Paradigm Shift

Chapter 6

Paradigm shift

BAM!

Two figures Apparated from a ripple of displaced air. They coalesced into the forms of Alastor Moody and Tom Riddle, each landing headfirst into a patch of wet mud. They lay there, not moving, for several seconds until Moody broke the stillness by swatting at a fly that had landed on the tip of his nose. The sun was shining directly overhead, and he squinted until his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He looked to his left and saw Riddle lying calmly next to him with his head in his hands.

"Tom?"

"Yes, Allie?"

"Still alive, eh?"

"I think so." Riddle sat up, wiped a glob of mud from his face and flicked it at Moody. "That's the last time I let you talk me into doing something like that."

Moody spat out the mud in his mouth and sat up. "Don't act like you didn't like it." He wiped the remaining mud that had fallen into his eyes on his sleeve. When he looked up, he saw that Riddle was pointing a wand at his head. Moody gasped when a stream of orange light shot out and grazed the side of his face.

Riddle sneered as he put his wand away. "One of the little buggers hitched a ride."

Moody looked down at the hairy, multi-legged animal covered with stingers that twitched at his feet. "Thanks, mate. But how about a little warning next time?" he said, rubbing his cheek.

"What are you complaining for?" Riddle picked up his bag and headed back for the trail. "You'll be doing this sort of thing for a living soon enough. What's the pay like, anyway?"

After adjusting the straps on his backpack, Moody followed close behind. "Not enough, from what I hear."

"You should strive for something more lucrative," Riddle said, glancing back at him over his shoulder.

Moody rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject. "What's next on the itinerary?"

Riddle reached into his bag, pulled out a map and held it up to the light. Two blips on the page were synchronized with their position on the path. "Assuming you have no more 'diversions' planned for us, we'll soon be coming across an ancient library in the next village that once belonged to Merwyn the Malicious."

Moody tried in vain to comb the already dried flecks of mud out of his hair with his fingers. "Shouldn't we get cleaned up first?"

"Naw, we'll blend in better this way."

BAM!

They reappeared at the edge of a large hamlet. Riddle put the map away and led them into a bustling marketplace. The streets were lined with vendors selling various foodstuffs and exotic magical items.

Moody was relieved that he had taken Riddle's advice; most of the seedy villagers were dressed in raggedy clothes and likewise covered in grime. Aside from a few odd looks, they seemed to be accepted by the populace. "If memory serves, Merwyn was a really bad egg. Invented all sorts of evil magic."

"To some extent, it's all relative," Riddle replied. "Even Godric and Rowena dabbled in what we now call the 'Dark Arts' – and they founded Hogwarts."

They stopped at a stand and were greeted by an old man who spoke Scandinavian. Riddle waved his wand to cast a translation charm.

"It was a different time, Tom." Moody picked out two blocks of cheese from the cart and continued, "They didn't have a Ministry of Magic back them."

"It just proves that knowledge, in and of itself, is not evil. If it were, then why bother having a restricted section at Hogwarts' library? Why not just destroy the information?" Riddle paused to grab an apple. After sniffing it, he put it back into the barrel and grabbed a plum instead. "I guarantee you that Dumbledore and the rest of those old cronies in positions of power want to keep all that information for themselves while they keep the masses in ignorance 'for our own good'. It's just another level of control."

"I understand what you're saying, Tom. But you have to admit that it would be a disaster if everyone went around experimenting with Dark magic ad libitum."

Riddle paid the man and the two were off again. "There is no Dark and Light magic, only Dark and Light wizards."

Moody chose to soothe his rumbling stomach before replying. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he took his first bite of goat cheese. "But just look at what a few of these so-called wizards have done with that knowledge."

"There wouldn't be any Dark wizards if those fat cats at the Ministry weren't so drunk with power. Crime comes from ignorance and corruption, not enlightenment. The founders knew that. I suspect you know this too."

"I have to admit that my confidence in the system has been shaken of late," Moody conceded, talking with his mouth full.

"Then why become a Ministry lapdog?"

