The Sacrifice
As the night progressed the Dark Council's army grew steadily with each passing minute. The Council themselves stood overlooking the school, flanked by Nightmares and loyal Dream Eaters while Terror and his dragon minions stood further back, his heavy bulk casting a darker shadow in the gloom. There was a bang and Ted Mulcaster apparated abruptly in front of them, kneeling to deliver his report.
'All of your forces have arrived masters,' he stuttered worriedly as their gazes drifted over him. 'The remainder of the rogue giants and werewolves have just been brought to the edge of the barrier and are waiting for your instructions.'
'Good,' Pitch said calmly as he stepped forward to lay a hand on Mulcaster's shoulder and pull him gently but firmly up. 'I must admit young Mulcaster you are very brave to deliver these messages to us yourself, considering you were one of the chosen servants we dedicated to keeping Hogwarts out of our enemies' hands.'
'It's only thanks to your father that you weren't given to the old hag like the rest of the failures,' Mordu rumbled, baring his teeth slightly at Mulcaster who shivered in fear. Not as much fear as he had of Gothel though, he'd seen how she'd used the philosopher's stone tied to her neck on the other failed Dream Eaters and hoped he'd never have to see it again.
'Oh, let's not be too hard on him,' Gothel said as her fingers stroked the black stone at her neck, 'after all, their incompetence did allow us to corner the biggest of our…grievances.'
'Well said as ever Gothel,' Pitch praised without taking his dark eyes from Mulcaster. 'Here are the orders Mulcaster, every Dream Eater is to concentrate their spells against the shield wall until it is broken. When you have delivered this report return to us, I would like to keep you close at hand so you may witness the victory I'm sure you are hoping for.'
Unable to speak Mulcaster simply nodded before disappearing with a crack. Soon afterwards, large cascades of light began to shoot from the surrounding areas onto the shield that protected Hogwarts which flared white with every hit and echoed with bangs as magic met magic. The Council smiled together where they stood, even Terror and Mordu seemed to have smug expressions, and watched as the never ending spells began to slowly weaken the barriers that would finally lead them to the four they'd hunted for so long.
'Wow,' Jack said as he watched the sky through the Great Hall windows light up with the thousand blasts of magic hitting the barrier above them, 'You've got to hand it to the Dream Eaters, they know how to put on a show.'
'How long do you think it will be?' Hiccup asked him as the six walked through the large crowds of people that had gathered in the Great Hall.
'Long enough for everyone to get sorted I guess,' Jack replied as they jostled past a group of Dingwall soldiers.
They'd seen most of the people they had spent all those months recruiting with a few notable exceptions. Merida had found her father bickering with the three other clan leaders and the men they had brought along while her mother rushed her into a hug.
'Oh, ye gave me such a fright when the four of ye vanished,' Elinor had told her disapprovingly as she refused to let go.
'I'm okay mum,' Merida argued, struggling to get free of an iron-tight grip. 'Where are the twins?' She asked after prising herself from her mother's grip.
'With Maudie,' Elinor explained, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief, 'they'll all be safe back at the castle.'
Hiccup's group of animals, meanwhile, had been joined by two new additions, Sting and Sickle, the manticore and hydra that Hiccup had befriended during the Tri Team Tournament. They had greeted the young Viking as if they'd never left him and soon were gathered out with the rest of the animals, peacefully acknowledging one another without any conflict.
There were hundreds more that the six walked passed with Toothiana zooming overhead and organising them all into separate units that were assigned to different parts of the castle. The four didn't realise there would be so many when they had begun last year but the numbers had steadily grown as their group found more and more people who'd shown themselves to be willing to recruitment. However, one group remained strangely absent much to the six's surprise.
'I really thought they'd have come to join us,' Rapunzel said sadly to the others as their search proved fruitless.
'Maybe it turned out to be too big for them after all,' Merida shrugged.
'Oh, there you are,' Toothiana interrupted as she stopped above them and descended to a closer ground level.
'Hey professor,' Fred said, his magical eye twitching behind its patch as it zoomed around in its socket in an attempt to keep the entire crowd in his sight.
