Babysitting the kids became a regular occupation for Jack. He didn't mind. With such a light schedule, he had plenty of time to devote to the little ones. And coming up with fun games was a particular talent of Jack's.

One late October day, Jack created a strong breeze, sweeping all the fallen leaves up into piles and watching the kids jump into them. He laughed as they rolled around in the foliage, and didn't notice the time passing, until Iolanthe came up to him. She tugged at his sleeve and pointed.

"The shadows," she said. Jack was instantly alert, grabbing his staff tightly. He looked across the grounds. The shadows looked normal to him, but that didn't mean she hadn't seen something. Even if it wasn't a dark creature, the shadows were only getting longer and darker as the sun set.

"Hey kids!" Jack shouted, waving his staff, creating a swirling breeze to herd the children closer to him, "Time for dinner!"

He used the breeze to shepherd the children up to the castle and down to the Great Hall. Jack had stayed out later than he meant to. Most of the students had already eaten dinner, but there were a few stragglers still lounging around the hall. One of which, Jack noticed, was Hiccup. Jack tilted his head, directing the gaggle of children to the Hufflepuff table. He took a seat next to Hiccup.

Hiccup gave him a half smile before turning back to his pile of books.

"What 'cha working on?" Jack asked. The downside of not having many classes was that he rarely got to spend time with his friends.

Hiccup bit the end of his pen before jotting something down. "A letter to my dad, and another to Merida's parents."

"Oh. Sounds important," Jack said. He didn't always understand his friends when there were doing political stuff.

"Extremely," Hiccup said, wiping his brow. "If I mess this up ... it could escalate things. I just can't seem to get the words right."

Hiccup dropped his head in his hands. Jack leaned back on the table.

"Ugh, sounds like you could use a break." He jumped up, "Hey, I got it! Do you wanna build a snowman? Come on, let's go and play. I never see you anymore, it's like-"

"That actually sounds like a good idea," Hiccup said, "but I don't know ... it also sounds like it'll take a long time."

"Sure. With me, the fun never ends," Jack said.

Hiccup chuckled, "I know. But I'm going to need it to. Having fun is great and all but I've got duties, expectations, responsibilities ... and I'm starting to sound like Merida. Oh well, maybe her parents will like it if I sound like her?"

Hiccup leaned over and started writing again. Jack turned back to the kids, narrowly resisting the temptation to start a food fight.

Later, as he was tucking the children into their beds, an idea struck. There was a way for Hiccup to 'slightly' relax, but not take too long. An idea the kids had toyed with last year. What if they had a year long competition? A spectator sport. Hiccup could take his breaks to watch it, and not feel like he was giving up too much time when he could be doing other things.

Jack was going to put together Quidditch teams.

After his last class, Hiccup put aside all distractions, and sat down to pen a letter to Merida's parents.

Dear-

No, that wasn't right.

To the King and Queen of Scotland.

That sounded much better.

To the King and Queen of Scotland.

This is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III, the Hope and Heir to the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans.

Was that too formal? Maybe he should shorten it.

This is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III, the boy who escaped your dungeon last year when you attempted to turn me into a Fearling.

It was never my intent, when I escaped, to start a war. I only wanted to help both our lands. I still want to help. Please. Call off this war. Make magic legal again. I will defend Scotland from Vikings and dragons.

He didn't really know what else to write. Vikings weren't big readers, so learning how to write diplomatic letters to enemy nations was never seen as important. And of course, Hogwarts didn't teach politics.

Hiccup rolled up the letter, not sure what to do with it. He couldn't sent it by dragon, that was for sure. No one would get close enough to the dragon to take the message from it, assuming that they didn't kill the dragon on sight.

Maybe he'd borrow an owl from the owlery.

Putting the letter to the royal family aside, Hiccup picked up the letter he'd received from his father.

Come home.

That was all it said. Hiccup might have been tempted to follow the advice, were it not for the letter from Astrid he got the day before.

Scottish ships have been spotted on the horizon from where we're watching. Barf let out his gas without sparking it. The Scots on board got sick and sailed away. We don't know how long we can keep them at bay. At least Dagur is still in jail. The Outcasts are helping to defend our coast, but we're worried that if they run into the Scots first it will be a violent conflict. They won't just send scouting ships out.

