Jack, Astrid, and Prince Hans stood by the head table as Ombric concluded his speech. Jack knew he should probably be paying more attention to what Ombric was saying, but he was still in shock from being chosen. He'd put his name in as a joke. Not that he didn't want to win, but he hadn't been expecting it.
Most of the Slytherin house assumed you had to be pureblood to be chosen, and certainly not part ice-elf.
Ombric gestured to a side door. The three students were ushered into a private room. There was a large round table and chairs set up, but none of the students sat down. After a few moments of awkward silence, the door opened and the five judges came in.
"I am hoping you is all ready to be champion," North said, "because there is no backing out now."
Jack glanced at the other two. Astrid stood looking blasé, with her arms crossed. Hans smiled politely at his competitors.
"So what's the challenge?" Jack asked. Sandy smiled mysteriously.
"Part of the challenge is facing the unknown," Ombric translated for Sandy's sand signs. "However, I am permitted to give you some clues. The challenge will take place on November 24th. You are only permitted to bring your wand."
Jack looked nervously at his staff. He'd hardly let go of it since he bound his powers in it. But he wanted to play fair. The other kids didn't have ice magic, so it would only be right for him to put his aside.
"Wait, we aren't allowed to be armed?" Astrid said, a hint of concern in her voice.
"You must enter the challenge armed with only your wand," the head of Beauxbatons confirmed, "and the challenge could take awhile. There are bonuses for a timely completion, but the challenge officially stays open until you complete it, or give up. It's up to you whether that takes an hour or a month. Due to this, you will be excused from any classes that you might miss, as well as the exams."
"Even O.W.L.s?" Jack asked, his hopes rising. He'd never been all that good at tests, it would be a nice break to not have to do them.
"Technically, yes," Ombric translated for Gothi, who was drawing pictures with a dragon tooth tipped staff. Just what the school needed, more people who couldn't speak. Ombric continued, "Though since your eligibility for N.E.W.T. Level classes depends on your score, I must advise you to take them anyway. Now, where was I, oh yes, the rules. Now, part of the challenge is solving the problems on your own. You may not accept help from any students or teachers."
No challenge there, Jack thought. He'd been alone more times than he could count. While it would have been nice to get his friends to help, he was used to struggling alone.
"Now, if you is successful in first task, you will be finding information about second," North concluded. He looked around at the three students. "I think that's about it. Why not you head on up to bed?"
The three students looked at each other and walked out. Once they were out in the hallway, Jack tried to break the awkward silence.
"So … I guess we're going to be competing against each other?" Jack tried.
"It's not going to be much of a competition," Astrid said, looking him over with derision. Suddenly her eyes hardened, "Stay out of my way!"
Astrid turned and ran off.
"What's with her?" Jack said more to himself than to Hans.
"You don't know much about women, do you?" Hans said.
"Of course not. I'm only fifteen."
"I know we're supposed to be competitors, but just the same I'd like to be friends. Here's a little advice. Girls like her," he pointed towards the door Astrid left through, "they like to win. The best way to win them over is to let them think they've succeeded. Always go along with whatever crazy thing a girl says."
Jack didn't think that was particularly good advice. He got along just fine with Merida, despite disagreeing with her on nearly everything, but he didn't feel like challenging Hans' advice. Jack tried to change the subject.
"Do you think you're ready for the first challenge?" Jack asked.
"Of course," Hans said with confidence. "Whatever it is, I'm certain that I can handle it. I must win the tournament to impress the princess, after all."
Jack hadn't even thought of Rapunzel. Would she be cheering for him or Hans? And who would Hiccup be cheering for? Or Camicazi? Would they be mad at Jack if he made their preferred schools lose? At least Merida would still root for Jack. Jack waved goodbye to Hans and made his way down to the Slytherin dungeon. Who would the Slytherins cheer for? It was a well known fact that most of them hated him. But he was the only Hogwarts champion. Did they hate him enough to want another school to win?
