You-Know-Who Is The G.O.A.T?

“So, we meet again.”

The voice startled Harry Potter. It was a voice that he was familiar with, dreaded and most of all, hated with vengeance.

Tom Marvolo Riddle sat beside Harry with a flourish. His entrances were as dramatic as his exit. He looked around in surprise. “Are we at King’s Cross station?”

“It sure looks like it.” Harry said, not taking his eyes off Tom. He had absolutely no reason to trust that guy. “Why are you here, Tom?”

Tom flinched. “I stopped being Tom long ago. I am Lord…”

“Lord Dead is what you are now. Get to the point. Tell me why are you here?”

Tom shifted in his seat. “I was happier when you all dreaded me.”

Harry guffawed.

“All right.” Tom said looking sheepish. “There is this boy…”

Harry heavily sniggered.

Tom sighed. “Will you act like a grown-up for once and listen to me?”

Harry coughed into his palms to restrain his laughter and nodded.

“Well, this boy named Vedant started reading our tales of glory…”

“You mean to say my tales of glory; your tales are gory. There is a difference.”

“I should have never sought you out.”

Harry smirked. “True that. Seven books and eight movies prove that.”

“Anyways… this boy keeps telling his friends that I am not the greatest villain to have ever existed.”

“You aren’t?? You mean to say there is someone meaner than you?? I highly doubt it.”

Tom gave a relieved nod. “Thanks Harry. I knew I could count on you. This boy – Vedant – he says there are other villains much, much terrifying than me. Take for instance this purple-colored dude named Thanos.”

“Thanos! I know this guy! Isn’t he the one who…”

“…at a snap, relieved the earth of half of its population? Yeah he is the one. Personally I would have converted all wizarding-types to my side and got rid of muggles and… you know my MO.”

“I know, and how!”

“Anyways… why would anyone fear someone who looks like a purple tator! But that is not all. There is this Greek dude named Kronos who is apparently hailed as the Lord Of Time and all… I mean, is there any name as gallant as Lord Voldemort? A name that people dreaded to utter? A name that had a trace linked with it? All you had to do was to utter it, and your entire data (including location) would be sent to my minions. Can this Krono-thingy stand up to this??”

Harry sighed. Am I really supposed to comfort the Dark Lord? How did it come to this??

“And then there is this king called Sauron. He doesn’t even have a physique! Just an eye! How are people supposed to be afraid of someone who is just an eye?? What has the world come to?”

But then you did not have a nose and yet the world was afraid of you… Harry wisely refrained from saying. He could not think of a single piece of advice for Tom. Then an idea struck him.

“I know what you should do! Why not visit this boy once? Just to scare him, that’s all. Don’t go all ‘Avada-Kedavra’ on him. Just the sight of you should be enough. Your nose is still missing, right?” Harry leaned over to have a proper look at Tom who shot him a menacing look.

“Right. You look as terrifying as always.” Harry quickly muttered.

Tom Marvolo Riddle stood up in all his glory. “Thanks Harry. You are right. It is time for the Dark Lord to pay a visit to The Boy Who Isn’t Scared.” He nodded haughtily. “Until we meet again.”

Which would be too soon for me even if we never meet again, Harry thought in relief.

Tom Marvolo Riddle aka Lord Voldemort aka The Dark Lord aka You-Know-Who aka He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stared at no one as he whispered in his dreadful voice. “I am back, and the whole world better know it.”

---@@@---

Vedant woke up in alarm. He looked around and then visibly relaxed. It was a dream.

It was all a dream!

For few seconds, he could only close his eyes and savor the moment of reality which was so, so better than the nightmare that he had had. He took out his mother’s mobile. There was something he had to do on priority basis.

He opened his chat group of school friends and started typing.

I take it back… Lord Vol.. I mean You-Know-Who is the most dreadful villain of all times. You guys won. I will bring chocolates today.

On The Coldest Night Of The Year

To get an idea about the characters involved in this story, kindly read The Spirit Of Celebration before you read this!

---@@@---

Manav shivered. Of course he would. It was after all the coldest night of the season.

And of course it would be the coldest night of the season. After all, the Spirit Of Cold, Shital was walking alongside him.

