Hey everyone! Here's another chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.


Chapter Twenty Eight: Case… Almost Solved

"I am so ready for this!" Xavier said, throwing his hands up and smiling widely. Hiccup looked at him like he was crazy, and he shared a look with Lauren before she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down." She said earnestly. "It's only practice."

"When are you going to start practices?" Hiccup asked, taking a sip of his orange juice. "I mean, you got on the team, right? You must have!"

"Well, yeah I got on the team, but we have practices in the morning, so no one really knows about it." Lauren said, shrugging. Xavier and Hiccup stared at her. "What?"

"Is that why you're always up super early? Because you guys have practice?" Xavier asked.

"Well, yeah, somewhat." Lauren said.

"Why?!" Hiccup asked. "I mean, why in the world would someone want to get up that early?"

"Well, there were no other spots open!" Lauren said. "Plus, we get to practice every day, and not only a couple days a week like you lazy butts."

"And you still manage to keep up with your homework and insult us…" Xavier said, smirking.

"Oh, it's not like I was trying to insult you!" Lauren said, grabbing his arm. "Okay, maybe I was. But that's not the point!"

Hiccup laughed at their antics, and glanced at the doors just in time to see Jack and Sammy walk in hand-in-hand. He just looked away and focused a little bit more on his breakfast. Toothless circled his ankles before hopping up on the bench and nuzzling Hiccup's elbow. He almost asked what he was doing, before Toothless gave an almost sorry-sounding meow and hopped off, waltzing off towards Jack. Hiccup just pretended not to notice.

He was just a little flustered about what happened the night before. Everything with Jack was like a rollercoaster now, and he hated it. There were times like now where he totally ignored him, and then there were times like yesterday where it was like nothing changed at all (except they did, because now there were a lot more slip-ups and physical contact than not, and Hiccup thought that wasn't really all that normal, so it confused the hell out of him even more). It was weird, and he couldn't really grasp all of it at once. There was no way they were just friends anymore, right? Sure, they were still friends, but it felt… like more than that. Hiccup always knew that he liked him better than just a friend, but now it actually felt like there was something more… but maybe it was all his imagination.

Hiccup internally groaned. This was doing nothing. These little thinking sessions get him nowhere except around and around the point a million times and it drove him insane! 'Maybe I should just… listen to Lauren, and Xavier, and Liliana and just tell him already…' Hiccup thought. 'Great, now I'm a hypocrite…' He thought-muttered to himself. But it would be worth it, if he said something, right? Hiccup had to believe that that statement was right.

"Hiccup? Hiccup!" Xavier said, snapping his fingers in his face. Hiccup blinked rapidly, getting himself out of his little thinking phase, and looked at the two of them. Xavier looked slightly upset, and Lauren just looked worried.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"We've only been trying to get your attention for the past couple minutes, here." Xavier said, giving Hiccup a look that clearly said 'da faq.'

"It hasn't been minutes." Hiccup said, blinking slowly and looking at Xavier.

"Actually, he's not kidding." Lauren said. "We must have been calling you for at least two minutes. It was weird."

"Oh…"

"So, what were you thinking about?" Xavier said, leaning forward and resting his chin in his hands. "Tell us. We are dying to know." Hiccup only rolled his eyes, giving Xavier a face as he continued eating his previously forgotten food. "Come on now! You can't be that lost in thought for that long and then pass it off as nothing!" Xavier whined.

"I think I can." Hiccup said through a mouthful. Xavier was about to say something, when he was promptly cut off as someone plopped down next to Hiccup.

"Well, good morning everyone." Liliana said, grinning at the three as she grabbed a piece of toast. "So, what are we talking about?" Her eyes were alight with curiosity as she looked at each of them, a hopeful smile.

"They were pestering me about being lost in thought." Hiccup said.

"Ooh~ details!" She said, munching on the piece of burnt bread as she nudged his arm.

"He won't spill." Lauren said, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I guess I can make some assumptions about what he was thinking about." She smiled, and Hiccup swallowed whatever was in his mouth harshly.

