AN: HAHAH! I'm BACK ladies and gents. I am so sorry for keeping you waiting so long, but hopefully the longer chapter will make up for it. I am back in school now and have a real schedule, so I should be making more regular posts. I will also be staring up some new stories on here, not to worry though I won't abandon this one. Now enjoy this long awaited treat!
(Disclaimer: Despite all this time, I still don't own anything good other than the story)
Chapter 9: The LONG Explanation
Rapunzel's attention flickered between the Viking teen telling his story, and the large black dragon, or rather Toothless, sat contently at the teen's side. The story was so incredible that had the proof not been sitting right in front of her, she might not have believed it. And yet it explained so much.
"That's about it, I suppose," Hiccup finished sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
Rapunzel realized that it was nearly dark as Hiccup finished his long explanation.
"And you hide him here? In the forest?" Jack asked excitedly, a little too excitedly in Rapunzel's opinion.
"Yep," Hiccup replied, "we figured it would be the one place close to the grounds where he could move around comfortably without being noticed."
"And the other Berk kids have their own dragons?"
"Yeah," Hiccup answered somewhat proudly, "nearly everyone on Berk now has a dragon. Let me tell you it certainly makes fishing a whole lot easier."
"And you really defeated a dragon as tall as a mountain?!"
Hiccup blushed nodding.
"And that's how you lost your leg?"
Hiccup blushed a brighter red, but they all took that as a yes. Rapunzel's had heard stories of people who had lost their leg to dragon's fire and that because of the type of flame most dragon's had, it was impossible for even the most skilled healers to regroup the lost limb.
"That is so awesome!" Jack exclaimed, "I knew something had happened to you this summer, but I was not expecting this!"
"Jack this is serious." Rapunzel chastised the younger student. "If anyone found out about this, Hiccup would not only be expelled, but he could be arrested and sent to Azkaban."
"I understand that Rapunzel," Jack replied rolling his eyes, "but that would only happen if one of us ratted him out. And none of us are going to tell on him right?"
Rapunzel felt caught. On the one hand she knew that she had to tell someone responsible, after all, bad things would happen to all of them if they were discovered hiding something like a dragon from Headmaster North. But then she took a good long look at Hiccup and Toothless. She saw a friendship that had been tested literally by fire and the two of them had come out stronger for it. She saw the type of friendship in which both dragon and rider would protect each other till the very end. In the end Rapunzel saw no other choice.
"Of course we won't tell." Rapunzel sighed.
She saw Hiccup's smile lift considerably and she knew she had made the right decision.
"Have ye all lost your minds?!"
"I was wondering when you were gonna break up this happy moment Dunbroch." Said Jack slyly.
Rapunzel looked over to Merida who seemed to be reaching a new level of furious.
"Ye don't honestly expect us not to tell someone that there is a DRAGON in the forbidden forest do ye? Because if ye are than ye crazier than I gave you credit for Frost!"
"Merida please," said Hiccup, "you can't tell anyone that Toothless is here. He's my best friend!"
"Hiccup," Merida sighed, "he's a dragon, they are illegal."
"People just don't understand them." Hiccup argued, "They don't know that they can be trained."
Hiccup faced the three of them with determination, "Look, no one knows just how destructive they can be better than Berk. We've been at war with the dragons for so many generations that peace seemed impossible. But I found out that they were just like us. They were just protecting themselves and trying to stay alive, just like we were. And now, we work together and that peace that seemed so impossible has become a reality."
Rapunzel watched as Hiccup spoke with determination in his voice, the voice of a leader. This must be the Hiccup that the other Viking teens seemed so willing to follow. Hiccup took a deep breath after finishing, then turned to look Merida square in the eyes,
"I'll make you a deal Merida," he said with a smile, "if you go for a ride with me on Toothless, and if after that, you still want to tell someone about us, I won't stop you."
Rapunzel and Jack moved to argue, but Hiccup held up his hand before they could speak.
"What do you say Merida?" he asked.
Merida thought for a moment, then slowly, a smile broke out across her face, "You're on Fishbone."
