Posted November 29, 2021
Please be advised that I've made several updates and rewrites to the previous four chapters.
A full list of changes is outlined in the author's notes for chapter one, but the biggest changes are the Merida/Snow White/Aurora scenes in chapters 1-3, including almost completely new scenes for chapters 1-2. Enjoy!
Absentmindedly nursing a mug of lukewarm black coffee, Hiccup frantically scrawled a note in the margins of a stained and battered leather-bound notebook. Unnoticed, the large black tomcat beside him helped himself to a forgotten plate of salmon on toast.
Only an hour prior the hall had been bustling with activity and commotion, the air abuzz with excitement as students spent their Sunday morning theorizing about the tournament that awaited them and the guests that were set to arrive at half-past four, according to the deputy headmaster's announcement at dinner the previous night.
It wasn't until the lone chime from Hogwarts' clocktower that the boy finally resurfaced from his scribbles and another beat longer still before it occurred to him that he was the only person left in the Great Hall. In a panic, he snapped shut his book and nearly sent himself sprawling across the floor when the toe of his left boot caught the bench during his dismount.
"Don't look at me like that," He said to the cat, whose whiskers were twitching in what Hiccup assumed was amusement. Rolling his eyes, Hiccup tucked his book into the inner pocket of his robes and gestured towards the large double-doors that lead out to the main foyer. "Well? Are you coming?"
Toothless mrrowed in response, before leaping down from his perch and trotting after him.
Ignoring the ache in his lungs and the wave of nausea that washed over him, Hiccup sprinted through the courtyard and hurried down the centuries-old desire path on the hillside.
He found his peers gathered on the lawns, whispering and pointing towards the other side of the Black Lake, where a single enormous wave carried a ginormous silver pumpkin atop its crest, accompanied by a low hum as it dashed across the waters towards the assembly of teens and teachers. No, not a pumpkin – a pumpkin-shaped carriage with ornate gold and white wheels that kicked up a spray of mist with each rotation, creating a rainbow aura in the September sunlight.
As the carriage drew closer, the thundering of hoofbeats grew louder and a sudden whinny triggered a realization. The swell of water on which it rode wasn't a wave at all – it was a team of Arctic water horses. Nøkks.
Hiccup halted by his housemates, his tardiness seemingly unnoticed in light of the delegates' arrival.
Edging closer to the shore and using his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, Hiccup searched the surface of the lake, as twin tracks spread ripples across its normally undisturbed surface.
"Nice of you to join us, Haddock," A woman's voice said as he reached the front of the crowd.
"Sorry, Professor Finster," Hiccup shrugged halfheartedly, his gaze still locked on the waters below. "I was, er, working on a thing."
"I see," The elderly witch in goldenrod-coloured robes did not turn to him either. "I'm still waiting on your essay on passive occlumency techniques. The one I assigned last term."
"Right! And I will get that to you. Soon."
"See that you do."
Hiccup nodded, half-smiling as his eyes found what he was looking for – a slight interruption in the widespread ripples across the lake and a pop of colour just beneath the surface that vanished as quickly as he'd spotted it. His insatiably curious friend had come to investigate, just as he'd known he would.
As the majestic creatures charged towards the shoreline, the driver reigned them in and directed the beasts in a wide arc across the bay, showing off the magnitude and extravagance of the vehicle, whose wheels were at least as tall as Hiccup was.
While his peers pushed closer, craning their necks for a better view of the newcomers as they halted on the stony shore, Hiccup's eyes remained fixed on the dozen translucent beasts who tossed their heads and pawed at the shallows impatiently, their jewel-adorned harnesses clinking as they strained against them.
His brows knitting together, Hiccup nearly stepped towards the miserable-looking creatures when a figure in red elbowed him. "Am thinking may be better for you to admire from afar. Less drowning that way."
"But where's the fun in that?"
North frowned. "You are joking, but is not funny like you think."
Hiccup exhaled loudly through his nose. "I'll stay away from the Nøkks. I promise."
"Good! Too much wonder you would miss!" North grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over as the professor drew the younger man's attention towards something in the distance with his free hand.
"Is that a ship?!" Hiccup stared in disbelief as the vessel descended from the clouds.
North tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, his blue eyes sparkling. Dramatically, the older wizard whispered a single word. "Wonder!"
Hiccup rolled his eyes but couldn't help grinning nonetheless as the ship soared high above the surface of the lake, its reflection still warped by the ripples that continued to expand across the dark waters. Around him, there was a swell of awed whispers and pointing as his peers noticed the airborne schooner too.
