Chapter 1: Together Again
The sun was shining brightly, and the gulls cheered thankfully for the beautiful weather in which to fly as they soared high above the peaceful kingdom of Corona. The Capital was alive with all of it's inhabitants as merchants and traders came from the sea, peddlers pushed their goods onto passersby, and children ran about under foot. Yes, the view from the royal palace was even more magnificent when one was gazing down at all of the activity and excitement of the city.
However, in the second tallest tower in the entire palace, a certain golden-haired princess was running about frantically in her tower bedroom and speaking excitedly to the little chameleon that watched her dart from one side of the room to the next.
"Can you believe it, Pascal?" Princess Rapunzel Corona giggled excitedly. "My second year at Hogwarts! Oh, I can't wait to see Merida and Jack and Hiccup!"
The chameleon grinned, and squeaked happily at the girl's excitement from his place on the bedside table.
"Rapunzel, would you stop running! It's tiring just looking at you." A woman suddenly spoke as she gracefully set herself down on one of the seats near the division between Rapunzel's bedroom area and the sitting area that precedes it. Pascal frowned dryly. "Would you come sing for me, flower?"
"Of course, Nana Gothel." Rapunzel hurried to get her small stool and the hairbrush that Gothel always used to brush her hair.
After sitting on her seat in front of Gothel and handing her the hairbrush, Rapunzel faced forward and closed her eyes, singing cheerfully as she thought about all of the exciting adventures she would have with her friends this year.
On the bedside table where Pascal sat, there was a frame with a picture inside a thin screen of protective glass. It was of Rapunzel, Jack, Hiccup, and Merida standing on the steps of the dais with their arms raised above their heads and great big smiles on their faces as confetti floated about all around them. If Rapunzel closed her eyes and thought hard enough, she could still hear the music playing in the background and the other students cheering for them.
Rapunzel sighed contentedly in remembrance. That had been a wonderful day. Penny Forrester, a Gryffindor girl involved with their school paper, had taken the picture and then shown it to Merida, offering her four copies of it. They were all thrilled to have a token to remember that day by.
"Rapunzel, darling, are you ready?" Another woman slipped into the room, gently closing the door behind her and smiling at Rapunzel warmly.
"Almost, mother!" Rapunzel beamed and hurried away to finish gathering everything she would need.
"Rapunzel!" Gothel scolded as all of Rapunzel's hair slid off of Gothel's lap and practically pulled the hairbrush out of her hand.
"Oh, sorry Gothel." Rapunzel apologized with a sheepish smile before turning back to getting ready. Gothel frowned, but Rapunzel's mother only laughed.
"Oh, Gothel, don't look so sour." The Queen of Corona teased lightly. "She's simply excited for this afternoon."
"Yes, well, if you ask me; I still think it's a horrible idea." Gothel turned her nose up slightly at the thought. "Why don't I go and get everything, let Rapunzel stay here where it's safe."
"That's very kind of you Gothel, but Diagon Alley is an important part of going to Hogwarts. I wouldn't want Rapunzel to miss it for the world. And, besides, she's been so happy and excited about seeing her friends again." The Queen smiled fondly as Rapunzel reappeared with a school satchel draped over her shoulder and a piece of paper in her hand.
"I'm ready to go, mother!" Rapunzel announced happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Not quite, dear." The Queen reminded her, pointing to the long trail of hair that lay behind her. "Let me, I'll braid it for you."
Rapunzel smiled and hurried over to kneel on the floor as her mother sat down in the chair opposite of Gothel. Rapunzel didn't sing this time because her mother hummed soothingly as she worked with the long, golden locks, and Rapunzel simply loved to hear her mother's voice.
"Your father is very sorry that he can't join us this year, but he hopes that you'll enjoy the trip as much as you did last year and that you'll tell him all about it at dinner tonight." Rapunzel's mother informed her as she continued to tie Rapunzel's hair into multiple braids.
"He shouldn't feel bad." Rapunzel worried, her expression turning a bit worried. "It's my second time, and I'll probably spend the whole time with my friends anyways."
"He knows that, dear, he just wants to be certain that you're all right with it." The Queen cupped Rapunzel's cheek to tilt her head up. "All done, and as beautiful as ever. Should we go see your friends now?"
Rapunzel brightened at that and nodded enthusiastically. The Queen moved to the fireplace and removed the lid from a small jar that stood next to it. Inside the decorative jar was Floo Powder for the fireplace.
"Honestly, let me come with you! I can make sure Rapunzel stays out of trouble, so you won't have to worry while you chat with Queen Elinor." Gothel offered quickly, standing from her seat.
"Oh, Gothel, you do so much as Rapunzel's caregiver as it is. Rapunzel and I will be fine on our own. Take the rest of the day for yourself. Rest and enjoy the quiet!" The Queen told her. Before Gothel could protest again, Rapunzel came running up and joined her mother in the fireplace. "We'll return in time for dinner."
