First off, a MASSIVE thanks to everyone who faved, followed and reviewed... I didn't expect so much feedback and I'm very grateful! This chapter was a little hard to write, and I'm sorry if it seems disjointed, but I hope you enjoy more Nordic madness at Hogwarts :D
Oh, and just the human names to clear it up for anyone confused:
Iceland - Freyr Johansson
Norway - Lukas Johansson
Denmark - Mathias Køhler
Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna
Finland - Tino Väinämöinen
The First Task
"That was a Swedish Short-Snout?"
"Yes," repeated Ron. Honestly, being the brother of a dragon expert wasn't always the best. "Why are you so interested anyway?"
"Just wanted to check!" trilled Tino. He was nervous for poor Harry, who would be battling his own dragon soon enough, and the Finn was channelling that negative energy into being overly peppy. "You see, I want to tell Berwald about it, and if I'm going to send a letter all the way to Durmstrang I should have the right dragon breed!"
"Plus, Berwald is Swedish so it would be of more interest to him?" Hermione guessed. Tino nodded, looking slightly surprised, but it was definitely unfounded. After all, in the aftermath of the officially dubbed 'Berwald Incident' Tino had been too embarrassed to say more than the simplest things about his best friend, and what was more simple that his nationality?
Around half an hour later
"The Hungarian Horntail!" Ron exclaimed, staring at the great beast that Harry was about to face. The pair weren't speaking but even that couldn't mask the horror on the redhead's face.
"I know a Hungarian!" Tino said nervously, trying to distract his friend. "Yeah, Elizabeta Hedervary - lovely girl, but she's the scariest witch alive if you cross her! She's half-blood, but that only makes her worse because she combines Muggle objects with magic to create the ultimate weapons." He unconsciously rubbed the back of his head where he had once been whacked by her Charmed frying pan.
"Bet my dad would love to meet her..." Ron muttered, eyes on the slowly emerging figure that was Harry. He looked stunned - but who wouldn't, coming out onto a pitch surrounded by hundreds of screaming teenagers?
"Oh no!" squeaked Hermione, who was sitting on Tino's other side, hands clenched over her mouth.
Tino saw Harry draw his wand and shout a spell. The whole enclosure seemed to hold it's breath, and for a second Tino thought that Harry's plan, whatever it was, had failed - when suddenly, with a whoosh, his broomstick soared over their heads and into Harry's waiting hand. As the final champion mounted the Firebolt, Tino leapt to his feet and cheered along with the rest of his supporters.
The Thursday before the Christmas Holidays
Despite the fact that Christmas was fast approaching, the Gryffindor common room was by no means empty. Fred and George were plying their trade of Canary Creams and other sneaky surprises hidden in seemingly-innocent food around groups of people chatting, playing games, doing homework, all of the usual after-school activities. Now that Harry and Ron had reconciled, the trio were enjoying themselves amongst their housemates when the fire, which had been crackling merrily, died down. Harry took it upon himself to restart it, and was reaching for the poker when suddenly, in a huge burst of green flames, four figures tumbled out of the fireplace and landed in a heap on the plush carpet.
The first three were just a tangle of long limbs, blond hair and luggage - and was that a violin case? - but the fourth person managed to stand up with relative ease. He looked around first-year age, and once on his feet he brushed down his relatively smart white shirt, brown jacket, and chinos.
"And that is what happens when four people Floo at once," he stated in a bored, accented voice, running his hands through his white-blond hair to rid it of the worst of the ashes. When the rest of the common room only stared, he stared back and asked, "What, were you expecting something?"
Meanwhile, Tino was in the library, looking for books that would help him with his Potions homework. He wasn't terrible at the subject, but since Snape seemed to have a natural dislike for all things Gryffindor, Tino wanted to do as well as he could, so that Snape wouldn't have a valid reason to hate him. He was just using his wand to float a large book down from a high shelf when -
"TINO! I'M HERE!"