"Can't we all just assume that he's thinking about Jack and call it a day?" Liliana said. Hiccup coughed, Lauren blinked and Xavier's hair turned black. "What?" She asked, before looking at Hiccup. "Oh, these are the two friends you were talking about, right? The ones that shoved you in a-"

"Yes. They are." Hiccup said.

"Oh good. I assumed right then. Wow. That would have been a disaster if they were two random people, huh?"

"You know?" Xavier asked, raising his eyebrows and glancing at Hiccup.

"Well, it's pretty obvious when you know what you're looking for." Liliana said. "But that's not my point. Yeah, I know."

"Oh, alright then!" Lauren said. "That opens new doors." The bell rang.

"And I'm slamming those doors." Hiccup said, still a little bit uncertain with his resolve from his thinking session earlier. "We need to get to class. C'mon, Mr. Color Wheel." Hiccup said, standing up and getting his backpack on his shoulder.

"What the hell did that come from? Mr. Color Wheel?" Xavier asked. "Bye Lauren, see you later." He said, his voice a lot softer as he kissed her cheek. "But seriously, where would that come from?" He asked, regulating his hair and bringing it back to look its original blonde.

"You know where, and I like it. You're Mr. Color Wheel from now on." Hiccup said with a grin as they both walked out of the Great Hall.

"You better not be calling me that all the time…" Xavier said.

"I will." Hiccup replied.


"Lauren!" Liliana said, running towards the girl and smiling. "Hey." She said, finally catching up. "Where you heading?"

"Uh, to lunch, like everyone else?" Lauren said, laughing a little. "Why where were you heading?"

"Same place." Liliana said with a smile. "Hey, how's your brother doing?"

"Ha. Which one?" Lauren said with a sarcastic laugh. Liliana gave her a look. "I got five brothers now." She explained.

"Damn. Your parents got busy~" Liliana said, laughing. "Oh, but no, I was just kidding. I was actually going to ask you about Hiccup."

"You know he likes Jack." Lauren said almost immediately pointing a finger in her face.

"I know, I know, not like that. Eww. Well, not eww, but you get what I'm saying." Liliana said, rambling a bit.

"Yeah yeah, he likes-"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? JUMP THROUGH A HOOP?!"

"Jack…?" Lauren said, finishing her sentence on a totally different note. "What the-?"

"Shh." Liliana said, smacking a hand to the other girl's mouth as she slowly moved so that their backs were against the wall and they were inching towards the slightly cracked-open classroom door.

"No! I don't want you to just through a hoop! I want you to stop being around him!"

"I share a room with him!"

"Then I'll go to the Headmaster."

"And tell him what? That you're forcing me to go out with you so that I can like you and not my long-time crush?! Ha! That'll be one for the books!"

"I'll tell him you guys have been fighting all week and I'm worried for your safety! And when he believes me, you'll be moved out of there faster than you could utter a word!"

"…You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"Jack, listen to me. You're making a mistake, going with Hiccup. He's not going to like you back. He's not going to believe in you like I do. He's not going to love you the way I do…"

"No, he won't, Sammy. And sure, maybe he won't like me back, but you know what? Rejection and possibly losing one of the best friends I have is better than being with you!"

There were loud footsteps that were heavy with rage, and they only got louder as they approached the door. Lauren was tugging at Liliana's sleeve urgently, because if they get caught there, Jack was either going to kill them… or Sammy will. Liliana waited though, and only took a couple steps back.

"Don't. Don't do it. Jack, I know you. And I know you stay with me out of spite, but you also care a whole lot about the people around you and what they think of you. You want to be seen, Jack… and I see you. Other people see you, too, but the moment I tell them you like Hiccup, they'll see you in a light that's worse than ever before. Don't ruin yourself that way."

