Hey y'all! I know it's been a long time since the last update, but… let's just say now I know what exactly the other Authors mean when they say, "Life, uh, gets in the way…"
[Besides, I've been busy with Loki (did you get the y'all reference?), Eternals, Shang-Chi and Hawkeye.]
Anyway, here's the latest chapter:
oOo
Dragons: Race to the Burrow
Chapter 3: Who Are You?
oOo
"Then both our worlds shall perish."
The words rang out into the Plaza as an old man stepped out of the shadows between two houses. He was dressed in long flowing robes and a pointed hat, and had long white hair and beard. He had some sort of semicircular glass-covering over his piercing blue eyes and held a stick similar to the one that the redheaded man held.
"I feel like I'm something here," Snotlout said, frowning as he scratched the side of his head, confused.
"We all are, Snotlout," Fishlegs told him.
"And who are you?" The Chief was getting quite irritated now. "How many of you are there?"
As two other men and a woman walked out of the shadows, too, the old man said calmly, "I am Albus Dumbledore. These are Remus Lupin, Bill Weasley, and Nymphadora Tonks. We have travelled from a great distance in search of help in saving our people."
"And what did you mean by 'both our worlds shall perish'?" Astrid asked, inspecting all the strangers.
"Please, allow us to explain the entire situation," Dumbledore requested. "We would be grateful if we could talk with the leaders of this settlement somewhere a bit more private."
Hiccup stepped forward. "I'm Hiccup Haddock, Heir to the Isle of Berk, home of the Hooligan Tribe. And this is my father, Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk."
Stoick stepped forward cautiously, still wary of the strangers, and offered his hand to the old man, who shook it with surprising firmness for a man his age.
"Come to our Great Hall, we can talk there," Stoick told the man, who nodded.
"We are grateful, Chief Stoick," said the old man.
"We'll take care of the dragon," Fishlegs said to Charlie, and after a moment's hesitation, he nodded.
"Okay," he agreed.
"Everyone, get back to your tasks!" Stoick called to the gathered villagers, who reluctantly began to disperse, whispering and muttering, pointing at the strangers. Eventually, most of them had left, leaving only the Riders, the A-team, Gobber, the Chief and, of course, the strangers.
"Spitelout, gather the Council and meet in the Great Hall," Stoick ordered, and Spitelout left with his dragon.
"Snotlout, take the dragon to the academy and give it some fish and water," Hiccup told Snotlout, who did as he was told, albeit reluctantly.
"You're dismissed," Astrid told the Auxiliary Riders, and Gustav, Bucket, and Mulch left, while Gothi and Sven, who were on the Council, headed towards the Great Hall.
"Follow me," Hiccup told the strangers and began leading them towards the stairs to the Hall, Astrid and his father beside him while Gobber, Fishlegs and the Twins brought up the rear along with the dragons.
After entering the hall, everyone seated themselves around a large table, and once all the Council Members were seated, Hiccup introduced everyone.
"This is Gothi, the village Elder and Healer," he said, pointing at the old woman. "This is Spitelout Jorgensen, second-in-command to the Chief. And these are Hoark, Ack, Sven, Phlegma the Fierce and Gobber the Belch. Together, along with my father, Chief Stoick, they are the Council of Berk." And then he gestured to the Riders. "These are Snotlout Jorgensen, Fishlegs Ingerman, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, and Astrid Hofferson. The Dragon Riders of Berk. And Astrid here is the General of Berk's forces."
"So," the Chief began. "What is it that you wanted to discuss?"
"What I am about to tell you might sound quite difficult to believe, but I request that you let me finish first," Dumbledore said, leaning forward. Several people raised a brow but when everyone nodded in assent, the old man continued.
oOo
Several minutes later, after Dumbledore had finished his tale, there was silence at the table.
"So, basically, you people are from another freaking Realm, where magic is a real thing, you're all freaking wizards, there's a freaking dark Voldy-guy trying to take over your freaking world, and he's got himself an ally from our world that's got a freaking Alpha-dragon licking his behind?" Snotlout asked incredulously.
"Not that freaking, but yeah," Tonks mumbled.
"And you expect us to believe that? Even I'm not that dumb!"
"As much as I hate to admit it, for once I have to agree with Snotlout, all this sounds… much too far-fetched to be true," Fishlegs commented, shaking his head.
Sighing, Remus raised his wand, pointed it at the mug in front of him, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa."
All the vikings' eyes widened as the mug lifted off of the table and hovered a few inches above it.
Tonks then bent forward, and her hair, which had been shoulder-length and blonde until then, grew until it reached her waist and turned a bright shade of pink. Bill joined in, flicking his wand and transfiguring his mug into a plate. Charlie then Disapparated from his chair and appeared right beside Snotlout, tapped him on the shoulder, and then Apparated back into his chair.
