Hello fellow witches and wizards, thank you for your patience as I get this back up and going. Enjoy!
Anna 11
"See you guys after practice!" I call out.
"Don't let a vampire get ya!" Hiro tacks on, drawing an eyeroll from Astrid.
"Are there vampires around Hogwarts? My mother warned me about them. Do they like Halloween too? Should I have made garlic taffy this year?" Rapunzel squeaks, eyes wide.
"Ignore him Rapunzel." Kristoff says "He's just- wait, did you say 'garlic taffy'?"
"Yeah! I made up a recipe a few years ago."
"Why?"
"Well, I asked about trick-or-treating, and Mother told me how vampire's think that people with blonde hair have the best tasting blood, so I stayed inside and made garlic taffy, in case any vampires came to the door." She says brightly.
"Well, if any vampire's show their fangs at Hogwarts t'night, I'll take care o' them for ya lass." Merida says, hefting her bat.
We split off towards the pitch in time to see all the older students filing out towards Hogsmeade. I let my head fall back in disappointment and declared to the sky, "I want to go to Hogsmeade!" As we continued to make our way to the pitch I peered in that direction to see if I could spot anyone I knew. It didn't take long before I found River's large hair amongst the crowd and standing next to her was Elsa. I was kinda shocked, but my heart dropped a little.
"Aye, my ma makes it sound so fun." Merida said while joining me in properly investigating the group.
"Think we could sneak out?" Astrid added in a way that I couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.
"Ummmmm I don't think that's a good idea…" Rapunzel said nervously, "If we were going to run into vampires it would be at hogsmeade!" When nobody responded she added, "Plus Hiccup would notice if we missed p-practice." The end of that sentence resembled something of a question, but we all knew she was right. Whatever idea was forming in our heads quickly fizzled.
"Yeah I guess." I said only partially disappointed. Even if I wasn't going to get to go on a grand adventure to Hogsmeade I still had some interesting plans for the night.
"Its going'ta be a boring Halloween." Merida sighed.
"Chins up gals, its Halloween. I'm sure there will be something of interest going on at the spookiest place to be studying magic." I stated proudly.
Merida smiled, "yer righ't. Ta Halloween!" She shouted as she shot off closing the final distance between her and the pitch.
"No fair!" I shout after her as I try to match her speed with Astrid and Rapunzel close behind.
When we got there we found everyone gathered in the same area. Hiccup stood at the front. He seemed to be the only one leading this first year practice. All the others must have headed off to Hogsmeade.
"Ok first years, listen up!" He called authoritatively. The crowd quickly quieted down and paid him attention.. He gave us a short spiel about what we were doing and let us loose. We all knew the routine by now. Warm ups, positional practice, then a scrimmage before we all left the pitch feeling exhausted.
I swung into the Gryffindor common room singing a jaunty tune, excited for a shower. My will was tested when I saw the common area couches near the fire. They called to me like a siren and I just couldn't resist its cushiony pull.
"Aye lass, what are you doing?" Merida asked as I averted my route.
"Only a moment please, it just looks so comfy!" I pleaded.
"Looks like you are showering last then." Astrid confidently strode past without a second thought and Merida eventually followed.
I yawned in response and waved my hand at them as I sunk onto the surface and stared into the cackling fire. This was my first Halloween that I wasn't at home. I remembered fondly the adventures my parents would take me on. I loved dressing up and getting loads of candy. A pang of homesickness hit me and I shut my eyes to keep my wits about me. Hogwarts is amazing, there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be.
I laid there with my eyes closed a little longer and realized just how tired I was. It was Halloween, I can't be caught napping. But... Merida takes forever to get ready and I'm quick. I won't need as much time. It'll be fine if I lay here just a couple moments- Suddenly I heard rapping at the painting and the fat lady chewing someone out, I jumped up from where I sat and found the room seemed a little darker than when I had sat down.
I shrugged it off and made my way to the entrance. Whipping open the door I found Hiro standing in front of me. I was impressed by how quickly he had gotten changed. The Ravenclaw tower must not be quite as terrible as everyone claims it is.
"There you are! Its time." He hissed at me.
I looked at him confused for a moment, "time?" My stomach gave a mighty yell from deep within and I smiled, "oh for dinner."
