Author Notes: Sorry for taking long but here is the new chapter! Things are going to move a bit quicker now and someone special makes their debut in the story! ;)

Chapter 4: Turnaround

"Toothless me brought you some saltswimmers!" [Toothless I brought you some fish!] He glanced around and wondered where Toothless had gone. He was about to yell out again until he was tackled to the ground by a black dragon.

Toothless let out a light hearted laugh and got off of him. Hiccup got up, dusted himself off and mumbled a few remarks under his breath. After that he opened the basket and emptied all the fish onto the ground so Toothless could eat. "There's some salmon, Icelandic cod and smoked eel." -Lifting up the eel to show his dragon companion- "Uhhh."

Toothless reared back and snarled at him. "Me hate eels!" [I hate eels!]

Hiccup immediately threw the eel in the lake and tried to calm down Toothless. "Yeah, I don't really like eels either."

After that fiasco, Toothless began to munch on all the fish. Hiccup sat down on a nearby rock and grabbed his book. "Hey Toothless do all dragons hate eels?"

Toothless took his time devouring the fish before answering. After he finished, he walked over to Hiccup and nodded. "Eels est yuck-yuck." [Eels are disgusting.]

Hiccup looked at his book and examined the several types of dragons and their descriptions. This book had everything to know about dragons, apart from their weaknesses, and he wondered why. "What else do dragons hate?"

"Humans." Stated Toothless.

Hiccup felt uneasy hearing that considering he was sitting next to a dragon. "Is there anything dragons like? Apart from fish that is."

"A good scratch." Chirped Toothless.

Hiccup stood up and scratched the dragon's chin. To his surprise Toothless immediately collapsed and started to purr. He chuckled seeing Toothless act like an overgrown cat. "I Guess you're more of a cat than a dragon, aren't you?"

Toothless instantly snapped out of his ecstasy and glared at the boy. "Tell this to anyone and you will never walk again."

Hiccup put his hands up and tried to look innocent. That failed almost instantly however, considering the fact he was laughing at the dragon. "Don't look at me like that bud."

Toothless watched the boy with a confused impression which prompted Hiccup to look over to his book. That reminded the dragon that the boy was not fluent in dragonese, so he decided he needed to do something about that. He nudged Hiccup and tried to take the book away from him so he could see what was inside. "Show me the book."

Hiccup was first confused about Toothless' actions but realized he was curious about the book. "Calm down Toothless, I'll show you what's inside. Give me a moment."

Once Toothless calmed down, Hiccup showed the night fury what was concealed in the book. Toothless couldn't care less about the dragon drawings. What interested him was the dragonese written in the book.

"I hate to admit it but your grandfather did a great job writing dragonese down." Toothless looked at Hiccup and could tell that he wasn't entirely sure what he had just said.

Hiccup chuckled before checking the book and asking Toothless to repeat what he said. He let out a low growl and begrudgingly repeated each word for the human boy. Toothless didn't want this to happen again and decided it was best for him to memorize all of the words written in the book.

"Listen human, you have to memorize each word from that book. As much as I enjoy that you can speak some dragonese, it is annoying that you have to look at that book every time I speak. From now on you can only speak dragonese while you are here." Toothless made sure to repeat several times to make sure the boy understood.

Hiccup was nervous, but excited nonetheless. He had planned to learn dragonese fluently eventually, but Toothless was impatient and didn't want to wait that long. So, they continued to talk for hours until Hiccup realized that the sun was setting. He decided to leave and come back tomorrow.

Line Break

Hiccup would wake up and study his dragonese for as long as possible before heading to the cove to meet with Toothless. He'd bring a basket of fish for Toothless and wait until he finished eating before they practiced conversing in dragonese. This became Hiccup's daily routine. Despite his earlier experiences with Toothless, he was an excellent teacher and Hiccup's dragonese had massively improved over the course of only a week.

"Hey Toothless, I'm back! And I've brought you your favorite fish." He couldn't see Toothless anywhere and started to grow uneasy. "Oh, co-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence before being tackled to the ground by Toothless.

"Why do you always have to do this!" He did not enjoy getting tackled to the ground every single day.