"B-but h-how can…" Fishlegs sputtered as he gaped along with everyone else.
"So, are you convinced now?" Bill asked.
Gulping, Fishlegs nodded in a daze. After several moments, the Chief seemed to regain the power of speech.
"How do we know you won't be harming us using your…" he trailed off, gesturing vaguely.
"We haven't yet, have we?" Tonks said impatiently. "Do you think we'd be telling you all this if we just wanted to attack your tribe?"
Hiccup recovered, too, and said, "Okay, that's a fair point. But… if you have magic, why would it be any problem at all? Couldn't you just…"
"Alas, it is not that simple, Mr Haddock," Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, we do have magic. But the enemy does, too. And even for us, dragons are very difficult to fight against. A whole dragon army would prove to be too much. Has proved to be too much. You, on the other hand, are perfectly capable of standing against them."
"And we should help you because?" Spitelout asked, skeptical.
"Because when our world falls, they will be coming for yours," said the old man.
"What!" Astrid exclaimed. "Why?"
"The ally of Lord Voldemort that I mentioned already has a dragon army in this Realm at his disposal. And once the Wizarding World has fallen, Drago Bludvist will have our Realm's dragons to add to his army as well."
"WHAT!" Stoick yelled, making a lot of people jump. "Did you just say Drago Bludvist?"
Blinking, Dumbledore nodded. "I did, yes," he said. "I assume you have crossed paths with him?"
"You could say that," Stoick muttered, glaring murderously at the table.
"Dad?" Hiccup asked curiously, eyebrows raised. "Do you know this guy?"
Stoick sighed and leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his face.
"Years ago, there was a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced. Into our midst came a stranger from a strange land, covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin. He carried no weapon and spoke softly, saying that he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people, devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons. He claimed that he alone could control the dragons and he alone could keep us safe, if we chose to bow down and follow him."
"Stupid," Ruffnut chuckled.
"Good one," Tuffnut chortled.
"Aye. We laughed, too…" Stoick said gravely. "Until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out, 'Then see how well you do without me!'. The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armored dragons descended, burning the hall to the ground. I… was the only one to escape."
There was a stony silence and the mirth was wiped clean off of the twins' faces.
"Drago Bludvist is a madman. Without conscience or mercy. And if he's built a dragon army... gods help us all."
Hiccup shook his head slowly, face distressed. "Surely if we could just talk some sense into him…"
Stoick shook his head. "Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with," he said wearily. "War is what he wants, son."
"And you said he has an Alpha with him?" Astrid asked Charlie, who nodded.
"According to our spy the thing is absolutely huge and spits ice," he told them.
"Ice!" Fishlegs squeaked. "Not even the Snow Wraith could do that!"
"Hold on a minute!" Phlegma interrupted. "Are we just going to believe whatever they say? Just like that?"
As Sven and Spitelout murmured in agreement, eyes turned to Dumbledore. He looked to Remus and nodded, and the man took off his backpack and pulled some rolled papers out of it.
"There are newspapers," Charlie informed the vikings. "We use them for mass communication of news and stuff."
Everyone leaned forward to see what Remus had put on the table. There were several pieces of paper with The Daily Prophet plastered in bold letters on the top.
'MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN', 'THE DARK LORD SPOTTED AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC', 'ROMANIAN DRAGON RESERVE ATTACKED, FOUND COVERED IN ICE FOLLOWING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALL DRAGONS', and 'HOGSMEADE ATTACKED BY FLOCK OF CHINESE FIREBALLS' were just some of the headings they could see, and the pictures alongside we all very disturbing.
"This is bad," Fishlegs breathed.
"Aye, very bad," Gobber agreed.
"We can't wait around for Drago to come here," Hiccup announced. "If he succeeds in taking down their Realm and brings those dragons with him too, his dragon army would be even more difficult to face! No, we have to fight him while we still stand a chance."
Astrid nodded. "This is something we can't dodge. If we don't do anything now, our odds will only get worse."
The twins nodded in agreement as Snotlout cracked his knuckles. "He won't know what hit him when he faces the Snotman," he boasted.
"Come on, Dad," Hiccup urged. "This has to be done. A Chief protects his own, right? Then let me."
Stoick sighed heavily as he looked at everyone around the table and his eyes settled on Gothi.
"What do you say, Gothi?" he asked her.
She scribbled something on the floor with her staff, and Gobber leaned over to inspect it.
"The old hag thinks we should do something," he said, and winced as the old woman whacked him with her staff.
