Godric's Legacy

Chapter 5

Godric's Legacy

Alastor Moody and Tom Riddle stepped out on the open plain. The tall, amber grass at their feet swayed gently in the cool wind. Moody looked down briefly at his shadow, taking note of his position relative to the sun, and looked back to face Riddle. They both stood relaxed, each brandishing a wand held loosely in his grasp. At the sound of the raven's caw they snapped their feet together and brought their respective wands up slowly in a salute. Moody used the position as an opportunity to wipe a trickle of sweat, beading on his upper lip, with his thumb before snapping his wand at his side; it cut the air with a satisfying swish.

Without indulging in further ceremony, the duelists took their stances. Moody engaged the standard "Unicorn" stance...his forward leg bent at the knee and his rear leg remained straight with his wand outstretched before him. Riddle, on the other hand, employed the "Dragon's High Guard" where the bulk of his weight rested on his back leg with his wand held crooked over his head. Moody's eyes narrowed at his opponent's unorthodox opening.

Riddle's smirk betrayed his intention to strike first. "Expelliarmus!" He nodded in approval when Moody deflected the spell with nary an effort. "Very good. I remember when Wallace got you with that one in your sixth-year semifinals."

Moody bowed his head slightly. "Thank you. Can we stop playing about now?"

"Very well. Slytherin House rules, then?"

"Fine with me."

Riddle advanced two steps closer and resumed his stance. "So, how did Druella take it when you told her that you would be gone for the better part of a year?"

"Not very well," Moody said with a frown. "She's under the delusion that you and I are setting out to sow our wild oats in every brothel between London and Timbuktu."

"You mean we're not?" Riddle replied with a smirk. "How did you get her to sign off on it?"

"Wizard's oath," Moody said hesitantly before tensing his muscles in preparation. "Expelliarmus!"

Riddle slapped the spell aside. It shot straight up into the air before dispersing harmlessly high above them. "What did you say?"

Moody sighed, embarrassed, and admitted, "She made me take the Wizard's Oath."

The smirk on Riddle's face broadened into a knowing grin. "She must really be the one if you're willing to go through all that. Druella was always a little high-strung."

"You should know." Moody tracked Riddle's wand as he feinted to the left. "You introduced us."

"Yes, well, better you than I...Expelliarmus!"

"Thanks... I think," Moody said sarcastically after a successful block. "Seriously, how come you never made a move? I know she liked you at one time."

Riddle's grin disappeared. "I'm a half-blood, remember?"

Moody kept his wand at the ready as he moved closer. "Dru doesn't care about that stuff."

"Are you sure about that? She comes from an old world family. You wouldn't have a problem being a full blood and all...Expelliarmus!"

Moody spun to parry the spell while simultaneously advancing two more steps. "Being a full blood isn't all it's cracked up to be, to tell you the truth. With all the pressure of being a wizard, sometimes I envy a bit of the mundane."

"Take it from me. I spent the first eleven years of my life among Muggles. The experience was overrated."

"Expelliarmus!" Moody cursed when Riddle dismissed his best attack. "So, you haven't had anything to do with Muggles since you started at Hogwarts? What about your family?"

Riddle shrugged. "Truth be told, I did pay my Muggle father a visit not too long ago. I needed the closure – so to speak."

"Really? How was it?"

"Satisfying." Riddle gripped his wand tightly as he moved in for the last two steps. He stood less than ten feet away from Moody.

"Expelliarmus!"

Riddle brought his wand across and, in a backhanded riposte, deflected the spell back to hit Moody in the chest, knocking him off his feet. With a painful grunt Moody picked himself up, regarded Riddle briefly and saluted in closing.

Riddle returned the salute and walked over to shake Moody's hand. "You've improved greatly since sixth year. I wasn't sure if I was going to win that one."

"That certainly didn't stop you from knocking me on my arse," Moody replied, rubbing his chest. He walked with Riddle back to their camp. "Where did you learn that move?"

"I'll show you." Once they reached the campsite, Riddle rummaged through his bag and pulled out a book. He tossed it over to Moody. "I dug that up from my old job. Supposedly, it's a lost manuscript of Godric Gryffindor's travels."

Moody opened the aged tome carefully; the leather binding creaked quietly in his hands. "Tom, this looks valuable. Shouldn't this be in a museum or something?"

Riddle reached into his bag again, pulling out a canteen and unscrewing the cap. They started to walk along the trail. "We bought it from this bloke for six pence. He ripped us off; it's a copy of a copy of a translation. There's no way to verify it. My boss was going to toss it, but I convinced him to give it to me instead. Personally, I believe it's based on real accounts."

