Hiccup's POV: Second Year

If Hiccup had to write an autobiography, he would gladly recount the nights he battled manticores, the schooldays he conquered intense spells, and the many occasions in which he encountered a Boggart in its true form, because the Boggart couldn't take the form of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock's greatest fear, as this viking was fearless.

He would ever so conveniently leave out minor details, like the manticore battles were dreams, the Alarte Ascendare charm was an accident, and that the whole Boggart thing was a joke.

And, most certainly, he'd leave out that one Friday in Herbology class.

"Listen up! Listen... class!" Professor Sprout clapped her hands loudly in a futile attempt to get the attention of the second-year Slytherins. Hiccup, along with the rest of the second-year Hufflepuffs, shuffled uncomfortably, waiting for the other house to shut up and listen to the teacher already. "Would you please quiet down?" Suddenly, Sprout let out a shriek. "Mister Frost, get that out of your nose this instant!"

Jack turned around, beaming wildly while his housemates roared, clutching their stomachs and slapping their knees. "It's stuck! See? No hands!" Jack waved his hands up in the air teasingly, and the motion made his wand drop out of his nose and clatter to the floor of the greenhouse. "Oh, look, there it goes."

"Jackson Frost!"

"It's Jack, lady."

Sprout sucked in her cheeks and closed her eyes. She stayed like that for a good ten or fifteen seconds. Meanwhile, uncomfortable tittering undulated through the students in green-and-silver ties. Hiccup bit his lip and duck his head, growing embarrassed for the sake of his best friend, who seemed totally unfazed.

"Jack," Sprout began slowly, "I must ask you to stop jacking off."

The scandalized Hufflepuffs gasped, the Slytherins howled wildly, and Jack just stood there, mouth open in awe. He slowly bent down to pick up his wand without breaking eye contact with the Herbology professor. "I have an inexplicable amount of respect for you right now."

"Don't try to get out of your detention, now. I'll meet you here after dinner."

Jack's nose wrinkled up. "Yeah, sure. Uh, I mean, yes. Yes ma'am."

The class now had their full attention on Sprout, who straightened with an air of accomplishment. "Alright. We're going to be learning about the Spiky Prickly Plant." She gestured to the pots about as wide as Hiccup's arms if he were to stretch them as far as he could out to his sides. They were filled with luscious green bushes that seemed entirely innocent save for the giant yellow spikes protruding at every which direction that Sprout testified could be shot at humans by the bush in self-defense. Hiccup listened intently to the instructions on what they were to do with the plant while Jack whispered to some classmates about Merlin knows what. He only zoned back in when Sprout gave the final instruction to pair up and tackle today's assignment.

At this point in the year, the Hufflepuffs were used to the routine: the Slytherins scramble for a Hufflepuff buddy to do the work for them, and the Hufflepuffs quickly try to pair up with one another to avoid charity work. However, Hiccup couldn't bring himself to do that to Jack.

Jack came running over with a wide smile. "Were you listening to Sprout?"

"Yes, I was."

"What'd she say?"

Hiccup sighed and began walking towards a plant with Jack following close behind. It could be way worse. At least Jack cooperated in the assignment, as long as Hiccup told him what needed to be done. "If we get too close, the bush will try to impale us with thorns."

"So the objective is to not get impaled?"

Hiccup stopped in his tracks. "Jack, you say some of the most profound, enigmatic things sometimes."

Jack shrugged and nudged Hiccup to keep walking. "Shut up. How are we not supposed to get impaled?"

"Use the Severing Charm."

"Sounds easy."

"Theoretically. But you have to sever all the thorns facing your direction at once. If you only cut off one thorn, the rest come flying at you at remarkable speeds."

"How fast?"

"Hella."

"That's fast."

Hiccup and Jack stopped in front of a bush, far enough away from it that it wouldn't attack. Brandishing his yew wand, Hiccup nodded at the plant, licking his lips nervously. "Ok. You take the right half, I'll take the left half."

"On three?"

"Your count."

"One... two... three!"

