behind and covered her mouth as she gave a small gasp.
"You have 5 minutes. Second floor, 3 door on the left." a voice hissed into her ear.
She nodded, eyes wide with terror and shock.
"And," the voice lowered, "Take Draco Malfoy with you."
She nodded again.
The hands released her as the sound of running footsteps came closer. She whirled around to see who it was, but saw only darkness.
"Cho?" Harry's voice came, making her jump.
"Harry!" Cho quickly slipped beneath the cloak and clung to Harry's shirt.
"I couldn't find any-"
"Second floor, 3 door on the left," Cho whispered.
"What?"
"That's where Meilin is! We have 5 minutes! Hurry Harry!" Cho whispered urgently. Harry nodded, still confused on where she got that information, but stopped questioning her and started to move towards the stairs he had gotten a glimpse of. They ran up the stairs and flew down the dimly-lit hallway until they reached the third door on the left side. It was locked.
"Alohomora!" Harry whispered. There was a soft click and they opened it cautiously.
"Who's there!" A cold voice shouted. Without thinking, Harry pointed his wand in the direction of the voice and fired a Stunner. There was a thud as the person hit the floor.
Cho threw off the cloak and ran to the bed where Meilin was sleeping, "Mei?"
Meilin's eyes fluttered open, "Cho?"
"Oh Mei!" Cho pulled her little sister into a fierce hug, crying tears of joy.
"Cho, we don't have much time." Harry said quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment, but needing to.
"Oh right, ok. Mei, we're getting you out of here." Cho said, wiping her tears away.
"What about Draco?" Meilin asked, her eyes now on the Stunned boy lying on the floor.
"Leave him here." Harry said gruffly, "This is where he belongs anyways."
"No!" Meilin cried, "I'm not leaving him!"
"Meilin, we don't have time for this!" Harry tried.
"No! You don't know what's he's done for me! If they find him here and me gone, they'll kill him!" Meilin looked panicked now. She ran to Draco and kneeled beside him.
"Meilin-" Harry began.
"Harry, the-the person who told me where Meilin was asked me to take Draco Malfoy with us..." Cho said uncertainly.
Harry looked at her in disbelief, "What? Who did you talk to?"
"I-I can explain, but we're running out of time! Please Harry, just, let him come."
"Alright fine!" Harry growled, turning away.
Cho wrapped her arms around him while Meilin took out her wand and whispered, "Enervate!"
"You!" Draco almost flew at Harry if Meilin wasn't firmly grasping his arm.
"Draco, we're getting out of here!" Meilin said.
"So Potter being the hero again is it?" Draco sneered, "Well good, because then I don't have to play the whipping boy anymore."
"The what?" Cho cried as Meilin winced at his words.
"Draco, they'll kill you if you stay here," Meilin pleaded, "Please come with us."
"We don't have time for this," Harry snapped, "Either come with us and live, or stay here and be killed, simple as that."
"Of course Potter would know everything. Oh wait, I thought that was the Mudblood's job of being a know-it-all."
"Draco, stop it!" Meilin said heatedly.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming, but only for Meilin's sake." Draco growled.
"Right," Cho sighed, "Can we Apparate out of here?"
"No, there's a ward on the house. We'll have to get out of the house first." Draco said coolly.
"Let's go then," Harry grunted, clearly restraining himself from punching the daylights out of Draco.
The house was surprisingly quiet as they made their way out. Cho guessed that whoever had talked to her distracted the last of the Death Eaters that remained in the house so they could make a break for it. Once out, Harry grunted the destination to Draco and Disapparated. Cho grabbed Meilin's hand firmly as she reached out for Draco.
"Go ahead Meilin. Don't worry, I'll come right after you." Draco said reassuringly.
Cho Disapparated with her and with one last look at the Riddle Mansion, Draco smirked at the thought of them escaping under Voldemort's very nose and Disapparated after them.
--Later--
"I still can't believe that the lady at the front let us all share one room." Hermione said perplexed.
After everyone had met up in the town, they decided that it would be safest to stay there. Voldemort would probably think that they had run somewhere farther, and so the town would hopefully escape his notice. Hermione managed to find Muggle money in her pocket, so they decided to see if they could rent a room for the night at a nearby motel. The person at the desk gave them a queer look when they asked for a single room for the six of them, but complied and even offered to bring up extra blankets for them, which they gratefully accepted.