'I'd prefer to keep you six with the rest of the students in the castle,' Toothiana stated as her wings hummed gently, 'but I know you'll all probably go to wherever the battle's thickest anyway.'
'It'd probably be best if I stayed close to the animals,' Hiccup said in the tone of a student giving a sick note.
'Just as long as you don't get separated from the rest of us that's fine,' Toothiana replied in her usual quick tones as she began to scan the room for the next group to talk to. 'Now I need to go and see about that flying division,' she added to herself as she zipped off through the air.
'Looks like we should get ourselves ready then,' Flynn huffed as the six were once again buffeted by the crowd which had begun to thin as groups left to their assigned places.
'Mulcaster,' Pitch said to the boy who stood slightly to the side of the Council.
'Yes my lord?' Mulcaster replied with only a hint of a quaver in his voice.
'Give the order to stop the attack.'
'But, my lord, we haven't broken the barrier yet.'
'Obviously, it would take them weeks to break through the barriers that protect this school. Hogwarts has always taken shielding itself very seriously,' Mordu snorted as his expressionless muzzle watched Mulcaster.
'Then, then why did you ask us to do it?' Mulcaster asked timidly. It made no sense to him that the Council would spend time on something that would take weeks, only to give up on it before it had made a dent.
'To make an example of our power,' Gothel explained in a motherly voice as she stepped forward alongside Pitch and drew her wand.
'We don't want to make this anymore a waist of life than it has to be,' Pitch added as he toyed with his wand, 'What would be the point of leaving a pile of bodies behind when they could be made loyal followers, given the right incentive.'
With that Gothel made a circular motion that began with her taping the tip of her wand to her dark philosopher's stone that began to glow an eerie purple at its touch. With a swift flick of her wrist Gothel brought her wand around and pointed it directly at Hogwarts where ray of purple light shot forward and met the barrier with a bang. At its touch the barrier's silver flare began to die out while the purple ray spread further over its smooth surface.
This was the power Mulcaster had feared from Gothel. He'd heard rumours that she'd had a philosopher's stone built by Mordu to give her eternal life but the rumours had said more, that Gothel had begun to merge her magic with the stone to take the life energy from anything she wanted. Human life or even magic itself could be drained into her stone and give her even greater power. He'd seen her with the remains of his fellow Dream Eater teachers and what was left of them had looked like nothing more than mummified shells.
When the shield's light faded to a sufficiently weak pallor and Gothel's stone shone so much her entire body was illuminated by the terrifying purple light, Pitch stepped in and waved his wand in a motion similar to swinging a hammer down onto a wooden block. The Nightmares responded at once and rose into the air, merging into a gigantic foaming mass that came down on the barrier like a drill. The barrier screamed in protest as the giant storm of black sand forced itself further and further through until it finally shattered and fell as the storm recoiled and separated into its thousand Nightmare forms once more.
'Now Mulcaster,' Pitch said as calmly as ever while Gothel fawned over her glowing stone, 'why don't you lead the charge, I'm sure you almost see it as your duty to return the order you failed to maintain.'
'Uh, yes my lord,' Mulcaster said, still slightly dumbfounded by what he had witnessed. He vanished a moment later and was followed by crowds of roaring Dream Eaters, werewolves and giants who charged forward, some apparating ahead while others chose to run. The Nightmares and Terror's dragons remained with Pitch for now; if the plan went half as well as he intended he wouldn't need them.
'I'll be joining the battle too,' Mordu announced in a hungry voice.
'Finally going to do something are you?' Gothel sneered cheerily as she looked deeply into her stone.
'Please, you just opened the door for me to do the real work,' the bear scoffed back as he began to trot down towards the school.
'Remember Mordu,' Pitch said warningly as he looked over the starting battle, 'don't enjoy yourself too much. You know the plan.'
The bear made no reply but Pitch knew he understood as he began to run in great strides towards the battlefield.
'Bloody hell,' Fred breathed as he watched the final remains of the school's barrier tumble down through the sky from the courtyard where they stood, 'Since when could they do that?'