The Finn jumped and the spell was broken, leaving the book to fall and hit him on the head. Wincing and bending down to pick it up, Tino saw a group of people approaching him out of the corner of his eye. That voice had sounded so much like Mathias, but that was impossible! Term hadn't broken up yet, and he had specifically told them to arrive on the Friday night - it was Thursday afternoon! But when he stood up, his fears were confirmed: the Nordics were here.
Mathias jumped on him first, pulling him off his feet into a rib-cracking hug. He was wearing a casual rugby shirt and jeans, and his hair was as spiky as ever. A huge camping rucksack was strapped to his back.
"You've been gone so long!" the Dane cried. "We've all missed you so much!"
"Ah, thanks - " Tino gasped, struggling to breath. Lukas rectified this by giving Mathias a stern smack across the back of the head.
"You're suffocating him, idiot," said the Norwegian. He looked exactly the same as he had the last time Tino had seen him, nearly five months before, from his sailor-themed clothes right down to his blank facial expression. Once Mathias relinquished his death-grip, Lukas looked Tino up and down and nodded in greeting - he was never the cuddly type.
From behind him Freyr raised his hand in a little wave. Tino noticed that a few feet away, a gaggle of first-year girls were all gazing at him, clutching each other and whispering behind their hands. When the Icelander glanced over at them, they all blushed scarlet and fled to the other end of the library. Tino couldn't help but laugh at that before he was enveloped in a warm embrace, and he didn't have to look up to know who it was.
"I've missed ya," Berwald mumbled into his hair, and Tino coloured a little before grinning.
"I've missed you too, I've missed all of you!"
Once the hug was over (well, over by Tino's standards, since Berwald probably would have been happy holding him for an hour or more) Tino fixed them all with an accusing glare. "But obviously none of you own calendars, because I specifically told you to come on Friday! And what day is it today? Thursday! I still have classes tomorrow!"
"Can't you ditch them?" asked Mathias. "We ditched for you!"
"I'm not condoning that! Really, you should all be going home!"
"Told ya he'd say that," Berwald said with a sigh. "Said the same when I came in October."
"Um, sorry," came Harry's voice, and Tino noticed with a start that Harry (as well as what looked like half of Gryffindor) had followed his friends and were hovering a few steps back. Madame Pince was looking very irritated at the sheer number of people crowding her library. The black-haired boy stepped forward, gaze flicking rather awkwardly between Tino, Mathias and Berwald. "I don't want to interrupt, but -"
"Speak English!" someone called, before being furiously shushed by Madame Pince.
"Ah, of course!" Tino turned to his fellow Nordics. "You heard him, guys..."
"Tol'ya he'd say tha'-"
"Berwald, I sort of meant for Mathias to keep attempting to convince me. Not that he'll succeed of course!"
"Ah. S'rry."
"Oh Tino, skip your classes for us!" beseeched the Dane, throwing his arms out and fixing Tino with a baby-blue-eyed gaze, which ellicited a few giggles from the group of Gryffindors.
"No!" Tino was generally an accommodating boy, but this time he was putting his foot down. "I've come here to study, and I will study. You can either go home, or you can... well, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will think of something for you to do."
At this, Lukas raised a single, blond eyebrow. "You're taking us to the headmaster?"
Many jaws dropped at the soft, low voice, which was the complete opposite of what they had expected, judging by appearances.
"I have to," shrugged Tino. "He was kind enough to let you guys come for the holidays, and asked me to bring you to him when you arrived. I have to respect that." Then he paused, and chuckled nervously. "But I don't know the way to his office..."
"I can take you," offered Harry, sensing an opportunity to perhaps learn a bit more about these strange Scandinavians.
"Oh, would you? You're great, Harry!" Tino thanked him profusely. "Come on, guys."
Once Harry, Tino and the unexpected guests had left, the rest of the crowd was expelled from the library, since Madame Pince had no use for them. She'd been watching the conversation too, of course. What else is there for a librarian to do all day, aside from listen to gossip?