"I told you," a voice said. Jack jumped and turned around. There was nothing but shadows. Jack knew who that meant.
"Pitch?" Jack questioned.
"Yessss," Pitch hissed. "I told you the tournament would only spread fear and hatred. It has hardly begun, and already you are terrified."
"I ... I am not!" Jack stammered. "Get out of here, or I'll call the Guardians."
"I'll leave," Pitch complied, "but your sister is about to have a very, very bad dream."
"No!" Jack protested.
"Too late. Next time, you would be wise to think of her before you attempt to give me orders."
Jack's steps faltered. He should have thought of Emma. How could he not think of her? Once more, Jack considered ditching school to make sure she was okay. But that was stupid. There was no way Jack could make it home before the nightmare took effect.
Jack was so preoccupied with thoughts of his sister, he actually forgot he was the Hogwarts champion... until he entered the Slytherin dungeon. The common room was filled with people. They all stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Jack stared back, unsure of their motives. Were they going to bully him because they thought a pureblood should have been chosen?
Finally, Iolanthe called out, "Let's hear it for Jack!"
The room exploded in cheers. Jack noticed a few people, such as Derek, held back, but most of the room went out for him. Jack didn't know what to make of it. He hadn't been this popular in Slytherin since the first day of his first year, before anyone knew he was muggleborn.
Jack went through the party in a daze. Everyone wanted to talk to him. To ask if he had a strategy, to encourage him to beat the Viking and the prince. Even Derek held his tongue, though Jack could tell he wanted to argue about the eligibility of muggleborns, he couldn't fight the rest of the house.
By the time Jack made it to bed, he was so tired out he'd completely forgotten his encounter with Pitch Black. Finally good dreams enveloped him, dreams of the glory of being a champion.
Merida sat with a bunch of Gryffindors around a table in their common room.
"We can't let that Viking brat win," Merida said.
"Speak for yourself, I don't want the Slytherin to win," Todd said.
"Yeah," Rose agreed. "It should have been a Gryffindor and you know it. Of all the houses, we're the best equipped to make it through."
"While I would love for one of us to have won," Merida said forcefully, "the Goblet of Fire didnae choose us. It's not just a random drawing. It's supposed to pick the best competitor. Which means, I hate to say it, that Jack must be more worthy than the lot of us. Do NOT tell him I said that."
The others around the table sighed. Merida changed her tactic.
"Look, I know it would have been more ideal for a Gryffindor to be the Hogwarts Champion, but he's still a Hogwarts Champion. We should be rooting for him on that alone."
Slowly, the others nodded in agreement.
"So what can we do?" Jenet asked.
"We're going to help Jack win," Merida said. "It's our duty as Hogwarts students."
"How can we help?" Todd spat. "Isn't he more worthy?"
Merida scowled, "I'm not sure what we can do yet. But if anyone comes up with something good, I'll see that they get to use the prefect's bathroom."
"You can't give that away!" Todd protested.
"Just watch me," Merida said. She turned and stormed off, taking a brief stop by the window to look out over the forest. Somewhere down there, five dragons were sleeping soundly.
Merida quickly turned back towards her dorm room. She wished she was the champion. She'd wanted it more than anything she ever wanted before. A chance to prove herself as not just a silly princess, not a prize for others to compete for, but a real contender. And getting to fight Astrid head on? That would have been the icing on the cake. But if it couldn't be her, or a Gryffindor, she was glad it was Jack. At least he had a chance of winning. More, if she helped him.
And she would do just that. Merida sank into bed, dreaming about how she could help Jack win.
The morning after the champions were selected, Rapunzel tried to find her friends. First she tried at breakfast. Hogwarts was aglow with talk of the tournament, but none of her friends were there. Hiccup's absence was usual. Practically since the year started he'd been running off somewhere, more so once the other Vikings arrived. Rapunzel still didn't know why.