A cat hissed, the sound loud and clear to the girls in the hallway, and Sammy squealed a bit and jumped a step back, judging by the sound of heeled shoes hitting marble. Lauren gave one final tug on Liliana's sleeve, before they both turned around and ran away, eyes wide, hearts racing and lunch forgotten. They ran as far as they could until they couldn't breathe properly. Then they skidded around the corner and stopped in a deserted hallway. (Let's admit it, they were lost, but at least they got away, plus, they didn't really care about that because…)

"Did… did I hear that right?!" Liliana asked, clutching her ribs.

"I knew something was up!" Lauren said breathlessly as she ran a hand through her hair and pushed it out of her face. "I knew it!"

"So what just happened?" Liliana said.

"Sammy… Sammy, she… THAT LITTLE BITCH!" Lauren yelled with all she had Liliana just put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down, but Lauren pushed it away. "She's blackmailing him into dating her! That's so unfair!"

"Well… this is right on the mark." Liliana said under her breath.

"What?" Lauren asked. "Did you suspect or something?"

"No, but this is sort of around the thing I wanted to talk to you about." Liliana said. "My plan was to get Jack and Sammy broken up, and I was going to ask you for help because if you got those two in a closet then you can do anything but…" she said smiling. "Half the work is done for us already."

"Right!" Lauren said. "I mean, Jack's all for leaving her… dang. How are we going to get her to break up with him?"

"That's not the question we need to be asking." Liliana said. "How are we going to keep her away from him?"

"I think you already know the answer to that just as much as I do." Lauren said, smirking. Liliana laughed a little. "C'mon, the guys'll probably be worried if we don't show up for lunch." She said. Then the two of them walked off and headed to the Great Hall. (It took a little longer than necessary, since they were indeed lost, but they found themselves on the right track in no time).

"Hey, there you girls are." Xavier said, smiling as they walked in and took their seats. "For a second I thought you weren't going to make it." He gave Lauren a one-armed hug when she sat down.

"No…" Lauren said, smiling a little.

"So." Liliana said, beaming at Hiccup. "What were you thinking about at breakfast? I'm absolutely dying to know." Hiccup rolled his eyes at her.

"It was nothing." Hiccup mumbled. He was rewarded with groans and protests. "Fine! I was… I was thinking about listening to all of you and telling Jack that I like him." He said, barely pausing in between the words as he spoke. Liliana and Lauren gave each other an uneasy look.

"You know, timing is everything…"

"You might just want to wait on that for a bit…"

"Valentine's Day is almost here, you know!"

"What?" Hiccup asked. "Hold on. You're telling me that I shouldn't tell him? After all this time the three of you pestered me about telling?"

"Hey, I'm all for it." Xavier said, raising his hands in the air like he was innocent. "I don't know what they're going on about but…"

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't tell him, Hiccup." Lauren said, smiling warmly, and a little nervously. 'If he tells him now, this whole thing would be ruined! Sammy'll probably isolate Jack even more and- no, we don't want that…' "I'm just saying that there's a time and I place for everything, you know?" She said, raising her shoulders up to her ears.

"No, I don't know." Hiccup said. "I really don't see what you're getting at."

"The time will come, Hiccup!" Liliana blurted out. "You'll just… you'll know when you should tell him. It shouldn't be forced. I'm sorry we all told you that." Hiccup raised an eyebrow, and Xavier just looked at the two girls like they were crazy.

"What are you guys talking about?! This is exactly what we wanted!" He said.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"I'll explain it to you later!" Lauren said, grabbing Xavier's shoulder.

"Am I missing something?" Hiccup asked.

"Nope." All three of them said, and Hiccup just raised an eyebrow.

"Okay then. You're lying. But I'll let it slide because apparently everyone's just gone crazy today…" Hiccup said.


Quidditch practice started right on time, with Alex gathering the team up on the field and doing stretches before anything else. Well, almost the whole team. Hiccup still wasn't back from detention, and it was making Jack anxious. Alex looked like he was in-it-to-win-it this year, like he wasn't taking any shit from anyone anymore. Jack didn't know how well his and Xavier's stalling would work out.