"Tell me again what the Superior said when They sent you to Earth." Manav implored as he rubbed his palms to generate some warmth. It was futile. When Shital was around, there would be no warmth. And tonight, she was in all her glory. There was no escaping the chill.

Shital sighed. "They said They want to check whether there is any hope left for the Spirit of Humanity." She looked at Manav apologetically. "I am sorry to bring such a testing time for you."

Manav shrugged and waved off the apology. He had reasons to be concerned. He was after all the Spirit of Humanity. 

That was not all. In the presence of the unbearable chill that Shital was emanating, Manav already felt weak. 

As the evening gradually progressed into night, a cold breeze started blowing. The coldest night of the season had begun. 

---@@@---

Manav and Shital sat on a bench opposite to a park. They saw people passing by, wrapped in cozy sweaters and mufflers. Most of them laughed as they rubbed their palms gleefully. It seemed like they were enjoying the cold weather.

Manav saw Usha and his spirits sank. She was a middle-aged lady who had no home. She was the sweeper of the colony and usually rested at a hollow pit dug outside the park opposite to him. Once she had had a home. When her husband started taking her hard-earned money to buy liquor, she left the house. The street was now her home.

Manav wondered how she would fare. He saw her wrap her saree tightly around herself. That saree would do nothing to protect her from the cold.

When Usha came to the pit, she saw two dogs lying there, curled around themselves.

Manav suddenly felt very weak. He tried to hold himself up, not wanting to give any indication to Shital about his weakness. Both of them watched Usha with bated breath.

Usha sighed and sat in the pit, not minding the dogs. She took out a box from her jute-bag. There were some rotis in the box. She tore off some chunks and offered them to the dogs who started wagging their tails eagerly while finishing off the chunks. Usha herself ate and once her dinner was done, she took out a saree from her bag and draped it over the dogs who had resumed their curled-up positions. She then tightened her own saree around her once again and lay down, curling herself to get some warmth.

Manav felt some of his strength return to him. It seemed humanity hadn’t lost yet.

Even as Manav and Shital watched, a girl dressed in pajamas came out of the building opposite to the park. She had probably seen Usha and the dogs, for she had a pair of blankets in her arms. She gently patted Usha on her shoulder and offered the blankets to her. Usha gratefully accepted the blankets, keeping one for herself and using the other to drape over the dogs. The girl smiled and left. Usha and the dogs went to sleep, now remarkably warmer.

Manav sat up a bit straighter, feeling stronger. And Shital smiled. Some losses were worth it. It was score 2 for humanity v/s score 0 for cold.

---@@@---

Manav and Shital had walked to another part of the town. Manav had to literally drag his feet. He had never been so weak.

This part of the town was secluded, except for the homeless who gathered here in large numbers. Some slept inside parts of a large water pipe that was broken. Others huddled and curled up on the roads, hoping and praying for some warmth from life in general. Shital watched them in silent despair. This was an uncomfortable yet true side of the world that the humans lived in.

Was a little bit of warmth enough to save humanity? Some chunks of food distributed to animals, a pair of warm blankets – would this suffice to give hope to humans? There was so much suffering, poverty and despair on the earth. Who all could be helped and saved? How many would do it? Most importantly, how much help was enough to redeem humanity?

She saw Manav walking with his head bowed. She knew that while the previous acts of kindness had brought his score upto 2, she herself was now at an impossibly high number.

Manav silently prayed to the Superior for a miracle. He loved the earth, he loved all the beings on earth and he wanted lots and lots of hope for them.

The sound of several vehicles approaching made them halt in their tracks. Manav looked around and saw four cars and three bikes park on one side of the road. Several people alighted from the vehicles.

“Utsav!?” Shital remarked in surprise. “What is he doing here?”

As if he had heard her, Utsav looked in the direction of Shital and Manav and waved at them. He said something to his friend and crossed the road.

‘Thought it would be your doing.” He said to Shital.

“The Superior sent me. Why are you here? What sort of celebration is happening on the coldest night of the year?”

