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Oh yes – R&R! And… The Truth is Revealed. Some have asked me if I am going to make our two little wizards, Albus and Scorpius reveal their identities. Your answer is RIGHT in this chapter!

Chapter 7 – The Truth is Revealed

Scorpius headed down the steps for breakfast. A plate laid with fresh fish was lying ready for him. Albus waved at him. Valka said "good morning, Scorpius", while feeding that Stormcutter of hers, Cloudjumper.

"Where's Hiccup?" Scorpius instantly asked, noticing that the young Chief's chair was empty.

"Oh, he's just went to check on Snotlout," Valka replied.

Albus and Scorpius exchanged dark looks. Scorpius felt like an idiot – he had forgotten about that Sheep-Horned Muggle that he had Stunned in the Forest! Strange though – it was almost a week since the Time-Turner 'malfunctioned' and they landed onto Berk, and into the lives of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and his Vikings.

Great… thought Scorpius, Great. Snotlout isn't dead, which is a relief, but what could happen next? He'll tell everyone his side of the story, and we could be the first wizard outlaws in some foreign… Viking archipelago land.

The door opened, and Hiccup and Toothless were right there. Hiccup smiled at Albus and Scorpius. "I've got good news – and half-bad news."

"What?" Albus instantly stood up. "Good news first!"

"Well… good news, hopefully, you guys are innocent. You've got nothing to do with Snotlout's… unconsciousness thing.

Yes! Scorpius thought. Guess like we're FREE! Scorpius turned to see Albus grinning and giving thumbs

"Well – and this is the possibly bad news is… Snotlout's awake."

Scorpius and Albus's smiles faded away faster than lightning. "What?" asked Albus. "Can we – er – see him?"

"Sure."

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Albus had never felt this jumpy before; a nervous kind of jumpy was churning in his stomach like butterflies. Great. If the Snotlout Muggle is awake, great. Super great. We're dead. DEAD. We'll be deader than dodos. We'll be dead before we make it back to the future.

They – Albus and Scorpius – were having so much fun on Berk – the best non-magical fun they'd had in a long time, with their new-found Viking friends, Hiccup and Astrid and Valka, and their dragon friends: Toothless and Stormfly and Cloudjumper, but all that would be taken away from those two wizard boys. Was there such a thing as Viking jail? Was the death penalty a known Dark Ages punishment? Albus shivered at the thought.

"Gothi was the village elder and the village healer," Hiccup explained. "She's an excellent healer."

"Much like Madam Pomfrey, I think," muttered Scorpius under his breath in a tone so soft that only Albus could hear. "But she can mend broken bones in seconds."

Terrible Terror dragons (at least, that was what Hiccup said they were called) swarmed the door, but then quickly flew away as Hiccup, Albus and Scorpius approached the door.

Gothi's a MIDGET? That was Albus's first thought of Gothi, but he shook off the thought when he noticed the Sheep-Horned Muggle Snotlout. He was quietly chewing on some fish Gothi had probably brought to him, not noticing that some visitors had arrived. Shut up, thought Albus. We're dead.

"So… you're awake Snotlout," Hiccup said, breaking the silence.

"Well, duh. I am awake!" huffed Snotlout. "Are you blind?"

"Well," said Hiccup, "you're awake now. I got two visitors here for you. They arrived on the island shortly after you… passed out."

Albus ignored Scorpius's glance at him when Hiccup said the words 'passed out.'

"You missed the dragon race."

"Hmph. I bet the winner happy that they finally beat for once, because I wasn't there."

"It was Astrid and Stormfly."

"Again? Not again!" Albus heard Snotlout whine. Then he noticed Albus and Scorpius. "Who are they?"

Hiccup stepped aside, revealing Albus and Scorpius. "This is Albus Potter, and Scorpius Malfoy. Guys, meet Snotlout Jorgenson. He's a good guy, but he can be… well, it's nice you all finally met."

