A/N: Thanks to Anon for catching a formatting error in the last chapter, now corrected. One of my proofreaders quit a few months ago. I apologize for any mistakes like that and hope I don't have any more.

Flynn Rider limped down the frost-covered path. The Stabbington brothers hadn't quite let him go, but they'd given him more freedom after the three of them were chased by some crazy horse. Flynn had twisted his leg rather badly running from the white menace, but at least they lost the damn beast.

They wanted to test his ability as a thief. Flynn was supposed to steal something and bring it back. Flynn knew he wasn't alone. He couldn't see the Stabbington brothers, but he knew they were close. Every so often a bush would rustle. Flynn doubted it was a bunny.

Now Flynn just had to find out what to steal. They weren't close to a town. The brothers didn't want him to try seeking shelter or get a sheriff involved. Not that he would. He'd seen a few wanted posters. They didn't do him justice. They just couldn't get his nose right.

But with the absence of buildings and people, he wondered what there was to steal.

As Flynn trudged down the path he noticed snowflakes starting to fall. He didn't have a cloak, dressed simply in an ill fitting shirt and pants he's stolen a few years ago. Maybe that should be his target. A warm cloak; or at least better clothes. Maybe something green. Much as he disliked Pitch and the Slytherins, he still was one.

As the young man walked, he heard something besides the rustle of the bushes. Something faint and musical. Bells. He hurried towards the sound as quickly as his damaged leg would allow. Up ahead, he saw a flash of something red.

Flynn slowed as he drew near, careful not to make a sound. Ahead, he saw the red object. It was a sleigh, a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. Flynn ducked behind a tree as he searched for the owner of the sleigh. He saw no one.

Taking a deep breath, the 18 year old moved closer. He still saw no one, so he dared to creep right up to the sleigh. Flynn looked inside. A big red sack lay on a bench. Flynn pulled it open, finding a cloak right on top. He quickly pulled it out and started to run off when a voice stopped him.

"And where you is going with that?" a deep voice asked. Flynn turned to see a square shaped man in a red coat. The red coat, the sleigh pulled by reindeer, the white beard. Flynn didn't need to be told. This had to be Santa.

"Please," Flynn pleaded, "I'm too handsome to freeze."

"I knows. That's why I am here," Santa said.

"The … the cloak is actually for me?" Flynn asked, not daring to believe it. All his life he'd never received a gift from Santa. He assumed he was on the naughty list.

"More than just the cloak." Santa opened the bag and pulled out a whole ensemble. Brown pants, black boots, a white shirt and a green vest. He handed them to Flynn.

"Today isn't Christmas," Flynn commented, running his fingers down the threads.

"No, today is St. Nicholas' day. A bit of a misnomer. My actual name is Nicholas St. North."

"I thought you were Santa Claus."

"We go by many names. To much of the world, I am indeed Santa, or St. Nicholas. But to those who truly know me, I am just North. Now, what is you waiting for? Try them on."

Flynn didn't feel like disrobing in front of a stranger, even if the stranger was rumored to be able to see you when you're sleeping, so he simply pulled on the green vest and cloak over his other clothes. They fit perfectly, and the cloak was wonderfully warm. Flynn hadn't felt that comfortable since he lived at Hogwarts.

"Thanks," Flynn said as he ditched his worn out shoes for the new boots. "But why now? I haven't done anything different."

"You are still on naughty list, is true, but there is something wrong. I feel it, in my belly."

"What's wrong?"

"Something with magic. I'm not sure. It's just a feeling. But I thought I should help out wizards in trouble, on naughty list or not."

"Thanks," Flynn said, wishing he had a mirror, "but why do you care about magic folks?"

"As Santa, I protect all children. But before I was Santa, I was a wizard, and a thief, like you."

"You were a thief and you have the nerve to tell others when they're bad or good?"

The man gave a jolly laugh, "Is true, I would have been on naughty list, especially when I was a Cossack. But I haven't stolen since I trained to be a wizard. That's why I start a new list every year. Every Christmas is a chance to do better. A chance for a new beginning."

Flynn liked the idea. A lot. Maybe by next Christmas, he would be able to get away from the Stabbington brothers and get his new life. North jumped back in his sleigh. As he was about to leave, Flynn thought of something.

"Hey, are you still involved in the wizard world?" Flynn questioned.

"Of course! I'm involved in all the world."

"Then, can you tell me … I warned my friend Jack about Pitch Black, but I don't know if anything came of it."

"Pitch Black is reason for my visits. He is, how you say, at large? Guardians like myself are searching, but we cannot find."