"Wait, so you're definitely Harry Potter?"
"Yes." Why did this Mathias Køhler keep asking him that? And what kind of question was, 'so you're definitely Harry Potter'? What would he have done if Harry had replied, "Actually, I'm not sure"? Harry had almost been tempted to do it just to see the look on the Dane's face.
"I just can't believe it!"
"We're all very aware of that," interrupted Lukas Johansson, the stony-faced Norwegian boy. So far, Harry didn't know what to make of him - his soft blond hair and hairpin looked almost feminine, but there was something about him, along with his sharp features and deep blue eyes, gave him an intimidating aura that wasn't even shared by Berwald, who the most righteously scary of all.
Once they reached the entrance, Harry turned to Tino. "What's the password?"
"Password?" After a second of blankness, Tino groaned. "Oh no, the password! I forgot that you need the password to get into his office, and I don't know it!"
"Can ya guess't?" asked Berwald, eyeing the huge guarding statues. The Finn just slapped his forehead in self-deprecation.
"Maybe we can force our way in!" suggested Mathias, making to kick the statue on the left, only to be halted by a glare from Lukas which clearly said don't even think about it.
"Didn't he tell you what it was when you last saw him?" asked Harry, remembering the times where he had been required to go to the headmaster's office. "Or maybe he hinted at it. Dumbledore has a pretty sweet tooth, so the password is generally a type of sweet," he added.
There was a pause, before Freyr Johansson, Lukas' younger brother who hadn't spoken a word since the common room, said, "Salmiakki."
The statues moved to allow the group through, and the five older boys all goggled at Freyr.
"Tell us how you knew that!" demanded Mathias.
"He's my younger brother, of course he's smart."
"Freyr! What on Earth?!"
"How did you know the password?" frowned Harry. Knowing it was one thing, of course, but it sounded like a nonsense word! How did this foreign first-year know it?
"You said it was a type of sweet," explained Freyr. "Professor Dumbledore would have changed it to something that Tino knows - well, is supposed to know. And the most famous Finnish sweet is everyone's favourite disgusting salty liquorice, salmiakki. There you have your password. Were you expecting something cooler?"
"Good thinking," said Lukas in a completely emotionless tone, so much that Harry had to run the phrase over in his head again before realising that it was actually a compliment.
"I can't believe I didn't get that!" cried Tino. "I'm so stupid!"
"Not," said Berwald instantly.
"Oh Sve, you don't have to be so nice to me. I know I'm stupid."
"Guys, are we going in or not?" Mathias beckoned to the archway excitedly, evidently curious about what lay within.
"I'll just go then," said Harry quickly. Tino thanked him again and he got a slap on the back from Mathias, a nod from Berwald, an inclination of the head from Freyr and a stare from Lukas. As he hurried back to the Gryffindor common room, he prepared himself to be bombarded with questions.
"Ah, Mr. Väinämöinen," smiled Dumbledore, "and friends." He seemed completely unsurprised at the four strangers.
"Professor Dumbledore, I am so sorry that my friends have turned up early!" Tino exclaimed, clasping his hands together worriedly. "If you want them to go home, of course -"
The headmaster raised a hand, and the Finn fell silent.
"What's done is done," said Dumbledore kindly. "And since there are already four sleeping bags set up in your dormitory for them, there is no need to send them all the way back to Durmstrang."
Mathias grinned. "Thanks! Professor," he added after a subtle poke in the ribs from Lukas.
"But sir, I still have all my lessons tomorrow..."
"I'm sure your teachers will accommodating. It may be useful to them to have different feedback and so on... either way," Dumbledore continued with a flap of his hand, "I can assure you that no teacher will tell them to leave the classroom should your friends decide to accompany you."
Meaning Dumbledore will make them put up with these guys, thought Tino, feeling a little guilty but happy nonetheless.