"Man, what's taking Hiccup so long?" Jack whispered to Xavier, looking around anywhere and everywhere, trying to spot the auburn-haired boy from across the field or running in from the stands or the locker room or something.

"Hey, it is Pitch we're talking about but…" He said quietly, completely joking around until he noticed the worry in Jack's eyes. "He'll be here." Xavier whispered

"Alright!" Alex said, clapping his hands and looking at all of them. "Time to get in the air! We've got two, four, six! Six? Six?! Who's missing?"

"Uh, Hiccup." Jack said. "He has detention, and he's running a little late. He should be here any minute now."

"Great. First day and our new Chaser is late. Great." Alex said, rubbing his temples.

"Alex, can I talk to you for a second?" Liliana said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him aside. Before she started talking to him, though, she threw a wink at Jack and Xavier, telling them that she would take care of most of the stalling. Jack let out a sigh of relief.

"What's up with you today?" Xavier asked, raising an eyebrow at the white-haired boy. "You're… making grass-icles even with shoes on." He said, looking down at Jack's feet. The grass was covered in ice, and Jack moved to another spot in on the field.

"I'm fine. I promise." Jack said.

In reality, he really wasn't fine. He was messed up in the head with what happened at lunch. He didn't believe Sammy, he couldn't, wouldn't, but somehow her words wormed themselves into his brain and refused to leave. She was lying, and he knew that. He knew that there would be some people at Hogwarts that wouldn't hate him if he came out as gay, and he knew that North wouldn't buy some bullshit story about him and Hiccup fighting and move him out because of it. But… he didn't know whether what she said about Hiccup was true or not, if he would like him back, or believe in him…

"Sure." Xavier answered, rolling his eyes the second Jack looked away, because c'mon, really? He couldn't really expect him to believe that he was fine when he was apparently unintentionally using his weirdly acquired ice-powers. Either something was really bugging him or he was worried, or distracted. Xavier needed to know or he was probably just going to explode.

"So… what do you think ol' Alex is going to be having us do this year?" Jack asked in a weak attempt to change the subject. Xavier almost groaned.

"Probably the same things as last year, Frost." Xavier replied. "I mean, we were on top form last year, so it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong…" Everyone had to admit, last year's Gryffindor team should have one the House Cup. If it wasn't for the pesky Slytherrin team, they would have won it, too.

"He's probably going to be a lot stricter, though." Jack said, smiling. "I'm okay with that." He added. Xavier chuckled a bit. "Wonder how Hiccup'll handle it." Jack said, and by the sound of his voice you could guess he was thinking aloud or really did mean to say it. Xavier just laughed louder.

"He's not one to crack under pressure." Xavier said. "And dude! Are you always thinking about him or something?!" He asked, shoving Jack's shoulder. Jack stumbled a handful of little steps away, not really prepared for the mini assault. But after he just shot Xavier a glare.

"Yell it to the heavens, why don't you?" Jack muttered. "Seriously, it's like I need everyone knowing my secret." The sarcasm leaked out of his voice. He was serious, he didn't need another person threatening his secret… even if Xavier had good intentions (he still hasn't forgiven him completely for the closet thing, and he probably never will… Xavier was strangely okay with this fate).

"Well, not everyone needs to know. Just Hiccup." Xavier remarked. That made Jack reddened, either with anger or embarrassment, no one really knew.

"What good would that do?" Jack asked. "I mean, it's not like he'll like me back. And we only have what? Two more years at Hogwarts? It's not like we're-"

"Do not spout the 'we're never going to see each other again' bullshit." Xavier said, more like growled, when he saw where this was going. "Because you know we will. The three of us will probably get out of Hogwarts and buy a house all to ourselves and grow old together, so don't say that." It was a scary possibility, and it made Jack chuckle a bit, because they would do that.

"Yeah, but that's not my point." Jack tried to argue.

"I think it was." Xavier countered.

