Chapter 5

Hiccup's POV

After the incident with Toothless and Charlie, we only left our dragon's side at meals. I had been making progress with Alma but handed her training over to Astrid after she got burned by the Titan Monstrous Nightmare three times in a row.

I had moved to help Fishlegs with the Tyfoomerang but had left after he had assured me that everything was fine and I'd be better off helping the twins.

I had taken his advice and moved over to the single headed Zippleback, but was stopped by Ruffnut and Tuffnut. The twins crossed their arms simultaneously, letting me know that I wasn't going to be helping them anytime soon, and gestured to Snotlout who was training the dragon who had come in at dawn. The dragon would be a replacement in case one of the other dragons were injured (not on my watch). I was hesitant to leave the Zippleback in the twins care but my curiosity for this new dragon overpowered my caution.

When I reached Snotlout I was suprised to see him and Hookfang handling the dragon with comparative ease. Snotlout noticed me and waved me away. I shook my head at him and nodded to the dragon, indicating that I hadn't come to help, but merely to check out the new arrival.

"Oh." realised Snotlout, eyes still trained on the dragon. "Rumblehorn." In that moment I decided I didn't want to work near this dragon. It reminded me too much of Skullcrusher. I suddenly felt a wave of longing for Berk.

But that decision left me stuck with the Horntail.

It was massive. And very feisty. At first I tried feeding it by hand, but after nearly losing my arm to the dragon's maw I decided to gain its trust from a safer distance. But that still was no use. My situation was looking bleak.

The gang and I had been working on the dragons for some time now and the others were going really well, I on the other hand needed a miracle. Either way, the Dragon Academy needed a rest.

We had decided to skip dinner and we were all in bed, having our much needed rest when I heard a knock. I waited to see if it would go away, but it just became more persistent the longer I left it.

"Go Away!" Astrid murmured. It must've been the wrong thing to say; The door was blown of its hinges and a fuming Dumbledore strode into the room.

His face was red and his eyes, bloodshot. He waved his wand and in an instant the entire Dragon Academy was out of bed and fully dressed. He shoved a piece of cloth into my hands and instructed me harshly. "Make sure the dragon does not attack anything that smells like that" before waving his wand once more.

We were transported to the clearing, eerily quiet apart from the light snores resonating from the dragon's cages. I could hardly see a foot in front of my face, even with Toothless and Stormfly lighting the torches lining the ring. I stumbled around for a bit more, as though my body was here and my mind back in my bedroom. Still feeling light-headed, I teared the cloth into five pieces and gave one to each of the Dragon Riders (the twins shared one strip) and gave them their instructions.

I then turned to the Horntail, which was now fully awake. It stared at me with unwavering black eyes. Its you again; that puny little human that gave me fish, they seemed to say. I had a long night cut out for me.

It had been another fruitless night for me and the Horntail and I was exhausted, not to mention annoyed. I was ashamed to admit my failure to the others and Toothless. I had spent several hours combing the castle to find somewhere to be alone when I wandered upon this tower.

It was perfect for my needs and I was happy with it. I had been sitting on the balcony for half an hour when I heard approaching footsteps. I turned around to look at the approaching person only to see two hands reach forward and push me off the edge of the balcony.

I fell through the air, wind whipping through my features. I screamed, horrified at the my impending doom; splattered on the cobbles below until the janitor comes round to peel my corpse off the floor. I couldn't believe it. I had survived dragons, Dagur, my childhood and everything else, but I was to be undone my a fall? Though, I thought as I plummeted through the air, I had had Toothless with me all those times before.

If I continued on falling I'd meet my sticky end, but how could I avoid it? I really didn't know. So I did the only option left to me. I curled up in a ball and awaited my fate.

Harry's POV

I really didn't know what to think about Hiccup and his gang and the fact that I had just been picked for the Triwizard Cup. (Second One More, I think) I had expressed my feelings to Hermione since Ron didn't trust me. Hermione agreed that the Vikings were mysterious, but she also said they were probably there for Ancient Runes since one of the languages studied was Norse. She was about to fill me in on her thoughts for the Triwizard Cup when we were distracted by sounds from the courtyard.

Me and Hermione rushed the courtyard, only to see Hiccup hurtling through the air at 1000 miles per hour. "Hermione!" I yelled to my friend. But I could see she was at loss on what to do as well. I watched helplessly as Hiccup hurtled to his death, only to see a black shape pluck Hiccup from the air and land in the courtyard.

Screams came from all around me, but I didn't understand. Beside me Hermione trembled. "Harry," she gasped. "That's a Black Death, the most deadly dragon on earth."

Hiccup's POV

Dumbledore was furious. He was simply at loss with what to do. He glared at me for a bit more before the man with the startling realistic plastic eye murmured something in his ear. Dumbledore nodded once before turning to me. "You know Norse - we'll say you're hear to teach Ancient Runes. As for the dragon. Children are scared. You will go with Professor Moody and show students how to defend themselves against dragons. Another reason as to why you're here." I stared at Dumbledore.

"What? Defence against dragons?" I was dumbfounded. Dumbledore waved his hand, bored.

"Line up... Shoot Spells." I gaped at him. I opened my mouth to protest, but the men were already gone.

Harry's POV

The food was finished, but dinner wasn't over. Dumbledore stood at the lectern, grey wisps hair suspended in the air after having escaped from his belt. I, as did many others knew what was happening. It was about the dragon Hiccup had been saved by.

I was really intrigued by this dragon that sat solemnly by Hiccup's at the end of the table. As well as the Black Death there were many others. Thanks to Hermione, I knew their names. The one sitting next to Astrid was a Swedish Short Snout ("Pretty long snout for a Short Snout," Hermione whispered), Fishlegs had a dragon that Hermione said was the lesser known Rocher, and the twins had a two headed Welsh Green ("Mutated. Only supposed to have one head.") Snotlout sat next to a Hungarian Horntail. ("Tiny,meant to be huge").

The sound of Dumbledore clearing his throat echoed throughout the room, stopping all conversation in its tracks. Everyone was curious, and somewhat frightened, about the dragons. They had been the topic of every conversation since lunch. Even the Vikings looked concerned. The dragons were now eating the cutlery (they had already finished the food).

"Students of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I know you are all wondering about the Vikings and their dragons." A small murmur of agreement followed Dumbledore's words. "They are here to teach Norse in Ancient Runes! So please to not get yourself worked up any more." As I felt Hermione shiver in excitement at the prospect of having Vikings teach one of her favourite subjects, a voice rang clearly amid the din. " And the dragons?"

Dumbledore, of course had been expecting this question and answered promptly. "In Defence Against The Dark Arts you will be learning how to defend yourselves against dragons." Those words definitely left me eager for the next DADA class, but Hermione wasn't looking that excited, in fact she was looking somewhere else completely. I followed her gaze to the Vikings and saw six downcast faces. I stared at them hard. What was the matter? For that I wasn't sure. Wouldn't they be happy to be at Hogwarts?

Edited. Thank god.