The six were in fact the only humans protecting their entrance into the castle. While other entrances had a much larger group of people defending them, their side didn't need it as they were flanked by Hiccup's animal army and a formation of suits of armour from the corridors.
'I'm sure we're going to find out,' Hiccup said as he clicked his prosthetic leg into its stirrup in Toothless's saddle.
Nothing else could be said as explosions and the sound of shattering glass indicated that Dream Eaters had begun to apparate within the castle and begun the battle. The six couldn't turn to help, however, as they saw the main force that was spreading out across the grounds, attacking every entrance. The ground rumbled with the footfalls of several giants, swinging large clubs as they ran, while Dream Eaters and wild looking men and women ran between them.
Spells began to rain down on the group, forcing the six to block and deflect them until Jack and Hiccup soared into the air to start a counterattack from above. The animals took Hiccup and Toothless's departure as the signal to start their own attack, running forward to match the wizard's spells with tooth and claw.
Hiccup and Toothless shot balls of flame down at one side of the Dream Eaters while Jack sent hail and icy winds at the other side, forcing the charging crowd to separate into smaller groups that could be picked off. The suits of armour began to march unstoppably forward to meet the enemy head on, swinging large swords and axes at any Dream Eater that appeared before them. Although some were shot down by spells or knocked apart by the swings of giants they didn't falter and continued to march on in a single destructive path.
The group of rogue werewolves laughed and howled as they split away from the Dream Eaters and charged to the courtyard where the remaining four stood. It wasn't the full moon but they still had sharpened teeth and claws to rip apart any human that stood in their way. Unfortunately for them they were met by Gavin's wolf pack first who moved seamlessly as a unit, jumping at the werewolves' throats or snapping at their legs to knock them down and leave them defenceless for the rest of the pack.
The rest of the animals moved almost as well together as the wolves, the bowtruckles cutting down Dream Eaters at the leg and leaving them for the fangs of the acromantula and the fires of the salamanders while the thestrals and hippogriffs flew around the heads of the giants, clawing and pecking at their eyes. Sting and Sickle ran and slithered between the groups of Dream Eaters, cutting down any separated from the rest with sting and fang.
The Dream Eaters that managed to get passed them and into the courtyard were met with the combined spells of Merida, Rapunzel, Fred and Flynn. Fred and Flynn caught many of them with golden shots of sleeping magic while Rapunzel used her magic to levitate the Dream Eaters helplessly in the air and throw them at one another.
However, there were too many to prevent going passed and soon some Dream Eaters had reached the doors that would lead to the Great Hall. The first who moved onto the stone steps of the entrance was blown back as blue flames erupted along the doorway. The invading Dream Eaters were thrown into chaos by this as more crowded in; not yet realising their way was blocked. This allowed Merida to take most of them out before they had a chance to regroup and fight back. She had spent a good hour before the battle scattering the remains of the Dunbroch earth she'd kept in her pouch around strategic areas of the school. She blocked, pivoted and struck with more spells as the crowd of Dream Eaters trapped between her and her flames dwindled, finishing the last Dream Eater off with a simple roundhouse punch as she came too close to use her wand.
Meanwhile, Hiccup and Jack had begun targeting a giant at the head of the oncoming waves. It swung wildly with its club at Toothless who twisted almost serenely in the air, letting the club pass under him harmlessly, before circling around and hitting it with a blast of fire to the back of the head. Jack flew beneath it and wrapped icy chains around its legs with a spinning motion from his staff, tightening as the giant tried to walk. The large creature bent down to pull at the chains with its free hand, unaware that it had left itself open for Jack and Hiccup to fly above it and combine two fire and ice blasts to its head, knocking it down to cheers from the boys.
Toothiana suddenly flew past them, flanked by several people on brooms who separated and began to attack the rest of the giants. Together the squadron blinded the giants with spells and knocked them out with the help of Hiccup and Jack.
'We can't stay,' Toothiana called over to them as the squadron reformed around her, 'there are more near the south side of the castle.'