"Sorry I'm late!" Someone yelled, running up to them. Jack smiled when he realized that it was Hiccup, and Xavier rolled his eyes at the love-struck idiot. Hiccup stopped in front of all of them, and doubled over, putting his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath. Alex ignored whatever Liliana was prattling on about and walked over to him.

"How much longer do you have detention?" Alex asked, surprisingly calm considering the fact that they lost about ten minutes of practice.

"Friday's my last day." Hiccup replied a little breathlessly.

"Good enough. Try to get here as soon as you can." Alex said shortly. Hiccup nodded. "Okay, everyone, let's get going. " He said. "In the air!"

Practice was grueling, and Alex was yelling the whole time. "This has to be perfect! Act like a dragon's breathing fire on your ass! Move it!" Whenever he said something like that, our three dorks would turn around and look at each other with a smirk on their faces. But other than that, it was pretty fun. Hiccup freaked everyone out by pulling risky moves and dives, but Alex liked his enthusiasm.

Practice ended right before dinner, so all of them changed in the locker room and hiked their way up to the Great Hall. Lauren was waiting outside the locker room along with Cee and Jay.

"Hey guys." Hiccup said, a little shocked to see them as they walked out of the locker room. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Xavier and Jack were right behind him, and they blinked a little in surprise.

"We wanted to go to dinner together!" Cee said, smiling widely.

"Yeah, they dragged me into it." Jay said, shrugging.

"Aw, come on, you know half of this was your idea." Lauren said, ruffling his hair. He didn't bat her off, but he did give her a semi-glare when she pulled her hand away. "Anyways, how was practice?" She asked, hooking arms with Xavier.

"It was… pretty fun, actually." Jack said, smiling a little. "I mean, besides the fact that that Alex barked orders all day." Hiccup and Xavier laughed, and Cee and Jay smirked. Lauren was about to say something, when she was completely cut off.

"Mind if I join you?" Liliana said, jumping in between Hiccup and Jack, a hand on each of their shoulders. "Whoops, too late." She said, slipping in between then. "Hi everyone." She added, smiling at everyone.

"Hi!" Cee said, waving. Jack reached over and slowly pushed her hand back down to her side, his eyes wide in a 'no, please stop it' type look.

"Alex sort of had a reason to act like a military sergeant." Hiccup said. "We were good, but there's lots of room for improvement."

"Oh, yeah, totally." Liliana said. "I mean, you guys are good, but you need to work together, and the Beaters need to get their act together. Seriously, one of the Bludgers nearly took me out today!" Jack chuckled a bit.

"Shush!" Xavier said suddenly. "You guys do know that we have someone from one of the enemy teams here, right?!" He said, but his eyes widened and he immediately turned to Lauren. "Not to say you're the enemy or something, but you know…" He trailed off.

"I know what you mean." Lauren said, rolling her eyes. Xavier let out a sigh. "But I'll remember that on the pitch when he have a game." She warned. His shoulders slumped.

"Great going, X." Jack said.

"Shut up!" Xavier yelled.

"Can we really not do this?" Hiccup pleaded. "Seriously, all I want to do is eat." He said. They all looked at each other, before shrugging and continuing on their way to the Great Hall.

When they finally got there, there wasn't much talking going on. Everyone was too busy stuffing their faces to make polite (or even not polite) conversation. It was okay, though, because it wasn't like there was this gaping, awkward silence that enveloped them, because the Great Hall was filled with chattering people.

"Well, I got homework to do and I need a shower." Hiccup said, tapping the table lightly before standing up. Jack stood up with him.

"I'll go with. I need to talk to Toothless anyways." He said.

"Suit yourself." Hiccup said, shrugging. "Night, everyone." A chorus of 'good night!'s was what he got for a reply. He laughed a little, before he and Jack walked out of the Great Hall and started up the many flights of stairs to the Gryffindor Tower.

"So, what do you think of the team?" Jack asked curiously. "Is it everything you wanted it to be and more?" He asked, a whimsical tone in his voice. Hiccup laughed a little, and rolled his eyes at him.