"Diffindo!" Both boys shouted, flicking their wands upward. The thorns seemed to pop as they clattered to the floor, Jack smirked, turning to Hiccup. "That was easy."

But what Hiccup forgot to tell Jack was that this would only be successful for the front half of the plant. Once the thorns on the front were severed, the Spiky Prickly Plant, sensing it was in danger, would turn around in its pot and shoot the thorns from its back in the direction of its threat. "Jack! Diffindo!" Hiccup's voice cracked stupidly, but he managed to sever the rest of the thorns on the back of the bush. All except one that came streaking towards the boys rapidly, piercing itself into Hiccup's right shoulder.

Hiccup brought his left hand, his wand hand, up to his mouth and bit into it to avoid screaming in pain. Jack's face was painted with embarrassment and remorse. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so stupid!" He began to curse but stopped himself and kicked his toe into the ground, knowing Hiccup didn't like swearing. "Are you ok? Obviously not. I feel horrible. I swear I didn't mean to..." Jack kept blabbing, and Hiccup smiled at his friend's expense.

"Hey, well, at least that answers your question for sure now."

"Huh?"

"These thorns are hella fast." The boys stared at each other for a moment, snorted softly, bit back giggles, and then eventually let loose with uncontrollable hysteric laughter that got Sprout's attention. She immediately sent Hiccup to Madam Pomfrey's, and as soon as Hiccup reassured Sprout that he was totally fine and Jack wasn't at fault, Hiccup walked back to Hogwarts Castle and to the Infirmary.


The wound was all too easy to heal, and the process was rather quick, except Madam Pomfrey wanted Hiccup to lie down for a bit and have some water to recover from the shock or whatever. Despite the fact he was the only kid in the Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey drew the curtains around his bed in the Hospital Wing for privacy. Hiccup poked the bandage at his shoulder, wincing with pain whenever he touched it but unable to make himself stop. He had just began to entertain himself with counting the stitches among the seam of his sheets when he heard the door bang open in the Infirmary. Despite the shielding of curtains, Hiccup froze by instinct. He immediately recognized the voice as Hagrid's. Would make sense, considering the door opened with such force.

"Mad'm Pomfrey? Mad'm? Poppy!" Madam Pomfrey's first name was Poppy? Why not? Hiccup thought with a shrug. "Blast it! Mate, I'm real sorry, but Mad'm Pomfrey must be out."

So Hagrid wasn't alone. Hiccup couldn't place the second voice, especially since it was wincing with suppressed pain. As the man exhaled, accompanied by a squeaking sound, Hiccup guessed he'd just plopped down onto a hospital bed. "You're sure it was a wolf? Not a werewolf?" The man's British accent sounded... wealthy. Hiccup didn't know how else to describe it. It wasn't arrogant or pompous, just refined... elegant... wealthy.

"Trust me. I know me beasts like I know me own wand."

"Oak wood. Rather bendy. Troll whisker core."

"Blimey! How'd ye remember?"

"It was hard to forget, friend. Sixteen inches. Longest wand I've ever sold. I take great care to remember the wizards who go to own my strongest wands. That's why I remembered you to help me."

"Aye. I go with ye ter help ye an' end up gettin' ye bit by a wolf."

"Don't blame yourself, Rubeus. It's only a slight nip. Besides, your spell cleared the wolves away almost immediately. I told you. I was right."

"Well, yer the wand master; I don't doubt ye. But I always thought it was ole folklore an' wives tales."

"No, it's fact. The longest wands go to the wizards with the strongest characters. The strongest characters usually do well with animals."

"Yeah, err, still, unicorns don't react well ter eleven-an'-a-half foot tall half-giants, now do they? Especially male! Yer the wand expert, an' I'm the magical creature expert. Unicorns only respond well ter females. A foal may be easily persuaded, but an adult... an' ye know how much easier they are ter find than foals, who're always bein' guarded by their mum's."

"Rubeus, if this is too much for you, I entirely understand if you cannot help me."

"What? No! I'm the best man ye got ter help guide ye through the Forbidden Forest to get yer unicorn! Err... what're we goin' to tell Mad'm Pomfrey o' that? The wolf bite? She won't like it I'm leadin' ye through the-"

"Yes, yes, but business is business. Like it? May or may not, but she'll surely understand."