"Well, she did, so stop complaining." Draco snapped.
"Oh really, Malfoy, can't you be more polite than that?" Ron scowled.
"No, I'm afraid I can't. What are you going to do about that Weasley? Run to Daddy?"
"Guys, just stop it alright?" Cho said pleadingly. The trio had been giving dark looks and scowls to Draco since he joined them. Ron and Harry were very obviously trying hard not to murder him at every word that he uttered.
"So Meilin, would you care to explain what happened?" Harry said, pointedly ignoring Draco.
"Well...it's hard to say, I don't really know where to start," Meilin replied timidly.
"How about Voldemort kidnapped you in the first place?" Hermione said kindly, "Do you know why?"
"Yes," Meilin sighed. She paused, gathering her thoughts. "I'm in possession of one of his Horcruxes."
There was a collective gasp. Even Draco looked a bit surprised.
"You see, I'm the heir of Rowena Ravenclaw. Voldemort wanted to make Horcruxes out of objects that held a significant meaning for him. So he went for the heirlooms of the four founders of Hogwarts. My mother held one of them. He found out somehow and Imperiused my mother into summoning it for him. After he made it, he didn't bother protecting it with other magic. He knew that it would be impossible for anyone to find out about it."
"So why did he suddenly take you?" Ron wanted to know.
"I don't know. I think he found out that his Horcrux had been passed down and was afraid that the new heir would destroy it."
"And why didn't you?" Harry asked.
Meilin took a deep breath, "Because the object was made so that it would fuse into the current heir's soul. If the heir tried to destroy it..."
"The heir would die too." Draco finished, casting a worried look at Meilin.
"Yes, that's exactly it." Meilin nodded.
"Did you know that you had his Horcrux before he told you?" Hermione asked carefully picking out her words.
Meilin nodded again, "Oh yes, I knew long before he told me. You see, when I was a small child, I always seemed to be able to have my way. Whenever I didn't, whoever denied it of me would mysteriously get hurt. Sometimes, I would end up in a part of the house, but not remember how I got there. Mother figured it out of course. She started me on Occlumency to help me control the Horcrux. Even then, there were times when I felt it gaining power, like when Cho told me the Chamber of Secrets was opened again and two years ago, when Cho wrote home and told us Cedric died. The Sorting Hat had a very hard time deciding whether to put me in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. In the end, it put me in Ravenclaw because I begged it to."
There was a long shocked silence as everyone let Meilin's word sink in. Suddenly, Cho threw her arms around her little sister.
"Why couldn't have the object been passed down to me?" she sobbed.
"The feather chooses the heir, Cho. It's been a part of me since I was born." Meilin said gently patting her on the back.
"But I can't lose you Mei!" Cho cried, "You're the only family I have left!"
Meilin pulled away from her sister and smiled sadly, "I know jie jie."
"We won't destroy this Hrocrux." Harry announced after a while.
"What?" Meilin stared at him.
"We won't destroy it," Harry repeated, "At least, not yet. There has to be a way to free the object from it's bond to you."
Hermione nodded, "I could do some research. I'm sure there must be some way, Meilin."
"Besides, don't we have other Horcruxes to destroy too?" Ron added.
"Let's see, there was the diary from second year, the ring that Dumbledore destroyed, then the locket of Slytherin that R.A.B destroyed, then the cup of Hufflepuff that we managed to shatter in the summer, oh and there was Nagini whom Harry killed earlier...that's five right?" Hermione counted.
Harry nodded.
"So all we have left is the piece inside his body and..." she looked apologetically at Meilin, "The phoenix feather of Ravenclaw."
"Don't worry, I won't let anytihng happen to you, mei mei,." Cho patted Meilin's hand.
Meilin stood up, "I want to breathe some fresh air, then I think I will go to bed. I'm quite tired."
Cho nodded, "Alright then!"
Meilin stepped onto the balcony and shut the door. Draco was already standing there, she had seen him leave when Hermione started counting the Horcruxes that were destroyed so far.
"You got awfully quiet..." Meilin said softly.
Draco snorted, "They're not exactly my best friends in case you didn't notice!"
Meilin stood beside him and looked into the dark sky, "Why do you put on this facade of coldness all the time?"
There was no answer. Meilin turned to look at him and almost gasped in surprise at the look of pain on his face.
"Draco?"