Hiccup crumpled up her letter. He needed to do something. But what? What could he do? Either from Berk or afar? The only good thing about the war was that it distracted him from his feelings. But then again, if there was no war, he could give into them and run away.

Deciding he'd put the letter off long enough, Hiccup tucked it in his bag and went off to the owlery. Maybe Thor would send a lightning strike to inspire him.

Flynn Rider rubbed the charm Pitch Black had given him as he directed Cassandra up the mountain. Now with a clear idea of where to go, it was just a matter of getting there.

The Stabbington brothers posed a small problem. They followed at a distance, only at night. He knew they were keeping up, but keeping them a secret from Maximus and Cassandra was getting harder and harder as the mountain path narrowed and the vegetation thinned.

"So just how close are we?" Cassandra asked, wiping her brow.

"I'm not sure," Flynn said, "but I don't think it's far."

Flynn took the lead as the ledge narrowed even further. The bend in the mountain prevented him from seeing what was beyond. The ledge might just drop off. He took careful steps as the path got smaller than his boot. Thankfully, after about five feet of being only six inches wide, it started to spread out.

As he came to the more solid ground, a grove of trees spread before him.

"It's safe over here," he called to Cassandra and Maximus. He waited a few minutes for them to join him. Maximus had a particularly hard time of it, having four legs instead of two, but with a little magical help from Cassandra he stood on his hind legs and inched across the chasm.

"I wonder if the trees have any fruit," Cassandra said, approaching one. Flynn saw it move before she did. One of the tree branches drew back and lashed forward at her. Flynn lunged at the girl, knocking her down before the tree could.

"Hey!" she said, scrambling away from him. In his effort to get her away from the threatening branch, he'd knocked them both under the second tree. It did the same thing as the first, only catching an unprepared Flynn in the stomach. Cassandra, realizing the danger, ran at Flynn, grabbing his arm and dragging him up. The willow trees continued to lash out.

Maximus chased after them as they ran through the grove of enchanted trees. Several times the branches made contact, but the adrenaline kept them going until they reached the end of the grove.

Panting hard, they stopped just out of range of the last one.

"Whomping Willows?" Cassandra said. "I didn't think they grew in this region."

Flynn reached down for the charm. It was warmer.

"I get the feeling that was a trap, meant to prevent people from doing what we're doing. It means we're getting close."

Flynn lay down on the ground and started checking himself over. He'd been hit several times. In the morning he'd have a lot of bruises, but nothing felt serious.

"How are you doing?"

Cassandra rubbed her head, "Fine, I think. I guess I owe you one, huh?"

"We can call it even when you don't arrest me," Flynn said. Cassandra smiled at him. A soft smile. Clear indication that his smolder was working. He smiled back. After a minute of rest, he remembered the horse.

Maximus was limping up to them, a trickle of blood running down his haunches. Flynn ignored his own pain and got up to check the horse. Cassandra was at his side. She pulled out her wand and made a splint for Maximum's injured leg while Flynn conjured fresh water and cleaned off the wound.

"There might be more dangers up ahead," Flynn suggested. "I propose we rest here. Recuperate a bit, you know, before we press on."

"Good idea," Cassandra agreed. She started to set up camp for them.

Flynn looked back at the Whomping Willows. That trap might just stop the Stabbington brothers, if he was lucky. And if he and Cass could find another way home, maybe he was free?

Stoick paced around the Meade Hall, clutching the letter from his son.

"Are you going to finish that?" Gobber asked, eyeing Stoick's plate. Stoick slammed his fist on the table, making the tray fly at Gobber. The other man caught it easily with his good hand.

"So, what's on your mind?" Gobber prompted before taking a big bite out of the steak. "Is that from Hiccup?"

Stoick scowled, "Of course it is, Gobber! Who else would be writing me letters?"

"Well ... Sometimes Durmstrang, or another wizard school writes to you. And of course Oswald the Agreeable used to ... I guess he won't now that he's dead. But hey, that Princess did once ... didn't she?"

"Aye. She asked us to take in refugees from Scotland. Mixed families. Wizards, Muggles and squibs alike. Imagine. Muggles and squibs here."