Hiccup felt uncomfortable. Business is business? The Forbidden Forest? Hagrid was discussing this with the stranger as if it were a secret, a bad one, too. Hagrid began talking again. "When d'ye want ter head back in the woods?"

"We'll get a hold of the unicorn tomorrow morning. You've got the supplies with you, correct?"

Hiccup heard that mattress creaking sound, and when Hagrid said, "Yer equipment's all in me bag," Hiccup guessed Hagrid had thrown a bag down on the wolf-bitten man's bed. Hiccup cringed as he heard the sounds of metal clanging as, Hiccup assumed, the man rummaged through the bag. The sound of clanging metal wasn't new; Hiccup had to put up with that noise every summer as he worked as an apprentice at a blacksmith's.

It sounded like the clanging of weapons. We'll get a hold of the unicorn tomorrow morning, the stranger had said.

Hiccup's gut flipped. But this was Hagrid working with him, the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Surely it couldn't mean... no, the words were pretty clear. Hiccup continued listening intently, but he only heard small talk and sounds that anyone would hear in an Infirmary, like that of gauze being unraveled, a cloth being dipped into a bucket of water, and the sharp inhale through gritted teeth when said cloth is applied to a wound. The men left before Madam Pomfrey had a chance to return and dismiss Hiccup to dinner.

Slipping his black-and-yellow tie through his fingers, a subconscious act that had grown to be an outlet for his anxiety, Hiccup knew there was no way he could eat dinner. He felt like he was going to be absolutely sick. Instead, he roamed the halls, deciding what he should do. Since Care of Magical Creatures was a class for third-years and up, Hiccup obviously hadn't had the chance to enroll in it, so he didn't know Hagrid. But he knew enough about Hagrid. The other students said he was gruff, dangerous, and a little daft in the way he tried to approach animals. He always engaged the students with the most dangerous species, and always thought the most dangerous creatures were the sweetest ones. He had a soft spot for the beasts that could kill you and didn't work much with the harmless specimens. But Hiccup never guessed that this professor would actually try to slay a harmless animal. It sounded preposterous. Should Dumbledore be alerted? Would Dumbledore care?

Hiccup took his wand out and, gripping it tightly in his left hand, lightly struck the fleshy part of his right palm. Again. And Again. And again. The stimulation helped clear his mind, and the quick slicing motion of his wand through the air reminded him of the Severing Charm from Herbology earlier that day.

And then Hiccup remembered why Professor Flitwick told the first-years every year that you should never fiddle with your wand absentmindedly like that. Hiccup accidentally cast the Severing Charm to the tapestry at his right.

A slight white light zoomed across the hall, leaving a slender vertical tear that split a dancing pipe-player from an Abraxan (large white winged horses with blue feathers) poised majestically on its rear legs. Hiccup stood there, in utter horror, racking his brain for anything that might repair the torn tapestry. He jumped when he heard a meow at his feet and stared down at the dusty floor, nearly missing the dingy, dusty-colored fur of Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. Mrs. Norris blinked her lamp-like eyes and sprinted down the hall to fetch her master, the caretaker of Hogwarts Castle.

Great. This was the last thing Hiccup needed.

He ran up to the tapestry and began beating it with his wand hoping some spell would fix it. He slipped his hand through the rip to assess the damage and stumbled forward. He expected there to be a wall behind the torn tapestry, but instead, he felt a nipping damp breeze. Hiccup stretched the rip open as far as he dared and saw a hidden corridor. Looking behind him to make sure Filch wasn't there, Hiccup was for once grateful for his slender build as he slipped through the torn tapestry. "Lumos." A wand appeared at the end of Hiccup's wand, and he began to sprint down the tunnel.

Hiccup couldn't tell how long the tunnel was, his only concern being to get as far away as possible. He just ran for an unmeasurable amount of time. Eventually, he came to a dead end. Wait; no, not a dead end. There was a short ladder propped against the wall. Hiccup held his wand in his teeth so the light could guide his hands as he travelled up the rickety rungs.