"No, dinner was a while ago, did you not eat?"
I looked around the room in panic to find the clock's hand had found 12. It slowly hit me, Halloween evening had come and gone without me. My cheeks began to burn at the thought that they just left me to sleep without waking me up for the fun. However, the disappointment was quickly replaced with a second realization: it was finally time.
"Give me a moment" I smiled as I ran up the stairs into my room of sleeping roommates. I tried really hard to make my way to my things as quietly as possible and snagged my coat, but ended up tripping on something laying haphazardly out and stubbed my toe on the end of one of the beds.
I bit back a squeal and held very still to see if I had woken anyone. Astrid stirred in the bed I whacked, but didn't get up. Breathing out, I made my hasty escape. I met Hiro in the main room and then we headed into the night without another word. We knew where we were going.
We tiptoed to the meeting spot where Hiccup was waiting and as a group, entered the classroom we had been working in to design and craft our project. We only paused there for a moment before rounding the corner of the stand alone building and making our way to the forbidden forest.
After the meeting with Elsa and River, we decided that it was for the best if we only worked on this stuff later at night. We ran a higher risk if we got caught, but fewer eyes meant that others shouldn't catch on.
The run across the clearing is the scariest part. If we were going to be caught it would be there and I didn't like to think about what would happen if Frollo found us again. My breathing didn't settle until the trees completely obscured us from sight.
We trotted through the overgrown bushes and made our way through clearings until we found ourselves in the same spot we were that one fateful evening. The three of us sat expectantly as we listened for any sounds just beyond our sight. Or rather, for one specific set of sounds.
After a while the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as if we were being watched. I craned my head to get a better look into the darkness and could have sworn I saw someone. Someone tall and large and well, red... I gasped and fell backward onto Hiro who jumped.
"What are you doing?" He asked me.
I couldn't form the words so I just pointed. The boys looked expectantly with a glitter in their eye until they realized there wasn't anything there. "I-I thought I saw someone." I explained when my voice found me. Finally I allowed my finger to drop since whatever shape I had seen disappeared as quietly as it came. "I must have been wrong."
"Stop messing around Anna, he won't come unless we are very quiet." Hiccup hissed in my direction.
"Sorry." I let my eyes fall down as I settled back in to wait quietly. I only looked up when Hiro placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder and gave me an encouraging smile. His presence warmed me and reignited my excitement, all thoughts of shapes and creatures that roamed this maze completely disappeared.
After an eternity, the rustle came. I could feel the anticipation as two yellow eyes appeared between a couple branches. At that cue, Hiccup slowly rose and put his hands out reassuringly.
Hiro and I followed suit. After a moment of hesitation that becomes shorter with every iteration, the sleek, black dragon entered the clearing we were at. We regularly came out to visit with him and every time there is a little more trust between us and the night fury.
He entered with a fearsome presence that could only be matched by marshmallow, but as soon as the moonlight hit the tip of his broken tail he came bounding at Hiccup. The dragon bounced with happiness and gave Hiccup a very wet kiss. He came and rubbed his head on Hiro and I before laying in the center of the triangle we had made, placing his head in Hiccup's lap and his tail in Hiro's.
"Hey toothless." Hiccup patted the sweet dragon's head as I gawked at how much progress we had made with this wild dragon. We nicknamed him toothless after we found out that he had nothing but gums. That had been a very scary encounter in which we though Hiccup was about to lose a limb. From that point on I made sure to bring a first aid kit among other stuff. Not that a first aid kit would be very helpful in reattaching a leg, but it felt like something Elsa would do. I definitely didn't want to see my friends get hurt.
"We have a surprise for you today" He continued with a coo. Something we had all pondered many times was whether he would still be here if he had the choice to fly away. Part of me didn't want to find out, but Hiccup was insistent.
Hiccup raised the replacement tail he had made for him and showed him it before gently passing it to Hiro. Toothless eyed it skeptically, not sure what to make of this piecemeal object. Hiro started to strap it onto the end of his tail when toothless let out a yelp and darted away. The cloth mimicry of his fin got smashed to the ground in a pile of splinters. Toothless hissed at it for good measure and then disappeared back into the darkness.
"Toothless!" Hiccup called desperately, but the dragon was gone. Hiccup made his way over to the contraption we had poured so much time into. He lifted it carefully off the ground and just stared at it for a moment.
