A/N: This story was written for the International Wizarding School Championships—an amazing forum I highly encourage you all to join. Looking for a great Harry Potter writing competition? Look no further!

School: Mahoutokoro School of Magic

Theme: Ancient Runes—Artemis

Prompts: 18. [Object] Aegis (main prompt), 16. [Setting] Nysa: The Valley of the Nymphs (additional prompt)

Year: Year 1 (Part-timer standing in)

Round: Bonus/ round 5

Word count: 3757 words (Google docs; using +10% leeway)

Beta: Thank you to Sophie (3cheersforidiots) for her continued beta help!

Additional A/N: Please see end of story for noteworthy information :) (it's long, but up to you whether or not to read now, later, or never :))

Hunting Down the Truth

"Are you sure we're going in ze right direction?"

Rubeus paused, his breath coming out in small, icy puffs as he surveyed their surroundings. Snow-capped mountains towered before them, their peaks stretching towards the orange sky, caressing the sun as it sank towards the ground. From the rocky outcrop they were standing on, he could make out a mountain in the distance shaped like a sleeping woman, believed by the ancient Greeks to have been the birthplace of their god of wine—something he could appreciate.

He turned to Olympe and smiled.

"Not much further now, don' yer worry," he said. If his intuition was correct, the mountains were hiding a small valley—a valley he'd dreamt about for many years. "I'll find out soon."

Olympe raised an eyebrow. "Find out?"

"Wha'?"

"You said, 'I'll find out soon,'" she said, narrowing her eyes. "Find out what?"

"Oh, er, I meant we; we'll find out, yeh know, if they'll join us. Giants love places like this," he said, turning away so she couldn't see that his cheeks were burning.

If she knew he had an ulterior motive for accepting Dumbledore's request to find the giants, she'd likely stop him.

Sixty years earlier...

"Ready or not, here I come..."

Rubeus giggled as his father's voice echoed throughout the house. It was never easy to beat the man at hide and seek; the space beneath the beds was too narrow, and he'd become too tall to hide inside his wardrobe. This time, however, his father didn't seem to notice his feet beneath the curtains, and he stood as still as he could as he heard him enter his room.

"Where could my little Ruby be?"

He had to stifle another giggle as he watched his father pace back and forth from a gap in the curtains. Soon, he headed back towards the bedroom door.

"Oh dear, I suppose I will just have to get used to life without my son. Dinner for one from now on…"

"I'm here, I'm here!" Rubeus rushed out from his hiding place.

His father chuckled. "Well now, where did you come from, eh? Your turn now."

The seven-year-old grinned. "Nah, yeh're too hard ter find."

His grin soon faded, however, and he looked down. There was another reason he didn't want to continue the game: the need to ask a question that would probably also wipe the grin off his father's face.

"Where did me mother go?" he blurted out as he looked back up.

He was right; his father's smile did slip, and he ran a hand through his greying hair. "You know what happened. She just… left."

Rubeus shook his head. "I don' know why or—or where."

His father sighed again and walked over to the bed. He patted his lap for him to sit on, but as Rubeus approached, he hesitated and patted the spot next to him instead.

"Er, on second thought, best sit here," he said, shifting over. "It's been four years now, Ruby. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"

He bit his lip. "Well, jus'… I'm curious. I want'd ter know if she'd tuck me into bed, an'… an' patch me scrapes an' cuts, like mothers do."

"You know that's not all it's cracked up to be," his father said after a moment's silence. He was staring across the room—at what, Rubeus didn't know, but his father looked lost. "I'm afraid that you can't trust women; they'll just up and leave without a moment's notice."

"But—"

"I'm sorry, Rubeus, but it's the truth. They'll rip out your heart, tear it into shreds… Won't even say goodbye to their toddler… No chance to amend things…"

"Not all o' them, though, righ'? Maybe it's a giant thing? I saw Mrs—"

"All of them." His father looked back at him. "I'm sorry, but the best thing you can do is forget about her, alright? No more questions."

With that, he got up and left the room, leaving Rubeus to mull over the information. He was sure his father was wrong; perhaps, like he, his mother had found the house becoming too small and just needed fresh air?

He was positive she still loved them—he just needed to prove it.

"C'mon, we'd better get movin' if we're ter make it before dark," Rubeus said, clambering over a large, grey boulder.

"I 'ope you brought a thicker coat with you," Olympe said.

Rubeus patted his well-worn moleskin coat and beamed at her. "No need ter. This coat has served me well fer many years; 's all the warmth I'll ev'r need."