There was a trap door above Hiccup's head, and he pushed it gently. It wasn't locked, but certainly heavy, and it creaked noisily. And that was an understatement. Hiccup might've as well screamed and less attention would've been brought to him. Nonetheless, Hiccup took the creaking sound as a sign that this route and door were seldom used, meaning the room he would be let out to must also be seldom used. Hiccup pushed the door open with a grunt and it smacked the floor behind him. Hiccup hoisted himself out and began to turn out the light of his wand, but then he realized that was a stupid idea. He most certainly still needed it.

He was in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

Hiccup considering leaping back into the door, but he had no idea if Filch was pursuing him. Surely Filch would know about all the trapdoors and secret pathways of Hogwarts. Instead, Hiccup covered the door quickly with leaves and began covering his tracks.

You are so stupid. This is the Forbidden Forest. Have fun dying. Hiccup shook his head and pushed the voice out. Best not to think. Thinking would just drive him insane.

He raised his wand in his hand and looked around the forest. What route would take him back to Hogwarts? The general direction of the tunnel seemed his best bet, but there had been so many turns and curves. If it were a straight line, Hiccup could follow it back. But no. This had to be difficult.

Hiccup backed to a tree, trying to settle his breathing as he slipped down against the bark. "All because you tore a stupid tapestry," Hiccup muttered.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. "Hey! Hey! Who's there?"

Hiccup stood up and tried to locate where it was coming from. The echoes made his directional sense go askew. But he knew the voice, for sure. "Jack?"

"Hiccup?" Hiccup heard the sound of twigs breaking underneath strides and turned in the direction of Jack walking toward him coolly. "What are you-? Agh! Hiccup! Don't hug me! That's not cool!"

Hiccup pushed Jack away. "We're in the Forbidden Forest! Must I always be the sane one of us? This is dangerous! I'm freaking out!"

"Um, ok. Why?"

"It's forbidden and dangerous!" The stranger who'd gotten attacked by a wolf in the Infirmary. His luck that it wasn't a werewolf. Hiccup began hyperventilating. "What are you even doing here?"

"Detention. Why are-?"

"What does this have to do with detention?"

"My detention with Sprout. She sent me here to collect some plants." Jack held up the satchel hanging over his shoulder and reveled it was filled with some type of greenery. "How dangerous can that be? Besides, what are you-?"

"Collecting plants isn't dangerous! In the Forbidden Forest it is! Do you know how dangerous it is?"

Jack smirked. "Hella." Hiccup made a face of disgust, disgrace, and display of being 150% done. "And, since you're not interrupting anymore, do you want to tell me why you're here?"

"I... ah, accidentally tore a tapestry."

"Smooth, dude. Smooth. Which one?"

"It had a piper and a white Pegasus on it."

Jack's eyes bugged open. "Oh, no. The one with the apple trees and the sunset?"

"Um, I think so."

"Dude! That was an original Farley!"

"What's a Farley?"

"A work that was made by Farley!"

"Who's Farley?"

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. "Uncultured swine."

"It's a tapestry," Hiccup said slowly.

Jack blushed. "Yeah, well, Slytherins have a thing for tapestries. They're all over our dorm."

"Ok," Hiccup said with a blink.

Jack moved the conversation forward. "So, you got detention in the Forbidden Forest for the torn tapestry?" Hiccup explained the escape through the secret corridor. "Wow. And so you're just waiting to make sure he's off your tail before you enter again?"

"Yeah. I don't know the way back to the castle otherwise."

"I do. You can help me collect a bit more of these plants. Then we can walk back together. So you don't have to worry about Filch being on your back."

"You just want me to help you finish serving detention."

"Yeah. Don't worry, though; it'll be quick. And you have your wand, right?"

"Don't you?"

"Confiscated for detention. You can use it to help us find the plant quicker."

"Jack, you are really, really lucky we're friends." Hiccup reached into the bag and fiddled with the plant between his fingers.

"Sprout called it 'Blister Moss' or something."

