Atlantis: The Lost Empire

I'm really bad at this game, you guys... I don't own anything, I swear!

Chapter 10: Castle of Secrets

The bright red engine of the Hogwarts Express gave off a shrill call to announce that it would be departing very soon. Jack was loading his trunk into the storage compartment of the train while also trying to look around to find his friends. He hadn't seen any of them since he arrived nearly twenty minutes ago, and he could only hope that they wouldn't miss the train.

With the help of his mother, Jack finally got his trunk into the storage compartment, and at the same moment his fears were relieved by a very familiar voice calling for him.

"Jack!" Merida struggled through the crowds of students and their families until she stood right in front of Jack, trying to catch her breath. "There you are!" She finally huffed. "We've been lookin' everywhere for you! Hiccup and Punzie went ahead to find a compartment for us."

"Well, it's nice to see you, too!" Jack smirked before turning to face his mother and sister. "I'll see you both at the start of summer?"

"Absolutely." His mother smiled, kissing his forehead and giving him a tight hug. "Be safe and have fun. I love you, Jack."

"Love you, too, mom." Jack smiled and looked at his little sister. "We can go get ice-cream as soon as I get back." He promised.

"Yeah!" Emma grinned, giving her brother a quick hug.

After a few more hugs and goodbyes, Jack finally followed Merida onto the first-year car of the train. They quickly found the nearest window so they could wave goodbye as the train pulled away from the station. When the train had left the station far behind and out of sight, Jack and Merida started searching for Hiccup and Rapunzel. They found the two of them sitting side by side, reading an old-looking book that Rapunzel held in her lap.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS!" Jack shouted, throwing himself at both of them with a giant group hug.

"Jack!" Rapunzel laughed happily at the sight of him as she was squished between Jack's chest and Hiccup's side.

"Jack!..." Hiccup puffed because Jack's hug was crushing his lungs to the point of being unable to breathe. When Jack finally let go, Hiccup gasped for breath while Rapunzel grinned brightly, and Merida closed the door to their compartment.

"You guys won't believe what I found!" Jack said, pulling his father's journal out of the inside pocket of his robes.

"I found something, too!" Rapunzel told them, showing them the book she and Hiccup had been looking at. "I was just talking to Hiccup about it."

"I wasn't able to find anything." Hiccup looked down ashamedly. "The library at home is... limited to say the least." He fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Don't worry so much, Hic. We weren't expecting to find anything anyways." Jack nudged him lightly in the shoulder. Hiccup merely gave a grimace of recognition, but he still had a guilty look on his face.

"Bah. You're not the only one, Hiccup." Merida huffed in annoyance. "I tried asking Dad, but he just went off on old war stories from when the vikings tried to invade Scotland." She rolled her eyes as Hiccup's widened considerably.

"Vikings, huh?" He choked, and Jack tilted his head curiously.

"Yeah, nasty bunch they are." Merida nodded solemnly.

"Did you try looking in the library? I'm sure Scotland must have one." Rapunzel raised an eyebrow at Merida questioningly.

"My mum was on my tail the whole break! I wasn't willing to risk my research time with my mum's princess lessons!" Merida retorted hotly, and Rapunzel chuckled, shaking her head.

"How about we take a look at what we do have?" Hiccup suggested. The others nodded in agreement, and Rapunzel opened her book, searching for a certain page.

"I remembered something my parents said about Professor North being something called a "Guardian", back when I decided to attend Hogwarts over Beauxbatons, and I thought that maybe since Prof. North seemed so worried researching him might prove to be helpful. The short version is: I found this." Rapunzel turned the book towards them, and they all looked at it intently.

"That's my Dad!" Jack exclaimed, and the others stared at him in shock as he pointed at the image. The picture was of Prof. North, Bunnymund, Toothiana, Sandman, Jack's father, Dr. Sweet from Hogwarts, and several others that Jack didn't recognize. They all stood in a group before the camera, smiling as if they were joking and laughing just before the picture was taken.

"Wow, he looks just like you, Jack!" Hiccup commented. "Oh, well, I guess you look just like him."

Jack's eyes shone at the kinda-compliment, and he looked back at the picture. His father looked just as he remembered him; Blue eyes and shaggy hair just like Jack's, except it was snow white in color. Of course, Percy Frost had a much more defined jaw, and his shoulders were broader, but Jack's mother was always telling him that he looked just like his Dad when he was Jack's age.

"That's incredible." Rapunzel breathed, pulling their attention towards her. "Your dad was a Guardian." She said, her eyes bright and smile wide.

"What's that?" Merida wanted to know.

"The Guardians are a group of wizards brought together by Professor Tsar Lunar, we all know him, of course. Who wouldn't know him? He's the greatest wizard of our time, and he's the Headmaster of Hogwarts! -"

"We know, Punzie. Why don't you tell us the part we don't know?" Merida recommended.

"Oh, heh heh, right." Rapunzel pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then continued. "Well, Prof. Lunar is the founder of a group known as the Guardians. He hand chose each Guardian himself, choosing only the bravest and strongest of wizards and witches, and he gave them the task of protecting the children of the world." Rapunzel explained. "The Guardians are separate from the Ministry of Magic, but they work together often in times of war or other crisis. The Guardians don't actively make their existence known, which is why none of us knew of them, but they don't hide it either. Prof. Lunar founded the Guardians of Childhood because of a Dark Wizard that was threatening the peace of the world. It says here that after the great battles took place, Prof. Lunar offered all of his Guardians of Childhood a job at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Many accepted, which we know because half of them are our teachers, but there were a select few that decided against it for various reasons."

"Wait, what?" Merida asked.

"That's all the book says." Rapunzel pointed to the last paragraph.