At the shoreline, the Nøkks pawed at the waves and tossed their heads, ill at ease by the sight of the airship as it swept past the carriage, its enormous shadow creeping across the lawns. Once it reached an unoccupied stretch of lawn, six identical black tendrils snaked down from the deck and pierced the grounds in unison, anchoring it to the earth like some hulking insect. And so, the rhythmic click threw him for half a second, until he realized the sound hadn't come from a creature's mandibles, but rather the ship's winches as they drew it down from the sky.
Hiccup could still see daylight below the vessel when the winches halted, followed by the metallic clang of what Hiccup assumed was some kind of locking mechanism, and he wondered what other machines the delegation might have aboard. His eyes followed the six anchor lines upwards to where they disappeared into round holes near the top of the hull.
He was so focused on the mechanics of the ship that it wasn't until someone blocked his view that he even realized that there were people crowding by the rails, waving, chattering and pointing up the hillside towards the castle. While his peers strained and craned their necks trying to get a better look at the newcomers, Hiccup only sighed.
As Hiccup edged closer to the ship, Professors Farnsworth and Grimm strode past him, having finished their brief rendezvous with the two blue-robed professors who'd disembarked from the pumpkin carriage. As they neared the ship, Hiccup saw a section of the railings separate and reach down towards the ground as a long ramp materialized from the air beneath them. Almost immediately, two brown-robed professors stepped onto the walkway and descended to meet their fellows.
Professor Grimm shook both of their hands, and they spoke for hardly a minute before they returned to their respective delegations, and began to lead the staff and students of Hogwarts back to the castle.
Hiccup trailed after his schoolmates, and didn't even bother trying to keep up with them as they hiked up the path towards the school.
As he reached the top of the stone steps, he paused for a moment at the base of one of the tall stone pillars, waiting for a chance to duck behind one. However, before he had an opportunity to slip out of sight, a sudden assault from above slammed him into the nearest pillar, knocking the breath out of him.
Up ahead, Professor Finster turned back at the commotion. "Keep up, Haddock."
One hand pressed against his chest as his heart pounded erratically and the other using the pillar to regain his balance, Hiccup blew a breath out through his nose. "Bud, could you maybe try not doing that?"
"Mrow," The tomcat replied innocently, his whiskers twitching.
"Oh, I see," Hiccup shot his companion a dirty look. "You did that on purpose."
"Sometime today if you please, Haddock," Professor Finster called back to him, the sole of her shoe clacking against the stone as she tapped her foot.
Groaning inwardly, Hiccup hurried forward to rejoin his peers under Professor Finster's watchful glare.
According to Felix, some professors allowed students to work on homework during detention. Unfortunately for Rapunzel, Professor Grimm was firmly of the mind that manual labour was the best punishment for errant youth, and so she'd spent the last week with a scrub brush and bucket of soapy water, learning why Professor Grimm's classroom was so immaculate.
Since it was her first offence, Professor Grimm had given her a light sentence – one hour every day for a week. Not that she minded the cleaning, since it reminded her of home, but she was mostly just glad to not have been expelled.
Thankfully, that afternoon had been her final day of detention, and Professor Grimm had generously released her early for the arrival of the foreign delegates, which was over far sooner than Rapunzel had hoped.
It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, so how on earth could she possibly be expected to turn around and go back to the castle without getting a better look? It had been difficult enough as is to stay put on the lawns without charging forward – which she would have done, had one of her Professors not barked a reminder to stay with the group.
She hung towards the back as she followed her peers up the steps, climbing in sidestep to allow herself space to look back at the enormous blue carriage with leafy white-gold vines that twisted all around the pumpkin from its stem, forming a seat at the front for the driver, a shelf for the luggage and steps for the passengers below the door. The beautiful vines and leaves even adorned the spokes of the enormous white-gold wheels on either side that had to be at least as tall as Professor North, perhaps even taller.
And the horses were positively magnificent – their bodies shining blue and translucent, made entirely from water. When they flicked their tails or shook their heads, they sent a spray of lake-water over anything or anyone standing close enough. And though they splashed when they pawed at the water, their hooves seem to become the lake. She'd never even heard of such creatures before and she was desperate to know what they were.
The other delegation's vehicle had been equally impressive, and just as flashy, although in very different ways. Instead of bejewelled harnesses and leaves forged in white gold, their vintage vessel had billowing white sails with a faint honeycomb pattern that seemed to light up rainbow and gold when it caught the sun just right, almost as though they'd been interwoven with thread spun from gold and precious gems. Save for the sparkle and the fact that it was flying, it looked as though it had soared straight from the pages of a book on the Age of Sail.