"Glistcuré Moss."

"Whatever. Sprout was collecting some for Slughorn's potion ingredient supplies or whatever. It's really soft though, isn't it?"

The thin, silky green moss, when tilted the right way under the light of Hiccup's wand, caught streaks of gold and silver in the light. "Yeah. I can see why unicorns like to eat it."

"What?"

"When we learned about it in Herbology, Sprout told us more than that it was a plant used in potions. She also told us that baby unicorns like to eat it. It helps their horns grow thick and strong."

"How do you know all this?"

"I said: we learned about it in Herbology."

Jack shrugged and took the plant from Hiccup, sticking it back in his bag. "Do you remembering learning any spells in Herbology class that help you locate this Glistcuré Moss?"

"Um... no, but I remember how to locate the vegetation surrounding the plant in order for it to thrive in its most abundant state."

Jack nodded, hiding he was impressed. "Alright, then, lead the way."

Hiccup pointed ahead. "There's a hole in the forest canopy that would let in sunlight during the day." Instead, stars glittered through the space tonight. "Glistcuré Moss needs a secure, moist environment with easy access to sunlight, so I'd think we'd find quite a bit on the rocky banks by that whimsy stream underneath that canopy opening. Plus, unicorns probably have difficulty eating from rocky terrains, so there's a good chance we'll find a substantial amount."

The boys carefully scaled the rocks and found that, of course, Hiccup was right: pinched in between the rocks was a surplus of the mossy plant. Jack's nimble fingers pried out handful after handful of the plant, squishing as much as could fit in the bag. They filled it up in no time and began heading back to the castle.

Jack smiled at Hiccup in his teasingly boyish manner. "See? I told you it would be quick."

"It was only quick because I was helping you."

"And you didn't even need to use magic! You talented botanist."

"Excuse me?"

"Botanist. You know, someone who works with plants."

"Oh. I thought that was some kind of cuss word I'd never heard before."

So the boys talked about stupid stuff all the way back to the castle, stomping noisily through the forest grounds. When they were near the edge of the forest, Jack adjusted the bag on his shoulder, swinging his arm with the movement of his shoulder. His elbow bumped something hard, and the boys heard something like the mix between a high-pitched yelp and a growl. Like the whiny of a horse.

The boys spun around and saw Jack had reared his elbow into the head a golden foal, who was shaking its golden mane wildly in frustration. It stomped its pure golden hooves into the ground, and when it made eye-contact with the boys, Hiccup was startled with the piercing black eyes.

"Whoa!" Jack backed away and put his hands up in the air. "How long has it been following us?"

Hiccup approached the foal, surprised it wasn't retreating. "It wanted the Glistcuré Moss in your bag."

Jack quickly opened the satchel. "Dude! He ate, like, a third of it! Who eats Glistcuré Moss-? Wait, that cannot be a unicorn. Unicorns are white and have horns."

"They're golden when they're foals, actually. They turn silver when they're two, and they grow horns at age four. They aren't fully grown until age seven, when their fur turns white."

Hiccup looked at Jack, and he could tell that Jack was trying hard to keep his fury and not to go soft on the baby unicorn. But its beauty and innocence were entrancing, and Jack just ended up staring at it in awe. "Did we take all of its food?"

"I doubt you've taken enough of that moss to starve the unicorn population," Hiccup laughed, reaching up to pet the unicorn's nose. "Jack, you've got to try this. Its fur is so soft."

Jack approached the unicorn, which backed away at first, but eventually submitted to Jack's touch. "This is crazy."

Hiccup felt his heart ripping like that tapestry. Looking for that Glistcuré Moss, the food of unicorns, and actually petting baby unicorn, all while knowing there were people inside Hogwarts Castle who wanted to slay the unicorns? What on earth for? Sport? Supplies? "Absolutely insane."

Jack smiled up at Hiccup, surprised to see Hiccup's upset face. "Dude, what's your problem? You're petting a unicorn!"

Hiccup's hand tensed, and the foal must've sensed something because it began to back away. "I... think I overheard people discussing coming into the forest and killing the unicorns."

