The giant squid never came to Jack and his friends. They were the only ones at the edge of the Black Lake while the howling winds created an environment with no warmth, emphasising a lonely, desolate world full of emptiness.
"That's a shame. I was sure that there was a giant squid," said Merida.
These days, if there was anything Jack heard that was implausible, he'd have to believe it because the world of magic existed. Everything that was believed to be mythical had a chance of being real.
"What do we do now? We can't enter the Forbidden Forest," said Hiccup.
"We should probably go explore the castle, or we should study," suggested Rapunzel.
"I know what we can do. Anybody know how to play Wizard's Chess? It's the same as normal chess," said Merida.
"I know the rules, but I don't know strategies to win," said Rapunzel.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you some of my tricks."
Merida owned a Wizard's Chess set in her room and sometimes played with her mother—although she had lost most of the time. Merida was also sure that the times she had won was because her mother went easy on her so Merida could feel better. Wizard's Chess was enchanted to make the pieces move on the player's command, attacking and then sweeping the losing piece away. It was exactly the same as normal chess except for the moving pieces.
Those were the memories Merida had, the ones when she was too young to be making decisions. And now, Merida's mother used the pieces and chessboard as metaphors and to explain stories, especially the one about the four kingdoms that fell into chaos after one of the princes fulfilled his selfish desires. It was to teach Merida the consequences of abandoning her roles of being a princess.
The school's routine became repetitive that it was already close to Halloween. During breakfast, there were pumpkins and other decorations being prepared for the Halloween Feast tomorrow. The floating candles were supposedly going to be replaced with jack-o-lanterns, which was going make the hall brighter with pumpkin faces watching over them.
"What's the matter, Bunnymund? Sick of carrots are you?" Jack joked. Professor Bunnymund was carrying a pumpkin to help Gobber with the decorations. He eyed Jack with a pair of burning green eyes, ready to bring down whoever got in his way.
"Oh, a bunny joke is it? Isn't that amusing?" Bunnymund leaned in closer to intimidate Jack, changing his angered expression into a mischievous grin as if he had thought of something clever to use against Jack.
"You better watch it, mate. We're currently looking for bludgers to work all day carving pumpkins. And I sure as hell would not want to be in your position when you get chosen."
Bunnymund left the Great Hall in a flash and Jack saw Dagur as one of the students helping. Bunnymund couldn't have been serious. How would those students go to class after breakfast?
"I already like this teacher," said Jack jokingly.
"At least it isn't Professor Black. He nearly failed me for screwing up the potion," said Hiccup.
Merida and Rapunzel also came after leaving their common rooms. Usually Jack got to the Great Hall before the others—even though Hiccup's common room was closest. After Jack, it would've been Hiccup who'd arrive, then Merida and Rapunzel together.
"So I've looked into things at the library and asked Professor Toothiana. Professor North, Bunnymund, Mansnoozie, Black, and herself are all the legends we suspected. The Heads of House were the creators of magic along with other professors," said Rapunzel.
"Well that's interesting. I heard that Professor Black was evil but turned over a new leaf," said Hiccup, digging through his breakfast.
Jack heard whispering nearby and saw Nod and other students calling him.
"Give me one minute, guys." Jack left the Slytherin table and went to the corridors.
"What's up?" Nod was with another three students. Two of them were the Thorston Twins, but Jack didn't know the Hufflepuff who appeared to be from Nod's year.
"So me and these three want to create a prank. We can't tell you the details unless you're in," said Nod.
"Okay…? I guess I'm in." Jack said.
"Okay, cool. So tomorrow morning, we're going to make it snow, even though it's not Christmas. I've heard that you were good with the Freezing Spell, which is why we called you in for this job. I want you to cast it into the ceiling in the Great Hall when it's unoccupied. Me and the rest will use our skills in different areas in order to make the snow happen. It's not really a prank when you think about it."
"I don't think it'll work. I'm just here to make sure Nod isn't doing anything extreme." The Hufflepuff said. She had auburn hair and a ponytail; some of the strands were hanging out and her side bangs covered her forehead.
