Chapter XXIX: The Growling
Halloween was now approaching, and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dmitri Northland, had decided to get into the spirit a bit and teach the class about werewolves, and to go along with the terrifying stories, Northland also assigned the students to write a paper about the differences of Animagi and the werewolves including ways to defend themselves, and while most kids have already thought up of starts, but there were some who weren't too certain how to continue the paper.
"Hiccup, you can help us out with this, right?" Jack asked.
"Yeah as long as it is about the Animagi section. Maleficent has taught me quite a bit about that area of magic, however, I know just as much about werewolves as you guys do." Hiccup replied.
"Well, when you see Maleficent again, perhaps she can help us out." Rapunzel stated.
I hope so." Hiccup replied.
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When Hiccup and Ariel entered the room for Advanced Transfiguration, they found two strange potion bottles on Maleficent's desk. As much as they wanted to investigate the potions, they decided to behave and take their seats. Hiccup knew full well the hazards that potions pose, especially after what happened to Jack.
Maleficent entered the room and was a bit surprised to discover that the potions remained untouched and that Hiccup and Ariel were just sitting politely, awaiting her arrival.
"I'm impressed to see that you two haven't messed with those bottles, they're actually for you two as a little Halloween present." She stated. She took the bottles and set the appropriate ones in front of her pupils. Hiccup picked his up and examined it for a moment, but before he could ask anything, Maleficent told them: "I can tell you what they do after the lesson for today, for now, I want to teach you a spell that we use to turn animals into goblets." With that she brought out a pair of chameleons for them to work with, and for a rather simple spell, the both of them were actually having a hard time getting it right. The spells, for the most part were cast properly, but they still couldn't get the chameleons to fully turn. Hiccup once got the shape right, but it was covered in the chameleon's scaly skin, and the sight of that made Ariel gag.
"I believe that the two of you are holding something back. If you cast the spell right, you do not hurt the animal, in fact it is actually more painful for them to not be fully turned. I hope that it doesn't discourage you from continuing your practice; I'm just trying to tell you that you can't feel remorse for the animal and you need to cast the spell with affirmation. No harm will come to them with that." Maleficent told them. So, Ariel tried it again, and this time she succeeded.
"You see that? That's how it is done." Maleficent told her.
Once Hiccup finally got it down, and it took him a while longer because he now had a soft spot for all reptiles, Maleficent finally took the chameleons away and told them about their potions:
"Ariel, yours can cause your voice to be hypnotic when you sing, so use it wisely."
She sent Ariel off right after that, and then turned to Hiccup to tell him: "I heard about the assignment Professor Northland assigned you. This potion, when taken, will turn you into your Night Fury self on the nights of a full moon for one lunar cycle, the same way a werewolf would change. However, be warned, after you change from drinking this, all that will be left of you for the night is the dragon. You'll lose the Viking entirely, and you know well that the Night Fury can be one of the most dangerous of dragons."
"Thank you, Professor, this may be of help for the assignment." Hiccup replied, and then he returned to his dorm.
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"So, Hiccup, was Maleficent of any help?" Rapunzel asked with optimism. Hiccup looked between his four friends and then pulled out the potion bottle.
"What is that?" Elsa asked.
"It's something that will turn me into my Night Fury form for one lunar cycle, just like a werewolf." Hiccup replied.
" All right, that can help us out with the paper!" Rapunzel cheered.
"It should be fun." Jack replied with a hint of sarcasm.
Elsa looked into Hiccup's eyes and then asked him: "What's the catch?"
"The catch is that after I take the form, I won't be the way I would be when I assume the form like I normally do. Like a werewolf, there won't be any of myself left inside, I will be just as draconic on the inside as I will be on the outside." He told them. There was a pause between them until Merida asked: "Are ye still going to take it?"
"I was planning on it, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted it. I just need to ask you guys this: do you think that you will have the heart to defend yourselves against me in case I attack you?" Hiccup asked.
"I'll be able to trap you in my ice in case you get out of hand." Elsa replied.
"I can stir up a blizzard to cover our tracks if we have to." Jack stated.
"Merida and I will take the notes then." Rapunzel added, Merida cast her a glare for a second, but then decided that fair was fair, and she doubted that she'd need her telekinetic powers for that night.