"Oh," Flynn said.

"But your friend, Jack Frost. He is safe. On naughty list for fourteenth year in a row, but safe."

"Thanks," Flynn said, relaxing. North was about to set off when he paused.

"One last gift." North reached into his bag and pulled out a brown leather satchel. Flynn shoved the new shirt and pants inside it and watched as North's reindeer took charge and the sleigh lifted into the sky. A swirling vortex opened and the sleigh was gone.

Flynn heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw the Stabbington Brothers. Had they seen Santa?

"Wow, kid's good, I didn't even see him snatch that stuff," the one who always talked said. Apparently they didn't see the sleigh. Or if they had, they hadn't realized the stuff was a gift, not a theft. Flynn liked it that way. Maybe he could turn this around on them.

As the holiday season rapidly approached, Hogwarts came alive with excitement. But nothing was more exiting than the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. The only down side? This Hogsmeade visit was scheduled for the third Saturday of December... which meant Jack had detention.

As he snuggled into bed on Thursday, he looked across the room at Derek. Derek looked forlorn. He probably wasn't any happier about the detention than Jack was. In fact, maybe it was worse for him. Derek had never gotten detention before, at least to Jack's knowledge. It must feel awful to go from being a favorite to being just one of the crowd. Jack could almost feel sorry for him.

"Hey, Derek?" Jack asked. The blonde boy scowled and turned to him.

"What do you want, freak?"

"Moth- um, Professor Pitchiner said we only had detention until we started to work together. I bet you want to go to Hogsmeade … we could team up. Maybe if we ask her together, she'll let us go?

Derek looked pensive. After a few minutes he said, "Alright – We can try."

Jack rolled over and fell asleep. The next morning, Friday, the boys approached Emily Jane.

"Professor … We .. we think we've learned our lesson," Jack said meekly. "We can work together. Is there any chance we can go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, instead of detention?"

Emily Jane regarded them coolly, "Hm … well you do seem to be getting along slightly better … but I'm not sure."

"Please?" Derek pleaded. Emily Jane pursed her lips.

"I don't know. Maybe. I'll let you serve this detention tonight. And if you do well, it will be your last."

"Thanks, Professor!" Jack and Derek both said, before heading out to breakfast.

Jack raced through his schedule, which on Fridays was only homework and Potions. And finally the day was over.

He met Derek in the professor's office. Derek leaned up against the wall and halfheartedly flipped through a book. Jack went to the desk. He'd cleaned it out almost all on his own. Derek's only contribution was scattering a pile that Jack made, which Jack had to admit looked fun. He actually ended up scattering his own piles after that, to Emily Jane's displeasure. But now with so few places left, Jack turned to the secret drawer in the desk.

Jack once more felt the desk for any kind of latch or button that would open it, but found none. Like before, he ended up simply breaking the box open.

"What're you doing?" Derek asked, looking up from his book.

"Working, unlike you," Jack said. He quickly separated the picture of Emily Jane from the other papers, but beyond that, he couldn't do much. Not with all the papers being in a foreign language.

Jack was still struggling to sort the papers when Emily Jane came back to check on them. Derek knelt down next to the pile of papers and acted like he'd had a hand in it.

"Well, it looks like you've finished cleaning out my father's office," Emily Jane said coolly. "Let me see if I have any other work for you."

"Jack broke your desk!" Derek said, pointing his finger. "While I was busy cleaning up the papers. He didn't do anything, you should make him do the rest."

Emily Jane's eyes narrowed. Jack felt the room getting colder, and this time he was positive he was not the cause.

"YOU have done nothing!" she yelled. "I watched. I wanted to see if you planned to deceive me. And YOU did. Jack? You are released from the detention. You shall not have to serve another one … for this infraction, at least. But Derek? You will go out to the gardens, in the snow, and prune the Devil's Snare!"

"What! But that's dangerous."

"If you don't want a dangerous education, I suggest you stay out of Hogwarts. This school is not known for its safety record. You will do it tomorrow, in place of Hogsmeade.

Derek was starting to shiver, "Hey, Jack's making it cold!"

"I know who is making it cold and it is not him!" she snapped. "And do not ever lie to me again! I will know."

Derek looked angry. Jack had never seen him like that. His face was turning all red and tense. He kept eyeing Jack, then Emily Jane, like he didn't know who he should be mad at. Finally he stormed out, sulking. The room warmed up.

"Thank you for cleaning my office, Jack," Emily Jane said kindly.