Albus and Scorpius froze. Snotlout looked at them suspiciously, then he turned wide-eyed. He looked petrified. Albus was trembling. Great. Then we'll have to tell the whole village about our magic, while we're being tied to a stake.

Snotlout turned to Hiccup indignantly, speaking no louder than a whisper, "You bring… murderers to my sick bed?"

Hiccup laughed and grinned at Snotlout. "Snotlout, what do mean? They haven't killed anybody. They're not murderers!"

"They… they tried to… to kill me." Pointing at Albus and Scorpius, he said (and Gothi leaned over to listen), "I was walking in the forest. Hookfang was tired. Then I came across these two. Spoke to them, but then… Blonde Boy… he – he pointed a stick at me. Called me stupid. Then it… almost killed me."

"It was Stupefy!" corrected Scorpius. "And it doesn't kill you!" Then he froze again. Hiccup and Gothi looked at him, then Albus, as if they were complete idiots. Scorpius had given himself, and his best friend, away. Albus had been thinking of a good lie, but then it faded away as soon as Scorpius said those words. Albus shot Scorpius a look, and Scorpius nodded, understanding the message: Run.

They both bolted away out of the door and out of Gothi the healer's hut, leaving Hiccup, Snotlout and the healer herself, staring.

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Hiccup's POV

Hiccup flew back to the chief's hut as fast as he could, and he opened the door, finding his mother and Astrid inside.

"Hey, Hiccup," smiled Astrid. "Your mum told me you were at Gothi's hut because Snotlout's away. And you took Al and Scorpius with you. Wait – where are Albus and Scorpius?"

"Gone," Hiccup panted. "They ran away."

"And why would they do that?" asked Valka suspiciously. "Hiccup? Tell me everything."

When Hiccup had told the story – Snotlout waking up and saying Al and Scorpius were murderers, then saying Scorpius had pointed a strange at him and he fainted, and how Scorpius said it was 'Stupefy' but then they ran off.

"I think they're worried that they'll get punished," said Astrid.

"I don't think they did it, but if they did I think it should be an accident, but what am I really sure about is that Albus and Scorpius have something to do with Snotlout fainting and passing out."

"But now we have to find them," said Valka.

"I don't they'll be far," said Hiccup. "After all, you can't go very far on Berk unless they've got a dragon."

"And since they don't have time to get a dragon… and they don't want to be found…"

"They've probably ran off somewhere… They don't know about the cove, do they?"

"No, I haven't told them about the cove yet."

"So… they could've hid somewhere…like… the forest!" said Astrid. "Come on, Hiccup, we have to get them back, they could get in trouble!"

And Astrid dragged Hiccup onto Toothless, Astrid jumped on Stormfly, and the two flew off, searching for Albus and Scorpius.

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Scorpius's POV

The forest was the best place to hide.

Well, he had other ideas: the village, but it was crowded, and one of those village Vikings would've turned him and Albus to Hiccup in a heartbeat. Behind a random Viking's house came to mind, but then a Viking was sure to spot them and turn them in. Hiding in water was a crazy idea that found its way in Scorpius's brain, but then they'd have to keep coming up for breath and for sweet, sweet oxygen (they didn't have Gillyweed with them, though Scorpius wished they did) and their clothes would be completely drenched and soaked and wet.

So Plan D, the fourth idea that came into mind? The forest.

Wished we had a dragon, Scorpius thought, so we could fly off this crazy island and never come back.

Scorpius and Albus sprinted as fast as lightning as they ventured deeper and deeper in the forest of Berk. Suddenly, Scorpius heard roars and growls deeper into the forest. Then Scorpius remembered what Valka had said to them on the day Albus and himself had met the Vikings: Dragons out and about – everywhere! But it's not safe if you're out here, with the wild ones. And Valka had said it might be worse for them, since they were foreigners (and also from the future).

Scorpius took hold of Albus's arm and pulled him into a bush. "We can't go on any deeper into the forest," he whispered. "The wild dragons… I'd just remembered. If it weren't for my good memory, those dragons would be feasting on wizard-flavoured Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, with a little spice of magic."