"Alright then, if that is the case, down the hatch." Hiccup told them. He uncorked the bottle and swallowed the contents, it was a potion that tasted like cotton-candy-wrapped pickled salmon, so it earned a face of disgust from Hiccup.
"We should note that the next full moon is on Halloween." Rapunzel stated. Hiccup nodded to her assuring that he made a mental note.
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On the eve of Halloween, as the sun was just about set, Hiccup ran out to the forest wearing his most raggedy clothes, while his friends were following him at a distance. The plan was for him to walk as far into the forest as he could before the moon rose and he would be forced to change. As he sped-walked through the forest, Hiccup maintained a calm face, but on the inside, his heart was racing with the thought of many different stresses. Not only was he at risk for hurting his friends, Toothless also lived in this forest and was pretty protective of those he cared about; and like any animal, he would also fight for survival if he had to.
Waking deeper into the forest, Hiccup could faintly hear the footsteps of his friends. Both Jack and Merida carried brooms as a way for fleeing the scene in case it got too dangerous for them, and for following Hiccup at a distance in case he decided to start moving.
Well, it had finally grown dark and the moon began to rise. Hiccup took one look and suddenly froze and collapsed. That was the cue for the others to hide in within the branches of the trees. Rapunzel and Merida hopped on one broom while Elsa and Jack hopped on the other.
It was hard for them to just sit and watch as their friend was on the forest floor, convulsing painfully with the change and at times letting out a scream.
Hiccup watched as his nails grew into claws and scales formed all over her skin. At the same time he felt his wings and tail growing painfully from his back, releasing his screams; but once his eyes turned he began losing awareness of who he was and the dragon within him began to take over his mind as well as his body throughout the rest of the change. His moans turned into growls, his clothes were shreds now, and once his body became that of a full-sized Night Fury, he finally lost every bit of human left in him. He rolled onto his feet and just stood for a moment to pant and catch his breath.
Once Hiccup's panting turned into normal breathing, he looked to the sky and roared to the moon.
Rapunzel, who'd been scribbling away in her notebook about Hiccup's metamorphosis, suddenly dropped the pencil she was writing with when Hiccup roared, and he heard the clatter it made when it struck a rock. Looking up, Hiccup's eyes narrowed and his pupils were slits as he snarled aggressively as he locked eyes with the humans in the trees.
To their luck, another roar responded to Hiccup's and caught his attention. Hiccup grew curious and roared again in the direction he heard the other. It took a couple moments, but another roar returned.
"It's Toothless!" Merida realized. Rapunzel was too busy writing everything that was going on to really register what was going on, but she did take notice when Merida grabbed her broom and heard the beating of Hiccup's wings.
The group followed Hiccup to the Black Lake where he found Toothless. Hiccup landed about fifty feet away from Toothless and slowly approached the other dragon in case there was any threat coming from Toothless, but if anything, Toothless was looking both scared and relieved, and it was no wonder. About the shore of the lake were stains from something darker and thicker than water, and the moonlight was shining oddly on Toothless. No matter what had happened, Toothless was now severely scratched up and wounded terribly.
"TOOTHLESS!" Rapunzel exclaimed with fright once she realized what had happened to him. Her friends all clapped hands over her mouth, but it was no use, Hiccup caught sight of them and roared ferociously as he began prowling over to them with his wings ready to take flight.
"You fool, that's not Hiccup in that dragon!" Merida hissed as they flew off on their brooms. Hiccup was about to begin pursuit, but Toothless gave a roar mixed with a moan of pain, which kept Hiccup from pursuing after his friends. Hiccup approached Toothless and gave him a sniff around the wounds, wondering what had done this damage to a Night Fury. Whatever it was, Hiccup did figure out the scent and it made him growl through his teeth.
"Something is very wrong here." Elsa stated, bracing herself to use her powers.
Hiccup began sniffing around while still growling under his breath.
Ten minutes have passed with Hiccup doing this, but it eventually came. A large beast with two heads and two tails flew over the trees, over the lake, and landed before Hiccup with two snarling mouths and its wings raised.
"What the bloody heck is that?" Merida asked.
"The only person who can tell us that is a little busy being a dragon right now." Rapunzel replied.
