The Five Greatest Wizards of their Time

Chapter Nine: The Leaving

Godric had difficulty falling asleep. He did his best to stay awake for the return of his brother, but the more he waited, the more he knew he had to fall asleep. It was a feeling Godric had when his father left his family, and it was the one feeling that pained Godric the most. After countless minutes of waiting, Godric surrendered to his tiredness, and fell asleep.

It wasn't until after noon that Godric woke up. He had a pain in his back, from sleeping in an awkward position. Godric first noticed the open door. Then, he refocused his eyes, and noticed Salazar, Rowena, Helga, and Timothy sitting in chairs across from him. Something was wrong because both Rowena and Helga were retaining themselves from crying, but tears slowly streaked down their eyes. Timothy clutched onto a piece of parchment paper so hard it was beginning to become moist.

"What's wrong?" asked Godric, sitting himself up in his bed.

Everybody looked at one another, not quite sure who should speak first.

"Godric, last night, I asked Griffith to accompany me so I might show him some magic that might intrigue him," began Salazar, "I know it might have been against your will..."

"Please continue Salazar. I already knew that Griffith was going with you. He told me," answered Godric. He was not quite sure were Griffith was.

"Oh, well, I took Griffith to a place far away from others in the castle as to not disturb my fellow colleagues. When we were practicing the magic, there was an, um, infiltration."

Godric felt as though his heart had began to split into pieces.

"Griffith and I, we began to fight off the opponent," continued Salazar, "He was very powerful, in minutes he had Griffith unconscious in a corner, and began to constantly try to petrify me. I did my best to try and stop him, but I could not withstand the power he possessed, and the dark magic I could sense from him."

"What happened Salazar!?" exclaimed Godric. His voice echoed in the room, and sent others looking away.

"I was retreating to get somewhere safer, and he used the disarming spell upon me, and also sent me flying into the wall. When I turned around, he had already conjured the killing curse, and, and..."

"And what?" asked Godric, gripping the bed sheets.

"Griffith came out of nowhere, and placed himself between me and the curse. He got the full blast of it, and died," ended Salazar, the words stinging his tongue.

Godric felt as though the world stopped moving, as though he could not remember what just happened. Where was he? Who was with him? How did he get here? Too stunned to even comprehend what was just said, Godric tried to return eye contact with Salazar, trying to maintain himself. However, he just couldn't. Godric clutched and held even more onto his bed. The feeling of depression continued to settle into him, and pain began to blossom within his soul. Trying to stand up seemed impossible now. His weight felt as though it increased tenfold, and Godric felt petrified. What was everyone still doing in his room?

How was everyone not feeling the pain Godric was transfixed in? Griffith was a mentor and a dear friend to them all. Should Godric cry in front of his colleagues, the people he has known for years and gone through so many adventures with? They were his family after all, and Godric trusted everyone with his life. Crying now would probably be the most appropriate expression for him to reveal. Crying was not meant to show if someone was weak, but to show how strong their feelings were to certain people.

"Where is he now? Griffith, I mean," spat out Godric, trying to stand up. His legs felt like as though they had no bones and no muscle at all.