As she reached the top of the steps, Rapunzel sighed and cast one, mournful look back at the two incredible vehicles parked below as their students disembarked, and then followed her peers inside the castle to the Great Hall, which had grown three times as large since lunch.
Instead of the four tables she was used to seeing, the hall now housed eight long tables, set up in four rows, with two tables running perpendicular to the other eight set up on dais and separated by a large wood and stone pillar betwixt them. The eight tables running lengthwise through the room each had banners hanging from the candlelit sky above them, one for each of Hogwarts' four houses, as well as two for each of the foreign schools.
As Rapunzel slid into a seat at the Gryffindor table, the headmaster stepped up to a podium set in the middle of the centre table, gestured to those students who hadn't yet taken their seats, then pointed his wand at his own throat.
"Come in, come in! And welcome to another year at Hogwarts School! Sorting will begin shortly." Professor Farnsworth announced. When Professor Grimm strode up and took his place next to the headmaster at the teacher's table, Professor Farnsworth grinned. "Good news everyone, no more annoying first-years to be sorted! It's about time, I say!"
Rapunzel's brows knit together, and she looked around as a swell of whispers filled the hall, and further down the table she heard one of the first years ask aloud if they were going to be sent home.
"Alright, settle down, settle down!" A clinking of a spoon against a glass rang out through the room, drawing their attention back to the school's headmaster. However, before Professor Farnsworth could continue, Professor Grimm stood up beside him, and leaned over to speak with him. At first the headmaster flapped his hand to shoo the other man away, but he persisted and spoke to him in a low voice.
"What?" The headmaster's voice rang out across the hall, still amplified. After a moment, he threw up his arms and sat down. "Well, then you do it."
Professor Grimm held up his wand, cleared his throat and began to speak. "Good evening students, and thank you for your patience. This evening, Hogwarts will be joined by some special guests at our school this year – please give a warm welcome to the students of the Durmstrang Institute."
At the end of the hall, the doors opened, and all eyes in the room turned to the newcomers. Lead by a short, silver-haired witch in a beige gákti with a thick brown belt and a brown-robed wizard so tall and so broad that Professor North almost looked like a child in comparison.
As Durmstrang's two heads strode almost in lockstep through the hall, they were followed by four columns of students – two columns were also clad in beige gáktis, while the other two wore unremarkable brown tunics with matching trousers and black boots. When they reached the centre of the room, the columns split down the middle and the students in the plain brown uniforms sat beneath a deep red 'Wicinga' banner, while the students in the belted beige gáktis took their place under the warm brown banner that read 'Northuldra'.
Once everyone had settled, Professor Grimm raised his wand to his throat and drew their attention once more. "And please give an equally warm welcome to the delegation from Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons."
As the doors at the end of the hall sprang open, two professors dressed entirely in blue lead the way into the hall, followed by four more columns of students. Like the first, the second delegation also featured two different uniforms, although they differed only in colour, not style. Each student wore an elbow-length silk cape around their shoulders, most with immaculate trousers, although several had opted to wear knee-length skirts instead.
Although the four columns of students were a checkerboard of blue and lavender, when the delegation reached the professor's table, they suddenly exploded into a flurry of rippling capes as the students criss-crossed in a meticulously-choreographed dance that split their delegation into two straight lines before they continued onwards to their respective tables – 'Savant' and 'Pratique'.
Rapunzel grinned and joined her peers in applauding the display.
Professor Grimm tapped his wand on the podium thrice as the applause faded. "Started over seven hundred years ago to foster friendships between students of the three largest magical schools in Europe, the Tetra-Wix Tournament is an academic competition in which a chosen champion from each of the three schools participates in a series of magical challenges and uses the skills and spells they've learned at their respective schools to solve puzzles for points."
"Simply put, it's an opportunity for upper-year students to demonstrate everything you've learned over your several years of schooling and perhaps make a bit of a splash on an international stage. Due to safety reasons, we are only permitting sixth and seventh year students to compete, to ensure that all champions are sufficiently equipped to face the challenges that the tournament will present. Anyone who is interested in competing for a chance at eternal glory is invited to submit their name for consideration as champion – however do not take this decision lightly, as once your name is consumed by the flames, you will be bound to compete by an ancient magical contract, should you be chosen."
Professor Grimm paused a moment and turned to the enormous wooden pillar that stood betwixt the two Professors' tables and tapped it with his wand. The sides of the pillar began to fold down and melt away into nothingness, revealing a large silver goblet filled with blue flames. "And so, without further ado, I would like to announce that the Goblet of Fire is officially open."
