1: The First Day
Hiccup Haddock had mixed feelings about going back to Hogwarts for his sixth year.
On one hand, he was excited to see his friends again.
On the other, he dreaded the way people would look at him.
He could already feel it as he walked through the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. People were turning their heads to watch him walk, to see if anything had changed about him. He even noticed some people watching him through the doors and windows of the train compartments. Among the chatters, he heard his father's name whispered.
The black cat locked in a basket atop Hiccup's trunk growled at the people staring.
"Toothless," Hicup scolded quietly. The cat hissed, he didn't enjoy being reprimanded. But after that he stayed quiet.
Hiccup walked faster, only stopping when younger students passed him. He walked until he was nearing the end of the train. There he found the compartment his friends were sitting in.
He pushed the door open gently as to not frighten his friends. Four eyes turned to him, and two smiles met him as he entered.
He set his cat's basket on the seat next to one of his friends before lifting his trunk onto the shelf above their heads. Then he turned back to look at his friends with a fond smile.
Hiccup wasn't generous when it came to the word "friend". That title was only applicable to very few people in his life, and only two of them belonged in Ravenclaw with him.
There was Elsa Arendelle, by far one of the most knowledgeable people at Hogwarts. Her mind was like an encyclopedia, she stored knowledge like a squirrel stores food before winter. Her specialty was Astronomy. Just like Hiccup, she was guarded. She was a muggleborn, and her family were not very fond of her powers because she had accidentally hurt her younger half-sister, Anna, when they were children. Her parents had been relieved when they'd gotten the offer to send Elsa to Hogwarts. Anna thought her sister was attending a normal all girls' boarding school.
Then there was Rapunzel von Corona. The first thing you noticed about her was her thick golden hair which stopped just below her knees. It was usually styled in a thick braid. Then you'd notice her large and round green eyes. Whereas Elsa's colours were cold, Rapunzel's were warm and sunny. She came from an ancient pureblood family just like Hiccup himself, and she was the most creative and innovative person he knew. She always carried around her pet chameleon named Pascal, and she could also usually be seen with her wand behind her ear, although sometimes she'd also sport other items tucked there like quills, paint brushes, and cutlery.
"It's mental out there," he said as he sat down next to Elsa. He took Toothless' basket and unfastened the lid. The black feline immediately stuck his head out and meowed happily.
"Hogwarts' student body hasn't been this large since 1798," Elsa informed them. She had memorized Hogwarts, A History.
"We're the smallest year I think, right?" Rapunzel asked. Elsa nodded.
"Yes, we're only like 30 students," Hiccup said.
"28," Elsa corrected him.
"A frog is a frog," Hiccup said. Toothless had left his basket and was now lying on Hiccup's lap, watching everyone with curious green eyes.
"Do you think we'll all even fit in the train?" Rapunzel wondered.
As soon as she'd said it, the door to their compartment slid open and Astrid Hofferson poked her head inside. Her blue eyes immediately found Hiccup and she gave him an apologetic smile.
Things had been strange between them since they broken up right before Easter break last term. They had dated for nearly two years when they decided to split. They had both agreed that they just couldn't see themselves being together forever, and that had been it. Hiccup hadn't heard from her all summer, only knowing about her whereabouts from his father who worked with Astrid's mother in the Ministry of Magic.
"Heeey," she said, prolonging the E.
"Hi Astrid, where's the itch?" Hiccup asked. His face felt slightly strained as he smiled at the blonde Gryffindor. His hands were working the fur on his cat's back as to relax the animal and keep it from hiding.
"Well, we were wondering if maybe we could like, sit with you guys? It's pretty full back there," she said, again looking apologetic. She knew how Hiccup felt about being surrounded by people.
Before he could respond, Elsa fired a question at Astrid.
"Who's with you?" Her voice had turned to the cold and guarded tone she used with people she wasn't close with.
Astrid cast a quick glance behind herself, before turning her head back to the three people in the compartment.
"Me, Jack, and Merida," Astrid explained.
Hiccup knew the two other Gryffindors quite well. They were Astrid's best friends, along with the undeniably charming Eugene "Flynn" Fitzherbert. Hiccup focused his eyes on the space behind Astrid, and there he saw the top of Merida DunBroch's wild red mane.
"What do you think?" Elsa asked Rapunzel.
The golden blonde smiled. "Of course, we're only three in here."
