Chapter 7: The Dragon

In the days that followed, Hiccup attended classes as normal, but he just couldn't shake the thought of that vision he had. He would spend many sleepless hours of the night, running through the vision and trying to figure out exactly what happened.

What plagued his mind the most, among other things, was the fact that, even days after, he still remembered exactly how the vision went and what he saw. Looking down and seeing black wings attached to his arms, flying over a forest, feeling the wind against his face, the whole ordeal.

It was during one of these moments of being lost in his thought that he was snapped out by the sound of Astrid whispering his name. "Hiccup?"

"Huh? What?" Hiccup asks, realizing he was currently in flying class, broom in his hand and listening to Madam Hooch giving them a lecture on proper broom maintenance.

Astrid sighs. "Ok, something clearly happened to you a few days ago after the incident at the greenhouse."

Hiccup grips the handle of his broom tight and replies, "I'm fine, I'm telling you."

Astrid then asks, "…You saw something, didn't you?"

Hiccup was about to respond when Madam Hooch says to him, "Quiet, Ms. Hofferson! Mr. Haddock!"

Astrid hangs her head and replies to the spiked, grey haired woman, "Yes, Madam Hooch."

Hooch nods. "Now, as I was saying-"

Suddenly, something could be heard in the near distance, the sound of some kind of loud growling, a sound loud enough to cause everyone to look around. Ruffnut nudges Tuffnut in the chest and comments, "I told ya you should've eaten before we came to class."

Tuffnut replies, "Believe me, Ruffnut, I know my stomach and that definitely was not that."

Ruffnut replies as she looks to above the castle walls. "Then, what WAS that?"

That same growling was heard again, only louder and that was followed by the sound of air being pushed together in a sort of pace. Then, out of nowhere, coming out of the top of one of the castle walls, appeared a large, black, four limbed creature with scales, yellow eyes, wings around its front limbs, and a very long, tapered tail hanging behind it.

Everyone screams in terror upon seeing the creature as Hiccup asks, "Wh-what is that thing?"

Astrid replies, "It's…a dragon!"

Heather adds, "Not just any dragon, a Dusk Stalker! They're only supposed to be active at night!"

The dragon circles around the screaming kids for a moment, seeming to look down upon them, and in a split second, it managed to lock eyes with Hiccup. In that very moment, Hiccup saw those eyes and couldn't help but feel a sense of…familiarity. As if he knows this dragon from somewhere.

The world around Hiccup goes slower as Hiccup stares into those sulfur yellow eyes, and crazy as it may sound he swore he could see himself in the beast's slitted pupils.

However, that moment was soon lost as a slight explosion came onto the dragon's neck, snapping Hiccup back into reality as he hears Hooch yell, "EVERYONE GET INSIDE!" The kids scramble their way inside the doors of the halls as Hooch casts a few more spells at the dragon while yelling, "AWAY FROM US, YOU WRETCHED BEAST!"

After one more blow to the side, the dragon turns tail and makes a quick escape from the courtyard, not before Hooch casts one last spell that follows the dragon and, from the loud roar that was heard following the casting, was a direct hit.

Madam Hooch makes quick work to close the doors as she does a head count to make sure all of the students were safe and ok. Once that was out of the way, Madam Hooch says, "Alright, you are all dismissed to your dormitories. I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore about this."

As they were walking back, Hiccup says to Astrid and Fishlegs, "Did anyone notice something…odd about what happened just now?"

Fishlegs replies in a high-pitched tone. "Kinda hard to notice anything with my hands around my eyes."

Astrid replies, "What do you mean by odd?"

Hiccup replies while staring at the ground as he walked. "That dragon, it didn't seem to even try to attack us or anything. Never opened its mouth to build up flame, never arched its body to sweep down and take one or more of us, never even did anything besides circle us. In fact, it actually seemed like it was…looking for something or…someone."

Astrid replies, "Well…it could be that it was trying to intimidate us while planning an attack, but you do have a point. I did seem like the only one doing any sort of attacking was Madam Hooch."

Hiccup then shakes his head. "Ah, I'm probably just losing it."

An hour later, a schoolwide assembly was called into the Great Hall. Once everyone was there and sat in the tables for their respective houses, a big commotion erupted, mainly between or towards the first years, about what went down.

Once he was sure everyone was there, Professor Dumbledore, who was wearing his usual purple and white robes, addresses the owl shaped podium and says, "Students, may I have your attention?" They wouldn't go silent, in fact the kids seemed to get even louder at that point. Dumbledore adds, "Attention!"

It was then that Hagrid stands up and slams his fists to the table, causing a very loud bang and causing everyone to go silent. Dumbledore sighs and looks to Hagrid before saying, "Unnecessary, but thank you Rubeus."

Hagrid bows. "Mah pleasure, Dumbledore." Before sitting back down.

Dumbledore clears his throat before saying, "Now, as many of you have heard by now, a few hours ago, a very dangerous Dusk Stalker dragon found its way to school grounds and went right over our first-year students. Fortunately, all students are fine, but this attack cannot go unnoticed.

I did mention at the beginning of the school year about an outbreak of these dragons, but, at my own fault, I did not take the necessary precautions that I should've. I know you all have many concerns regarding what we'll be doing moving forward, so I'm just going to get right to it.

Myself and the other Professors and Hogwarts higher-ups have talked and we have decided this. First off, the school will not be going into lockdown. As dangerous as these dragons are, that was the first attack since I became Headmaster and even since I started attending Hogwarts myself. We will, however, be taking some extra precautions to ensure the safety of our students, starting with having someone skilled in defensive magic watching every courtyard, entrance, and bridge throughout the school during all hours of the day.