As the applause faded, Professor Grimm moved to take his seat, however, before he had the chance to sit down, a second round of applause rose from the Wicinga table. At the teachers' table, Durmstrang's brown-robed headmaster froze as a boy strode towards the dais, his classmates grinning and slapping his shoulders as he passed. His long brown hair swinging with each step, the boy marched up to the Goblet of Fire with a tiny piece of parchment held delicately in one of his large hands.
A burst of blue flames rose up to greet the falling parchment, engulfing it instantly as a thunderous rumble rose from the Durmstrang students, and Rapunzel realized they were stomping their boots against the stone floor in time with their chants.
The grinning boy turned back to his peers, banged his chest with his fists and gave a celebratory shout that sent the entire hall into a wild chorus of cheering, with the chant spreading beyond the reaches of the Durmstrang tables to the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons' tables as well.
"Tarzan, Tarzan, Tarzan," People continued to cheer, even after he'd had returned to his seat at the Durmstrang table.
As a resplendent feast appeared before them, it suddenly occurred to Rapunzel that she was famished.
Gratefully, she grabbed her plate and had just began to pile food onto it when her neighbour bumped her elbow. Half a spoonful of mashed potatoes missed the plate entirely and splatted onto the table instead.
"Hey, what are you doing?" A familiar voice cried out beside her, and Rapunzel turned to see Fishel squirming in his seat.
"Stay still," Snorri drawled as he leaned on Fishel's back, quill in hand. "You're making this harder than it has to be, Fishface."
"What are you doing?" Rapunzel asked as she looked from Fishel to Snorri and back again.
"I needed a flat surface to write," Snorri rolled his eyes. "Duh."
"Oh," Rapunzel said, as though Snorri's response had answered her question. "Why didn't you, um, just use the table?"
Snorri paused, glancing down at the table as though it hadn't been there a moment ago. "Oh yeah, huh. Well, too late now."
Grinning, Snorri held up a piece of parchment hastily torn from the corner of a scroll, and Rapunzel caught a glimpse of his name scribbled across it in wonky letters. Snorri grinned and puffed out his chest as he nonchalantly rested his free hand on his hip.
"I'm not letting those Durmstrang jerks have all the glory." he said, pausing dramatically in his heroic stance. After a moment, he seemed to deflate and turned back to them, frowning. "Hello, what are you waiting for?"
Rapunzel opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Without waiting, Snorri gestured towards them with his hands and began his own chant. "Jor-gen-son, Jor-gen-son,"
Nodding as she clued in, Rapunzel added her voice to the chant just as a swell of noise rose from the other side of the room. They all turned their attention and Rapunzel saw a determined-looking blond girl with a braided ponytail walking from the Hufflepuff table, her peers whooping gleefully and clapping her on the shoulder as she passed, although she paid her fans no mind.
"Go, Cap!" One voice hollered above the rest followed by a sharp whistle, before an enormous surge of cheering rose up to meet it and engulfed the sound entirely.
And then from the noise, there arose a chant that grew louder the closer she drew to the Goblet of Fire, until it sounded like everyone in the hall had taken up the words. "Hof-fer-son, Hof-fer-son, Hof-fer-son!"
Rapunzel watched, awed, as the girl strode up the steps of the podium towards the Goblet, looking so calm, collected and confident that it was as though she was the only person in the room. However, just as she reached the summit, another figure joined her at the top of the podium and slammed the slip of parchment bearing his own name into the cup first.
"Snorri, Snorri, oi oi oi!" Snorri shouted as he turned to the crowd, which had fallen silent, fist-pumping victoriously with both arms above his head. After a moment, Rapunzel saw him turn back, grinning, and say something to the blonde, who did not look impressed by his antics, instead glaring at him with cold blue eyes as she sent her own name spiralling into the flames.
As Snorri marched back to Gryffindor table and took his seat, Tufford reached towards his sister's plate and for his efforts, received a sound thump across the side of his head from a half-eaten turkey leg.
"Man, Astrid is going to kill you," Ruffina said, turning to Snorri with a delighted grin as he settled himself back at the table. And then, after taking another bite of her turkey leg, she leaned closer and in a low voice asked, "Can I watch?"
Rolling her eyes and stifling a yawn, Merida stared at the letter on the table, cursing under her breath and debating throwing the whole thing directly into the nearest fireplace without even opening it. Naturally, her mother's bloody owl couldn't even wait until after breakfast to ruin her day, the wretched thing.
With a groan, she snatched the envelope off the table and tore it open, already grinding her teeth before she'd even laid eyes on her mother's handwriting, and her ears growing warmer by the word.