Even though Merida's blue flames had held in the courtyard entrance it seemed clear that they hadn't been as successful in other parts of the castle as the Great Hall and Grand Staircase began to echo with the sounds of battle. Merida, Flynn, Fred and Rapunzel were doing well enough to keep the remaining Dream Eaters at bay though, using giant roots, sleeping spells and jinxes to keep the forces from advancing, although they were beginning to be pushed back.
'They're getting outnumbered!' Hiccup yelled over to Jack as the two tried to ease off the number of Dream Eaters but without much success as they had to dance through the air faster now that the Dream Eaters had begun to fire more spells at them.
'Damn, there's more coming from the lake side,' Jack said as he spun around a red beam of light. Hiccup looked around and realised he was right, many more Dream Eaters were approaching the school from the grounds, passing the Black Lake as they did.
'Having a hard time are you?' A voice called at the four from the growing crowd in front of them. Mulcaster stepped forward as he spoke, firing spells at the four who snarled angrily at his arrival.
'Why is it ye always turn up when yer not wanted?' Merida said through gritted teeth as she simultaneously blocked spells from two Dream Eaters and retaliated with a jinx to one and a paralysing curse to the other before turning back to Mulcaster to block another curse from him. She couldn't hit him though as her time was too taken up with defending against and stunning other opponents while all the curses she sent at Mulcaster were blocked by either himself or a subordinate Dream Eater.
'Too bad for you that reinforcements are coming to deal with your meagre defence,' Mulcaster continued undeterred until a Dream Eater appeared at his side.
'Sir, there's something happening at the Black Lake,' he reported quickly, pointing in the direction of the arriving reinforcements.
Every head turned to the direction of the Lake as a deep rumbling sound began to echo from it. The advancing Dream Eaters, who a moment ago had been shooting spells at Jack and Hiccup, turned to look behind them at the dark waters in confusion at the sound. The next moment the water of the lake foamed and erupted as a large ship reared out from it, spells firing from it as the Durmstrang students spotted the mass of Dream Eaters in front of them.
'Took them long enough,' Rapunzel cheered as she and the rest renewed their battle with greater energy.
The Dream Eaters began to return fire, milling around one another in panic at the arrival of the new enemy. They'd shot no more than a few spells each when several of them were thrown away as earth erupted from underneath them, revealing writhing thorns and branches that rose into the sky, unfurling leaves that were at cloud limit. Screeches began to cry from the tops of the boughs as the harpies flew out from every hidden crevice and fell upon the helpless Dream Eaters, now being attacked on two fronts. The tree itself seemed alive as its roots whipped and snapped at nearby Dream Eaters, preventing them from hitting any harpy that came near.
Whooping, Hiccup and Jack circled around, leaving the advancing Dream Eaters to the Durmstrang's and harpies, and re-joined the battle in the courtyard. With the tables turned on them the Dream Eaters were pushed back with their numbers being reduced every minute. Mulcaster's face grew steadily more terrified as more Dream Eaters around him were struck down by spells from in front, fire and ice from above, and various animals from everywhere else.
A roar echoed through the night and Merida recognised it immediately. 'Mordu,' she said to herself as the large form of the bear barrelled through wolves and acromantulas alike as they tried to swarm him, using his large claws to throw away anything that got in his way.
The bear spotted Merida and snarled in recognition while Mulcaster disapparated with the attention diverted away from him. The rest of the Dream Eaters backed away hurriedly as Mordu prowled into the courtyard and began to advance slowly towards Merida. A screaming from above signalled a diving Toothless about to shoot flames but the Dream Eaters began to fire spells into the air after him, forcing him and Hiccup to veer off and shoot the flames at the group of Dream Eaters instead.
'None are to interfere!' Mordu roared at the Dream Eaters who understood his command and began to attack Fred, Flynn and Rapunzel again, separating them from Merida who readied her wand for when the bear attacked.