Next, the elderly man turned to the rest of the group.
"I've reviewed your student files. Mathias Køhler, I take it?" he asked Mathias, who nodded and grinned.
"That's me!"
"I see that you are an energetic young man - I need not imagine what life you'll inject into this holiday. My only wish is that you do not cause too much extensive damage to the castle," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. Mathias gave a mock-salute in reply.
"Lukas Johansson." The Norwegian held the headmaster's gaze, his dark blue eyes unblinking. "I should think you would enjoy a chat with our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Hagrid."
Lukas said nothing, but there was surprise in his expression. Tino didn't know too much about Lukas' private life, only that he was a little more than eccentric when it came to magical creatures. Somehow Dumbledore had found that out...
"Freyr Johansson." Dumbledore spoke to the youngest Nordic boy in a friendly tone. "You surprised me by coming here with friends older than yourself. You may attend Mr. Väinämöinen's classes with them, or you may attend the first-year classes if you wish."
"I'll go with them," said Freyr immediately, before dropping his gaze slightly embarrassedly.
"Very well. You do seem to be a bright young man in any case.
"And last, but not least, Berwald Oxenstierna." While Freyr blushed from Dumbledore's praise, the old man turned to the tallest boy. His previously light-hearted tone and expression became slightly more serious. "I sense within you a kindred spirit, and so I will offer some advice: although one must carefully consider his actions, he must also not wait too long, lest his opportunity pass him."
Berwald stared back, mind racing as he turned the words over and over in his mind.
"Thank y'," he said finally, trying not to mumble as much as he usually did.
The quiet bubble of silence was broken by Mathias' laugh. "Sorry, but this feels like an epic novel or something! What are you going to do, Sve, go on an adventure?" he teased the taller boy.
"So disrespectful," muttered Lukas. Dumbledore didn't seem offended though.
"Ah, the carefree nature of youth," he chuckled. "Well, off you pop. I suppose you'll be wanting dinner - it's a good thing that there is enough space on the Gryffindor table to fit a few more."
By the time they reached the Great Hall, the news of the new arrivals had spread practically all over the school. They attracted a lot of stares as they sat down.
"It's like being famous!" laughed Mathias as they tucked into sausages and Yorkshire puddings, and Tino realised how he'd missed the Dane's unfailing good humour (unless he was furious. That was a tale for another day).
"I don't think I'd like being famous," murmured Freyr, trying to ignore the blatant lovesick gazes of first-year girls up and down the table.
"Don't worry, I don't think it'll be like this every night," said Tino after swallowing a mouthful of food. "Once your novelty has worn off, you'll be the same as any other person. Plus, most people will be going home on Saturday for the holidays. Only the ones going to the Yule Ball... the Yule Ball!"
Tino smacked his forehead again, and Berwald reached across the table to pull his hand away from his head. He didn't want the Finn to sustain some sort of brain damage from repeatedly hitting himself! Tino, on the other hand, blushed scarlet.
"Berwald!"
"Wha'?"
"We're in public!" he hissed, jerking his hand out of the Swede's and busying it with his fork, prodding at bits of food self-consciously. Berwald just blinked uncomprehendingly.
"As I was saying, I totally forgot to tell you about the Yule Ball! It's going to happen while you guys are staying here, and you probably didn't pack any suitable clothes or anything!"
"You shouldn't make assumptions," declared Lukas, who had finished his meal astonishingly quickly and was inspecting the fingernails on his right hand. "I packed dress robes for us all, including you, Tino."
"What?" the four other boys exclaimed in unison.
"Don't look so surprised. I have better foresight that all of you put together. Surely you know that by now."
Later that night, after all of them had been subjected to heavy questioning, the Nordics managed to escape the Gryffindor common room and get into the empty dormitory. As Dumbledore had promised, there were four squashy purple sleeping bags laid out on the floor, ready for the guests. Mathias immediately threw himself onto one, claiming it as his own, and groaned, "I'm exhausted! And man, these things are comfy..."