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Once Hiccup was mounted on the dragon, he offered Merida a hand to help her mount, but she ignored it and mounted by herself. In a way, she thought, it was almost like mounting Angus, although Angus might be a little larger, and a lot less scaly.
"You ready?" Hiccup asked.
Merida found her grip and smiled replying, "This better be good Viking."
Hiccup laughed and said, "All right Toothless, you know what to do."
The dragon, Toothless, made some sort of chortle sound that Merida could've sworn was laughter and then shot up into the black sky above. The rush of the wind and the speed that Toothless gained was exhilarating. Even on her broom Merida had never gone this high or this fast before. It was the biggest thrill she had ever felt in her life. Hiccup had Toothless spin a few times and Merida felt her stomach lurch in excitement. Finally, Hiccup and Toothless shared a quick look and they began to make their ascent above the night clouds and into the star lit sky. Merida felt her breath leave her in pure amazement. The stars were so bright, away from all the manmade lights. It reminded Merida of the nights her father would take them out all onto the fields on clear nights. He would put out all the torches and lay out a blanket, and they would lay there while her father told them the stories of the stars. He would tell them hundreds of legends of heroes and monsters, and each one Merida treasured.
"Well," said Hiccup, breaking her from her memories, "what do you think?"
"This, this is brilliant." Merida breathed.
Hiccup smiled, "Yeah it really is."
Merida looked at Hiccup and saw the same look of content that she felt reflected in herself.
"Up here," Hiccup began to explain, "it's like nothing down their matters. There's no laws, no traditions, it's like we're completely…"
"Free." Merida finished.
"Yeah."
They flew for a while longer before Merida asked, "So everyone on Berk has a dragon?"
"Pretty much."
"So Vikings are now fully equipped with fire breathing weapons." Merida sighed.
"They're not weapons." Hiccup ground out. "They are not machines to for human use." He turned to face her, "They're living creatures. They want peace as much as we do."
Merida opened her mouth to argue but Hiccup stopped her, "Why do you hate Vikings so much?"
"Why? You all started it! You're the ones who hated us first!"
"And that's exactly what Vikings say about you Scotts," Hiccup replied, " so no one really knows why we hate each other really, but we just blindly believed that we hated each other."
"But that's…that's just…"
Merida stopped herself, realizing that what he was saying could possibly be true. Her father had always told her that you could never trust a Viking, but now she wondered if it wasn't just like the legends of the stars that had been passed from her father to his father.
"Hang on, we're heading back down."
The quick descent nearly caught Merida off guard but the rush was incredible. The quickly arrived on the forest floor and Merida hopped of the dragon's back. Jack and Rapunzel quickly approached her.
"Well,…" said Jack
Merida turned to Hiccup, "Can we do that again?!"
Hiccup smiled, as did Rapunzel and Merida, Jack laughing whole heartedly. Suddenly Toothless started to growl at the trees behind them. The four students quickly pulled out their wands ready for anything. Voices soon were heard, and Hiccup quickly tried to send Toothless away.
"Wait," said Rapunzel, "I recognize those voices."
Suddenly, Astrid appeared, still in uniform, saying, "Hiccup I am so so sorry."
Startling them all, Eugene, Emma, the triplets, Jamie and the other Viking teens stepped into view, arguing and bickering. They stopped talking as they saw Hiccup, Rapunzel, Merida, and Jack.
"Rapunzel," said Eugene moving toward her, "what is going on? Why did you take off like that?"
Then he saw Toothless, and jumped about a foot in the air.
"Is, is that a dragon?!"
"Duh, duh, duh," said Hiccup face palming, "we're dead."
Toothless looked between him and the large crowd of humans, rolled his eyes and started sauntering off.
"Not this again," Hiccup sighed following the dragon, "and just where do you think you're going."
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After another long hour of explaining, Hiccup sat down at the base of one of the trees, exhaling loudly in exhaustion. He watched as the first years played with Toothless, the older students standing around watching in amazement. Hiccup was so tired he wished he could sleep for years. But it was a good tired. For the first time since arriving back at the school, Hiccup felt a huge sense of relief and accomplishment. He turned as he felt someone sit beside him, smiling as Astrid leaned against his shoulder.