"And I'm sure it will work. I'm just going to remind you that you're welcome to bail out because I know you'll only tell Elsa and Hans. But even after that, they won't report me," said Nod.
"Don't worry, Nod. I'm not leaving."
"So where was I…? Jack, after your spell, me and MK will use charms to cover the spell and to make it activate tomorrow morning. The twins over here will use a potion they found in the dungeons. The potion apparently made spells multiply," said Nod.
"Sure, whatever that means!" Ruffnut yelled. Jack wasn't sure if the twins knew what they were doing. The twins usually did what wasn't expected of the professors, leading them into detentions.
"And your friend?" asked Jack.
"Oh, MK is just here to watch. She'll help me with the spells too since she doesn't want things to fall into chaos."
It was nighttime and students were already in the common rooms. Only some older students were allowed to stay up an hour longer, and prefects could patrol the corridors in case some decided to sneak out.
Nod, Jack, and the twins made their way outside while avoiding the prefects.
"Where's MK?" asked Jack.
"Don't worry about her. She's already in the Great Hall since her common room is at the kitchens," said Nod.
The four walked through the darkness that only granted light in a few areas, where the lit torches hung on the walls. Jack's breath was also visible in the light, condensing on the palm when he held his hand over his mouth.
There was a purple glow from one of the twins, presumably the potion from the dungeons. Jack could also hear the sound of bells ringing every step they took.
"How did you manage to steal a potion from the storeroom in the dungeons anyway?" asked Jack. The potion glowed brighter when Tuffnut revealed it from his pocket. The purple potion somehow created the sound of the ringing bells.
"How should we know? We found the cupboard and tried the Unlocking Charm. I guess Professor Black isn't as smart as he thinks he is," said Ruffnut.
"That doesn't sound right. Normally important storages such as Black's potions are top priority," said Nod.
"And how did you two know it caused spells to multiply?" asked Jack.
"We stole two of the three purple ones so Black wouldn't notice and tested one of them. There was this red book that had instructions so we copied it to test it out. We're not that stupid to steal Black's book. We followed the instructions and fired a spell to the potion, but it created a weird symbol and fired the same spell back at us. Only a thousand times more." Tuffnut clenched his fists. "I'll get back at that potion for firing fire at me, by firing my fiery passion back at it!"
When they got to the Great Hall, MK was waiting for them on her table. The ceiling was pitch black with specks of glitter that were stars. With nobody expected to be in the Great Hall, the candles were unlit. It was darker than usual. There were also groups of carved pumpkins ready to be used tomorrow evening. The Enchanted Ceiling simulated an approaching cloud, where it could've sent heavy rain over the entire room if it was real.
"So what now?" asked MK.
"I say we booby trap the professors' chairs. Watching them fly would be a blessing." Tuffnut was mesmerised with his own imaginations, blinking rapidly with both hands clasped together.
"The only prank we're doing is making it snow on a Halloween morning," whispered Nod.
The process was tiring. It took many tries for the twins to create the Levitation Charm on the potion without destroying it. If the spell did activate the potion, it would've multiplied the spell and caused everything to fly. The purple potion glowed in some kind of enigmatic light Jack could not describe. There were also a few occasions where Nod had to calm the two from ripping each other into different pieces.
"C'mon guys, we're trying to work together."
"Yeah, but Tuffnut started it!"
"Well I found it!"
"Did not!" Ruffnut pushed.
"Did too!" Tuffnut pushed back, making his sister fall.
Nod shushed them before someone heard them from the corridors.
The twins tried the spell again and Jack watched the purple potion float into the air. The potion's contents were audible to all of them even in the air, creating a faint ring as if it was a chime. It floated perfectly at the centre of the ceiling.
"Okay, good. Jack, it's your turn to fire the Freezing Spell into the potion. Try not to miss."
Jack pointed his wand and repeated the incantation in his head. He then wondered why they were going through all this effort to create snow. If magic was what Jack thought it was, then there would've been a shortcut to everything.