Albus didn't laugh about the joke or thank Scorpius for warning him. Instead, he shot Scorpius a dirty look. "What the heck did you say that for?"

"It was just a joke, Albus!"

"No – I mean the Stupefy thing! You know it was the Stunning Spell. Why couldn't you keep your mouth shut?"

"I don't like it when people mispronounce incantations!"

"They're Muggles, mate, Muggles. Of course they'd say the words wrong! They weren't taught like wizards!"

"Okay, shut up now! I can hear someone coming." Then Scorpius turned pale as he heard the roars of dragons and faint shouting. "Oh, great. It's the Vikings. They're coming. Coming for our punishment."

"Yeah, and it's all your fault," Albus grumbled.

Scorpius could hear faint shouts of "Albus! Scorpius! Where are you!" but then he gulped when he heard those shouts come louder. He hid deeper into the bush they were hiding in.

"No use, we're gonna get found, let's get out of here," said Albus.

"No, we can't! There's wild dragons out there, and we haven't got Hiccup and Toothless to protect us! In fact, they're just gonna arrest us-"

"SHHH!"

Two minutes later, after forming into a ball, Scorpius looked up and opened his eyes when he heard footsteps. Albus heard the same, and did the same thing. They both looked up and noticed Hiccup and Toothless standing in front of him. And by the looks of it, Astrid and Stormfly had tagged along too.

Scorpius had expected Hiccup to pin their arms behind their backs, while grinning evilly, as Muggle bullies did. Instead, Hiccup was smiling gently, and he said, "Oh, we found you guys. It's okay."

Albus blinked in confusion. "So – we're not going to prison?"

Hiccup chuckled. "Who said anything about anyone going to prison? Nah, you're just coming back to the chief's hut. Oh, and I think you have to answer to my mother too."

Scorpius sighed. "But we have to answer some questions for you, don't we?"

Hiccup smiled. "Tell me everything."

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Albus's POV

Albus enjoyed riding on Toothless, who instantly became Albus's favourite dragon, but not if they were flying back to the chief's hut for some 'very important questions.' It reminded Albus of Twenty Questions – maybe Albus and Scorpius had to answer a million questions about wizards, once they'd made the confession. Or maybe they could do a Memory Charm and wipe the memories of Valka, Astrid, Hiccup, but especially Snotlout.

But the Vikings (with the exception of Snotlout) had been nice to them. They'd given him and Scorpius food and shelter. It'd be a shame to wipe their memories. No, he thought, I'm not wiping their memories. They don't deserve it.

They landed in front of the chief's hut, and Hiccup opened the door. There, waiting for them, was Valka, looking serious, but then she smiled, and turned to Albus and Scorpius. "Hiccup told me you ran away from the hut."

"What hut?" Albus said.

"You know what I'm talking about, Al, Gothi's hut. Snotlout said that you pointed a stick, said some silly word and he fainted. But I don't get it. How do you get someone to faint just by pointing a stick and saying something?"

Albus looked at Scorpius. "Should we tell?" whispered Albus.

"Well, in normal circumstances, we should tell the truth," Scorpius whispered. "But they are Muggles, and this is not a normal circumstance, so really, we shouldn't. But they're good guys, you know…"

But it'll be a lot to take in once they know the truth, thought Albus, breathing deeply.

"I think you deserve the truth," Albus finally said aloud.

Hiccup, Astrid and Valka all stared at him. "So," said Hiccup sadly, "you did want to murder Snotlout?"

"NO!" said Albus hastily. "We didn't want to murder him! It was an accident! I promise! Scorpius promises! On Wizard's honour!"

"Wizard?" asked Astrid. "What in Valhalla do you mean by 'wizard'?"

Scorpius breathed deeply. "You see, Albus – Albus and I – we're not what you'd call normal in your world. We're – we're wizards."