She pursed her lips. "But, it is only thin."

"Ah, yes, but it'll protect me from anythin', I know it."

...

Rubeus sat on his bed, not feeling like playing. His father was outside calling his name, perhaps thinking that he was still hidden behind one of the trees. The man had insisted they continue their game from the day before, but he'd snuck back inside.

With a sigh, he looked down at the old, leather-bound book in his lap. It was one of the few things his mother had left behind; the only other belongings of hers in the house were a large overcoat made from patches of torn animal skin and an oversized shoe. She'd never read to him, but he did remember her sitting with him once and looking at all the wonderful pictures inside.

As he opened the book and flicked through each page, he smiled at his favourite pictures. The one he liked best was of a large, three-headed dog in a cave. His mother, on the other hand, had liked the picture of the men with horse bodies—he remembered her calling them "pretty ponies"—and the image of a giant, bearded man holding a lightning bolt. Rubeus flipped through the book, trying to find him.

When he did, however, his eyes were drawn to something other than the lightning bolt.

There, wrapped around the man, was a coat that seemed very familiar. It was made from animal skin, and embedded into it was the golden head of a woman with snakes for hair. Jumping up, he strode over to his wardrobe and pulled out the overcoat his mother had left. He then walked back to the bed, his heart pounding, and held the coat next to the page.

Some of the patches of the coat matched the picture, including the image of the snake-haired lady, and when he held it up to the sunshine streaming through the window, he could see tiny threads of gold woven throughout it.

"There you are, Ruby! Sneaky boy, hiding in here…"

Rubeus grinned at his father and pointed to the book. "Wha' does this say?"

His father walked over, sat down, and took the book. His eyes had that faraway look in them again, but he didn't look annoyed.

"Ah, I'd forgotten about this book," he said, a small smile on his face as he ran his hand over the page. "Well, this talks about a man named Zeus. He was a Greek god—"

"No, no, is there anythin' abou' the coat?"

His father scanned the page. "Hmmm, well, it says that his cloak—sometimes it's a shield—was given to another goddess named Athena to use in battle. The coat was used to protect them, and some people think it could make the sound of a myriad—that's lots—of dragons roaring. It's called the Aegis."

"Wow."

Rubeus stared at his coat, his smile growing. He hadn't realised his mother had left something so important for him. Surely, that had to prove she really did love him?

He turned to his father, wondering if he'd show him how to make his coat roar, but he was already standing up.

"Well, come on, how about this game of hide and seek then?"

Rubeus nodded, remembering the way his father reacted to the last time he mentioned his mother. He'd have to look into it later.

"Stop."

Rubeus skidded to a halt as Olympe held a thick arm in front of him. He quickly swung his head back and forth. "Wha'? Did yeh spot somethin'? Have those ruddy Death Eaters caught up ter us?"

Olympe frowned. "You are acting odd. Zis mission is very important…"

"Am I?" He blinked innocently. When she narrowed her eyes, he sighed and added, "Yeh wouldn' understand, bein' a half giantess an' all."

Her nostrils flared. "Pardon?"

"Oh, er, I mean no offence o' course, not all women or giantesses are bad… 's jus' me dad… Oh look!"

He was spared from Olympe's wrath as he peered past her, spotting what he'd been searching for. Below, a wide valley stretched out between the mountains' bases. The grassy fields glinted emerald in the fading sunlight, separated by glittering streams of the bluest water he'd ever seen. It was as though the wintry air from the mountains couldn't touch the spring-like environment. It was exactly as the book had described it, save for the distant sound of roaring.

"We're 'ere," he said, pushing past Olympe to get to the valley. "C'mon, let's set up base."

"I 'aven't finished with you yet," she warned.

...

Rubeus peered out the kitchen window, making sure his father was busy in the garden. He watched the man pull a plant out of a pot and plonk it into the ground before edging away from the glass. Picking up the wand his father had left on the cupboard, he quickly headed to his bedroom, keen to hear his cloak roar again.

After a week of trying different things, he'd discovered that all it took was a tap of his father's wand on the snake-lady's head for the gold threads to light up and the distant sound of roaring to begin. He was careful to try only when his father was occupied, and he listened to make sure the back door didn't open before tapping it again.

The sound of dragon roars was soft yet still managed to echo around his room, filling Rubeus with glee. He could picture the ancient Greek gods going to war wearing a coat made of the whole thing, imagining the sound more powerful and frightening to their enemies.