Toothless laughed and got off the boy. "Because it's fun."

Hiccup stood up and patted himself to get rid of the dust on his clothes. "You're lucky I still bring you fish."

Toothless stared back at the boy. "And you're lucky I didn't kill you when we first met."

Hiccup wanted to reply, but had nothing to say. He let out a sigh of defeat and rested on a rock while waiting for Toothless to finish his meal. It wasn't that long before he did just that.

"Alright human, I've taught you pretty much everything you need to know."

Hiccup though, was thoroughly confused. He'd only been studying for a week! He thought there would be a lot more to learn. "Is there really nothing else to learn? Or are you just being lazy?"

Toothless growled at him. "You humans are such ungrateful creatures. I've taught you the basics! Now it's up to you to polish your dragonese further. I'm not your babysitter."

Hiccup chuckled at this. "Fine, but what do you want to do now?"

Toothless ears twitched and he looked around the cove. "It's best you leave now. You wouldn't want anyone else to know you can talk to dragons, do you?"

"Is there someone nearby? Are you sure it isn't a bird or something making noise?" Hiccup asked, feeling anxious that there might be someone near them.

Toothless continued to scan the area. "When am I ever wrong, human?" Whatever he heard must've left. Toothless looked at Hiccup with a bit of menace. "Even IF I'm wrong, it's best you leave and start working on my new tail. I haven't forgotten about your promise."

Hiccup flinched at that. He'd had a sketch done for Toothless´ new tail fin, but hadn't actually started constructing it. "I'll go now and start working on it. And I'll make sure to bring you some extra fish tomorrow."

The night fury nodded at this and walked away from the boy and got ready to take a nap. Seeing that Toothless wanted to do nothing with him Hiccup decided to leave. Leaving the forest, he decided to get some more fish for Toothless before heading home and retrieving his sketch book which contained the blueprints for the new tail fin.

He made his way towards the center of the village and noticed a huge crowd gathering around. He saw Gobber there and thought he would be at the academy at this time. "Hey Gobber, what are you doing here? Also who's that?" Hiccup asked while staring at the man hanging over Gobber's shoulder.

Gobber turned towards his apprentice and smiled. "Well, you know, I just decided to take a stroll." Hiccup raised a brow to that and Gobber explained that while he was training the young Vikings, he was told that someone at the docks spotted a destroyed boat. When they investigated it, they found the unconscious man in the wreck.

"Alright everyone, move along, there's nothing to see! Hiccup, make sure to head to the Main Hall. The council will be discussing what we're going to do with this man once he wakes up." Hiccup was confused as to why he had to go too. "You're the Chief's heir, so you need to learn what goes on during a council meeting eventually." Gobber quickly explained. He said his goodbyes to his apprentice and went on his way to Gothi's hut.

Line Break

Hours had passed and Hiccup was getting impatient. The council members had arrived apart from Gobber and the mysterious man. Hiccup planned on being at the forge for the rest of the day but he was currently waiting in the Main Hall playing with his mug.

After an eternity, the doors were finally opened revealing Gobber and the mysterious man. Hiccup got a better view of the man and noticed that he had a hook for a hand just like Gobber did. Unlike Gobber however, the man looked very frail and had a sinister smile that did creep Hiccup out.

"Sorry for the long wait everyone, we can get started now. Please introduce yourself to everyone!" Spoke Gobber

"Certainly." Spoke the man, readjusting his posture. "My name is Alvin; the poor but honest farmer." Alvin took off his helmet and gave a graceful bow to everyone.

"Well Alvin, what were you doing before your boat was destroyed? I presume it was dragons who destroyed it?" Spoke Spitelout

"Yes, you are correct. You see, I was heading to a nearby Village to trade for some farming supplies but was attacked by a dragon which wrecked my ship and left me stranded in the middle of the ocean." spoke Alvin, not letting his smile drop from his face.

"Another farmer! That's great! We can certainly use the help here, don't we Mulch." Bucket yelled to his friend.