"Yes, everything and more." He said, mimicking Jack's tone before laughing and going back to his normal voice. "It was pretty okay. I mean, I was expecting fire and rage and everything along with it, but you know, despite that disappointment, I think it was okay." His sarcasm was laid on so thick that Jack wasn't really sure if he was sarcastic at all.

"Well, I'm sorry it didn't meet your expectations." Jack said, smiling. "Maybe I should tell him to make us go through Hell Week again. That would be interesting."

"Noooo…" Hiccup said. "I saw you guys after Hell Week last year! I'm not doing that!" He nearly yelled, getting onto a new staircase. "I mean, that would be torture!"

"Hence the name 'Hell Week'." Jack remarked.

"Do you really think I would survive Hell Week?" Hiccup asked, spreading his arms out wide and showing off his incredibly skinny frame. "I don't think so."

"Fine, whatever you say." Jack said, moving so that he was ahead of Hiccup as they climbed the stairs. "I mean, I wouldn't do that to anyone on our team. But I don't know, some people actually like hard practices. It makes really tricky plays a lot simpler to handle when we come across them in a game."

"You really think that I'll be sticking to that playbook?" Hiccup asked, remembering the tattered, beaten up packet of papers that Alex kept looking at during practice. "I mean, I know some things are important to remember, but really? If we keep using the same plays, it'll be a wonder that we would win anything at all."

"You're saying we should just wing it?" Jack asked, looking over his shoulder at him.

"Well, not wing it… not really." Hiccup said. "More like improvise with a purpose." That got Jack laughing.

"Come on, Freckles." Jack said. "You know Alex would be pissed if we all just went out there and made up everything on the spot. He'd probably skin us alive."

"Yeah, but its not like we'll always be sticking to the playbook all the time, now, will we?" Hiccup asked. "We just need to practice figuring out each other while we're flying and it'll be fine."

"We need to be a team." Jack said. "No, a little more than that. All of us need to be… a family, more like?" Jack said, a little uncertain.

"Yeah, a family. Alex would definitely be the team mom, with all his nagging." Hiccup said. Jack couldn't breathe. "It… it wasn't all that funny…" Hiccup said, looking at Jack.

"Just… just help me get to the common room…" Jack said, and he barely got the words out he was laughing so hard. Hiccup rolled his eyes as he lifted on his Jack's arms and wound it around his neck. The auburn-haired boy laughed a bit as he guided Jack up the rest of the stairs and finally to Gryffindor Tower.


~Meanwhile~


Lauren and Liliana watched as the two boys walked out of the Great Hall. They waited until they were out of hearing distance before they looked at each other and let out frustrated yells.

"Are you guys feeing okay?" Jay asked.

"I think my eardrums popped…" Cee complained, rubbing her ears.

"What the heck?" Xavier asked them, looking like they were crazy.

"We learned the craziest thing!" Lauren said, smacking her hand onto the table. "You're not going to believe it!"

"Uh, shouldn't we wait until these little ones go to bed?" Liliana asked, looking at the twins with a little uncertain glance.

"Who are you calling 'little ones'?" They both said at the same time, and there was no denying the blatant offense they had in their voices. Liliana blinked.

"No, they're fine, if what you're about to say has anything to do with Hiccup and Jack and their crushes on each other." Xavier said.

"Yeah, we know already, so just spill the beans!" Cee said.

"What'd you guys find out?" Jay asked.

"Fine, fine…" Liliana said, gesturing for all of them to lean in. They all did, and she and Lauren looked at each other for a second. "Sammy is blackmailing Jack to be in a relationship with her." She said.

"If you're telling me this is true I'm going to die." Xavier said. "This isn't even funny, you guys."

"We aren't lying!" Lauren said. "I swear! We heard it ourselves!"

"If she's blackmailing him… shouldn't we tell someone?" Cee asked, looking at all of them seriously. "I mean, Jack could be getting hurt. This could be super serious. Shouldn't we tell the Headmaster?"