Long silence. Finally, Hiccup said, "Wizards. Old men with pointy star hats and star wands with big, silvery beards. They're myths and stories and old tales. How do you expect us to believe-"

"We've got proof, Hiccup." Albus looked at Scorpius, and they both took out their wands. The Vikings all stared and Astrid said, "So you accidentally pointed that stick-"

"Wand," corrected Albus.

"Yeah, you pointed that wand at Snotlout, who fainted. But what did you say to make him faint?"

"Oh, you mean stupefy?" Albus said softly. "It's the Stunning Spell – it does the same effects – what it did to Snotlout. It's magic."

"Magic," repeated Valka. "Magic. Could you show us some magic?"

"Guess it couldn't hurt." At the same time Albus was thinking, Doesn't matter if I'm using magic now. We're already in trouble with the Ministry, so it wouldn't matter if I used a bit of magic –

"Lumos!" Albus said, and a small light appeared at the tip of his wand. "Nox!" and the light disappeared.

Scorpius grinned. He turned to a platter of fish and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and then the plate began to hover. For the fun of it, Albus and Scorpius made random things hover in the air (Toothless wasn't pleased when Albus had 'stolen' his favourite fish off his plate with the Summoning Charm) and for the sake of it, Albus turned the head on Hiccup's shoulder guard blue, then yellow, then red again.

"Okay, okay!" laughed Hiccup. "No more magic! Though," he added, "magic is truly an amazing thing. Can I learn magic?"

Albus and Scorpius stowed their wands away and Scorpius replied, "Well, others like us-"

"Wait!" said Astrid. "There are other wizards?"

"Yeah, they live away from Muggles-"

"Muggles?"

"Well, Muggles are what wizards call the non-magic folk in the world. Though many wizards in other countries call them different names. Like in America, Muggles are called No-Majs. Anyways," Scorpius continued, "other youngsters like us, when we turn eleven, we are invited to attend a wizarding school in Britain called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Other countries in the world have wizarding schools also.

"We travel on a train – er, a kind of land transportation," Scorpius added when he noticed the Vikings' faces, "then the first-years are taken on boats which lead to the castle where the school is. There, students are Sorted into their Houses-"

"How does that work?" said Hiccup excitedly. Then, noticing Valka's and Astrid's faces and expressions, he hastily added, "Sorry for interrupting."

"It's okay," laughed Scorpius. "I'm getting there, I'm getting there… students are asked to put on a hat called the Sorting Hat, which sings a song about the four Houses and Sorts you in one of them."

"Houses?" asked Astrid.

"There are four Houses in Hogwarts named after the four founders of Hogwarts – Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. Each house represents different qualities-"

"Yeah," Albus chided, "and the Sorting Hat sings a different song every year. Dad told me all about his Sorting:

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart.

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil.

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind.

Or perhaps in Slytherin,

Where you'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends."

"So," said Hiccup. "Gryffindor is for the really brave and bold people, Hufflepuffs are kind, just, loyal and hardworking, Ravenclaw is the House for the smart and the wise people, and Slytherin are for those of cunning and ambitious people."

Albus and Scorpius clapped. "Well done, Hiccup! You've interpreted the song and you know exactly what the qualities of the four Houses are. That's cool!"

"That song was sang at my dad's Sorting, too," said Scorpius. "They were in the same year, our two dads."

"Were they in the same Houses?" asked Valka.

"No," replied Albus, shaking his head, feeling gloomy. "My dad, Harry Potter, was in Gryffindor. Scorpius's dad, Draco Malfoy, was in Slytherin."

"What Houses are you in now?" asked Astrid.

"Scorpius and I are in Slytherin." Albus still felt gloomy.

"Why the gloom, Al?"

"Well… fine. I'm a half-blood Potter, and my mum is a member of the pure-blood Weasley family. The majority of Potters and Weasleys are in Gryffindor. I must the first in my family to be in Slytherin."

"No prob with my family though," said Scorpius sadly. "I'm a pure-blood Malfoy. Since Hogwarts began, all my family have been sorted into Slytherin House."