Elsa looked at Hiccup. He met her icy eyes and smiled, before turning to Astrid. "Come in," he said.
Astrid entered, followed by Merida and Jack. Astrid and Jack sat next to Rapunzel while Merida fell down on the space between Hiccup and Elsa. Elsa scoffed at this.
"How was your summer Hiccup?" Astrid asked with slight uncertainty evident in her eyes.
"Oh y'know, totally boring and 100% completely uneventful," he said with clear sarcasm.
Astrid rolled her eyes, while Jack retorted. "Yes, I'm sure having your father being elected as the new Minister of Magic is so absolutely boring and sleep-enducing."
Hiccup scoffed. "You wouldn't believe how boring it actually is though, having to hear people drone on and on about your father, it's like, yes I am his son, I know him pretty well by now, no need to try and tell me something I don't know."
Jack smirked. "They probably don't even realise you're related," he said jokingly. Hiccup snickered.
He wouldn't say he and Jack were close, but they'd hung out around each other while Hiccup and Astrid were dating, as had he and Astrid's other friends. And one thing Hiccup would never tell anyone was that he'd had a pretty swelling crush on Jack in their second and third year, before he'd become interested in Astrid.
Hiccup knew he liked boys just as much as he liked girls. He just chose to ignore it.
"How's London?" Astrid asked Hiccup.
Hiccup grew up in a small village up north called Berk, with his father Stoick. But after Stoick had become Minister they'd moved into a town house in London. It looked slim and bland on the outside, but it was enchanted so the inside was huge and spread over three stories, a cellar, and a loft. They'd moved only a week before Hiccup's return to Hogwarts, so he had no idea what the house would look like once it was fully furnished.
"I've been getting so much clean, fresh air," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"And the sound of traffic at two in the morning is absolutely delightful," Rapunzel commented. She also lived in London with her parents. Hiccup nodded before turning back to Astrid.
"What did you do?" he asked her.
"I mostly worked on Quidditch strategies with mum, and we spent a week in Norway for my nan's birthday, it was wild," said Astrid with a glad smile on her face.
Jack chuckled. "You can say that again," he said. He looked around at the others with a cheeky smile. "I had no idea what a party goldmine Norway is, Astrid's grandparents are absolute ballers, Flynn got so drunk that he went out naked in the snow with some of Astrid's family, it was hilarious, his bum looked like a tomato when he got back."
They all laughed at this. Hiccup had been to Norway to visit Astrid's crazy relatives once, and they really were a jolly bunch. She had also visited his extended family on the Faroe Islands, but there had been less snow bathing and more sitting around a table, quietly drinking and chatting until the wee hours of the morning.
"You realise he will kill you if he finds out you've told everyone that story," Merida said with a raised eyebrow, the remains of a good laugh in her voice.
"Honestly, I'm ready, I don't think I'll be able to deal with another whole year of professor Black's face," Jack said.
"That's why I didn't choose potions on N.E.W.T. level, it will be murder," Astrid said.
"You're also really bad at it," Hiccup reminded her.
"Shut up, like you're any better! I seem to recall a certain wee Hiccup Haddock blowing up three cauldrons last year," Astrid retorted.
"I've grown at least five inches since then!" Hiccup said, causing Jack and Merida to snort.
The conversation moved forward with banter and tales from summer. Jack had spent the summer working at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour in Diagon Alley. Rapunzel had been at home for the majority of her summer, which Hiccup already knew because they'd hung out quite a lot. So he and Rapunzel told the others about the days they'd spent in Rapunzel's family's large estate.
"How about you Elsa?" Jack asked when they'd all talked about their summers. Elsa had been looking out the window while the others had talked.
She turned her head and fixed her startling eyes on Jack. "It was nice," was all she said, before turning her attention back to the landscapes outside.
"That's good," Astrid said awkwardly, while Merida looked at Elsa with confused eyes.
Luckily, the lady with the food trolley managed to cut through the awkwardness and everyone bought snacks. Hiccup noticed that Jack didn't buy as much as the others, and he seemed to refrain from buying the more expensive items like Chocolate Frogs.
He had noticed before how Jack's school robes were hand-me-downs, as were his books and shoes. A few months after they'd started dating, Astrid told him that Jack's family didn't have much. His father had passed away when Jack was nine. He was muggle and had been a construction worker which didn't pay much, but they managed with Jack's mother's job as a Nurse in St. Mungo's. Now however, Jack's mother was left with having to provide for both Jack and his little sister Emma. That was all Hiccup knew, but he had a feeling there was more to it than that.