Mordu didn't disappoint as he snarled and leapt forward, swinging his heavy paw down onto the stones that Merida had been standing on a moment before. She had rolled sideways and was back up again in a flash, firing several stunning spells in quick succession at the monster's side while he tried to regain his balance. Roaring in defiance Mordu turned and charged Merida who barely had the chance to throw herself to the side before Mordu was on her again, his large jaws snapping down at her as she scrambled to get away.
Deciding enough was enough Merida stopped and raised her wand as the bear's mouth opened one more time and began to descend. 'Reducto!' Merida cried, firing a blast of magic right into Mordu's gaping mouth, causing the bear to rear back and howl in pain.
Staggering to her feet Merida shot more spells at Mordu, hoping to trip him or blind him with a lucky shot but none were successful. Instead the bear, fury in his black eyes, began to advance at her, accelerating with every step until he reared above her and moved to bring both paws heavily down onto her head.
'GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!' Elinor cried with rage as she leaped through the blue flames baring the entrance to the castle, which would not hurt her anyway, and flicking her wand to summon a large silver rope that tied itself around Mordu's muzzle and dragged him away from Merida. Elinor shot several more spells at the bear that slapped his head from side to side and made his body shudder with the impacts.
Mordu shook himself angrily at the distraction and roared in fury, leaping towards his sister in quick bounds. He was only stopped then by Gavin who had leapt onto his back and bit deeply into the back of Mordu's neck, tugging the bear away as his pack began to snap at the bear's heels and an acromantula tried to sink its teeth into Mordu's side.
Mordu roared angrily, swiping the spider away with a single blow and falling on his back to crush Gavin who sprang away to return to his pack who all faced the bear with their hackles raised and teeth bared.
The others, meanwhile, were still fighting the rest of the Dream Eaters when they saw it. Far away on a cliff overlooking the school, huge wings were unfolding and black shapes were beginning to move. At the sight of it the Dream Eaters all disapparated, leaving Mordu alone for a moment before the bear huffed angrily and loped off towards the grounds. Like a flood the Nightmares flowed down towards the school, Pitch and Gothel each riding a steed while Terror and his dragons flew overhead and above the castle, hitting the stones with great blasts of fire that knocked stone from mortar.
Pitch and Gothel instead stepped demurely onto the grounds where several wizards apparated immediately, firing spells at the two as they saw a chance to finish off the Council present itself. The two easily deflected every spell with mere flicks of their wands and then retaliated. Black cut down half by slicing them apart with a scythe of black sand that appeared from nowhere at the swing of his wand. Gothel on the other hand pointed her wand at the rest who were caught in a deadly purple light that drained from them into her philosopher's stone. The men cried out at first but soon their voices became nothing but dry whispers as their skin dried and their bodies thinned, leaving nothing but skin and skeleton behind.
Jack and Hiccup attempted to dive at them but a snow globe portal opened in front of them and they dived straight through them into the Great Hall. The other four and Elinor all appeared too, falling through their own portal.
'What's happening?' Rapunzel asked Professor North in confusion.
'I am getting you out of trouble,' North told them as they all got themselves back on their feet. 'We saw the Council arriving when the rest of the Dream Eaters vanished and I made decision to get you away,' North explained hurriedly as the people within the Hall warily looked out of windows to see what was going on. A moment later the calm voice of Pitch spoke into their minds.
'You have all seen a portion of our power here tonight,' he said smoothly, 'you know our Council alone could destroy you all. However, we are not cruel rulers and we are willing to give you the chance to leave this place with your lives.
'If the group known as the Big Four come alone to each of our four members at dawn we will spare the rest of you. If even one does not, you will all die here.'
'And now all we need do is wait,' Pitch said cheerily as the Council apparated back to the area overlooking the castle they had stood on not long before. 'In a few hours we'll send a message into the four's heads and tell them where to find us and leave it to them'
'We must remember to keep each area visible to the school,' Gothel said thoughtfully, 'There'll be no point in breaking the Guardian's will if they can't get a good view.'
'And if the children don't come to us,' Mordu rumbled while Terror hissed greedily through his teeth, 'we'll burn them all to the ground.'