With that, the Queen allowed Rapunzel to take a handful of Floo Powder and shout the command, sending the two of them into the Floo Network.
Rapunzel and her mother arrived at Diagon Alley through the Floo Network fireplaces that lined the walls of the train station. They quickly left the train station and entered the busy market place. Rapunzel excitedly lead the way towards their decided meeting place, following Jack's instructions word for word: Find Gringotts Bank, follow the path on the right side, and it should be the building just behind the bank...
And there it was. The Purple Drape.
The shop was small in size, but it had a very friendly character to it. The outside, despite the shop's name, was a friendly and welcoming cream color while the store's title that was displayed above the front door was printed in a dark purple-maroon color. Large windows on either side of the front of the store displayed school robes, children's clothes, adult working robes, spectacular dress robes, and a sign that advertised everything the shop had to offer.
Rapunzel and her mother entered through the door in between the two displays, a small bell announcing their arrival when the door swung open. Insides clothing racks, display tables, and shelves lined both side walls, and a cashier desk was situated at the back wall on the left side while the changing rooms were on the right. At the very center of the room was a small round dais for people to stand on while the seamstress worked, and Rapunzel beamed at the boy standing on it.
Hiccup had his back towards her as a woman knelt down to adjust the hem of his robes, and Jack stood off to the side, looking at the doorway after the bell caught his attention.
"Rapunzel!" Jack exclaimed, grinning ear to ear as Hiccup awkwardly craned his neck in an attempt to look over his shoulder without moving too much. Jack immediately flew over, using his staff to make himself light as a feather as he cleared the distance between them with one bound.
"Jack! Hiccup! It's so good to see you again!" Rapunzel smiled brightly.
"Yeah, Summer was way too long!" Jack grinned, and then puffed his chest out, preening. "Notice anything different?"
Rapunzel looked the boy up and down, hearing Hiccup's huff of annoyance and looking up to see him rolling his eyes. "He's been gloating about it all week."
"Um..." Rapunzel felt her face flushing as she tried to think of what was different, but for the life of her she couldn't figure it out. "Is it your new robes?" She asked, noting that the boy had grown an inch or two over the Summer.
Jack deflated instantly and growled at Hiccup who sniggered. "Well, at least I grew shorty!"
"Hey!" Hiccup said, but Rapunzel's giggling stopped them before they could get much farther in their arguing.
"Okay, okay! Would you just tell me?" Rapunzel asked, and Jack sighed.
"Come on, don't you see? Look!" Jack bowed his head forward slightly to allow a better look at his head, looking up at her from below his bangs.
Rapunzel did as he requested and looked more closely at his head. A small, but clear white streak had grown near the center of his head, and white hairs were littered through all of the brown, giving Jack a stripey-speckled look.
"You have more white hairs!" Rapunzel smiled now that she understood the cause of all the excitement.
"Yeah! I even frosted Hiccup's trunk closed for a good hour!" Jack grinned, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah. Thanks." Hiccup scowled dryly.
"I told you it was an accident!" Jack defended himself.
Suddenly, one of the curtains that separated the change rooms from the main area was ripped to the side, the metal loops clinking loudly against one another. Merida stood in the entrance to the change room, clad in her Gryffindor robes. "Rapunzel!" She shouted excitedly, running out and throwing her arms around Rapunzel in a hug.
"Merida!" Rapunzel cried happily, returning the tight hug to express how much she had missed the other girl.
"We've been waiting for you!" Merida told Rapunzel, dragging her over to where the boys were standing.
"Sorry I'm late. My mother had to braid my hair..." Rapunzel looked back at the long tail of gold, and Merida chuckled.
"That must take hours!" The fire-haired princess smiled widely. "But enough of that! How was your summer?"
"Oh, nothing too spectacular. I went to visit my cousins in Arendelle, but other then that I spent most of my time at home." Rapunzel shrugged, and Merida nodded. "What about all of you? What did you do over the Summer?"
"Princess Lessons!" Merida groaned, sticking her tongue out sourly. Rapunzel chuckled, and looked at Hiccup.
"I spent the last week here with Jack's family." Hiccup shrugged. "Jack snores."
"I do not!" Jack retorted immediately, prompting Rapunzel and Merida to burst into a fit of giggles as Hiccup snorted at Jack's childish pout.
The seamstress stood from where she had been kneeling on Hiccup's other side and smiled with satisfaction. "There." She told him. "No more tripping over your own robes!"
"Why were your robes so big on you in the first place?" Merida wanted to know, raising an eyebrow at Hiccup.
"The other shops only had three sizes, and the small were too big." Hiccup's blush reached all the way back to his ears and he suddenly became very interested in the floor. "Thank you, though." Hiccup continued, stepping down from the platform. "You really didn't have to do this."
"It was my pleasure. Think of it as a thank you for keeping Jack and Emma entertained this past week." The seamstress chuckled and then turned to the Queen of Corona. "I'm terribly sorry for the wait, Queen Leota." She bowed respectfully, and the Queen hurried over in the most graceful way.