"Please don't tell me you forgot the spell, Jack," said Nod, worried that his plan would go into a halt.
"I know the spell, but… I don't see why we're going through all this trouble. Couldn't we just find a proper spell for creating snow?" asked Jack.
"We tried to look for it all over the library but found nothing. MK dug a little deeper and found that the spell for snow was in a book written by North. The thing about that spellbook is that there's only one copy, which is stored in the Restricted Section. Getting in that room is impossible for even me and MK." Nod explained.
"How on earth did Xander get in?" Jack thought.
Nod, MK, and the twins were waiting for Jack. Even the levitating potion waited as it was suspended in the ceiling, rocking back and forth with the twinkling sound of chimes. Jack took a deep breath and prepared to fire the Freezing Spell.
"Glacius," said Jack. The blue spell shot out from Jack's wand and flew towards the potion. The spell missed and Jack tried again.
On Jack's second try, the blue spell was stronger and wasn't going to miss. The potion exploded and created a purple glyph, expanding until the radius reached the edges of the walls. The circular glyph was still floating in the air, rings rotating in different directions. The Great Hall was illuminated in the magenta glow as the five students watched the marvellous view.
"Now MK and I will cover up the glyph. Jack, the glyph will multiply the spell on your command. So be careful and try not to wave your wand or else it might activate the symbol early."
Jack watched as a wispy substance emerged from the tip of MK and Nod's wands, combining together before shrouding the circular symbol. The glyph then disappeared and the students returned to their dormitories without getting caught.
The Great Hall was finally decorated for the feast, but it wasn't until dinner where the actual celebration began. The menu this morning was the same as other mornings, but dinner was going to serve a range of Halloween themed treats.
Jack was the first out of his friends to be eating breakfast, toast with a spread of peanut butter. He could not stop looking back and forth at the ceiling to see if the glyph was either still there, or if the glyph had disappeared overnight.
"Jack," a voice called to him while he was staring at the ceiling. Jack looked down and saw John standing in front of him.
"John? Can I help you?" John was holding flyers with the words 'Orchestra'.
"Well I was wondering if you're interested in joining the Hogwarts' orchestra—that's if you know how to play an instrument." John handed the flyer to Jack.
"Do you play an instrument? Or are you a singer?" asked Jack, half joking about the singing part.
"Of course I can sing, but I'm playing the guitar. If you want to sing, then you have to join the Frog Choir," said John.
"I think I'll pass because I can do neither of them." John left and spoke to other students before leaving to work on his 'secret weapon'.
Jack saw Nod sitting on the other side of the table and he told Jack to wait a little bit longer for more students to arrive.
When the moment came, which was half an hour later, Nod gave Jack the signal to wave his wand. One swish downwards created a sizzling sound as ice began falling from the ceiling.
The students were confused as tiny particles of crushed ice built up on the ground. Nod gathered a bunch in his hand and threw the fake snow across the room, initiating a 'snowball' fight.
Merida, Rapunzel, and Hiccup were already suspicious of Jack's actions from the start. His half honest answers and his constant gestures with Nod were the hints of something happening.
When the floor was beginning to flood with crushed ice, Nod told the twins to stop the potion's effects.
"Um, yeah. We did not exactly learn how to remove the potion's magic," said Ruffnut.
"But you guys said that you destroyed it with a spell!" yelled Nod.
"We did, before it released a barrage of destruction!" yelled back Tuffnut.
"Yeah! Destruction!" shouted Ruffnut, head-butting Tuffnut as they always did when agreeing with something. They also head-butted if they did something fun like causing chaos, which was the case right now.
"This is bad. Jack, try to stop it since you had control!" Nod suggested.
Jack waved his wand in different motions but showed no results. One of the flicks of Jack's wand made the situation worse, where the glyph began generating larger and chunkier ice.
Students ran out of the Great Hall to avoid potential injuries, Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel included. Jack, Nod, and MK did their best to eliminate the Multiply Potion. There were students still inside, hiding underneath the tables.