"But who was the Dark Wizard they were fighting? And what happened during the battles?" Jack demanded.

"It might have been left out on purpose..." Hiccup remarked.

"But we barely know anything about these "Guardians of Childhood"!" Merida groaned.

"It's a fantastic start, though." Hiccup smiled. "Jack, you said that you found something?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah!" Jack pulled out his father's journal and opened it to the page he had kept with a bookmark. "This is a journal that my Dad kept while he was working as an Auror." Jack explained. "I read through it for almost two hours before I found this entry, listen: 'My partner and I were following a lead a few days ago that brought us to the kingdom of Gabylonia. After a week of searching we finally had to admit that we lost the lead and go home, but we found something that has been bothering me since I returned home to my family. We found a dead dragon. It was far outside the border of Gabylonia, and was laying in a ditch where no one would ever find it, unless they went looking. There are so many unanswered questions that bother me. How did the dragon get there? What was a dragon doing this far from the Archipelago? They've never inhabited any other kingdom before. How did the dragon die? It looked as if it had been killed. It worries me. The wounds were strange; not clean enough to be any blade, but not jagged enough to be claws or teeth. I've had a handful of dreams where I watch the dragon die, but I can never see the face of the killer. It makes me wonder if Kozmotis has returned and is playing games with me. The thought terrifies me, and I find myself fearing for my son and my wife. Perhaps I should tell Mim? He and the others could help, but I would hate to bother them with something that could very easily just be my paranoia... And yet still...'." Jack finished reading and looked at the others.

"Again with the half answers!" Merida cried in frustration, throwing her hands in the air. "Who are Kozmotis and Mim?"

"I don't know, but this is the first entry before my Dad starts talking about some important investigation he's taken on. His entries go up until the date of when he disappeared... I think my Dad was investigating something that had to do with that thing that attacked us, and I want answers." Jack told them, his thoughts troubled.

What really happened to his Dad? Why did he just... Disappear?

"We'll find answers, Jack." Rapunzel said softly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Rapunzel's right." Hiccup announced, drawing the attention of the entire compartment. "This is a lot of information. I'll do some research in the library and try to fill in all the gaps. Until then we should try to keep a low profile. I think this stuff is a little more serious than we originally thought."

The others nodded in agreement, and then turned to look at the small window on the compartment door. People were moving about, talking and laughing. Some of them were dressed in school robes.

"Everyone is getting changed." Rapunzel smiled. "We should probably do the same. We'll be back at school soon."

"Yeah." Jack offered a smile. "Come on, Hic." Jack motioned for the other boy to follow, and they waited for their turn out in the hall as the girls changed.

Hogwarts was just as it had been when they left; breath-taking and incredible, except for one minor detail. Now the suits of armor that once decorated the halls walked across the walls that bordered the castle itself and patrolled the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hogwarts security had increased quite noticeably and, judging from the murmurs and questioning glances, they weren't the only students who noticed.

When the four of them finally reached the Great Hall, they separated to spend the first night back to school with each of their Houses. The feast was wonderful, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood, which was especially nice for Jack because the few housemates that still questioned his loyalty to Slytherin House left him alone, and Jack was free to talk and joke with Mavis, Wilbur, and even Flynn for a little while.

After dinner, as everyone was slowly settling down, Deputy Headmaster North stepped forward on the dais to address the students. "Hello, and welcome back!" He began. "I am pleased to see you all smiling and safe after your travels. Over the break the other Professors and I spoke about a creature that appeared in the Forbidden Forest, and we have decided that for the safety of all students we shall be increasing security throughout the castle. But be assured, children, Hogwarts is still perfectly safe and secure. All of the Professors and faculty are dedicated to your protection. The security is only formality, and once the Forbidden Forest has been searched and cleared, all shall return to as it was. Until such time, Care of Magical Creatures classes shall be held in the courtyard next to the greenhouses..."

Prof. North continued on about small changes that had been made to assure the students safety, and all of the other students accepted the explanation easily, but when Jack looked over at the other tables and found the others looking back at him as well. They all exchanged knowing, but curious looks. Prof. North hadn't even told them what the creature was, and why patrol the castle if they were certain the creature was in the forest?

When the feast was over, and Prof. North had said all he wanted to, the students began to file out of the Great Hall towards the common rooms. Jack wished Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Merida goodnights as he passed them and then went with Mavis and Wilbur to the Slytherin common room.

That night, when Jack went to bed, he was trapped inside terrible nightmares all night...

AN: Hello! I hope y'all enjoyed the latest chapter. Review for more!

NOTES: Tread carefully. The shadows have ears.

REVIEWS:

Cat Girl 1995: Happy to hear that you're enjoying it! And don't be sorry for questions! I love questions!... Except these are all plot questions, so I can't answer them without giving things away. I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see :)

Chiara Dello: Keeping me on my toes, I like that! BUT I do have a counter-point for Emma's name. Pippa and Jack's sister are two different characters that have the same voice actress. Pippa is one of Jamie's friends (the girl in the green sweater), and Jack's sister actually doesn't have an official name. I have seen lots of people use the name Pippa for Jack's sister (and I like it, too. Cute nicknames and all), but I have also seen just as many people use Emma. In the end I decided on the names that I did because, besides Pippa, Emma is the most popular name used for Jack's sister and if you type "rise of the guardians emma" into the search bar and then go to images, it will show you Jack's sister. Where as if you type it in with pippa, you'll see lots of pictures of Jamie's friend and one or two of Jack's sister. I like both names, too, so it really just came down to the fact that I thought the names fit better with each character in some way... *mumblesbecausespoilers* besides, I didn't want to have two characters with the same name...