"Well whatever it is, it's hideous." Elsa declared.
Indeed the beast was rather frightful, with rather putrid yellow scales with reddish markings. The teeth on the lower jaws all protruded from its mouth, and there was a rather foul glare in all four eyes; and from the way Hiccup roared at it, this monster was the thing that had hurt Toothless! The beast made the mistake of taking another step closer to Hiccup, and he gave a head a solid blast that not only gave the struck head a bloody nose, but it also blinded the beast temporarily so Hiccup could strike. His friends turned away from the spectacle, only turning around when the noises stopped a few minutes later. To their fright, they found Hiccup atop the beast with its throats ripped out of its neck.
Hiccup, like man other Vikings, had killed a dragon.
However, now that he was sure that the beast was dead, he approached Toothless to check up on him.
"It appears that Hiccup will kill a dragon if it meant saving the life of Toothless or his friends." Elsa stated.
"Well at least I got plenty of notes. Should we go back to the castle?" Rapunzel asked.
"I think you girls should go, but I'd like to stay here to make sure that Hiccup stays safe from himself. You ladies can get some sleep or at least lay in your beds and stare at the ceiling." Jack replied.
"Alright, but will you at least stay long enough for me to swipe a set of clothes for Hiccup?" Elsa asked.
"Yeah, I would like that about as much as he would." Jack told her.
They flew over to the castle, where Elsa snuck into the boys' dormitory and swiped a tunic, trousers, and boots for Hiccup and handed them to Jack hovering outside on his broomstick. He accepted the clothes and turned away as Elsa returned to her dormitory, where she and Rapunzel spent a sleepless night in their beds. As for Merida, she bore witness to her father fighting Mor'du and managed to get some rest for the night.
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Back in the forest, Jack spent the remainder of the night observing Hiccup in case there was anything else for him to add to Rapunzel's notes, but ever since the attack of the two-headed dragon, he remained fairly calm; although, every time he caught sight of Jack, Hiccup gave him a warning snarl to not come any closer.
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As the night was coming to an end, Hiccup left Toothless and found a spot in the forest to take a nap in. Jack flew down on his crooked broom and covered up Hiccup's hiding place with his cape and set the clothes on the ground.
When the sun began to rise, Jack heard a few groans coming from behind the cape along with the sound of rustling foliage. Soon, a hand reached through the cape and dragged the clothes inside. A few moments later, Hiccup emerged with a hand rubbing his head, and he found Jack crouched on a boulder.
"So, how did last night go?" Hiccup asked with a tremble of worry in his voice.
"You had a couple of scary moments, but you didn't cause any harm to us." Jack replied.
"Are you implying that I harmed something?"
"Take a look at the shore of the Black Lake." Jack told Hiccup. With worry in his eyes Hiccup went over to the Black Lake where he found a wounded Toothless and a dead two-headed dragon.
"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup exclaimed, running over to the Night Fury to look over his wounds. Jack could hear Hiccup apologizing to Toothless over and over for a moment, until Jack told him: "The only thing you did to Toothless last night is protect him from this two-headed beast. You killed it, because you figured out that it hurt Toothless."
Hiccup looked over to the dead dragon with shock in his eyes, and asked: "What is a Hideous Zippleback doing here? It's a long way from home for sure."
"I can't answer that, but come on, let's get back to the castle, and we can have Rapunzel cast her healing charms on our Night Fury friend now that you're back to your old self and aren't standing guard over him." Jack replied.
"Wow, I really did lose myself last night." Hiccup stated. Jack nodded his head and took him back to Hogwarts while telling him about the notes that they took last night from their observations. He also asked Hiccup what he remembered from last Night.
"I don't remember much, but I do know that the transformation was far more painful than usual for me. Most of the time, when I take the form, I don't even feel it." Hiccup replied.
"Well at least you won't have to go through it again after this lunar cycle. It's good to have you back my friend."
"It's good to be back." Hiccup replied.
Now even after Rapunzel went to heal Toothless, Hiccup still couldn't help but wonder what in the name of Odin brought the Zippleback to this forest, and why it had attacked Toothless.
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Did I forget to mention that I'm crazy?
I'll see you again at Christmastime, but until then, please review and share your thoughts.