'You must wait here until mood has settled down,' North told the six as they walked quietly into his office, Fred and Flynn looking concernedly at the four who wouldn't look at one another. During the battle they hadn't noticed receiving any injuries but now they had a chance to pause they realised that they were all covered in soot or grime. Rapunzel was now walking with a pronounced limp and Jack's arm had a certain singed look to it while the rest had several cuts and bruises marked along their bodies and faces but none made a complaint.
The headmaster waved his wand and comfortable looking cushions appeared in the room and settled on the floor.
'This should keep you comfortable,' he stated, 'I must leave to prepare everyone for dawn. Spend some time resting and you will feel much better I promise.'
With that the Headmaster left the six alone with a sympathetic glance behind him. They sat down together on the cushy pillows the professor had summoned for them in absolute silence. Around the walls of the room the portraits of all the previous headmasters were empty; clearly they knew when to give people privacy.
'So what's this about then?' Fred asked when no one else seemed inclined to speak. 'You can't honestly think getting yourselves killed would stop us fighting, or that the Council would keep to their word.'
'It's not that simple Fred,' Merida began as the four kept their gazes away from one another.
'What's not simple? We're not letting any of you do this!' Flynn said angrily.
'There's something we haven't told you,' Rapunzel interrupted before the two could say anything more. 'In our fifth year the four of us were shown a prophecy by the Guardians. In that prophecy we were told that we could be the ones to defeat the Council.'
'Great,' Fred said stubbornly, 'so what's the problem?'
'The prophecy says that the four of us can achieve incredible power to defeat the Council, but at a price,' Hiccup continued. 'For our magic to grow one of us has to sacrifice their life for the sake of the others.'
'One must die so the others may live,' Jack quoted bitterly, 'and this looks like it's it. This is the moment where one of us can sacrifice their life so the others can become more powerful and stop the rest of Pitch's army. The one of us that goes will be killed and when Pitch's army comes for the rest of Hogwarts the surviving three will have the power to stop them.'
'You don't have to, we'll find another way,' Flynn began but was cut off by Merida.
'Everything else that was said in the prophecy came true and now it looks like we've arrived at the moment,' she said.
'Okay, then which of you is going to do it?' Fred asked in a defiant tone, looking hard at each of them.
'I will,' they replied together before looking between one another in confusion.
'I'm not letting you die for me,' Hiccup said to Jack, gripping his arm tightly as if to ensure Jack wasn't going anywhere.
'And I don't want you to die,' Jack returned stubbornly, 'how could I forgive myself?'
'We're not exactly going to stand idly by if you try it either,' Flynn said to Merida and Rapunzel while motioning to himself and Fred.
'Yeah, how's it fair on any of us if one of you die?' Fred said, both normal and magical eye entirely focused on Merida. 'It would still feel like losing.'
'Then what do we do?' Merida asked, realising the truth of what Fred had said, that none of them would let the others die.
'We keep on fighting without the help of the prophecy,' Jack said, nodding as the same realisation came to him. 'Prepare ourselves for the Council's armies at dawn.'
'Right now we need to rest,' Fred said, 'there's no point to any of this if we're not at our strongest tomorrow.'
'We can't all stay up here,' Merida pointed out, 'there's only room enough for two of us.'
'Flynn and I can go to the Hospital Wing,' Rapunzel suggested. 'I'll tend to anyone who needs it, and then I'll go to sleep,' she said to the look Flynn gave her, 'I'll still have plenty of rest.'
'I can stay with the animals,' Hiccup suggested, 'They could probably need me to stand with them anyway.'
'Will there be anyone to keep you protected?' Jack asked, rewriting the question in his head to 'Will anyone be there to keep an eye on you?'
'Don't worry; the animals won't let me leave their sight. They like me too much to let me get killed too soon,' Hiccup said, answering the real question he could see in Jack's eyes.
'I guess I could hang out with Professor North and the rest of the Guardians,' Jack suggested when everyone looked at him. 'You'll be able to go with me until I go in the Great Hall,' he reminded Hiccup who was asking himself the same question Jack had been.