We will also be postponing any upcoming Quidditch games for the time being, and the Quidditch practice arena will be off limits until further notice. I also encourage all students to attend classes and focus on your studies as normal. Lingering in the halls, however, will have to be limited to a 10-minute maximum.

There may be some extra precautions needed down the road, but rest assured, we will make sure that you are all happy and safe as possible, here at Hogwarts. I thank you all for your time and patience and I pray that things take a turn for the better. You are all dismissed."

Most of the students remain in the great hall to talk amongst themselves while some go ahead and head to their dormitories and others go up to the Professors to ask some further questions.

Hiccup lets out a deep sigh once Dumbledore stopped speaking. "Well, it is what it is, I guess."

Astrid then comments, "You're still thinking about how that dragon behaved during the attack, didn't you?"

Hiccup nods. "To call it an attack seems like a stretch to me, considering the dragon never actually attacked us."

Astrid then moves closer and states, "Hiccup, something else is on your mind other than a dragon not attacking us when it appeared over us. So…what is it?"

Hiccup gives Astrid a side glance. He wasn't sure if he should tell Astrid about what he saw when he locked eyes with the dragon as he wasn't sure if she could even understand. He decided to spare her the confusion and replies, "…It's…nothing, really."

A twitch in Hiccup's eye told Astrid that was a lie, but she decided to drop it for now as she could tell Hiccup had a lot on his mind.

A day goes by and, true to Dumbledore's word, high members of the school along with students in their later years that have shown promise with defensive magic were all stood at courtyards and entrances on shifts throughout the school.

It was in between classes and Hiccup and Astrid were just walking around the courtyard where flying class is normally held, with the new restrictions the class was moved to the entrance courtyard, and they spotted Fishlegs moving around some of the tables that were laid out for when normal classes go on.

Fishlegs was saying, "Come on, come on, COME ON! Where is it?"

Concerned, Hiccup and Astrid go up to Fishlegs where Hiccup asks, "Hey, Fishlegs, are you ok? You look like you've lost something."

Fishlegs says with a look of complete worry in his eyes, "Oh, it's terrible! Teddy is missing!"

Astrid gasps. "What? Teddy Balmer, the third year Hufflepuff student? He's gone missing?"

Fishlegs shakes his head. "No, Teddy! He's the teddy bear that I keep in my robes during flying class. I think he slipped out of my robe yesterday when the dragon came."

Hiccup and Astrid exchange glances upon hearing that before Hiccup replies, "You keep a teddy bear in your robes?"

Fishlegs puts his pointer fingers together. "I do it so I get the sensation that someone is hugging me while I'm flying and it comforts me."

Hiccup blinks before replying. "That's both interesting and very sad at the same time."

Astrid adds, "You know Snotlout is going to have a field day if he finds out about this, right?"

Fishlegs replies, "Which is why I have to find him. Come on, are you going to help me or not?"

Hiccup nods. "Alright, fine. We'll help you."

The three of them spend about 20 minutes flipping tables, looking behind broom stands, and searching just about every corner of that small area with no luck whatsoever until Hiccup says, "Sorry, Fishlegs, I can't seem to find Teddy anywhere."

Fishlegs sighs then rubs the back of his neck. "You know? It could be that I just left him in my other robe. Thanks anyway."

However, just before they were going to head back inside, they spot Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid walking out of the building where they overhear Dumbledore saying, "Alright, Rubeus. I am putting my faith into your hands, can you handle that?"

Hagrid nods. "Ya have my word."

Dumbledore adds, "Remember, whatever you do, do NOT tell anyone about this."

Hagrid puts his hands up. "A'right, a'right. Calm down will ya?"

Dumbledore nods before heading back inside. Once he was gone, Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs go up to Hagrid where Hiccup asks, "What was that about?"

Hagrid puts his hands behind his back and stands straight. "Ah don't know anything about tha dragon. Ya can't prove it."

Hiccup raises a brow and asks, "I never asked about the dragon."

Hagrid blinks as he realizes the fact. "Ah, Hippogriff dung."

Hiccup quickly figured out that something was, in fact, going on here and it took even less time to figure out just what that thing was. "Alright, where are you keeping it?"

Hagrid crosses his thick arms and shakes his head. "No! You will not get meh to talk! ah've said enough!"

Astrid then gives Hiccup a 'I've got this' glance before walking up to Hagrid and commenting, "You know what, Hagrid? You're right. We should just put this whole thing to rest."

Hagrid nods. "Yes. Yes, we should."

Astrid crosses her own arms and adds, "I have to say, though, must be a big deal for Dumbledore to trust you with such a big job."

Hagrid then adjusts his shirt. "Why yes. Ah've been Dumbledore's right hand mahn for years now."

Astrid nods. "And real smart, putting the dragon in the north end of the Forbidden Forest so it's away from school grounds."

Hagrid raises a brow to that. "Ah, no. I put it in the West end so Dumbledore can get to it easier." The six eyes looking at Hagrid blink to that before he hangs his head in shame. "Ya want to say it or…?"

Hiccup replies, "We'll let you have this one."

Hagrid nods. "Thanks. Ah shouldn't have said that. Ah definitely shouldn't have said that. What will buy your silence about this?"

Hiccup replies, "You could take us to see the dragon."

Hagrid nods. "Ah saw that coming. Ya know, with these rules there's no way you can get to the forest."

Hiccup replies, "Then perhaps we'll need a higher-up to escort us to the forest."

Hagrid blinks again. "And ah saw that coming as well. Alright, come with me." He takes the three of them down the path that leads to his hut and to the Forbidden forest, where unbeknownst to Hiccup, his destiny awaits.