"We can't all leave," he huffed. "We still have to keep the island safe, and who knows how long we will be gone… we can't leave Berk defenceless."
"The Riders can handle it, Dad," Hiccup assured. "We've been fighting the Dragon Hunters for over a year now. You and the A-Team should stay here along with the Berk Guard."
"Those in favour of sending the Dragon Riders with them?" Gobber called.
Stoick, Hoark, Ack, Phlegma, Gothi and Gobber himself all raised a hand, leaving Spitelout and Sven.
"I guess that's settled then," Astrid commented.
"So," Hiccup said as he looked at Charlie. "How exactly did you come here?"
"We used an ancient artifact called the Pons Draconis to open the Passage of the Realms," he informed as he pointed to Tonks, who took out the device and held it up for all to see.
"That's the Dragon Eye!" Fishlegs exclaimed in excitement as all the Riders' eyes widened.
"B-but we destroyed them, didn't we?" Snotlout asked in confusion.
"The Dragon Eye?" Tonks asked in confusion as Hiccup and Fishlegs leaned closer to inspect the relic.
"It's…" Fishlegs began, eyes narrowing.
"Different," Hiccup finished. "This isn't the same one."
"Excuse me, what is this Dragon Eye thing?" Remus asked, intrigued.
"It was a device created by the ancestors of the Dragon Hunters," Fishlegs told them. "It contained information about every single dragon species."
"Where did you get this?" Astrid asked Tonks, who blinked.
"A great wizard hid it a thousand years ago to keep it safe," Bill told the vikings. "Professor Dumbledore found it."
"How's it so similar to the Dragon Eye?" Hiccup wondered aloud as he traced a finger along the device.
"I believe I might know the answer," said Dumbledore, and everyone looked at him. He then told them about Kurt Scamander, and how he had helped the Wizarding community of Norway by forcing the dragon into the mouth of a volcano through the Passage of the Realms. He told them about how he had studied the dragons and catalogued all that he found in magical lenses, and how he discovered that the power of a dragon's flame could open the Passage.
"I imagine that these Dragon Hunters you speak of must have found his notes on the Pons Draconis after he left this Realm and used them to create a duplicate of it," he pondered aloud. "They would, of course, not have been able to mimic the magical properties of the real device, but they must have created one that could be used to read information hidden in the magical lenses."
"That sounds about right…" Fishlegs muttered.
"So the Dragon Hunters didn't invent it after all?" Ruffnut asked.
"I always knew they were too yak-brained to create something as magnificent as the Dragon Eye," Tuffnut commented.
"Hold on a minute," Astrid said suddenly. Everyone looked at her as she straightened in her seat. "Did you say he dropped it into a volcano?"
Hiccup and Fishlegs' eyes widened.
"You don't say…" Fishlegs began.
"What was that dragon called?" Hiccup asked Dumbledore quickly.
"Ah, did I not mention it? It was called the Red Death."
There was a stony silence, which was broken by Snotlout and Spitelout's fists hitting the table at the exact same moment.
"Odin…" Gobber muttered.
"I knew these people were bad news!" Spitelout sneered.
The travellers frowned in confusion at the response to the name of a dragon who had been dead for centuries.
"I'm afraid we don't get what's wrong," Remus said.
"We have been plagued by dragon raids since the day vikings set foot on the island three hundred years ago," Hiccup began. "It was a never ending war, with countless lives lost on both sides. The peace that you see here has only existed for a few years."
"Five years ago, when the war was still going on and we were in Dragon Killing Academy, Hiccup did something no one could ever have imagined," Astrid continued. He befriended the deadliest dragon out there, the Night Fury. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."
"My son found out that the dragons attacked us only because they were forced to, by their queen," Stoick said. "I almost led the whole tribe to their deaths in fighting the massive dragon, but my son arrived and took on that wretched beast by himself on his dragon. He ended it."
"He only lost a leg doing it, too," Gobber added.
Astrid threw him an exasperated look as she said, "That queen was the Red Death. It had been hiding inside that volcano for centuries and forcing other dragons to do its bidding."
All the travellers' eyes widened at that.
"B-but it's been almost 1200 years since…" Bill stuttered.
"Not quite," Dumbledore murmured as he took his glass contraption off and rubbed his forehead. "As I mentioned earlier, time passes three times slower in this Realm. So it has only been four hundred years for them. In the years that Scamander was here, the Red Death must have been growing, and by the time he left this Realm, it must have become strong enough to assert dominance over others of its kind."
"We had no idea…" muttered Charlie, and the table fell silent once again.
"So," began Snotlout, ever impatient. "What are we doing next?"
"They should be punished for it," Spitelout announced.