"Hiccup, that's not funny."

"It was when I was in the Infirmary from that Spiky Prickly Plant. Two men came in; I recognized one voice as Hagrid's and the other I couldn't place. The stranger was talking about how Hagrid was helping him with something and they needed to go to the Forbidden Forest for it. That why they were in the Infirmary; the stranger got bitten by a wolf while searching the woods. They mentioned something about keeping their mission on the down-low and entering the forest to 'get a hold of the unicorn' tomorrow, and then I heard them rummaging through a bag of weapons."

Jack's face went void of expression, like he was zoning out for a second. Hiccup had known Jack long enough to know this was the face Jack made when he was upset, confused, or fighting against something in his mind. Finally, it settled into a grimace. "But it can't be. Everyone knows you don't slay a unicorn. But rumor does have it in Slytherin House that the Hagrid guy is a pretty weird dude."

"He kind of scares me."

"No shame in admitting that." Jack stared at the golden foal. "We have to do something."

"But what? You're the Slytherin. You're the schemer."

Jack bit his lip. "I'd say tell Dumbledore, but I'm afraid we don't have substantial proof. Why would he believe us over a professor?"

"Exactly what I was wrestling with."

The foal stared at the two of them as they discussed alternatives. Jack seemed to be slightly disconcerted by this. "Can it understand us?"

"Don't talk to it in the third person!" Hiccup chided, shooting an apologetic smile to the foal. "Can you understand us?" The foal blinked. "If you can understand us, shake your mane." Nothing happened. "Uh... I guess not."

"I was going to say we can send it to tell its unicorn tribe/herd/cult/whatever to go into hiding, but that wouldn't work now, would it?"

Hiccup shuddered. "Well..." He made eye-contact with the unicorn. He couldn't leave the foal here. "I'm not leaving this forest until we figure out something."

"Man, it's getting late. I don't think there's anything we can do right now."

"But-"

"You can figure something out tomorrow, ok?"

"No." Hiccup crossed his arms, Jack crossed his, and the two stared each other down.


Of course, Jack got his way and urged Hiccup to leave the unicorn.

Early Saturday morning, Hiccup woke up, traveled back the Farley tapestry, was relieved to find it mended, and snuck behind it to find the tunnel taking him to the Forbidden Forest. He traveled the short distance to the rocky riverbank to gather some Glistcuré Moss; hopefully it would attract that young foal.

Instead, wedged in between the rocks, was a pearly white stick about as long as Hiccup's forearm shaped like a thin cone.

A unicorn horn.

Hiccup sprinted carelessly down the rocks and ended up tripping, falling into the racing river. It was only a few inches deep, and Hiccup's chin grazed a rock hidden by the foam of the churning water. The scar wasn't that deep, and most certainly not that serious, but it was like slicing your finger on a sheet of parchment when you flip the pages too quickly. Only the slightest bit of blood dripped between his fingers, but Hiccup swirled his hands in the water to make sure they were as clean as could be before picking up the horn. It was sturdy and heavy, but it felt like it was floating in his hands.

Hiccup was too late. A unicorn had been slain. He looked around the rocks for the staining of unicorn blood- a silvery-indigo color- but didn't see anything. It made the scene all the more disconcerting. Suddenly, he heard a whiny behind him, and he jumped, pointing the horn as if it were his wand. Hiccup was stunned and relieved to find the golden foal from yesterday, eyeing the horn suspiciously. Hiccup thrust the horn inside his school robes. "I swear," he started, approaching the foal with slow strides and an outstretched hand. "I won't hurt you. I didn't hurt the other unicorn. I swear before Merlin, I'm on your side. You can't even understand me." Hiccup sighed as he pet the baby unicorn's nose. If it was the horn Hagrid and the stranger were after, this baby was safe, but Hiccup still felt the need to protect the unicorn.

But that wouldn't do any good. Protecting a single unicorn wouldn't do any good at all. No, Hiccup had to find Hagrid and the stranger. He had to stop them from collecting any more horns. Resting his hand on his school robes, Hiccup contemplated why they didn't grab the one he'd found. Probably they couldn't find it and assumed it had splashed into the river. Maybe they'd already collected enough horns. Maybe they were killing for sport and didn't want to bother being burdened with lugging around so many spoils from their hunt.

