Prologue. 2002
The atmosphere was as it always was in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It was warm, lively, and above all very cosy for Astrid Hofferson as she sat with the bunch of friends she'd known since she had joined this school as a first year. The same friendly bunch who had supported each other, allowing them all to climb the ladder upward into greatness.
Kristoff, the burly blonde. Eugene, the sly flirt and love interest of Rapunzel, another blonde who specialized in healing remedies and potions. Merida, the Scottish redhead who simply loved to fight. It didn't matter what weapon had been set in her hands. Like Astrid, she devoted herself utterly to mastering it, and the two could often be seen sparring with each other in deserted corners of the school, using either Transfigured swords, wands, or sometimes even both.
And then of course, the centre of their little group, Anna Arendelle. Second daughter of the Minister of Magic himself, the girl radiated warmth and kindness that seemed to touch many people around her, simply drawing them to her and winning the girl many friends among the school's population, delighting them with her humility and charm.
Astrid wasn't one for charm, but what she did respect was the way that Anna stood out from under the shadow of her sister, and was not daunted by her at all.
Speak of the devil, there she was.
The Ice Queen of Hogwarts School herself, walking towards the Slytherin table, flanked on both sides by Jack Frost, resident troublemaker, and of course, how could she forget…
Hiccup.
She'd been astounded when that useless runt in the forge had shown up in front of Stoick with his letter of acceptance to this school, and had been among those who had laughed along with Snotlout, believing it to be a prank. She'd been astounded however, when the Chief had simply nodded, and gestured for him to join the others on their way to the Muggle lands.
Still, she believed no amount of magic would help to improve someone as unmotivated as Hiccup. His whole life he'd spent in the forge, cowering from dragons and attempting to devise ways and means to kill them from afar without getting his hands dirty. She scoffed. The only way to kill a dragon with any honour was up close, and everyone knew it. This school taught more than just that, sure, but when faced with a beast as ugly, stupid and brainless as a dragon, who wouldn't want to kill them? Vikings had been doing it for millennia, wizards for less time, but they had also received experience.
Vikings' very existence was threatened by the almost weekly raids that stole livestock and food from them while the dragons' relentless onslaught pounded the fragile houses of Berk to rubble. It was her duty to learn to fight dragons in a mix of warrior and wizard fighting styles, and by the gods she would see it done.
Astrid did not snicker along with the others in her little group as they saw Snotlout trip Hiccup over, causing him to fall flat on his face. But then, neither did she feel any pity or sympathy for the auburn-haired student, with her in their fifth year at Hogwarts.
People like him, who showed no interest in learning to fight and kill for the sake of their very existence, were not worth her time.
What was worth her time however, was the result of the Triwizard Cup's week-long blaze, in which it would come to choose a single student from Hogwarts who would compete in the Triwizard Tournament, a friendly competition between three European magical schools.
Astrid had not entered herself into the competition, since she had come to the conclusion that being killed during one of the challenges would be a waste of the amount of effort she'd spent training to defend Berk from the dragons. She had no doubt that Snotlout had put his name in, and even hoped he'd get chosen and die, if only to rid herself of another irritant.
If not for the fact that the Tournament was all that Anna could speak about now, she would have eaten her food in silence, completely in her own world.
She had disapproved at first, and she still disapproved. There were other ways to prove yourself to a sister who shuns you and a family that has no time for you than simply signing up to join a highly dangerous Tournament almost guaranteed to cause severe injury and in some cases death. But unlike Kristoff, who had cursed for many days at his girlfriend's recklessness, Astrid recognized that it was not her decision and stood back to the side lines.
The blonde Gryffindor was extremely entertained by the volume of conversation going around in the group.
"Anna if you get it, I know you'll win! You're so brave and smart, I know you'll win!"
"Besides, it's definitely something if one of ours gets chosen instead of one of those stuck up Slytherins and Ravenclaws."
"Especially the stuck-up Slytherin," Anna said, and the rest of the group laughed heartily. Astrid turned around and was surprised to see Hiccup's eyes resting on the group from his seat beside Jack at the Slytherin table, some emotion that she couldn't identify present inside his forest green eyes. Briefly, they locked eyes, before the auburn-haired wizard simply turned his head back to his food.
"Attention all students!" Called Headmaster Weselton from his perch at the podium, putting his wand near his throat. Astrid turned away from Hiccup and his little group of misfits, focusing all her attention on the Headmaster.
"I believe, the time has come, for the Cup to show us our champions!" he said, only to be met with resounding applause and loud cheers from all the occupants of the hall, most of all from Astrid's friends. Squeals of anticipation in French and some toasts in Bulgarian rang out across the hall as well, before the Headmaster raised his hand again, to silence them. As if on cue, the Cup's flame began to glow red, silencing the entire hall as a loud hiss fired the first slip of paper into the air.
"From Beauxbatons Academy," said the Headmaster, "we have Adalene Babineaux!" Loud cheers erupted from the girls in blue uniforms as Miss Babineaux ascended the stage, then left the Hall. Astrid scoffed at the boys who badgered her for a kiss as she walked.
"From Durmstrang Institute, we have Viktor Astakhov!"
More cheers, which Astrid simply tuned out. The other competitors did not matter to her, since her interest level regarding the Tournament was virtually zero. She only cared about the champion of Hogwarts.
"And from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…" the Headmaster trailed off, as he squinted into the piece of paper he held in his hand. Astrid's heartbeat began to increase.
"Elsa Arendelle!"
A silence fell over the hall, all whispering and murmuring simply dying down as the platinum blonde stood and walked over to the exit silently. As she passed by the Gryffindor table however, Anna stood up.
"Why do you have to do this to me?!" she yelled in Elsa's face, causing the blonde to stop and stare at her.
"Why do you always have to outshine me in everything? You get more than enough praise at home from papa and mama, why take it away from me! Do you know how lonely it is in that house?!
"Papa and mama don't notice me, and you just shut yourself inside that room of yours all day!" The whole hall continued to stay silent as they watched Anna vent her hurt, her anger, and most of all her jealousy on Elsa. Astrid cringed as she saw Anna's face getting closer and closer to just crumpling and her eyes begin to leak tears as she continued to yell.
"Honestly, Elsa!" she shouted again, before she stopped, and asked in a small voice.
"Would it kill you to just acknowledge me, before you go back to being a perfect, proper Slytherin?"
Astrid held her breath as Elsa seemed to contemplate her words for a moment, before releasing it upon realizing it would never come. There was a soft cough, before Anna's knees simply buckled and she fell backwards into her seat, borne aloft only by the hands of Kristoff and Rapunzel, glaring straight at Elsa with hatred. They were ignored as the Ice Queen simply continued walking forward.
As she turned away though however, she thought she saw Hiccup sheath his wand, before he and Jack both stood and left the Great Hall.