AN: Haha! JK, we're back to Saturdays (not even, I suck...)... Anyways! I am really sorry guys. I've been struggling with some stuff lately, and I had some writers block this past week, and I can't seem to get on a regular schedule to save my life. I hope you guys aren't too upset, and please enjoy this latest chapter! I know it's kinda short, and not that good, but I tried, and I hope you like it!
REVIEWERS!:
BrawlerGamer: I know! The book description is actually different, I went off of the picture on the cover of the book, which is similar to a Monstrous Nightmare. I'm glad you're enjoying all of the Easter Eggs and cameos, though! And your music taste is incredible! :)
Joe knuckle: That is a very true statement, and I am glad you're enjoying it! :)
Raxacoricofallapatoreous: Well, of course!
FanaticFangirl2602: Hahahahaha! YES! I DID THE THING! I am very happy to hear such a beautiful reaction. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and the music! And there is plenty more where that came from, so prepare for even more excitement! :)
C: I'm happy to hear that you liked the chapter, and they have plenty more adventures to come, but for now we're gonna take a bit of a jump to another side of this story. And, as always, thank you for the lovely and amazingly kind review! :)
zina-shipper-2016: Thank you so much, I am so happy to have you here, I hope you continue to enjoy the story! You are asking such fantastic questions, thank you! 1) Double Yes. He will use his magic again eventually, and currently he's hiding it from everyone. 2) I mean, technically no one is allowed to use magic out of school until their seventeen, but these guys are pirates now so rules aren't really going to stop them, it's more of a self-preservation thing. Hiccup's hiding it, cause reasons, Talia isn't actively hiding it, but she doesn't go around telling people about it. Neither Eret, nor the crew, know about their magic. Hiccup has his wand, Talia does not. 3) Yes, his arm is still wrapped in bandages, therefore hiding what's happened to him, and the rest will come in due time... 4) Not yet. He's taken a note from Jack and Rapunzel and is running around barefoot currently. 5) Eventually... 6) You're about to find out... 7) We will see their reactions/POVs, but it might take a while. And there's no way I could've killed Tadashi, he's my favorite from BH6! 8) Pitch is doing stuff, the Guardians are trying to stop him. That's as specific as I can get. 9) You're just going to have to wait and find out for that one! Bonus) Hiccup and Talia's relationship is very platonic, Hiccup is keeping a promise and Talia isn't looking for anything romantic, any relationship/comfort/love is most definitely sibling-like. I'm so happy to have you joining me on this story, and I hope my answers made sense! You never have to apologize for long reviews, they are much appreciated! I hope you like the new chapter, and have a marvelous day! :)
Arwen Eledel: Thank you! You always make me blush! I had to throw in the Left-Handed thing at some point, there was no ignoring it! And while Jack will always be Hiccup's brother, Eret may just become an uncle-old-older-brother. Plenty of alliances, plenty of enemies. Trust me, the ending is gonna be explosive! Thank you again, you're so nice! :)
NOTES: When you've lost one Trail, it may be wise to pick up Another...
Chapter 12: A New Lead
The sun was shining as white, fluffy clouds floated across the blue sky, but the days was crisp and cool. A breeze chilled anyone who ventured outside to the bone, and the stone walls of the castle still seemed drearily grey. The gloomy grey of despair. Jack couldn't help but wonder if Hogwarts would ever again look like the bright and welcoming home he once knew.
His feet carried him down one of the open-air corridors, taking the extra long route to the Great Hall for Breakfast. He knew he was supposed to meet Merida and Rapunzel soon, but he'd woken up early and wanted some time to himself to think. He'd been doing that a lot lately, but no one commented on it.
There had been several more attacks on some small, in-land villages across the Northern Kingdoms. The descriptions were similar to the attacks from last year; no one could get a clear visual of what was attacking, but all the reports suggest Shadow Horses and Dark Figures. The Ministry and the Daily Prophet continued with their excuse of pirates, but the villages weren't easily accessed from the sea, and pirates usually made a lot more noise with their attacks. Nothing added up, and Jack was fairly certain he knew why, but it was disturbing nonetheless. They'd been at school for only six weeks now and already bad things were happening, both inside and out.
Jack had approached Merida about reporting her detention with Lady Tremaine twice more after that first time in the study lounge. Each time Merida told him that the Guardians couldn't be worrying about them, especially if they wanted to stay inconspicuous with their own investigations. He didn't like it, but he couldn't find a reasonable argument that would convince her.
The Guardians had been in and out of the castle for the past two weeks, ever since the attacks started. They often found themselves with substitutes, but only once did they cancel class entirely. Jack wasn't happy about being left out of everything, particularly because he could see that the other Guardians were distracted even when they were at Hogwarts and in their classes. He hadn't even seen North since their meeting at the very beginning of the year.
He was slowly pulled from his thoughts as he neared the Great Hall. The endless crowds of students milling about at breakfast, talking and eating and, in some cases, dozing off again. An ordinary morning at Hogwarts, but Jack felt anything but. He scanned the crowd until he spotted Merida and Rapunzel off to the side at the Gryffindor table and then quickly made his way over to them.