Hiccup racked his brain for the spell that reveals human presence in a surrounding environment. It only worked on humans, not creatures, so he wouldn't have to worry about the beasts in the woods messing with the signal. Hiccup didn't know how far the powers of the spell stretched, so he just hoped for the best. "Homenum Revelio!" he whispered. He didn't know how he knew, because he didn't see or hear any signal, but he just knew. He began sprinting to his right. They were in that direction. The foal began chasing after him. Adult unicorns could outrun werewolves easily, but this baby couldn't keep up with Hiccup. He felt bad abandoning the animal, but is was for the better that the foal stayed away from the hunters.

When Hiccup got there, he saw Hagrid, in the distance, calmly approaching an adult unicorn, stroking its nose gently. Meanwhile, a pale man was crouching in the bushes, fiddling with a metal contraption. Pale was an understatement. His veins rested against translucent skin, and a mass of frizzy, curly, tangled white hair tumbled just past his shoulders. Most startling of all was the silvery eyes, intently focused on the contraption in his nimble fingers. He winced as he bent over, as if something pained his side. Something like a wolf bite. Hiccup found it pretty safe to deduce that this was the stranger with Hagrid in the Infirmary the other day.

Hiccup's knees locked, and he put his hand on a tree to steady himself. He gripped his wand warily and pointed it up at Hagrid as he slowly walked forward. "Incarcerous!" Hiccup shouted with an embarrassing voice crack. The spell was supposed to tightly bind the victim head-to-toe in rope, but instead, a loose braided cord went from Hagrid's knees to his navel. Nonetheless, the sudden motion sent the unicorn racing away.

The half-giant shook the bindings easily. "Gallopin' Gorgons, what the devil is goin' on?"

Hiccup's attention was entirely on Hagrid, who hadn't seen him yet. However, the stranger must've, because Hiccup suddenly found himself under the same conjuration, except infinitely more successful than his own attempt. He fell forward on his face, struggling against the bindings. Hagrid came running up to him, and the stranger sauntered behind leisurely.

"Eh? Who are ye? Yer a student, I'd wager. Oi! Ye ain't supposed ter be in the Forbidden Forrest. It's off-limits ter students! Ye could get in real trouble wit' Dumbledore, lemme tell ye. What's yer name?"

Hiccup positioned his body and scowled. "Yeah? I'm going to get in trouble?" He was shaking in fear, but he manipulated his gaze to one of threatening anger to make his quakes appear to be that of fury. "You're the one hunting unicorns!"

Hagrid's eyes seemed to explode. "Why, ye lil' scoundrel! I'd- I'd never slay no unicorns as long as me heart's a'beatin' in me chest! How dare ye say such a cruel thing?"

"I heard you!" Hiccup shouted. "I heard you in the Infirmary! You said you would go after the unicorn tomorrow... I mean, you said that yesterday, so in relation to yesterday, tomorrow's today, and... oh, you know what I mean! After you said that, you threw a bag of weapons down! I heard metal clanging and..."

The stranger had arrived at Hiccup's testimony, and he chuckled, causing Hiccup to blink confusedly. "So you came into the forest with the intention of stopping us from slaying the unicorns. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Hiccup scowled suspiciously. Something wasn't right.

"My boy, I'm afraid this has all been a mistake." With the flick of the stranger's wand, Hiccup's bonds were cut. He stood slowly, not breaking eye-contact. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Ollivander. I am the proprietor of Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley."

Hiccup stared into the silvery eyes a little deeper and recognized the man. "You sold me my wand."

"May I see it?" Hiccup handed it over. "Ah, yes. A left-handed wand. They always have the strangest powers. Quite intriguing. Yew with unicorn core... unusual, I remember than much. Thirteen inches. That's even stranger. Oh, yes, I remember this wand. You had come in with your... brother?"