"No!" Jay said. "Are you crazy? If we tell the Headmaster, things'll get worse! Sammy'll think that Jack told on her! And I'm sure the professors wouldn't be able to do much! And besides… it's a lot more fun to deal with this on our own…" He smiled evilly, and it made him look a lot older than he actually was.

"The twerp has a point." Xavier said. "We have to settle this ourselves."

"But how?" Cee said.

"I don't think that you guys should be in on this, to be honest." Lauren said, a worried tone in her voice. "I mean, it might get dangerous and I don't really want you guys to-"

"We've played with swords and arrows since we were toddlers." Jay said levelly, but you could tell that a fire burned behind his eyes. "We've been doing dangerous things all our lives. Do you really think a witch like Sammy would really scare us out of doing anything?" Cee nodded in agreement.

"I know my cousin." Xavier said. "She might seem like a self-absorbed asshole with no trace of common sense. And she's also a lot smarter that everyone gives her credit for. No offense, I don't think she'd take getting bullied by a couple of first-years too well."

"Please, we can take her." Jay scoffed. Cee put her hand on his shoulder. Their bright green eyes clicked, and they just looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Jay sighed, his shoulders visibly slumping and his face morphing into an unidentifiable pout. "Fine. We'll stay out of this." Jay muttered.

"We need to get some last minute homework done, anyways." Cee said. "Have fun planning!" She said, hanging onto Jay's shirt until he stood up and walked out of the Hall with her.

"Well, that was interesting." Lauren said, looking at the two as they walked away.

"What are we going to do?" Xavier asked.

"You aren't going to do anything." Liliana said, a satisfied look on her face. "We just thought that you needed to be informed."

"What?!" He nearly yelled. "That's insane! What do you mean? I have to help you guys!"

"Because we're girls?" Liliana said, giving him a look.

"No because I'm part of this team!" Xavier argued. "We do things together, no matter what!" He looked at Lauren like she was betraying her. She hugged him quickly.

"You're her cousin." She said unnecessarily. "We don't want you to be in trouble with your family or anyone outside of here if anything gets too bad." She let go of him and moved away slightly. "We can handle this, just the two of us." Lauren said.

"Trust us." Liliana said.

"Well, can I at least know what you are going to do?" Xavier asked. Lauren and Liliana gave each other a look.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt if we let you in on it…" Lauren said with a smile.


"You ever wondered how weird it would be if we didn't know each other?" Hiccup asked from his bed, trying to keep his sopping wet hair from dripping on the half-written essay in front of him. Jack looked up from his spot at the windowsill.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"You know," Hiccup said. "Like, have you ever thought about how different things would have been if one little thing wouldn't have happened?"

"And you're talking about all three of us meeting, right?" Jack asked with a smile.

"Well, yeah." Hiccup said. 'It's not exactly what I meant, but it's a start…' "I mean, think about it. We would never be friends, you guys would have failed a couple years by now… a whole tone of things would have been different."

"I guess that's true." Jack said, before chuckling. "You think of the weirdest things, you know?" He asked.

Hiccup felt his cheeks heat up. 'No no no, this is going all wrong…' Hiccup thought, and he almost groaned in frustration. This stupid conversation was supposed to end with something cheesy and that would most likely not even work, like some line like "in a different universe, I bet I would still like you." Something was that equivocal enough to get Jack to think about it. Something that, if it failed or if Jack didn't pick up on it, wouldn't ruin everything. But no, Jack was unpredictable yet again and unintentionally ruined everything. Hiccup was mad at himself than anyone else, because how was Jack supposed to know about his stupid plans anyways?

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, getting up from the sill and walking towards Hiccup. Toothless hopped off Hiccup's bed and walked over to Jack's circling around him as he made his way towards Hiccup.

"I'm fine." Hiccup said, dragging himself out of that pit of self-anger and pulling on a smile, one wide enough not to be fake, but reassuring enough so Jack would think he was fine. Jack only gave him a look and Toothless hopped into Hiccup's lap.