"The Aurors are not 'lapdogs'. Without them in place, you end up with... well, a cesspool like this, actually. They are the only forces that keep us from lawlessness."

"The virtue of the people is what keeps us from lawlessness," Riddle corrected him.

Moody looked back with narrowed eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Well, for what's its worth, I think you'd make a pretty good Auror."

Moody raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

"Yeah. You're sufficiently idealistic and you duel pretty well. Although, you can be a tad conventional."

His brow dropped. "What do you mean by conventional?"

Riddle spat the plum pit onto the ground and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "I mean you're easy to read."

Moody snorted. "I am not easy to read." He walked silently for a few more paces before his curiosity got the better of him. "How am I easy to read?"

Riddle shrugged, half annoyed, before taking a swig from his canteen. "I don't know, Allie. Do you really want to get into this now?"

"What else are we gonna talk about?" he replied, nudging Riddle in the ribs.

"Well, I just meant that you fit into a certain mold and tend not to deviate from that pattern."

"The pattern being?"

A grin slowly etched its way onto Riddle's face. "The Maverick Hero: he who sweeps in, battles the baddies and saves the very grateful damsel in distress."

Moody snorted. "Rubbish."

"It's a bit cliché, really," Riddle persisted.

"Now I know you're talking out of your arse ."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. You just need to think outside of the box. Otherwise, it can leave you vulnerable..."

"Vulnerable? How?"

"In the real world, a person that wishes you harm won't formally challenge you on the piste. It's all about finding and exploiting your enemy's weakness."

"What if your enemy has no weaknesses?"

"Everybody has a weakness, Allie."

"Is that so?"

"Let's take you for instance," Riddle said, still grinning. "People with your personality type usually have the debilitating habit of loving too hard."

Moody smiled in reply and, with a wink, added, "Some weaknesses are worth having, mate."

Riddle sniggered slightly. "Yes, well, theoretically, if I were a Dark wizard, I would follow you home and observe you, waiting until you let your guard down. But I wouldn't attack you directly. No, I would wait until you left your loved one unprotected, then snatch her as my prisoner. That way, when I chose to confront you, I would have the advantage."

Moody looked at him curious. "You're speaking theoretically, of course?"

"Of course," Riddle replied, punching Moody in the shoulder and causing him to drop his cheese. "I'm merely saying that you have to stray from the paradigm to keep your enemies off guard." Riddle looked at Moody in disgust when he picked his cheese up off the ground and wiped the dirt off.

Moody paused before taking a bite to say, "Three second rule." He scarfed down the rest of his breakfast, ignoring Riddle's jeers of revulsion. "Anyway, I know what you're saying, Tom, but still, it's not very honorable."

"It's not about honor; it's about winning."

Moody nodded. "So, what's your weakness, then?"

Riddle stood a little taller. "Well... I happen to be an exception to the rule."

Moody threw up his hands, exasperated. "Haven't you stopped to think that perfection can be a weakness?"

"No," he replied, blasé in his response. "But it can be rather dull."

"Wanker."

Riddle called for a truce, massaging his shoulder after Moody punched him back. As they left the noise of the crowd, Riddle's lighthearted demeanor seemed to fade along with the din. "Allie," he said in a sudden moment of reverie, "Still speaking theoretically, of course, what would you say if I told you that there exists magic that would allow you to cheat death. Would you use it?"

"Not without asking 'what's the catch'?" Moody replied absent-mindedly. "What prompted this?"

Riddle smiled weakly. "Nothing. I was just curious, 's all."

They came to the center of the town square where a small crowd had assembled before a raised platform. Moody watched a short, stout, middle-aged man bring a young unicorn filly on stage. Its legs were shackled to prevent it from galloping. The man chained the animal's neck to a post sticking out of the floor. He uttered something to the crowd in Scandinavian, which immediately sent the onlookers into a frenzy.

Moody looked on in apprehension. "This can't be good. What do you suppose they're doing?"

Riddle slyly took out his wand and waved it around their ears. "Only one way to find out."

Moody's fears were soon confirmed once the translation charm took effect. "They're auctioning off her organs?"