"You believed me?" Jack asked, still feeling shocked that someone would take his side.

"Of course. I know your record with Derek. When I put you in detention together, it was to see how you behaved. I was always watching."

"Wait, so you knew the whole time he was slacking off?"

"Indeed."

"Then why didn't you stop him … before?"

"Partly because I wanted to see if he would lie to me and take credit for your work, but mostly because I really wanted my father's things organized." Jack didn't know if it was possible, but Mother Nature was actually blushing. She looked down at the photo Jack had found. She gingerly picked it up.

"I can't believe he still had this," she whispered.

"That's how we found you," Jack said. "If Pitch hadn't written your real name on the back, we wouldn't have discovered anything about him. But I don't know what any of these things are."

"They are documents from the Golden Age, from my childhood. When I lived with my father on a moon in the constellation Orion."

"You lived in a constellation?"

"Everyone did, in the Golden Age," Emily Jane said. "It spread all across the universe. We had very sleek airships. They could traverse the galaxies. My father was the greatest general in the army. And very kind."

"Pitch Black, kind? I don't believe it."

"It's true. I loved my daddy. I gave him this picture. But that very night, our home was attacked. My mother died. Father thought I perished as well. And, for the first time in his life, he killed.

"I waited for him to find me. I waited for my father to come. But he never did. I took a fairly destructive path, in my anger, becoming a shooting star. Only Sandy could quell it. He helped me get over my grief, and he helped to stop me before I destroyed myself. When we finally did meet my father again, he had become the Nightmare King that you know; determined to corrupt all children into his Fearlings.

"We battled, and Sandy and I crashed to earth, becoming the first people of the Golden Age to fall here. Later, the Man in the Moon would battle Pitch, and my father and Nightlight would fall here as well. They knocked a golden drop of sunlight down to earth in their battle. It became a flower. Others from the Golden Age landed here too, in a tiny city called Atlantis. When they intermixed with muggles, they created a new breed, the wizards."

"Wait … are you saying you were here before the first wizard was ever born?" Jack asked. Emily Jane nodded. Before Jack could stop himself he asked, "Just how old are you?"

Thankfully, she smiled, "The people of the Golden Age have much longer life spans than the muggles. We tend to live … oh, I'd say for several million years. About as long as stars do, really."

"Great, so Pitch Black is immortal?" Jack asked.

"No. Long lived. Not immortal. My father, or myself, could still be killed. We can even get sick. But we will not age as rapidly as mortals like yourself."

"You said wizards are half-human … half whatever you are."

"The first wizards were all half muggle. After that first generation, there were enough wizards and witches to start their own race. You, and probably all of the Hogwarts students, are only very distantly related to the people of the Golden Age."

"Ha, so Derek isn't really a pureblood."

"No. None of the earthlings are. Except for Ombric."

"Ombric? You mean the headmaster? Father Time?"

"Yes. He's from Atlantis. Truly the last wizard to be descended purely from the Golden Age, with no muggle blood. All the others have at least one drop, even if it was so distant that they can't remember." Emily Jane looked startled as a clock chimed, "Oh dear, I've kept you up well past bedtime. Get along, Jack. You'll want to be well rested for Hogsmeade tomorrow."

Jack started to leave. When he reached the door, he paused, "You aren't really going to make Derek weed Devil's Snare. Isn't that dangerous?"

"Fear not. I'm not known as Mother Nature for nothing. I will put the plants to sleep before he goes to do it. The Devil's Snare will not kill him."

Jack nodded and went off to bed. The pleasant dreams came easily, dreaming of a time when the universe was good … a time before the darkness. He didn't need to be told he dreamt of the Golden Age.

Pitch Black walked along the silent forest path. The snow crunched beneath his feet. He wasn't concerned about leaving tracks. It was unlikely the Guardians would be exploring the woods, at least not before he sent a Night Mare to scatter the snow.

Up in a tree, Pitch spotted his ally. Quickly melting into the shadows, he traveled up to the branch where the Monkey King sat, appearing beside him.

"AH!" the Monkey King screeched, nearly falling out of the tree. "Don't do that! It's awful enough having your damn horses roaming. They give me nightmares."

"Now, now, I haven't told them to give you any trouble. Perhaps your nightmares are a curse for daring to use a hero's name."

"I'm a monkey. I'm a king."

"Why not the Monkey Maharaja? Isn't that what you used to be?"

"Alright! So maybe I thought that if I took a hero's name, it would inspire the Sisters of Flight to change me back. Or at least get my people on my side. They were all so quick to desert me once this happened! If I ever get to be maharaja again, I will punish those traitorous peasants. I'll make them all my slaves!"