It wasn't something Hiccup thought about often while interacting with Jack, but sometimes he'd noticed the frayed threads of Jack's robe, or the faded colours on his tie, and felt sympathetic.
Hiccup had bought two Chocolate Frogs. While the others were talking, he leaned forward and handed one of them to Jack. Jack gave him a strange look, before closing his eyes and shaking his head subtly. He smiled gently, as if to say 'no thanks'. Hiccup huffed and threw the Chocolate Frog at Jack, who instinctively reached out and caught it, evidence of his position as Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Thanks," Jack said with a humble expression on his face.
"You're welcome," Hiccup replied kindly, before turning his attention back to the others' conversation. He could feel Jack's eyes on him.
Shortly after the food trolley had passed, Flynn entered the compartment with a disgruntled look on his face.
"How was the prefects' meeting?" Jack asked while chewing on a piece of enchanted glitter gum.
Flynn slid the compartment door shut, before sliding down onto the floor. He leaned his back against the door and closed his eyes. "I'm going to die," he whined. Jack gently shoved his head with his foot.
"I'm still fucking baffled that you became prefect," said Merida.
Flynn sighed and pushed Jack's intrusive foot away from his face. "Something about – fuck off Jack – something about me being super honourable when it counts, I don't even know what the Headmistress is doing at this point honestly."
"I'm ninety-nine percent sure she was shitfaced when she made that decision," Jack said, while continuing to annoy Flynn with his foot.
Flynn groaned in annoyance. "Jack if you don't get that fucking syphilis-ridden foot away from me right now -"
"That's not how syphilis is transmitted dumbass," Jack cut him off.
"You would fucking know," Flynn retorted.
Jack and Flynn kept bickering until Astrid cast a spell that made them inable to open their mouths.
"You will never speak again unless you promise to stop bickering."
They both complied to her terms, and the spell was undone. The rest of the train ride passed with friendly banter, and they all laughed at Flynn's embarresment when he found out that Jack had spilled the beans on what happened in Norway. Hiccup found that he felt quite content among the small group of friends and aquaintances, none of them seemed to care about his father's new position which was a relief. He remembered the looks he'd gotten when he arrived at Kings Cross with his father, he was pretty sure there'd been a Daily Prophet photographer snooping around. Hiccup was almost late to the train because his father was constantly stopped by curious wizards and witches. If he had to watch his father greet yet another cute toddler, he would probably vomit.
When the train came to a halt at Hogsmeade station, they all stood up, and suddemly the compartment became very crammed as the six teenagers tried to get their trunks from the shelves to the floor. Hiccup decided to let the others get their trunks first. Instead, he focused on trying to secure the lid of the cat basket, which Toothless was not happy about. The black cat kept swinging his front pws under the lid. In the end, Hiccup managed to close the lid, although Toothless was very dissatisfied. When Hiccup stood up again, he, Elsa, and Jack were the only ones left in the compartment, the others were waiting outside.
Hiccup reached up and grabbed the handle of his trunk. He lifted it off the shelf and placed it on the floor with a thud, almost sumiltaneously to Jack setting his trunk down.
"Jack, come on, we're gonna miss the carriages!" Merida huffed from the corridor. Jack cast one last look at the two people still in the compartment.
"I'll … see you inside," he said. A slight blush bloomed on his cheeks as he gave Hiccup a small wave.
"Sure," Hiccup said and gave Jack a friendly smile.
Jack left with Merida, Astrid, and Flynn. Rapunzel stood in the corridor with her trunk, tapping her feet to a silent tune.
"Need help?" Hiccup asked Elsa. She looked tired.
"No, I've got it." With a flick of her wand and a murmured spell, her trunk gently floated from the shelf down to the floor. She turned her attention back to her two friends, her face was softer and she smiled fodnly at her friends. "Let's go," she said.
They left the train, placed their trunks on the pavillion to be transported up to their dorms, and walked after the other students to the thestral-led carriages. The winged horse-like creatures were luckily invisible to Hiccup and his two friends. They got on the last carriage, and as soon as they'd settled down it began moving forward.
Hiccup never got tired of seeing Hogwarts. That particular evening was a stunning late-summer spectacle of clear skies and a bright moon illuminating the castle and the surrounding grounds in a soft pale light. It reminded Hiccup of the way light reflected off Jack's skin.
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