As much as it delighted him, however, there was something missing. He wanted to see his mother again, to thank her for the coat, and to prove to his father that she still loved them. Unfortunately, he was no closer to knowing where she'd gone or what had happened to her, his best guess stemming from the book.

Putting his father's wand and the coat aside, he reached underneath the bed for it. Flipping it open to the page he wanted, he focused on the picture. It showed a vast, rolling green valley, surrounded by mountains touching the clouds. A woman stood in the valley with a bow and arrow, accompanied by dancing girls with flower crowns in their hair. There was also a baby depicted lying against the mountain holding a bunch of grapes, but again, Rubeus found himself unable to read the text telling him what, or better yet, where the place was. All he knew for sure was that, judging from the way the page seemed to be more worn than the others, including the picture of Zeus, it'd been important to his mother.

Sighing, he snapped the book closed. His only choice would be to ask his father for help again, and something told him the man wouldn't like it.

They set up camp at the edge of the valley in a dark, abandoned cave along the mountainside. The roars had continued to echo around them as they'd set out their sleeping bags, and once or twice, the ground had trembled beneath them like an earthquake.

After the seventh time they'd been awoken by the rumbling noises, Rubeus crawled to the mouth of the cave and peered into the dark. He could make out large bonfires on the other side of the valley, no doubt the work of giants. This was confirmed not two minutes later when a large, human-like silhouette was cast along the granite mountain wall, soon overshadowed by another. He couldn't help but wish it belonged to his mother, even though he knew it couldn't.

"It seems like zey are throwing a party," Olympe said, crawling to his side. "I don't suppose you can tell which one's ze Gurg?"

Rubeus squinted, but there was no tell-tale sign of who the giants' leader was. Another roar echoed around them, and he shivered as the silhouette of one giant crashed a club down upon another.

"Good thin' we remembered the gifts," he said, referring to the branch of Gubraithian Fire Dumbledore had enchanted, an indestructible battle helmet (that Hagrid had been disappointed to find wasn't one he'd remembered seeing in his mother's book), and a roll of dragon skin they'd brought along.

He glanced at Olympe, surprised to see that she was biting her lip. "Don' yer worry. Giants like magic, remember? Even me mother loved magic..."

He pulled his moleskin coat tighter around him, taking comfort in its protective qualities. He'd had to patch it with other skins several times since he'd first worn it; the gorgon head was the only part that'd managed to remain unfrayed.

Olympe didn't immediately answer him, and when he turned towards her again, he saw her eyes were full of concern. "You're not just 'ere for Dumbledore or ze Order, are you? 'agrid… your mother won't be 'ere; you know she's gone."

Rubeus took a deep breath. He'd made the unfortunate discovery not long after his expulsion from Hogwarts when he'd toiled with the notion of finding his mother—it'd been a double blow after the news of his father's death the year before. Her death had meant he'd missed his opportunity to speak with her, but now, he had a second chance to find some answers.

"I know tha'... I jus' thought… well, I thought I could still find out 'bout her. The giants mus' know somethin'; she must'a told 'em…"

Olympe patted his hand, her eyes full of sympathy. "You know what ze giants are like… I mean, I thought about 'unting down my own father at times until I remembered all ze times 'e'd tried to eat me. Surely you know it's just not possible for one to love? Not a full giant, anyway," she said. "You might be disappointed with what you find."

He gripped her hand before heading back inside the cave. "I s'pose we'd bes' get ter sleep then; I don' want ter let Dumbledore down."

Olympe gave him a small smile as they settled into their sleeping bags. His eyes soon grew heavy, willing him to close them, but he held them open just long enough to see the shadows moving about, hoping everyone else was wrong.

...

"Dad?"

"Hmmm?"

Rubeus shifted from foot to foot, the book in his hand. His father was busy mixing a batter of rock cakes, but somehow, having the man's back facing him made him even more nervous.

"I was wonderin' if yeh could tell me wha' this par' says?" he blurted out before his nerves could get the better of him.

His father wiped his hands on his apron and turned around. Rubeus held the book out to him, pointing to the picture of the valley.

His father's eyes lit up as he looked at it, nodding to himself. "Ah, that would be Nysa: the Valley of the Nymphs. Quite a beautiful place, that is. The Ancient Greeks believed it to have been the place where their god of wine, Dionysus, was born, but few know where it actually is. Some believe it is far from Greece itself, perhaps somewhere in Asia, but it could be in Europe," he said, winking.