"I don't know how you do it."
"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, leaning his head against hers.
"You just…talk…and somehow, you manage to get them all to listen and believe you. So how do you do it?"
"I don't know." Hiccup shrugged. "I just say what I think. Apparently that's good enough for some people."
Astrid smiled, "It was certainly good enough for me."
"That and a fly by above Berk definitely helped."
Hiccup flinched as Astrid punched him jokingly in the shoulder.
"So did you ever think this would happen?"
"What do you mean?" hiccup asked.
"That we would be sitting here, watching Scotts, Vikings, and dragons all getting along and, well, becoming friends?"
Hiccup though about the question for a moment, "No, I can honestly say I was not expecting this, but it's definitely a pleasant surprise."
Suddenly Toothless stood up; ears perked up, and then started growling at the forest to the right.
"Toothless?" Hiccup asked standing up, "what's wrong bud?"
Rustling sounds startled everyone into a defensive stance.
"Everybody, get out your wands." Eugene ordered doing the same.
"Boys," warned Merida, "stay behind me."
Emma and Jamie moved over with Jack, Rapunzel stood next to Eugene, and the Viking teens, being as their nature, started moving toward the strange sound.
"What do you think it is?" asked Astrid.
"I don't know, but I doubt moving toward it is the best idea." Said Hiccup.
But the other Vikings did not listen; Hiccup knew that it was the stubbornness that had been encoded into their d.n.a that kept them from listening. All of the sudden, a dark, shadowy shape reared up from the bushes in front of them. The sheer force of its presence knocked the Viking teens off their feet. The other students aimed their wands at the creature as Emma asked,
"What is that thing?!"
Hiccup took a good look at it from his spot on the forest floor. It seemed to take the shape of a horse, but looked like it was made out of shadows rather than flesh and bone. It wasn't the same as the thestrals, and everyone else seemed to be able to see it. It hadn't moved yet, just pounded its hoof into the dirt and sniffing the air. Hiccup decided to carefully approach it.
"Here he goes again." Whispered Snotlout shaking his head.
"Hiccup." Astrid warned.
Hiccup stopped as close as he could, and held out his hand. He hadn't been sure if the creature would accept it or not, but what he had not been expecting was for the animal to knock him back down, placing a hoof on his chest. Toothless, screeched and attempted to blast the creature off of him, but the blast went right through it.
"Hiccup!" Astrid called out.
Hiccup would've responded, had the large black hoof not been crushing his lungs. He could see several spells being sent at it, but nothing seemed to work. Hiccup wondered what kind of creature wouldn't respond to the most basic disarming spells, let alone a plasma blast, then remembered back to detention in Pitch's classroom.
"Patronus," he tried to call out to the others, "Use…gah…Patronus Charm."
Hiccup thought he was going to pass out, when a silvery shadow hit the beast with enough force to knock it back. Hiccup felt two sets of hands help him stand up, and soon recognized them as Astrid and Snotlout.
"Can we just have one day where I don't have to save you?" Snotlout asked accusingly.
Astrid rolled her eyes and asked, "Are you alight."
"Yeah," Hiccup replied, rubbing his chest, "just got the wind knocked out of me."
Then he turned toward where the creature had been, only to see forest plants and trees.
"It must have run away." Came Fishlegs voice.
Hiccup turned to look at the others, hoping to thank whoever had cast the patrounus charm. The younger students seemed too startled to have cast it. Jack was comforting Emma and Jamie, while Merida was checking on the triplets. Rapunzel and Eugene were talking to each other in hushed voices, and then they addressed the group.
"We don't think that we should tell any of the professors about this." Said Eugene. "For all we know that creature could live here, and if we were to try and explain why were out here…" he turned and looked toward Toothless who was gently nudging Hiccup. "well, none of us would want the consequences of that. So let's just head back to the dorms. If any luck, the after parties of the match should be going on and no one will notice us slip back in."