'Then that leaves us in here,' Fred said to Merida, 'not a bad place to sleep, I've got to say.'
'So no more thinking about this stupid prophecy,' Flynn reminded them as he and Rapunzel began to get up to leave. 'We're such a great team we won't need it.'
After that the three couples headed their separate ways. Merida and Fred stayed in North's office and found a small bedroom in one of the side passages where they could sleep.
Rapunzel and Flynn travelled to the Hospital Wing where they met Professor Maximus who had been assisting Madam Pomfrey by bringing in the most wounded during the battle. Soon they were doing what they could for the steady flow of injured until the flow stopped and they had a chance to rest in the Hospital office where small beds had been set up.
Hiccup and Jack walked down the old stone network of stairs and corridors until they reached the point where they would split up, one going into the Great Hall and the other outside to the animals.
'I love you,' Hiccup said as they stood between the Great Hall and the entrance to the courtyard.
'I love you too,' Jack said simply as he pulled Hiccup in for a kiss that seemed to last far longer than it did. They stayed together even after breaking the kiss, their foreheads touching as they both thought to themselves how it felt like the final kiss.
As Hiccup went out to Toothless and the other waiting animals Jack went inside and was noticed how the sad and tired faces of everyone in the Hall, adults and students alike, watched him as he walked passed. He saw where North and the rest of the Guardians were standing or sitting and walked over to a spot near them. He could feel the stairs on his back as people watched him go, probably wondering whether he and the others were worth the risk.
'How did it go Jack?' North asked softly as Jack came close enough to talk.
'We've agreed what we always would,' Jack said, summoning up as much coolness as he could, 'that we're sticking together and ignoring anything the Council says.'
North patted his shoulder sympathetically and smiled. 'You're not as dumb as you look mate,' Bunnymund called over to him which made him smile.
'Whatever, we're all trying to get some rest now so I'd appreciate it if you didn't start playing your didgeridoo,' he joked as he stretched and found a corner to curl up in. For once Bunnymund didn't rise to the bait and Jack really felt the seriousness of the situation as he twirled his staff and summoned a sheet of snow to fall around him which became a blanket and soon he had closed his eyes and nodded off.
Merida waited a few hours after Fred had gone to sleep before quietly getting out from the covers of the bed and slipping out of the room without a sound. She padded through the dimly lit office and was about to sneak through the exit when she spotted the dark figure of the Sorting Hat sitting on a high shelf.
Pausing for a moment she reached up and took it from its perch and placed it on her head. 'You've been around for a long time,' she thought to the hat, 'so if you know any way to help us, please tell me.'
The hat gave no reply but instead Merida felt a heavy object hit her on the head, making stars appear in front of her eyes. Lifting the hat off, she reached into it and pulled out a long sword by the silver, ruby-embossed hilt. She looked at it, puzzled, until she saw the writing Godric Gryffindor etched into the side of the blade and understood.
'A good weapon to die with,' she said to herself as she descended the stairs that led out of the office.
Rapunzel had also waited until Flynn's breathing had grown as deep as it ever would before departing. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Maximus had fallen asleep in separate made up beds and Rapunzel guessed they wouldn't be woken for some time. What she hadn't anticipated was that Pascal had stayed awake too to keep an eye on her.
'Ah! Pascal what have I told you about sticking your tongue in my ear to wake me up,' Flynn hissed angrily, making Rapunzel start. At Pascal's urgent squeaking Flynn turned hurriedly and saw Rapunzel frozen in the doorway. Rapunzel felt a moment's dizziness and staggered to lean on the door for a moment before turning back to Flynn and Pascal.
'What did you…?' Flynn asked in confusion as he stood up from the bed but was stopped a moment later as Rapunzel shot a patrificus totalus spell at him, causing him and Pascal to collapse immobilized on the bed.
'I'm sorry you guys,' Rapunzel whispered as she limped out of the Wing, 'I love you both.'