Moody continued to skim through the first few pages. "They didn't teach us this stuff at Hogwarts."

Riddle took a swig from his canteen. "They didn't teach us a lot of stuff at Hogwarts, mate." He offered his canteen to Moody, to which he politely declined, and screwed the cap on before putting it back into his duffel bag. "If you like it, you can keep it."

"Really? I can pay you."

Riddle waved his hand dismissively and said, "Like I told you, it's not worth anything. I got everything I wanted out of it besides."

"Thank you, Tom," Moody said, nodding in gratitude. He skimmed over a few more pages and started to fall behind. He had to jog to catch up to Riddle.

Riddle slowed to allow Moody to catch up. They walked side by side in silence as they entered the forest. When they found the hikers' trail, Riddle slung his bag over his shoulder, grinning as he mused, "You know what's funny; I learned more in one year peddling people's garbage than I did in all my years at school. It's amazing what people throw away."

"In times like this, people become desperate. They end up parting with stuff just to make ends meet. I wasn't crazy about selling my father's pocket watch, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do."

"At least your father left you something, mate," Riddle remarked. "But you're right about the things people do when they're desperate. I'm sure every one of the objects in our shop has a story to tell."

"Any you'd care to share?" Moody looked up at the sun in order to gauge the time. He wiped the sweat from his brow and added, "It's a long walk to the next borough."

Riddle glanced back at him, smirking. "Some other time, mate. I promise."

They broke through the edge of the forest and stopped. A female giant was drawing water from a nearby stream. She had amber skin with long black hair and was wearing a deerskin dress. She looked sufficiently distracted, so they retreated quietly into the brush and moved parallel to the river, careful to stay out of sight.

Riddle frowned and whispered, "Well, there goes any chance of making it into the next town before sundown."

Moody nodded in agreement. "She hasn't seen us. We can stay out of sight if we stick to the trees along the river."

"That'll add a good two hours to our trip," Riddle said. He promptly stormed onto the riverbank.

Moody grabbed for him, but Riddle was already out of reach. "What are you doing?"

Riddle approached the giantess with his wand aimed. When she saw him approach, she snarled and waved at him threateningly with a series of grunts and clicks. Undeterred, Riddle fired a few stunning spells and advanced quickly. The giantess screamed, picked up a small boulder and flung it as a child would toss a rag doll. Riddle sidestepped the man-sized rock and countered with the Binding Curse. The giant's limbs held fast together and she fell to the ground, shrieking as Riddle stood over her.

Awed by this demonstration of advanced magic, Moody ran out of the forest, carrying their bags, and came to Riddle's side. "Good job, mate." He looked to Riddle with apprehension as the giantess struggled against the curse's effects. "Let's go; that's not gonna hold her for long!"

"I beg to differ." Riddle pointed his wand with authority, reasserting the spell, and held her fast. All she could do was wail in her bindings.

"Wow," Moody uttered under his breath.

At this point, Riddle had become visibly annoyed by the creature's moans. "Quiet, you cow!" He flourished his wand; she writhed on the ground and screamed even louder.

Moody looked to Riddle, then back at the giantess. "The Cruciatus Curse?"

"Yes," he said casually. "Tough little monster, isn't she?"

Moody's eyes narrowed. "But it's in an 'Unforgivable', Tom."

Riddle rolled his eyes at Moody's reaction. "We're outside of the Ministry's jurisdiction, mate. All bets are off."

Moody retained his look of steadfast disapproval. "Tom, you're hurting her."

"Right, the noise is annoying, isn't it?" He finally released his hold on her. She bolted to her feet and started to run, but Riddle bound her ankles, causing her to trip headlong into the grass. "We're not done yet, love." He kept his wand raised and forced her to her feet. She stood up straight and walked over to them calmly. Moody started to back away, ready to run, but Riddle motioned for him to stay. "It's all right, Allie, she won't give us any more trouble."

Moody stared at him in horror when he realized what was going on. He walked over and grabbed Riddle by his wand arm. "Are you mad? Let her go!"

Riddle scoffed at the rebuke and replied, "So she can get her friends? Not a smart move, mate." He broke from Moody's grasp and, with another flourish, commanded, "Dance for me, love."

The female giant immediately began to prance around in front of them. She twirled and pirouetted gracefully in spite of her massive size. The ground shook slightly every time she landed from a jump.

Moody looked on, regretting the amusement he felt from the display. "The Imperius Curse."

"Mmhmm," Riddle replied with a furrowed brow. "It just takes a little more concentration."

"Amazing. But how are you doing this? It's a giant."