"Have you bin there?" he asked, his spirits rising.

"When I visited Russia, I happened upon a valley like this where I met your—" he abruptly stopped and stared at him, his eyes narrowing. "Why do you ask?"

"I jus' thought per'aps, maybe, well…"

His father sighed. Taking off his apron, he held a hand up for Rubeus to wait a moment before heading into the living room. When he returned, he was holding another book featuring a hulking giant on the cover.

"Come, sit down," he said, pulling out a chair.

His father sat on his lap—the silliness of which momentarily eased the worry creeping through Rubeus' body—and opened the book to a marked page.

"I've read this myself many a time trying to understand what went wrong. I, too, believed there was a chance your mother loved us, that she was different to others. I wanted to believe there was hope she'd come back."

Rubeus saw that his father's eyes had gone misty again. Carefully, he wiped a tear that trickled down the man's cheek with the tip of his large pinky finger, causing his father to smile just a little.

"Thank you. But, see here, Ruby?" He pointed to the picture of what looked like a baby, but whose face resembled a squashed potato. A giantess was shown running away from it. "This mother has abandoned her baby because it's too small. And right here, it says that that's what all giant mothers do if they're dissatisfied.

"It's not your fault, my boy; it's just not in their nature to love. They can also..." his father's voice cracked and he swallowed thickly, "...they can also be a tad violent. There's a chance she's not even ali—well, never mind."

Rubeus stared at the picture, his heart crumbling. He didn't think that his mother would be capable of abandoning him, not when she gave him a coat to protect him, but thinking back, she'd always growled when he'd been too short to reach the cupboards.

He didn't notice tears were trickling down his own face until they splashed the page.

"Do you see why I don't like this idea of you hunting her down?"

He nodded again, his mind torn between the Aegis and the facts in the giant book.

"But there's no need to fret," his father said, squeezing his knee and hopping off his lap. "Because your mother gave me you, and that's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Besides, now we actually get to eat these rock cakes without her scoffing them down first, don't we?"

Rubeus smiled weakly and allowed himself to push his doubts to the back of his mind.

"We'll return again tomorrow."

Rubeus watched a blond giant translate Olympe's words into their own language for Karkus, the Gurg. The giant nodded, barely paying attention to them as he played with the helmet they'd given him. Slowly, the pair backed away, relieved they hadn't been torn to shreds.

At the mouth of the cave, however, Rubeus paused, looking back as the blond followed them out. His heart was once again thumping in his chest, knowing it was perhaps his only opportunity to find out the truth that'd plagued him for years.

"'agrid! Stop! What are—"

He ignored Olympe's worried tone and cautiously approached the giant. He cleared his throat, causing the giant to turn his enormous head towards him, his dull eyes full of annoyance.

"I, er, pardon me, but I was jus' wonderin'—"

The giant huffed and raised the tree branch he was carrying.

Rubeus stepped back, but didn't give up. "I was jus' wonderin' if yeh knew Fridwulfa?"

He didn't know if it was the Aegis' protective enchantments or the mention of his mother's name that saved him, but just before the branch came swinging down upon his head, the giant paused. Scratching his chin, he peered down at Rubeus' coat.

"That's our magic coat what that human gave to the colony before I was borned."

His heart leapt, and he took another step forward. "My mother had it. Did she love—"

The giant ignored him. He cupped his hand around his mouth, and in a voice that shook the ground, called to a smaller giant who'd been sitting cross-legged against the cave wall. The smaller giant—who was half the size of the blond—pointed to himself with a goofy grin. He slowly ambled over.

"She lefted Grawp too," he said.

His heart squeezed painfully. His mother had abandoned another child?

"But, did she ever mention me? Er, her son, Hag—Rubeus?"

The giant had already grown bored. He slapped the smaller giant across the back, propelling him forward with such force that Rubeus had to jump back. Luckily, Grawp managed to catch himself before toppling over the cliff.

"Har! Har har! Only wanted that old magic coat, she did," the blond said, letting off a booming laugh as he walked away. "Fighted the Gurg for it when he tooked it off her."

His eyes began to sting as he stared after the giant, praying he was wrong. Perhaps he'd not heard his mother speak kind words about him? He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he was spun around to face Olympe.

"I'm sorry, Rubeus," she said, squeezing him. "I'm sure she did care."

He couldn't bear the look on her face, one that told him he'd been foolish, and looked away. The small giant, Grawp, still had the same grin on his face, unable to comprehend that he, too, had been unloved.