"No!" Hiccup said quickly. "It wasn't their fault, they didn't even know that the Red Death had survived."
"Aye, you are right, son," Stoick agreed. "There is nothing to be done about it anymore."
"You have my word, Chief Stoick," Dumbledore said. "We will do everything we possibly can in order to prevent the mistakes of Wizardkind from causing suffering to your people once again."
"Don't worry, dad," Hiccup reassured. "We'll stop Drago Bludvist."
oOo
Not long after that, the Riders had left to pack their belongings and equipment that they might need. Dumbledore had enchanted a trunk with a Temporary Extension Charm so that it would be able to hold endless luggage for a few hours. Hiccup had, of course, decided to take advantage of this opportunity and had sent Snotlout and the twins to collect barrels of Nightmare Gel, Deathsong Ember, Dragon Nip and canisters of Zippleback Gas. In the meantime, Astrid had brought over a crate of weapons and Fishlegs had accompanied Hiccup to the forge to pack some spare tools and stuff.
Now, as Hiccup and Fishlegs arrived with huge crates at the foot of the steps to the Great Hall, Snotlout, the twins and Astrid were already there, barrels and crates stacked to be approved by Hiccup. He nodded as he looked them over, and one by one, they began putting the things into the seemingly bottomless trunk. When they were finished, it was quite difficult to believe that all those things were inside the relatively tiny trunk in front of them.
"Okay, we leave in about an hour," Hiccup said to the Riders. "Meet me here then."
As everyone dispersed for last-minute things, he nudged Astrid discreetly, and gestured to her to follow him. He led her to the newly built stables where they'd sent their dragons to feed and drink before leaving.
"We are going to be away for some time," he said to her as Toothless came over to be doted on by Hiccup. "Wanna come on a moonlit flight around the island with me, Milady?"
Astrid smiled as she took his hand that wasn't stroking Toothless. "You bet."
oOo
Precisely an hour later, the Dragon Riders gathered in the middle of the Plaza with their dragons, the Council Members, the travellers, and Norberta. Half the village had gathered once again to see their warriors off.
"Take care of yourself and your Riders, son," Stoick said to Hiccup as he placed both his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "And know that I cannot be more proud of the man that you have become."
"Thanks, Dad," Hiccup replied as he smiled. "We'll be okay."
Stoick nodded and stepped back. Hiccup braced himself as Gobber hobbled forward and engulfed him into a bone-crushing hug.
"Gobber… AIR!" he choked out before Gobber released him with a sheepish grin, and he could hear Astrid chuckling behind him.
"Come back with yer limbs, laddie," he said. "And be ready for the Big Talk from yer dad when ye get back. And did you pack the surprise?"
"What surprise?" Astrid asked as she came over. Hiccup's eyes widened and he pulled her toward the dragons, much to Gobber's amusement.
"Nothing, it's nothing!" he said quickly. Before Astrid could question him more about it, he looked to the other riders, and when they nodded, he turned to Dumbledore. "We're ready."
As Dumbledore nodded, all the villagers stepped back further in anticipation.
"We will need one of your dragons to provide flame to the Pons Draconis," Charlie said. "It didn't go so well with Norberta last time."
"I'll do it," volunteered Astrid. "Stormfly has the hottest fire of them all."
"Okay," Tonks said as she used her bracelet to unlock the Pons Draconis. She pulled out her wand and all the Riders mounted their dragons.
"Pontem Quaero," she said, pointing it at the cylindrical device.
The vikings watched in awe as the lenses inside the device began turning and clicking. Tonks put her wand back in its holster, and tossed the relic into the air above them. It stopped at a height of about twenty-five feet and began to spin in place.
"Now," Charlie said to Astrid, who urged her Nadder to shoot.
As the magnesium flames hit the device, it stopped spinning, glowed bright orange and pointed straight down.
All the vikings gasped as a wide beam of orange light shot out of the carved dragon's mouth, and it formed an intricate hexagonal pattern on the ground. The pattern covered all the humans and dragons standing in the middle of the plaza. The beam then turned pure white and the hexagonal pattern became a bright, solid shape.
As the Berkians watched with bated breaths, the Dragon Riders, the travellers, and the dragons all fell into the hexagon as though the ground had vanished from beneath them. The mystical relic then followed suit and dropped into the light, too, which shrunk and disappeared, leaving no trace behind.
oOo
So that was that…
Hope you enjoyed it. Do tell me what you think in the Reviews. (If the reviews reach 17, I'll give you a spoiler for what's next.)
I'm gonna be busy for some time, but I'll try to update as soon as I can.
(I'm so frickin sure that it's Andrew's hand reaching out for MJ at the trailer end.)
- DragonsAndBroomsticks.