"I would be happy to teach you if you'd stop prattling," Riddle snapped, at the end of his patience. "You see, Dumbledore would have you think that in order to be a powerful wizard you have to be an old wizard – made wise by life experience. Not true. I've discovered that a wizard's power is directly proportional to his force of will. That's why you couldn't stun your giant."

Moody shook his head but kept his gaze upon the giant, as if mesmerized. "Not to be contrary, but I put a lot of willpower behind my hexes, and they didn't even slow my giant down."

"That's because you were afraid," Riddle answered with a knowing wink. "Things like fear and doubt will interfere with your potency. You see, when you're afraid, you jinx yourself. You worry about the spell not working because you worry about dying. The solution, of course, is not to fear death. Therefore, the wizard that can conquer death will conquer all magic." He focused his attention back to the beast and hissed, "I said dance for me, you gargantuan tart."

Moody looked on, jaw agape, as the scene took a disturbing turn. The giantess' movements became slow and more deliberate. Her hands moved slowly down the contours of her body. She whipped her hair about in rhythm as her belly undulated seductively to a melody heard only to herself.

Riddle grinned in satisfaction. "Do you remember that half-breed oaf of a giant Hagrid?"

"The one that opened the Chamber of Secrets? Yeah."

"The existence of creatures like that always made me wonder what the appeal was for a bloke to shag a giantess. Although, now I must admit to a sudden curiosity."

"If you believed the rumors of his pedigree in the first place." Moody raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, trying to look visibly bored. "At any rate, I've never had the occasion to ponder it myself."

"Don't be a dullard, Allie." Riddle scowled but persisted, "I figure, in such unions, it'd have to be the case that the mother is invariably the giant; I doubt that a human female would survive such a coupling. That is, unless the genitals for a giant don't scale like they do for humans." He sneered in realization. "We have a unique opportunity to answer that question now, don't you think?"

At his command, she slowly started to push off her shoulder straps and let them slide down her arms. The dress draped over her waist while one of her arms rested across her breasts. With her free hand, she combed through her black hair and whipped it over her shoulder. Her lips parted slightly as her fingers traced the outline of her mouth.

Moody watched the deerskin dress slip lower and lower down her waist before he finally looked away. "What are we doing here, Tom?"

"We are here to push the limits of all magic. To learn what they refused to teach us in school."

Moody sighed in frustration. "No. I mean what are we doing here?"

"My answer is the same." He glanced back at Moody, confused. "Why do you care, anyway? It's just a giant. Given the reverse, she would squash us like bugs."

"You don't know that."

"Oh, c'mon! They're animals! You should know that better than most!"

Moody put himself between Riddle and the giantess, pointing at her, saying, "Look at her eyes, Tom! She's scared!"

"Like your mentor, Huxley, was?" Riddle shoved him aside. "Like the people in the English West Country, living in terror at the mercy of their giant while the Aurors flitted about with their thumbs up their arses?"

"Still, that doesn't give you the right..."

"I have every right. Just as you did when you played judge, jury and executioner."

Moody paused and curled his lip. "That was different."

"Was it, mate? How did you know your giant was the same one that attacked all those villages?"

"HE WAS EATING HUXLEY!"

Riddle shrugged, keeping his tone calm. "But how do you know he killed him? Maybe it was some other giant. Maybe Huxley had an accident, a little slip and fall, and your giant just happened upon the body and decided, 'Waste not, want not.'"

"That's not funny, Tom."

"No, it's not. You didn't even bother to investigate. You just assumed and you took action. Why? BECAUSE YOU ARE SCARED OF DEATH!"

Moody looked down at his feet. "I...I never considered the possibility."

Riddle responded with a reassuring smile. "No worries, mate. It's in all of us from birth. Besides, it was only a giant. As a race, they don't have the intelligence to tie their shoes, let alone wear any. Creatures of 'near-human intelligence', right?"

His eyes widened when he realized the significance of Riddle's words. His head snapped in Riddle's direction, his eyes glaring. "Are you reading my thoughts? Get the hell out of my head!"

"Sorry, mate, but you were projecting a bit," Riddle said with an apologetic shrug. "Won't happen again."

"Enough of this." Moody made no more effort to hide his agitation. He tossed Riddle his duffel bag. "Let her go. I mean it, Tom."

Riddle arched a wary eyebrow and chuckled. "Relax, Allie. It was just a bit of fun." The giantess slumped to the ground as Riddle discontinued his Imperious Curse. He slung the bag over his shoulder and brushed past Moody, slapping him on the back. "See, no harm done. Let's go; I'm famished."

Moody switched his backpack to his other shoulder and followed after Riddle. As he walked away, he glanced regretfully at the giantess who was left sobbing by the riverbank.