Jack's disappearance could also be attributed to being the champion. He probably couldn't sleep the night before with all the excitement, same with Hans. That just left Merida. Once Rapunzel finished eating her eggs, she set off up to the empty classroom, only to find it … well, empty.
Rapunzel stepped back into the hallway and bit her lip. Where was everyone?
Just then, a ghost floated by. Rapunzel heard a girl scream. She turned and ran in that direction. A girl, about her age, with dark curly hair was cowering in the corner.
"It's okay," Rapunzel reassured her. "The ghosts are nice."
"Th … Thanks," the girl said. Rapunzel offered her hand and helped the girl up.
"You're from one of the other schools?" Rapunzel guessed.
"Y … yes," the girl replied, still slightly shaking, "but I seem to have gotten lost."
Rapunzel smiled, "I'll help you. Where are you going?"
The girl pulled a paper out of her pocket and quickly examined it. Rapunzel tried to look at the paper, but before she could see what it said, the other girl shoved it into her pocket and said, "I was looking for the … the Herbology room?"
"You mean the greenhouse?" Rapunzel clarified.
"Yes," the girl agreed.
"Well, it's not up here on the seventh floor. Come on, I'll take you there."
Rapunzel led the girl back down the stairs and outside.
"Thanks," the girl said as they stepped out onto the lawn. "I got lost after the staircases started to move on me. And the pictures! They never seem to stay in place."
"Yeah, I remember getting lost a few times when I was new. At least it happened on the weekend, so you won't be late for class. What do you need in the greenhouse anyway?"
"Oh … uh … it's just a meeting place," the girl said. "One of my friends wanted to meet me there."
Rapunzel accepted the answer and led the girl down to the greenhouse. When they got within range, she heard the unmistakable twang of a bowstring, and an excited voice cheering. Rapunzel followed her ears and found Merida shooting arrows at the trees. Up in the trees, a girl with the most tangled blonde hair Rapunzel had ever seen was using a wand to levitate a target onto various trees. Every time Merida hit the target, the girl let out a whoop.
Rapunzel watched for a few minutes, until Merida used up all her arrows. After seeing her hit every target, Rapunzel and the lost girl clapped.
Merida went to retrieve her arrows and the wild looking girl dropped out of the tree. She took a sword off her hip and brandished it at the two newcomers.
"Who are you? What do you want? Are you spies?" the wild girl demanded. The lost girl squealed and ducked behind Rapunzel.
"It's cool, Camicazi," Merida said as she tucked her arrows back into her quiver. "Rapunzel, you remember Jack's friend … who hates ice elves?"
Merida raised her eyebrow in warning. Rapunzel took the hint.
"I don't believe we met formally before," Rapunzel said, holding out her hand. Camicazi put her sword away and grabbed Rapunzel's hand shaking it forcefully.
"Sorry if I was a bit harsh on you back when I was a Hogwarts student," Camicazi said. "House pride and all, you know. Who's this?"
"Oh, this is … actually I don't know," Rapunzel confessed.
"Heather," the girl said.
"Nice to meet you," Camicazi said. "Are you from Hogwarts or Beauxbatons?"
"Oh … um … you're from Drum-string?"
"Durmstrang," Camicazi corrected.
"Right. I'm from … the other one ... er, Beauxbatons."
"Just like Hans," Rapunzel exclaimed in excitement.
"Ugh, don't remind me about him," Merida said, pulling out a single arrow and taking aim. "I can't stand his slimy ways. I almost thought he was going to propose to me. Like I need more suitors."
"Men are yucky," Camicazi agreed. "That's why us Bog Burglers are all female."
"There's no men at all?" Merida questioned.
"Well, there are a couple. But not that many. And most of them spend their time off looting other islands, leaving us all alone to go adventuring."
"Can I move to your island?" Merida asked, a hint of wistfulness in her voice.
"Sure, so long as you're a Viking. My mom's the chief."
"Really?" Heather asked. "I bet you know all about dragons."
"I know how to kill them," Camicazi said.
"You … you do?" Heather stammered. "I … I … I thought they were too tough to kill."