To say she was on the verge of losing her temper would have been inaccurate, if only for the fact that the phrase implied that at some point, her anger had been soothed or otherwise placated, rather than just burned to embers to be stoked into a raging inferno at a moment's notice.
Desperately wanting to throw or break something, she tossed the parchment onto the table in front of her. On the cusp of seventeen, she was half a woman and half a child, which left her with more responsibilities and rules than she'd ever thought possible. Long gone was the freedom of childhood and yet equally out of her grasp was the agency of adulthood, keeping her trapped in limbo, suspended between two worlds like a fly caught in a web. It made her want to scream.
But she'd already done that, and a load of good it had done her.
She'd cried herself sick at least once as well, but no matter how hoarse she grew, the tempest always returned with the same near-suffocating pressure in her chest.
First, it had been her father's swords, vanishing from the mantle and the displays. Then it'd been her bow that had been hidden and locked away with her mother's magic. Her pegasus, Angus, had been sent to stand stud at a stable in France, vanishing in the night before she even had a chance to say goodbye. Most days, flying was the only thing she had left, so naturally now her mother was coming after her broom too – using the cancellation of quidditch as her justification.
Why was her mother so hellbent on taking her only sanctuary from her?
Bitterly, Merida couldn't help but think that it was only a matter of time before Elinor's moratoriums claimed her wand too, and her mother's closest friend would see to it that her word was obeyed to the letter.
Glancing over her shoulder, Merida found herself caught between the line of sight and peripheral of one Professor Grimm. While not overt, Merida could tell he was watching her from the corner of his eye, but then he almost always was. Waiting for her to do anything that her mother might see as a misstep and ready to send Elinor a full report.
Eyes narrowed, Merida reached across the table and snatched a self-inking quill from where it lay on the ancient boards, momentarily abandoned while its owner rifled through their bag in search of what she suspected was more parchment.
Tearing off a section of her mother's letter, Merida scrawled her surname next to her mother's greeting, then tossed the quill back across the table at her housemate. Before the other student had a chance to complain, Merida shoved the rest of the letter into the pocket of her robes and rose.
Pushing her curls out of her face with a free hand, Merida strode forward, head held high and shoulders back, the picture of a proper lady, if she'd ever seen one.
Glinting blue steel met green as Merida's gaze locked with Grimm's.
But Merida did not slow, undeterred from her quest even as Professor Grimm rose from the table, frowning. As she ascended the stone steps, he stepped forward too, to stop her, she was sure. But she would not back down, not from this.
Holding her hand over the flames, she refused to break eye contact.
"If she thinks A'm just goin' ta roll over and let her take my broom," Merida said. "She's got another thing comin'."
And though her eyes glittered as the flames rose to claim her entry, they shone cold as ice.
Pleasantly, she said. "Don't forget to underline that in your report."
Pushing her hair out of her face with a free hand, Rapunzel chewed on her lip. While she'd expected to have to do magic in class, she hadn't realized that weekly demonstrations would be a part of those teachings. In retrospect, it made total sense, and she felt kind of stupid for not having thought of it.
Stepping towards the magical metal mannequin positioned at the front of the room, Rapunzel raised her hand to position her wand diagonally across her chest and closed her eyes. Focusing on the feel of the woodgrain against her palm, she pictured herself plucking threads of magical energy from the air and drawing them in like thread from an unraveled spool, tethering herself to them with each breath. Her stomach churned with apprehension, but a tingle of excitement ran down her spine and out to the tips of her fingers and toes.
It wouldn't be like the previous week's lesson, or the one before that. Her nerves wouldn't get the better of her this time. All week she'd been studying, spending nearly every spare moment she had perfecting not only the wand movement and correct pronunciation of the incantation, but also the spell's signed incantation too, just in case.
"Telum venefica," Taking a step towards the target, Rapunzel extended her arm and flicked her hands with the same movements she'd been practicing all week. "Telum venefica, telum venefica. Arc and slash. Telum venefica."
"That's enough for today, Gothel."
Rapunzel pulled her wand in close to her chest and held it with both hands as she turned to face her Professor, who was frowning over her black cat-eye glasses. "Please let me try again. I can do this. I know I can."
"I said that's enough. Return to your seat, post haste."
"Yes, Professor Finster," Rapunzel nodded, wilting.
As she made her way down the aisle to her chosen desk, several of her classmates began to giggle as she passed. Drizella gave her sister a sharp nudge with her elbow as Rapunzel drew near, and the red-headed twin clapped both hands over her mouth to hide her snickers, albeit ineffectively.