"Ah, no. Jack's not my brother." They both had brown hair, but other than that, their skin, eyes, face shape, attitude... everything seemed different to Hiccup. "He's a wizard in my year also from a Muggle family and we ran into each other while purchasing our books beforehand. Neither of us had friends in the wizarding world, so we just stuck together for the rest of the afternoon."

"Oh! Indeed, I remember you planning to board the train together, trying to figure out how you would find one another. His wand... dark wood, I believe ebony, and his was fourteen inches. Quite usual for such dark wood. But his had a Phoenix feather core, which is always rare..."

"How do you remember all this?" Hiccup shook his head. Ollivander said his own wand had unicorn core. "Wait. My wand has unicorn meat in it?"

"No!" Hagrid explained. "The core's only a tail hair. That's why we're trackin' unicorns in the Forbidden Forest. Not ter kill them, but ter cut some tail hairs for wand cores."

"I can assure you it doesn't hurt them," Ollivander said with a smile. "It's just getting them to calm down so we might be able to approach them. That must've been the 'metal weapons' you heard me rummaging in my bag. They're special shears thick enough to cut a tail hair but also gentle enough so that they don't feel a thing. Rather difficult to get these adult unicorns to compromise. We haven't gathered a signal tail hair. A foal would be so much easier, but they're so hard to find..."

Suddenly, the foal that had been following Hiccup caught up with him and approached the three. It pressed tight against Hiccup's leg, and Hiccup stroked his mane. After making the false accusation and looking a bit foolish, Hiccup was glad to have something to show off. "You were saying?"

Hiccup held the foal steady as Ollivander skillfully and gently cut a few golden tail hairs. "And the best thing is," Ollivander continued, "is that youth equates with strength, so the tail hairs of a foal can at times be even better than that of a full-grown unicorn!"

"You're a Ravenclaw," Hiccup guessed.

"Good deduction. You could be, too." Ollivander nodded at Hiccup's black-and-yellow tie. "But those could with magical creatures are often in Hufflepuff, I've seen."

"What're ye sayin'? I'm Gryffindor, an' I'm Professor o' Care o' Magical Creatures!" Hagrid huffed.

"Often. I didn't say all the time." Ollivander smiled at Hagrid. "I'm sure this boy meant no harm in pursuing us in the forest. Surely we should spare him going to Professor Dumbledore about all this."

"He could be up ter no good," Hagrid warned.

Ollivander pretended not to hear him. "After all, you two are both so much alike."

"We are?" the two asked, glaring at each other.

"Indeed. You'd never do anything to harm a living creature, and you both work hard to protect the sanctity of wildlife. You are enrolled in Hagrid's class, are you not... I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name!"

"Hiccup. And, no, I'm not old enough."

"Well, ye could do well in me class, I s'pose... once yer older, o' course" Hagrid said slowly. "The way ye attract that foal. How'd ye do it?"

"Professor Sprout taught us that Glistcuré Moss attracts young unicorns."

"Blimey! Why didn't I think o' that?"

Hiccup couldn't help but smiling. "Oh!" He shouted. "I forgot." He pulled the horn from his robes. "How do you explain this?" It wasn't an accusation; Hiccup was sure they were innocent at this point. But how did Hiccup find the horn if there were no unicorns slain?

Hagrid took the horn with a concerned look on his face, but once he touched it, his expression relaxed. "Ah. No worries. After a while, boy, unicorns shed their horns an' grow newer ones. Ye can tell by the way it shines that it was a pure sheddin' rather than a hunted unicorn. Usually, unicorn horns are collected ter store in Slughorn's potion's supply, but this one's a beauty. If ye want ter keep it, I'll keep yer secret. It's magnificent, aye?"

Hiccup rolled the horn over in his hands. "No, someone might find it. I don't have anywhere good to hide it. Would you mind keeping it for me?"

Hagrid smiled down at Hiccup for the first time. "Why, Hiccup, I'd be delighted ter help ye out there."

Ollivander smiled cunningly as he led the two back to the castle. Sure enough, in the years to come, Hagrid and Hiccup had one of the best student-professor relationships at Hogwarts.