"With a wand," Camicazi said, pulling out her wand and dangling it uselessly. "Dragons only respond to real, brute force. Like an axe, or a hammer. You ever need a dragon killing lesson, I can give you one that'll make Thor himself jealous."
Heather shook her head and took a step back. A strong gust of air blew Rapunzel's hair back towards the greenhouse.
"Hey, weren't you supposed to be meeting someone?"
"Oh, right … uh, see you later. Thanks!" Heather called as she ran away.
For a moment, the three students stared after her, but then Camicazi broke the silence by turning back to the trees.
"Hey, Merida, I think you missed a spot." Camicazi pointed to a knot in the tree. Merida smirked, took out an arrow, and fired.
Hiccup and the other Vikings sat on a log watching Astrid throw her axe at the trees.
"How long has she been doing this?" Hiccup asked.
"A couple hours," Fishlegs replied. It was starting to show on the trees. If Astrid kept going, she might cut the whole forest down.
"I dunno why she's so upset," Snotlout said, pouting. "She won. Over me."
"Like that was hard," Ruffnut said, making her twin snicker.
"Hey, Astrid?" Hiccup tried.
"What!" Astrid snapped, turning around so fast she almost knocked Hiccup off the log.
"A... are you going to tell us anything about the challenge?"
Astrid sighed, "They didn't give us much. Just the basic rules."
"Then ..." Fishlegs squeaked, "why are you so upset?"
Astrid hurled her axe at a faraway tree, "I had the displeasure of running into that Scottish brat by our dragons this morning."
Her axe stuck in the tree. Astrid went and pried it out.
"Okay, but how did Merida get you this upset?" Hiccup questioned.
"One, she was messing around with Stormfly. Can you please tell her to keep her hands off my dragon? Two, she reminded me that you and Camicazi are friends with the other champion. Are you sure you know where your loyalties lie?"
Astrid glared at Hiccup, a glare he hadn't felt until that moment right before she found out about Toothless.
"Hey!" Hiccup said, putting his hands up in surrender. "I'm all about supporting you. You're my girlfriend, and my tribe. But Hogwarts is my school and Jack is my friend. I thought I'd just stay out of this. Can't I cheer for both of you?"
Astrid frowned and threw her axe again. The twins and Snotlout were watching with excitement.
"We're not supposed to accept help from anyone," Astrid said, "but if you plan to cheat and help anyone, it'd better be me."
Hiccup sighed and left his friends, heading to Toothless. A short flight would make him feel better.
Toothless was sleeping when Hiccup arrived in the clearing, but his head picked up when Hiccup said his name. He jumped over to Hiccup. Hiccup scratched behind the spikes on Toothless's head. Toothless perked up. It had been a while since it was just the two of them.
"Wanna go for a ride, buddy?" Hiccup asked. Toothless licked him. Hiccup climbed on and locked his leg in place. Together they soared up into the sky.
Hiccup breathed in the air. It was so peaceful up here, Hiccup could close his eyes and imagine that the world was just him and Toothless. Wouldn't that be nice? He thought now that the war with dragons was over, maybe Berk could be peaceful for once. But no. The Vikings just couldn't get along with anyone. His dad sent letters warning him that they'd caught Berserker and Outcast spies. And now this whole thing with Astrid and Merida. And even he could admit that Merida wasn't making things better.
He didn't mind that she knew about Toothless. It was kind of fun to get to brag to her and Jack about the dragon. Training a dragon was the most awesome thing he'd ever done. It was nice to be respected for his actual accomplishments. But Merida did not have to be throwing insults at Vikings all the time. And Astrid didn't have to be insulting the Scots.
The two girls were so alike. Both competitive and strong, both brave and daring, both ready and willing to fight for what they believed in, to fight alongside him in a battle. Why couldn't they get along instead of fighting?
If only he could bring peace between the Vikings and the Scots. Maybe that was his next challenge? He only hoped it didn't come down to losing his other leg.