Rapunzel's brows knit together, but she found she didn't have the heart to ask them what they were laughing at, although the knot in her gut told her that it was her. Mother had been right when she'd told her that she'd be a laughing stock at Hogwarts.
Closing her eyes in an attempt to resist the prickling of oncoming tears, Rapunzel sat down at her desk.
Or, at least, she sat where her stool had been only half a second before.
As the ground fell away from under her, she reached out in an attempt to grab something to hold onto, and nearly overturned the whole desk in the process. Her wand clattered loudly against the floor, and Rapunzel gasped as white hot pain shot up her right arm from wrist to elbow.
Suddenly, with a wheezing squeal, the Tremaine twins burst out laughing, hysterical cackling soon echoing throughout the classroom as other students began laughing too. Drizella collapsed onto her forearms, her body practically convulsing as she half-wept onto her desk, repeating fragments of what had happened in a high-pitched voice, punctuated by a mixture of raucous cackles and gasps for breath.
Rapunzel bit the inside of her cheek as she tried not to cry – although from the pain or the utter humiliation, she hadn't yet decided. Pulling herself up onto her grazed knees, Rapunzel reached for her wand and nearly lost her breakfast as the searing pain returned. Grabbing her wand with her left hand instead, she stuffed it into the pocket of her robes and staggered to her feet.
"What's going on here?" Professor Finster demanded, tapping one of her low-heeled shoes against the stone tiles.
"I-I fell."
"Yes, I can see that. Let's see that arm, then."
Wincing, Rapunzel stopped cradling her right forearm and held it out for Professor Finster to look at. The elderly witch eased back the sleeve, and adjusted where her glasses sat on her large nose as she peered at Rapunzel's freckled arm, then shook her head.
"Well, that's a first. In all my years, I can't say I've ever had a non-magical injury in my class before," Professor Finster frowned as she released the girl's arm, and her sleeve fell back over her swelling wrist. "Alright then, off to the Hospital Wing with you."
Nodding, Rapunzel turned and reached out towards her satchel with her good arm.
Professor Finster turned and strode back towards the front of the room. "DunBroch, carry her books so she doesn't end up breaking the other one, too."
"Yes, Professor," A girl said with half a sigh.
Glancing towards the familiar voice, Rapunzel saw one of the Slytherin girls pack up her own things and make her way down the aisle towards her, and she groaned inwardly as she recognized the miserable, frog-eating redhead from the train. She'd been one of the first students Professor Finster had called on to demonstrate the spell, and she'd succeeded on her very first try.
Rapunzel hoped the girl didn't have any more frogs with her; she'd almost have preferred breaking her other arm to seeing that again.
Sweeping Rapunzel's things into her satchel with freckled hands, she hoisted the bag onto her shoulder and lead the way out of the classroom as the Tremaine sisters continued to wheeze.
"Thank you – for carrying my stuff."
"Don't mention it," the redhead shrugged.
"Oh, okay," Rapunzel nodded, glancing down at her wrist, which had swollen to twice its usual size. Wincing, she opted to change the subject instead. "My name is Rapunzel, by the way."
"A know."
"Oh," Rapunzel said, nodding again. Flexing her fingers, Rapunzel studied her good hand, trying to think of something she could say to fill the chasm of tense silence that had opened up between them.
As they rounded the corner by the Hospital Wing, Rapunzel shrugged. "You know, this is my second trip to the Hospital Wing since I started school. I – uh – hope I don't make a habit of it."
"Good fer you," Dunbroch said, shrugging again. "A don't know what you want me to say – be careful, A guess?"
"Yeah, I probably should try. To be more careful."
When they reached the Hospital Wing, the redhead set Rapunzel's satchel on the bed next to her and thankfully, gave her a wave and went on her way. Rapunzel sighed, leaning on her good arm and swinging her legs as she waited her turn. After only a few minutes, Gothi arrived with her tall staff.
You again, Rapunzel smiled as she recognized the witch's hand signs and nodded by way of reply.
"Sorry to bother you," Rapunzel pushed her sleeve back with her good hand to show the purplish swelling around her wrist. "I fell in class."
Looks broken.
"Miss Finster thinks so, too. It definitely hurts a lot."
Gothi gestured again, this time with hand signals that Rapunzel didn't recognize.
"I'm sorry – I don't understand."
Sighing, Gothi held out her left arm. Rapunzel nodded, cluing in, and did the same. Gothi stepped forward and lifted her staff, moving it in slow circles above Rapunzel's wrist with one hand while she signed spells with the other.
