A/N: Quidditch League Season Four – Seeker (Wasps) – Prompt: A couple of seasons back there was a round all about basing fics off classic fairytales. Seeing as it was pretty popular, we're bringing that idea back again. Only this time, we've given each position a classic Disney animated film to incorporate into your story somehow. SEEKER: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Based off the lyrics to Hellfire.
Godric slumped on the table before him, bone-weary from the long fight that had ended mere moments ago. Who would have thought one could battle dragons, rage war upon their kingdom, and then walk not fifty paces before reaching home and comfort. It was a travesty, that the beasts had been allowed to roam free for so long, stretching the borders of the realm further and further with each year until his village cowered in fear.
He rubbed his hands over his eyes and hauled himself upright. His day was not done; he could not afford to waste his precious time sleeping. This town needed him – needed the courage that he brought – and he only had a few short days with which to offer it.
"Rowena!" he called, leaving the table in search of his friend.
"Through here, Godric." Her voice sounded like a bright bell, ringing through the house in stark contrast to the scene he had just left.
Godric pushed open the door to the small living room they shared and froze at the sight before him.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
Rowena looked up in astonishment. "One of the children slipped in the mud today," she said slowly, a small frown creasing her forehead. "When I helped them up, my dress got muddy, and I didn't bring a spare. They're only undergarments, Godric, for heavens sake. You're like a brother to me, you know that." She glared at him as she nonetheless grabbed her dress from where it hung in front of the fire and threw it roughly over her head. "It's still damp," she said accusingly.
Godric gritted his teeth. "This is our last night before we return to Hogwarts, and we need to repair the outer wall before we leave," he said quietly. "I imagine you'll need your dress for that?" He turned and left without another word.
~oOo~
Salazer landed first, leaping elegantly off his broom and opening the wards with a flick of his wand. "As we left her," he purred. "Not a stone out of place."
"So, rather better than we left her then," Helga said with a smile, landing beside him and shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand as she inspected the work that the elves had done in their absence. "She's nearly finished."
"Our home!" Rowena cried with delight.
Godric felt his entire body tense in response to that cry, his muscles freezing as if Stupefied, while his blood warmed to a heat he had never felt before. Through a haze of want, he noticed Salazar staring at him. Merlin, did the man miss nothing?
Salazar waited until the women had moved onwards before walking slowly towards Godric.
"Are you alright, my friend?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "You seem troubled."
"Just sore," Godric replied tightly.
Salazar merely stared at him, waiting.
Godric exhaled sharply. "It's nothing," he protested. "I merely-" he stopped, knowing it was futile. "It's Rowena," he said dully. "Salazar, my friend, you know me, you know my heart. I am purer than this." He clenched his fists and met Salazar's gaze, his own pleading. "I am virtuous, and bold. Through my will and my strength we will bring the bravest children to Hogwarts, and mold them into men and women who will fight down beasts and dragons and any evil to stand in their way."
"Yes," Salazar said slowly, as if speaking to a small child. "You will. What is the problem?"
"She is the problem," Godric hissed. "This fire in my skin that I feel when I look at her – how can I carry on?" He gripped the front of Salazar's shirt, drawing him close. "How can I accomplash all that I must when she is turning me to sin?"
Salazar laughed, though his eyes remained wary. He gently removed Godric's fingers from his shirt. "I think you might be lacking sleep, dear friend. Rowena is a wonderful women; you would do well to court her. And you will still achieve all you long for, trust me."
With that, he turned back to the castle and left Godric standing alone.
"This has nothing to do with courting," Godric muttered, before following, his heart heavy.
~oOo~
"You must stop her dancing!" Godric pleaded, gripping the table before him until his knuckles turned white. "I can't bare it!"
"You can and you will," Salazar said sharply, waving his wand so that the music echoing through newly finished Great Hall grew louder.
The two women cheered and began to dance faster, twirling around and around in the light of the fire, their shadows stretching across the walls.
"I cannot, I cannot," Godric muttered, shaking his head and looking anywhere but her.
Rain pelted down onto the ceiling above them, promising to quench the flames, but never following through. Godric stared at it, willing the water to break free and douse them all, send them into darkness where he could regain his centre.
He had thought of nothing but her for the past days. He had found himself staring at her from his window, watching as she crossed the grounds to meet with the centaurs. Staring at her ankles, her breasts, any fair expanse of skin he could see.
"She must be mine," he whispered, blind to the world around him, seeing only Rowena as she danced in the light of the fire. "She must be mine, or she must burn." A whimper escaped him. "She cannot be mine."
He realised slowly that something was roughly shaking him. He looked up to see Salazar's eyes upon him, wide with horror.
"You are losing it, dear friend," he whispered. "Let me help you."
"Never," Godric cried, leaping from the table and striding quickly from the room.
"She cannot be mine, so she must burn."
He heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and broke into a run. Someone was shouting, but he could not hear. He knew that Salazar held Amortentia in his possession. He claimed it was only for research, but that could hardly be true, and it would work all the same.
He ran down the steps to the dungeon, hearing the footsteps fade as his pursuer failed to catch him.
A statue to his left suddenly moved. He leapt aside, but too late, as Salazar tackled into him, the tunnel closing behind them.
"Whatever you plan, it is madness," Salazar yelled, struggling to hold him down. "You cannot do this, it will destroy everything we worked so hard to achieve!"
"It will be destroyed nonetheless." Godric clawed at Salazar, fighting to be free. "I am good, I am virtuous," he cried, his voice almost a sob. "I cannot continue; I must have her, and then perhaps my mind will be free again."
"Then court her," Salazar hissed. "And accept that you are a man. You are not a god. You can be more than Godric Gryffindor, protector of the realm! You can be a man. Just allow yourself to be."
Godric froze, the words seeping through the fog of his brain and stalling his thoughts. He could be both. He could be a man and a protector. He could want, and still be hero the world sorely needed.
He gave a cry – if he was a man, then he was a man with impure thoughts that filled his brain until there was no room left for justice. No room left for anything but Rowena and her milky, fair skin.
"I can't do it!" he cried, shoving Salazar from him and leaping forward.
He thought he heard the words "forgive me", before the world went suddenly white.
~oOo~
"The house elves have done a wonderful job," Godric said, grinning when Rowena and Helga nodded enthusiastically.
"They have built her just as we hoped," Rowena said with a sigh.
Godric ruffled her hair and laughed. "Did we ever doubt them?"
He felt an odd spark in his chest when she laughed, her voice clear like a bell, but it faded quickly.
He turned to Salazar, noting that the man was oddly quiet and subdued.
"What do you think, dear friend?"
Salazar sneered. "Everything is as we hoped," he said slowly, his eyes burning into Godric, "dear friend."
Godric winced, wondering what it was that had soured Salazar's mood so surely in the last few days.
"That is good," he said with a smile, hoping to cajole Salazar into returning the gesture.
Salazar's eyes did not soften. Instead, he narrowed he eyes and turned away. Godric frowned, trying and failing to ignore the ache in his heart. Whatever had changed, Godric feared it may have changed for good.