"Showing emotions is a sign of weakness..." he whispered, almost as if to himself.
"Draco, look at me!" Meilin put her hands on his shoulders and shook him slightly, "That's not true. Showing emotions gives you strength! Holding everything inside of you will kill you from the inside!"
Draco looked down at her and cracked a small smile, "Thanks Meilin."
She sighed, "No Draco, thank you. Thank you for protecting me, for supporting me, for shielding me."
"I had no choice."
She laughed softly, "If you didn't, you wouldn't be standing here with me would you?"
He didn't answer.
Suddenly, Meilin reached up and gave him a light kiss on the lips, "Goodnight Draco."
Draco stared at her in shock as she went back inside. He leaned against the railing, trying to sort out what he was feeling. He only felt for Meilin how an older brother would feel for his little sister. She was someone he had to protect, someone he had to shield, nothing more. And yet...
Draco shook his head rather violently, clearing his thoughts. With one last sigh, he turned and slipped inside. The others were seemingly asleep already. Draco crawled beneath his blanket on the hard wood floor and quickly fell asleep.
-An hour later-
Meilin's eyes flew open. She sat up in bed. It was still dark out, but the sky seemed to be a little lighter than before.
The sun must be coming up soon. I had better do it now. She thought. Swinging her legs off the bed, she quietly stepped past her sister, whispering a sad farewell, then Harry, who slept near the door. With one last look at Draco, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, Meilin slipped out the door and ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards the forest.
Safely inside the forest, Meilin caught her breath and began chanting the words that would summon the Ravenclaw phoenix feather.
-Meanwhile-
Draco awoke with a start. Something was wrong, he could feel it. In a flash he was standing up. He froze. Meilin was gone. Cursing, he shook Harry awake.
"What?" Harry said sleepily.
"Meilin's gone." Draco said as coolly as he could, keeping the panic from his voice.
Immediately, Harry snapped completely awake, "What?!"
Looking out the window, Draco saw a faint figure running towards the forest, "There!" he said pointing.
Everyone was awake by now, Cho was on the verge of tears again.
"Let's go." Draco said grimly, Apparating into the forest.
"You don't want to do this," a voice hissed menacingly somewhere ahead.
"I don't care, I have to do it." Meilin's voice responded shakily.
"You know that's not true."
"Stop it! You can't control me!" she screamed, "Avada Kedrava!"
"No! Meilin!" Cho shrieked, dashing ahead to where the voices where coming from, Harry and Draco hot on her heels. They came to a terrifying sight.
A few feet in front of Meilin was a a mangled looking phoenix feather. It looked a lot like the feather that disguised as the Gryffindor sword. Instead possessing a warm aura around it, however, this feather had an eerie green aura that spoke only of evil. A green swell of light was rapidly getting brighter around it. Meilin was standing in front of it, hands limply hanging down at her sides. At last, the swell exploded and all of them felt a cold wind pass through them as the feather shattered into a million shards and ceased to exist. Meilin began to fall backwards as the wind passed through her. With a shout, Draco ran to catch her. Her eyes were closed, her fragile face relaxed as if in a deep sleep. But Draco wasn't fooled. She was colder than death itself and there was no pulse, no breath, nothing to testify life within her.
Behind him, Cho was screaming. Harry was trying his best to calm her down, even though he was feeling broken as well. Hermione was also dissolving into tears as Ron stared at Meilin's lifeless body in shock. Draco continued to hold Meilin, sobs racking at his body. Through his unshed tears he saw something clutched in her hand. He pried it out and wordlessly handed the parchment to Harry after he read it.
Harry felt even more crushed as he read the small note in Meilin's beautiful hand.
This Horcrux will no longer hinder you from your goal Harry. Stay safe and win the battle. Do not grieve for me. I am in a better place now, surrounded by those whom I love. Good luck, I shall be watching over all of you from above. Love, Meilin
The sun rose, casting a golden light upon them as the tears began to fall at an uncontrollable speed
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Whooo, the ending there was a little weak. Oh well! Hopefully, you guys won't hate me for killing off Meilin. hehehe...should I keep going and include the final battle between Harry and Voldemort? or should I just leave it at this? Let me know what you think!!
Note on the Chinese (in case you were wondering): Jie Jie (Pronounced Jee eh Jee eh) means older sister, and Mei Mei (pronounced May May) means little sister.
Please review :D