"There's no need for such formalities, Matilda." Leota smiled. "We were once students, too, remember? And Rapunzel has told me so many good things about your son. She hasn't stopped talking about her friends since she returned home."
"That is something all three of us can relate to, I'm sure." Queen Elinor of Dunbroch appeared from the changing room Merida had been using, a green dress draped over her arm. The three women chuckled and began to share all of the good things they had heard about each others children over the Summer while catching up with each others lives.
Frantic footsteps coming down the stairs made the four look over at the cashier desk to find a small girl with warm, honey brown eyes come flying down the last of the steps to launch herself onto the desk itself and then stand on top of it so she could jump off and land on both feet. She came to a stop right next to Jack and looked up at Hiccup with an excited smile, her brown hair messy and falling all around her shoulders as if she'd been running.
"Cat, I finally finished my drawing! Look, look, look!" The girl told him, jumping up and down in her excitement. She held up a picture of what appeared to be a forest of giant mushrooms.
"I swear if you leap from that table again, Emma, I'll expire! I've told you a thousand times not to climb on it." Jack's mother scolded the girl who winced but didn't look very admonished.
"Sorry, mom." Emma said, but she glanced up at Hiccup and the two shared a secretive smile that made the younger girl laugh.
"Honestly, what am I going to do with you? You're two times too reckless, my girl!" Matilda frowned, her hands placed in fists on her hips. She sighed and nodded to the two royals beside her. "I need to close the shop and make sure everything is taken care of, but then we can get started."
"Of course, no need to rush." Elinor told her. Matilda gave her two children one last warning look, and then disappeared up some stairs behind the front desk of the store. Elinor and Leota went on talking about various things, and the children turned back to each other with a few shrugs.
It wasn't long until the group left the Purple Drape for the book stores. The long list of books that each of them had were identical, seeing as they were only second years, but getting the new books was still exciting. Besides, Rapunzel was simply happy to be back with her friends.
Jack's sister, Emma, was one of the sweetest people she'd ever met, so Rapunzel wasn't even annoyed by the endless amount of strangeness that came from the girl. She was even a little thrilled when Emma looked up at her and asked questions about Hogwarts, eyes wide with amazement and wonder. It made Rapunzel feel impressive. They were no longer childish first-years, they were experienced second-years.
As the group was leaving the store, Emma grabbed Hiccup's hand and pulled him towards the Magical Menagerie. "Come on, Cat, there's so many animals to look at! And, sometimes, Ms. Wallis will even let me play with some!"
Hiccup followed after the little girl, and when Rapunzel looked at Jack, he only shrugged and followed along as well. The four students entered the shop just behind Emma who immediately ran up to one of the animal pens.
"Rapunzel, dear." Queen Leota called to her daughter and caught the attention of Jack and Merida as well. Hiccup and Emma were too busy talking about a certain breed of toad to notice.
"We're going over to Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions, you can come get us once you're done, alright?" Matilda told Jack.
"Okay, we'll be careful." Jack assured her with a grin.
"Remember to be polite, Merida." Elinor chided the Gryffindor lightly.
"Yes, mom." Merida waved her off before turning to look at a magnificent owl standing on one of the perches.
The three women left the children to do as they pleased, and they turned to the two youngest of their group. It seemed they were having a very serious discussion over what was cuter: Puffskeins or Pygmy Puffs.
"...I know Ms. Wallis likes it when the Puffskeins are happy, so she usually lets me play with them the most. I'll go ask if we can!" Emma told him, and then ran off to the store owner who was restocking the Streeler food on one of the shelves.
"Your sister is really sweet, Jack." Rapunzel told him once the girl was out of hearing range.
"Yeah, I just wish she could come to Hogwarts with us already." Jack confided to them as they watched Emma start to help the store manager stock the shelves.
"Aye, she'd love it there, no doubt. She's got a big imagination, that one." Merida agreed with nod and a smile.
"I've been meaning to ask; why does she keep calling you 'Cat'?" Rapunzel looked at Hiccup curiously, and he smiled back at her widely.
"Because I grin like one, didn't you know?" He returned her question with another question.
"I didn't know cats could grin." Rapunzel giggled at the silliness of it.
"She said that as long as we're careful not to let them out of the shop, we can play as much as we want!" Emma returned with the exciting news.
"Great!" Jack beamed. "Come on, Puffskeins are amazing playmates!"
With their books collected and the excitement of a new year ahead of them, the five children played and laughed to their hearts content. When Jack's mother and the two Queens returned for them, Jack was being mauled by the adorable balls of fur while the other four laughed until they cried.
Yes, Rapunzel was certain that this was going to be a great year.
Author's Note: And so the second year begins. Any guesses about what adventures our heroes will face at Hogwarts this time around? Leave a review to take a guess!
NOTES: Why is a raven like a writing desk?
DISCLAIMER!: I do not own anything within this story except for the plot.