"C'mon, even Toothless knows that one's a lie." Jack said, laughing a little. Hiccup looked away. "Hiccup~" Jack whined. "You can tell me, you know!"

"Yeah, I know…" Hiccup said. "AH! You're going to smudge my essay!" Hiccup screamed suddenly, making Toothless' fur stand on end and making Jack jump. Hiccup snatched the parchment off the bed and checked it over.

"What's the big deal? Didn't you use that weird Muggle quill-thing?" Jack asked.

"No, I actually used ink!" Hiccup said, setting it down. It was quiet for a while, before Hiccup figured out how much of a jerk move that kind of was. "Sorry for yelling." He said.

"Hey, it's cool." Jack said, shrugging as he laid down fully on Hiccup's bed. He was only across the foot of his bed, and his legs dangled off the edge but… still. "That only tips me off that there is something wrong." He replied easily. Hiccup groaned.

"It's just… It's nothing." Hiccup said, cursing himself for being so readable. Jack raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, I'm okay. I'm just… thinking! And you know, weird thoughts, weird reactions… you know, things like that." He knew he wasn't making any sense at all, but that was the best he could come up with.

"You know, I'm not going to get up until you tell me what's wrong." Jack said, looking at him.

"That's okay." Hiccup said. "I'll go sleep on your bed."

"I'll steal your homework."

"You do it anyways."

"I'll draw in your Book of Dragons."

"You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"Try me."

"I'll steal your staff."

"Don't joke about that."

"And have Toothless light it on fire."

"That's not funny."

"I know, but it got you scared, didn't it?" Hiccup said with a smirk. Jack made a face at him and made himself more comfortable on Hiccup's bed. "You're serious about this, aren't you?" Hiccup asked.

"You know I am." Jack said, yawning. "Wow, is it possible that your bed feels different than mine?" He asked, shifting a bit more and nestling himself closer to Hiccup.

"We have the exact same beds." Hiccup said, trying not to pay too much attention on how close Jack was getting.

"I know! But it feels different!" Jack said, smiling. "Well, good night, Freckles." He said.

"Oh my gods, no, get up." Hiccup said, trying to push him off his bed, but Jack only latched onto his leg and held on. "Jack!"

"Nope! I'm not leaving until you tell me what's up!" Jack insisted.

"You've got to… be kidding me!" Hiccup said, working at Jack's hold on his leg. "Don't worry about me, Frosty! Just go get some sleep!"

"I will get some sleep. Right here." Jack said. "Well, I will if you won't tell me." He said, a note of finality in his voice.

"You're insane."

"I know."

"Well, good night, then." Hiccup said, flopping back onto his pillow. Jack let go of his leg and curled up a bit more in his bed. Hiccup shifted so that they wouldn't touch all that much (and Hiccup wouldn't kick him in the face if he moved while he slept).

"Night!" Jack said.

Hiccup flicked his wand, and in an instant, the lights went out and the room was plunged into darkness. Good, so his incredible blush was hidden, and so was Jack's huge-ass smile.


"Cee." Jay said suddenly as they got to the top of the tall spiral staircase, the Ravenclaw Tower Entrance.

"Yeah?" Cee asked.

"We aren't really going to stay out of this, are we?" He asked.

"Well, of course not." Cee said. "I thought you knew that by now."

"Just making sure." Jay said, holding his hands up by his shoulders in defense before opening them up for a hug. Cee easily slipped into his arms like countless times before. "Sleep well."

"Good night." Cee said, smiling a little as she whispered the answer to the riddle and slipped inside her common room. Jay hopped onto the staircase's banister and slide down the staircase instead of walking down it. He hopped off it before he should have, and he amazingly stuck the landing. He strolled through the halls and headed towards the Syltherrin common room, all the while he had a mischievous smirk on his face.

'This… will be fun.'


Well, here we go again. I hope you guys enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading and please review!

(Sorry if there's any mistakes or if the quality of this is dumb! But hey, it's getting there!)

Love you!

-HB