"Morning." He nodded to them. Merida nodded back, and Rapunzel offered a small smile.
"How are you feeling?" Rapunzel asked as Jack took the open seat next to her. Jack only shrugged and grabbed a blueberry muffin from the pile in front of him.
"As well as I can be." He replied, peeling back the wrapper. "It's been six weeks, and we haven't found anything useful at all."
"Maybe when we get the file from North's office we'll be able to find something we didn't notice before." Rapunzel suggested, keeping her voice low so no one would overhear, but also trying to remain hopeful.
"That's easier said than done." Merida replied. "The teachers have been patrolling up there at night. My guess is to make sure nobody tries anything while North is away."
Jack opened his mouth to respond, but before he could form any words the Great Hall was flooded with the sounds of flapping wings and screeching owls. Small packages, papers, letters, parcels, and other such mail started to fall from the sky as owls brought their owners the morning mail.
A flash of white flew among the browns, blacks, creams, and oranges, and Nix swooped low over the tables in search of her master. She found them within a quick glance and glided over, dropping a newspaper into Jack's hands and settling herself on the table between Jack and Rapunzel. Jack scratched behind Nix's ear before turning his attention to the paper, and Rapunzel started petting her and feeding her bits of bread.
"What?..." Jack breathed in disbelief as his eyes scanned over the big, block letters on the front of the paper over and over again.
"What is it?" Merida asked, looking at him with a proper amount of concern and dread.
Jack answer by pushing his plate out of the way and laying the paper out flat on the table so they could all read the headline. "Auror Detective, Mr. Samuel Arrow; Missing In Action." Jack read before looking down the parchment a little bit to read the article. "Mr. Arrow was last known to be deep in the forests of Gabylonia, investigating the strange appearance and death of a dragon known as a Monstrous Nightmare. After three days without contact, two more investigators were sent to ensure credibility in the case. The investigators reported finding nothing but Mr. Arrow's hat in a clearing with no other signs of life. Fellow Aurors are baffled by the disappearance, and with no leads or possible conclusions, they were forced to announce Mr. Arrow MIA as of eight days ago..."
"Mr. Arrow's gone? But how? He couldn't have just disappeared." Rapunzel said, drawing her hand to her chest which left Nix disappointed by the lack of scratches.
"This can't be coincidence." Jack told them, his fists clenching on top of the paper. "Mr. Arrow headed the investigation on Hiccup and Tadashi, and then he headed the investigation on that dragon. Not to mention he was the only one who seemed willing to help us continue looking into it all."
"Do you think he found something important, and someone didn't want him to tell anyone?" Rapunzel questioned, worried over the well-being of Mr. Arrow.
"I'd say almost definitely." Jack replied, folding the paper again and dropping it onto the table, off to the side, so he wouldn't have to look at it anymore.
"Either that, or he was getting close enough to ruffle feathers." Merida added, chewing on her thumbnail subconsciously as her brow furrowed with thought. "Whatever we're going to do, we'd best do it quick. North is gone and that means his office is empty. We don't want to miss this kind of an opportunity, especially if all this was really is connected." She continued, her half-eaten breakfast seemingly forgotten.
"You're right." Jack agreed. "We'll go tonight, after curfew. We'll meet in the hall outside North's office."
Merida and Rapunzel nodded, but Rapunzel was looking increasingly troubled. "I hope we can figure out why all of this is happening and put a stop to it." She said. "People are going missing and we have no idea how or why..."
Jack wished he could've offered some form of positive thinking, or even some kind of comfort, but he was having trouble looking on the bright side of things since the end of last year. As much as he wanted to believe they could figure things out just like they always did, a very small part of him kept whispering that one of the four most important parts of their team wasn't there anymore.
Curfew seemed to come much faster that night than usual. Flynn, Wilbur, and Mavis were in the common room when Jack headed out to meet with Rapunzel and Merida. He didn't worry about any of them seeing him leave. Wilbur and Mavis weren't snitches, and Flynn had his fair share of late night adventures.
Dodging Prefects and teachers were a lot easier after so many years of practice, and also the fact that Rapunzel knew the night patrol routes this year because she'd earned Prefect. She was assigned to the moving staircases and Great Hall tonight, which meant they had easy access to any floor they wanted, but would have to be on high alert anywhere else.
It took Jack about twenty minutes to make it from the dungeons up to the doorway of North's office. Merida was already there waiting for them, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She pushed off the wall when she saw Jack coming, and he nodded to her.
"Anyone come by yet?" Jack murmured, keeping his voice low.
"Not since I came up five minutes ago. Had to wait for Dr. Doppler to walk through before I could come out from behind the tapestry on the stairs. Good news is, I don't think he'll be back for fifteen minutes at least." Merida informed him, and he smiled lightly. That was pretty good news.
Rapunzel peeked around the corner at the end of the hall, and once she saw them she rounded the corner and walked over. "Sorry it took me so long." She apologized. "I had to finish my round at least once."