Rapunzel gasped as a sharp ache shot up the length of her arm, then just as quickly faded into a honey-like warmth that spread through her wrist and began to move outwards towards her fingers and elbow. Her bones felt as though they had suddenly turned to jelly. With a sudden click, Rapunzel felt the bones in her wrist snap back into their proper places like magnets and a peculiar ticklish itch spread through the inside of her arm as her bones knit themselves back together.
Gothi stepped back and shuffled back into her office. Rapunzel lifted her arm to inspect her wrist, and found it was nearly back to its usual visage, saved for the mottled green and purple bruising that wrapped around it like a bracelet. Gingerly, Rapunzel tried moving each of her fingers and found the pain in her wrist had vanished.
A tiny jar of sparkling beige ointment in hand, Gothi scooped a coin-sized dollop of the lotion onto Rapunzel's wrist, mimed for her to rub it in, then shooed her on her way. After pulling her satchel over her shoulder, Rapunzel headed out from the Hospital Wing, rubbing the ointment into her newly healed wrist and grinning as the salve immediately began to fade the bruising.
Spirals of sediment followed his feet with each step, the mud reluctantly relinquishing its hold on him but turning the surrounding area a mucky brown as though in protest. An abundance of early September rains had chilled the lake considerably and so he had goosebumps across his arms and legs, although he hardly noticed as he continued forward, a well-worn satchel bumping against his hip with each step.
Pausing at the tickle of lake-water as it lapped against the backs of his knees, he reached into his bag and withdrew a square package which had been hastily wrapped with oil-stained parchment and twine. With a single tug, he untied the twine and stuffed it back into his satchel alongside his crumpled and crumb-adorned homework assignment, then held his hand out in front of him, fingers flat like he'd been instructed to do when offering treats to North's reindeer.
A swell of ripples appeared only a few feet from where he was standing, followed by a decisive splash that sent a wave barreling towards him, quashing any efforts he'd taken to keep his clothes dry. Wet fabric clung against his body, and even though he'd taken care to roll up his pant-legs, they were as soaked as if he'd just waded straight in.
"Hey, be nice," Hiccup said, pulling a large strand of seaweed from the shoulder of his drenched uniform. "I brought you a peace offering."
Another splash surged from the depths in his direction, this time accompanied by an enormous dark brown tentacle that snatched the now-damp chunk of carrot cake from his hand and retreated back to the depths in an instant.
"And for the record, I sent you like three whole cakes over the summer, so if North didn't give those to you, you should take that up with him."
After a moment, Hiccup caught a glimpse of orange spreading outwards in the way a potion might disperse beneath the surface as his friend shed his shallows camouflage in favour of a cheerful orange colour.
Its mantle rippling as the creature ventured further into the shallows, Hiccup pulled another treat from his satchel, then shifted the weight onto his back as he leaned down and dipped his hands into the water. Without hesitation, one of the squid's tentacles darted in and snatched the offered piece of cheese from his palm.
"I brought that all the way from Drekey for you, you know. Don't tell North, you know you're not supposed to have cheese."
The creature deposited the chunk of cheese at the base of its many legs, and Hiccup couldn't help but give a lopsided grin.
What's your name? Hiccup had asked once upon a time, many years ago when he was much littler. And the creature had done the exact same thing, bring the tips of its tentacles to the base of its body. After four years in Care of Magical Creatures with North, he now understood the gesture had actually been intended as a request for food, but nevertheless, the name Itchy Armpit had managed to stick. Although, he wasn't entirely sure that the squid cared what people called it, so long as they brought an offering of contraband from the kitchens.
Gently, Hiccup ran a hand over the creature, using the backs of his fingers instead of the rougher, more abrasive calloused side of his hand to pet its soft back. As the squid swam the shallows at his feet, he caught a glimpse of a jagged pale pink line above one of its large eyes, the freshly-healed remnants of another underwater battle undoubtedly won.
Glancing down at the mosaic of scars across his own arms and legs, Hiccup sighed.
"Who am I kidding? I wouldn't stand a chance in the Tournament."
Pulling a fresh hoodie over his head, Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way upstairs in search of some breakfast. The number of students already milling about the hallways, many on their way back to their dormitories, told him that it was fast approaching noon. But that was hardly a surprise – he'd been up until almost sunrise.
Hopping over the trick step and rounding the corner into the main foyer, Jack made his way into the Great Hall and slid onto one of the long benches nearest the door. Only a handful of students still occupied the hall, most working on homework, although a few seemed intent on getting a head-start on lunch.