The large doors opened and Professor North marched into the centre of the room, aiming his wand towards the ceiling. A bolt of white shot out from North's wand and it revealed the glyph before shattering it.
The hail stopped but the ground was still wet and iced. Effort was required to clean up the mess, but who were the best candidates?
"Nod and anyone else who was involved, come with me now." North left and waited in the corridor. It was now a test of honesty.
Nod stopped MK before she went with him. "You should stay back since you weren't involved in it as much as I was."
"I don't think so. I helped hide the glyph," said MK.
"I know, but if you're in trouble like me then you're risking your chances of becoming a prefect with Elsa and Hans." Nod placed his palm on her cheek before leaving.
"Good luck, Nod."
North and the students stood in the corridors while students gathered into the Great Hall to witness the aftermath.
"Where do I begin?" North was stroking his white beard.
Jack did not like this situation. Nod and the twins were serious, which made Jack feel guilty about using the Freezing Spell. Was anyone injured? That was probably the first thing Jack had to do to break the ice.
"Was anyone hurt by the snow—I mean, by the ice?" asked Jack.
"Well, you should not worry about that; the only damage caused was a few freezing souls and some students slipping by the frost," said North. He began lecturing them.
"First of all, each and every one of you should realise your mistakes. You have caused a lot of inconvenience to not only everyone in the Great Hall, but also yourselves. I'm going to be lenient today because this was intended to be a harmless prank, was it not?"
"Yes, but that doesn't excuse our faults, Professor North," said Nod ruefully.
"Nod, you and your friends have a strong chance of being prefects next year. The other Gryffindor male in your year has a lower chance, but we do not want you to change our minds." North then directed his speech to the rest of the students. "Next time you decide to create things like snowfall, you should do more research and to not experiment with magic like that. Many accidents are created if students your age aren't too careful. None would be able to imagine Hogwarts being trapped in an eternal blizzard."
Jack thought about what North said about experimenting with magic. Xander created his own spell, even before joining Hogwarts probably.
"As for your consequences… I'm going to have to deduct 50 points from Gryffindor. Nod, since you were the ringleader, you will have detention. Finally, I would appreciate it if you all cleaned up the mess."
The students went to the Great Hall where the ground was frosted and decorated with piles of ice, which gathered around every surface exposed to the Enchanted Ceiling.
"Jack," called North. "I want to speak with you privately."
Jack and North went to the corner where less light shone above them. The intensity of the ice was noticeable to Jack at this part of the hall. He even felt the goose bumps developing on his arms.
"I wanted to speak with you because I felt that it would be careless to tell the twins. Jack, where did the twins get that potion?"
"From Professor Black's storeroom, Professor Nor—"
"You can just call me North. You're not in trouble, Jack," said North. He then processed what Jack said about Pitch's storeroom.
"If the twins found it in Professor Black's storeroom, then he must be the one who made it. But here's the complication: That was not any potion I've ever seen throughout my life since Century A. Potions are liquids that take effect if the drinker ingests it, is it not?"
"I don't know if I can answer that because—you know—look at me. But are you telling me that Professor Black invented a new type of potion?"
"No, if he did then it meant that he was doing things behind our backs, which is never good for us. This potion created effects, but only a spell could activate it. I'm sure the ingredients used were not the standard ingredients taught here. Do you know anything about another storage for potions?"
Just some strange potions she made as well as this book where she recorded the ones she had already made.
There was this red book that had instructions so we copied it to test it out.
"No wonder why they were able to open the lock," muttered Jack.
"Jack?" questioned North.
"Lily from our house makes potions in the dungeons. I didn't know what kind of potions she had created. But if the twins found a potion unprotected, then it was definitely from her collection. I'm just wondering what you plan to do with this information," said Jack.
"She's not going to be punished. Perhaps I should cast the Anti-Alohomora Charm and teach her a stronger spell that will unlock the storage. But if she had that knowledge, she'd be able to bypass the Restricted Section. If I can't teach Ms Sirène, then I hope the twins learnt their lesson and won't steal any more from her collection."