"Well, if my plan succeeds you shall rule the entire world, for all I care. Now, how are things going?"

"I'm getting into the castle fine. And I've gotten all your stuff to smash. It was a bit difficult to sneak all the broken clocks into Ombric's room at the right time, but I managed it. What are you giving me to destroy this time?"

"Nothing. No. This time the Guardians will supply your target. You'll just have to be ready at the right time. Pay attention for my signal. This is one of our most important attacks."

With that, Pitch melted into the shadows, off to create terror somewhere else.

Merida jumped onto the banister and slid down, landing firmly on the stone floor. She didn't slide down it nearly so often anymore, but Jack could still tempt her. She and her friends caught sight of some of the professors levitating decorations.

The kids were leaving for the Hogsmeade trip, confident that when they came back, the castle would look spectacular.

As Merida stepped outside into the freshly fallen snow, she had to admire Jack's work. He'd shoveled the paths so carefully that they stayed white, and never turned to slush. She was certain they were the best paths Hogwarts had ever seen.

The four friends had been finding more time together, thanks to Queen Elinor's careful coordination. Merida and Rapunzel explained Jack's occupation, and the Queen managed to talk with Emily Jane, so the girls always had lessons during the same times Jack was working. Even Hiccup took advantage of this time to work on his stupid dragon killing machine.

Merida met up with her friends - Jack who didn't mind being barefoot in the snow, and Rapunzel, who huddled under her hair and cloak shivering because of her bare feet. Hiccup of course was used to cold and wore thick boots and a fur vest. They went down to Hogsmeade together.

Merida didn't want to admit it, but the lords' sons weren't even that bad. The group had a lot of fun showing the muggles around Hogsmeade, especially with all the Christmas stuff up. Jack especially liked to tease Merida by finding mistletoe and pushing her and one of her suitors under it.

She'd always be resentful, "Very funny, Frost!"

But she did usually comply and give the obligatory kiss. Once, when Merida was pushed under with Young MacGuffin, she caught Jack looking at her … his expression was hard to read. He wasn't giggling. He looked forlorn. She wondered if he wished he had a girl to kiss. Quickly she shook off the feeling. The very idea seemed ridiculous. Who would he even like? She'd never seen Jack with a girl, or even acting like he wanted one. She pecked MacGuffin on the cheek and got away from the mistletoe.

Coming back from the last Hogsmeade visit before break, the four students were in a very merry mood. Even Hiccup managed to forget that the MacGuffins were enemies of the Vikings. Besides, Hiccup found he could forgive MacGuffin for scuttling Viking longships, just so long as the longships he scuttled belonged to an enemy tribe.

Just before they left, Jack tried to push Merida under the mistletoe with Dingwall, but she grabbed his arm at the last second and flipped places with him, putting Jack under the mistletoe with Dingwall. Everyone stared at him and Dingwall. Jack must have thought it would be funny, because he caved in and kissed him, making everyone burst out laughing. Even Dingwall seemed amused.

Hiccup wondered if he could use Mistletoe to get Astrid's attention. Would she cave like Merida and Jack did? No, probably he'd get hit with her axe. And the whole thing might backfire if she ended up under the mistletoe with someone else … like Snotlout. The very thought was revolting.

As they trudged up the path, which Jack kept clear with a steady stream of wind, they all laughed.

"Did you see how red his face was?" Merida chortled.

"I don't see what the fuss is, Wee Dingwall is a great kisser, I'd marry him," Jack said grinning.

"Don't you try that!" Merida argued. "I've been cornered by him before. He's nice I guess, but I didn't want him when he almost won the archery contest, and I don't want him now."

"Do you like any of them?" Hiccup prodded.

"As people? Sure. They're nice. I really liked it that they all sided with me in refusing the betrothal. But as potential husbands? I almost think I'd prefer Jack. Almost," Merida said with a sly smile.

Jack froze. Hiccup could relate. Why did girls have to be so confusing. Jack quickly grabbed a handful of snow and hurled it at Merida. She just laughed and grabbed some snow to continue the fight. The children were having such a good time; they didn't notice anything was wrong until they reached the castle.

Coming in the doors, a snowball still in hand, Hiccup stood in shock. Only a few hours before, when the students departed, the castle had sparkled. Green garlands, wreaths and trees, shiny silver tinsel, big red bows and painted glass baubles dangled throughout the school.

Now, everything was shattered.