Mulch smacked Bucket's head for being loud but sighed, knowing that what he said was true. "Yes, we do Bucket. Do you mind staying here for a while Alvin? We have tools here, so, if you help us at the farms, we can trade some of our tools with you."

"I don't mind at all. Now where's the Chief? Shouldn't I be speaking to him as well? I assume this little boy isn't the Chief, is he?" Alvin spoke, eyeing Hiccup in curiosity.

Gobber chimed into the conversation. "No, this here is the Chief's heir! Our Chief is currently at sea and won't be back for a few weeks."

"I see. Very well, if this is all there is to discuss, I am curious to explore more of Berk. Maybe your heir can give me a small tour around the island?" Alvin spoke politely, giving Hiccup a smile.

The council gathered around and discussed their next course of action. After a few minutes they dismissed the meeting and came to the conclusion that Stoick should have the final say with what they do with their new visitor once he comes back from his trip.

"Hiccup, I hope you don't mind giving Alvin a tour of Berk, do you?" Gobber spoke.

Since Hiccup didn't have any other options, he agreed to give Alvin a tour of Berk. "Well, there goes most of my day." Hiccup mumbled, not expecting any of this.

After spending the rest of his day giving a tour to Alvin, Hiccup was quite exhausted by Alvin's constant talk of different plants and herbs. "Well, that's about all there is to Berk. The last place is the dragon academy." Hiccup spoke, trying to pour out as much enthusiasm as he could.

"Dragon Academy? What's that?" Alvin questioned, feeling very intrigued.

"Well, the Dragon Academy is where younger Vikings learn how to fight different dragons. Find their weaknesses and learn how to survive a dragon fight during a raid."

"I assume you must be in the Dragon Academy as well. After all you are the Chiefs heir." Alvin spoke as if what he was saying was a fact.

Hiccup felt uncomfortable and didn't know how to respond to that. "Look! We're here." Hiccup startled Alvin by his enthusiasm. They both looked down to see Gobber teaching the younger Vikings a lesson about Gronckles.

"Hey! It's Gobber isn't it? I've got a question for you." Alvin shouted out to get Gobber's attention.

Gobber looked up to see Hiccup and their new guest Alvin. "What is it, Alvin? I'm in the middle of a lesson you know."

"Well, I was wondering why Hiccup isn't training with the rest of the students? He is the Chief's heir after all." Alvin spoke nonchalant. This took Hiccup by surprise and he had to fight the urge not to yell at Alvin or run away from this situation.

Gobber didn't take that comment well either and yelled out in anger as all good Vikings would do. "That is none of your business Alvin! You better watch your mouth before I kick you back to the sea."

"No need to be so angry Gobber! I just think it is unfair to Hiccup."

This time it was one of the students who spoke out. "Oh, please! Hiccup shouldn't even be near here. He couldn't even kill a fly even if he tried!"

Gobber gave Snotlout a vicious stare for insulting his apprentice. Alvin however got a great idea from this. "How about we test that? Gobber, let Hiccup fight one of the dragons you have locked down there."

Hiccup couldn't take it anymore and harshly spoke to Alvin. "What are you doing! Are you trying to get me killed or something?" He was a bit stunned to see Alvin smile at him and tell him that he knew he could defeat a dragon.

Gobber stood quietly for a moment while deciding if this was a good idea. He may not look like much, but Gobber had faith in the boy. He looked up. "Hiccup come down here! Everyone else exit the arena!"

The bigger student spoke out feeling uneasy about the current situation. "Sir, are you sure that's a good idea? What if Hiccup gets hurt? Or worse!"

"Shut it Fishlegs, I want to see how this turns out." Snotlout sneered.

"YA, WE WANT TO SEE BLOOD!" The twins yelled out, eager to see the fight.

Hiccup entered the arena while everyone else apart from Gobber left. "Grab one of those weapons and get ready. I'm going to release the Gronckle."

Hiccup shakingly nodded and grabbed a short sword and shield from the rack. Gobber gave him some encouragement before letting the Gronckle out.

"Why do I always get into situations like these?" Hiccup mumbled, tightening his grip on the shield. Before he knew it, the Gronckle flew towards and fired a shot.