"What if we found something better for the twins to be distracted by?" Jack suggested.
"Ha! Wonderful idea, Jack!" North patted Jack on the back. Moonhaven and the students were staring at them now.
"I'll handle that matter, Jack. Before I go, I should tell you, if you were to create snow again, do it outside where nobody has to clean it up," insisted North.
"Okay… North."
Professor Moonhaven and the students were already cleaning up the ice. She saw Jack approach her and North gave her a nod before leaving.
"So I guess you're also the one who's helping with the cleaning. Could I ask… how many got away with the discipline?" asked Moonhaven.
"Just MK." Nod said, not caring if Moonhaven knew.
"I see. I would've thought Hans helped, since he's done it a few times already. Before Jack begins, since we have more than enough helping, Nod, because you're the only one that received detention, you might as well do it now at Professor Bunnymund's office. Wouldn't want to do it later and miss out on the feast now, would you?"
Nod agreed and left the Great Hall.
"Typical Nod. If I'd told him to do detention with Ronin then he'd reject it straight away because he hates being lectured by his own guardian," said Moonhaven. Ronin sounded familiar to Jack; he soon realised that it was the Flying teacher, Frondman.
Moonhaven taught a few simple spells to them so they could quickly eliminate the ice without burning up the room. She left it to the students when the hall was halfway cleared.
John carefully placed his foot on the ice so he could get to non-slippery ground. He slowly added pressure and then lifted his back foot, causing him to fall on the icy floor. He looked up and saw Moonhaven as well as the culprits cleaning up the mess, but there were none near him to see or help.
John had heard about the hailstorm at the Great Hall, but wasn't interested since he was just there handing out flyers; his weapon was top priority. When he heard that it became a disaster, he left Lily by herself—though she might've not noticed his presence in the first place. When John got to the corridors where the entrance to the Great Hall was, North was talking to a few students. Jack was one of them. It soon clicked to John that they were the creators of the hail.
John was still lying on the ice and did not attempt to stand up or else he'd become a laughing stock. The ice around him began fading and he looked up to see Xander, the boy who helped Jack and Hiccup from Dagur. Xander's hand was reaching towards him and John took it, standing back on his two feet. John noticed that Xander's eyes were silver, empty with the lack of mood and colour. It was making him feel uneasy.
"Thanks… Xander."
"You know me? I was beginning to think that you would forget about me and Yang after a whole year," said Xander.
"I'm sorry, I thought I needed an invitation before speaking to the two of you. How could I forget about yous two? You guys nearly destroyed an entire city."
"I am afraid I will be the one asking the questions. Why are you building a Dusk Weapon?"
John became tense and had the urge to run. Dagur finding out about his weapon was trouble, but Xander and Yang was a different story. John then wondered if Xander was joking but there was no luck; his face was dead serious. John then thought of a better approach, being honest and sincere.
"Because I'm interested with Dusk Weapons. I think they're cool." Was there any point asking how Xander knew about his weapon?
"How about the Potions classroom where the weapon is being built?" asked Xander.
"It's good because it's not used by anyone else other than this girl who's in Gryffindor," said John. Xander showed a face of disdain; it was probably the only emotion Xander could show other than bored. "Huh? You don't like Gryffindors? Thought you did because… you know… 'cause you saved Jack from Dagur… and Dagur is from your own house."
"What does the Gryffindor do in that room?" asked Xander, ignoring John's question.
"You seem different." John claimed.
"What… does the girl do in that room?" repeated Xander.
"She creates potions. It's pretty awesome how she knows everything about them, but she doesn't talk a lot," said John, wondering if the questions ended. "She has her reasons to be making potions just like how I have my own reasons to make Quicksilver."
"You named it?" he asked rhetorically.
Xander left the Great Hall and it gave John a thought. Why was John trying to create a Dusk Weapon for himself? For protection? From what? John was from Asia, so he had to be serious about the rumour of people getting abducted or killed by the Dark Weapon. But nothing has happened to him so far other than that close encounter last year. John then wondered if he was in danger with Xander and Yang around.