All the others nodded in agreement, Hiccup conceded, being too tired to argue the point. He truly didn't think that creature belonged to the woods. If it had, he would have seen it before, and it was strange that nothing seemed to stop it except the patronus charm. Then there was also the mystery of who had cast the spell. Hiccup decided that the best thing to do now however, was follow the others back to the dorm and continue to do the research, both on the creature and on the strange spell. As Hiccup followed the others out of the forest, saying goodbye to Toothless and telling him to be careful, began to wonder if the two mysteries were connected somehow.
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"So you can ride a fire breathing dragon and face off against a horrible giant green lizard, but you've never played Quidditch?"
"Nope, never."
"That's insane you'd be one of the best players Ravenclaw has ever had!"
Jack couldn't believe that Hiccup had not tried out for Quiditch after learning he could ride a dragon.
"Well," Hiccup consented as the rag tag group of students made their way on the path toward the castle, "it's not the same. Quidditch requires a lot more coordination. Plus, you're the one in control of the broom, a dragon is a living creature that can realize when you're about to make a stupid decision."
"No that that's ever stopped Hiccup from going through with his crazy schemes." Laughed Snotlout.
Jack laughed along with the others. He looked at the others and tried to gauge how everyone was doing. He couldn't believe that just a few hours ago, none of these people would have been seen talking to each other. And now, here they were laughing and joking around like friends. Well, he thought, almost everyone. The group began to divide and head back toward their respective houses, with the exception of Merida, who saw the triplets off to Slytherin house. After Eugene and the triplets went inside, Jack stopped Merida before she could get away.
"I saw what you did back there," he said, "with the Patronus charm."
Merida looked uncomfortable, "So what?"
"So what?!" Jack asked astounded, "You saved Hiccup, and probably all of us from that thing. That's not exactly a small feat is it?"
"I did what I had to." She shrugged.
Jack studied her face for a moment, then asked, "Are you alright."
Merida tried to look indignant, "Of course I'm alright. Why would ye ask that?"
"Merida," said Jack looking her in the eye, "it's okay, we we're all scared…"
"I wasn't scared…."
"I mean that ghost horse, or whatever that thing was could've killed us all and…."
"What horse?"
Jack looked at her confused.
"What do you mean 'what horse' ?" he asked her, "The horse that nearly stomped Hiccup into the forest floor."
"I didn't see a horse." Merida replied quietly.
"What did you see then?" Jack asked after a moment.
Merida paused, biting her lower lip for a second. Then, she took a breath and sighed, "I saw,…I saw a face of something it couldn't possibly have been…I saw a creature that I had killed a while back…" she looked at Jack, "How is that possible? To see something that's supposed to be dead?"
Jack shrugged, "You've got me. The real question is, why did you see something else, when the rest of us saw the horse?"
Merida shook her head. "I haven't the foggiest."
Jack took a minuet to think about it, then said, "Look, normally I wouldn't say something like this to you Dunbroch, but what you did tonight was really brave. Obviously you faced your fears to protect a group of people that a few minutes earlier were your enemies. That makes you pretty alright in my book."
Surprisingly, Merida smiled, then playfully punched Jack in the arm, "You aren't too bad yourself Frost."
"So friends?" Jack asked holding out his hand to her.
Merida looked at it, took it saying, "Maybe not go as far as friends yet, but definitely not enemies anymore."
"I'll take what I can get." Jack shrugged, shaking her hand.
As she turned to leave, Jack stopped her once again.
"What is it Frost?" she asked trying to look annoyed, but smiling.
"If you're interested in finding out what that thing was, " he said, "Hiccup and I meet in the library after classes, we've been trying to decode that spell, maybe we can put our heads together and figure out what's going on."
Merida thought for moment, "Maybe." She said, then began to walk away.
"So see you tomorrow then?" Jack called to her.
She didn't respond, but kept walking, and Jack decided to take it as yes. He smiled entering the Slytherin common room where a party was in full swing and waiting for the house seeker and jokester.
AN: Hope nothing was too chessy or rushed. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm particularly proud of the Merida and Jack interaction at the end there. Please review! I want to hear from you guys again! I missed you! Keep an eye out Friday for the new chapter!