"We all are, so do us a favour and be quiet so we can all get to sleep," said Lukas harshly, sitting down on the sleeping bag beside Mathias. Freyr just disappeared into the bathroom to get changed without a word.
Tino looked from the sleeping bags to his own bed. "I feel kind of bad, letting you guys sleep on the floor when I have such a big bed," he sighed. "Maybe I could use a sleeping bag, while someone has my bed? In fact, I'm pretty sure that two could fit!"
"Nah, we're fine right here," yawned Mathias, "aren't we Norge?"
"You're just too lazy to get up. But yes, we are fine here," agreed the Norwegian.
"Oh, you guys. Berwald, do you want my bed?"
Berwald reddened. Was Tino suggesting that they share a bed? Was it too early in their relationship for that? Not that Berwald minded of course, but he was trying to be considerate towards Tino. He remembered Dumbledore's words from earlier - 'although one must carefully consider his actions, he must also not wait too long, lest his opportunity pass him' - and realised that they could apply in this situation.
"Okay," he nodded. "D'ya want to get in first? Just so I don't take up too much space..."
"Wait, what?" First Tino was confused, but then it dawned on him what Berwald had understood from his question. "Oh, I didn't mean share!" he laughed, his cheeks tinged pink. Really now! But the look on Berwald's face after the words left his mouth, the slightly open mouth and the shocked eyes, made Tino feel so instantly awful that he amended himself with, "Well, I suppose the bed is big enough..."
When Harry and Ron came up a few hours later, they were gobsmacked by what they saw.
Mathias, the boy with the spiky hair, was spread-eagled on top of his sleeping bag, wearing a nothing but pair of faded tracksuit bottoms as pyjamas. His mouth was hanging open and he was snoring ever so slightly.
Beside him was the spooky Norwegian boy, lying on his side facing away from Mathias. It was hard to tell, but it looked like he was lying poker-straight. Even in sleep, his face was blank.
Next to him was his younger brother, who was curled up into a little ball. He looked even younger asleep, but there was a certain ethereal charm to him that didn't leave any wonder why most of the first-year girls were in love with him already.
But it was in Tino's bed where the most mind-blowing scene was: Berwald, with his arm around Tino. Sleeping in the same bed. The Swede wasn't as intimidating now; in fact, with his face (now free of glasses which only added to his hard appearance) now almost pressed against Tino's blond hair, breathing gently and with a hand floppily slung over the Finn's shoulder, he looked almost vulnerable. Tino himself looked completely at ease in Berwald's arms.
As Harry and Ron tried to get ready for bed as quietly as possible so as not to disturb their guests, a task that proved difficult now that the floor was so crowded, they discovered something that had to bring a smile to their faces.
Tino chattered, Berwald rumbled, Freyr murmured, Mathias bragged and Lukas snapped. In other words, all five Nordic boys talked in their sleep. Incessantly.
Jeez Louise, this thing is actually becoming a multichapter fic.
I had so many ideas for what was going to happen on the Friday and the weekend, but it would have been too long! Plus, I'll be completely offline for the next week and wanted to give you lovely people something to tide you over until I get round to updating anything. So many plot bunnies, so little time D:
Oh, and Tino was supposed to call Berwald 'Sve' in that one scene. Since they're all from different Nordic countries, they sometimes call each other that country name as a kind of nickname. Same thing with Mathias calling Lukas 'Norge'.
Speaking of Lukas, I know that in Waiting and Updating I called him 'Christian', but I've been persuaded by the majority of the fandom to start calling him Lukas. Freyr will remain Freyr forever though! And if you've read Waiting and Updating by any chance, you'll also recognise the sleep-talking bit. That's just my kooky headcanon :3
As a final touch, what do you think should be fem!Sealand's human name? Vote on my poll!
Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!