"You both seem gloomy."

"I'm a Potter!" said Albus. "Potters aren't supposed to be in Slytherin! It's too late now; the Hat's decision is final. It's fine though."

"But Slytherin," said Scorpius darkly, "is the house that has produced all the worst Dark Wizards in Britain. You know – bad wizards. Evil wizards. Use magic to kill people. Only care about pure-bloods. Half-bloods and Muggle-borns? Ha! Second-class. The worst of them-" Scorpius shuddered. Albus knew he was talking about Lord Voldemort, and was thinking of the famous attempted murder that made Harry Potter the Boy Who Lived.

"The worst of them was?" asked Astrid.

"Never mind. Anyways, back to Hogwarts. You stay seven years at Hogwarts, sleeping in the dormitories, eating with your House, and going to classes with them. You learn the magic things – Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, but you also learn Potions, History of Magic (it's super boring) and you can learn Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination."

"Divination?"

"The practice of seeing into the future."

"That'd be cool. I would head over to the twins a minute before they explode something," grinned Hiccup.

"You stay at Hogwarts until you are an adult."

"Eighteen?"

"Well," said Albus, "in the wizarding world, you become of age at seventeen."

"Okay. So when can I learn magic?"

"You've missed your chance. Besides, you're a Muggle, and you can't do magic."

"Oh," Hiccup looked sad. "I wanted to learn how to use magic. It'd be as good as dragon riding." Astrid was trying hard to stifle giggles.

"How about the Muggle-borns, Scorpius?"

"I've heard you say Muggle-born before," observed Valka. "And the words pure-blood and half-blood… what are these people?"

"Well, your blood status is either one of these three if you're a wizard," explained Albus. "Pureblood, half-blood, or Muggle-born. If you're a pureblood, your family is completely wizard. None of your family is Muggle. Half-bloods are those who have Muggle descent in their families, but are still wizards. Muggle-borns, well… they're sometimes the opposite of purebloods. None of a Muggle-born's family is magic, or have wizarding descent."

"I'm a pureblood, of the Malfoy family," said Scorpius. "Albus here is a half-blood."

"So you can just turn people's hair blue if they annoy you?" asked Astrid.

Albus pursed his lips. "Well… no. Plus, being a wizard isn't all cracked up to be. You can't turn people's hair blue, or else you'd get in trouble at Hogwarts. In our fifth year, we sit examinations called OWLS – Ordinary Wizarding Levels. In our seventh year, we take NEWTS – Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. We're in our fifth year. And you can't do magic during the summer break. Otherwise, you'd get a letter from the Ministry of Magic."

"And that is…?"

"The group that keeps order in the Wizarding World, main aim preventing Muggles knowing about us."

"But we do know about wizards, because you're telling us," frowned Hiccup.

"Well, um… you won't matter. Hopefully. Anyways, yeah, a brief-yet-not-so-brief summary of the Wizarding World. Great, I need water, my throat is dry from talking. Oh, ran out of water?" asked Scorpius, when Hiccup held up a cup. "Aguamenti!" Suddenly, water filled the cup.

"Now you're showing off," said Hiccup, but he was grinning as he handed the cup to Scorpius.

Scorpius looked at Albus while he drank. No, we don't tell them about the Time-Turner incident. We'll just get it and be on our way. Well, when we find it. Albus seemed to be telling Scorpius in his mind.

"But how will we tell all this to Snotlout?" asked Astrid.

"He won't have to," said Hiccup, turning pale, then opening the door. Albus noticed a bulky figure sprinting away. "He'll tell the whole village."

Scorpius choked down on his water. "What?"

"He was listening by the door. By the morning, the whole village will know."

A cliffhanger? Is it okay?

Dun dun dun (ominous music)

What do you think?

The next update might be on or near Christmas, but if it isn't, then have a happy holiday, and Merry Christmas, dear readers!

Until we meet again!
~The Wizard Rider