Toothless stretched out his wings. Hiccup leaned into the glide. That was a problem for another day. Now was about relaxation, and being with his best friend, just the two of them in the wind. Up here, life was perfect.
Hans looked out from the tent the Beauxbatons boys were staying in. Across the green, he could see the two Hogwarts princesses talking. He couldn't believe his luck.
When he signed up for the tournament, he hadn't expected to win. He merely wanted a chance to talk to Princess Merida again.
The rumors that reached the Southern Isles from the Scottish lands had been exaggerated to the point where he really thought she needed help. People told tales of the evil bear queen holding the princess captive, or tales of a wicked princess who enchanted animals.
As he watched all his brothers being set up by the royal matchmaker, completely ignoring a throwaway prince like Hans, he realized he would need to find his own place. Rescuing a princess from a bear-infested castle seemed like such a good idea at the time. Looking back, he really should have thought it out more.
Eager for a second chance at the hand of Princess Merida, he jumped at the opportunity to visit Hogwarts and apologize to her. He was still hoping that perhaps a marriage could work. But as soon as he arrived at Hogwarts and learned there was a second princess there, he changed his tactic. It wasn't hard to identify the second princess with her long hair. To meet her, all he had to do was sit next to her and come up with an excuse to start talking.
Princess Rapunzel was far more open to his advances than Princess Merida was. She was sweet and pretty. Marriage to her would not be the worst thing ever. Of course, there were a few problems. The young princess was not quite ready for marriage. And she spoke frequently of an over protective mother. Hans had yet to meet this 'Mother Gothel', but he could tell that she would try to block the union. The only question was, how to get rid of her without alienating Rapunzel?
And the fact that Rapunzel's friend was the Hogwarts champion? Well, that might lead to problems, too. Hans liked Jack. The boy seemed very fun. And when Rapunzel told him that Jack was being bullied … Hans knew what if felt like, to have the people who were supposed to be your family targeting you.
If it weren't for his brothers, he could have been the star of Beauxbatons. You would think that any prince attending a school would draw attention and admiration. But by the thirteenth prince, the novelty had worn off. The students who would be impressed by royalty had gotten used to the seemingly endless stream of them. Hans wasn't special.
What was worse was that his brothers' bullying behavior followed him to school. Even if he wasn't special by birth, he might have had a shot at standing out on his talents, or his charm, but his older siblings put him down so much that even now that he was a seventh year and had been the only Westergaard there for the past three years, he could feel their shadow. The cruel nicknames they gave him refused to die. People still insisted on calling him Unlucky.
At least he was the Champion now. None of his brothers were ever champions. Finally, after 17 years, he had the chance to prove himself. And getting a princess to marry him at the same time? He couldn't pass it up.
He had to have both the championship and the princess. That would really show his brothers. He would be the greatest of them all. He had to be. Hans closed the tent. Now, all he needed was a strategy for how to win.
A/N: I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, but Heather is from the Dreamworks: Dragons TV show.
To Anonymous: Yes, I will finish this. I have the rough draft of this year written and I post every Sunday.
To DemigodseaMeg16: There are only three champions, and three tasks.
To the Guest who asked why I picked Jack:
For in-story reasons: The cup picks the most qualified person. Jack is more qualified than Rapunzel because she's too timid and more qualified than Hiccup because in the Dragons Episode "Thawfest", Hiccup threw the game. He's about matched with Merida in terms of competitive spirit, but he's slightly more powerful.
For out-of-story reasons: Jack is the main character of this series as a whole. Hiccup gets more emotional drama being between two champions rather than against one of them. If Rapunzel were the champion, the story would go in a completely different direction, probably with Gothel literally dragging Rapunzel away in chains, as in the end of Tangled, to protect her. Again, Merida is a close contender, but she would get no more emotional drama out of a being a champion than she has now. In fact, being a champion would give the antagonism she feels towards Astrid and Hans a healthy way out, thus lessening her emotional arc.