I walked up to him and gave him a nudge, "It never works on the first try. Don't worry, we can make another."
When he met my eye I realized that what I had mistaken for disappointment was actually calculation, "Yes. I think this demonstrates some design changes we need to make."
I smiled, "We should get to work. There is a lot to do!"
We started the hike back into the building when I heard voices. They weren't loud enough for me to make out what was being said, but I was pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating. I froze in my tracks which led to Hiro running directly into me. His momentum knocked me over and we landed with a thud.
Hiccup swung around at our commotion with a concerned glance, "Are you guys ok?"
"Shhhh." I hissed, but it was too late. The voices were gone. Not quite ready to give up, I started to make my way in the direction of the sounds.
Hiro grabbed my arm, "you can't! You'll get lost."
I looked out at the darkness longingly. I realized he was right, but I didn't like it. Something was happening. "I have to go a little further. I'll be right back." Hiro hesitated a moment longer before allowing me to dive deeper into the night. I didn't know what I was looking for but I'd know it when I saw it. I hoped.
It only took a minute or two to arrive at a small clearing that I hadn't known existed. It was well kept, unlike the others, and seemed to come out of nowhere. The clearing we meet Toothless in has wild thorns and natural debris, but this area was perfect. Intentionally perfect. Other than its uncanny beauty, there wasn't anything else of interest. I was fascinated and disappointed. This couldn't be nothing, could it? One way or another, if people were here they aren't anymore.
With a sigh I turned on my heels and made my way back to Hiccup and Hiro, who looked relieved to see me.
We made our way back inside only pausing to drop off the heap of the tail fin in the classroom. Safely inside Hogwarts, we saw an older Ravenclaw girl roaming the halls too. Hiro and I shared a glance. It wasn't long until she also noticed us. She looked really nervous, but took a deep breath and approached us.
"What are you doing up?"
"I think we could ask the same of you Heather." Hiccup stated with more force than I thought was necessary.
"I am on official patrol duty. Frollo has been having some problems with students roaming around at night and asked some of us to help keep an eye over the grounds." Her words waivered unconvincingly, but she pulled out a pass that looked official enough. My heart sank. "I'm supposed to report this to Frollo, but I won't."
"Why?" I asked before even thinking about it. Who cares, she was going to let us go!
"Think of it as a personal favor." She said as she walked past without another word. She rounded the corner to go deeper into the school and we all exhaled, unsure of what just happened.
A couple exchanged glances and we all parted ways. None of us really knew what to say, so it seemed best to just leave it at that and take the wins where we could get them.
Elsa 13
The school day went by in a flash, everyone was so excited to finally get out and visit Hogsmeade. Especially all my classmates. It was going to be our first time to go and on Halloween to boot! Their excitement was pretty infectious, I couldn't help but begin to look forward to it myself. I climbed the stairs to go get changed out of my school robes into something warmer for the evening. My room was bustling when I got there. Franny was getting ready while her pet frog belted at the top of its lungs. Heather and Pocahontas were in some heated debate. Well as heated as two introverts could really get.
The round window in our room was propped open to allow the cool breeze in and around the chaos. Usually this activity would stress me out, but today it felt fitting. Hogsmeade, I needed to get used to it.
When I emerged from the bathroom ready to go, Heather had left and Franny seemed to have gotten a hang of her frog. Pocahontas sat looking frustrated on her bed. I tidied up my area debating whether I should just keep my head down and enjoy the night or say something.
I had just decided I was going to leave her alone when Pocahontas said, "Are you going to the town tonight?"
I stared at her blankly for a moment before realizing she was talking to me. "Yes, I was planning to. I didn't want to, but my friend River convinced me." I added an awkward pause before adding "I'm sure it'll be fun."
She laughed, "River, right. The one with big hair. You spend a lot of time together."
I smiled at the thought, "Yeah she is my best friend. We have been through thick and thin together. You and Heather seem to be close."
"I guess you could say we are the same. Best friends. At least we used to be." She trailed off and I felt bad.
"Used to, what happened?"