Utsav shrugged. “My friend Jigyaas called me over. He and his office colleagues are distributing blankets to the homeless here. I joined in. It is a happy group and being the Spirit of Celebration, I couldn’t not be here. Also, Jigyaas is my favorite human. So, here I am.” He looked at Manav and patted his shoulder comfortingly. “Hang in there, bro. We have got this.”

Shital watched in silence as Manav joined Utsav, Jigyaas and several men and women and started distributing blankets to the homeless people who had started gathering around them, eagerly clasping the blankets as if their very life depended on it.

With every person who was helped, Manav regained his strength. The Spirit of Humanity grew stronger with every hand that offered help to every other outstretched hand. Within minutes, the whole street saw the homeless people wrapping themselves in blankets, not having a home yet but at least having warmth as a protection against the cold.

Utsav walked over to Shital and smiled. “At this very moment, there are several homeless people being helped in one part of the world or other. There is suffering and despair on Earth, but there is enough humanity to balance it out.” He looked around in satisfaction. “That’s why I spend more and more time on the earth.”

“Also because the Superior is partial to you and always lets you have your own way.” Shital smirked.

Utsav shrugged. “May be. I believe this is also the reason that Manav decided to stay back here.” He looked questioningly at Manav.

“Yes. I am here to stay for good.” Manav said simply, feeling grateful to see all the help that had flowed in and helped to redeem himself. “It is kindness and compassion that keeps me strong, and as long as I am strong, there will always be hope for every life on earth.”

Shital looked around and sighed. “It is time for me to leave. Apparently the test is all over and humanity won. I will see you both on the other side.” She nodded to the guys and slowly walked away from the scene.

“Want to join us?” Utsav asked Manav. “I am treating everyone to some hot drinks and snacks.”

“Sure.” Manav said.

The Spirit of Humanity and the Spirit of Celebration walked off, destined to be together, for where there was Humanity, it was always a reason to celebrate.

Returning Home

 

The room is unfamiliar. I do not know how I got here.

I can feel some one thoroughly wiping my body and I cry out aloud. The feeling is strange, although it feels like I have been through this before.

Then I hear someone say, ‘Congratulations! It is a girl!’. Suddenly I stop crying, for I have heard this before. An intense feeling of Deja-vu strikes me hard, and I wait anxiously for what will follow next.

Soft hands cradle me. I know this feeling! These hands have held me before! I groggily open my eyes and see a blurry image of a woman, a woman who feels very much familiar, and like my own. Through the hands that hold me, I can feel her body shaking. She clutches me to herself, her sobs now clear and resounding.

I want to tell her that I know her, that I have seen her before, that she had held me just like this. All that comes out of me is a cry of frustration. I comfort myself in the realization that she is holding me. I momentarily calm down, waiting for what exactly I do not know. But I know that there is more to my role, that there is something that I need to do. I wait as patiently as I can.

Through blurry eyes, I can see the shape of another human being come near me. Something about him is familiar too.

‘Look! Tanu has returned to us!’ The lady holding me says, breaking into fresh sobs. She offers me to the man lingering beside her. I can feel the tremor in his hands as he holds me.

Every inch of my body shouts in happiness. I know him! I try to open my eyes and this time, my vision is slightly clearer than before. A kind face stares at me in awe and wonder, with tears in his eyes. As he clutches me to his chest and sobs, my memory returns in full force.

I have seen him sobbing before. But those were sobs of terrible despair and grief. These are the sobs of pure happiness. I want to comfort him, say something to him. But all that comes out of my mouth is a cooing sound. He laughs through his tears. ‘You want to talk now, sweetheart? There is time for that. There is ample time for that.’ He says in a choked voice.

Words descend upon my consciousness.

Recognition dawns in me. These are my parents.

I know that I exist now. I also remember that I had come to them before. But I didn’t stay long. Just for a few hours until my very brief life was snuffed out. But something in me says that this time I am here to stay.

I want to tell my parents that this time I will not break their hearts. This time I will be there with them. I try to tell them in my own language.

Perhaps they understand, for, my father softly cradles me in his arms and whispers, ‘I know, baby!’ while my mother comfortingly runs her hands over my head.

I bask in the feeling of love and warmth. After a long journey, I have returned to my home.