Chapter Ten: Sign
The three wizards flew across the sky, dark smoky figures that headed towards the castle. Hogwarts stood, as silent and still as always, magnificent over the highlands of Scotland, its towers lightening the grounds, no one aware of the incoming wizards. The wizards sped up through the sky, wands on their hands until they slammed themselves against the invisible barrier that surrounded the entire castle, the impact sending bright waves that ran through the shield, the sound echoing for everyone inside the walls.
"Morsmordre!" The wizard yelled, and with a deep, guttural sound, the frightening green light emerged from his wand, the skull and the snake hovering above Hogwarts' grounds for the first time in twenty years.
#
Jack was at the entrance courtyard when it happened. The light glimmered on the sky. Next to him, Astrid and Aster froze on their steps, looking upwards as the Shield waved above them.
I would've been only unsettling, until the Dark Mark appeared.
In a moment, all around them, the students yelled, fear rising on them at the sudden attack.
It didn't take long until they started running towards the entrance, dinner still to be served on the Great Hall. At the very end of the Hall, Professor McGonagall stood up from her seat when the wave of panicking students flooded the halls, some girls in tears of anticipation.
As everyone sprinted inside, however, Jack, Aster and Astrid ran towards the entrance bridge, out in the clear where they had the most clear view of the Mark. The impact radius still lightened up the centre of the shield, bright lightning bolts imprinted on the sky, like cracks on the concrete, where just above it the snake floated from inside the shinning green skull.
"Who… how did that…?!" Astrid yelled, covering her mouth with her hands in horror.
"We can't know it from here." Jack interrupted as his heart tightened in his chest. He looked at the two teens before turning around and sprinting towards the castle.
"Jack, wait up!" Astrid yelled before following him, her legs burning as she ran behind him all the way to the entrance, but missing the Great Hall, where Jack turned to the Grand Staircase and sprinted towards the fourth floor.
"Where the hell is he goin'?" Aster yelled, out of breath.
Suddenly, they reached Jack at the top of the Astronomy tower, climbing the spiral staircase until they reached the observation deck, where Jack was lunging to the front porch.
And he wasn't alone.
A small boy with long auburn hair was hugging Jack's body hurriedly, both in apparent urge to check the other's well-being before the two boys pointed out towards Hogwarts' shield, where the Dark Mark still shined, green and sinister on the sky.
"What did you see?" Jack asked the boy.
"Nothing, I just got here a minute ago." The other boy replied, shaking. Suddenly Astrid recognized Hiccup, her neighbour who she would never exchange a word even when they were back home. "How did you know I'd be here?" Hiccup asked.
"I didn't." Jack answered. And then looked back at the entrance. "Glad to know you guys could catch up." He stated, making Hiccup look back as well.
Hiccup's eyes jumped wide open at the sight of Astrid and Aster.
"What is he doing here?" She asked, skittishly. Jack shook his head at her, turned back to Hiccup and focusing only on the boy, who was shaking from head to toe in fear.
"That's the first appearance of the Dark Mark in twenty years, Jack, it's got to mean something."
"They're terrorists, Hiccup." Jack said, placing his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "They're only tryin' to make a statement."
"How can we be sure that you didn't do it?" Suddenly Astrid spoke, her words reaching the two boys, now incredulous.
"How could you say that?" Jack said in anger.
"I mean, just think about it." Astrid had her hand pointed to her vests, bringing her wand ever so slowly. "Nobody knows how that mark appeared, and he was the only one in a position high enough to conjure it."
"Not another word Astrid, I'm tellin' ya." Aster was the one who spoke. "You're goin' too far."
"Just think, Aster! He was already here; he could have enough time to do it himself if he wanted."
"The Dark Mark only appears after someone is killed, do you really think Hiccup is somehow a killer now?" Jack yelled, and the girl flinched. "That's enough, Astrid, Hiccup didn't do it!"
Jack had his own wand pointed at the girl. "What are you going to do, hex me?" Astrid said, a tear poking out her eye.
"Lower your wand." He warned.
"I don't trust him, Jack." Astrid stood firm, gripping on her wand and staring at Hiccup. Said boy only took a step back, his own hands lifting up not to provoke Astrid any further.