With a yawn, Jack stretched his arms towards the candlelit ceiling and rolled his head against his shoulders in an attempt to ease out some of the stiffness in his muscles.
Professor Grimm had very nearly caught him while chaperoning the first year astronomy class back to their dormitories in the early hours of the morning, and so Jack had retreated to the safety of the quidditch pitch, where he'd hung out in the stands until just before the sun had come up.
Even though he hadn't felt cold at the time, the dull ache in his muscles betrayed him, even after napping for most of the morning.
Jack reached for a covered platter of baked goods which wobbled precariously as an auburn-haired girl slid onto the bench across from him, nearly knocking over the table in the process.
"Good morning Jack!" The girl said brightly, her freckled cheeks flushed pink from exertion.
"Hi Anna," Jack said through a mouthful of the last chocolate croissant. "You seem like you're in a hurry."
"No! Well, sort of, I guess," She tucked one of her twin braids behind her ear and went on, beginning to fidget with stray cutlery as she spoke. "I mean, it's not a big thing, I was just wondering when you're going to enter your name in the Goblet of Fire. Because I want to be here when you do. And, y'know, cheer you on! If – if that's okay. With you."
"I don't know," Jack shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not even sure I will. I don't think it's really my thing."
"Really?" Anna gaped at him. "But you're the best quidditch player in the whole school! I bet you'd be really awesome in the tournament too!"
Three years his junior, the energetic and overly enthusiastic Gryffindor girl had a love of all things quidditch and a particular fondness for the Hufflepuff quidditch team for reasons that Jack had never ventured to ask. He supposed it was her way of supporting her older sister, although the two didn't seem to be especially close, and to be honest, Jack wasn't even sure that Anna's elder sister even liked quidditch – he couldn't recall ever having seen her at tryouts.
Anna, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of quidditch. Although, as Jack understood it, she lacked the coordination to play the game herself, she wasn't dissuaded in her love of the sport and had even become something of an expert on brooms, as he had learned during the many instances that he'd run into her at the quidditch shop in Hogsmeade. And since he'd known her, she had never missed a single one of Hufflepuff's games.
"I'd consider it if the tournament was something cool," Jack grabbed a glass of iced coffee as it appeared on the table in front of him and swirled it around before taking a sip. "But you heard Grimm – it's some weird academic thing, which just sounds like hard work and deadlines to me."
"Oh, right, that makes sense. I guess I got a little carried away – I mean, you could probably buy out Zonko's entire stock for a thousand galleons-"
"A thousand galleons?" Jack repeated, nearly choking on his drink.
"Oh, uh – yeah, I overheard Snorri Jorgenson talking about all the things he's going to buy with it when he wins and I thought you'd be a much better champion than him," As the clock struck noon, an assortment of platters appeared on the table in front of them and Anna reached forward, excitedly plucking a sandwich from the second tier. After taking a sizeable bite, she made a face and held up her sandwich for closer inspection. "Rye really has no business looking this much like chocolate."
As Anna rambled on about how layer cakes ought to be considered a sandwich and therefore a suitable lunch option, Jack's gaze wandered to the ancient chalice in the centre of the room.
Jack wasn't the cleverest or hardest working student in class by any means, but he got by, and perhaps he'd be able to do the same in the tournament. Maybe he'd even have some sort of advantage over more bookish students, if he was selected. He knew a few other quidditch players had thrown their name in the cup, and while he didn't expect to be chosen over someone like Astrid Hofferson, surely he stood at least as good a chance of doing well in the tournament as Snorri Jorgenson.
Besides, a thousand galleons was a lot of money, and there was no doubt that a boy like Jack could find a use for it. A thousand galleons would certainly be enough to get him a place of his own – an apartment above one of the shops in Diagon Alley, perhaps? Then at least he'd have somewhere to go when he finished school, because he certainly couldn't see the Mund family inviting him to stay any longer than they had to. A thousand galleons would give him security like he'd never known – and he'd probably even have enough left over to build up his stash of Zonko's products in time to pull something spectacular at the end of year, hopefully something big and dramatic enough to cancel exams.
And then, Hogwarts would definitely have something to remember him by.
Stuffing the rest of his croissant in his mouth, Jack reached into his pocket and drew out a handful of sweets wrappers. Across the table, Anna watched him quizzically as he deposited the collection of wrappers on the table and sorted through them until he found one that was more parchment than wax paper with little writing on the back. Carefully smoothing the sweet wrapper on the corner of the table, Jack turned his attention to Anna.
"You wouldn't happen to have a quill, would you?"
So whose names do you think will come out of the Goblet of Fire? Who would you be most excited to see as champion?