"She came to Hogwarts. We lived in the same tribe back home. When she left I wasn't allowed to come too, even though I really wanted to. I am the chief's daughter so I had responsibilities. She didn't want to come at first, she liked being back home. Things have just gotten all mixed up it seems. She got what I wanted and I got what… well she wanted I guess." She looked up and her face went bright red. "I'm sorry I don't know why I am still talking."
"Don't worry, I get it. If you ever need an ear I'm here to listen." I gave her a smile like mom used to give me when I was feeling this way. "Are you going to Hogsmeade? If you are you can come with River and I."
Pocahontas smiled back, "Sure, sounds fun." She quickly went to get changed and then we headed down the stairs together.
River was waiting for us at the bottom, "Took ya long enough. I was worried I was going to have to come up those stairs and drag you- Oh, hi Pocahontas! You coming to Hogsmeade with us tonight?"
Pocahontas looked up from seamlessly braiding her hair to respond, "Yes!" I was amazed how patient she was to tie up that much hair and loved the gold tinsel she had tied in along with it. It highlighted how nice her hair was.
The three of us chatted as we made our way outside into the commotion. Professor Dunbroch was directing people into some sort of order, but the student's excitement could not be quelled. Each person went through the professor checkpoint to make sure only authorized students could leave campus, then we boarded the train and were whisked off.
The town was incredible. It had more of a rustic feel than most of the wizarding towns I had been to. There were sidewalks but the ground was mostly dirt and the streets were lit with candles. Some people had dressed up for the trip, so hastily thrown together costumes littered the streets as students went in and out of the shops. I only got a moment to take it all in before River dragged Pocahontas and I into Dervish and Banges.
Magical objects were on every shelf. I could only guess what half of them did and I'd probably be wrong for most. River picked something up and it immediately started screeching. The old shop owner came and rescued us with a glare and then went back to his perch with a watchful eye.
We wandered around the shop for as long as we could stand the glares, then escaped out into the streets in a symphony of giggles. As we made our way through the other stores I noticed how in awe Pocahontas was at everything. It was like she had never been to a town before.
My favorite was Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. The notebooks, stationary, and quills were marvelous. I picked a couple out for myself and got some as Christmas gifts. I figured mom would love this as a reminder of her school years.
Finally, we ended up in the Hogs Head pub for some butterbeer. It had been such a fun evening. We were enjoying ourselves when some of the third year guys wandered in. Before finding their seats they came up to our table while making quite the ruckus.
"Hello ladies" One of them said with a swagger. He ran his hand through his hair and then placed it on the table. "Did you enjoy Hogsmeade?"
"Go away Flynn." River said without missing a beat. "I did enjoy it and will continue to enjoy it once you have left this table."
"I'm hurt." He put his other hand over his heart to demonstrate his sincerity, then immediately got over it. "Looks like you've added the new girl to the group! Good for you Pocahontas, this one is difficult to get into. Trust me I tried."
I wanted to audibly groan. He was so cheesy.
"Hey Flynn lets get something to drink and sit down." His blonde friend interjected.
"Yeah, leave the girls alone." John Rolfe called over his shoulder as he left to go stand in line at the bar.
I smiled inwardly, I was thankful Flynn had the Johns to keep him reeled in.
"Ok, ok. Have a nice night girls." He flashed us his signature smile and was dragged off by John Smith whose gaze paused just a moment over Pocahontas who was studying her hands furiously.
"Without the Johns to keep him in line, I think that boy would be a world class criminal. Blue collar crime only, of course." I laughed.
"He sure thinks that smile will get him everywhere." River added.
When I noticed Pocahontas wasn't joining in on the fun I decided to be a little bold, "Couldn't help but notice someone notice you, Pocahontas."
River let out a squeal, "I need details sweetie. Who?"
"I don't know, John Smith seemed pretty taken by how lovely Pocahontas looks tonight."
"No he wasn't" Pocahontas looked worried. She breathed, "I'm just the new girl. Everyone looks at me weird, ya know. Comes with the territory."
I was taken back by that response and worried I had said something wrong. I didn't mean to make her feel bad, I thought that was the kind of teasing girls did together.
"Oh" was all I could say.
"Sorry, I ruined the mood didn't I?" She responded hanging her head again.
"Not at all!" River laughed, picking the momentum back up, "We don't need any guys. To independent women!"
I smiled gratefully for Rivers' tactful save and we met her glass in the air.