"Astrid, you know me." Hiccup said. "You hate me, and we know it, but you can't assume I'm a death eater. Not after what just happened to my mom." He said, even.
"How do you expect me to believe you?" The girl retorted. "Ever since we are little, you've been weird!"
"That's no excuse, Astrid." Aster spoke, placing himself in front of the other two boys. "We know ya don't like Hiccup but Jack is our friend, and this theory of yours is just somethin' else entirely…" He could not even find an appropriate word for the insanity of all that.
Astrid only looked at them. As far as she could remember, Hiccup was the most peculiar boy on the village of Berk. To say that her family was highly traditional would also be an understatement.
The first memory she had of the boy was when some of the muggle-borns of the village had surrounded him in a small alley, where they would beat him up. She hadn't joined the beating, but she had watched it. She knew some of those kids, even though they were muggles, her family wasn't prejudice, and they would allow her to play with some of them. Not a week later, though, Ed Finnegan, one of the bullies, had to go to the hospital, where he didn't come back from for nearly a month due to a mysterious illness that gave him red and purple bruises all over his body.
You could judge Astrid for her lack of heart, but once both her and Hiccup got in for Hogwarts, the memory of the attack came back to her mind. Her parents always said: Dark wizards don't turn evil in an instant, but from years of pain and prejudice. She deemed better to stay away from the boy.
So feel free to judge Astrid for the fear of all the disappearances, Dementor sights, Ministry inquiries and now the Dark Mark, shining proudly again above Hogwarts. What if all the years of suffering did make Hiccup turn into the dark magic? All the seeds were there. And she knew better than anyone: Trust no one.
"Don't think that this puts you in the clear." Astrid said, finally lowering her wand. "I'll be watching you."
Hiccup only looked at her, not angry nor scared of her, but with the familiar sense of injustice that he got used to after years of harassment. The girl turned on her heels, having a final look at the Dark Mark before walking out of the Astronomy Tower. Jack turned to Hiccup, his hand patting his shoulder in soothing moves.
"We should get back to the Great Hall." Aster said. "All the students are probably there by now.
#
There were still a few students crossing the tall portal of the Great Hall. Some of them were shaking, some of them were crying, but most of them were silent. They all knew what that meant. Jack was walking between Hiccup and Aster until they arrived at the Entrance Hall.
"I think you should join your table." Aster said to Hiccup as he noticed all the students were sitting accordingly to their houses.
The small boy gulped, then nodded, having a final look from Jack before walking to the Ravenclaw table. Jack and Aster sat down on their table, a couple seats away from Astrid, who gave them no looks.
Not a minute later, Professor McGonagall stomped into the Great Hall, followed by the small figure of Professor Flitwick and the high inquisitor, Percy Weasley. As they climbed up the steps at the end of the Hall, the lights on the candles seemed to diminish.
"Everyone, remain calm." Professor McGonagall said, even. Worry and strength filling her voice. "I need all of you to orderly walk to your dormitories…"
"Who casted it?" A girl from Gryffindor screamed.
"Has anybody got hurt?"
"What is happenin'?" Soon, most of the students on the Hall were screaming for answers.
"SILENCE!" The raising voice was not of the Headmistress, but from Percy Weasley himself, his wand pointed against his neck in an enhancing spell. Effective as it was, he looked at Professor McGonagall, nearly asking for permission before he spoke. "We do not know who conjured the Dark Mark. Or the meaning behind it. All we do know for sure is that tonight, around eight fourteen, three dark wizards stomped on Hogwarts shield. The Aurors are looking for any signs of dead bodies around Hogwarts grounds, now, if we had found any, we would've known by now-"
There was a collective jump scare when the doors of the Great Hall were opened again. Two aurors walked into the Hall, all the way to Weasley and McGonagall, whispering a few words before stepping back. For what it seemed, McGonagall swallowed drily, and scanned the room until her eyes met Hiccup across the Ravenclaw table. Percy only nodded. From the Gryffindor table, Jack's eyes wandered all the way from Hiccup to the Headmistress, and a sinking feeling took the best of him when Percy announced.
"We have found a body." The tension grew in the room. "It belongs to Valka Haddock."