Riddle nodded. "It makes sense, I suppose. You'd get more money for the parts than you would trying to sell the whole. A unicorn's pancreas alone could be used to..."

"It's barbaric! These animals are almost extinct!"

Riddle put a calming hand on Moody's shoulder. "But these people are desperate, Allie. It's not for us to judge, especially with the state of the economy in the wake of the Muggle's wars..." He stopped when Moody shrugged him off to head for the platform. "What the bloody hell are you doing, Allie?"

His words fell on deaf ears for Moody was already halfway through the crowd. After he pushed through to the edge of the podium, he took out his wand and jumped onto the stage. Before the auctioneer could react, Moody stunned him. He quickly turned to the poacher and shot him off the stage in short order. He immediately went to work unlocking the unicorn's shackles, ignoring the cries of the angry mob. He heard a command in Latin and spun in the direction of the voice, but his would-be attacker was already unconscious. He looked back and saw that Riddle had broken through the crowd, the embers of his stun spell still dancing off the tip of his wand.

With a standing leap, Riddle joined Moody on the stage and guarded him while he finished untying the unicorn. "Are you insane, Alastor?"

"I'm being unconventional, remember?"

"Right. I did say that, didn't I? Silly me."

"What can I say? Dru likes unicorns; her Patronus is a unicorn. She'd be miffed if I stood by and let one get slaughtered.

"I see. The last thing we want is to upset your girlfriend."

The mob had gotten larger as the noise started to attract more onlookers. The duo blocked the random spells that were shot sparsely from the crowd. Fortunately, most of the villagers did not seem to own wands. However, that did not stop the rest of them from taking up arms and advancing in angry unison.

With a practiced flourish, Moody banished the first wave, sending them flying like leaves in a breeze.

"Ace move, Allie!"

"The competition keeps me in shape!" he answered, all the while dueling a couple of older wizards who had been able to punch through.

Not to be outdone, Riddle gripped both hands tightly around his wand and sent a yellow arc of energy into the center of the mob. Those that weren't blown aside scampered away in fear.

BAM!

Without looking, Riddle pointed his wand in the direction of the familiar sound of Apparition, followed by a deadly voice.

"Avada..."

Riddle was ready for him. "EXPELLIARMUS!" His enemy flew backward, hitting the pole hard and rendering him unconscious. Riddle stood over his prey. His expression was serene, but the tip of his wand glowed a bright green.

As Riddle had done for him before, Moody placed a calming hand on his friend's shoulder. "Tom, he's down. Don't do it; it's no longer self-defense."

"You would have me spare this trash?" Riddle said in a disturbingly pensive tone.

"I don't care about him. I'm thinking about you."

"What did I tell you about idealism, Allie? This isn't the classroom. You don't give an enemy a chance to regroup. This is about life and death."

"Yes. And I'm thinking about your life; he's not worth fracturing your soul over."

Riddle lowered his wand. "I suppose not."

To conceal their escape, Riddle cast a powerful Confundus Charm, causing the majority of the mob to mull about aimlessly. With the unicorn in tow, they Disapparated from the village and reappeared at their campsite on the far side of the forest.

Once they were settled, Tom paced back and forth, still reveling in the excitement of the moment. "Well, we didn't get to see the library, but still, that was bloody brilliant! I don't believe we did that!" He calmed down enough to notice that Moody was quiet. "What's wrong with you?"

Moody knelt over the unicorn lying in the grass. A pool of thick, silver liquid had started to pool under her and seep into the soil. "I think a stray shot hit her. She's bleeding out."

Riddle looked on quietly for several minutes. The unicorn moaned weakly while Moody gently stroked her mane, powerless to stop the bleeding.

Riddle gently knelt down beside Moody. "Stand back. I can help." When Moody was clear, he placed his wand on the unicorn's forehead. "Avada Kedavra." A green light enveloped the animal and it stopped breathing. He looked at Moody. "She was suffering. It was the only way." He looked away, unable to read Moody's expression. "You know I'm right."

Without saying a word, Moody got up and walked away, leaving Riddle alone with the corpse.