"HICCUP, MAKE SOME NOISE WITH YOUR SHIELD!" Gobber yelled out, feeling concerned for the boy's safety.

He could barely hear Gobber's advice, but he began to make as much noise as he could anyway. "Okay Hiccup, just get close enough and find its sensitive spot. I won't need to harm it." Hiccup mumbled to himself, trying to keep focused on the task at hand.

As he attempted to go near the Gronckle it began to shoot more fire. Hiccup took a risk and decided to drop his sword and shield to lure the dragon closer. He heard everyone yelling out that he shall pick up his weapons before he dies.

He ran to the wall of the arena and waited for the Gronckle to approach. It sped towards him at an incredible speed and Hiccup just had enough time to dodge it before it hit its head on the wall. Hiccup took the opportunity to find its sensitive area and began scratching it. The Gronckle immediately collapsed.

He had defeated the Gronckle. All who viewed the fight were stunned to see Hiccup, of all people, defeat a dragon. Alvin was the first to applaud Hiccup. Gobber then rushed to him and gave him a big hug.

"You did it! I can't believe it! You did amazing Hiccup; oh, your father would be proud to see this!" Gobber exclaimed, feeling proud of his apprentice.

To Hiccup's surprise the other kids chanted his name and applauded him, apart from Snotlout of course, which didn't surprise him that much. They all went down to the arena to each give Hiccup their own congratulations.

One by one they told him how cool he was and when Astrid complimented him, he felt an incredible amount of glee. However, when it was Snotlout's turn, all he could do was insult him. "Oh please, it wasn't that impressive, after all it was just a Gronckle. If Hiccup couldn't beat that it would've been embarrassing and a disgrace to us Hooligans.

Gobber interrupted him by giving him a quick bonk on his head before looking at Hiccup with pride. "Everyone starts somewhere, and for Hiccup, this is it."

"Yes, Hiccup showed some great skills in the arena. Gobber, shouldn't this be proof that Hiccup should start training with the others?" Alvin questioned.

Everyone looked at Gobber, waiting for him to respond, which made him feel uneasy. "I will discuss that with Hiccup privately. Now, I think we've done enough for the day. Everyone head home!"

The young Vikings reluctantly left the arena and went to their houses. Alvin bid his farewell to Gobber and Hiccup. "Oh, and Hiccup you were brilliant out there. I'm confident that you could defeat a Night fury if it came to it."

"I'm not so sure about that, but, thanks Alvin." Hiccup chuckled thinking that a certain dragon would find that very insulting to his kind.

With everyone leaving it left only Hiccup and Gobber in the arena. Gobber was the first to speak. "You were amazing out there. A true Viking after all! Your father can be proud of that! Why don't you join us in the dragon academy from now on?"

Hiccup wasn't so sure if he wanted to join. He'd been spending so much time with Toothless. He may have been a bit cold towards Hiccup but the young Viking enjoyed his company nonetheless. If he joined the dragon academy, he would be betraying the dragon's friendship.

Gobber sensed that the boy wasn't sure about it and spoke again. "If you're worried about what your father says I can vouch for you. You've shown me that you are as capable as any Viking."

Hiccup smiled at Gobber. He misunderstood his hesitation but appreciated his words. Gobber then gave the final blow to convince his apprentice. "If you do join you can impress Astrid you know. I've seen you eyeing her when we're at the forge."

Hiccup started to blush and yelled at Gobber for teasing him. "I´m serious Hiccup, if you join, your father will be very impressed when he sees what I've just seen from you. I know that you had a hard time fitting in but this is your chance to prove to everyone that you are more than all of… this."

"You just gestured to all of me." Glared Hiccup feeling slightly annoyed by the comment.

Gobber ignored him and continued to try and convince the boy. "What do you say? Are you going to join?"

Hiccup really wanted to join, but he wondered how that would affect his relationship with Toothless. However he knew this was finally his chance to prove to his father and everyone in the village that he wasn't as useless as he may seem to be. He took a deep breath and prayed to the Gods that he was going to make the right decision and looked at Gobber. "I'll join the dragon academy. I want to make my dad proud of me."