"It's alright. I just got here." Jack assured her. "But now that we're all here, we can get started." He stepped up to the Reindeer statue and whispered the password. The statue turned and started to rise, revealing stairs, and they all jumped on. Within a few minutes they'd passed the sitting room and were gathered in North's main office.
"I'll take the side room over there." Merida said, pointing to a door off to the right.
"I'll take this room." Rapunzel volunteered.
"Fine with me, I'll take the back room at the top of the stairs." Jack told them, and they split up to cover their designated areas.
Up the stairs at the back of the office, behind the globe with millions of little lights glowing on it's surface, was a slightly cluttered workshop. There were work tables filled with tools, pieces of wood, nails, screws, and toys. There was a built-in desk on one wall filled with chemistry beakers and bottles, a book on a small stand was left open, a small music box with one of those horns on top. There was a giant wardrobe, and next to it was a bookshelf bursting with books and scrolls. A desk stood under the window at the back wall, holding a large, impressive ice sculpture of a phoenix.
Jack veered to the left, heading for the built-in. He pulled open drawers and cupboards, and he shifted through papers as he went. He didn't find much paper, and what he did find were blueprints, designs, and diagrams for different toys and small structures. He gave up on the built-in, finding only more tools and more workshop supplies, and decided to move on the the desk by the window.
"Looking for something?" Jack jumped at the sudden voice and whirled to find the source, not even close to the desk. His eyes searched for a minute and eventually found the Sorting Hat set on the very top shelf of the bookshelf. "Normally my company is limited to North and the Yetis, occasionally one of the other Guardians, but I suppose you're not supposed to be here." The Hat drawled in his gravelly voice, and Jack gulped. "Bah!" The Hat gruffed. "Stop sweating. I won't say anything."
"Uh... Thanks." Jack relaxed a little at that, but still eyed the Hat curiously. "Do you always stay up here when you're not... you know, Sorting?" Jack asked.
"Most of the time. My residence sometimes changes when a new Headmaster comes along, but I usually stay somewhere within the rooms of this office." The Sorting Hat answered, sounding somewhat indifferent. "And what are you doing here, boy?"
"I'm looking for a file." Jack said, fidgeting nervously under the seemingly sightless eyes of the Sorting Hat.
"The file about the Haddock boy." The Hat stated more than asked, and Jack's eyes widened slightly. "You won't find that in here."
"Do you know where it is?" Jack questioned hopefully, taking a step towards the hat in his excitement.
"No." The Sorting Hat replied. "I haven't the first clue where North might keep that, only that it wouldn't be in here. But perhaps you have a more interesting question in mind? If not, I won't be of much help to you."
"Do you..." Jack stopped, stuttering because he wasn't sure what to ask, or how to ask. He'd only talked to the Sorting Hat once before. "You see into every students' mind when you're sorting them into their Houses, and I was just wondering..." Jack trailed off, biting his lip uncertainly.
"You were wondering what I saw when I Sorted the Haddock boy into Ravenclaw House." The Sorting Hat finished for him, and Jack could only nod quietly. "The boy was even more difficult to place than you other three. He was a Viking, and he didn't want to be placed in Ravenclaw. Wanted to prove himself. Though, I'd guess you already knew all that."
"Yeah, kind of..." Jack admitted, his gaze falling to the floor for a moment, but then he looked back up at the Sorting Hat. "But what else? What made Hiccup so hard to place? Why did you place him into Ravenclaw when he didn't want to be?"
"Potential." The Hat answered simply, and Jack's brow furrowed curiously. "There are things beyond my sight, boy, especially when those aware choose to hide their secrets away, but I saw potential. A lot of it. Normally, I do take into consideration the requests of the students, I don't always answer them, but I do keep it in mind when choosing a House. I chose to ignore Mr. Haddock's request for 'Anywhere but Ravenclaw'."
"Because of his potential?" Jack guessed.
"Yes." The Sorting Hat confirmed. "It is not my job to tell students what path to take, only to guide them to where their journeys should begin, the endings, regardless of where they started, would be the same. His future was his to decide, and Ravenclaw gave him the freedom to choose."
"And what did he choose? What happened to Hiccup?" Jack wanted to know.
"I haven't the foggiest. In case you haven't noticed, I've been in here." The Sorting Hat said dryly. "But I stand by my decision four years ago; Mr. Haddock did well in Ravenclaw."
"Jack!" Rapunzel's voice drifted up into the room from the bottom of the stairs, a light hiss to catch his attention. "Jack, I think I found it!"
Jack took a step towards the door, eager to see the file, but then looked back at the Sorting Hat. "Thank you." He said. "I'll think over everything that you've told me."
"Do what you wish, it isn't any of my business." The Sorting Hat smirked as best as any hat can, and then settled back into the shelf to go back to sleep.
Jack hurried from the workshop, finding Merida and Rapunzel waiting for him in front of the Globe in the main office. Rapunzel showed them the file, 'Haddock Case' neatly stamped onto the front of the file, and Jack nodded as Merida smiled. Knowing they'd found their newest lead, they rushed from the office, taking the file with them, but as they raced away from the scene of the crime, Jack couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with the Sorting Hat.