"Come, we should go," Olympe said, pulling on him.

Rubeus ignored her, however, as he continued watching Grawp. He hadn't noticed what the giant had been wearing, but as the sun poked through the clouds and lit up the valley beyond, Grawp's loincloth glittered with gold. Stepping closer, he noticed that the material was animal skin—the same animal skin that formed part of his own moleskin overcoat.

"Rubeus?"

Taking another step closer, Rubeus took off his coat and held it up to Grawp, who tried snatching it. As he'd expected, the part of the Aegis that made up his coat seemed to have been torn from the same material covering Grawp. If he tapped it with his pink umbrella, he was sure that it, too, would roar like a myriad of dragons.

"Rubeus…"

"Alright, Olympe, I'm coming,' he said, beaming at Grawp.

His mother may have abandoned them, but deep down, he knew that she'd loved them. After all, surely she hadn't left part of the Aegis by accident twice? She'd meant to protect them, and although he'd missed his opportunity to speak to her, let alone to tell his father, it was enough for him.

Additional notes: There's quite a few things I'd like to cover here (I'm afraid the round requires some explanation, plus I may or may not be a bit of a history fanatic. And yes, I'm aware a good story shouldn't need too much explanation, but please bear with me). As such, these may or may not make it AU (well, okay, the Aegis definitely does lol), although I have tried to stick with canon where possible.

Theme: For this round, my school received Artemis as the theme. I've represented her through both Hagrid's father being unable to trust women (in canon, he was heartbroken that Fridwulfa left him, and I know Hagrid himself consents that his mother mightn't have been the best, but I do believe he held hope) relating to Artemis being untrusting of all males, and in Hagrid himself. For example, like Artemis, he holds an aspect of innocence, often uses his intuition, looks after other creatures (not shown in this story per se), and likes 'hunting' (the hunting part not being literal killing of animals for sport—which is absolutely disgusting—but of looking for the truth).

The Aegis: There are many variations of the Aegis, and the first thing that came to mind was the belief it could make the sound of roaring dragons (Hagrid's love!) and it being a coat from animal skin (Hagrid's infamous moleskin overcoat—I know moleskin is different material, but according to the films, it was animal fur). Technically, it is immortal, but with Fridwulfa's strength and other magic factors, tearing it could be possible (with good intention). I didn't get a chance to explain in too much detail, but I imagine it came into possession of the giants as a magic offering from someone in the past, perhaps by Athena herself or a descendant—that, my friend, will be another tale to come.

Nysa: Nysa, too, has many variations of location and appearance, so I went with what research allowed and took liberty to having it in Russia where the giant colony was supposedly at.

Name: The biggest thing here may be the use of Hagrid's first name, Rubeus, instead of, well, Hagrid. I've umm'ed and ahh'ed about this for ages, because it sounded weird calling a young child Hagrid, and the adult version Rubeus (and weirder again switching it). Since I ran out of words, the plan for Hagrid to make his father call him by his last name because it's cool didn't happen, and thus I ended up sticking to his first name throughout.

Underage magic: Whilst Hagrid uses his father's wand, it is unlikely the Ministry would've intervened as he taps an already magic item and lives in a magic household (using canon explanation Ron once gave to Harry).

Flashbacks: I'm hoping it's clear, but just to be sure, every second scene is the flashback (same time). I refrained from using italics simply because it's the most annoying thing ever, and again, no words left.

Dialogue: Please forgive this attempt at both French and Hagrid dialogue. I spared you from putting his father's dialogue the same as Hagrid's (mainly because I sort of see his father as a little more… refined… and because it would be a pain to read both of them doing it). Hagrid's uses mainly the dropping of the 'g' in verbs, 'bin' instead of 'been', the dropping of 't', and a few other things, so hopefully it's not overkill. For Olympe's French, it was mainly changing up 'the' ('ze' and 'zey' for 'they') and dropping the front 'h' of some words (following canon again), but not all to avoid too much. I know, I know, you can say 'why not just avoid accents?' but I say, 'why not try and conform to canon as much as possible?' :') The blond giant, too, is intentionally written with poor grammar.

Other: It's not important here, but I do hope you will read the Orion/Artemis love story when you have time (simple Google search). It's more tragic than Romeo and Juliet (in a good way) lol.

Okay, and… done. Sorry for that, but I'm feeling a tad anxious at the moment and want to get something right :') Thank you for reading! Xxx