"So what does Hiccup say?"

"He wants the same thing. He says it was his idea to send them here. And he promises to come home if I accept."

Gobber put down his food, "What are you going to do?"

Stoick growled and crumpled the letter, "We have no right to take citizens from another country."

"You're not going to do it?"

"I didn't say that."

"Stoick," Gobber said seriously, getting up to face his friend, "I once warned you that the best thing you could do for Hiccup, if you couldn't stop him, was to prepare him. Whether you want it or not, you can't live forever. Someday, Hiccup will be chief of Berk."

"But he'll have more experience then. He'll make better decisions-"

"You don't know how far off that day is," Gobber reminded him. "And how is he to get the experience if you won't let him?"

"What would you have me do?" Stoick growled. "Retire now, let Hiccup make all the decisions?"

"Not all of them. But maybe give his ideas a test run. Take in one batch of refugees. See how it goes. Your boy has good ideas. He served me well as an apprentice. He served us well as a dragon trainer. He's going to serve us well when he's chief. Let this be his trial run."

"And his offer to come home?" Stoick prompted, turning to his friend for advice. "Should I hold him to it?"

Gobber shrugged, "I don't think he can do half as much good here as he can there. You have to admit, of all the Vikings we've got, Hiccup is the most eloquent. The least likely to start a blood feud if they say something horrible. And much as you want to protect him, this island isn't exactly a pinnacle of safety. We've been attacked on our shores plenty of times."

Stoick left Gobber to his meal and returned to Hiccup's empty room in their hut. He pulled out the Viking helmet that Hiccup had left behind. Valka's old breast plate.

"Oh, my love," Stoick whispered to the plate, "I wish you were here to give me advice."

Of course there was no response. Stoick sat in silence for a few minutes before he went down to his desk to pen a letter to Princess Merida. Berk would accept the refugees and Hiccup was free to stay in Scotland.

"Slytherins aren't supposed to be in Gryffindor," Merida scolded Jack, pretending to be angry with him. He'd come to collect her brothers while she was in class one early November day. Of course, rather than knocking at the door or window, he'd somehow slipped in when she wasn't looking, hiding up in the rafters and causing a small blizzard when she walked past.

"Well, guess I'm not a Slytherin," Jack said, flipping around the beam and falling off, landing on one foot on top of his staff, balancing precariously.

Merida started to leave. She didn't care if he didn't belong in Gryffindor. As long as he kept her brothers entertained, she'd be happy.

She paused by the door. Jack took the bait. Rubbing the back of his neck, he came closer to her.

"Hey, uh ... Merida?"

"Yes?" she asked, not sure why her heart was beating a little faster.

"Remember that Quidditch game we had last year?"

"Oh. Yeah," Merida said. Last year she'd wanted to start Hogwarts Quidditch teams. But then political responsibilities got in the way. She hadn't given it a second though.

"I'm putting together a team."

"Really?" Merida asked. "With the kids? Will my brothers be on the team?"

"Nah. The kids are great, but coming from muggle families, most of them don't know how to fly. Much as I'd love to teach them, I'm not really a teacher. That's Hiccup's department. But I thought maybe we could get some house teams together so the kids could at least see what a Quidditch game looks like. The prospect of a Quidditch tournament could give everyone something to look forward to ... the way we all used to look forward to Winter Break. Back when we could go home."

Merida couldn't help but wince at the pain in Jack's voice. At least she got to leave home voluntarily. She hadn't had to escape from a cage.

"I think it's a great idea," Merida said. "So what do you need from me?"

"Talking with the kids, we agreed that they want to see house teams. I'm in talks with the Slytherins, but we need someone to go against. I was hoping you could spread the idea around Gryffindor."

"Of course," Merida agreed, brushing her hair back behind her ear. Her brothers chose that moment to come tumbling down in their winter cloaks.

Jack grinned. "Just remember, you'd better put together the best, most awesome team you can. Or us Slytherins will flatten you!"

"Oh, you think so?" Merida threatened playfully. "Not if I fight for 'em. I'll see you in the Quidditch pitch!"

A clock struck nine. Merida grabbed her books and ran to her next class, Transfiguration. Bunny wouldn't care that she was late. Unfortunately, Bunny was not there today.