Hiccup had never really slept but instead spent much of the night debating with the animals of the Forbidden Forest. He knew they would not want him to go but also knew he could convince them to let him. What had been the problem was that they wished to join him which Hiccup had fought strongly against. He didn't want any of them, least of all Toothless, to die with him. But no matter how fervently he argued, the animals and Toothless argued back. Toothless would not leave his side and the other all spoke their decisions.
'I'm not letting you die alone Hiccup,' Farris had said. 'The centaurs all owe you a bond of friendship. If you are to die, my men and I will stand with you until the end.'
'My people are in agreement Hiccup' Aggregor clicked, 'we may not be willing to die with you but we will watch over you.'
Gavin, Sting, Sickle and the rest of the none-speaking animals simply watched him with glowing eyes that spoke volumes in the night.
Toothless just looked at him with the sort of sarcastic humour he had when they had first become friends. The dragon waved his artificial tail fin at Hiccup as if presenting evidence A of why he would die with him, because they were only complete together.
'Okay bud,' Hiccup said to Toothless as he got into his saddle, 'I understand. Let's go and save them all.'
Jack hadn't had much sleep either. He had never actually sat down on the floor but instead, at the moment he had created that snow blanket, he had created a copy of himself from crushed snow and ice. He'd practiced the spell for some time to get it right, never thinking he'd use it like this.
Jack headed to where Pitch was waiting for him in the knowledge that no one would have realised he was gone until it was too late to stop him. He couldn't help but smile to himself at the thought, no wonder he was called the Winter Trickster.
As the four made their way to their waiting enemies, Flynn, with Pascal on his shoulder, burst into the Headmaster's office, waking Fred in the next room with a start.
'What's happening?' Fred asked in alarm as he sprang out of bed, expecting an attack. 'Where's Merida?'
'Rapunzel's gone too but that's not all,' Flynn said as Pascal squeaked and jumped erratically at his shoulder.
'The prophecy,' Flynn continued at a shocked Fred as they ran out and down the corridor, hoping they might get to the four before it was too late, 'The damn prophecy was incomplete!'
It was too late for the two, however, as the four had made it to their destinations.
'Ah Jack,' Pitch said as he and a large wave of Nightmares arrived at the top of the Astronomy tower while Jack flew onto its roof to meet him, 'how nice to see you.'
People began to swarm beneath them, pointing into the air as they spotted the two figures in front of the dark horde of Nightmares.
Before Jack could make a reply Pitch raised his wand at the boy's heart and spoke the two deadly words.
Hiccup and Toothless flew above the small group of animals who remained at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and watched as Terror rose from the shattered remains of the quidditch pitch to meet them. The people inside the castle who looked out of windows to see the tiny speck that the two were compared with the massive bulk of Terror could only gasp as they saw Terror's large mouth open and breathe dark flames that would consume the boy and his dragon.
'Rapunzel, I'm glad to see your punctuality has improved,' Gothel laughed as Rapunzel slowly walked with a straight back towards the Herbology greenhouses, trying to hide her limp as best she could. The plants inside all looked wilted and decayed, clearly Gothel had been having an appetizer. People began to pour out from the large doorway that led to the greenhouses, shouting something that Rapunzel couldn't hear.
Rapunzel wondered what it felt like as the Philosophers stone at Gothel's neck began to glow its deadly purple.
'Have you come to face your destiny false queen?' Mordu asked mockingly as he and Merida stood on a patch of the grounds that was clearly visible to the people in the Great Hall. 'I wouldn't want my ascension to go unwitnessed,' the bear added smugly as people began to appear at the windows of the Hall, watching them in horror.
'Let's just finish this,' Merida said, planting the sword in the ground in front of her and holding the hilt with both hands. Ready for the final blow that Mordu reared up on his powerful legs to deliver, swinging his huge claws in a wide arc that met her body at the side.
To the horror of the various onlookers who spotted the four in their different parts of the school grounds, the sun began to rise in an orange and red glow.
As the light of the new day touched the school, all four killing blows met their targets.
The End.
Ha, just kidding :P
Keep an eye out for the final chapter in the series which I hope to upload within a couple of days.
Until then, thanks for your reviews and I'll see you all on the other side :)