When she reached the classroom, she found Mr. Gaunt.

"You're late, Miss DunBroch."

"It's Princess, actually," Merida said stiffly, taking her seat. She'd been in other classes that Mr. Gaunt substituted for.

"Yes, whatever," he sneered. He turned to the rest of the class, "I don't suppose we could expect a Muggleborn to be on time. It's not like they could ever keep up anyway. However, Miss Princess, next time you decide that you don't need all of the lesson, why don't you do us a favor and not show for any of the lesson?"

Merida's face flushed at the insult. She shouldn't care. She was doing the right thing. She knew that. Learning magic was important and all, but now that she was a seventh year she knew enough about magic to research the gaps on her own, without needing a stupid teacher to insult her. Unlike the other kids, her future wasn't even that uncertain. After the war was over, she would either go back to being a princess, or be arrested as a criminal. Either way, her parents would decide her fate.

A tear slipped out at the thought. All that fighting to change her fate. She changed it alright. But was it for the better?

After another fun day playing with the children, Jack took them all back to bed.

"Thank you, Jackson," the nurse said as she started to help the kids get into their pajamas. "When Headmaster Ombric said there were going to be thirty to eighty extra kids under the age of 11 and that they were all going to have to stay with me, I almost quit."

"Hey, no prob. I like kids," Jack said. "And not all of them stay with you."

Jack looked meaningfully at several other children standing in the hallway. They were mostly relatives of sorted students, and were housed with their siblings.

The nurse rolled her eyes, "Even without 'em, this lot is a huge burden. Especially when Madame Gothel gives me no help."

"She doesn't?" Jack's eyes widened. It was no secret to him why Gothel chose to be at the school with Rapunzel. But he would have thought she'd at least have done a little to make the nurse think she was helping.

"Oh, she does a few things. Mostly helps me with brewing potions or gathering herbs and the like. She's not really good with children. I know she's a mother and all ... but between you and me, I wouldn't let my daughter stay with her. But I guess that's life, eh? Anyone can be a mother, whether they're good at it or not."

"Princess Rapunzel isn't exactly her 'daughter,'" Jack pointed out.

The nurse shrugged, "The king must see something in her, eh?"

One of the kids started to kick in his sleep. The nurse rushed over to tend to him, and Jack took the other kids back to their houses, dropping Merida's brothers off before taking the Slytherins home.

"This was fun," a little boy said, yawning. Jack picked up the four year old and carried him down to the dungeon. "I don't know why Mama said I shouldn't play with you."

"I do," an orphan girl said, fingering her locket, "but I think they're wrong."

"Thanks," Jack said as he reached the door. "Parseltongue."

The door opened and he and the children went in. The orphan girl was ten, going on 11. She would be sorted next year. If Jack had any say in it, she would have been left in the Infirmary with the other refugees. But Mr. Gaunt had intervened. He said her blood was 'destined' for Slytherin, and that she should only associate with her own kind. Whatever that meant.

The girl ran off to the first year's dorm, where she was staying. Jack gave the boy to his sibling and turned to go into his own room. The other boys were in Astronomy class, so he was alone. Well, except for Mr. Gaunt.

"Late again, elf?"

Jack bit his tongue, ignoring the tone and set about getting ready for bed.

"I suppose discipline problems run in the family, eh? What with Muggles and elves for relatives."

Jack turned away, trying to resist the bait. Mr. Gaunt kept trying.

"If you were my son-"

"If I were your son," Jack snapped, "I'd be exactly the same, except I'd hate my father for being a speciesist git."

Jack struggled to control his temper. The last thing he needed was to freeze the room. It would only prove to Mr. Gaunt that he was right to distrust Jack's powers. Jack took several calming breaths before turning back to Mr. Gaunt.

"Would it kill you to leave me alone? I don't bother you or your kids. In fact, I've been staying away from all the Slytherins!" Jack sighed and turned away, "I guess your kind can't, can they?"

Jack shut his curtain without looking at Mr. Gaunt. He waited a minute to see if Mr. Gaunt was going to curse him, but nothing happened. Jack closed his eyes and, after a bit, managed to fall into an uneventful sleep.